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SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 JAMADA ALAWWAL 15, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net 12,000 US re-indicts ‘China’s Twitter’ Advantage participate Indian Sina Weibo ten-man City in NBK diplomat on files for as nine-man Walkathon2 visa11 fraud IPO21 in US Chelsea20 crash Oppn launches rebranded Max 26º Min 16º Popular Action Movement High Tide 12:29 Low Tide Barrak strongly criticizes ruling family, Assembly 06:22 & 18:20 40 PAGES NO: 16106 150 FILS

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti opposition, which boycotted the previous two parliamentary elections in protest against a controversial electoral law, yesterday launched a new political group - the Popular Action Movement. Veteran opposition figures including former speaker Ahmad Al- Saadoun, former opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak and a number of leading politicians are among the main members of the new group that had been operating as the Popular Action Bloc for the past several years. In a hard-hitting speech, Barrak strongly criticized the ruling family, saying it has failed to run the affairs of the government and called for introducing an elected government that should come through the ballot box- es. Barrak said that it is an illusion for the ruling family to think that it can rule the country through the single- vote law, a dummy Assembly, politicizing of the judici- ary and using political money and riot police. “We are demanding an elected government that is subject to the supervision of the people and which should come through the ballots,” Barrak told the gath- ering that was held at Saadoun’s diwaniya after a book- ing at a local hotel was cancelled a few days ago. Barrak claimed that Kuwait is passing through its worst politi- cal era which means criticism is not sufficient and “we have to work jointly with other political groups”. He announced that the new movement (Hashd in Arabic) will extend its hands for cooperation with all groups. The outspoken former lawmaker alleged that there is a suspicious alliance between the “merchants of corrup- tion and merchants of power”, adding that Kuwait is being destroyed and its wealth stolen. Barrak ridiculed the government’s statement that the welfare state is over, saying that the government has been sending “our money abroad to support dictators”. He said the current struggle in Kuwait is a struggle between the supporters KUWAIT: Former speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun speaks during the launch of the new Popular Action of the state and those of sheikhdom, and the former will Movement at his diwaniya yesterday. (Inset) Opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak addresses the emerge victorious. crowd. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Continued on Page 13 Top Kuwaiti fighter killed in Syria Forces enter rebel bastion • Conflict enters 4th year BEIRUT: Activists yesterday said that the Kuwaiti commander of an Al-Qaeda- linked group was killed while fighting US giving government troops and Hezbollah fight- ers inside Syria. The Britain-based Syrian up Internet Observatory for Human Rights said Abu Azzam Al-Kuwaiti, a leader of the Nusra Front, was killed late Friday in fighting oversight around the western town of Yabroud. Amer Al-Qalamouni, an activist in the CAIRO: Egyptian military police soldiers run towards a checkpoint attacked by WASHINGTON: The US government announced area, and the Observatory said yesterday gunmen in Shubra Al-Kheima, a suburb north of Cairo, yesterday. -—AP Friday it was giving up its key role overseeing the Al-Kuwaiti was a key mediator for the Internet’s technical operations, handing over those release of a dozen nuns held by rebels functions to “the global multi-stakeholder commu- earlier this week. His death came as Six troops killed nity”. The move “marks the final phase of the privati- Syrian forces and Hezbollah fighters zation” of the management of the Internet domain advanced in rebel-held Yabroud near the name system, said a statement from the US Lebanese border amid heavy bombard- in Cairo attack Commerce Department. ment from warplanes, artillery and tanks The US agency called for “global stakeholders to as the country’s bloody conflict marked develop a proposal” for a transition to a new plan its third anniversary yesterday, state CAIRO: Gunmen killed six soldiers at a ing their dawn prayers and then planted Abu Azzam Al-Kuwaiti with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names media and activists said. Cairo checkpoint yesterday in a brazen two bombs to target first responders, and Numbers, a non-profit group that took over The conflict, which began amid Arab extremists entered the fight. attack which the military blamed on the the military said in a statement. The some of the functions in 1997 under an agreement Spring protests across the region, started The main Western-backed opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement of health ministry said six soldiers were with the US government. The decision comes with off as protests that turned into an armed group, the Syrian National Coalition, Egypt’s deposed Islamist president killed. Live television footage showed Washington under pressure following revelations insurgency and eventually became a full- vowed in a statement yesterday marking Mohamed Morsi. The attack came two military sappers safely detonate a bomb about vast surveillance programs operated by the blown civil war that activists say has the conflict’s third anniversary “to bring days after gunmen killed a soldier in near the checkpoint in the northern secretive National Security Agency to collect intelli- killed more than 140,000 people and has down the Assad regime that is the main Cairo, as militants once based in the Sinai neighbourhood of Shubra al-Kheima. gence and other data through a variety of methods. seen 2 million people flee the country. source of the Syrian people’s suffering”. Peninsula increasingly widen attacks that One of the devices was placed next to a ICANN leaders said during a conference call that Peace talks between the government of The coalition’s chief Ahmad Al-Jarba have killed more than 200 security men dead soldier’s body, a private television the move by the US was a sign that the organization President Bashar Al-Assad and Syria’s attacked Assad’s main backer Iran, as well since the army overthrew Morsi last July. station quoted an interior ministry offi- has matured and that it was in the works long divided opposition haven’t found a as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Shiite fight- The assailants opened fire on military cial as saying. Continued on Page 13 diplomatic solution to the crisis, which ers who came from Iraq to fight with policemen yesterday as they were finish- Continued on Page 13 has seen sectarian violence rise as Islamic Continued on Page 13 Jet’s disappearance ‘deliberate’ KUALA LUMPUR: A missing Malaysian airliner was apparently deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday, stopping short of confirming a hijack but taking the excruciating search for the jet into uncharted new territory. Najib said investigators believed “with a high degree of certainty” that sys- tems relaying Malaysia Airlines flight 370’s location to air traffic control were manually switched off before the jet veered westward in a fashion “consistent with deliberate action”. But a grave-looking Najib told a press conference watched around the globe that he could not confirm whether the plane had been forcibly taken over. “Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, I MEDAN: An Indonesian student writes a message wish to be very clear: We are still investigating all pos- expressing prayers and wishes for passengers sibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its onboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 KUWAIT: A rainbow arcs over Kuwait City yesterday after heavy rain. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Continued on Page 13 yesterday. — AFP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 LOCAL

KUWAIT: The annual walkathon of the National Bank of Kuwait in progress. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat 12,000 participate in NBK Walkathon

By Nawara Fattahova walkathon - 10 winners in each category - who 35), green (ages 36-49) and burgundy (ages 50 received medals. They also received cash and above). KUWAIT: More than 12,000 people participat- prizes worth KD 300, KD 200, KD 100 and KD The participants praised the organization ed in the annual National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) 50 for the last seven finishers in each category. of the walkathon, but many were confused Walkathon yesterday. This year’s slogan was ‘If Other prizes were given to attendees as well. about the position they ranked. “I arrived 10th We Can Make a Change, So Can You’. Sudden The walkathon started in the morning with but I was not given any ticket with a number heavy rain along with hail fell in the middle of the children at Green Island. The participating as I expected. The woman after me was given the race, but by the arrival of most categories kids were divided into four categories accord- a ticket with number 11, and when I asked, to the finish line, the rain had stopped. ing to their ages from 5 to 14 years old, wear- they said I’m the 10th but I will get the num- This was the 20th year of the walkathon. ing jerseys with new colors this year - neon ber later. So I’m confused, especially that this is The number of participants increases every pink, orange, purple and neon green. my first time participating in this event,” said a year, and this year saw an increase of 2,000 The walking distance was different for each participant form Ukraine who didn’t want to people in all categories. “When the NBK of the three categories. The kids (Zeina Friends mention her name. Walkathon first started, one car was given to a Club) walked 1 km only and started at 10:00 Salem Al-Kandari, who was participating lucky participant by a raffle draw. In 2012, we am. The women walked 6 km and started at for the second time in the NBK walkathon, increased the number to two vehicles, and this 14:15 pm from Marina Crescent, while the men expressed satisfaction with the general organ- year we are giving away three brand new walked 8 km and started at 15:00 pm from the ization and wondered if the judges really reg- Citroen C-Elysee 2014 model vehicles,” Talal Al- Scientific Center (Ras Salmiya). All categories istered the winners correctly. “When I arrived, I Turki, PR Officer at NBK, told Kuwait Times yes- ended at Green Island. wasn’t given any number, but the judge at the terday. Participating women were also in four cate- end point said I’m one of the first 10 in my cat- A new feature was also added this year. “We gories. At 2:15 pm, the women in light blue egory. So I hope that the judges have regis- simplified the registration process for partici- (ages 15-20) flagged off from Marina Crescent. tered me right,” he pointed out. pants, who were able to register online for the They were followed by the women in the yel- The race didn’t witness any serious first time. This saved time for both the partici- low group (ages 21-35) at 2:30 pm. They were injuries. According to paramedics present, pants and NBK staff as well. Furthermore, dur- then followed by the third and fourth cate- they only dealt with few light foot injuries. ing the celebration we announced 10 winners gories in red (ages 36-49) and pink (ages 50 “We only treated about 13 injuries, and of tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2014 that will and above) at 2:45 pm. maybe some older participants may suffer take place in Brazil. Each winner will get two The men kicked off at 3:00 pm from the health problems later. We are six paramedics tickets,” added Turki. Scientific Center starting with the eldest cate- working here in this tent, and there are four The draw took place at the finish point at gory, and the youngest category kicked off at ambulances on the road along the race track,” Green Island. The celebration also included 3:30 pm. They were also divided into four cate- said Ghalib Masoud, a paramedic in a tent announcing the names of 80 winners of the gories - dark blue (ages 15-20), white (ages 21- near the finish line. SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 LOCAL

CBK sponsors football Govt plans to go ahead competition for deaf KUWAIT: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait with clean fuel project sponsored a football competition for the deaf, organized by the Amal Boys School starting from today and through March 20. Moves to avoid potential losses “It is our pleasure to sponsor the Amal Football Tournament for the Deaf which By A Saleh last year as punishment in the aftermath of the turing MPs Sane, Saud Al-Huraiji, Yousuf Al- highlights the rights of people with spe- parliament’s rejection of KPC’s decision to pay a Zalzalah and Abdullah Al-Tamimi. The proposal cial needs to practice all activities equal- KUWAIT: The government does not have any $2.16 billion fine to Dow Chemical. The amount calls for increasing the number of elected MPs ly,” said Amani Al-Waraa, the Assistant problems with a parliamentary probe into the was enforced by International Court of from 50 to 75. Speaking of amendments, MP General Manager - Public Relations and clean fuel project’s tender, but plans to go ahead Arbitration of the International Chamber of Hamdan Al-Azmi released a statement yesterday Advertisement Department. with the project anyway in order to avoid poten- Commerce (ICC) over a unilateral decision by the indicating that the only constitutional amend- “Sponsoring the event comes as part tial losses in case of delays. Kuwait National Kuwaiti government to withdraw from a joint ment he would support is one that “improves of the CBK’s commitment to support Petroleum Company had announced last month venture in 2008. freedoms” and “provide further guarantees for social activities, especially those con- that it awarded a $12 billion project to British, US The case continues to generate reactions from justice and equality” in Kuwait. cerned with people eager to give and and Japanese-led consortia to boost capacity at the parliament, the most recent of which came integrate with their society,” Al-Waraa oil refineries and make production more environ- from MP Yaqoub Al-Sane who urged Oil Minister Committee meetings added. Amani Al-Waraa mentally friendly. Ali Al-Omair yesterday to “bear his responsibili- The legislative committee meets today to dis- Several MPs has since proposed forming a ties” to reinstate the three officials. cuss a proposal to lift MP Mohammad Al-Enezi’s committee to investigate the awarding process Speaking of the Dow Chemical fine, sources immunity, and puts the final touches on the law and rule out allegations of irregularities. “The revealed that several MPs plan to submit a to establish companies to build power plants MPs’ visit helps cement government will not stand against the proposal if request to Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem to call before submitting it to the parliament. The com- the parliament approves it as it is assured about for a special debate to discuss the Audit Bureau’s mittee also discusses a proposal that calls for the the awarding process and has nothing to hide,” investigation report regarding the K-Dow case government to pay unemployment allowance to Kuwait-Japan relations said sources familiar with the government’s which was referred to both the legislative and a Kuwaiti citizen after five months of waiting for thinking. The government also does not plan to executive authorities last week. The sources, who employment, and another that bans expatriates’ TOKYO: The visit of Kuwait-Japan were invited by the Japanese government object a potential request to assign the Audit spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not recruitment in state department unless in jobs Parliamentary Friendship League to Japan for a memorial service to commemorate Bureau to look into the project, said the sources provide the names or number of MPs who that suffer shortage in national manpower. represented an opportunity to enhance the third anniversary of the 2011 Great who spoke on the condition of anonymity. pushed for the session to be held either in April Meanwhile, the public facilities committee relations between the two nations in all East Japan Earthquake on March 11, in The Mina Abdullah I project was awarded to a or May. discusses proposals to establish the public trans- domains, head of the Kuwaiti delegation MP which Emperor Akihito and Prime Minister consortium led by Britain’s Petrofac for $3.8 bil- portation authority and the environment protec- Dr Khalil Abdullah said at the conclusion of Shinzo Abe attended. lion, Mina Abdullah II to US Fluor-led consortium KIA company tion law, while the housing committee discusses their visit. Following the twin disasters, Kuwait for $3.4 billion while Mina Al-Ahmadi went to Head of the parliament’s budgets committee recommendations mentioned during last week’s Japan’s JGC Corp-led consortium for $4.8 billion, Adnan Abdulsamad revealed “serious informa- Kuwait Housing Conference. Their meetings with Japanese officials donated 5 million barrels of crude oil to according to KNPC. tion” speculating the sale of a Kuwait Investment Separately, head of the negative phenomena and parliamentarians, including Foreign Japan, equivalent to some $500 million, to Authority-affiliated company, and demanded committee MP Azmi said that the panel will dis- Minister Fumio Kishida and House of support its reconstruction work. KPC structure answers from Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh. cuss several topics related to public morality Representatives Speaker Bunmei Ibuki, Hailing strong Kuwaiti-Japanese rela- In related news, the Kuwait Petroleum Abdulsamad did not specify the name of the tomorrow, mainly demands to stop women’s highlighted the shared desire to boost tions, Dr. Abdullah said Kuwaiti and Corporation launched efforts to implement a company in question, but Al-Rai daily reported employment at pool clubs and “put an end to deep-seated Kuwait-Japan friendly and Japanese peoples hold positive feelings court order that reinstated three senior officials yesterday that it is the Kuwait Motoring dance parties organized by local companies”. cooperative ties, Dr. Abdullah told Kuwait toward each other. “I also learned how the that were sacked in the aftermath of the Dow Company. “The KIA, which owns 98 percent of Chemical fine payment. Sources suggested that a the company, has offered it for sale in a public Fake companies News Agency (KUNA). The discussions also Japanese people and officials respect His new organizational structure could be estab- auction,” said sources quoted in the report. The In response to inquiries Azmi made over pro- touched on a possible review of Kuwait’s Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah lished to allow Nasser Al-Mudhaf, Shatha Al- Kuwait Motoring Company owns nearly KD 4 cedures against fake companies, Minister of offset program, which has been a major Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and appreci- Sabah and Ali Al-Hajri to return, since their previ- million in assets in local banks, in addition to Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Subaih explained obstacle hindering Japan’s investment in ate Kuwait’s support to the country in the ous posts have already been filled. lands in different locations around Kuwait, the that a company is closed if evidence is found that the Gulf country. “We will work toward the wake of 2011 earthquake-tsunami disas- Other scenarios discussed include a plan to sources said. it practices an activity that is different than what improvement of the offset program to ter.” He also underlined Japan’s role in lib- rehire the three officials as advisors, but the pro- it is licensed for. The procedures also include help increase Japanese investments in our erating Kuwait from the 1990-1991 Iraqi posal faced rejection based on the notion that it Constitutional amendments coordination with the Immigration General country,” he said. invasion. would be ‘circumventing the ruling’, according to The Constitutional Unity Bloc announced a Department to deport workers brought by com- the sources. Former oil minister Hani Hussein had seminar next Tuesday to discuss a proposal to panies that do not have a physical presence, after “Moreover, to produce concrete out- Meanwhile, Dr Abdullah expressed his referred Mudhaf, Sabah and Hajri for retirement amend article 80 of the Kuwaiti constitution, fea- these fake companies are closed. comes with an eye to implement joint special thanks to Kuwaiti Ambassador to projects that benefit both countries, our Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi for his team visited various facilities, where we efforts in facilitating the visit, and roles in Probe into increased expats medical test fees learned about Japan’s expertise and expe- promoting and strengthening Kuwait- rience, and explored ways of mutual coop- Japan in all fields. KUWAIT: The government opened an investi- In Jordan’s case, Kuwait used to have an arranged to be briefed by Ministry of Health gation into the reasons why local authorities agreement with 10 clinics around the kingdom officials about the issue, with the possibility of eration.” The team inspected the Cancer The Kuwaiti delegation, which also selected two clinics each in Jordan and Egypt, where a medical test costs a fee equal to KD punitive measures to be taken in case misman- Institute Hospital of Japan, an integrated included MPs Faisal Al-Duwaisan and where workers can have medical tests neces- 30. But that was recently changed, as the num- agement was confirmed,” said government control center for Tokyo subway network Majed Al-Mutairi, arrived in Tokyo on sary to issue a Kuwaiti visa. Kuwaiti authorities ber of certified clinics was narrowed to only sources quoted by Al-Qabas yesterday. system and the country’s first full-fledged Sunday. Their visit came after the Japanese have agreements with medical clinics around two, each of which collecting 600 Jordanian The sources who spoke on the condition of ocean wind farm. members of the friendship league visited the world where labor forces can undergo Dinars (KD 230) per transaction. anonymity added that the investigation is set Furthermore, the Kuwaiti legislators Kuwait last month. —KUNA medical tests and obtain a medical clearance The reasons why the major changes were to include Egypt “where the same thing hap- report necessary to issue a visa to enter made are not clear, and the government plans pened three years ago and no action has been Kuwait. to find out in the near future. “The Cabinet taken since then.”

KUWAIT: Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on behalf of Sheikha Futooh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah hosted yesterday an open house of Zakat House officials, who are caretakers of the 6th orphans forum 2014. The open house was attended by orphans sponsored by Zakat House from Sri Lanka, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Kenya, Kosovo, Yemen, and Bangladesh. API chief underscores small-sized enterprises KUWAIT: Secretary-General of the Arab vate sector’s role. imbalance in the manpower structure as Planning Institute (API) Bader Malallah Now that Kuwaiti young people make Kuwaiti constitute 96 percent of man- stressed here yesterday the significance up 70 percent of the Kuwaiti people and power in the public sector and only four of small and medium-sized enterprises to can play a key part in economic growth, percent in the private sector, he pointed the economic growth process. an unequivocal and clear-cut strategy out. Addressing the 3rd Kuwait Investment should be developed in order to promote He also called for creating more jobs Forum held here, he said small-sized small-sized enterprises and to provide a in small and medium-sized enterprises enterprises have existed since the 1980s congenial investment atmosphere, he and for paying more heed to education as a core element for boosting the com- remarked. output. petitive edge at the market, adding that In this context, the Arab Planning Speakers at the two-day forum enti- small and medium-sized enterprises have Institute (API) has suggested an initiative tled: “Investment Atmosphere in Kuwait... become a key catalyst for economic to promote the cultural aspect and sup- Available Opportunities”, include acade- growth in most world countries. port national capabilities, Malallah point- micians, experts, analysts and specialists Small-sized enterprises should be ed out. who are expected to expound on the cur- viewed as a basic component of national On his part, the director of the small- rent financial situation in Kuwait and the economy, rather than as some sort of lux- sized enterprise section of the Manpower overall region. ury and grandeur, he added. and Government Restructure Program, The participants will mainly discuss He listed some challenges facing Fares al-Enezi called for creating strategic small and medium-sized enterprises small-sized enterprises as general finan- openings for investing the capabilities thanks to their significance to the devel- cial conditions, labor market, economic and energies of young people. opment process in general and their reforms, governmental activity hegemo- To push forward small-sized enterpris- ability to make use of Kuwaiti youth ny over economy and absence of the pri- es, it is imperative to begin redressing energies. —KUNA SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 LOCAL NBK wins prestigious USD and Euro Excellence Award

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) light their achievements in processing out- has been awarded by Deutsche Bank the going payments. prestigious USD STP Excellence Award NBK enjoys the highest credit ratings by 2013 and Euro STP Excellence Award 2013. the major international rating agencies: The awards recognize NBK’s exceptional Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch quality in processing USD and Euro- Ratings. In their latest reports, the three denominated payments, as well as a high rating agencies affirmed NBK’s credit rat- rate of STP transactions overall. ings with a stable outlook. NBK also main- NBK maintained consistency through- tains its position among the 50 safest out the high volume of remittances during banks in the world for the eighth time in a the year whilst observing international row. standards of payments quality. This NBK enjoys the widest banking pres- achievement puts NBK in the top tier of ence with an international network reach- institutions Deutsche Bank works with ing 170 branches worldwide. NBK’s inter- globally. national presence spans many of the Deutsche Bank is NBK’s correspondent world’s leading financial centers including for USD and Euro payments emanating London, Paris, Geneva, New York and from commercial and customer remittance Singapore, as well as China (Shanghai). payments. The Straight Through Meanwhile, regional coverage extends to Etieune Thevoz, Christian Nakhle, Ely Sy Beye, Yousif Khalil, Antoine Eid KUWAIT: Francois Brossard during the conference. Processing (STP) award is given to a select Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, — Photos by Joseph Shagra few international banks each year to high- Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey Wide participation in Francophonie festival Promoting diversity of French language By Nawara Fattahova languages. I’m sure people will enjoy and benefit tival since it started,” he explained. from the rich program of events of this year’s Antoine Eid, Counselor of the Lebanese KUWAIT: The French Institute of Kuwait ‘Institut Francophonie festival that includes many activi- Embassy, expressed the strong ties between Francais’ is holding the Francophonie festival from ties,” he noted. Lebanon and France. “Lebanese people are known March 16 to 29. This cultural festival includes vari- “French is the second most widely spoken to mix French words in Arabic sentences. The ous activities such as art exhibitions, movies, plays mother-tongue in Europe with over 77 million Lebanese nation can easily merge with other cul- and workshops. Francophonie is a global event as speakers after German (around 100 million). tures. We like the French language and we think the world celebrates the French language in French is an official language of 29 countries and it’s our duty to spread French language and cul- March. “We are organizing these activities to pro- is one of the very few languages spoken all over ture. The French school in Kuwait has a great num- mote the French language. The French-speaking the world. It is ranked the sixth most widely spo- ber of Lebanese students which expresses our KUWAIT: Deutsche bank representatives presenting the award to NBK. world is very rich and diverse, and we aim to tell ken languages after Mandarin Chinese (over a bil- passion for this culture,” he stated. the whole world how diverse it is. The lion speakers), English, Hindi, Spanish and Arabic. International Francophone Organization (OIF) There are currently over 220 million French speak- The Francophonie festival includes: MoE considers cooking in gathers 77 countries around the world with 90 ers worldwide, including 72 million so-called par- Francophonie Film Festival: March 23 ‘Rock The million people. Oman and the United Arab tial French speakers,” Nakhle added. Casbah (France-Maroc), March 24 Eloge Du Chiac schools to reduce expenses Emirates are members of OIF too. We also cele- Swiss Ambassador Etienne Thevoz said this fes- (Canada), March 25 Le Destin (France-Egypt), brate cultural and linguistic diversity, especially tival is a promotion of peace, law, social security March 26 Sur Le Chemin De L’ecole De Pascal KUWAIT: In view of the high cost of KD 59 educational area while a third party sug- since French language has many forms,” stressed and democracy. “We know that these concepts Plisson (France). All movies are screening at 8:00 million annually paid to provide meals in gests hiring chefs to cook the meals at Francois Brossard, Director and Cultural mean something in Kuwait, and we care to pro- pm, at the Layla Gallery Theatre in Salmiya. primary schools, the Ministry of Education schools under the supervision of both each Consultant at the French Institute. mote these values. We have an exhibition of pic- Photo exhibition: From March 16 - 19 ‘Legacies’ is currently considering hiring chefs to cook respective school administration and the Many countries are participating in the tures on how to gather people,” he pointed out. photo exhibition (Canada) portraying Canadian the meals in the schools where each school health ministry. Francophphonie festival in Kuwait including Ely Sy Beye, Counselor of the Senegal women, held at Ahmad Al-Adwani Exhibition Hall administration would be able to determine In addition, the sources said that the Canada, Switzerland, Egypt, Lebanon and others. Embassy, spoke about a summit that will be held in Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem, Block 3, San’a Street. the quantities needed in view of the actual ministry was also considering a proposal “We are taking every effort to make this celebra- in Senegal soon and will promote women and March 20 -27 Exhibition of photography by Jean number of pupils attending school each made by minister Al-Mulaifi to have coop- tion in Kuwait worth watching and enjoying. We youth. “I hope this celebration will highlight the Mohr (Swiss), celebrating the 150th anniversary of day, which would, eventually reduce the erative societies run school canteens to hope to have more Arab countries participating in importance of French language”. Yousif Khalil, Geneva Convention at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dasman cost of wasted meals on days with high provide breakfast for school kids during this festival and that this celebration will highlight first counselor of the Egyptian Embassy stressed Hall. Workshops: March 18 and 19 Juggling absentee numbers, namely those pre and school hours as well as provide the same the importance of this language,” added Brossard. that French culture is very popular in Egypt. Workshop, at Loyac, Kuwait City, Ali Al-Salem Street post vacations. services for the public in the afternoon. The French Ambassador Christian Nakhle highlight- “French language spread in Egypt and the inside Qibliya School, from 5 - 8:00 pm. March 20 In this regard, informed educational sources also noted that, along with the ed the importance of the Francophonie festival to region as well. Many students in Egypt study Liaison Carbone, juggling art (France) at the Kuwait sources said that ministry officials are divid- afternoon canteens, a proposal was made promote the diversity of French language in the French as their second language. Also in 2003, a National Museum at 7:00 p m. March 12 -27 Drama ed over the proposal as some of them sug- to rent school playgrounds for fees up to world. “Since I was a child, I realized how impor- French university was launched in Egypt. Egypt Workshop Al Bassam Theatre, Salmiya Theatre block gest going on with the current system, oth- KD 15 which would collectively provide a tant it is to be in contact with other cultures and has always participated in the Francophonie fes- 4, Hamad Al-Homaidi Street, 7:00 pm. ers suggest having central ‘kitchens’ in each source of income for all schools. Two Kuwaiti students take part in UN simulation conference

ROME: Two Kuwaiti students are join- ing hundreds of their peers, from the four corners of the globe, in acting out as diplomats grappling with real-life global issues in this year’s edition of the Rome Model UN (RomeMUN) simu- lation conference. During the opening session of the event, the two Kuwaiti female students Haya Al-Ahmad and Alya Jehail acted as ambassadors to the UN Security Council’s permanent member state of France in a simulating session of the UN General Assembly. The training session addressed a series of key issues including the global food security and climate change. The aspiring Kuwaiti diplomats effectively contributed to the debates. They presented draft resolutions, ROME: Kuwaiti students Haya Al-Ahmad and Alya Jehail take part defended their points of view and in the Model UN simulation conference. negotiated and reached compromises for resolving the tackled causes. ing forwards to partaking in the com- Council, FAO and other UN agencies. The session was also attended by a ing RomeMUN can apply through the Participants can also take part as large number of senior UN and Italian embassy website. journalists of the most relevant world- officials, foreign ambassadors and wide networks or as translators. diplomat as well as academics and One of the biggest The annual Rome Model UN train- political experts. For her part, the Executive Director ing conference and programs are Kuwait’s Ambassador to Rome of RomeMUN Daniela Conte said that designed to teach students how the Sheikh Ali Khaled Al-Jaber Al-Ahmad the annual RomeMUN conference is United Nations work. Participants rep- Al-Sabah and his wife, Kuwait emerging as one of the biggest and resent the UN member countries in a Permanent Delegate to the UN Food best-known UN simulation event simulation game by playing the diplo- and Agriculture Organization (FAO) around the world. matic debates in UN committees. Yousef Al-Jehail and Acting Kuwait She stated that the goal of the con- The purpose of this experience- Permanent Delegate to FAO Sheikha ference is to provide the best UN expe- based program is to find common and Manar Sabah Al-Sabah attended the rience for all participants. effective solutions on the issues in the opening session of the training pro- Conte cheered Kuwaiti students’ agenda by signing and approving a gram which will last till March 17. participation in this year’s edition, number of resolutions. “I am proud of the enthusiasm and describing it as a value added to the The conference was born on the effective contribution of the two event. She disclosed that more than idea of bringing hundreds of students ‘ambassadors’ to the session,” Sheikh 1,500 college students and high school from around the world into the cradle Ali said. students are participating in of Western democracy, but also with He pointed out that the embassy RomeMUN 2014. the awareness that they must foster a encourages and is ready to help She added that delegates will work closer relationship between civil socie- Kuwaiti youth to participate in similar in different committees and agencies ty and international institutions, in par- UN and international training events. of the United Nations, including: the ticular a greater involvement of young Sheikh Ali noted that students look- General Assembly, the Security people in global issues. —KUNA Kuwait reaffirms keenness in fighting drugs VIENNA: Kuwait Friday welcomed the UN General ies to fighting drugs. Assembly’s decision to hold a special session in 2016 Mafari said Kuwait’s public and private sectors were regarding the problem of drugs in the world. exerting efforts to addressing addiction and treating Kuwait is committed to the UN Charter, the international addicts to be “active and productive people in the society.” law and the universal declaration of human rights as well as Kuwait is proud to be clear of plantation of drugs, he all international narcotics’ treaties, Kuwait’s Ambassador to said, however the problem was in the smuggling of nar- Austria and permanent representative to the UN organiza- cotics. tions in Vienna, Sadeq Marafi, said. Marafi said the parliament in Kuwait approved a number He was addressing the 57th High-Level Segment of the of legislations and laws that would contribute to the fight UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). against drugs through a full-fledged strategy. He added Marafi said Kuwait was very keen on fostering coopera- Kuwait did not register any drug-related case against any tion at the regional and international level to fighting drugs, person below 18 years old in 2013. citing the Ministry of Health’s decision to add Tramadol to “The world is fighting a battle against an enemy who the list of banned drugs in 2011. does not recognize big countries no matter how powerful Kuwait, he added, was also keen on complying with the they are ... This enemy leaves behind huge losses in people international agreements and cooperate with the UN bod- and money,” he said. —KUNA SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 LOCAL Sheikh Tamim to head Qatar Kuwait renews support for efforts to aid Syrians delegation at Arab Summit NEW YORK: The State of Kuwait has renewed Syrians of putting an end to this crisis and halt- its support for the 2139 (2014) United Nations ing the violence, the Kuwaiti permanent dele- Resolution on Syria, which essentially calls on gate at the UN affirmed. parties of the conflict to allow safe access for Moreover, Kuwait supports UN resolutions Participation at highest level humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to stranded that call for withdrawal of foreign fighters from civilians. Syria, bringing all officials responsible for geno- By A Saleh the Gulf Cooperation Council members - which details about his tenure. “The segment did not Kuwait’s Permanent Delegate at the UN cides and breaches of international laws to are said to be led by Kuwait - could achieve suc- take up more viewing time compared to others, Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, speaking account. “We also support the resolution stipula- KUWAIT: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad cess before the summit which takes place on nor was it accompanied by eulogies or any spe- during a session of the UN General Assembly, tion that the council will take further steps in Al-Thani is set to head his country’s delegation March 25 and 26. cific statements regarding the former Iraqi late on Friday, cautioned that future of the case of non-compliance and we look forward in during the Arab Summit that takes place in president,” Jowdar explained. region and Syria is at stake unless the interna- this regard to the report that will be presented Kuwait later this month. Earlier reports had Saddam ‘tribute’ News about the display was quick to reach tional community reaches a political settlement by the Secretary General to the Security Council suggested that Qatar’s participation will be In other news, the University of Bahrain Kuwait - a country destroyed by the Saddam to the ongoing crisis. in the end of the month,” he said. reduced to the ‘foreign minister’s level’ follow- denied reports that suggested a tribute to for- Hussein-led invasion of 1990 - drawing criticism The session was held to examine results of As to Kuwait’s contribution to relief aid for ing decisions of Saudi Arabia, United Arab mer Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was in the parliament. The Bahraini government the international efforts to resolve the Syrian cri- the Syrians, Ambassador Al-Otaibi noted its Emirates and Bahrain to withdraw their ambas- shown during a display carried out by Iraqi stu- quickly responded to reports that appeared in sis-namely by the special UN-Arab League Envoy hosting of two international conferences for sadors from Doha. “Information suggesting that dents in campus. “As part of the annual ceremo- Kuwaiti media on Friday, saying that Saddam Lakhdar Brahimi. donations to the Syrians that resulted in raising Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani plans to delegate ny in which students of different communities Hussein was never a revered character in the Al-Otaibi affirmed the State of Kuwait sup- unprecedented donations exceeding $4 billion another official to head Qatar’s delegation is display cultural acts about their home coun- tiny island-kingdom. port for Brahimi’s mission and his bids to resume to fund relief operations in Syria. Kuwait, over untrue,” said sources familiar with the news. tries, the Iraqi students showed a video chroni- “Saddam is not of us, and so are those who negotiations for sake of ensuring “comprehen- the past three years, offered $one billion worth “Sheikh Tamim is committed to have his cling the history of Iraq since the eulogize him,” wrote Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmad sive implementation of the Geneva commu- of aid, too. country participate at the highest level, and Mesopotamian Civilianization,” said Dr Osama Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, on his nique, issued on June 30, 2012.” He expressed hope that all states that had reaffirm its position among Arab states,” added Al-Jowdar, the Dean of Students Affairs at the Twitter account. The State of Kuwait shares the UN Secretary pledged to contribute to the humanitarian sup- the sources who spoke on the condition of UOB. In Kuwait, MP Kamel Al-Awadhi applauded General his deep regret for failure of the interna- port for the Syrian people would honor their anonymity. The video featured images of rulers of Iraq Sheikh Khalid’s quick response, which he said tional community, regional powers and the obligations. —KUNA There is growing hope in the Arabian Gulf throughout its history, including Saddam “reflects the real opinion of the government region that efforts to contain the rift between Hussein, but not give specific information or and people of Bahrain”.

KUWAIT: Bird inspection campaign in progress in Wafra. Bird inspection campaign in Wafra

KUWAIT: Head of the Department of Maintaining Biodiversity to violations of applicable laws and were set free after ensuring their safety. Conservation at the Kuwait Environment Public Authority Mona Al-Hussain She pointed out that the inspection team is still carrying out inspection said yesterday that its inspection team confiscated dozens of illegally campaigns in the bird market or anywhere suspected of selling banned obtained birds which it set free in Wafra market in a campaign to clamp animals. In addition, she called on all pet buyers to avoid trading in or traf- down on illegal sales of wildlife animals. ficking in banned animals and pets and to report to authorities those ille- Al-Hussain added in a press statement that all the birds were seized due gally selling them. —KUNA SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 LOCAL Police impersonators arrested in Salmiya Pedestrian run over by drunk driver KUWAIT: Salmiya police arrested two men on charges bedroom. The body, which was found to be in rigor Kidnap foiled of impersonating police detectives and drug posses- mortis, was taken to the forensic department for an Investigations are ongoing in search for suspects sion. Patrol vehicles were dispatched to a location in autopsy to determine the cause and time of death. A who attempted to kidnap a domestic worker in the area in response to emergency call reporting the case was filed for investigations. Firdous but failed when the woman showed strong presence of two persons there who stopped people resistance. According to the police report, the and claimed to be police detectives. The two men Hawally accident housemaid was walking to a grocery store near her were identified, wearing civilian clothes, and A man was critically wounded after he was run employer’s house when two men in a car approached by police. They identified themselves as a over by a drunk driver in Hawally recently. Paramedics approached and offered to take her to her destina- major and captain in the Criminal Investigations arrived to the scene in response to an emergency call, tion. When she refused, the suspects reportedly Department, but attempted to escape when police and helped the 25-year-old Kuwaiti man to Mubarak tried to force her into their car, but then escaped asked for their IDs. The men, who were identified as Hospital. Meanwhile, police arrested the drunk driver when the woman screamed for help. The maid was Syrian nationals, were then searched and police and found a liquor bottle inside his car. The suspect taken by her employer to the area’s police station found 13 drug pills, a police ID and KD 175 in their was taken to the area’s police station for further action. where she gave officers description of the suspects possession. They were referred to the proper authori- and their car. ties for further action. Youth attacks mom A woman approached officers at the Naeem police Cardiac arrest Body found station and asked to press domestic abuse charges A 32-year-old man died from a cardiac arrest A woman was found dead inside her residence in against her son who she said had ran away from their inside his house in Mangaf Friday night. Emergency Fahaheel Friday while preliminary investigations indi- house in the area. The Kuwaiti woman explained that medical technicians headed to the scene in cate that she has likely died of natural causes. Police her son beat her up when she failed to provide him response to an emergency call made at 8:00 am, and emergency medical technicians responded to an with his daily allowance. She gave police a medical and performed CPR in an attempt to revive the emergency call reporting foul odor emitting from a diagnoses report showing bruises she sustained as a man. The Egyptian national was rushed to the Adan KUWAIT: Zain officials with members of the Kuwait Sports Club for the 45-year-old Sri Lankan woman’s apartment in result of the attack. Investigations are ongoing in Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A Handicapped. Fahaheel, and they found the woman dead inside her search for the suspect. case was filed. Zain provides wheelchairs to Handicapped Sports Club Hajar starts preparations KUWAIT: Underlying its sincere support Sports Club have achieved overall, espe- to an important segment in the society, cially with such lackluster conditions and for ‘Clusters of Light’ Zain, the leading telecommunications support”. company in Kuwait, presented the Kuwait Al-Kharafi added: “such sport clubs are SHARJAH: Ali Al-Hajar, the well-known Egyptian Sports Club for the Handicapped with in need of constant support and atten- artist, commenced rehearsals in preparations for his specially customized wheelchairs with an tion. They continue to achieve great titles performance in the epic operetta “The Clusters of aim of facilitating their comfort while while facing many challenges, and with Light”, opening on March 26 at the Emirate of training and competing in tournaments Zain’s support today, we hope that we Sharjah’s 4,500 seat Open Majaz Island Theatre. and championships, raising the Kuwaiti add a valuable contribution to this distin- Al-Hajar will join a stellar cast of Arab perform- flag high with their persistence. guished community”. ers, encompassing Mohamed Assaf, Lotfi Bouchnak Sheikha Shaikha Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah, Zain’s support of people with special and Hussein Al-Jasmi, alongside a large global the honorary president of the disabled needs has long been a core focus for the team. The performance is the inaugural event of club, along with Zain Deputy Chairman company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Sharjah’s tenure as the Capital of Islamic Culture Bader Al-Kharafi, Chief Strategy Officer strategy, and by presenting this initiative, 2014 . Shafeeq Al- Sayed Omar, and Kuwait the company reassures its continuous sup- Composed by Khalid Shaikh, a distinguished Handicapped Sports Club president Shafi port to this much cherished segment of Bahraini artist, “The Clusters of Light” is about the Al-Hajri witnessed the demonstrative the society. Going forward, the company life of the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him, match that was organized by the club’s pledges to spare no efforts in providing and reviews the history of Islam from the Prophet’s basketball team immediately after receiv- comprehensive support and sponsorships birth to his death. ing the customized wheelchairs. The play- that help to reflect a positive image to the The artist conveyed his pride and joy in joining SHARJAH: The Egyptian artist Ali Al-Hajar with “Clusters of light” cast in Emirates Arts Studio. ers showed their excitement and good Kuwait sports and youth segments. Zain is the show, stating that Sharjah has always been at New dimension nologies in the region, including 4D technology sport during the match among a joyous actively participating and supporting all the forefront of supporting art and culture which Al-Hajar added : “ The oratorio will change how peo- encompassing 400 moving lights, 120 loudspeakers, atmosphere. initiatives that involving people with spe- explores the history and influence of Islamic and ple will value the show business in general - it will com- and 21 projectors. It is expected to attract a huge audi- Zain Deputy Chairman Bader Al- cial needs. Such support includes Zain’s Arab civilization”. pel many to re-read history. Sharjah is establishing a ence, from both Arab countries and the rest of the Kharafi expressed his pleasure after tak- participation in the International Day of He added : “My colleagues and I will present a new dimension in the serious show business”. world. Its mission is to create a high-ranking artistic ing part in a tour of the club by saying: People with Disability at the social care show that the entire world will write about, and we This epic is the product of an effort that involves work providing a true picture about Islam - the human “we are extremely proud of the great homes in the Ministry of Social Affairs and will take the audience on a journey from the holy hundreds of composers, technical experts, directors, values and high-ranking message that promote peace, achievements the handicapped basket- Labor as well as the company’s annual vis- land, where the seeds of Islam started, to the era of designers and innovators. Among its characteristic fea- justice, tolerance and love - to be recorded by history ball team and the Kuwait Handicapped its to care centers and hospitals. victories and glory of Islam”. tures are the use of unparalleled sophisticated tech- and engraved in the memory of future generations. Kuwait shortening tourism gap with neighbors

KUWAIT: The first quarter of 2014 was for some of the major projects in good for Kuwait’s tourism industry. Kuwait,” concluded Sabri. Recent data reveal that hotels in Drake & Scull Kuwait is keen on Kuwait outperformed their counter- leveraging the upsurge in tourism parts in the Middle East and North activities in Kuwait. The aims to take Africa during the period. This is largely advantage of the huge investments attributed to the various festive holi- being directed towards the local days and school vacations, which tourism sector, driven by key develop- helped increase demand from domes- ments tic tourists as well as Saudi Arabian DSI Kuwait has been operating in visitors. The potential of leisure the country since 2004 and is associat- tourism is gradually rising in a country ed with many leading domestic con- where the tourism sector still has struction and engineering projects. Its ample room for development and portfolio includes the Special Training where a variety of tourist attractions Centre for Public Authority for Applied can still be built in 2014. Education and Training in Chuwaikh, Kuwait is currently shortening the the College of Basic Education - Boys tourism gap with its neighbors in the Campus in Ardiya, and the Kuwait GCC region, where the leisure market State Audit Bureau office. on an average accounts for around The company plans to draw on its 70 per cent of tourism spending. To expertise and experience to win major boost tourism in the country, the Mahmoud Sabari tourism-related projects in Kuwait. Its government launched a five-year well-established railway division, tourism development plan in 2011. structural services such as roads, rails, Drake & Scull Rail, can be instrumental The idea is to develop tourist facili- ports and airports to achieve targeted in development of infrastructural ties such as hotels and attractions at growth, and it will need the right peo- facilities in the country. Drake & Scull par with international standards with ple to do so. Rail can support a wide range of con- an aims to attract at least a million Mahmoud Sabari, Area General tractual arrangements, from turnkey visitors by 2015. Manager, Drake & Scull Kuwait, said: to Engineering, Procurement and To support the government’s vision “Kuwait is one of the wealthiest Construction (EPC), joint ventures, and to boost leisure tourism in the economies in the world, with the packaged works and subcontract country, the state-owned Touristic highest-value currency unit. The coun- works, Drake & Scull Development, a Enterprises Co. has also decided to try has not yet optimized the tremen- division under Drake & Scull Rail is launch a range of entertainment, dous potential of tourism. It will need dedicated to developing projects that sports and tourism projects valued at to develop world-class hotels and oth- are Public-Private Partnership (PPP) - up to $460 million. Another $13 billion er tourist facilities such as malls, structured so that funding can be worth of investment has been made amusement parks, beaches, golf sourced from both the company and to build the transport infrastructure courses and spas to better compete external entities. needed to drive the tourism sector. with its neighbors who already have a The tourism industry is set to grow The positive outlook is in light of well-established tourism industry. For in Kuwait given the scale of invest- government’s strategic plans and all this, government has devised a ment and support of the government. huge investment in the tourism sector five-year plan with an aim to build Government has allocated $6 billion as it aims to match international facilities to cater to a million tourists to build a second terminal at the capi- tourist destinations. by 2015.” tal’s airport to increase its capacity to Such concerted efforts to develop “DSI sees immense potential in the more than 20 million passengers per tourism industry to attract domestic as up and coming tourism sector and are years by 2016 and a new metro sys- well as regional and international well aware of the market, having tem worth $7 billion to be operational tourists have furthered the demand worked for almost a decade there. We by 2020. With trusted partners such as for related expertise. Kuwait will need want to leverage our experience and DSI Kuwait, the country is sure to to build more hotel rooms and enter- established reputation to be well- emerge as the next tourist destination tainment facilities and develop infra- positioned for this growth by bidding of the GCC. Democracy, global security to feature high on IPU assembly GENEVA: Key commitments on democratic values and “As an Organization that since 1889 has been dedicated global security will dominate the debates on 130th Inter- to peace and strengthening democracy, our eye is firmly Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s General Assembly, scheduled on the future and how to most effectively deal with the March 16-20. challenges to human security and democratic values by More than 715 parliamentarians from 141 countries will harnessing the power of those that represent the global commit to efforts to make the world free from nuclear citizenry,” IPU President Abdelwahad Radi said yesterday. weapons. This will be one of the several key decisions that With more than 17,000 nuclear weapons believed to IPU Members expected to take in the important meeting exist in the world and many on launch standby, nuclear dis- with significant implications on the world or the armament and non-proliferation remain an urgent priority Organization. in making the world a safer place, he explained. —KUNA SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Lebanese govt Legacy of torture looms over CIA-Congress feud to allow citizens to resist Israel Page 9 Page 12 What could have happened to flight MH370? Plane may have ‘landed safely and hidden’

KUALA LUMPUR: The week-long search for Malaysia Airlines erate actions...are the pilots, one of them or both of them in flight MH370 took a major new turn yesterday as evidence indi- cahoots. “Then we have a scenario where terrorists make the cated that its communication systems were manually switched pilots change course and switch off the transponders under off and the airliner was deliberately diverted. The first concrete, duress, maybe threatening to kill of the passengers. “Or, we verified lead as to the possible reason behind the disappear- could have a scenario where the security protocol surrounding ance has fuelled speculation over how and why MH370 might the cockpit is compromised.” Passengers have been prohibited have been commandeered-and its likely fate. Here are some of from entering the cockpit during a flight after the 9/11 attacks the possible scenarios being weighed up by experts. on the United States. “It’s certainly someone who knew what they were doing,” said Chris De Lavigne, a vice president at busi- Terror attack ness consultancy Frost & Sullivan. “It could be the pilot, the crew, As the theory that the plane was deliberately taken over it could be passengers.” Malaysia Airlines has said it was gains traction, questions over the involvement of terrorist organ- “shocked” over a TV report that MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul izations have come back to the fore. The presence of two pas- Hamid had, along with another pilot, allowed two women into sengers travelling on stolen passports fuelled early fears of a ter- the cockpit on a flight in 2011. ror link. Authorities now believe the two Iranian men were sim- ply illegal migrants, but CIA director John Brennan has said a ter- Pilot suicide ror attack has not been ruled out. The search area covers a mas- While rare, there have been cases of pilots crashing planes to sive region-a northern corridor from the border of Kazakhstan take their own lives. In December 1997, a SilkAir Boeing 737 and Turkmenistan through northern Thailand and a southern from Jakarta to Singapore plunged into a river in Indonesia with corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean-with no the loss of 104 passengers and crew. US investigators blamed potential target or destination pinpointed so far. pilot suicide. A suicide bid “is possible and if that’s the case there The extensive inside information and expertise needed to might not be a lot of debris because the plane would have come commandeer a plane for hours without detection would need down in relative structural integrity”, said Terence Fan, aviation an unprecedented level of pre-planning, says Gerry Soejatman, expert at Singapore Management University. “The airplane is not a Jakarta-based independent aviation analyst. “If that was delib- meant to float and if the airplane sinks in the water, water will go erate, we may be dealing with something beyond the mission inside because the door seals are not meant to seal water.” planning for 9/11,” he said. While the southern corridor is less Nothing has emerged to suggest any serious psychological monitored, the northern zone would be bristling with radar. problems with either of the pilots who were flying MH370. ANDAMANS: This photograph shows the sea off the rocky base at Port Blair in the Andamans. A missing Malaysian Dropping altitude to fly as low as possible would be one way to airliner was apparently deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar, Prime Minister Najib avoid detection, he said. But the Malaysia Airlines scenario had Plane landed and is hidden Razak said yesterday. — AFP too many loose ends for a terror attack, said Adam Dolnik, pro- The lack of debris and apparent absence of any data indicat- not lost at sea,” said London-based David Kaminski-Morrow, air ed, says Soejatman. “If it went through the northern corridor, it fessor of terrorism studies at the University of Wollongong in ing impact have led to speculation that the plane may have transport editor for Flight International. Soejatman added that would have passed through so many countries. But why hasn’t Australia. “Nothing from what I have seen points to that conclu- landed safely and be hidden in a remote location. The size of the most flights have enough fuel to cover an additional two hours anybody detected it and said anything? “It’s extremely different sion,” he said. “For something this big, you would have some- Boeing 777 and the amount of space needed for it to land make in the air so, given the latest data, MH370 would have been close to comprehend that so many countries might have seen it and body claiming it.” it unlikely that this was the flight’s fate, says Greg Waldron, Asia to running out. kept it under wraps.” A path through the remoter southern corri- managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal. “The triple dor would explain a lack of radar coverage, but would bring the Pilot involvement seven is a very large aircraft that requires a long airport-size run- Cover up motive into doubt, he said. “It is amazing that an airplane-and With Malaysia confirming that communications were likely way to land... it’s possible, but I think not probable.” But Yap The apparent slowness to reveal key radar data has led to not a little airplane-could fly so far, over multiple overlapping switched off manually, pilot involvement-whether intentional or believes that if those controlling the flight were skilled enough speculation that countries may know more about the plane’s jurisdictions, without being detected,” Ajai Sahni, executive under duress-is a possibility, some experts say. “For me there’s to evade military radar, “that person should most likely be able likely whereabouts, but are unwilling to share due to a perceived director of India’s Institute for Conflict Management, a Delhi- only a few scenarios,” says Paul Yap, aviation lecturer at Temasek to land it safely as well”. “Evidence of deliberate action does open security risk. The latest information on the plane’s route poses based think-tank said. “It makes one wonder, ‘How much are we Polytechnic in Singapore. “First, the people involved in the delib- several new leads - including the possibility that the aircraft is more questions than it answers over how it remained undetect- in control?’”— AFP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 INTERNATIONAL

Erdogan links dead Turkish teen to ‘terrorist’ groups PM criticizes teenager, his family

ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Using harsh words unlikely to Tayyip Erdogan said a teenager who soothe public anger, Erdogan - who died last week after sustaining a head unlike President Abdullah Gul and injury in anti-government protests other public figures did not send last summer was linked to “terrorist condolences to Elvan’s family - criti- organizations”, in comments likely to cized the boy’s parents and suggest- fan political tensions. The death of ed he had not really gone to buy 15-year-old Berkin Elvan on Tuesday bread. “His mother says ‘my son’s after nine months in a coma sparked killer is the prime minister’. I know Turkey’s worst unrest since nation- love, fondness for one’s child, but I wide anti-government demonstra- could not understand why you threw tions last June, compounding steel marbles and carnations into Erdogan’s woes as he battles a graft your son’s grave,” Erdogan said at his scandal that has become one of the election campaign rally. Elvan’s family biggest challenges of his decade in are Alevis, a religious minority in power. mainly Sunni Muslim Turkey which GAZA: Palestinian school girls cross a bridge over the garbage filled Wadi Gaza in the central Gaza Strip, as the silhouette ofthe Gaza Strip pow- Erdogan made his remarks, his first espouses a liberal version of Islam about Elvan, late on Friday at a cam- er plant is seen in the background. The Gaza Strip’s only power plant shut down yesterday due to a lack of fuel from Israel, which closed a goods and has often been at odds with the crossing after militant rocket attacks. —AFP paign rally in southeast Turkey ahead Islamist-rooted government. of nationwide municipal elections on Erdogan contrasted Elvan’s death March 30. “This kid with steel marbles with that of 22-year-old Burakcan in his pockets, with a slingshot in his As hope withers, Palestinian Karamanoglu, who was shot dead in hand, his face covered with a scarf, Istanbul on Wednesday after an who had been taken up into terror apparent standoff with a group of organizations, was unfortunately leader heads to Washington anti-government protesters. Erdogan subjected to pepper gas,” Erdogan has blamed his death on a far-leftist told a crowd of supporters in a group. “Our son Burakcan was mar- speech broadcast on state-run TRT- Israelis, Palestinians as far apart as ever on core issues tyred just three months after coming Haber news channel. back from his military service. JERUSALEM: With pessimism growing by the issues have remained exactly the same-defining Netanyahu, Kerry told the House Committee on “How could the police determine day over the future of Middle East peace talks, the borders and agreeing on security, the status Foreign Affairs on Thursday that it was a “mis- how old that person was who had a Burakcan was not carrying a sling- shot or a gun,” Erdogan said. The US President Barack Obama will meet of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees take” to raise the issue repeatedly “as the critical scarf on his face and was hurling Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in displaced during the 1948 creation of Israel. decider”. steel marbles with a slingshot in his fathers of Elvan and Karamanoglu spoke together on Friday and made a Washington tomorrow to try to break the stale- Obama told Netanyahu he would seek “diffi- Adamant not to give in on this point, Abbas hand?” Elvan, then 14, got caught up mate. The deadline for the negotiations between cult decisions” from Abbas and would push him also faces pressure at home not to agree to any joint appeal on television to Turks to in street battles in Istanbul on June Israelis and Palestinians, aimed at ending their behind closed doors as hard as he did the Israeli loosely worded accord that would simply pro- 16 while going to buy bread for his remain calm and not to use their entrenched conflict, expires next month and premier to help narrow the gap for a framework long negotiations, with no clear end in sight. The family. He was hit in the head by sons’ deaths for political ends. Washington is eager to persuade the two sides accord, a senior US official said. Although the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is what is believed to be a police gas Erdogan, who has presided over a to prolong their discussions within a new frame- terms of the mooted accord have not been pub- chaired by Abbas, issued a statement this week canister, slipped into a coma and decade of rising living standards, work. lished, Palestinians say early indications suggest expressing its “absolute rejection” of any prolon- became a rallying point for govern- remains Turkey’s most popular politi- But expectations of imminent progress are they will be offered less than what former US gation. PLO board member Hanan Ashrawi said ment opponents, who held regular cian and his AK Party is expected to minimal. After eight months of initial talks, and President Bill Clinton laid out in 2000 in the so- that without obtaining a freeze on Jewish settle- vigils at the hospital where he lay in outstrip its rivals in the local polls. at least 10 trips to the region, US Secretary of called Clinton Parameters. The president’s aides ment-building on occupied territories the intensive care. But critics say Erdogan is becoming State John Kerry sounded unusually gloomy dur- have made clear that Obama wants the frame- Palestinians want for their future state, any fur- increasingly authoritarian and intol- ing a Congressional hearing on March 12, indi- work document to be seen as even-handed, ther discussions would be futile. cating that little progress had been made so far. despite the sense among many Palestinians that “By extending talks even one more year, Anarchists, terrorists erant, pointing to moves to tighten government control of the judiciary “The level of mistrust is as large as any level of Washington is favouring Israel. they will finish the Greater Israel project given After his death, riot police used mistrust I’ve ever seen,” said Kerry, a veteran of the alarming escalation of settlement activity,” and of the Internet. Erdogan says the water cannon, tear gas and rubber Middle East diplomacy. “Neither (side) believes Frustration she said. “If the document is what we have seen pellets to disperse tens of thousands moves are necessary to counter what the other is really serious. Neither believes that Besides the so-called core issues, other hur- (up until now) then it is not even a starting of protesters who took to the streets he sees as attempts by a former ally- ... the other is prepared to make some of the big dles to a deal have also emerged, particularly point.” However, one senior Palestinian official, of Turkey’s largest cities chanting turned-foe, US-based Islamic cleric choices that have to be made here.” Netanyahu’s demand that Abbas recognizes who declined to be named because of the sen- “Tayyip! Killer!” and “Everywhere is Fethullah Gulen, to unseat him. However, he said it was still possible to Israel as a Jewish State. Israel says this would sitivity of the subject, said he thought there Berkin, everywhere is resistance.” At Gulen’s many followers in Turkey’s extend the talks. Obama’s direct involvement is show he was serious about ending the conflict, was a good chance that Abbas would agree to campaign rallies in the past few days, police and judiciary are widely aimed at providing much needed additional but the Palestinians say it would merely destroy continue talks given the pressure building on Erdogan has accused a coalition of believed to be behind a series of impetus: he saw Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin their own narrative. Abbas says accepting it him from Western governments. Speaking to “anarchists, terrorists and vandals” as leaked audio recordings purportedly Netanyahu earlier this month, and is now meet- would effectively deny his own people’s cen- political allies in Ramallah earlier this week, well as opposition parties and an exposing graft and other malprac- ing Abbas. Israelis and Palestinians have been turies-old links to the land and would also mean Abbas said he had come under huge duress influential US-based Islamic cleric of tices in Erdogan’s inner circle. Gulen holding on-off negotiations for more than 20 renouncing the right to return for some 5 million over the past three years, but vowed not to orchestrating the unrest to under- denies any involvement in the scan- years with the stated aim of sharing the Holy Palestinian refugees and their descendants. backtrack over the core points. “I am 79 years mine him. dal.— Reuters Land and creating an independent Palestine. Washington has endorsed the Israeli position old and am not ready to end my life with trea- Through all that time, the main, unresolved but, perhaps revealing a frustration with son,” he said. — Reuters Blast rocks Mogadishu

MOGADISHU: A car bomb went off Ethiopia. series of sweeping victories in 2012, yesterday in central Mogadishu near the AU force AMSIOM had remained a hotel popular with government offi- Security ‘deteriorated’ largely static, hampered by limited cials and businessmen, injuring at News of yesterday’s car bomb troops and air power. least one person, police and witness- sparked angry comments on Twitter But the UN-mandated force es said. “There was a car bomb explo- that the army should concentrate on launched a new offensive earlier this sion near the rear gate of the Maka Al completely securing Mogadishu month against the Islamist fighters, Mukarama hotel. It seems that the car rather than on fighting the Islamists after Ethiopian soldiers joined to was parked there loaded with explo- elsewhere in the country. Hardline push troop numbers to some 22,000. sives but we are still investigating Shebab insurgents once controlled The UN’s envoy to Somalia, Nicholas casualties”, police officer Mohamed most of southern and central Somalia Kay, this week told the Security Mire said. Witnesses said that casual- but withdrew from fixed positions in Council the offensive would be “the ties were carried from the scene of Mogadishu two years ago. However, most significant and geographically the blast, but it was not clear if they guerrilla units stage regular deadly extensive military advance” since were injured or dead. attacks in the capital, and also AMISOM started operations in 2007. Police confirmed at least one per- claimed responsibility for last year’s But Kay also warned the security situ- son was injured in the blast, which deadly attack in neighboring Kenya, ation in the capital Mogadishu had appeared to target the hotel, popular when commandos stormed the “deteriorated” in the last three with government officials and busi- upmarket Westgate mall, shooting months. Recent Shebab attacks in the nessmen who have returned home shoppers and hurling grenades. capital have targeted key areas of after years abroad. “It was a really big Government and AU troops have also government or the security forces, in explosion and the street was busy come under repeated hit-and-run an apparent bid to discredit claims by when it happened,” said Hussein Issa, attacks in rural areas surrounding the the authorities that they are winning who witnessed the blast. The hotel settlements they capture. After a the war against them.— AFP was hit by a car bomb in November that left several people dead and the area around the hotel has also been targeted several times recently. In February alone, major attacks in Mogadishu have included a car bomb at the gates of the airport, a major sui- cide attack on the presidential palace and a car bombing on a cafe close to the intelligence headquarters. No party has so far claimed responsibility but similar attacks in the past have been claimed by the Shebab, the Al-Qaeda-linked group which African Union troops are bat- tling in Somalia. In the latest advance against the Shebab, Somali govern- ment forces backed by African Union troops on Thursday captured the MOGADISHU: A Somali soldier walks near the wreckage of a car bomb that small town of Buula Burde, in the went off near the gate of one of Mogadishu’s most popular hotels yester- southern Hiran region bordering day. — AP Iran detects sabotage at nuke facility

TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have pre- computer viruses have attacked through covert operations. Some vented attempted sabotage at the Iranian nuclear facilities. While Zarean Iranian officials have also suggested in country’s heavy water nuclear reactor, did not say whether that was the case the past that specific European com- a senior official said yesterday without this time, his comments coincided panies may have sold faulty equip- giving specifics as to the nature of the with the opening of a specialized lab ment to Iran with the knowledge of attempted disruption or its suspected Tehran says will fight industrial sabo- American intelligence agencies and initiator. Asghar Zarean, who heads tage and neutralize cyberattacks. “This their own governments, since the sales security at the Atomic Energy specialized lab has been launched to would have harmed, rather than Organization of Iran, said domestic identify, prevent and fight threats helped, the country’s nuclear program. intelligence agencies were instrumen- including modern software viruses,” Since then, Iran has also said that it tal in uncovering the plot, which has Zarean said. discovered tiny timed explosives plant- not been the first attempt to disrupt In 2010, the so-called Stuxnet virus ed on centrifuges but disabled them the contentious nuclear program. temporarily disrupted operation of before they could go off. Authorities “Several cases of industrial sabo- thousands of centrifuges, key compo- now claim the Islamic Republic is tage have been neutralized in the past nents in nuclear fuel production, at immune to cyberattacks. The country few months before achieving the Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment has also reported computer virus intended damage, including sabotage facility. Iran says it and other computer attacks on its oil facilities, including at a part of the IR-40 facility at Arak,” he virus attacks are part of a concerted one in 2012 that disabled Internet con- said in a statement issued by his effort by Israel, the US and their allies nections between the Oil Ministry, oil organization yesterday. In the past, to undermine its nuclear program rigs and a major export facility. —AP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Legacy of torture looms over CIA-Congress feud CIA accused of illegally snooping on Congress

WASHINGTON: A now-defunct US program that used harsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects Lawmakers still casts a shadow over Washington, with the CIA and Congress locked in a bitter dispute over its legacy. Launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 press US to attacks by ex-president George W Bush, the “detention and interrogation program” was designed to force cap- fund Taiwan tured suspects to talk about Al-Qaeda’s plots against America. Intent on preventing another catastrophic attack on fighter jets US soil, the Bush administration ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to “take the gloves off,” approving a WASHINGTON: US lawmakers pressed Friday for a robust list of aggressive techniques for interrogators. defense of Taiwan, voicing alarm over Pentagon plans to defund upgrades of the island’s fighter jets as part of Detainees were whisked away to secret prisons and budget cuts. Crossing party lines, members of the House subjected to “enhanced interrogation” techniques, Foreign Affairs Committee called for the United States to including waterboarding or simulated drowning, so- stand firm on protecting Taiwan and to ignore concerns called “stress positions” and other harsh methods. Bush by a rising China, which considers the self-governing administration and top CIA officials who oversaw the democracy to be a province awaiting reunification. The project have argued it was a crucial tool that saved lives, Air Force, as part of its 2015 budget request, ends funding but rights groups and foreign governments condemned for a program announced in 2011 in which the United the methods as torture. After entering office in 2009, States planned $5.85 billion in upgrades of Taiwan’s fleet President Barack Obama scrapped the program, agree- of F-16 jets. “It just makes no sense to me whatsoever,” said ing with rights advocates that it amounted to torture. Representative Eliot Engel, the top member of the panel But he opted not to pursue prosecutions or to push from President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party. “When it comes to Taiwan, there’s this sort of undercur- investigations of any wrongdoing, and Americans rent that we feel all the time where we bend over back- remain divided over the program. Fearing a divisive, wards to try not to upset the sensitivities of the Beijing polarizing battle over the issue, the White House chose regime. And frankly, it irks me,” Engel said. State to move on-despite demands from some fellow Department official Kin Moy insisted that the Obama Democrats and rights advocates for a full reckoning WASHINGTON: Code Pink protester Tighe Barry prepares to enter Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee administration was fully committed to Taiwan’s defense, with the CIA. After learning about more damning Dianne Feinstein’s office as protesters from Code Pink hold a demonstration to “expose her two-faced stance on pointing to its $12 billion in announcements of arms sales. details, the Senate Intelligence Committee has been spying” in the Hart Senate Office Building on US Capitol. — AFP The Air Force has determined that the cutoff “will not have engaged in a years-long effort to publish a definitive praised as long overdue. But a former CIA officer, Paul a significant impact on the Taiwan program, and that all account of the now-closed CIA program. As committee Pillar, said he was skeptical that the 6,300-page docu- funding can be covered in Taiwan’s current letter of offer staff members waded through millions of CIA docu- and acceptance,” Moy said in response to lawmakers’ ment or more hearings would change any minds when ments, tensions between the agency and the commit- questions. it comes to the long-running argument over torture and Major General Jim Martin, the Air Force director of tee steadily mounted. Senators accused the CIA of drag- security. “It’s more just a matter of wallowing in still budget, told reporters earlier this month that the defund- ging its feet or trying to hide incriminating details, while more details,” Pillar told AFP. “I think we have more than ing of the upgrade program was among “very tough intelligence officials alleged the staffers were reviewing enough to have a healthy debate that we want to have.” trade-offs” as the military put a priority instead on buying documents they had no authority to retrieve. He also said the truth behind the CIA feud with new equipment. Moy called on Taiwan to find its own Congress may be less dramatic, and more the result of “innovative” ways to ensure defense funding. Taiwan, CIA under spotlight bureaucratic bungling, as well as a changing political however, has also been trimming its defense budget as The distrust finally erupted in public this week, with climate when it comes to fighting terror threats. President Ma Ying-jeou pursues a policy of reconciliation the influential chairwoman of the intelligence commit- with Beijing. Taiwan’s government was founded by tee, Dianne Feinstein, dropping her customary reserve ‘Let light dispel darkness’ Chinese nationalists who fled in 1949 after losing the to lash out at the CIA. She accused the agency of illegal- The head of the CIA has insisted he wants the report mainland’s civil war. ly snooping on senate staffers’ computers in a bid to to be released so the agency can move on. “We want to Budget cuts in Taiwan, US, but not China -Beijing has “intimidate” lawmakers overseeing the inquiry. Feinstein ramped up military spending over the past decade as its learn from the past, which we have, and we have done a economy grows, last week unveiling a 12.2 percent warned a fundamental democratic principle-the legisla- number of internal reviews, but I look forward to having increase for 2014. While Beijing’s declared defense budget ture’s responsibility to hold the executive branch this chapter of CIA history behind us,” Brennan said. For remains a fraction of Washington’s, many experts say that accountable-had been jeopardized by the spy service’s critics of the spy service, however, the only way to settle the mainland has increasingly ensured a decisive military behavior. CIA director John Brennan denied any wrong- the issue and avoid future abuses is to end the secrecy advantage if it ever attacked Taiwan. doing but he did not directly address all of Feinstein’s around the interrogation program and give the subject a The Obama administration, announcing the plane allegations, fueling speculation the agency had some- thorough public airing. “The CIA says it wants to turn the upgrade in 2011, insisted that the move was a more mod- thing to hide. “I’m becoming convinced that the CIA is page on this unpublished chapter. You can’t turn the ern way to provide for Taiwan’s defense needs. Critics simply fearful of the interrogation report being made page if you haven’t read it,” wrote Tim Weiner, author of a charged that the administration was avoiding stronger public, and I think it’s time for the American people to comprehensive and critical history of the agency, Chinese criticism by not agreeing to Taiwan’s request to get that information,” said Senator Ron Wyden, a mem- “Legacy of Ashes.” The indelible stain left by torture “can- buy 66 state-of-the-art F-16 C/D fighters rather than retro- ber of the intelligence committee. not remain an issue for another day,” he wrote in a com- fitting the existing F-16 A/B fleet. — AFP Obama has said he supports the public release of the mentary in Politico. “Print the report, take the testimony committee’s report, a move that civil liberties groups and let some light dispel this darkness.”— AFP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Media squeeze tightens as Russia harks back to WW2 Editors dismissed, independent outlets under pressure

MOSCOW: Ilya Azar does not know whether he has been fired yet from one of Russia’s most popular independent online news organizations, but he is pretty sure he soon will be. His editor, Galina Timchenko, has already been sacked, and Azar says her departure was his fault, for inter- viewing a leader of Ukraine’s right-wing paramil- itary group Right Sector for their Lenta.ru web- site. Lenta.ru’s journalists say Timchenko’s sack- ing, after 10 years running one of a handful of media organisations offering an alternative to state-controlled outlets, shows President SEVASTOPOL: People swimming in the cold waters of the harbor of Sevastopol hold Vladimir Putin is tightening his grip over news. Russian national and navy flags to mark their support for Russian forces, as a Russian As the crisis in Ukraine escalates, that news has Navy ship remains stationed in the background yesterday. —AFP taken on shades of Soviet-era propaganda, with anchors and reporters peppering their reports with references to what they say was the coop- What is Crimea and eration of some Ukrainians with the Nazis in World War Two. why does it matter? “I think I have tried objectively to show both sides in Ukraine but when the Russian troops went into Crimea - unofficially of course but we CRIMEA: Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula is at Sea port of Novorossisysk to take naval ves- know they are there - the trend was for official the centre of the worst East-West standoff sels. propaganda,” Azar said. “Any other opinion and since the Cold War. you are treated as if you are the enemy,” he said Geography by telephone from the western Ukrainian city of History The mountainous peninsula is attached Lviv where he is reporting. In the freewheeling Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea to the rest of Ukraine by a narrow strip of 1990s, Russian media took on everyone and off southern Ukraine, was absorbed into land in the north. To the east, it is separated everything including the Kremlin. Increasingly in the Russian empire along with most of eth- from Russia by the narrow Kerch Strait. the 14 years Putin has been in power, almost all nic Ukrainian territory by Catherine the Russia plans to build a bridge across the toe the official line. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Great in the 18th century. Russia’s Black Sea strait. With an area of 27,000 sq km (10,000 Peskov denied there was any campaign to naval base at Sevastopol was founded soon sq miles), it is slightly smaller than Belgium. silence critical media. “Those are standard accu- afterwards. More than half a million people It is Ukraine’s only formally autonomous sations which we are fed up of hearing,” he said. were killed in the Crimean War of 1853-56 region, with Simferopol as its capital. Azar’s interview with Right Sector leader between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, Sevastopol has a separate status within Andriy Tarasenko was published on Monday. By CRIMEA: Pro-Kremlin activists march in Moscow yesterday during a rally in support of Russia’s which was backed by Britain and France. Ukraine. Wednesday morning, Russia’s telecommunica- recent move on Crimea. — AFP The conflict reshaped Europe and paved tions watchdog had warned Lenta that Russia the way for World War One. In 1921, the Population approval ratings to over 70 percent for the first Putin. He indirectly controls a stake in Russia’s had banned publication of “extremist” material. time in three years. The West, which has biggest media holding, Gazprom Media, and a peninsula, then populated mainly by Around 2 million. Ukraine’s 2001 census By Wednesday evening, Timchenko had been Muslim Tatars, became part of the Soviet showed around 58 percent were ethnic ridiculed Putin’s denial, is portrayed as a hypo- stake in National Media Group. But even media told by billionaire Alexander Mamut, the owner critical backer of the extremists, unable to under the official thumb, like the main state Union. The Tatars were deported en masse Russian, 24 percent ethnic Ukrainian and of Lenta’s parent company, Afisha-Rambler-SUP, by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the end of 12 percent Tatars, who support the new appreciate the close bonds between Russia and news agency, is not immune to the drive for that she had been replaced. More than 80 of Ukraine formed by the extreme suffering of the absolute control. World War Two for alleged collaboration pro-Western government in Kiev. Lenta’s staff signed a letter saying her dismissal with the Nazis. Crimea became part of Soviets under the Nazis. Putin dissolved RIA late last year, and is was a result of Kremlin pressure, something As Russian officials start to use Soviet-era replacing it with a new organization, headed by Russia within the Soviet Union until 1954, Economy Peskov said was impossible. “Lenta.ru is a private when it was handed to Ukraine, also a Crimea’s temperate climate makes it a speech to define a relationship at lows not seen Dmitry Kiselyov, who once caused outrage by publication. Decisions are made by its owner, since the Cold War, Russian commentators have saying the organs of homosexuals should not be Soviet Republic, by Stalin’s successor Nikita popular tourist destination for Ukrainians and therefore it is absolutely unacceptable to Khrushchev, a Ukrainian. Since the collapse and Russians, especially Yalta, where the accentuated the gulf in understanding. “The used in transplants and who says the new group blame anything on the Kremlin here,” he said. West will never understand us and do you know will restore “a fair attitude towards Russia as an of the Soviet Union in 1991, there have Soviet, US and British victors of World War Tarasenko and other Right Sector leaders been periodic political tussles between Two met in 1945 to discuss the future why?” asked morning radio host Vladimir important country in the world”. Remaining deny they are “neo-fascists” as Moscow calls Solovyov. “Because of the Second World War.” independent media are seen as fair game. over its status between Moscow and Kiev. shape of Europe. It accounts for three per- them, but just interviewing them was enough to cent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product, While some embrace the new war-like tone, oth- Dozhd, a television and Internet channel, was get Lenta into trouble. “There was nothing scary ers working in state-owned media companies taken off the air by providers nationwide earlier Military significance with 60 percent of its own output made up in the interview. In fact, it probably showed in Russia’s Black Sea base in Sevastopol by services. The land is intensely farmed, find it hard to stomach. “It’s pure, simple and this year in what its head said was censorship. fact that they were fascists,” Azar said, referring utter lies they’re telling about the so-called Pavel Durov, founder of Russia’s biggest social gives Moscow access to the Mediterranean. with wheat, corn and sunflowers the main to Moscow’s position that “extremists and fas- Ukraine’s fleet, carved out of the same crops. Extra water supplies are brought by provocations against Russians in eastern network Vkontakte, said in January he had sold cists” are leading events in Ukraine, where a new Ukraine,” said a disillusioned employee at a state his stake to an ally of tycoon Alisher Usmanov, Soviet fleet as Russia’s, is also based there. canal from Ukraine’s Dnieper River. There pro-Western government has formed after oust- Russia leases its base in Sevastopol from are chemical processing plants and iron ore television company who said the boss had ham- sealing the Kremlin ally’s domination of the site, ing its pro-Russian predecessor. Azar, like many mered home editorial policy in a letter. where anti-Putin protests were advertised in Ukraine and a new agreement designed to is mined in Kerch. Ukraine has two grain other Russian journalists, is considering seeking last until 2042 was agreed in 2010, in terminals in Crimea - in Kerch and in 2011. work elsewhere. Perhaps Ukraine would be a Pliant media Timchenko’s sacking was similar to the exchange for discounts on Russian gas sup- Sevastopol. According to UkrAgroConsult, better bet, he says, calling what happened to plies. The Ukrainian government placed these have exported 1.6 million tons of Much of the time, bosses do not need to step removal of Maxim Kovalsky as editor of Lenta a second wave of attacks on the media in, and the Kremlin does not need to issue Kommersant-Vlast news magazine in December restrictions within the agreement and grain so far this season or 6.6 pct of since last year. Russia has since upgraded its own Black Ukraine’s total exports.—Reuters orders at its weekly meetings with Russian 2011 after the weekly printed a photograph fea- media editors. Media owners are keenly aware of turing an obscene message addressed to Putin World War Two changes in the mood of the authorities and their as part of extensive reports on alleged fraud in In Crimea, Russia’s return evokes Most journalists in Russia have become used viewers. “Maybe (Lenta owner) Mamut was not an election won by the ruling party. It is part of a to a merry-go-round of editors since Putin responding at all to Kremlin opinion, or to pattern since Putin came to power in 2000, Soviet ghosts for Tatar minority returned to power for his third stint as president phone calls from the presidential administration. when he ousted the old oligarch-owners in favor less than two years ago. Some do not mind. Maybe he is focused on ratings, on the opinions of his allies. “Today many people are talking Ukraine has become a rallying cry for many of readers, because the public mood is clear,” about maybe having to change profession, that BAKCHISARAY: For Sofiya, an elderly museum have been verbally abused on public transport. Russians who agree with Putin that attempts to curator and an ethnic Tatar watching over a col- Others speak of seeing unfriendly men walking said Andrei Fefelov, chief editor of Internet tele- quality journalism is not needed in this country, separate what the president calls the “brotherly vision channel Dyen (Day). where there is only propaganda,” Marat Gelman, lection of Scythian gold inside an Ottoman around with baseball bats. Some worried locals nations” should be stopped. They say “extrem- palace once inhabited by Crimea’s Muslim Tatar have even set up security patrols to protect Mamut, who has a fortune of $2.3 billion a gallery owner who helped found Lenta, told ists” are dictating events in Kiev and are bent on according to Forbes magazine, could not be Ekho Moskvy radio. “There really is this feeling rulers, distrust of the Russians runs deep. She their loved ones and their homes. harming Russian speakers in the southern frowns as she recalls her grandmother telling reached for comment. With only Lenta and that we are in a military situation. Yes, really, Crimea region and eastern Ukraine. The seizure online newspaper Gazeta.ru, Mamut’s media when a country is at war, then criticism is not her about the day Soviet soldiers came to their Persecution of Crimea by Russian forces - who Putin says are home outside Simferopol, the Crimean capital, The Tatars, around 250,000 of whom live in interests are tiny compared with the market’s allowed.”—Reuters local forces of self defense - has been welcomed biggest tycoon, Yuri Kovalchuk, a close friend of almost 70 years ago, rounded everyone up, and modern-day Crimea, have lived through turbu- by many Russians, propelling the president’s deported them to Central Asia. The fact that lent times. In 1897, census data showed they Russians living in Crimea at the time later crept made up more than a third of Crimea’s popula- into the Tatars’ empty homes and appropriated tion. In their heyday, from the 15th to the 18th them for themselves still rankles. century, they ran a Crimean Khanate. It became “The Russians said they were afraid to enter notorious for enslaving Christian Slavs and sell- Strongman Putin playing our homes and barns for days afterwards,” ing them on within the Ottoman Empire, Sofiya told Reuters, referring to May 18, 1944, something Russian nationalists recall to this the day when Soviet soldiers rounded up day. With the soaring minaret of its mosque ‘short game on Ukraine’ Crimea’s Tatars and deported them en masse to and elaborate Ottoman-style interiors, the 16th Central Asia to punish them for collaborating century palace at Bakchisaray, where Sofiya with Nazi Germany. “But they did enter our works, is one of the few remnants of the period. MOSCOW: Since his return to the Kremlin, strations last month toppled a leader seeking Kremlin during Putin’s first term. “The regime is homes and then they kept them. For us, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great ended Vladimir Putin has grown more powerful than closer ties to Moscow. shifting towards authoritarianism,” said Petrov. Russians are the same as the Soviets. They Tatar domination in Crimea when she con- ever before. The strongman, who has ruled Gambling that it was safe to ignore the With his play in Crimea “Putin is able to kill promise us a lot, but later, when we’re under quered it at the end of the 18th century. Many Russia for the past 14 years, has muzzled his howls of protest from the West, he sent his sol- two birds with one stone: the Western reaction their control, they will silence us”, she said, Tatars were massacred or exiled. Others fled. opponents, check-mated the West on Syria and diers into Crimea-a largely Russian-speaking is prompting the system to close up and the demonstratively placing her palm across her Later, the Soviet Union brought more hardship. is now on the verge of annexing Crimea. On peninsula in the south of Ukraine. “No one is political elite is losing its independence and is mouth. Seven decades on, Sofiya, who Many prominent Tatars were arrested and exe- Friday, the Kremlin upped the ante further, ready to fight over Crimea,” said Gleb becoming more reliant.” At the age of 61, for- declined to provide her surname, and many cuted in Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s purges hinting it could move forces beyond Ukraine’s Pavlovsky, a political analyst and former mer KGB officer Putin is the undisputed master other Tatars, Sunni Muslims of Turkic origin, say and harsh agricultural collectivisation policies peninsula to protect his compatriots. But ana- Kremlin adviser. “The West will have to do its of his country, and one of the most powerful they are apprehensive about the prospect of led to famine. Between 1917 and 1933, histori- lysts say Putin is becoming king of an ever- best to find a way out. Putin is at the centre of people in the world. But, analysts say, the Crimea leaving Ukraine and becoming part of ans estimate that half the Crimean Tatar popu- more isolated castle, provoking the outside this crisis. This strengthens his hand. It will be price he will pay for the control he has, and for Russia in a referendum today. Making up an lation died, was killed or deported. Things world to consolidate control at home in a strat- Putin, not the West, who will decide the fate of the seizure of Crimea-the sovereign territory of estimated 12 percent of Crimea’s population of became no easier with the advent of World War egy ultimately doomed to fail. Fresh from his the Ukrainian revolution.” The two-time an independent country-is high, and each 2 million, the Tatars are more forthright when it Two. Though many Tatar men served in the success in hosting the Winter Olympics in Russian president believes “the West is weak,” throw of his dice seems to be closing down comes to asserting their rights than the penin- Red Army and fought the Nazis - sometimes Sochi, Putin saw his moment amid the chaos said Nikolai Petrov, professor at the Higher options, instead of opening them up. sula’s ethnic Ukrainians and have clashed with with distinction - others joined special units of engulfing Ukraine, where pro-Western demon- School of Economics in Moscow. “He believes “He is winning but at a very great cost, both police and Russians in the past. the Waffen SS. When Soviet troops retook the that the rules of the game will be changing strategically and economically. It’s a price that Worried they might disrupt Crimea’s transi- peninsula, Stalin took his wrath out on the and he who plays first, wins.” no reasonable person would pay,” said tion to Russian from Ukrainian control, the entire Tatar population. While the intervention in Crimea was sud- Pavlovsky, a Kremlin adviser in the early 2000s. Kremlin and the peninsula’s Russian-backed In a single day, Soviet troops rounded den, Kremlin-watchers suggest it had long Russian economic growth is struggling, the authorities have been working hard to win everyone up, loaded them into railway cattle been planned for and was merely awaiting an ruble is on the slide and capital is racing out of them over, even inviting one of their spiritual cars and sent nearly 200,000 into exile in opportunity. The referendum called by the pro- the country as investors take fright. Threatened leaders to a meeting with Russian President Central Asia. Many died en route. Others died Moscow regime and scheduled for today is economic sanctions from the United States Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Crimea’s pro-Russian of malaria or starvation when they arrived. almost a foregone conclusion. It marks another and the European Union look set to make that authorities have held out the promise of guar- When Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, black-eye for the West in its dealings with much worse. Putin’s popularity at home was anteed Tatar representation in the local govern- finally allowed the Tatars to start returning to Russia after Putin battled Washington and its driven during his first term by rising standards ment, proper land ownership rights - some- Crimea in the 1980s, those who came back friends to a standstill over Syria’s chemical of living and the boom in fossil fuel exports thing many Tatars lack - and financial aid. They found they could not get their homes back and weapons program, wielding his UN Security that Europe and China lapped up, said Lilia have also pledged to extend gas supplies to that no one wanted to hire them. Council veto in defense of ally Bashar Al-Assad. Shevtsova, an analyst with the Carnegie remote Tatar areas. That forced a humiliating climbdown for US Moscow Center. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, ‘The enemy’ President Barack Obama, who drew a “red line” Without the economic dividend, Putin is Sergei Aksyonov, the leader of Crimea’s sepa- Sofiya, 64, who says she, her mother, her over the use of chemical weapons, only to see using a Cold War-style confrontation with the ratist authorities, played down the idea that the husband and her three sons only returned from it stepped over with impunity when oppo- West to bolster his support, building a “mili- Tatars were unhappy. “We have always had exile in Uzbekistan in 1985, recalls the period nents saw he would not resort to military force. tarist state where everything works for the constructive dialogue with the Tatars,” he said. with dread. “We were treated like the enemy,” sake of defense and not people’s needs”. “Putin “Financing for Crimean Tatars will be doubled she said. She recalled how a policeman tried to ‘Regime shifting gears’ is taking the country down the path of the this year ... It is all calm on the streets. There are get them to go back to Central Asia, that they The seeds for Putin’s power grab were sown USSR which will lead to the same fate as that of no ethnic or religious conflicts and we will nev- were forced to live six to a room, and that her in the winter of 2012, as he prepared to return the Soviet Union-the collapse of the state.” er allow that.” husband was offered a job only to have it with- to the Kremlin, relieving his protege Dmitry Petrov said the crisis over Ukraine offers imme- But some Tatars say they have received drawn once his employer discovered he was a Medvedev, who had kept his seat warm since diate gains for Russia, in terms of the control it veiled threats. In a disturbing echo of their Tatar. “Nobody was waiting for us. Nobody his previous stint in the top job. He ground will get over an area that has long played an 1944 deportation, unidentified individuals wanted us.” But in time, she says her family and away his opponents in politics and the media, important part in the national psyche. “(Putin’s) scrawled crosses on a small number of gates at others slowly rebuilt their lives, buying up old alternating tough crackdowns with unexpect- choice-the besieged fortress model-will work Tatar-owned properties in Bakchisaray and shacks that Russians and Ukrainians didn’t ed gestures of mercy, like the release from in the short term,” he said. But longer term, it is Simferopol, the Crimean capital. The marks want to live in, and doing any job, no matter prison of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s unlikely to be so clear cut. “He is a brilliant tac- were swiftly scrubbed off. Some Tatars say they how menial, to make their way.—Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin richest man who fell out of favor with the tical player but he is not a strategic one.”—AFP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Supreme Court stays execution of 2 Delhi gang-rapists NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court the 23-year-old physiotherapy stu- boarded a private bus to go home yesterday stayed the death sentence dent, saying the case fell into the from the cinema with a male friend. of two of the four men convicted of “rarest of rare category” under which They were both later dumped naked the fatal gang-rape of a student in India carries out executions. Defense and bleeding on the roadside. The New Delhi, an attack that horrified lawyers argued the High Court had victim died 13 days later from the the country and sparked weeks of not properly considered evidence in internal injuries inflicted. protests. The court suspended the the case. The Supreme Court was The brutality of the attack execution of the two men, Mukesh told the other two men convicted of appalled the nation and triggered Singh and Pawan Gupta, while an the crime, Vinay Sharma and Akshay massive angry street protests as well appeal of their conviction is heard Thakur, had not approached the top as soul-searching about India’s treat- and asked officials to “communicate court to appeal the High Court rul- ment of women. The victim survived the order to prison authorities”. The ing. long enough to give enough infor- court held an emergency sitting yes- A fifth suspect had been discov- mation to police to allow them to terday to hear the motion for the ered dead in his jail last year, in what arrest her attackers whose trial was stay of execution. It was not immedi- authorities said was a suspected sui- fast-tracked. The case led to tougher ately known when the executions cide. The sixth member of the group, rape and sexual assault laws and had been due to be carried out. a juvenile at the time of the crime, is shone an international spotlight on The two, Gupta and Singh, serving a three-year sentence. The what women’s groups called a “rape appealed to the Supreme Court after four were sentenced last September epidemic” in the country. The execu- the High Court upheld earlier in the to hang following a trial over the tion of the two men had been week the death penalty handed to attack on the 23-year-old student on stayed until March 31 when court the four men convicted of the gang a moving bus in the capital in authorities said their hanging would rape last September. On Thursday, December 2012. The physiotherapy be further postponed at another the Delhi High Court maintained the student was attacked by six men, hearing until their appeal was NEW DELHI: Indian Defense lawyer AP Singh addresses the media outside the four men’s sentences in the death of including with an iron rod, after she heard.— AFP Saket Court complex in New Delhi. — AFP

India ‘disappointed’ at US Teacher shot dead, burned in Thailand BANGKOK: Gunmen shot dead a Asylum seekers sentenced Department urged Thailand “to pro- re-indictment of diplomat female teacher in insurgency-riven In another development, Thailand vide full protection” to the asylum southern Thailand on Friday and set yesterday sentenced dozens of asylum seekers. The latest annual US human her body on fire, police said, in the lat- seekers thought to be from China’s rights report said that China carries Khobragade faces new visa fraud charges est attack on an education worker. The Uighur minority for illegal entry, an out “severe official repression” of 42-year-old was riding a motorbike to official said, despite a US appeal for Uighurs in Xinjiang, including over NEW DELHI: India yesterday said it was “disappointed” by two counts of visa fraud and making false statements. work at an elementary school in the their protection. About 120 adults their freedom of speech and religion. new US visa fraud charges against an Indian diplomat over Khobragade, who has since returned to India, was Mayo district of Pattani province when among the group were fined 4,000 Xinjiang is periodically hit by violent her employment of a domestic servant and warned the arrested December 12 outside her children’s school and lat- she was attacked. “Gunmen shot her baht ($124) each by a court in south- clashes and Chinese officials blamed move could reignite a bitter row between the countries. er strip-searched, enraging the Indian government and and set fire to her body,” a local police ern Thailand, according to police, who Uighur separatists for a March 1 mass Government spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said India was some of the Indian public. The row fanned resentment officer said by telephone. She was the said they were waiting to identify the stabbing at a train station in the south- “disappointed” the US justice department “chose to obtain between the two countries, which had embraced each oth- 171st education worker to be killed families before deciding their fate. The western city of Kunming that killed 29 a second indictment” against Indian diplomat Devyani er as strategic partners. Indian lawmakers denounced the during the decade-long conflict in men will be detained by immigration people and injured 143 others. Khobragade even though a US judge threw out similar diplomat’s treatment as a violation of national sovereignty Thailand’s Muslim-dominated deep and the women and children will be Under pressure from Beijing, coun- charges earlier last week. and said Washington should not ride roughshod over south near the border with Malaysia. taken to a shelter, Police Major tries including Cambodia, Malaysia “Any measures consequent to this decision in the US Indian interests. The deeply unpopular Congress govern- The insurgency has claimed more General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot said and Pakistan have all in recent years will unfortunately impact upon efforts on both sides to ment, struggling to win back favor in general elections than 5,900 lives-the majority of them by telephone. The group of roughly forcibly returned Uighurs to China. build the India-US strategic partnership, to which both starting next month, has been under heavy domestic polit- civilians-in near-daily attacks includ- 200 people was discovered in a raid The Uighur American Association, a sides are committed,” the Indian spokesman warned. “This ical pressure to act tough with Washington. ing shootings, bombings and even on a suspected people smuggling Washington-based advocacy group, was an unnecessary step,” Akbaruddin said in a emailed The fresh charges came two days after a US judge threw beheadings. Teachers are among camp on Wednesday in the kingdom’s voiced concern over the group, which statement to AFP, calling the case “without merit” and out a previous case on grounds the former New York those targeted by the shadowy net- deep south. They presented them- it described as Uighurs, and urged adding the Indian government will “no longer engage on deputy consul-general was granted full diplomatic immu- work of militants for their perceived selves to police as Turkish, but US- Thailand to cooperate with the UN this case in the United States’ legal system”. A New York nity after her arrest. The new indictment paints a devastat- collaboration with the Thai state. based activists have identified them High Commissioner for Refugees. “This grand jury re-indicted the senior diplomat accusing her of ing picture of the lengths to which Khobragade allegedly Experts say a recent spike in deaths is as Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking, pre- group of Uighurs should not be a test went to infringe US laws in hiring an Indian nanny-cum- partly due to the stalling of peace dominantly Muslim group from of Thailand’s relationship with China, housekeeper when moving to New York in 2012. US prose- talks while the Thai government strug- China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. but a test of Thailand’s ability to follow cutors, disputing her immunity, accuse Khobragade of forc- gles to deal with opposition protests Thailand, which says their nationali- international refugee standards,” said ing her maid to work 100 hours or more a week, even in Bangkok. The insurgents want a lev- ty is still unconfirmed, has not said association president Alim Seytoff. when sick and without a full day off, for $1.42 or less an el of autonomy from Thailand, which whether they might be forced to Thailand has long been a hub for peo- hour. The indictment accuses Khobragade of presenting annexed the region over a century return to China, but the kingdom has a ple trafficking, with thousands of false information to obtain a visa for her housekeeper and ago. They accuse Thai authorities of history of repatriating illegal immi- Rohingya boat people from neighbor- coaching her to lie to US embassy officials. widespread human rights abuses and grants. The Turkish embassy and the ing Myanmar believed to have passed It says the diplomat drew up a fake contract that con- a lack of respect for their religion, cul- UN refugee agency have been provid- through the kingdom in recent formed with US labor law but made her sign another con- ture and language. ing assistance. On Friday the US State years.—Agencies tract stipulating a salary of $573 a month or $6,876 a year without overtime and US legal protections. The indictment also accuses the diplomat of trying to silence and intimi- date the housekeeper, who fled in June 2013 after protest- ing her conditions. Khobragade won in January the full immunity granted to Indian mission diplomats to the UN. It was on those grounds she petitioned a US court on January 9 to drop the case, before flying back to India, where she now works for the foreign ministry. In laying the fresh charges the court said Khobragade’s immunity did not cover the time she employed her servant. A spokesman for the US attorney Preet Bharara, said, “there is currently no bar to a new indictment against her”. The diplomat, who returned to India in January to a hero’s welcome, has told media about her anguish in leaving behind in New York her two young daughters and her hus- band, a US citizen and academic. US officials have travelled to India and said they want to repair a partnership Washington sees as a potential bulwark against China’s growing might. While Americans took the maid’s side, many affluent Indians who pay their servants far less than Khobragade was accused of paying hers, supported the diplomat and viewed her treatment as high-handed super- Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade power behavior.—AFP China’s Xi seeks power and friendship abroad

BEIJING: Xi Jinping has spent much of threat-something it constantly denies. twice more within the year. Moscow is his first year as China’s president greet- The two-pronged approach is inten- a fellow UN Security Council member ing a stream of foreign leaders, but his tional. As Xi explained in a key speech with which Beijing often sides on government’s dual message of power on diplomacy last October, China’s international affairs-although it has and peace has garnered a mixed goals overseas are “to strive for favor- adopted an ambiguous position on response. Since taking office a year ago able external conditions for China’s the Crimea crisis. on Friday, Xi has made trips to shore up reform, development and stability” Three months into Xi’s term he ties with the United States and Russia, and to “uphold national sovereignty”. travelled to California for a two-day travelled around Asia, Africa and Latin But he faces a “fundamental contra- summit with President Barack Obama, America, and personally welcomed for- diction” in the “attempt to both charm where he touted a “new type of great- eign dignitaries to Beijing more than and go on the offensive”, said Paul power relationship”, signaling China’s 80 times, all while governing the Haenle, director of the Carnegie- desire to both strengthen ties with world’s most populous country. Tsinghua Center for Global Policy at the US but also command greater Yet his administration’s hard line on Tsinghua University in Beijing. respect. Xi also managed to meet for- numerous territorial disputes with The “divergent behavior risks eign leaders visiting Beijing nearly neighbours have frayed ties with undermining China’s regional diplo- once every four days on average. It Asia’s other key economy Japan, and matic strategy if continued”, he said in seemed no country, from Suriname to reinforced fears in the region and emailed comments. China’s global Macedonia to Fiji, was too small to beyond that China’s rise poses a interests are expanding-although it warrant a handshake from one of the struggles to develop an overarching world’s most powerful people. “That foreign policy-while others are keen basically covers great powers, regional to forge ties with the rising power. “It’s and developing countries. So it’s a natural that countries near and far, very comprehensive, all-fronts sort of small and large, seek to build strong diplomacy,” said Jingdong Yuan, an ties with China,” Haenle said. At the expert on Chinese foreign policy at same time, he added, “China is the University of Sydney. increasingly dependent on external trade to secure energy, resources, and ‘We are less friendly’ food security, and thus is highly prag- In his speech on diplomacy in matic when it comes to forging for- October, attended by Li and all the eign relations for mutual benefit”. country’s top leaders, Xi said China needed to “be more active in blue- Comprehensive diplomacy printing diplomatic strategy and In his first year as president Xi visit- undertaking diplomatic work”. “We ed more than a dozen nations, from a should clearly present our policies to BRICS gathering in South Africa to an the outside world... and let the sense APEC summit in Indonesia, with multi- of common destiny take root with our country stops in Latin America and neighbors,” he said. Yet by flexing its Central Asia, while Premier Li Keqiang muscle in territorial disputes with travelled to South Asia, Europe and neighbors, Xi’s administration escalat- elsewhere. Xi paid extra attention to ed tensions with Japan and the key countries, taking his first trip as Philippines and worried other coun- Chinese President Xi Jinping president to Russia and returning tries. —AFP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 INTERNATIONAL Endless torment for Philippine typhoon widow SAN AGUSTIN: Jennifer Pulga endured husband of seven years, Jennifer was left Jennifer, whose only previous paid work the depths of helplessness as she destitute with a four-month-old daugh- was as a domestic helper in the nation’s pumped the last air her husband would ter, Irish, and a six-year-old son, RJ. capital, Manila, when she was a teenag- breathe into his typhoon-battered body, Haiyan, which was one of the most pow- er. The young widow and her two chil- and her life since has felt barely any more erful storms ever recorded, is believed to dren went to live with Richard’s 68-year- in control. A coconut tree crashed have killed about 8,000 people, mostly old mother, Guadalupe, in a neighbor- through the thatched roof of the Pulga’s in farming and fishing communities that ing village. The in-law’s two-storey con- tiny home in an isolated farming village were already among the poorest in the crete house had its roof partially ripped of the central Philippines during Super Philippines. The Pulga family comes off during the typhoon and has still not Typhoon Haiyan in November, crushing from one of the most impoverished of been repaired, although it provides ade- Richard and igniting a torturous passage those farming villages, in a scenic but quate shelter and RJ can attend the to death. With no vehicle to evacuate the unruly part of Leyte province known as a local school for free. farmer and roads in the area initially haven for communist guerrillas and oth- unpassable due to typhoon debris, it took er armed bandits. Surviving on donations his wife a week to get him to the nearest The Pulgas lived in a dirt-floor hut But the two women have no source major hospital 60 kilometers away. made of bamboo, coconut wood and of income, and are almost totally reliant But that hospital, in the ruined city of palm thatch, tending 10 hectares (24 on food aid that has been delivered by Tacloban, was overwhelmed and medics acres) of coconut tree plantations and a the government and relief agencies. could do little for Richard other than one-hectare rice field left to them by Guadalupe has another farmer son, but amputate one leg and give Jennifer a Richard’s deceased father. Richard, who one of his children was killed and his LEYTE: Typhoon victim Jennmifer Pulga points to the site in the house where pump to manually inflate his lungs. died aged 27, would earn some extra house destroyed in the typhoon, so he her husband was hit by a falling coconut tree at a village in Jaro Town, Leyte Jennifer kept her husband alive for sev- money giving rides on his motorcycle is unable to provide financial help. “We province. — AFP en hours, the sound of the handheld along a rocky track to people in his and are just living day-to-day. We are trying she said. But Jennifer said a higher pri- areas recover, little of it appears to be ventilator like a mournful fog horn amid neighboring villages. The farm and to do the best we can but we don’t ority for the moment was breastfeeding trickling up to the base of the pictur- a sea of agony as other patients died Richard’s motorcycle riding earned them have any money. So we are just concen- Irish, ruling out travelling for work. esque mountains where the Pulgas live. from injuries that doctors said could about 3,000 pesos ($70) a month, just trating on what we have now. If there’s Aside from the food aid, Jennifer and have been treated if there was electricity enough to survive when supplemented none, well, that’s it,” Guadalupe said. Impossible dream her in-laws said they had been offered and medicines. “I was praying and hop- by vegetables they grew for themselves Jennifer has nine siblings but their Jennifer’s ideal job would be to run a no other support, such as money, mate- ing that he would live. I was praying that and pigs raised for food. financial health is little better, and the small stall outside her mother-in-law’s rials or expertise to help rebuild or even if he is disabled, that’s okay, as long Like thousands of other farmers in only contribution from her immediate home, selling daily household items repair their homes and farms. Still, as he lives, that’s all I want,” Jennifer, 28, the region, the family’s main source of family since Richard’s death has been a and food, so that she could stay close to Jennifer appears not to be focused too told AFP on a recent visit to see how she income was lost when Haiyan destroyed 1,000-peso ($22) donation from a sister. her children. She estimates setting up much on the future, with her concen- was coping. most of their coconut trees, which take “I just wish I can find a job, for my chil- the business would cost about 10,000 tration dominated by the struggles of more than five years from planting to dren, for the future of my children. pesos, an impossible amount. And surviving each day and the ceaseless Poverty deepens grief bear fruit. “I don’t have anything now, That’s all I wish for in life, that I can sup- while billions of dollars are being spent grief. “Now I am alone and I can’t bear Compounding the grief of losing her Richard was our breadwinner,” said port my children until they grow up,” in an effort to help the typhoon-hit it,” she said.— AFP North Korea threatens to flex nuclear muscle

SEOUL: North Korea has threatened to progress in its program of enriching uranium. demonstrate its nuclear deterrence in a move North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006, analysts say could indicate the regime is 2009 and in February last year. preparing to carry out a fourth atomic test amid long-stalled disarmament talks. The ‘Expression of frustration’ powerful National Defence Commission “This warning is not about an imminent (NDC), chaired by leader Kim Jong-Un, said action but an expression of frustration with on Friday that the North would continue Washington, which refuses to budge an inch efforts “to bolster up its nuclear deterrence despite Beijing’s efforts to draw it back to dia- for self-defense”. “And additional measures logue”, Professor Yang Moo-Jin told AFP. will be taken to demonstrate its might one Professor Kim Yeon-Chul of Inje University after another as long as the US nuclear threat said the North might consider carrying out a and blackmail persist as now”, it added in a test using enriched uranium it has been statement carried by Pyongyang state media. developing for the past two years in addition North Korea and its main ally China want to its plutonium-based weapons. The NDC a resumption of six-party talks on the North’s stressed the North would never make a first, nuclear weapons program, but Washington unilateral move towards giving up its nuclear and Seoul both insist that Pyongyang must weapons program despite US pressure to do first demonstrate some tangible commit- so. The statement also lambasted what it ment to abandoning nuclear weapons. “The called a “groundless human rights racket” US had better roll back its worn-out hostile against the North by the United States. policy towards the DPRK (North Korea) as Robert King, the US special envoy on soon as possible and shape a new realistic North Korean human rights, said the United TRIPOLI: Smoke rises from a fire after gunmen from Jabal Mohsen fire a rocket-propelled grenade during clashes with gunmen from Bab Al- policy before it is too late,” the NDC state- States supported UN action on North Korea’s Tebbaneh in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. — AFP ment added. “This would be beneficial not human rights record after a hard-hitting UN only to meeting the US interests but also to report last month compared the regime’s ensuring the security of its mainland.” treatment of its people to the Holocaust. He In March last year, North Korea’s military voiced confidence that the UN Human Rights Lebanese govt to allow put its “strategic” rocket units on a war foot- Council would pass a resolution on the totali- ing and threatened to strike targets on the tarian state’s record at its session this month US mainland, Hawaii and Guam, as well as in Geneva. In a 400-page report last month, a South Korea as tensions soared. Despite a UN Commission of Inquiry documented citizens to resist Israel successful long-range rocket launch in extermination, enslavement and sexual vio- December 2012, most experts believe North lence by North Korea. The commission’s Korea is years away from developing a gen- Australian chairman Michael Kirby drew a uine inter-continental ballistic missile that parallel with the Holocaust and demanded 10 dead in Syria-linked clashes in Tripoli could strike the mainland United States. international action. But China holds veto Analysts in Seoul said the NDC statement on power on the Security Council and has pub- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new government agreed to a state and its efforts to liberate the Shebaa Farms functioning Lebanese government would finally Friday indicated North Korea was mulling licly rejected referring the leaders of North compromise policy statement yesterday that fell and Kfar Shouba Hills and the Lebanese part of be in a position to pursue an offshore oil and gas three options-a fourth nuclear test, the firing Korea, its ally and neighbor, to the short of explicitly enshrining the militant group Ghajar through all legitimate means,” the gov- exploration license round that was delayed for of a long-range rocket and the unveiling of International Criminal Court for trial.—AFP Hezbollah’s role in confronting Israel but which ernment statement said. It also “affirms the right months by the political deadlock. Salam has also would give all citizens the right to resist Israeli of Lebanese citizens to resist Israeli occupation said he hoped the emergence of the new gov- occupation or attacks. The agreement on the and repel aggressions and recover occupied ter- ernment will allow Lebanon to hold presidential compromise language came after weeks of dis- ritory”. Agreement on the declaration paves the elections before President Michel Suleiman’s Lawyers call for reform in pute brought the government to the verge of way for Salam to put his government to a vote of mandate expires in May and also hold parlia- collapse, and now paves the way for Prime confidence, almost exactly a year after he was mentary polls that were postponed last year due Northern Nigeria’s sharia Minister Tammam Salam to put his government first asked to try to put together a cabinet fol- to the political impasse. to a vote of confidence. lowing the resignation of his predecessor, Najib Lebanon, still struggling to recover from its KANO: Two Nigerian men sentenced to have them they could appeal the sentence within Information Minister Ramzi Jreij told Mikati. own 1975-1990 civil war, has found its internal a hand amputated each for theft have had 30 days, as a matter of procedure,” he said. reporters that most ministers had agreed on a The declaration reflected a compromise divisions worsened by the conflict in Syria, their convictions overturned, in the latest Ado attributed the situation to what he called compromise statement that declares Lebanese between the Hezbollah-led political coalition, whose sectarian divisions mirror its own. acquittals to raise questions about standards the “flagrant disregard to judicial procedures” citizens have the right to “resist Israeli occupa- which sought to guarantee Shiite Hezbollah’s Sectarian violence has erupted sporadically in in the Islamic justice system. Taxi drivers by many judges and a “lack of full grasp of tion” and repel any Israeli attack. The deal was right to fight Israel and to justify maintaining its the past year, particularly in the north, and car Nasiru Abubakar and Anas Mohammed were sharia legal provisions”. Currently anyone with reached a few hours after Israel’s army said it huge weapons arsenal, with Sunni-led political bombings targeting both security and political freed by the sharia appeal court in the north- knowledge of Islamic law and school exami- fired tank rounds and artillery into southern opponents who sought to emphasize the role of targets have increased dramatically, with ern city of Sokoto on March 2, which ruled nation certificates can be appointed as a Lebanon in retaliation for a bomb that targeted the state in carrying arms. Tensions between Hezbollah-dominated areas being the most fre- there were procedural errors in their 2010 tri- sharia court judge, explained Ado. But he its soldiers patrolling the border. No injuries Hezbollah and its Sunni opponents inside quent target. al. The pair, both 25, had spent three years argued that was not good enough: some were reported on either side. The Israel-Lebanon Lebanon have been sharply heightened by the behind bars and were unaware that they judges delivered judgments too quickly, border has been mostly quiet since Israel and civil war in neighboring Syria, where Hezbollah Syria-linked clashes could challenge the conviction and sentence “playing to the gallery” and a public who Hezbollah fought an inconclusive war in 2006, fighters have been battling alongside President Meanwhile, the death toll from three days of until a prison official took up their case with wrongly believe that sharia is all about pass- but Israeli forces still hold at least three pockets Bashar Al-Assad’s forces against Sunni rebels fighting between members of two Muslim sects the state government. ing harsh sentences. “Before a sharia judge is of occupied territory which are claimed by who are backed by many Lebanese Sunnis. in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli rose to 10 “The (appeal) judge picked holes with the appointed, he should undergo rigorous com- Lebanon. Jreij said some ministers expressed reserva- yesterday, security and medical sources said, in judgment of the lower court, which he said petence tests and background checks to “Based on the state’s responsibility to pre- tions because the statement failed to spell out violence stoked by the civil war in neighboring was not in conformity with the provisions of ensure he is the right person for the job,” he serve Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and Lebanese state control over the military conflict Syria. One person was killed by a sniper and four Islamic sharia law, as a result of which the two added. territorial integrity and the security of its citi- with Israel and because it refers to “resistance”, more died on Saturday from injuries sustained young men were discharged and acquitted,” zens, the government affirms the duty of the Hezbollah’s label for its military operations. A earlier in the week during clashes between Sunni court clerk Bube Lawwali said. According to Need for reform Muslims and members of the Shiite-derived the judge, the lower court did not establish Another lawyer, Suleiman Hassan, said a Alawite sect in Lebanon’s second city. the case of theft and the 10,000 naira ($63) in lack of appropriate sanctions against incom- The fighting broke out on Thursday after gun- cash which was allegedly stolen was never petent judges was not helping matters and men fatally shot a Sunni man who had Alawite found in the men’s possession. In addition, made some judges “flaunt procedures with family members and lived in a mostly Alawite the complainant, who alleged the suspects impunity”. Since the reintroduction of the area of the city. A 10-year-old girl died in the had stolen the money when he used their sharia justice system in 12 northern states 15 resulting clashes and three others died from taxi, did not even attend court to give evi- years ago, dozens of amputation sentences their wounds the next day. More than 50 people, dence during the initial trial. have been handed down. But only two have including at least eight Lebanese soldiers, were been carried out, with the remainder over- Low benchmark turned on appeal largely for “procedural error wounded in clashes in which snipers and rocket- Sharia courts run parallel to the state and and outright contravention of the sharia law”, propelled grenades were used. The fighting had federal judicial systems in northern Nigeria said Ado. slowed yesterday following intervention by the and are largely used by Muslims to resolve The acquittals on appeal include the cases army, but snipers from both sides were still oper- property, inheritance and matrimonial dis- of at least four women who were sentenced ating around Syria Street, which separates the putes. They made headlines internationally to death for adultery after they gave birth out Alawite enclave of Jabal Mohsen from the Sunni earlier this year when a number of men of wedlock. “In fact, some people currently district of Bab Al-Tabbaneh. appeared before a sharia court in the city of languishing in jail were unjustly imprisoned The sources said most of those killed were Bauchi accused of homosexuality, which is without any help coming from anywhere,” civilians and that they were all Sunni Muslims, theoretically punishable by death. Lawyer said Kabiru Dodo, a government official who though one of them had lived in the Alawite Umar Ado said the taxi drivers’ case was sig- initiated the taxi drivers’ appeal. A senior judi- neighborhood. The long-standing rivalry nificant because it highlighted glaring prob- cial official in Zamfara state, which pioneered between Tripoli’s Alawites and Sunnis has wors- lems in the system. “The appeal judgment has the re-introduction of sharia, acknowledged ened because of sectarian tensions in Syria, far-reaching implications and exposes the that the issues needed to be tackled. “We are where the three-year-old conflict has killed more inadequacies in the capacity of the sharia aware of such shortcomings on the part of than 146,000 people. Lebanese Sunnis largely judges and procedural abuse in the sharia sharia court judges and I believe the ongoing support the Sunni-led uprising against President courts,” he said. nationwide criminal justice system reform Bashar al-Assad, who tends to enjoy the backing Another lawyer, Abdulhamid Zubairu, intends to rectify this anomaly,” he said on of his fellow Alawites. The periodic clashes in the added that no witnesses were even sum- condition of anonymity. “It is, however, not coastal city have been fought with increasingly moned to give evidence at the trial and the something that can be rectified overnight. It sophisticated weaponry, as rocket-propelled defendants were unaware of their statutory is a gradual process that requires a tactful but HOMS: Photo shows the cemetery in the once rebel-held neighborhood of Baba Amro in the grenade launchers have been used alongside right to appeal. “The judge ought to have told firm approach.”— AFP central Syrian city of Homs. — AFP lighter weapons like assault rifles.— Agencies NEWS SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Jet’s disappearance ‘deliberate’ Continued from Page 1 could also bring new attention on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and his First Officer Fariq Abdul original flight path,” he said. He called it an “excruci- Hamid, 27. ating time for the families of those on board.” The new Malaysian reporters told AFP they witnessed police information appeared to cast aside a host of theories enter Zaharie’s house yesterday, staying for two hours. on the plane’s disappearance, which has transfixed the Police declined comment to AFP. An Australian televi- world and left frustrated families of the 239 passengers sion station had days earlier broadcast an interview and crew baying for scarce information. with a South African woman who alleged she and a Previous scenarios included a sudden mid-air explo- friend were invited into the cockpit of a flight Fariq co- sion, catastrophic equipment or structural failure, or a piloted in 2011 - a breach of post-9/11 security rules. crash into the South China Sea. But Najib’s announce- The New York Times quoted American officials with ment opened a whole new avenue of speculation knowledge of the investigation saying the plane saw including an attempted 9/11-style attack. The 9/11 wild fluctuations in altitude after it changed course. hijackers had turned off the transponders of three of “Investigations should focus on criminal and terror- the four planes that were commandeered. ist motives,” said Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert Transponders transmit data on a plane’s location to air at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. “It is traffic controllers. likely that the aircraft was hijacked by a team knowl- MH370’s transponder was manually shut off, Najib edgeable about airport and aircraft security. It is likely said. The plane’s Aircraft Communications Addressing they are supported by a competent team from the and Reporting System (ACARS) was also switched off, ground.” But Gerry Soejatman, a Jakarta-based inde- KUALA LUMPUR: A woman writes a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane at a he added. Final satellite communication with the pendent aviation analyst, told AFP yesterday’s revela- shopping mall yesterday. — AP Boeing 777, scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to tions make a possible terror motive “extremely difficult Beijing, came more than six-and-a-half hours after it to understand”. “If that was deliberate, we may be deal- vanished from civilian radar at 1:30 am on March 8, said ing with something beyond the mission planning for Oppn launches rebranded Popular Action... Najib. That would equate with the time Malaysia 9/11,” he said. Airlines has said the plane would have run out of fuel. Most of the plane’s passengers were Chinese and the Continued from Page 1 mulated deficit could exceed KD 400 billion. Investigators had concluded the plane was diverted Malaysian leader’s remarks did little to ease the nerves The large numbers of activists and journalists who west from its original flight path, and thus a search in of anguished relatives gathered at a hotel in Beijing. “I In his speech, Saadoun warned that the number of attended the gathering filled up Saadoun’s diwaniya. the South China Sea would end, Najib said, but would feel (Malaysia Airlines) has been playing a role in the corrupt people was increasing in Kuwait but vowed that The movement began distributing membership cards a continue in the Indian Ocean. But the new search zone incident,” said Wen Wancheng, whose son was aboard, reforms will continue. Saadoun said that Kuwait is on few days ago and will remain open. Political parties are is now dauntingly large - Najib said the plane could be suspecting “a conspiracy”. He remained hopeful his son the verge of economic collapse if the current economic illegal in Kuwait but a large number of political groups anywhere from Kazakhstan to the southern Indian was alive. The airline defended its handling of the crisis, situation continues in the same way, adding that accu- operate freely as de facto political parties. Ocean. Officials at Kazakhstan’s state air navigation which it called “an unprecedented situation for Malaysia service were not available for comment while in Airlines and for the entire aviation industry.” Turkmenistan, state aviation officials referred queries to The plane has one of the best safety records of any Six troops killed in Cairo attack the Foreign Ministry. jet, and the airline also has a solid record. Malaysia has Continued from Page 1 or investigation,” he said on Twitter. Earlier, a senior Malaysian military official had told not been the target of any notable terror attacks, but Most prominent attacks, including a car bombing at AFP investigators believed the plane was comman- analysts say it is home to several individuals alleged to The national defence council headed by interim a police headquarters in Cairo and the downing of a deered by a “skilled, competent and current pilot” who be operatives of militant Islamic groups such as the Al- president Adly Mansour pledged to “avenge the sol- military helicopter in Sinai, have been claimed by Ansar knew how to avoid radar, stopping short of speculating Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah. diers’ precious blood”. Interim prime minister Ibrahim Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem), a Sinai-based whether a hijacker or crewmember was suspected. An Yesterday, China said it had demanded that Malaysia Mahlab called an emergency meeting for later in the jihadist movement. The group said in a statement Friday aviation expert told AFP that while it is easy to turn keep providing more thorough and accurate informa- evening to discuss a response to the attack, an official that one of its founders, Tawfiq Mohamed Fareej, died transponders off, a great deal of expertise is needed to tion, and added that it was sending a technical team to said. Most of the attacks since Morsi’s ouster have been last week when a car accident set off a bomb he was disconnect ACARS. Malaysia to help with the investigation. China’s Xinhua carried out in the Sinai, but militants have expanded carrying. Dozens of ships and aircraft from 14 countries have state news agency said in a commentary that Najib’s their reach to the Nile Delta and the capital in recent Fareej led a 2011 cross-border attack in Israel that been deployed across a huge search zone since MH370 disclosure of the new details was “painfully belated”. months. killed eight people and was also involved in a failed went missing. As the search continues, investigators “And due to the absence - or at least lack - of timely The government has mostly blamed Morsi’s Muslim attempt on the life of Egypt’s interior minister, it said. will focus on who would have diverted it and why. authoritative information, massive efforts have been Brotherhood, which renounced violence decades ago The group has said the attacks in Egypt are in retalia- Malaysian security officials were earlier embarrassed by squandered, and numerous rumours have been and has denied any involvement. “An armed group tion for a brutal government crackdown on Morsi’s revelations that two Iranian men had managed to spawned, repeatedly racking the nerves of the awaiting belonging to the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood attacked Islamist supporters, which Amnesty International says board the plane using stolen European passports. It families,” it said. — Agencies a military police checkpoint,” the military said of yester- has claimed some 1,400 lives. State-run news website day’s attack. But the outlawed movement’s leader Amr Al-Ahram also reported Fareej had died, but said he Darrag denied the accusation. “I condemn the killing of was killed by an army raid in the Sinai peninsula. The US giving up Internet oversight Egyptian soldiers. How can the Muslim Brotherhood be army was not immediately available to comment on Continued from Page 1 tor Edward Snowden. “The Snowden disclosures are accused a few minutes after the attack with no evidence this. — Agencies merely a pretext,” Castro said in a blog post. “While the before leaked documents showed massive online NSA revelations have rightly angered many people snooping by intelligence agents. “Every president, around the world, they have nothing to do with Top Kuwaiti fighter killed in Syria every board of ICANN since its inception has been Internet governance. The US Department of Continued from Page 1 government forces backed by Hezbollah members. working toward this day,” ICANN president and chief Commerce has not once abused its oversight of Yabroud is the last major rebel-held town in the executive Fadi Chehade said during a conference call. ICANN to aid the intelligence community.” government forces. He urged countries backing the mountainous Qalamoun region, where Assad’s forces The end of the US oversight role has no immediate Castro said the change opens the door to other opposition “to commit to their promises of giving have been waging an offensive for months to try to sev- impact for Internet users, and ICANN will continue to governments such as Russia or China modifying the sophisticated weapons” to rebels. er rebel supply lines across the porous border. Hezbollah administer the network’s key technical functions. The Internet architecture for political reasons. Without US “We are fighting a brutal war and facing enemies who officials say many of the car bombs that exploded in the change affects US government oversight of “root oversight, “ICANN would not be accountable to any- have no values or morals such as the gangs of group’s strongholds in Lebanon over the past months zone” of databases underlying the Internet which one, and would be motivated only by the interests of (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah ... mercenaries of were made in Yabroud. Hezbollah openly joined Syria’s makes Washington a steward of that system, even those individuals who control the organization,” the hypocrisy coming from Iraq all the way to the head of civil war last year, fighting along Assad’s forces and tip- though the functions are contracted out to ICANN analyst added. the snake in Tehran,” Jarba said in a speech in Istanbul. ping the battle in its favor in areas close to Lebanon. and the infrastructure company Verisign. “The timing Greg Shatan, a US lawyer who is a member of an “Oh Syrians: Our revolution will be victorious and the Lebanese broadcasters Al-Mayadeen and Hezbollah’s is right to start the transition process,” said Assistant ICANN working group, said the change is “a big deal,” chemical terrorist regime will go. The battle is not long Al-Manar aired live footage from outside Yabroud show- Commerce Secretary Lawrence Strickling, who added but that Washington is not walking away entirely from because we have passed the most difficult part.” State ing bombs landing over the city. Al-Manar showed that he looked forward to “an appropriate transition its role in the Internet. The change affects “the plumb- media in Syria did not mention the anniversary. footage of dead men, some of them bearded. It also plan.” ing of the Internet” but ICANN still has obligations to In Beirut, international aid agencies said that every showed Syrian troops shooting and firing rocket-pro- The statement said the US hopes to “support and the US under its “Affirmation of Commitments,” Shatan statistic tracking the lives of Syrian children has wors- pelled-grenades at rebels in the area. One of the Syrian enhance the multi-stakeholder model,” and “maintain added in an email. “By making this announcement, ened as the conflict grinds on, warning an entire genera- commanders in the area told Al-Mayadeen that troops the openness of the Internet” under any new system. the US is trying to make sure the transition happens tion of is at risk. Suggesting how badly Syria has unrav- advanced “hundreds of meters (yards) inside Yabroud.” ICANN said its role as administrator of the Internet’s on its own terms, and that the US is setting the rules eled, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said an He added that troops captured the nearby Saint Maroun unique identifier system remains unchanged. “The for the transition.” The European Union recently called estimated 2.3 million children last year were in need of Hill that overlooks Yabroud. “We will cut supply lines Internet’s Unique Identifier functions are not apparent for these modifications, but some other countries shelter, food, health care, education or psychological with neighboring countries and the fighters will be to most Internet users, but they play a critical role in have been seeking deeper changes, such as placing help for the trauma they suffered. That number has near- besieged in specific areas then wiped out,” the officer, maintaining a single, global, unified and interopera- the Internet under UN control - which came up at a ly doubled to 5.5 million children this year, he said. who did not give his name, said. ble Internet.” ICANN said. heated 2012 gathering of the UN’s International Yesterday, Syrian state television said troops Also yesterday, Lebanon’s state-run National News But the change leaves some questions unanswered Telecommunications Union. “The US is making sure advanced in Yabroud near Syria’s border with Lebanon, agency said two rockets, apparently fired by Syrian on the future stewardship of the Internet. Daniel that the ITU and the UN do not take this oversight and now control of much of the area between the two rebels, struck the Lebanese border villages of Nabi Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation function,” Shatan said. “The press release is very clear countries. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Othman and Labweh, killing one person and wound- Foundation said the United States “was bullied into that the US will not accept any proposal that replaces the Syrian air force conducted at least 15 air raids on the ing two. Syrian rebels have been shelling Lebanese making the change” due to pressure over the revela- US government oversight with a government or inter- town as heavy clashes raged on the town’s outskirts. It border villages where Hezbollah enjoys wide sup- tions of leaked NSA documents from former contrac- governmental solution.” — AFP said at least five opposition fighters were killed fighting port. — Agencies SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 ANALYSIS

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Issues US military treads lightly in Africa

By David Lewis

n a dusty training ground in Niger, US Special Forces teach local troops to deal with suspects who resist arrest. “Speed, Oaggression, surprise!” an instructor barks as two Nigeriens wrestle a US adviser out of a car. The drill in the border town of Diffa is part of Exercise Flintlock, a counter-terrorism exercise for nations on the Sahara’s southern flanks that the United States organises each year. Washington’s aim is to tackle Islamist militants in the Sahel region while keeping its military presence in Africa light. A growing number of European nations taking part shows their increasing concern about security in West Africa. Central to the international effort is a blossoming relationship between the United States and France, the former colonial power and traditional “police- man” of the turbulent region. When Paris deployed 4,000 troops to Nervous region eyes robust Chinese response fight Islamist militants in neighbouring Mali last year, the US military lent a hand by airlifting French soldiers and equipment, providing By Greg Torode on Monday acknowledged Malaysia had the course. Malaysian government officials say they ‘New Historic Missions’ intelligence and training African forces to join the operation. “main responsibility” for both the search and the are coping as best they can with a highly com- Ian Storey, an expert on ties between China French troops are stretched by hunting the militants in Mali and rom high-resolution satellites to advanced follow-up investigation. He added, however, that plex crisis. Regional naval officials and analysts and Southeast Asia, said Beijing’s deployment tackling religious violence in Central African Republic, so only a warships, China’s military build-up is on full Beijing had a responsibility not only to partici- said one of the big questions now was what the reflected its regional military build-up and the handful participated in Flintlock. Nevertheless, they welcomed their Fdisplay in the hunt for a missing Malaysian pate but to “demand and urge” Malaysia to step protracted search - and China’s growing con- PLA’s so-called “new historic missions”, which new partnership with Washington. “The Americans want to get jetliner - putting Asia on notice as to what up its efforts. cerns over Malaysia’s response - would mean for included protecting Chinese nationals abroad. involved in Africa. That’s good for us. We know that with the Beijing might do in the future to further assert Beijing’s approach to the region in future. The crisis would bolster the case of those in Americans it will be more efficient,” said a French Special Forces offi- its regional presence. The search for the Malaysia Once Warm Ties? While many foreign experts see Beijing’s China who believe that as the country’s global cer, who asked not to be named. “We use American logistics - that’s Airlines Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers and Ironically, China’s ties with Malaysia had been deployment as robust, Chinese state television interests expand, its defence budget should what we are missing. On the other hand, we provide the local crew has exposed tensions between Beijing and among its warmest in the region despite a dis- and other media reports have referred to a lack grow to protect those interests, added Storey, knowledge.” The United States fast-tracked the sale of 12 Reaper Kuala Lumpur, with Chinese officials from pute over territory in the South China Sea. of Chinese capabilities to conduct extended from the Institute of South East Asian Studies in drones to France last year, the first two of which started operating in Premier Li Keqiang on down criticising However, Chinese warships staged a show of search and rescue operations far from the main- Singapore. China this month announced a 12.2 Niger in January alongside US drones already there. In a reminder of Malaysia’s handling of the crisis. China has sent a sovereignty just two months ago at the James land coast. More facilities would be needed for percent rise in military spending to 808.23 bil- the partnership, a drone quietly taxied past troops and dignitaries at team of envoys and investigators to Malaysia to Shoal, a submerged reef about 80 km off dealing with humanitarian disasters, one lion yuan ($131.57 billion) for 2014, but gave no Flintlock’s closing ceremony in the capital of Niamey before taking deepen its involvement. Malaysia’s Borneo island state of Sarawak - and Chinese expert said, even though China had breakdown of how the money would be spent. off to scour the Sahara. While Beijing’s concerns reflect, in part, pub- some 1,800 km from mainland China. Beijing expanded listening posts, ports and runways at Its military spending, second only to the lic anxiety over the fate of more than 150 regards those waters as its southernmost territo- its facilities in the disputed Paracel and Spratly United States, has allowed China to create a US Facing Budget Cuts Chinese on board Flight MH370, the search ry, the bottom of a looping so-called nine-dash archipelagoes of the South China Sea. “This will modern force that is projecting power not only Military experts say direct US military action in Africa is limited to comes at a time when China has been flexing its line on maps that comprise 90 percent of the not be the last time. China has a responsibility across the East and South China Seas, but fur- short raids on “high-value” targets in places such as Somalia and Libya, muscles in the disputed South and East China South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, and calling to join in,” said Ruan Zongze, a for- ther into the western Pacific and Indian Oceans. while French troops take on longer, bigger operations. J Peter Pham, Seas. One aerospace and defence industry Brunei and Taiwan are also in dispute with mer Chinese diplomat with the China Institute Bower said the confused search highlighted director of the Africa Center at the US-based Atlantic Council, said this source with years of experience in the region Beijing over parts of the ocean. of International Studies, a think tank affiliated weak military cooperation in Asia and the need arrangement suited US military planners who face budget cuts and a said the Chinese response would stick in the The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) with the Foreign Ministry. for better coordination between Washington diminished American appetite for combat after conflicts in Iraq and minds of its neighbours. “This is a demonstration deployment at the shoal was led by one of its The Chinese effort is already sparking con- and its Asian allies and partners. A long-running Afghanistan. However, he warned that the French military was at the of force in a peaceful context,” said the source, three state-of-the-art amphibious assault ships. cern among the public in Vietnam, where battles effort by the Association of South East Asian limit of its ability to strike militants hard. “If the French are not able to who declined to be identified because he was Two of those 20,000-tonne vessels - the over sovereignty against China go back decades. Nations (ASEAN) to tie China to a binding agree- provide that blunt instrument, is the US willing to do so?” not authorised to speak to the media. Kunlunshan and the Jingangshan - have joined Social media has been active with postings, ment on measures to lower tensions in the Nine years after the Flintlock exercises began, the enemy has China has deployed four warships, four the search for the missing plane. “The Chinese comments and deep suspicion about the pres- South China Sea includes search and rescue evolved from a group of Algerian-dominated fighters focused on coastguard vessels, eight aircraft and trained 10 are drawing the conclusion that these guys are ence of Chinese planes and warships near the cooperation. northern Mali and now threatens nations across the Sahara and the satellites on a wide search area far from main- not ready for prime time,” said Ernie Bower, a Vietnamese coast. Deputy Transport Minister Such cooperation is part of the discussions, arid Sahel belt to the south. For most of 2012, militants occupied land China. Chinese media have described the Southeast Asia specialist at Washington’s Center Pham Quy Tieu, head of Vietnam’s search and and ASEAN envoys said this could be accelerat- northern Mali, a desert zone the size of France. Scattered by a ship deployment as the largest Chinese rescue for Strategic and International Studies, referring rescue effort, told Reuters that China had asked ed outside the broader and more sensitive talks. French offensive last year, many are believed to be regrouping in fleet ever assembled. The missing plane’s last to Malaysia. permission for its ships and planes to enter “Since we don’t have that collaborative effort southern Libya. reported contact with civilian radar was near the The fruitless search has shone the spotlight Vietnamese territory and that Hanoi remained in well established yet, I think the Chinese are, Hundreds of people are being killed every month in clashes mouth of the Gulf of Thailand, which opens into on a series of fumbling news conferences by “total control”. “China only flies and searches at whether intentionally or unintentionally, send- with Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria. Many in Niger fear the South China Sea. The aircraft was bound for Malaysian officials and a long delay in divulging high altitude, its boats never go deep inside our ing a message to their citizens that Malaysia is a this conflict could spill over the border and the government in Beijing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. details of the military’s tracking of what could waters. So we are not concerned about breaches small country that’s not able to manage well,” Niamey has appealed for more military support. “Instability in Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang have been the plane hundreds of miles off of our sovereignty,” Tieu said. said Bower. —Reuters neighbouring states has given everybody a new incentive,” General James Linder, commander of US Special Operations Command Africa, told Reuters while visiting Niger. This year’s three-week Flintlock exercise - involving over 1,000 troops from 18 nations - was Focus back on pilots, stolen passports the biggest yet and runs alongside more permanent training by US Special Forces in Niger, Mauritania, Senegal and Chad. By Giles Hewitt Training in Diffa, only a few kilometres from where Boko Haram militants are fighting the Nigerian army across the border, ranged onfirmation that a missing Malaysian airliner was deliber- from basic patrolling skills and setting up checkpoints to sharing ately diverted suggests several scenarios that will sharp- intelligence and providing medical care. In a region where armies Cen scrutiny of the cockpit crew and passengers known to often lack basics such as ammunition for target practice and fuel for have boarded with stolen passports. Prime Minister Najib Razak vehicles, the quality and tempo of the US-sponsored exercise announced yesterday that satellite and radar data clearly indi- eclipses the training most soldiers in the region receive in a year. cated the plane’s automated communications had been dis- Colonel Mounkaila Sofiani, the local Niger commander, said abled and the plane then turned away from its intended path Flintlock and other US initiatives helped his country to tackle threats and flown on for hours. “These movements are consistent with from the west, north and south better. “Little by little people are deliberate action by someone on the plane,” he said, adding being trained,” he said. “Once there are enough, they’ll form the that investigators had consequently “refocused their investiga- spine of a reliable force.” tion into crew and passengers on board.” Training is meant to build up coordination between armies but Since the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, the International Civil Sofiani said just finding radio equipment compatible between Airline Organisation has mandated high security standards for nations is difficult. In the field, officers exchange mobile phone plane cockpits. Cockpit doors - reinforced to withstand bullets - numbers to bypass blockages in official channels. A lack of trust must be locked from the inside before push off from the gate. between governments also hinders responses. At a recent meeting “So for me there’s only a few scenarios,” said Paul Yap, an avia- of intelligence chiefs, the Nigerien and Libyan representatives tion lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore. “First the argued over the risk of instability spreading from Libya’s lawless people involved in the deliberate actions are the pilots, one of south, a diplomat told Reuters. Coups in Mauritania, Niger and Mali them or both of them in cahoots. Then we have a scenario since the Flintlock exercises began also halted cooperation until where terrorists make the pilots change course and switch off Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (center), Malaysia’s Minister for Transport Hishamuddin Hussein civilian rule was restored. Mali’s 2012 coup, led by a captain with US the transponders under duress, maybe threatening to kill pas- (left) and Director General of the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman deliv- training, opened the door to the Islamist takeover of the north, sengers,” Yap said. er a statement to the media regarding the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner yesterday in Sepang. —AP prompting questions about what the years of exercises had The transponder of MH370 was switched off around the achieved. Pham said better military capabilities had not been time analysts said it would have reached its cruising altitude, rised by the Malaysian Civil Aviation Department, to conduct chances of success have gone down,” he said, citing the chal- matched by improvements in governance, citing a failure by Mali to when pilots often emerge to take a bathroom or coffee break. simulator tests for pilots. Malaysian reporters told AFP they wit- lenge of bringing weapons onto a plane and subduing other tackle corruption. Chad’s military, however, has won praise for lead- The hijackers of the four planes used in the 9/11 attacks turned nessed police enter Zaharie’s home yesterday, spending two passengers. There has been no indication yet of any possible ing the charge alongside French troops in flushing out the militants off the transponders of three of the jets. hours there. Police declined comment to AFP. terrorist involvement. from Mali’s desolate northern mountains. —Reuters If hijackers are suspected, then the glare of suspicion will Malaysia has not been the target of any notable terror Flight Crew Under Scrutiny fall again on two passengers who boarded with stolen EU attacks. But terror analysts say it is home to several individuals Flight MH370 was under the command of Captain Zaharie passports. Interpol had identified the two men as Iranians: alleged to be operatives of militant Islamic groups such as the Ahmad Shah, 53, and his First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27 - Seyed Mohammed Reza Delavar, who used a stolen Italian Al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah. Most of the passengers on whose records and personal lives have already come under passport, and Pouria Nourmohammadi, who used an Austrian the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight were Chinese nation- All articles appearing on these scrutiny. An Australian television report broadcast an interview one. Both passports had been stolen in Thailand. Interpol als. China is grappling with simmering anger among its Muslim pages are the personal opinion of with a young South African woman who said Fariq and another chief Ronald Noble said last Tuesday that the men were ethnic Uighur minority in the country’s remote far west, many pilot colleague invited them into the cockpit of a flight he co- thought to be illegal immigrants who had travelled from of whom openly complain of Chinese repression. the writers. Kuwait Times takes no piloted from Phuket, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur in 2011. Since Doha to Kuala Lumpur in a round-about bid to reach Europe. It has blamed Uighur separatists for a string of violent inci- responsibility for views expressed 9/11, passengers have been prohibited from entering cockpits Interpol’s information suggested the pair were “probably not dents including a coordinated knife attack in the southwestern therein. Kuwait Times invites read- during a flight. Malaysia Airlines has said it was “shocked” by the terrorists”, Noble said at the time. city of Kunming on March 1 that left 29 people dead. Malaysia ers to voice their opinions. Please report, but that it could not verify the claims. has deported at least 17 Uighur Muslims who were travelling The son of a high-ranking official in the public works depart- Terrorists ‘Don’t do’ Hijackings on fake passports back to China since 2011. send submissions via email to: opin- ment of a Malaysian state, Fariq joined Malaysia Airlines when Adam Dolnik, a professor of terrorism studies at the London-based David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor [email protected] or via snail he was 20. He is a mild-mannered “good boy” who regularly vis- University of Wollongong in Australia, said he still doubted for Flight International, warned of the danger of rushing to con- mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. ited his neighbourhood mosque outside Kuala Lumpur, said the that organised terrorism was behind the Malaysian plane mys- clusions following Najib’s announcement yesterday. “The new mosque’s imam, or spiritual leader. The far more seasoned tery. While a group like Al-Qaeda “would love to bring down evidence is consistent with deliberate action, but it’s still only a The editor reserves the right to edit Zaharie joined MAS in 1981 and had logged 18,365 hours of fly- an airliner”, a Malaysia Airlines plane made little sense as a tar- small amount of data - certainly not a complete picture - and any submission as necessary. ing time. Malaysian media reports quoted colleagues calling get and the stolen passports had an “amateurish” element, therefore it’s still premature to label the event formally as a Zaharie a “superb pilot”, who also served as an examiner, autho- Dolnik said. “Terrorists don’t do (hijackings), because the hijack,” Kaminski-Morrow said. —AFP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 SPORTS

West Brom sack Anelka Maltais wins final race Mikaela grabs slalom win

LONDON: West Bromwich Albion have given French striker Nicolas Anelka notice LENZERHEIDE: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States completed her exceptional slalom LA MOLINA: Canada’s Dominique Maltais capped her snow- season with a fifth World Cup race win yesterday. The Olympic champion was 1.44 sec- they are terminating his contract for gross misconduct, the Premier League club board cross World Cup title by winning the final of race of the said in a statement on Friday. Anelka, who was given a five-match ban by the FA fol- onds faster than any rival in one of the longest women’s slaloms in World Cup history. “I lowing his controversial ‘quenelle’ salute during a match on Dec. 28, had earlier said season on Saturday, while Paul Berg of Germany beat Olympic did a pretty good job the first run I guess so I felt more comfortable the second run, on Twitter he was quitting the Midlands team. silver medalist Nikolay Olyunin. and just trying to hold on to it,” Shiffrin said. “The club considers the conduct of Nicolas Anelka on December 28, coupled Maltais overtook and held off Lindsey Jacobellis to edge out She had a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 4.54 seconds. Frida with his purported termination on social media this evening, to be the American and win the women’s final under sunny skies in the Hansdotter of Sweden was second and Austria’s Marlies Schild was third, gross misconduct,” West Brom said. “As a result the club has tonight Pyrenees mountains. Raffaella Brutto of Italy finished third after trailing 1.66 behind Shiffrin. written to Nicolas Anelka giving him 14 days’ notice of termina- Yuka Fujimori of Japan crashed. Shiffrin already clinched her second straight World Cup discipline tion as required under his contract,” they added on their website Maltais, who won the silver medal at the Sochi Olympics last title one week ago when winning a race at Are, Sweden. “I am very proud. One of my goals this year was to hold on to the (www.wba.co.uk). month, ended the season with 5,400 points. Jacobellis was next slalom globe,” she said. Shiffrin led the standings from start Anelka, who turned 35 on Friday, made the ‘quenelle’ salute, with 3,760, followed by Alexandra Jekova of Bulgaria with 2,850. to finish after winning the season-opening race in which is associated with anti-Semitic sentiments, when he Berg then rode flawlessly through the course to finish ahead November at Levi, Finland. scored the first of his two goals in a 3-3 draw in a league game at of Russia’s Olyunin, with Spaniard Regino Hernandez coming Her ninth career World Cup victory came two days West Ham United’s Upton Park ground. Earlier on Friday, the for- third after he and Canadian Christopher Robanske slowed each after her 19th birthday. Shiffrin will also race the season- mer France striker tweeted that he was quitting the club but West other down early in the descent. On Friday, Omar Visintin of Italy ending giant slalom today. Only four racers were Brom said they had not received any official notification of claimed the World Cup title when Australian Jarryd Hughes, the within two seconds of Shiffrin on a tiring end-of- his intention to end his contract. “Following my season course yesterday. “You have to try to just be talks with the club I’ve been told I could be only rider with a chance to overtake Visintin in the standings, failed to qualify. Visintin didn’t advance beyond Saturday’s quar- as efficient as you can and not waste any energy,” back in the squad under certain conditions Shiffrin said after the first run. “Try to just stay close to that I can’t agree,” Anelka said on his Twitter terfinals. Olympic champion Pierre Vaultier of France fell early in the gates as you can, make sure you are moving quick in account (@anelkaofficiel).—Reuters the round of 16.—AP between and let your skis do the rest of the work.”—AP

NHL results/standings Rangers ground Jets San Jose 4, NY Islanders 3; Washington 4, Vancouver 3; Detroit 2, Edmonton 1 (So); Florida 5, New Jersey 3; Nashville 3, Chicago 2; NY Rangers 4, Winnipeg 2; Calgary WINNIPEG: Henrik Lundqvist stopped 30 shots to match 4, Dallas 3 (SO); Anaheim 6, Colorado 4. the Rangers’ record for career wins, and Swedish country- man Carl Hagelin scored three goals to lift New York to a 4- 2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL on Friday. Western Conference Lundqvist tied the mark of 301 wins with the Rangers, Pacific Division set by Stanley Cup-winner Mike Richter. Lundqvist will W L OTL GF GA PTS have a chance to break the record today at home against Anaheim 44 16 7 216 171 95 San Jose. Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who San Jose 44 17 7 213 165 95 went 1-2 on a three-game trip, bouncing back from a 2-1 loss at Minnesota on Thursday. New York took a 1-0 lead on Los Angeles 38 23 6 164 142 82 its third shot of the game. Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Phoenix 31 25 11 185 191 73 Ladd scored for the Jets, who have lost six straight and are Vancouver 30 29 10 163 187 70 fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Jets failed to Calgary 27 33 7 163 199 61 earn a point as they had in three of the previous five losses. Edmonton 23 36 9 169 223 55 SHARKS 4, ISLANDERS 3 Matt Nieto and Jason Demers scored first-period goals Central Division as San Jose defeated New York for its fifth straight win. Joe St. Louis 45 14 7 219 150 97 Thornton and Marty Havlat added goals in the second as Colorado 43 19 5 206 180 91 the Sharks improved to 20-6-3 against the NHL’s Eastern Chicago 38 15 14 227 178 90 Conference. Antti Niemi made 35 saves for San Jose. Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Frans Nielsen scored for Minnesota 35 22 9 163 162 79 the Islanders, who lost for the fifth time in six home games. Dallas 32 23 11 191 185 75 New York, which began a four-game homestand following Winnipeg 30 29 9 186 199 69 a 2-1-1 trip, has an NHL-worst 9-17-8 home record. Former Nashville 29 28 10 163 197 68 Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov stopped 22 shots for the Islanders in his first start against them.

Eastern Conference DUCKS 6, AVALANCHE 4 Atlantic Division Kyle Palmieri scored two goals in 47 seconds, and Boston 44 17 5 210 145 93 Anaheim netted six in the second period to beat Colorado. Toronto 36 24 8 201 207 80 Corey Perry, Daniel Winnik and Ben Lovejoy also scored for WINNIPEG: New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (30) saves a shot from Winnipeg Jets’ Jim Slater (19) as Tampa Bay 35 24 7 191 175 77 the Ducks, who stopped a four-game skid with their Rangers’ Martin St. Louis helps to defend during the second period of an NHL game. — AP biggest offensive output since they scored nine goals Montreal 35 25 7 167 170 77 against Vancouver on Jan. 1. held on to beat New Jersey. Vincent Trocheck, Brad Boyes, third period as Nashville beat Chicago for its third consecu- Detroit 30 23 13 174 184 73 Jonas Hiller made 34 saves two nights after giving up Quinton Howden and Brian Campbell also scored for tive win. Ottawa 28 25 12 185 213 68 three goals on five shots before being pulled. Florida. Roberto Luongo stopped 28 shots. Jonathan Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist also scored for Florida 25 35 7 166 217 57 The Ducks stayed tied with San Jose for first place in the Huberdeau had two assists, and Boyes also had an assist. Nashville, which has won two of three against Chicago this Buffalo 19 39 8 131 196 46 Pacific Division. Both teams have 95 points, but the Ducks Patrik Elias had a goal and assist, and Bryce Salvador season. Shea Weber had an assist, and Pekka Rinne made have played one fewer game. and Jaromir Jagr also scored for the Devils. Cory Schneider 31 saves. made 17 saves. The Panthers ended a three-game losing It was the second straight loss for the Blackhawks, who Metropolitan Division CAPITALS 4, CANUCKS 3 streak and handed the Devils their first loss in three games. dropped to 10-8-7 in 2014. Jonathan Toews and Peter Pittsburgh 44 17 4 206 159 92 Mike Green netted the go-ahead goal in the third peri- Regin scored for Chicago, and Corey Crawford made 26 NY Rangers 36 28 4 177 169 76 od, Alex Ovechkin also scored, and Evgeny Kuznetsov had RED WINGS 2, OILERS 1 saves in his 200th NHL game. Columbus 34 26 6 193 183 74 three assists for his first NHL points, as Washington edged Tomas Tatar scored on Detroit’s third shootout attempt, Vancouver. Washington led 3-1 early in the third before and Jimmy Howard stopped all three Edmonton attempts FLAMES 4, STARS 3 Philadelphia 33 25 7 184 190 73 Shawn Matthias and Nicklas Jensen scored for Vancouver in the Red Wings’ win. Mike Cammalleri scored two goals and Corban Knight Washington 31 27 10 197 205 72 to tie it. Green put the Capitals ahead for good with 9:41 Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth tied the game midway through netted the winner in a shootout as Calgary erased a two- New Jersey 29 25 13 166 173 71 left, scoring with a slap shot off a feed from Nicklas the third period, scoring on a shot set up by Detroit goal deficit in the third period to beat Dallas. Carolina 29 28 9 167 187 67 Backstrom from behind the net. defenseman Brendan Smith’s backhanded giveaway. Riley It was the Stars’ first home game since forward Rich NY Islanders 25 34 9 191 232 59 Joel Ward and Tom Wilson also scored for the Capitals. Sheahan put the Red Wings ahead 1-0 late in the first peri- Peverley collapsed on their bench on Monday. Peverley Jaroslav Halak made 38 saves. Jordan Schroeder scored od. Edmonton has the worst record in the Western got a standing ovation in the first period, four nights after Vancouver’s other goal, and Chris Higgins and Christopher Conference and isn’t far from being eliminated from the he was revived by medical personnel during a game Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the Tanev both had two assists. Eddie Lack stopped 17 shots. playoff race for the eighth straight season. against Columbus that was postponed. standings and are not included in the loss column (L). Trailing 3-1 late in the third, Calgary’s Paul Byron and PANTHERS 5, DEVILS 3 PREDATORS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2 Cammalleri scored a pair of goals three minutes apart to Scottie Upshall scored the go-ahead goal as Florida Roman Josi had three assists and Ryan Ellis scored in the even the score, leading to the shootout. — AP SIRBB Circuit now open to public

KUWAIT: Following the success of its soft launch in and thrilling experience for all our visitors”. last weekend, which is very exciting for us and for October - where hundreds of people attended to Mustafa Makhseed, General Manager of Kuwait. We have great plans for SIRBB, that we will witness some of the largest car, motorbike, and Kuwait’s Historical Vintage & Classic Cars Museum be announcing later, but we guarantee that SIRBB drifting parades seen in Kuwait - SIRBB Circuit final- said, “I think everyone here has waited a long time will always provide motorsport enjoyment in ly opens its gates for public bookings and walk-ins. for a place like SIRBB, seeing as we have one of the Kuwait.” In the few months since its launch, SIRBB Circuit region’s highest concentration of motor lovers and SIRBB Circuit is the GCC’s newest karting facility, has become Kuwait’s premier motorsports destina- investors. built on modern, state-of-the-art grounds. A truly tion and gathering point, and the center to most People in Kuwait go out of their way to attend unique spot in Kuwait, SIRBB Circuit lies at the major motor-related events and activities. In under and be part of motor-related activities all over the heart of motor city in Shuwaikh Industrial, right 4 months, SIRBB was host to Road Rush 2013 — a world, and now it’s finally just next door at home. next to the Historical Vintage & Classic Cars women’s only kart racing event — in addition to From what we’ve seen over the last few months, Museum and opposite Alghanim Motors - at the Gulf Run’s 2013 24-Hour Karting Endurance Race, SIRBB Circuit attracts men and women from all intersection of the Jahra and Airport Roads. Under the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro launch, the ages and backgrounds, and we’re gearing up to the auspices and generous support of His Lamborghini Huracan private viewing, the Porsche become Kuwait’s prime destination, thanks to the Highness Sheikh Nasser Al Mohamad Al Sabah, Open Day, the Classic Car Festival, the Classic continuing support of His Highness Sheikh Nasser SIRBB Circuit is hoping to become the new hub for Pickup Festival, as well as a multitude of corporate Al Mohamad Al Sabah to automotive enthusiast in automobile enthusiasts and thrill-seekers, and to events and weekly local car club meetings and Kuwait, and also to Abdulaziz Isaac, member of the celebrate all things motor, with a host of experi- gatherings. Board of Trustees of the museum, for his guidance ences already in motion like karting, drift rides and “We’re really excited about finally being able to and input to the Museum’s plans.” the exclusive Ariel Atom. With more surprises to be pass on the fun to everyone” says Julian Hayward, Eng. Zakaria Dashti, Executive Manager of the rolled out over the course of the year, SIRBB Circuit the Facility Director. “We’ve been working hard on Historical Vintage & Classic Cars Museum, added, is a place where Kuwaitis and expats alike can final- setting the stage for the public and solidifying our “We’ve been getting walk-ins and bookings non- ly live their love for motorsports, right here in their safety standards - and making sure it’s a pleasant stop since we’ve announced our public opening hometown. SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 SPORTS Pennetta to face Radwanska in Indian Wells women’s final

INDIAN WELLS: Italian veteran Flavia “She deserved to win today. Every ball Pennetta upset China’s Australian Open was in for her, and I had to run a lot. I champion Li Na on Friday to join Poland’s think I started the match a bit too soft. I Agnieszka Radwanska in the women’s was not ready to play. final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian “But she is a great player. It’s always Wells. The 32-year-old Pennetta qualified difficult to play against her. I wanted to for the biggest singles final of her career find my way to play. I did, but (it) was too after a 7-6(5) 6-3 drubbing of an out-of- late in first set. She was better than me sorts Li. today.” Pennetta will face Radwanska in Li was promoted to the women’s seed Sunday’s final after the Pole avenged her in the absence of world number one loss to Romania’s Simona Halep in Qatar Serena Williams but had struggled with last month with a 6-3 6-4 win on the her serve all week. Californian desert hardcourts. She had similar problems against Li beat Pennetta in the quarter-finals Pennetta, coughing up eight double of the Australian Open in January but the faults in the first set alone, as the players Italian was too good this time. “I think we traded eight service breaks before played really good tennis tonight,” Pennetta won the tiebreaker. Pennetta said. Li’s serve improved in the second set “In Australia I didn’t have any chance but her forehand let her down as she against her, but tonight I played much started to spray shots all over the court better. I just fought and tried my best. Of and Pennetta seized her chance, sealing INDIAN WELLS: Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns a shot to Julien Benneteau of course I’m happy.” her victory with a backhand winner. France during the BNP Parabas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. — AFP Radwanska, ranked third in the world, “It’s not bad. It’s not like I lost my first sealed the first set with an ace after she match,” Li said. “At least I had a few broke Halep’s opening service game but matches here, and making semis isn’t Djokovic, Isner found herself trailing the second when bad. the Romanian broke. “It’s not like I lost to a bad player. She But the 25-year-old Pole regained was playing really well today. It’s nothing control, getting back on level terms then to worry about. I have a couple of things ease into semis getting a second break and serving out I want to improve for the next tourna- her victory to reach her first final at ment.” INDIAN WELLS: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic Djokovic, who won the Indian Wells title in Indian Wells. For Pennetta, reaching the final and American John Isner cruised into the 2008 and 2011. “What I was trying to do was play capped an incredible year for a woman last four of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian “First few matches I played good tennis aggressively from the beginning of the who was primarily regarded as a doubles Wells on Friday with straight-sets wins in but I had some ups and downs. Today was match and just try to go for my shots,” player. the quarter-finals. very stable from the first to the last point. said Radwanska. “I was lucky. I think I was Less than a year ago, her singles rank- Djokovic hardly raised a sweat in the “He made a lot of unforced errors, and serving better than other days, so that ing had plummeted to 166 and she was Californian desert as he eased to a 6-1 6-3 obviously I just needed to make him play helped today as well. I think it was a pret- considering retiring, before she made a victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau, an extra shot and serve well. I have done ty good match.” fairytale run at the US Open, reaching before the towering Isner rode his boom- everything I wanted.” Halep took some consolation from the semi-finals. “I’m surprised,” Pennetta ing serve to a 7-6(4) 7-6(3) win over Latvia’s Isner had a tougher time against Gulbis, her defeat as she will rise to fifth said. “In the beginning of the week if you Ernests Gulbis. winning the opening set in a tiebreaker place in the world when the new told me, ‘You’re going to make the final Djokovic was not at his absolute best after the first 12 games went with serve. rankings are released tomorrow. “It here,’ I would have said, ‘Mmmm, I don’t but was never in any real danger against Isner fell behind in the second set when INDIAN WELLS: Flavia Pennetta of Italy hits a return was a tough match,” said Halep. “She think so!’ “So I’m really happy. I’m happy the 32-year-old Benneteau, who beat him Gulbis found a way to break his serve but to Li Na of China during the BNP Paribas Open at played really well. with my game.” — Reuters at Indian Wells eight years ago when the the Latvian was unable to capitalise as the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. — AFP Serb was still a teenager. American broke back and won the second Djokovic, 26, raced through the open- tiebreaker. ing set in less than half an hour with two Djokovic was beaten by Isner in the Hirscher wins overall WCup title service breaks and four aces despite the semi-finals at Indian Wells two years ago, Garrigus windy conditions and an approaching losing tiebreakers in the first and third sets. LENZERHEIDE: Marcel Hirscher clinched his third ing he was overall champion. sand storm. “He’s definitely not somebody you like to grabs PGA lead straight overall World Cup title yesterday but Ligety then needed his good friend Neureuther The first six games of the second set all play in the big heat with such serve,” couldn’t prevent Ted Ligety from winning his fifth to finish second or third in the narrow time gap went with serve before Djokovic reeled off Djokovic said. “It’s very challenging the last three in a row to seal a comfortable because he doesn’t miss his serve too PALM HARBOR: Robert Garrigus, an season-long giant slalom trophy. between himself and Hirscher. victory in less than 70 minutes. much, so you have to kind of be able to American seeking his second US PGA A race that came down to a few hundredths of Neureuther did it in the tightest way possible, He broke Benneteau for a 4-3 lead when hold your composure from the first to the Tour title, fired a five-under par 66 to a second saw Hirscher finish fourth, giving him finishing 0.01 ahead of Hirscher, who was relegat- the Frenchman double faulted, then again last point and be ready to play three tie- seize a three-stroke lead after Friday’s enough points to clinch the sport’s biggest prize. ed to fourth. With 10 fewer points awarded for to wrap up the win when his opponent hit breaks.” second round of the $5.7 million Valspar Ligety won the race and thereby tied the fourth than third, he fell into a tie with Ligety on a forehand long and wide. Late yesterday’s other semi-final will be Championship. Garrigus stood on sev- Austrian on points in the season-long discipline 560 over the eight-race season. “I felt like I was very focused on the between Switzerland’s Roger Federer and en-under 135 after 36 holes on the standings, giving the American the GS title on a Ligety got the tiebreaker with five World Cup court from the start, and it’s what I was Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, who won Copperhead Course at Innisbrook with tiebreaker as he had more race victories. race wins against Hirscher’s two. “Felix, I owe a lot looking for. It’s never too easy,” said their quarter-finals on Thursday. —Reuters compatriot Kevin Na second on 138 “It’s an unbelievable happy day,” said Hirscher, of beers,” Ligety said. Hirscher was smiling later, after a second-round 68. content to concede the discipline to the American after watching Ligety and Neureuther roll around Americans Pat Perez and Matt Every, dubbed “Mr. GS” by race announcers. the finish-area snow in celebration. who were among four players to share “My big goal was the overall World Cup title “He is not allowed to travel to Austria. It is over. the 18-hole lead, fired par 71s to share and I got it and I’m so happy,” said the 25-year-old Just kidding,” Hirscher said of Neureuther’s inter- third on 139 with reigning US Open Hirscher, the first man to win three in a row since vention. They will renew their rivalry Sunday for Revamped World T-20 champion Justin Rose and Italy’s Matteo American Phil Mahre completed the feat in 1983. the season-long slalom title. Manassero. Hirscher needed 19 points to overtake Aksel “He is very mad about me so it’s going to be searches for identity Australian Greg Chalmers, who also Lund Svindal of Norway, who led the standings very close,” said Neureuther, who leads Hirscher by going into the race but skied out in the first run. five points in the slalom standings. Henrik opened on 68, shot a 72 to share sev- NEW DELHI: International T20 cricket, Australia, South Africa, England and enth on 140 alongside 2010 winner Jim Fourth place gave the Austrian 50 points. Kristoffersen of Norway is also in contention. Hirscher completed Austria’s first overall title Svindal faded again, extending his disappoint- struggling to gain a firm footing despite the West Indies will arrive in Dhaka bare- Furyk, John Merrick, Scott Langley and the growing popularity of domestic ly a week before the Super-10 round Luke Guthrie. double since 2002, after Anna Fenninger ing series of results since leaving the Sochi clinched her first women’s title this week. They Olympics early, affected by allergies and without a leagues, will break new ground when starts, leaving them little time to accli- South Korean-born New Zealander the fifth World Twenty20 opens in matise. Danny Lee, who shared the 18-hole lead, both come from villages near Salzburg and medal. He is not competing in Sunday’s slalom. raced each other as juniors. Ligety earned his “It was a good season but it could have been Bangladesh today. Tests and one-dayers fired a 79 and missed the cut. Garrigus, take precedence over T20 internationals ABSENT STARS who lost a playoff two years ago at victory in a crowd-pleasing race by just 0.03 fantastic,” said Svindal, who won the World Cup seconds ahead of runner-up Alexis Pinturault of titles in downhill and super-G though all but con- even as successful competitions like the The tournament will be notable for Innisbrook, opened with a 10-foot par Indian Premier League (IPL) and its absences such as Australian Test skip- putt, sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the France, in a two-run combined time of 2 min- ceded the overall title to Hirscher earlier in the Australia’s Big Bash mushroom around per Michael Clarke and his English coun- par-5 fifth and a 17-foot birdie putt to utes, 15.63 seconds. week. the world. terpart Alastair Cook. close the front nine. Garrigus, who won “I’m super-thrilled. That was by the skin of my “That was too bad, because I had a really good India, cricket’s financial superpower, England’s star batsman Kevin at Disney World in 2010, opened the teeth today,” Ligety said. He still relied on a big opportunity to win the biggest thing a ski racer whose victory in the inaugural World Pietersen will also be missing after his back nine with a bogey but followed assist from first-run leader Felix Neureuther of can win,” said Svindal, a two-time former overall T20 in 2007 sparked the IPL revolution, controversial sacking last month, along with a birdie at 11 and another at the Germany to make clinch the discipline title as the champion. has played just one international in the with New Zealand’s big-hitting Jesse par-5 14th, then added a 27-foot birdie narrow margins all fell Ligety’s way. Ligety completed a race double for the U.S. shortest version over the last 15 months. Ryder who was dropped for late-night putt at the 15th before closing with Ligety, the Olympic champion in GS, was sec- team Saturday, with Mikaela Shiffrin earlier win- three consecutive pars.“Very solid put- ond-fastest in the morning and had time in the ning her fifth World Cup slalom this season. World cricket chiefs, hoping to drinking. ting the first two days,” Garrigus said. “I start house to absorb the second-leg target set by The American anthem played four times in spread the game to newer pastures South Africa meanwhile will be hit it a little better yesterday in the wind. Hirscher. Hirscher finished outside provisional quick succession for a crowd of 10,500 at the Swiss through Twenty20, have expanded the entering a new era after the recent I hate to say it’s a better round, it was 2- leader Pinturault’s time, leaving Ligety an opening. venue - twice each for Ligety and Shiffrin’s race upcoming tournament to 16 teams from retirements of Graeme Smith and under to 5-under, but it was definitely a The 29-year-old American came down barely and season title victories. The Austrian anthem will 12 two years ago and introduced a new Jacques Kallis. India can at least wel- better ball-striking round.—AFP faster than Pinturault, drawing applause from dominate today, when Hirscher and Fenninger get format. come back skipper Mahendra Singh Hirscher who was in the finish area already know- their giant crystal globes. — AP Six qualifiers-Ireland, Afghanistan, Dhoni after he missed the Asia Cup Nepal, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates through injury. and the Netherlands-will join Zimbabwe Australia, seeking to win their maid- and hosts Bangladesh in a preliminary en World T20 title, have debunked the league of two groups from March 16 to theory that T20 is a young man’s game 21. by including middle-order batsman The two group winners will then con- Brad Hodge, 39, and 43-year-old spinner test the Super-10 round with the top Brad Hogg in their squad. eight Test nations-Australia, Pakistan, The tournament, which runs until South Africa, England, New Zealand, April 6, will be played under heavy secu- India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. rity after election violence at the turn of True to the unpredictable nature of the year raised fears that Bangladesh’s the slam-bang format, the four previous biggest sporting event could be moved editions threw up different winners each elsewhere. time with India’s success in 2007 emulat- Bangladesh, which co-hosted the ed by Pakistan (2009), England (2010) 2011 50-over World Cup with India and and the West Indies (2012) — all away Sri Lanka, will stage matches in the capi- from home. tal Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Chris Gayle, one of the most destruc- But plans to host games in the holi- tive batsmen in the modern game, day resort of Cox’s Bazaar were ruled out warned it will not be easy for his West after building work on a new stadium Indies side to defend the title despite a fell behind schedule. series win over England this week. Organisers will be praying that “It would be nice if history could Bangladesh defeat the dangerous repeat itself but it’s going to be tough,” Afghanistan in today’s tournament the left-handed opener said. “We will opener in Dhaka because an early exit take it one match at a time. The first tar- for the hosts could seriously affect inter- get is to make the semi-finals.” est in the tournament. Sri Lanka, the top-ranked T20 side, Afghanistan, who will play their third have enhanced their status as one of the World T20 and have also qualified for a favorites by spending more than six maiden appearance in the 50-over weeks in Bangladesh since late January, World Cup next year, stunned the hosts capped by their Asia Cup victory last in the recent Asia Cup. weekend. No wonder Bangladesh’s premier all- But sandwiched between a hectic rounder Shakib Al Hasan urged fans to international schedule, the absence of a tone down expectations from the home number of leading players and a lack- team. “Everyone must take results sport- adaisical build-up by teams, the tourna- ingly,” he said. “Too much expectation ment will lose some sheen. puts undue pressure on us.” — AFP SWITZERLAND: Austria’s Marcel Hirscher competes during the FIS Men’s alpine skiing World Cup Giant Slalom yesterday in Lenzerheide. — AFP SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 Photo of the day Clippers silence Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY: Blake Griffin had 20 points and Chris Paul shook off a sprained ankle to score 18 points to rally the Los SUNS 87, CELTICS 80 Angeles Clippers past the Utah Jazz 96-87 on Friday, extending Goran Dragic scored 20 points as Phoenix scored the last sev- their winning streak to 10 straight games. en points of the game to beat cold-shooting Boston. Los Angeles had its lowest points total during the streak, but After Jeff Green’s two free throws for Boston made it 80-80 the Clippers won this time with defense, forcing 20 turnovers by with 2:02 left, Alex Len started the decisive spurt with a three- the Jazz that led to 31 points. point play on a tip-in and a free throw. The Suns finished the The Jazz led 70-60 in the third-quarter, but the Clippers capi- scoring with a dunk by Markieff Morris and a layup by Dragic. talized on a rash of Utah miscues and poor shot selection to go Eric Bledsoe had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Morris on a 20-2 run. Paul landed awkwardly after a layup, spraining his added 15 points for Phoenix, which ended a three-game losing left ankle. The point guard limped up and down the court, but streak and moved one game behind Memphis for the eighth still led the Clippers’ come-from-behind-third quarter burst. He and final Western Conference playoff spot. Kris Humphries had had seven points and three assists in the six-minute run that 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost for the 10th ended with Will Green’s 3-pointer with 10:37 to play that made it time in 13 games. 80-72. TRAIL BLAZERS 111, PELICANS 103 PACERS 101, 76ERS 94 Damian Lillard scored 27 points and Nicolas Batum added 22 Paul George scored 25 points and David West had 18 to help as Portland ended a four-game skid while playing without All- Indiana beat Philadelphia, sending the 76ers to their 19th Star LaMarcus Aldridge. Wesley Matthews had 20 points for the straight loss. With a loss to Memphis on Saturday, the Sixers can Trail Blazers, who kept Aldridge out of the game due to a back tie the franchise record for consecutive defeats in a single sea- contusion. Anthony Davis scored a career-high 36 points and son. The Sixers lost 20 straight games in 1973 in a 9-73 season. Brian Roberts added 19 for New Orleans. The NBA record for consecutive losses in a season is 26 set by Trailing by five with less than six minutes to go, Lillard went the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers. on a personal 7-0 run to give Portland the lead for good at 96-94. A competitor performs during Red Bull Be-One at Phoenix Park in Pyeong Chang, The Sixers last won on Jan. 29 on Evan Turner’s buzzer-beater South Korea on March 1, 2014. — www.redbullcontentpool.com at Boston. Turner was traded to the Pacers at the Feb. 20 dead- CAVALIERS 103, WARRIORS 94 line and is now a key reserve on a team expected to make a Spencer Hawes had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help deep run in the NBA playoffs. Thaddeus Young led the Sixers Cleveland erase an 18-point first-half deficit on the way to a vic- with 25 points and 10 assists. tory over Golden State. Dion Waiters added 18 points and Luol Deng and Kyrie Irving had 16 apiece for the Cavaliers, who end- England rout Italy 52-11, NUGGETS 111, HEAT 107 ed a six-game losing streak against the Warriors. Stephen Curry Kenneth Faried scored 24 points and Darrell Arthur led a big scored 27 points and Draymond Green added 18 for the effort from Denver’s bench with 18 as Denver handed suddenly Warriors, who were without starting guard Klay Thompson, who chase 6 Nations title reeling Miami its fifth loss in six games. Evan Fournier scored 14, was in the Bahamas for his grandfather’s funeral. — AP Ty Lawson had 13 and JJ Hickson added 11 for the Nuggets. Denver’s reserves scored 57 points. ROME: Owen Farrell accounted for 22 Ray Allen scored 22 points for Miami, which fell three games points and Mike Brown added two tries as behind Indiana in the race for the No. 1 Eastern Conference seed NBA results/standings England stated its case for the Six Nations in the playoffs. LeBron James scored 21 points and Dwyane title with a convincing 52-11 win over Italy Charlotte 105, Minnesota 93; Washington 105, Orlando yesterday at the Stadio Olimpico. Wade added 19 for the Heat, who turned the ball over 20 times “We scored some great tries and we’ve and shot 7 for 24 from 3-point range. It was only the fifth win for 101 (OT); Indiana 101, Philadelphia 94; Toronto 99, come here and scored 50, and not many Denver in its last 18 games. Memphis 86; Phoenix 87, Boston 80; Denver 111, Miami teams have done that,” England coach 107; Portland 111, New Orleans 103; San Antonio 119, LA Stuart Lancaster said. “There were some SPURS 119, LAKERS 85 Lakers 85; LA Clippers 96, Utah 87; Cleveland 103, Golden errors in the first half, but I’m just proud of Danny Green had 15 points as San Antonio won its ninth State 94. the boys. It’s a great squad we’ve got straight and handed the Lakers their largest defeat in their long- developing and the bigger picture is time rivalry. San Antonio never trailed after the opening four Eastern Conference important.” The title will be decided after minutes, allowing coach Gregg Popovich to limit his starters and Atlantic Division Ireland’s match at France later, with Manu Ginobili to an average of 17 minutes. W L PCT GB England cheering for the French, who The Spurs had five reserves score in double-figures, led by Toronto 37 27 .578 - have little chance needing a massive win. Matt Bonner’s 13 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio (49-16) Brooklyn 33 30 .524 3.5 Ireland can claim the title if it wins by any maintained the league’s best record ahead of Indiana and NY Knicks 26 40 .394 12 margin. “It’s uncontrollable for us,” Oklahoma City, who are both 48-17. Pau Gasol had 18 points Boston 22 44 .333 16 Lancaster said. “Obviously it would be nice and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has lost five of six. to win it. But if Ireland go to France and Philadelphia 15 50 .231 22.5 win, well, then they deserve it.” WIZARDS 105, MAGIC 101 Central Division Farrell’s points came courtesy of one John Wall had 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Indiana 48 17 .738 - ROME: Italy’s Matias Aguero (right) clears the ball next to England’s Sergio try, one penalty and seven conversions. overtime and Trevor Ariza added 21 points and 11 rebounds as Chicago 36 29 .554 12 Parisse (center) during the Six Nations International rugby union match. — AFP Leonardo Sarto scored Italy’s only try late Washington beat Orlando in overtime. The victory ends the Cleveland 26 40 .394 22.5 in the second half after Luciano Orquera Wizards’ seven-game road losing streak to the Magic. Bradley Detroit 25 40 .385 23 converted two penalties early on. Having Beal added 20 points before being helped off the court with an Milwaukee 13 52 .200 35 lost all five of its matches in this year’s tour- Boshoff boot gives injury in overtime. Marcin Gortat finished with 19 points and 14 Southeast Division nament, Italy took the wooden spoon. “We rebounds. Tobias Harris had 21 points and Arron Afflalo finished Miami 44 19 .698 - started this tournament well and we fin- with 18 to lead the Magic. Orlando has now lost five in a row and Washington 34 31 .523 11 ished negatively,” Italy coach Jacques Auckland the blues Charlotte 32 34 .485 13.5 Brunel said, referring to a narrow opening 11 of their last 14. loss at Wales. “We’re behind in terms of JOHANNESBURG: Marnitz Boshoff con- dotted down and a simple conversion Atlanta 28 35 .444 16 what our goals were.”On a perfect spring- tinued a fairy tale first Super 15 season by replacement fly-half Chris Hickey left RAPTORS 99, GRIZZLIES 86 Orlando 19 48 .284 27 like day in the Italian capital, there were with 24 points for Golden Lions in a 39- just three points between the sides. Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 23 points and Kyle Western Conference large sections of white-clad England sup- 36 victory over Auckland Blues yester- The Blues did have a chance to Lowry had 22 points and 12 assists as Toronto won for the 11th Northwest Division porters inside the soldout stadium. But it day. The fly-half kicked four penalties, snatch victory when they gained pos- time in 14 games. Greivis Vasquez scored 17 points, DeMar Oklahoma City 48 17 .738 - was Italy who scored first, with a penalty three conversions and two drop goals at session from the kick-off after Marshall DeRozan had 16 and Amir Johnson 12 as the Atlantic Division- Portland 43 23 .652 5.5 from Orquera six minutes in after England sunny Ellis Park in Johannesburg to raise scored in the final minute. leading Raptors ended a four-game home losing streak against Minnesota 32 32 .500 15.5 was penalized for standing up in the his five-match tally to 94 points. However, after making some ground, the Grizzlies and improved to 16-0 at home this season when Denver 29 36 .446 19 scrum. And his major contribution to a third the Aucklanders were forced to retreat leading after three quarters. Utah 22 44 .333 26.5 Four minutes later, Farrell was on tar- win in five outings for perennial strug- and the final whistle sounded when a Ten of DeRozan’s points came in the fourth quarter, helping Pacific Division get with the sun in his eyes for a penalty glers the Lions came after he fluffed an New Zealander was forced into touch. Toronto win back-to-back games against the Grizzlies after los- LA Clippers 47 20 .701 - and then Brown darted down the left early, angled 25-metre penalty attempt. Tries from scrum-half Faf de Klerk, ing eight of the previous nine meetings. Zach Randolph scored Golden State 41 26 .612 6 flank for his first try. Italy went close to the It was his sole miss of the match , and left-wing Courtnall Skosan and full-back 16 points as Memphis saw its four-game winning streak broken. English try line following a poor pass from Phoenix 37 28 .569 9 only the second in 29 attempts since the Coenie van Wyk completed the Lions’ No. 13 Luther Burrell and then Orquera Sacramento 23 42 .354 23 season kicked off. total in the southern hemisphere inter- BOBCATS 105, TIMBERWOLVES 93 kicked in another penalty from the right LA Lakers 22 44 .333 24.5 A roller-coaster game in which the provincial championship match. Al Jefferson had 25 points and 16 rebounds as Charlotte flank cutting England’s lead to 10-6. After defeated Minnesota for its eighth straight victory at home. Southwest Division that, it was nearly all England. Farrell took South Africans dominated the first-half Blues, who trailed 17-0 at half-time San Antonio 49 16 .754 - scrums saw the home side build big and had prop Charlie Faumuina (collaps- Jefferson set a single-season team record with his 20th 20-point, advantage of a sparsely spread Italian line 10-rebound game of the season. The Bobcats, currently the sev- Houston 44 21 .677 5 to go in for a try and then Brown scored leads only to be constantly pegged back ing a maul) and lock Tom Donnelly (dan- Dallas 39 27 .591 10.5 by the strong-running New Zealanders. gerous clean-out) sin binned, did have enth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, came in another try on a long, un-opposed run to averaging 103.9 points and shooting 47 percent in their last sev- Memphis 38 27 .585 11 make it 24-6 at halftime. After a brief A 23-3 home lead on 52 minutes was the consolation of two bonus points. en homes games. They shot 48 percent against the New Orleans 26 39 .400 23 respite at the start of the second half, Jack trimmed to eight points soon after, and They were always dangerous with Timberwolves. Kevin Martin had 19 points to lead Minnesota. Nowell scored his first try for England in the Blues got within four points nine ball in hand and replacement scrum-half the 53rd and Mako Vunipola touched minutes from time. Bryn Hall proved a hard-to-contain down less than 10 minutes later, as Italy But two Boshoff penalties widened livewire when he came on for veteran struggled to put together any resistance the gap before full-back Benji Marshall Piri Weepu.—AFP whatsoever. —AP Hurricanes snap losing streak

WELLINGTON: Flyhalf Beauden Barrett scored two tries and kicked 13 points as the Wellington Hurricanes got their first win of the Super Rugby season with a 60-27 ham- mering of South Africa’s Cheetahs yester- day. Barrett was irresistible as the Hurricanes ran rampant, securing the bonus point before halftime and crossing for a total of nine tries to snap an eight-match losing streak going back to last season. All Blacks centre Conrad Smith scored the penultimate try of the match to cele- brate his 100th Super Rugby appearance in front of a disappointing crowd of just over 8,000 at the Wellington Stadium. Cheetahs fullback Willie Le Roux scored the first of his team’s three tries WELLINGTON: Central Cheetahs Elgar Watts is tackled by the with a typical turn of searing pace but Wellington Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith during their Super 15 was harshly sin-binned just after the SALT LAKE CITY: Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul (3) drives around Utah Jazz’s Trey Burke (left) in the first quarter rugby union match at Westpac Stadium. — AFP break when he knocked on an attempted an interception. — Reuters during an NBA basketball game. — AP Hamlin learns to co-exist with Logano a year later

BRISTOL: Their feud started with some Twitter posts about “I’m bitter in ways, and in other ways it’s been so long ago where Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole seemed to be off, but on the race track, as I should,” said Hamlin, who chooses to the closing laps of the Daytona 500 and it heightened three and there’s so many trials and tribulations between then and Hamlin bounced back this weekend at Bristol. He set a track limit his conversations with Logano because “what do you weeks later at Bristol Motor Speedway, where an on-track spin now, that I think I’m a better person now and I think I’m a bet- record in qualifying and will start from the pole in today’s race. say? How can you express how upset you are with someone nearly led to post-race fisticuffs. Things took a turn for the ter driver now.” Logano, who qualified fourth, will start in the row behind without punching them?” worse between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano a week later Said Logano: “I feel like we’re fine. A year is a long time. It’s Hamlin and understands people want to rehash the relation- The two have had no choice but to coexist because as at Fontana when the two drivers refused to give an inch while over now. I feel like we’ve moved on.” Hamlin missed almost ship. “Obviously, people were talking about it this week Coca-Cola sponsored drivers, they’ve had to work with each attempting to win. It led to a crash, a broken vertebra for five full races with his back injury and struggled through con- because it’s the one-year anniversary of the whole fiasco,” other at various events and long commercial shoots. Logano Hamlin and a destroyed relationship between the former stant pain upon his return in May. He refused to end his sea- Logano said. “But you move on and forget about things. You’re said they spent three hours inside a van together at a recent teammates. son early, even when it became apparent he’d miss the Chase supposed to forgive and forget and that goes both ways, so shoot. “I felt like by the end of it, we all got along well,” he said. As they return this weekend to Bristol a year later, Hamlin for the Sprint Cup championship for the first time in his career. we both knew what we had to do and I feel like we’ve moved “That’s the good thing about it - Coca-Cola brings us all back has finally put his malevolent feelings toward Logano aside. But in finishing out the year, Hamlin earned his only victory on and we’re going from there.” together and puts a smile on everybody’s face.” Hamlin said “We’re OK,” Hamlin said. “We don’t talk or anything like that of the season in the finale at Homestead. He carried that Hamlin doesn’t expect any problems like last year, when he’s been cordial. “I don’t really force it too much. I mean, more than we should and really no less than we should, I momentum through the offseason and was strong during he spun Logano while Logano was racing for the lead. It led there’s awkward moments,” he said. “You’re face-to-face with would say. You can hold grudges all you want, but it’s not Speedweeks, where he won two races and finished second in to a post-race confrontation that involved the crews for someone and you’re having to talk during a commercial. You going to make you any faster and it’s not going to get you any the Daytona 500. both teams. have those moments where you just as soon look away - and closer to a championship. The performance tailed off at Phoenix and Las Vegas, “As far as my relationship with him, I treat him with respect you do.”—AP SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 Dortmund shocked at home

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund stay second in the Bundesliga despite slumping to a 2-1 defeat at home to ten-man Borussia Moenchengladbach yesterday. The result means runaway leaders Bayern Munich hosting fourth-placed Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena later, the European champi- ons can extend their lead to 23 points with a 16th-straight league win. Leverkusen are the last German team to win against Bayern-who are unbeaten in all of their 49 matches since-dating back to October 28, 2012. Behind the scenes, Bayern have endured arguably the most turbulent week in the club’s history after Uli Hoeness was convicted of major MELBOURNE: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain controls his car on turn two tax fraud on Thursday and resigned as club pres- during the qualifying session at Albert Park ahead of the Australian Formula One ident 24 hours later. Grand Prix. — AP If Bayern go 23 points clear, they could be confirmed Bundesliga champions next Saturday, if they pick up another three points and their Hamilton takes pole, rivals lose, to go 26 points clear with eight games left to play. Gladbach earned their first win in ten games Vettel out of top 10 to dent Dortmund’s confidence ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 clash at MELBOURNE: Lewis Hamilton captured pole en for the first time since Hamilton won in home to Zenit St Petersburg when they hold a 4- position for Mercedes for the season-opening Hungary last July. 2 lead from the first leg. Australian Grand Prix in a thrilling finish to a Ricciardo, who has shouldered Australia’s “That is a bitter result for us, so the disap- rain-hit qualifying session yesterday, while hopes since the retirement of his Red Bull pred- pointment is huge,” said Dortmund captain Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel failed ecessor Mark Webber at the end of last season, Sebastian Kehl. Dortmund are now just one to make the top 10. had few illusions about the gap between the point clear of third-placed rivals Schalke ahead GERMANY: Moenchengladbach’s Thorben Marx (left) and Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski of Hamilton saved the best for last with his teams. of the Ruhr Valley derby on March 25. “We could Poland challenge for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga soccer match. — AP final lap of a gloomy session after Australian “I think if it was a dry qualifying we were have a cushion behind us, now things are tight,” Daniel Ricciardo had stormed to the top of the expecting Lewis and Nico to be on the front admitted Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin. back for Dortmund on 77 minutes. Bremen’s Germany midfielder Aaron Hunt timesheets only seconds earlier on his first race row,” the 24-year-old said. “Hopefully the Swiss coach Lucien Favre extended his fired home a direct free-kick on 79 minutes to weekend for champions Red Bull. upward trend continues and we can start to Gladbach contract last week until 2017 and his STUNNING FIGHT-BACK share a point. Wolfsburg drop to sixth after their The 29-year-old Briton’s time of one minute hassle these guys in dry conditions soon.” side produced a devastating nine-minute first- Mainz moved up to fifth with a sensational 4- 1-1 draw at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig 44.231 seconds on a greasy Albert Park track With teams already struggling to master the half spell at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion. 2 victory at Hoffenheim with Japan’s Shinji as only three points separate the bottom four was just over three-tenths of a second faster new turbocharged hybrid engines, fuel con- “Don’t worry, you’ll still finish second in the Okazaki netting their last two goals as the clubs including Freiburg, Hamburg and than Ricciardo, who upstaged team mate Vettel sumption will add an additional layer of com- guests scored three times in seven stunning sec- Stuttgart. to the delight of the home fans. plexity for drivers in Sunday’s race, with a new league,” Favre told Klopp after the final whistle. Gladbach took the lead when a scuffed shot ond-half minutes to come from 2-0 down. Hertha’s European aspirations suffered a dent Quadruple champion Vettel, winner of the rule limiting cars to 100 kilograms of petrol. The win keeps Thomas Tuchel’s Mainz in the as they lost 2-0 at home to Hanover 96 to stay last nine races of 2013, was only 13th fastest Vettel will be in esteemed company in the from Brazilian striker Raffael wrong-footed Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller on hunt for a European spot next season and are ninth and four points off the top six. and was frustrated by a crash late in the final middle of the grid, with two other champions - only three points short of a Champions League On Friday, Schalke 04 moved up to third-an session by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen which McLaren’s Jenson Button and Raikkonen - also 31 minutes after Patrick Herrmann got the bet- berth. automatic Champions League spot-with a 2-1 brought out the yellow flags and forced drivers failing to get into the final group of 10. ter of Borussia defender Mats Hummels to fire in to ease their pace. Briton Button qualified 11th but will start a cross. Relegation-threatened VfB Stuttgart, with win at Augsburg as Dutch striker Klaas-Jan “Today made it so much harder with the 10th, while Raikkonen, the 2007 world champi- The hosts doubled their lead five minutes new coach Huub Stevens in charge, are winless Huntelaar scored twice. conditions, but I’m really happy with the job on, was 12th fastest on his first Saturday since before the break when Herrmann found Juan in their last 10 matches as they were held to a 1- Having scored a hat-trick in last Saturday’s 4- the team did,” said Hamilton, whose 32nd sec- returning to Maranello. Arango and the Venezuelan put in a great final 1 draw at Werder Bremen. 0 rout of Hoffenheim, Huntelaar took his tally to ond pole equalled Nigel Mansell’s British The Finn, winner in Melbourne with Lotus pass for Germany squad striker Max Kruse to fire Stuttgart’s Martin Harnik hammered a first- six goals in his last four games. record. “These cars are much harder driving in last year, crashed into the wall at turn 14. home five minutes before the break. half penalty attempt off the post just before the The victory is a welcome boost for the Royal the wet.” Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat also enjoyed a posi- Gladbach midfielder Havard Nordtveit was break against his old club, but defender Georg Blues ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Real Madrid Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg will start third on tive qualifying debut, despite hitting the wall at sent off for a second yellow card for the final 20 Niedermeier gave the guests a 55th-minute where they face the near-impossible task of the grid alongside McLaren’s 21-year-old the end of the final session, to line up eighth for minutes and new-signing Milos Jojic pulled one lead. over-turning their 6-1 home leg defeat. — AFP Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen, who under- Toro Rosso with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg lined his talent with a poised drive in trying seventh. conditions. Brazilian Felipe Massa will start ninth on the Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso qualified fifth with grid in his first race since crossing to Williams Preview Jean-Eric Vergne sixth fastest for Toro Rosso. It from Ferrari. Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi, making Preview was the first time Vettel had failed to make the his comeback after being dropped by Sauber at final round of qualifying since he started 11th the end of 2012, gave lowly Caterham a boost on the grid in Belgium in 2012, before battling by qualifying 15th - which will become 14th Liverpool, United Arsene Wenger through the field to finish the race second. after Bottas drops down. Vettel will move up to 12th, however, with Lotus’s horror week continued as both in crunch clash Williams’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas due to Frenchman Romain Grosjean and Venezuelan drop from 10th place after taking a five-place Pastor Maldonado were among the six LONDON: Liverpool hold the whip hand over penalty for a gearbox change. knocked out of the first session. Manchester United for the first time in decades and could “Obviously tricky conditions, for some rea- Grosjean locked up and spun off after post- land a devastating blow on their rivals’ top-four challenge son we had more problems today than we had ing the slowest lap time in the opening session, at Old Trafford today. Having endured year upon year of yesterday,” said the 26-year-old German, who while Maldonado was unable even to trouble United supremacy, Liverpool have turned the tables this appeared to struggle with handling and sur- the timesheets due to a problem with the pow- season and approach this weekend’s match 11 points vived a brush with a wall in the first qualifying er unit and will rely on the stewards’ discretion above their floundering foes in the Premier League table. session. “The speed is there so we will see what for a Sunday start. While Liverpool still have eyes on the title, United’s bid we can do tomorrow. It’s a long race, anything “We had a lot of problems today and every for Champions League qualification is in dire straits as can happen.” time we fixed one another one comes along,” they trail fourth-place Manchester City by nine points, said Grosjean. “It’s frustrating, but I’m the one having played two games more. David Moyes’s side have LOTUS NIGHTMARE who has the easiest life as I’m not working all already lost at home four times in the league this season With Red Bull still playing catch-up to night on the car.” Sauber’s Mexican driver and they can expect no sympathy from a Liverpool team Mercedes after an abysmal winter testing Esteban Gutierrez, who qualified 19th, also col- whose fans have endured season after season of torment plagued by reliability problems with their lected a five-place grid penalty for the race for at United’s hands. Renault power unit, Vettel looks set to be beat- having a new gearbox. — Reuters Not since September 2004 have Liverpool gone into a Wenger aims to pile on league game at Old Trafford above United in the table and it was 23 years ago-in February 1991 that that was misery for troubled Spurs last the case for a fixture played after Christmas. Only once, in 2002, have Liverpool finished above United in the post-1992 Premier League era, but current manager LONDON: Arsene Wenger has chal- “It has always been difficult at White Brendan Rodgers has warned against paying too much lenged Arsenal to revive their Premier Hart Lane, but we are in a position attention to the relative fortunes of the two teams. While League title challenge by adding to the where of course we want to win the Rodgers has been eager to play down Liverpool’s title troubles of their bitter rivals Tottenham game, because after losing at Stoke, it chances, he says that silverware, rather than success in a vital north London derby today. is very important,” Wenger said. against United, will be the only reliable barometer of his Wenger is convinced his team can “We had a good result against team’s progress. still overhaul their title rivals and the Everton in the FA Cup, we had a good “The benchmark for us is the best,” he said. “First of all, Gunners manager believes the short result even at Bayern, but we must con- we are always challenging the team at the top; not trip down the Seven Sisters Road to tinue and have no more weak Manchester United, who are further down. face beleaguered Tottenham is the ide- moments before the end of the sea- “Liverpool has its own great history both domestically al place to start. son.” and in European football, so for us the benchmark has After leading the top-flight table for The Gunners have already beaten always been the best and we will always look to do that. a long period, Arsenal have surren- Spurs twice this season, but Wenger’s “I never said when I came in here we wanted to be fourth. dered the initiative with just one win in team are unlikely to be overconfident Top four is where we want to be, but Liverpool will always their last four league matches. after losing their previous two visits to be judged on being the best, both here and in Europe, Yet Arsenal’s wobble pales in com- White Hart Lane. FRANCE: Tom Jelte Slagter of Netherlands wins the seventh leg of the Paris-Nice not against Manchester United.” parison to the problems across north Their cause isn’t helped by the cycling race, between Mougins and Biot Sophia Antipolis, southeastern France. — AP London, where Tottenham manager absence of Germany midfielder Mesut VAN PERSIE’S FUTURE Tim Sherwood is engaged in a battle to Ozil, who will be sidelined for several Slagter wins Paris-Nice stage Devoid of distractions in the cup competitions, save his job three months after taking weeks with a grade two hamstring tear Liverpool have found fine form in recent weeks, winning BIOT: Dutch rider Tom-Jelte Slagter of the colliding with another rider 3km from the line. over from Andre Villas-Boas. suffered against Bayern. seven and drawing two of their last nine league games. Garmin team won the seventh stage of the “It was very frustrating because the title Sherwood’s surprise appointment Even so, Wenger is confident the Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, the division’s two Paris-Nice cycling race yesterday as was finished for me,” said the 24-year-old. “It looked like a masterstroke by chairman loss of Ozil won’t prevent Arsenal get- leading scorers, have now amassed 42 goals between Colombian Carlos Betancur closed in on the was tough to get back on the saddle today Daniel Levy when Spurs won five of ting their title challenge back on them, which is only four fewer than United’s entire squad. title. Slagter won an uphill sprint finish ahead but when we arrived I saw that it was a finish their first six matches under the former course. “It is a blow of course, but I am United enjoyed breezy wins over Crystal Palace and of world champion Rui Costa of Portugal fol- which was perfect for. I’m delighted to have Blackburn midfielder. confident we have the quality to deal West Bromwich Albion in their last two league outings, lowed by yellow jersey holder Betancur, with won again. “It’s the best possible start to the But Sherwood has seemed increas- without him during that period,” he but disaster has never been far away for Moyes this sea- the ‘Race to the Sun’ due to conclude in Nice season for me.” ingly uncomfortable in recent weeks as said. son and on Wednesday his side must attempt to overturn today. AG2R La Mondiale rider Betancur leads Tottenham’s form has dipped, culmi- “We have many creative players in a 2-0 deficit against Olympiakos in the last 16 of the Britain’s Geraint Thomas, second overall at Costa by 14sec before the tough final stage nating in his stinging criticism of his our squad who can take over and pro- Champions League. While the United manager concedes the start from Mougins, lost ground after a fall over 128km which includes five climbs in players’ lack of character following last duce quality performances. “I am con- that Liverpool’s league position “possibly” makes them 5km from the finish line after the 195.5km Provence before arriving in Nice. “It was weekend’s 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea. vinced that the team is ready, even favorites, he is hoping that the defending champions will stage at Biot. Slagter also won Wednesday’s another difficult day for us,” said Betancur. “I With reports claiming Levy is without Ozil, to go for the challenge.” be inspired by the magnitude of the occasion. “It has stage at Belleville, but his title hopes took a know that I’m close to victory but it’s still a already sounding out potential Fifth placed Tottenham still have been a great rivalry between the two clubs,” he said in his knock on Friday when his gears broke after dream.” — AFP replacements, Sherwood desperately more than just north London pride to pre-game press conference. “Liverpool are having a very needed to restore morale in Thursday’s play for as they try to close the gap on good season and we have to do everything we possibly Europa League tie against Benfica. fourth placed Manchester City in the can to beat them.” Moyes was buoyed on Friday by the Instead, his players hardly looked race to qualify for the Champions news that last season’s top scorer, Robin van Persie, had like they had taken their manager’s League. Brazil great Rivaldo rubbished speculation about his future at the club by words to heart as they slumped to a Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen declaring that he is happy at Old Trafford. lacklustre 3-1 defeat which was most is adamant his team-mates shouldn’t announces retirement Moyes can also now call upon winger Nani, who has memorable for Sherwood adding to let Sherwood take the blame for the recovered from a long-term hamstring problem, while the impression of a man feeling the club’s current woes and he made it centre-back Jonny Evans (calf) and striker Javier SAO PAULO: Former Brazil star Rivaldo, the mer Barcelona playmaker in a message heat as he became embroiled in a clear they need to raise their game this Hernandez (knee) could also be in contention to play. winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1999, posted on Instagram.The veteran had touchline spat with Benfica coach weekend. Liverpool, who last tasted victory at United in March announced his retirement from football returned to action with Sao Paulo outfit Jorge Jesus. “I have only been here for a few 2009, have been given a boost by the returns to fitness of yesterday at the age of 41. Mogi Mirim in January having previously In the circumstances, Wenger knows months but I still know how a derby is,” midfielder Lucas Leiva (knee) and centre-back Mamadou “With tears in my eyes, I would like first stopped playing for Sao Caetano in Sherwood can ill-afford to lose Sunday’s Eriksen said. “Now it is at home and I Sakho (hamstring). United won 1-0 when the teams last to thank God, my family and all the sup- November due to problems with his knee. derby showdown and he hopes the am looking forward to it. I think a posi- met, in the League Cup third round in September, and port, the affection that I received during A World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, pressure on Spurs will aid his team’s bid tive result will give everything and Moyes may take heart from the knowledge that those 24 years as a player. Today I commu- he also played in Italy with AC Milan, in to get back on track after their mid- everybody a big boost. “Hopefully we Liverpool have lost by a one-goal margin-on their last six nicate to all my fans in the world, my histo- Greece, in Uzbekistan and in Angola during week exit from the Champions League will be way better today than what we visits to Old Trafford. — AFP ry as a player came to the end,” said the for- a long and distinguished career. — AFP against Bayern Munich. were against Benfica.” — AFP SPORTS SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 Soccer results/standings West Brom see off Swansea English Premier League Accrington 1; Southend 0 Bury 0; York 2 Everton 2 (Deulofeu 59, Coleman 90) Wycombe 0. The Congolese midfielder’s goal gave West Brom corner and narrowly failed to apply the finishing Cardiff 1 (Cala 68); Fulham 1 (Dejagah 68) manager Pepe Mel a first victory at the ninth touch to a centre from Wayne Routledge. Newcastle 0; Hull 0 Manchester City 2 (Silva Playing today Swansea 1 attempt, lifting the club three points clear of Routledge then teed up Bony to lash a shot 14, Dzeko 90); Southampton 4 (Schneiderlin Newport v Exeter third-bottom Sunderland and to within one over the top, before the livewire Lamah sent in a 5, Lambert 57, Rodriguez 72, Gallagher 90) point of 14th-place Swansea. cross that eluded Bony and could not be turned Norwich 2 (Elmander 85, Snodgrass 86); Scottish Premiership West Brom sacked Anelka late on Friday after in by Jonathan De Guzman. Stoke 3 (Odemwingie 33, 79, Arnautovic 69) Dundee Utd 3 (Graham 79, Armstrong he claimed to have unilaterally terminated his Swansea captain Ashley Williams, meanwhile, West Ham 1 (Carroll 5); Sunderland 0 Crystal 84, Ciftci 90) St Mirren 2 (McGowan 20, West Brom 2 contract and the French striker’s departure could only direct a free header into the ground Palace 0; Swansea 1 (Lamah 2) West Brom 2 Thompson 40); Partick 3 (Erskine 44, Mair should allow the club to focus purely on their bid and over the bar from eight yards out. West Brom (Sessegnon 52, Mulumbu 85); Aston Villa 1 60, Higginbotham 90) Hibernian 1 to avoid the drop. Mel brought Sessegnon, James attacked the second period with vigour, equalis- (Delph 82) Chelsea 0. (Watmore 62). SWANSEA: Youssouf Mulumbu scored an 85th- Morrison, Graham Dorrans and Craig Dawson ing in the 52nd minute when Sessegnon sent a minute winner as West Bromwich Albion won 2-1 into his starting XI, switching to a 3-5-2 forma- low shot skidding past Vorm from 25 yards. Playing today Playing later at Swansea City yesterday to clamber three tion, but he saw his side fall behind with less than Swansea had a penalty appeal turned down Manchester United v Liverpool, St Johnstone v Ross County points clear of the Premier League relegation 120 seconds on the clock.Wilfried Bony’s pass after a shot from Bony appeared to strike Tottenham v Arsenal. zone. Playing hours after sacking Nicolas Anelka from deep split the visiting defence and Lamah Gareth McAuley on the arm and the hosts Scottish Football League following his five-match ban for performing a cut in from the left before beating Ben Foster then introduced Michu from the bench, fol- English Football League Championship ‘quenelle’ salute, West Brom fell behind to a sec- from a prohibitive angle. lowing a three-month absence with an ankle Championship Alloa 0 Queen Of The South 1; ond-minute strike by Roland Lamah at the In response, Victor Anichebe shot straight at problem. Bolton 0 Brighton 2; Bournemouth 0 Dumbarton 5 Cowdenbeath 1; Hamilton 3 Liberty Stadium. Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm, but the hosts, De Guzman forced Foster to save with his feet Middlesbrough 0; Burnley 2 Leeds 1; Falkirk 1; Livingston 0 Dundee 2; Raith 2 However, Stephane Sessegnon marked his characteristically dominating possession, contin- after a driving run and with five minutes remain- Huddersfield 2 Blackburn 4; Ipswich 1 Morton 1. first start since New Year’s Day by equalising early ued to threaten. Foster thwarted Bony at point- ing, Mulumbu guided a shot between Jordi Wigan 3; Leicester 3 Blackpool 1; Millwall 0 in the second period before Mulumbu complet- blank range after the Ivorian attacked a cross Amat’s legs and past a motionless Vorm to give Charlton 0; Nottingham Forest 0 Doncaster Division One ed the visitors’ comeback with an elegant finish. from Lamah, who put a header off-target from a West Brom a much-needed victory. — AFP 0; QPR 3 Yeovil 0; Reading 0 Derby 0; Arbroath 0 Airdrie 1; East Fife 0 Ayr 5; Sheffield Wednesday 4 Birmingham 1; Forfar 1 Stranraer 0; Rangers 2 Dunfermline Watford 3 Barnsley 0. 0; Stenhousemuir 4 Brechin 2. Odemwingie brace lifts Division One Division Two Bradford 1 Gillingham 1; Bristol City 0 Clyde 1 Stirling 0; Elgin City 2 Annan Stoke past West Ham Swindon 0; Carlisle 0 Stevenage 0; Crawley Athletic 3; Montrose 2 East Stirling 0; 1 Colchester 0; Crewe 1 Oldham 1; Leyton Peterhead 3 Berwick 0; Queen’s Park 4 punch the ball away. It was 25-year-old Orient 0 Brentford 1; Milton Keynes Dons 0 Albion 0. Carroll’s first start since his sending-off Peterborough 2; Rotherham 1 Walsall 1; Stoke 3 at the start of February, and his first Tranmere 3 Notts County 2; Wolves 0 German Bundesliga results goal since last April. Shrewsbury 0. Borussia Dortmund 1 (Jojic 77) Bor. Stoke pulled level after 33 minutes Moenchengladbach 2 (Raffael 31, Kruse 40); when Crouch’s acrobatic shot deflect- Playing today Werder Bremen 1 (Hunt 79) VfB Stuttgart 1 West Ham 1 ed in off Odemwingie on the line. Both Coventry v Port Vale (Niedermeier 55); Hoffenheim 2 Polanski 49, Steven N’Zonzi and Stephen Ireland Roberto Firmino 53) Mainz 05 4 (Choupo- missed chances to give the hosts the Playing tomorrow Moting 67, Saller 73, Okazaki 75, 90+2); advantage before the break. Kevin Preston v Sheffield Utd Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Bellarabi 48) VfL STOKE-ON-TRENT: Peter Odemwingie Nolan thought he had made it 2-1 to Wolfsburg 1 (Luiz Gustavo 36); Hertha Berlin netted a brace and Marko Arnautovic the visitors in the 61st minute only for Division Two 0 Hanover 96 3 (Stindl 49, Schlaudraff 57, also scored to lift Stoke City to a 3-1 his effort to be controversially ruled Burton 1 AFC Wimbledon 1; Cheltenham Huszti 90+1). win at home against Premier League offside. 1 Torquay 0; Chesterfield 3 Oxford 0; rivals West Ham yesterday. Both were But Austrian winger Marko Dagenham and Redbridge 1 Morecambe 1; Playing today equal on points before the clash with Arnautovic put Stoke ahead after 69 Fleetwood 3 Portsmouth 1; Hartlepool 4 Hamburg v Nuremberg, Eintracht only goal difference separating the minutes before Odemwingie slammed Bristol Rovers 0; Northampton 1 Mansfield Frankfurt v Freiburg. midtable sides scrambling to move home his second from an angled shot 1; Plymouth 0 Scunthorpe 2; Rochdale 2 away from the drop zone. off an Ireland pass ten minutes later. But the hosts were trailing after just It gave manager Mark Hughes five minutes when striker Andy Carroll something more to celebrate on his English Premier League table after yesterday’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals scored from a set piece pairing with 300th Premier League game as a man- against, points): SUNDERLAND: Crystal Palace’s English striker Cameron Jerome (left) is Mark Noble at the Britannia Stadium. ager.Hughes becomes the 10th man- challenged by Sunderland’s Spanish defender Marcos Alonso during the Carroll rose above Peter Crouch and ager to reach that milestone. Stoke are Chelsea 30 20 6 4 56 23 66 German League English Premier League football match. — AFP smashed a header past Asmir Begovic, provisionally tenth with 34 points, Man City 27 19 3 5 71 27 60 Bayern Munich 24 22 2 0 72 11 68 who had rushed off his line to try to three points above West Ham. — AFP Liverpool 28 18 5 5 73 35 59 Dortmund 25 15 3 7 56 29 48 Arsenal 28 18 5 5 52 28 59 Schalke 04 25 14 5 6 48 36 47 Sunderland frustrated Tottenham 29 16 5 8 37 37 53 Leverkusen 24 14 2 8 40 27 44 Everton 28 14 9 5 40 28 51 Mainz 25 12 5 8 37 38 41 by Palace stalemate Southampton survive Man Utd 28 14 6 8 46 31 48 Wolfsburg 25 12 4 9 42 39 40 Southampton 30 12 9 9 43 37 45 Borussia 25 11 6 8 43 32 39 star Johnson at the heart of their best late Norwich assault Newcastle 29 13 4 12 37 40 43 Augsburg 25 11 5 9 38 36 38 Aston Villa 29 9 7 13 32 38 34 Hertha Berlin 25 10 6 9 35 31 36 moments. Stoke 30 8 10 12 32 44 34 Hoffenheim 25 7 8 10 54 56 29 Sunderland 0 Johnson was a real menace to posed finish past Norwich goalkeeper West Ham 29 8 7 14 32 38 31 Hanover 96 25 8 5 12 34 43 29 Palace left-back Joel Ward, who John Ruddy after a slick move. Hull 29 8 6 15 30 37 30 Werder Bremen 25 7 8 10 29 47 29 earned an early booking after chop- Southampton 4 Anthony Pilkington demonstrated Swansea 29 7 8 14 38 43 29 Frankfurt 24 6 8 10 27 40 26 Norwich’s frustration when he Norwich 30 7 8 15 24 48 29 ping down the elusive winger. Nuremberg 24 4 11 9 27 42 23 The fierce wind whipping around attempted to punch in a cross from West Brom 29 5 13 11 33 43 28 Stuttgart 25 5 6 14 39 52 21 C Palace 0 Crystal Palace 29 8 4 17 19 38 28 the Stadium of Light made two Gary Hooper before half-time, earning Hamburg 24 5 5 14 39 53 20 him a booking, and in the 57th minute Sunderland 27 6 7 14 26 42 25 Freiburg 24 4 7 13 22 45 19 already anxious teams even more Norwich 2 Cardiff 30 6 7 17 23 52 25 Braunschweig 25 4 6 15 20 45 18 hesitant in possession and there were Southampton made it 2-0. Fulham 30 7 3 20 30 65 24 Ryan Bennett accidentally steered SUNDERLAND: Sunderland missed a few real chances in a scrappy first half. Scottish Premiership the ball into the path of Lambert, who chance to improve their Premier Poyet’s men were having the better of Celtic 29 25 3 1 71 14 78 SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton cut inside Jos Hooiveld to score just English Football League League survival prospects after being it but poor execution let them down Aberdeen 28 17 3 8 40 26 54 climbed to eighth place in the Premier 64 seconds after rising from the bench Championship held to a 0-0 draw by fellow strug- on the rare occasions they had a sight Motherwell 28 16 3 9 46 43 51 League and kept Norwich City at risk to replace England colleague Adam Leicester 35 25 5 5 68 33 80 glers Crystal Palace yesterday. of goal. Burnley 36 20 13 3 59 31 73 Dundee Utd 29 13 8 8 52 35 47 of relegation with an entertaining 4-2 Lallana. Inverness 27 13 6 8 33 26 45 Gus Poyet’s team were unable to Steven Fletcher was unable to Derby 36 18 9 9 60 43 63 win at St Mary’s yesterday. Norwich manager Hughton St Johnstone 29 11 5 13 35 32 38 turn their possession into goals in a convert a miscued shot from Borini, QPR 35 18 9 8 43 28 63 Goals from Morgan Schneiderlin, responded by introducing Elmander, Wigan 34 17 7 10 45 31 58 Hibernian 30 8 10 12 29 38 34 tense clash at the Stadium of Light while South Korea midfielder Ki substitute Rickie Lambert and Jay Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Nathan Nottingham 36 14 15 7 55 41 57 Kilmarnock 30 8 6 16 37 52 30 and they remain in the relegation blazed well wide from long-range. Partick 29 6 11 12 32 46 29 Rodriguez left Southampton 3-0 up Redmond from the bench, but he saw Reading 36 15 11 10 56 41 56 zone, sitting three points adrift of Poyet sent on Jozy Altidore for Ross County 29 8 5 16 34 50 29 with 18 minutes to play, before Rodriguez extend the hosts’ lead in Brighton 35 15 11 9 39 28 56 safety following their third consecu- Fletcher at half-time and the Ipswich 36 13 12 11 46 42 51 St Mirren 29 7 6 16 29 47 27 Norwich threatened to mount an the 72nd minute from Lambert’s tive league match without a win. American striker came close to break- Blackburn 35 13 10 12 43 44 49 Hearts 29 5 6 18 25 54 6 improbable late comeback. touch. Palace dropped to one place ing the deadlock with a dipping shot Watford 35 12 12 11 52 41 48 Johan Elmander and Robert Still Southampton advanced, Bournemouth 35 12 10 13 44 51 46 Note: Hearts deducted 15 points for entering above the bottom three after their that forced Julian Speroni to make a Snodgrass struck twice in barely a Rodriguez smashing a shot against Middlesbrough 36 10 15 11 44 38 45 administration fourth successive game without a fine save. minute to leave Chris Hughton’s side the bar and Ruddy saving from Leeds 35 12 8 15 48 51 44 win. With Sunderland desperate for a Yannick Bolasie fired straight at Huddersfield 36 12 8 16 47 50 44 on the verge of a memorable turn- Lambert, before the visitors belatedly victory against one of their main rivals Sunderland goalkeeper Mannone Sheffield 35 10 12 13 43 42 42 around, only for Sam Gallagher to came to life. Elmander seized on a in the fight to beat the drop, Poyet when Palace finally got through the Bolton 36 9 13 14 46 52 40 make victory safe for the hosts in stop- sloppy pass from Jose Fonte to reduce made seven changes to the team Black Cats’ defence after good work Blackpool 36 9 11 16 31 52 38 page time. the arrears in the 85th minute and Birmingham 36 9 10 17 43 51 37 Matches on TV beaten by Hull in the FA Cup quarter- from Tom Ince. Victory took Southampton above moments later, Snodgrass followed up Doncaster 36 9 10 17 32 54 37 (Local Timings) finals. Oscar Ustari, Santiago Vergini, Borini was denied by the wood- Newcastle United to eighth place, six a shot from Van Wolfswinkel to crash Millwall 36 7 11 18 32 62 32 Andrea Dossena, Lee Cattermole, Jack work when his powerful strike beat Charlton 32 6 11 15 24 41 29 points below the European places, home Norwich’s second. A perilous Colback, Emanuele Giaccherini and Speroni but cannoned back off the Yeovil 35 7 8 20 30 52 29 English Premier League while Norwich remain 15th, four period of injury time appeared to Ignacio Scocco were axed as Vito angle of bar and post. Barnsley 35 6 11 18 31 62 29 Man United v Liverpool 16:30 points above the bottom three. beckon for Southampton, but instead Mannone, Wes Brown, Marcos Alonso, And Palace fared no better when beIN SPORTS 1 It took the home side less than five it was they who scored next, with Division One Liam Bridcutt, Ki Sung-Yueng, Adam South African midfielder Kagisho beIN SPORTS 1 HD minutes to break the deadlock, with Gallagher scampering in behind the Wolves 35 23 8 4 64 21 77 Johnson and Fabio Borini returned. Dikgacoi dragged his shot wide from Tottenham v Arsenal 19:00 Schneiderlin gathering a pass from Norwich defence to finally put the Brentford 35 23 7 5 59 31 76 Sunderland were quickly into their a good position inside the Leyton 37 22 8 7 70 34 74 beIN SPORTS 1 Sunderland penalty area. —AFP Gaston Ramirez and clipping a com- game to bed. — AFP Preston 36 18 14 4 52 36 68 beIN SPORTS 1 HD stride, with former Manchester City Rotherham 36 18 12 6 67 44 66 Peterborough 36 18 4 14 58 48 58 Italian Calcio League Milton 37 15 7 15 53 50 52 Walsall 37 12 13 12 41 40 49 Atalanta v Sampdoria 14:30 beIN SPORTS 4 HD Dejagah gives Fulham hope Swindon 37 13 9 15 53 51 48 Sheffield 34 13 8 13 37 38 47 beIN SPORTS 12 HD Port Vale 35 14 4 17 46 55 46 beIN SPORTS 14 HD their chances of claiming a place in the hand to stab the ball home. And when Like Krul, when he was called upon, Bradford 36 10 15 11 48 44 45 Livorno v Bologna 17:00 Europa League. Fulham manager Krul was called into action by Holtby’s he responded with a fine save to repel Gillingham 37 13 6 18 49 60 45 beIN SPORTS 9 HD Crawley Town 32 10 13 9 36 39 43 Fulham 1 Magath had claimed before this game curling left-foot shot, the Dutchman Papiss Cisse’s snapshot nine minutes Bristol City 37 9 15 13 54 59 42 Sassuolo v Catania 17:00 that too many of his squad had yet to reacted well to tip the shot away at full before the break. Coventry 35 14 9 12 64 63 41 beIN SPORTS 8 HD wake up to the fact that their top-flight stretch. Fulham’s lack of firepower was Aware they were in danger of letting Colchester 35 9 12 14 39 45 39 AC Milan v Parma 17:00 status is in peril. frustrating for Magath, although the an opportunity slip away, Fulham Oldham 37 10 9 18 41 54 39 beIN SPORTS 3 It seemed a game that Fulham German could at least draw comfort upped their efforts after half-time and Tranmere 36 10 9 17 44 64 39 Newcastle 0 beIN SPORTS 3 HD could not afford to lose and Magath from the fact that Newcastle were simi- they had the ball in the net within two Carlisle 36 10 8 18 38 57 38 Fiorentina v Verona 22:45 Stevenage 36 10 7 19 37 55 37 attempted to revive his side’s fortunes larly unthreatening. minutes of the restart, only for the effort Crewe 37 9 10 18 42 69 37 beIN SPORTS 8 HD by making five changes to the team Looking like a team with little to to be ruled out for offside. Then, in the Genoa v Juventus 22:45 Shrewsbury 36 7 13 16 34 47 34 LONDON: Ashkan Dejagah’s 68th- that started last weekend’s morale-sap- play for, the visitors’ play lacked urgency 54th minute, Heitinga’s deflected shot Notts County 37 9 4 24 45 67 31 beIN SPORTS 3 minute goal lifted Fulham’s hopes of ping defeat at fellow strugglers Cardiff and Fulham’s David Stockdale, recalled struck the bar and bounced down onto Note: Coventry deducted 10 points for entering beIN SPORTS 3 HD City. Once again, though, the manager in goal in place of error-prone Holland the goal-line, only for the Hawkeye administration avoiding relegation from the Premier placed his faith in 19-year-old Cauley international Maarten Stekelenburg, replay to show that a thin sliver of the Spanish League League as they recorded a 1-0 victory Division Two over Newcastle United at Craven Woodrow to lead the attack. And the was largely untroubled. ball had not crossed the line.—AFP Elche v Real Betis 14:00 Chesterfield 37 18 12 7 60 34 66 Cottage yesterday. teenager came close to handing Scunthorpe 37 16 17 4 58 37 65 beIN SPORTS 2 HD Fulham the perfect start in the seventh Rochdale 36 19 7 10 56 39 64 Barcelona v Osasuna 19:00 Felix Magath’s side remain at the foot of the table, four points off safety, minute when he narrowly failed to get Fleetwood 37 18 7 12 54 42 61 beIN SPORTS 2 on the end of Lewis Holtby’s clipped Burton Albion 37 16 13 8 41 36 61 beIN SPORTS 2 HD but with other struggling teams also Oxford Utd 37 14 14 9 48 37 56 free-kick, which had caught the Sevilla v Valladolid 21:00 claiming positive results, anything other Southend 37 13 13 11 44 36 52 than a win would have represented a Newcastle defence flat-footed. York 37 13 13 11 44 38 52 beIN SPORTS 14 HD That would not be the only time the setback. Plymouth 36 14 9 13 40 40 51 beIN SPORTS 7 HD visitors looked unconvincing in the first Dejagah’s decisive strike came 14 Hartlepool 37 13 10 14 44 40 49 Sociedad v Valencia 23:00 half and against a better team, they minutes after Fulham were convinced Cheltenham 36 11 14 11 41 46 47 beIN SPORTS 2 HD might have been punished. Morecambe 36 12 11 13 43 50 47 they had gone ahead, only for goal-line Dagenham 36 11 13 12 44 45 46 technology to show that Johnny French League HEISTING SO CLOSE Newport 34 11 11 12 43 46 44 Heitinga’s shot had failed to cross the AFC Wimbledon37 11 11 15 36 42 44 Montpellier v Bordeaux 16:00 Against this Fulham side, however, Mansfield 37 10 13 14 37 50 43 beIN SPORTS 5 HD line by the tiniest of margins. Newcastle they survived unscathed as the hosts Bury 35 9 15 11 40 40 42 beIN SPORTS 13 HD manager Alan Pardew was forced to demonstrated the uncertainty and lack Bristol Rovers 36 10 12 14 34 40 42 Lyonnais v Monaco 19:00 watch the game on television from a of conviction that has dogged their Portsmouth 37 9 15 13 38 51 42 beIN SPORTS 5 HD hotel room as he served the first of a campaign so far. Wycombe 36 10 11 15 38 44 41 seven-match ban imposed for headbut- Accrington 36 10 11 15 40 47 41 beIN SPORTS 13 HD An inswinging corner from home Exeter 36 10 10 16 41 48 40 PSG v Saint Etienne 23:00 ting Hull City midfielder David Meyler. winger Alex Kacaniklic was allowed to Northampton 36 9 11 16 30 45 38 beIN SPORTS 5 HD But he and his players can have had few bounce in front of Newcastle goalkeep- LONDON: Fulham’s English striker Cauley Woodrow (second left) vies with Torquay 36 8 9 19 33 54 33 complaints about the result after a lack- er Tim Krul inside the six-yard box, but Newcastle United’s Ivorian midfielder Cheick Tiote (second right) during lustre performance that dealt a blow to there was nobody in a Fulham shirt on their English Premier League football match. — AFP Clippers Dortmund silence Jazz shocked at home

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 17 18 Pennetta to face Radwanska in Indian Wells final Page 16

BIRMINGHAM: Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian (right) vies with Aston Villa’s Dutch-born Moroccan midfielder Karim El Ahmadi (left) during the English Premier League football match. — AFP Chelsea falter in EPL title race

games in hand. Meanwhile, it meant back-to-back home vic- on and, after cutting in menacingly from the Schurrle and Demba Ba for Torres and Oscar on Tempers flared in stoppage-time when tories for Villa for the first time in four years as left, his low 20-yard strike flashes inches past 67 minutes in a bid to spark his team into Aston Villa 1 Mourinho took his protestations over Ramires’ Paul Lambert’s side climbed into the top half of Brad Guzan’s near post. action, yet a minute later Chelsea’s cause was red card onto the pitch before receiving his the table. Four minutes later he teed up compatriot dealt a hefty blow following Willian’s dismissal. marching orders from referee Chris Foy. Mourinho had recalled the fit-again Oscar just inside the area for a whipped effort Already on a caution for a first-half two- It was a bitter end to a frustrating match for Fernando Torres for Samuel Eto’o up front, which curled narrowly wide of the right wood- footed lunge on Leandro Bacuna, the midfield- Chelsea 0 Mourinho, who watched his lacklustre side while Brazil duo Willian and Oscar were also work. er could have few complaints following a labour in vain to break down Villa before suc- restored. Villa were close to taking the lead when needless tug on Delph in the centre of the cumbing to Delph’s winner. This was a contest where Villa had to play Benteke’s audacious scissor kick from outside pitch. As well as their games in hand, Manuel with a no-holds-barred intensity to match the the area flashed wide. The Blues had the ball in It fully shifted the momentum into Villa’s BIRMINGHAM: Leaders Chelsea surrendered Pellegrini’s City have a superior goal difference leaders and Chelsea were given an early insight the net just before the break when Matic bun- favour and Chelsea were made to pay with the initiative in the Premier League title race to Chelsea and Mourinho could be forgiven for into what lay in store when a Nathan Baker dled home at the far post from John Terry’s eighth minutes left when midfielder Delph fed as they had two players and boss Jose feeling he is cursed at Villa Park-the only top- lunge on Eden Hazard earned the defender a flick-on yet, after consulting with assistant Marc Albrighton before meets his return cross Mourinho sent off in a shock 1-0 defeat at flight ground in England at which he has not booking. Peter Banks, Foy ruled the midfielder had con- with a stunning improvised backheel which Aston Villa yesterday. Fabian Delph’s flicked won. It was Villa who created the game’s first trolled the ball with his forearm. crept inside the far post. strike in the 82nd minute, either side of dis- The Portuguese could have few complaints opening when a well-worked move in the 10th Villa were always a danger on the counter Petr Cech then pushed another Delph strike missals for Willian and Ramires, stopped the with the result though after an insipid perform- minute ended in Delph crossing for Christian though and Benteke was unlucky to see an onto his crossbar before Ramires saw a straight Blues maintaining their advantage over sec- ance from his team in which they created only a Benteke yet the striker could only head over effort from the edge of the box curl wide after red for an ugly two-footed stamp on Karim El ond-placed Manchester City, who are now spate of openings, a disallowed goal for a hand- the crossbar. a one-two with Andreas Weimann. Ahmadi, which then resulted in Mourinho also just six points behind Chelsea with three ball by Nemanja Matic the best of them. Willian posed the Blues’ biggest threat early Mourinho reacted by introducing Andre being dismissed for his protests. — AFP Silva, Dzeko kickstart Coleman leaves it late to sink Cardiff Man City title charge continue Everton’s recent dominant home form early in the second half. Everton 2 After 58 minutes, the 20-year-old ran onto out of the Champions League at Barcelona’s hands more of the ball than they might have expected, Leon Osman’s through ball down the left in mid-week. Pellegrini made four changes to the while Bruce reacted by bringing on forward Sone flank and past Gary Medel before cutting in Hull 0 team beaten 2-1 in Wednesday’s game at the Camp Aluko for defender Maynor Figueroa at half-time. towards the near post and scoring via a shot Nou, including bringing in Dzeko in place of It sent out a positive message and Hull took the Cardiff 1 deflected off Steven Caulker. injured striker Sergio Aguero. game to their visitors. Shane Long’s smart turn and But within 10 minutes, Peter Beyond taking the lead, Steve Bruce’s Hull could shot from 18 yards after good work from James Whittingham’s superbly-placed free-kick into Man City 2 hardly have wished for a more encouraging start as Chester was beaten away by Hart, before the the Everton six-yard area found the chest of City were a man down after 10 minutes. England goalkeeper denied Jelavic, who mishit his LIVERPOOL: Seamus Coleman’s stoppage- Cala who guided the ball past the stranded Nikica Jelavic had already caused problems for shot from Aluko’s inswinging free-kick. time strike earned Everton a dramatic 2-1 vic- Tim Howard into the corner of the Everton the City defence with his physical presence and he Hull were increasing the pressure and the hosts tory over Cardiff at Goodison Park yesterday goal. Seeking a seventh consecutive home LONDON: David Silva inspired 10-man Manchester capitalised on a moment’s hesitation by Kompany. were convinced that they deserved to be awarded to keep his side in the hunt for European victory that would have improved their City to a 2-0 victory at Hull City yesterday that kept The City captain’s response was to haul the a penalty after George Boyd went down in the area the visitors’ Premier League title fate in their own Croatian to the floor and, as the last defender, a red following a challenge from Hart. football. chances of a fifth-placed finish and European hands. Spanish midfielder Silva scored a stunning card was inevitable, ruling the Belgian out of next Hart clearly believed that Boyd had dived, and Roberto Martinez’s team looked set to be football next season, Kevin Mirallas almost opener in the 14th minute at the KC Stadium and weekend’s home match against Fulham. was booked for angrily confronting the Hull substi- frustrated after Juan Cala cancelled out shot Everton into an early lead, shrugging set up a late Edin Dzeko strike as City survived the Pellegrini adjusted his team by dropping Javi tute. With 18 minutes remaining, City mounted Gerard Deulofeu’s opener for the hosts. aside Caulker and seeing his shot saved tidily early dismissal of captain Vincent Kompany. Garcia into defence alongside Martin Demichelis, their first attack of the second half and they should Cala’s goal seemed likely to earn Cardiff a by David Marshall. Victory for Manuel Pellegrini’s men represents and the visitors’ response was almost instant. have killed off the game. priceless point in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Leighton Baines’ resulting corner caused the first step in their task of reeling in league lead- Silva’s deflected shot found its way to efforts to keep the Welsh club in the Premier confusion in the Cardiff area and a ricochet ers Chelsea. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has HART ENRAGED Fernandinho 10 yards out, but the Brazilian some- League. But deep into stoppage-time substi- struck Sylvain Distin before narrowly clearing been at pains to stress that the advantage lies with After Hull failed to close City down quickly, Yaya how managed to shoot wide. tute Aiden McGeady crossed from the left, the bar. City, but, with points on the board, few genuinely Toure’s neat pass found Silva in a central position, Dzeko was then guilty of squandering a similar- Gareth Barry kept the ball in play with a com- But it was a resilient display by Cardiff, believe he would readily swap places. 25 yards out, and the Spaniard’s left-foot strike left ly inviting opportunity when, after being put mitted run and header and Coleman saw his often featuring five men in defence, and one Mourinho’s mind games aside, the pressure on goalkeeper Allan McGregor helpless. through by Gael Clichy, he could only fire straight miscued attempt wrong-foot goalkeeper that threatened Everton with a number of City is palpable as they look to play catch-up after City were close to doubling their advantage at McGregor as the Hull goalkeeper rushed off his David Marshall and fly into the goal. half chances on the break. seeing two other chances of silverware vanish in when a half-clearance found its way to Pablo line. That moved Everton back up to sixth The better opportunities fell to the home less than a week. Zabaleta and the Argentine’s volley crashed off the But the Bosnia and Hercegovina striker atoned place, while Cardiff dropped to second bot- side, nevertheless, with Seamus Coleman’s Pellegrini’s side lifted the League Cup at the underside of the bar and onto the goal-line before in the 90th minute, latching onto a fine through tom, three points from safety. Deulofeu, the perceptive cross after 26 minutes being start of the month, but were knocked out of the FA being cleared. ball by Silva and firing low past McGregor to seal young winger on loan from Barcelona, had moved on by Romelu Lukaku for Mirallas Cup by Wigan Athletic last weekend before going The numerical advantage meant that Hull saw the victory — AFP scored an opening goal that looked likely to whose strike was deflected behind. — AFP Western banks cold-shoulder Iran trade finance scheme

Page 22 Business In Crimea, pro-Russians tout IMF economic data SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 Page 23 Chevrolet Traverse, Impala Housing conference spotlights policy flaws among best family cars Page 25 Page 26

HYDERABAD: Indian people buy vegetables at a market in the evening in Hyderabad yesterday. India’s key inflation rate has dropped to its lowest level in nine months. — AP ‘China’s Twitter’ Weibo files for IPO

$500 million US offering seen a ‘cultural phenomenon’

NEW YORK: Weibo Corp, the Chinese the SEC filing said. opment, to expand sales and marketing efforts, Weibo said it would work to increase the New York after ruling out Hong Kong and microblogging service often compared with “Weibo has become a cultural phenomenon and for working capital and other general cor- number of users and monetization as it strives London for the initial public offering. The Twitter, filed yesterday for a US stock offering in China. “Weibo allows people to be heard pub- porate purposes.” for profitability. For a comparison, Twitter’s high- reports did not indicate whether the IPO would seeking to raise $500 million. The move will licly and exposed to the rich ideas, cultures and flying Wall Street debut in November drew be on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. allow the popular Chinese-language social net- experiences of the broader world,” it added. ‘China’s Twitter’ attention to the growing power of social media, Alibaba was not immediately available for work to spin off from the Internet giant Sina, “Media outlets use Weibo as a source of news Weibo was launched in August 2009 with a but it also raised concerns about a potential comment. The company’s stock market listing according to documents filed with the US and a distribution channel for their headline business model reminiscent of that of Twitter. bubble in the sector. was expected to raise about $10 billion, which Securities and Exchange Commission. news. Government agencies and officials use Weibo reported revenues for 2013 of $188 mil- The US microblogging service’s shares would make it the technology industry’s largest The filing said Weibo had 129.1 million Weibo as an official communication channel for lion, triple the level of 2012, but has continually soared after debuting at $26 in the initial public IPO since Facebook’s in 2012. The Journal said monthly active users in December and 61.4 mil- disseminating timely information and gauging lost money, like its US counterpart, with accumu- offering, but dropped the following day to that an IPO filing could come as soon as April, lion average daily active users. The company did public opinion to improve public services.” The lated losses of $274.9 million as of December 31. slightly more than $40. At the close of trading which could allow trading to begin by the third not indicate whether Weibo would file its IPO on filing said Weibo’s initial public offering (IPO) will Despite Weibo’s vast popularity in China, its on the New York Stock Exchange, Twitter shares quarter. the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange. The be part of a “carve-out from Sina,” but that Sina ascent has hit a few speed bumps recently due stood at $51.92. The report said up to five banks may be giv- lead underwriters will be Goldman Sachs Asia would “continue to provide us with certain sup- to a social media crackdown by Beijing and the en lead underwriting roles. Alibaba operates and Credit Suisse. port services” after it becomes independent. rise of rival Tencent’s mobile app, WeChat. A Enter Alibaba China’s most popular e-shopping platform, “A microcosm of Chinese society, Weibo has “We will use approximately $250 million of January report by the China Internet Network Separately, US media reported that a huge Taobao, which has more than 90 percent of attracted a wide range of users, including ordi- the net proceeds we receive from this offering Information Center showed that the total num- stock offering planned by Chinese e-commerce the online market for consumer-to-consumer nary people, celebrities and other public figures, to repay loans we owe to SINA,” the document ber of Weibo users dropped nine percent year- giant Alibaba is being prepared for New York. transactions. Taobao has more than 800 mil- as well as organizations such as media outlets, read. “We intend to use the remainder to invest on-year, to 281 million at the end of 2013 from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, lion product listings and over 500 million businesses, government agencies and charities,” in technology, infrastructure and product devel- 308.6 million a year earlier. citing unnamed sources, said Alibaba chose users. — AFP

Emaar plans $2.5bn listing China widens yuan trading band to 2% SHANGHAI: China will widen the yuan’s daily of shopping mall unit trading band to two percent from the current one DUBAI: Dubai’s Emaar Properties said it was forced to put the plan on hold as percent, the central bank announced yesterday, would sell up to 25 percent of its shop- the emirate’s real estate and stock mar- underscoring efforts to loosen Beijing’s grip on its tightly-controlled currency. The move will take ping mall and retailing unit in a public kets collapsed. effect on March 17, the People’s Bank of China offer expected to raise 8 to 9 billion Both markets are now rebounding (PBOC) said in a statement on its website. dirhams ($2.18-$2.45 billion), making it strongly on the back of inflows of for- It follows a statement by the central bank last one of the region’s largest equity offers eign money, with residential property month that it was seeking an “orderly expansion” since 2008. Emaar, Dubai’s biggest list- prices up over 20 percent last year and of the trading band as a policy goal. ed real estate developer, did not specify Dubai’s main equity index rallying “In order to meet the demands of market the stock exchange on which the about 140 percent since the end of development, increase the strength of the mar- shares in its unit would be listed, and 2012. Emaar is 31 percent-owned by ket-determined exchange rate and establish a gave no timetable. In a statement yes- the Dubai government, which is set to market-based, managed floating exchange rate terday, it said the proceeds “will be pri- earn a dividend of about $750 million regime, the People’s Bank of China has decided to marily distributed as dividend” to from the listing - an important windfall, widen the floating range of the renminbi against Emaar shareholders. The shares to be since Dubai and government-related the US dollar,” the bank said in its statement. sold will come from the unit’s current firms face tens of billions of dollars of It added that the bank “will further develop equity. debt maturities in the next few years, a the role of the market in the RMB exchange rate Dubai-listed Emaar’s flagship mall is legacy of the crisis. formulation mechanism”. China’s ruling the Dubai Mall, one of the largest in the The malls and retailing unit posted Communist Party has maintained a firm grip on Chinese 100 yuan (RMB) banknotes being counted at a bank in Huaibei, in eastern China’s world, which it says attracted more revenue of 2.84 billion dirhams last the yuan-also known as the renminbi, or RMB-as Anhui province. — AFP than 75 million visitors in 2013. The year, up more than 20 percent from one of its key tools to control the economy, and HSBC Holdings, told Dow Jones Newswires. A campaign against Chinese government company also built the Burj Khalifa in 2012, while its gross operating profit due to worries about unpredictable financial The yuan has risen steadily against the dollar excess took major bites out of spending on official Dubai, the world’s tallest building. The increased 20 percent to 2.23 billion inflows or outflows. over the past year, but it reversed course last meetings, travel and vehicles in 2013, the In widening the currency’s trading band, listing plan underlines Dubai’s rebound dirhams, Emaar said. Separately, Emaar month to weaken around one percent-a depreci- Communist Party’s chief disciplinary body said. Chinese authorities “must feel that the economy ation that analysts say may have been engineered The Central Commission for Discipline from its financial crisis which erupted in said its board was proposing a 15 per- is in a strong enough position to handle an 2009. Before the crisis, Emaar talked cent cash dividend and a 10 percent by the central bank to target speculative funds Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement money spent adjustment and other possible reforms ahead,” betting on continued appreciation. on meetings, official overseas trips and vehicle about listing its shopping mall unit but bonus share issue for 2013. — Reuters Paul Mackel, head of Asian currency research at SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 BUSINESS

Bayt.com weekly report Western banks cold-shoulder Three steps to get Iran trade finance scheme the promotion LONDON/ANKARA: Despite a diplomatic thaw, Western banks feel the need for caution in this area. Unicredit said the group was “not aware of, and hence is not you deserve are steering clear of attempts by Iran to get them involved in Regulators in New York and Washington are looking at poten- participating in any international initiative involving financial financing humanitarian transactions, fearing they could be penal- tial violations by France’s Credit Agricole and Societe Generale of institutions related to Iran subsequent to the P5+1 (major pow- ized under US sanctions, bankers and government officials said. US sanctions imposed against countries like Iran, a person familiar ers) accord”. BHF Bank said it was “not offering or providing any By Lama Ataya Iran was never barred from buying food or other humanitarian with the investigation said. In 2012 New York regulators threat- financial services with links to Iran”. goods under sanctions imposed because of its disputed nuclear ened to revoke Standard Chartered’s banking license after it broke Swiss and German banking regulators declined to comment, our skills and experience, reputation, and program, but measures by the European Union and the United sanctions on Iran. HSBC was fined $1.92 billion by US regulators although officials in Germany said if German banks were still work ethic are all factors that help you States have made trade generally more difficult over the past two for various violations including doing business with Iran. In rigidly adhering to prohibitions on doing business with Iran, the Yadvance in your career. In fact, 28.6 percent of years by hindering payments and shipping. February, BNP Paribas set aside $1.1 billion for a possible fine for government was ready to explain that some of those restric- respondents in the Bayt.com ‘Career Advancement As part of talks in Geneva over the nuclear question, Tehran is breaching US sanctions on countries including Iran. tions were eased in November. in the MENA’, June 2011, said that not updating pressing world powers to speed up trade finance arrangements Several banking sources, speaking on condition of anonymity “If banks in Germany apply the restrictions too rigidly and on humanitarian deals involving both Western and Iranian banks, due to the sensitivity of the subject, said Western banks were wary cautiously in financial transactions with Iran, the government existing skills is the biggest mistake one could make according to an Iranian government document seen by Reuters of getting involved in the latest initiative. One said banks would would encourage them to clarify the possibilities that can be when climbing the career ladder, 17.1 percent stated and sources familiar with the initiative. need cast iron assurances that they would not face exposure done under the agreement, not in order to relax or change the biggest mistake as not being nice to others, Iranian government officials and international trade sources before even considering it. these thresholds, but to help the banks keep in compliance while 10.2 percent mentioned not networking regu- say Tehran wants to simplify complex trade finance arrangements “It is only natural that banks will be cautious to what the politi- with the action plan,” a German finance ministry official said. larly as a mistake when it came to career advance- potentially worth billions of dollars, which would alleviate pres- cal world offers. It changes so quickly, as events in Ukraine can ment. sure on the country’s sanctioned banking system. According to a attest,” the banker said. “What we could be looking at is very short- Iran eager for deal The rules for getting promoted today have joint plan of action agreed in November in Geneva, world powers term financings or involvements and structures, so you will have The document also named the following Iranian banks: would “establish a financial channel to facilitate humanitarian options to exit should anything go wrong,” he added. “Banks will Eghtesad Novin Bank, Parsian Bank, Bank Pasargad, Karafarin evolved and are not as predictable as they were in trade for Iran’s domestic needs using Iranian oil revenues held need more clarity.” Bank, Sarmaye Bank, Saman Bank, Bank Maskan and Bank the past. Even when you really think you deserve a abroad”. Keshavarzi. promotion, you might not always get it. At times it “This channel would involve specified foreign banks and non- Interim agreement “Iranians are very eager to have this as soon as possible and becomes necessary for you to talk to your manager designated Iranian banks to be defined when establishing the Iran and Western governments reached an interim agreement teams are working on it and all reports go to the Supreme and put forward a strong case for yourself. If this channel,” the action plan said. Iran, with its economy under severe in November last year over Tehran’s atomic work in exchange for Leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei,” one senior Iranian govern- prospect seems a little intimidating to you then here pressure, is keen to push this process forward. “We have been limited sanctions relief for six months. By late July, Western gov- ment official familiar with the nuclear talks said. “It was an informed that according to the negotiations and agreements ernments hope to hammer out an accord that would lay to rest Iranian initiative but the other party (Western powers) also are a few useful steps put together by the career done in Geneva, the possibility to exchange direct LCs (letters of their suspicions that Iran is seeking the capability to make a agreed on that, though they had some internal dispute on the experts at Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site, to credit) between seven European banks and eight Iranian banks nuclear bomb, an aim it denies, while Tehran wants sanctions lift- list of Western banks,” the official said. help you climb the career ladder: for food, medication and humanitarian goods has been provided,” ed. Iranian government officials said the document, which has “There have been some direct contacts between Iranians the Iranian government document seen by Reuters says, although been sent to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, tasked with and various bank officials in Europe since November (the Step 1: Be prepared it made clear this was not final. “Please note, that we can accept safeguarding Tehran’s interests, listed the following banks as “avail- Geneva deal) but the final agreement needs more work and Being prepared means arming yourself with evi- no legal liability regarding this information as it remains to be offi- able for further actions”: Standard Chartered Bank (London), meetings.” cially confirmed by the responsible authorities.” Societe Generale (Paris), Banque de Commerce et de Placements The Iranian banks named in the document referred the issue dence of your stellar performance. Of course, your (BCP) (Geneva), UniCredit Bank (Munich), Commerzbank to Iran’s central bank, which declined to comment. A Western manager may be aware of some of it, like the big Big thanks (Frankfurt), United Bank (Zurich) and BHF Bank (Frankfurt). diplomatic source confirmed the initiative was under discussion deals you pitched for and successfully closed, but it’s The US Treasury and EU officials declined to comment. But a It was not clear whether these banks had been approached to and Western powers saw such an arrangement as increasing important that you keep a record of all your achieve- US official told Reuters that Washington had been talking with provide finance. Two business executives familiar with the initia- the transparency of trade deals. ments. A good idea is to maintain a monthly spread- some banks. “Some banks are willing to play a part here. But not tive said they were aware that Standard Chartered, Societe “If you have Western banks, many of whom with US opera- sheet that you can update continually - this will give all of them. There are a lot of big banks that have been subject to Generale, Commerzbank were among those on the wish list. tions, potentially involved in such an initiative it is a better situa- fines for engaging in transactions that were in violation of US Commerzbank, Societe Generale, United Bank and BCP all tion than having hundreds of middle men in such trades where you a handy record of your achievements. It’s also sanctions that aren’t willing to do anything - even humanitarian,” declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Standard Chartered you cannot track where the money is going. It also allows much important that you communicate your achieve- the official said. “They just are not willing to do business with Iran. said the bank was not involved and would not get involved in any stricter governance on the part of those banks. This is the idea ments well, such as using percentages and statistics And we are not in a position to say, you have to.” Banks may well transaction with any party from Iran. at least,” the diplomatic source said. — Reuters while indicating the growth in sales figures, for example, or target achievements. Being prepared also means that when you walk Gulf Bank announces into your manager’s room for this discussion you Cyprus scrambling back know the position you are aiming for. Identify the winners of position and get to know what skills it entails, this from brink of bankruptcy Al-Danah daily draws way you can demonstrate that you have the required skills to successfully take on that new posi- NICOSIA: A year after a financial earthquake shattered and the Gross Domestic Product had been in almost con- KUWAIT: Gulf Bank held its Al-Danah daily draws on tion. years of prosperity in Cyprus, an austerity plan has put the stant increase for 40 years. “We have never had such a situ- March 9, 2014, announcing the names of its winners for eastern Mediterranean island back on track despite the bit- ation before,” said Andreas Christou of the labor ministry, the week of March 2 to March 6. The Al-Danah daily Step 2: Find the right time ter pill of rising unemployment. On the verge of bankrupt- adding that he foresees no improvement in the short term. draws include draws each working day for two prizes of Try to arrange a time with your manager where cy because of the high exposure of its banks to Greek debt, Young graduates “are currently our biggest problem”, he KD1000 per winner. Cyprus in March 2013 was granted a 10-billion-euro ($13.8- said. Banking has been among the hardest-hit sectors: you can talk about getting a promotion so you can The winners were have their full attention. If your manager is busy billion) international bailout, almost half of which has now according to bank employees’ union ETYK, 2,000 member been paid out. The inevitable bank restructuring has jobs have disappeared from a pre-crisis total of 11,500. (Sunday 02/03): Basmah Abdulrahman Najem Al- then they might not take everything you’re saying thrown many people out of work. “I need a job soon, very Business has also been suffocated, as the dozens of empty Mansour, Ali Hassan Abbas Al-Mutawa very seriously. By having a specific time set aside soon. I was looking for a job from the first day I left the shops lining Nicosia’s former shopping center Makarios (Monday 03/03): Waleed Khaled Saleh, Ahmad you’ll also have a chance to prepare yourself. bank,” said former employee Akis Kourouzides, 45, who has Avenue bear witness. “Cyprus society is still in shock,” said Mohammed Jheesh Al-Resheedi The most optimal time would be during your been unemployed for months. “I’m looking for a new job- Kalliope Agapiou-Josephides of the University of Nicosia’s (Tuesday 04/03): Wdad Halal Sajer Ali, Amal Hassan starting from the beginning.” One downside to the finan- department of political and social sciences. “It was thought Nasser Roudan annual review meeting, when you and your manag- (Wednesday 05/03): Rayan Tareq Al-Wanda, Batoul er should ideally be having a discussion on how your cial lifeline was the liquidation of Laiki, one of the island’s we had an economic and democratic model that was con- main commercial banks, and the restructuring of the main stantly developing for the better. We never thought there Hussein Habib Mohammed (Thursday 06/03): Shaikhah Abdullatif Fadhil Al-Faresi, performance has been for the past year. lender, the Bank of Cyprus. This also resulted in depositors would be a total reversal of the situation that could lead Mutaz Ramadan Khalil Al-Quqa suffering a savings “haircut” of between 47.5 percent and the country into such a dire situation.” Step 3: Display the right attitude Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah 2014 draw lineup includes daily 100 percent of balances above 100,000 euros. It is the younger generation, the “best educated people draws (2 winners per working day each receive KD1000), as When talking to your manager, be positive. If The bailout also meant drastic budget cuts and an who benefited from the previously strong economy, who well as two additional prizes per quarter. Al-Danah’s first there was ever a time to boast about all the things extensive program of privatization of unwieldy state sector will pay the greatest price”, she added. The labor ministry’s quarterly draw for 2014 will be held on 27 March you know you’re good at, it’s now. And remember, corporations. At the beginning of March, the so-called troi- Christou said many young people are now opting to stay (KD200,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), second quarter - 26 ka of international lenders-the International Monetary abroad after graduation, delaying their return for as long whatever your manager’s reaction to your request, June (KD250,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000), third quarter - Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank as they can. Others have taken the path of emigrating in a remain calm and be polite. If your request for a pro- 25 September (KD500,000, KD125,000, and KD25,000) and issued a satisfactory report card. It said the island was on brain drain whose consequences have yet to be evaluated the final draw held on 8 January, 2015 announcing winners motion gets through, that’s great! If not for whatever track, with a recession of 6.0 percent in 2013 two points but which Christou predicts as “important”. of KD50,000, KD250,000 and the Al-Danah millionaire. reasons, then don’t be disappointed. Ask your man- lower than forecast, allowing for a new tranche of aid of As a stopgap measure, the government has implement- Gulf Bank’s Al-Danah allows customers to win cash ager when you can revisit this discussion. It’ll make 236 million euros to be paid. ed a plan that will allow 2,500 young graduates to gain job prizes and simultaneously encourages them to save mon- you look professional and means you can always ask But the future is far from rosy. The meltdown has result- experience for six months, earning 500 euros monthly. A ey. Chances increase the more money is deposited and the again another time. ed in rising unemployment, which reached 16.2 percent in second project for another 2,500 graduates is expected longer it is kept in the account. the third quarter of 2013 (11.8 percent in 2012). Most — soon. In addition, people are being trained for future posts Asking for a promotion is natural for any go-get- Al-Danah also offers a number of unique services 38.5 percent-are under the age of 25, and 19 percent in the gas industry after the discovery of potentially vast including the Al-Danah Deposit Only ATM card which helps ting professional, and it shows that you are aware of unemployment is forecast for 2014. Such figures may pale offshore gas deposits that it is hoped will make Cyprus hit account holders deposit their money at their convenience; your worth as a valuable asset to the organization. in comparison with 27 percent jobless in Greece, but they the jackpot. One way Cypriots have coped with the fallout as well as the Al-Danah calculator to help customers calcu- Being diplomatic and professional throughout this are still hard to take in a society where as recently as 2008 of the financial meltdown has been to embrace the strong late their chances of becoming an Al-Danah winner. process will indeed paint you in favorable light to unemployment was still an abstract concept. tradition of close-knit families. Children help parents To be part of the Al-Danah draws, customers can visit your manager. Good luck! whose pensions have been decimated and “yayas” (grand- one of Gulf Bank’s 57 branches, transfer on line, or call the Graduates ‘our biggest problem’ mothers) more than ever look after young children and Customer Contact Center on 1805805 for assistance and That year only around four percent were out of work, cook for the whole family. “One of the advantages Cyprus guidance. Customers can also log on to www.e- has is this family safety net that lets nobody fall through,” gulfbank.com/aldanahwinners, to find out more about Al- Agapiou-Josephides said. — AFP Danah and who the winners are. EXCHANGE RATES

Philippine Peso 0.006358 0.006638 Syrian Pound 2.955 Sierra Leone 0.000062 0.000068 Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. UAE Exchange Centre WLL Nepalese Rupees 3.900 Singapore Dollar 0.219262 0.22562 Malaysian Ringgit 86.850 South African Rand 0.020184 0.028884 ASIAN COUNTRIES COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Chinese Yuan Renminbi 46.335 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001865 0.002445 Japanese Yen 2.732 Australian Dollar 259.05 256.05 Thai Bhat 9.690 Taiwan 0.009189 0.009369 Indian Rupees 4.632 Canadian Dollar 257.62 258.62 Turkish Lira 127.050 Pakistani Rupees 2.729 Swiss Franc 326.02 324.02 Thai Baht 0.008381 0.008931 Srilankan Rupees 2.158 Euro 394.72 395.72 Bahrain Exchange Company Nepali Rupees 2.896 US Dollar 281.40 284.40 Arab Singapore Dollar 223.180 Sterling Pound 473.05 476.05 Bahraini Dinar 0.741953 0.749953 Hongkong Dollar 36.351 Japanese Yen 2.78 2.80 CURRENCY BUY SELL Egyptian Pound 0.036772 0.039872 Bangladesh Taka 3.623 Bangladesh Taka 3.622 3.892 Europe Iranian Riyal 0.000078 0.000079 Philippine Peso 6.355 Indian Rupee 4.607 4.907 Belgian Franc 0.007332 0.008332 Iraqi Dinar 0.000181 0.000241 Thai Baht 8.754 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.157 2.592 British Pound 0.462277 0.471277 Jordanian Dinar 0.393730 0.401230 Irani Riyal transfer 0.271 Nepali Rupee 2.894 3.429 Czech Korune 0.006264 0.018264 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000 Irani Riyal cash 0.273 Pakistani Rupee 2.788 2.790 Danish Krone 0.048291 0.053291 Lebanese Pound 0.000137 0.000237 Euro 0.385259 0.393259 Moroccan Dirhams 0.024316 0.048316 GCC COUNTRIES UAE Dirhams 76.68 77.15 Bahraini Dinar 748.97 751.04 Norwegian Krone 0.043228 0.048428 Nigerian Naira 0.001114 0.001749 Saudi Riyal 75.257 Omani Riyal 0.726824 0.732504 Qatari Riyal 77.543 Egyptian Pound 40.42 41.02 Romanian Leu 0.086667 0.86667 Jordanian Dinar 400.50 406.15 Slovakia 0.008066 0.018066 Qatar Riyal 0.076790 0.078003 Omani Riyal 733.110 Saudi Riyal 0.074603 0.075303 Bahraini Dinar 749.570 Omani Riyal 731.82 739.12 Swedish Krona 0.040128 0.045128 Syrian Pound 0.002162 0.002382 UAE Dirham 76.856 Qatari Riyal 77.71 78.26 Swiss Franc 0.314266 0.324466 Saudi Riyal 75.17 75.57 Turkish Lira 0.125432 0.132432 Tunisian Dinar 0.175706 0.183706 ARAB COUNTRIES Turkish Lira 0.125432 0.132432 Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.250 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Australasia UAE Dirhams 0.075837 0.076986 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.089 Australian Dollar 0.246149 0.257649 Yemeni Riyal 0.001281 0.001361 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.318 New Zealand Dollar 0.232670 0.241170 Tunisian Dinar 180.370 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate Jordanian Dinar 398.530 US Dollar 281.900 America Al Mulla Exchange Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.893 Canadian Dollar 256.355 Canadian Dollar 0.248103 0.256603 Syrian Lira 2.011 Sterling Pound 470.375 US Dollars 0.278050 0.282400 Morocco Dirham 35.709 Euro 392.508 US Dollars Mint 0.278550 0.282400 Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) Swiss Frank 321.250 US Dollar 281.600 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Bahrain Dinar 744.350 Asia Euro 391.900 US Dollar Transfer 282.100 UAE Dirhams 76.730 Bangladesh Taka 0.003293 0.003893 Pound Sterling 469.750 Euro 394.940 Qatari Riyals 78.280 Chinese Yuan 0.044791 0.048291 Canadian Dollar 254.850 Sterling Pound 475.200 Saudi Riyals 76.040 Hong Kong Dollar 0.034266 0.037016 Indian Rupee 4.633 Canadian dollar 256.450 Jordanian Dinar 397.280 Indian Rupee 0.004372 0.004773 Egyptian Pound 40.090 Turkish lira 127.970 Egyptian Pound 40.444 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.157 Swiss Franc 714.180 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000019 0.000025 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.157 Japanese Yen 0.002646 0.002828 Bangladesh Taka 3.625 Australian Dollar 258.250 Indian Rupees 4.648 Philippines Peso 6.330 US Dollar Buying 280.900 Kenyan Shilling 0.003256 0.003256 Pakistani Rupees 2.819 Korean Won 0.000254 0.000269 Pakistan Rupee 2.810 Bangladesh Taka 3.621 Malaysian Ringgit 0.082334 0.088334 Bahraini Dinar 749.850 GOLD Philippines Pesso 6.330 UAE Dirham 76.700 Nepalese Rupee 0.002842 0.003012 20 Gram 240.000 Cyprus pound 692.400 Saudi Riyal 75.200 Pakistan Rupee 0.002570 0.002850 10 Gram 121.000 Japanese Yen 3.725 *Rates are subject to change 5 Gram 62.500 SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 BUSINESS Kuwait’s credit growth steady at 8%

NBK ECONOMIC REPORT KUWAIT: Credit growth was steady at 8.0 percent despite a third consecutive month of declining business credit in January. Growth in January came from household borrowing which remained the fastest growing of all sectors, though it continued to confirm a mod- erating trend. Meanwhile, money sup- ply continued to slow down as private deposits contracted on the month. The monthly gain was a relatively modest KD 51 million, less than a third of the KD 180 million average monthly gain seen in 2013. Weakness came largely from the non-financial business sector which saw its third consecutive monthly drop in credit. Household debt remained the most dynamic part of bank credit gaining KD 89 million, though growth did slow slightly to 16.0 percent year-on-year (y/y). The sector is expected to contin- ue to see growth moderate in 2014, a trend seen since the middle of 2013. Consistent healthy growth in this sec- tor, however, has pushed its share of total bank credit up by two percentage points in the last 12 months to account for almost 30 percent. Non-bank financials deleveraged further during the month following an unusual gain in December. Credit to the sector was down by another KD 20 million in January, bringing the year-on-year decline to 12.8 percent. This trend is likely to continue in 2014, though at a slowing pace as the health of investment sector improves. All remaining credit was down KD 18 million, with growth mostly steady at 6.7 percent y/y. Credit was down In Crimea, pro-Russians on declines in the real estate and “other” sectors, which were down by KD 60 million and KD 23 million, tout IMF economic data respectively. Meanwhile, the trade sector gained KD 49 million. Money supply (M2) growth slowed Russia’s higher wages in focus further to 7.8 percent y/y with private deposits down by KD 213 million. The SEVASTOPOL: Outside the squat media, many ethnic Russians here in foreigners”. decline in deposits was largely in KD Soviet-era building that houses Sevastopol, the home of Russia’s Black “Make your choice. Don’t be slaves,” time, down KD 178 million. KD sight Sevastopol’s authorities, pro-Russian Sea Fleet, and Crimea’s most Russian it concludes. and saving deposits were also lower. activists have covered the wall with a city, don’t need much persuading By contrast, foreign currency deposits blizzard of flyers aimed at persuading how to vote. Thank you saw a small increase. M1 growth at 0.56 percent, 0.74 percent, 0.94 per- since the middle of 2013. The average residents of Crimea to vote to leave Fifty eight percent of Crimean resi- Nationalist pro-Kremlin Russian eased to 10.3 percent. cent, and 1.12 percent respectively. one-week and one-month rates rose Ukraine and become part of Russia dents are ethnic Russians. But the politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky rein- Deposit rates on dinar time Activity in the local interbank mar- by around one and six basis points today. promise of higher living standards, a forced that message on a visit last deposits remained mostly unchanged ket has been picking up, with inter- during January to 0.47 percent and Patriotic extracts from the Russian pledge aimed more at winning over month. “You will always have Russian from the previous month. Rates on bank deposits up 54 percent over the 0.63 percent, respectively. The national anthem jostle for space with ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars, who gas. You will always have millions of the 1-month, 3-months, 6-months, last twelve months. Meanwhile, KD overnight rate gained one basis emotional condemnations of the new together make up 36 percent of the Russian tourists!,” he told a crowd. The and 12-months timed deposits stood interbank rates (KIBOR) have risen point. Ukrainian government in Kiev, the population, is cementing ethnic crowd roared back: “Thank You!” capital, highlighting what many eth- Russian convictions and, for many, is Zhirinovsky promised Russia would nic Russians here say are its fascist the clincher. give “any amount of money” to help tendencies. But look carefully and “Even though Crimea has been Crimea and south and eastern Ukraine you’ll find more practical appeals for part of Ukraine all these years, Russia if needed, and would ensure no-one people’s votes. One, entitled “Ten is the one that has invested so much went cold. demands from the International money here. So much that it’s even Trundling towards Crimea on a Monetary Fund that will put Ukraine hard to list it all. Ukraine has done train from Kiev, Svetlana Dzubenko, on its knees”, says the IMF will cause nothing,” said Nikolai, a 35-year-old an employee on Ukraine’s rail network Ukrainian living standards, already merchant seaman, who declined to in her 20s, says the attraction of earn- lower than Russia’s, to plummet. give his surname. ing Russian-level wages is a powerful Next to it, another sheet of A4, “In Russia, wages and pensions are one. entitled “Our home is Russia”, reprints much higher even though the prices “In Russia I can earn over three what it says is glowing praise from the for goods are about the same as here. times what I do in Ukraine,” she said. IMF of Russia’s key economic indica- With Russia our standard of living will “My pay now is 3,000 hryvnias a tors, telling voters how much higher be higher, much higher”. month, but in Russia I would earn average wages and pensions in Russia In one of the most militarized areas 45,000 rubles, or about 12,000 hryv- are than in Ukraine. in the world where the landscape is nias doing the same thing. Right now As Crimea’s pro-Russian authorities scarred by dozens of Soviet-era bases I have nothing left once I’ve paid for seek to ensure what they say will be a operated by the Ukrainian and housing, heating and food. What if I landslide victory for those who want Russian militaries, the question of ser- want to save up? What if I get sick?” this strategic peninsula to become vicemen’s wages is also an important As the United States and the part of Russia, they are making a sim- one. As Crimea’s pro-Russian authori- European Union weigh economic ple pitch for voters: Your standard of ties try to persuade encircled sanctions against Russia to punish it living will rocket if you become part of Ukrainian forces to surrender their for what they view as its illegal mili- ISLAMABAD: Pakistani children attempt to catch a kite severed from its string in Islamabad yesterday. Russia. arms, renounce their oath, and switch tary intervention in Crimea and its Not all of the information being sides, the promise of salaries more support for a referendum they regard Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar on March 12 said he was optimistic about an economic recovery given to voters is accurate. The “Our than double the Ukrainian military as illegitimate, people here recognize after the rupee breached the psychologically important 100 to the dollar mark. — AFP Home is Russia” flyer tells voters wage is on offer. their living standards might get worse Russia is the fifth largest economy in A campaign flyer pasted on a before they get better. the world. It is in fact the eighth. crumbling wall in the town of Despite the lure of what they think Obama overtime plan But the gap between the two Bakchisaray, a place with a large Tatar will be a better life as part of Russia, countries’ economies is nonetheless population, says joining Russia means they say they are ready to soak up yawning. Ukraine’s economy, accord- “pensions, wages and social help at some economic pain too. “For a ing to the IMF, is only the world’s 54th Russia’s level” as well as infrastructure Russian person the economy is not stirring controversy biggest, and with a size of $176 billion investment. priority number one,” said Julia, an is dwarfed by Russia’s, which is over The alternative, to stay with ethnic Russian housewife. WASHINGTON: President Barack ness,” she said in an interview. “It’s government, in particular, shouldn’t $2 trillion. Ukraine, means “lower pensions and “We’ve been through a lot before Obama’s move to make more workers going to be good for my bottom line. be involved in labor markets in any salaries and the removal of welfare and we won’t betray our motherland eligible for time-and-a-half overtime Lawyers all over the country are way, shape or form,” said Jeffrey Frenzy of patriotism benefits,” it says, combined with “high- so we can buy 100 different sorts of pay is being hailed by Democrats who going to be making a lot of money.” Miron, director of economic studies Caught up in a frenzy of patriotism er gas and electricity bills” and “our sausage like people in the European see it as a potent midterm election She called the rules “my babies. I at the Cato Institute, a libertarian fuelled and sustained by Russian state land being sold off to oligarchs and Union”. —Reuters issue and condemned by Republicans spent two years of my life working on think tank, and a Harvard University and business leaders as presidential them. It’s personal for me. It’s going economics professor. “It shouldn’t be overreach. Supporters say it will help to be very sad to see them taking out setting hours legislation and it the still fragile economy, critics say it a lot of the stuff I put in,” she said. But shouldn’t be providing union protec- Maduro threatens airlines will damage it further. she also warned that the Obama tion.” It is likely to affect millions of administration should expect a rocky The order was the latest in a series over Venezuela payment row American workers. “From my per- road ahead in implementing whatev- of executive actions Obama has tak- spective, they have to be pulling er new policy emerges - just as the en in an end run around congression- CARACAS: President Nicolas Maduro tling to recover $3.7 billion blocked by flights between San Jose and Caracas numbers out of the air right now,” Bush administration faced last time al Republicans, who have blocked warned airlines on Friday not to cut the government, the head of industry beginning April 7 due to a lack of prof- said Washington labor lawyer Tammy around. Those close to the process many of his proposals. With Congress services for Venezuela over billions of body IATA said this week, accusing itability. Other foreign airlines includ- McCutchen, referring to the conflict- suggest it will take 12 months to 18 blocking his attempt to raise the fed- dollars they are owed and threatened Caracas of breaking international rules. ing Ecuador’s Tame, Air Canada, ing claims by partisans that it would months for the agency to complete eral minimum wage from $7.25 to them with permanent expulsion. Latin American airline Avianca-Taca Portugal’s TAP and Panama’s Copa either help or hurt the economy. “We its new assignment. $10.10 an hour, he used his executive Airlines that serve Venezuela are bat- said Wednesday it was suspending Airlines have already reduced opera- don’t even know what the policy is The move clearly has angered powers to raise it to that level for tions in Venezuela. For an “airline that going to be.” She’s closer to the business groups and congressional government contractors. Thursday’s reduces (operations) I will take severe process than most. As administrator Republicans, but it fits in with the presidential memorandum is aimed measures. The company that leaves the of the Labor Department’s Wage and overall Democratic midterm election at workers who make more than the country will not return while we hold Hour Division during the George W game plan of focusing on income federal minimum but are ineligible power,” Maduro told a press conference Bush administration, McCutchen inequality and the middle class at the for overtime pay under present law in Caracas. oversaw the last rewrite of the pro- same time the stock market has because they are designated as man- Maduro, the handpicked leftist suc- gram in 2004. soared. “This will help to build an agement, even when they have little cessor of the late firebrand Hugo Currently, salaried workers making economy that honors work, not one or no supervisory responsibilities. Chavez, said that a reduction in opera- more than $455 a week, or $23,660 a that steals from workers,” AFL-CIO “If you’re making $23,000, typical- tions “was part of the war they want to year, aren’t eligible for time-and-a- President Richard Trumka said. “While ly you’re not high in management,” wage in Venezuela.” Venezuelan law half overtime if some of their work is workers are denied overtime pay that Obama said in unveiling the initia- considered supervisory, even though they have earned, compounding flat tive. The White House contends the requires air tickets to be sold in non- many spend most of their day doing and falling wages, the bonus pool for 2004 revisions to the 1938 Fair Labor convertible bolivars, the national cur- manual, clerical or technical work Wall Street grew from $1.9 billion in Standards Act are outdated and rency, which the government then with few management duties. 1985 to $26.7 billion in 2013 - an allow employers to exempt too many exchanges with the airlines using US Obama signed a presidential memo- average annual increase of 14 per- workers from overtime pay. Despite dollars. But Venezuelan authorities randum on Thursday directing the cent in nominal terms.” the contrary claims of Democrats and ceased the dollar payments to the air- Labor Department to devise new Business and conservative groups Republicans as to the economic lines in October, the International Air LISBON: A woman argues with a Portuguese police officer during a overtime rules “to ensure that work- argue that Obama’s order will have impact of Obama’s move, economists Transport Association (IATA) said. ers are paid fairly for a hard day’s the opposite effect of what is intend- suggest any such impact will be min- protest outside the Portuguese parliament by Portuguese civil ser- Tony Tyler, who heads IATA, said work.” He’s tossing out most of the ed and could lead businesses to imal. “Be a boom to employment vant unions, in Lisbon on Friday. The protest is against the increase Wednesday: “Airlines certainly cannot rules McCutchen wrote in the reduce the number of employees or among lawyers, but otherwise not a in weekly working hours from 35 to 40 and other austerity measures sustain operations indefinitely if they process. cut pay, resulting in a drag on nation- big deal,” said Mark Zandi, chief econ- like salary and pensions cuts. —AP can’t get paid.” —AFP “Well, it’s going to be bad for busi- al economic growth. “The federal omist at Moody’s Analytics. —AP SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 BUSINESS

KSE stocks face selling pressure

BAYAN WEEKLY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) end- ed last week with mixed performance. The Price Index closed at 7,454.50 points, down by 0.71 percent from the week before clos- ing, the Weighted Index increased by 0.71 percent after closing at 459.97 points, whereas the KSX-15 Index closed at 1,097.54 points up by 1.39 percent. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 32.05 percent, com- pared to the preceding week, reaching KD 17.42 million, whereas trading volume average was 159.84 million shares, record- ing decrease of 32.34 percent. The stock market indicators closed mixed last week, whereas the Price Index stood alone in the red zone, affected by the strong selling operations that continued from the week before, and concentrated on many small-cap stocks, in addition to the speculative operations presence that became the main engine of the trading activity; as the speculators became the market traffic leaders, in absence of the real market makers that can balance the bid & offer operations. On the contrary, the Weighted Index and KSX-15 Index were able to realize gains by the end of the week, supported by the ran- dom purchasing operations that concen- trated on the leading stocks, especially after its announcements of the 2013 finan- cial results and dividend distributions; how- ever, the quick profit collection operations that were strongly present during most of the week’s sessions, lightened the indices gains. Moreover, last week’s stock market per- formance came in parallel with the decline of the trading values, whereas the trading value in one session reached its lowest lev- el since November 2012, as a result to the absence of the positive motivators, among a lack of liquidity pumping due to the rare investment opportunities, and the investors’ fear of a continuous decline of the listed stocks prices while missing sup- porting factors, in addition to the watch state for the listed companies announce- ments of its 2013 financial results. whereas the Health Care sector’s index the least declining as its index closed at cent growth, ending the week at 1,048.86 On the other hand, the Financial For the annual performance, the price closed with no change from the week 1,036.74 points with a 0.37 percent points. Services sector’s stocks were the highest index ended last week recording 1.26 per- before. The Insurance sector headed the decrease. The Financial Services sector dominated traded in terms of value; with a turnover of cent annual loss compared to its closing in losers list as its index declined by 2.25 per- On the other hand, last week’s highest total trade volume during last week with KD 30.04 million or 34.48 percent of last 2013, while the weighted index increased cent to end the week’s activity at 1,120.21 gainer was the Oil & Gas sector, achieving 396.16 million shares changing hands, rep- week’s total market trading value. The by 1.57 percent, and the KSX-15 recorded points. The Real Estate sector was second 1.18 percent growth rate as its index closed resenting 49.57 percent of the total market Banks sector took the second place as the 2.73 percent growth. on the losers’ list, which index declined by at 1,184.08 points. Whereas, in the second trading volume. The Real Estate sector was sector’s last week turnover was KD 19.46 1.73 percent, closing at 1,342.82 points, fol- place, the Telecommunications sector’s second in terms of trading volume as the million represented 22.34 percent of the Sectors’ indices lowed by the Consumer Services sector, as index closed at 860.42 points recording sector’s traded shares were 26.88 percent total market trading value. —Prepared by Six of KSE’s sectors ended last week in its index closed at 1,077.19 points at a loss 1.03 percent increase. The Banks sector of last week’s total trading volume, with a the Studies & Research Department, Bayan the red zone, Five recorded increases, of 1.38 percent. The Technology sector was came in third as its index achieved 0.83 per- total of 214.80 million shares. Investment Co. Crimea vote to keep Investors’ worry on China markets on edge now extends to Russia NEW YORK: Stock investors started the week worrying The impact of sanctions on Russia would likely affect the about China. They ended it waiting on Russia. Investors energy sector and oil in particular, said Jonathan Corpina, spent much of Friday monitoring developments in the senior managing partner at Median Equity Partners. “Any WALL STREET WEEKLY OUTLOOK Ukraine’s region of Crimea, where residents will vote today sanctions, if they get to that level, are going to have a major on whether to join Russia. The US and European Union have effect in all areas,” he said. Russia is the world’s eighth largest NEW YORK: Investors will start the week early as the investors were willing to pay more for protection vowed to impose sanctions on Russia as early as Monday if economy. Its oil and gas exports make up roughly a quarter Sunday referendum to decide if Crimea becomes part against a drop in the S&P 500. Moscow moves to annex Crimea. The uncertainty mostly of its GDP. of Russia or remains Ukrainian will likely reverberate “Maybe the average investor isn’t acting worried, stalled major stock indexes, which moved between small Escalating tension in Ukraine is the latest development in in markets worldwide. but I sure think option traders are bracing for some gains and losses through much of the day. Many investors a volatile year for the stock market. Severe winter weather U.S. stocks closed Friday with their largest weekly fireworks next week,” said Ryan Detrick, senior techni- took a cautious approach, turning to lower-risk stocks like has hurt corporate earnings and stoked doubts about the drop in the last seven weeks as the strongest con- cal strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research in utilities. strength of the US economy. Concerns over emerging mar- frontation between Russia and the West since the Cincinnati. All told, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 43.22 kets battered stocks at the end of January. And in recent end of the Cold War unfolds. Markets were also The trading volume on spot VIX options was more points, or 0.3 percent, to end at 16,065.67. The Standard & weeks, discouraging data on the Chinese economy have Poor’s 500 index fell 5.21 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at added to investors’ concerns. haunted by concerns over a slowdown in China’s than twice the norm on Friday, with the most active 1,841.13. The Nasdaq composite dropped 15.02 points, or That’s a stark shift from last year, when the market economy. Dozens of Russians involved in Moscow’s trades in the March and July 20 calls. The VIX has 0.4 percent, to finish at 4,245.40. Even so, the S&P 500 index enjoyed a surge of 30 percent and slightly more, if dividends gradual takeover of Crimea face US and EU travel closed above 20 just one day this year, on Feb. 3. ended the week down less than 2 percent from a record are included. “The ride this year will be bumpier than last bans and asset freezes on Monday as pro-Moscow high reached the previous Friday. And it remains just slightly year,” said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments authorities who have taken power in Crimea hold a Fed to stay course in the red for the year. at The PNC Financial Services Group. “Coming off a market Sunday vote to join Russia. The Federal Reserve is also on investor’s radars for “The market is still pretty close to all-time highs. I think of plus 32 percent last year, it’s not surprising the difficulty to “There’s an open question as to who suffers most,” next week as a two-day meeting of its policy-setting that speaks volumes,” said Karyn Cavanaugh, a senior mar- gain any traction here.” said Sam Wardwell, investment strategist at Pioneer committee kicks off Tuesday. ket strategist with ING US Investment Management. “The Still, Cavanaugh of ING US Investment Management, said Investments in Boston, about the planned economic The Fed could use the meeting, the first with Janet market hasn’t been rattled severely by what’s been going on investors know that fundamentals are “solid.” She noted that sanctions. “The EU is dependent on Russian natural Yellen as chair, to map out its plan for rate rises, this week, therefore I think next week I’d probably expect a corporate earnings are good at 8.5 percent growth in the gas; it’s an economic mutually assured destruction.” whether in the formal statement it issues afterward similar reaction.” In government bond trading, the yield on fourth quarter versus a year earlier. This week’s record decline in foreign holdings of or in Yellen’s news conference. the 10-year Treasury note was little changed from late Beyond the action in Ukraine, investors also will have a US Treasuries has led some to speculate that Russia The Fed has telegraphed that the first rate rise is Thursday at 2.65 percent. dose of US housing data and an update from Fed Chair Janet has been cutting its dollar reserves ahead of possible likely to come around the middle of next year, as long Despite the Dow posting its fifth loss in five days, the Yellen in the mix next week. Fed policymakers are expected sanctions from the West. Moscow shipped more as the US economy keeps healing. “Our anticipation is market regained some of its footing from a day earlier, when to continue scaling back the central bank’s stimulus. troops and armor into Crimea on Friday and repeated the Fed will taper again maintaining the schedule the three major indexes lost more than 1 percent - the worst On Friday several stocks posted gains. Keurig jumped its threat to invade other parts of Ukraine despite they have. There seems to be a high hurdle for them day for the market in six weeks. Thursday’s decline was a $7.09, or nearly 7 percent, to $113.25 after Starbucks Western demands to pull back. “It will be harder to to alter that schedule,” said Pioneer Investments’ sharp contrast to the relatively quiet trading Monday said Friday that it has agreed to give up its right to be make a new high with these global and geopolitical Wardwell. through Wednesday. the only provider of premium coffee for Keurig’s coffee effects overhanging,” said Andre Bakhos, managing Recent weakness in economic data has been Discussions between US Secretary of State John Kerry brewing machines. That opens the door for Keurig to director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey. attributed in part to weather issues, and markets do and Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Friday set the offer other high-quality coffee brands in single-serving “I don’t know if these warnings signs result in dire not expect the Fed to veer its course of winding mood heading into the weekend. Despite six hours of talks, packages. Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrances vaulted results, but they are certainly to be considered when down its asset-purchase program by another $10 bil- the two sides had “no common vision,” for the crisis in $5.75, or 6.4 percent, to $95.26. The beauty products making a macro bet.” On Wall Street, despite the lion, bringing the monthly purchase total to $55 bil- Ukraine, Lavrov said. retailer reported a nearly 10 percent increase in its weekly decline the S&P 500 held near its record high. lion. He told reporters that Russia has no plans to invade fourth-quarter profit thanks to improved sales. Among Investors, however, have been protecting their bets Market-sensitive data on tap for next week include southeastern Ukraine. But if Crimea secedes, the US and the decliners was retailer Aeropostale, which fell $1.47, European Union plan to slap sanctions on Russian officials or 20 percent, to $5.83 after reporting a wider loss late with other instruments. housing starts and consumer inflation data on and businesses accused of escalating the crisis and under- Thursday. The operator of clothing stores for teenagers The CBOE Volatility index VIX jumped near 10 per- Tuesday and the Philly Fed survey, weekly jobless mining Ukraine’s new government. also warned of tough times ahead. — AP cent to 17.82, its highest level since early February, as claims and home resales on Thursday. — Reuters SUN DAY, MARCH 16, 2014 BUSINESS Housing conference spotlights policy flaws

AL-SHALL WEEKLY ECONOMIC REPORT

KUWAIT: The old unsustainable rules and on Treasury bonds, one year term, was about foundations of the housing issue are the 1 percent (since August 2012). Domestic same wrong rules and foundations for the banks capture about 98.4 percent of the total current employment issue and the public public debt tools (around 96 percent at the finance issue. In fact, they are all interrelated end of December 2012). Thus, the total and the continuation of any will expedite the domestic public debt scores about KD 1527.3 failure of the other. Early last week, a confer- million, or about 3 percent of the nominal ence sponsored and shared by both the gov- GDP for 2012, of about KD 51.3 billion. ernment and the parliament was held during Kuwait Central Bank bulletin indicates that which presentations were submitted, some total credit facilities for foreign residents of which were rational and their core was offered from local banks amounted to claiming that the continued planting of the approximately KD 28.961 billion, approxi- country from border to border with horizon- mately 56.2 percent of total assets of local tal housing units is impossible and represents banks, a noticeable increase by about KD the selling of an illusion which will not be 2.164 billion from its amount at the end of realized. Not only that, it will diminish oil December 2012. This value represents a exports, accumulate public finance deficit growth rate of about 8.1 percent in 2013. The and will inevitably lead to inability to provide growth rates of credit facilities in 2005, 2006, employment, education and health services 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and even maintenance of the infrastructure. scored approximately 19.9 percent, 26.3 per- Al-Shall previously published its figures cent, 34.8 percent, 17.5 percent, 6.1 percent, about the major issues, and concluded the 0.4 percent, 1.6 percent and 4.6 percent inevitability of the country running against respectively. the wall if the government continues its cur- Total personal facilities scored about KD rent policies. But it is fine to borrow some fig- 11.282 billion, or about 39 percent of the ures from the conference papers which con- total credit facilities (approximately KD clude the same results and assert the impos- 10.055 billion in the end of December 2012), sibility of sustaining the current policies. The a growth rate by approximately 12.2 percent Minister of Electricity stated in his comment which we should be aware of to avoid repeat- that the Public Authority for Housing Welfare ing that problem of consumer and installed has submitted a request to provide power for loans. Value of installed loans scored about about 174,000 new housing units, which KD 7.031 billion dinars, or 62.3 percent of the need about 14,000 megawatts, or more than total personal facilities, for buying stocks the power which Kuwait generated since about KD 2.731 billion, or 24.2 percent of independence, noting that the number of total personal facilities, and KD 1.159 billion existing houses in Kuwait is currently approx- for consumer loans. imately 140,021. He added that Kuwait cur- Credit facilities for real estate sector rently subsidizes energy by about KD 3 billion scored approximately KD 7.601 billion, or annually, or about 75 percent of all public 26.2 percent of the total (about KD 7.114 bil- budget expenditures in the FY 1999/2000 lion in the end of December 2012), for trade which will increase deductions from oil pro- sector they scored about KD 2.744 billion, or duction to generate domestic energy from 9.5 percent, (about KD 2.475 billion in the about 10 percent to 20 percent at the end of December 2012) and for financial insti- expense of exports. tutions -excluding banks- KD 1.612 billion, or Chairman of the Real Estate Association 5.6 percent, (KD 1.857 billion in the end of and President of the Organizing Committee December 2012). says in his paper what is impossible to The bulletin also notes that the total accomplish. The percentage of Kuwaiti fami- deposits in local banks scored some KD lies that own their housing in the last 10 36.308 billion, representing approximately years since 2003 and until 2013 dropped 70.5 percent of total local banks liabilities, from about 61 percent to 55.9 percent. The with a marked increase by about KD 2.804 waiting list is currently about 109 thousand billion, from what its amount at the end of applications and there is a promise to com- December 2012, a growth rate of approxi- plete 174,000. President of the Organizing mately 8.4 percent. Of these deposits, KD Committee estimates the number of forth- 31.251 billion, 86.1 percent, in the compre- coming housing applications in the next 20 hensive definition, including major institu- years to be about 342,960 requests, while tions like the public Institution of social secu- each housing unit with an area of 400 sq m is rities - excluding the government- belong to estimated to cost approximately KD 252,000 the private sector clients, with KD 28.129 bil- with a total cost of KD 86.7 billion. It is lion, or 90 percent, deposits for private sector insignificant if cost figures are slightly impre- clients and the equivalent of KD 3.122 billion cise, for what remains of public funds either in foreign currencies for private sector clients, way will neither be sufficient to create 600 too. thousand jobs for new comers to the labor The average interest rates on customers’ market nor to provide decent medical and deposits for a term, in both the Kuwaiti dinar educational services. In fact, what remains and the US dollar compared to the end of will not guarantee the minimum limit for nec- December 2012, the bulletin states they con- essary political stability. tinued their decline on the two currencies. The Housing Minister in the same govern- The difference however in the difference in ment states that there are financial and tech- the average interest rates on customers’ nical constraints to building 174,000 houses; deposits for a term is in favor of the Kuwaiti but the most important restraint, according dinar, in the end of two periods. It scored to him, is the time constraint. In other words, approximately 0.409 points, for one-month he promises to distribute 12,000 housing deposits, about 0.461 for three months’ units per year, which means he believes in deposits, 0.532, for six month deposits, and the sustainability of the current housing poli- 0.512 for 12 months. But that difference in cy. We do not know which of the two govern- the end of December 2012 was 0.411 point ments will prevail, the one that speaks the for one-month deposits, approximately language of numbers and which does not 0.498 points for 3-month deposits, 0.545 believe in marketing the impossible because points for 6 months deposits, and 0.520 it is ordinary people who will pay for the point for 12-month deposit. The monthly repercussions, or the government which average of the Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate believes that time constraints alone may for December 2013 against the dollar was at delay continuing its impossible policies. 282.393 fils, a slight rise of about 0.3 percent Certainly the housing conference was a vis-a-vis 281.289 fils per one dollar average step in the right direction. The principle is to for December 2012. be frank with people, telling them with solid figures that continuing an error with well- The Gulf Cooperation Council known disastrous consequences is an unfor- By 2014, the Gulf Cooperation Council givable sin. That does not mean cancellation (GCC) has completed one-third of a century, of housing welfare, especially with the insane which is quite long time, during which China, rise of land prices, but the creation of a phi- for instance, which was starving and full of losophy of sustainable housing. But Kuwait’s epidemics, with most of its population below eternal problem remains that the solution the abject poverty line, managed to become does not come by correct or even the accu- the world’s second-largest global economy rate diagnosis, but through management with the potential to become the largest based on meeting its requirements. The gov- economy by 2030. During this long era, the ernment either does not read reality well or GCC does not have any worthy achievement. does not bother to offer the sacrifice for its The Customs Union Agreement has not been remedy. implemented so far. To cover up the failure, there was a jump to the Common Market Financial and monetary Statistics Agreement which was not applied either. The The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) stated in jump continued to the unified currency its monthly monetary statistics bulletin for which failed, too. The ultimate jump was the December 2013, published on its website, sudden announcement of the pursuit of a of promoting political unity to withdrawing population was about to stop the European the top of the pyramid will not create coun- that the balance of the total public debt GCC Union which was thwarted by Oman’s ambassadors, ie rupture between countries Union’s march to the so-called Maastricht tries or successful cooperation organizations. instruments has declined by KD 227.7 million threat to withdraw from the Council in advocating unity. To measure the seriousness Treaty. A few weeks ago, the small These notions have become obsolete with to KD 1527.3 million in the end of December November 2013 if that was discussed in last and the danger of the event, it should be Switzerland halted the workers’ free move- the fall of Stalinism. The GCC countries 2013 (KD 1755 million in December 2012). December’s Summit in Kuwait. compared with the concurrent Ukrainian cri- ment agreement with the European Union. should be aware of that fact. Achievements Public debt tools consist of Treasury bonds, The failure to implement agreements no sis. For the first time, a comparison on a global During this year Scotland may break away can be accomplished to countries through longer-term, with a balance by KD 1527.3 mil- longer represents a shock to the citizens or to level is made between the 1914 events which from Great Britain and in 2017 Britain may their entire population, but an individual lion (KD 1,755 million at the end of December those interested in the affairs of the GCC, as led to World War I and this crisis, though with quit the European Union. The common decision is enough to cause calamities. The 2012), and the Treasury bills with “zero bal- failure has become the rule. But the new some exaggeration. Nevertheless, neither denominator among all these events is the global financial crisis has demonstrated that ance” (since July 2012). Average interest rate development is the transition from euphoria Ukraine, the European Union countries nor “popular referendum”, ie the participation the most serious enemy of stability and con- the United States withdrew their ambassa- and the will of the people in decision-mak- struction is the dominance of uncertainty. dors from Russia, neither did Russia. While in ing, while the GCC countries moved from a Jumping from joy to severance within the the Gulf Cooperation Council crisis, three unity wedding to breaking up in four months. GCC organization creates an environment full ambassadors were withdrawn from a fourth In both cases, the people are ignored, as of a sense of uncertainty and loss of confi- country in an organization of six countries. those who dance to weddings or beat the dence. The excuse was Qatar’s non-implementation war drums are the conferences or summits of an agreement, which the citizens do not alone. In brief, if the security of the GCC The Weekly Performance of KSE know its content, after Qatar’s confirmation of countries is so fragile that it may collapse The performance of Kuwait Stock its commitment to the implementation of the from the works of one Change Academy or a Exchange (KSE) for the last week was mixed, confidential agreement in February 17 meet- Friday prayer sermon in Qatar, the fragile as the traded value index, the traded volume ing at Kuwait airport. That anger did not pre- security is what requires reform. Such phe- index and the transactions index showed a vent the four countries -Qatar and the three nomena -the Academy and Friday sermons- decrease, while the general index showed an boycotters- from signing the GCC security have helped test its failure. But if what is hap- increase. Al-Shall Index (value index) closed agreement. The accusation remained about pening is deeper and bigger, people who are at 458.2 points at the closing of last Thursday, Qatar’s destabilization of security in the other the basis of the country and the target of its showing an increase of about 0.3 points or three countries. security have the right to know and express about 0.1 percent comparing to last week In Europe, a small country in the 19th cen- their opinions. Certainly, monopolizing the and an increase of 3.5 points or about 0.8 tury, namely Denmark, with its five million announcement of achievements or wars at percent compared with the end of 2013. BUSINESS SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 Chevrolet Traverse and Impala among KBB.com 12 best family cars of 2014

KUWAIT: In a quest to find the vehicles editors then recorded the results and feed- best suited for families, Kelley Blue Book back to select the winners. editors collaborated with real families to The 2014 Chevrolet Traverse is packed test an array of vehicles including anything with the family-friendly features. A roomy from sedans to minivans in the US. vehicle that maintains a car-like ride, Two Chevrolets made their way into Traverse offers families a standard three KBB.com’s 12 Best Family Cars of 2014 rec- rows of seating on all models, flexible seat- ommended list, the Chevrolet Traverse ing configurations, class-leading people midsize SUV and the Impala brand’s new and cargo-carrying capacity, plus enter- flagship sedan. tainment features geared toward families. “We designed the Chevrolet Traverse It also features the industry’s first front cen- and Impala precisely to offer a wide suite of ter side air bag, which is designed to pro- useful family-friendly features,” said Russ vide added protection for both front occu- Clark, Chevrolet director of marketing. “It is pants. good to see that KBB.com and the cus- The 2014 Impala, Chevrolet’s full-size tomers they surveyed agree.” flagship sedan boasts a spacious refined Nominees were chosen specifically for interior and the new levels of comfort and excellence in safety, comfort, driving per- technology including new generation of formance, room for child seats, cargo space MyLink infotainment system and10 stan- and other family-friendly features. The dard air bags. KBB.com expert editors started with 21 Both vehicles offer a host of available vehicles top-ranked in their Expert Ratings safety technologies such as forward colli- in various family-friendly categories and sion alert, lane departure warning, side enlisted the help of several families to thor- blind zone alert, rear cross traffic alert, rear oughly test these family haulers. KBB.com camera and rear-park assist.

Zain Saudi wins ‘Product of The Year Gulf 2014’ awards Middle East honor innovation among GCC brands Telecoms Deal DUBAI: The Product of the Year 2014 awards, which has carved a niche for itself in 42 countries across the globe, of Year 2013 were handed over to a bevy of leading brands from across the GCC countries at a glittering awards ceremo- KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer in mobile telecommunica- ny held last night. tions across eight markets in the Middle East and North Recognizing excellence in innovation through an Africa is proud to announce that its operation in Saudi independent process, the awards - which were handed Arabia has been singled out as the recipient of the Middle over in a glittering ceremony at the Meydan Beach, East Telecoms Deal of the Year 2013 for having closed two Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai - is the only one-of- facilities, namely a SAR 8.63 billion ($2.3 billion) Murabaha its-kind that is voted 100% by consumers themselves. facility in July 2013 and a SAR 2.25 billion ($600 million) facility in June 2013. Conducted by market research partner TNS, the At a ceremony held in Dubai last week, reputable UK- Product of the Year Middle East award involves a GCC based ProjectFinance magazine awarded the prestigious and region-wide consumer survey involving face-to- accolade to Zain KSA in acknowledgement of its renegoti- face interviews with 3,600 households on the percep- ation of two facilities to finance a network expansion that tion of various new products that have been launched was originally set to mature in 2012. in the GCC market - not only in FMCG but also other The amended SAR 8.63 billion limited-recourse facility, industries such as electronics and vision care. which went on to become the largest pure commercial The Product of the Year award is selected by an inde- bank deal in Saudi Arabia in 2013, has a tenor of five years pendent jury which vets the consumers’ choices and to July 31, 2018, and was restructured as an amortizing manages the entire process in a transparent and secure facility, 25 percent of which will be due during years 4 and environment. The jury, which includes representatives 5 of the life of the facility, with 75 percent due at maturity. from The Dubai Chamber, The French Business Council, Moreover, the new Murabaha facility arrangement carries The Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting and the a decreased profit margin by around 18 percent (equiva- American University of Sharjah among oth- lent to 75 basis points) compared to the previous agree- ers , closely studies the various entries, fills out a multi- ment, with the possibility for further reduction in line with ple choice questionnaire and finalizes the participants’ the improving credit metrics. list. Commenting on the recognition of the deal by Dory Kfoury, CEO - Middle East and Africa for Product ProjectFinance magazine, Scott Gegenheimer, Zain Group of the Year, said: “Congratulations to all the winners of CEO said, “Zain Group remains totally committed to sup- the Product of the Year 2014 awards, and this recogni- porting its operation in Saudi Arabia, and we are proud to see the company recognized for its financial arrange- tion is a major endorsement for all the winning brands ments. We are confident that the transformation of Zain by the consumers. The Product of the Year is the world’s KSA will make this mobile operation a highly successful largest consumer-voted program that recognizes inno- player in the Saudi telecom market and a healthy contrib- vation in consumer packaged goods. With its success in utor to the Group’s overall operations.” the GCC region since last year, the award has received a Zain KSA CEO, Hassan Kabbani said: “The resounding major thumbs-up from companies as it is voted by con- support of a broad base of local and international financial sumers. We sincerely thank all our partners, and in par- institutions in these facilities is a confirmation of the bank- ticular TNS for their survey and support in this journey.” ing community’s confidence in the company.” Partners for this year include GN Broadcasting, Furthermore, Kabbani noted, “2013 was a significant Rotana, Gulf Marketing Review, TNS ,Traffik 360 for year for Zain KSA as we were able to conclude a number of below the line advertising, INTO All Marketing Solutions significant financial transactions that helped free up cash- and Integral Shopper for their marketing support. flow, improve our financial situation, and position us The Product of the Year awards has been recently strongly to contend with the future development of our introduced in Russia, Malaysia and South Korea. Japan 4G LTE network and the rollout of customer enhancing and Tunisia will launch their first edition in 2014. services in the years to come.” “Each year 24,000 new products are launched on the Apart from the two financial transactions acknowl- market in the consumer goods arena worldwide, only edged in this award, Zain KSA’s cash-flow position was also 10% of them succeed to stay on shelf for 3 years and enhanced in 2013 by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance less than 40% of them manage to stay in the market (MOF) sanction of a seven-year deferment of annual dues beyond 5 years,” says Carla El-Saghir , Gulf Area and other obligations, allowing for the postponement of payments totalling $1.5 billion to the MOF until 2021. Manager. “The Product of the Year Middle East award Prior to closing on the Murabaha facility, Zain KSA had serves as a shortcut for the shoppers in the supermarket partially repaid the prior facility by an amount of US$ 100 making their product choice easier in a sea of endless million, utilizing a portion of its internal cash resources. options. For manufacturers of the winning products, the The company’s financial progress is in line with the overall POY recognition is a powerful marketing message positive momentum being enjoyed at Zain KSA, which has proven to increase product trial, awareness, distribution resulted in the heightening of its performance as it follows and sales.” Globally, POY has been working with over a strategy of operational excellence, better customer 100 multinationals and a number of local and regional experience, and greater brand alignment. companies and invites companies from all sectors to On the $2.3 billion Murabaha facility, the bookrunners submit their entries: Health and Beauty, Food and were Al-Rajhi Bank (ARB), Arab National Bank (ANB), Beverage, Electronics and Technology and Travel. Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) and Credit Agricole CIB (CACIB). The Mandated Lead Arrangers were ARB, ANB, BSF, Below is the full list of 2014 ‘s winners: Boubyan Bank, CACIB, Gulf Bank (Kuwait), National Bank of Biofinity Family (Vision Care) . Nude Audio Move Tasweek 2013 profits on Kuwait (NBK) and Saudi British Bank. On the $600 million Portable Wireless Speakers (Portable Speakers). facility, four banks provided the loan - Arab National Bank, Oral-B Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide (Oralcare) . Banque Saudi Fransi, Gulf International Bank and Samba Philips ActiveCare Jojoba Straightener (Hair Appliances) strong growth threshold Financial Group. The legal firms that supported Zain and . Braun Silk-epil SkinSpa (Hair Removal solutions) . the financial institutions in these transactions included Philips Beardtrimmer Series 9000 (Male Grooming) . ABU DHABI: Tasweek Real Estate players. We expect our performance amazing growth across various invest- Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Allen & Overy. Sensodyne Complete Protection (Toothpaste) . Nivea Development and Marketing PJSC, an in 2013 to be of a consistent growth ments. We are quite bullish to contin- Men Originals Range (Men’s Skincare). Garnier Light Oil advisor and solutions provider serving over the last five year, our enviable ue this amazing trend in 2014 and Control (Whitening Facecare) . Maybelline New York The the regional real estate markets, con- portfolio of the investment and the achieve even greater heights with our Colossal Kajal (Make Up). Nivea Stress Protect sidering their performance a surge in encouraging market potential in the partners, stakeholders and our cus- Deodorants (Deodorants for women) . Carefree Plus the net profit for 2013 - its fifth real estate sector is very encouraging tomers in this growth march.” Large + Aloe 48s (Feminine Care) . Nivea In-Shower straight year of profit and continuous of an IPO model as the market growth Al-Awar added: “Amidst this posi- growth makes it worth to serious con- is very promising” tive growth trajectory, we shall draw Body Lotions (Body Moisturiser) . Pantene Milky sideration for IPO as the real-estate He added: “Last year, we witnessed from our commitment to accountabili- Damage Shampoo, Conditioner and Oil Replacement industry growth flourishes. ty, integrity and professionalism to Range (Haircare Range) . Excellence Creme (Hair With the mixed-use development achieve another year of growth and Colourants) . Tresemme Hair Care Range (Professional of Tasweek $250 million portfolio from vision. We expect a lot of investment Haircare & Styling). Head & Shoulders Itchy Scalp Care residential, commercial hospitality across other business sectors as well - Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Conditioner (Anti-Dandruff and healthcare as also the other more so with the Expo 2020 win, Haircare) . Nivea Men Shower Gels (Men’s Shower Care) . investments planned by Tasweek in which will bring in more capital inflow LUX Soft Touch Shower Gel (Skin Cleansing) . Johnson’s Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other parts of into the UAE and overall augurs well Baby No More Tangles Little People’s Hair Care range the Gulf, have further accentuated the for our growth.” (Babycare) . Milupa Aptamil Junior (Baby Nutrition) . depth of the company’s portfolio and The impressive results comes Pampers Premium Care (Baby Diapers) . Kleenex its international reach of assets amidst amidst a study by Tasweek which Arabesque Facial Tissue Bundle (Premium Facial Tissues) the increasing confidence in the real revealed that the real estate industry . Sanita Sufra Matwiya Poly Ethylene Table Covers estate sector and heightened opti- offers amazing returns on investments (Disposable Tableware) . Kleenex Classiq Facial Tissue mism among the investors and buyers between 9 percent and 12 percent per Bundle (Classic Facial Tissues) . Air Wick Aoud Passions in the region. annum in the short and long-term. (Home Fragrances) . Fairy Platinum (Dishcare) . Ariel Masood Al-Awar, CEO of Tasweek Tasweek Real Estate Development and Capsule (Laundrycare) . Afia Corn Oil (Cooking Oil) . Rio Real Estate Development and Marketing has been showcasing its Mare Salatuna Beans Recipe (Canned Tuna) . Nature Marketing, said: “As we see an amaz- two core competencies of networking Valley Oats & Chocolate (Snack Bar) . London Dairy ing growth period for the real estate and extensive market knowledge as it Crispy Chocolate Espresso (Ice Cream) . KRAFT Cheddar sector, we are proud of our achieve- continues its expansion into the inter- national markets. Cheese - New Easy to Use Cans (Cheese) . Lipton Chai ments so far as one of the leading Masood Al-Awar Latte Foamy (Hot Beverages). SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 technology

Move over ‘123456’: passwords go high-tech too

HANOVER: Internet users may before long have a much that it’s a daily struggle for users to cope with too, making it far harder to hack. “There is no way ing off its PalmSecure technology on its new ultra- secure solution to the modern plague of passwords, so many of them. And as millions of Internet users anybody could see which numbers you are looking light laptop computer which has a small sensor built in which they can use visual patterns or even their have learned the hard way, no password is safe when at. You see typing numbers but you don’t know what in. Meanwhile Swiss firm KeyLemon has developed a own body parts to identify themselves. Developers hackers can net them en masse from banks, email the pattern is because each number is here six times,” face recognition system using a webcam. at the world’s biggest high-tech fair, CeBIT, say that services, retailers or social media websites that fail to Hope said during a demonstration. The computer registers parts of the face, “the eyes, one of the biggest frustrations of having a smart- fully protect their servers. Many simply throw in the the eyebrows, the shape of your nose, your cheek- phone and a computer is memorizing dozens of suf- towel and use no-brainer codes like “123456” and Backup from body parts bones, the chin...” a company spokesman said. The ficiently airtight passwords for all their devices and “password”-which are still the most common despite Biometric data offers another alternative to seas person must then only sit in front of the screen to be accounts. “The problem of passwords is that they are how easily they can be cracked, CeBIT spokesman of numbers, letters and symbols. US giant Apple has recognized and gain access to the computer. The sys- very weak, they are always getting hacked, and also Hartwig von Sass said at the event in the northern already equipped its latest generation iPhone with a tem, already used by some three million people from a user point of view, they are too complicated, German city of Hanover. fingerprint reader to boost its security profile. But a according to the company, still has a few kinks how- everybody has 20, 30, 60 passwords,” said Steven In response to the vulnerabilities and hassles of group of European hackers, the Hamburg-based ever so users must remember to take off their eye- Hope, managing director of Winfrasoft from Britain, the antiquated username-and-password formula, Chaos Computer Club, demonstrated that the sys- glasses, for example, or have consistent lighting in the fair’s guest country this year. Winfrasoft has developed an alternative based on a tem could be pirated using a sophisticated “fake” fin- order to pass the identity test. “Face recognition and “They all have to be different, no one can remem- four-color grid with numbers inside that resembles a gerprint made of latex. Japan’s Fujitsu turned to the fingerprint recognition are additional safety security ber them, so everybody writes them down or resets Sudoku puzzle. Users select a pattern on the grid as other end of the hand and has developed an identifi- features, they will never have only face recognition or them every time they log in. They don’t work in the their “password” and because the numbers inside the cation system based on each person’s unique vein fingerprint recognition” but rather use them as a cru- real world today.” Passwords have proliferated so boxes change once per minute, the code changes pattern. At its CeBIT stand, the company was show- cial backup to passwords, he said. — AFP US goes high-tech to help oversee Afghan aid work Aid agency steps up use of smartphones, GPS cameras

WASHINGTON: Faced with the ongoing exit of American troops from Afghanistan, the top US aid agency wants to step up its use of smart- phones, satellite imagery and GPS cameras to oversee tax-funded development projects that aid workers no longer will be able to observe with their own eyes. The US Agency for International Development on Saturday began seeking bids on a new monitoring project con- tract, which could cost up to $170 million. The agency hopes the five-year project will allow aid work to continue in Afghanistan despite the troop drawdown and satisfy lawmakers and oth- ers who have criticized it for weak monitoring. Unless security improves significantly, Afghans hired by USAID contractors will increas- ingly be on the front line of overseeing USAID’s Associated Press Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay poses wearing Google Glass in largest single-country program. “As the US pre- New York. — AP pares to have a smaller military footprint, it could become increasingly challenging for us to do our direct monitoring and have U.S. employees on Uneasy first steps the ground looking at things,” Mark Feierstein, associate administrator for USAID, said in an interview this week at USAID’s headquarters in with Google Glass Washington. “We are going to try to do whatever oversight we can with USAID employees,” WASHINGTON: Mark Feierstein, associate administrator for the US Agency for International NEW YORK: Shaped like a lopsided head- versions of Glass have to be much smaller Feierstein said. “If we conclude that even with the Development, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. — AP band, Google Glass is an unassuming piece and less conspicuous. best technology we just can’t have eyes and ears America’s presence in Afghanistan. The draw- SIGAR was unable to visit $72 million in infra- of technology when you’re holding it in Though no one knows for sure where there, we just won’t do the project.” down of forces and further restricted movement structure projects in northern Afghanistan your hands. You feel as if you can almost wearable devices will lead us, Rodrigo Since 2001, USAID has spent $12 billion on of US civilian workers in Afghanistan has alarmed because they were in areas that could not be break it, testing its flexibility. Putting it on, Martinez, life sciences chief strategist at the development projects in Afghanistan, and mil- Sen Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, who has long criti- reached by US civilian employees. Sopko said five though, is another story. Once you do, this Silicon Valley design firm IDEO, has some lions more will pour into the country in coming cized waste and fraud in US reconstruction proj- zones, encircling many of the highest-populated Internet-connected eyewear takes on a life ideas. “The reason we are talking about years. USAID-funded projects are monitored by ects in the war-torn country. At a Senate hearing cities in the country, have been identified as hav- of its own. You become “The Person wearables is because we are not at aid workers, contractors, other US government earlier this week, McCaskill noted that SIGAR pre- ing “possible oversight access.” He said US mili- Wearing Google Glass” and all the assump- implantables yet,” he says. “(But) I’m ready. employees, USAID’s own inspector general, the dicts that soon no more than 21 percent of tary officials have told SIGAR that “requests to tions that brings with it -about your wealth, Others are ready.” Nevermind implants, I’m Government Accountability Office, the Afghan Afghanistan will be accessible to US civilian over- visit a reconstruction site outside of these over- boorishness or curiosity. Such is the fate of not sure I’m even ready for Google Glass. government and civil organizations, and the sight personnel. sight bubbles will probably be denied.” US mili- early adopters of new technologies, Specs in place for the first time, I walked office of Special Inspector General for “Now that’s a 47 percent reduction since tary officials also have told SIGAR that they will whether it’s the Sony Walkman, the first out of Google’s Manhattan showroom on a Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR. The new 2009,” McCaskill said. “We had eyes and ears on provide civilian access only to areas within a 30- iPod with its conspicuous white earbuds, or recent Friday afternoon with a sense of monitoring project contract going out for bid the majority of Afghanistan during a time period minute trip of an advanced medical facility, he the Segway scooter. unease. A wave of questions washed over aims to enhance oversight by combining these that ... billions of dollars of American taxpayer wrote. Google calls the people who wear Glass me. Why is everyone looking at me? Should existing monitoring techniques with stepped up money was being spent to build things. We’re In his letter, Sopko acknowledged USAID’s “explorers,” because the device is not yet I be looking at them? Should I have chosen use of high-tech tools, which USAID has already only going to have eyes and ears in 21 percent of work to use third-party monitors to oversee con- available to the general public. With its the orange Glass instead of charcoal? used in Afghanistan and other hard-to-access the country.” In its most recent quarterly report, struction sites and said the State Department $1,500 price tag, the device is far from hav- Ideally, Google Glass lets you do many countries, such as Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and cer- SIGAR also expressed deep concern that over- was looking at ways to expand access by periodi- ing mass appeal. At the South By of the things we now do with our smart- tain areas of Colombia. sight could suffer. “As the US drawdown contin- cally moving emergency medical and security Southwest Interactive tech jamboree in phones, such as taking photos, reading The tools include satellite imagery, cameras ues, implementing agencies and oversight bod- forces to the edges of the oversight bubbles. Austin this week, I counted fewer than a news headlines or talking to our mothers that take photos with the time, date and GPS ies will have far less visibility over the reconstruc- “Even if these alternative means are used to over- dozen people wearing it, including tech- on Sunday evenings - hands-free. But it coordinates, and cellphones that can be used to tion programs than in the past,” it said in the see reconstruction sites, direct oversight of nology blogger Robert Scoble, who isn’t comes with a bit of baggage. Glass feels collect data and conduct informal public opinion report issued in January. reconstruction programs in much of Afghanistan shy about posting pictures of himself in the heavier when I’m out in public or in a group surveys. Typically, Afghans are hired to go to proj- In a letter to US officials late last year, John will become prohibitively hazardous or impossi- shower, red-faced, water running, wearing where I’m the only person wearing it. If I ect sites and collect information useful in moni- Sopko, the special inspector general for ble as US military units are withdrawn, coalition the device. think about it long enough my face starts toring the work - a job that can put them in dan- Afghanistan reconstruction, said access had bases are closed and civilian reconstruction Google, like most successful technology burning from embarrassment. The device ger if they are seen by insurgents fighting already become an issue. He noted that in 2013 offices in the field are closed,” he wrote. — AP companies, dreamers and inventors, likes has been described to me as “the scarlet to take a long view on things. It calls some letter of technology” by a friend. The most of its most outlandish projects “moonshots.” frequent response I get from my husband Besides Glass, these include its driverless when I try to slip Glass on in his presence is car, balloons that deliver Internet service to “please take that off.” This is the same hus- remote parts of the world and contact lens- band who encouraged me to buy a sweater es that monitor glucose levels in diabetics. covered in googly-eyed cats. There’s an inherent risk in moonshots, how- Instead of looking at the world through ever: What if you never reach the moon? a new lens on a crowded rush-hour side- Ten years from now, we may look back at walk. I felt as if the whole world was look- Google Glass as one of those short-lived ing at me. That’s no small feat in New York, bridges that takes us from one technologi- where even celebrities are afforded a sense cal breakthrough to the next, just as of privacy and where making eye contact pagers, MP3 players and personal digital with strangers can amount to an entire assistants paved the way for the era of the conversation. But that’s just one side of smartphone. wearing Google Glass. The other side is Fitness bands, too, may fit into this cate- exhilarating. Glass is getting some bad gory. In its current, early version, Google press lately. Some bars and coffee shops in Glass feels bulky on my face and when I Silicon Valley and Seattle have banned look in the mirror I see a futuristic telemar- Google Glass, for example, and federal keter looking back at me. Wearing it on the authorities in Ohio interrogated a man ear- subway while a homeless man shuffled lier this year after he was suspected of through the car begging for change made recording a movie with the device. Last me feel as if I was sporting a diamond tiara. month, Google put out a Glass etiquette I sank lower in my seat as he passed. If guide that includes the appeal “don’t be Google is aiming for mass appeal, the next creepy or rude.” — AP Japan vows to tackle industrial espionage TOKYO: Japan has vowed to fight indus- key issue for the government of Prime Canon Middle East awarded for trial espionage after domestic media Minister Shinzo Abe, which acknowl- reported technology and information edges it cannot adequately protect its from local companies, including chip- own computers and networks. Best Environmental Practices maker Toshiba Corp, had been leaked to The media reports said Tokyo police rivals from other countries. “Safeguarding are probing the alleged leak of technolo- DUBAI: Canon Middle East, a leader in imaging Agrawal, Managing Director, Canon Middle East awarded the Dubai Chamber CSR Label in 2012 Japan’s cutting-edge technology and gy related to Toshiba’s flagship NAND solutions, has been recognized for ‘Best said: “We are truly honoured to be recognized in and 2013, the company was also recertified in preventing leaks are extremely impor- memory chips. A Toshiba spokesman said Environmental Practices in the Arab World’ and the private sector for best environmental prac- 2013 to ISO 14001 Environmental Management tant,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide the company could not comment on the was the only private sector organization granted tices by the Arab Organization for Social Standard. Suga told reporters. “The government as matter while it is the subject of a police the award by the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility. At Canon Middle East we are Canon Middle East supports the Emirates a whole will respond to ensure that such investigation. Tokyo police also declined Responsibility, honoring Canon’s commitment to committed to integrating our global philosophy Environmental Group in their initiatives as cor- a thing doesn’t occur again.” to comment. A Hynix spokesman said the corporate social responsibility (CSR) across all of Kyosei, the purpose of living and working porate members and has two key strategic part- Suga declined to discuss specific cases company was checking the report and aspects of business operations. At the annual together for the common good, into our every- nerships with WWF: with WWF International but several media outlets said police had had no further comment. NAND memory award ceremony Canon was also presented a day activities and giving back to the communi- since 1998 as their conservation imaging part- arrested a former engineer at a Toshiba chips, used to store data in smartphones ‘Certificate of Excellence,’ acknowledging ties that we operate in. ner, and the EWS-WWF locally. Globally, Canon affiliate on suspicion of improperly pro- and tablets, are a key source of profit for achievements in developing and implemented “We believe in conducting business responsi- Inc. earned the highest ranking among Japanese viding technical data to South Korea’s SK Toshiba, whose key competitors in the strategies that contribute to social development bly and strive to ensure sustainable economic companies in the 2013 Climate Counts corporate Hynix Inc. The Nikkei newspaper also business include South Korea’s Samsung and environment protection. growth, delivering value for customers and emissions performance study at fourth place. reported on Thursday that police had Electronics Co Ltd and US chipmaker Promoting the importance of corporate stakeholders, while supporting Canon’s global Canon is also ranked 8th in the World’s Most arrested in 2012 an unspecified number SanDisk Corp. Toshiba’s shares fell 0.9 accountability, businesses are encouraged by CSR efforts and spearheading local initiatives Reputable Companies (2013), 30th on of people in Yokohama and Aichi for percent on Thursday, compared to the the Arab Organization for Social Responsibility that are core to our EMEA wide business.” Canon Interbrand’s 2013 Best Global Green Brands and alleged leaks of industrial secrets to 0.1 percent drop in Tokyo’s benchmark to align their regional CSR policies with interna- Middle East continues to invest heavily in sus- its score on the Climate Counts scorecard is Chinese companies. Cybersecurity is a Nikkei average. — Reuters tional standards of social responsibility. Anurag tainable best practices. In addition to being 66/100. SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 HEALTH & SCIENCE Scientists expect traces of ocean radiation soon

WASHINGTON: Scientists have crowd- flooded the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear the plume begins to arrive along the State University. The Rossi model pre- know what is really going on. Woods sourced a network of volunteers taking plant, causing radiation-contaminated West Coast.” In an email from Japan, dicts levels a little higher than the fallout Hole sent her a bucket, a funnel, a clip- water samples at beaches along the US water to spill into the Pacific. Airborne Buesseler said he hopes the sampling from nuclear weapons testing in the board, a UPS shipping label, instructions West Coast in hopes of capturing a radiation was detected in milk and rain- will go on every two or three months for 1960s. The Behrens model predicts lower and a big red plastic container for her detailed look at low levels of radiation water in the US soon afterward. But the next two to three years. levels like those seen in the ocean in the sample. She went to Ocean Shores, drifting across the ocean since the 2011 things move much more slowly in the Two different models have been pub- 1990s, after the radiation had decayed Washington, a couple of weeks ago, col- tsunami that devastated a nuclear power ocean. “We know there’s contaminated lished in peer-reviewed scientific jour- and dissipated. lected her sample and shipped it off. No plant in Japan. water coming out of there, even today,” nals predicting the spread of radioactive The models predict levels of Cesium results have come back yet. To do anoth- With the risk to public health Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the isotopes of cesium and iodine from 137 between 30 and 2 Becquerels per er sample, she will have to raise another extremely low, the effort is more about Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Fukushima. One, known as Rossi et al, cubic meter of seawater by the time the $500. perfecting computer models that will in Massachusetts, said in a video appeal- shows the leading edge of the plume hit- plume reaches the West Coast, Higley “I got lots of strange looks at the better predict chemical and radiation ing for volunteers and contributions. ting the West Coast from southeast said. The federal drinking water health beach and the UPS Store, because it’s spills in the future than bracing for a Alaska to Southern California by April. standard is 7,400 Becquerels per cubic labeled ‘Center for Marine and threat, researchers say. Two models The other, known as Behrens et all, meter, Leon said. Becquerels are a meas- Environmental Radioactivity,’ and it’s a Federal agencies are not sampling at In fact, it is the biggest pulse of shows the plume hitting Southeast ure of radioactivity. big red bin,” she said. “But it’s funny; the beach. The state of Oregon is sam- radioactive liquid dropped in the ocean Alaska, British Columbia and Washington The crowdsourcing raised $29,945 nobody would ask me anything out on pling, but looking for higher radiation ever, he said. by March 2016. from 225 people, enough to establish the beach. I was like, ‘Aren’t you curious? levels closer to federal health standards, “What we don’t really know is how The isotopes have been detected at about 30 sampling sites in Alaska, British Don’t you want to ask?’” said state health physicist Daryl Leon. fast and how much is being transported very low levels at a Canadian sampling Columbia, Washington and California, Taking the sample has allayed her ini- Washington stopped looking after early across the Pacific,” he added. “Yes, the point far out to sea earlier than the mod- according to Woods Hole. The website so tial fears, but she still thinks it is impor- testing turned up nothing, said models tell us it will be safe. Yes, the lev- els predicted, but not yet reported at the far has not reported any radiation. tant to know “because it affects our Washington Department of Health els we expect off the coast of the US and beach, said Kathryn A. Higley, head of Sara Gamble of Washington state, the ecosystems, kids love to play in the water spokesman Donn Moyer. Canada are expected to be low. But we the Department of Nuclear Engineering mother of a young child, raised $500 at the beach, and I want to know what’s The March 2011 tsunami off Japan need measurements, especially now as and Radiation Health Physics at Oregon because she thinks it is important to there.”—AP Disaster in Pakistan drought region almost inevitable Relief work fails to address root causes

MITHI, Pakistan: As the death toll from the lat- est outbreak of poverty-driven diseases in Pakistan’s Thar desert nears 100 children, experts are warning that corruption and a dysfunctional political system make a repeat of the disaster almost inevitable.The desert region in Tharparkar, one of Pakistan’s poorest districts, spreads over nearly 20,000 square kilometres in the country’s southeast and is home to some 1.3 million people, including a large population of minority Hindus. Between March 2013 and February this year, rainfall was 30 percent below usual, according to government data, with the worst-hit towns of Diplo, Chacro and Islamkot barely touched by a drop of water for months. GODEWAERSVELDE: A file picture taken on Sept 28, 2012 shows corn in a field in Asif Ikram, the second most senior adminis- Godewaersvelde, northern France. The French Ministry of Agriculture banned by an tration official in the district, said on Thursday order published in the Official Journal of marketing the use and cultivation of “MON that the death toll from diseases such as pneu- 810”, a variety of genetically modified maize (corn) developed by the US agro-chemi- monia and meningitis since Dec 1 had risen to cals Monsanto Company. — AFP 161 people, including 97 children. Life in the desert is closely tied to rain-depen- dent crops and animals, with farmers relying on Free rides to combat beans, wheat, and sesame seeds for survival, bartering surplus in exchange for livestock. pollution in France, Belgium The drought is not the only reason for the KARACHI: Pakistani villagers wait to receive relief supplies outside a military camp in Mithi, recent deaths-observers say they have come the capital of Tharparkar district, some 300 km from Karachi. As the death toll from the latest PARIS: Air pollution that has turned the tribute as well. about as a result of endemic poverty, exacerbat- outbreak of poverty-driven diseases in Pakistan’s Thar desert nears 100 children, experts are skies over Paris a murky yellow and shroud- One environmental group complained ed by the drought and an outbreak of disease warning that corruption and a dysfunctional political system make a repeat of the disaster ed much of Belgium for days forced drivers earlier this week, denouncing the “inertia of killing livestock. almost inevitable. —AFP to slow down Friday and gave millions a the government,” saying it was putting lives Authorities have been busy dispensing food “But also unfortunate because being Hindu Jairam Das, a 49-year livestock farmer who free ride on public transportation. in danger. aid and sending medics to attend to the sick fol- and being secular we do not fit in the official lost 10 sheep and two goats to the recent out- The belt of smog stretched for hundreds There’s no question that pollution can lowing visits by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and ideological definition of the country,” he added. break of animal disease, said he and other vil- of miles, from France’s Atlantic coast to be an immediate health hazard, especially Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who leads the Pakistan Javed Jabbar, founder of Banh Beli non-gov- lagers were envious of Indian villages just a few Belgium and well into Germany. It was the for the very young and old and for anyone People’s Party which rules the province. ernment organisation which works in the area, kilometres (miles) away across the border. worst air pollution France has seen since with respiratory or cardiac disorders, said But observers say the relief work fails to added: “When you have Karachi with 18 million “In the bordering town of India there is 2007, the European Environment Agency European Environment Agency air quality address the root causes of such disasters and people, Tharparkar is relatively less important greenery all around as their government has said. manager Valentin Foltescu. warn they are likely to be repeated. from a political radar point of view.” spread a network of irrigation and piped drink- Nearly all of France was under some sort “Some people will, unfortunately, die,” A drought in the desert in 2000 killed 90 per- Jabbar, a former federal information minister, ing water,” Das said. of pollution alert Friday, with levels in the Foltescu said. “There is a high correlation of cent of the livestock. added that the district has fallen victim to “a fail- “We have a similar climate but the lack of Parisian region surpassing some of those in pollution of this kind and mortality.” ure to enforce accountability due to considera- water is a major hurdle,” Das said. the world’s most notoriously polluted Speed limits dropped in France and Politically invisible tions of partisanship” that has afflicted the On the Indian side of the border, the 400-kilo- cities, including Beijing and Delhi. Belgium and electronic billboards in Paris Zafar Junejo, chief executive of Thardeep province for years. metre Indira Gandhi canal through the Thar To combat the smog, public transit dispensed advice and emergency informa- Rural Development Programme (TRDP), says the He cited the case of five doctors in the desert in the state of Rajasthan is a lifeline for around Paris and in two other cities was tion. But the website that keeps up-to-the- region has long been ignored by Karachi, the province who were able to keep their jobs isolated communities and farmers who use the free Friday through Sunday. Elsewhere in minute figures on the Paris region’s air provincial capital, because it is not considered despite being absent from their posts for years, water for irrigation for crops and drinking water France and in Belgium’s southern Wallonia quality slowed to a crawl and asked visitors an important constituency politically. because of connections to political patrons. when needed. area, the free ride was only for Friday. to follow it on Twitter or Facebook rather According to the last census, Hindus make up Jabbar, the ex-minister, added more planning The smog is particularly severe here than crash the site. 40 percent of the district’s population, unlike Drought ‘manageable’ was needed ahead of droughts. because France has an unusually high Foltescu said if everyone follows the most of Pakistan which is overwhelmingly Residents and activists say the effects of “When you see signs in a particular year, you number of diesel vehicles, whose nitrogen government’s advice “you will see an Muslim, and Junejo said the authorities have lit- drought can be mitigated by global lessons in move supplies of fodder and nutritional supple- oxide fumes mix with ammonia from instant difference.” tle concern for the suffering of minority commu- dry regions, such as the conservation of rainwa- ments in advance of the drought not after it,” he springtime fertilizers and form particulate If not, he added, the pollution would nities. “We are fortunately or unfortunately a ter. “Rainwater harvesting should be made said. One positive he noted was the extensive ammonium nitrate. Pollutants from the last about as long as the region’s unseason- mixed Hindu and Muslim population,” he said. mandatory all over the country and especially in television coverage the disaster had received, burning of dead leaves and wood con- ably warm and sunny weather. —AP “Fortunate because we are living in peace this part,” said Abid Channa, a local social thanks to the growth of Pakistan’s media, and and harmony unlike the rest of the country activist, complaining of the district’s lack of the pressure it had applied on government to no Coal miner’s dilemma; where radicalisation is in vogue. reservoirs despite decades of disasters. longer ignore the area. —AFP Your money or your life ‘Cooking at home has its advantages’ ANSHUN: Forty years of digging for coal have world’s coal consumption, relying on the fossil left the miner with tuberculosis and drained his fuel for two-thirds of its energy supply. Public WASHINGTON: Next up for “Let’s Move?” How ning to work.” hold them accountable for the commitments village water supply. But he, like China, clings to pressure over pollution erupted in January about “Let’s Cook.” Her strategy largely has been to cajole food they make to improve the health of Americans. the resource as his economic mother lode. “If I 2013 when an “airpocalypse” of smog choked Michelle Obama said Friday that a new and beverage makers, retailers, restaurants and It so far has more than 70 commitments did farming, it would take me a year to get Beijing, with particulate matter shooting 40 focus of her anti-childhood obesity effort will others to make healthier products. Federal leg- from companies of all sizes, said Larry Soler, its what I make in a month,” said the 55-year-old, times past UN standards and horrifying images be to help people cook more of their meals at islation and regulations are leading to changes CEO. surnamed Di and sporting the blackened fin- spreading worldwide. The scandal prompted home because they’re healthier. in school breakfast and lunch programs, and Among them was yogurt maker Dannon, gernails of someone who has spent most of his authorities to stop burying the problem-cities Addressing a health summit in Washington, are expected to bring an updated “Nutrition which announced Friday that it will begin days beneath the hills of China’s poverty-strick- and state-controlled media began reporting on the first lady said home-cooked meals have Facts” label to thousands of packaged products reducing the amount of sugar and fat in all its en Guizhou province. His lungs “don’t hurt air quality, and this year 15,000 factories were less fat, sodium, cholesterol and calories than before the end of the decade. brands. —AP much”, he said, although in any case he cannot required to regularly publicize emissions data. meals prepared in restaurants - and save mon- afford treatment. China too has embraced the Over the past year Beijing has already allocated ey, too. Home economics class economic benefits of coal despite the threats it 1.7 trillion yuan ($280 billion) to improve air She said too many people think they don’t The promised focus on helping families poses to health and the environment. quality, and pledged to evaluate officials not have the time or the skills to cook for them- adopt healthier habits by doing more cooking But anger has mounted over the stubborn only by their economic but also environmental selves, but that plenty of meals can be pulled at home fits that approach. smog that regularly cloaks Chinese cities, and record. Last September it announced tough air together in less than 30 minutes for cheaper In her remarks, the first lady talked about authorities have repeatedly promised action pollution limits, called for coal-use cuts in three than takeout. working with supermarkets to distribute since President Xi Jinping took office a year densely populated areas, including the capital, Michelle began focusing on the nation’s recipes and offer cooking demonstrations, with ago. Premier Li Keqiang vowed to “declare war and promised to shave nationwide coal con- against pollution”, speaking Wednesday at the sumption to 65 percent of total energy by childhood obesity problem as soon as she got schools to develop the “home economics class opening of the Communist-controlled National 2017. Some of the targets were “ambitious”, to the White House in 2009. She pledged of the future” to give students basic cooking People’s Congress legislature’s annual session. sending an important message, said Alvin Lin, Friday to stick with the issue long after she’s skills and with chefs to get them to offer The government will cap total energy con- the Beijing-based China climate and energy gone. affordable cooking classes in their restaurants. sumption, shut 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces, policy director at the Natural Resources “We cannot walk away from this issue until She promised announcements of new initia- clean up major coal-burning power plants and Defense Council. “Once you send that signal, obesity rates drop for children of every age tives in the coming months. take six million high-emission vehicles off the then everybody has to try to meet it.” But and every background,” she said. “We cannot Michelle said research shows that eating roads, he promised. implementation is another matter and even walk away until every child in this country has meals cooked at home is one of the best ways Yet in practice, changing course will be stricter quotas were still needed, he warned. a shot at a healthy life. And that’s why I’m in families can improve their health. tough in the face of swelling energy demand this thing for the long haul, and I mean long Growing up, she said her mother kept a and pressure to sustain economic growth, Terrible cost after I leave the White House, because I believe strict food budget, planned her meals weekly already at its lowest levels since 1999. “Since Another concern is that wealthier coastal in finishing what I start.” and shopped for groceries every Saturday. environmental issues have become so public- cities, which have complained about pollution Michelle praised recent federal statistics “The question is ‘How do we help families everybody is talking about them, the interna- the loudest, will simply shift their coal-fired showing a sharp decline in obesity rates start cooking again, even if it’s just one or two tional community is talking about them-the power-stations and factories to the country’s among children ages 2 to 5 as a small, though meals a week?’” she told the audience of public government feels the need to deal with envi- poorer interior. “Maybe the push is going to be important, achievement, but still not enough health professionals, nutritionists, corporate ronmental issues more seriously,” said Xiaomin just to push the dirty coal further west,” said evidence to declare the problem solved. She leaders and others in the closing address at the Liu, a Beijing-based coal expert with the con- Jennifer Turner, director of the China urged everyone to keep working on solutions, conference organized by the Partnership for a sultancy IHS CERA. “They will do a lot of things, Environment Forum at the Wilson Center in especially among older kids. Healthier America. WASHINGTON: First lady Michelle Obama but I don’t think that will change things funda- Washington. “It’s the whole NIMBY (not in my “Now is not the time to take our foot off the Michelle is honorary chairwoman of the speaks at the Building a Healthier Future mentally,” he said. “The first priority is still to backyard) movement.” Guizhou, in southwest- gas and congratulate ourselves on a job well nonprofit organization, which was created in Summit in Washington, Friday, March 14, keep up economic growth.” ern China, has pledged to close half its mines- done,” Michelle said. “Just the opposite. Now is conjunction with “Let’s Move,” her initiative 2014. The event brings together leaders from about 800 - by mid-2014, but this follows a the time to fight even harder, because we now against childhood obesity. The partnership the private, nonprofit, government and aca- Smog scandal broader trend of shutting small struggling know it is possible to make a difference on this works to support the goals of “Let’s Move” and China uses more energy than any other operators without necessarily cutting overall demic sectors to address the childhood obe- issue. We know that our strategies are begin- with businesses to bring then on board and country and is responsible for about half the production. —AFP sity epidemic. SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 HEALTH & SCIENCE Malnutrition grows among Syrian refugee children Conflict enters its fourth year

KAB ELIAS, Lebanon: Trapped in her That system, along with most other recent UNICEF-led survey. In all, an esti- rely on their mothers or other relatives to northern Syrian village by fighting, state institutions, has been shattered in mated 10,000 Syrian children in Lebanon help in child-rearing. But as refugees, Mervat watched her newborn baby pro- many parts of the country where the are likely suffering malnutrition, said many lose that support network and gressively shrink. Her daughter’s dark fighting between Assad’s forces and the Dima Ousta of the International without guidance don’t know how to eyes seemed to grow bigger as her face rebels trying to overthrow him is raging Orthodox Christian Charities, an NGO properly breastfeed their children - grew more skeletal. Finally, Mervat hardest. The war has killed more than leading efforts to deal with the issue in bringing a risk of malnutrition. As escaped to neighboring Lebanon, and a 140,000 people and has driven nearly a Lebanon. UNICEF said nearly 2,000 were refugees run out of money and struggle nurse told her the girl was starving. third of the population of 23 million from at risk of dying because of acute malnu- to find work, many mothers don’t have The news devastated her. “They had their homes - including 4.2 million who trition if they weren’t immediately treat- enough to buy supplementary food. to hold me when they told me. I wept,” remain inside Syria and 2.5 million who ed. A survey in Jordan found that 4 per- the 31-year-old mother said, speaking in have fled into neighboring countries. cent of Syrian refugee children under five Running water the rickety, informal tent camp where Nearly half those displaced by the war needed treatment for moderate or acute The poverty and poor hygienic living she now lives with her husband in the are children. Now aid workers believe malnutrition, the World Food Programme conditions at the root of the problem are eastern Lebanese town of Kab Elias. starvation cases are increasing in said on Monday. Touma said UNICEF had likely only to worsen as Syria’s war drags Her daughter Shurouk has been besieged areas of Syria and malnutrition not yet finished surveys for refugees in on. “Malnutrition is not an issue related undergoing treatment the past three is spreading among the poorest Syrian Turkey or inside Syria itself. to food. It’s a health issue,” said Zeroual months and remains a wispy thing. The refugees. Malnutrition is the product of a series Azzeddine of UNICEF. In Lebanon, nearly 9-month-old weighs 3.2 kg though she’s Before the conflict, doctors inside of ever-widening and interconnected one million Syrians are registered as become more smiley and gregarious. Syria would see fewer than one case a problems. refugees by the UN refugee agency. The Mervat spoke on condition she be identi- month of a child with life-threatening Within Syria, fighting in the worst hit poorest 140,000 live in 460 informal fied only by her first name, fearing prob- malnutrition, now they tell UNICEF they areas can limit access to food supplies camps, where they live in poorly insulat- lems for her family in Syria. encounter 10 or more a week, said and health care for children. There and ed tents with no clean running water and Her case underscored how dramati- Juliette Touma, a Middle East regional among refugees, children are vulnerable with sewage running down ditches BEIRUT: Syrian refugee Mohammed Sammor, 3, receives vaccination cally Syrian society has unraveled from a spokesperson for the UN children’s to diarrhea and other illnesses from between tents. against polio from Dr Mohammed Anboushi at a medical clinic in the town conflict that this weekend enters its agency. drinking dirty water or being exposed to Aid workers are trying to track down of Kab Elias in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. —AP fourth year. Such stark starvation was sewage. Those conditions can exacerbate the thousands of malnourished children UNICEF is training doctors to identify ference and check their feet for water once rare in Syria, where President Food supplies malnutrition and, in turn, malnourished they believe are in Lebanon. “We need to malnutrition among Syrian children retention that can be a sign of acute mal- Bashar Assad’s autocratic state ran a In Lebanon, malnutrition grew from children are less resistant to disease. find these children,” said Ousta, whose undergoing immunizations and other nutrition. They are on alert for mothers health system that provided nearly free 4.4 percent in 2012 to 5.9 percent of Social factors also play in. Rural Syrian organization treated 170 cases since medical checks. The doctors weigh chil- who say their babies are always tired, care. Syrian refugee children, according to a women tend to marry as teenagers and August. dren, measure their upper-arm circum- another signal.— AP WHAT’S ON SUNDAY, MARCH 16 , 2014 NBK families enjoy fun-filled open day at Boubyan Club

ational Bank of Kuwait (NBK) organized a special open day for its staff and their family members and friends at Boubyan Club. NBK employees and their fami- Nlies enjoyed the open day that was filled with all types of activities and enter- tainment. The weather was nice and excitement filled the air as children, and even parents, took part in the many fun activities available there. The open day event pro- vided a unique opportunity for NBK employees to openly mingle and enjoy various entertaining activities.

Caesars Holidays wins best performer awards

aesars Holidays won the prestigious ences, bring good will and help to develop awards in recognition of its best per- positive reputations in the tourism industry. Cformance for 2013 from the leading Caesars Holidays is one of the largest holi- cruise companies, MSC Cruises, Costa day companies in Kuwait, offering diversi- Cruises and the world’s leading wholesale fied activities under one umbrella through Tour Operator, Cox & Kings. Caesars many of their outlets across the country. A Holidays, one of the leading subsidiaries of new addition has recently launched as Caesars Travel Group currently representing “hotelsglobe.com” - an exclusive and dedi- world’s leading wholesale Tour Operators- cated B2B set-up, offering the Cox & Kings, World Travel Services (WTS), travel/tourism trade a unique tool for their Ottila International, Ezeego, World’s leading tourism requirements. cruise companies-NCL, Star, Costa, MSC, Commenting on these awards, Silversea, Crystal and recently appointed for Vivekkumar Shetty, Head of Sales & Rail Europe. Indian Railways Catering & Operations-Caesars Holidays said “It is our Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is already rep- privilege and honor to receive these covet- resented by Caesars Holidays which is one ed awards and look forward to winning of the prestigious products under the many more such accolades in future. We are Government of India. “These awards are the proud of our staff members, who have primary benchmarking tool for passenger worked very hard to achieve this feat. satisfaction levels towards our represented Winning this prestigious award has motivat- brands, based on the analysis of our busi- ed them to strive harder to achieve the ness generated. Caesars Holidays has posi- highest possible standards of quality, per- tioned itself as a top holiday office in formance and business excellence. We look Kuwait, having diversified tourism products forward our valued clients support as we along with excellent facilities for customers believe, this is the only appreciation that we Vivek Kumar Shetty-Head of Sales & (Left to right) Shallu Sunny, Bibin Suresh, PNJ Kumar, CEO - Caesars Travel Group along through our state of art offices which gives would be able to go further” Operations-Caesars Holidays with Tushar Shinde, Business Head - NRI, Cox & Kings during the award ceremony. them a wide range of options for the Cruise Center is the only dedicated office cruise industry interest in Kuwait with major and New Zealand. Tours range from luxury region, C&K offers the full spectrum of their tourism” said PNJ Kumar, Chief Executive in Kuwait for promoting various internation- European and other international luxury to adventure, and generally last for between branded itineraries in line with the market Officer of Caesars Travel Group. al leading cruise brands. While taking the cruise-liners and Cruise center gives them 8 and 22 days. Cox & Kings’ experience and dynamics and customer choice will deter- The company’s aim is to expand its serv- award, the head of Cruise Center and Cruise the best options as we have in our product relationships within the travel industry have mine the most appropriate brand. ices to other GCC countries very soon, espe- Specialist, Thomas said, “we will continue to list, the leading luxury cruises like Crystal given the company great buying power, Customer service is of critical importance cially to Doha and Muscat, to expand its offer an exciting selection of worldwide itin- and Silver Sea. In brief, in cooperation with translating into highly competitive rates for for the tourism and hospitality sector now global awareness, increase relations with eraries as Cruise Center is representing most our leading cruise strategic partners, Cruise all tours. While receiving the award from more than ever before as customers are local, regional, and international trade part- of the world’s leading brands. Our Center offers a myriad of cruising choices Cox & Kings, Bibin Suresh, Marketing looking to increase value for money desti- ners, explores new sales channels, and Mediterranean cruises are a melting pot of under one roof”. Manager of Cox & Kings said, “We focus on nation packages and always C&K offers embarks on marketing initiatives and part- different nationalities as the unique and Cox & Kings is the longest established destinations through C&K that will help us them the right tour destinations with an nerships for customers for global leisure Mediterranean way of life that our travelers travel company in the world. The Cox & to showcase our high standards in product excellent service on board”. and entertainment destinations. We are enjoy on board attracts to all cruise lovers in Kings tour network covers Europe, Asia, the and service to a mixed audience of regional encouraging our passengers/guests to Kuwait. Since Cruise centre’s inception in Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Australia and international travelers. With each explore, discover, pass on their good experi- Kuwait, we have seen a surge in luxury

UCK organizes ‘Mehfil-e-Mushaira’ SEND US YOUR ehfil-e-Mushaira” organized by UCK - Urdu INSTAGRAM PICS Community of Kuwait, was held at Salmiya “MIndian Model School (SIMS) Kuwait in which hat’s more fun than clicking a beautiful renowned poets from India participated and enthralled picture? Sharing it with others! Let oth- the audience with their thought provoking poetic works. Wer people see the way you see Kuwait - The mushaira was presided over by senior poet and pride through your lens. Friday Times will feature of Urdu Mohammed Umair Baig - Senior Scientist - KISR, Dr snapshots of Kuwait through Instagram feeds. If Waseem Siddiqi - KOC, Hasan Kidwai, Tazeen Kidwai, a you want to share your Instagram photos, email social worker, Shailendra Srivastava - Director Growmore, us at Sharif Rangrez - Managing Director -Eternity Travel, Salman Siddiqui - Universal group, Anjum Fatima - Announcer [email protected] Radio Kuwait, Tariq Aziz-KOC -Arif Kazi-ankaar, Sreenath Arts and Devender Singh - Sales Manager Qatar Airways who is actively serving the cause of Urdu language in Kuwait and in India. The UCK Community members Mohammad Aamir, Sanjay Kumar Saxena, Usama Faruki Write to us and Suhail Shaikh Ahamed effort and hard work made this Ambassador of India Sunil Jain (Embassy of Kuwait), poets and briefly dwelt on the activities of the UCK. event a grand success. The proceedings of the Mushaira Usman Siddiqui President UCK and Mohammad Aamir This memorable and historical poetry recitation was Send to What’s On were conducted by famous poet Nadeem Farrukh. Nine event manager who welcomed the guests and invited par- attended by local poets of the Indian and Pakistani well known poets Dr Naseem Nikhat, Iqbal Ashhar, Dr ticipating poets. Community. A special vote of thanks to all our sponsors. Al- upcoming events, birthdays or Nadeem Shaad, Dr Majid Deobandi, Nadeem Nayyar, The chief guest of the evening was Ambassador of India Sayer Group, Eternity Int’l Travels & Tourism, Salmiya Indian Usman Minai, Shaista Sana, Nadeem Farrukh and Afroz Sunil Jain. There was plenty of activity for audience to Model School, Hyundai Electronics, Al-Yasra foods, celebrations by email: Alam who presented their wonderful poetry. enjoy. Everybody had a good time, the stage was set by Growmore, Easa Hussain Al-Yousifi & Sons Co, Aashiana [email protected] It was after a long time that such a grand nushaira was Afroz Alam, poet and writer who gave the warm introduc- Real Estate Services, Al-Mailem Tires, American Tourister, Fax: 24835619 / 20 held in Kuwait City for which the audience appreciated the tion and invited all of them to start the program. Earlier, City Center, Mughal Mahal, Al-Araab Global Telecom, efforts of the UCK. The mushaira was inaugurated by President Usman Siddiqui welcomed the participating Swiss-belhotel Plaza and Wataniya. WHAT’S ON SUNDAY, MARCH 16 , 2014

Marina Hotel Kuwait launches poolside BBQ every Wednesday night

arina Hotel Kuwait launched its lishments by the Arabian Gulf. delectable desserts were served. like to offer our guests a scrumptious dining pleasant dining experience with their family much awaited poolside barbeque The hotel’s spectacular settings, beautiful Hammoud said: “We are delighted to experience at the pool side every and friends, surrounded by a warm and wel- Mnights in the presence of media landscape combined with the warm spring launch our BBQ nights. The beautiful weath- Wednesday evening.” coming ambience every Wednesday. With and senior management promising them a weather reflects the ambience of the BBQ er proves to be the perfect setting for The evening was further enhanced by live oriental music and tantalizing shisha, personalised and entertaining experience. dinner buffet. Guests were offered grilled guests to enjoy our unique dining experi- the sounds of soft oriental music which the unique poolside location has a capacity Guests were welcomed upon their arrival by selections from the sumptuous barbecue ence with our specialties cooked with the complement the barbeque delights. The to accommodate up to 150 guests at a time General Manager, Nabil Hammoud and the station filled with especially marinated and freshest possible ingredients. Every season BBQ lasted till after midnight and Marina and has a special area for groups and gath- management of the hotel. Attendees were seasoned varieties of succulent meats and we receive a very positive feedback on our Hotel ensured that each and every guest erings. treated to a relaxing evening with an array chicken, fresh seafood a with rich variety of BBQ Nights. There will also be an even big- had a truly memorable evening filled with — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat of delights from the BBQ grill, shisha and seaside dishes and a delicious salad bar ger variety of choices this year. With the fun and exceptional delight. sweeping views of the city’s iconic estab- with the assorted breads. For the finale, launch of our Barbeque Nights, we would Guests can enjoy a delightful and very TV PROGRAMS SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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Farm 21:00 ICC Cricket 360 20:00 Storage Wars Texas 03:15 Stuck With Hackett 17:40 Doctors 22:50 Good Luck Charlie 21:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup 20:30 Storage Wars Texas 03:45 Killer Robots: Robogames 18:10 Being Erica 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 2014 Highlights 21:00 Duck Dynasty 2011 19:00 One Foot In The Grave 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 22:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup 21:30 Duck Dynasty 04:35 Thunder Races 19:30 The Omid Djalili Show 2014 Highlights 22:00 Pawn Stars 05:25 Through The Wormhole With 20:00 Stella 23:30 ICC Under 19 World Cup 22:30 Storage Wars Morgan Freeman 20:50 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 2014 Highlights 23:00 Swamp People 21:40 Extras 06:15 Food Factory 22:10 Silk 06:40 How Tech Works 23:00 The Weakest Link 07:05 Engineered 23:45 Eastenders 08:00 Nyc: Inside Out 00:00 Chelsea Lately 08:50 Man-Made Marvels China 00:30 The Spin Crowd Festival brings 13 09:40 Food Factory 00:55 The Spin Crowd 10:05 How Tech Works 01:25 Style Star 10:30 Test Case 01:50 Style Star plays including 10:55 Bigger, Better, Faster, 02:20 E!ES 00:00 Homes Under The Hammer Stronger 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 00:50 Extreme Makeover: Home 11:25 Engineered 03:40 Extreme Close-Up ‘Rupert’ to DC Edition 12:20 Thunder Races 04:10 E!ES 13:10 Through The Wormhole With 02:15 Come Dine With Me 05:05 E!ES upert Murdoch is getting the cabaret treat- Morgan Freeman 06:00 THS 03:05 MasterChef ment in a new play about his 60 years build- 04:05 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 14:00 Killer Robots: Robogames 07:50 Fashion Police 04:50 Extreme Makeover: Home 2011 09:15 Opening Act THE LONGEST YARD ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY HD Ring a newspaper and television empire. As a Edition 14:50 Bang Goes The Theory 10:15 Married To Jonas media mogul with strong ties to Australia, Great 06:15 Bargain Hunt 15:20 Food Factory 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays Britain and the US, Murdoch’s story is helping to Country 05:00 Good Morning America 07:05 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 15:45 How Tech Works 11:10 The Drama Queen 05:30 Now Is Good-PG15 16:30 Endeavour 07:00 Emmerdale open a major international theater festival in 07:35 Food & Drink 16:10 Junkyard Wars 12:05 Fashion Police 07:15 Girl In Progress-PG15 18:20 May The Best House Win 07:30 Coronation Street Washington. The new play “Rupert” from the 08:00 Extreme Makeover: Home 17:00 Through The Wormhole With 13:35 E!ES 09:00 Midnight In Paris-PG15 19:10 Coronation Street 08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show Melbourne Theatre Co made its US premiere Edition Morgan Freeman 14:30 Style Star 11:00 Olympus Has Fallen-PG15 19:35 Trevor Mcdonalds Queen & 09:00 24 Wednesday after a successful run in his native 09:25 Homes Under The Hammer 17:55 Thunder Races 15:00 Keeping Up With The 13:00 Magic Journey To Africa- Country 10:00 Emmerdale 10:20 Bill’s Kitchen: Notting Hill 18:45 Engineered Kardashians PG15 Australia. The production is part of the “World 20:30 Endeavour 10:30 Coronation Street 10:45 Food & Drink 19:35 Test Case 16:00 Keeping Up With The 15:00 The Odd Life Of Timothy Stages” festival organized by the Kennedy Center 22:20 Coronation Street 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 11:15 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 20:00 Bigger, Better, Faster, Kardashians Green-PG for the Performing Arts that lasts throughout March 22:50 Emmerdale 12:00 Castle Notebook: London Stronger 17:00 The Wanted Life 17:00 Midnight In Paris-PG15 23:45 May The Best House Win 13:00 Made In Jersey with short runs of 13 different plays and two read- 11:40 Come Dine With Me 20:30 Space Voyages 17:30 Hello Ross 19:00 Red Dawn-PG15 14:00 Live Good Morning America ings of new works, representing every continent 12:30 Gok’s Fashion Fix 21:20 Deadliest Space Weather 18:00 E! News 21:00 The Bling Ring-18 16:00 24 but Antarctica. It’s an ambitious undertaking with 13:20 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 21:45 Deadliest Space Weather 19:00 Fashion Police 23:00 The Campaign-18 17:00 Castle 14:05 Antiques Roadshow 22:10 Food Factory 20:30 E!ES more plays in one month than many theaters stage 18:00 Made In Jersey 15:00 Homes Under The Hammer 22:35 How Tech Works 21:00 The Drama Queen in an entire year. 19:00 24 15:55 Homes Under The Hammer 23:00 Space Voyages 22:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On “Rupert” is a funny, cabaret revue-style show 20:00 Castle 16:50 Bargain Hunt 23:50 Deadliest Space Weather 22:30 E! News where the media mogul jokes, tap dances and nar- 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 21:00 Made In Jersey 17:35 Cash In The Attic 23:30 Chelsea Lately 01:00 The Missing Lynx Stewart 22:00 Rescue Me rates his own story from his first small newspaper 18:25 Antiques Roadshow 02:45 The Legend Of Sarila 01:00 The Colbert Report 23:00 Nip/Tuck editing job in Australia to the creation of Fox News 19:15 Homes Under The Hammer 04:30 Free Birds 01:30 The Big C 06:00 Olentzero Christmas Tale and the phone-hacking scandal at his tabloids in 20:10 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 02:00 South Park 20:35 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 08:00 Emperor’s Secret the United Kingdom. Australia’s ambassador to the 02:30 Out There 09:45 Sky Force US attended the opening in Washington, along 21:00 The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook 00:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 03:30 Raising Hope 21:30 Come Dine With Me 11:15 Mrs. Doubtfire with guests of the embassy in the Washington the- 00:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 04:00 Seinfeld 13:30 The Legend Of Sarila 22:20 Antiques Roadshow 00:35 House Gift ater crowd. Australian playwright David Williamson 00:45 Sonny With A Chance 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 00:15 Vacancy-18 15:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of 23:15 Bargain Hunt 01:30 Emmerdale said he wanted to explore how Murdoch became 01:05 Sonny With A Chance Jimmy Fallon 02:00 My Soul To Take-PG15 The Ugly Duckling 02:25 Coronation Street one of the most powerful voices in the world. He 01:30 Suite Life On Deck 05:30 Seinfeld 04:00 Crimson Tide-PG15 16:30 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 02:55 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 01:50 Suite Life On Deck 06:00 Two And A Half Men 06:00 Men In Black 3-PG 18:00 Sky Force also wanted to look at his personality and tactics 03:25 Agatha Christie’s Marple 02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 06:30 Arrested Development 08:00 Ultraviolet-PG15 20:00 The Water Horse: Legend Of mixing news, commentary and political opinion in 05:15 Ade In Britain 02:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 10:00 F/X-PG15 The Deep media. Williamson said he lets “Rupert” argue for 06:10 House Gift 03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 08:00 Seinfeld 12:00 Special Ops-PG15 22:00 The Fantastic Adventure Of 07:05 Holiday: Heaven On Earth why he’s been a force for good, and Murdoch the 00:30 Manhunt 03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 08:30 Seinfeld 14:00 Ultraviolet-PG15 The Ugly Duckling 07:30 Agatha Christie’s Marple narrator throws in a few jokes about The 01:20 Survive That! 03:45 Sonny With A Chance 09:30 The Crazy Ones 16:00 Grosse Pointe Blank-PG15 23:30 The Elf Who Stole Christmas 09:20 Ade In Britain Washington Post and jabs at CNN. 02:10 Yukon Men 04:05 Sonny With A Chance 10:00 Trophy Wife 18:00 Special Ops-PG15 10:15 May The Best House Win 03:00 You Have Been Warned 04:30 Suite Life On Deck 10:30 Arrested Development 20:00 Jarhead-18 “It’s up to the audience to work out whether 11:10 Emmerdale 03:50 Border Security 04:50 Suite Life On Deck 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 22:00 Grosse Pointe Blank-PG15 they agree with his arguments or not,” Williamson 12:00 Coronation Street 04:15 Auction Kings 05:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place Jimmy Fallon said. “We thought it was better to do it that way 12:30 House Gift 04:40 Container Wars 05:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 12:00 Two And A Half Men than to finger point and say this is an evil man.” Still, 13:25 Ade In Britain 05:05 How Do They Do It? 06:00 Austin & Ally 12:30 Seinfeld Williamson said he finds Murdoch’s influence and 06:25 Dog With A Blog 14:20 May The Best House Win 13:00 Seinfeld 00:00 Knuckle-PG15 05:30 How It’s Made 02:00 Gambit-PG15 vast media ownership in Australia to be dangerous. 06:45 Suite Life On Deck 15:10 Holiday: Heaven On Earth 13:30 Arrested Development 00:15 Reno 911!: Miami-18 06:00 Sons Of Guns 04:00 Snowflake , The White He said he read nearly everything ever written 07:10 A.N.T. Farm 15:35 Trevor Mcdonalds Queen & 14:00 Raising Hope 01:45 The Dukes Of Hazzard-18 07:00 You Have Been Warned Gorilla-PG 14:30 The Crazy Ones 03:45 The Longest Yard-PG15 about Murdoch in writing the play. The story fol- 06:00 Dating Coach-PG15 15:00 Trophy Wife 05:45 The Holiday-PG15 lows Murdoch’s journey from being an Australian, 08:00 The Greatest Movie Ever 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 08:00 Toys-PG then English, then an American - and his influence Sold-PG15 Stewart 10:15 Damsels In Distress-PG15 10:00 Charlotte’s Web-PG on politics in each country. 16:00 The Colbert Report 12:00 The Longest Yard-PG15 12:00 Gambit-PG15 16:30 Two And A Half Men 14:00 Mrs. Doubtfire-PG 14:00 Barnyard-PG Changed political climate 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 16:15 Damsels In Distress-PG15 16:00 The Greatest Movie Ever Williamson said he was eager to bring the play 18:00 The Simpsons 18:00 The Naked Gun: From The Sold-PG15 19:00 The Mindy Project Files Of Police Squad-PG to the US, in part because “Fox News has changed 17:45 Iron Man 3-PG15 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Impostors-PG15 the political climate of the whole nation, in a way.” 20:00 Killing Them Softly-18 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring 22:00 Reno 911!: Miami-18 Plans call for the production to travel next to 22:00 The Possession-PG15 Jimmy Fallon London and perhaps other US theaters after that. 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Some members of Murdoch’s family saw the play in Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report Australia and gave the playwright mostly positive 22:00 Veep feedback. Murdoch has not seen the play yet, 22:30 South Park 01:00 NRL Premiership Williamson said. The US production is nearly identi- 23:00 Out There 01:00 Atlas Shrugged-PG15 03:00 NRL Premiership cal to the original. “There was a feeling that per- 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 03:00 The Wild Girl-PG15 05:00 NRL Full Time haps the American audience won’t be interested in 05:00 Muhammad Ali’s Greatest 05:30 Futbol Mundial the Australian political history, but to us, it was 06:00 Trans World Sport Fight-PG15 important to show how he first came to exercise 07:00 Wrecked-PG15 07:00 Trans World Sport 09:00 Atlas Shrugged-PG15 08:00 LV Cup power over governments back in Australia,” 00:00 Warehouse 13 11:00 Another Harvest Moon-PG15 10:00 Golfing World Williamson said. 01:00 Mistresses 13:00 Taken Back: Finding Haley- 11:00 World Golf Championship The festival also includes theater companies 02:00 The Killing PG15 Highlights from Brazil, Chile, China, Iraq, Mexico and 14 other 03:00 World Without End 15:00 The Key Man-PG15 12:00 Super Rugby countries. Many works are being shown in the US 04:00 Grey’s Anatomy 17:00 The Good Doctor-PG15 14:00 Super Rugby for the first time. “I think it’s an opportunity for us to 05:00 The Fosters 19:00 Hyde Park On Hudson-PG15 16:00 NRL Premiership share with our audiences work that they might 06:00 Warehouse 13 21:00 Texas Killing Fields-PG15 18:00 World Golf Championship 07:00 Drop Dead Diva 23:00 This Must Be The Place-18 never see otherwise,” said Alicia Adams, the festi- Highlights 08:00 Switched At Birth val’s curator at the Kennedy Center. The produc- 09:00 The Killing 19:00 Golfing World tions from each country represent “the best direc- 10:00 The Fosters 20:00 PGA European Tour Weekly tors, the best artists and the best writers” Some 11:00 Grey’s Anatomy 20:30 Inside The PGA Tour highlights include a new production of “A 12:00 Emmerdale 21:00 Trans World Sport Midsummer Night’s Dream” with puppets and 22:00 LV Cup 12:30 Coronation Street reuniting the team behind the Tony Award-winning 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 14:00 Switched At Birth 01:15 Surveillance-18 play “War Horse.” The production comes from the 15:00 Warehouse 13 03:00 The Last King Of Scotland-18 Bristol Old Vic theater and South Africa’s 16:00 Emmerdale 05:30 Intolerable Cruelty-PG15 00:00 Golfing World Handspring Puppet Company. 16:30 Coronation Street 07:15 Hold Fast-PG15 01:00 Premier League Darts An Israeli theater production features 11 actors 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 09:00 Alfie Boe: Bring Him Home 04:00 LV Cup who are all deaf and blind telling a story of their 18:00 Switched At Birth Tour-PG15 06:30 NRL Full Time inner world through the process of making bread 19:00 Twisted 10:30 Someday This Pain Will Be on stage in “Not by Bread Alone.” By the end, the 20:00 Scandal Useful To You-PG15 07:00 NRL Premiership 21:00 House Of Cards 12:45 Earth-PG15 09:00 NRL Full Time actors invite the audience on stage, Adams said. 22:00 American Horror Story: 15:00 Offline-PG15 09:30 Dubai World Cup Carnival Four art installations at the center also look at the Coven 17:00 Someday This Pain Will Be 13:00 Trans World Sport creative process behind theater. There’s an exten- 23:00 World Without End Useful To You-PG15 14:00 Golfing World sive display of more than 50 puppets from the 19:00 L’amour C’est Mieux A Deux- 15:00 World Golf Championships Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa, PG15 Highlights showing the progression from drawings and early 21:00 Arbitrage-PG15 23:00 Savages-18 16:00 Snooker puppets to the large horse puppet, Joey, from “War 19:00 NHL Horse.” Another installation features sketches for 21:00 HSBC Sevens World Series costume designs from “Wicked,” “The Lion King” and 00:00 Made In Jersey 23:00 HSBC Sevens World Series other American theater productions. The festival 01:00 Good Morning America Highlights runs through March 30. — AP 03:00 Nip/Tuck 01:15 Drift-PG15 VACANCY ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION 04:00 Rescue Me 03:30 Olympus Has Fallen-PG15 23:30 PGA European Tour Weekly Classifieds

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

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

Arrival Flights on Sunday 14/3/2014 QTR 1078 Doha 13:55 Departure Flights on Sunday 14/3/2014 FDB 058 Dubai 14:30 Airlines Flt Route Time KAC 672 Dubai 14:00 Airlines Flt Route Time QTR 1079 Doha 14:55 JAI 574 Mumbai 00:10 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 UAL 981 IAD 00:05 KAC 673 Dubai 15:05 JZR 539 Cairo 00:40 KNE 472 Jeddah 14:35 AIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05 KAC 617 Doha 15:15 THY 772 Istanbul 00:45 GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00 AXB 490 Mangalore/Kochi 00:15 KNE 473 Jeddah 15:30 QTR 1084 Doha 00:55 KAC 788 Jeddah 15:10 JAI 573 Mumbai 01:10 SVA 503 Madinah/Jeddah 15:45 RJA 642 Amman 01:05 IRC 6666 Ahwaz 15:15 DLH 637 Frankfurt 02:10 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45 DLH 637 Dammam 01:10 QTR 1072 Doha 16:40 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45 IRC 6667 Ahwaz 16:15 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:30 UAE 857 Dubai 16:40 THY 773 Istanbul 02:55 KAC 513 Tehran 16:20 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:50 PGT 859 Istanbul 03:20 JZR 238 Amman 16:55 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:10 RJA 640 Amman 16:55 UAE 854 Dubai 03:50 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:35 THY 764 Istanbul 02:15 UAL 982 IAD 17:05 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:00 QTR 1073 Doha 17:40 JZR 267 Beirut 02:30 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 MSR 613 Cairo 04:10 JZR 538 Cairo 17:50 UAE 853 Dubai 02:35 ABY 127 Sharjah 17:25 QTR 1085 Doha 04:15 UAE 858 Dubai 17:50 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 02:45 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 FDB 068 Dubai 04:40 RJA 641 Amman 17:55 JAI 576 Kochi/Abu Dhabi 02:50 AFG 415 Kabul 17:45 QTR 1077 Doha 05:15 ABY 128 Sharjah 18:05 MSR 612 Cairo 03:10 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55 CLX 792 Hong Kong 05:45 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 CLX 792 Luxembourg 03:40 KAC 542 Cairo 18:05 JZR 560 Sohag 06:20 UAL 982 Bahrain 18:20 QTR 1076 Doha 03:45 RBG 553 Alexandria 18:15 FDB 070 Dubai 06:30 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 FDB 067 Dubai 04:00 JAI 575 Abu Dhabi/Kochi 06:45 JZR 177 Dubai 18:20 JZR 184 Dubai 18:40 KAC 544 Cairo 04:20 QTR 1080 Doha 18:40 JZR 164 Dubai 06:55 AFG 415 Jeddah 18:45 THY 770 Istanbul 05:35 FDB 063 Dubai 18:45 RJA 643 Amman 07:05 JZR 266 Beirut 18:50 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:45 THY 765 Istanbul 07:05 RBG 554 Alexandria 18:55 QTR 8524 Doha 05:45 KAC 502 Beirut 18:50 GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15 JZR 134 Bahrain 19:10 FDB 069 Dubai 05:50 KAC 618 Doha 19:00 QTR 8525 Doha 07:15 FDB 064 Dubai 19:25 JZR 553 Alexandria 06:05 KAC 166 Paris/Rome 19:10 THY 771 Istanbul 07:30 QTR 1081 Doha 19:40 BAW 157 London 06:40 AXB 393 Kozhikode 19:15 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 AXB 3944 Kozhikode 20:15 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:45 KAC 674 Dubai 19:25 BAW 156 London 08:45 KAC 206 Islamabad 07:40 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30 QTR 1087 Doha 08:50 GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15 QTR 1086 Doha 07:50 KAC 102 New York/London 19:35 KAC 171 Frankfurt 09:10 KAC 283 Dhaka 20:30 FDB 053 Dubai 07:50 OMA 647 Muscat 19:55 SVA 513 Riyadh 09:15 FDB 062 Dubai 20:45 KAC 382 Delhi 07:55 KAC 562 Amman 19:55 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25 OMA 648 Muscat 20:55 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55 FDB 061 Dubai 20:05 KAC 671 Dubai 09:30 ABY 120 Sharjah 21:00 KAC 352 Kochi 08:10 JAI 572 Mumbai 20:10 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40 KAC 361 Colombo 21:00 SVA 512 Riyadh 08:15 ABY 129 Sharjah 20:20 UAE 856 Dubai 09:55 JAI 571 Mumbai 21:10 KAC 332 Trivandrum 08:15 MSR 606 Luxor 20:45 KAC 117 New York 10:00 MSR 619 Alexandria 21:45 UAE 855 Dubai 08:40 KAC 514 Tehran 20:45 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:05 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 KAC 362 Colombo 08:45 DLH 634 Frankfurt 20:55 KAC 773 Riyadh 10:05 FDB 072 Dubai 21:55 KAC 284 Dhaka 08:50 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 FDB 056 Dubai 10:20 ALK 230 Colombo 22:10 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00 FDB 071 Dubai 21:15 KAC 741 Dammam 10:30 MEA 403 Beirut 22:20 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20 MEA 402 Beirut 21:20 QTR 1071 Doha 10:55 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:20 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:35 KAC 501 Beirut 11:10 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30 QTR 1070 Doha 09:55 UAE 859 Dubai 21:40 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:35 IRA 603 Shiraz 10:35 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 KAC 541 Cairo 11:30 FDB 060 Dubai 22:40 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 KAC 172 Frankfurt 21:45 IRA 602 Shiraz 11:35 UAE 860 Dubai 22:50 JZR 165 Dubai 11:30 FDB 059 Dubai 22:00 KAC 103 London 12:20 KAC 381 Delhi 22:50 MEA 404 Beirut 11:55 QTR 1074 Doha 22:00 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:25 KAC 205 Islamabad 22:55 IRC 6507 Shiraz 12:05 KLM 417 Amsterdam 22:05 MEA 405 Beirut 12:55 KAC 351 Kochi 23:00 SYR 341 Latakia 12:10 JZR 135 Bahrain 22:05 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 KLM 417 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:05 UAE 871 Dubai 12:50 UAL 981 Bahrain 22:10 IRC 6508 Shiraz 13:05 QTR 1075 Doha 23:10 JZR 561 Sohag 12:55 JZR 239 Amman 22:20 SYR 342 Latakia 13:10 KAC 343 Chennai 23:15 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 AIC 981 Chennai/Hyderabad/Ahmedabad 22:30 JZR 176 Dubai 13:45 JZR 502 Luxor 23:30 KAC 742 Dammam 13:30 FDB 061 Dubai 23:00 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 FDB 062 Dubai 23:40 KAC 774 Riyadh 13:30 JZR 185 Dubai 23:20 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:55 FDB 057 Dubai 13:50 PIA 205 Lahore 23:55 KAC 561 Amman 14:30 KAC 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 23:55 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

CROSSWORD 488 STAR TRACK

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

The test of faith, the inquisition, the purging of the superficial: these issues This is an excellent day to engage in discussions about philosophy, religion take hold at the very roots of your existence. Making peace with the past or the arts. You might enjoy attending a psychic fair or gathering friends to and coming to terms with karmic debts are some of the issues that confront you as a new read for each other. There is much conversation about a new or a newly revived healing phase begins in your life. Failure to face these things can cause setbacks and put obstacles method, relaxation method, meditation, etc. Visiting with friends and family members can in your path. Learn to look beyond the personal or you will get in over your head. You will be enjoyed today-they seem to enjoy your company as well. Your timing should be perfect probably want to relax with friends this afternoon and you may find yourself involved in a and those around you should find you most natural. Sympathy and understanding are group game or sports activity. Make a strong effort to complete your food intake by at emotional qualities that take on greater importance. It’s wisdom, not knowledge, that least seven o’clock in the evening. This will help to improve your rest as well as your physi- counts most. Coming to grips with the past or getting in touch with the mystical and the cal appearance. A boost to the ego is within viewing distance. spiritual are the things that give you a sense of satisfaction and completeness.

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

You might decide that now is the right time for taking a trip and if you had You could be seen by others as just the person to be put in charge of some planned on it earlier in the year, it probably is. However, if you are just now deciding on a project requiring a conservative mind. There is a healing now in all avenues trip, it might be better to enter the planning phase. There is a yearning to broaden hori- of your life. Delayed issues will begin to get back on the road to a more positive move- zons and reach for the ultimate; perhaps some survival training before setting out across ment. You may enjoy good relations with relatives today and there are opportunities to an unknown country or place would be a good thing. Survival shows have had a good run have a special time with someone you love. This could mean a celebration of some sort is in the entertainment field and soon there will be some other immediate way to grab the in order because there is much dancing and music. Your taste in art and appreciation in audience attention; for now, you may want to create a script around the vacation plan and general are heightened. Perhaps this is a good time to select furnishings, colors and the the interaction of the family or tour group. You enjoy a quiet evening at home but not finer things of life. Your sense of value is present. Romance and other things that tug at the without some special cooking from one of your special recipes. heartstrings come your way as a new cycle begins.

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

Company or the opportunity to move into a new home or apartment will You may be expecting out-of-town company today and remember the days bring on a great reason to clear away and get rid of those things you have when you were really young, waiting for favorite relatives or friends to never really liked much-an old couch, perhaps. This is a good time for a garage sale-what- come and visit you and your family. Even if you are not expecting visitors, this is the type ACROSS 2. Portuguese explorer who in 1488 was the of feeling that comes with the many goals you have set for yourself. It may be a difficult 1. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in first European to get round the Cape of Good ever the reason. Getting rid of the things that no longer serve a purpose for you could be an important step to creating a space for new things. Who knows one man’s trash could time to relax. Write everything down that you want to accomplish and find one chore that the blood. Hope (thus establishing a sea route from the be another man’s treasure. Some of your items may bring monetary surprises. This is a is the most urgent. Attack only one thing at a time. Before you know it, you will accomplish 4. Tarpons and ladyfishes. Atlantic to Asia) (1450-1500). time when the new and unexpected may figure in your living situations. You may become quite a lot. You will find others will pitch in and help if you really need them. This may cov- 12. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit 3. One of the jointed appendages of an ani- bewildered by the action of another this afternoon-patience. When a young person has er anything from washing dishes to planting trees. Your inner resources are accented. Expect a sense of support and good will from those around you. juice. mal used for locomotion or grasping. problems this evening, you will know just how to be helpful. 15. Being one more than two. 4. Physicist honored for advances in solid 16. The act of severing. state electronics (born in Japan in 1925). 17. An informal term for a father. 5. A zodiacal constellation in northern hemi- ) Capricorn (December 22-January 19) 18. A guided missile fired from shipboard sphere between Cancer and Virgo. Cancer (June 21-July 22 against an airborne target. 6. Being or of the nature of an ovule. Everyone is ready for the day’s activities. This could include a painting party This can be a lucrative time for you financially, but there are risks as well as 19. Wild sheep of northern Africa. 7. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling). or perhaps, a baby shower. You will find yourself looking forward to some rewards-particularly with regard to taxes and debts. Some kind of healing 20. A republic in West Africa on the Gulf of 8. A theocratic republic in the Middle East in group project or some fun activity at this time. There is an opportunity to encourage oth- process is at work in your life: you isolate what doesn’t work, eliminate it and go on from there. ers or to teach young people. This may open all sorts of opportunities to be the teacher to Real insight into your own inner workings or psychology could surface today and in a manage- Guinea. western Asia. able form. You may be in the mood for deep and penetrating conversations or thoughts. some future successful writer or artist. There will be a healing between friends, if that is 21. A member of a Turkic people of 9. Deprive of by deceit. Engaging in social activities is not the best of ideas at this time. Rather, look to close family and needed. This is the time to relax and enjoy the friends or loved ones that are near you now. friends for entertainment and communication. You may find that a love relationship deepens. Uzbekistan and neighboring areas. 10. An associate degree in nursing. The responsibilities that you have had in the past will begin to ease. The loved one that 23. Swedish soprano who toured the United 11. Moth having nonfunctional mouthparts as Additionally, this is a time when your powers of creativity are strong. Arranging the living area you felt was discontented will become relaxed and receptive. a little differently will help encourage relaxation. States under the management of P. T. Barnum adults. (1820-1887). 12. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 24. A barrier constructed to contain the flow 13. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann. or water or to keep out the sea. 14. Mild yellow Dutch cheese made in balls. Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) 25. English theoretical physicist who applied 22. A city in southern Turkey on the Seyhan It is easy for you to delegate responsibility and today you lend a helping relativity theory to quantum mechanics and River. It may be a good time to catch up on the personal paper work you want to hand to a friend that needs some sort of organizing. This could mean you predicted the existence of antimatter and the 27. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized complete-letters, budget, etc. This last week may have been just too hectic to keep up help with plans for a spur-of-the-moment wedding or a similar type of last-minute celebra- with the little things you like to do. There is a major change of attitude from everyone positron (1902-1984). by behavioral and learning disorders. tion. You will attract more people to you than you believe possible at this time, so put around you. Emotional issues are easy to understand. You will now, however, be able to them to work performing useful chores. Nurturing the people you love helps you feel 26. Soft white semisolid fat obtained by ren- 28. A native of ancient Troy. merge the emotional information you receive and process it from a step away-not so secure. It is in people needing you that you feel useful and secure yourself. This evening dering the fatty tissue of the hog v 1. 30. An awkward and inexperienced youth. close. What a stress relief! You may find yourself looking for a little romance today or at you may find yourself serving the people that are the closest to you. You are entering into 29. A particular geographical region of indefi- 31. King of Wessex whose military victories least enjoying some emotional release. New clothes for the spring may need a few adjust- a cycle of mental development that emphasizes the nurturing of loved ones, and they of nite boundary (usually serving some special made Wessex the most powerful kingdom in ments and you proceed to fix them, or prepare them for the tailor. you. You will find yourself feeling more secure and at ease with your life. purpose or distinguished by its people or cul- England (died in 839). ture or geography). 34. Relating to or containing gnomes. 32. Torn down and broken up. 35. Freedom from activity (work or strain or Virgo (August 23-September 22) 33. A city in northern India. responsibility). Pisces (February 19-March 20) 37. High quality grape brandy distilled in the 36. Double star 15.7 light years from Earth. The friendships you have will become more important to you now-a close- Reports of new births at the zoo give you ideas for some poetry or music Cognac district of France. 38. A radioactive element of the actinide ness renewed. There is a feeling of knowing things without knowing how you know them. that could be shared with the world or just your friends. Because of this inspirational mood 40. Weedy annual grass often occurs in grain- series. The mystical, the universal and the eternal are the things that stir your curiosity. Call it psy- you can carry through on some of you decorating ideas or rearranging some area of your fields and other cultivated land. 39. Being one hundred more than two hun- chic; call it deja vu; it can be there when you call. This may involve reading a book or talk- living space. The positive currents are strong at this time and all sorts of good things hap- 42. Leaves of the tobacco plant dried and pre- dred. ing to a friend that seems particularly insightful. Consider ordering a personal horoscope pen. It is not the time to begin new things but it can be the perfect time for enhancing pared for smoking or ingestion. 41. An associate degree in applied science. reading. Tend to personal business this afternoon and the evening can be yours. This what you have, complimenting the people in your life or putting a few old pictures in a evening presents great opportunities for enjoyment of your friends and young people 46. Choose and follow. 43. A midwestern state in north central United new album. It would be safe to carry the new plants that you planted indoors to the out- and for having a good time. You appreciate your particular situation and enjoy support side for a permanent planting . . . Sunshine is delightful. Happy birthday! 47. (Hawaiian) A small guitar having four States in the Great Lakes region. from those around you. strings. 44. A master's degree in fine arts. 48. Soreness and warmth caused by friction. 45. Used by northerners of Confederate sol- 50. A constitutional monarchy on the western diers. Challenging Mazes Yesterday’s Solution part of the islands of Samoa in the South 49. A genus with one species that is a rapidly Pacific. growing climbing vine with tuberous roots. 51. Open to or abounding in fresh air. 52. Make an etching of. 54. An amino acid that is found in the central 53. Burst or split open, as of flowers and seeds nervous system. when releasing pollen or seeds. 56. Not final or absolute. 55. According to the Old Testament he was a 57. Able to read and write well. pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel 60. 30 to 300 gigahertz. (9th century BC). 62. An emotional response that has been 58. Of or relating to or characteristic of reli- acquired by conditioning. gious rituals. 63. Perennial having hollow cylindrical leaves 59. In a wicked evil manner. used for seasoning. 61. A federally sponsored corporation that 64. Remove with or as if with a ladle. insures accounts in national banks and other 66. Inflammation of the vertebral column. qualified institutions. 69. In a vessel with two hulls, an enclosed area 65. Either of two large African antelopes of the genus Taurotragus having short spirally between the frames at each side. twisted horns in both sexes. 73. A loose sleeveless outer garment made 67. In bed. from aba cloth. 68. One of a set of small pieces of stiff paper 74. Sexually exciting or gratifying. marked in various ways and used for playing 77. South African plant widely cultivated for games or for telling fortunes. its showy pure white spathe and yellow 70. Great merriment. spadix. 71. A river in central Europe that arises in 78. (Irish) The sea personified. northwestern Czechoslovakia and flows 79. A degree or grade of excellence or worth. northward through Germany to empty into 81. The compass point that is one point north the North Sea. of northeast. 72. A loose material consisting of grains of 82. A doctor's degree in education. rock or coral. 83. Relating to the Elysian Fields. 75. A run that is the result of the batter's per- 84. A notable achievement. formance. 76. An affirmative. DOWN 80. A radioactive gaseous element formed by 1. A Loloish language. the disintegration of radium.

Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 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 lifestyle SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 GOSSIP Jamie Dornan thinks paparazzi culture is ‘hideous’

he hunky Irish actor - who has been cast as S&M obsessed billionaire Christian Grey in the X-rated T‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie - got his first taste of fame in 2003 when he dated Keira Knightley for two years and was horrified by the way the A-list beauty was hounded like an animal by “perverted” snappers. He told the London Evening Standard newspaper: “It was a strange environment to find yourself in, being hounded and followed. It’s really hideous. They are cretins. I couldn’t have less respect for those guys. “There are so many ways to make a living that don’t involve hiding in bushes opposite houses of 18-year- old girls with a camera in your hand. “That’s not making a living, that’s making a choice to be perverted. That scrutiny when you’re older will be easier to take. And I don’t think I’m ever going to be as famous as her.” Jamie is now happily married to actress-turned-musician Amelia Warner, with whom he has a three-month-old daughter, while Keira is hitched to The Klaxons musi- cian James Righton. The star admits he found it incredi- bly hard being taken seriously as an actor after working as a model, famously posing in nothing but his under- wear for Calvin Klein. He said: “I mean hundreds of [failed auditions]. Some of them totally humiliating experience. People attach too much to the idea of being a model, that you can only be a certain way to have done it. “You will always be dealing with it. You’re an actor who used to be a model who never trained; Jamie Lynn Spears ties the knot there are not many directors queuing up.”

he 22-year-old actress and her fiancé James Watson, who have been engaged for a year, tied the knot last night at a park in New Orleans, according to E! News. Jamie’s sister Britney and her boyfriend David Lucado flew from Los TAngeles to Louisiana yesterday so they could witness the happy pair become husband and wife. Meanwhile, the duo sparked speculation they were getting hitched yesterday after it emerged they had obtained a marriage license from Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Courts earlier this month. The couple filed for the document on March 5 and had just 30 days from the date of issuance to wed before they would have had to apply for a new license. The blonde beauty announced her engagement on Twitter last May by posting a snap of a stunning diamond sparkler on her ring finger. Jamie has been engaged before when her ex-boyfriend Casey Aldridge popped the question in 2008. However, the former couple never made it to the aisle and their on/off relationship ended for good in 2010. Jamie also has four-year-old daughter Maddie with Casey. Julia Roberts’ kids have realized now she’s famous he ‘August: Osage County’ actress has revealed her how others figured it out.” Julia - who is married to cam- children, nine-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus eraman Daniel Moder - didn’t feel the need to explain to Tand six-year old Henry, are currently coming to her children she was famous or even show them her films terms with the fact their mother is part of the Hollywood until they started expressing a desire to understand her A-list and have dozens of questions about her star status. jet-setting lifestyle. She told France’s ELLE magazine: She said: “They’re only just discovering it. My daughter, “They’ve just seen ‘Hook’, it was the first time they’ve seen especially, asks a lot of questions that I find it hard to me on screen. They’re still young, they weren’t curious answer modestly! She asked, talking about one of my until now. My husband and I believe children will tell you best friends, ‘Does Bonnie know you’re famous?’ “I said, ‘I what they want to know when they want to know it, think she knows’. ‘How did she find out, did you tell her?’ regardless of the subject. They’re wise enough to take you She’s trying to solve an enigma, so she wants to know where they need to go.” Michael Jackson accused of beating up his chimp

he late singer’s pet Bubbles was reportedly “being beaten” while in his car, and a leading chimpanzee expert insisted she tried to intervene when she’d heard about the way he was being treated. Jane Goodall told TMZ: “I went to see Thim and we talked about Bubbles. I ticked him off. “Bubbles is still alive and he’s beautiful, but when he was with Michael he was being beaten ... Chimpanzees belong in the forest. By the time they are seven or eight they are danger- ous.” While Jane didn’t directly name the ‘Thriller’ hitmaker - who passed away in 2009 - as the abuser, the ex-husband of the star’s sister LaToya has claimed he saw the beatings first-hand. Jack Gordon said: “I saw Michael punch Bubbles in the face, kick him in the stomach.” The gossip website notes that sources from the singer’s camp have denied the claims, con- ceding there have been reports over the years of the chimp being treated like a king. Bubbles, 33, now lives in an animal sanctuary in Florida.

Mel C is attracted to younger men he 40-year-old singer has been sin- gle since splitting from Thomas TStarr, the father of her five-year-old daughter Scarlet, in 2012, and admits she often forgets her own age when she is checking guys out. She said: “It’s funny - I see all these beautiful young girls with amazing jobs and I’m like, ‘Where are their guys at?’ My problem is I’m going ‘He’s quite cute’, to guys who are obvi- ously much too young for me. “Then I look in the mirror and go ‘Crap! I’m not 25 anymore!’ “If someone came along that would be great. But I’m a mummy and my career is important to me.” While she forgets she isn’t in her 20s anymore, she insists she is enjoying her life more now than she did then. She added in an interview with Now magazine: “The beauty of age is I’m more relaxed about things now. My priorities changed when I became a mum. The negatives are the physical things, like wrinkles. Yuck! But I’m honestly happier now than I was in my twenties.”

Allison Williams is a ‘perfectionist’

he 25-year-old actress can see some similarities between herself and her ‘Girls’ alter ego Marnie, though she insists she is trying to be more relaxed. She said: “Marnie is a perfectionist and so am I. Playing her, I can see how it’s perfectionism and pride that pre- Tvents her from getting any peace. “I would call myself a perfectionist too - although I’ve let go of trying to be perfect. Will Marnie get where she wants to get to? I hope so.” Allison also admits she often feels uncultured next to her co-star, the show’s creator Lena Dunham, because her influences are so vast. She said: “Lena Dunham is an ‘old soul’. Her cultural references are from way before she was born. “They make me feel like I’ve never watched a film in my life. She has a wisdom and a gentleness to her.” Allison promised the new series of ‘Girls’ will allow fans to understand her character more, thanks to the introduction of her mother, who is played by Rita Wilson. She told Britain’s Grazia magazine: “We understand Marnie’s character more clearly after meeting her mother. There’s a sense of, ‘Oh that’s Marnie’s mum. That’s why she’s so crazy!’ “This is supposed to be her support and her mum is a nightmare. I think until Marnie realizes there’s a problem and she needs help, she’s in trouble.” lifestyle SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 GOSSIP

Sarah Jessica Parker believes ‘we’re not alone’ he 48-year-old actress - who voices Kira Supernova, the wife of an alien who invades Earth in ‘Escape From Planet Earth’ - doesn’t think the descrip- tions of other-worldly beings in TV and films are very accurate, but she is convinced there is life on other planets. Asked if she believes in aliens, she Tsaid: “No. Well, I don’t think we’re alone in the universe. But I don’t think aliens are how we have experienced them thus far on screen. “We discov- ered that there may have been water elsewhere, and that was a massive and important discovery in the world of science, right? This suggests that some- thing benefited from the water. “But whether they wear funny outfits and they’re clever and they say snarky things to each other and have wonderfully big sweet eyes? That, I’m dubious about. But I do enjoy the storytelling here on Earth.” The actress’ character in ‘Escape From Planet Earth’ gave up her career to raise a family and Sarah - who has three children, son James and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha, with her husband Matthew Broderick - thinks Kira’s story will appeal to many women experiencing the same “conflict” over their life choices. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Sarah said: “I think she has made some decisions, and she speaks to a way that maybe other women feel, you know? She’s left behind, and she’s maybe conflict- ed about those choices. And she becomes defensive. Do you choose work over family? I think that’s a position that a lot of women find themselves in. “I think, a little bit, this film tries to talk about what it’s like to remove yourself from your professional workplace and work romf home as a parent. It’s sweet, it’s nicely done.”

Lindsay Lohan labeled Jamie Chung wants an a ‘trainwreck’ ‘intimate’ wedding indsay Lohan has been branded a “trainwreck” over her ‘2 Broke Girls’ he 30-year-old actress admits she and fiancé Bryan Greenberg need to appearance. The troubled actress shot a guest appearance on the show on “work out” their nuptials as while she wants a small affair, the ‘One Tree LWednesday, but an unimpressed audience member said filming was a dis- THill’ actor favors the idea of a big celebration. She said: “He wants a big aster because the star repeatedly messed her lines. Writing on the Crazy Days blow out and I want to keep it intimate, so there’s certainly things we need to and Crazy Nights blog, the audience member said: “Lindsay was a trainwreck... work out.” But the 35-year-old actor may get his wish as Jamie admitted Bryan you only want to watch so many collisions before you realize you have better is a better organizer than she is. She told People. “We’re equally excited... things to do with your life. “[We, the audience members] are very familiar with Actually, he’s better at planning parties than I am.” Though the couple haven’t every single one of Lindsay Lohan’s lines and can repeat them all verbatim to you set a date yet, the ‘Believe’ star knows who she wants to create her wedding because we heard them so many times last night. There is not a member of the gown. She said: “Monique Lhuillier is a designer I lust for. I saw her Fall 2014 audience who couldn’t do a better job than Lindsay Lohan did that night.” runway show and it was literally like an opera. I would love to wear one of her According to the audience member, producers even began changing Lindsay’s dresses!” Though Jamie and Bryan - who got engaged in December after lines to make it easier for her. The blog post continued: “Lindsay had a lot of trou- almost two years of dating - spent a lot of time with one another, they refuse ble stringing together the various permutations required... the lines were to go to the gym together. Jamie admitted: “He hates working out with me. reduced and reduced. “There was no point in trying to get it all right because it Bryan says, ‘It’s so cheesy,’ so we’re not that couple.” was not going to happen.” And the insider hit out at the actress - who was cast as an indecisive bride who hires main characters Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) to make her wedding cake - for damaging her voice with smoking and claimed she has undergone so many wrinkle-freezing Botox treatments she was unable to speak properly. The post added: “Lips so plumped out she couldn’t really get them open because of her Botox which also caused her to have trouble pronouncing certain words. “Of course she won’t be able to pronounce anything if she keeps smoking because her voice is rapidly disappearing into some type of screaming smoking raspy hell hole.” “There was a scene later on in the show that required Lindsay to say the words Hawaii and Bahamas in succession. She could- n’t move her Botoxed muscles enough to get that combination down without pausing between each.”

Jason Bateman swears around his 2-yr-old daughter

he 45-year-old actor allows himself to curse when he’s looking after Maple because she does- Tn’t understand, but he refrains from using bad language when he’s with his other daughter Francesca, seven. He explained to GQ magazine: “I tend to use as many [swear words] as I can think of. I don’t do it around my seven year old, but I do Britney Spears had a ‘panic around my two year old, because she does- n’t know what the hell I’m saying yet.” attack’ at an Oscars party Meanwhile, the ‘Arrested Development’ star isn’t keen for Francesca and Maple, who he shares with his wife he ‘Perfume’ singer, who had a public breakdown in 2007, reportedly felt Amanda Anka, to follow in his foot- overwhelmed at Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation Oscar-viewing party at steps and take on a career in acting. TWest Hollywood Park, and made a quick dash to the exit after just min- He said previously: “I want to help my utes of being in the room. A source said: “Britney was excited when she first kids navigate their careers but I don’t went to the party but moments later she was fazed about being at such an want it to be in the entertainment over-crowded event. “She started to break out in a sweat and become short of industry. Acting is kind of an odd way breath, it was like she was having a panic attack.” The 32-year-old star shaved to make a living and I hope they’ll be her head during a meltdown seven years ago and was photographed attacking drawn to something other than that.” a paparrazo’s car with an umbrella. Her breakdown led to her losing custody of Jason - who became a high-profile teen actor her sons Sean Preston, eight, and Jayden James, seven, to ex-husband Kevin in the 1980s - believes acting can be a tough industry Federline, and the singer, who suffers from bipolar disorder, still has issues to crack and he doesn’t want his daughters having to being at parties. The source added to Closer magazine: “Britney still finds large deal with the disappointment that comes with it. He crowds nerve-wracking and doesn’t feel comfortable at showbiz events. “The said: “I want my daughters to be very passionate about chaos of the red carpet and all the unfamiliar faces is very daunting. She man- what they want to do and to be very unapologetic ages to block out the crowd and put on an act when she’s on stage, but it’s about wanting success in that field and sometimes in harder when she’s socializing.” acting they sense you want it too much.” Snooki has evil plans nooki is planning to make her bridesmaids try on horrible dresses. The for- Tom hardy thinks he would have been in jail mer ‘Jersey Shore’ star is determined to have perfect wedding when she mar- Sries Jionni LaValle later this year, but she admits shopping for her big day om Hardy thinks he would have ended up in jail if he hadn’t become an actor. The ‘Inception’ actor is currently one of Hollywood’s hottest doesn’t always have to be serious. She wrote on her blog: “I’m also going brides- properties, but he admits his rise to the top was fraught with “desperation”, reckless behavior and addiction. He told Total Film magazine: “I maid dress shopping next week with my maid of honor to pick out dresses for my Twas supported by an artistic family, a creative family, but my personal journey to becoming an actor was one of desperation. Like, ‘This boy girls! My wedding colors are gold and black, so she will be trying on a million gold has to do something or he’ll end up in jail!’ “And I’m very, very fortunate to be here today. My own personal story is exactly that - personal. But and black dresses. Dresses that I love, and dresses that are hideous just to give me becoming an actor was not very far from what I was doing, but now I’ve found a medium where I can channel that into more constructive a laugh. (sic)”. The 26-year-old beauty has decided on a ‘Great Gatsby’-themed cer- means, which is art and acting. “As opposed to fantasizing and acting out in the world, and causing all kinds of mayhem - which I don’t do.” The emony and, although she’s still got so much to plan in time for her wedding day, handsome British star confessed he got ahead of himself when he started landing roles fresh out of drama school and soon got caught up with she insists she hasn’t had any “diva moments” yet. She explained: “I am SO excited the shady side of the film industry. The 36-year-old star candidly explained: “I was white-knuckling when I was younger. There are some people for my fall wedding, and thank god the planning has not given me a headache yet. who are more susceptible and less susceptible to stimulus. And I was very reactionary. I don’t have a lot of skin. I’ve learnt as I grow older to be I’m happy to say I have not had any bride/diva moments yet! I don’t want to be less ‘jumping’ at everything. “I had a brief stint with the Americans, with Hollywood, the movie industry, with ‘Star Trek’. And the first year after dra- that kind of bride. I want a fun and loving bride, with no stress. I’ll let you know ma school, I had ‘Black Hawk Down’ and ‘Band of Brothers’, and then ‘Star Trek’. And I was like, ‘This is it! Straight out of drama school, here we go!’ how that goes after the bridesmaids dresses. (sic)”. Snooki and Jionni have been “But I had no idea of how to handle the industry, to interact with producers, executive producers, studios, even my fellow men! I was 24 - punch- engaged since 2012, but decided to hold off on their wedding plans because they ing way above my weight. And it’s taken being someone’s dad, being divorced, going to rehab, having mortgages, playing different characters, wanted to focus on their 18-month-old son Lorenzo. doing theatre, waiting and then it not happening.” The new issue of Total Film magazine is on sale now. —Bangshowbiz lifestyle SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 Comic Convention Chris Brown arrested, held without bail hris Brown was arrested Friday and will be held without bail on a warrant issued by probation Cofficials in the latest legal entanglement for the R&B singer who has struggled to put his 2009 attack on Rihanna behind him. The warrant was issued by the judge overseeing Brown’s case after he was informed Friday morning that the singer had been discharged from rehab “for failure to comply with rules and regulations of the program.” No further details were released, but more information will be presented to Superior Court Judge James R Brandlin when Brown appears in his courtroom tomorrow afternoon. Sheriff’s officials said Brown was cooperative when he was arrested at a Malibu treatment facility where he had been staying and transported to a jail facility in downtown Los Angeles. Brown had been ordered to remain in rehab for anger management treatment. A January letter from the facility stated that the singer A visitor dressed as the Incredible Hulk collects his accreditation at the Comic Visitors dressed in “Predator” costumes attend the Comic Convention. was also being treated for bipolar disorder, post-trau- Convention in east London yesterday. — AFP photos matic stress disorder and past substance abuse. An email sent to Brown’s attorney Mark Geragos was not immediately returned. A probation spokes- woman declined to comment on what prompted Brown’s arrest. Brown’s probation for the Rihanna assault had been scheduled to end this year, but a judge revoked it last year after Brown was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge in Washington, DC. That case is pending. Brandlin rejected a Los Angeles prosecutor’s request to send Brown to jail because of the Washington case, citing his progress in rehab. He has ordered Brown to stop smoking marijuana and take only prescribed medications; the singer has not failed any drug screenings since the order was made. In addition to getting treatment, the singer remained under strict orders to complete 1,000 hours of com- munity labor this year. A probation report dated Feb 26 stated that Brown had completed 250 hours and that he was being cooperative with probation offi- cials.

A visitor adjusts his character make-up. A visitor poses for a photograph during the Comic Convention. Gorillaz alums De La Soul, Del join Albarn at SXSW

or a guy who got his start in the ‘90s British him during his performance Friday night at South hop and bass-inflected electronic music, and he rock ‘n’ roll scene, Damon Albarn sure knows By Southwest, pulling off one of the bigger surpris- says he finds inspiration working with diverse Fhow to throw a hip-hop party. Albarn invited es so far at the annual music conference and festi- artists from different musical worlds. “I’m more of a De La Soul and Del The Funky Homosapien to join val. De La Soul joined Albarn for their Gorillaz col- fan of making it than listening to it,” Albarn said of laboration “Feed Good Inc.,” before Del came on hip-hop. “I’ve got my favorites, A Tribe Called Quest stage to perform initial Gorillaz single “Clint and De La Soul, and I suppose that first wave really. In this file photo, R&B singer Chris Brown arrives Eastwood” for the first time since its release 13 Mind you, I love Kendrick Lamar. That sort of excit- at a Los Angeles Superior Court for a probation years ago. ed me again. Of course I love hip-hop but I’m not review hearing in Los Angeles. — AP “What can I say about them? They’re very dear hip hop. It’s another aspect of the spectrum that I friends of mine,” Albarn said of De La Soul before kind of can hear the spirit of music in.” Brown’s attempts at treatment have not been the performance. “But it’s Del The Funky Dave Jolicoeur of De La Soul said Albarn’s open- without difficulties. A rehab center where Brown was Homosapien I’m most excited about. It is literally mindedness has led to a great friendship. “He’s a voluntarily staying reported to Brandlin that the the first time that not only have I met him, but he’s cool dude who just likes to have fun and create singer threw a rock through his mother’s window dur- going to sing ‘Clint Eastwood.’ It’s actually quite a music,” Jolicoeur said of the Blur frontman. “For us, ing a joint counseling session in November. The judge momentous moment.” And not just for Albarn, who that’s been our MO ever since Day 1, goofing then ordered Brown to remain in treatment for anoth- also debuted songs from his new solo album around, having a good time. There’s no real rules at er three months and renewed that order at a hearing “Everyday Robots,” out April 29. Those who both- all, but hopefully we get something out of this. on Feb 28. A probation officer interviewed Brown for ered to stick around after De La Soul’s high-spirited That’s been the person that I’ve known, a guy who the February report, saying the singer was grateful to appearance got a double surprise. Snoop Dogg just likes to create. There are no embarrassing be in rehab and “looks forward to staying out of trou- took the stage at the Fader Fort, where the maga- moments where you say, ‘You can’t do that, you ble.” “He remains thankful to the court for the oppor- zine is celebrating its 15th anniversary by inviting can’t say that.’ Just do what you’re doing, and be tunity to find out and learn more about himself, his artists to perform who have appeared on its cover, free.” — AP anger issues and the type of person he wants to contributing a surprise verse as well. Albarn said become, which is a man who is able to better himself Snoop’s appearance was meant to add “a little and be a positive role model,” the report states. — AP Damon Albarn (right) is joined by De La Soul’s Vincent Mason while performing cayenne” to the set. during the SXSW Music Festival Friday March 14, 2014, in Austin, Texas. — AP Albarn’s music has increasingly featured hip- Lady Gaga addresses difficulties in SXSW keynote ady Gaga vowed to quit pop music lie. Then what? I’ll be myself until I have to rather than compromise, detailing a dif- make money to sustain a luxurious lifestyle, Lficult year that included an underper- and then I change, right? No, I’ll be myself till forming new album during her much-antici- they (expletive) close the coffin so that you pated keynote session at South By Southwest can all be yourselves.” on Friday. Dressed in a gown made of plastic The 27-year-old singer briefly discussed sheeting and wearing blond dreadlocks, her 2013 tour-canceling hip surgery - she was Gaga spent an hour in a wide-ranging ques- in a wheelchair for four months and has three tion-and-answer session that shed some light screws in her hip - and her messages to fans on obstacles that included hip surgery, a split regarding difficulties she’s had with the from manager Troy Carter and widespread release of “ARTPOP,” which has only sold questions about her popularity. 673,773 units since its November release, “I refuse to compromise and allow my tal- according to Nielsen SoundScan. (In 2011, This combination of 2012 and circa 1860-1875 photos show hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons in New York and abolitionist Harriet Tubman. — AP ents to be monetized to the point that I don’t Gaga’s “Born This Way” sold 1.1 million copies want to be here anymore,” she said. “I will in its first week; 660,000 copies were sold reg- stop, I will quit, I will retire from the commer- ularly, and the rest through a 99 cents deal cial market if I have to do something other with Amazon).—AP Hip-hop pioneers hoping than be myself because if I can’t be myself in this moment than everything I have said to my friends since the beginning will be a total to create NYC museum

he pioneers of hip-hop are hoping to cre- contributions made by break dancers and disc center. The plan was announced at a news con- ate a museum in the Bronx dedicated to jockeys. Bambaataa is frequently called the ference on Wednesday. Bambaataa says many Tthe genre. Organizers say it would be father of hip-hop. He would serve as the muse- people think of rappers when they hear the called the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Afrika um’s chairman. The museum hopes to open in word hip-hop. But he says there’s a whole cul- Bambaataa says the museum would look at the 2017 inside the Kingsbridge Armory, which is ture and movement behind it. — AP historical and cultural roots of hip-hop and the being redeveloped into a national ice sports

Lady Gaga makes an appearance during ZEDD’s (not pictured) performance at the iTunes Festival Showcase during the SXSW Music Festival Friday March 14, 2014, in In this combination of 2013 and 1963 file photos, hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj performs in New York, and Malcolm X, civil rights activist and black Austin, Texas. — AP Muslim leader, holds a newspaper as he speaks at a rally in New York. — AP lifestyle SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014

Man who said he kissed nurse in Times Square photo dies at 86

man who became known for claiming he was earlier, was unable to confirm that McDuffie was in saries of the war’s end her father would recall that the sailor kissing a woman in Times Square in a fact the sailor, noting Eisenstaedt had never gotten moment and the air of excitement in Times Square. Afamous World War II-era photo taken by a Life names for those in the picture. For years it bothered him that he wasn’t identified as magazine photographer has died. Glenn McDuffie Yet for McDuffie, Gibson’s word was enough. A the man in the photo, she said, and he turned to was 86. McDuffie died March 9 in a nursing home in well-respected forensic artist who was in the 2005 Gibson for help to clear it up. “He wanted to do it Dallas, his daughter, Glenda Bell, told The Associated Guinness Book of World Records for helping police before he died,” she said. McDuffie is survived by his Press. After World War II, McDuffie, who was born in identify more suspects than any other forensic artist, daughter and two grandchildren. His funeral will be Kannapolis, NC, and moved to Houston in 1960, Gibson said McDuffie was ecstatic when she told him held March 21 at the Dallas-Fort Worth National became a mail carrier and semi-professional baseball the results he had waited 62 years to hear. And so Cemetery. — AP player. began a whirlwind lifestyle of going to air shows, gun But his life became more exciting about six years shows, fundraisers and parties to tell his story. Women ago when Houston Police Department forensic artist would pay $10 to take a picture kissing him on the Lois Gibson was able to identify him as the young cheek, Gibson said. man leaning over the woman in his arms to kiss her. “He would make money and kiss women,” Gibson By taking about 100 pictures of McDuffie using a pil- said. “He had the most glamorous life of any 80 year low to pose as he did in the picture taken Aug 14, old.” McDuffie had told the AP he was changing trains 1945, by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, Gibson in New York when he was told that Japan had surren- said, she was able to match the muscles, ears and oth- dered. “I was so happy. I ran out in the street,” said er features of the then-80-year-old McDuffie to the McDuffie, then 18 and on his way to visit his girlfriend In this file photo, Glenn McDuffie holds a young sailor in the original image. in Brooklyn. “And then I saw that nurse,” he said. “She portrait of himself as a young man (left) “I was absolutely positive,” Gibson said of the saw me hollering and with a big smile on my face... I and a copy of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic match. “It was perfect.” The identification remained just went right to her and kissed her.” Life magazine shot of a sailor, who controversial, partly because other men also claimed “We never spoke a word,” he added. “Afterward, I McDuffie claims is him, embracing a nurse to have been the sailor in the image, but also because just went on the subway across the street and went to in a white uniform in New York’s Times Life magazine, whose photographer had died years Brooklyn.” Gibson’s daughter, Bell, said on anniver- Square, at his Houston home. — AP Original ‘Dreamgirls’ star makes comeback to music ith her first solo album in two decades, dealt with clinical depression, multiple sclerosis, weighed almost 400 pounds. The label told me that I Google me all the time, I didn’t want them to look Jennifer Holliday is on the comeback trail. went blind for three months, filed for bankruptcy had a great voice, but wasn’t marketable having a back so far to see some recordings of me. That fact WBut the singer, best known for her Tony- and attempted to commit suicide on her 30th birth- weight image. It’s not like today where Adele could that maybe I should be singing again.” When winning performance as Effie in the original day. She was dropped by her label when her weight come out, sing and be popular.” Holliday first returned to the studio, she felt like a Broadway production of “Dreamgirls” and the iconic went up to 400 pounds. Yet over the years, Holliday survived without pro- “dinosaur.” It took some time to learn some of the rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” “It was devastating for me as an artist and human ducing another hit record. She had theater and sym- contemporary audio workstations such as Pro Tools, wasn’t always sure she wanted her career resurrect- being,” said Holliday, also a Grammy winner. “People phony performances along with a recurring guest but eventually she became more comfortable. ed. The spotlight had been difficult for her: She has say you have a gift from God, but still saying, ‘No.’ star role on “Ally McBeal” and appearances on Holliday has gotten more involved with social Things went terribly downhill. Not having a label, “Touched by an Angel.” She teamed up with the Rev media networks like Facebook, Twitter and being overweight, music and life in limbo. Those Raphael G Warnock for a joint gospel album, Instagram. She had trouble at first because it was were very hard times for me.” Big expectations were “Goodness & Mercy,” in 2011. “I’ve been able to work hard for her to take the harsh criticism dealt her way. set for Holliday’s career following her success with without a record,” she said. “So in some way, I got a But in time, Holliday saw the benefits of promoting “Dreamgirls” in 1981. The singer’s 1983 debut album, little comfortable. ... But music itself had changed. her music without a major record label. It gives her “Feel My Soul,” which was produced by Earth, Wind So, I didn’t see much purpose. But when it comes to hope. “Back in the day, if someone at the record label and Fire bandleader Maurice White, received posi- getting your music out there or your story out, it’s a didn’t care or like your music, it never got to the tive reviews. Two years later, her follow-up album, lot easier.” public. It just got shelved,” she said. “You can take “Say You Love Me,” featured Michael Jackson as a co- So at 53, Holliday has just released her sixth your case to the public such as YouTube and other writer and producer on the opening track, “You’re album, “The Song Is You,” released in late January. forms of social media where they can vote on you. If the One.” But she was unable to generate any major These days, she’s more at peace through her faith nobody likes you, then that’s just fine. If 20 more hits to boost her career as a solo artist. and prayer. She’s lost more than 200 pounds and people like you more than the other 10, then you Holliday believes she came up in the wrong era trimmed down 20 inches following gastric bypass have a chance.” — AP of music when being overweight was unacceptable, surgery in 1990 and years of living a healthier especially during a time when music videos were lifestyle. Holliday said appearing on “American Idol” beginning to become popular. “The music industry with finalist Jessica Sanchez in 2012 breathed new This photo shows actress and singer Jennifer Holliday during an interview in turned (against) those of us who were real artists,” life into her music career. Atlanta. — AP she said. “When I was with Geffen Records, I “It fueled me a lot,” she said. “Even though people

Indian Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri (center) showcases a creation by designer Shehla Khan on the fifth day of the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) summer/resort 2014 in Mumbai yesterday. — AFP photos

Indian Bollywood film actress Dia Mirza Lakme India Fashion Week

Indian Bollywood film actress Prachi Desai Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin Models display creations by various Indian designers during the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, India, yesterday. Chris Brown arrested, held without bail

SUNDAY, MARCH 16, 2014 38

t’s still chilly in much of the country, but stores are clearing out coats and sweaters to make way for spring’s bright colors and lighter clothing. And if you’re looking to update your wardrobe this season, you’ll need to know about a few key trends: crop tops, high waists and wider legs in pants. But don’t panic just yet about the idea of wearing a top that may Inot reach your navel. There are several ways to pull off the poten- tially midriff-baring trend - whether or not you have great abs, and even if you prefer to dress on the conservative side. “Crop tops are not the easiest thing to wear,” said Hayley Phelan, fashion features editor at Lucky magazine, acknowl- edging that skin-baring styles are not always “appropriate” for work or other situations. “But there are so many ways to wear crop tops that we saw on the runway and that we love at Lucky.” For example, you can layer a crop top over a blouse, Phelan said. Or wear a boxy crop top over high-waisted pants or a high-waisted skirt, and don’t worry about revealing much skin. “I would say a crop top is a must-have for spring,” Phelan said. “But make it one that you feel comfortable in. With a boxier shape, you can wear it on multiple occasions.” Another strong trend Lucky editors noticed for spring is the “painterly print,” meaning “bold, graphic brush strokes” and “art- inspired” designs, including portrait art and actual faces or flowers appearing on gar- ments. “We saw faces at Prada and flowers at Dior,” she said. Finally, get ready for sandals and slides that are more hiker than fashionista - what Lucky edi- tors call “the ugly shoe.” “It’s that kind of Birkenstock shape, or even like Tevas,” Phelan said. “But that’s what’s cool about it - fashionable people wearing a fashionable outfit that’s put together, putting on these sandals.” Overall, she said, the silhouette for spring is evolving from past seasons: “It’s a tighter more form-fitting top but looser on the bottom, with high-waisted baggier pants and wide-legged culottes. It’s an interesting shape but what pairs perfectly with culottes is the crop top.” John Bourgeois, who directs personal shopping in the Midwest for Macy’s By Appointment, said the region is definitely seeing the looser leg look. “Pants are a little softer this year,” Bourgeois said. “The fabrication is very soft and flowy and whimsical.” But because Midwest weather stays cold longer, spring fashion isn’t quite as bare as in warmer places. “Really trendy women find ways to incor- porate jackets in their spring wardrobe because we have to layer here into May,” said Farissa Knox, founder of the Chicago-based website What R U Wearing? Moto jackets - short, slim-cut and zipper-front - are among Chicago’s trendy spring items. White button-down shirts were iden- tified by both Dallas and Chicago retailers as a spring trend. In Dallas, it’s a crisp look; in Chicago it’s an element in layering. Fashion-watchers in both cities also say they’re seeing black and These file photos from white combinations in outfits. various designers show- Pink was cited as big for spring by retailers and shoppers in case this year’s spring Dallas, Chicago and - maybe less surprisingly - in tropical pick. — AP photos Miami. “Women should look for pink in every shade,” said Ken Downing, fashion director of luxury chain Neiman Marcus, which has its flagship store in down- town Dallas. He added those varying shades of pink can be worn all in one outfit, and mentioned “denim on denim” - shirt, jeans and jacket in various washes - as another trend. Exotic patterns - florals, animal prints and designs inspired by snakeskin and crocodile skin - are also turning up around the country, while colors range from pastels to brighter, more saturated hues. In Miami, exotic prints are even turning up on sneakers, and it’s not unusual there to see men wearing the same bright colors and playful patterns as women. “Men in South Florida are not afraid to wear prints or color,” said Anabel Llopis, senior director of sales and marketing at Aventura Mall. — AP