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MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 JAMADA ALAWWAL 2, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Minister admits Will Smith flop Rio revels Man City hit Iran cannot ‘After Earth’ in ‘greatest back to beat block Facebook crowned show on Sunderland in forever9 at36 Razzies Earth’40 League20 Cup Panel to summon KAC Max 23º Min 12º High Tide board, KIA officials 00:52 & 13:31 Low Tide 07:33 & 19:46 40 PAGES NO: 16093Kuwait 150 FILS Airways insists Airbus deal transparent, touts gains

By Velina Nacheva and B Izzak Kuwait Airways is in the multi-year process of privati- conspiracy theories zation, but the state’s sovereign wealth fund owns the KUWAIT: Parliament will summon the board of troubled airline during this period and has the final say on all Kuwait Airways as well as officials of its owner Kuwait financial deals. Allegations of kickbacks and other irreg- Ward 10? Investment Authority as it investigates an estimated ularities have plagued the deal from its initial signing in $4.4 billion deal with Airbus. Kuwait December. Airways finalized the deal in February to “There is no commission or any buy 25 new Airbus jets - 10 A350-900 benefit for any middleman,” said long-haul jets and 15 A320 neo aircraft - Roumi, adding that all the require- along with 12 more leased aircraft, seven ments have been met and the agree- A320s and five A330s. ment is “fair” for both parties in the By Badrya Darwish Questions over the transparency of the deal. “All issues were taken into deal have fueled the controversy. KAC account to ensure that public funds chairwoman Rasha Al-Roumi hit back at are protected,” said Roumi. HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah critics yesterday, noting that the deal was The head of the National Assembly conducted with “transparency and the probe panel, which is part of the Amir undergoes [email protected] direct participation of all stakeholders.” Assembly’s legal and legislative com- She however refused to reveal the val- mittee, MP Yacoub Al-Sane, said the minor surgery ue of the deal or disclose other financial panel will hear the opinions of the two KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- aspects of the purchase during a press bodies about the deal, specifically ou know guys, I heard the most amazing story Rasha Al-Roumi Sabah Kuwait has undergone a successful minor sur- conference yesterday, citing a confiden- whether KIA had given prior approval from a friend of mine and I want to share it gery in the United States following successful and tiality clause. She also said that KAC managed to get to KAC to go ahead and sign the agreement. The prior Ywith you. It’s bizarre and sad at the same time. reassuring regular medical tests, the Amiri Diwan said more than 10 percent off the original value during approval is essential for the deal to be legal, according Did you know that if a woman strays in Kuwait and yesterday. The Amir will leave hospital after the usual negotiations in the past two months before signing to Sane. gets pregnant - and I mean by this an expat woman convalescence period, the statement added. — KUNA who is unmarried - she is put during her pregnancy the deal. Continued on Page 13 in a special ward at the maternity hospital until she delivers? What is this special ward? Is it a prison ward? Yes. Russia tightens grip on Crimea It’s in the Sabah Maternity Hospital, known as Ward 10 or the IP ward (illicit pregnancies ward). And it has tight security with the doors locked and guard- ed 24 hours like a proper jail. Visits are not allowed Ukraine mobilizes army as West warns Moscow in that ward, by the way, so don’t get carried away and think that you can visit and go and see what’s PEREVALNE, Ukraine: Igniting a tense standoff, happening inside. Russian forces surrounded a Ukrainian army base yes- After the woman delivers, the mom and the baby terday just as the country began mobilizing its military are transported to the women’s prison. A case will in response to the surprise Russian takeover of Crimea. be filed against her by the general prosecutor, she Outrage over Russia’s tactics mounted in world capitals, will go before a judge, a verdict and sentence will be with US Secretary of State John Kerry calling on passed and she will serve a jail term after which she President Vladimir Putin to pull back from “an incredible will be deported. act of aggression”. Fearing that Europe’s borders were I’m not defending illicit pregnancies. Or encour- being rewritten by force, world leaders rushed to find a aging a woman to stray. But simple mathematics: As diplomatic solution to reverse what had already hap- an expat woman, she may be from another country pened on the ground: Russia captured the Black Sea that does not require marriage before being preg- peninsula on Saturday without firing a shot. nant. Most Western countries and many Asian ones Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said do not treat pregnancy before marriage as a crime. there was no reason for Russia to invade Ukraine and I’m not encouraging this in Kuwait. I know we are warned that “we are on the brink of disaster”. “We an Islamic country and we should abide by sharia believe that our western partners and the entire global laws. But my argument is this: Many of these maids community will support the territorial integrity and uni- don’t know our rules and regulations and system. ty of Ukraine,” he said Sunday in Kiev. NATO held an And sometimes they are abused by the employer emergency meeting in Brussels, Britain’s foreign minis- who has the upper hand and she cannot challenge ter flew to Kiev to support its new government and the him even in the police station. Also, as we are US, France and Britain debated the possibility of boy- accepting maids from all over the world with differ- cotting the next Group of Eight economic summit, ent nationalities and cultures, we cannot force them being held in June at Sochi, the host of Russia’s success- to accept our traditions, culture or religion. ful Winter Olympics. So simple mathematics: Instead of sending her to In Kiev, Moscow and other cities, thousands of pro- a ward and then to jail, just deport her. Actually like testers took to the streets to either decry the Russian this, you will save on budgets as you’re saying occupation or celebrate Crimea’s return to its former spending is too high in Kuwait and we need to cut ruler. “Support us, America!” a handful of protesters the budget on every corner. So that’s one corner. chanted outside the US Embassy in Kiev. Send the poor girl back to her country and you save Continued on Page 13 KIEV: People attend a rally against Russia on Kiev’s Independence Square yesterday. — AFP on the expenditure and the costs of guards, a spe- cial ward and the jail. Most of all, I’m worried about the babies. A jail is Afridi blitz downs World caught off guard a very unhealthy environment to grow up in, and why should an innocent baby be delivered in a prison ward and raised with its mom in a jail? Why, India in thriller by thirst for democracy when Kuwait could very simply send the mom back WASHINGTON: Time was, overturning strations against the elected leaders in to her home country and let her raise her child there a freely-elected government would Ukraine and Egypt, analysts and diplo- and face her problem in the system in her country? have earned a sharp US rebuke. But as mats argue there is often a common This is her problem, so why is Kuwait making it our people power revolts sweep some core. It is “an incredible yearning for problem? And then we face lots of questions from countries, Washington is increasingly modernity, for change, for choice, for human rights advocates. As it is we have enough giving its blessing to ousting leaders empowerment of individuals that is issues with human rights besides moms and babies accused of betraying democracy. From moving across the world, and in many in jail in Kuwait. Egypt, where the nation’s first demo- cases moving a lot faster than political Have a good day! cratically-elected president Islamist leadership is either aware of or able to leader Mohamed Morsi was toppled in respond to,” Kerry said. July by the army, to Ukraine where Viktor Yanukovych, brought to power in ‘People Must Act’ Abu Ghaith to 2010 polls, fled his post after months of French intellectual Jacques Attali, street protests, the US has had to fine- once an advisor to former president tune its response. FranÁois Mitterrand, asked “what are go on trial Indeed US Secretary of State John the people supposed to do when Kerry said bluntly last week: “A democ- democracy has been betrayed by those in New York racy is not defined solely by an elec- they brought to power?” “The people tion.” “You can have a democratically- have to act, demonstrate, remind the NEW YORK: A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden and elected government, but you don’t leaders of their promises. And if they former Al-Qaeda spokesman goes on trial in New have democratically-instituted reforms don’t succeed in convincing them, they York today, accused of conspiracy to kill Americans that actually give you a democracy, a have to bring them down,” wrote Attali and supporting terrorists. Suleiman Abu Ghaith, who full, practicing, functioning democracy,” in his blog for the French magazine spent time with bin Laden in Afghanistan, is best Kerry told reporters. “And what you L’Express. Despite accusations from known for making incendiary threats in the immedi- have in many places is a general elec- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000 tion, a popular election, absent reform, that the US is fomenting unrest in his people. The 48-year-old suspect from Kuwait is one present with great corruption, great country, analysts see little direct of the most senior alleged Al-Qaeda members to cronyism and a huge distortion of dem- involvement by Washington in trigger- face trial in the United States and faces life behind ocratic process.” ing revolts even if later on, such as in bars in an American prison if convicted. His trial, While at first glance protests in Ukraine, there is an open eagerness to which could feature testimony from the self- DHAKA: Pakistan cricketer Sahid Afridi reacts after winning the sixth match of Thailand and Venezuela may have help the struggle towards democracy. Continued on Page 13 the Asia Cup one-day cricket tournament between India and Pakistan at the nothing in common with the demon- Continued on Page 13 Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday. — AFP (See Page 17) MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 LOCAL Muaqqat maid system thriving in Kuwait Agencies cash in on workers’ helplessness

By Ben Garcia started working as a housemaid immediately. commented. But she left her sponsor after only 20 days. “I told Mary Jane is the other muaqqat worker KUWAIT: Domestic helpers usually work fulltime my sponsor to return me back to the agency, Abunda spoke about. Mary Jane worked for sev- in their sponsors’ houses in Kuwait. They are which they did. Upon returning to the agency, I en Kuwaiti employers before finally working as a hired directly from a labor-exporting countries told them I wanted to go home. But they muaqqat. “But after a few days working as a like Ethiopia, India, Nepal and the Philippines, or demanded KD 900 as recruitment fee. Where do muaqqat, I decided to run away,” she admitted. sometimes they are hired from local recruitment you think I will get that amount? So the agency’s Mary Jane is now being sheltered by a agencies. But some Filipino domestic helpers solution was for me to work as a muaqqat maid. Bangladeshi man, with free boarding and lodg- work as ‘maids for rent’ on a ‘muaqqat’ (tempo- My intention was to work for the money they ing in exchange of sexual favors. “All I am waiting rary) basis. The muaqqat system was introduced needed so I could go home. But I couldn’t save for is an amnesty so I can go back to the by some local recruitment agencies for employ- anything because I had to send some of my Philippines. I want to go home during the ers who do not want to go through the hassles hard-earned money to my family back home. amnesty because I want to come back and work of providing visas for their domestic helpers. How many years should I work for KD 900 if only here legally,” she said. The housemaid is paid KD 80 per month, but the KD 80 is given to me monthly? So after six Forced labor is a common practice in Kuwait, agency charges employers KD 150-KD 200 a months, when I got the chance, I ran away,” she especially among migrant workers, according to month. said. Maxine was rescued by community leader a US State Department report. Domestic servi- “I worked as a muaqqat maid before running Ann Abunda and is now waiting to go back tude is the most common type of forced labor in away from my employer. I worked for about six home. “She has the travel documents ready and Kuwait, the report read. Forced labor conditions months,” said Maxine, a Filipina domestic helper. has been fingerprinted to be deported back to for migrant workers included nonpayment of “I know my boss was paying the agency KD 190, Manila. She is more privileged compared to wages, long working hours, deprivation of food, but all I got was KD 80 a month. I was supposed another muaqqat who is a ‘sex slave’ to a threats, physical and sexual abuse, and restric- to work and stay with the employer, then after a Bangladeshi. She had to sacrifice her morality tions on movement, such as withholding pass- month they were to return me to my recruit- because I understand she has no choice,” said ports or confinement to the workplace. There ment agency,” she said. “That was the arrange- Abunda, who is also a founding member of have been numerous media reports of domestic ment made between my agency and the Sandigan, a new Filipino community organiza- workers being abused by their sponsors or sus- employer, but it dragged on for six months. I tion. She also confirmed that many Pinay work- taining significant injuries while trying to escape know some of my colleagues who are still work- ers are falling into the muaqqat trap. “The from their sponsors, and some reports alleged ing under the muaqqat system and I hope they’ll muaqqat system is thriving because it’s easier abuse resulted in workers’ deaths. Female stop too. It is unfair because our agencies are for employers as they only have to pay a bit domestic workers were particularly vulnerable earning more money than us. They are milking more. They no longer have to stamp iqamas, so if to sexual abuse. Police and courts are also reluc- us,” Maxine told Kuwait Times. they don’t like the maid, they can return her tant to prosecute citizens for abuse in private Maxine arrived in Kuwait in Oct 2012 and back easily without paying KD 800-KD 1000,” she residences. Bedoon detainee identified as Saudi national during questioning

By A. Saleh to identify Atta’s original nationality, as well as as stable, adding that he was diagnosed with provide official documents to prove so. mild injuries. The accident reportedly happened KUWAIT: A man arrested recently on charges of Atta, who was arrested in Jahra last week, at the Amman - Zarqa Road Saturday night, offending His Highness the Amir and instigating remains in custody pending preparations to involving three cars and a truck. bedoon protests was remanded in custody for stand trial at the Criminal Court. An official statement from the Jordanian Civil ten days after he was questioned yesterday. Defense General Directorate indicates that min- But the most notable incident yesterday was Envoy injured ister Duaij was “returning from the Zaatari when the Interior Ministry presented Abdullah Kuwait’s ambassador to Jordan Hamad Duaij refugee camp” where he supervised humanitari- Atta to the Public Prosecution as a Saudi nation- was injured in an accident that left four an works for Syrian refugees. The four other peo- al, instead of being a stateless resident as report- Jordanian nationals with minor injuries as well. ple involved in the accident were treated at the ed during the time of arrest. Doctors at the Arab Medical Center in Prince Hamza Hospital, and their condition were This indicates that local authorities were able Amman described the ambassador’s condition also described as stable.

KUWAIT: The ambassador of Brunei Penjiran Aliuddin held a reception on the occa- sion of the National Day of his country at Crowne Plaza Hotel on Feb 23. It was attend- Stage set for firefighting conference ed by a number of diplomats and other dignitaries. — Photos by Joseph Shagra

By: Hanan Saadoun ing delegation headed by Abu Dhabi police’s information about cutting-edge technology in central operations director, Maj Gen Ahmed fire prevention and rescue techniques. “This KUWAIT: Commander of UAE’s Search and Nasser Al-Rayyes along with 16 other officers keenness indicates that Kuwait Fire Services Memo to Indian ambassador Rescue Group, Maj Adel Al-Semary said that his and warrant officers. Directorate has reached advanced levels in fire country would take part in the 3rd Al-Semary added that UAE’s high-ranking safety and prevention and that it is also keen over lack of parking facility International Firefighting Conference, due to delegation reflects the significance of this inter- on the benefit other Arab, regional and interna- kick off tomorrow under auspices of His national conference and that Kuwait had been tional countries can get through exchanging By Sajeev K Peter park on both sides of the road, making it Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- keen on holding it and inviting international expertise during the conference”, he under- one of the most difficult areas to drive Mubarak and last till March 6, with a high-rank- firefighting experts to enrich the debates with lined. KUWAIT: Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs through,” the memorandum stated. “Of late, Department (NORKA) welfare board the traffic police started penalizing visitors Director Varghese Puthukulangara submit- to the embassy for parking on the road,” he ted a memorandum to Indian Ambassador added. Informatics Award Sunil Jain yesterday seeking a solution to Indians are the largest expatriate com- the parking problem at the Indian Embassy munity in Kuwait. Since the embassy hosts social premises in Kuwait. In the memorandum, receives a large number of visitors daily, the Puthukulangara brought to the notice of issue calls for immediate attention by the networking experts the ambassador that despite large num- embassy authorities. Puthukulangara bers of people visiting the embassy on a recalled that the embassy had a large park- KUWAIT: His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali daily basis, no parking facility is available to ing facility until a few years back. Informatics Award is set to host a group of doctors them. “It is my earnest request that the and specialists in social networking for a new ses- “As I understand, the Embassy of India in embassy must explore the possibility that sion of dialogue today. Kuwait receives over 500 visitors daily. The the open ground across the street of the The session, which will be managed by the visitors include Indians and other nationali- embassy enclave can be utilized as a park- member of the organizing committee, Hasan Al- ties. The embassy provides excellent servic- ing lot for visitors to the embassy,” the Hamadi, will focus on the significance of health es to them. However, one of the major memorandum stated. He urged the ambas- and safety by means of using social networks and areas that needs to be addressed is lack of sador to take up the matter with the con- smart tablets. parking space for the visitors. Since there is cerned authorities on a priority basis to find The discussion will be centered on the positive no dedicated parking lot, people tend to a solution to the problem at the earliest. and negative points of smart tablets and mobile phones. It will also shed light on health problems caused by the overuse of computers and smart Army officer arrested tablets. By holding such sessions of dialogue, the By Hanan Al-Saadoun award seeks to fan out necessary informatics awareness for the users of internet, smart mobile KUWAIT: Security sources said that an phones and social networks by hosting a galaxy of army officer was detained and interrogated distinguished specialists. —KUNA for possessing an unlicensed firearm, dam- aging property and jeopardizing lives by reckless driving. The sources added that the officer was detained when he drove his vehicle into a camp belonging to a VIP lady, Municipality issues and claimed he was trying to evade some youngsters chasing him after he had quar- warning against reled with them. It is not yet known whether he used the gun in the fight or illegal camel markets not. • A Pakistani was instantly killed when KUWAIT: Director of safety department of Jahra munici- he was run over by a speeding vehicle driv- pality branch Mubarak Al-Beais said yesterday that the en by a female citizen along Fahaheel municipality will not allow the establishment of the camels expressway. market on the territory of the state without an official • An Indian was also killed when he was license. run over by a citizen in Sabah Al-Salem. Al-Beais said in a statement that the competent organs • A Saudi national was killed when he of the municipality of Jahra have removed all unlicensed lost control over his vehicle and it over- fences that have been erected by some of camel traders on turned along Salmi highway. KUWAIT: The psychotropic pills confiscat- state property along Salmi road based on the directives of A citizen was killed and three of his • ed from the Arab expatriate at Abdali the Director General of the Municipality Engineer Ahmed companions were injured in a traffic acci- border yesterday. Al-Subih to maintain public property and natural state dent in Um Al-Haiman. resources. • Abdali customs inspectors arrested a border exit, the Syrian was deemed suspi- He explained that the municipality will remove the ille- Syrian trying to smuggle in 50,000 psy- cious and on searching his vehicle, the gal road markets for those selling camels along the Kabd chotropic pills, said security sources. Case drugs were found concealed in the vehicle. road after the deadline given to them expires. —KUNA papers indicate that on arriving at the land A case was field. GCC foreign ministers to meet in Riyadh

RIYADH: The 130th meeting of the Foreign Abdullatif Al-Zayani said in a press statement. review of joint projects, strategic dialogues KUWAIT: The large neighborhood park in Sabah Al-Salem area, block 8, first street, Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), The meeting will also probe regional and inter- between the GCC countries, global economy as seems completely neglected and abandoned. Trash can be found scattered across chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign national issues that require consultation and coor- well as regional, Arab and international issues. the park, weeds and grass are growing in the sidewalks and playgrounds. Though Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- dination to discuss their implications, in addition to Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Gulf the four playgrounds in the large park are in a good state of repair, the overgrowth Hamad Al-Sabah, will kick off tomorrow in Riyadh. a number of reports submitted by the Secretariat Cooperation Council Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al- of weeds and grass and overflowing waste bins have attracted a large number of The meeting will review a number of GCC joint on following up decisions pertinent to the GCC Zayani met here Sunday with the Ambassador of insects. The grass and greenery has not been tended to for some time and the entire action topics in various fields as well as issues perti- Supreme Council Summit that was held in Kuwait the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Saudi park is in need of maintenance. —Photos courtesy of Kuwait Moms Guide nent to the GCC states, GCC Secretary General recently. The meeting agenda also includes a Arabia Oleg Ozerov.—KUNA LOCAL MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

KUWAIT: Within the celebrations of Kuwait’s national anniversaries, Kuwait House for National Works, recently celebrated the launching of the new Egyptian section through a festivity titled ‘We All Love Kuwait’. The cere- mony was held under auspices and with the attendance of the chairman of the Arab Veterans Union, Maj Gen Ameen Hussein, the Egyptian ambassador to Kuwait, Abdul Kareem Suleiman, the head of Egypt’s defence office in Kuwait, Brig Hatem Ashour, his deputy, Col Ahmed Al-Sawalhi in addition to a number of military attaches designated inKuwait. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Ministries told to reduce ‘celebrations’ spending Cost-cutting recommendations

KUWAIT: Several state departments were create jobs and improve the quality of pub- recently notified to cut spending in several lic services. areas, including national celebrations, amid “Kuwait remains the only state in the Gulf Kuwait takes lead role in mediation renewed demands for privatizing public and the entire world where sectors like elec- services in accordance with the privatization tricity, postal service, transportation and KUWAIT: Kuwait looks to create a positive Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah order to create a suitable ground and tim- law that was enforced four years ago. [cooking] gas remain under state control, atmosphere that helps achieve reconcilia- to Doha and Cairo last week, are prepar- ing to go ahead with the mediation According to a recent report, the Finance while the situation in those services contin- tion between conflicting states in the ing for potential Qatari - Egyptian recon- process,” said sources quoted in the Ministry informed a number of state depart- ues to worsen despite the government’s region as it prepares to host the Arab ciliation during the summit. report. ment to reduce the number of foreign trips, spending on them,” he said. Shaya believes League Summit on March 25. Foreign minister Sheikh Al-Sabah had The recent activity reflects ‘important cut ‘special payments’ that senior officials are that economic reform cannot be achieved The Gulf state is reportedly working on received ‘positive response’ during his results’ achieved during the recent visit of entitled to and ‘reconsider giving vehicles’ to without privatization of public services. “We mediating between Qatar and Egypt; stops in Doha and Cairo last week which Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem officials who are already entitled to those are in front of a real test to achieve econom- whose relationship with each other got improves the chances of a successful rec- to Tehran, according to the sources who payments. ic reform,” he said, “which can only be real- strained following the ouster of former onciliation during the Arab summit, spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Among fields of unjustifiable spending ized when the state takes its hand off many Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, according to sources quoted by Al-Qabas. “The Kuwaiti movement currently that state departments were told to cut are fields that can be managed by the private while at the same time focus on poten- But the report indicates that the main revolves around an important point, funds spent on national celebrations and sector”. tially reconciliation of ties between Saudi objective of the ‘balanced Kuwaiti which is to create acceptance for Iran in conferences,” said sources quoted by Al-Rai Arabia and Iran. approach’ is to create a suitable atmos- the region after the optimistic atmos- daily yesterday, And in a bid to follow up Indemnity A local daily reported yesterday that phere for a Saudi - Iranian reconciliation. pheres that followed the Iranian - Western with their commitment to cost-cutting rec- While lawmakers make repeated ongoing diplomatic efforts, which saw “Communications are currently ongoing agreement over Iran’s nuclear program,” ommendations, special committees in the demands for the government to cut its own First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign between Kuwait, Riyadh and Tehran in the sources said. Finance Ministry will be assigned to meet spending, they continue to debate propos- every three months in order to review what als that call for increasing citizens’ financial has been done in this regard. benefits. The most recent of these proposals is a bill that the parliament’s financial com- ‘Ukraine keen on solving crisis peacefully’ Privatization mittee is set to discuss this week that stipu- KUWAIT: Ukrainian Ambassador to Kuwait He called for the implementation of the the green light to deploy military forces in Meanwhile, MP Faisal Al-Shaya demand- lates a unified end of service indemnity for Volodymyr Tolkach said his government was 1994 Budapest Memorandum that was signed Ukraine. The council’s delegation prompted ed prompt action from the government to Kuwaiti workers in the public and private exerting every possible effort to solve the cri- by Britain, the US, Russia and Ukraine, accord- the interim government in Ukraine to instruct activate the privatization law “in order for it sectors equal to the salary of 36 months sis in the country peacefully, asserting impor- ing to which Kiev relinquished nuclear the armed forces to be on high alert in antici- to become a gateway for economic reform”. paid at the time of retirement. “Unifying the tance of respecting international treaties that weapons in return of preserving its territorial pation of any move by Russia. “The state will not be able in the future to end of service indemnity is necessary in guaranteed Ukraine’s security. safety and unity. Tolkach denied Ukraine sought to enter tolerate the consequences of the current sit- order to achieve justice among the Kuwaiti Ukraine seeks to rally international support Tolkach regretted that “the country spon- into war with Russia, but said the army was on uation in which it maintains control over var- workforce,” said MP Khalid Al-Saleh, who for its positions, Tolkach told a news confer- soring the agreement which is Russia is the alert in case of “the worst scenario.” ious fields without benefit,” Shaya told Al-Rai presented the proposal. “While some ence at the embassy building yesterday, and one violating the deal.” He expressed optimism that a peaceful set- daily. The lawmaker believes that privatizing Kuwaitis receive good indemnities, others said he requested a meeting with Foreign He was referring to the Russian Federation tlement would be achieved in Ukraine. The energy, transportation and postal services do not receive a single dinar despite having Ministry officials to brief them on the situation Council, the upper house of parliament, which majority in Ukraine want the conflict to be can help the state save ‘billions of dinars’, the same job and academic qualifications.” in his country. granted President Vladimir Putin yesterday solved peacefully, he added.— KUNA MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 LOCAL

In my view kuwait digest Disturbing It’s not the way the peace to celebrate!

By Jassem Boodai nfortunately, I will be swimming against the tide concerning the national celebrations. I will proba- Ubly say what so many have in mind yet dare not By Labeed Abdal say it. With all due respect to whoever exerted an effort in bringing joy to faces and lights on buildings, such cel- ebrations are not good enough, neither for Kuwait nor Kuwaitis. A national anniversary’s joy is felt deep within souls, not in appearances. Exaggeration and overdoing Happy Birthday decorations and colorful illuminations are more associat- [email protected] ed with religious anniversaries rather than national ones worldwide. Nations usually take pride in demonstrating unisia, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Turkey and the best they have on criminals while we outdo our- Ukraine. All these countries share more than being selves demonstrating the worst! Ta stage for public revolutions. They share figures of I wonder whoever set this tradition for celebrating corruption that stood high on corrupt hills, until they Kuwait’s two most important anniversaries as follows: were washed away by the waves of the people’s revolu- Chaotic random decorations that so often do not fit tions. The public slogans and cries made in those coun- the buildings they are set on, such as some of the state’s most important ones like Seif and Bayan palaces. They tries reflect frustration from oppression and pain. The Al-Anbaa solution cannot happen by escaping or hiding in base- are fenced with illuminated decorations that have noth- ments. Instead, it happens when people’s demands are ing to do with the two edifices. Those who approved the answered. decorations did not bother to select ones that match the two palaces’ history and symbolism. The colors are too bright with no symmetry just like the ones we might see Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, in any regular cafe or store. In addition, the ceremony is annually restricted to Egypt, Syria, Turkey and vehicle parades with passengers spraying harmful Ukraine. All these countries kuwait digest banned foam at each other and at passersby. What’s even worse is that such ceremonies have attracted GCC share more than being a Security official or a civilian! tourists to visit Kuwait after equipping their own vehicles with the same foam, masks and water guns. Such a tradi- stage for public revolutions. tion has automatically created a state of national alert- By Thaar Al-Rasheedi ness since such ceremonies have been causing road acci- The Egyptian experience was characterized by the dents and traffic congestions. I still recall the number of clarity of the people’s voices, and their iron-clad com- eputy PM and Interior Minister Sheikh able that ever since he took over the second portfolio, people with health contingencies and women in labor mitment to the constitution, as well as the constitution- Mohammed Al-Khaled who was interior minister he has been keeping a low profile in terms of media who could not make to hospitals in time because most al court in recognition of its role in protecting the state. Dbetween 1998 and 2003 is definitely not the appearances. It seems as if he decided to replace those roads were blocked by the insanity of chasing girls and The people, land and sovereignty are the basic compo- same Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khaled, the current interior appearances with actual hard work, which is tangible throwing slips of paper with mobile phone numbers at nents of every country around the world. This fact must minister. This is evident in his attitudes and reaction within the interior ministry sectors as well as in public them regardless of the pedestrians who got run over and always be remembered, in every place on this planet. towards various issues, media appearances, the choice security. bled for long because the police could not open pas- Furthermore, all components must be protected of words in his statements and even restructuring the It is hard to evaluate his political performance with- sages for ambulances to rescue them. under the same level of importance, as neglecting one MoI. Thanks to his growing political experience, he out interpreting the political circumstances surround- Have you ever seen a nation worldwide that allows aspect in favor of another will surely disturb the bal- seems to have grown more politically mature because ing him in both tenures. In the first one, Kuwait was violations to be committed on its national day anniver- ance, and subsequently the peace, in any country. there is a huge difference between his two tenures. going through one of the most sensitive and dangerous sary? Have you seen a country where vehicles occupy all During his first tenure, Kuwait was locally and inter- eras in its history. Nonetheless, he managed to survive. pavements and roads during celebrations while the nationally going through one of the most important In the second tenure, which is only one year long so far, police, paramedics and civil defence agents work round the clock to save whoever they can? Have you seen a and dangerous times in its history starting with the two his performances reflects that he is here to accomplish, kuwait digest country where the highest number of law violations are regional US wars all the way to several terrorist attacks especially since all opportunities are now available to committed with the excuse of ‘people are celebrating’?! and drug cases that were at a climax at the time in addi- restructure the interior ministry and rephrase it’s rela- This is appearance-wise. One can also talk forever Start before tion to the unstable domestic political situations. These tion with the public. He is also accepted by both gov- about the essence of these celebrations. We used to lead incidents make him the only interior minister who faced ernment supporters and the opposition alike. the way in patriotic songs, operas, plays and cultural and catastrophe so many challenges and managed to successfully steer Notably, Sheikh Mohammad’s predecessor, Sheikh profound artistic forums before the Iraqi invasion. Where through them. Ahmed Al-Humoud, managed to change the public’s did these activities go? Who marginalized youth contri- Nowadays, situations are totally different. There are impression about the interior minister, turning him By Dr Ebtihal Al-Khateeb butions and prevented annual concerts through which no direct domestic or foreign threats. Kuwait is now far from a security man to a civilian who is much closer to young men and women usually had a great chance to o many voices had warned about what is happen- from regional tensions. It is also going through a peri- the people, and that is what Sheikh Mohammad is cur- develop their talents? Such works are capable enough to ing today. So many warnings about the ticking od of domestic political serenity. However, it is notice- rently doing! —Al-Anbaa attract GCC, Arab and foreign tourists. Stime bomb, combined with many proposals for Why don’t we invite an international opera group to hundreds of ways to prevent the bomb from exploding perform in Kuwait on these two occasions? Why don’t we and starting in a new way to achieve a fair solution. The invite international football teams to play in Kuwait? Why latest bedoon protests in Taima were more violent than kuwait digest don’t we hold international seminars that attract the before, but were you expecting less violent demonstra- world’s best intellectuals, thinkers and politicians who tions as time went by? Are Kuwaiti bedoons supposed to advocate freedom and democracy to speak about the simply forget about their problem with time? To have no Political rejection of security agreement blessing of having a sovereign, independent home job, live in need and can even be deprived of the right of country? Why not hold well-prepared military parades? free movement - all this humiliation is supposed to be Where are our culture and conference halls? We are forgotten with time? By Dr Bader Al-Daihani almost the only regional country that lacks such facili- ties. Believe me! The cost of such activities would help Yes, there are many solutions that do not stop at espite the significance of the constitutional accountability in the presence of its one-vote-tai- add to Kuwait’s reputation as a cultural minaret, and may statements like “no bedoons in Kuwait in 5 years” (Saleh side of rejecting the GCC security agreement, lored rubberstamp parliament?! Al-Fadhala, Annahar Daily, Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010) or a not cost as much as that spent on random decorations as we said in previous articles, its rejection Anyway, what if this one-vote parliament does colored ID or forged passport under the table. There are D here and there. It will surely not equal the losses in the simple and direct solutions that can deactivate the time should not be restricted to its legality or constitu- approve the agreement, which is likely to happen in aftermath of the two or three-day chaotic celebrations. bomb before the organized naturalization process - tionality. It should also be related to politics since view of the current political situations that led to I recall writing the same on this same day four years which is the main humanitarian right that no compre- the conflict over reform, democratization and free- forming it? Is completing formal legal procedures ago and how the way we celebrate spoils the virtues of hensive solution can be made without - even begins. doms is not a technically legal one — it is rather a enough not to politically reject it? Of course, not. the two anniversaries. I also wrote that better-off There are solutions that do not require political or political one, in the first place. The procedural part of any law should not be made Kuwaitis who can afford travelling on these holidays social genius to achieve, yet can ease a lot of the pressure In other words, respecting current laws does not at the expense of its content. Everybody knows that would never hesitate to take the first flight out, not that the Kuwaiti bedoons suffer from. For example, the necessarily mean agreeing to or rejecting them. So there are biased, unfair and oppressive laws world- because they hate the occasions, but rather because government can hire bedoon teachers and nurses, giv- many public protests, like those in some European wide and that people have every right in rejecting they want to avoid the invasion of roads, traditions, val- ing them jobs and at the same time addressing short- countries a few years ago, expressed rejection to and working on amending them based on the fact ues and ethics. I am also sure that, if I live that long, I will ages it suffers from in these two fields. The government laws made by official bodies. Those protests were that setting, passing and imposing laws are subject be writing the same on this same day in 2020! —Al-Rai can issue civil IDs to bedoons which they can use to carry against what was then known as ‘economic austerity’ to several factors including political powers and out transactions normally like any other person living in laws. movements. Moreover, there are law ‘tailors’ who are Kuwait. Politically speaking, it is obvious that the GCC readily available to set any law the government Why not issue birth, marriage, and death certificate to security agreement has been publically and political- wants and are ready to justify. kuwait digest bedoons? How can a dead bedoon person hurt the ly rejected by most political and youth movements. Accordingly, rejecting the security agreement country if it releases a document to prove that he was It is actually strange that the government signs it should be primarily political, not purely legal or Gulf pact not buried under its soil? On top of that, why doesn’t the before the parliament’s approval, which means that, technical because if its legal form was completed, government make it easy for bedoons who want to despite being a constitutional violation for which the imposing this agreement would be deterrent to any a priority immigrate? Discrimination is the only logic behind mak- government must be held accountable, it is officially attempt to develop our democratic system to get ing it so difficult for bedoons. in effect. Or was the government sure of escaping more freedom guarantees. —Al-Jarida You want another example? No one with a tiny little By Waleed Al-Ghanim bit of conscience left in him questions the right of a child in the society he or she lives in, regardless of the nation- he Gulf security pact received little public support ality that they have, if any. But in Kuwait, the government kuwait digest in Kuwait due to multiple reasons, including obscu- took a decision to dismiss bedoon students from public Trity surrounding it, as well as the fact that it does schools. These are children who have nothing to do with not present a priority for people of the Gulf region who their situation. They were kicked out of their schools and Bedoon life in Kuwait are frustrated from the lack of actual progress in rela- forced to enroll in decaying private schools that their tions between the six members of the relatively old Gulf Cooperation Council. parents cannot even afford because they don’t have jobs By Mohammad Hayat to begin with. Thirty years of ‘khaleeji’ experience was truly enough What does the government do after that? It sets up a ome people might adapt with the miserable situ- children properly’! to establish a successful regional entity that is active in the fiery events around us. Unfortunately, conflicts ‘charity fund’ that pays full or some of the expenses for ation they live in, and learn to live without edu- Does the government consider every demonstrator between the GCC countries prevented that from hap- 11,000 bedoon students, not counting children of ser- cation, work, healthcare or even hope for the to be an ignorant, riotous teenager? Or does it believe S pening, as our hopes for political, economic and social vicemen whose education is paid by the interior and sake of survival alone. Other people under similar cir- that whoever criticizes the lack of logical solutions for integration - which have priority ahead of the security defense ministries. cumstances might become motivated by a little bit of the decades-old bedoon crisis to be a ‘troublemaker’ What if the government had instead distributed those pact - remain on hold. hope for positive changes in the future, which gives or one who threatens national security? It is time that 11,000 students to 790 public schools around Kuwait? Gulf security agreements are not new, as there is an The result would be around 14 students per school, or them more patience and ability to tolerate their pres- the government admits its inability to end the bedoon agreement already signed in this regard in 1994. There perhaps a little bit more than 20 if we add children of ent conditions. Both of those types of people are issue after neglecting it for years, and destroying it in are bilateral agreements between Gulf states as well, and bedoon servicemen to them. Not only would that pro- found among Kuwait’s bedoon community, who live in favor of certain appeasements and political reasons. there is also a legal system that regulates mutual litiga- vide free and good education for bedoons, but would total misery or with little hope for a breakthrough in a The government claimed that it can identify the tion operations. Furthermore, justice ministers and judi- also save money for the government and reintegrate country known for its charitable works and out- original nationality of the majority of bedoons, but cial systems in Gulf states hold periodic meetings, while bedoons in the society. stretched hands to help the needy all over the world has so far failed to provide any evidence to support we have never heard of a Gulf state complaining from A very simple and direct solution that does not need cope with the hardships of life. that claim. They also said that they will give citizen- ‘insufficiency’ in another state’s security procedures that economic or social genius to think of. A fair and logical Kuwait’s government is strange in the sense that it ship to those who meet naturalization conditions, but prevented them from questioning or prosecuting any solution that provides care for bedoon children and always addresses the reaction instead of inspecting that has never been achieved either. They established person. Therefore, I don’t see a justification for rushing saves them a lot of pressure and humiliation. But no! We the action itself or the reason behind it. This is the a central apparatus to resolve their conditions, while the Gulf security pact. deprive them of education, then set up a fund and wait same way the government responded to the bedoon their conditions continue to worsen year after year Kuwait, for instance, did not need a security pact to as they beg to receive help. After that we pay from state protests in Taima and Sulaibiya — two isolated areas without hope on the horizon. prosecute its citizens when they verbally assaulted an funds so that their children can study in schools that we that are kept away from state departments, vital How can bedoons expect to remain calm and not Arab leader a year ago, or threatened the Syrian ambas- cannot accept any of our children to take one step installations and gathering places for national celebra- have a reaction to living in misery and clinging to false sador during a rally outside the Syrian embassy a num- inside. tions. hopes based on government officials’ empty promis- ber of years ago. Can the agreement stop Al-Jazeera from spreading propaganda and falsify facts about And when they rebel, we complain from the annoy- The Interior Ministry suppressed the peaceful es? They have waited for so long until they could not Kuwait with regards to the Iraqi invasion, for example? ance. When their protests get louder and more violent, demonstrations that featured individual practices wait anymore. They held hope for years, but all their we cry like a person who says ‘he slapped my hand with Has people from Kuwait and outside been unable to sue which cannot be generalized for the entire bedoon demands fell on deaf ears of a government lacking the Kuwaiti columnists and newspapers before? his face!’ Times have changed, and the time of silence is community. Meanwhile the Interior Minister made sense of humanitarian responsibility, a parliament that over. Solve the problem before you find yourself in front The almost unanimous rejection to the Gulf security comments that expose how the government neglects fails to do what it says it will do and political groups of a catastrophe that you wouldn’t know how to stop. pact in Kuwait does not stop us from asking Gulf states Five MPs have already proposed a bill to grant civil and the reasons why young bedoons resorted to different which see an opportunity in the bedoon issue to to sign an agreement of protection from foreign threats, social rights to stateless residents. Look at it, as you methods of expression in order to deliver a message achieve personal gains. however, in addition to unifying political positions on simultaneously launch a fair, active and prompt natural- about their human sufferings after running out of Have you ever stopped to think how the mother of regional issues and working together to improve the liv- ization process. patience. The minister claimed that the demonstra- a bedoon martyr, who sacrificed his life for a country ing conditions of Gulf citizens and residents. With that, Start now before you cross the point of no return. tions were carried out by a ‘bunch of teenagers’, that never has and probably never will recognize him, Gulf states can achieve strength and improved status in —Al-Jarida adding that he requested their families to ‘raise their must feel? —Al-Rai the world. —Al-Qabas MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 LOCAL Unity, equality in Kuwait ‘most important values’ Al-Ghanem sponsors NUKS activities

LONDON: Addressing students while sponsor- tance to those who found themselves stranded and you need a government that knows how ing activities of the National Union of Kuwaiti and unprovided for, and the one apartment to tap it, and a National Assembly that knows Students - UK and Ireland Branch here late on welcomed scores of Kuwaitis who took turns to how to invest it. Saturday, National Assembly Speaker of Kuwait rest and get some sleep.” Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem stressed unity and “God willing, you shall have that.” equality within Kuwaiti society as the most Valuable lessons He then stressed the cultural diversity the important values in the face of all challenge. The Parliament Speaker recalled with grati- students face abroad and how Islamic teach- Al-Ghanem was sponsor of NUKS activities tude the help and assistance provided to stu- ings would protect them and give them peace marking the 53th anniversary of the nation’s dents by head of the cultural office at the time of mind. He also stressed respect for diversity independence and the 23rd anniversary of its Dr Musaed Al-Haroun. and dialogue with ‘the other’ within the liberation from the Iraqi occupation, Feb 25 “Those times served to stress two points, tumult of human interaction as another safe- and 26, with presence of Kuwaiti Ambassador two valuable lessons; the first of which is that guard. and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Khaled small as this country is and small as its popula- He urged the students to embrace what is Abdelaziz Al-Duwaisan. tion is, it has tremendous weight in terms of positive throughout their experience as stu- Al-Ghanem recalled his own experience solidarity among its people. dents in a foreign land and to embrace what is during the occupation and noted the presence “Do not jeopardize national unity; it is our in harmony with Islamic identity and teach- of two people who shared some of it with him true capital and wealth,” he remarked. ings, and at the same time to shun bigotry and back in the first days of the invasion, Dr Anas “The second thing that was made clear was extremism and keep an open mind at all times. Al-Rushaid and Corporal Yousef Bu-Qambar. that when push comes to shove, Kuwaitis are Meanwhile, Ambassador Khaled Abdelaziz Studying in Seattle back then, Al-Ghanem capable of tremendous achievement and Al-Duwaisan stressed that human develop- said a group of Kuwaitis gathered upon hear- shine and show unbelievable potential in the ment had always been a key goal for all ing of the Iraqi invasion and decided to go midst of hard work.” Kuwaiti governments since the country’s inde- back home and try to serve the country at its The National Assembly Speaker said this pendence in 1961. The state sends growing hour of need, each in to the best of his ability new rising generation is just as capable and multitudes of students for higher studies and expertise, despite the extreme difficulty of rich with potential as that which sacrificed abroad in line with this policy. entering Kuwaiti territory at the time. precious and dear before them, both men and The number of Kuwaitis pursuing higher “In the true spirit of Kuwaiti solidarity, the women, sometimes sacrificing blood and life. studies in the UK in particular is growing sig- students in the city provided all needed assis- “You have a wealth of potential and energy, nificantly, he also noted. —KUNA Hike proposed in Kuwait student allowances

LONDON: A reasonable hike is being pro- Arab countries. posed by the Ministry of Higher Education in There is also an item on increase of sums Visitors show interest in allowances awarded to all students currently allotted for purchase of books and references on scholarships abroad, and the charts and and clothing in all countries. Kuwaiti publications details are to be presented to the Finance Hayat noted scholarship student numbers Ministry very soon for approval, an official said went up from 450 a year to over 4, 000 a year MUSCAT: The State of Kuwait is taking part in Muscat here. The remark was that of Assistant at present, with annual increase still being International Book Fair, the 19th edition, drawing a sig- Undersecretary for Legal Affairs at the Ministry recorded. “The aim is human development nificant number of visitors to the country’s pavilion. Dr Meshal Mahdi Hayat, on sidelines of activi- and investment”, he said, and “giving those Saad Al-Hajji, the Director of the Grand Mosque at the ties of the National Union of Kuwait Student who could not enroll at Kuwait University to Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, said in a statement (NUKS)-UK, held late on Saturday. He added he get high education.” that more than 570 Arab and foreign publishing houses is optimistic the proposal would pass. Hayat also pointed out the ministry is coor- are taking part in the fair that got underway on Feb 26. NUKS-UK had recently demanded students’ dinating with cultural offices to re-evaluate The Ministry of Awqaf, the Ministry of Information and needs be addressed, particularly regarding some universities and institutions and their the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters are tak- insufficient allowances in the face of higher accreditation. This is to avoid, he explained, ing part in the cultural event, contributing with a num- cost of living in the UK and Ireland, suggesting problems and negative experiences suffered ber of new publications and books. an increase of 35-45 percent. The union cited by students in the past with the concerned Visitors’ turn-up is picking up day after another and “I rising costs of transport, housing, and basic universities. expect even a larger turn-out in the exhibition remaining necessities. “The re-assessment would cover the aca- days,” he said. The official said the “thorough” study to be demic aspects, as well as other aspects such as Eid Al-Waalan, also of the Ministry of Awqaf, said visi- presented to the Finance Ministry addresses actual market demand for the specializations tors had particularly shown interest in the Kuwaiti publi- inflation and drop in purchase power in many offered.” cations, namely the magazines. KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior Undersecretary Lt Gen Sulaiman Al-Fahad countries, and was compiled with some input On a general note, the official urged all stu- contributed by cultural offices and NUKS dents on scholarships abroad to know their Display of the Kuwaiti editions in such a cultural event yesterday attended the final rehearsal of the Saad Al-Abdullah Graduation promotes Kuwait’s cultural renaissance, which has ceremony of officers batch number 40, specialized officers batch 25 and branches. The increase is proposed befitting rights and duties and to communicate with the student’s host country, he added, and the ministry and stay updated on all scholar- gained strength from the atmosphere of freedoms and batch 6 of the assistant female staff institute. applies to those in European as well as those in ship regulations and advisories. —KUNA democracy in the country. —KUNA

Whale died after swallowing ropes? KUWAIT: The mammoth blue whale that has recently come ashore Kuwait’s Failaka island is said to have perished due to swallowing up some ropes, according to an environmental authority. These cords were stuck deep in the whale mouth and are believed to have obstructed food intakes, said Talal Al- Serhan, in charge of marine environment sciences at the club, in a statement yesterday. A club team worked for four hours to extract samples and make measurements of the dead whale but the task was dif- ficult due to start of the corpse decaying and emission of some gases from it, he indicated, urg- ing for hasty burial of the whale to avoid some more harmful effects. On Saturday, Kuwait Environment Protection Society (KEPS) urged authorities to make use of the specimen for educating students and the public. This beached whale at Failaka Island has been found to be between 15 to 20 meters long. Blue whales are known to be the largest mammals on earth whose size could exceed 30 meters long. —KUNA MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 LOCAL Duo in police custody for multiple thefts Swindler nabbed in Salhiya

KUWAIT: Kuwait City police arrested two men department after investigators examined the which he admitted responsibility for 15 scam responsible for multiple thefts reported around scene. A case was filed. cases. He added that a total of KD 80,000 he had Kuwait in which they collected at least KD collected from his victims had already been 200,000. The Ethiopian nationals were identified Gunshot wound remitted. He remains in police’s custody pending as prime suspects during investigations in sever- Police headed to Farwaniya Hospital after further action. al cases filed by bank clients. The complainants staff reported that a 20-year-old Kuwaiti man gave similar testimonies, saying that the sus- arrived with a gunshot wound on his foot. The Domestic violence pects broke their cars open and stole money man said during questioning that he was shot Kaifan police station officers could not file a that they had just withdrawn from banks. The during a fight that started abruptly with case for a French woman who faced domestic arrests took place in Mahboulah after police unknown persons outside a kiosk in Kabd. He abuse after she failed to report personally to the obtained a warrant to raid the suspects’ apart- added that he was hospitalized by his friends police station to press charges. Local police had ment. They were detained after showing strong who came over and picked him up after he rushed to a house in the area after the woman resistance, and taken for questioning during called them following the incident. requested help, saying in an emergency call that which they admitted responsibility for stealing Investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest her Kuwaiti husband had physically assaulted at least KD 200,000 in multiple thefts. the suspects. her. When they arrived at the scene, the officers Investigations are ongoing with the suspects to met a French embassy representative outside reveal their potential connection with other Swindler nabbed the house. The man requested domestic vio- reported thefts. Salhiya detectives closed 15 scam cases after lence charges to be pressed, but the officers arresting a man who admitted that he deceived explained to him that the law stipulates that the Poison gas people into thinking that he can help them plaintiff in this case must personally file a case at A farm keeper was found dead in Abdaly obtain bank loans that they are not entitled to the police station, and bring a medical report after suffocating on carbon monoxide from coal receive legally. Several Kuwaiti men had told showing injuries sustained during the attack. he had left burning overnight for heating. police that they paid a man who promised to The diplomat arrived at the police station later, Criminal investigators and police arrived at the help them get the bank loan, but that he disap- but police rejected his request to press charges scene shortly after a Kuwaiti man reported dis- peared after receiving the ‘fee’ he requested. The and insisted against that the woman is required covering the Indian man dead inside his farm. Egyptian man was reportedly ambushed outside to report to the police station. No case was filed The victim’s body was taken to the forensic his house and taken for questioning during as of the day of the incident.

Praise for GCC security, Sudanese FM hails military cooperation DOHA: A senior Kuwaiti official praised yesterday significant Kuwait’s support cooperation and coordination AMONG Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the security, police and military sectors as well KHARTOUM: The State of Kuwait has minister added. as their continuous communication to boost Gulf joint security stood alongside Sudan in its efforts to He credited leaderships of the two action. Maj Gen Mahmoud Al-Dosari, Assistant Undersecretary for restore peace in the nation, said Foreign countries for maintaining solid bilateral Public Security Affairs at Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, said on side- Minister Ali Karti. ties and expressed confidence that they lines of attending a commencement ceremony of the training course “thunderbolt and paratroopers No. 5” for Kuwaiti and Sudan highly appreciates His Highness would turn stronger in the future. Qatari officers and personnel, that Gulf military and security coor- the Amir’s initiative; holding the interna- Sudanese-Kuwaiti Commission had dination and cooperation is based on directions of leaders of GCC tional conference for construction of East signed many accords for coordinating countries. Sudan, said Karti. This convention was stance at regional and international quar- Al-Dosari added that officials and chiefs of the interior min- successful due to the Kuwaiti leadership ters, in addition to cooperation in the istries in Gulf countries interpret their leaders’ directions into a significant support for it and for the economic, investment and social sectors. practical reality through visits, experiences, information, and par- efforts to restore stability and boost Implementation of these agreements ticipation exchanges in various seminars and training courses, noting that this comes in the interest of boosting Gulf countries’ development in East Sudan. is proceeding well and there have been capabilities and abilities. Kuwait has also contributed to devel- no obstacles due to the mutual strong There is an ongoing Gulf cooperation in all areas on the levels opment ventures in South Sudan, financ- desire in this regard. of Peninsula Shield Forces, as well as in some security bodies con- ing infrastructural ventures; and this con- Both countries are currently preparing cerning several matters such as exchange of information and joint stitutes direct support for peace, stability to hold the a meeting of the joint minis- coordination in regional issues, he indicated. and development in Sudan, Karti said. terial commission, expected in Kuwait, to In addition, Al-Dosari indicated that Kuwait has celebrated, KUWAIT: Hawally municipality officials have confiscated three truckloads of Views of Kuwait and Sudan are in har- review these accords he said, concluding recently, the national days, pointing out Gulf States’ supportive vegetables, fruits, cereals, truffles, toys, flags, carpets, clothes and plastic mony with respect of issues of common his statement by congratulating Kuwait stance with Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990, sending their chairs during inspection campaigns held in Hetteen, Bayan, Rumaithiya, troops to contribute in the liberation of Kuwait and return of the interest, namely the Palestinian cause, the on the national days. —KUNA Hawalli, Midan Hawalli and Salwa. The confiscated goods were all Kuwaiti legitimacy. —KUNA destroyed. —By Hanan Al-Saadoun

Mobile service launched to reconnect Syrian families BARCELONA: In response to the current maintain the overall mobile platform and vent some family tragedies.” He further crisis in Syria, where the United Nations will provide technical support and inte- added, “each family reconnection is spe- estimates that people are being displaced gration of the tool into the Zain mobile cial - for Syria time is of the essence, giving at the rate of one every 15 seconds, network. Capitalizing on the ever-grow- hope in a hopeless moment for Syrians.” Refugees United in partnership with Zain ing mobile phone usage across the Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Vice Group through its operation in Jordan, region, Refugees United empowers President, Sustainability and Corporate the Kingdom’s leading mobile operator refugees to take the search for missing Responsibility at Ericsson, says: “The cur- and Ericsson is expanding the family family into their own hands - from any rent crisis in Syria is a tragic example of reconnection service into the Middle East. device. how thousands of people are being dis- This new initiative was announced last Scott Gegenheimer, Zain Group CEO placed every single day, putting immense week at the Mobile World Congress in commented: “Mobile telecommunica- tolls on individual families that are being Barcelona and aims to reconnect more tions have played a critical part in saving uprooted and torn apart. The service has than 500,000 displaced Syrians residing in countless people’s lives and rejoining proven successful in Africa, and now we Jordan by helping them locate each other families in emergency situations all over want to bring this to the Middle East to by registering who they are and who they the world. The need to act and support address the Syrian crisis. We hope more are searching for via a mobile search people in dire situations such as those operators will join us in deploying the engine. According to UNHCR, there are suffered by Syrian refugees is as pressing service, and we are grateful to Zain for its over 4 million Syrians internally displaced as ever. Joining this initiative reconfirms leadership. and over 2.4 million displaced in neigh- Zain’s commitment of utilizing vital At the Zaatari camp in Jordan that pro- boring countries. telecommunications to provide an vides facilities for most of the Syrian A toll-free line has been set-up by Zain important human service.” refugees, SMS’s will be sent out to people to accelerate registrations of displaced Christopher Mikkelsen, co-founder of in the area by Zain Jordan offering an Syrians in Jordan, as well as providing a Refugees United, says: “Everyone has the opportunity to register cost-free for the free SMS notification service to those right to know where their family is. We are service,. The toll-free hotline will be estab- who have registered on the reconnection seeing camps quickly become crowded lished and will be manned out of a service. and family members losing touch with Refugees United office, where people can Ericsson is the technology partner to each other. We hope that the launch of get help with registrations and other the initiative, helping to develop and this service and our toll-free line can pre- questions. Gulf partnership required to deal with water issue

ROME: Chairman of Board and Director General of the to benefit from treated water, aiming to broaden it to Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources include full agricultural irrigation. (PAAAFR) Jassem Al-Bader stressed yesterday the impor- He indicated that Kuwait, which suffers freshwater rarity tance of Gulf cooperation to deal with water paucity issue, of high-cost, has persisted on treating wastewater until asserting water paucity became a worldwide problem, par- becoming an international pioneer in water treatment ticularly in the Gulf region. field, and in using this renewable resource of water in orna- This challenge requires a broader partnership on Gulf mental plantation watering as it has been for 20 years now countries level to face this issue, Al-Bader said on the side- using three-way treated water. lines of chairing Kuwait’s delegation at the Regional In addition, Kuwait was able to produce 80 million gal- Conference of the Near East and North Africa (NENA), held lons of four-way treated water and expand its usage as it is here at UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) a renewable water resource in productive plantations headquarters, praising at the same time FAO’s pioneering watering through the network, which was stretched north accomplishment on international level in finding methods and south of the country. —KUNA MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Egypt’s new premier 51 killed in car bombs in Nigeria wants protests to end Page 8 Page 8 Separatists blamed for China attack Witnesses recall fear, chaos after train station rampage

KUNMING: Witnesses to chilling violence at a Chinese train station placed under heavy security yesterday recalled moments of fear and chaos after at least 33 people were killed in what authorities called a terrorist attack by Xinjiang militants. Officials said a group of knife-wielding “terrorists” from the restive Xinjiang region launched a premeditated attack at the Kunming Railway Station in China’s southwest on Saturday night. More than 130 people were wounded. Armed riot police stood guard as people streamed into the railway station yesterday only hours after the attack, one of the worst of its kind in China in recent memory. Standing near shops about 50 meters from the site, a parking attendant surnamed Chen said he could not believe what was happening when he saw the attack- ers. “I walked out and I saw a person with a knife this big, Chen said, spreading his arms wide. “Then I saw five or six of them. They all had knives and they were stab- bing people madly over by the first and second ticket offices,” he said. Police shot four of the attackers dead and captured one, state news agency Xinhua reported. About five others were on the run, it said. Xinhua quoted the Kunming city government as say- ing evidence at the crime scene showed the attack was carried out by Xinjiang separatist forces. The attack comes at a sensitive time as China gears up for the annual meeting of its largely rubber-stamp parliament, which opens in Beijing on Wednesday and is normally accompanied by a tightening of security across the country. Word of the violence spread quickly, with graphic pictures that showed bodies covered in blood posted to the Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo - posts that were later deleted by government censors. State television showed police wrapping a long, sword- like knife in a plastic bag. Shop and restaurant workers said hundreds of people had fled into their stores seek- ing refuge. “Last night everyone ran over into my super- market. The supermarket was full of people, including two passengers who had been stabbed,” Ren Guangqin said inside his supermarket. “I was terrified. They were killing people. How could I not be scared?” said 28-year- old Ren.

‘Mostly they went for the head and shoulders’ Scores of patients from the attack spilled into corri- dors from overflowing wards at Kunming’s No. 1 People’s Hospital where they were being treated. In the neurosurgery department, several patients had head injuries. A 20-year-old university student, Wu Yuheng, said the attackers had tried to target people’s heads. One had swiped his long knife and just nicked him on the scalp. “I was terrified... they attacked us like crazy swords- men, and mostly they went for the head and the shoul- ders, those parts of the body to kill,” he said, laying on a hospital bed in a hallway close to the elevators. “This attack has caused great harm to innocent people but I think before we are sure about the identity of the attackers, we shouldn’t make wild guesses on who to blame.” China’s domestic security chief, Meng Jianzhu, vowed those responsible would be brought to justice. “This bru- tal attack on defenseless, innocent people by violent ter- rorists devoid of conscience exposes their inhuman and anti-social nature,” Xinhua quoted Meng as saying. “They inevitably will face the severe punishment of the law. We must mobilize all resources and adopt all means to break this case,” Meng said, echoing comments made by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Meng, who is also a member of the ruling Communist Party’s elite 25- member Politburo, made an emergency trip to Kunming, visiting the train station and wounded victims in hospital. The attack marked a major escalation in the simmer- ing unrest that had centered on Xinjiang, a heavily Muslim region in China’s far west strategically located on the borders of Central Asia. It is the first time people from Xinjiang have been blamed for carrying out such a large-scale attack so far from their homeland, and fol- lows a smaller incident in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in October that shook the Communist Party leadership. China stepped up security in Xinjiang after a vehicle ploughed into tourists on the edge of Tiananmen Square, killing the three people in the car and two bystanders. China labeled it a suicide attack by militants from Xinjiang. Energy-rich Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people, many of whom chafe at Chinese restric- tions on their culture and religion, borders ex-Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, is hundreds of miles from Xinjiang and has little connection to the violence there that has killed more than 100 people in the past year. “China must handle the incident transpar- ently and not let it become a new political excuse to oppress Uighurs,” Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the main Uighur exile group, the World Uyghur Congress, said in an emailed statement. “Serious discrimination and oppressive policies lead to psychological trauma that could provoke victims to adopt extreme measures,” he said, adding that there were “no reasonable grounds” for the attack. China bristles at suggestions from exiles and rights groups that the unrest is driven more by unhappiness at government policies than by any serious threat from extremist groups who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. One senior member of an advisory body to the parliament said such attacks in China had foreign links. “The well-planned attack was not an issue of (eth- nicity) or religion, it was an issue of terrorism with links to the terrorist forces out of the country,” Xinhua quoted PLA Navy Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo as saying. — AP INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 kidnapped Spanish 51 killed in car journalist released bombs in Nigeria

DAMASCUS: A Spanish journalist kidnapped by Al- year. Many of the kidnappings go unreported by Oppn blames Jonathan’s leadership Qaeda-linked militants in Syria crossed the border news organizations in the hope that keeping the into Turkey yesterday, his newspaper reported, as abductions out of public view may help with negoti- MAIDUGURI: Twin car bomb blasts at states of Adamawa and Yobe. blamed recent attacks on militants activists said government airstrikes killed at least 13 ating the captives’ release. The scale of the abduc- a bustling marketplace killed at least Outnumbered soldiers are accused of escaping aerial bombardments and people in a northwestern border town. Veteran war tions - more than 30 are believed to be currently held 51 people in Maiduguri, the northeast abandoning checkpoints and leaving ground assaults to flush them from correspondent Marc Marginedas was abducted on - and the lack of response to individual mediation Nigerian city that is the birthplace of civilians at the mercy of extremists in forest hideouts and mountain caves Sept 4 near Hama by jihadists belonging to the efforts have encouraged some families and employ- the country’s Islamic extremist terrorist two attacks last week that killed about along the Cameroon border. The mili- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a breakaway Al- ers to speak out. group, a Red Cross official said yester- 100 people, including one on a high tary closed hundreds of kilometers Qaeda group. He was “moved repeatedly” while in The vast majority of the kidnappings over the past day. Many more people are believed school. (miles) of border with Cameroon last captivity and accused him of spying for the West six months have occurred in opposition-held parts of buried in rubble from the Saturday Maiduguri, in Borno state, had suf- week to stop extremists escaping and before his release, his newspaper El Periodico said. night explosions that collapsed some fered only two attacks in the past six using Cameroon soil to launch northern and eastern Syria, where Al- Qaeda- buildings and set others aflame with months: a Jan 14 bomb that killed attacks. The newspaper did not elaborate on how linked rebel groups were once particularly strong. smoke billowing for hours, said the about 40 people and a bold assault Anger will be fueled by reports that Marginedas was released or whether a ransom was Since December, a loose coalition of rebels has official, a resident who worked at the Dec 5 on the air force base and an a military fighter jet targeting extrem- paid. It said he was undergoing medical tests in waged war against the militants of the Islamic State, scene through the night but insisted army barracks on the outskirts in which ist hideouts bombed a village in Yobe Turkey under the watch of Spanish state officials who are widely despised for their heavy handedness. on anonymity because he is not all five aircraft on the runway were on Friday, killing 20. The military knew after speaking by telephone with his family in Meanwhile, government airstrikes hit residential authorized to speak to reporters. destroyed. Such attacks have led to there were alleged terrorists in Barcelona and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. buildings in the town of Kfar Tarakhim in the north- The victims include children danc- accusations by regional officials of col- Maiduguri because they reported The Spanish federation of journalist associations said west province of Idlib on Saturday afternoon, accord- ing at a wedding celebration and peo- lusion between some military officers Friday that they had killed 13 suspect- in a short statement that it was delighted with the ing to the Idlib News group and the British-based ple watching a soccer match at an out- and the terrorist network that wants to ed extremists and arrested several, news and hoped for a similar outcome with Spanish Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Forces loyal to door cinema, survivors told The impose Islamic rule across Nigeria, including “some picked up in journalists Javier Espinosa and Ricardo Garcia Syrian President Bashar Assad have dropped bombs Associated Press yesterday. Fifty Africa’s biggest oil producer and most Maiduguri and environs.” Vilanova, also currently held in Syria. and fired missiles at opposition-held residential areas corpses were retrieved, said Hassan Ali, populous nation of some 170 million Maiduguri is the headquarters of Syria, engulfed in a nearly three-yearlong civil war, throughout the war. leader of an anti-terror vigilante group. people comprising almost equal num- the military offensive to suppress the has become the most dangerous country in the The bombardment seems sometimes intended to The first blast came from a pickup bers of Christians and Muslims. 4-year-old Islamic uprising under a 9- world for journalists, and the number of abductions push civilians out, allowing Syrian forces a freer hand truck carrying firewood and did not has soared to an unprecedented level over the past to tackle rebels. Villages far from government troops cause many casualties, said Ali. Most of those killed had run to the scene to are also sometimes hit, suggesting the government help when a second explosion blasted wants to punish them for supporting the opposition. from a passenger car, he said. Syria’s government also has blockaded opposition- Survivors said they captured a man held areas throughout the country, harshly punish- who jumped out of the car, grabbed a ing civilians for harboring rebels in their midst. tricycle taxi and tried to make off. He Over the past few weeks, some rebel-held areas was badly beaten and taken to nearby have accepted what the government calls “national Umaru Shehu General Hospital, where reconciliation” deals, whereby they surrender their a security guard said all the wounded weapons, or agree to truces, in exchange for allowing brought in had died. Most survivors food to enter and people to leave. Yesterday, the gov- insisted on anonymity for fear of ernment organized a tour for journalists of one such reprisals. Some bodies were blown area, the town of Moadamiyeh near Damascus, apart, said market trader Mallam though they weren’t allowed to enter. Sumaila. An Associated Press reporter At least 40 pickup trucks and vehicles crossed into saw a corpse burned beyond recogni- the area, filled with returning families who fled the tion at a hospital where wailing fami- fighting. Residents registered their names at a mili- lies were collecting bodies for immedi- tary checkpoint before entering. “I’m returning with ate burial, in the Muslim tradition. The attackers chose a densely pop- my father and two sisters after nearly a year and a ulated area with narrow alleyways that half of displacement,” said Mariam Dawoud, 38. “I’m maximized the blasts and a Saturday pleased to return home.” night when the market was open late. About 5,000 people were evacuated from It was not known how many wounded Moadamiyeh in October by the Syrian Red Crescent are being treated in three hospitals in after a series of shaky truces between rebels and the city. Military and police officials did government forces in August and October. A year’s of not immediately offer comment and blockade of the town caused widespread hunger there was no claim of responsibility MAIDUGURI: People stand behind the remains of a car after a twin car and deaths from hunger-related illnesses among res- from Boko Haram, which communi- bomb exploded yesterday. — AFP idents. Activists said they had lived on boiled grape cates only through occasional videos. leaves and raw olives. In December, rebels raised the The attack is a major setback to a Opposition politicians blame a fail- month-old state of emergency. There national flag used by Assad’s government in a deal to new army and air force offensive ure of leadership by Jonathan, whose are fears Nigeria’s conflict could spread. Marc Marginedas end the blockade. — AP against the Islamic uprising under new perceived desire to run for re-election Boko Haram militants already operate commanders since President Goodluck next February has prompted defec- in Cameroon, Chad and Niger and late- Jonathan fired his entire military com- tions from the governing party amid ly there have been reports the Nigerian mand in January. Since then, criticism accusations that he plans to flout a extremists are threatening to get and anger have grown as attacks have party rule alternating leadership involved in Central African Republic, increased and become ever deadlier: between a Muslim northerner and where French and African troops are More than 300 people were killed in someone like Jonathan, a southern trying to end fighting between Muslim February alone in the neighboring Christian. The Defense Ministry has and Christian militias. — AFP Elders kidnapped in Afghanistan

KABUL: Officials say armed men have kid- napped more than 30 elders in a remote part of eastern Afghanistan. A spokesman in Nangarhar province, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, said yesterday that officials are working to negotiate the release of the victims, who were taken three days earlier. He added that around 15 people already have been freed and that the kidnappers have demanded that any elders’ relatives working for the Afghan police quit their posts. Abdulzai - who said elders from the districts of Goshta and Lalpur were among those taken - did not provide further details on where or how the kidnappings were carried out. No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. Several armed groups operate in the area where the elders were taken. Meanwhile, a militant car CAIRO: In this file photo, protesters clash with security forces in the bomb prematurely exploded overnight in east- Mohandiseen district of Cairo. — AP ern Afghanistan, killing nine insurgents and four civilians, authorities said yesterday. The blast hap- Egypt’s new premier pened in Logar province, some 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the capital, Pul-e-Alam, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman for the wants protests to end provincial governor. Darwesh said it appeared insurgents, who he CAIRO: Egypt’s new prime minister yes- handles day-to-day economic affairs. identified as three Afghans and six Pakistanis, set terday urged a halt to protests and Mehlib’s appeal echoed others made by off the bomb too early. “Unfortunately, the explo- strikes to give the nation a breather to his post-2011 predecessors that failed sion completely destroyed a nearby civilian rebuild after more than three years of to check the seemingly endless wave of house in which two women and two children deadly turmoil, a call made by his pred- protests and strikes since. One prime were killed,” he said in a telephone interview. ecessors to no avail. Ibrahim Mehlib minister, Kamal el-Ganzouri, famously “Police and local residents retrieved the bodies.” made his appeal in an address televised broke down in tears as he discussed Two days earlier, additional Afghan soldiers live on his first full day on the job after Egypt’s economic plight. deployed to the capital after receiving an intelli- he and members of his Cabinet were Protesters have usually brushed off gence report about a possible attack. Meanwhile sworn in on the previous day by Interim the charge that they are destroying the yesterday, a lone suicide bomber entered a President Adly Mansour. economy. They blame government mis- police station in southern Kandahar province, Mehlib was named prime minister management for hardships that include though officers’ fire forced him to detonate his last week following the surprise resig- unemployment, inflation and a surge in explosive vest early, only wounding one civilian, nation of his predecessor, Hazem el- crime. In addition to its economic woes, said Zia Durrani, spokesman for Kandahar’s Beblawi, after seven tumultuous Egypt is battling an insurgency in the police chief. months in office. Egypt experienced northern part of the Sinai Peninsula as Also in Kandahar, 12 Taleban escaped from bloodshed and mass detentions as well as a wave of bomb attacks in main- the 1,200-inmate Kandahar Prison after a prison authorities staged a massive crackdown land cities, particularly Cairo. employee falsely put their names on a list of on supporters of ousted Islamist Mehlib declared security to be his detainees who were scheduled for release, President Mohammed Morsi and, in top priority. “The battle that Egypt is Durrani said. The men walked out of the prison recent weeks, an increasing number of waging against the forces of evil and and the prison employee has disappeared, he strikes. “Stop all kinds of sit-ins, protests terror is not just in defense of Egypt’s said. Two of the 12 have been recaptured, he said. and strikes. Let us start building the interests and safety, but rather it is a Kandahar Prison has seen spectacular nation,” Mehlib said. “No voice must be battle we are fighting on behalf of the escapes in the past. In 2011, more than 450 louder than the voice of construction entire region and we will win it, God prisoners, many of them Taleban fighters, tun- and development,” said Mehlib. “Your willing,” he said. In recent weeks neled their way out of the prison and fled in demands will be taken very seriously, Egyptians have been complaining of buses that had been dispatched to collect but I also know how much you love frequent power outages, something them. Southern Afghanistan, and Kandahar in your country and your desire to build which does not bode well for the sum- particular, has been the site of some of the and elevate it,” he said. The turmoil mer since the consumption of electrici- heaviest fighting in the protracted Afghan con- sweeping Egypt since the 2011 ouster ty is normally much lower in winter flict as Afghan and international combat troops of Hosni Mubarak has devastated the than in the months of Egypt’s searing have tried to root out a stubborn insurgency. economy, particularly the vital tourism heat. Media reports are saying fuel But the Taleban have been tenacious and most sector. shortages are beginning to impact on Afghans say the Taleban still rule in much of the Egypt’s system gives most powers to areas outside Cairo. Power outages last countryside. — AP the president, but the prime minister year fed discontent against Morsi.—AP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Iran cannot block Facebook forever: Minister

TEHRAN: Iran will not be able to keep up ter. Access to the popular social network- Rouhani has adopted a policy that including blogs. has attracted nearly 850,000 Facebook fol- forever its ban on legal access to Internet ing site-along with others which Iranian promises greater tolerance on social, cul- Yesterday, Janati suggested that the lowers by posting regular updates in hubs such as Facebook, which has four authorities regard as un-Islamic, immoral tural and media issues-a vow that helped government was working to remove the Persian, and he operates the only “verified” million Iranian users, Culture Minister Ali or undermining the Islamic establish- him beat his conservative opponents in online constraints. “The six ministers who account of an Iranian official on Twitter. He Janati said yesterday. Such remarks by an ment-is obstructed by a massive filtering the presidential election last year. are members of the (filtering) committee also has a YouTube channel. Several pages Iranian official would have been unimag- mechanism. But the government has faced resist- have clearly stated that we cannot con- are also apparently run by Iranian officials, inable before President Hassan Rouhani, But tech-savvy Iranians have resorted ance from hardliners resisting a reversal tinue to isolate ourselves from the world,” including a popular Twitter account, a reputed moderate, took office in to measures, known as anti-filters, to cir- in such policies. A committee of 13 he said. But, he added it would take time. @HassanRouhani, believed to belong to August with a vow for more freedom. cumvent the restrictions. Janati drew a members determines what online con- “However, (filtering) is one of those issues the president’s office. Iran’s ultimate author- “Four million Iranians are on Facebook, parallel with a ban on fax machines and tent can be reached on Iran’s Internet, whose solution requires time. And it will ity, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and we have restricted it,” said Janati. video tapes and players imposed the which is notoriously slow. Unapproved be resolved in time,” Janati said. also has an online presence, with a Twitter “We cannot restrict the advance of 1979 Islamic revolution. “If we look back, sites are put under the filtering system. Despite the bans, several Iranian officials account in Farsi and a Facebook page (face- (such technology) under the pretext of we see many of the actions we took after The ban includes Facebook, Twitter, are active on social networking sites. book.com/www.Khamenei.ir) dedicated to protecting Islamic values,” said the minis- the revolution were ridiculous.” YouTube and numerous other sites, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif him. —AFP Mozambique’s Frelimo party picks presidential candidate President Guebuza seeks to retain influence

MAPUTO: Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo party early sans carried out raids on police and military posts in opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic yesterday picked Defence Minister Filipe Nyusi, a parts of central and southern Mozambique and Movement (MDM), which includes Renamo dissi- close ally of current two-term President Armando ambushed vehicles on the country’s main north- dents and scored gains in Nov. 20 municipal elec- Guebuza, to be its candidate for an election in south highway, killing several dozen people, disrupt- tions, winning control of several major cities outside October that will choose the country’s next leader. ing traffic and causing cancellations in the country’s Maputo. Frelimo’s Central Committee voted by a two-thirds tourism industry. Earlier this year, apparently pressured by the raids margin for Nyusi, 56, after an internal debate in These security worries and a spate of criminal kid- and MDM’s showing in the municipal polls, Frelimo which Guebuza loyalists beat off a challenge from a nappings of wealthy individuals have cast some agreed to Renamo demands to expand the electoral rival group backing former Prime Minister Luisa uncertainty on otherwise bright prospects for a commission, whose composition critics said favored Diogo to be the candidate. resource-led boom involving investors like Brazil’s the ruling party. After boycotting the November local Whoever wins the Oct. 15 vote is expected to Vale, London-listed Rio Tinto, Italy’s Eni and US oil vote, Renamo is expected to contest the October help bring to fruition major coal and offshore natural firm Anadarko. Frelimo is also challenged by a newer elections, as will MDM. —Reuters KIEV: People holding photos of loved ones who were killed during recent gas investment projects that have the potential to clashes at Independence square, attend a protest yesterday. —AFP bring billions of dollars to a nation that was in ruins two decades ago after a long civil war. Buoyed by accelerating foreign investment, Mozambique’s Gunmen kill French Kiev’s protesters ready for economy is forecast to grow by up to 8.3 percent this year from 7 percent in 2013, according to the IMF, new fight - against Russia which calls it “one of the most dynamic economies in national in Benghazi Sub-Saharan Africa”. KIEV: On Kiev’s now iconic Independence improvised shrines for those who died Guebuza, now 71, has served two terms as BENGHAZI: Gunmen killed a French national in former rebels and Islamist militias in a country Square, bare-chested Cossacks fiercely beat defending the protest movement to oust Mozambique’s president and under the constitution Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi yesterday, a awash with weapons. Western diplomats worry the war drums: Ukrainian authorities have Yanukovych, whom they accused of wanting cannot stand again. But he holds the presidency of security official said, the latest slaying of a for- that the violence in Benghazi will spill over to just put the army on high alert in the face of to bring Ukraine back into Russia’s fold. And Frelimo, a former liberation movement which has eigner in the restive area. Separately, gunmen in the capital, Tripoli. In January, a British man and a threat of a Russian invasion. “They have de they are ready to defend themselves again. ruled since Mozambique’s independence from Benghazi also shot and wounded an Egyptian a New Zealand woman were shot execution- facto declared war on us,” former interior “In Crimea, we will have to wait. But we will Portugal in 1975, and if Nyusi wins in October, who had been working in a grocery, while a style on a beach 100 km (60 miles) west of minister Yuriy Lutsenko shouts to a crowd of respond with arms to any aggression Guebuza’s strong influence over the affairs of gov- Libyan police officer survived an assassination Tripoli. thousands on the central stage nearby, not beyond Crimea, as soon as it happens,” said ernment will be assured. attempt, a security source said. Meanwhile, Gunmen dispersed a sit-in far from where dozens of anti-government Lutsenko. “Guebuza will retain a lot of power initially,” The Frenchman worked for a company protest outside Libya’s interim parliament protesters fell under the bullets of riot police Joseph Hanlon, a senior lecturer at Britain’s Open upgrading a large hospital in Benghazi, which overnight, firing in the air and detaining demon- last week in bloodshed that precipitated the ‘We are ready’ University and an expert on Mozambique, told has been rocked by car bombs and assassina- strators, witnesses said yesterday. “Armed men fall of Russia-backed president Viktor Crimea used to belong to the Soviet Reuters. He said that out of three candidates pre- tions amid Islamist militant activity, the official came firing in the air and they set fire to a tent Yanukovych. Union until it was attached to Ukraine in selected by Frelimo’s pro-Guebuza political commis- said. “He was killed with three shots,” the official set up by demonstrators” in front of the General Hundreds of kilometers away in Moscow, 1954, and it remains close to its giant neigh- sion, Nyusi was most closely dependent on the presi- said. The French foreign ministry had no imme- National Congress (GNC), Libya’s highest political unhappy with the formation of a new gov- bor Russia, which still maintains its Black Sea dent. diate comment. The killing comes a week after authority, protester Milad Al-Arbi said. He said ernment in the wake of Yanukovych’s ouster, fleet in the peninsula’s southern port city of A northerner whose family was involved in the police found seven Egyptian Christians shot they detained a number of demonstrators dur- the parliament has only just authorized the Sevastopol as part of an agreement between independence struggle, Nyusi graduated as an engi- dead execution-style on a beach outside ing the incident on Saturday night but was deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine. the two countries. Many of the Russophones neer from a military academy in then-Czechoslovakia Benghazi, home to several oil firms. No one has unable to give a figure. Yesterday, residents Among the crowds of anti-Yanukovych pro- who live there radically oppose the brand in 1990, just before the break-up of the Soviet bloc. claimed responsibility for the killing of the blocked roads in the area to demand the release testers who have occupied Independence new, pro-West authorities in Kiev. He served as a senior administrator in Mozambique’s Egyptians but residents said gunmen had of those held, an AFP photographer said. Square for more than three months, And discord has spread further into state railways before later becoming defense minis- looked for Christians in their neighborhood, According to demonstrators, the gunmen Ukrainians look on, their faces somber but Ukraine, to the big, traditionally pro-Russian ter. Frelimo has dominated Mozambique politics suggesting radical Islamists might be behind it. belonged to the Operations Cell of Libyan expressing little surprise. cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv in the east. “We since the introduction of multiparty politics and a Most countries have closed their consulates Revolutionaries, a former rebel group which “We were expecting this measure, given have toppled one dictator, and now another market economy in 1990, repeatedly defeating the in Benghazi and some foreign airlines have operates under the command of the GNC. The the events happening in Crimea,” one young (Vladimir Putin) comes along. But Ukrainians main opposition party Renamo, its old foe from the stopped flying there since the US ambassador Congress, elected after the 2011 revolution man says. In this southern Russian-speaking will rise up to engage in combat,” one pro- 1975-92 civil war, in one-sided elections. and three other Americans were killed in an which ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, peninsula of Ukraine, mysterious masked tester says back in Kiev. The square’s Islamist militant onslaught in September 2012. has stirred popular anger by extending its man- and armed militamen have taken control of makeshift security forces-the same helmeted Security worries An American schoolteacher was also killed by date, which was due to expire in early February, the regional parliament and airports since protesters with metal batons who defended Over the last year, the ruling party has faced a gunmen in December while he exercised in the until the end of December. Under pressure from Thursday, supported by scores of civilians themselves against now disbanded riot renewed armed insurgency from Renamo, whose city. Three years after the revolution that ousted demonstrators, the GNC has announced that who do not hide their pro-Russia tendencies. police-are not quite ready to face tanks and leader Afonso Dhlakama accuses Guebuza of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s weak government early elections will be held but without setting a But in Kiev, many residents have come to even the most radical elements rule out monopolizing economic and political power. Since and army are struggling to control brigades of date. —Agencies the square to light candles and lay flowers on going to Crimea for the moment. —AFP April last year and up to early this year, Renamo parti-

Notorious Irish gangster shot DUBLIN: A notorious Irish gangster who was acquit- ted of the 1996 murder of journalist Veronica Guerin was in hospital yesterday after being shot in Dublin, media reports said. Police said a man in his 60s was shot several times by two masked men in a house in the city shortly after 7 pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday evening. According to media reports, the house belonged to the brother of 61-year-old John Gilligan, a convicted drug dealer who was the chief suspect in Guerin’s mur- der. The gunmen forced their way into the house, where a family christening was taking place, and shot Gilligan seven times in the chest, stomach and leg, the RTE broadcaster said. “The two men are believed to have fled the scene in a car,” police said, adding that the victim was taken to hospital “where his injuries are described as non life-threat- ening”. Gilligan was released from prison last year after being jailed in 2001 for drug trafficking. He was the key suspect in the notori- ous murder of Guerin, a crime reporter with the Sunday Independent news- paper, but was acquitted after a trial in 2001. The investigative reporter’s shooting was the subject of a 2003 film starring Cate Blanchett. —AFP INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 Storm threat subsides in California

LOS ANGELES: A thunderstorm that ern Arkansas will see freezing rain. The meteorologist Matt Mehle said. The dri- brought sorely-needed rain to drought- system also has its sights set on the est year was in 1851, with just 7.42 inch- plagued California is winding down after Appalachians and the East Coast into es. The rain year begins July 1. sending mudslides down foothill com- today. “All this rain has been really helpful munities, flooding roadways and open- The storm’s eastward move on but we are still behind the curve in terms ing up sinkholes. Evacuation orders Saturday finally broke a 70-day streak of the drought,” Mehle said. Downtown remained in effect for hundreds of without precipitation in the Phoenix Los Angeles tallied 4.34 inches from the homes in Los Angeles County foothill area. An 85-day spell of no measureable second storm by 5 p.m. Saturday, said communities where recent wildfires have rainfall in Las Vegas ended Friday. Rain NWS meteorologist Joe Sirard in Oxnard. burned away vegetation that holds soil and snow also finally came to drought- That raised the rainfall total to 5.54 inch- in place, and bursts of rain caused occa- stricken New Mexico. In Denver, a high- es since July 1, still 6.19 inches below sional debris flows. way pileup involving more than 100 normal. The storm marked a sharp departure vehicles killed one person and injured 30 In the Hollywood hills, a mudslide from many months of drought that has others as heavy snow fell Saturday, took down a tree which knocked down a grown to crisis proportions for the state’s authorities said. power pole, leaving homes in the neigh- vast farming industry. However, such In California, about 1,200 houses in borhood in the dark late Saturday. Other storms would have to be much more fre- the adjacent cities of Azusa and Glendora trouble spots included about 13 homes quent to make major headway against as well as nearby Monrovia were under that were evacuated Friday night in the the drought, weather forecasters say. The evacuation orders because of the possi- Lake Hughes area in northern Los heavy band of rain drenched parts of the bility of destructive flows from the San Angeles County after a mudslide closed a state throughout Saturday before taper- Gabriel Mountains, a rugged range large- major road. To the east in San Bernardino ing off by nighttime. While the danger of ly covered by the Angeles National County, a levee failed and put eight mudslides was subsiding, officials urged Forest. In Azusa, 3- to 10 feet of mud houses in danger of serious flooding, but residents who left their homes as much buried Ed Heinlein’s backyard, swallow- county fire crews were working to pro- MIAMI: Dela Pozo (center) and other Venezuelans show their support for the anti-government protests. — AFP tect them and no evacuations were ordered. The storm also created problems from New Venezuela protests the sea. Heavy surf in the Long Beach area caused mild to moderate damage to 20 homes on Ocean Boulevard, though no evacuations were required, the fire planned after rare calm department said. In Santa Barbara County, strong waves sent water crash- ing into a beachside restaurant in Goleta Protesters slam govt’s ‘torture, repression’ and three boats onto the sand and a pier, county fire Capt. Martin Johnson said. CARACAS: Venezuelan protesters were preparing for a there is nothing to celebrate,” engineering student Argenis The restaurant’s manager told KEYT-TV fresh round of anti-government demonstrations yesterday Arteaga told AFP. Clashes turned violent late Friday when that one of his employees was swept out following a rare peaceful evening in Caracas. At least 18 security forces in riot gear used water cannons and tear into the ocean and underneath the pier, people have been killed and 250 injured since a wave of gas to break up student-led demonstrations in Chacao. where he was able to get out of the protests began on February 4 against the government of Hooded protesters set up barricades and responded with a water. Another employee was pushed President Nicolas Maduro, many ending in violent street steady barrage of Molotov cocktails. back inside the restaurant by a rogue battles. The student-led protesters are angry over the soar- wave but was not seriously hurt. A fierce wave also broke the windows ing crime rate, spiraling inflation, the lack of basic goods in Targeting the press of a restaurant on the Santa Barbara pier. stores, and limited democratic rights in the oil-rich nation. At least 41 protesters were arrested in the late Friday At the north end of Monterey Bay, strong Protest marches began in early February and spread to rally, including eight foreigners held for “international ter- CARPINTERIA: Ryan Springer, 16, surfs a large puddle off in Carpinteria, waves apparently broke through the the capital, where they have centered on the opposition rorism”, state VTV television said in a brief statement. An California, Saturday, March 1, 2014. — AP foundation of a seaside home, creating a stronghold of Chacao, a wealthy Caracas neighborhood. By unspecified number were later released. Maco Ruiz, head blowhole on the driveway and shooting late Saturday, however, there was no sign of tear gas on of Venezuela’s journalist association SNTP, said the arrests as three days earlier to stay away until ing a metal fence and reaching up to the water over the roof. Also, a stretch of the the streets of the capital. “This is the first time that this has were part of a deliberate government policy to intimidate morning. rim of a basketball hoop. oceanfront drive in Santa Cruz was shut happened in the last 18 days,” said Chacao mayor Ramon the foreign press in the same way as they had already done “The good news is that it looks like “We’ve got to find a way to get the down Saturday after a large sinkhole Muchacho. Maduro says the protests are part of a with local media. the storm will pass... but we still need to 100 tons of mud out of my backyard,” appeared in a cliff, opening the roof of a Washington-backed coup plot supported by opposition “The pattern of attacks that is repeating itself is now against evaluate the safety of the area” before Heinlein told the Los Angeles Times. cave where homeless people have lived. figures aimed at toppling his nearly year-old government. international correspondents,” Ruiz said Saturday. Since people can return home, Assistant Chief “We’re probably looking at tens of thou- Authorities said public works was investi- He called a six-day holiday to mark the beginning of February the SNTP says there have been 76 cases of attacks, Steve Martin of the Los Angeles County sands of dollars in damage.” Forecasters gating. Carnival, an annual holiday that normally sees many arrests and harassment against Venezuelan media and foreign Fire Department told a webcast news predicted only showers in California yes- The storm was so volatile that a torna- Venezuelans leave the cities and head to the beach. Critics reporters, including theft of equipment. The Ministry of conference. The National Weather terday as the storm heads east - a lucky do warning was issued early Saturday for say the holiday was a blatant attempt to undermine the Information released a documentary titled “Venezuela under Service said the storm is forecast to move break for the evening’s Oscar red carpet suburbs east of Los Angeles. Numerous demonstrations. But protesters have largely stayed put, attack by the media” that includes photos and articles the gov- east over the Rockies and into the Plains festivities in Hollywood. traffic accidents occurred on slick or and were busy gearing up for new demonstrations in ernment says are “lies” linked to the coup plot. and Mississippi Valley through yesterday, The storm was the much more pow- flooded roads across California, including Caracas yesterday. Juan Requesens, student leader at the Information Minister Delcy Rodriguez told Iranian bringing a hodgepodge of precipitation. erful second act of two systems that hit one about 60 miles east of Los Angeles Central University of Venezuela, said that students will HispaTV that Venezuela would sue the Spanish daily ABC Colorado’s ski resorts could see up to California during the week. Downtown involving a big rig whose driver died depart from four points in the city and meet at the Plaza for “manipulating the truth about Venezuela”. The SNTP 6 inches of fresh snow. A mixture of sleet San Francisco received 8.01 inches of rain after falling from a freeway overpass. The and snow in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois by Saturday evening, bringing the city to Fresno County sheriff’s office also report- Brion to demand the release of detained activists. said that one of the foreigners who was detained and will eventually change over to all snow - 44 percent of its normal rainfall but ed a man was injured by lightning Friday. On Saturday the demonstrators, joined by opposition released was US freelance reporter Andrew Rosati, who with up to 8 inches forecast for Kansas avoiding the city’s driest-ever “rain year” Utilities repaired numerous scattered lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, formed a convoy of writes for the Miami Herald. Also detained and released City and the St Louis area - while north- record by roughly half an inch, NWS power outages. — AP some 500 cars and motorcycles and toured Caracas honk- was a team of journalists from the Associated Press. Italian ing horns and waving flags as they protested government photographer Francesca Commissari, who works for the “torture and repression”. “We honor the dead. No Carnival, local daily El Nacional, is still being held. — AFP

Idaho House panel backs guns on campus

BOISE: A bill to allow students, staff and visi- tors to carry guns on Idaho’s college campuses passed out of a legislative committee Friday afternoon, despite objections from students, multiple police chiefs and leaders of all eight of the state’s public colleges. The measure would allow retired law enforcement officers and those with Idaho’s new enhanced concealed carry permit to bring their firearms onto cam- pus. Concealed weapons would still be barred from dormitories, stadiums and concert halls. The 11-3 party-line vote sends the issue for- ROCK HILL: Winthrop basketball coach Pat Kelsey (left) comforts Becky ward to debate on the House floor. The bill Kowalski before a college basketball game between Winthrop and passed the Senate earlier this month. Presbyterian in Rock Hill, SC. — AP Bryan Lovell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police and a Bonneville Sherriff’s Family of Sandy Hook deputy, said people should have the right to defend themselves, even on a college campus. shooting victim visits Kelsey “There are a lot of concealed weapons permit holders out there, and the reason they get that ROCK HILL: Becky Kowalski wiped tears victims on their jersey back. Winthrop’s is because they want to protect themselves,” from her eyes as the crowd at Winthrop Jarad Scott wore the first names of 6- Lovell said. “They don’t want to be caught in a stood and cheered to honor and year-old James Mattioli and 7-year-old fishbowl if there’s an active shooter.” remember son Chase, the 7-year-old Grace McDonnell. If the measure becomes law, Idaho would who died in the Newtown, Conn, mas- “It’s hard when you see 20 kids join six other states with provisions - either sacre in December 2012. Kowalski, hus- names,” Becky Kowalski said. “It kind of from lawmakers or dictated by court decisions - band Stephen and daughter Brittany brings it back, but it’s amazing to see that allow concealed carry on campus: attended the Eagles’ game Saturday. those 20 kids being remembered.” Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, The family came down to visit with Winthrop coaches wore lapel pins with and Wisconsin, according to the National Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey, who less the initials of the six adult victims. The Conference of State Legislatures. than a week after the mass shooting Kowalskis sat behind the Winthrop Utah is the only state with a specific law that took the lives of 20 children and six bench, Brittany and Becky snapping that forbids universities from banning con- adults challenged leaders from the pictures. Stephen wore a black cealed carry at any of its 10 public institutions. White House to the classroom that Winthrop “RocktheHill” T-shirt. Several Those who testified Friday before the House “everybody needs to step up. This has people walked by during halftime to State Affairs Committee were overwhelmingly to be a time for change.” offer their support to the family. in opposition to the bill, as were protesters who Family friends showed the Kowalskis The family stood with the crowd of gathered on the Capitol steps during a Kelsey’s comments at Ohio State and 1,700 at the end as Winthrop’s alma Thursday rally. they soon reached out to the Winthrop mater was played following an 82-60 But Kelby Monks, a Boise State student and coach. The family and Kelsey hadn’t met victory over Presbyterian. Becky son of committee member Rep. Jason Monks, in person before this weekend. “It was Kowalski said the warm feelings of kind of like coming home to family,” those she met helped her deal with the R-Meridian, told the committee that carrying a Becky Kowalski said. “We already had a ongoing grieving process. “What’s that weapon in a classroom could stop a would-be bond,” husband Stephen said. The phrase we kept hearing from people,” mass shooter quickly - even while police were Kowalski’s were introduced to fans Becky Kowalski asked Brittany, “Hug still minutes away. “It does not take more than before the national anthem, at first with your neck? I think that’s one we’ll take 30 seconds to empty out an entire clip,” he said, polite applause in deference to the fam- back with us.” Kelsey said he nervous adding that concerns about law enforcement ily’s grief at losing Chase. before the family arrived at the airport confusing good Samaritans with criminal But Kelsey encouraged and drew a Friday for the weekend visit, but was shooters during a crisis situation are loud ovation, waving both his arms in quickly put at ease by Kowalski’s easy overblown. “I’d rather die and be shot by a the air. Then he hugged Becky Kowalski going nature and playful personalities. police officer than have an entire auditorium of tight as she took off her glasses and Then again, it’s been that way since the my classmates killed,” he said. dabbed both eyes. Becky and Stephen relationship began. But some university heads worry a loophole have started The CMAK (Chase Michael “From the first time they reached in the bill will allow students with the con- Anthony Kowalski) Sandy Hook out to me, it was life changing,” Kelsey cealed carry permit to openly carry firearms Memorial Fund. The foundation raises said. Before the game, the Kowalskis anywhere - even in places ruled off-limits by funds through initiatives like toured the NASCAR Hall of Fame in the bill. That might not be the proponents’ Race4Chase because he was avid ath- Charlotte, about 20 minutes north of intention, said State Board of Education mem- lete who had taken part in youth Winthrop’s campus. They also visited an ber Rod Lewis, a lawyer, but he believes the bill triathlons. area YMCA where they hope to help will likely be interpreted by judges as allowing Instead of their names, Winthrop’s start a youth triathlon program, some- open carry on campus. Such situations could players came out wearing the names of thing Chase did in Connecticut. Area make it impossible to differentiate whether the young victims. Senior forward Joab YMCA head Frank “Moe” Ball took the someone walking across the campus quad Jerome wore Chase’s name and hugged Kowalskis on a tour of their facilities. Ball with an assault rifle is a criminal shooter - or the Kowalski family before the game. runs 10 YMCAs in five area communi- simply heading to class.—AP Some Eagles players had two names of ties. —AP

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Malaysia killings put Myanmar Buddhists on edge KUALA LUMPUR: San Win came to when at least four Myanmar Buddhist Buddhist community leaders suspect involved. Rohingya were “scapegoats” for cuted minorities. Malaysia seeking political refuge, but migrant workers were killed in Malaysia’s vengeful Rohingya. “It can happen any- the violence in Malaysia, said Abdul now lives in fear of what he and fellow capital Kuala Lumpur in suspected where, anytime. Who will be next?” said Hamid Musa Ali, president of the Spillover effect Myanmar Buddhist exiles believe is a revenge attacks by Muslims. Myanmar Myat Ko Ko, another pro-democracy Rohingya Society in Malaysia. Rohingya have trickled into Malaysia pattern of killings targeting them. Exiled Buddhists allege at least one killing has activist who fled to Malaysia in 2011. “For me it’s another kind of plot (by and Bangladesh for decades but refugee Myanmar pro-democracy activist Aung occurred per month since then, typically “Previously, Rohingyas and Buddhists Rakhine Buddhists) to justify another activists say the Rakhine upheaval has Gyi’s body was found in a car boot on stabbings, and complain Malaysia’s didn’t quarrel with each other here.” San round of killing in Arakan,” he said, using quickened the flow. Abdul Hamid said February 4, the victim of a stabbing, Muslim-dominated police force has Win said many Buddhists believed the another term for Rakhine. Hundreds of an estimated 30,000 Rohingya arrived in police and activists have said. San Win solved none of them. Police have failure by Malaysian authorities to solve thousands of Myanmar migrants are Malaysia last year. The troubles have and other Buddhists said the killing was announced no arrests in Aung Gyi’s any killings suggests at least tacit official estimated to be working in Malaysia, touched Indonesia too. one of many and indicates a spillover of killing. support for the violence. He doesn’t go many illegally, drawn by its relatively Eight Myanmar Buddhists were killed deadly Myanmar communal violence out at night and rarely goes out alone. developed economy and menial jobs in a detention centre in Muslim-majority into Malaysia, which has a large commu- ‘Who will be next?’ “They can’t protect us. They never pro- shunned by more affluent Malaysians. Indonesia by Rohingya in April 2013. In nity of Myanmar migrants and refugees. A day after Aung Gyi was found, two tect us. There are so many cases, so There are also 132,000 Myanmar asy- January, an Indonesian court jailed a “We are very scared. It’s not safe here visiting Myanmar Buddhist politicians many deaths that are never resolved,” he lum-seekers and refugees, the UN suspected Islamic extremist over a plot for us,” said San Win, head of a group were targeted in an assassination said. refugee agency says. More than 34,000 to attack the Myanmar embassy to that provides free funerals to needy attempt on a busy shopping street in are Rohingya. Many Buddhist political avenge killings of Rohingya in Rakhine. Myanmar nationals. Kuala Lumpur, police have said. Aung Rohingya ‘scapegoats’ exiles, like Aung Gyi, came during the Surin Pitsuwan, former head of the Decades of animosity between Gyi had earlier met the politicians. Police have not confirmed the harsh rule of the military junta that gov- Association of Southeast Asian Nations Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar’s Malaysia’s police force, which is routinely Buddhist claim of regular attacks. They erned Myanmar, formerly Burma, for (ASEAN), warned in 2012 Rohingya western Rakhine state exploded in accused by critics of incompetence and insist all crimes are thoroughly investi- decades but in 2010 embarked on dem- could become “radicalized,” destabilizing bloodshed starting in 2012. Scores were pro-Muslim bias, say it is investigating. gated. Aung Gyi’s death was a “very iso- ocratic reforms. The Buddhist-dominat- the region. Malaysian federal police chief killed and 140,000 displaced, mostly Khairi Ahrasa, a police official probing lated, normal murder case. There is no ed government views its roughly Khalid Abu Bakar said recently authori- from the ethnic Rohingya Muslim minor- the shooting, said it was believed to be reason to be afraid”, police official 800,000 Rohingya as illegal immigrants ties were “closely monitoring” the situa- ity and the situation remains tense. Fears linked to Aung Gyi’s killing but declined Khairuldin Saad said. But he added that from neighboring Bangladesh, denying tion. “We do not want any issues there of a spillover into Muslim-majority further comment. police had few leads. Rohingya leaders them citizenship. The UN calls the (Myanmar) to escalate here,” Malaysian Malaysia emerged in the middle of 2013 Although they have no evidence, reject suggestions their community was Rohingya one of the world’s most perse- media quoted him saying. — AFP Thai poll re-runs pass peacefully Demonstrators consolidate protest in park

PHETCHABURI: Thailand’s first poll re-runs passed peacefully yesterday following a widely disrupted general election, as pro-government “Red Shirts” stepped up rallies in support of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s battered administration. The February 2 election failed to ease a four-month political crisis when protest- ers seeking to topple Yingluck’s government caused the closure of around 10 percent of polling stations, many in opposition strong- holds. The Election Commission said results cannot be announced until polls have been held in all constituencies, setting a late-April deadline for their completion. Yingluck can only remain prime minister in a caretaker role until then with limited power over policy, further eroding her SAITAMA: A Buddhist devotee dashes barefoot through flames during the Nagatoro authority as she handles ongoing street protests Hi-Matsuri, or fire-walking festival, to herald the coming of spring at the Fudoji tem- and a series of legal challenges against her ple in Nagatoro town, Saitama prefecture yesterday. Believers joined the fire-walk- administration. Election commissioner Somchai ing ritual to purify the mind and body and to pray for safety. — AFP Srisutthiyakorn said around 120,000 people were registered to vote yesterday across more than 100 constituencies in five provinces. He said the re-runs, the first attempted since China legislature session February 2, had been held “peacefully... without any problems”. But only a trickle of voters were PHETCHABURI: A Thai voter casts his vote into the ballot box at the Taa Ta Kho village polling to face familiar problems seen at several polling stations in Phetchaburi, station as part of a re-run of general elections yesterday. —AFP an opposition heartland around 160 kilometers BEIJING: China’s annual show of political Britain’s University of Nottingham, told AFP. (100 miles) south of Bangkok, according to an a car park in Khon Kaen-a Red Shirt stronghold killed 23 people-among them four children-and theatre, the National People’s Congress, “All of those major issues will take much AFP reporter. in the country’s northeast-for an overnight rally, wounded several hundred others. opens this week-the first under a new longer than a year or two to fix,” he said, “I was disappointed that I had the right to wearing the ubiquitous red and waving flags. It The violence prompted the head of the Communist Party leadership facing adding that China’s leadership was likely to vote on February 2 but couldn’t,” Sangwan follows a similar rally on Saturday in the north- nation’s coup-prone army to warn that Thailand intractable problems including endemic use the NPC to play up progress made, Yuusuk, 57, said at a polling station. Under elec- east, which together with the rural north has could slide into civil war. Anti-government pro- corruption, slowing economic growth and most notably in the corruption crackdown. tion law, 95 percent of the 500 seats in the lower returned Shinawatra-allied governments to testers yesterday began dismantling rally stages tensions with neighboring countries. The “The curbing of corruption means the house of parliament must be filled to enable the power in every election for more than a decade. at several key intersections in Bangkok after rubber-stamp NPC, which begins capacity of the party to function is appointment of a new government. On its web- They say their votes are a political reward for announcing the end of a weeks-long self-pro- Wednesday at the imposing Great Hall of stronger,” he said. “Corruption weakens par- site the Election Commission said senators will policies that have funneled state money to their claimed “shutdown” of the city. Protesters, whose the People on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, ty discipline.” Last year’s NPC set the seal on be elected on March 30. The main opposition hard-scrabble regions after years of neglect. numbers have dwindled in recent weeks, have serves as a show of unity in the nation and China’s once-a-decade leadership transi- Democrat party, which boycotted the general Opponents describe the same policies as a form moved their tents to Lumpini Park in the city the ruling party. tion, which saw Xi Jinping, who had election, last month lost a legal bid to nullify the of vote-buying. “We are ready to come in centre. The movement has denied the retreat The event kicks off amid much fanfare, become party secretary general the previ- poll. In addition to the protests, Yingluck faces a Bangkok if the situation is still a mess,” Red Shirt marks a defeat, saying it would keep up its strug- with colorfully-clad delegates from China’s ous November, take the helm as state presi- series of legal complaints against her govern- spokesman Thanavut Vichaidit told AFP, as he gle to overthrow a government that it sees as dozens of ethnic minorities and military dent as well. Li replaced Wen as premier to ment, including charges of negligence over a led a convoy of supporters to Khon Kaen. corrupt. Despite their pullback, analysts say officers in dress uniform arriving at the hall, become China’s No. 2 top official. troubled rice subsidy scheme which could see Thailand has been riven by political divisions Yingluck’s hold on power remains precarious, with the occasional movie star and billion- The NPC comes after a major her removed from office. since 2006 when Thaksin was ousted in a blood- with anti-corruption authorities pressing aire at associated meetings adding a dash Communist Party meeting known as the less military coup, sparking years of political tur- charges over her role in the controversial rice of glamour. A centrepiece will be the pres- Third Plenum in November, at which signif- Reds rally moil punctuated by deadly street protests. scheme that could lead to her removal from entation of various “work reports”, the most icant reforms including the abolition of Pro-government Red Shirts have ramped up The worst violence left more than 90 people office and a five-year ban from politics. Some important of which will be read by Premier China’s education-through-labor camps their rallies and rhetoric in support of Yingluck dead in the heart of Bangkok in 2010, in an army experts say that behind the scenes a power Li Keqiang, his first since taking the posi- and modifications to the decades-old one- and her billionaire brother Thaksin-a former crackdown on Red Shirt rallies against the then- struggle is playing out to decide who will be in tion at last year’s event. The event will be child policy were announced. Economic prime minister who lives in exile to avoid jail for Democrat government. Fears of widening civil charge of the country when 86-year-old King closely watched for China’s annual eco- reforms were also flagged, including allow- a corruption conviction. Television footage yes- conflict have surged amid gun and grenade Bhumibol Adulyadej’s more than six-decade nomic growth target which was given at ing the market to play a “decisive” role in terday showed thousands of people grouping in attacks linked to the current rallies, which have reign eventually ends. —AFP 7.5 percent for last year-a figure analysts the economy. “This will be the first NPC follow for insight into the leadership’s plenary meeting run by the new leaders, thinking about the economy and how they thus an important venue for them to com- expect it to perform. The announcement municate how they plan to strike the right Thousands rally for injured editor in HK of China’s annual official defense budget balance between short-term growth and will also be prominent. Last year, Li’s prede- long-term structural changes,” Societe HONG KONG: Thousands took to the streets of Lau, urging police to solve the case quickly and defiant hand gesture. A recorded sound clip by cessor Wen Jiabao said the figure would Generale economist Yao Wei wrote in a Hong Kong yesterday to protest against threats saying journalists would not be swayed by vio- Lau played through loudspeakers at the rally increase 10.7 percent to 720.2 billion yuan research note. Yao expects one change at to press freedom in the city, days after a former lence. declared: “Violence wants us to be afraid. If we ($116.8 billion). the meeting to be that rather than sticking newspaper editor was attacked with a cleaver in “We need to tell the evil power that your are afraid, we will lose freedom. I hope all jour- Other topics likely to be mentioned in to last year’s economic growth target of 7.5 broad daylight. Kevin Lau, former editor of the knife is not going to deter us,” Sham Yee-lan, nalists believe there is justice.” “People should the report are an ongoing and high-profile percent, a range of 7-7.5 percent will be investigative Ming Pao newspaper, was left in a chairwoman of the Hong Kong Journalists not take freedom for granted. We cannot assume crackdown on official corruption, China’s announced as “policymakers may downplay critical condition after Wednesday’s brutal Association told reporters outside the govern- it will never change. It takes everyone to guard multiple environmental problems includ- the emphasis on growth”. China’s leadership attack, seen as highlighting warnings from inter- ment headquarters, before marching to the it,” he was heard to say. The attack on Lau pro- ing hazardous smog regularly enveloping says it wants to transform the country’s eco- national watchdogs that the city’s media inde- city’s police department to deliver a petition voked shock in a city known for its safety, lead- major cities, economic reforms, and territo- nomic growth model away from an over- pendence is in jeopardy as Beijing seeks tighter with 30,000 signatures. Ronan Chan, a 21-year- ing Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Leung rial disputes in the East and South China reliance on often wasteful investment and control. old journalism student, told AFP: “I still want to Chun-ying, to stress that freedom of speech will Seas. Those problems were all mentioned instead make private demand the driver for Organizers said that 13,000 people including be a journalist. I won’t be affected by the inci- be protected in the financial hub. in some fashion at last year’s meeting. “And the country’s future development, which journalists, activists and lawmakers marched in dent... A place without freedom of speech is not they will still be here next year,” Steve they expect to result in slower but more sus- the swiftly organized rally, although police put a civilized society.” Leung’s daughter sparks row Tsang, an expert in Chinese politics at tainable rates of expansion. — AFP the turnout lower at 8,600. Protesters dressed in Lau’s condition improved on Saturday when But one of Leung’s daughters, Leung Chai- black waved banners declaring “They can’t kill us he was transferred out of an intensive hospital yan, sparked an online row after voicing doubt all” as they condemned the vicious assault on unit to a private ward, greeting journalists with a over the attackers’ motive, according to South China Morning Post. “What does the attack have Pak’s new security policy anything to do with press freedom?! Come on people”, she wrote on her Facebook page, draw- aims to reform madrassas ing criticisms from netizens who accused her of cold blooded comments. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to bring all of its They often preach violence and propagate A police investigation into the incident is madrassas, or religious schools, under its hatred toward other sects and non-Muslims. underway but no arrests have been made so far national education system within one year “A large number of terrorists, either are, or in what authorities called a “triad-style” attack. A under a landmark security policy aimed at have been students of madrassas where they similar march held the previous week prior to combating extremism. The first “National were brainwashed to take up arms against the Lau’s attack drew 6,000 people protesting at sev- Internal Security Policy”, a copy of which was state,” the paper said. eral high-profile incidents seen as aimed at sti- seen by AFP yesterday, says that some of the The 94-page policy document offers a can- fling the free press, including the removal of Lau country’s 22,000 madrassas are responsible for did and introspective look at where Pakistan as editor of the liberal Ming Pao, allegedly for spreading extremism. has been failing in its efforts to fight terror. It being unsympathetic to Beijing. Police put the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan criticizes the country’s all-powerful military for count for that march at 1,600. presented the policy in parliament on being “unable to demonstrate other capabili- Earlier this month the international Wednesday after a decade-long Islamist insur- ties essential to successful counter-insur- Committee to Protect Journalists said media gency that has claimed thousands of lives and gency: hold, build and integrate”, adding it is freedom in Hong Kong was “at a low point”, cit- cost the economy “more than $78 billion”. On up to civil institutions to take up the slack. ing self-censorship among reporters, financial the topic of religious schools, the document The policy calls on the government “to and physical threats against the media and leg- says: “It is important to mention upfront that build a national narrative on extremism and islative steps that could hinder investigative not all madrassas are a problem and therefore terrorism”-opinion polls in the past have reporting. these must not be viewed negatively as a shown there is no overwhelming public con- Paris-based Reporters Without Borders also whole. sensus on tackling extremist groups. The doc- said in a report that Hong Kong’s media inde- “However, there were problems within ument also calls for the establishment of a pendence was “in jeopardy”, as China flexes its some madrassas which have spread extrem- Federal Rapid Response Force and Counter muscles to stifle critical coverage. Certain pro- ism,” it adds, noting “financing from unidenti- Terrorism Department within police forces in Beijing lawmakers also attended yesterday’s ral- fied sources” and the “publication and distri- the next six months. The Pakistani Taleban ly, local broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong bution of hate material”. The vast majority of Saturday announced a month-long ceasefire reported. Lawmaker Chiang Lai-wan was quoted madrassas in Pakistan fall outside government aimed at resuming stalled peace talks with the by the broadcaster as saying that violence control and offer little in the way of main- Pakistan government, but analysts voiced against journalists cannot be tolerated regard- stream subjects for their students. skepticism over the move. —AFP HONG KONG: Protesters display placards during a rally to support press freedom yesterday. —AFP less of political ideals. —AFP NEWS MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Russia tightens grip on Crimea World caught off guard by thirst for...

Continued from Page 1 had Russian license plates. In response, a dozen Continued from Page 1 Ukrainian soldiers, some with clips in their rifles, One young girl held up a placard reading: “No placed a tank at the base’s gate, leaving the two sides Top US diplomat for Europe, Russian aggression!” “Russia! Russia!” the crowd chant- in a tense standoff. It appeared to be the first known Victoria Nuland, even visited the ed in Moscow. case of outmatched Ukrainians standing up to Russian protestors on Independence Square Kerry, interviewed yesterday on US television news military might. in Kiev in December to hand out shows, talked about boycotting the G-8 summit, as Later in the afternoon, civilians backing both bread in a high-profile show of sup- well as possible visa bans, asset freezes and trade and Ukraine and Russia walked over to view the standoff port for their desire to move closer investment penalties against Russia. Kerry said all the at Perevalne, some shaking their heads in amazement to Europe and away from the foreign ministers he had talked to were prepared “to in the geo-political developments right in their own clutches of the communist authori- go to the hilt” to isolate Russia. Still, politicians were town. Unidentified soldiers were also seen cutting ties in Moscow, which since the end treading carefully, knowing it was a delicate time for power to the headquarters of the Ukrainian Naval of the Cold War has had difficult ties Europe. “We are on a very dangerous track of increas- forces in Crimea - whose own commander defected with the US. ing tensions,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter later Sunday and pledged his allegiance to “the peo- “It is accurate to say that where Steinmeier said. “(But) it is still possible to turn ple of Crimea”. regimes violate human rights, move around. A new division of Europe can still be prevent- A Ukrainian security official later said the head of in that direction or are involved in ed.” the country’s Black Sea fleet - Adm Denis Berezovsky - corruption, that those patterns of So far, however, Ukraine’s new government and had been dismissed and faces a treason investigation behavior are viewed negatively by other countries have been powerless to counter the after declaring allegiance to the pro-Russian govern- the US, the UK and other countries,” stealth Russian military tactics. Armed men in uni- ment of the Crimea region and offering no resistance said Mark Schneider, senior vice forms without insignia have moved freely about to the Russian troops. The speaker of Crimea’s legisla- president of the International Crisis Crimea for days, occupying airports, smashing equip- ture, Vladimir Konstantinov, was quoted as saying Group. “But I think that it is rare that ment at an air base and besieging a Ukrainian infantry local authorities do not recognize the new govern- they move from that judgment to base. Putin has defied calls from the West to pull back ment in Kiev. He said a planned referendum on March support in any way violent activities. CARACAS: An opposition activist takes part in a protest against the gov- his troops, insisting that Russia has a right to protect 30 would ask voters about the region’s future status. I think they are almost always some- ernment of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yesterday. — AFP its interests and those of Russian-speakers in Crimea A convoy of hundreds of Russian troops was also what surprised by the depth, power, and elsewhere in Ukraine. His confidence is matched seen heading toward Simferopol, the regional capital determination to accept sacrifice by century to draw parallels with a new ances that Washington is not taking by the knowledge that Ukraine’s 46 million people of Crimea. Armed men in military uniforms without people in certain circumstances.” “class conflict”. “Dominant parties sides in the upheaval. He had the have divided loyalties between Russia and Europe. markings strolled around Simferopol’s central plaza, The situation in Thailand, a consti- which continue to benefit from such same message for Venezuela urging While much of western Ukraine wants closer ties with Lenin Square, outside its Council of Ministers building. tutional monarchy since 1932 where (elite) systems are seen by mostly dialogue and revealing that the the 28-nation European Union, its eastern and south- In Brussels, NATO’s secretary general said Russia had the king is highly revered, is some- middle and upper classes as impedi- United States is working with its ern regions like Crimea look to Russia for support. violated the UN charter with its military action in what unique. Protestors have been ments to freedom and facilitators of allies in South America to find an Russia has long wanted to reclaim the lush Crimean Ukraine, and he urged Moscow to “de-escalate the pressing for Prime Minister Yingluck corruption,” argued Chambers, acceptable third party to help medi- Peninsula, which was part of its territory until 1954. tensions.” NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke Shinawatra to step aside in favor of while lower classes have a more ate an end to three weeks of often Russia’s Black Sea Fleet pays Ukraine millions every before a meeting Sunday of the alliance’s political an unelected “people’s council” to basic desire for empowerment violent protests against Maduro’s year to be stationed at the Crimean port of Sevastopol decision-making body to discuss the crisis. introduce vaguely defined reforms found just by casting a vote. “These lefist government. and nearly 60 percent of Crimea’s residents identify Ukraine is not a NATO member, meaning the US such as tackling alleged corruption. clashing concepts of democracy “Unlike in Ukraine, right now in themselves as Russian. The new Ukrainian govern- and Europe are not obligated to come to its defense. An anti-corruption panel is now and democratic legitimacy threat- Venezuela there is no an alternative ment came to power last week following months of But Ukraine has taken part in some alliance military pressing negligence charges against ens to rapidly destabilize the politi- power strong enough to initiate pro-democracy protests against a pro-Russian presi- exercises. “It is very important that we all do every- Yingluck that could lead to her cal essence of mostly young democ- regime change,” said political pro- dent, Viktor Yanukovych, and his decision to turn thing we can to calm tensions,” said British Foreign removal from office and a five-year racies, reducing nations to potential fessor Carlos Romero from the Ukraine toward Russia instead of the EU. Yanukovych Minister William Hague, who flew to Kiev on Sunday.” ban from politics. civil war, a rebirth of tyranny and Universidad Central de Venezuela. fled to Russia after more than 80 people were killed in The Ukrainians have said to me in the last couple of economic malaise,” argued He bemoaned that so far there had the protests. He insists he’s still president. days that they will not rise to provocations.” He said A New ‘Class Conflict’ Chambers. been no international effort to end Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, he has urged Russian officials to “speak directly to the But Paul Chambers, director of Kerry called late Friday for an the violence, unlike the diplomatic has ordered Ukraine’s armed forces to be on full alert Ukrainians” but so far they had not. research at the Institute of South investigation into “politically-moti- flurry around Ukraine and Egypt, an and stepped-up security at nuclear power plants, air- President Barack Obama talked with Putin by tele- East Asian Affairs at Chiang Mai vated” attacks which have left 23 absence he attributed to his coun- ports and other strategic infrastructure. On Sunday, phone for 90 minutes Saturday and expressed his University, harked back to the radi- people dead in Thailand, including try’s lack of geopolitical signifi- the government called reservists into action but no “deep concern” about “Russia’s clear violation of cal philosophers of the early 20th four children, but renewed assur- cance. — AFP overt military actions by Ukraine were seen. Ukrainian sovereignty.” Obama warned that Russia’s Turchynov also appointed 18 new regional governors, “continued violation of international law will lead to Abu Ghaith to go on trial in New York including two oligarchs in the eastern cities of greater political and economic isolation.” In Moscow, Dneprotrovsk and Donetsk, as big business and the at least 10,000 people bearing Russian flags marched Continued from Page 1 begin without the defense receiving 14 pages of testi- new Ukrainian government banded together against freely through the city Sunday, while a few dozen mony from 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who Russia. demonstrating on Red Square against the invasion declared mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, will be has been detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2006. The Russian troops, meanwhile, pulled up to the of Ukraine were quickly detained by Russian riot watched closely by those pushing for all terror suspects lawyer for Mohammed, the most high-profile detainee Ukrainian military base at Perevalne on the Crimean police. “We understand that the West wants to attack to be tried in civilian courts. held over the 2001 attacks, refused to send the docu- Peninsula in a convoy yesterday that included at least us and seize this territory. It (the West) is dangerous The defendant is best-known for appearing along- ment because US intelligence wanted to vet the 13 trucks and four armored vehicles with mounted to us,” said Victor Sidelin, a Moscow resident at the side bin Laden and the current leader of Al-Qaeda, answers, according to the defense. machine guns. The trucks carried 30 soldiers each and march. — AP Ayman Al-Zawahiri, in Al-Qaeda propaganda videos in Lawyers claims Abu Ghaith has effectively been Sept 2001. Married to bin Laden’s daughter Fatima, US declared guilty on the basis of his “mere association” prosecutors say Abu Ghaith worked for Al-Qaeda until with bin Laden and that he was tortured while being Panel to summon KAC board, KIA officials 2002, when he fled the US military presence in brought to the United States. A string of terror cases has Afghanistan for neighboring Iran. The prosecution been transferred to New York in the last two years as US Continued from Page 1 first payment of the contract was already made, while the claims he was complicit in the Dec 2001 plot to bring President Barack Obama has promised to close down second payment will be made in a year’s time. The fleet down an airliner flying from Paris to Miami. British Al- the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. The same US The panel will also discuss the scrapped deal to buy renewal - the first since 1990 - is part of the airline’s ongo- Qaeda recruit Richard Reid is serving a life sentence for federal court in Manhattan will put on trial radical five used Airbus aircraft from India’s Jet Airways. Sane ing program which also includes organizational restruc- trying to blow up the jet with bombs hidden in his preacher Abu Hamza Al-Masri, who was extradited by also said the panel will later discuss with the communica- turing and expenditure cuts - a program prepared in con- shoes. Britain in 2012 and indicted on 11 terror counts that tions and finance ministers other aspects of the deal. junction with IATA, the world’s largest aviation watchdog. But the defense says the United States has no evi- include kidnapping. His trial, also delayed several times, Roumi also said that Airbus insisted on a bank guaran- Roumi said Kuwait Airways experts jointly with IATA dence that Abu Ghaith was involved or even aware of is set for April 14. tee for the leased plans for the amount of KD 290 million are to develop a strategic blueprint to ensure effective such plots. The defendant pleads not guilty to all three In addition, Kaplan will preside over the trial of Al- - money that was supposed to be taken from public operation and future expansion of the airline. The steps counts against him. Highlights in the trial are likely to Qaeda suspect, Abu Anas Al-Libi, who was captured in funds. We saved this amount, she observed, specifying to renovate KAC’s fleet, Roumi observed, are part of be two witnesses testifying by video link from Britain Libya in October in connection with 1998 US embassy that instead of securing a bank guarantee, KAC provided Kuwait’s commitment made in the 2008 privatization law and Yemen. On March 10, Saajid Badat, a 33-year-old bombings in East Africa. Abu Ghaith was detained after a letter from Kuwait’s government stating their commit- requiring the airline to improve its status before a strate- convicted co-conspirator of Reid subsequently released travelling to Turkey in 2013 and arrested by the ment to the fleet renewal deal. gic investor steps in. in Britain and dubbed a terror “supergrass” by the Americans in Jordan. Kuwait revoked his citizenship Currently Kuwait Airways operates three A320, three media, has been called by the prosecution. shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Financing A310, five A300 and four A340 aircraft. The new jetliners US District Judge Lewis Kaplan also authorized the Before heading to Afghanistan in 2000, Abu Ghaith Currently, KAC is studying ways to finance the deal are known for being more energy efficient. The A320 neo testimony by video link of bin Laden’s former driver was an imam at a Kuwaiti mosque and taught high with local banks and local financial organizations so that is a more efficient aircraft equipped with engines that Salim Hamdan, from Yemen. Hamdan was convicted in school religion classes until 2000. Abu Ghaith said he the airline can meet its contractual obligations. She said deliver up to 15 percent in fuel savings. The delivery of the United States of providing material support for ter- was released from Iranian custody on Jan 11, 2013, that if KAC faces problems with meeting the financial the new aircraft will start in 2019. All the leased planes rorists, but his sentence was overturned on appeal. The when he entered Turkey, where he was detained and obligations of the contract, it will seek help from local will be delivered before the summer of 2015 and they defense tried repeatedly to delay the trial, most recently interrogated before his Feb 28, 2013, release. He said he companies. will replace some of KAC’s ageing fleet. The airline’s oper- on the grounds of mistaken identity, but Kaplan ruled was heading home to Kuwait on a plane to see family “This is quite an impressive percentage in the (avia- ations manager said there is a shortage of pilots in that selection for the anonymous jury will begin today. when the flight landed instead in Amman, Jordan, tion) industry,” Sharifa Al-Ibrahim, acting CEO of Kuwait Kuwait, a deficiency that will be addressed with the The trial in the US federal court in lower Manhattan is where he was handcuffed and turned over to American Airways told Kuwait Times yesterday. Ibrahim said the recruitment of foreign pilots. expected to last a month. Kaplan ruled that the trial can authorities. — Agencies MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 ANALYSIS

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Issues Hawkish Russia leaves West scrambling

By Martine Nouaille

urope and the United States appear to have been caught off-guard by Russia’s move to send troops Eto Ukraine, analysts said, warning it would take more than condemnations and boycott threats to tame the Kremlin. “Everybody was caught on the hop and everyone is playing it by ear right now,” said Francois Heisbourg, from the French-based Foundation for Strategic Research. The Russian parliament on Saturday approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to send troops to Ukraine, days after a three-month protest Obama faces East-West standoff in Ukraine movement ousted his ally Viktor Yanukovych and brought the pro-European opposition to power. By Matt Spetalnick and Warren Strobel Crimea, part of Russia until 1954, is Ukraine’s ping up,” said Damon Wilson, executive vice through on what appears to be happening on Pro-Russian militiamen have already de-facto only region with a majority ethnic Russian popu- president of the Washington-based Atlantic the ground in Crimea,” McFaul said. annexed Crimea, a mostly Russian-speaking peninsula in s Russia deepened its military interven- lation, and Russia has a military presence already Council, and a former adviser on Europe to For the moment, Washington is still talking to eastern Ukraine where the Kremlin has long stationed tion in Ukraine’s Crimea region on with the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet. President George W Bush. Nuland, he said, “cre- Moscow at high levels. In addition to the Saturday, ignoring Barack Obama’s stern “Even though the president doesn’t want to ated US policy really out of very little at the Obama-Putin call, US Defense Secretary Chuck part of its naval fleet. The prospect of a fully-fledged A warning, the US president faced a critical test of view this as a Cold War scenario, Vladimir Putin time.” McFaul said the Ukraine crisis was “on our Hagel spoke on Saturday with his Russian coun- Russian military invasion of its former satellite left whether Washington has the leverage or the will does,” US Senator John McCain, an Arizona radar at the highest levels” from the outset last terpart, the Pentagon said, adding Hagel told Western capitals scrambling for an answer matching the to get Moscow to back down. Obama, who has Republican and a frequent critic of Obama’s for- fall and he personally acted as a bridge Sergei Shoigu that Moscow’s military interven- scope of the crisis. “There have been a series of warnings avoided entanglement in global crises where eign policy, told Reuters. “The fact that the between the White House and State tion risked an escalation that would threaten and condemnations... but it doesn’t seem to have had possible and focused on domestic affairs, now United States has appeared weak in the world Department. “It’s important to understand the European and international security. Asked results so far,” said Joerg Forbrig, from the German finds himself in the midst of the most dangerous has encouraged him.” limitation of what we can and can’t do, but to whether some US military units had been on Marshall Fund. East-West standoff since the end of the Cold War. The Obama administration appears to have say we weren’t paying attention is incorrect,” alert over turmoil in Crimea, a US official said US officials have said for months they did few other ready options to push back. Current the former ambassador, a longtime Obama there was no change in the US military’s stance In the face of what he described as “potentially the not want Ukraine’s political crisis to turn into a and former US officials insist that Washington confidant, told Reuters by telephone late on and the US focus was on diplomatic options. worst crisis since the end of the Cold War”, Forbrig advo- Washington-Moscow tug of war. But on and its European allies, while they have ruled out Friday. Obama’s national security team met to discuss cated “much stronger political signals and pressure in the Saturday, a week after Ukraine’s Russian-backed the use of military force, can still exert pressure Wilson praised Obama’s sharper warnings to policy options on Saturday, a senior Obama direction of Moscow”. Washington has warned that US president was ousted in a tide of popular anger, on Moscow by demonstrating that it has a lot to Russia on Friday. Now, he said, the United States administration official said. President Barack Obama and other Western leaders Obama’s foreign policy aides rushed to craft a lose if it continues on its current course. That will have to decide how deeply broader ties with could snub the upcoming G8 summit in Sochi if Moscow response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s could include the boost to its image from host- Russia - already strained by differences over the Aid to Ukraine did not back down. Britain said there could be “no blunt moves. Putin’s parliament gave him the ing February’s Winter Olympic Games. “Putin Syrian civil war - have been harmed. “At what Along with troops, Putin has made clear he is excuse” for a military intervention in Ukraine while UN authority to invade Ukraine, which he regards spent allegedly $50 billion to show off the ‘New point does this disagreement become so signifi- prepared to pour money into Ukraine to pull it as part of Russia’s sphere of influence and Russia’ at the Sochi Olympics,” said Michael cant that it bleeds over into other issues?” closer to Russia’s orbit. The European Union, chief Ban Ki-moon called “for an immediate restoration of where his troops have apparently already McFaul, who left his post as US ambassador to United States and International Monetary Fund calm and direct dialogue”. France, Germany and Poland seized the Crimea peninsula. Moscow earlier this week. “He has to understand Severe Crisis, Few Options are all considering monetary support to issued a joint statement on Friday, in a flurry of separate In what appeared to be a tough 90-minute that all he has hoped for will be swept away if James Collins, US ambassador to Moscow Ukraine’s new government, with promises of comments some observers say reveals how disorganised phone call with Putin on Saturday, Obama con- indeed there’s a genuine military conflict.” from 1997-2001, said that compared with the much larger IMF help if Ukraine implements eco- the West is in the face of Russia’s one-upmanship. demned Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine last major crisis with Russia, its 2008 war with nomic reforms after its elections in May. There is Temuri Yakobashvili, a former Georgian ambassador and warned that it could face further political Crisis Management Georgia, “this could be even more severe in concern in Washington whether funds will be in Washington, argued that the response had been too and economic isolation, the White House said. The escalating crisis also raises questions terms of poisoning Russia’s relations with the delivered fast enough to prop up Ukraine’s trou- Obama told the Russian leader that Washington about whether the White House was quick Europeans and the United States”. Obama, who bled economy. Pressure is building on Capitol weak so far and called for a raft of tougher measures. was suspending participation in meetings to enough to recognize the seriousness of the decided to step in front of the cameras at the Hill to accelerate US aid. “What is under attack is not only one part of Ukraine... prepare for this summer’s G-8 meetings in Sochi, Ukraine issue and to give it adequate attention. White House on Friday after signs of heightened Obama also finds himself without a US but the entire architecture of European security that was Russia. US officials and other sources said that the State Russian military activity in Crimea, was vague in ambassador in Moscow at a critical juncture, established after the Cold War,” he said. Yakobashvili listed But Putin had brushed aside Obama’s threat Department, particularly the hard-charging his threat of the consequences. although the Obama administration appears to a number of options, such as excluding Russia from the on Friday that “there will be costs” for any use of assistant secretary of state for Europe, Victoria A senior administration official said options be moving to rectify that. Though McFaul’s G8, imposing financial sanctions on top officials and force in Ukraine. The Russian leader, whom Nuland, had for months been raising alarms being considered included skipping the Sochi departure had been scheduled for months, moving NATO troops to the Black Sea. “My preference Obama once hoped to make a partner, now about Russia’s more aggressive posture toward G8 summit in June and rejecting Russian over- Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, seems a determined adversary. He appears to be former Soviet states, and Ukraine in particular. tures for deeper trade and commercial ties. In a and the State Department only recently agreed would be to act in all directions simultaneously. Because calculating that Obama’s willingness to go to the Washington’s engagement accelerated after a statement on Saturday after Obama’s phone call on a candidate to succeed him, officials said, a only simple warnings, phone calls are not giving results,” mat over Ukraine, a country few Americans Nov 2013 European summit at which Ukraine - with Putin, the White House warned that Russia sign that an announcement could come soon. he said. know much about, does not match Russia’s along with Armenia - declined under heavy risked “greater political and economic isolation”. Speculation in Washington is that those under Andy Kuchins, program director at the Center for readiness to assert itself over a former Soviet Russian pressure to sign association agreements While it is too early to contemplate economic consideration include three former US ambassa- Strategic and International Studies, said Russia’s takeover republic with which it has close historic ties and with the European Union. sanctions, “there will be a time and a place for dors to Ukraine, John Tefft, Steven Pifer and of Crimea was already a fait accompli. “The hardest ques- economic interests. “That’s when you saw the Americans step- punitive action against Russia if it in fact follows Carlos Pascual. —Reuters tion is what are the actions that Europe and the US could do to actually force Mr Putin to reconsider,” he said. “On that score, I’m not very optimistic, regarding Crimea.” Limited US, European options in Ukraine Roderic Lyne, who served as British ambassador to Russia between 2000 and 2004, urged the West against “megaphone diplomacy”. “The Russians are sabre-rat- espite blunt warnings about ing”. Saturday’s developments follow on a myriad of issues. The White transporting American troops and interest of Ukraine, Russia or Europe.” tling - if we counter that with sabre-rattling, you simply costs and consequences, US three months of political upheaval in House said the two leaders spoke for equipment out of Afghanistan In Europe, officials expressed con- get escalation,” said the former diplomat, now deputy DPresident Barack Obama and Ukraine following President Viktor 90 minutes Saturday, with Obama through Russian supply routes. “We cern about the Russian military esca- European leaders have limited Yanukovych’s rejection of a partnership warning Putin that Russia’s “continued face a difficult choice of punishing lation, but offered few specific chairman of the Chatham House think tank in London. options for retaliating against Russia’s agreement with the European Union in violation of international law will lead Russia by effectively punishing our- options for stopping or punishing He argued it was crucial to engage in some “intensive military intervention in Ukraine, the favor of historical ties with Moscow. to greater political and economic iso- selves,” said Andrew Kuchins, the Putin. The European Union, dealing private talking” with the Russians, and suggested that former Soviet republic now at the Yanukovych fled Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, lation”. director of the Russia program at the with its own internal problems, has German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be a good per- center of an emerging conflict last week and now is in Russia. American efforts to punish Russia Washington-based Center for appeared reluctant to fully embrace son to deliver strong messages to Putin. “The Russians between East and West. Russian Putin’s moves are sure to deepen on Ukraine and other matters have Strategic and International Studies. troubled Ukraine or risk the economic haven’t quite passed the point of no return yet... We are President Vladimir Putin has so far dis- tensions in his already troubled rela- been complicated by the White Obama has tried to use his travel consequences of confronting Russia, dangerously close to crossing that line, but we’re not yet missed the few specific threats from tionship with Obama, who has strug- House’s need for Russian cooperation plans to Russia as a bargaining chip one of its largest trading partners. the United States, which include gled to find a formula for getting the on stopping Syria’s civil war, negotiat- before, in the hopes that Putin might “The world is on the verge of a con- across it.” Kuchins explained that Putin, whose authority scrapping plans for Obama to attend Russian leader to change his calculus ing a nuclear accord with Iran, and bend under the threat of a diplomatic flict the outcome of which cannot be is total in the Kremlin, can make quicker and more deci- an international summit in Russia this embarrassment. Last summer, the perceived yet,” said Polish Prime sive moves that an unwieldy Western camp that has summer and cutting off trade talks White House dangled the prospect of Minster Donald Tusk, whose country struggled to show a united front since the Ukrainian cri- sought by Moscow. canceling a bilateral summit between shares a border with Ukraine. Tusk sis erupted in November. He said the West may have no Because Ukraine does not have Obama and Putin as it pressed Russia appealed for Europe to send a “very choice but to accept a Russian military presence in full-member status in NATO, the US to return National Security Agency clear signal” that it will not tolerate Ukraine short of taking military action of its own. “The and Europe have no obligation to leaker Edward Snowden to the United acts of aggression, but he did not out- come to its defense. And broader States. When Russia instead granted line specific steps. goal that we have to be thinking about very quickly, very international action through the Snowden temporary asylum, Obama Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir quickly, is to prevent similar type of scenarios from hap- United Nations seems all but impossi- canceled his one-on-one meeting Zaoralek said Russia’s attempts to pening in other regions,” he said. —AFP ble, given Russia’s veto power as a with Putin, but still attended an inter- “escalate the situation in Ukraine” member of the Security Council. national meeting in St Petersburg. reminded him of the 1968 Soviet-led “There have been strong words from US officials say they are in discus- invasion of Czechoslovakia, which the US and other counties and NATO,” sions now with European officials crushed liberal reforms and ended an All articles appearing on these said Keir Giles, a Russian military ana- about Obama and other leaders pos- era known as the Prague Spring. “We lyst at the Chatham House think tank sibly skipping the Group of Eight eco- don’t solve and can’t solve disagree- pages are the personal opinion of in London. “But these are empty nomic summit scheduled for June in ments in Europe by force,” Zaoralek the writers. Kuwait Times takes no threats. There is really not a great deal Sochi, the site of the just-concluded said. The UN Security Council met for responsibility for views expressed that can be done to influence the sit- Winter Olympics. Obama’s top advis- a second straight day to discuss the uation.” ers gathered at the White House growing crisis in Ukraine, which has therein. Kuwait Times invites read- As if to underscore that point, Putin Saturday to discuss other options. The asked four permanent council mem- ers to voice their opinions. Please on Saturday requested and was grant- White House appears to be giving no bers - the US, Britain, France and send submissions via email to: opin- ed permission to use Russia’s military serious consideration to American China - for help in stopping Russia’s not just in the pro-Russian region of military involvement in Ukraine. In his “aggression.” But Russia, as the fifth [email protected] or via snail Crimea, but also throughout Ukraine. A man holds a sign depicting Russian President Vladimir carefully worded statement Friday, permanent member, holds veto pow- mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. Putin’s request came one day after Putin as World War II German dictator Adolf Hitler with Obama avoided saying that a desta- er, meaning there would be virtually The editor reserves the right to edit Obama warned that any violation of text reading “Putler you’re finished !” during a demonstra- bilized Ukraine would be a national no chance of getting even a resolu- any submission as necessary. Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial tion titled “Ukraine and Crimea are together” in Kiev yes- security concern for the US. Instead, tion condemning Russian interven- integrity would be deeply destabiliz- terday. —AFP he said only that it was “not in the tion. —AP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 SPORTS

Bahrain to honor Schumacher rugby unit to fight fraud Campbell claims FA racism BAHRAIN: Seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, still in a coma in a French hospital WELLINGTON: The New Zealand Rugby Union will set up a dedi- LONDON: Former England defender Sol Campbell believes he would have been after a skiing accident in late December, is to have the first corner of Bahrain’s Formula One circuit cated integrity unit to combat corruption and doping in the sport, national team captain for more than 10 years if he was white, according to extracts named after him. The German won the inaugural Bahrain race in 2004 and also advised on the a senior official said yesterday. from his new biography that is being serialised by The Sunday Times newspaper. design of the circuit. “From his first appearance... in 2004, he immediately became an inspiration for Neil Sorenson, NZRU general manager of professional rugby, Campbell, 39, who was born in east London to Jamaican parents, claimed the all those who love motorsport in the Kingdom and it is therefore natural for us to recognise him in said the governing body aimed to have the unit set up in six FA decided it could not have a black face leading the England side on a regular this way,” Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed al Zayani said in a months, New Zealand Newswire reported. basis. statement yesterday. “We’ve been thinking about integrity now for over a year,” he “It’s crazy,” he was quoted as saying in extracts from biography. “I don’t think it Schumacher’s representative Sabine Kehm said the family wel- told the agency. “We need to be really alert and keep educating will change because they don’t want it to, and probably comed the move. “I am convinced Michael will love the idea and ourselves about this stuff.” the majority of fans don’t want it either.” feel very honoured about having a BIC corner named after him,” A New Zealand government report last November found there “It’s alright to have black captains and mixed race she added. Schumacher also has a corner named after him at was little high-level corruption in sport in the country, but Lavinia in the Under-18s and Under-21s but not for the full the Nuerburgring circuit in Germany. Gould, a former member of the national women’s sevens squad, national side.” The FA has declined to comment on The announcement was made on the last day of pre-sea- was suspended for two years last November after testing positive the claims. son testing at the circuit ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in for a banned stimulant. Former Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal defender Melbourne on March 16. Gould was the first player contracted to the NZRU to receive a Campbell, who has 73 caps, captained England under Bahrain hosts the third round of the championship on doping ban. At the time the NZRU said more than 1700 tests had Glenn Hoddle against Belgium in 1998 aged 23 years April 6, with the race becoming an evening event under flood- been conducted in the previous five years with just two ‘minor’ vio- and 248 days when he became their second youngest lights for the first time as part of 10th anniversary celebrations. lations. The NZRU unit is expected to devote 90 percent of its skipper after World Cup-winner Bobby Moore. Schumacher, 45, has undergone two operations since sus- resources to education and 10 percent to auditing, the report said. He was given the armband again by Hoddle against taining brain injuries after hitting his head on a rock while ski- The NZRU decision follows on from a New Zealand government the Czech Republic, also in 1998, and led his country out ing with his family in the French Alpine resort of Meribel on initiative to provide a more co-ordinated effort to combat doping against the United States in 2005 when Sven-Goran Eriksson Dec. 29. —Reuters and corruption in sport. —Reuters was manager. —Reuters Devils rout Islanders

UNIONDALE: Jaromir Jagr became the seventh player to score 700 NHL goals, sparking New Jersey’s four-goal second period, and Martin Brodeur earned the win in his first start in over a month as the Devils routed the New York Islanders 6-1 on Saturday. Jagr gave the Devils a 2-0 lead early in the sec- ond, and Ryane Clowe, Marek Zidlicky, and Mark Fayne followed in rapid succession. The four goals came in a span of 4:36 in the first 8:07 of the sec- ond. Adam Henrique opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 5:00 of the first. New Jersey needed only 12 shots to net its first four goals and 16 total to get to five against Evgeni Nabokov. Clowe and Zidlicky, with a milestone assist from Jagr, also tallied during power plays. Kyle Okposo cut New York’s deficit to 3-1 at 6:14 of the second with his team-leading 25th goal, but the Devils quickly answered with two more goals to pad their lead. Anders Nilsson, recalled Saturday from Bridgeport of the AHL, made 15 saves in the third period in place of Nabokov, who stopped only 14 of 19 shots. Eric Gelinas scored a power-play goal with 38.1 sec- onds left to make it 6-1.

CAPITALS 4, BRUINS 2 UNIONDALE: New Jersey Devils Jaromir Jagr (68) reaches for the puck ahead of New York Alex Ovechkin collected his 800th career point Islanders’ Kyle Okposo (21) in the first period of an NHL hockey game. —AP and raised his league-leading total to 43 goals with a pair of power-play scores, leading Olympic break. ous seven games. Ben Bishop cooled off Dallas by Washington over Boston. Mike Richards scored his second goal since making 39 saves for his 29th win. Joel Ward and Eric Fehr also scored, and Braden Thanksgiving and Justin Williams added an emp- Nate Thompson and Sami Salo also scored for Holtby made 36 saves for the Capitals, who won ty-net goal for the Kings, who roared out of the Tampa Bay. Victor Hedman and Ondrej Palat each their fourth straight in their chase for one of the break with three wins in three cities in about 70 had two assists. Antoine Roussel and Vernon Eastern Conference’s final playoff spots. hours. Low-scoring Los Angeles put up eight Fiddler each had a goal and an assist for Dallas. Ovechkin had the go-ahead goal and two goals at Colorado and Calgary before holding off assists in a 5-4 win at Florida on Thursday. It’s his the Hurricanes in the Kings’ return to Staples CANADIENS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 3 first season of 40-plus goals since collecting 40- Center. Max Pacioretty scored his second goal of the plus in his first five seasons from 2005-06 to 2009- Andrej Sekera scored and Anton Khudobin game on a power play 3:28 into overtime to lead 10. stopped 28 shots for the Hurricanes, who have the Montreal Canadiens past the Toronto Maple Patrice Bergeron and Shawn Thornton had lost three straight on their five-game road trip out Leafs. Boston’s goals. Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots in of the break. Pacioretty took a feed from Andrei Markov, his first start since winning the bronze medal with who had three assists, and beat Jonathan Bernier Finland at the Sochi Olympics. JETS 3, PREDATORS 1 with a high wrist shot for the winner. Olli Jokinen, Andrew Ladd and Devin Alex Galchenyuk and P.K. Subban also scored BLACKHAWKS 5, PENGUINS 1 Setoguchi scored and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 39 for the Canadiens, who were coming off an over- Jonathan Toews had two goals and an assist at shots and Winnipeg beat Nashville. time win in Pittsburgh on Thursday. James van a snowy and picturesque Soldier Field, and the The Jets, ranked sixth in the NHL in penalty Riemsdyk had two goals and Phil Kessel also had Blackhawks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the kills coming into the game, didn’t allow a goal on one for the Maple Leafs, who also lost in overtime finale of the NHL Stadium Series. six Nashville power plays. Thursday to the New York Islanders. Patrick Sharp scored in the first period and One of the Predators’ strengths has been con- Patrick Kane set up Kris Versteeg’s 100th career verting man-advantage chances. Entering the FLAMES 2, OILERS 1 goal in the second, helping Chicago to its first win game, they were fifth in the league, but Pavelec Sean Monahan scored two goals, including since Feb. 5 at Anaheim. The reigning Stanley Cup stopped Nashville on each power play. the winner in overtime, as the Calgary Flames PALM BEACH GARDENS: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, chips onto the green on Simon Moser scored his first NHL goal for topped the Edmonton Oilers. Paul Byron won a the sixth hole during the third round of the Honda Classic golf tournament. —AP champions dropped their final game before the Olympic break, and then lost 2-1 at the New York Nashville. The Jets improved to 11-3-1 since hiring battle behind the net 1:50 into the extra session Rangers on Thursday night. Paul Maurice as coach. and sent the puck in front to Monahan, who Steady McIlroy leads Classic James Neal was credited with Pittsburgh’s only scored his 18th goal of the season and helped goal when Blackhawks defenseman Brent LIGHTNING 4, STARS 2 the Flames end a two-game skid. The Flames Seabrook sent the puck into his own net at 6:21 of Martin St. Louis scored two goals for the sec- have won seven of their last 10 games. David FLORIDA: Rory McIlroy was steady rather couple of inches beyond the cup and ond consecutive game, leading Tampa Bay over Perron scored for the Oilers, who have lost three than spectacular as he extended his lead found the hole on the first bounce. the third. Marc-Andre Fleury had 35 saves in the Penguins’ third straight loss, matching a season Dallas. The Lightning had lost five of their previ- in a row. —AP to two strokes after the third round at the “It felt like a really great swing,” said high. $6 million Honda Classic in south Florida Henley. “It was a pretty cool feeling.” on Saturday. Henley produced an encore when he FLYERS 4, RANGERS 2 McIlroy missed only one green on the rammed home a 50-foot putt from the Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist to NHL results/standings water-lined back nine as he compiled a fringe at the par-three 17th. His ball was lead Philadelphia over New York. Vincent Washington 4, Boston 2; New Jersey 6, NY Islanders 1; Philadelphia 4, NY Rangers 2; Columbus 6, one-under-par 69 in a moderate breeze at motoring at speed when it hit the back of Lecavalier, Sean Couturier and Luke Schenn also Florida 3; Winnipeg 3, Nashville 1; Tampa Bay 4, Dallas 2; Los Angeles 3, Carolina 1; Montreal 4, PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. the hole, jumped a couple of inches in the scored for Philadelphia, which rebounded from a “I thought 69 in the conditions was a air and dropped in. “I hit it a little too hard 7-3 home defeat to San Jose on Thursday. Chris Toronto 3 (OT); Chicago 5, Pittsburgh 1; Calgary 2, Edmonton 1 (OT). pretty good score,” the 24-year-old from but it felt really good coming off the club- Kreider and Derick Brassard scored for the Western Conference Eastern Conference Northern Ireland told Golf Channel. “You face,” he said. Rangers, who lost for just the second time in their Pacific Division Atlantic Division can’t really get away with anything (on Henley, 24, who has won once on the past nine games. WL OTLGFGAPTS Boston 37 17 5 182 134 79 this golf course). You really have to be in PGA Tour, knows he likely needs a hot Montreal 34 21 7 159 152 75 control with your ball and for the most final round to catch McIlroy, who has won BLUE JACKETS 6, PANTHERS 3 Anaheim 42 14 5 197 147 89 Tampa Bay 34 21 5 174 150 73 part this week I have been.” the past three times when he has held the Artem Anisimov scored a short-handed goal San Jose 38 17 6 184 149 82 Toronto 32 22 8 185 191 72 Two-time major champion McIlroy, 54-hole lead. His advantage could have late in the second period and Columbus’ special Los Angeles 34 22 6 150 133 74 Detroit 28 20 12 159 165 68 teams provided four goals in the Blue Jackets’ win whose gallery included fiancÈe, tennis been larger, because birdie putts at the Vancouver 28 24 10 148 162 66 Ottawa 26 23 11 170 197 63 over the Florida. Florida 22 31 7 146 194 51 player Caroline Wozniacki, posted a 12- final two holes shaved the cup without Phoenix 27 22 11 167 176 65 under 198 total. dropping. “I’m comfortable playing with David Savard, Cam Atkinson and RJ Umberger Buffalo 18 34 8 122 180 44 American Russell Henley (68), boosted the lead,” said McIlroy, the 2012 champi- added power-play goals - the Blue Jackets were 3 Calgary 23 30 7 139 182 53 for 4 with a man advantage - while Jack Johnson by an unlikely eagle at the par-four 14th, on. “If you’re playing with the lead, you’ve Edmonton 20 34 8 154 204 48 Metropolitan Division had three assists. Savard also had an assist. moved into second place on 10-under, got to let the guys come to you. It’s going Pittsburgh 40 16 4 192 149 84 Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 17 shots as NY Rangers 33 25 3 159 151 69 with Scotsman Russell Knox (68) alone in to make the job of the other guys very dif- Columbus ended a three-game losing skid. Shawn Central Division third position on nine-under. ficult if you’re not making mistakes.” Philadelphia 31 24 6 169 176 68 Mathias and Nick Bjugstad each had a goal and an Chicago 36 12 14 213 166 86 Washington 29 23 9 180 181 67 Tiger Woods had his best round of the Woods, who made the cut on the num- assist, and Sean Bergenheim also scored for the St. Louis 39 14 6 196 137 84 year, a 65, to move within seven strokes. ber, took advantage of his early tee time Columbus 30 25 5 178 169 65 Panthers. New Jersey 26 22 13 146 149 65 Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge started to equal the best round of the day. Colorado 38 17 5 182 161 81 Carolina 26 25 9 148 168 61 the day one stroke from the lead, but fin- “Yesterday I didn’t hit the ball very well. Minnesota 33 21 7 150 148 73 KINGS 3, HURRICANES 1 NY Islanders 23 31 8 170 210 54 Dallas 28 22 10 170 169 66 ished it eight behind after an error-strewn Today I struck the ball well and made Alec Martinez scored the tiebreaking goal on Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one 76. Henley recorded his eagle with a some putts (but) I missed my share as a power play with 11:45 to play, Jonathan Quick Winnipeg 30 26 6 174 178 66 point in the standings and are not included in wedge from 150 yards. His ball stayed in well. I just had a good feel (on the made 24 saves, and Los Angeles beat Carolina Nashville 26 25 10 150 185 62 the loss column (L). the air for almost six seconds, landed a greens),” he said. —Reuters for its third victory in four days since the ‘Blade Runner’ faces day in court

JOHANNESBURG: Olympic and Paralympic He has already admitted to culpable kill whoever was lurking behind it. Thokozile Masipa of intent to kill, Pistorius sceptical too. track star Oscar Pistorius will stand in a homicide, equivalent to manslaughter, a Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate, will go down for life, in all likelihood a mini- “In this country money talks, so I don’t Pretoria dock today to face a charge of mur- crime that could see him put away for 15 women’s rights campaigner and regular on mum of 25 years behind bars. know if there is any justice, if justice really dering his girlfriend, opening the decisive years. Or he could leave the Pretoria High South Africa’s celebrity party scene, was hit The trial before Masipa - juries were abol- will be done,” Pretoria resident Kutullo chapter in the story of the rise and fall of one Court a free man, with no more than a slap three times, in the head, arm and hip. She ished by the apartheid government in the Makgoba said. of the world’s most recognisable athletes. on the wrist and a suspended sentence. was declared dead on the scene. Coming less 1960s - is set to last a minimum of three Whatever the verdict, the career of an Barring a last-minute change of heart, the Prosecutors will seek to prove that than a month after the rape, disembowelling weeks but with as many as 107 witnesses athlete who just 18 months ago had the 27-year-old South African will enter a plea of Pistorius — known as “Blade Runner” after his and murder of a teenager near Cape Town, waiting to be called by either side it is almost admiration of the world is over - a down- “not guilty”, repeating his bail hearing asser- carbon-fibre running prosthetics — fired four the case caused outrage and drew further certain to last far longer. fall as precipitous as that of American foot- tions that he killed model Reeva Steenkamp rounds from a 9 mm pistol through the door attention to the shockingly high levels of vio- Most legal experts say proving intent in ball star OJ Simpson, who was cleared in on Valentine’s Day 2013 after tragically mis- of the toilet adjoining the bedroom of his lux- lence against women in South Africa. the absence of direct witnesses will be 1995 of murdering his wife and a male taking her for an intruder hiding in the toilet. ury Pretoria home in a deliberate attempt to If the state succeeds in convincing Judge tough. Some members of the public are friend. —Reuters MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 SPORTS Heat stop Magic spell

MIAMI: LeBron James’ switch to a did not make his debut with the PACERS 102, CELTICS 97 game for Brooklyn since being clear mask didn’t hinder his shooting Clippers because of a technicality on Paul George scored 10 of Indiana’s obtained in a Feb. 19 trade with eye, and he had 20 points Saturday the team’s active list. last 12 points and the Pacers beat Sacramento, came off the bench to to help the Miami Heat earn their Tyreke Evans had 22 points and Boston two days after beating anoth- make 8 of 13 from the field to help the seventh consecutive victory by beat- nine rebounds for New Orleans. But er of the NBA’s worst teams. Nets finish their seven-game road trip ing the Orlando Magic 112-98. At the Anthony Davis picked up three fouls The team with the best record in 4-3. A win over Chicago at home on NBA’s request, James dispensed with in his first 7 minutes on the court and the NBA had trouble with the Celtics, Monday and the Nets (28-29) will get the black mask he wore Thursday finished with eight points three who have the fourth-worst record in back to .500 for the first time since when playing for the first time since nights after spraining his left shoul- the East. On Thursday night, the they were 2-2 on Nov. 5. he broke his nose. He missed only der in a loss against Dallas. Pacers won 101-96 over the Andray Blatche had 19 points and four shots, grabbed nine rebounds Milwaukee Bucks, who have the 13 rebounds for Brooklyn, including and had seven assists. Dwyane Wade ROCKETS 118, PISTONS 110 league’s worst record. eight points and 10 rebounds in the scored 24 points and Chris Bosh 20 Terrence Jones had 22 points and George led the Pacers with 25 fourth quarter. Khris Middleton and for the Heat, who shot 58 percent. 10 rebounds, and Houston opened a points, Evan Turner added 17 and Ramon Sessions scored 16 points Eleven players scored for the Heat, big early lead and beat Detroit for its Lance Stephenson scored 15. Indiana apiece for Milwaukee. and their bench totaled 39 points. third win in four games. won its fourth straight game and The newer mask seemed to both- Jones finished 10 of 15 from the eighth in its last 11. Jeff Green had 27 GRIZZLIES 110, CAVALIERS 96 er James more than the black one floor as Houston shot 50 percent for points and Kris Humphries scored 18 Zach Randolph had 23 points and did, and he frequently took it off the game, including 61 percent in as the Celtics lost for the sixth time in 14 rebounds, and Memphis used a big when the clock was stopped. But the first half. Houston scored 41 seven games. second half to defeat Cleveland. ACAPULCO: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov returns the ball to South Africa’s Kevin while it was a nuisance, it didn’t hin- points in the first quarter and fin- Randolph had 17 points in the second Anderson during the Mexican Tennis Open in Acapulco. —AP der his performance. Tobias Harris led ished 11 of 33 from behind the arc. NETS 107, BUCKS 98 half to help Memphis outscore Orlando with 20 points and Nikola James Harden added 20 points Marcus Thornton scored 12 of his Cleveland 56-31 and rally from an ear- Vucevic added 18. and 12 assists, Patrick Beverley had 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead ly 15-point deficit to win its fifth 19 points and Dwight Howard Brooklyn over Milwaukee and within a straight at home. Mike Conley and Dimitrov wins CLIPPERS 108, PELICANS 76 chipped in 17 points and eight game of .500. Marc Gasol scored 22 each for the Chris Paul had 21 points and eight rebounds. Brooklyn’s Kevin Garnett missed Grizzlies. Conley added seven assists assists, Blake Griffin added 20 points Rodney Stuckey had 23 points on the game with back spasms but and Gasol had six. before both All-Stars sat out the 10-of-17 shooting off the bench, and wasn’t needed as the Nets never Courtney Lee finished with 19 in Acapulco fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ rout of Josh Smith added 21 points for the trailed in the second half against the points and Tony Allen had 16 on 7-of- New Orleans. Pistons, who dropped their fourth NBA’s worst team. 10 shooting. Kyrie Irving led the Nine-year veteran Danny Granger straight and seventh in eight games. Thornton, playing in his third Cavaliers with 28 points on 11-of-19 ACAPULCO: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov told reporters, referring to his semi-final shooting, while Tristan Thompson was edged out South Africa’s Kevin Anderson win that finished after 2:30 a.m. on 8 of 10 for 18 points. Spencer Hawes 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) in a three-hour Saturday. had 13 points and Luol Deng 11. slugfest to claim his second career title “Body is holding up for now. It will be with victory in the Acapulco International great to get some rest, maybe tomorrow.” It TRAIL BLAZERS 102, NUGGETS 96 final yesterday. The 22-year-old, who won was a second heartbreaking loss in as Robin Lopez scored 18 points, the Stockholm Open in October for his first many weeks for Anderson, who lost to LaMarcus Aldridge returned from an title victory, claimed the first-set in a Marin Cilic in the Delray Beach Open final injury to add 16, and Portland beat tiebreak but Anderson broke in the second last Sunday. Denver to sweep the series for the first game of the next and comfortably held “Right now it’s really disappointing... to time in 15 years. Nicolas Batum had a serve to level the match at one set apiece. come so close. It was possibly a match career-high 16 rebounds for Portland, Anderson carried the momentum into where I felt I was going to get it,” Anderson which has won its last five games. the third with another early break but told reporters. “I’m going to have to move Kenneth Faried, Randy Foye and handed back the initiative with a double on, need to take positives and take belief. Evan Fournier scored 16 points apiece, fault on break point in the eighth game of “I know it’s difficult but it’s not an easy but Denver lost its fifth straight. Faried the deciding set. sport. You have got two options - either to took a hard fall with less than two Dimitrov, who beat Wimbledon champi- get down or get even more motivated.” minutes left and appeared to injure on Andy Murray in the semi-finals, held on In the women’s tournament played at his right knee, but finished out the to take the decider into a tiebreak and the same venue, top seeded Slovakian game. completed the victory on his first match Dominika Cibulkova battled past American Portland won all four meetings, its point to improve his head-to-head record Christina McHale 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4 to win first sweep of the series since the 1999 against the South African to 4-1. her fourth career title. season, when the Blazers won all “Belief! That was the only thing that The victory will move Cibulkova a place three games against the Nuggets. kept me (going) today. I didn’t think I was higher to number 11 from her previous gonna come back after last night’s match. I career-high world ranking when the new TIMBERWOLVES 108, KINGS 97 felt really bad after the match,” Dimitrov standings are released today. —Reuters Kevin Martin scored 26 points, Kevin Love had 22 and Minnesota reached .500 with its win over Sacramento. It was the second straight win and fifth in six games for the Timberwolves (29-29). Minnesota never trailed after opening the third quarter with nine MIAMI: Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) looks to pass as he falls on the court as Miami Heat straight points. Love added 10 shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game. —AP rebounds and seven assists, and Nikola Pekovic had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves. DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points NBA results/standings and 17 rebounds for the Kings in his return from a one-game suspension. Rudy Gay had 22 of his 24 points in Miami 112, Orlando 98; Washington 122, Philadelphia 103; Houston 118, Detroit 110; Indiana 102, Boston 97; the opening half and Isaiah Thomas Brooklyn 107, Milwaukee 98; Memphis 110, Cleveland 96; Portland 102, Denver 96; Minnesota 108, had 22 points and eight assists in Sacramento 97; LA Clippers 108, New Orleans 76. Sacramento’s third straight loss. Eastern Conference Western Conference WIZARDS 122, 76ERS 103 Atlantic Division Northwest Division Trevor Ariza made eight 3-pointers W L PCT GB Oklahoma City 44 15 .746 - and scored a career-high 40 points to Toronto 32 26 .552 - Portland 41 18 .695 3 help Washington win its sixth straight Brooklyn 28 29 .491 3.5 Minnesota 29 29 .500 14.5 game. Ariza made all six 3-point NY Knicks 21 38 .356 11.5 Denver 25 33 .431 18.5 attempts in the first quarter for 24 Boston 20 40 .333 13 Utah 21 37 .362 22.5 points and finished 14 of 23 from the Philadelphia 15 44 .254 17.5 floor overall. The 76ers lost their 13th straight Pacific Division Central Division game on the night they retired Allen LA Clippers 41 20 .672 - Indiana 45 13 .776 - Iverson’s No. 3. Iverson had his num- Golden State 36 23 .610 4 Chicago 32 26 .552 13 ber sent to the rafters, fit between Maurice Cheeks’ No. 10 and Charles Cleveland 24 37 .393 22.5 Phoenix 34 24 .586 5.5 Barkley’s No. 34. Detroit 23 36 .390 22.5 LA Lakers 20 39 .339 20 Sacramento 20 39 .339 20 The Sixers had a rare sellout of Milwaukee 11 47 .190 34 20,856 for Iverson’s triumphant home- coming. The fans, though, saw the Southeast Division Southwest Division same old sorry Sixers. Miami 42 14 .750 - San Antonio 42 16 .724 - Ariza had plenty of help for a Washington 31 28 .525 12.5 Houston 40 19 .678 2.5 Wizards team making a run in the Charlotte 27 31 .466 16 Dallas 36 24 .600 7 Eastern Conference. John Wall had 17 Atlanta 26 31 .456 16.5 Memphis 33 25 .569 9 points and 16 assists, and Marcin Gortat had 13 points and 14 Orlando 18 43 .295 26.5 New Orleans 23 36 .390 19.5 rebounds. —AP

SWITZERLAND: Austria’s Andrea Fischbacher clears a gate on her way to win an alpine ski, World Cup women’s downhill, in Crans Montana yesterday. —AP Fischbacher grabs women’s downhill

CRANS-MONTANA: Andrea Fischbacher Fenninger moved 157 points behind of Austria was the surprise winner of the Hoefl-Riesch in the overall table, and 80 delayed women’s World Cup downhill at points off the German in the downhill Crans Montana yesterday, claiming her standings. first victory in four years. Thick fog had seen the race called off Fischbacher skied down the new on Saturday and moved to Sunday, with Mont-Lachaux slope in 1 minute, 34 sec- the scheduled super-combined event onds, beating compatriot Anna Fenninger canceled. Bad weather had also caused by 0.15. Friday’s second training session to be can- Fenninger, who is the only realistic celed. More fog delayed the start of the challenger to overall leader Maria Hoefl- downhill for two and a half hours. Riesch, instantly ran over with the rest of Goergl was 12th down and took an Osaimi hails shooting event her teammates after seeing Fischbacher early lead, with all the favorites yet to ski. beat her time and the group fell over into Gut was fastest in training and the Swiss By Abdellatif Sharaa Osaimi said that the championship includes all Osaimi said an Asian training camp for pistol will the snow in an embrace. skier made a strong start but skied off the shooting disciplines and is organized in three parts - be held on the sidelines of the tournament, in which Tina Maze of Slovenia was third, 47 sec- piste as she tried to maintain her balance KUWAIT: Secretary General of the Arab and Kuwait the Asian air gun championships which will lead to 24 Asian countries will participate with 74 shooters onds behind Fischbacher. Maze narrowly following a near fall. Shooting Federations Obaid Al-Osaimi hailed HH the qualification for the Youth Olympic in China and 32 coaches. He said that Kuwait Shooting Sport prevented an all-Austrian podium as she Kaufmann-Abderhalden did the same Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for (Nanjing 2014), HH the Amir Grand Prix in shotgun Club has hosted many training camps at Sheikh edged out Elisabeth Goergl by just 0.02. as the pair failed to take advantage of his sponsorship of the Third International Shooting (skeet, trap and double trap) and the sporting cham- Sabah Al-Ahmad Shooting Complex of various Hoefl-Riesch was ninth as home Hoefl-Riesch’s under-par performance. Grand Prix scheduled for March 7, 2014 at Sheikh pionship. He said that 48 countries will participate, countries including Sweden, Norway, North Korea, favorite Lara Gut and Marianne Dominque Gisin of Switzerland, who is Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex. Osaimi expecting the number to increase. Osaimi said a Uzbekistan, Oman, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Kaufmann-Abderhalden both skied out. It joint Olympic downhill champion with said the championship will be an outstanding event course for shotgun officials was held from Feb 23 Kyrgyzstan. Osaimi lauded the role of the govern- at the world level as it bears the name of HH the until Feb 26 in which international lecturer Petros ment for providing all the facilities in order to hold was Fischbacher’s first win since claiming Maze, also had a disappointing run and Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber, and there will Krystas spoke and 20 new Kuwaiti referees partici- this global event in a suitable way for Kuwait. He gold in the Super-G at the 2010 Winter finished 10th, more than 1 1/2 seconds be valuable prizes that are considered the best in the pated. Meanwhile, a course for pistol and rifle refer- said Kuwait shooters are ready for the tournament Olympics. The 28-year-old skier’s success behind Fischbacher. Fenninger looked set world, in addition to an unprecedented participation ees opened Friday in which international lecturer and look forward to best results as they compete in comes almost exactly five years after her to claim her first downhill before at the level of Grand Prix. Aado Maranik spoke. their country. last World Cup victory. Fischbacher’s surprising success. —AP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 SPORTS Clarke hits 161

CAPE TOWN: Australian captain and then going for their shots. Michael Clarke hit an unbeaten 161 to Part-time off-spinner JP Duminy guide his team to a strong position claimed Test-best figures of four for 73, before rain disrupted his team’s bid to taking three wickets after lunch as take a stranglehold on the second day Australia went for quick runs. of the third and final Test against South With strike bowler Dale Steyn out of Africa at Newlands yesterday. action after suffering a hamstring injury Australia were 494 for seven when a on the first day, the key for Australia was storm swept in on the back of high to prevent the South African bowlers winds and prevented any play after from making a breakthrough early in mid-afternoon. Before the rain, Australia the day with an almost-new ball. were on target to take their total past Abbott bowled an outstanding spell 500 and subject South Africa to a chal- of six overs during which he conceded lenging examination from the tourists’ only one run - but couldn’t take a wick- fast bowlers in what was shaping as a et, while Vernon Philander went for 39 mirror image of the domination runs in his six-over morning spell. achieved by South Africa in the second Clarke, who was on 92 overnight, Test in Port Elizabeth. quickly went to 99 but then faced 24 Clarke said it was a “very satisfying” deliveries - 23 of them from Abbott - innings. “There were some tough stages without being able to get the run to yesterday (Saturday). Morne Morkel bring up his fifth century against South bowled a couple of pretty quick spells, Africa. bowling around the wicket with a set It finally came with a cover drive for DHAKA: Pakistan’s team celebrates after winning the Asia Cup one-day international cricket tournament against India. Pakistan plan to attack the emblem on my hel- four off Philander. He had faced 215 won by one wicket. —AP met. balls and hit 11 fours. Smith, mean- “That was difficult to get through but while, played some aggressive strokes, most important is we’ve got 494 runs which included a straight six off Afridi blitz India in on the board and I’m extremely pleased Philander. with the position we’re in.” He made 84 in a fourth wicket stand Clarke said Australia were deter- of 184 with Clarke before he chopped a mined to push for a win which would wide delivery from part-time left-arm Asia Cup thriller seal a series that is tied at one match spinner Dean Elgar into his stumps. He each. He said there was some inconsis- hit nine fours and three sixes in a 155- DHAKA: Shahid Afridi smashed two consecutive sixes off tent bounce. ball innings. Ravichandran Ashwin in the final over as Pakistan defeated “Hopefully it continues to deteriorate Shane Watson, playing in his first India by one wicket in Dhaka yesterday, virtually knocking and gets a little more up and down. But match of the series, survived a review the arch-rivals out of the Asia Cup. Pakistan, chasing India’s we’re going to have to bowl well, it’s still off the first ball he faced when Elgar 245-8, needed nine runs off the last four balls after losing a very good batting wicket.” appealed for leg before wicket but went their way from a seemingly winning position to slump from 200-4 to 236-9 at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. South African bowler Kyle Abbott, on to make an aggressive 40 off 32 balls But the seasoned Afridi sealed his side’s win with two who bowled two tight spells in difficult, with two fours and three sixes. mighty hits off the next two deliveries to keep Pakistan windy conditions, said he thought the In trying to hit Duminy for a fourth afloat in the five-nation tournament with their second win pitch would stay good for batting six he mistimed a shot to long-off. Brad in three matches. through most of the rest of the match. Haddin also perished playing an attack- India, the reigning World Cup champions, suffered their second defeat in three games and are unlikely to make “We’ve got to bat as well as they ing shot and Mitchell Johnson was the March 8 final even if they beat Afghanistan in their last have,” he said. “We have to keep positive. caught down the legside first ball by match on Wednesday. As soon as you start thinking of a draw, wicketkeeper AB de Villiers off Duminy. Afridi returned unbeaten on a quickfire 34 off 18 balls, or any negative thoughts, you come Clarke, who had gone 11 Test innings studded with three sixes and two boundaries, but the victo- unstuck.” without making more than 24 runs, bat- ry was set up by all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. Hafeez picked up two wickets and then top-scored with Australia scored 163 runs in 39.4 ted with increasing confidence and 75, adding 87 runs for the fifth wicket with Sohaib Maqsood overs yesterday, blunting a depleted reached 150 for the tenth time in his (38) after Pakistan were reduced to 113-4 in the 23rd over. South African pace attack with an career off 288 balls when he clipped But both batsmen fell in successive overs-Hafeez caught SCOREBOARD almost-new ball at the start of the day Abbott for his 17th four. —AFP in the deep off Ashwin and Maqsood was run out-to leave Pakistan on 203-6. DHAKA: Full scoreboard from the Asia Cup one-day international between India and India grabbed three more wickets to make it 236-9 Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka yesterday: before Afridi’s blitz in the company of last man Junaid Khan carried the jubilant Pakistanis home. India: Pakistan: Afridi, a 34-year-old veteran of 377 one-dayers, said he R. Sharma c Hafeez b Talha 56 Sharjeel Khan b Ashwin 25 was delighted to contribute to his side’s win in a crunch S. Dhawan lbw b Hafeez 10 Ahmed Shehzad c Ashwin b Mishra 42 match. Mohammad Hafeez c Kumar b Ashwin 75 V. Kohli c Akmal b Gul 5 “Expectations were high,” he said. “We all know how Misbah-ul-Haq run out 1 important this game was and I am glad I did it. It’s a great A. Rahane c Hafeez b Talha 23 Umar Akmal c Jadeja b Mishra 4 occasion whenever we play against India and today was our A. Rayudu c sub (Ali) b Ajmal 58 Sohaib Maqsood run out 38 day.” D. Karthik c Ajmal b Hafeez 23 Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq appeared a relieved Shahid Afridi not out 34 man after Afridi’s heroics. “It was a really important win R. Jadeja not out 52 Umar Gul c Rahane b Kumar 12 and I am happy because Pakistan played really well under R. Ashwin st Akmal b Ajmal 9 Mohammad Talha c Jadeja b Kumar 0 Saeed Ajmal b Ashwin 0 pressure,” he said. “We have the label of being bad chasers, Mohammed Shami c Maqsood b Ajmal 0 but Hafeez and Maqsood did well and Afridi finished it Junaid Khan not out 1 perfectly.” A. Mishra not out 1 Extras: (lb11, w6) 17 India’s Virat Kohli, standing in as captain for the injured Extras: (lb3, w5) 8 Total (for nine wickets, 49.4 overs) 249 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, said he was proud of the way the Total (for eight wickets, 50 overs) 245 Fall of wickets: 1-71 (Sharjeel), 2-93 team responded to the challenge. Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Dhawan), 2-56 (Kohli), (Shehzad), 3-96 (Misbah), 4-113 (Akmal), 5- “The guys put in a good effort after a modest total,” he 200 (Hafeez), 6-203 (Maqsood), 7-235 (Gul), said. “We were 20 to 30 runs short with the bat. But this 3-92 (Sharma), 4-103 (Rahane), 5-155 8-236 (Talha), 9-236 game could have gone either way. We may not make it to (Karthik), 6-214 (Rayudu), 7-237 (Ashwin), 8- (Ajmal). the final, but I am proud how the bowlers fought back.” 237 (Shami) Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra marked his first match in Bowling: Kumar 10-0-56-2 (w3), Shami 10-0- the tournament with two for 28 from 10 steady overs on the Bowling: Hafeez 9-0-38-2, Gul 9-0-60-1 (w2), 49-0, Ashwin 9.4-0-44-3 (w1), Jadeja 10-1- CAPE TOWN: Australian Steve Smith plays a delivery through the leg side dur- slow pitch. Junaid 7-0-44-0 (w1), Afridi 8-0-38-0, Talha 61-0, Mishra 10-0-28-2 (w2). ing day two of the 3rd cricket Test between South Africa and Australia at Pakistan had unsettled India’s batsmen with pace and 7-1-22-2 (w2), Ajmal 10-0-40-3 Pakistan won by one wicket. Newlands, South Africa. —AP spin after electing to field, with Saeed Ajmal claiming 3-40 and debutant fast bowler Mohammad Talha and Hafeez two each. Left-hander Jadeja, who walked in to bat with Dinesh Karthik and 59 for the sixth SCOREBOARD Opener Rohit Sharma (56) and Ambati Rayudu (58) were in his 100th one-dayer with his team on a with Jadeja before he holed out in the deep the main contributors for India at the top of the order, shaky 155-5, smashed four boundaries and in the 47th over. Afghanistan, who stunned before Ravindra Jadeja hit an unbeaten 52 off 49 balls two sixes to boost the total. Bangladesh in their last match, take on Sri CAPE TOWN: Close of play scores on the second day of the third and final Test between towards the end. Rayudu put on 52 for the fifth wicket Lanka in Dhaka today. —AFP South Africa and Australia at Newlands yesterday. Australia, first innings Fall of wickets: 1-65 (Rogers), 2-138 (Doolan), (overnight 331-3) 3-217 (Warner), 4-401 (Smith), 5-456 Hamilton tops Bahrain testing C. Rogers c Smith b Steyn 25 (Watson), 6-489 (Haddin), 7-489 (Johnson) D. Warner c De Villiers b Duminy 135 Bowling: Steyn 10.1-0-44-1, Philander 26.4- MANAMA: Former world champion A. Doolan c Steyn b Philander 20 2-116-1 (1nb), Morkel 23.5-2-94-0 (4nb, 2w), Lewis Hamilton will head for the M. Clarke not out 161 Duminy 17-0-73-4, Abbott 28-11-68-0 (1nb), season-opening Australian Grand S. Smith b Elgar 84 Elgar 22-0-99-1. Prix in two weeks’ time installed as S. Watson c Amla b Duminy 40 To bat: J. Pattinson, N. Lyon an early title favorite after topping B. Haddin c Amla b Duminy 13 South Africa: G. Smith, A. Petersen, D. Elgar, testing in Bahrain yesterday. M. Johnson c De Villiers b Duminy 0 H. Amla, A. de Villiers, F. du Plessis, J. Duminy, The 2008 champion took his R. Harris not out 4 V. Philander, K. Abbott, D. Steyn, M. Morkel Mercedes to 1min 33.278sec having Extras (nb6, w6) 12 Match situation: Australia are 494 for seven put in 69 laps, just two hundredths of a second off the best time of the Total (7 wkts, 127.4 overs) 494 wickets in the first innings. four-day session at the Sakhir Circuit set by Felipe Massa in the resurgent Williams. Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Tigers down Falcons Nico Rosberg was third fastest over the four days with Williams con- LONDON: Vereniki Goneva scored a try try converted by Phil Godman. firming their early promise with in each half as Leicester maintained their Williams cut Newcastle’s lead to 10-9 Valtteri Bottas the fourth fastest grip on fourth place in the English with two more penalties before overall. Premiership with a 41-18 win away to Godman kicked Newcastle four points The top eight over the week was filled out by Fernando Alonso in a Newcastle yesterday. in front with a penalty of his own. Ferrari, Sergio Perez in a Force The match also saw the Tigers wel- Newcastle, however, gifted Leicester India, Kimi Raikkonen in the second come back Manu Tuilagi for the a try when their defence stood off Ferrari with Nico Hulkenberg next England centre’s first match since he Goneva and the Fijian flyer chipped in the other Force India. suffered a pectoral injury in September. ahead to score in a the corner, with the “The car is still very much a work in progress, but we’ve learnt a lot Thomas Waldrom and Pablo Matera Tigers 14-13 up at half-time. over the course of these last few also scored tries for English champions Tow penalties early in the second weeks,” said Hamilton, whose morn- SAKHIR: Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing chases Formula One driver Leicester, with Owen Williams adding half from Williams made it 20-13 to the ing efforts were hampered by gear- Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes down the track during pre-season testing at the Bahrain 19 points. For the Falcons, tries by Noah visitors but Lawson’s 56th minute try in box trouble. International Circuit. —AP Cato and Scott Lawson did little to ease the corner cut the lead to just two “It was a tough start to the day but they managed to get the car Sebastian Vettel was only ninth Overall, Vettel was just 18th fastest to solve than just the pace,” Vettel the pain of a 10th straight defeat. points. But from then on it was largely turned around for me to complete fastest yesterday with a best time over the four days, finishing ahead told autosport.com. An early penalty exchange between one-way traffic, with Goneva scoring some good laps in the afternoon, of 1min 37.468sec although he did only of the two Caterhams and the “I’m not calling us favourites. We Lee Smith, Newcastle’s new recruit his second try off the back of a line-out which was a fantastic effort.” at least manage to complete 77 struggling Lotus team. haven’t done enough laps, the from rugby league, and Williams left drive, Waldrom powering over the line With the season-opener taking laps unlike Saturday when his Red “We cannot do the times that speed is not there compared to the match all square at 3-3 before Cato and Matera adding a bonus-point try place in Melbourne on March 16, Bull failed to make a single circuit. the guys at the top are doing for a some other teams so we have to world champions Red Bull are But his time was still over four couple of reasons, but at the wait and see when we get to broke through the Tigers’ defence for a before the finish. —AFP struggling. Drivers champion seconds off Hamilton’s best. moment we have bigger problems Australia.” —AFP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 SPORTS Ronaldo salvages Real point from Madrid derby

MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo and Gabi. within a point of Los Blancos should left incensed seven minutes later equalised eight minutes from time as Another turned down penalty they beat Almeria later yesterday. when Costa was tripped inside the Real Madrid remained on top of La appeal for a foul on Costa led Atletico Carlo Ancelotti’s men came into area by Ramos, but referee Carlos Liga thanks to a pulsating 2-2 draw assistant boss Mono Burgos to be the game full of confidence after Delgado Ferreiro waved away claims against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente sent to the stand as he tried to con- thrashing Schalke 6-1 on their return for a penalty. Calderon. front the referee midway through the to Champions League action in mid- Some of the Atletico players took Karim Benzema had fired Real into second-half. week and took just three minutes to their protests too far, though, as Arda a third minute lead when he convert- And Atletico were left to feel hard open the scoring. Turan appeared to push Ferreiro and ed Angel di Maria’s cross. However, done when Ronaldo spun on the A short corner from the right was was lucky to only receive a yellow despite being denied a clear penalty edge of the box to drill home a late worked back to Angel di Maria and card. when Sergio Ramos tripped Diego equaliser. A point for both sides his in-swinging cross was slotted That decision added fire to an Costa, Atletico were in front by half- means Real remain three points clear home at the back post by Benzema. already intense atmosphere inside time thanks to fine strikes by Koke of Atletico, but Barcelona can move to The home fans and players were the Calderon and the home support inspired Atletico as they went on to dominate the majority of the first- half. GERMANY: Hoffenheim’s Roberto Firmino (center) challenges with However, Atletico were thankful Wolfsburg’s Luiz Gustavo (left) and Naldo (right) during the German to Thibaut Courtois for preventing Bundesliga soccer match. —AP the visitors from doubling their lead twice in quick succession as he saved from Benzema and a near post back- Hoffenheim drub Wolfsburg heel from Ronaldo. Atletico were lev- el on 27 minutes when fine work BERLIN: VfL Wolfsburg’s hopes of breaking into Wednesday’s Champions League clash. from Turan teed up Koke inside the the Bundesliga’s top four suffered a setback yes- Bayern extended their record unbeaten area and he smashed a low right- terday after being drubbed 6-2 at mid-table league run to 48 matches, dating back to footed drive into the far corner. Hoffenheim. October 2012, and earned their 15th straight Diego Lopez then had to be quick Wolfsburg finished the match with 10 men as league victory. off his line to prevent Costa from a German international Christian Traesch was sent Bayern raced into a 4-0 lead inside half-an- narrow angle moments later. But the off. Dieter Hecking’s Wolves had hoped for three hour as left-back David Alaba netted a free-kick, hosts did go in front in spectacular points in Hoffenheim to take fourth spot from then Robben scored either side of Mario fashion in stoppage time at the end Schalke 04, who were routed at runaway league Mandzukic’s header. of the half when Gabi collected a leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday. Schalke were gifted a goal when Jefferson short free-kick and fired high into Dutch striker Bas Dost had equalised for Farfan’s corner was turned into his own net by Lopez’s top right-hand corner from Wolves with 15 minutes gone after Roberto Munich right-back Rafinha, in for captain Philipp 35 yards. Firmino’s fourth-minute strike gave Hoffenheim Lahm, with 25 minutes left. Costa had a great chance to make the lead, but the hosts responded with three To compound Schalke’s misery, Greece centre- it 3-1 seven minutes after the restart goals. back Kyriakos Papadopoulos was shown a as he raced past Pepe to a long ball Hoffenheim led 4-1 at the break as defender straight red for bringing down Mandzukic in the over the Real defence, but his weak Niklas Suele netted before French striker Anthony area. shot squirmed wide of the target. Modeste scored two goals in four minutes. His foul allowed Robben to wrap up his hat- At the other end Benzema was Croatia forward Ivan Perisic pulled a goal back for trick with a 77th-minute penalty. Coach Pep inches away from his second of the Wolves with 15 minutes left. Guardiola flippantly told reporters “don’t ask me MADRID: Real’s Angel Di Maria (left) in action with Atletico’s Koke (right) during a Spanish La afternoon when he volleyed Modric’s But the visitors had right-back Traesch sent off about the title” in broken German on Friday, but Liga soccer match at the Vicente Calderon stadium. —AP cross wide. for a foul in the area and Hoffenheim’s Sejad with 11 league games left, Bayern can wrap up More controversy was to ensure, Salihovic netted the penalty before Modeste’s their 24th German league title by the end of though, as Costa appeared to bun- replacement Sven Schipplock hit their sixth. March. Spanish League results/standings dled over inside the area, this time by Wolfsburg’s result leaves them fifth. It means Dortmund went second after their comfort- Alvaro Arbeloa, but again Ferreiro all three teams immediately behind leaders able win over Nuremberg as Germany defender didn’t point to the spot and instead Bayern Munich and second-placed Borussia Mats Hummels netted on his return after four Villarreal 1 (Bruno 70-pen) Real Betis 1 (Ruben Castro 84); Atletico Madrid 2 (Koke 27, Gabi 45) Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 3, booked Costa for diving. Dortmund, who beat Nuremberg 3-0 on weeks out with a foot injury. Ronaldo 82). That led to Burgos having to be Saturday, suffered defeats over the weekend. Poland star Robert Lewandowski scored his visibly restrained from confronting VfB Stuttgart are fourth from bottom after 15th league goal of the season before Henrikh Playing later the referee by Atletico players and losing 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in what was a Mkhitaryan netted their third seven minutes from Sevilla v Real Sociedad, Rayo Vallecano v Valencia, Barcelona v Almeria. officials as he was sent to the stands club record eighth straight defeat and heaped time. for protesting. further pressure on coach Thomas Schneider. Bayer Leverkusen’s dreadful form continued Spanish La Liga table after yesterday’s two early matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): The drama continued as seconds Stuttgart striker Martin Harnik’s first-half goal with their fourth straight home defeat as they lost Real Madrid 26 20 4 2 73 26 64 Elche 26 7 8 11 23 37 32 later Courtois had to be alert to parry was cancelled out by Eintracht midfielder Jan 1-0 at home to Mainz, who moved up to sixth Atletico Madrid 26 19 4 3 61 21 61 Celta Vigo 26 8 6 12 32 37 30 Gareth Bale’s flicked header. Ronaldo Rosenthal ten minutes from time before captain with their fifth win in eight games. Barcelona 25 19 3 3 70 20 60 Osasuna 26 8 5 13 24 39 29 should have levelled 16 minutes Alexander Meier hit the 89th-minute winner. Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting Athletic Bilbao 26 15 5 6 49 30 50 Granada 26 8 3 15 22 36 27 from time when he headed wide slammed home the winner past goalkeeper Villarreal 26 13 5 8 47 31 44 Getafe 26 7 6 13 23 40 27 when unmarked from Dani Carvajal’s RECORD RUN Bernd Leno on 37 minutes as Leverkusen suffered Real Sociedad 25 12 7 6 46 35 43 Malaga 26 6 8 12 24 35 26 cross. On Saturday, an Arjen Robben hat-trick saw their eighth defeat in ten games to drop to third. Levante 26 9 9 8 26 31 36 Almeria 25 7 5 13 24 42 26 However, the Portuguese made Bayern open a 20-point lead at the top of the Curiously, both goalkeepers scored own goals Sevilla 25 9 8 8 43 41 35 Valladolid 26 4 11 11 28 44 23 amends eight minutes later when he table with a 5-1 win over ten-man Schalke 04. as Borussia Moenchengladbach, who are winless Valencia 25 10 5 10 38 36 35 Rayo Vallecano 25 6 2 17 25 59 20 fired home a loose ball from the edge The Royal Blues suffered a second drubbing in in their last eight games, were held to a 1-1 draw Espanyol 26 9 6 11 29 32 33 Real Betis 26 3 6 18 21 56 15 of the area to give Real a share of the four days after losing 6-1 to Real Madrid in at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig. —AFP spoils. —AFP German League results/standings Parma edge closer to Europa zone Hoffenheim 6 (Roberto Firmino 4, Suele 37, Modeste 39, 43, Salihovic 82-pen, Schipplock 86) VfL Wolfsburg 2 (Dost 15, Perisic 76); Eintracht Frankfurt 2 (Rosenthal 80, Meier 89) VfB Stuttgart 1 (Harnik 31). MILAN: Marco Parolo’s first-minute spot, but with a game in hand-after a advantage to 11 points with victory share of the points from a scoreless opener sealed the points away at 10- recent away fixture at Roma was away at Milan in Sunday’s late game. draw at Roma on Saturday, however German Bundesliga table after yesterday’s match (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals man Sassuolo to move Parma within rained off Tommaso Ghirardi’s side Napoli, who are seven points dropping two points has also given a against, points): sight of a Europa League place, as will fancy a late run at seizing a place behind Roma in third, are away at boost to fellow teams chasing a Bayern Munich 23 21 2 0 66 10 65 Hoffenheim 23 7 8 8 52 48 29 fellow chasers Verona stumbled in a in Europe. Livorno while fourth-placed Europa League place. Borussia Dortmund 23 14 3 6 54 27 45 Hanover 23 7 4 12 30 42 25 scoreless draw at home to Bologna. Juventus remain top of the pile Fiorentina host Lazio later in a bid to Parma, helped by Sassuolo striker Bayer Leverkusen 23 14 1 8 39 26 43 Frankfurt 23 6 7 10 26 39 25 Parma’s steady climb back up the with an eight-point lead on Roma pull further clear of Inter, in fifth. Domenico Berardi’s red on 72 min- Schalke 23 12 5 6 42 35 41 Werder Bremen 23 6 7 10 26 46 25 Serie A table has left them in sixth but have the chance to increase their Inter did well to come away with a utes for a foul on Cristian Molinaro, Wolfsburg 23 12 3 8 40 32 39 Nuremberg 23 4 11 8 27 40 23 are now on 40 points, only one Mainz 23 11 4 8 32 35 37 VfB Stuttgart 23 5 4 14 36 49 19 behind Inter, and sit one place ahead Moenchengladbach 23 10 6 7 40 29 36 Hamburg 23 5 4 14 38 52 19 of Verona, who suffered a setback Hertha Berlin 23 10 5 8 34 27 35 Freiburg 23 4 7 12 22 44 19 after being held to a scoreless draw Augsburg 23 10 5 8 35 33 35 Braunschweig 23 4 4 15 17 42 16 by relegation-haunted Bologna, who were reduced to 10 men when Jonathan Cristaldo saw red on 82 minutes. Most of Sunday afternoon’s games featured teams with faint hopes of a Europa League place and others battling to stave off the threat of relegation. Atalanta claimed a 2-1 home win over Chievo with Luca Cigarini scor- ing an 85th minute winner after Dario Dainelli had levelled Carlos Carmona’s first-half opener for the hosts in the 72nd minute. Chievo were reduced to 10 men on 68 minutes when Bostjan Cesar, who had already been cautioned, saw red for a foul on German Denis. Luca Antonelli and Stefano Sturaro scored in either half to secure a 2-0 home win for Genoa against relegation-haunted Catania, who were reduced to 10 men before the interval after Giuseppe Bellusci saw red for a second bookable offence. CORSICA: Lille’s Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou vies with Ajaccio’s Gian Piero Gasperini’s men are Venezuelan defender Grenddy Perozo during the French League football now 11th and being chased by match. —AFP ITALY: Sassuolo’s Davide Biondini (left) vies for the ball with Parma’s Walter Gargano of Uruguay, Sampdoria, who continued their during their Serie A soccer match at Reggio Emilia’s Mapei stadium. —AP resurgence under coach Sinisa Mihajlovic with a precious 2-0 away Kalou hat-trick fires win at Torino to pull themselves up Italian League results/standings to 12th. Stefano Okaka made the Lille back into third most of a rare start to score a sev- Cagliari 3 (Ibarbo 18, Vecino 81, Ibraimi 89) Udinese 0; Atalanta 2 (Carmona 21, Cigarini 85) Chievo 1 (Dainelli 72); Genoa 2 (Antonelli enth-minute opener as confusion PARIS: Lille’s Ivory Coast international “It’s really a miracle that we won 14, Sturaro 85) Catania 0; Verona 0 Bologna 0; Sassuolo 0 Parma 1 (Parolo 1); Torino 0 Sampdoria 2 (Okaka 7, Gabbiadini 79). reigned in the Torino box, with Salomon Kalou fired a hat-trick to lift the tonight,” said Girard. “We had a very bad Manolo Gabbiadini sealing the northern French club past Ajaccio 3-2 in match and were never in it and were sur- Playing later points on 79 minutes. Corsica and back into third spot in Ligue 1 prised by this Ajaccio team who had the Livorno v Napoli, Fiorentina v Lazio, Milan v Juventus. Earlier, Udinese got reacquainted yesterday. courage to go for it and cause us serious with defeat in a 3-0 reverse at The former Chelsea striker cancelled out problems,” he continued. Italian Serie A table yesterday (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Cagliari which dropped Francesco compatriot Junior Tallo’s shock first minute “It was crucial to get third place back. Guidolin’s side back towards the opener to level the match from the penalty Saint-Etienne have come back strong the Juventus 25 21 3 1 60 19 66 Genoa 26 9 8 9 30 32 35 drop zone. A series of missed spot on 25 minutes before scoring again last five matches and we have been bat- Roma 25 17 7 1 49 11 58 Sampdoria 26 8 7 11 29 37 31 chances, notably by veteran striker seven minutes before half-time to put the tling for results for some time. Napoli 25 15 6 4 50 28 51 Atalanta 26 9 4 13 27 38 31 Antonio Di Natale, before and after visitors ahead. “The only thing positive from this match Fiorentina 25 13 6 6 45 28 45 Cagliari 26 6 10 10 26 35 28 Victor Ibarbo’s 18th minute opener, Tallo levelled the match for the base- is the three points and we’re going to have Inter Milan 26 10 11 5 43 29 41 Udinese 26 8 4 14 29 39 28 proved costly. ment dwellers, who have won just two to show a lot more in the coming weeks to Parma 25 10 10 5 39 29 40 Bologna 26 4 10 12 22 41 22 Matias Vecino and Agim Ibraimi games all season, just before half-time keep our position.” Verona 26 12 4 10 43 42 40 Chievo 26 5 6 15 20 37 21 added further goals in the space of before Kalou completed his hat-trick, again Lille now have 49 points, one ahead of Torino 26 9 9 8 39 34 36 Livorno 25 5 5 15 26 45 20 seven second-half minutes to pull from the penalty spot, 16 minutes from Saint-Etienne who upset Monaco 2-0 on AC Milan 25 9 8 8 39 35 35 Catania 26 4 7 15 19 45 19 Cagliari eight points clear of the dan- time to give Rene Girard’s side three crucial Saturday, in the race for third place and the Lazio 25 9 8 8 33 34 35 Sassuolo 26 4 5 17 25 55 17 ger zone. —AFP points. final Champions League spot. —AFP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 SPORTS Sao Paulo hails goal-den Ronaldo

SAO PAULO: Twelve years after he fired He came through several setbacks and he this year’s World Cup hosts to glory, for- is a winner,” added Pereira, referring to the mer Brazil star Ronaldo basked yesterday star’s many battles with knee injuries. in the after-glow of Sao Paulo’s Carnival The Ronaldo parade, five floats long, celebrations. showed off in song and dance aspects of The 37-year-old’s career was the theme Ronaldo’s career with one representing a of the Gavioes da Fiel samba group, found- phoenix rising from the ashes-portray- ed by fans of his former club Corinthians, ing his recovery from injury to win the where he hung up his boots three years World Cup. ago after a stellar career with Barcelona, Ronaldo rose to fame and glory after Inter Milan and Real Madrid. being born in a poor Rio de Janeiro suburb. Clad in a golden suit and tie, Ronaldo, He was scouted as a young teenager by the top scorer in World Cup finals history PSV Eindhoven, then had a year under for- with 15 goals, waved joyously to the crowd mer England coach Bobby Robson at and tried out his samba legs as the giant Barcelona, before Inter Milan came calling. float moved through the streets. He became one of Real Madrid’s famerd “It was all very moving,” said Ronaldo, a ‘galacticos’ thereafter and teamed up with member of the organizing committee of David Beckham at the Bernabeu before this year’s World Cup, which kicks off on heading to AC Milan, though by then he June 12 in Sao Paulo itself. had clearly passed his peak as weight The star was accompanied by his par- issues became a problem. ents as he took the acclaim of thousands of World player of the year in 1997 and Carnival-goers at the city’s Sambadrome, 2002, he then headed home to while his group’s float made its way along Corinthians, one of Brazil’s most popular the streets, music blaring. clubs, to wind down his playing days. “I was hoarse by the end from singing “Ronaldo wrote a page of Corinthians’s so much,” he said. “Seeing the reaction of history,” enthused 20-year-old Carnival- supporters was very emotional.” As Brazil’s goer Marcos Vianello. “He wasn’t just any business hub, Sao Paulo is far more staid player in our team. Even if he hails from Rio than Rio, where Carnival celebrations are he considers himself a ‘corinthiano’ and he considerably more hedonistic. showed that today.” The samba celebration But tens of thousands came out to revel of Ronaldo’s life skipped over one incident and salute Ronaldo, whose two goals saw which brought him severe embarrassment off Germany in Tokyo to win the 2002 in 2008, when he found himself at a police World Cup final. station after refusing to pay for the services “Ronaldo is a phenomenon-he is our of three transvestites. He claimed he was LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur’s Ezekiel Fryers (right) competes with Cardiff City’s Craig Bellamy during their English Premier phenomenon,” spectator Daniel Pereira, 35, unaware the trio were not women when League soccer match at White Hart Lane. —AP told AFP. “I adore him. He is such a fighter. he took them to a Rio motel. —AFP Soldado ends barren spell as Spurs stay in the hunt

severe blow to the north London controversial decisions, including Spaniard took one touch before club’s hopes of securing a place in changing the club’s colours from volleying past David Marshall. Tottenham 1 next season’s Champions League blue to red and was fiercely critical The reaction of the Tottenham and Sherwood made just two of Mackay’s tenure. players as they mobbed their team- changes to the team that had set The Malaysian businessman also mate spoke volumes about the up a meeting with Benfica. warned he would consider selling build-up of tension during Cardiff 0 That meant Soldado was again the club if supporter opposition to Soldado’s goal-drought. given the chance to form a two- his regime continued. But the home side were almost man attack alongside Emmanuel Tan was in the stands at White brought back down to earth imme- Adebayor, although when the Hart Lane and will have been satis- diately afterwards when Steven LONDON: Roberto Soldado ended Spaniard spurned two early half- fied by Cardiff’s early efforts, Caulker headed Craig Bellamy’s cor- his personal goal-drought and kept chances it appeared he may be set although they were unable to find ner against the bar from close Tottenham Hotspur’s fast-fading for more disappointment. a way through a Tottenham range. hopes of a top four place alive with That would change later in the defence well-marshalled by That, though, would prove to be the only goal in a 1-0 victory over first half, but before the Spaniard Michael Dawson. And frustratingly one of the last occasions Cardiff relegation-threatened Cardiff City claimed his much needed goal, the for the visitors, the Spurs winner managed to threaten the Spurs at White Hart Lane. home side were forced to survive came via a thrilling breakaway fol- goal as the urgency inexplicably Yesterday’s win helped consoli- some persistent early pressure from lowing a Cardiff corner. disappeared from their game. date Tottenham’s hold on fifth a Cardiff side keen to put last week- Andros Townsend led the move, The second half was even less place, although they remain four end’s 4-0 home defeat by fellow collecting Hugo Lloris’s clearance enthralling than the first, although points adrift of Manchester City, strugglers Hull City behind them. and running powerfully up the cen- Spurs believed they should have who lie fourth having played two The arrival of Solksjaer as suc- tre of the pitch before finding had a penalty when Declan John games fewer than Spurs. cessor to the popular Malky Mackay Adebayor on the left hand of the tripped Aaron Lennon on the edge For Cardiff, a seventh successive has failed to transform Cardiff’s for- Cardiff area. of the box. away league defeat leaves Ole tunes, although the new manager The Togo striker held the ball up Referee Phil Dowd adjudged Gunnar Solksjaer’s side second bot- received the backing of Tan earlier then squared for Soldado, who had contact took place outside the area tom, three points off safety, and this week. been allowed to find space ten and Townsend fired the resulting ATHENS: Olympiakos’ players wait to continue the game after capped a week in which the club’s Tan maintained he had no yards out despite the presence of free-kick tamely wide, summing up Panathinaikos’ third goal during a Greek League soccer match at Georgios owner Vincent Tan again attracted regrets about making a number of three Cardiff defenders, and the the latter part of the game. —AFP attention following an interview Karaiskakis stadium. Olympiakos’ undefeated run ended after a 3-0 home that highlighted the rift between defeat by Panathinaikos. Very little soccer was played in the last 12 minutes, him and some of the club’s sup- EPL results/standings as Olympiakos fans kept throwing flares and projectiles after they had a porters. Soldado had been under penalty awarded in their favor. —AP growing pressure after failing to Aston Villa 4 (Benteke 25, 27, Bacuna 37, Bassong 41-og) Norwich 1 (Hoolahan 3); Swansea 1 (De Guzman 25) Crystal score in eight previous games, Palace 1 (Murray 82-pen); Tottenham 1 (Soldado 28) Cardiff 0. amid reports his spell at Tottenham could end after just one season. English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): But the striker justified the faith shown in him by manager Tim Chelsea 28 19 6 3 52 22 63 Aston Villa 28 8 7 13 31 38 31 No limit to Qatari Sherwood-whose own future has Liverpool 28 18 5 5 73 35 59 Hull 28 8 6 14 30 35 30 been thrown into doubt after Arsenal 28 18 5 5 52 28 59 Stoke 28 7 9 12 28 42 30 turf ambitions Dutch national coach Louis van Man City 26 18 3 5 69 27 57 Swansea 28 7 8 13 37 41 29 Gaal was linked with a move to Tottenham 28 16 5 7 37 33 53 Norwich 28 7 7 14 21 43 28 White Hart Lane-with the decisive Everton 27 13 9 5 38 27 48 Crystal Palace 27 8 3 16 19 37 27 DOHA: The traditional powerhouses of “French races are important for us, first half goal that built on the mid- Man Utd 27 13 6 8 43 31 45 West Brom 27 4 13 10 31 39 25 horse racing such as Ireland, England but the British ones equally so,” said al- week Europa League victory over Newcastle 28 13 4 11 37 39 43 Sunderland 26 6 6 14 26 42 24 and the United States should beware Thani, who will see Treve return to the Dnipro. That European win had lift- Southampton 28 10 9 9 38 35 39 Cardiff 28 5 7 16 19 49 22 because the new boys on the block, track at Longchamp on April 27 in the ed spirits following the disappoint- West Ham 28 8 7 13 31 35 31 Fulham 28 6 3 19 28 62 21 the Qataris, have limitless ambitions Group One Prix Ganay. ing defeat at Norwich that dealt a Sheikh Joaan Al-Thani told AFP in an “I don’t have a preference: the Prix exclusive interview. de l’Arc de Triomphe, Royal Ascot (in The Sheikh, the fifth son of the for- June), the King George and Queen Tennis greats drafted in new IPTL league mer Emir of Qatar, added that their Elizabeth Stakes (at Ascot in July). ambitions lay not only in winning on “Each time I have a chance of win- DUBAI: World No.1 Rafael Nadal has been drafted to the track but also in breeding their ning with one of my horses, I take it. represent Team Mumbai, Novak Djokovic will headline own champions like Ireland’s “Soon, we will race in Japan. I have Team Dubai, while top WTA star Serena Williams will fea- Coolmore Stud and the heavyweight been invited to race there. “We went to ture in Team Singapore, in the inaugural edition of the American operations in Kentucky as the Breeder’s Cup at Santa Anita, International Premier Tennis League (IPTL). well as Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed California, last November. We weren’t Team owners and IPTL organisers - led by Indian dou- Al-Maktoum’s Darley Stud. The Sheikh’s lucky there but we will hope to have bles star Mahesh Bhupathi, the Managing Director of the Al Shaqab Racing operation-which more luck this year,” he added. league, held a draft on Sunday in Dubai where a total numbers over 100 horses in training-is Sheikh Joaan, whose main body of sum of $23,975,000 was spent across four teams to be named after a breeding enterprise in horses are based in England with train- based in Bangkok, Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore. Qatar established in 1992 by his father, er Richard Hannon Junior and will have Nadal will be joined by 14-time Grand Slam cham- Hamad. horses with Todd Pletcher in the pion Pete Sampras in Team Mumbai, while Djokovic “Qatar is growing and when Qatar United States for the first time this year, has fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic, ex-world No1 believes in something, there is no limit said people were wrong to think he Caroline Wozniacki and Arab No1 Malek Jaziri as his to its ambitions,” said Sheikh Joaan, favored France over any other country. allies. Teams owners are allowed to have up to 10 play- whose first winner in his silks came in “People think that I am focussed on ers in their roster. August 2012. France,” said Sheikh Joaan, for whom “We’ve got some unbelievably strong teams. I think “I would like to inform our English Hannon’s father Richard trained out of the 28 players that got drafted we have about 21 Grand Slam champions. We have 14 present and past and other rivals that we have not just Olympic Glory and Toronado to Group number ones. It’s a pretty blockbuster field,” Bhupathi invested in order to win on the race- One success last year. said. course. “We have become an impor- “I studied at the Saint-Cyr military Partly modeled after the financially-successful Indian tant part of this industry, we have our academy and also lived in France. “I Premier League (IPL), the IPTL has been described by methods in the way of approaching it. love France, but this is racing one is Djokovic as a “fantastic concept” while others like Roger DUBAI: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball in this file photo. —AP We respect the ways in which the oth- talking about. “If there was a race- Federer — a notable absentee from the player field - has which has placed him in Team Bangkok alongside British women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and past ers do things and we wish that they course on the Moon I would send a been more cautious in his views on the idea. two-time major champion Andy Murray. champions singles, with the home team choosing the respect the manner in which we work.” horse there to run in it. “Firstly, I want to see whether it takes off or not. I The Spanish star is not only a participant but is also order of play prior to each match. Sheikh Joaan, who experienced the “Bouquetot (in Normandy the his- know a lot of people have invested in it or are part of it,” the Vice President of Players Relations within the league. Play is scheduled to start in Singapore, followed by biggest moment as an owner when toric French heartland of breeding Federer told reporters in Dubai last week. “I’m very excited to be part of this competition, and look Bangkok, Mumbai and will finally conclude in Dubai. French-trained filly Treve won Europe’s horses) is one of the studs we have “Anywhere where tennis grows is a good thing, so I forward to playing for Bangkok. I have fond memories Each city will host six matches in a three day period most prestigious race the Prix de l’Arc bought. “We are looking at both hope it takes off and becomes very successful. In Asia, from the days I’ve played there,” said Moya. and each team will have a regular roster and a travel ros- de Triomphe last October, was England and Australia to develop that there is enormous potential - in places like China and The much-talked about league will take place during ter that will have to include a minimum number of play- adamant that he didn’t favour any par- side of things. India, due to the amount of people that live there and the off season of the tennis calendar, between ers from the different categories. ticular country in terms of deploying a “But we can’t do it all at once. We the excitement they have for tennis.” November 27 and December 14, and will feature 24 The concept is the brainchild of Bhupathi, who centre for his operations and there was had a lot of luck last year in attaining Asia’s top male and female players, Kei Nishikori and matches across the four host cities in the Middle East believes it can have a revolutionary effect on tennis. He is no individual race he treasured above our targets. We have others in our Li Na are also missing from the player field, along with and Asia. joined at the helm by Morgan Menahem, the CEO if the all in winning. sights.” —AFP career Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. Each match will follow a best-of-five format com- league who also happens to be the agent of Jo-Wilfried Former world No.1 Carlos Moya attended the draft, prised of separate sets contested in men’s singles, Tsonga. —AFP Heat stop Ronaldo salvages Magic spell Real point from Madrid derby

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 16 18

No limit to Qatari turf ambitions Page 19

LONDON: Manchester City players celebrate after their 3-1 win against Sunderland in the League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium yesterday. — AP Toure, Nasri give City League Cup joy

LONDON: Sensational quick-fire goals by Yaya Toure and son’s loss to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup final and sets tackles in the middle of the pitch, and a minute later they half, David Silva testing Mannone and Costel Pantilimon Samir Nasri inspired Manchester City to come from them up for a tilt at a domestic treble. rocked City by taking the lead. pushing a long-range Ki Sung-yueng effort over at the behind and beat Sunderland 3-1 in the League Cup final City are six points off the pace in the Premier League Lee Cattermole, starting in place of the cup-tied Liam other end, before Toure equalised with an exquisite at Wembley yesterday. with two games in hand and will face Wigan in the FA Bridcutt, robbed Toure just outside the Sunderland area strike. Sunderland had taken a 10th-minute lead through on- Cup quarter-finals, while they also trail Barcelona 2-0 in and fed Adam Johnson, who lofted a ball down the right With Sunderland camped inside their area, Pablo loan Liverpool striker Fabio Borini and a fine first-half dis- their Champions League last 16 tie. flank for Borini to chase. Zabaleta rolled the ball back to Toure and the giant play left them on course for a first piece of major silver- It was a bittersweet first trip to the new Wembley for Vincent Kompany got to the ball first but the City cap- Ivorian lifted a gloriously nonchalant effort over ware since 1973. Sunderland but they could reflect with pride on a valiant tain’s attempted clearance was blocked by Borini, who Mannone and into the top-left corner from 30 yards. However, City responded in the second half, with display that augurs well for their Premier League relega- cut into the box from the right and deftly found the bot- Sunderland barely had time to draw breath before Toure lobbing in a superb long-range equaliser and Nasri tion battle and forthcoming FA Cup quarter-final against tom-left corner with the outside of his right foot. Nasri made it 2-0 in the 56th minute, meeting Aleksandar smashing home less than two minutes later before sub- Hull City. Sunderland were quick to gather men behind the ball Kolarov’s deflected left-wing cross with an emphatic shot stitute Jesus Navas added a third goal at the death. “The “We did everything we could,” said Sunderland manag- afterwards but they continued to threaten, with Wes from the edge of the box that swerved deliciously inside team deserve this cup because we played well during the er Gus Poyet.”That’s the best part of what we are all Brown heading over from a corner. the left-hand post. whole cup and scored a lot of goals,” said City manager about. To beat us they had to score two wonder goals. I When City did muster an attack, Nasri saw a tame shot Immediately, City introduced Navas in place of Aguero, Manuel Pellegrini. hate losing but I’m proud of the players.” saved by Mannone and it took a magnificent last-ditch while a shellshocked Sunderland sent on Craig Gardner “Sunderland played a good match also and we didn’t City welcomed back top scorer Sergio Aguero after a block by Kompany to prevent Borini from extending and Steven Fletcher, who quickly tested Pantilimon with a move the ball as fast as we needed (in the first half), but month out with a hamstring injury and he served an early Sunderland’s lead before half-time. It was to prove a low shot. Kompany almost added a third for City when he in the second half we scored two beautiful goals and had reminder of his threat with a snapshot that was parried spurned opportunity that Sunderland would rue, as with- hooked wide from a Nasri corner, before Navas rattled a the patience to wait for the moment.” Victory for City by Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Sunderland in 11 minutes of the restart, City were in front. shot inside Mannone’s near post from Toure’s pass to rub- enabled them to partially atone for the shock of last sea- had started the game with intent, however, snapping into The teams exchanged chances early in the second berstamp City’s third League Cup crown. — AFP Murray secures Benteke sparks Villa revival Hotspur, and their under-pressure manag- Palace a point er Chris Hughton when they took an early Aston Villa 4 lead,. Gary Hooper beat the offside trap to SWANSEA: Glenn Murray ended almost get in behind a static Villa defence and his a year of frustration by scoring his first cut-back found Hoolahan, who steered Swansea 1 ever Premier League goal through a the ball in but did not celebrate a goal second-half penalty to secure a 1-1 Norwich 1 against a club he has been tipped to join. draw for Crystal Palace against Swansea But Villa hit back in style when Benteke, yesterday. seemingly well-shackled by Joseph Yobo, The 30-year-old, who was Palace’s C Palace 1 leading scorer last season with 31 goals took a ball on his chest, turned and BIRMINGHAM: Christian Benteke scored but had not played since May because volleyed in an equaliser from 15 yards in of injury and had only returned to twice as Aston Villa came from a goal the 25th minute. action against Manchester United last behind to beat Norwich City 4-1 yesterday Barely had Norwich had time to recov- weekend, slotted home the penalty eight minutes from time. and move seven points clear of the er from that blow then Villa were in front Jonathan De Guzman had given the hosts the lead in the first-half but Murray’s Premier League relegation zone. when Belgium striker Benteke powered in goal, only Palace’s sixth away goal of the season and first since December 26, It was a remarkable turnaround for a header from a corner. earned his side a valuable point in the relegation battle. Villa, who’d gone three games without Hoolahan was twice denied in quick Swansea are five points above the relegation places as a result while Palace, who scoring a goal. The omens were not prom- succession by Brad Guzan, the Villa keeper have played a game fewer than the Swans, are three points clear of third from bot- ising for Villa manager Paul Lambert blocking a shot and follow-up header. To tom Sunderland. against his former club when Wes make matters worse for Norwich, they Sunderland have a game in hand on the London side and two on the Welsh out- Hoolahan gave visitors Norwich a third soon found themselves 3-1 behind when fit. Swansea dominated possession from the outset. minute lead. a Villa counter-attack saw the speedy It still took them over 20 minutes to turn that into creating chances but it was But a rainswept Villa Park then saw Gabriel Agbonlahor release Andreas worth waiting for from the home fans’ point of view as De Guzman netted. Benteke score two goals in three minutes Weimann, who in turn found Bacuna on It was a fine passing movement too as skipper Ashley Williams, Wilfried Bony and before half time the Birmingham club the overlap. and the recalled Leon Britton were all involved before De Guzman beat the Palace were 4-1 in front thanks to Leandro defence to the ball and slotted it home. Bacuna cut inside and then steered a Bacuna and an own-goal from Sebastien Palace’s woeful away goals record didn’t look like improving when Moroccan sht home off the inside off the post. And international striker Marouane Chamakh limped off in the first-half clutching his Bassong. four minutes before the break Villa were 4- hamstring. Swansea almost doubled their lead just after his exit as the impressive Defeat left Norwich just four points 1 up when the unfortunate Bassong could Bony leapt to head goalwards only for Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni to make a above the bottom three but having do nothing but steer Fabian Delph’s cross remarkable save and deny him his 11th league goal of the season. played a game more than nearest pur- into his own net, with Agbonlahor lurking Palace manager Tony Pulis changed his line-up at half-time sending on Murray suers Crystal Palace and West Bromwich behind him. Unsurprisingly, the second but the striker had to delay his entrance as he injured his hand warming up. Albion, and two games more than beaten half failed to match the first and when However, initially Murray failed to add much to the Palace attack and the League Cup finalists Sunderland. Hooper did break the offside trap six min- match looked to be petering out tamely until Chico Flores brought down the LONDON: Swansea City’ Chico Flores (right) and Crystal Palace’s Things looked good for the Canaries, utes from time his shot was parried away striker in the area. Flores was red-carded for the foul and Murray slotted home Marouane Chamakh vie for the ball during their English Premier fresh from a 1-0 win over Tottenham to safety by Guzan. — AFP the penalty. —AFP League match at the Liberty Stadium. — AP Iran may become top gas importer by 2025

Page 22 Momentum returns to Business Kuwait’s $104bn development plan MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 Page 23 KAMCO posts KD10m revenues, KD3.02m net ECB needs 770 supervisors for new watchdog profit for 2013 Page 25 Page 26

WASHINGTON: A Wal-Mart truck drives westbound through the snow on I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass near Hyak, Washington. Wal-Mart Stores Inc closed more than 200 of its stores at the height of winter storms in 2014. But as the chill and snow fade into memory, long-delayed spending by consumers and businesses could invigorate the economy starting in spring. — AP Hopes soar for sunnier US economy Consumers, businesses could invigorate growth as winter fades

WASHINGTON: When the weather warms up, so, too, year. And it was down sharply from a 4.1 percent February, up slightly from January’s 81.2. The survey After enduring the deepest downturn since the Great will the US economy. That, at least, is the prevailing view growth rate in the third quarter. Economists had long found that the cold weather had the biggest effect Depression of the 1930s, the economy has struggled to of economists, who shrugged off a government report expected growth to slow in the final quarter of 2013 among consumers over age 65, who tended to worry accelerate. The weak growth has made it difficult for Friday that the economy was weaker last quarter than and the first quarter this year compared with the third about higher utility bills. By contrast, consumers under people who lost jobs during the downturn to find work. first thought. Severe winter weather is probably slowing quarter of last year. In part, that’s because GDP growth age 35 felt better able to offset higher utility payments Over the past four years, economic growth has aver- growth again this quarter. But as the chill and snow during last year’s third quarter was fueled by an unsus- with income gains. The Michigan survey found that aged an anemic 2.2 percent. The revisions in fourth- fade into memory, long-delayed spending by con- tainable buildup in company stockpiles that would while the weather had made trips to the store more dif- quarter growth resulted from updated data that the sumers and businesses could invigorate the economy need to be worked down. ficult, many purchases had been postponed rather than Commerce Department didn’t have when it made its starting in spring. But analysts said the slowdown has been magnified canceled. “Consumers have displayed remarkable first estimate a month ago. Commerce will make one “Weather is having an impact on a lot of the data,” said by a succession of winter storms that have disrupted resilience in the face of the polar vortex as well as high- final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth next Doug Handler, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “We economic activity - from forcing temporary closings of er utility bills,” said University of Michigan director of month. will likely see a boost from pent-up demand in coming Macy’s and other department stores to depressing sales surveys Richard Curtin. Though the biggest factor in the downgraded esti- weeks.” In the view of most analysts, the snowstorms and at McDonald’s restaurants. Home Depot Inc. said it lost In particular, analysts think auto purchases that were mate of fourth-quarter growth was consumer spending, extreme cold have exerted a harmful but only temporary $100 million from bad weather in January. The damage put off last year will recover as warmer weather draw the number was also depressed by reductions in esti- effect on the economy. That belief helps explain why from consumer spending has been especially acute buyers back to showrooms. One area of encouragement mated growth in exports, business stockpiles and gov- Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled this week that because it accounts for about 70 percent of economic in Friday’s report was the government’s estimate of busi- ernment spending. Government activity was a big drag the Fed will likely continue reducing its stimulus for the activity. Economists foresee further spending weakness ness investment. It was revised up to an annual rate of in the fourth quarter, subtracting 1.1 percentage points economy throughout 2014. in the first three months of this year largely because of 7.3 percent - the best quarterly showing in a year and from growth. The federal government accounted for 1 The Commerce Department said Friday that the the weather. sharply higher than the initial 3.8 percent estimated rate. percentage point of that reduction, reflecting lower economy grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate last quarter, “Due to Mother Nature, quarter one is not going to For all of 2013, the economy grew at a lackluster 1.9 defense spending. in part because consumers didn’t spend as much as ini- be anything worth writing home about,” Jennifer Lee, percent. Analysts think growth will rebound in 2014 to Yellen said Thursday that the Fed still expects the tially estimated. Initially, Commerce had estimated that senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a as high as 3 percent. Growth was held back last year by economy to strengthen this year. But she told the the economy expanded at a 3.2 percent rate in the research note. “The rebound ... and all of that pent-up higher federal taxes and government spending cuts Senate Banking Committee that the Fed will be study- October- December quarter. demand won’t show up until the second quarter.” Lee enacted to combat budget deficits. Economists esti- ing the data to make sure the slowdown is just a tempo- One reason the government initially overestimated predicted a tepid economic growth rate of around 1.7 mate that the squeeze from the government subtracted rary weather phenomenon. The Fed is gradually reduc- growth for last quarter was that it didn’t fully take percent this quarter. A separate report Friday also pro- about 1.5 percentage points from growth last year. If ing its monthly bond purchases, which have been account of how much bad weather would dampen vided hope for a stronger economy in coming months. growth does reach 3 percent this year, it would be the intended to keep long-term loan rates low to encourage spending on long-lasting goods such as autos. The University of Michigan’s monthly index of consumer strongest performance since the recession ended spending and growth. Many economists think that as Last quarter’s increase in the gross domestic product sentiment showed that while bad weather kept con- almost five years ago. Handler said he looked for growth long as the economy keeps improving, the Fed will - the economy’s total output of goods and services - sumers away from retail outlets, it hasn’t shaken their to improve to an annual rate above 3 percent in the sec- keep cutting its bond purchases this year before ending was the weakest showing since the first quarter of last confidence. The index posted a reading of 81.6 in ond half of this year as the economy gains traction. them in December. — AP KSE plunges as regulator cracks down

MIDEAST STOCK AMRKETS DUBAI: Kuwait’s bourse fell to a six-week low yesterday as performing market in the Gulf Cooperation Council this year. speculative activity; in the last few days, money has poured the suspension of several companies for failing to comply into real estate-related shares. with listing regulations prompted retail investors to sell. Egypt In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi National Energy Most other regional share markets also declined. The Kuwaiti In Egypt, the benchmark index shed 0.6 percent, easing Company (TAQA) tumbled 4.7 percent after announcing a regulator suspended trading in three companies, two of off Thursday’s 65-month high in mild profit-taking. The mar- consortium in which it owns 51 percent would buy two which saw their losses exceed 75 percent of capital. The ket has gained 19.1 percent in 2014, partly on expectations Indian hydroelectric power plants in a deal worth $1.6 bil- move came sooner than expected; in the past, the regulator that army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi will run for lion. The deal expands TAQA’s reach but exposes it to the has often waited until the end of March before suspending president. Last week, after a surprise government reshuffle, Indian economy, which has recently been unstable. companies which infringed rules at the end of the past year, officials said Sisi would retain his position as defense minis- Dana Gas rose 1.2 percent after it announced plans to traders said. ter, which he might need to vacate to run for the presidency. start upgrading an Egyptian plant that would increase its The Capital Market Authority has launched a drive to The matter will be clarified after a draft election law is final- output by 25 percent. Its decision may indicate confidence clean up the market, but its stricter approach may in the ized. that it will recover more of the hundreds of millions of dol- short term at least hurt sentiment in a market that has been “There is euphoria in the market, which is 80 percent lars owed to it by Egypt. largely retail-driven. “The higher risk of companies being driven by retail investors, due to the upcoming elections,” Abu Dhabi’s measure slipped 0.3 percent, down for a sec- suspended by the regulator has raised the impetus for retail said Islam Batrawy, Cairo-based head of regional equity sales ond session since Wednesday’s five-year high. Dubai’s investors to sell,” said Fouad Darwish, head of brokerage at NBK Capital. “That means more speculation and less fun- bourse lost 0.9 percent; it has essentially traded sideways services at Global Investment House. damental trading.” since hitting a five-year high on Feb 17. A company named “People are not willing to buy at lower levels, like they In Saudi Arabia, the index shed 0.2 percent, easing off Marka, describing itself as a “retail and F&B company”, said used to, because of a lack of liquidity.” The Kuwaiti stock Thursday’s multi-year high. Shares in real estate developer on Saturday that it planned to conduct the first initial public index lost 0.7 percent, slumping for a fifth consecutive ses- Jabal Omar bucked the trend and surged 8.9 percent to a offer on Dubai’s main stock market for five years in a 275 mil- sion to its lowest finish since Jan. 14. Kuwait is the worst- record high in what analysts said was retail-investor driven lion dirham ($75 million) deal. MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 BUSINESS

Companies are still cutting costs despite rising earnings

By Hayder Tawfik healthier position and even better than est rates fail to lead to acceleration in of the austerity measures and govern- the actual economy. Unless we get a job creation then low rates will last for a ments deficits reduction but some oth- he very low interest rates environ- speedy recovery in the labor market very long time and we could see some ers have been quite opportunistic in ment and not so strong economic with rising wages, companies’ health asset prices including equities extend their approach to costs. So, corporate Tgrowth have helped companies will persist for a while longer. For some their gains for a long time to come. If profits and share prices should continue increase productivity and earnings but multinational companies, that have this happens then investors should to rise in a lacklustre economy and they are still cutting costs whenever it is presence in some high growth expect a massive rally in global equities weak to stagnant job market. Obviously, possible. The labor market has been the economies like India and China, it like that will be lead be the US and Europe. for companies, high sales volume does first causality of cost cuttings. For the living in a golden age. Should strong earnings encourages not mean high sales force any more. first time rising stock markets is not These factors plus the very low inter- companies to take on new staff then we The US Federal Reserve has also resulting in job creation. There is a quite est rates that has been kept by global are not sure if this will affect their prof- played an important role in pushing split between workers and the compa- central banks have forced investors to its margin that much as the cost of stock markets higher in the US and nies that employ them and this split is look for riskier assets around the world. employing new labor has fallen mush some other markets around the world. widening by the day. Also, when jobs The big money flow has helped to push faster than it was few years ago. This for We are not sure if this was the Federal are created, companies do not face any most global equity indices to record sure applies to the new graduates more Reserve’s policy maker’s intent but pressure to increase salaries. May be highs in the past few weeks. We believe than skilled unemployed. While buoy- surely they must have known about Obama’s minimum salary will help that there is a possibility of US econom- ant earnings are rewarded by investors the policy implications on the financial those who are underpaid. ic growth slowing down some time this and make American companies more same period. This is the lowest increase markets. The Fed has made reducing The chances of unemployment year then picking up again as the rest of competitive globally, they have not in disposable income relative to corpo- unemployment a top priority, but in keeps falling or job creation accelerat- the world starts its own economic translated into additional jobs at home. rate earnings in recent history. practice its policy of keeping rates ing are getting less by the day as the recovery. Actually, just in the US corporate earn- It is quite clear that companies very low and buying up the safest economic recovery faces some pockets Any sign of economic slowdown in ings have risen at annualized rate of around the world have been busy cut- assets to stimulate the economy of slow down. Companies throughout the US will push government bond over 20% since the financial crises back ting costs and at the same time protect- means investors are willing to take on the world are adjusting to this new yields down even further than what we in 2008, whereas disposable income ing their bottom lines. Some companies more risk in search of better returns. environment and are now in much saw last year. Also, if the ultralow inter- increased by just 1.5% annually over the have been forced to cut costs because — Dimah Capital Iran may become top gas importer by 2025 Rising domestic demand fuels crisis

DUBAI: Iran is on course to become the world’s use, which has forced Iranian power plants to concern it could prove too painful for a popula- largest importer of natural gas by 2025 unless it burn billions of dollars of relatively costly liquid tion already suffering a sharp drop in living stan- can rein in rampant domestic demand, the head fuels, the holder of the world’s biggest gas dards. of research at the country’s energy ministry told reserves could become the largest importer. Iran’s finances have been under intense pres- a conference in Tehran. Iran sits on the world’s “Should the current energy consumption proce- sure over the last two years because of interna- largest gas reserves, according to estimates by dure not change, by 2025 Iran will be the largest tional economic sanctions imposed over its dis- BP, and Iranian energy officials have boasted for natural gas importer in the world,” Hamid puted nuclear program. Over the last six years about becoming a top gas exporter soon. Katouzian, head of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum months the new government has been increas- Thawing relations with the West since Research Center, was quoted by Mehr news ingly critical of cheap energy policies that have President Hassan Rouhani came to power in agency as saying on Saturday. exacerbated consumption growth and stran- mid-2013 have revived hopes that Iran may one One of the biggest problems Iran faces is that gled state energy company investments. day help meet growing gas demand around the its fossil fuel-fired power plants have efficiency Rouhani’s government is preparing a politically LAGOS: People wait to buy fuel at a filling station in Lagos yesterday. Motorists and world. rates of just 13 percent, compared to 60-70 per- risky increase in domestic fuel prices, trying to commuters across the country spent much time in long queues to buy fuel as more But slow progress in developing those cent achieved by modern plants in other parts lighten the burden of multi-billion-dollar subsi- filling stations have ran out of supply. When re fuel was available, the fuel is being reserves over the last decade has stunted gas of the world, Katouzian said. dies on an economy severely damaged by sold above the official price and leaving commuters to pay exorbitant transport exports. Meanwhile, domestic consumption is In an effort to restrain rampant consumption Western sanctions. fares to get their destinations. — AFP surging as the gas network has grown and more growth, the previous government of Mahmoud Katouzian said he hoped parliament’s plans gas is needed to sustain output from ageing oil- Ahmadinejad began slashing subsidies on a for cutting energy waste would help prevent fields. The country faces severe shortages range of fuels in late 2010. The partial subsidy Iran from becoming the world’s biggest gas because production has failed to keep pace with cuts were successful in rationalizing fuel use and importer a decade from now, but added all UAE-led group to buy residential and industrial demand. reducing waste, but a second wave of price industry leaders and Iranian householders 2 India power plants Unless something drastic is done to control hikes planned for mid-2012 was shelved out of would have to cooperate. — Reuters Germany’s Siemens South Sudan oil production down 29% ABU DHABI/NEW DELHI: A consortium led ty approvals, is expected to close in 2014, by Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (TAQA) TAQA said. gets $253m Qatar KHARTOUM: Fighting in South Sudan has cut pro- pendent from Sudan in July 2011 after a peace deal has agreed to buy two Indian hydroelectric Shares in Jaiprakash Power jumped 12 duction from the country’s lifeline oilfields by about ended 22 years of civil war. power plants from Jaiprakash Power percent on Friday in anticipation of the power contract 29 percent, the press secretary to President Salva The South split with about 75 percent of united Ventures in a deal worth about $1.6 billion, deal; Reuters reported early last month that Kiir said in Khartoum yesterday. “South Sudan is still Sudan’s oil production, but pipelines and the Red TAQA said yesterday. it was close to being signed. On Friday, the getting more than 175,000 barrels a day,” said Ateny Sea export terminal remained in the north. Under DUBAI: Siemens has been awarded a $253 mil- The group will spend $616 million on Indian company said its board would meet Wek Ateny. That amount is down from 245,000 bar- an agreement between the two countries, Sudan lion contract by the Qatar General Electricity equity in the plants, and in addition take to consider recommendations for cutting rels per day before fighting began in mid-December was to receive an estimated $1.5 billion this year in and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) to build over their non-recourse project debt, bring- debt and boosting shareholder value. between forces supporting Kiir and those from a South Sudanese fees for using the northern export nine substations, the German technology giant ing the total enterprise value to around Like many power and infrastructure loose alliance of ethnic militia and army defectors infrastructure, and a package to compensate for the said yesterday. The contract, valued at 920 mil- $1.6 billion, a TAQA spokesman told companies in India, Jaiprakash Power and loyal to ex-vice president Riek Machar. loss of the South’s oil at separation. lion Qatari riyals, is part of KAHRAMAA’s Qatar Reuters. State-run TAQA, with 51 percent of its parent Jaiprakash Associates have suf- Ateny did not give a dollar figure for how much That revenue due to Khartoum was down about Power Transmission System Expansion project, the consortium, will control the operations fered from large debts and weakness in the revenue the government has lost, and said a true 20 percent since fighting began in December, a which aims to improve supply stability in the and management of both plants under the Indian economy over recent months. assessment can come only after fighting completely Western diplomat said last month. The northern Qatari capital and its suburbs. deal. PSP Investments, one of Canada’s Including subsidiaries, Jaiprakash stops. “I know that there are a number of properties economy was already struggling with a shortage of “This project will contribute to improving largest institutional investors, will own 39 Associates had total debts of 550 billion to that are destroyed in Bentiu, in Bor and in Malakal foreign reserves, a weakened currency and soaring the power infrastructure in and around Doha,” percent and an infrastructure fund run by 560 billion rupees ($8.9-9.0 billion) in and we cannot have the assessment now until the prices since South Sudan separated. Bernhard Fonseka, head of Siemens operations India’s IDFC Alternatives will hold 10 per- September, which it planned to cut by 150 war is over,” he said. The lost crude accounted for most of Khartoum’s in Qatar, said in a statement. The project is cent. billion rupees through sales of assets In late February, rebels loyal to Machar captured export earnings and half of its fiscal revenues. expected to be completed within 26 months. The two plants, located close to each including cement and power plants during Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state where most In the South, oil made up about 80 percent of Qatar bought a 2.4 billion euro ($3.1 billion) other in the northern state of Himachal the current fiscal year through March. of the South’s oil is produced. The rebel move on 2012 gross domestic product (GDP), but even stake in Siemens, Germany’s second most valu- Pradesh, have a combined generating Jaiprakash Power reported a widening Malakal came despite a ceasefire that was supposed before war broke out in December it was one of the able company, in 2012. Qatar’s wealth, mostly capacity of 1,391 megawatts, and are near of its net loss to 1.53 billion rupees in the to be in place. Government forces in January recap- continent’s least developed countries. generated from gas exports, has spurred a another Indian hydroelectric plant in which three months to December, while its shares tured Bentiu, the capital of another oil-producing GDP amounted to just $10.22 billion in 2012, population and construction boom over the TAQA acquired a stake last year. Along with are down about 40 percent in the past 12 area, Unity State. according to the World Bank. Thousands of people last decade. The tiny Gulf state’s plan to host a lignite power plant owned by TAQA, the months. Jaiprakash Associates last year India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd, a partner in two joint oil have been killed and almost 900,000 others forced the World Cup soccer competition in 2022 is latest deal will bring TAQA’s combined gen- sold its cement plant in Gujarat state to production companies in South Sudan, announced from their homes by the fighting in South Sudan, expected to put further strain on Doha’s power erating capacity in India to 1,741 MW. The UltraTech Cement for around $594 million on December 26 that the firms had temporarily which began as a power struggle between Kiir and supplies. — Reuters deal, which needs regulatory and third-par- including debt. — Reuters halted operations there because of deteriorating Machar. Oil industry analysts have cited the unrest security. Those fields were producing more than in South Sudan as a factor supporting global crude 40,000 barrels daily. South Sudan became inde- prices. — AFP EXCHANGE RATES

Philippine Peso 0.006522 0.006802 Syrian Pound 2.985 Sierra Leone 0.000069 0.000075 Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. UAE Exchange Centre WLL Nepalese Rupees 3.880 Malaysian Ringgit 86.870 Singapore Dollar 0.218808 0.224808 ASIAN COUNTRIES COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Chinese Yuan Renminbi 47.290 South African Rand 0.019872 0.028372 Japanese Yen 2.743 Australian Dollar 250.84 247.84 Thai Bhat 9.625 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001894 0.002474 Indian Rupees 4.555 Canadian Dollar 259.80 260.80 Turkish Lira 127.300 Taiwan 0.009223 0.009403 Pakistani Rupees 2.686 Swiss Franc 321.17 319.17 Thai Baht 0.008314 0.008864 Srilankan Rupees 2.162 Euro 391.03 392.03 Nepali Rupees 2.853 US Dollar 282.40 285.40 Bahrain Exchange Company Arab Singapore Dollar 222.950 Sterling Pound 470.62 473.62 Bahraini Dinar 0.744605 0.752605 Hongkong Dollar 36.474 Japanese Yen 2.82 2.84 CURRENCY BUY SELL Egyptian Pound 0.037193 0.040293 Bangladesh Taka 3.636 Bangladesh Taka 3.629 3.898 Europe Iranian Riyal 0.000078 0.000080 Philippine Peso 6.270 Indian Rupee 4.516 4.816 Belgian Franc 0.007360 0.008360 Iraqi Dinar 0.000184 0.000244 Thai Baht 8.626 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.162 2.597 British Pound 0.462133 0.471133 Jordanian Dinar 0.395147 0.402647 Irani Riyal transfer 0.271 Nepali Rupee 2.840 3.375 Czech Korune 0.006027 0.018027 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000 Irani Riyal cash 0.273 Pakistani Rupee 2.682 2.790 Danish Krone 0.047689 0.052689 Lebanese Pound 0.000138 0.000238 UAE Dirhams 76.96 77.42 Moroccan Dirhams 0.024445 0.048445 GCC COUNTRIES Euro 0.380685 0.388185 Bahraini Dinar 751.63 753.70 Norwegian Krone 0.042077 0.047277 Nigerian Naira 0.001198 0.001833 Saudi Riyal 75.537 Egyptian Pound 40.55 41.15 Qatari Riyal 77.931 Romanian Leu 0.085006 0.85006 Omani Riyal 0.729422 0.735102 Jordanian Dinar 401.92 407.57 Slovakia 0.008113 0.018113 Qatar Riyal 0.077064 0.078277 Omani Riyal 735.840 Omani Riyal 734.42 741.72 Swedish Krona 0.039947 0.044947 Saudi Riyal 0.074870 0.075570 Bahraini Dinar 752.360 Qatari Riyal 77.98 78.53 Swiss Franc 0.307729 0.317929 Syrian Pound 0.002170 0.002390 UAE Dirham 77.142 Saudi Riyal 75.44 75.84 Turkish Lira 0.124159 0.131159 Tunisian Dinar 0.171256 0.179256 ARAB COUNTRIES Turkish Lira 0.124159 0.131159 Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.600 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Australasia UAE Dirhams 0.076109 0.077258 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.250 Australian Dollar 0.240697 0.252197 Yemeni Riyal 0.001286 0.001366 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.321 New Zealand Dollar 0.227727 0.237227 Tunisian Dinar 176.200 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate Jordanian Dinar 400.010 US Dollar 283.600 America Al Mulla Exchange Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.900 Canadian Dollar 261.685 Canadian Dollar 0.248318 0.256818 Syrian Lira 2.018 Sterling Pound 466.275 US Dollars 0.279050 0.283400 Morocco Dirham 35.394 Euro 386.095 US Dollars Mint 0.279550 0.283400 Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) Swiss Frank 311.250 US Dollar 282.600 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Bahrain Dinar 748.845 Asia Euro 388.650 US Dollar Transfer 283.150 UAE Dirhams 77.190 Bangladesh Taka 0.003511 0.004111 Pound Sterling 470.250 Euro 387.920 Qatari Riyals 78.745 Canadian Dollar 255.000 Chinese Yuan 0.045458 0.048958 Sterling Pound 470.600 Saudi Riyals 76.495 Indian Rupee 4.528 Canadian dollar 254.750 Jordanian Dinar 399.680 Hong Kong Dollar 0.034383 0.037133 Egyptian Pound 40.246 Turkish lira 130.960 Egyptian Pound 40.678 Indian Rupee 0.004163 0.004564 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.159 Swiss Franc 315.660 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.168 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000018 0.000024 Bangladesh Taka 3.635 Australian Dollar 250.160 Indian Rupees 4.607 Japanese Yen 0.002655 0.002835 Philippines Peso 6.260 US Dollar Buying 281.950 Pakistani Rupees 2.687 Kenyan Shilling 0.003282 0.003282 Pakistan Rupee 2.685 Bangladesh Taka 3.643 Korean Won 0.000254 0.000269 Bahraini Dinar 752.450 GOLD Philippines Pesso 6.276 Malaysian Ringgit 0.082376 0.088376 UAE Dirham 77.000 20 Gram 240.000 Cyprus pound 696.580 Nepalese Rupee 0.003075 0.003245 Saudi Riyal 75.500 10 Gram 121.000 Japanese Yen 3.715 Pakistan Rupee 0.002425 0.002705 *Rates are subject to change 5 Gram 62.500 MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 BUSINESS Momentum returns to Kuwait’s $104bn development plan Tensions between NA, govt to dominate political landscape Citi Research report KUWAIT: The Kuwait government progress on the implementation percent YoY and represented 50 recently approved a $12 billion of the $104bn development plan, percent of total government bid for the Clean Fuels Project were dashed when parliamentari- expenditure. The rise in social (CFP) which involves an overhaul ans soon began targeting cabinet spending reinforces our long- of Kuwait’s existing refineries. The ministers for ‘grillings’. We do not standing concerns regarding project forms part of the $6 bil- believe that the current cabinet is Kuwait’s fiscal trajectory and in lion slated towards infrastructure likely to resolve the underlying particular the quality of expendi- spending in the next two years problems that plague the rela- ture, although the relatively low and its approval is a positive sign tionship between the govern- level of overall expenditure and that momentum is returning to ment and law-makers, and expect the high level of revenues means Kuwait’s stalled $104 billion further political stasis and insta- that double digit surpluses are development plan. bility going forward, with contin- likely through to the end of the Some tentative steps forward ued negative impact on econom- decade (taking into account off- on development spending have ic policy-making. budget revenues in the form of been made, but question marks investment receipts). remain. However, also last month, Sluggish lending The figures test the Kuwaiti the National Assembly put into Lending growth continued to government’s resolve to address doubt two major contracts previ- be sluggish in 2013. Total credit the subsidy issue that has been ously awarded by the govern- extended in December rose to 6.3 described as ‘unsustainable’ by ment - one relating the GDF-Suez percent YoY - the highest level for the country’s prime minister. Azzour water and power plant, just over 4 years. For the full year, Shortly before a cabinet reshuffle and one relating to Airbus con- credit growth was a measly 3.3 last month, a panel had been set tracts for Kuwait Airways - which percent, way off the highs prior to up by the minister of finance acts as a reminder of the ongoing the 2008 financial crisis when (now gone) with the intention of execution risks that the political credit extension reached close to streamlining subsidies (mainly atmosphere in Kuwait involves. 40 percent. Lending to the public fuel and energy) to the more More generally, we expect ten- sector continues to improve, but needy, reducing inefficiency and sions between the National remains in double digit contrac- waste, in line with recommenda- Assembly and the government to tionary territory. However, lend- tions made by the IMF in the con- remain a feature of Kuwait’s polit- ing is likely to remain weak until cluding statement of its Article IV ical landscape for the foreseeable there is a significant recovery in consultation with Kuwaiti future, despite the change in gov- private sector credit, which Authorities (September 23). ernment in January. Kuwait has makes up more than 90 percent had numerous governments in of total bank lending; in the near Fiscal position the past decade, and this is the term this seems unlikely with pri- Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh sixth government to be headed vate credit growth stuck at has however reaffirmed the min- by Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber around 5 percent. On the flip side, istry’s commitment to push Al-Sabah since his appointment the weak loan growth has ahead with the review, which we in December 2011. allowed the loan deposit ratio to believe will help maintain confi- Continued bad relations stabilise below 80 percent. dence in Kuwait’s public finances. between the government and The Kuwait government Kuwait remains in a relatively parliament are a major obstacle expenditures rose 23 percent YoY comfortable fiscal position, even to policy-making in Kuwait, and in 2013, taking the cumulative compared with its oil rich GCC are a drag on the economic rise in spending over the past two peers, but plateauing oil rev- prospects of the country. Hopes years to almost 70 percent. The enues and rising expenditures that a relatively pro-government largest component of the rise do pose a threat to the fiscal et has been approved by cabi- The budget has yet to be the medium term. We have fore- parliament elected last summer related to ‘miscellaneous expen- outlook in the medium to long net and envisages a sharp slow- approved by parliament, which cast spending growth of 5.4 per- (following an opposition boycott) diture and transfer payments’, term. down in spending growth, to has demonstrated a more pop- cent, although we believe risks would lead to a better working which relates to social spending This is true of most Gulf oil just 3.2 percent according to ulist tone and is likely to push to this number are to the upside relationship and, importantly, and subsidies, which increased 31 exporters. The 2014/2015 budg- reports (Reuters, 30 January). for greater social spending in given recent experience. VW’s Audi risks fading as EU car market recovers Geneva motor show opens to press tomorrow BERLIN: Just as Europe’s car market recovery shifts up a gear, the region’s biggest automaker Volkswagen will have little new to display from its luxury brand Audi at this month’s Geneva motor show, other than a niche sports car. Audi, which accounts for almost half of oper- ating profit at German parent Volkswagen (VW), will unveil a new version of the TT sports car, a model that accounted for less than 2 percent of the brand’s 1.58 million sales in 2013. In contrast, rival BMW will showcase the latest model from its cutting-edge “i” series of electric cars, while Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz will present a new ver- sion of its best-selling C-Class, adding to a string A farmer winnowing a dried teff crop to separate seeds from stalks at Ada village in of recent launches. Bishoftu town, Oromia region of Ethiopia. — AFP Having doubled model lines and deliveries over the past decade to narrow the sales gap on luxury car market leader BMW, Audi has not had much new on the stands for several recent Motor show set to make industry gatherings compared with its rivals. What’s more, overhauls to Audi’s top-selling A4 will be a key battleground as the European mar- Developed in the mid-1990s after Audi’s ascen- tracks out of crisis saloon and the Q7 sport utility vehicle (SUV), ket recovers. sion to the premium market, the original 1998 slated for 2014, will be pushed into next year as Research firm IHS Automotive forecasts Audi model won rave reviews for its curvy styling, the cars need to be reworked, two VW sources will briefly snatch the luxury sales crown in inspired by the so-called Bauhaus design school PARIS: The Geneva Motor Show will kick off them to counter still sluggish sales in Europe familiar with the matter told Reuters. 2017/18, as it aims to double its line-up of popu- that features simplistic, clean industrial looks. next week on an optimistic note as the long- and keep their factories running at full-tilt. That is leading some analysts to question lar premium crossovers that includes the Q5 “The TT projects a very positive image for the suffering European car market appears to Volkswagen raked in a net profit of 9.1 bil- whether Audi can maintain its strong sales compact SUV. overall brand that’s still highly important for finally have swerved out of the slow lane. lion euros ($12.6 billion) last year, while growth of recent years and meet its goal of over- But it expects both Audi and Mercedes to Audi,” said Poskitt. “It helps cement the cutting- Luxurious sports cars, high-end SUVs and city Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz and taking BMW by 2020, which in turn could torpe- miss their goals to overtake BMW by 2020, with edge appeal Audi is after.” cars will be bumper-to-bumper at the show- Smart among others, posted a record net do VW’s drive to become the world’s biggest car- Mercedes staying in third place throughout the Based on VW’s latest modular platform one of the auto industry’s biggest and most profit of 8.7 billion euros. maker. “Audi is facing a barren spell just when period. BMW, aiming to stay in the top sales spot designed to underpin as many as 4 million small diverse events-as it cruises out from under the And the German manufacturers are aiming Mercedes looks to take the fight back to the pre- for a tenth straight year, will flaunt the i8 plug-in and midsized vehicles, the new TT will feature long shadow of industry crisis. for even better traction with a range of new miums,” said Stefan Bratzel, head of the Centre of hybrid sports car in Geneva. Other unveilings sleek styling, lower weight and a top speed of Carmakers and analysts alike say the worst products, including the Volkswagen’s third Automotive Management think-tank near will include the new four-door MINI Clubman 250 kilometres per hour, one of the VW sources of the difficulties are now in the rear-view mir- generation Audi TT and a new BMW compact. Cologne. “The current order is anything but set concept car and the new “Active Tourer” minivan. said. While it will only ever be a niche car in ror. France’s Renault and Italy’s Fiat have seen in stone,” he added, referring to luxury car indus- Mercedes, enjoying a sweet spot in its prod- terms of sales, such vehicles can be essential to “The worst of the crisis is over, so the mood far more modest profits, while PSA Peugeot try rankings. uct cycle, will present the new V-Class minivan building a loyal fan base. should be good,” Juergen Pieper, a car indus- Citroen suffered a 2.3-billion-euro loss last and a coupe version of its all-new flagship S- Andrew Abrahams, a UK-based travel consult- try analyst with German bank Metzler, said. year, although it hopes a cash injection from KEY BATTLEGROUND Class saloon, the brand’s top-end product. ant, said he was going to buy an Audi A3 com- New car registrations in the European Union the French state and China’s Dongfeng will After a six year slump, Europe’s car market is pact about a decade ago but fell for a TT which slipped just 1.7 percent last year, to 11.8 mil- put it on the road to recovery. Despite their back in growth as the region’s long-suffering BRAND BUILDING wasn’t much more expensive than a revved up lion cars sold, after five years of far more bru- continued hardship, French carmakers should economy recovers from a debt crisis, with sales While Audi’s new product line-up may look A3. “I wanted a TT from the moment I first saw tal falls. But sales are finally expected to pick play a more central role at this year’s Geneva in the European Union rising for a fifth straight weaker by comparison, the significance of the one. The shape and the interior were just so dif- up this year, according to German car industry Motor Show, where smaller city cars are month in January. The luxury car industry avoid- latest version of the TT sports car should not be ferent but I didn’t think I’d ever be able to afford analyst Stefan Bratzel. By how much remains expected to get more attention than previ- ed the worst of the downturn, thanks in part to underestimated, said Jonathon Poskitt, head of one,” said Abrahams, a member of the Audi TT to be seen: the most cautious observers ously. “They are presenting a number of strong demand from developing countries, and European forecasting for LMC Automotive. Owners Club. — Reuters expect sales to remain flat while the most important new products,” Pieper said, listing optimistic are gearing up for three-percent for instance Renault’s launch of a new Twingo, market growth. “The markets fell really low, so which will face off against the Citroen C1 and obviously they will have to start picking up at Peugeot 108. Low-profile conservative to run Nigeria’s top bank some point,” EY analyst Jean-Francois Belorgey Such small, punchy city vehicles will as said, adding that northern Europe was doing always have to battle for attention with excep- LAGOS: Nigeria has lined up a relative enemies. The presidency explained his Zenith at its launch in 1990. He has better than the south of the continent. tional, luxury cars at the 84th edition of the unknown to head its central bank after suspension as the result of financial been managing director since 2010. France remained a dark spot on the Geneva car show. While the show will not fea- the outspoken former governor was imprudence at the helm of the apex His appointment still has to be rubber- European map, seeing car sales in 2013 fall to ture last year’s overwhelming display of suspended, causing shockwaves in bank. Market watchers said Emefiele’s stamped by parliament but Oni said their lowest level in 15 years with little extravagant machines priced over the million Africa’s second-largest economy and nomination came as a surprise, as his Emefiele was a “team player” who prospect of growth this year, while Italy also dollar mark, there will still be plenty to see for markets to wobble. Zenith Bank boss name had not previously featured strikes a balance between implement- touched rock-bottom, selling just 1.3 million car enthusiasts. Godwin Emefiele had almost no profile among likely contenders for the top ing sound monetary policies and finan- cars. “The economic fundamentals in France Ferrari’s new version of its California T sport outside the banking sector until his job-and because he had a contrasting cial system stability. and Italy remain fragile,” Belorgey acknowl- car and Lamborghini’s new Huracan, both name was put forward to succeed character to Sanusi. “It’s one appoint- “As a conservative person, we edged. priced at round 200,000 euros, will likely draw Lamido Sanusi, who was removed over ment that was least expected, not expect a regime of tight monetary and And despite the expected upturn this year, crowds. But perhaps the most popular attrac- charges of financial recklessness. because Emefiele is not qualified,” Sola fiscal control that will keep inflation in Europe’s car industry remains plagued by tion at this year’s show, set to open to the Sanusi had been embroiled in con- Oni, a former spokesman for the check as well as stabilize the naira,” he overcapacity and profitability issues for mid- public from March 6-16, will be something in troversy for months after he accused Nigeria Stock Exchange, said. “In fact, added. As for Sanusi, even after his sus- range carmakers, according to credit insur- between: super trendy SUVs and crossovers. the state Nigerian National Petroleum he has both the academic and profes- pension-effectively a sacking given the ance and analysis group Euler Hermes, point- Porsche, once known only as a sport car Corporation (NNPC) of misappropriat- sional pedigree to do the job. “I think short space of time for an official ing to several recent factory closings, at PSA, maker, will for instance speed into the mid- ing $20 billion (14.5 billion euros) of the president decided to appoint inquiry to report into the claims Opel and Ford. size SUV range with its new Macan, in the public funds. The former governor, someone who will not rock the boat, a against him-he has continued to speak hope it will prove as popular as its big sister whose term was due to expire in June, dark horse who is not given to contro- out. He maintains that President Range of new models Cayenne, which accounts for more than half of was widely applauded by local and for- versies and cheap publicity.” Goodluck Jonathan does not have the eign economists for overhauling a rot- power to fire him and has gone to German carmakers, who sell heavily in the carmakers sales. American carmaker Ford LAGOS: Nigeria’s ousted central ten banking sector and stabilizing the Hard-working, conservative court to block the move, as well as North America and Asia where sales-especially is meanwhile revving up to unveil a third bank chief Mallam Lamido Sanusi currency. But his views on alleged cor- Emefiele, 52, has had a distin- claiming the head of state was sur- at the high end-are up, are meanwhile doing installment of its hugely popular compact speaks during an interview in ruption earned him powerful political guished career in banking, joining rounded by corrupt cronies.—AFP quite well. Their international presence allows Focus-the world’s most sold model. —AFP Lagos yesterday.— AFP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 BUSINESS KSE indices fluctuate as Feb ends

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended reaching KD 31.33 million, whereas trading Index and KSX-15 Index were able to close in the month of February with variance on its volume average was 263.97 million shares, the green zone, supported by the collection indices. The Price Index closed at 7,692.75 recording decrease of 38.02 percent. operations, that were performed on some points, down by 0.81 percent compared to The stock market witnessed a fluctuated large-cap listed stocks, despite the decline in the closings of the month before. The performance during February, caused its indi- a number of the sectors such as the Banking Weighted Index increased by 1.06 percent cators to close mixed, as the profit collection sector. after closing at 464.95 points, whereas the operations and the quick speculations that Moreover, the stock market was relatively KSX-15 Index closed at 1,101.03 points many of the small-cap stocks witnessed, affected by the cautious and watch state that increasing by 2.18 percent. Furthermore, last caused its decline and negatively affected the overwhelmed most of the traders in the mar- month’s average turnover decreased by 16.97 Price Index performance, which dropped by ket, and the listed companies’ disclosure to its percent, compared to the preceding month, the end of the month, whilst the Weighted 2013 financial results, whereas most of the

companies did not announce its results, highest loser was the Basic Materials sec- despite the 2/3 of the legal disclosure tor, recording 2.28 percent loss rate as its period have already passed, which lead index closed at 1,156.01 points, followed to a trading abandon by the traders, and by Oil & Gas sector as its index recorded thus a decline in the trading activity dur- 2.05 percent loss rate as its index closed ing most of the daily sessions of the at 1,197.56 points, The Banks sector was month. the least sector which record decrease as For the annual performance, the price its index close at 0.67 percent, ending index ended last month recording 1.90 the month at 1,074.49 Points percent annual gain compared to its closing in 2013, while the weighted Sectors’ Activity index increased by 2.67 percent, and the The Financial Services sector dominat- KSX-15 recorded 3.05 percent increase. ed total trade volume during last month with 1.75 billion shares changing hands, Sectors’ Indices representing 39.02 percent of the total Six of KSE’s sectors ended last month market trading volume. The Real Estate in the green zone. And the other six sec- sector was second in terms of trading tors ended in the red zone. Last month’s volume as the sector’s traded shares highest gainer was the Technology sec- were 31.02 percent of last month’s total tor, achieving 2.02 percent growth rate trading volume, with a total of 1.39 bil- as its index closed at 1,040.60 points. lion shares. Whereas, in the second place, the On the other hand, the Banks sector’s Consumer Services sector’s index closed stocks where the highest traded in terms at 1,139.68 points recording 1.20 percent of value; with a turnover of KD145.20 increase. The Consumer Goods sector million or 27.26 percent of last month’s came in third as its index achieved 1.00 total market trading value. The Financial percent growth, ending the month at Services sector took the second place as 1,275.01 points. The Telecommunication the sectors last month turnover of sector was the least growing as its index KD142.43 million represented 26.74 per- closed at 869.53points with a 0.31 per- cent of the total market trading value. cent increase. — Prepared by the Studies & Research On the other hand, the last month’s Department, Bayan Investment Co.

Liberia’s revamped ports drive post-war boom Reform could put ravages of wars behind

MONROVIA: A major revamp of Liberia’s four Monrovia’s port, committing the company to a seaports is pointing the way to an economic $145 million investment including a 600-metre transformation that aims to definitively put the wharf and state-of-the-art container tracking ravages of this west African nation’s civil wars technology. behind it. A decade after the end of the hostili- Among Monrovia’s many milestones was a ties that brought it to its knees, Liberia, a poor “One-Stop Shop”, established in 2011 to group but mineral-rich country, is seeing an expan- all the bureaucracy in one place at the port to sion of its industrial and manufacturing sectors speed up the shipping process. “If you come to on the back of strong economic growth which the port of Monrovia to declare your container, hit 8.9 percent in 2012. The transformation you no longer have to go to the ministry of began in 2009, when the government took on finance far from the port. You don’t have to go Matilda Parker, a US-educated private sector to the central bank far away or to the ministry management specialist, to become what of commerce,” Parker said. remains the world’s only female port authority head and asked her to turn around the for- Economic gateway tunes of the underperforming, inefficient The ports are vital to Liberia’s economy. Freeport of Monrovia. “When my administra- Ships began exporting palm oil from Liberia tion took over we had operational challenges. around 1850, but it was almost another centu- Equipment was down, and we even had a ry before the United States military built the nightclub in the port, so people could just Freeport of Monrovia, a 30-hectare artificial enter at will and drink,” she said. harbor designed to ensure the flow of rubber “We had little or no security, none of the exports for use in wartime materials. ports had reached international standards and Today the port-known as the “gateway to we had administrative challenges when it Liberia’s economy”-handles the majority of came to accountability for revenue (and) for imports in an economy which has to buy in expenses.” almost all commodities, meaning the price of fuel, machinery, manufactured goods and Quickly, she set about changing all that. food rely heavily on its smooth running. New broom Monrovia and Buchanan were neglected Parker, a mother-of-one with 25 years’ during the two ruinous back-to-back civil wars experience in the private and charity sectors, which ran from 1989 to 2003, leaving a quarter got rid of the nightclub and the drinkers in of a million people dead and the economy in Monrovia. She focused on making sure that tatters. Two smaller harbors, Harper and port and Buchanan, which handles mostly Greenville, had to shut down altogether. But exports 270 kilometers (170 miles) to the now, with the upgrades bringing them into south-east, were secure operations people line with world standards, and Harper and could trust with their belongings. Out went Greenville reopened, business is flocking back. the slipshod book-keeping on scraps of paper and in came modern accounting software that Hundreds of new jobs tracks expenses and revenue and allows for ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel proper financial planning. The crackdown paid producer and the first investor to enter post- off, with the US Coastguard upgrading both war Liberia in 2005, has ploughed an estimat- ports to “level one” security status, providing ed $75 million in Buchanan, the country’s sec- shipping lines, port users and customers with ond-largest port. The Luxembourg-based the assurance that their imports and exports, company approved plans in 2012 to increase vessels and passengers were reliably looked its annual exports through the port from four after. million to 15 million tons of iron ore and says A year after starting her new job, Parker it has provided nearly 500 jobs and created signed a 25-year deal with APM Terminals, indirect employment for another 2,100 which operates in 63 countries, to run Liberians. —AFP BUSINESS MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Commodities weekly update Uncertainty surrounds pace of tapering February’s surge NBK MONEY MARKETS REPORT unlikely in March KUWAIT: Last week, the dollar Index post- its 4th quarter growth estimate as con- Central Bank President Mario Draghi has ed its worst monthly performance since US jobless claims sumer spending and exports were weaker warned of the risk of inflation trapped in a By Ole Hansen five months, reaching a low of 79.68 amid The number of Americans filing new than initially thought. The US GDP expand- danger zone below 1 percent, but said ebruary was a strong month for commodities, with uncertainty surrounding the pace of the claims for unemployment benefits rose ed at a 2.4 percent annual rate, down again last that there was clearly no defla- the broad-based DJ-UBS Commodity index return- tapering process especially after US gov- slightly last week. Initial claims for state sharply from the 3.2 percent reported last tion. Price pressures in the euro zone econ- Fing more than 5 percent. This was more than the ernment revised lower the fourth quarter unemployment benefits increased 14,000 month. Consumer spending accounted for omy are low because unemployment S&P 500 Index, which reached even a new record high GDP data. The Dollar index fell to a two- to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, slightly a large part of the revision after retail sales remains stuck close to record highs. thereby moving in the opposite direction of bond yields month low against the Euro currency after higher than 335,000 expected by the mar- in months of November and December Eurostat said on Friday that 12 percent of and the macro data. Some of the major themes and fac- data showed steady euro-zone inflation ket. A Labor Department representative came in weaker than expected. Consumer the bloc’s workforce was unemployed in tors behind this performance were: data, a sign of stability that cooled expecta- attributed the slight rise in unemployment spending, which accounts for more than January, unchanged from a month before. • Adverse weather in Brazil and the US supporting mul- tion that the European Central Bank might benefits to cold temperatures and winter two-thirds of the US economic activity, UK Gross Domestic Product rose by 0.7 tiple commodities from coffee and sugar to soybeans loosen its monetary policy further as its storms that damped progress in the hous- contributed 1.73 percent percentage percent in the fourth quarter in line with and WTI Crude. monthly meeting next week. ing and labor market. points to GDP growth, down from the pre- market expectations. Business activities • Concerns that growth in the world’s two biggest com- The euro currency endured a volatile viously reported 2.26 percent points. and household spending played an inte- modity consuming nations, US and China, are losing week. Euro opened the week at 1.3734, Yellen testifies gral part in the improvement of the GDP, momentum. only to drop slightly to 1.3640 where it Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testi- German business climate business investment activities rose 8.5 per- • Risk adversity related to turmoil in emerging markets, found good support .The Euro later gained fied on the Semiannual Monetary Policy German business confidence rallied to cent in the fourth quarter, alongside an not least Ukraine. steam reaching a two-month high of improvement in household spending that • Traders having to deal with the implications of the 1.3824 after the European Union statistics rose 0.4 percent on the quarter. The Bank biggest weekly drop in China’s Yuan on record. office eurostat estimated that consumer of England has said it expects a pick-up in Several of these themes will continue to drive com- prices in the 18 countries sharing the euro business investment in 2014, something it modities into March but as the US winter steps aside to rose an annual 0.8 percent this month. The sees as essential to secure long-awaited allow spring to take hold, some of the weather-related factors may ease. US and Chinese economic data continue European president Dragi warned of infla- growth in productivity. Monetary Policy to be important variables, together with worries over the tion being stuck in a danger zone below Committee member David Miles said last wider implications of the situation in Ukraine. the 1 percent, but said again last week that week that rates will not rise, despite what The agriculture sector rose by more than 10 percent, there was clearly no deflation. appears to be the brightest economic out- not least driven by a spectacular rally in Arabica coffee. The sterling rallied last week, reaching a look in five years .Another BoE policymaker Sugar had a double digit return as the extreme drought in high of 1.6768 after the UK government Ian McCafferty, said that the BoE will start Brazil threatened crop yields from the world’s biggest pro- posted strong GDP growth for the fourth to raise interest rates in the spring of 2015 ducer and exporter of the two commodities. In the US, the quarter of 2013. are “not unreasonable” cold weather lifted the price of wheat after concerns that the winter crop could be damaged while brisk export US consumer confidence Canadian GDP demand for soybeans was driven by a delay to the US consumer confidence dropped Canada’s economy grew at a an annu- Brazilian harvest. slightly last week, on concern over the alized rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth Precious metals contin- short-term outlook for business conditions quarter of 2013 after expanding by 2.7 ued their strong perform- and jobs .The Conference Board, said its percent in the third quarter, beating mar- ance from January with Index of consumer attitudes fell to 78.1 ket expectation of a rise of 2.5 percent. many traders being forced below market expectation of 80.0. The Because of this expansion, Statistics to change their negative Director of Economic Indicators said, “While Canada revised up its growth figures for expectations, not least expectations have fluctuated over recent Report before the Senate Banking its highest level in in two and a half years in the first two quarters to reflect that exports when resistance at the months, current conditions have continued Committee, in Washington DC. Yellen said a sign that growth in Europe’s largest econ- of crude oil and crops were greater than it important technical 200- to trend upward and the Present Situation the Federal Reserve is likely to keep on the omy may accelerate. The Ifo institute’s busi- had initially estimated. day moving average on both metals was broken. Index is now at its highest level in almost tapering process, even as policy makers ness climate index, based on a survey of Falling bond yields on the six years, this suggests that consumers monitor data to determine if recent weak- 7,000 executives, rose to 111.3 in February, Japan’s core CPI improves back of disappointing US believe the economy has improved, but ness in the economy is temporary. beating market expectation of a rise to Japans core consumer prices rose 1.3 economic data and the they do not foresee it gaining considerable “Unseasonably cold weather has played 110.60. Germany is the largest trading part- percent in January from a year earlier, first, albeit small, monthly momentum in the months ahead.” some role.” Speaking on the monetary poli- ner with the 19 EU countries; an improve- marking an eighth straight month of gains, rise in ETP holdings since cy, Yellen emphasized that she expects a ment in the business confidence is a good government data showed last week, in a December 2012 are lending support. Signs of slowing US new home sales great deal of continuity in the FOMC’s sign that EU countries might have a good sign the Japanese economy is shaking off physical demand at current higher levels may limit the US New Home Sales jumped to a five approach to monetary policy and she year ahead. 15 years of stagnant deflation. The latest upside potentials. and half year high in January, showing strongly support that strategy designed to German unemployment dropped for improvement in the CPI is a result of the The energy sector was mixed, with natural gas receiv- underlying strength in the industry and fulfill the Federal Reserve’s mandate of the third straight month in a row as compa- ongoing quantitative easing program ing much of the attention considering the extreme easing concerns of a sharp slowdown in maximum employment and price stability. nies became more confident in the recov- implemented by the bank of japan. volatility witnessed during February. In the end, the price the housing market. The Commerce Yellen reiterated the Federal Open Market ery in Europe’s largest economy. Germany’s Japan’s industrial output rose 4.0 per- ended up almost unchanged on the month but not Department said that home sales jumped Committee forward guidance of maintain- unemployment fell more than expected in cent in January, marking a second straight before jumping by more than one quarter and then col- 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annu- ing a low target federal fund rates at least February, hitting its lowest level since month of gains. The industrial production lapsing the most it has ever done in one week since 1996. al rate of 468,000 units, marking the high- as long as the unemployment remains September 2012,the number of people out came well above market expectation of a 3 WTI Crude received support from the unseasonable cold est level since mid-2008. The Commerce above 6.5 percent and the inflation rate 0.5 of work decreased by a seasonally adjusted percent rise, as companies increased the weather, which raised refinery demand above the sea- Department also indicated that home percent above the 2 percent long-run goal, 14,000 to 2.914 million, after falling a production of cars and other goods to sonal norm. Improved pipeline infrastructure from the US sales have increased in three of four Crossing one of these threshold will not 28,000 the previous month. The jobless meet rising demand before a sales tax hike Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico led to a 14 percent reduc- regions ,sales in the Northeast rallied 73.7 automatically prompt and increase in the rate held steady at 6.8 percent, in line with in April. tion in inventories at Cushing, the delivery hub for WTI percent, sales in the South improved by federal fund rate. market expectations. Crude futures in New York, and this supported the rela- 10.4 percent, sales in the West rose 11 per- The Europe Consumer Price Index grew Kuwait tive outperformance over Brent with the spread narrow- cent while sales in the Midwest dropped US GDP drop sharply an annual 0.8 percent, the same pace as in Kuwaiti dinar at 0.28130. The USDKWD ing by more than USD 2. sharply by 17.2 percent. The United States government reduced the previous two months. The European opened at 0.28130 yesterday morning. Copper struggled and ended near the lowest in more than two months after concerns over China’s slowing growth. The recent weakness of the Yuan may reduce demand for the metal, both from commercial buyers and ECB needs 770 supervisors those using the metal to obtain finance from sources oth- er than regular banks from which lending has become much more difficult to obtain. for new watchdog The strong performances and multiple technical breakouts during February triggered a rush into com- FRANKFURT: German banker Korbinian Ibel Lautenschlaeger, vice-chair of the watchdog has modities by hedge funds. Since the first week of January, gave up a company car and took a pay cut to said: “Supervisors don’t grow on trees.” bullish bets on 24 US traded commodities have risen by seize the chance to join a new organization that 59 percent. These culminated during the week of could play a big role in taking European integra- Hundreds of applications February 18 when the total net-long position rose to the tion to the next level. He has accepted one of The ECB has started filling the empty seats highest since April 2011 and an unprecedented 23 out of the top jobs at a new part of the European from the top and is receiving hundreds of applica- 24 commodities were bought. The strong buying may Central Bank in Frankfurt that from November tions for the rest. Ibel, 40 and a father of four, is eventually leave several commodities exposed to long liq- will police 130 banks in 18 countries across the one of two director generals that have come from uidation on any signs of falling momentum or changing euro zone, including Commerzbank, where Ibel the private sector out of a total of four. fundamentals, not least WTI Crude where the net-long is worked for five years and was in charge of risk. He often fields calls at the weekend from for- As a former banker, Ibel has the expertise the mer industry colleagues, asking about possible just a few thousand contracts short of the record from last ECB needs for its new watchdog, known as the jobs, but their enthusiasm usually fades once low- summer. As a percentage of total open interest, the posi- Single Supervisory Mechanism. But attracting er ranking roles come into play. Though those are tion becomes even more extreme as we have reached lev- more bankers of his caliber might prove tough the kind jobs Ibel mainly needs to fill. His depart- els not seen since recent periods of geo-political risk, such given that the ECB jobs pay less than the finance ment of 250 staff is the largest of four at the new as the Libyan war in 2011, Iran nuclear sanctions in 2012 sector. The European Union’s plan to bring euro- watchdog, in charge of a wide range of functions and last summer’s Syria chemical war crisis and Libyan zone bank supervision under one roof at the from risk analysis and crisis management to supply disruptions. ECB aims to restore the region’s banks to health developing guidelines for supervisors, defining after the financial crisis. The United States got its sanctions and enforcements and handing out Gold consolidating DAHKA: A Bangladeshi laborer works in a tannery in Dhaka. Standing knee-deep in banks quickly back on track, but in Europe many authorizations to banks. The yellow metal reached a four months high this past toxic chemicals, Mokter Hossain loads animal hides into huge drums filled with still banks are weak and still in recovery mode and Soon, he will go on a tour around Europe, to week before taking time off to consolidate after a second more dangerous liquids at a tannery in the Bangladesh capital. — AFP wary of lending money needed to drive eco- meet bankers and supervisors in Belgium, France, monthly gain. The metal has been supported this year nomic recovery. Finland, Austria, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, firstly by strong physical demand out of Asia and then by Ibel sees his new job as central to efforts to building relationships and keeping an eye out for the investment community, such as hedge funds who Boosting domestic initiatives help fix the banks which could prevent a repeat those he would like to bring on board. The pay for found themselves underweight the metal on the expecta- of the crisis of the last few years that has hit jobs supervisors at the ECB watchdog normally starts tions that gold would fall even farther this year. The recent without adding to deficit and growth. “This is a unique opportunity to at around 55,000 euros per year and can go up to move above the 200-day moving average, currently at shape the future of Europe,” Ibel told Reuters, sit- about 120,000 euros, depending on expertise. $1,300/oz, triggered a one-third weekly rise in net-long WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will to become law anytime soon. The divided US ting in his office in Frankfurt’s Japan Tower, a ECB staff also get taxed according to European futures position held by hedge funds. Although it is show- unveil a budget this week that seeks to boost Congress controls the government’s purse stone’s-throw away from the ECB’s headquarters. rates, between 8 and 45 percent, which are often ing signs of slowing momentum, it remains positive and spending on new initiatives such as road strings and Republicans who hold power in the A few moving boxes still need unpacking. lower than in EU member states. some further support could arise from the current crisis in repairs, education programs and tax breaks for House of Representatives disagree with policy “What we do will not only have an impact on Average pay at Deutsche Bank, for example, Ukraine. On the flip side, we have seen physical demand the working poor while avoiding an increase in priorities such as added spending on job train- the European banking system, but also on the was $169,500 last year and at Swiss bank UBS from China and Japan begin to slow following the recent US deficits. ing and other programs in Obama’s budget. real economy, which will benefit from safer and $380,000. The ECB is also developing procedures Obama has made reducing the gap That means Obama’s blueprint is more of a rise above USD 1,300/oz. and this confirms the continued stronger banks,” he said. to ensure that any job a supervisor takes during a between the rich and the poor a centerpiece of campaign document than a road map to the price sensitivity when it comes to physical demand. The Unifying banking supervision at the ECB is period of up to two years after leaving the ECB his agenda for his next three years in office. But country’s fiscal path over the next year. It will be Chinese Yuan saw the biggest weekly drop on record this the most ambitious step towards European inte- will not lead to a conflict of interest with the work he is limited in his ability to offer bold new ini- used to guide messaging in the November con- past week and that may also dent what, up until now, gration since the launch of the single currency of the bank watchdog. tiatives because of a budget accord he reached gressional elections in which Democrats are have been very strong Chinese gold imports. The specula- 15 years ago. Hiring the right people from the in 2011 with House of Representatives fighting to keep control of the Senate and avoid start is crucial for the project’s success and the ‘WILL THEY EAT US?’ tive community is happy to hold onto long positions at Republicans that puts strict curbs on both losing seats in the House. The budget will flesh the moment, and it would probably require some ECB is leaning heavily on national authorities to But for Ibel, it was not about the pay, but domestic and military spending. An agreement out a proposal Obama made in his State of the find the 770 supervisors it needs by November. about influence. Having been on the receiving renewed weakness below USD 1,300 to change that senti- reached in December between congressional Union address to expand a tax break for the ment. Since the financial crisis, which exposed big end of supervision throughout his career at Republicans and Obama’s Democrats allowed a working poor known as the Earned Income Tax failings in regulation, the required skills for effec- Accenture, Boston Consulting, Deutsche Bank slight easing of curbs on spending in the cur- Credit. The president wants to increase the size tive supervision have changed, said Julie and Commerzbank, which taught him the indus- Demand for crude to slow rent 2014 fiscal year, but outlays will be essen- of the credit for workers without children. The Dickson, who works at the Financial Stability try short-cuts to deal with regulation, he now Crude oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic eased tially flat in fiscal 2015, which begins Oct. 1. credit, which has been in place since the mid- Board, which coordinates financial regulation for wants to use his knowledge to sharpen oversight. ahead of month end. The elevated demand for heating Because of the caps, spending on programs 1970s, is meant to give low-income workers an the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies. “I will put more focus on material risks,” Ibel said. during the past couple of months should begin to ease as subject to annual review in 2015 will total incentive to work rather than receive govern- “These days, there is an expectation that For example, instead of asking banks in ques- milder weather approaches and this should help ease the $1.014 trillion compared to $1.012 trillion - an ment handouts. But it is substantially more gen- supervisors have robust discussions with CEOs tionnaires how large their staff bonuses were, it pressure on refineries which can now begin their seasonal increase of less than two-tenths of a percent. erous for workers with children. Those with at and boards and they delve into matters like suc- would make more sense to ask how many people period of maintenance. This period normally sees lower Obama’s budget and the coming debate in least one child can receive up to $3,305 in 2014, cession planning at systemically important had got a large bonus in spite of missing their demand for crude oil and as a result the upside potential Congress will focus on how to work within while the maximum for childless workers is banks and they delve into risk culture,” Dickson, performance targets. A mixture of career supervi- seems limited to $110.5/barrel and $104.0/barrel on Brent those limits. “We’re on track to having discre- $496. who chairs the supervisory intensity and effec- sors and bankers from the private sector could be and WTI crude as we move into March. As mentioned ear- tionary spending the lowest as a share of the The benefit also begins to phase out at a tiveness group at the FSB, said. “These are skills a powerful combination for the new watchdog. lier the speculative positioning in WTI Crude has reached economy since we started recording discre- much lower income level for childless workers - that were not abundant in supervisory agencies But they need to be put together with great care, levels only seen last September when the world was bat- tionary spending in 1962,” White House Council as soon as $8,810, as opposed to at $17,830 for some years ago,” said Dickson, who is also the Dickson said. “Integrating people from the private tling worries about the western airstrikes against Syria and of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman a worker with one child. “It will be a strong head of Canada’s main financial services regula- sector with career supervisors is also important the sharp drop in supplies from Libya as strikes began. On said last week. “With that comes a lot of choices antipoverty measure,” said Jared Bernstein, a tor, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial and something you need to pay attention to, that basis the risk of a deeper correction has risen espe- that we’d rather not be making ... there are pret- former economic aide to Vice President Joe Institutions (OSFI). The ECB has its work cut out because they can be different, there can be cul- cially when the impact of the US winter begins to fade. ty difficult choices in just about every area of Biden who is now with the Center on Budget finding all the supervisors it needs by tural issues,” she said. At Britain’s Financial Services — Ole Sloth Hansen is Head of Commodity Strategy at the budget.” and Policy Priorities. A 2009 Georgetown November. There are 200 people already work- Authority (FSA), replaced in 2013 after 12 years by Saxo Bank Even with only a minuscule spending University paper put the cost of such an expan- ing for the new watchdog but that is both a new regulatory regime, such a clash of cultures increase, Obama’s budget proposals are unlikely sion at $12.1 billion.—Reuters supervisors and support staff. As Sabine became evident.—Reuters MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 BUSINESS

Qatar Airways continues Middle East expansion Flights to Dubai World Central, Sharjah

SHARJAH: Qatar Airways has contin- ued its aggressive expansion plans with the launch yesterday of two new regional routes, thereby growing its strong connections within the Middle East. The new routes, to Sharjah and Dubai World Central Al-Maktoum International Airport (DWC), will both operate daily from the airline’s hub in Doha and add to the existing Qatar Airways network of flights to Dubai (DXB) and Abu Dhabi, doubling the total number of destinations within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from two to four. The new UAE routes will both be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft and customers from around the world will benefit from the increased accessibility to the region as well as convenient connection times across the airline’s expanding global network. There will excellent and frequent air travel con- a new destination within its interna- services and facilities provided by the regard that the city was named the be three flights daily to Sharjah, with nections to the UAE, and the location tional network. This will add value to airport. Today we are delighted to Capital of Islamic Culture in 2014 in two flights per day to DWC. of both airports relative to our network the travelers using the airport to reach receive the inaugural flight of Qatar recognition of its achievements. Qatar Airways Chief Executive will afford travelers an even wider vari- their destinations in Europe, Asia and Airways, the international carrier with Dubai World Central (DWC), located Officer, Akbar Al Baker, commented; ety of options when they are looking to America. In addition, it will enhance an excellent reputation, which will con- in the Jebel Ali area of Dubai southwest “Over the years, we have focused upon reach their final destinations”, he the trade and transportation services nect both Sharjah and Doha”. of the city, is a strategic initiative of the the expansion of our route network, added. between Sharjah and Doha.” Today Sharjah is the third largest of Government of Dubai for the establish- and today’s launches to Sharjah and Sheikh Khalid Bin Essam Al-Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Airport the seven emirates which form the UAE ment of the world’s first aerotropolis. DWC demonstrate our commitment to Chairman of Department of Civil Authority, Ali Salim Al-Midfa, said: “The and offers an impressive array of over Leveraging the emirate’s position as a the United Arab Emirates.” Aviation-Sharjah, said:” We would like launch of daily flights to Sharjah 20 museums, several art galleries and leading global trade, business and avi- “As one of our closest neighbors in to thank Qatar Airways for their choice International Airport reflects the confi- beautifully restored heritage areas in ation hub, the focus of DWC is on eco- the Gulf, it is of key importance to offer to use Sharjah International Airport as dence of the international airlines in this bustling port city. It is in this nomic development for the region. KAMCO posts KD10m revenues, KD3.02m net profit for 2013

KUWAIT: KIPCO Asset Management Company - to strive to grow our AUM further in the coming KAMCO, announced its financial results for the years by enhancing our existing products and year ending on 31 December 2013. KAMCO launching new innovative & investor focused posted a net profit of KD 3.02 million (earning investment products and services. KAMCO’s per share of 12.6fils); compared to a net loss of investment banking team continues to hold a KD 11.67 million in 2012 (earnings per share of - significant market share of completed major 48.9fils). transactions, advising on a number of debt rais- KAMCO achieved KD 10.1million in ing, restructuring and advisory transactions.” Revenues in 2013 against KD 1.1 million in 2012 Sarkhou continued, “As stated in early 2013, and also reduced its Debts by 27 percent to KD by growing our focus on our core operational 29 million in 2013 as against KD 40 million in strengths, KAMCO has successfully turned to 2012. profitability in 2013 and continued to improve The year 2013 saw an increased focus on on its leverage. As we continue to evolve with core operations, with the operational revenues new products in our core business and by con- & profits growing considerably due to the tinuously reinforcing our key resources, our excellent performance of all managed equity team is confident to grow KAMCO’s activities funds coupled with the growth in Assets Under and further develop its positioning as a market Inaugural ceremony of Air Arabia flight to Cairo International Airport. Management (AUM).Total AUM increased to KD leader in the investment arena both in Kuwait 2.9 billion ($10.1 billion) in 2013, as compared and in the GCC region.” to KD 2.4 billion ($8.4 billion) in 2012, posting a With respect to 2014, Sarkhou added, “We strong 20 percent growth. will continue to develop and launch new prod- Air Arabia touches On this occasion, Faisal M Sarkhou, CEO of ucts and services to our growing client base KAMCO, said, “The results of 2013 reflect our and provide attractive and well-studied invest- growing focus on achieving operational excel- ment opportunities to our clients. Our focus down in Cairo lence and on enhancing our AUM base and will also remain on carefully balancing between investment banking activities. We will continue risk and return on our products and services.” Faisal M Sarkhou, CEO of KAMCO Airline starts operating 3 weekly flights SHARJAH: Air Arabia, the Middle East and Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, North Africa’s first and largest low-cost car- Air Arabia, said: “We are very proud to have Burgan Bank announces winners of Yawmi draw rier (LCC) has strengthened connectivity launched our inaugural flight to Cairo, KUWAIT: Burgan Bank announced yesterday the draw after 48 hours only from opening the to maximize their chances to becoming a daily with Egypt with the launch of non-stop marking our fourth destination in Egypt the names of the lucky winners of its Yawmi account. Customers are also required to winner. The more customers deposit, the high- services to Cairo, the capital city. The inau- and 90th worldwide. This first flight marks account draw, each taking home a prize of KD deposit KD 100 or equivalent only to enter the er the chances they receive of winning the gural flight, G90620, took off to the Capital the start of three weekly flights to the 5,000. daily draw, and the coupon value to enter the draw. city on February 27, 2014 at a special cere- Egyptian capital, which is a significant des- The lucky winners for the daily draws took draw stands at KD 10. Opening a Yawmi account is simple, cus- mony attended by senior officials from Air tination for us in terms of strengthening home a cash-prize of KD 5000 each, and they The newly designed Yawmi account has tomers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Arabia and the Egyptian Ambassador to our connectivity with the country and are: been launched to provide a highly innovative Bank branch and receive all the details, or sim- the UAE, Ihab Emam Hamouda. enhancing bilateral ties between Egypt and offering along with a higher frequency and ply call the bank’s Call Center at 1804080 The new service from the carrier’s pri- the UAE. The addition of Cairo as our latest 1. ASMAA JASEM MOHAMMAD JABER incentive of winning for everyone. Today, the where customer service representatives will be mary hub in Sharjah marks Air Arabia’s destination will benefit tourists wishing to 2. BHAVIN PRAVIN KUMAR DESAI Yawmi account is a well understood product, delighted to assist with any questions on the fourth destination in Egypt and 90th world- explore the historic city, and the rest of the With its new and enhanced features, the where its popularity can be seen from the Yawmi account or any of the bank’s products wide. Air Arabia now offers three weekly country, as well as providing convenient Yawmi Account has become more convenient, number of increasing account holders. and services. Customers can also log on to flights to Cairo, making it a convenient des- and affordable flights for Egyptians living in easier, and faster for customers to benefit Burgan Bank encourages everyone to open Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for further tination for passengers from and to the the UAE wishing to travel home.” from. Now, customers will be eligible to enter a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit information. UAE, travelling for business or pleasure. Air Arabia also connects passengers Flights depart Sharjah International from Sharjah to Alexandria, Assuit and Airport on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Sohag in Egypt. There has been a signifi- at 13:00 arriving in Cairo International cant level of demand for Air Arabia’s Egypt California farmers hire dowsers to find water Airport at 15:20. Return flights depart Cairo services over the past years, with its wide at 16:00 arriving in Sharjah at 21:20 local range of value for money offerings making ST HELENA, California: With California in ference. “It’s kind of bizarre. Scientists don’t gallons per minute. time. it an airline of choice. the grips of drought, farmers throughout the believe in it, but I do and most of the farmers With more farmers relying on groundwa- state are using a mysterious and some say in the Valley do,” said Marc Mondavi, a vine- ter to irrigate crops, Mondavi’s phone has Al-Tijari announces winner of foolhardy tool for locating underground yard owner whose family has been growing been ringing often as growers worry about water: dowsers, or water witches. grapes and making wine since the mid-20th extended years of dryness. National & Liberation Days draw Practitioners of dowsing use rudimentary century in the Napa Valley. He had six witching jobs lined up over a tools - usually copper sticks or wooden Mondavi doesn’t just believe in dowsing, recent weekend, three homes whose springs KUWAIT: Commercial Bank of Kuwait held prizes during the year worth KD 100,000 “divining rods” that resemble large wish- he practices it. On a recent afternoon, stand- were running dry and three vineyards. It’s so the Al-Najma Account draw yesterday. The each on different occasions: The National bones - and what they describe as a natural ing in this family’s Charles Krug vineyard popular that he’s even created a line of wines draw was held under the supervision of the Day, Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha and on the 19th energy to find water or minerals hidden holding two copper divining rods, Mondavi called “The Divining Rod” that will be sold Ministry of Commerce & Industry repre- of June which is the date of the bank’s deep underground. While both state and walked slowly forward through the dormant nationwide this year. While popular, scien- sented by Abdulaziz Ashkanani. establishment. federal water scientists disapprove of dows- vines. After about 40 feet, the rods quickly tists say dowsers are often just lucky, looking With a minimum balance of KD 500, cus- The winner of the National & Liberation tomers will be eligible for the daily draw ing, California “witchers” are busy as farmers crossed and Mondavi - a popular dowser in for water in places where it’s already known Days draw: provided that the money is in the account seek to drill more groundwater wells due to the world famous wine region- stopped. to likely exist. Qassem Mohammed Al-Hamad— KD one week prior to the daily draw or 2 the state’s record drought that persists “This is the edge of our underground “There’s no scientific basis to dowsing. If 100,000. months prior to the mega draw. In addi- despite recent rain. stream,” he said during the demonstration. you want to go to a palm reader or a mental- The winners of the Al-Najma daily draw are: tion, for each KD 25 a customer can get one The nation’s fourth-largest wine maker, Mondavi said he was introduced to “witch- ist, then you’re the same person who’s going Wazeer Zada Zarnoosh— KD 7000, chance for winning instead of KD 50. Bronco Wine Co, says it uses dowsers on its ing” by the father of an old girlfriend, and to go out and hire a dowser,” said Tom Ahmad Abdulla Essa— KD 7000. Commercial Bank of Kuwait takes this 40,000 acres of California vineyards, and realized he had a proclivity for the practice. Ballard, a hydrogeologist with Taber The Commercial Bank of Kuwait opportunity to congratulate all lucky win- dozens of smaller farmers and homeowners After the valley’s most popular dowser died Consultants, a geological engineering firm announces the biggest daily draw in ners and also extends appreciation to the looking for wells on their property also pay in recent years, Mondavi has become the go- based in West Sacramento. Kuwait with the launch of the new Najma Ministry of Commerce and Industry for for dowsers. Nationwide, the American to water witch in Napa Valley. He charges “The success is really an illusion. In most account. Customers of the bank can now their effective supervision of the draws enjoy a KD 7,000 daily prize which is the which were conducted in an orderly and Society of Dowsers, Inc. boasts dozens of about $500 per site visit, and more, if a well places you’re going to be able to drill and highest in the country and another 4 mega organized manner. local chapters, which meet annually at a con- he discovers ends up pumping more than 50 find some water,” he said.—AP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 technology Sands: Many customer data stolen by hackers LAS VEGAS: Computer hackers stole the informational website Sands has set up Italian-themed Venetian and Palazzo on hackers also posted Social Security num- which is the world’s largest casino compa- personal information of tens of thousands warns that credit card information and the Las Vegas Strip, and several hotel-casi- bers for Sands’ Bethlehem employees. ny in terms of revenue and market value, of Las Vegas Sands customers during a bank account information may also have nos in China and Singapore. It took the company nearly a week to also owns the world’s largest casino in the data breach earlier this month, the casino been stolen. The company is providing In its statement, Sands noted that the get the sites back up. The hacking also Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. The company said Friday. credit monitoring and identity theft pro- number of patron accounts that were knocked down internal systems, and left company’s net income was $2.31 billion The company said in a regulatory filing tection to customers affected by the hack- compromised make up fewer than 1 per- corporate employees without access to last year. that information about some patrons at its ing. cent of all visitors to the Bethlehem casino their computers and email accounts for In an annual report filed with the Bethlehem, Pa., hotel-casino was compro- Reese didn’t say whether credit card since its 2009 opening. It has set up a toll- days. Securities and Exchange Commission on mised during the Feb. 10 attack. information was taken. A mailing database free phone number for concerned cus- Last week, an anonymous video sur- Friday, Sands said the attack may have Spokesman Ron Reese said the number of similar to something a direct marketing tomers. faced that appeared to catalog additional destroyed some company data. The filing customers affected was in the mid-five fig- firm would use was also stolen. Sands said The Las Vegas-based company pulled information stolen during the hacking, said Sands was unable to estimate the loss ure range, as far as the company could tell it was still working to determine whether down its corporate and individual hotel including administrator passwords for slot that might result from the hacking, if any. so far. customer information from other proper- websites Feb. 11 after hackers defaced machine systems and player information Shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. rose 12 Examples of the kinds of legally pro- ties was breached, a process made more them with images condemning comments at the Bethlehem casino. cents to close at $85.25 Friday before the tected data that were stolen include Social time-consuming by the destruction the Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson had made The FBI and Secret Service have been announcement, then fell 24 cents in after- Security and driver’s license numbers. An hackers wrought. The company runs the about using nuclear weapons on Iran. The investigating the cyberattack. Sands, hours trading. —AP Wi-Fi in the sky Apple’s Tim Cook teases, set for takeoff reassures shareholders SINGAPORE: Wi-Fi in aircraft, hobbled in the past connection. When flying over land, planes use by slow speeds, could soon take off as new tech- telecommunication towers to transmit Internet CUPERTINO: Apple CEO Tim Cook is still trying seemed supportive of Cook, although a couple better if Apple revealed more about its future nology enables passengers to surf the web as if signals but during long-haul flights, when they fly to convince shareholders that the iPhone maker expressed frustration with Apple’s stock price plans, Cook conceded, but he said the company they were in a coffee shop, Internet executives over large expanses of water, consistent connec- remains a step ahead in the race to innovate, when he took seven questions from the audi- intends to hew to Jobs’ hush-hush philosophy to say. More airlines are rolling out new and tivity becomes a problem. In those cases, a satel- even though recent performance of the compa- ence. build consumer anticipation and prevent rivals improved services thanks to satellite technology, lite network is needed. In December last year, ny’s stock lags behind other technology trend- Investors are worried about the company’s from getting an early start on copying its ideas. industry leaders said at the recent Singapore Inmarsat launched the first of three satellites that setters. shrinking market share in the smartphone mar- “We think the element of surprise is impor- Airshow, with the public increasingly demanding will serve the GX network. Air China will be the In making his case Friday, Cook struck a famil- ket as its rivals introduce a wider selection of tant,” Cook said. Analysts are convinced the next Wi-Fi on planes. US-based Honeywell Aerospace first airline to test it, on its A330 fleet in the second iar refrain during Apple’s annual shareholder devices offering lower prices and larger screen iPhone will feature a larger screen than the four- and Gogo, which supply inflight connectivity sys- quarter of 2015. meeting at the company’s Cupertino, Calif. head- sizes. Wall Street is also wondering if Apple lost inch display that was introduced in 2012. Other tems to airlines, are collaborating with satellite Singapore Airlines, which launched its $50 quarters. some of its inventiveness with the death of the smartphones boast five-inch and even six-inch giant Inmarsat to implement the “first global high- million in-flight connectivity program in Cook promised that Apple Inc. is working on speed broadband for the skies” dubbed the September 2012, said it planned to finish equip- new gadgets that will expand the company’s Global Xpress (GX) Aviation network. ping its aircraft with the hardware by 2015. A product line-up beyond smartphones, tablets, Briand Greer, president of Honeywell Lufthansa spokesman said that it would also music players and personal computers without Aerospace Asia Pacific, said inflight Wi-Fi could begin rolling out inflight Wi-Fi on all of its planes divulging any details. He cited the company’s generate $2.8 billion for the company alone over in the middle of this year. Even no-frills airlines are nearly $4.5 billion investment in research and the next 20 years. He estimates that around seven catching on. Thai budget airline Nok Air development during the last fiscal year and the to eight percent of airlines currently offer wireless announced during the Singapore Airshow that it completion of 23 acquisitions in the past 16 connection, but says this number is expected to will equip its new Boeing 737 fleet with Wi-Fi. months as a precursor of the big things to come. grow to 25 percent by 2018. After years of being Peter Andersson, general manager of aviation “There is a ton of stuff going on,” Cook said. bogged down by weak demand due to poor sig- navigation company Jeppesen, also said that the On the financial side, Cook told shareholders nal quality, inflight Wi-Fi can now enable down- technology could benefit cockpit and airport that Apple’s board will announce whether the load speeds of up to 50 megabits per second, operation. “If you have something that you need company will increase its dividend and spend Greer said. “How we describe it is it will be like you to repair, you can get the status check to the more money buying back its own stock by the are sitting at Starbucks with your smartphone, ground level so they can be prepared so they can end of April. Money management is a major your computer and your iPad,” Greer told actually do the maintenance quicker,” Andersson issue for Apple because the company is sitting reporters. told AFP. “You can reduce the turnaround and on nearly $159 billion in cash, including $124 bil- Onboard Wi-Fi is not a new idea - European maintenance (of airplanes) dramatically.” lion held in overseas accounts to avoid US taxes. carrier Lufthansa debuted Conexxion by Boeing’s Sashangar Sreetharan, an analyst at McKinsey and On the labor front, Cook pledged to continue system in 2004. But by 2006 the company Co who flies twice a week, said that only airlines Apple’s fight for the rights of the low-paid work- announced its exit after the expected growth in with Wi-Fi were considered “preferred carriers” for ers who build the company’s devices in overseas the market did not materialise. Recent surveys by his firm. factories. The workplaces are frequently depict- Airbus and Honeywell, however, suggest that the But he admitted that although he often ed as oppressive sweatshops. market might now be ready as passengers worked during flights, the wireless service quality “I don’t think there is any CEO who talks increasingly expect airlines to have inflight wire- so far has been sub-par. “The speed is quite slow about human rights more than I do,” he said. “I less services. Airbus published a report in and every now and then you lose signal, but it isn’t get a lot of spears for it, but I don’t give a crap.” February about the comfort demands of Asian too bad. However, once you are on a Virtual Private Apple CEO Tim Cook passengers, carried out by global consultancy Network (VPN), the speed is so slow that gateway Tense affair Future Laboratory. timeouts occur,” Sreetharan told AFP. Sreetharan Cook, who became Apple’s CEO shortly visionary Jobs. screens that appeal to people who play a lot of One of the future trends highlighted was that said he was not sure everyone would necessarily before the October 2011 death of Apple co- Apple’s stock dipped $1.43 to close Friday at games or watch a lot of video. Speculation on Asian business passengers would expect Wi-Fi want Wi-Fi on planes. “Honestly, if the Wi-Fi was founder Steve Jobs, also showed a playful side. $526.24. That’s 25 percent below its peak price new product categories that Apple might enter enabled cabins with telephone and conference better I’d rather have it. I mean that is because my He tantalized the crowd by telling them he of $705.07 reached September 2012. Over the includes a high-tech watch that could monitor calling facilities. Honeywell also conducted a sur- bosses are reasonable and don’t push me while planned to provide a glimpse at Apple’s upcom- same stretch, the stock of Google Inc. - a bitter the user’s health and a long-rumored television vey of 3,000 passengers from the United States, I’m flying,” Sreetharan told AFP. “But if they started ing products, but it turned out to be a tease. “I’ve rival - has surged by 66 percent and the technol- set that would run on the same software as the Britain and Singapore and nearly 90 percent harassing me on flights, I guess I would swap to got to have some fun,” he said. ogy-driven Nasdaq composite index has gained iPhone. would give up an amenity, such as drinks or a bet- not having it, I don’t want to be emailing back and The meeting looked like it would be a tense 35 percent. Although he didn’t discuss a potential TV set ter seat, for a faster and more consistent wireless forth during a long flight.” —AFP affair until earlier this month when activist Friday, Cook revealed a new statistic indicating investor Carl Icahn abandoned a high-profile Future plans the company’s $99 set-top box for streaming campaign aimed at pressuring Apple’s board to Cook told shareholders he isn’t worried, not- Internet video is becoming increasingly popular. increase the company’s $60 billion budget for ing that Apple’s stock has struggled over other He said the box, called Apple TV, generated Promise and peril in an buying back its stock. The company has already stretches in the past 15 years, only to soar after more than $1 billion in revenue during Apple’s spent more than $40 billion of that amount. the company released breakthroughs such as last fiscal year. That figure implies Apple sold ultra-connected world Most shareholders at Friday’s meeting the iPod, iPhone and iPad. The stock might fare more than 10 million of the boxes last year. —AP

BARCELONA: We’re in the beginning of a company, yet “they want all this stuff to work world in which everything is connected to the together,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director Review Internet and with one another, while powerful of the Linux Foundation, a backer of the Tizen yet relatively cheap computers analyze all that project for connecting watches, cars and more. data for ways to improve lives. Samsung’s new fitness watches will use Tizen, Toothbrushes tell your mirror to remind and tools have been built to talk with Lots of innovations you to floss. Basketball jerseys detect impend- Samsung’s Android phones. ing heart failure and call the ambulance for you. Pilot projects At least that’s the vision presented this past As for persuading customers, IBM executive beyond iOS and Android week at the Mobile World Congress wireless Rick Qualman said the emphasis now is on show in Barcelona, Spain. The four-day confer- pilot projects to demonstrate the benefits, ence highlighted what the tech industry has such as better deployment of equipment and BARCELONA: When it comes to smartphones, con- I can see getting the hang of Sailfish over time. It loosely termed “the Internet of things.” personnel during a natural disaster. sumers have an array of choices from Apple to... well, emphasizes gestures over tapping. Access many func- Some of that wisdom is already available or At the wireless show last week, Zelitron, a Android. tions by swiping from an edge on the screen. promised by the end of the year. Greek subsidiary of Vodafone, showed how The impression you get stepping into most phone The home screen has nine large rectangles, similar to Fitness devices from Sony and Samsung retailers can keep track of refrigerators used to carriers’ showrooms is that the programmers behind an elongated tic-tac-toe board. These are filled with up connect with your smartphones to provide dispense bottled drinks. The system tracks Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are driving most of the to nine of your open apps, so you can instantly get to digital records of your daily lives. French start- temperatures and inventory, and knows if a innovation in smartphones. You’ll find few phones on any one. You can tap to open an app, but what’s neat is up Cityzen Sciences has embedded fabric with fridge is inadvertently unplugged. display that run other software systems. you can reach a task directly by pressing gently on the heart-rate and other sensors to track your Meanwhile, Cityzen hired athletes to Research firm Gartner says 94 percent of smart- rectangle and dragging your finger. For the mail app, physical activities. demonstrate its connected fabric by playing phones sales last year were either iPhones or Android drag from the left to create a new message, or drag from Internet-connected toothbrushes are com- basketball. devices. Windows Phone and BlackBerry devices made the right to refresh messages. For the phone app, drag ing from Procter and Gamble’s Oral-B business Data get sent to a smartphone app using up another 5 percent combined. from the left to get the dialer, or drag from the right to and from another French startup, Kolibree. The Bluetooth wireless technology. But what about the remaining 1 percent? They are get your list of contacts. This saves time once you get mirror part is still a prototype, but Oral-B’s Gilbert Reveillon, international managing the wannabes such as Firefox and Sailfish and many of used to the gestures. To close an app, you can swipe smartphone app does tell you to floss. director for Cityzen, said he’s had interest from them are introducing innovative advancements in fea- down from the top edge like a window shade. If you’re Car makers are building in smarter naviga- a UK car insurance company and Chinese hos- tures and functions. already on the home screen, swipe down to lock the tion and other hands-free services, while IBM pitals. Health data can tell you whether you’re I had a chance to try out some of these little-known phone. and AT&T are jointly equipping cities with sen- fit to drive and can call paramedics in an emer- systems at the Mobile World Congress wireless show in Swipe from the left or the right edge within an app to sors and computers for parking meters, traffic gency. Barcelona, Spain, this week. Many of these systems aren’t get the home screen. Do that from the home screen to lights and water systems to all communicate. Some customers might worry about securi- even available in the U.S., where I live. Although I don’t change background, ring tones and other settings. Or if Internet-connected products represent a ty, given recent breaches compromising credit see myself replacing my Samsung Android phone even if you replace your phone’s back cover with a promotional growth opportunity for wireless carriers, as the and debit card numbers at Target and other I could, some of these alternative phones have features I cover, you get special content, such as social media feeds smartphone business slows down in devel- major retailers. envy. on “Angry Birds.” Apple introduced similar gesture con- oped markets because most people already Determined hackers seem to constantly trols with its iOS 7 update last fall, but Sailfish goes much have service. find loopholes. Imagine someone spying on Firefox OS, from Mozilla BARCELONA: A visitor uses the Google further. There aren’t many apps written for Sailfish yet, With the technological foundations here, you remotely through security cameras in your Firefox is better known for its Web browser. Now, the Glass at the Mobile World Congress, the but Sailfish phones have a special tool for running most the bigger challenge is getting people, busi- home or tricking your home security system people behind it are trying to adapt it to run smart- Android apps. You won’t get some of the gesture func- nesses and municipalities to see the potential. into believing your car is approaching, so it world’s largest mobile phone trade show phones targeted at emerging markets. Firefox OS in Barcelona, Spain. —AP tions, though. Then there are security and privacy concerns - opens your garage door automatically. launched last summer with three phones, priced around health insurance companies would love access AT&T emphasizes that it uses encryption $50 to $70. They are in available in 15 countries, but not Ubuntu, from Canonical There’s another neat feature coming to Firefox OS. to your fitness data to set premiums. and other safeguards for its connected servic- in the US. Like Sailfish, Ubuntu is based on Linux. Unlike Sailfish, Swipe from the left side of the screen to flip through At a more basic level, these systems have to es, which include security monitoring and At the Barcelona show, Mozilla unveiled plans to there aren’t any Ubuntu phones yet. But the company recent apps one by one, just like hitting the back button figure out a way to talk the same language. energy-efficiency controls in homes. Glenn expand to additional markets in Latin America and east- behind it announced partnerships with two phone mak- on a Web browser. You might buy your phone from Apple, your Lurie, AT&T’s president of emerging enterpris- ern Europe, while ZTE announced two new models. ers last week. Phones are due to come out this year, likely TV from Sony and your refrigerator for es and partnerships, said the U.S. wireless carri- Chipmaker Spreadtrum Communications Inc. also to European and Asian markets at first. Sailfish OS, from Jolla Samsung. It would be awful to get left out er goes through extensive security certifica- announced a blueprint for any phone maker to make Ubuntu’s home page has a series of so-called scopes, Sailfish is based on the Linux operating system and because you aren’t loyal to a single company. tion and exceeds industry recommendations. $25 smartphones. The home screen and icons resemble arranged by category. One video scope might consist of comes from the Finnish company Jolla (pronounced Plus, the smartest engineers in computing Reveillon said any data sharing by Cityzen what’s found on iPhones and Android. Where Firefox OS icons for movies on your phone. Another might have “yolla”). Former Nokia employees created Jolla after that aren’t necessarily the best in clothing and con- will be in aggregate form, with users’ identities starts to differ is in apps. With iPhones and Android, you items in your Netflix queue. You can refine what’s pre- struggling cellphone maker abandoned an in-house struction. removed. He said individual users could go to an app store to get new apps. With Firefox OS, you sented through a universal search. The idea is to let you operating system in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Expect companies to work together to set decide to share more, but that would be up to typically have instant access to all apps, the same way access content easily, without having to open an app There’s only one phone out so far, and it’s sold only in standards, much the way academic and mili- them. He said French regulators are quite strict you can visit a website for the first time without installing first. Swipe from the left edge to get a launcher. The top Europe for 399 euros ($546). But Jolla has ambitions to tary researchers created a common language on that. anything. has all your open apps, while your favorite apps are reach Russia and Asia and to partner with other phone decades ago for disparate computer networks But US regulation isn’t, and a government The catch is you need an Internet connection to use underneath those. There’s also a home screen scope to makers. to communicate, forming the Internet. Gadget subpoena is typically enough to override any apps that aren’t on your phone, but many apps need search for installed apps and those in the app store. Jolla Ltd. also announced last week that it will release makers are starting to build APIs - interfaces promises of privacy. Once the information is that access anyway to refresh news, social networks or Swipe from the right edge to get your most recently a free app that Android users can install to replace the for other systems to pull and understand data. available, privacy advocates say, it’s tempting restaurant guides. Firefox OS also has a universal search used app. Swipe further for a carousel of all open apps. regular Android interface with Sailfish’s. Building everything is too much for a single to find other uses for it. —AP for all content on the phone and online. Just pick one to go straight to it.—AP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 HEALTH & SCIENCE Aids cuts, delays hit Uganda’s poor health sector KAMPALA: The health project in the Ugandan shilling has been losing its that depends on donors for about 20 what he called “the homosexual lobby” for those convicted of engaging in gay Uganda for which the World Bank is value amid reports of substantial aid percent of its budget. Announcing the and urged lawmakers with the ruling sex. It also creates the offenses of “con- delaying a loan does not face an imme- cuts. project in 2010, the World Bank noted party to support him. In signing the law, spiracy to commit homosexuality” and diate shortage of money, an official said Now the World Bank is delaying a that without “significant investments” he said he wanted to stop the west from “aiding and abetting homosexuality,” Friday, allaying concerns that work to $90 million loan to Uganda’s Health Uganda was “unlikely to achieve the promoting homosexuality in Africa. both of which are punishable by seven improve maternal and child health serv- Ministry - money intended for a project Millennium Development Goal targets Critics say Museveni, who has held pow- years behind bars. Those convicted of ices could stall because of the country’s to strengthen the country’s health sys- related to reducing child mortality and er since 1986 and is up for re-election in “promoting homosexuality” face similar new anti-gay law. tems - because it wants to ensure that improving maternal mortality.” The proj- 2016, may have calculated that the punishment. The Ugandan government’s decision the development objectives of the proj- ect is set to close in 2015. political benefits of enacting the bill Uganda’s law has been condemned to strengthen anti-gay legislation has ect would not be adversely affected by Sheila Gashishiri, a spokeswoman for outweighed any losses on the interna- by the United Nations, the United upset the East African country’s rela- the anti-gay law. the World Bank in Uganda, said Friday tional front. States, and several rights watchdog tionship with development partners, The $144 million project focuses on that the project will continue despite Homosexuality is criminalized in groups. Ugandan officials insist the law part of the unfolding fallout from the maternal health, newborn care and fam- the postponement. Ugandan President many parts of Africa. Nigeria last month has wide support at home. Ofwono enactment of a bill over which Uganda ily planning - public health areas whose Yoweri Museveni, who enacted the law passed an anti-gay law. But the Opondo, a spokesman for Uganda’s had been warned there would be con- grim figures have long attracted the Monday amid Western pressure to veto Ugandan law - an earlier version of it government, said in a series of Twitter sequences. At least three European attention of foreign donors. At least 16 the bill, may have anticipated the inter- included the death penalty for some posts Friday that the West “shouldn’t countries are withholding millions in aid Ugandan women die in childbirth daily, national backlash his government now homosexual acts has become notorious force homosexuality on Uganda.” to Uganda’s government, the United a shocking statistic that made the proj- faces. Days before he signed the bill, around the world for its severe punish- Western aid cuts over the anti-gay law, States is warning of similar action, and ect critical in this East African country Museveni said he was ready to fight ment of gay sex. The law sets a life term he said, amounts to “blackmail.” —AP Long waits frustrate callers through health exchanges “No apology or explanation for delay’ ANNAPOLIS: For those trying to enroll through online health exchanges, help has long been advertised as just a phone call away. Yet the challenge in some states has been trying to get a call through at all, never mind the multiple transfers once contact has been made. Long wait times of an hour or more have been commonplace in some states, primarily those running their own health care exchanges. California, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada and Washington are among the states in which con- sumers and insurance agents have complained. One consequence is that people just give up because they are unable to wait indefinitely. “If I had to use one word, I’d use ‘frustrating,’” said Jacki Manley, a stay-at-home mom in the western Maryland town of Keedysville, who has been trying since mid-December to enroll in a health plan through that state’s health exchange. With a child who is almost 3 and another who WASHINGTON: In this photo taken Monday, Feb 24, 2014, Dave Kois displays some of is 5 months, the 20 minutes she can spare on his marijuana-infused products, including soda and chocolate, that he provides to hold often have not been enough. She estimates medical marijuana dispensaries, in Olympia, Wash. Two bills currently working their she has reached someone at the Maryland call way through the Legislature seek to reconcile the medical market with the new center three out of about a dozen times she has recreational market that was approved by the voters of Washington state in the fall called, but then she gets passed between differ- of 2012. —AP ent people and cannot get definitive answers to WASHINGTON: In this Oct. 1, 2013 file photo, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., center, her questions. flanked by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and House Ways and “It just seems like all the right connections Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. aren’t being made,” Manley said, adding that she House Republican leaders took a small step on Friday toward pulling together a viable alter- High court looks at death believes she has successfully enrolled her chil- native to President Barack Obama’s four-year-old health care law. On Friday, Cantor met pri- dren but is unsure whether she and her husband vately Ryan, Camp Rep. John Kline, R-Minn. and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. to dis- row inmate with low IQ have been enrolled after more than two months cuss a way forward. — AP of trying. ing, but no apology or explanation. number that led callers to the owner of a pottery WASHINGTON: A Floridian with an IQ as tion in society, along with finding that Manley said she has given up calling. Now, “It’s very, very, very frustrating,” Larsen said. In shop in Seattle. high as 75 may be diagnosed as mentally the mental disability began in childhood. she uses Facebook to try to get the help she Nevada, Claudia Lamb complained publicly The disastrous rollout forced the previous disabled and be eligible for help getting But the Florida Supreme Court has needs. The telephone frustration is just one about spending more than 100 hours on the director of the Maryland exchange to resign. a job. But on death row, the state says ruled that the state law regarding execu- more obstacle consumers are facing as the phone to a call center, then waiting by her Officials in some states, including Maryland, having an IQ higher than 70 categorically tions and mental disability has no wiggle March 31 deadline for open enrollment phone for hours more for return calls that never Nevada and California, have taken steps to means an inmate is not mentally dis- room if an inmate tests above 70. approaches. Technical glitches and software came. Lamb and her husband first tried to apply address the long wait times. abled and may be executed. In defending Hall’s death sentence, meltdowns on the federal and some state-run in early October when the system went live, but Nevada has boosted its call center staff from exchanges deterred many people from signing The Supreme Court barred states from the state says it makes sense to set a dif- she only received confirmation they had been 50 to nearly 250, and wait times reportedly have up after enrollments under the federal insured on Feb. 12. That was 129 days after she been reduced significantly. California is adding executing mentally disabled inmates in ferent threshold for vocational services Affordable Care Act began in October. first applied. 350 to 400 more call center employees by the 2002, but until now has left the determi- than for criminal justice. With many of those technical problems “I once waited three hours and 40 minutes to end of March, while Maryland has tripled the nation of who is mentally disabled to the Providing treatment to a broader solved, enrollments across the country have get through to a manager who cycled the prob- number of call center employees from 120 to states. In arguments Monday, 68-year- group makes sense, Florida Attorney been brisk since the start of the year. Yet even lem back through to his subordinate,” Lamb tes- about 360 at the state’s call center in Baltimore, old Florida inmate Freddie Lee Hall is General Pamela Jo Bondi said in court with 4 million signed up for policies through the tified about her experience with Nevada Health said Carolyn Quattrocki, the interim director of challenging the state’s use of a rigid IQ papers. But for death row inmates, “the exchanges, the Obama administration will be Link, the state’s exchange. “The subordinate’s Maryland’s health exchange. cutoff to determine mental disability. risk of overdiagnosis of mental retarda- challenged to meet its own projection of 7 mil- solution was to do another application.” Quattrocki said she is optimistic the boost in Florida is among a few states that use tion is particularly pronounced,” Bondi lion enrollees by the deadline. staff at Maryland’s call center, expected to cost a score of 70, as measured by IQ tests, as said. They “have every incentive to secure Problems about $6 million, will be enough to handle the the threshold for concluding an inmate is such a diagnosis, and the risk of malin- Long wait Wait times for call centers on the federal mar- expected increase in activity as the enrollment not mentally disabled, even when other gering is very real,” she said. In California, an operational review of the ketplace that is running in 36 states have been deadline nears. She said wait times and aban- evidence indicates he is. The outcome of Hall’s case is unlikely state-run exchange’s first three months showed much shorter to reach a customer service repre- donment rates have gone down since the mid- “Simply put, IQ tests are not a perfect to affect the busiest death penalty state, consumers waiting 45 minutes to an hour for an sentative. The average wait time in October was dle of January. measure of a person’s intellectual ability,” Texas, which does not impose a rigid IQ employee to answer, and insurance agents have just more than one minute, dropping to 38 sec- Covered California also created a dedicated Hall’s lawyers told the court in written test to assess mental disability. Hall’s said they have waited hours to make human onds in November. It rose to about eight-and-a- phone line for insurance agents and counselors, arguments. In nine tests administered lawyers, in fact, approvingly cite Texas’ contact. The exchange’s goal was to answer 80 half minutes in December, when more people increased the number of bilingual staffers and between 1968 and 2008, Hall scored as broader approach to the issue. percent of the calls within 30 seconds. were trying to get coverage for Jan. 1. added an online chat feature to help take pres- low as 60 and as high as 80, with his Florida said there’s no national con- “We did not meet our standards,” said Yolanda The federal call centers have about 14,000 sure off the phone lines. Exchange officials there most recent scores between 69 and 74, sensus about a strict IQ limit, and no rea- Richardson, Covered California’s chief deputy employees. Maryland’s problems have been par- said they were somewhat surprised by con- executive director. The most recent statistics, according to the state. A judge in an ear- son for the court to impose one. The two ticularly embarrassing because officials there sumer behavior that exacerbated the long wait from the first week of February, show the aver- were quick to support President Barack Obama’s times. They designed the exchange so people lier phase of the case concluded Hall sides disagree about the precise number age wait time for those dialing in to a California health care overhaul. could shop, compare, select a plan and be done “had been mentally retarded his entire of states that employ rigid cutoffs. The call center at about 47 minutes. Gov. Martin O’Malley, a term-limited with the process in one stop. Instead, they found life.” Psychiatrists and other medical pro- state calls attention to Florida Supreme Sherrie Larsen, a 49-year-old truck driver in Democrat who is weighing a White House bid, that people often had questions after visiting fessionals who examined him said he is Court Justice Barbara Pariente’s opinion Tacoma, Wash., said the first time she called and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who is running to the website and wanted to speak to someone by mentally disabled. As far back as the in 2012 that identified eight other states the exchange, she was told after waiting an succeed him, had hoped to make Maryland a phone. They often called back two or three times 1950s, Hall was considered “mentally that have such a limit: Arkansas, hour and 27 minutes that the computer sys- national model for health care implementation. before selecting an insurance plan, adding to retarded” - then the commonly accepted Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, North tem was down, and she would have to call Instead, the state has had one of the rockiest the volume of calls coming into the service cen- term for mental disability - according to Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and back. She called the state insurance commis- rollouts of the 14 states operating their own ters. school records submitted to the Washington. sioner’s office to complain, and said she didn’t exchanges, with the call center problems com- Still, Covered California Executive Director Supreme Court. He was sentenced to Hall’s lawyers argued that only in five get a lot of help or understanding there. The ing on top of constant problems with the online Peter Lee said the exchange is not making death for murdering Karol Hurst, a 21- states - Florida, Alabama, Idaho, next day, Larsen called the exchange again, enrollment portal. excuses and is working hard to reduce wait year-old pregnant woman who was Kentucky and Virginia have state courts and was told the wait time would be about 29 For example, some Maryland residents early times. “We’ve heard their concerns,” Lee said. abducted leaving a Florida grocery store held that inmates with IQs higher than minutes. After more than an hour on the on were prompted erroneously on the exchange “We’ve stepped up to say we’re going to make it in 1978. Hall also has been convicted of 70 cannot be considered mentally dis- phone, she finally got the help she was seek- website to seek help by calling a telephone right.” — AP killing a sheriff’s deputy and has been abled. Even in Idaho, the ruling appears imprisoned for the past 35 years. He ear- to give judges some leeway, Hall’s lier served a prison term for assault with lawyers said. Hall’s case has bounced intent to commit rape and was out on around the Florida courts for decades. What you need to know about health care law parole when he killed Hurst. In 1989, the state Supreme Court threw out Hall’s original death penalty WASHINGTON: Sick of hearing about the time through expansions of the program in is emphasizing that subsidies are available on a Disability and ordered a new sentencing hearing. A health care law? Plenty of people have tuned about half the states. sliding scale to help low-income and middle- out after all the political jabber and website President Barack Obama is urging people class households pay for their insurance. Hall’s guilt is not at issue before the judge then resentenced Hall to death but woes. But now is the time to tune back in, who have coverage to help any uninsured How to enroll? Start at HealthCare.gov or by high court.Florida’s regulatory code says declared that Hall was mentally disabled. before it’s too late. The big deadline is coming friends and relatives get signed up. calling 1-800-318-2596. Residents of states run- individuals with IQs as high as 75 may be That took place before the 2002 US March 31. By that day, for the first time, nearly ning their own marketplaces will be directed diagnosed as mildly intellectually dis- Supreme Court ruling that said executing everyone in the United States is required to be NEED COVERAGE? there; people in other states go through the abled, potentially allowing them to a mentally disabled inmate violates the signed up for health insurance or risk paying a Chances are you’ll hear more reminders federal exchange. receive state aid. The code relies on the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and fine. Here’s what you need to know about this about health care this month. The push is on to After March 31, many people won’t be able Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of unusual punishment, and before Florida month’s open enrollment countdown: reach millions of uninsured people. to get subsidized coverage this year, even if Mental Disorders, the authoritative man- passed a law setting the IQ limit. The administration, insurers, medical associ- they become seriously ill. The next open enroll- ual of the American Psychiatric The Florida Supreme Court’s most ALREADY COVERED? NO WORRIES ations and nonprofit groups are teaming up ment period is set to begin Nov. 15, for cover- Association, setting an IQ of 70, plus or recent ruling upholding Hall’s death sen- Most people don’t need to do anything. with volunteers to get the word out and guide age in 2015. minus 5, as the upper range of intellectu- tence was by a 4 2 vote. It included a dis- Even before the health care law passed in 2010, people through the sometimes-rocky enroll- al disability. sent by Justice James Perry that noted more than 8 out of 10 US residents had cover- ment process. They plan special events at col- DEADLINE DETAILS The range reflects something that is that the testing below 70 is no guarantee age, usually through their workplace plans or leges, libraries, churches and work sites. There are exceptions. The big one is the true of all standardized testing - results of escape from the death penalty. Perry the government’s Medicare or Medicaid pro- Singing cats, dogs, parrots - even a goldfish Medicaid program for the poor. People who are generally reliable, but not 100 per- said the state court has upheld death grams. Some have private policies that meet - are promoting the message in TV and online meet the requirements can sign up anytime, cent so, and they are reported along with sentences for inmates with IQs below 70 the law’s requirements. spots from the Ad Council. A big hurdle for the with no deadline. a margin of error. Psychiatrists and psy- if other evidence indicates they are not If you’re already covered that way, you meet effort: As recently as last month, three-fourths Also, people remain eligible for Medicare chologists who are supporting Hall also mentally disabled. In one case, the the law’s requirements. Since October, about 4 of the uninsured didn’t know there was a whenever they turn 65. If you are insured now say that an IQ test alone is insufficient for inmate was able to obtain a GED diplo- million people have signed up for private plans March 31 deadline, according to polling con- and lose your coverage during the year, by get- a diagnosis of mental disability. The ma and live independently, Perry said. In through the new state and federal market- ducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation. Most ting laid off from your job, for example, you can places, the Obama administration says, said they didn’t know much about the law and use an exchange to find a new policy then. groups say there’s a consensus among another, the prisoner could copy letters although it’s not clear how many were already had an unfavorable opinion of it. People can sign up outside the open enroll- the mental health professions that an written by others, sign his own name and insured elsewhere. In addition, many poor Plus, many worry they won’t be able to ment period in special situations such as hav- accurate diagnosis also must include work as a cook, garbage collector and adults now have Medicaid coverage for the first afford the new plans. The enrollment campaign ing a baby or moving to another state.—AP evaluating an individual’s ability to func- dish washer, he said. —AP MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 HEALTH & SCIENCE WHAT’S ON MONDAY, MARCH 3 , 2014 Students’ art competition 2014 ‘Kuwait Beautiful & Green’

oday’s younger generation needs to be made aware During these days, the students will create the best art- about our environment and how it can help save it work to enable them to enter the competition. The draw- Tfrom destruction. In order to educate them about ing sheets will be provided to schools which will partici- environmental protection, Kuwait Times, an English lan- pate in the competition by filling the application form and guage newspaper, is planning to organize an open art send back to Kuwait Times. Please highlight if you want us competition for students jointly with Saudi Arabian to send to your school or send somebody to collect it from Chevron Inc. as the main sponsor. We are targeting 15,000 the reception of Kuwait Times (drawing sheets are FREE of students for this art competition which will be organized charge). The contest will be open to both boys and girls as under the patronage of a top official from Kuwaiti follows: Elementary (6-8 years and 9-11 years), Government. The theme of this Student Art Competition Intermediate (12-14 years), Secondary (15-17 years). will be “Kuwait Beautiful & Green.” Special needs schools can also participate. The objective of the competition is to make students The judging committee will consist of expert artist who aware about the environment. Each student will be provid- will select and choose best of the best artwork according ed with a special recyclable sheet of paper to draw on. The to the category, 10 winners for each category and 5 from subject will range from saving environment, greening the special needs. land, avoiding any human destruction of plants. The judges will look for Creativity, Amount of Work, and The competition began yesterday and will continue till Efforts & Technique. For more information call us on April 3rd, 2014 for all private and government schools. [email protected] or 24835616/7 - 24833199

McDonald’s Kuwait Islamic seminar concludes holds ‘20 Years of he closing session of the 3rd Islamic Seminar organ- Smiles Carnival’ ized by Kuwait Kerala Islahi Center (KKIC) was inaugu- Trated by Kuwait’s Oil Minister Ali Salih Al-Omair on Friday. The minister commended the efforts of KKIC in cDonald’s Kuwait will host a two day car- spreading the message of Islam among the expatriate nival at the Corniche branch on the population in Kuwait and for their humanitarian works MArabian Gulf Street to celebrate its 20th benefiting the poor and the needy. anniversary and commemorate 2 decades of serv- Further, he praised the Indian community living in ice in Kuwait. The carnival will take place on the Kuwait for being peace loving and hard working, “making 7th and 8th of March, with festivities beginning positive contributions to the state.” every day at 10am and continuing until 11pm. The 4-day seminar, themed ‘Religion for Human Good’, The “20 Years of Smiles” carnival celebrates was an exhortation for the establishment of moral values McDonald’s Kuwait and the success it has in put- in the society to fight moral decadence. Speaking at the ting a smile on the faces of people in Kuwait for closing session, Chairman of the Islamic Heritage Society, the last 20 years. The two-day event will include a Sheikh Tareq Sami Al-Essa, reminded his audience that the number of acts and attractions, such as helium objective of human life is the submission to the divine will balloon aerialists, rhythm of fire drummers, LED by following God’s guidance. The welcome address was robots, butterfly dancers, stilt walkers, monocy- rendered by TP Mohammed Abdul Asees. KKIC President, cles, jugglers and ice sculptors. The celebrations Abdul Latheef Madani gave a sum up of the events of the 4 will also include balloon sculptors and face paint- days and underlined the need for such seminars to spread ing for children, as well as other fun filled activities the pure teachings of Islam. The vote of thanks was given for the whole family. The performances will take by Sunash Shukoor. place throughout the day with consecutive acts Other noted speakers at the closing session included the last day of the seminar. The need to gain a greater shown by the creator. He stressed that the belief that only along the McDonald’s store walkway and all the Director of the Information Department, Ministry of appreciation of the values of Islam and its relevance in the one path is the true path does not lead to bigotry, instead around the premises. Awqaf, Sheikh Fahad Al-Jenfawi, and representatives of modern times was the underlying message of the seminar. it’s the attempts to impose it on others by force that cre- Islamic Heritage Society, Jassem Al Hajji and Khaled Al- The speakers exhorted community leaders and social ates conflicts and intolerance. The interfaith dialogue was Sumaidi. thinkers to consider the solutions prescribed by Islam with inaugurated by Sheikh Farhan Ubaid Al-Shammari with For his part, the President of ISM, TK Ashraf, emphasized an open mind to tackle the challenges of the modern participation from Sheikh Mohammed Al-Nadwi, Father the need for the Muslim youth to strive to serve as a bea- world. Reji Varghese and Thomas Kadavil. KC Najeeb chaired the con of guidance for the morally wavering, directionless The interfaith dialogue held on the 3rd day of the semi- session. Azhar Atheri rendered the welcome address, while young generation of today. nar drew large crowds of people from all faiths. The main Imtiaz NM gave the vote of thanks. Representatives of Gulf Mujahid Balussery, Haris Bin Salim, Sharaffuddin speaker on that day, Mujahid Balussery, argued that man’s Islahi from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE also took Kannathu (KMCC), VP Shawkath Ali from KIG, also spoke on downfall is the result of him turning away from the path part in the seminar. UAE Exchange Energia season 2

uvadeepthi - KCYM Kuwait in association with UAE Exchange successfully conducted UAE “Since 1994, we’ve been bringing smiles and YExchange Energia Season 2, cinematic dance laughter to the people of Kuwait. This year, we competition for children on 26th Feb 2014 at United hope to keep our tradition going and share our Indian School Abbasiya. happiness with members of our community at our 15 teams from different parts from Kuwait took part carnival,” said Adel Fahmy, Marketing Manager at in the competition and Crown Guys Kuwait and Daze McDonald’s Kuwait. “We extend our invitation to Kuwait secured first place in Junior and senior category all people of our beloved Kuwait, to come and cel- successively. Sharafudeen Kanneth, Thomas Hi-Dine, ebrate our 20th anniversary, to share some smiles Chessil Ramapuram, Nixon George, Renjith Pillai, Sony and unforgettable moments with McDonalds.” Sebastian and Lukman Alavi graced the evening by dis- The two-day carnival will be held at McDonalds’ tributing the trophies, cash prizes, medals and certifi- first ever branch in Kuwait, which was opened on the Arabian Gulf Store in 1994. The store will be cates to the winners. Music treat from playback singer decorated in preparation for the event, in the spir- Chandralekha and Dlites Music Band electrified the glo- it of the fun-filled day meant for all community rious extravaganza. members to enjoy. “Giving back to the community has always been an integral part of McDonalds’s core values. Since 1994, we’ve supported countless causes and will continue to do so. We are proud of our accom- plishments throughout the last 20 years and we are looking forward to even more success in the years to come,” stated Fahmy. Operating in Kuwait since 1994, McDonald’s today has 69 restaurants geographically located to service customers in many areas, committed to the wellbeing of the society with an active social responsibility agenda, while maintaining high- quality products served in a safe and friendly atmosphere.

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TEC celebrates Kuwait’s National and Liberation days

he Touristic Enterprises Company celebrated A special program was organized for the event fea- Kuwait’s National Day of Independence and turing competitions, a fireworks display as well as a spe- TLiberation Day in a grand celebration at the cial dog show carried out by the German Shepherds Khairan Resort. The event was attended by TEC CEO Club, and classical cars show. Khalid Al-Ghanim, as well as Sheikha Al-Abdullah Al- Sabah, the honorary chairperson of the Kuwait Disabled Sports Club. TV PROGRAMS MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

01:05 Jonas Los Angeles 19:00 Super Rugby 01:30 Suite Life On Deck 21:00 Live PGA Tour 01:50 Suite Life On Deck 02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:00 Pawn Stars 00:30 The Weakest Link 00:05 Curiosity: Can We Survive An 02:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:30 Pawn Stars 01:15 Live At The Apollo Alien... 03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 00:00 Live NHL 01:00 Storage Wars Texas 02:00 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 00:55 Uncovering Aliens 03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 03:00 Super Rugby 01:30 Storage Wars Texas 02:45 Pramface 01:45 Weird Or What? 03:45 Jonas Los Angeles 05:00 Super Rugby 02:00 Shipping Wars 03:15 Stewart Lee’s Comedy 02:35 How It’s Made 04:05 Jonas Los Angeles 07:00 PGA Tour 02:30 Shipping Wars Vehicle 03:00 How It’s Made 04:30 Suite Life On Deck 12:30 Inside The PGA Tour 03:00 The Legend Of Shelby The 03:45 The Vicar Of Dibley 03:25 How It’s Made 04:50 Suite Life On Deck 13:00 Super Rugby Swamp Man 04:15 The Weakest Link 03:50 How It’s Made 05:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:00 Trans World Sport 03:30 The Legend Of Shelby The 05:00 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 04:15 How It’s Made 05:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 16:00 Live Snooker Swamp Man 05:20 Balamory 04:40 How Do They Do It? 06:00 Austin & Ally 20:00 NHL 04:00 Duck Dynasty 05:40 Nina And The Neurons 05:05 How Do They Do It? 06:25 Dog With A Blog 22:00 Live Snooker 04:30 Duck Dynasty 05:55 Bobinogs 05:30 How Do They Do It? 06:45 Suite Life On Deck 05:00 Counting Cars 06:05 The Large Family 06:00 How Do They Do It? 07:10 A.N.T. Farm 05:30 Counting Cars 06:00 Storage Wars Texas 06:15 Mr Bloom’s Nursery 06:30 How Do They Do It? 07:35 That’s So Raven 07:30 Storage Wars Texas 06:35 Balamory 07:00 Fast N’ Loud 07:55 Shake It Up 08:00 Ancient Aliens 06:55 Nina And The Neurons 07:50 World’s Top 5 08:20 Good Luck Charlie 09:00 Heroes Of War: Poland 08:40 Overhaulin’ 2013 08:45 Dog With A Blog 00:00 Champions League T20 07:10 Bobinogs 10:00 The Legend Of Shelby The 07:20 The Large Family 09:30 Gold Rush 09:05 Mako Mermaids Highlights 00:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup Swamp Man 07:30 3rd & Bird 10:20 Alaska Gold Diggers 09:30 Jessie 2014 Highlights 10:30 The Legend Of Shelby The 07:40 Tough Guy Or Chicken? 11:10 Gold Divers: Under The Ice 09:55 Austin & Ally 01:30 Asia Cup Highlights Swamp Man 08:30 A Farmer’s Life For Me 12:00 Destroyed In Seconds 10:15 A.N.T. Farm 02:30 Asia Cup Highlights 11:00 Pawn Stars 09:20 The Weakest Link 12:25 Destroyed In Seconds 10:40 Kronk’s New Groove 03:30 ICC Cricket 360 11:30 Pawn Stars 10:05 My Family 12:50 Destroyed In Seconds 11:50 Mako Mermaids 04:00 ICC Under 19 World Cup 12:00 Storage Wars Texas 10:35 The Vicar Of Dibley 13:15 Destroyed In Seconds 12:15 That’s So Raven 12:30 Storage Wars Texas 13:40 How It’s Made 12:35 Dog With A Blog 2014 Highlights 11:05 One Foot In The Grave 05:00 ICC Under 19 World Cup 13:00 Storage Wars Texas 11:35 The Weakest Link 14:05 How It’s Made 13:00 Phineas And Ferb 13:30 Storage Wars Texas 14:30 How It’s Made 13:10 Phineas And Ferb 2014 Highlights 12:20 Tough Guy Or Chicken? 06:00 ICC Under 19 World Cup 14:00 Heroes Of War: Poland 13:10 A Farmer’s Life For Me 14:55 How It’s Made 13:25 Phineas And Ferb 15:00 Counting Cars 15:20 How It’s Made 13:35 Phineas And Ferb 2014 Highlights 14:00 Doctors 07:00 Big Bash League Highlights 15:30 Counting Cars 15:45 Auction Kings 13:45 Phineas And Ferb 16:00 Pawn Stars 14:30 Doctors 08:00 Big Bash League Highlights 16:10 Auction Kings 13:55 Phineas And Ferb 16:30 Pawn Stars 15:00 Doctors 09:00 Big Bash League Highlights 16:35 Auction Kings 14:10 Phineas And Ferb 17:00 Storage Wars Texas 15:30 Doctors 10:00 Asia Cup Highlights 16:00 Doctors 17:00 Auction Kings 14:20 Phineas And Ferb 17:30 Storage Wars Texas 14:35 Phineas And Ferb 10:45 Live Asia Cup 16:30 The Weakest Link 17:25 Auction Kings 18:00 Shipping Wars 14:45 Phineas And Ferb 19:00 Australia v England T20I 17:15 Monty Halls’ Island Escapes 17:50 Border Security 18:30 Shipping Wars 18:15 Border Security 15:00 Phineas And Ferb 20:00 ICC Under 19 World Cup 18:05 Call The Midwife 19:00 Duck Dynasty 18:40 Border Security 15:25 Phineas & Ferb: Across The 2014 Highlights 19:30 Duck Dynasty 19:00 The Vicar Of Dibley 19:05 Border Security Second Dimension 21:00 ICC Under 19 World Cup 20:00 Storage Wars Texas 19:30 My Family 19:30 Border Security 16:35 Phineas And Ferb 2014 Highlights 20:30 Storage Wars Texas 20:00 Stella 19:55 Mythbusters 17:00 Phineas And Ferb 22:00 ICC Under 19 World Cup 21:00 Ancient Aliens 20:45 New Tricks 20:45 Dynamo: Magician 17:20 Phineas And Ferb 2014 Highlights 22:00 Heroes Of War: Poland 21:35 Friday Night Dinner Impossible 17:45 Phineas And Ferb 23:00 Asia Cup Highlights 23:00 Heroes Of War: Poland 22:00 Extras 21:35 The Big Brain Theory 18:00 Phineas And Ferb 22:30 The Omid Djalili Show 22:25 Gold Rush 18:10 Phineas And Ferb 23:00 Stewart Lee’s Comedy 23:15 Alaska Gold Diggers 18:30 Prank Stars Vehicle 18:55 Good Luck Charlie OSN unveils first 23:30 The Vicar Of Dibley 19:20 Mako Mermaids 19:40 Jessie 20:05 Austin & Ally current affairs 20:30 Good Luck Charlie 00:40 Oddities 20:50 Dog With A Blog themed reality series 01:05 Oddities 21:15 Gravity Falls 00:15 Cash In The Attic 01:30 Weird Connections 21:40 Shake It Up 01:00 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 02:00 Building The Biggest 22:00 Austin & Ally Ibrahim Eissa’s El Boss 01:50 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 02:50 Building The Biggest 22:25 A.N.T. Farm ROOKIE OF THE YEAR ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD 02:40 Come Dine With Me: 03:45 Building The Biggest 22:50 Good Luck Charlie exclusively on OSN Ya Hala HD Supersized 04:35 Building The Biggest 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 15:00 Warehouse 13 07:00 Mutum-PG15 04:10 Fantasy Homes Down Under 05:25 Engineering Thrills 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 16:00 Emmerdale 09:00 Ties That Bind-PG15 einforcing its position as the premier destina- 04:55 Fantasy Homes Down Under 06:15 The Gadget Show 16:30 Coronation Street 11:00 Falling In Love-PG15 tion for unparalleled Arabic entertainment, 06:40 Tech Toys 360 05:40 Fantasy Homes Down Under 17:00 American Idol 13:00 Planet Of The Apes (1968)- OSN today unveiled its first current affairs 07:05 Weird Connections 18:00 Switched At Birth R 06:30 Fantasy Homes Down Under PG15 themed reality series, El Boss starring acclaimed jour- 07:30 Weird Connections 19:00 Franklin & Bash 07:15 Fantasy Homes Down Under 01:15 Ant And Decs Saturday Night 15:00 The Imposter-PG15 08:00 How Tech Works 20:00 Top Gear (UK) nalist and TV personality, Ibrahim Eissa. 08:00 Cash In The Attic Takeaway 17:00 Falling In Love-PG15 08:25 How Tech Works 21:10 Suits Premiering exclusively on OSN Ya Hala HD, El Boss 08:45 Cash In The Attic 02:25 White Van Man 19:00 Caught Inside-PG15 08:50 Joe Rogan Questions 00:00 Chelsea Lately 22:00 Supernatural further underlines OSN’s commitment to the region 09:30 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 02:55 Emmerdale 21:00 The Gospel-PG15 Everything 00:30 The Spin Crowd 23:00 The Americans with its continued investment in local talent and pro- 05:00 The Hungry Sailors 23:00 Emperor-PG15 10:20 Rhodes Across Italy 09:40 The Gadget Show 00:55 The Dance Scene ductions. 11:05 Rhodes Across Italy 10:05 Tech Toys 360 01:25 THS 05:55 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of Dogs The first of its kind novel show, El Boss brings to 11:50 The Hairy Bikers Ride Again 10:30 Da Vinci’s Machines 03:15 E! Investigates 06:50 Ant And Decs Saturday Night light the importance of journalism, the challenges 12:20 The Restaurant UK 11:25 Da Vinci’s Machines 04:10 The E! True Hollywood Story Takeaway that journalists face in the Arab world and their mis- 13:15 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen 12:20 Da Vinci’s Machines 01:30 The Call-PG15 05:05 Extreme Close-Up 08:00 The Jonathan Ross Show Secrets 13:10 Da Vinci’s Machines 03:15 Beautiful Creatures-PG15 sion to unravel the truth. 05:30 Extreme Close-Up 08:55 Dancing On Ice 00:00 Fairly Legal 13:45 Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen 14:00 Da Vinci’s Machines 05:15 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Highlighting social, political, and financial issues in 06:00 THS 10:40 How To Find Love Online 01:00 C.S.I. New York 14:50 Weird Connections Wanted-PG the Arab world, El Boss will feature an array of celebri- Secrets 07:50 Style Star 11:35 Please Marry My Boy 02:00 Good Morning America 15:20 The Gadget Show 07:00 Like Crazy-PG15 ties including Egyptian director, Amr Salama; Media 14:15 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 08:20 E! News 12:25 The Chase 03:00 Nip/Tuck 15:45 Tech Toys 360 09:00 The Expatriate-PG15 personality, Magdi Al Jallad; Youssef Al Husseini and Notebook: London 09:15 Scouted 14:10 Four Weddings UK 04:00 Rescue Me 16:10 Building The Future 11:00 Beautiful Creatures-PG15 14:40 The Hairy Bikers: Mums 15:00 Dancing On Ice 05:00 C.S.I. New York Sheriff Amer who debate and discuss current affairs 17:00 Bang Goes The Theory 10:15 Eric And Jessie: Game On 13:00 American Girl: McKenna Know Best 16:50 The Jonathan Ross Show 06:00 Good Morning America and bring new ideals to the forefront. 17:55 Punkin Chunkin 2010 10:40 Eric And Jessie: Game On Shoots For The Stars-PG 15:30 Extreme Makeover: Home 17:45 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of 07:00 Emmerdale Khulud Abu Homos, Executive Vice President, 18:45 Unchained Reaction 11:10 Married To Jonas 15:00 One Life-PG15 Dogs 07:30 Coronation Street Programming & Creative Services, OSN, said: “We Edition 19:35 Alien Encounters 11:35 Married To Jonas 17:00 The Expatriate-PG15 18:10 Please Marry My Boy 09:00 24 16:15 Extreme Makeover: Home 20:30 Joe Rogan Questions 12:05 E! News 19:00 Hitchcock-PG15 have seen an epochal change in the type of content 19:00 Dancing On Ice 10:00 Emmerdale Edition Everything 13:05 The Wanted Life 21:00 Lincoln-PG15 that viewers are now seeking - there is more demand 20:50 The Jonathan Ross Show 10:30 Coronation Street 17:00 Extreme Makeover: Home 21:20 How Tech Works 13:35 The Wanted Life 12:00 Castle 23:30 Taken 2-PG15 for talk shows and reality based entertainment now. Edition 21:45 How Tech Works 21:45 Four Weddings UK El Boss will mark a new standard in reality TV comple- 14:05 Keeping Up With The 22:40 How To Find Love Online 13:00 24 17:45 Extreme Makeover: Home 22:10 The Gadget Show menting OSN’s growing portfolio of new and exclu- Kardashians 23:35 How To Find Love Online 14:00 Fairly Legal Edition 22:35 Tech Toys 360 15:00 Keeping Up With The 15:00 C.S.I. New York sive Arabic concepts. We are committed to energising 23:00 Joe Rogan Questions 18:30 Extreme Makeover: Home Kardashians 16:00 Live Good Morning America the regions cinematic and television landscape and Edition Everything 17:00 Castle 01:15 Wheelers will continue to bring our viewers the best in premi- 23:50 How Tech Works 16:00 Giuliana & Bill 19:15 Extreme Makeover: Home 18:00 Fairly Legal 02:45 Dino Time um Arabic entertainment.” 17:00 Fashion Police 19:00 24 Edition 18:00 E! News 04:30 Everyone’s Hero Ibrahim Eissa added: “The region’s audiences are at 20:00 Castle 06:00 Wheelers 20:00 The Hairy Bikers: Mums 19:00 Giuliana & Bill a stage where they are turning to television to 21:00 Fairly Legal 07:45 Luke And Lucy: The Texas Know Best 20:00 THS 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 22:00 Rescue Me Rangers empower them. El Boss aims to do just that at the 20:50 Come Dine With Me: 21:00 E!ES Stewart 23:00 Nip/Tuck same time giving viewers vivid insights into the Arab 01:00 The Colbert Report 09:45 Tinker Bell And The Secret Of Supersized 00:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 22:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills world’s current landscape. I have enjoyed every 01:30 Saturday Night Live The Wings 22:25 The Planners 00:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 22:30 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 02:30 Enlightened 11:15 Charlotte’s Web moment of shooting El Boss and the show features 23:15 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 00:45 Jonas Los Angeles 23:30 THS 03:00 1600 Penn 13:00 Dino Time several young journalists who have helped to keep 03:30 1600 Penn 14:45 Open Season things real. I thank OSN for bringing meaningful 16:15 Quest For A Heart 04:00 Seinfeld 00:00 The Veteran-18 entertainment to the region.” 18:00 Tinker Bell And The Secret Of 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 02:00 Graystone-PG15 El Boss is among one of over 5 new and exclusive The Wings Jimmy Fallon 04:00 The Philly Kid-PG15 shows set to mark their premiere on OSN’s flagship 20:00 Problem Child 2 05:30 Seinfeld 06:00 Nitro Circus: The Movie-PG15 22:00 Open Season Arabic entertainment channel, OSN Ya Hala HD. Over 06:00 The War At Home 08:00 Ice Quake-PG15 23:30 Quest For A Heart the next two months, OSN viewers can also look for- 06:30 Friends 10:00 The Apparition-PG15 ward to George Kurdahi’s, Al Mousameh Karim, a new 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 12:00 Ultraviolet-PG15 08:00 Seinfeld talk show based on the values of forgiveness and 14:00 Ice Quake-PG15 camaraderie; exclusive coverage of Ragheb Alama’s 08:30 Seinfeld 16:00 Howard The Duck-PG 09:00 1600 Penn 18:00 Ultraviolet-PG15 00:00 The Task Peace Concert, Ana Ragheb; Season 4 of the critically- 09:30 Cougar Town 20:00 Seconds Apart-PG15 02:00 Underworld: Awakening acclaimed Turkish series, Hareem Al Sultan; and 10:00 Two And A Half Men 22:00 The Big I Am-18 04:00 Shadow Season 2 of Intiqam to name a few. 10:30 Friends 06:00 Vanishing On 7th Street Tune into El Boss, bringing ‘the news behind the 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring news’, starring Ibrahim Eissa exclusively on OSN Ya Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Ice Quake 10:00 Shadow Conspiracy Hala HD starting from 6th March, 2014 at 20:00 KSA. 12:00 The War At Home 00:00 Cellmates-PG15 12:00 The Blood Bond 12:30 Seinfeld 02:00 Take This Waltz-18 13:00 Seinfeld 04:00 10 Things I Hate About You- 13:45 Mission: Impossible - Ghost 13:30 Friends PG15 Protocol 14:00 1600 Penn 06:00 House Arrest-FAM 16:00 Shadow Conspiracy 14:30 Cougar Town 08:00 My Dog’s Christmas Miracle- 17:45 The Tuxedo 15:00 Two And A Half Men PG15 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 19:45 Mission: Impossible - Ghost 10:00 Scrooged-PG15 Protocol Stewart 12:00 10 Things I Hate About You- 22:00 Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark 16:00 The Colbert Report PG15 16:30 The War At Home 14:00 Rookie Of The Year-PG 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 16:00 Scrooged-PG15 18:00 1600 Penn 18:00 Mad Buddies-PG15 18:30 1600 Penn 20:00 Not Suitable For Children- 19:00 2 Broke Girls PG15 19:30 Two And A Half Men 22:00 Cellmates-PG15 00:00 Age Of Heroes-PG15 20:00 Whitney 02:00 You Will Meet A Tall Dark 20:30 The Goodwin Games Stranger-PG15 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 04:00 The Legend Of Sarila-PG Stewart 06:00 Interview With A Hitman- 21:30 The Colbert Report PG15 22:00 Saturday Night Live 01:00 Resistance-PG15 08:00 Rewind-PG15 23:00 Enlightened 03:00 The Host-PG15 10:00 3 Holiday Tails-PG 23:30 Whitney 05:15 The Woman In The Fifth- 12:00 You Will Meet A Tall Dark PG15 Stranger-PG15 07:00 Arctic Blast-PG15 14:00 Love Birds-PG15 09:00 Resistance-PG15 16:00 Rewind-PG15 00:00 Warehouse 13 10:45 The Host-PG15 18:00 Olympus Has Fallen-PG15 01:00 Helix 13:00 Courage-PG15 20:00 Ruby Sparks-18 02:00 Banshee 15:00 The First Grader-PG15 22:00 The Haunting In Connecticut 03:00 The Americans 17:00 Snow Flower And The Secret 2: Ghosts Of Georgia-18 04:00 Bones Fan-PG15 05:00 Almost Human 19:00 Down The Shore-PG15 06:00 Warehouse 13 21:00 The Raven-18 07:00 Parenthood 23:00 Liars All-18 02:00 Inside The PGA Tour 08:00 Switched At Birth 02:30 PGA European Tour 09:00 Almost Human 07:00 Super Rugby 10:00 Helix 09:00 Live LPGA Tour 11:00 Bones 12:00 Trans World Sport 12:00 Emmerdale 13:00 PGA European Tour Weekly 12:30 Coronation Street 01:00 Margaret-18 13:30 Live PGA European Tour 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 03:30 Bel Ami-18 17:30 Futbol Mundial THE PHILLY KID ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION 14:00 Switched At Birth 05:15 Young Adult-PG15 18:00 Trans World Sport Classifieds

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (27/02/2014 TO 05/03/2014)

SHARQIA-1 NON-STOP (DIG) 10:00 PM POMPEII (DIG-3D) 7:30 PM POMPEII (DIG) 12:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:15 AM NO THU 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED Special Show “3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG)” 7:30 PM POMPEII (DIG) 5:15 PM THU 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 7:30 PM FANAR-5 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 9:45 PM POMPEII (DIG) 9:45 PM POMPEII (DIG) 12:30 PM POMPEII (DIG) 12:05 AM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 12:05 AM CODE RED (DIG) 2:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED POMPEII (DIG) 4:45 PM 360º- 1 SHARQIA-2 THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) 7:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 2:00 PM THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM POMPEII (DIG) 9:30 PM PATRICK (DIG) 4:15 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 3:30 PM POMPEII (DIG) 11:45 PM PATRICK (DIG) 6:30 PM ROBOCOP (DIG) 5:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED PATRICK (DIG) 8:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 8:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 11:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 10:15 PM MARINA-1 PATRICK (DIG) 1:15 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:30 AM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 1:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 4:00 PM SHARQIA-3 WER (DIG) 6:30 PM 360º- 2 WER (DIG) 12:45 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 8:30 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 2:15 PM PATRICK (DIG) 2:45 PM WER (DIG) 11:00 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 4:45 PM WER (DIG) 4:45 PM WER (DIG) 1:00 AM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 7:15 PM PATRICK (DIG) 6:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 9:45 PM WER (DIG) 8:45 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 12:15 AM PATRICK (DIG) 10:45 PM MARINA-2 NO SUN+TUE+WED WER (DIG) 12:45 AM ROBOCOP (DIG) 1:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 3:30 PM 360º- 3 MUHALAB-1 PATRICK (DIG) 5:45 PM OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 1:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 7:45 PM THE MOVIE (DIG) 2:00 PM THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG) 3:15 PM POMPEII (DIG) 9:45 PM OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 5:15 PM PATRICK (DIG) 12:05 AM THE MOVIE (DIG) 4:00 PM NO THU+FRI+MON NO SUN+TUE+WED OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: BHIMAVARAM BULLODU (DIG) (Telugu) 5:15 PM THE MOVIE (DIG) 6:00 PM THU+FRI+MON MARINA-3 AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 8:15 PM KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 8:00 PM POMPEII (DIG-3D) 1:30 PM AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 10:45 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 10:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 3:45 PM WER (DIG) 1:15 AM POMPEII (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED MUHALAB-2 NON-STOP (DIG) 8:15 PM WER (DIG) 2:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 10:30 PM AL-KOUT.1 PATRICK (DIG) 4:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:45 AM POMPEII (DIG) 12:45 PM WER (DIG) 6:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 8:00 PM POMPEII (DIG) 5:15 PM WER (DIG) 10:00 PM AVENUES-1 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 7:30 PM OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: POMPEII (DIG) 9:45 PM MUHALAB-3 THE MOVIE (DIG) 1:00 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 12:05 AM POMPEII (DIG-3D) 12:45 PM OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: NO SUN+TUE+WED NON-STOP (DIG) 3:00 PM THE MOVIE (DIG) 3:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 5:15 PM OGGY AND THE COCKROACHES: AL-KOUT.2 POMPEII (DIG-3D) 7:30 PM THE MOVIE (DIG) 5:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 2:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 9:45 PM ROBOCOP (DIG) 7:00 PM KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 4:00 PM THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR ROBOCOP (DIG) 9:30 PM PATRICK (DIG) 6:00 PM FOR SALE FANAR-1 ROBOCOP (DIG) 12:05 AM KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 8:00 PM CIVIL INFORMATION PATRICK (DIG) 12:45 PM PATRICK (DIG) 10:00 PM PATRICK (DIG) 3:15 PM AVENUES-2 PATRICK (DIG) 12:15 AM Nissan Altima - 2008, silver Automated enquiry WINTER’S TALE (DIG) 5:15 PM THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) 2:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED color, full options (sunroof) aboutthe Civil ID card is PATRICK (DIG) 7:30 PM AMERICAN HUSTLE (DIG) 4:45 PM excellent conditions. KD PATRICK (DIG) 9:45 PM THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) 7:15 PM AL-KOUT.3 PATRICK (DIG) 12:05 AM THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) 9:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 1:00 PM 1950. Tel: 66729295. THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) 12:15 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 3:30 PM (C 4652) 1889988 FANAR-2 NO SUN+TUE+WED THE MONUMENTS MEN (DIG) 5:45 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 1:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 8:15 PM Mitsubishi Lancer 2010 KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 4:00 PM AVENUES-3 NON-STOP (DIG) 10:30 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 6:00 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 1:15 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:45 AM GLX (CC 1800) golden KHOUTAT GIMI (DIG) 8:15 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED colour, excellent conditions, 112 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 10:15 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 6:15 PM KD 1650. Tel: 50994848. 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 12:30 AM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 8:45 PM AL-KOUT.4 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 11:15 PM WER (DIG) 1:00 PM (C 4653) FANAR-3 WER (DIG) 3:00 PM 1-3-2014 WER (DIG) 1:00 PM AVENUES-4 WER (DIG) 5:00 PM Prayer timings ROBOCOP (DIG) 3:15 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 1:30 PM CODE RED (DIG) 7:00 PM GUNDAY (DIG) (HINDI) 5:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 3:45 PM WER (DIG) 9:00 PM Fajr: 04:53 WER (DIG) 8:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 6:00 PM WER (DIG) 11:00 PM MATRIMONIAL WER (DIG) 10:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 8:15 PM WER (DIG) 1:00 AM Shorook 06:12 WER (DIG) 12:45 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 10:30 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED NON-STOP (DIG) 12:45 AM Christian Orthodox par- Duhr: 12:00 FANAR-4 BAIRAQ-1 ents from Central NON-STOP (DIG) 1:15 PM AVENUES-5 THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 1:00 PM Travancore, residing at Asr: 15:20 THE LEGO MOVIE (DIG-3D) 3:30 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 12:45 PM POMPEII (DIG-3D) 3:00 PM Tiruvalla invite proposals NON-STOP (DIG) 5:30 PM POMPEII (DIG) 3:00 PM WER (DIG) 5:15 PM Maghrib: 17:48 NON-STOP (DIG) 7:45 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 5:15 PM POMPEII (DIG-3D) 7:15 PM for their daughter 25 years, 5’7” (M.Tech Structural Isha: 19:05

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)

Arrival Flights on Monday 3/3/2014 SVA 500 JEDDAH 14:30 Departure Flights on Monday 3/3/2014 KAC 773 RIYADH 15:20 Airlines Flt Route Time KNE 472 JEDDAH 14:35 Airlines Flt Route Time KAC 741 DAMMAM 15:20 BBC 43 DHAKA 00:05 KNE 474 JEDDAH 15:35 AIC 982 AHMEDABAD 00:05 KAC 617 DOHA 15:30 JAI 574 MUMBAI 00:10 FDB 8055 DUBAI 15:50 UAL 981 WASHINGTON 00:55 KNE 473 JEDDAH 15:30 ETH 3718 LIEGE 00:30 UAE 3853 DUBAI 17:35 PIA 206 LAHORE 01:05 SVA 501 JEDDAH 15:45 JZR 267 BEIRUT 00:30 FDB 8057 DUBAI 16:40 JAI 573 MUMBAI 01:10 KNE 475 JEDDAH 16:25 JZR 539 CAIRO 00:40 IAW 157A BAGHDAD 20:00 BBC 44 DHAKA 01:45 FDB 8056 DUBAI 16:30 THY 772 ISTANBUL 00:45 KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25 DLH 635 FRANKFURT 02:10 KNE 481 TAIF 16:40 QTR 1084 DOHA 00:55 KAC 786 JEDDAH 18:45 THY 773 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 02:55 OMA 646 MUSCAT 16:55 GFA 211 BAHRAIN 02:10 KAC 618 DOHA 19:00 AFG 416 KABUL 03:30 JZR 238 AMMAN 16:55 THY 764 SABIHA 02:15 KAC 542 CAIRO 18:05 UAE 854 DUBAI 03:50 FDB 8058 DUBAI 17:20 AFG 416 JEDDAH 02:20 KAC 104 LONDON 19:35 ETD 306 ABU DHABI 04:00 ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:35 UAE 853 DUBAI 02:35 KAC 118 NEW YORK 16:35 MSR 613 CAIRO 04:10 QTR 1073 DOHA 17:40 ETD 305 ABU DHABI-INTL 02:45 KAC 788 JEDDAH 15:10 QTR 1085 DOHA 04:15 UAE 858 DUBAI 17:50 JAI 576 COCHIN 02:50 KAC 742 DAMMAM 18:20 FDB 68 DUBAI 04:40 JZR 538 CAIRO 17:50 MSR 612 CAIRO 03:10 KAC 774 RIYADH 18:45 QTR 1077 DOHA 05:15 RJA 641 AMMAN 17:55 KAC 206 ISLAMABAD 07:40 JZR 177 DUBAI 18:20 ETH 3718 ADDIS ABABA 06:00 ABY 128 SHARJAH 18:05 KAC 382 DELHI 07:55 OMA 645 MUSCAT 15:55 FDB 70 DUBAI 06:30 SVA 511 RIYADH 18:15 KAC 412 MANILA 06:45 KNE 460 RIYADH 15:55 JAI 575 ABU DHABI 06:45 GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:20 JZR 164 DUBAI 06:55 KAC 302 MUMBAI 07:55 QTR 1072 DOHA 16:40 JZR 184 DUBAI 18:40 THY 765 ISTANBUL-SABIHA 07:05 JZR 503 LUXOR 05:50 UAE 857 DUBAI 16:40 JZR 266 BEIRUT 18:50 GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:15 QTR 1076 DOHA 03:45 ETD 303 ABU DHABI-INTL 16:50 RBG 554 ALEXANDRIA 18:55 FDB 67 DUBAI 04:00 KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 07:15 RJA 640 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 16:55 UAE 3854 DUBAI 19:00 THY 770 ISTANBUL 05:35 THY 771 ISTANBUL-ATATURK 07:30 SVA 510 RIYADH 17:15 JZR 134 BAHRAIN 19:10 DHX 170 BAHRAIN 05:40 FDB 54 DUBAI 08:30 ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:25 MPH 93 AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL 19:20 0FDB 69 DUBAI 05:50 BAW 156 LONDON 08:45 GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:30 FDB 64 DUBAI 19:25 BAW 157 LONDON 06:40 QTR 1087 DOHA 08:50 MPH 93 AMSTERDAM 17:50 MSC 402 ALEXANDRIA 19:30 FDB 53 DUBAI 07:50 KAC 787 JEDDAH 09:25 JZR 777 JEDDAH 17:55 QTR 1081 DOHA 19:40 QTR 1086 DOHA 07:50 KAC 671 DUBAI 09:30 RBG 553 ALEXANDRIA 18:15 GFA 218 BAHRAIN 20:15 UAE 855 DUBAI 08:40 ABY 126 SHARJAH 09:40 MSC 405 SOHAG 18:30 KAC 283 DHAKA 20:30 KAC 352 COCHIN 09:50 UAE 856 DUBAI 09:55 FDB 62 DUBAI 20:45 KAC 362 COLOMBO 08:45 QTR 1080 DOHA 18:40 ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:05 OMA 648 MUSCAT 20:55 KAC 284 DHAKA 08:50 FDB 63 DUBAI 18:45 ABY 122 SHARJAH 10:10 KAC 331 TRIVANDRUM 20:55 ABY 121 SHARJAH 09:30 GFA 217 BAHRAIN 19:30 FDB 56 DUBAI 10:20 KAC 361 COLOMBO 21:00 ABY 125 SHARJAH 09:00 OMA 647 MUSCAT 19:55 QTR 1071 DOHA 10:55 ETD 301 ABU DHABI-INTL 09:20 FDB 61 DUBAI 20:05 FDB 8052 DUBAI 11:00 ABY 120 SHARJAH 21:00 FDB 55 DUBAI 09:40 JAI 572 MUMBAI 20:10 GFA 214 BAHRAIN 11:25 JAI 571 MUMBAI 21:10 QTR 1070 DOHA 09:55 ABY 129 SHARJAH 20:20 KAC 541 CAIRO 11:30 KAC 351 KOCHI 21:10 FDB 8051 DUBAI 10:20 AXB 489 COCHIN 20:35 KAC 165 ROME 11:50 IAW 158A AL NAJAF 21:15 KAC 546 ALEXANDRIA 14:05 DLH 636 FRANKFURT 20:55 MSC 406 SOHAG 11:50 DLH 636 DAMMAM 21:35 KAC 672 DUBAI 14:00 ALK 229 COLOMBO 21:10 MSC 404 ASYUT 12:15 FDB 8054 DUBAI 21:40 KAC 344 CHENNAI 10:40 MEA 402 BEIRUT 21:20 KAC 103 LONDON 12:20 DHX 171 BAHRAIN 21:50 JZR 165 DUBAI 11:30 FDB 8053 DUBAI 20:55 JZR 776 JEDDAH 12:25 ALK 230 COLOMBO 22:10 GFA 213 BAHRAIN 10:40 ETD 307 ABU DHABI-INTL 21:35 IRC 6522 LAMERD 12:45 MEA 403 BEIRUT 22:20 MSC 401 ALEXANDRIA 10:50 UAE 859 DUBAI 21:40 MEA 405 BEIRUT 12:55 ETD 308 ABU DHABI 22:20 MSC 403 ASYUT 11:15 KNE 480 TAIF 21:45 KAC 785 JEDDAH 13:00 KNE 461 RIYADH 22:30 IRC 6521 LAMERD 11:45 GFA 219 BAHRAIN 21:45 SYR 342 DAMASCUS 13:30 GFA 220 BAHRAIN 22:30 MEA 404 BEIRUT 11:55 QTR 1074 DOHA 22:00 JZR 176 DUBAI 13:45 KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:35 SYR 341 DAMASCUS 12:30 FDB 59 DUBAI 22:00 MSR 580 SOHAG 13:50 FDB 60 DUBAI 22:40 UAE 871 DUBAI 12:50 JZR 135 BAHRAIN 22:05 MSR 611 CAIRO 14:00 UAE 860 DUBAI 22:50 MSR 610 CAIRO 13:00 JZR 239 AMMAN-QUEEN ALIA 22:20 UAE 872 DUBAI 14:15 KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 22:55 MSR 579 SOHAG 13:05 AIC 975 CHENNAI 22:30 FDB 58 DUBAI 14:30 QTR 1075 DOHA 23:10 FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50 PIA 205 LAHORE 23:05 QTR 1079 DOHA 14:55 JZR 502 LUXOR 23:30 QTR 1078 DOHA 13:55 JZR 185 DUBAI 23:20 KAC 673 DUBAI 15:05 KAC 411 BANGKOK 23:55 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

STAR TRACK CROSSWORD 475

Aries (March 21-April 19) Libra (September 23-October 22)

Your family circle is always pulsating with activity and you are an energetic This Monday has the look of being a high-energy day. Make a determined and willing participant in many activities. You may even decide to help effort to remain flexible. If you feel inclined to spend lots of money, don’t. round up the kids so that some of the other people in the family can relax with some per- Wait a while longer before splurging as there could be some unexpected bills you have sonal time. You may decide to broaden your interests by visiting a museum, exhibit, etc. forgotten. You are at your most practical when it comes to dealing and working with You gain new perspectives. Your bright ideas keep you busy with creative endeavors and groups of people. You may feel confident volunteering for a young people’s group. You relationships. You will find your friends true to their word and very helpful. The more fact know just what to do and can act without haste and emotion. You could also be most per- gathering and detail hunting you do-the closer you are to making your dreams a reality. suasive with others and may be called upon to clear away any misunderstandings. Take Make a list of repair needs that you can correct in April. You might enjoy planting a few care when interacting with your friends. If you are slow to judge, you will go far. A good conversation with those you love this evening is possible this evening. spring flowers or vegetables tonight for a spring show.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Great temptations to spend money can be headed off by thinking of the future and what you really want instead of the desires of the moment. There are several This is a good day, with lots of energy and ambition. Respect, status and times this year in which you see areas of your life where you will want to make improve- achievement are central goals for you as a new phase begins in your life. You are produc- ments. You may be thinking about changes and improvements that may be needed in the tive with a midas-touch kind of experience. Creating a structure to empower and maintain your ideals and principles becomes a high priority-an article of faith. By taking on greater neighborhood. Talking to neighbors and getting together a proposal for city approval on responsibilities of this kind, you inspire others. Taking care of some personal business is a those improvements is progress. This is an easy, calm day that should find everything run- major theme where your emotional orientation is concerned. Someone will seek you out ning smoothly. Duties and concerns demand your attention most of the afternoon. A rush for your psychological insight and understanding. A child who is bright and articulate of activity is understandable at this time of the year. Plan a meal for eating on the patio. A plays a big role in your life this evening. You may find yourself teaching or helping this beautiful evening ahead is perfect for viewing the stars. child with some type of homework.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

Deeply appreciation of your friends, family and life status at this time leads Reading material may provide new ideas for you this morning. Emotional security, a sense of belonging and nurturing are felt instinctively. You enjoy to showering those you love with gifts and kind deeds. You are enterprising learning new things and you enjoy showing others what you have learned. This afternoon ACROSS 4. Wild llama. and may have several suggestions for entertainment ideas that the whole family could you find ways to give to others what you have been given. This may include patience, 1. A steep rugged rock or cliff. 5. A substance produced by the hypothala- enjoy. Luck seems to be on your side now as plans, decisions and just finding your way time, energy and a listening ear. You show your true appreciation for friends, family and through situations or projects will end in a positive way. Good advice from a guide or old- 5. Lacking a rim or frame. mus that is capable of accelerating the secre- the love of life they bring to you. While you are in this time element, you will benefit great- er person may be inevitable-listen. You may find yourself being put to good use by an eld- ly from platonic relationships. Forgiveness, compassion and understanding come naturally 12. A bachelor's degree in theology. tion of a given hormone by the anterior pitu- erly person later today. This may mean running shopping or cooking errands. Laughter when you look at life from an eternal perspective. If anyone ever does know such things, 15. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agricul- itary gland. and encouragement from others contribute toward making this a good day. Emotional you will probably come to understand them as this cycle unfolds. ture and patron of scribes and schools. 6. A self-funded retirement plan that allows security, a sense of belonging and nurturing are felt instinctively. 16. United States feminist who founded a you to contribute a limited yearly sum toward national organization for women (born in your retirement. 1921). 7. (Old Testament) The guardian archangel of Cancer (June 21-July 22) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) 17. Fish eggs or egg-filled ovary. the Jews. 18. A member of a Turkic people of 8. A Russian river. This can be a great time to be with friends or family in an atmosphere of A neighbor has a new activity and he or she may want you to join in the activity. A walk early in the morning is the perfect time to visit, get rid of a Uzbekistan and neighboring areas. 9. United States swimmer who in 1926 play. You can play a new role in the family now, particularly if you accept an unusual opportunity. You are cheerful and you encourage others with your positive atti- few calories and tone up a few muscles. Later today you may be visiting someone special 19. (of complexion) Blemished by imperfec- became the first woman to swim the English tude. Although you are not one to go backward, this is a day you may improve something and find yourself running errands all over the city for this person. Diving in and doing tions of the skin. Channel (1903- ). old-turning lemons into lemonade. This may be the correction of an idea, a feeling or the more than you wanted to do for another person makes one feel used. If you are feeling 21. Being of the age 13 through 19. 10. Gear for a horse. improvement of some technique. A friend needs your help, but what the friend may really this way today, sharing how you feel is important. Perhaps clearing up a misunderstanding be asking is for you to do the work. Look for ways in which you can gently encourage this is needed to create a healing. Later today, while going through the tax papers, you may 23. Not easy. 11. A silvery malleable metallic element that person. To be truly content, spiritual needs must be met and today you find that music is see yourself finding good answers for ways that will help you increase your financial posi- 24. An association of people to promote the resists corrosion. highly spiritual. Expressing affection is an easy matter this evening. tion. You may want to purchase a home or a car in the near future. You can do it. welfare of senior citizens. 12. A step in walking or running. 25. Transient cessation of respiration. 13. A blind god. 27. United States comic actor in silent films. 14. A short high tone produced as a signal or Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) 28. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that warning. is highly corrosion-resistant. 20. A member of an Iroquoian people former- You are the family type and would like to see the people in your life suc- Today is all about family. When raising children it is always wise to create a ceed. You decide to help fix up a resume, reassess a wardrobe or outline 30. A white metallic element that burns with a ly living around Cayuga Lake in New York backup system or a support system to take turns or take the children for a weekend or a some interview techniques that will benefit one person’s future job potential. You may brilliant light. state. date night. If you have family or friends with children about the same age as your children, find yourself doing this so well that ideas come to you to schedule a series of presenta- a trade will certainly bring well-needed change for everyone. A library in your area may be 31. A fencing sword similar to a foil but with a 22. A colorless explosive liquid that is volatile tions, lectures or teaching at schools. Unfinished business from the past may busy your open in the afternoon and you will find it a great place of discovery for children. With mind later today. Use extreme care regarding your finances. Refer to an accountant when heavier blade. and poisonous and foul-smelling. them busily cruising through a book or video, you can find music, movies, games or books doubts surface. With a few telephone calls, handshakes or letters written-answers regard- 34. Not seeking or given to association. 26. Large burrowing rodent of South and on tape, or log onto the internet while you are there. Learn something new this evening ing your finances will become available. Take time this evening to enjoy life’s little joys: and teach it to someone else. This can be anything from a simple joke or a song to perhaps music, fashion, a movie, bicycle riding or enjoying a bowl of ice cream with a child. 38. (nautical) Fitted or equipped with neces- Central America. the rules of the game you just checked out of the library. sary rigging (sails and shrouds and stays etc). 29. (New Testament) Disciple of Jesus. 40. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in 32. A member of a Caucasoid Muslim people the blood. of northern Africa. Virgo (August 23-September 22) 41. Inquire about. 33. Medium-sized penguins occurring in large Pisces (February 19-March 20) 43. A river in north central Switzerland that colonies on the Adelie coast of Antarctica. Organizing people and projects will become central to your lifestyle. You are quite competitive this morning and may want to enjoy a bicycle runs northeast into the Rhine. 35. Flat rectangular plate (a piece of glass) on Evaluate your standing at work or in your profession while you are at home today. You ride or some other type of activity that will allow you to join up with others 44. Plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect which specimens can be mounted for micro- should not hesitate to plan on how you will execute new ideas and new projects-just as this bright morning. If the weather is inclement, there are competitive things to do indoors stalks bearing bright-colored flowers com- scopic study. long as all the facts are known. There is a lot of energy petitioning you to strive to accom- but your own private competition is advised. For example, you could play the minute waltz, do pushups, play a game with a friend on the computer or internet, etc. Learning a posed of three petals and three drooping 36. A land mass (smaller than a continent) plish whatever you set out to do. To satisfy emotional needs, keep a powerful flow of energy and balance between both giving and receiving love and support. One-way risks foreign language may be one of your goals for this next year and now is not too late to sepals. that is surrounded by water. rarely provide satisfaction. Today could be a most fulfilling day. You make a concentrated begin a daily practice; travel could be the incentive. This is a period when the new, the dif- 46. Young sheep. 37. Jordan's port. effort to be a mentor to the young. Smile! Your physical attractiveness is enhanced and ferent and the unusual will bring big influences to you, both psychologically and physical- ly. Enjoy the day’s celebration. Happy birthday! 48. Any of various units of capacity. 39. The vertical triangular wall between the there is a desire for intimacy and love with a partner this evening. 49. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling). sloping ends of gable roof. 50. A siren of German legend who lured boat- 42. The blood group whose red cells carry men in the Rhine to destruction. both the A and B antigens. Word Search Yesterday’s Solution 53. Inspired by a feeling of fearful wonder- 45. A short stretch of railroad track used to ment or reverence. store rolling stock or enable trains on the 54. A quantity of no importance. same line to pass. 56. A coterie of undesirable people. 47. Make secure by lashing. 57. One of the five major classes of 51. Look at with amorous intentions. immunoglobulins. 52. Either of two large African antelopes of 58. Minute floating marine tunicate having a the genus Taurotragus having short spirally transparent body with an opening at each twisted horns in both sexes. end. 55. The residue that remains when something 60. Chief port of Yemen. is burned. 65. Not far distant in time or space or degree 59. The large trunk artery that carries blood or circumstances. from the left ventricle of the heart to branch 69. A literary language of Chinese Turkestan arteries. (named for one of the sons of Genghis Khan). 61. Tropical woody herb with showy yellow 73. The month following February and pre- flowers and flat pods. ceding April. 62. A British peer ranking below a Marquess 74. Someone who communicates high praise. and above a Viscount. 77. The portion of the vertebrate nervous sys- 63. A heavy long-handled hammer used to tem consisting of the brain and spinal cord. drive stakes or wedges. 78. An extension at the end and at right 64. An officer who acts as military assistant to angles to the main building. a more senior officer. 79. Showing respect for the rights or opinions 66. (used of count nouns) Every one consid- or practices of others. ered individually. 80. An accidental happening. 67. A former copper coin of Pakistan. 68. Uttering in an irritated tone. DOWN 70. Angular distance above the horizon (espe- 1. King of Denmark and Norway who forced cially of a celestial object). Edmund II to divide England with him. 71. An adherent of any branch of Taoism. 2. Tear down so as to make flat with the 72. The products of human creativity. ground. 75. A colorless and odorless inert gas. 3. A French abbot. 76. In operation or operational.

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 information

For labor-related inquiries and complaints: Call MSAL hotline 128 Al-Madeena 22418714 Al-Shuhada 22545171 GOVERNORATE PHARMACY ADDRESS PHONE Al-Shuwaikh 24810598 Ahmadi Sama Safwan Fahaeel Makka St 23915883 Sabah Hospital 24812000 Abu Halaifa Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd 23715414 Al-Nuzha 22545171 Danat Al-Sultan Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd 23726558 Amiri Hospital 22450005 Sabhan 24742838 Maternity Hospital 24843100 Jahra Modern Jahra Jahra-Block 3 Lot 1 24575518 Madina Munawara Jahra-Block 92 24566622 Al-Helaly 22434853 Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital 25312700 Capital Ahlam Fahad Al-Salem St 22436184 Al-Faiha 22545051 Chest Hospital 24849400 Khaldiya Coop Khaldiya Coop 24833967

Farwaniya Hospital 24892010 Farwaniya New Shifa Farwaniya Block 40 24734000 Al-Farwaniya 24711433 Ferdous Coop Ferdous Coop 24881201 Adan Hospital 23940620 Modern Safwan Old Kheitan Block 11 24726638 Al-Sulaibikhat 24316983 Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 Hawally Tariq Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25726265 Al-Fahaheel 23927002 Al-Razi Hospital 24846000 Hana Salmiya-Amman St 25647075 Ikhlas Hawally-Beirut St 22625999 Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 24316983 Physiotherapy Hospital 24874330/9 Hawally & Rawdha Hawally & Rawdha Coop 22564549 Ghadeer Jabriya-Block 1A 25340559 Kindy Jabriya-Block 3B 25326554 Ahmadi 23980088 Ibn Al-Nafis Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St 25721264 Mishrif Coop Mishrif Coop 25380581 Al-Mangaf 23711183 Kaizen center 25716707 Salwa Coop Salwa Coop 25628241 Al-Shuaiba 23262845 Rawda 22517733

Adaliya 22517144 Al-Jahra 25610011 Khaldiya 24848075 Al-Salmiya 25616368 Kaifan 24849807 Shamiya 24848913 INTERNATIONAL Shuwaikh 24814507 CALLS Abdullah Salem 22549134

Nuzha 22526804 Afghanistan 0093 Iran 0098 Albania 00355 Iraq 00964 Industrial Shuwaikh 24814764 Algeria 00213 Ireland 00353 Qadsiya 22515088 Andorra 00376 Italy 0039 Angola 00244 Ivory Coast 00225 Dasmah 22532265 Anguilla 001264 Jamaica 001876 Antiga 001268 Japan 0081 Bneid Al-Gar 22531908 Argentina 0054 Jordan 00962 Shaab 22518752 Armenia 00374 Kazakhstan 007 Australia 0061 Kenya 00254 Qibla 22459381 Austria 0043 Kiribati 00686 Bahamas 001242 Kuwait 00965 Ayoun Al-Qibla 22451082 Bahrain 00973 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Mirqab 22456536 Bangladesh 00880 Laos 00856 Barbados 001246 Latvia 00371 Sharq 22465401 Belarus 00375 Lebanon 00961 Belgium 0032 Liberia 00231 Salmiya 25746401 Belize 00501 Libya 00218 Jabriya 25316254 Benin 00229 Lithuania 00370 Bermuda 001441 Luxembourg 00352 Maidan Hawally 25623444 Bhutan 00975 Macau 00853 Bolivia 00591 Macedonia 00389 Bayan 25388462 Bosnia 00387 Madagascar 00261 Mishref 25381200 Botswana 00267 Majorca 0034 Brazil 0055 Malawi 00265 W Hawally 22630786 Brunei 00673 Malaysia 0060 Bulgaria 00359 Maldives 00960 Sabah 24810221 Burkina 00226 Mali 00223 Jahra 24770319 Burundi 00257 Malta 00356 Cambodia 00855 Marshall Islands 00692 New Jahra 24575755 Cameroon 00237 Martinique 00596 Canada 001 Mauritania 00222 West Jahra 24772608 Cape Verde 00238 Mauritius 00230 South Jahra 24775066 Cayman Islands 001345 Mayotte 00269 Central African 00236 Mexico 0052 North Jahra 24775992 Chad 00235 Micronesia 00691 Chile 0056 Moldova 00373 North Jleeb 24311795 China 0086 Monaco 00377 Ardhiya 24884079 Colombia 0057 Mongolia 00976 Comoros 00269 Montserrat 001664 Firdous 24892674 Congo 00242 Morocco 00212 Cook Islands 00682 Mozambique 00258 Omariya 24719048 Costa Rica 00506 Myanmar (Burma) 0095 N Khaitan 24710044 Croatia 00385 Namibia 00264 Cuba 0053 Nepal 00977 Fintas 23900322 Cyprus 00357 Netherlands (Holland) Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 0031 Czech Republic 00420 Netherlands Antilles 00599 Denmark 0045 New Caledonia 00687 Diego Garcia 00246 New Zealand 0064 PRIVATE CLINICS Djibouti 00253 Nicaragua 00505 Dominica 001767 Nigar 00227 Dominican Republic 001809 Nigeria 00234 Ecuador 00593 Niue 00683 Egypt 0020 Norfolk Island 00672 El Salvador 00503 Northern Ireland (UK) Plastic Surgeons Paediatricians Ophthalmologists Endocrinologist England (UK) 0044 0044 Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 25622444 Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Khaled Hamadi 25665898 Equatorial Guinea 00240 North Korea 00850 Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 25339330 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 25752222 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700 Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Eritrea 00291 Norway 0047 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 25321171 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 25625030/60 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 25658888 Estonia 00372 Oman 00968 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 25739999 Ethiopia 00251 Pakistan 0092 Family Doctor Dr. Sohail Qamar 22621099 Dr. Mohsen Abel 25757700 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Falkland Islands 00500 Palau 00680 Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581 Dr. Snaa Maaroof 25713514 Faroe Islands 00298 Panama 00507 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 25732223 Physiotherapists & VD Psychiatrists Dr. Pradip Gujare 23713100 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 25732223 Fiji 00679 Papua New Guinea 00675 Dr. Zacharias Mathew 24334282 Dr. Deyaa Shehab 25722291 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 22635047 Finland 00358 Paraguay 00595 Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 22613623/0 (1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288 France 0033 Peru 0051 French Guiana 00594 Philippines 0063 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, Rheumatologists: French Polynesia 00689 Poland 0048 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581 FRCS (Canada) 25655535 Gabon 00241 Portugal 00351 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dentists Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 ext 8321 Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Gambia 00220 Puerto Rico 001787 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr Anil Thomas 3729596/3729581 Georgia 00995 Qatar 00974 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Shamah Al-Matar 22641071/2 Germany 0049 Romania 0040 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 Ghana 00233 Russian Federation 007 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed 22562226 Internist, Chest & Heart General Practitioners Gibraltar 00350 Rwanda 00250 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer 22561444 Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 Ext 210 Greece 0030 Saint Helena 00290 Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan 22619557 General Surgeons Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid Greenland 00299 Saint Kitts 001869 Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash 22525888 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 22610044 MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Grenada 001473 Saint Lucia 001758 Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan 25653755 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 25327148 Assistant Professor Of Medicine Guadeloupe 00590 Saint Pierre 00508 Dr. Bader Al-Ansari 25620111 Guam 001671 Saint Vincent 001784 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Internists, Chest & Heart Head, Division of Cardiology Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Neurologists Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Guatemala 00502 Samoa US 00684 Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Guinea 00224 Samoa West 00685 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 25633324 Consultant Cardiologist Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Guyana 00592 San Marino 00378 Urologists Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 25345875 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Farida Al-Habib 2611555-2622555 Haiti 00509 Sao Tone 00239 Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Gastrologists MD, PH.D, FACC Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Saudi Arabia 00966 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Sami Aman 22636464 Inaya German Medical Center Honduras 00504 Scotland (UK) 0044 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 25322030 Te: 2575077 Hong Kong 00852 Senegal 00221 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 22633135 Fax: 25723123 Hungary 0036 Seychelles 00284 Dr. Leons Joseph 66703427 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Sierra Leone 00232 Soor Center Iceland 00354 Singapore 0065 Psychologists [email protected] Tel: 2290-1677 Kaizen center William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 India 0091 Slovakia 00421 /Psychotherapists www.soorcenter.com Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 25716707 Indian Ocean 00873 Slovenia 00386 Indonesia 0062 Solomon Islands 00677 LIFESTYLE36 MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2013 Music & Movies

This image released by Relativity Media shows Kate Bosworth, left, and Richard Gere This film publicity image released by Sony - Columbia Pictures shows Will Smith, left, and Jaden Smith in a scene from ‘After Earth.’ in a scene from ‘Movie 43.’—AP photos ‘After Earth,’ ‘Movie 43’ sweep Razzies; Sandler left empty-handed

ig budget sci-fi flop “After Earth” and for its 13 filmmakers. nominations over the course of his career, failed ensemble comedy “Movie 43” led the The Razzies, created in 1980 as an antidote to to win any of his seven Golden Raspberries nods BRazzie Awards on Saturday while annual the backslapping of Hollywood’s awards season this year for comedy “Grown Ups 2,” which was favorite Adam Sandler went home empty-hand- and now in its 34th year, is held on the evening bludgeoned by critics. ed at the ceremony that mauled Hollywood’s before the glitzy Oscars ceremony, the biggest The “Wedding Singer” star won two Razzies worst films and performances of the year. “After night of honors for the film industry. last year for the father-son comedy “That’s My Earth,” starring Will Smith and his teenage son The Razzie awards are selected by about 800 Boy” and pulled off the only “Razzie sweep” for Jaden, picked up three gold spray-painted rasp- members of the Golden Raspberry Award his film “Jack and Jill” in 2012, winning all 10 berry accolades: Foundation, who can purchase a membership awards handed out that year. This year’s worst Jaden Smith for worst actor, Will Smith for for online voting rights in the annual panning of actress went to another Razzie regular, actor- worst supporting actor and worst screen combo films. Eight of the nine categories are voted by director Tyler Perry in drag for the lead character for the father-son stars. members, while the ninth for worst screen com- of “A Madea Christmas.” Reality TV personality The $130 million film, co-written by Will bo was determined by more than 80,000 votes Kim Kardashian was named worst supporting Smith and directed by M Night Shyamalan, was a on movie review website RottenTomatoes.com. actress for her role in “Tyler Perry’s Temptation.” major flop for Sony Corp’s Columbia Pictures last The award winners rarely attend to collect Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” film starring year, grossing just $60 million at the US and their statuettes in person, although Sandra Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, one of last Canadian box office. Relativity Media’s “Movie Bullock notably attended in 2010 to collect her summer’s notable big-budget flops, was named 43,” which features 16 off-beat comedy sketches worst actress and worst screen couple awards worst remake/rip-off or sequel. The film, made with stars such as Halle Berry, Kate Winslet and for “All About Steve,” the night before she won for more than $200 million, failed to perform at Hugh Jackman, won worst picture, worst screen- the best actress Oscar for “The Blind Side.” the box office and lost $190 million for the stu- play for its 19 screenwriters, and worst director Sandler, who has earned more than 20 Razzie dio.—Reuters

French director Alain Resnais arrives for the photocall of ìVous níavez encore rien vu!î (You ainít seen nothing yet!) presented in competition at the 65th Cannes It’s another film festival on May 21, 2012 in Cannes.—AFP boy for Stefani, French filmmaker Rossdale Resnais dies at 91 wen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s brood of boys has gotten bigger. A representative for Rossdale has lain Resnais, the seminal French among the highest works of French New Gconfirmed that the musicians on Friday welcomed filmmaker whose cryptic “Last Year Wave artistry, although Resnais’ career their third son, Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale. Rossdale Aat Marianbad” extended its influ- extended well beyond that period. It has tweeted news of the birth Saturday and said Bowie and ence across generations, has died. He was been cited by fans as varied as filmmaker Flynn were their mothers’ maiden names. 91, and was editing drafts of his next David Lynch and the late Jackie Kennedy, Apollo’s brothers are 5-year-old Zuma and 7-year-old project from his hospital bed, according who screened the movie at the White Kingston. The 48-year-old Rossdale is a musician best to producer Jean-Louis Livi, who was House. known as the lead singer of the rock band Bush. The 44- working on the film with him. Resnais, “I’m a bit surprised to be so shocked year-old Stefani is the lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, who died Saturday, was renowned for by the death of someone who was 91. and has released two hit solo albums. She’s also a fashion reinventing himself during each of his Usually we take this news with a kind of designer. The couple met in the mid-90’s and were married File photo shows Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale arrive at Elizabeth Glaser full-length films, which included the calm sadness,” said Danis Podalydes, an in 2002.—AP Pediatric AIDS Foundation’s 24th Annual ‘A Time for Heroes’ event.—AP acclaimed “Hiroshima Mon Amour” in actor and director who worked with 1959 and most recently “Life of Riley” Resnais. “But the intellectual youth of this which was honored at the Berlin Film man was so surprising.” Thierry Fremaux, Festival just weeks ago. head of the Cannes Film Festival, said Chris Brown told “He was a man of the highest quality, a Resnais’ films tended to fly past the festi- genius,” Livi told France Info radio on val’s judges, who were not always enam- Sunday, confirming Resnais’ death with ored of his work. “He pushed the aesthet- to return to rehab “enormous sadness, accompanied by ic and narrative experimentation very far, enormous pride.”“Last Year at Marianbad” and then he completely renewed his for 2 months is his most influential work, mixing frag- style,” Fremeux told French network ments of time and weirdness within a LCI.—AP castle. The 1961 film is routinely cited California judge ordered Chris Brown to remain in an anger-manage- ment rehab program and told the pop singer to return to court in Atwo months. On Friday, Superior Court Judge James Brandlin sched- uled Brown’s next hearing for April 23. Offbeat facts about That would come after what’s expected to be a brief assault trial in Washington, DC, earlier that month. Prosecutors have asked that Brown be sent to jail for violating probation with his October arrest in the district. In 86th Academy Awards that incident, Brown and his bodyguard are accused of punching a man and breaking his nose outside a hotel. ere is a selection of interesting 4- Nominated for best original score Brown is on probation for his 2009 attack on then-girlfriend, Rihanna. and offbeat facts about the 86th for “The Book Thief,” John Williams brings But Brown’s attorneys have asked the judge to await the outcome of the HAcademy Awards: his total number of nominations to 49. File photo shows singer Chris Brown, right, arrives at the District of Washington, DC, case before hearing evidence on whether Brown should 1- At 23, Jennifer Lawrence, in the Only Walt Disney has had more (59). Columbia Superior Court in Washington.—AP go to jail.—AP running for the best supporting actress Woody Allen, nominated for best original Oscar for “American Hustle,” is the screenplay for “Blue Jasmine,” is the sec- youngest actress to score three nomina- ond most nominated living artist, with tions (after “Winter’s Bone” in 2011 and 24 so far. Up in smoke: Long-ash contest at Cuba cigar fest “Silver Linings Playbook” last year, for 5- Meryl Streep, up for best actress for which she won best actress). The previ- “August: Osage County,” has extended ungent smoke filled the room, obscuring the lights and leaving clothing and skin reeking. There was applause, shouts and laughter, ous youngest was Teresa Wright, who her own record as the most Oscar nomi- Pand above all plenty of H Upmann Sir Winstons - formidable 7-inch was 24 when she won her third nod in nated actor or actress ever, with 18 nods. (17.8-centimeter) Cuban cigars. More than 450 stogie aficionados took part 1942. 6- The composer Thomas Newman, in an unusual contest Thursday at Havana’s annual marquee Cigar Festival: 2- Last year, “Silver Linings Playbook” who earned his 12th nomination for the competing to see who could create the longest unbroken ash. by director David O. Russell was the first making of Mary Poppins movie “Saving “I love it,” Argentine sommelier Flavio Lanfredi said good-naturedly film since Warren Beatty’s “Reds” in 1981 Mr Banks,” is not the only Newman to despite falling out of contention early on. “For me this is like going to hub, to be nominated for best picture, best shine at the Oscars. His musical family or a kid entering a toy store and they tell you to grab whatever you want, director, best screenplay and the four (including Alfred, Lionel, Emil, Thomas, it’s yours. It’s really exciting.” In a cavernous room in Havana’s Palace of acting categories. Russell achieved the David and Randy) has won 88 nomina- Conventions, contestants exhaled clouds of smoke and handled their same feat this year with “American tions in all. cigars gingerly to keep the gray ash intact as long as possible. They lolled Hustle.” 7- “The Missing Picture,” Cambodia’s on luxurious leather chairs set amid tables holding dozens of ashtrays, 3- Nominated for best picture for both candidate for foreign language Oscar, is lighters, chocolate-flavored hard candy and snifters of aged Cuban drink. “American Hustle” and “Her,” Megan only the second documentary nominat- Many, like Lanfredi, lost their ashes before smoking even halfway Ellison is the fourth producer, and the ed in this category. The first was Israel’s through. Others managed to keep going until their cigars were little more first female one, to win two nominations “Waltz with Bashir” (2008).—AFP than tiny stubs. “It was a little bit stressful, and I’m somewhat dizzy,” said in the same year in this category, after Cuban restaurateur Andres Espinosa, one of the better finishers with a 6.2- Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Roos and inch (15.8-cm) ash. Scott Rudin. Just over a half-hour in, only a handful of finalists remained. Judges milled about the room handing out rulers to measure the results. It would be hard to top Olivia Terri, also from Cuba, who smoked her Sir Winston down to a stub with an ash that grew to 6.6 inches (16.7 cm) before it Oscar best picture winners of past 20 years crumbled. The Sir Winston is a chubby cigar with a rich brown color and a hint of toasted gold. It’s hand-rolled with a selection of tobacco leaves 2013 - “Argo” 2003 - “Chicago” from the western province of Pinar del Rio, the cradle of Cuba’s tobacco 2012 - “The Artist” 2002 - “A Beautiful Mind” country. 2011 - “The King’s Speech” 2001 - “Gladiator” The event was both a light-hearted competition and also an exhibition 2010 - “The Hurt Locker” 2000 - “American Beauty” calculated to show off Cuba’s premium tobacco, which is among the most 2009 - “Slumdog Millionaire” 1999 - “Shakespeare in Love” 2008 - “No Country for Old Men” 1998 - “Titanic” coveted in the world. Some 1,500 smokers from 80 countries are attending 2007 - “The Departed” 1997 - “The English Patient” the weeklong festival. “This (contest) in particular is aimed at people being 2006 - “Crash” 1996 - “Braveheart” able to appreciate the quality of our product,” said Ana Lopez, marketing 2005 - “Million Dollar Baby” 1995 - “Forrest Gump” director for Habanos SA, a Cuban-British joint company that produces and 2004 - “The Lord of the Rings: The 1994 - “Schindler’s List” —AFP distributes Cuban cigars exclusively. “Only products of magnificent quality Return of the King” A model poses next to a humidor during a gala dinner.—AP can make the ash take on a permanent consistency for a long time.”—AP lifestyle MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Awards

Director Steve McQueen accepts the Best Director Actress Cate Blanchett accepts the Best Female Lead (From left) Producers Anthony Katagas and Dede Gardner, director Steve McQueen, and actor/producer Brad Pitt, award for ‘12 Years a Slave’ onstage during the 2014 ward for ‘Blue Jasmine’. and producer Arnon Milchan accept the Best Feature award for ‘12 Years a Slave’ with actress Angela Bassett onstage. —AP/AFP photos Film Independent Spirit Awards at Santa Monica Beach on March 1, 2014 in Santa Monica, California.

Factbox: List of winners at the Independent Spirit Awards

BEST FEATURE “12 Years a Slave” BEST FEMALE LEAD Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine” BEST MALE LEAD Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club” Years a Slave” rolled at the Spirit Awards, win- are first and foremost a show to fete indie film and cast a spot- ning five awards including best feature at the light on the little films that have to scrape money together to BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE “12annual independent film celebration. On the get made. Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave” eve of the Academy Awards, the slavery tale won awards for McQueen, with “12 Years a Slave” producer Brad Pitt and BEST SUPPORTING MALE director Steve McQueen, actress Lupita Nyong’o, screenwriter Angelina Jolie looking on, reflected on how the naturalistic films Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club” John Ridley and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt. In a more laid- of John Cassavetes “changed my life.” He dedicated his directing back, beachside ceremony in Santa Monica, just west of Los award to Cassavetes and Solomon Northup, the man whose BEST DIRECTOR Angeles, “12 Years a Slave” was applauded as the clear favorite of memoir “12 Years a Slave” is based on. Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave” the indie circuit. In accepting the award for best first feature, “Fruitvale BEST SCREENPLAY The Spirit Awards could end up being - more than ever Station” director Ryan Coogler provided the afternoon’s most before - a dress rehearsal to yesterda’s Academy Awards. “12 emotional moment. His film is about OscarGrant, a 22-year-old John Ridley, “12 Years of Slave” Years a Slave” is considered, albeit extremely narrowly, the black man shot while handcuffed by police. Coogler implored BEST DOCUMENTARY favorite for best picture over the space spectacle “Gravity” and the audience to remember the “thousands of other Oscar “20 Feet From Stardom” the 1970s con-artist “American Hustle.” (Neither film was eligible Grants” and wondered why so many victims of such gun vio- at the Spirits, which honor films made for $20 million or less.) lence “always look like me.” The crowd gave him a standing ova- BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM The acting winners, too, may line up. All of the Oscar favorites tion. “Blue is the Warmest Color” won Saturday at the Spirits, including best actor for Matthew Several beloved fixtures of independent film were also BEST FIRST FEATURE McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club” and Cate Blanchett in “Blue remembered. The deaths of James Gandolfini, Philip Seymour (Award given to the director and producer) Jasmine.” McConaughey’s co-star, Jared Leto, won best male sup- Hoffman and critic Roger Ebert over the last year were singled porting performance. Leto gave what might be the acceptance out. Gandolfini’s wife, Deborah Lin, and one of their two children Ryan Coogler, “Fruitvale Station” speech to end all acceptance speeches, rattling off an absurd list attended the ceremony. (The actor was nominated for best sup- BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY of thank yous to not just those with “Dallas Buyers Club,” but porting male performance.) Bob Nelson, “Nebraska” Hermann Hesse, Wayne Gretzky, home-made burritos, “the sev- The Spirits’ Robert Altman Award, an honor for best ensem- en billion people on the planet” and many more. ble and director, was given to Jeff Nichols’ coming-of-age tale BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY The actor-rocker added, with emphasis, “all the women I’ve “Mud.” The John Cassavetes Award, which honors films made for Sean Bobbitt, “12 Years a Slave” been with and all the women who think they’ve been with me.” less than $500,000, went to the unlikely friendship drama “This Is JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD For many, the Spirit Awards conclude months of award-season Martin Bonner,” which director Chad Hartigan said was made for (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000) events, and they provide a chance to exhale before the Oscars. just $42,000. Gasps of admiration were heard throughout the McConaughey, Blanchett, Leto and Nyong’o have racked up a beachside tent. “This is Martin Bonner” Screenwriter Bob Nelson accepts the Best First slew of awards, often triumphing over the same colleagues. Other winners included “20 Feet From Stardom” for best doc- Screenplay award for ‘Nebraska’. ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD “What am I going to say that I haven’t already said?” umentary, “Blue Is the Warmest Color” for best international film, (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its Blanchett remarked in her acceptance speech. On her way into Bob Nelson of “Nebraska” for best first screenplay, and “Short the luncheon, the actress also repeated her view of the renewed Term 12” for best editing. The show was to be broadcast on the ensemble cast) scandal surrounding “Blue Jasmine” director Woody Allen and IFC cable channel later Saturday night. The spirit of thrifty striv- “Mud” Dylan Farrow’s claims he sexually assaulted her as a child: “It’s a ing pervaded. McConaughey (also a co-star in “Mud”) called PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD family issue, and I hope they can resolve it as a family.” This indie work, “a feeder road” compared to the Autobahn of big- award, one of many for Nyong’o, stood out for the now 31-year- budget moviemaking. But he said he relished the freedom, even Tony Halbrooks and James M. Johnston old actress: “Not a bad way to celebrate my birthday,” she said. though it means “less zeroes on the paycheck.” In his mono- STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN Nyong’o dedicated the award to her mother, Dorothy, who logue, however, Oswalt put a less optimistic spin on it. He said FICTION AWARD was in the audience, for years of driving her to auditions. “Your that in the course of his opening remarks, “The Lego Movie” had Jason Osder, “Let the Fire Burn”—Reuters love has driven me this far,” she said. Presented by Film made more money than all of the Spirit Award nominees com- Independent (a group of filmmakers, industry professionals and bined.—AP movie buffs) and hosted Saturday by Patton Oswalt, the Spirits

Actor Matthew McConaughey accepts the Best Male Screenwriter John Ridley accepts the Best Screenplay Lead award for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’. award for ‘12 Years a Slave’ from actors Sarah Paulson and Jon Hamm onstage.

Director Jeff Nichols (at microphone) accepts the Robert Altman Award for ‘Mud’ with actors Tye Sheridan, Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson, Jacob Lofland, and Bonnie Sturdivant, and casting director Francine Maisler onstage.

Actor Brad Pitt Lupita Nyong’o and director Steve Actress Lupita Nyong’o accepts the Best Supporting McQueen pose with their award for best feature film. Female award for ‘12 Years a Slave’.

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie during the 2014 Actor Jared Leto accepts the Best Supporting Male Film Independent Spirit Awards. Actors Keanu Reeves and Gong Li speak onstage. award for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’. lifestyle MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Fashion PARIS FASHION: Gaultier takes Rihanna into space

he host of an eccentric Jean Paul Gaultier show Fashion sacrilege promised guests a trip into outer space with catwalk British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood looked to her Tattendee Rihanna at Paris Fashion Week. Though inner Christian and hosted her fall-winter show in a func- guests’ hopes were eventually dashed when the superstar tioning church. Was Westwood trying to launch her own left on foot through the emergency exit, this was surely denomination by branding the altar with a huge dazzling the highlight of Saturday’s ready-to-wear shows. “W”? Incense wafted through the strobe lights up to the But Vivienne Westwood, who hosted hers in an incense- gothic windows, and several guests were tucked away filled church, came a close second. Here are details from behind pews looking almost ready for mass. One guest the day of fall-winter collections. commented: “Front row will be last, and last row will be first.” The united colors of fashion From older, silver-haired model Catherine Loewe to chil- Vivienne Westwood mixes couture and tribal dren who also trod his catwalk, fashion egalitarian Jean An Encyclopedia Britannica should be standard issue Paul Gaultier clearly likes to represent all colors of the rain- with any Westwood show. Fall-winter was no exception, bow. Just take the show’s front row: Singer Rihanna seeing the eccentric British designer mix up Peruvian eth- applauded with a black and white Gaultier fur wrap along- nic face paints, jewelry and robes with the style of Charles side plus-size Beth Ditto, the singer from band Gossip. It Worth, the 19th century British fashion genius and founder was reassuring in an industry that showcases mainly thin of haute couture. Mad blond afros merged into wide and young white girls. “The casting was amazing to do like brimmed black-feathered hats, while Pervurian prints on that, having people very different to one another,” said long dresses were proceeded by a series of stylish-looking Gaultier, after the show. Scottish tartans. The signature Regency blazer and peaked “They’re different types of beauty,” he added. Ditto, shoulder cropped up, but it was the Worth-inspired cou- meanwhile, said. “I enjoy the fashion industry more than ture that stole the day. the music industry, as there are more eccentrics. Gaultier comes from the heart. It’s body beautiful, just like this is,” Viktor & Rolf get their groove back she said, and the star did a body roll. The show was based on abstract interpretations of the gray knit V-neck sweater. If that sounds like an uninspiring Jean Paul Gaultier gets lost in space muse, somehow in the hands of Dutch design duo Viktor & Jean Paul Gaultier needs to take his foot off the warp Rolf it became thought-provoking poetry. Huge curved drive. In terms of spectacle, the credentials of the galactic metal lampposts lined the catwalk, and the show played fall-winter show cannot be denied, inside an Oscar on trompe l’oeil artworks referencing blown-up knit cables. Niemeyer futurist building, with Star-Trek-style automatic Some of the visual tricks, like a 2-D printed bow that doors. Then there was the host, who asked guests to fasten played on dimensionality, were too heavy handed. But the seatbelts and promised an interstellar vacation with musings with wool were fun, featuring it in patches on a Rihanna. Who could ask for more? great striped coat, or elsewhere mimicking fur. After sever- But mixing space age with the Union Jack? The iconic al disappointing seasons, Viktor & Rolf clearly have gained French couturier left people confounded in a show which creative momentum from the recent relaunch of their cou- did produce some beautiful looks. In the space-age first ture designs. — AP half, with models sporting vertical bobs like antennae, there was some cool piping-styles and a great pair of sheer green PVC pants. Then came a punk section, several infant models with a mother, and a grand finale that produced Rihanna arrives for the some fairly unoriginal but fastidiously executed garments Jean Paul Gaultier ready- featuring the British flag. It felt a little lost in space. to-wear fall/winter 2014- 2015 fashion collection.

Models present creations by Jean Paul Gaultier during the 2014/2015 Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear collection fashion show, on March 1, 2014 in Paris. — AP/ AFP photos lifestyle MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

Fashion

Vivienne Westwood

Viktor & Rolf ‘12 Years a Slave’ rolls at Spirit Awards

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 37

Carnival revelers of the Elzach Schuttig carnival guild parade through the streets during the traditional Schuttig jump in Elzach, southern Germany yesterday. The Schuttig is the traditional carnival figure of Elzach, he wears a shag- gy red suit and a big straw hat with snail shells attached to it. — AFP Rio revels in ‘greatest show on Earth’

ore than a million Rio Carnival revelers laid aside bit- “Nobody wants to protest, not this week,” Cristiano terness at Brazilian leaders to join wild festivities Floriano, clad in canary yellow, told AFP. Sergio Mendes MSaturday in what has been dubbed “the greatest added: “I am a protester-we all know Brazilian politicians are show on Earth.” Many participants said they had resolved to corrupt. But the people are the majority-and carnival is for us.” forget-at least until festivities end Tuesday-about lingering protests over corruption and the cost of hosting the World Sour note and fines Cup. The Rio tourist board said 1.3 million people joined the There were some sour notes, however, as media reported a fray to cavort as the Marvelous City’s oldest bloco or street military police unit used tear gas to disperse a group of “garis,” party group Cordao da Bola Preta danced to a raucous samba or carnival cleaners, who are demanding better pay and con- beat. A total of four million are accepted during the entire ditions. Additionally, Rio police fined 117 people for urinating five-day event. in public, local media reported. Otherwise, relative calm Revelers of the Gavioes da Fiel samba school perform. — AP/ AFP photos But there was a reminder of some of Brazil’s social prob- reigned before throngs of locals and foreigners alike swarm lems as festivities in the northern city of Salvador were tainted the city center yesterday and Saturday, when 12 elite samba by the fatal shooting of a young man. Police said they were schools will bid for the annual Carnival crown at the city’s investigating after the 27-year-old victim was shot six times. In famed Sambadrome. neighboring Bolivia, four people were killed and more than 60 Outfits for the elite groups can cost thousands of dollars, injured when a bridge collapsed onto spectators and a group but Saturday’s street parade participants gave them a good of musicians marching in the opening Carnival parade in the run for their money, with a range of often risque creations. Oruro highlands. Crossdressing among the men was a typical theme. Nearby, a clown holding a huge “Say no to Racism” banner Homage to Ronaldo looked on in approval. In business center Sao Paulo, tens of thousands of people Men in diapers and fluffy pink rabbit ears, micro-skirted were on hand as the Gavioes da Fiel samba school hit the women flaunting skin, as well as Barack Obama and streets, their theme this year was an homage to the career of Superman lookalikes only added to the visual feast. 2002 world soccer champion Ronaldo. Sao Paulo, which will host the World Cup opening match on June 12, kicked off Brazil ‘united’ major celebrations Friday night. Ronaldo’s float included four Above the din, one reveler who gave her name only as female “bodyguards” for the man who scored a record 15 Rosana said Brazilians can be optimistic in a World Cup year, goals in World Cup action. Back in Rio, 1980s star Zico is the despite the country struggling with its preparations.”Brazil is theme of the Imperatriz Leopoldinense school’s performance getting better. We are a united people who maybe have to in the city’s own nod to soccerized Carnival. break a few things in the system. But not windows,” said the Rio’s flamboyantly dressed residents were adamant that, 27-year-old, speaking for most Brazilians horrified at how for now, they had spent enough time demonstrating-and anarchists latched onto the recent protests to spark clashes wanted to let loose instead. “Carnival is carnival. Celebrate! with military police. — AFP Protests can wait-at least for now,” shouted Christophe Land, Revelers of the Gavioes da Fiel samba school perform. one of 50 men decked out in black “Spiderman” outfits. Other revelers agreed as they celebrated what was also their city’s 449th birthday.

A dancer from the Perola Negra samba school performs. Brazilian former football star Ronaldo and his son Ronald take part in Gavioes da Fiel samba school performance. Revelers of the Aguia de Ouro samba school perform. DC’s Phillips Collection showcases American art

merican art is taking over most of The Phillips Collection, viewed through the lens of a 20th century Apatron who built of one of the nation’s first modern art museums. “Made in the USA.” opened Saturday. It includes 202 artworks by more than 100 artists to give visitors a broad sur- vey of American art’s defining movements. But it also shows how museum founder Duncan Phillips methodically invested in art for the nation’s capital to help lift American artists out of obscurity. Curators followed Phillips’ collection from realism and impressionism to modern life and abstract expressionism. Works by Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper and Mark Rothko are shown among their con- temporaries. The exhibition follows the four-year tour of a smaller version in Europe and Japan. — AP This handout image provided by The Phillips Collection Stuart Davis’s oil on canvas, ‘Egg Beater No. 4, 1928’. John Marin’s 1933 oil on canvas, ‘Pertaining to Fifth shows Jacob Lawrence’s ‘The Migration Series, Panel — AP photos Avenue and Forty-Second Street’. no. 1’.