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WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 RAJAB 22, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Kuwait’s Victorious Modi Conspiracy Spurs rout Egyptian voters fights tears in theories Thunder strongly first address re-emerge as jet in series support3 Sisi to parliament7 search12 sputters opener20 Amir to visit Iran, turn Max 41º Min 26º ‘new page’ in relations High Tide 05:20 & 15:55 Trip to ‘open new vistas of bilateral cooperation’ Low Tide 10:37 & 23:29 40 PAGES NO: 16172 150 FILS TEHRAN: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- will be his first to Iran since becoming Amir in 2006. ing details. conspiracy theories Sabah will travel to Iran on May 31 amid a recent thaw Voicing optimism about the results of the planned Kuwait, home to a sizeable Shiite minority, is seen by in Tehran’s relations with Gulf states, the Iranian foreign visit, the spokeswoman said high-level communications some as a potential bridge between Shiite power Iran ministry said yesterday. Relations between Iran and the between both sides would surely help in further pro- and more wary and sometimes hostile Sunni Muslim Gulf states have been frosty for years, with disagree- moting and developing cooperation in new fields. She Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Sabah, a Farming at ments over the unrest in Bahrain and the conflict in voiced hope that the visit would contribute to opening former foreign minister, is one of the region’s most Syria, before Hassan Rouhani was elected president of new vistas of bilateral cooperation, KUNA said. “The visit important diplomats, often acting as a mediator and the Islamic republic last June. Replying to a KUNA ques- (of the Amir), which is upon the invitation of President peacemaker. He has maintained good ties with Iran, schools tion during her weekly press briefing, Iranian Foreign Hassan Rouhani, will open a new chapter in relations of directly across the Gulf waterway, as well as with Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Sheikh both countries,” she told reporters. Afkham said “several Kuwait’s large neighbors Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Sabah will visit Iran at the invitation of Rouhani. The trip agreements were expected to be signed”, without giv- Continued on Page 13

By Badrya Darwish Govt warns deficit ‘inevitable’

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh warned yester- [email protected] day that the country will start posting a budget deficit within a few years if public spending continues to grow at a high rate, outpacing the increase in revenues. n Monday I was impressed with the new Speaking at the start of a special debate called by 10 banknotes and yesterday I was more MPs on the government policy to diversify sources of Oimpressed with the Ministry of Education income, the minister said that a budget deficit is which has a great futuristic plan for the students of “inevitable”, and this is not only the view of the govern- Kuwait. At the beginning, I thought it was a change ment but also that of the International Monetary Fund, in the curriculum. Removing dust from old books the World Bank and other institutions and economists. and introducing modern technologies that have The minister said that over the past 10 years ending swept all the old systems and taken over - be it 2013, the average annual growth of spending was 20.4 WhatsApp, iPad, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Education percent while the same for revenues was only 16.2 per- online, graduating online, giving your thesis online, cent, which means that the growth in spending out- getting your certificate online - you know what I paced that of revenues. “To meet the deficit that will mean, guys. But the education curriculum in occur, we will take from fiscal reserves” the minister said. Kuwait is still very sacred, like a holy book, and can- Undersecretary of the Finance Ministry Khalifa not be touched. Hamada told the session that continued growth in I’m sorry guys with the long intro - I drifted from spending will eventually lead to depleting Kuwait’s for- my main issue: Turning schools into farms. In the eign assets, currently estimated at KD 146 billion. beginning, I relished the idea. Why not? They are Hamada said that over the past years, current spending introducing a new topic of agriculture for kids to has been rising while capital spending (investment) has make them know and respect plants and trees. To been decreasing, adding that it was impossible for the help them appreciate and respect the environment state to continue with the wages and subsidies in this and greenery. way. But the project which is suggested is going far The official said that between the fiscal years beyond that. A video shows the minister of educa- 2004/2005 and 2012/2013, wages increased from KD 3.2 billion to KD 9.5 billion, a threefold rise or a 25 percent tion elaborating on this project, saying that it’s a KUWAIT: Finance Ministry Undersecretary Khalifa Hamada (right) speaks as Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh annual rise on average. great project and blessing it. He said we should looks on during a session at the National Assembly yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Continued on Page 13 teach kids how to plant in schools vegetables, fruits, grapes, mangoes, bananas, guavas, toma- toes, eggplants, etc, etc, etc. And to teach the kids Thai army declares martial law how to learn about the value of things like “the Smuggling cost of water, effort, seeds and time” and selling BANGKOK: Thailand’s army chief and hotel district. Troops were also court ruling has stoked tensions in produce. The ministry is willing to participate more of classified imposed martial law yesterday after positioned at TV stations where the kingdom, which has endured in this project by bringing professors and special- months of deadly anti-government broadcasts were suspended under years of political turmoil. ists to guide the kids in their farming project. protests caused political paralysis, but sweeping censorship orders, “Red Shirt” supporters of Yingluck Hello, we’re living in Kuwait where water is files foiled insisted the intervention did not although regular Thais appeared and her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, scarce as it is and the temperature can exceed over amount to yet another military coup. largely unfazed. The dismissal of who was deposed as premier in a 60 C in open areas in June, July, August and KUWAIT: Five people were arrested in connection with an Gun-toting troops fanned out after prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra 2006 coup, have warned of the threat attempt to smuggle classified documents in a large con- September. And then it can decrease to 45 C come martial law was declared in a dawn earlier this month in a controversial Continued on Page 13 tainer out of Kuwait. The container was stopped at the broadcast, as General Prayut Chan-O- October, so we’re one of the hottest and most arid Shuwaikh Port before it was put on a ship heading to Cha exploited century-old legislation spots on earth, unfortunately. Our summer stretch- India. The operation was carried out by state security offi- es beyond eight months. cials in coordination with customs officials, following that confers far-reaching powers on In the farms of Wafra, we’re struggling to pro- investigations about groups attempting to smuggle gov- the armed forces to act in an emer- duce proper vegetables because of a lack of fresh- ernmental, military and banking documents. gency. water. Brackish water they have enough, but it’s The documents include papers that belong to the But he left the caretaker civilian not suitable for most kinds of vegetables and interior and defense ministries, including police and mili- government in office and later invited plants. Some things like mango and banana trees tary IDs, according to a source with knowledge of the the country’s warring political factions are incredibly expensive to grow and they need investigations. Other documents include correspondence to sit down for talks, as the United very special and dedicated care. Specialists in between state departments, including ‘highly classified States, the EU, Japan and Southeast Wafra farms can hardly cope, so what do you letters,’ in addition to papers specifying details about bank Asian neighbours urged Thailand to expect from students? Are they going to roll up clients and their accounts in local banks. stay on a democratic track and their sleeves and plant in the empty spaces of the The documents also include top secret letters of the resolve its differences peacefully. Ministry of Education, Traffic General Department, Ministry school yard in their free hours? Thailand’s caretaker prime minister of Social Affairs and Kuwait University, said the source who Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan Leave alone the fantasy of marketing the pro- spoke to Al-Anbaa on the condition of anonymity. The duce from these school farms. I think the ministry issued his own plea for harmony in source did not provide further information about the sus- the country, telling reporters the gov- should equip the schools better with air condition- pects, or specified how they were arrested. The report also ing. So our students can sit in the classrooms and ernment wanted “peace and order to does not mention the size of the shipment confiscated, prevail in the country.” study. Leave agriculture for the agricultural author- BANGKOK: A Thai soldier mans a checkpoint as motorcyclists ride past but describes the smuggling attempt as ‘the first of its Soldiers and military vehicles were ity and Wafra and Abdali farms. kind’ in the country’s history. — Al-Anbaa near a site where pro-government demonstrators staged a rally on the seen in the heart of the capital’s retail outskirts of the capital yesterday. — AP Ban on driving in emergency lane

By Hanan Al-Saadoun drive in the emergency lane. Acting Director of Security Infor- KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry yester- mation Brig Adel Al-Hashash said these day warned against using emergency measures aim at protecting lives from lanes on roads as they are designated accidents that are caused by using the for fire engines, ambulances and police emergency lane, which is for emer- and civil defence vehicles, and it is gency vehicles only. He said reports totally prohibited for any other vehicle about allowing driving on the hard to use these lanes even during traffic shoulder are totally incorrect. jams. Acting Assistant Undersecretary Hashash emphasized the role of the for Traffic Affairs Maj Gen Saleh Al- citizen and expat in educating people Najem said 15 days in jail or a maxi- about the rules to safeguard their lives KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti was killed and two others were severely injured following a car accident on the Fifth Ring Road near Surra. The car mum fine of KD 25 or both will be and those of others, urging coopera- hit a metal barrier which impaled the vehicle, causing the death and injuries. — By Hanan Al Saadoun imposed on motorists who cut lanes or tion with traffic officers. WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 LOCAL

Abdullah Al-Ansari Fajr Al-Saeed Emad Al-Zamel 14 submit nomination papers for parliamentary by-election

KUWAIT: Fourteen candidates have submitted nomina- tion papers in the first day of candidacy for the National Assembly by-election, due on June 26, the Ministry of Interior’s Elections Affairs Department announced yes- terday. Assistant Director of the Department Capt Salah Al- Shatti said that the hopefuls included only one woman. He added that three candidates came from the sec- ond constituency, seven from the third constituency; and four from fourth constituency. By-elections will be held in the three constituencies over five vacant parliamentary seats after the resigna- tions early this month of five MPs. —KUNA Faisal Al-Hajri Abdullah Ma’youf Amash Al-Shemmiri

Mohammed Al-Otaibi Mohammed Hassan Mutlaq Al-Musa’b Jassem Al-Jaddi

Taher Failakawi Tawfiq Al-Jaafar Yousuf Al-Rashidi Nabil Al-Bishr Ministry blamed Kuwait, Germany mark for failure to bust major 50 years of relations drug shipment

KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry is accused of hiding Interaction in diverse fields important information that would have allowed customs officials to seize a shipment of some 3.5 KUWAIT: Kuwait and Germany are mark- ment and on avoiding double taxation. and specialists through hosting of German kets along with participants from 180 ing 50 years of diplomatic relations and In early 2001, Kuwait dramatically specialists in Kuwaiti health care facilities as countries. million Captagon pills before it was smuggled into interaction in diverse fields as they both curbed tax on foreign companies in its local well as through sending Kuwaiti specialists The two countries are both keen on the country last month. The Customs General encourage ever-increasing and accelerat- market with the aim of attracting foreign for experience in German facilities. ironing out obstacles to growth of tourism Department has come under pressure since the ing coordination and cooperation. companies, German corporations included, With help of special facilities Germany exchange through facilitating procedures Interior Ministry announced early April that police One recent testimony to the strength of as it initiated mega development plans. extended to patients from Kuwait and the and issue of travel and entry permits and busted the largest shipment of Captagon in the relations was the visit by His Highness the By 2012, German exports to Kuwait Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the num- documents. country’s history after the shipment made its way Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- came to euro 1.02 billion, and the country ber of Kuwaitis who seek care in the For both the state and people of Kuwait, through Shuwaikh Port without trouble. Sabah to Germany in 2010. The visit gave was the fourth biggest exporter to the gulf European country is on the rise. Statistics the German role in liberating the country But Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh said in further impetus to relations in diverse sec- nation. Last year’s imports of German prod- indicate GCC nationals account for the from the 1990 Iraqi invasion and occupa- response to parliamentary inquiries regarding the tors and interaction between business ucts and equipment came to euro 1.2 bil- biggest percentage of off-shore patients. tion is still remembered with gratitude. issue that customs officials did not receive suffi- establishments in particular expanded to lion. The health sector is another field of The number came close to 5,000 GCC Germany was a strong supporter of Kuwaiti cient details about the shipment to be able to dis- include medium and small-size companies. active interaction between the two coun- nationals in 2011. right and UN Security Council resolutions cover it. “The Interior Ministry sent a letter saying Kuwait was already a major investor and tries. The Kuwaiti Health Ministry signed an The two nations also enjoy strong rela- that condemned the aggression and that a shipment of ironing boards containing the first Arab investor in Germany. agreement with Vivantes International tions in the field of education with an stressed Kuwait’s sovereignty and territorial drugs was expected to arrive to Kuwait from Through Kuwait Investment Authority Medicine, Germany’s largest state-owned agreement signed in 2009 to secure seats integrity. Lebanon, but failed to provide any further infor- (KIA), the country holds major stakes in an healthcare group, which is of great help to for Kuwaiti students in leading German uni- The European country deployed a mation,” Saleh said in his response letter quoted by array of German corporations. After the Kuwaitis wishing to receive treatment and versities, in fields topped by medicine and marine mine-clearing force to the eastern Al-Qabas yesterday. acquisition of a 13 percent stake in care in German hospitals. engineering. Mediterranean to enable military forces to The Interior Ministry’s announcement indicates Daimler-Benz back in 1974, Kuwait now Virtue of this agreement, Kuwaiti At present, 50 Kuwaitis are working on head to the Arabian Gulf region. It also pro- that the Drug Control General Department was holds a 7.6 percent stake in the Daimler patients get to benefit from care at their board certification in German univer- vided support to operations by NATO aware of the shipment and its route since it left Group, meaning it is the biggest offshore Vivantes’ nine world-leading hospitals, sities, sent on Civil Service Commission forces and other militaries within the inter- Lebanon until it reached Kuwait through the investor in the major automobile industry specifically in the areas of orthopedic sur- scholarships. national coalition that liberate the state in United Arab Emirates. Nonetheless, Saleh con- group. gery, oncology, and hematology. When it comes to tourism, the Kuwaiti 1991. firmed that an investigation committee led by the The two countries signed a host of Ministry of Commerce and Industry took This is on top of a sum of German marc Director of the Customs General Department will agreements in the commerce and industry Exchange of expertise part in Berlin’s International Tourism Bourse 16.9 billion, 3 billion of which was assigned question staff at the Shuwaikh Port regarding the sector, most important among which are The agreement is also a framework for (ITB) 2014 to increase exposure to to provide military supplies to NATO and shipment. agreements on encouragement of invest- exchange of expertise among medical staff European and international tourism mar- coalition forces back then.—KUNA p3.e$S_Layout 1 5/20/14 8:54 PM Page 1

WEDNES DAY, MAY 21, 2014 LOCAL

Photo of the day

KUWAIT: A man walks past newly-planted palm trees in downtown Kuwait City. The date palm is a resilient tree that thrives despite the extreme climate of the Arabian desert. —Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Kuwait’s Egyptian voters strongly support Sisi 65,330 cast their votes

By A Saleh ferent ministers yesterday regarding properties Abdulmohsen Al-Mudej, Fadl demanded a cer- owned by former lawmaker Musallam Al-Barrak. tificate from the Public Authority for Industry KUWAIT: Nearly 96 percent of Egyptian voters in In the first question sent to Minister of Cabinet showing industrial properties that Barrak or any Kuwait voted for former Field Marshal Abel Affairs and Acting Minister of Justice Sheikh of his relatives possess. Fattah Al-Sisi to become their country’s next Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, Fadl asked president, the Egyptian Embassy announced. for a certificate from the property registration Policeman acquitted The five-day voting period closed Monday night department showing property and lands owned The criminal court acquitted a patrol officer with a total of 65,330 votes submitted, the by Barrak and his relatives. of embezzlement and forgery. The Jahra police- embassy said in a press statement. Out of those, In the second question sent to Minister of Oil man was accused of embezzling KD 200 and 62,527 voted for Sisi while only 2,279 voted for and State Minister for Parliament Affairs Ali Al- writing false statements in the case report per- Hamdeen Sabbahi, and 524 votes were void. Omair, Fadl asked for a certificate from the Public taining with a drug dealer’s arrest. The officer Kuwait’s Egyptian community is estimated at Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish allegedly wrote in the report that KD 17,000 was nearly 500,000. Resources, showing farms or any agricultural found with the suspect, which is less by the properties that Barrak or any of his relatives own. same amount he was accused of stealing. The Barrak’s properties In the third question sent to Deputy Prime court made its ruling yesterday due to lack of MP Nabeel Al-Fadl sent questions to three dif- Minister and Minister of Commerce and Industry evidence. Kuwaiti youth should seek uniqueness in entrepreneurship: Prince Andrew KUWAIT: Duke of York, Prince Andrew encouraged of our heritage, as we’ve always lived by the sea Prince Andrew was received last night by His Kuwaiti youth to seek uniqueness in entrepreneur- and we have always been explorers. These youth Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- ial activities as key to success in an ever demanding are the decedents of those incredibly pioneering Jaber Al-Sabah, as well as had meetings with a and changing market. ancestors.” number of high-ranking government officials. He “Deal with creativity at primary school. Create According to recent official data, some 57,000 also took part in a round-table with young Kuwaiti opportunities and enterprise culture and operate Kuwaitis currently work in the private sector, while entrepreneurs and made a tech-focused visit to the where these children can be creative, either artisti- more than 300,000 in the government sector. “We Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of cally, mathematically or scientifically,” he noted are trying as hard as we can, not to limit ourselves Science. — KUNA while speaking about significance to start catering to the term ‘ministry’ which is confined with regula- for creativity in five-year olds. tions and bureaucracy; an environment that His remarks came during his meeting with a absolutely does not help in creating profit-generat- Recommendation to group of Kuwaiti youth, freshly working in the gov- ing ventures,” Sheikha Al-Zain said. ernment and private sectors late last night. On their part, the group talked about their exclude company On her part, Undersecretary for the Ministry of ambitions, concerns and prospects regarding their for ‘Israel ties’ State for Youth Affairs Sheikha Al-Zain Sabah own careers, as well as exchanging points of view Nasser Al-Saud Al-Sabah described the ministry as with Prince Andrew on various issues, including KUWAIT: A local committee that advocates a young one; only nine months in actual operation. entrepreneurship, advantages and disadvantages boycotting Israel called on the Municipal “Officially it is the ministry of youth affairs, but of working in both the public and private sectors, Council to exclude a company from con- frankly I really like to call it the ministry of ‘Kuwait’. in addition to their take on the current job market tention for a solid waste project in Kuwait, The youth represent over 60 percent of the overall in Kuwait and possible means that can be utilized claiming that the firm has business relations population in Kuwait. At the ministry, there are no to turn it into a more talent-nurturing and vision- with the Jewish state. The committee, known manuals or guidebooks to follow, we don’t have encouraging one that caters for the youth’s needs as the ‘National Palestinian Committee for the luxury nor do we need it,” she pointed out. and meets their aspirations. Boycotting Israel,’ made its appeal while mem- Sheikha Al-Zain carried on to say that there has The Duke of York is on an official visit to the bers were discussing the project during the been a huge movement on the youth front in State of Kuwait from May 19 through May 21 fol- Municipal Council session Monday. Kuwait over the last 5-10 years. “We’ve seen young lowing a request from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Council member Ali Musa questioned how people get involved in almost everyday concerns. II to highlight the close bilateral relationship the committee was able to obtain this infor- “Both the younger and older population in between the United Kingdom and Kuwait. mation, adding that this kind of activity is of Kuwait is ‘organically cultured’. The visit’s itinerary reflects a number of the ‘intelligence’ in nature. The name of the com- “ Stressing this point, she said, “our ancestors Duke’s core priorities, including education and pany in question was not mentioned in the always taught us to think outside the box. It’s part skills, entrepreneurship and science. report. MoI denies ransacking house KUWAIT: Immigration detectives arrested 120 iqama violators and wanted and absconding workers during a campaign in industrial Shuwaikh yesterday. Singer, composer caught with drugs —By Hanan Al-Saadoun

By Hanan Al-Saadoun • Narcotics authorities arrested a citizen for • In Hadiya, an employee at Adan Hospital selling drugs. Narcotics officers found nearly reception desk said that a citizen and his son KUWAIT: The Security Information Department 500 gm of hashish, 250 gm of marijuana, 100 beat him while on duty. at the Interior Ministry refuted claims on social illicit tablets and 10 gm of cocaine. He con- • A women’s salon in Salmiya caught fire. Five media that policemen were rude and ransacked fessed that the drugs belonged to him. ambulances were sent to the scene, but no WANTED a house without any considerations. The depart- • A citizen told Jabriya police that the injuries were reported. ment said pictures and clips that were pub- Nepalese Embassy “restricted her freedom”, • A 23-year-old Kuwaiti woman attempted lished by the house owner on social media are because she was frequenting the embassy to suicide by consuming poisonous substances. not authentic and are fabricated. It said that ask about her absconding maid. She was rushed to Farwaniya Hospital. criminal detectives learned about the presence of unlicensed arms and ammunition in the said person’s home, so the arms collection team Former minister turns down Editors & Reporters went to the house, but the intended person was not there. The statement said that the forces Syria envoy nomination refused to enter the house although they had a warrant. KUWAIT: Former deputy prime minister Sheikh tor are senior officials”. The team then returned to the man’s house Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah said that he turned The former foreign minister also blamed leg- Full time, must be in Kuwait, when he was present, and showed a warrant to down a request to become the United Nations islative deficiencies for corruption, adding that search the house, and he agreed. The statement and Arab League special envoy to Syria to suc- the multimillion dinar deposits scandal was a said the house owner insisted on knowing who ceed Lakhdar Brahimi who resigned this month. result of that situation. Sheikh Mohammad also have transferrable 18 visa gave detectives the tips, but they refused. The Sheikh Mohammad did not provide further spoke about the status of the national budget, man then started breaking things in the house, details to Al-Rai daily which published his reiterating governmental concern about the and writing experience filmed it and put it on social media in order to remarks yesterday. His statements answer spec- increase in current expenditure compared to show that policemen used their authority in a ulations in recent international reports which investment spending. He warned that the future malicious fashion. mentioned him as a possible candidate. funds generation is currently at risk of failure to • Hawally police arrested a singer (H A) and Sheikh Mohammad spoke to reporters on cover the cumulative deficit in 15 years, which Send CV, letters of reference composer (N M) and sent them to the narcotics the sidelines of a forum titled ‘Development in puts the country under serious threat of bank- department. The two had drugs on them, and Kuwait... Dimensions and Challenges” organized ruptcy. the composer is wanted to serve a two-year jail Monday by the Women’s Institute for Meanwhile former finance minister Sheikh and 3 writing samples to sentence. Development and Training. He spoke during the Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah said that Kuwait’s • An unidentified person was killed due to forum about corruption, quoting a study from economy needs improvement in investment [email protected] head injuries and a 19-year-old Kuwaiti lost his the Supreme Council of Planning and spending in order to prevent a situation where leg and sustained a head injury when their vehi- Development which revealed that “the majority the increasing current expenditure obstructs cle flipped over on Fifth Ring Road near Jabriya. of those involved in corruption in the public sec- economic growth. Only those who are shortlisted will be contacted WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 LOCAL

kuwait digest In my view Start from Encouraging the basics industries

By Abdullatif Al-Duaij

ny observer of the political scene in Kuwait cannot help but notice that there is huge Aemptiness in the debate of politicians and By Labeed Abdal political groups. And if a politician had something to fill some of that emptiness, that thing would in most cases be falsification of facts and principles. Only those who are delusional see something useful in current debates, trailblazing programs in slogans Al-Anbaa and indisputable facts in accusations. [email protected] Since the beginning of the campaign to over- throw the Cabinet or Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad in specific, I have been saying that we need change in vision and approach, not in individuals. And while eputy Prime Minister and Foreign some have reluctantly started talking about political Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah change, the debate in general has remained the reiterated the commitment of His same, in the sense that it addresses what is seen on D Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- the surface while ignores the root causes of the problem. Therefore, the debate targets the results Sabah on encouraging diversification of the instead of the factors that led to the problem. Kuwaiti economy’s sources of income, through We have seen politicians raise the banners of kuwait digest ways that include industry. ‘protecting public funds’ and ‘fighting corruption’ as Sheikh Sabah’s recent statements came during being the main issues and predicaments that peo- the inauguration of the 2014 Kuwait Industries ple face in Kuwait. Some politicians, out of obvious Goodbye, dear Abu Khaled Exhibition, featuring Kuwaiti factories and indus- political immaturity, went as far as demand select- trialists, in an image that reflects high hope in the ing ‘statesmen’ as ministers, and marketing as the By Prof Ghanem Al-Najjar main goal to achieve a true solution for all of local industrial field. The commitment shown by HH the Amir Kuwait’s problems. ur older brother Barjas Al-Barjas (May the Almighty support and backup through mobilizing all KRCS potentials to They are simply blaming management for all have mercy on his soul) was an extraordinary Kuwaiti solve the problem. proves that there are strong factors and base to crises and setbacks on the developmental and polit- Ofigure. His lifelong career and his contributions are The likes of Barjas are very few in Kuwait because they are encourage local production of top quality items ical levels. In their opinion, our problems are a result countless, limitless and borderless. His activities were diverse men who were not hindered by quitting an official post and that bear the ‘Made in Kuwait’ label. Those com- of mismanagement, and governments that are inca- and went on turning all establishments he presided into com- kept on voluntarily working to benefit all people, be that at mitments are required to be met with efforts to pable of controlling the general policy. So they plete successes, enriching them with his personality and push- the health ministry, where he started, in KUNA or in his last encourage inventions, especially those presented believe eliminating or limiting the authority of cer- ing them to real hard work that cannot be missed by any stop in KRCS through which he humanitarianly promoted tain individuals will help things turn better. observer. We met often on various occasions ever since he Kuwait’s name to the farthest and remotest spots on Earth. by young people so that they can feel that their This kind of debate is made by those who ignore used to visit us at Al-Watan and since the article of ‘Dahri bin Honesty speaking, I almost found KRCS present everywhere exceptional works are appreciated. basic facts, which is that the current situation is a Towalah’ during the days of the late Mohammed Musaed Al- during my humanitarian tours over the past 15 years. Despite Many factories, workshops and companies in result of a conflict of interests, as well as cultural, Saleh who used to call him ‘KUNA man’ as he used to helm diseases and fatigue, KRCS tirelessly advocated humanity and Kuwait are based on partnerships with local or social and political differences. It is not a product of KUNA at the time and helped it compete with its rivals world- whenever I came back, I used to meet him to discuss how to wide in a short time during which it had lots of exclusive sto- promote such contributions and develop them to serve foreign companies that have been ongoing for mismanagement or individual acts of corruption. In decades to create commercial elements with irre- addition to that, this kind of debate eliminates the ries and reports. At that time, Abu Khaled’s (Barjas) own mankind. diverse and renewable personality was reflected on KUNA’s, Yes, indeed we lost our older brother Barjas Al-Barjas while placeable economic weight. This thing needs to Kuwaiti citizen from leadership and sovereignty, by giving it a trait of neutrality that was evident when KUNA pub- he was still at the peak of his benevolence and uniqueness. making citizens not responsible or not required to be put in mind when putting together the basics lished the results of the National Council elections in June This nation has every right to be proud of him as kindhearted of the local economy, which is based on the pub- do anything except monitoring and holding 1990, showing the low number of voters taking part, which and benevolent person, who though his heart stopped beat- accountable officials and departments in the state. was against the government’s wish at the time. ing, his contributions to the poor, needy, distressed and crises lic and private sectors, as well as Kuwaiti and The Kuwaiti citizen is primarily responsible for We worked together as members of an academic commit- victims in Syria, Palestine, Somalia, Indonesia, Lebanon and expatriate young men and women. corruption, thefts and general state of idleness in tee entrusted with founding the media section at Kuwait elsewhere will never cease to exist because KRCS is still rich in It is also important to point out the important state departments. Unless the citizen is held University. His remarks formed basic elements of the report people, be that in the board of members and all the way to role that is played by global business councils, accountable and asked to change his approach, we made pending the establishment of the media section at the youngest volunteer, who are no less devoted than Abu such as the Indian, American, British, French, then relying on him to change the state depart- Kuwait University, and hence marked the beginning of a years- Khaled was. ments’ approach would be futile. This is simply long relationship. May Almighty bestow his endless mercy on Barjas Al- Italian, Canadian and Southeast Asian business because it is impossible for a person to give some- After liberation, when things got bad with the government Barjas’ soul. He was truly one of the golden generation figures. councils. Those have long activity in promoting thing he does not have. — Translated by Kuwait as well as amongst us within the Kuwait Society to Defend War May Allah reward him for what he did and condole his family businesses in Kuwait and build bridges of cooper- Times from Al-Qabas Victims over the POWs issue, he was one of the first people and loved ones because Kuwait has really lost an irreplaceable ation with Kuwaiti companies and merchants. who called on the society expressing readiness to provide full human being! — Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Jarida

kuwait digest Respect human, animal rights

By Dr Shamlan Y Al-Essa

ll studies indicate that the advancement and civiliza- city and its suburbs beautiful is the preservation of its natural tion of people are not measured by the wealth they environment. Ahave, nor by the high income of the individual — It is totally forbidden to hurt animals, so you find wild rab- rather they are measured by the extent of these countries’ bits, deer, foxes and coyotes. These animals and birds multiply concern about the human being, his rights, and their interest because people do not harm them, rather you put a box in in environment and animals as well as artistic and literary front of every house, or a natural nest to attract birds and pro- sophistication. vide them with food and water. For that, you find the human I was shocked when I received messages through social being living in a natural protectorate, because people drink media from Kuwait showing how ducks and migrating birds and use underground water, and during dry seasons, it is to Kuwait are deceived and killed in groups during their completely banned to wash cars or overuse water. annual journey to escape the cold of the continent’s north. We, the backward people in the Third World, destroyed This is a regretful and sad matter because we as people and our sea and desert environment by throwing leftovers in the countries do not appreciate nor respect the environment, ani- sea, and not caring for the desert and its animals and birds. mals and birds in our country. I do not understand killing When the government attempted to establish reserves such birds and animals without any realistic justification other than as Sabah Al-Ahmad to preserve plants, animals and birds in amusement, and not understanding the issue of the natural them, we find citizens penetrating the barriers and entering balance of the earth or the environment — those birds feed to shoot and kill birds and animals, not for anything other on insects and worms, so when we eradicate the birds, the than feeling happy in their adventure to kill the environment number of insects and worms increase, so we need danger- and its animals. Some ignorant people who claim that they ous and poisonous chemicals to kill the worms and insects, raise livestock deliberately uproot wild plants such as afraj and with that we contribute to having poisons reach vegeta- (national flower of Kuwait) and other plants in order to feed bles and fruits we eat. their sheep or camels, while no one in the government or citi- I spent the convalescence from my illness period in New zens has taken a strong deterrent stand against enemies of Mexico in historic Santa Fe. The government in this city is nature, birds and animals. Someone may say how do you keen on attracting innovating artists, painters, actors and defend birds and animals and forget the situation of the showbiz people by preserving the natural environment as it oppressed Arab human being in our Arab world, where the is. The houses that were built by the Native Americans, and human being is killed in our Arab and Muslim region for his the Spanish after them, remain as they are - beautiful mud identity and human rights are compromised openly without houses. The ceilings of the houses remind me of old Kuwait. remorse? We said in the beginning, he who does not respect All made of wood and natural mud, as well as thick walls that human and animal rights, does not deserve to live in dignity. make homes warm in winter and cool in summer, making this — Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Watan

kuwait digest Shaddadiya university project

By Dr Hamad Al-Asidan

he landslide that killed two construction workers at the Minister of Education Ahmad Al-Mulaifi plans to resign to Shaddadiya university site brought the issue back to the bear political responsibility over the most recent incident. But Tsurface and added a new wound in the body of the proj- the more important issue pertains with who bears criminal ect that has become a disgrace in the history of Kuwait’s con- and legal responsibility for this incident. A criminal investiga- struction projects. The incident, along with several arsons tion should be conducted in order to determine whether reported at the site in recent years, prove that mega projects neglect on the contractors’ part is involved, and inspect the in Kuwait are not properly monitored or controlled by regula- insurance policy offered for workers who risk their lives work- tions that protect workers and force contractors to meet dead- ing under likely unsafe circumstances. Meanwhile, a legal lines. The Shaddadiya project was supposed to start receiving probe should investigate the reasons behind the delay in fin- students years ago, but was delayed due to slow-paced con- ishing the project, and whether penalty clauses were includ- struction, structural errors and change orders that also result- ed. ed in increasing the project’s cost. Despite regular visits by I believe that the parliament and government should give state officials, the latest of which was conducted by a parlia- the project priority in discussion following the recent inci- mentary delegation led by Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, dent. They need to put an end to a headache that happens nothing has changed at the site. Meanwhile, Kuwait University every time an incident occurs at the project’s site. With that continues to struggle to accept new students every year, being said, I would like to acknowledge minister Mulaifi’s step something that forced the state in recent years to send more that shows a level of political sense that we need in dealing students on scholarships abroad or private universities in with all issues that state departments face. Kuwait. — Translated by Kuwait Timse from Al-Rai WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 LOCAL Consumption overrides productivity in Gulf Kuwait hosts GCC meeting on growth

KUWAIT: The government is currently following absence of a total commitment to set the plan to of Development Planning and Statistics Saleh a policy aimed at transforming the society from immediate and concrete action. Bin Muhammad Al-Nabit applauded a proposal one that is consumption-based to one that is She added that the impediments to develop- at the meeting yesterday by Kuwait calling for productivity-oriented, said Minister of Social ment among Gulf states rested squarely on the the establishment of a GCC center for research Works and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh, in a press lack of such a commitment at the level of gov- and development planning, hoping that it statement after opening here yesterday a GCC ernment agencies and ministries entrusted with would be thoroughly probed and adopted as meeting on growth and development. setting in motion development plans already soon as possible. On his part, deputy secretary Al-Sabeeh, who doubles as State Minister for laid out. general of the supreme council of planning in Planning and Development, said the govern- Oman Talal Al-Rahbi indicated that the meeting ment policy moreover seeks to diversify the Long-term strategies yesterday emphasized the need to uphold the national economy by not having it solely Planning is the easiest part of socio-econom- long-term strategies of the GCC nations visa-vis dependent on income from oil. ic development in the region, she reiterated, but economic growth and development and point- She was speaking having just taken part in the culprit has always been the inaction to ed out that the ministers in the meeting agreed the GCC ministerial council meeting for planning implement what sometimes are considered to to draft millennial targets or objectives regard- and development. Summing up Kuwait’s view at be grandiose plans. She set the blame in a major ing development in the region to be submitted the meeting today, she said that no plan for part on government bureaucracies. subsequently to the UN, perhaps as a draft rep- growth and development could occur in the In a similar press statement, Qatar’s Minister resenting the GCC as a political bloc. —KUNA

KUWAIT: Dr Omar Al-Nuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary of Policies and Strategy, Ministry of Labor in the United Arab Emirates presenting the award to Salma Al- Hajjaj, General Manager- Human Resources at Gulf Bank. Gulf Bank official wins HR excellence award KUWAIT: Gulf Bank yesterday announced a set of new values - Trust, Empathy and that Salma Al-Hajjaj, General Manager - Agility (TEA), which are fundamental Human Resources, has won the ‘HR human values which are essential in main- Professional of the Year’ award for the pri- taining healthy work-place relationships. vate sector at the 6th Annual MENA HR This is in addition to inaugurating the Excellence Awards, which took place dur- Bank’s new training center ‘Durrat Al ing the 9th Annual Human Assets Khaleej’ in February 2014, and her role in Expansion Summit MENA 2014, on May 14 supporting INJAZ Kuwait, a major non- and 15 in Dubai. The award was presented profit, non-governmental organization by Dr Omar Al-Nuaimi, Assistant Under- which is driven by Kuwait’s private sector Secretary of Policies and Strategy, Ministry where she personally dedicates a lot of of Labor in the United Arab Emirates. time to the mentoring and volunteering. Commenting after receiving the award, Al-Hajjaj is also responsible for the Al-Hajjaj said: “I am very honored to receive Bank’s continued emphasis on this prestigious award and for the recogni- Nationalization and employee training and tion it signifies. The Human Resources development through its Learning and team at Gulf Bank is dedicated to delivering Development department, which produces the highest level of service and this award tailor-made packages and training pro- is also a reflection of their hard work, com- grams to enhance staff expertise. mitment and effort. The 9th Annual Human Assets “At Gulf Bank we believe that our human Expansion Summit MENA 2014 aims to capital is our most valuable asset and we connect HR professionals from leading strive to create a culture that nurtures tal- organizations in the region and recognize ent and creates great career opportunities individuals and organizations for excel- for our people. We value teamwork and lence in the HR function. The three-day empowerment above all else and we will summit was designed to facilitate knowl- continue to focus on these aspects as we edge sharing regarding the most pressing work with our fellow employees in devel- issues facing HR professionals in the region. oping their knowledge and abilities.” Each year the MENA HR Excellence Awards Al-Hajjaj was presented her award for are held to recognize outstanding achieve- the success she has achieved since joining ments by individuals and organizations in KUWAIT: The Civil Defence conducted a mock evacuation at Saeed bin Amer Secondary School, along with the Fire Directorate and Medical Gulf Bank. This includes implementing the advancing the HR function in their respec- Emergencies Department. The exercise was successful, as it took only four minutes to evacuate the school. —Photos by Hanan Al-Saadoun HR vision “Be The Change”, accompanied by tive organizations. LOCAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

KUWAIT: Sebamed stall at the open health awareness day.— Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Health awareness day in Hawally

KUWAIT: West Hawally Health Center organized an open health awareness day as the public were given information on diseases such as MERS and could check their blood pressure, blood sugar levels and lipids. Hawally Health Zone Director Dr Abdelaziz Al-Farhoud opened the event along with Dr Muna, the West Hawally Health Center Director, as well as other health ministry offi- cials. Sebamed and Al-Sanabel Al-Thahabiya were among a number of companies that contributed to the event. Al- Sanabel’s Ayman Sharaa said company officials are keen on participating in all events, bearing in mind that medical information is continually updated. He said Sebamed is keen on the scientific aspect of its products that care about the skin and make sure it stays healthy. He added that Sebamed is always working on developing new products that keep the human skin in top condition from head to toe. Sharaa said that Sebamed products are used by children as young as a day old. Kuwait, Prague discuss KG student run over cooperation in heavy industries outside Jahra school PRAGUE: An economic Kuwaiti delegation aims to Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the International develop cooperation in heavy industries with Czech Financial Advisors (IFA) Saleh Al-Selmi said the visit is Republic during a visit. an opportunity to develop investments between the The meeting is discussing developing Kuwaiti- two sides, which is the main element of a strong Travel ban delays Egyptian deportation Czech economic and commercial ties, member of economy. Officials will also showcase the recent Kuwait Commerce and Industry Chamber Osama Al- urban development in Kuwait during their meeting KUWAIT: A kindergarten student died after he was run ‘Hypnotized’ woman Nesif said yesterday, after meeting with officials from with representatives of different Czech heavy indus- over outside his school in Jahra on Sunday. The 5-year-old Police are looking to arrest an alleged therapist to the Czech Chamber of Commerce. try companies, he added. Egyptian boy was rushed to Jahra Hospital in a critical con- answer for attempted sexual assault accusations pressed The countries’ economic relations are limited, Kuwait is planning to send similar delegations to dition, but succumbed to his injuries minutes later. by a client. The Arab woman told officers at Salwa police unlike political ties said Al-Nesif, noting that Czech different countries to benefit from their experitise in Preliminary investigations indicate that the child was cross- station that she sought the man’s help based on a recom- Republic celebrates its 50-year anniversary of the the industry, said member of Kuwait Industries ing the street after exiting the school when a car hit him. mendation from a friend who told her that he can help her start of diplomatic ties with Kuwait in May 2013. Union Khalid Al-Mudhaf. The driver, an Indian man, was in police custody for ques- with spiritual therapy. The woman said that she was ‘hyp- This visit is the first of its kind for the Kuwaiti side, The Kuwaiti delegation, headed by Deputy Prime tioning. The boy was among the children who attended a notized’ by the suspect, and woke up to find herself lying he noted, adding that Czech Republic had previously Minister and Minister of Commerce and Industry graduation ceremony at the school on the same day of his on a bed while the man was preparing to rape her. She sent a few similar delegations to Kuwait.Moreover, Abdulmohsen Al-Mudeij, includes representatives of death, according to the news report. screamed for help, prompting the man to cover her mouth he hoped the two countries would organize exhibi- Kuwait Industries Union, Union of Investment In another case, a pedestrian succumbed to fatal with his hand. She was able to free herself, escaped and tions and showcase Czech products which Kuwait Companies (UIC) and Kuwait Chamber of Commerce injuries after he was run over in Salmiya on the Fourth Ring headed to the police station to report the case, according could import. and Industry.— KUNA Road Monday morning. The man was pronounced dead at to her statements. She gave full information of the man to the scene before criminal investigators were summoned. police, including his phone number Investigations are They transported the body to the forensic department ongoing. after examining the scene. Firefighters handled the inci- dent and called police as the accident happened while Surra vandalism they were returning to the fire station, in front of which the Surra police are looking to arrest two young men on accident happened. A case was filed for investigations. suspicions of damaging 11 cars that belong to relatives of a senior government official who lives in the area. Adel Al- Egyptian deportation Falah, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Fourteen Egyptian men arrived in Cairo Monday morn- Affairs, gave local police the identity of two men who he ing after they were deported from Kuwait over accusations said had assaulted his son over a year ago. The suspects of staging an unlicensed demonstration. Meanwhile, a fif- were eventually sentenced to one year in jail, which led teenth detainee was remanded in Kuwaiti authorities’ cus- Falah to speculate that they carried out a ‘revenge’ attack tody as police seek to sort out issues that resulted in a trav- shortly following their release. Criminal Evidence el ban against him. The men were arrested over the week- Department personnel lifted fingerprints from the cars end after they stepped outside a bus on the coastal road in which had their windows, windshields and exteriors dam- Abu Halifa and shouted slogans in support of Egyptian aged. Investigations are ongoing. presidential candidate Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. ‘Abusive’ ex at large Search for pedophile A man is wanted for multiple charges after he beat his Farwaniya detectives are looking to identify and arrest a girlfriend and escaped arrest in Dajeej. Police headed to a man who molested a child in a building in the area, accord- location in the area after receiving an emergency call from ing to a case filed with local police. A librarian approached a woman saying that her ex-boyfriend assaulted her physi- officers at Farwaniya police station Monday and told them cally and verbally. They found the offender in his car in an that his daughter was molested in the elevator on her way open yard. But when they approached him, he hit the to their apartment. The suspect reportedly followed the patrol vehicle, insulted the policemen and fled. Police then 14-year-old who ran away when he hit an 8-year-old girl questioned the complainant about her relationship with who was playing with her. The man followed the girls to the suspect. She said that he assaulted her after she broke the lift, where he molested the older one, then ran away up with him because of his abusive behavior. A case was after the door opened. The girls also said that the man filed and investigations are ongoing. The man faces molested the second child as well, and added that he did charges of battery assault, verbal assault, insulting a police not back down even when they screamed for help. officer on duty and evading arrest. Zain lead partner of Knowledge Club

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading telecommuni- cations company in Kuwait, announced yesterday its lead partnership of the ‘Knowledge Club 2014’, a comprehensive series of in-depth seminars and workshops that cover topics relating to overcoming business challenges and excelling in the many fields of business. The event is organized by Vigor Events. Zain’s lead partnership of the compre- hensive event highlights the company’s desire to present the community with valuable resources that increase knowl- edge and develop skills. Participants will attend seminars and workshops during the course of the year led by worldwide economic, financial, social and cultural Responsibility program towards its own the importance of providing a platform thought leaders. The first seminar com- employees. that brings together international experts menced on May 18 and the following sem- Aside from Cockerell, this year’s pro- from several areas such as economics, inars and workshops will continue through gram will also feature Doug Lipp, the for- finance, marketing, and social fields to until December 2014. mer Head of Training at Disney’s Corporate offer a range of realistic solutions to the The opening seminar was held at the Headquarters; Paul Rigby, a regular challenges faced by institutions. Hilton Hotel and was entitled ‘You Can keynote speaker at global industry confer- The seminars and workshops will cover Create Disney Magic Too’. It was hosted by ences; Shirley Taylor, an expert in business many topics that highlight the secrets of Lee Cockerell, the former Executive Vice writing and success skills; Robin Sharma, successful management, talent develop- President of Operations at Walt Disney one of the world’s most trusted leadership ment, developing leadership skills for Parks and Resorts, who highlighted the advisors; Jairek Robbins, a mission-focused executive management, enhancing team- Ten Common Sense Leadership strategies individual specializing in developing cre- work skills, innovation secrets, and inter- that made Disney the best service brand in ative solutions for accelerating results; and personal and innovation development. the world and how an organization’s Verne Harnish, keynote speaker and CEO Zain’s lead partnership with the employees can keep up with the ongoing of Gazelles Inc. Knowledge Club2014 is aimed at support- changes and challenges to provide better This integrated program of training ing the development of human resources, service to customers. The world renowned sessions will bring together a selection of and the company firmly believes that by speaker also discussed how employees the most famous authors, trainers, and strengthening its relationship with the can become outstanding leaders and consultants to provide participants with society in which it operates in, benefits will achieve extraordinary business results. the opportunity to identify the most accrue to all members of society. Zain has reserved specified seats in all important challenges facing institutions Zain will continue to support similar seminars and workshops for its employ- and enterprises and also offer a compre- programs as part of its learning and devel- ees, giving them an opportunity to attend hensive climate of analytical exchange of opment strategies for both its staff and the and gain valuable information from ideas and debates that contribute to the wider community. Zain considers its knowledgeable speakers, business leaders, production of realistic solutions to resolve employees as the company’s most valu- and worldwide authors. This comes as part those challenges. As a leading telecommu- able asset and will continue investing in of Zain’s comprehensive Corporate Social nications company, Zain acknowledges them rigorously. WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 British hate preacher CIA ‘will no longer use’ vaccination programs as cover Abu Hamza convicted

Page 12 Page 9 Modi to be sworn in on May 26 PM-elect fights tears in first address to parliament

NEW DELHI: India’s president yesterday addressed BJP lawmakers filling more invited opposition Hindu nationalist than half the seats of the lower house party leader Narendra Modi to form a with uplifting words that commenta- new government and set next Monday tors immediately contrasted with the as his swearing-in date. Modi met with often wooden addresses of his prede- President Pranab Mukherjee after he cessor Manmohan Singh. was formally chosen by his party as the “It is proof of the strength of our next prime minister, just days after a constitution that a man from a poor resounding victory in national elec- family is standing here today,” said tions. Modi, who sold tea on a railway plat- “The president has given me a letter form as a child before entering politics. for swearing-in on May 26,” Modi told For the past 12 years he has governed reporters. “Congratulations,” said the state of Gujarat. “This government Mukherjee, as he greeted Modi with a (will be) one which thinks of the poor, bouquet of flowers in the president’s which listens to the poor, a government palace. which lives for the people,” said Modi, Earlier yesterday, Modi bent and who kissed the steps of the pink sand- kissed the steps of India’s Parliament, stone parliament building before his where he met the newly elected law- speech. His comments appeared makers of his Bharatiya Janata Party. designed to counter criticism that his Modi fought back tears in an emotional record of business-focused govern- first address to his party in India’s colon- ment and fast economic growth in naded parliament house yesterday, Gujarat did not do enough to lift peo- after the Hindu nationalist swept to ple from poverty. Congress has tradi- power in an election that has changed tionally cast itself as India’s champion of the face of politics in the country. Modi the poor and downtrodden. will be India’s next prime minister after leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Long live Modi! to a historic victory in a ballot that end- Modi faces a huge task in meeting ed on Friday. He is likely to take his oath the sky-high expectations of India’s 1.2 of office to lead the world’s biggest billion people, who hope he can drag democracy on Monday. the country from economic torpor, NEW DELHI: India’s next prime minister and Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narendra Modi greets the gathering during a meeting The win handed the BJP its first par- tackle corruption and cut red tape in of the party’s newly elected lawmakers in New Delhi yesterday. —AP liamentary majority and reduced the order to create enough jobs for its bur- Nehru-Gandhi dynasty’s ruling geoning youth. With thunderous Pranab Mukherjee, who has little politi- are first-time MPs. Dressed in clothes India’s governments had worked for the Congress in stature. Before the 2014 Congress party to 44 seats, the lowest applause and shouts of “Long live cal power but, as head of state, has the ranging from multi-colored Rajasthani good of the country. Party president elections, politics used to be BJP versus ever tally for a party that won India’s Modi!” the 282 BJP members, who com- task of formally appointing the prime turbans to bright saris and white cotton Rajnath Singh was less conciliatory, say- Congress, now it’s BJP versus the others,” independence and has ruled for most fortably make up a majority in the 543- minister. The parliamentarians, who pyjama suits, the members listened as ing that Modi’s victory meant the BJP said Singh. Modi also cast his view for- of the 67 years since. Modi, 63, choked seat house, officially chose him as their travelled from as far afield as the icy Modi paid homage to party elders he had replaced Congress as the natural ward and promised to repeat his tireless up and stopped his speech to drink parliamentary leader, one of several for- Himalayan plateaus and the palm- pushed aside in his rise to power. party of government in India. “With campaigning in five years’ time to take water during his inaugural appearance malities before he is sworn in. fronded southern tip of the subconti- He also avoided criticism of the out- pride we can say that we are members the BJP to an unprecedented two full, in the round, colonial-era building. He Modi was later due to visit President nent, included dozens who, like Modi, going Congress party, saying all of of a party that is now bigger than the consecutive terms in office.—Agencies INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Pope prepares for ‘high-wire act’ in Middle East

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis will be treading on sen- noted Francis was well placed for inter-faith out- Benedict XVI had defended Pius XII and caused religions and I am thinking particularly of dialogue sitive ground on an upcoming trip to the Middle reach. “Francis may carry less baggage than any uproar when he reinstated an archaic prayer for the with Islam”. East that is intended to promote inter-faith dialogue pope who has ever visited the Holy Land,” Allen said. conversion of Jews. Benedict also quoted a mediae- French cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who leads the but has already sparked protests from ultra-ortho- “As a non-European, Francis isn’t associated by most val description of Islam as “evil” in a speech that was Vatican’s Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, said dox Jews and radical Islamists. The Argentine pontiff Jews with anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, while misinterpreted but still led to a breakdown in ties Francis has emphasized a “dialogue of friendship” will be accompanied part of the way by two old most Muslims don’t tie him to the Crusades or the with Sunni Muslims. with other religions. But it would be hard for Francis friends from Buenos Aires-Rabbi Abraham Skorka ‘clash of civilizations’”, he said. Bergoglio’s ties to the to avoid delicate topics altogether on a trip to the and Islamic studies professor Omar Abboud-in a Jewish and Muslim communities when he was arch- ‘Dialogue of friendship’ Middle East. There will be a close watch on how he conciliatory gesture that hopes to stave off criticism. bishop of Buenos Aires showed a focus on construc- Francis immediately set a different tone. When he refers to Jewish settlements, Palestinian refugees, But a spate of Israeli hate crimes against local tive ways of working together to help the needy, was elected by fellow cardinals last year, Jorge the West Bank security barrier and the Palestinian Muslims and Christians is souring relations ahead of rather than addressing the burdens of the past. Bergoglio chose to be named after St Francis of Territories themselves-which the Vatican in 2012 rec- the visit and Shiite group Hezbollah is angry about a Francis has also proved adept at steering clear of Assisi, an Italian saint who is particularly respected in ognized as an independent state. Israel and the visit to Israel by Lebanese Maronite Patriarch the most controversial issues like the Church’s saint- the Muslim world for his role as a peacemaker dur- Vatican are also still at odds over management of Beshara Rai to meet the pontiff. John Allen, a hood cause for pope Pius XII, who has been accused ing the Crusades. Just days after his election, the key holy sites in Jerusalem after more than 20 years Vatican expert at the Boston Globe, said the visit of failing to speak out against the extermination of new pontiff told a group of foreign ambassadors: “It of negotiations-an issue that has led to protest by would be “a religious and political high-wire act” but Jews by Nazi Germany. In contrast, his predecessor is important to intensify dialogue among the various ultra-orthodox Jews in the run-up to the visit. — AFP Tartus - supplier of ‘martyrs’ for Assad

TARTUS: Tartus has itself largely escaped the conflict in brother who died in a 1994 car crash, to collect the bodies. Syria, but posters of its sons killed fighting for the regime elsewhere in the country line the western city’s main road. A ‘human reservoir’ A wall in the central bus station is a tapestry of pictures of Observatory director Abdel Rahman calls Syria’s coastal the dead, most of them young, posing in fatigues with area, where most residents share Assad’s Alawite faith, “the Kalashnikovs. There are also photographs of President human reservoir for the regime”. “They have taken advan- Bashar Al-Assad and his father and predecessor Hafez al- tage of the confessional discourse of certain Islamist Assad, as well as the Syrian flag and sometimes images of groups who talk about fighting the Nusayris (a derogatory Jesus Christ. One shows a young man posing like Rambo, a term for Alawites) to promote Alawite recruitment,” he said. cartridge belt around his bare torso as he cradles a “They fight to the end, convinced that it’s either Bashar or machinegun. Many shops in the city of 90,000 display large the end of the Alawites.” In Tartus cemetery, Syrian flags posters proclaiming the “Glory of the Unknown Soldier”. In flutter above dozens of graves, many bearing photos of the Martyrs Square, banners list those who fell battling “terror- deceased. Some are marked only with numbers because ism”, the regime term for Assad’s opponents. More than the victims are unidentified. 162,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict The governor says residents sign up to fight for eco- began in March 2011 with a harsh government crackdown nomic and ideological reasons. “The region is poor. on anti-Assad protests. While coastal Tartus has remained There’s not much agricultural land, no factories, and few relatively insulated from actual fighting, its residents have service sector jobs, so many people join the army,” he swelled the ranks of the army and pro-regime militia, the said. But, he added: “We mustn’t forget that this is the National Defense Force. only province where illiteracy has been eradicated. “Tartus has been called the capital of martyrs because “People who know how to read and write have under- it’s the province with the highest proportional number of stood the scale of the conspiracy against their country TARTUS: Syrians take part in the funeral of a soldier, who died during the Syrian conflict, at the Martyr’s cemetery casualties in the army and the NDF-4,200 killed, 2,000 and want to stop it.” In September 2013, the government of the city of Tartus northwest of Damascus. — AFP wounded and 2,000 missing,” Tartus governor Nizar Mussa created a “martyrs’ affairs” office in each province to help said. “There isn’t a district, a village that doesn’t have its relatives of those killed. share of victims,” he said. The director of the Syrian “Every day around 100 widows and orphans come to Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor me and I try to help them with what the state has allocat- Renegade ex-general tracking the war’s casualties, puts the number even higher, ed,” said Mona Ibrahim who heads the Tartus bureau. Her saying around half of the 60,000 regime fighters killed own husband was killed in 2011 in Baba Amr in Homs. come from Tartus. They have died in clashes countrywide. Fabrice Balanche, a French geographer who specializes in “Tartus’s borders are limited not by those of the Syria, says Tartus is 80 percent Alawite, 10 percent Sunni, steps into Libya fray province, but of Syria as a whole,” said Ahmed Khaddur nine percent Christian and one percent Ismaili. Of the Abu Hadi after burying his brother Hassan, 40, an NDF Alawites, 90 percent are employed by the state, in the fighter. He was killed in Kasab near the border with Turkey. bureaucracy or the army. “When the crisis began, the (pro- West fears chaos could spread to Libya neighbors “People from Tartus are fighting in Latakia and Aleppo regime) ‘shabiha’ militias were created and then the provinces or in Qalamun (near Damascus). They go every- National Defense Force to support the army,” Balanche said. where and fall as martyrs in defense of the nation,” he “Then the reservists were called up. All the men between TRIPOLI: When a dispute erupted over attacked. After the assault, it was not February statement, diplomats said added, his sister-in-law weeping beside him. Mussa says 20 and 40 in Alawite areas are serving under the flag,” he dissolving Libya’s parliament last even clear whether Maiteeq would be Haftar had campaigned, mainly in east- that more than a dozen ambulances go daily to Latakia’s added. “They respond to the call because defending the February, a former general dressed in full able to get lawmakers to hold a session ern Libya, reaching out to tribes and Bassel al-Assad airport, named after the president’s older regime means defending their community.”— AFP army uniform made a surprise television to approve his government. “Tripoli can- militias to drum up support for his posi- broadcast calling on the military to “res- not become a battleground for political tion. cue” the country. Flanked by a Libyan disputes,” Tripoli local council said in a At least in Benghazi, the regular air flag and a large map, retired Major statement. “We hold the local Qaaqaa force appeared to join his troops with General Khalifa Haftar demanded a care- brigade responsible for the violence.” helicopters attacking Islamist bases taker government take over from a par- there. An air force unit in Tobruk on liament paralyzed by rivalries after the One among many Monday pledged support and, more sig- 2011 war that ended Muammar Since the NATO-backed war against nificantly, a special forces brigade chief Gaddafi’s rule. Quickly, rumors of troop Gaddafi, Western powers have struggled also backed him. Support in the east is movements fed coup fears. But no tanks to help a fragile Libyan government gain less surprising. His attacks in Benghazi rolled into the streets, and many dis- a secure footing, with growing interna- mostly targeted Islamists like Ansar al missed Haftar as a would-be putschist. tional concern as Libya’s instability Sharia - blamed for leading an assault on Libyans already knew the grey-haired threatens to spill across to its neighbors. the US consulate in the city in 2012 ex-officer who first rebelled against Algeria’s government last week sent when ambassador Christopher Stevens Gaddafi in the 1980s. Now he is back Special Forces into Tripoli to evacuate its and three other Americans died, and centre-stage after groups of militias ambassador and closed down its branded a terrorist organisation by claiming loyalty to him attacked parlia- embassy after what sources said was an Washington. Many Benghazi residents ment in Tripoli on Sunday and assaulted Al-Qaeda threat. The United States has and troops there are frustrated at the Benghazi to clear out Islamist militants. temporarily moved about 250 Marines lack of support to halt assassinations Two regular military units have already and a number of aircraft to Sicily from and bombings in the city where mili- backed Haftar’s self-declared Libyan Spain as a precaution due to concerns tants often openly operate their check- National Army, making him one more about unrest, bolstering the US ability to points. Some Haftar backers are even player in an emerging confrontation between rival brigades of former anti- Gaddafi rebels who are Libya’s real powerbrokers. With Libya’s new army still in training, two loose confederacies of ex-fighters are lined up with Islamist and anti- Islamist political forces and locked in an uneasy balance of power where neither is able to overcome the other. Haftar’s movement and the violence in Tripoli and Benghazi may signal an attempt to draw up a broader anti-Islamist front that risks a wider-scale battle over the North African OPEC state still struggling to shape its fragile democracy. “Politically we are in limbo until things become clearer. Both in Benghazi and Tripoli, security is very fragile,” one Western diplomat said. “I question how coordinated it was between Haftar and others, but they have common interests. It may be a marriage of convenience.” On BENGHAZI: Armed men loyal to elite Libyan unit’s commander Colonel one side, the Zintanis, in the western Wanis Abu Khamada are seen in the eastern city of Benghazi. — AFP mountains, and their allied Qaaqaa and Sawaiq brigades in Tripoli, are fiercely evacuate its citizens in any crisis. drawing comparisons to Egypt’s former anti-Islamist and back the National “We’re obviously watching the situa- army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who Forces Alliance, a coalition of nationalist tion very closely as the unrest continues removed the Muslim Brotherhood from parties led by an ex-Gaddafi official. to worsen,” a US defense official said on power and is now frontrunner in the Lined up broadly against them are condition of anonymity. “We’re postur- country’s presidential elections next the Misratan brigades, based in the port ing as best we can; we’re watching as week. “Haftar is probably positioning city of Misrata, who are Islamist-leaning best we can.” Complicating Libya’s secu- himself as a strongman. Lots of Libyans and support the political wing of the rity, thousands of militia fighters have are saying they need that,” one diplomat Muslim Brotherhood, along with other semi-official status on the government said. “He is saying all the right things.” Islamist brigades and their allies. The payroll and are linked to the ministries of potential for more widespread con- defense and interior in an attempt bid to Instability to come? frontation was apparent on Sunday co-opt them into loyalty to the state. One key factor will the support of when gunmen with anti-aircraft cannons How much support Haftar can gain in Ibrahim Jathran, the former anti-Gaddafi attacked parliament, triggering skirmish- the country’s fledgling armed forces or, rebel who has taken over oil ports since es across Tripoli among regular forces, more importantly, among the network last summer in an attempt to force and pro- and anti-Islamist factions. of rebels is difficult to judge in a country Tripoli to give more federal rights to self- It is not clear if Haftar forces were where alliances run across tribal, region- declared eastern Cyrenica region. He even involved in the Tripoli clashes, al and political lines. had agreed with Maiteeq’s predecessor though one of his allies, Brigadier- But he has a long pedigree as a rebel to steadily lift his blockade of four key General Saqer Al-Joroushi, claimed commander. A former Gaddafi ally, he ports and help bring Libya’s battered oil Haftar’s troops worked with the Qaaqaa joined Libya’s former leader in a 1969 shipments back to normal. But Jathran and Sawaiq brigades. The two groups coup that bought the autocrat to power. has since rejected the new premier, sus- did not confirm any role. But officials But he later fell out with Gaddafi over pended his deal and backed Haftar. and diplomats said Tripoli’s violence may the country’s war in Chad in 1980s. “The latest events are potentially a have been a Qaaqaa attempt to thwart According to a report on Haftar by US watershed; Haftar is trying to put Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq, who got think-tank The Jamestown Foundation, together a loose coalition of forces, backing by the Muslim Brotherhood and he also had past backing from the US including the Zintanis and Jathran’s fed- is seen by critics as pro-Islamist. He had Central Intelligence Agency. He spent 20 eralists, to counter the power of the just submitted his cabinet names to the years in the United States before return- Islamist camp,” said Riccardo Fabiani at parliament on Sunday when gunmen ing to lead rebels in 2011. Since his Eurasia Group. —Reuters INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Swedish booming industry stirs up ethical concerns Peace-loving Sweden ‘arming dictators’ LINKOPING: Alongside a global reputation for regimes accused of human rights abuses, peacemaking and generous foreign aid, including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan, as Sweden has become a major world supplier of demand from Western nations has declined weapons counting a number of regimes criti- since the Cold War ended. cized for human rights abuses among its cus- tomers. Ranked the third largest arms exporter Arming dictators per capita after Israel and Russia, Sweden’s “Swedes see themselves as very ethical and booming industry has stirred up ethical con- restrictive when it comes to giving human cerns among Swedes about some countries it rights violators or dictators things that help is doing business with. them stay in power. But the reality is that has In a hangar in the heart of Sweden’s mili- happened,” said Siemon Wezeman, an arms tary-industrial complex, Saab technicians are expert at the Stockholm International Peace building an assembly line for the next genera- Research Institute (SIPRI). “In the last decade or tion of Gripen fighters-at least 60 destined for so they’ve been more open to it, because those the Swedish airforce-equipped with state-of- are the markets,” he added. “In the past they the-art warfare systems and larger weapons wouldn’t have done business with Saudi Arabia bays. The Gripen E, designed to stand up to due to human rights concerns-it’s obviously a Russia’s best warplanes, boasts a unique net- place that rings all kinds of alarm bells-but that working system allowing planes to communi- has changed... They’ve sold them Eriye (radar cate and divide up tasks such as detecting, tracking systems) and anti-tank missiles and electronic jamming and firing, Saab operations marketed other weapons there.”Other sales chief Lars Ydreskog told AFP during a recent have been clandestine. In 2012, Swedish public visit to the plant in Linkoeping. radio revealed that the national defense LONDON: In this file photo, Muslim cleric Mustafa Kamel Mustafa arrives with a masked bodyguard to conduct Friday prayers in the street out- “It was this tactical way of working that was research agency has provided Saudi Arabia side the closed Finsbury Park Mosque in London. The 55-year-old Egyptian cleric, who also goes by the alias Abu Hamza Al-Masri, was found noticed by Brazil and Switzerland,” he said, with covert technical support for a missile fac- guilty on Monday, May 19, 2014 in federal court in New York of providing material support to terrorist organizations. — AP referring to the recent selection of Saab’s fight- tory, leading to the resignation of a defense er jet over stiff French and US competition- minister and the launch of an inquiry into new even though Swiss voters rejected the deal in ethical criteria for weapons sales. One of the last weekend’s referendum. Saab and other most controversial Swedish exports, the Saab- British hate preacher Sweden-based firms including BAE Systems made Carl Gustav rocket launcher-used by US and Bofors have been hugely successful in the armed forces and other armies around the 2000s, last year alone selling weapons and world-has reportedly fallen into the hands of defense material to 55 countries to the tune of groups that Sweden would not normally trade $1.8 billion (1.3 billion euros). But critics charge with, including Myanmar’s military and al- Abu Hamza convicted that Sweden has become more inclined to arm Shebab Islamists in Somalia. —AFP

NEW YORK: A New York jury convicted British 12 hours over two days to reach the unani- News hate preacher Abu Hamza on 11 kidnapping mous verdict. One member of the jury, who and terrorism charges Monday, opening the did not want to disclose his identity, said they in brief way for a judge to impose what will almost tried to follow the judge’s guidelines in reach- certainly be a life sentence. The hook-handed ing a verdict. The Yemen counts were “easier” imam, who became a tabloid bogeyman in to decide, the juror said, describing Abu Israel ‘experts’ in Nigeria Britain at the Finsbury Park mosque in Hamza’s views on 9/11 as “very disturbing.” JERUSALEM: Israel has sent two ‘anti-terror experts’ London, showed no reaction as the guilty ver- His defense lawyer Jeremy Schneider vowed to Nigeria to join the search for hundreds of school- dict was returned on all counts following a to appeal, questioning the speed of the jury’s girls kidnapped by extremist Islamist group Boko four-week trial. deliberations and said they had “focused on Haram, an Israeli security source said yesterday. Judge Katherine Forrest will return to the his words, not in his acts.” “There are in Nigeria two advisers who have dealt in Manhattan courtroom on September 9 to terrorist matters in the past,” he said. “They were sent sentence Abu Hamza and wrap up what was Grueling cross-examination there by the state to help.” The pair were not currently the second high-profile terror trial in New In the hostage-taking, Abu Hamza was serving as intelligence personnel for the Israeli gov- York in three months. Campaigners will seize found guilty of providing the Islamist kidnap- ernment. “They are not soldiers, not officers. They are on the trial as further proof that US terror cas- pers with a satellite phone, acting as an inter- not part of the security system,” the source added. On es could be tried more effectively in civilian mediary and dispensing advice by telephone May 11, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu courts as pressure builds to close the from home. Two of the hostages were called Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan with an Guantanamo Bay prison camp. In March, Americans. The jury also convicted him of try- offer to help search for more than 200 schoolgirls kid- another New York jury also found Osama bin ing to set up a terror training camp in Oregon napped by Boko Haram. “We are prepared to help in Laden’s son-in-law and former Al-Qaeda in 1999 and, from his London base, of pro- locating the girls and to fight the cruel terror which spokesman, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, guilty in a moting “violent jihad” on a global scale. Blind has struck you,” Netanyahu’s office quoted him as lightning-quick trial a year after his arrest. in one eye and with both hands blown off by telling the president. Jonathan accepted immediately. “With each efficiently delivered guilty ver- an explosives experiment in Pakistan, he “President Jonathan welcomed the offer by Mr dict against a top Al-Qaeda-linked figure, the compared himself to Irish republican leader Netanyahu to send a team of Israeli counter-terror- debate over how to best seek justice in these Gerry Adams and spoke of his love for Osama ism experts to assist in the ongoing search and rescue cases is quietly being put to rest,” said attor- bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda mastermind killed by operations,” the Nigerian leader’s office said. Specialist ney general Eric Holder. US forces in May 2011. teams from the United States, Britain, and France “These trials demonstrate that in an He denied all the charges, though he have been sent to help in the search operation, which American civilian courtroom, the American acknowledged he occasionally used strong Nigeria’s military has said is concentrated on the people and all the victims of terrorism can be words in his sermons and fiery speeches- Sambisa forest area of Borno state. vindicated without sacrificing our principles,” numerous extracts of which were played for said Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, US the jury. He admitted supplying the satellite 500 migrants rescued attorney Preet Bharara. Mustafa Kamel phone to the Islamist group that kidnapped MILAN: The Italian Navy has rescued nearly 500 Mustafa, 56, better known in Britain as Abu the Australian, British and US tourists in migrants, including 100 children, in an all-night Hamza al-Masri, was charged with the 1998 Yemen, but said he was only told of the operation. The Navy said in a release that the abduction of Western tourists in Yemen, pro- abduction after the fact. He said he threw migrants were rescued yesterday from two boats, viding material support to Al-Qaeda, assisting away a fax in which a young man who attend- tied together because one motor failed. The opera- the Taliban and sending terror recruits to ed his mosque told him of plans to build a tion off the Sicilian coast was complicated by rough Afghanistan. It took the 12-member jury just jihad training camp in Oregon in 1999. —AFP seas, and the Navy first dropped life preservers into the boats before moving the migrants onto a Navy vessel. Most were from Syria, Egypt and Bangladesh. Save the Children has expressed concern about the large number of unaccompanied minors arriving in the latest wave of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty, usually aboard unseaworthy boats. More than 20,000 migrants have landed in Italy so far this year, 10 times more than the same period last year.

Darfur fighting kills 4 KHARTOUM: Fighting between government and militia forces erupted in a city in Sudan’s Darfur yes- terday, killing four and ending an uneasy calm after the region’s worst unrest in a decade, sources said. “They are fighting inside El Fasher town-heavy fight- ing,” one resident told AFP by telephone, adding he could not identify the combatants, although some were in uniform. Continuous gunfire was audible over the phone line as he spoke. A medical source-who asked not to be further identified-said the bodies of four people were brought to hospital in the town. Three of the dead were “soldiers” but it was not clear from which force. The other victim was a woman, the source said. Government troops were trying to “flush out a militia” active in one of the town’s neighbor- hoods, a humanitarian source said. “This is an area which has seen quite some criminality,” including shooting around a UN warehouse, said the source, asking for anonymity. The authorities apparently “decided that it was enough... and they needed to bring this part under control again.” Over the past two years, Sudan’s deteriorating economy has led to wors- ening crime and intercommunal clashes in Darfur, a February report by UN chief Ban Ki-moon said, adding that some cash-poor paramilitaries had joined tribal militia fighting over gold and other resources.

Taleban kidnap Chinese PESHAWAR: Taleban gunmen have kidnapped a Chinese tourist in northwest Pakistan, close to the militant-infested tribal areas, officials and an insur- gent commander said yesterday. The man is the lat- est foreigner to be seized by militants in Pakistan. At least five others are known to be currently captive, including the elderly US aid worker Warren Weinstein, held since August 2011. The Chinese man was abducted on Monday from Daraban, in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province close to the border with Baluchistan province and South Waziristan trib- al district, both of which are rife with insurgents. Officials said the man was apparently passing through the area by bike when he was taken. “We have recovered his bicycle and his travelling bag and have registered a case of kidnapping,” said Mohammad Salim Khan who heads the police sta- tion in the remote area, around 50 kilometers south- west of the city of Dera Ismail Khan. It was not clear exactly what the Chinese national was doing in the remote region but police said he entered from Baluchistan. INTERNATIONAL WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Eurosceptics shun each other for fear of being tainted

PARIS: It was meant to be the campaign launch of a new alent of the US “Tea Party”, were shut out of television The German anti-euro party founded last year, voters think Le Pen is racist, 63 percent say she is “coura- Eurosceptic alliance, but the planned April 16 meeting debates for the EU election ostensibly because they did Alternative for Germany, regards all the populist groups, geous”. Those numbers imply a substantial overlap. starring France’s Marine Le Pen and Dutchman Geert not nominate a joint candidate for president of the execu- including UKIP, as too radical to be respectable partners Wilders in Strasbourg, home of the European Parliament, tive European Commission. and says it would prefer to ally with Britain’s relatively Respectable never took place. Five months after the two far right lead- Le Pen’s National Front (FN) cited strategy reasons for Eurosceptical governing Conservative party. In an inter- A strong supporter of Israel, Wilders was long reluc- ers, who oppose the euro currency and European Union scrapping the Strasbourg meeting, denying it had any- view with Reuters in February, Farage said the worst thing tant to have anything to do with the National Front membership, announced in The Hague they were team- thing to do with the Dutch Freedom Party leader’s com- that could happen to UKIP, which campaigns for Britain to because Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie, who founded the FN ing up to create an influential group in the assembly, they ment in March that he would make sure the Netherlands leave the EU, would be if it were associated with racism. in 1972, had convictions for anti-Semitic hate speech and no longer wanted to be seen together in public. The had “fewer Moroccans”. The Austrian party got into trou- While Le Pen had worked to detoxify her party, he said, justifying Nazi war crimes. After Marine Le Pen took over scrapping of the jamboree highlighted a dilemma facing. ble at the same time when one of its two top candidates, there was still a whiff of anti-Semitism. Likewise, Wilders’ in 2011 and set about renovating the party’s image, Europe’s insurgent populists, forecast to make spectacular Andreas Moelzer, said the EU was in danger of becoming virulent attacks on Islam were too much for Farage. expelling skinheads and focusing her anti-immigration gains in this week’s 28-nation election to the EU legisla- a “conglomerate of negroes”. He was made to step down. Le Pen and Wilders shrug off his criticism as tactical, discourse on public displays of Islam, the Dutchman ture: they need each other to secure a louder voice in the Wilders’ PVV declined comment on the reasons for drop- saying they expect UKIP to join their group after the vote decided she was respectable. She in turn played down chamber, but each risks being tainted by association with ping what Dutch magazine Vrij Nederland said was if it can’t find enough allies to sustain its own. Meanwhile, Wilders’ comparison of the Koran with Adolf Hitler’s “Mein the other. planned as a joint campaign launch. Thirteen out of 100 they have been picking off Farage’s previous partners, Kampf” and said his comment on getting rid of Since the nationalists are campaigning to halt and elected PVV officials in national and local assemblies such as Italy’s xenophobic Northern League. Farage him- Moroccans was “spoken in the excitement of an election reverse European integration and close borders to for- resigned over his comments. self has since drawn condemnation for voicing discomfort evening” and should not stir “artificial controversy”. Jean- eigners, there may be little electoral advantage in appear- at hearing foreign languages spoken on British trains and Marie Le Pen, 84, remains honorary president of the FN ing together, and more to be gained by working their Too extreme? at the thought of having Romanian neighbors. Noting and will again get a seat in the European Parliament. own national sandpits. But once the votes are counted on UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who co- that Farage’s wife is German and his daughters’ first lan- Marine Le Pen says she is determined to form a parlia- Sunday night, most will have an interest in swallowing led the sceptical Europe of Freedom and Democracy guage is German, a radio interviewer flummoxed him by mentary group of Eurosceptics from France, the any distaste, surmounting their leaders’ egos and teaming group in the outgoing EU parliament, has refused to team asking if he objected to them speaking German. Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Slovakia and up to secure more parliamentary speaking time, staff, EU up with either Le Pen or Wilders, suggesting both parties Yet opinion polls suggest such incidents do not neces- Lithuania to win the speaking time and financial benefits funding and committee seats. are too extreme for him. So too have the anti-bailout True sarily do populist politicians lasting harm because they reserved for alliances of at least 25 members from seven Behind the scenes, they are working hard on forming Finns, whose leader Timo Soini is trying to moderate his express some voters’ gut feelings. Support for Wilders fell or more EU countries. “As non-affiliated MEPs, we are sec- such a group, said Franz Obermayr, an MEP from Austria’s party’s nationalist image ahead of a general election next briefly after his anti-Moroccan outburst but has bounced ond-rate members. We don’t have the resources available Freedom Party, another partner in the emerging year. Some hard right groups likely to win seats - such as back. The Austrian OVP is back in the lead over the main- to other members who belong to a group,” she told RTL Eurosceptic Internationale. Whether it will last, given poli- Greece’s Golden Dawn and Hungary’s Jobbik - are regard- stream centre-right and Socialists in national opinion radio. “But I’m going to settle that problem because I’m cy differences and rival personalities, remains to be seen. ed as so extreme that Wilders and Le Pen want nothing to polls, although not for the European election. A BVA poll going to form a group. At least I hope so... Because I want The populists, sometimes described as a European equiv- do with them. for Le Parisien daily found that while 60 percent of French to block any advance of the European Union.” —Reuters Fugitive warlord Kony makes son his deputy

KAMPALA: The fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony has forth between Central African Republic and a disputed handed over command of his group to one of his sons, a enclave in Sudanese territory called Kafia Kingi, accord- Ugandan military official said yesterday, an elevation ing to Ugandan officials and watchdog groups. Kony is that further marginalizes senior commanders who may wanted by the International Criminal Court for atrocities threaten Kony’s fading authority. Salim Saleh was born in committed since the 1980s, when he waged an insur- the 1990s, has spent all his life in the bush, and is said to gency against Uganda’s government that later spilled be as ruthless as Kony. Ugandan military spokesman Lt across the region. Col Paddy Ankunda said Saleh is “as hard as his father, Paul Ronan of the US-based watchdog group The radical like his father.” “It appears that the son has now Resolve said the promotion of Saleh signals Kony’s weak- taken over completely,” Ankunda said, noting that Kony ness as he tries to keep “his iron grip” on the LRA. He has increasingly has to rely on his sons to stay fully in charge been purging his group of potentially disloyal com- of a group in decline. manders, and others have defected or been killed in Kony is the subject of an international manhunt combat with Ugandan-led African Union troops. Kony’s involving US forces in parts of Central Africa, where his sons appear to be taking up more influential roles, group - the Lord’s Resistance Army - has wreaked havoc Ronan said. “The rise of Kony’s sons dovetails with a over the years in violent rampages that include the broader trend seen in recent years, in which Kony has abduction of children. The LRA has taken boys who are marginalized older officers, some of them with military then forced to become fighters and girls who become experience before they joined the LRA, and replacing sex slaves, one of the reasons the group has gained inter- them with a generation of younger commanders,” he national attention in recent times. Saleh has been in said in a post on The Resolve’s website. charge of Kony’s security amid a heightened search for “Kony considers these younger commanders, a num- BELGRADE: A man stands near house damaged by flooding and landslides in Krupanj, some 130 kilometers south the warlord and his top commanders in Congo and ber of whom were abducted as young boys and once west of Belgrade yesterday. — AFP Central African Republic. served as his bodyguards, to be more loyal. His sons rep- In 2008, as Uganda’s government tried to reach a resent an even more extreme case, as they have known peace settlement with the LRA, Kony failed to show up little if any life outside of the LRA.” The watchdog group Balkans on alert as swollen for the signing ceremony and instead sent Saleh, then a Enough Project says the LRA is now weaker than ever teenager, to represent him. The talks collapsed. Kony has before, and Uganda’s military believes LRA forces do not since used the region’s porous borders to go back and exceed 500. — AP rivers due to hit new peaks Floods, landslides claim at least 49 lives

BELGRADE: The Balkans were on alert yesterday as swollen rivers of the country’s electricity. In Serbia, more than 30,000 people were due to reach new peaks after days of devastating floods and have been evacuated so far from the areas affected by floods, landslides that have claimed at least 49 lives. More than 1.6 mil- including nearly 13,600 in the region of Obrenovac, or half its lion people have been affected by flooding of the river Sava and population. its tributaries while tens of thousands of hectares of farmland Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a government have been inundated and many houses and buildings destroyed meeting that so far 14 deaths have been registered in Obrenovac or damaged. These are the worst floods the central European alone, with autopsy results showing half of them drowned. “We region has suffered in a century. have been affected ten times more then the other countries in the In Bosnia, where more than 100,000 people have been evacu- region, but I hope the toll would not show that,” Vucic said. The ated in the worst exodus since its 1992-1995 war, thousands of death toll from the floods in the region rose to at least 49 yester- volunteers were struggling to reinforce dikes along the Sava river. day, with Vucic saying the latest two victims were found in Bosnia declared a day of mourning for the country’s 24 dead Obrenovac. Landslides claimed at least one victim in Serbia and while health authorities began disinfecting flooded areas as tem- one in Bosnia. Health authorities have ordered inhabitants not to peratures rise above 22 degrees Celsius (71.6 Fahrenheit) in a bid return to their homes until the areas are cleared from debris and to prevent diseases from spreading. safe from disease. “We have to react properly to avoid an even “We will face a major fight against epidemics and infectious worse catastrophe, to avoid infectuous diseases,” Serbian Health diseases which are inevitable after such floods,” said top Bosnian Minister Zlatibor Loncar told state TV RTS. Tons of dead animal official Nermin Niksic. Bosnian Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija carcasses have already been taken from farms for destruction, but said more than a quarter of the country’s population of 3.8 million muddy areas and landslides have slowed down their collection. “has been affected by the floods” after the heaviest rainfalls on Dozens of towns and villages have been cut off and over 2,000 record began last week. “Right now, more than one million people landslides already reported, with water levels expected to contin- have no (clean) water,” he said. In Serbia, where the Sava has ue rising in the coming days. Neighboring Croatia has also evacu- already caused unprecedented havoc in the northwestern region ated thousands of people from along the river Sava. bordering Bosnia and Croatia, thousands of volunteers were put- ting up fresh dykes along its banks. Threat of mines In a potentially deadly side-effect, officials in Bosnia warned Threat of more floods on Monday that some 120,000 unexploded mines left over from Weather officials warned the Sava would rise further today, the Balkan war of the 1990s could be dislodged and moved. threatening higher levels of the massive Danube as the Sava flows “Water and landslides have possibly moved some mines and tak- into it in the Serbian capital Belgrade. In Belgrade, volunteers en away mine warning signs,” Sasa Obradovic, an official of have placed some 12 kilometers of sandbags to prevent flooding Bosnia’s Mine Action Centre said. He warned residents to be of the Serbian capital. In Obrenovac, one of the most affected “extremely cautious when they start cleaning their houses, land or towns in Serbia, rescuers have managed to contain the waters gardens as the remaining mud could hide mines and other explo- around the Nikola Tesla power plant which produces 50 percent sive devices brought by rivers.” — AFP Algeria backlash as Libyan unrest shifts migrant route

BOUFARIK: Mohammed is openly disdain- despite the hardships they have endured, accused them of “spreading epidemics and ful towards the hundreds of African the migrants find little sympathy from other social ills such as trafficking in coun- migrants now entering Algeria in a bid to many Algerians. terfeit money.” Last week, Adel Zeddam, reach Europe as worsening violence makes “These Africans spread disease, they are the country officer for UNAIDS, denounced transit through neighboring Libya ever dirty and they don’t work,” said Karim, as “scandalous” and “discriminatory” press more perilous. Algeria has long prided another young man in Boufarik, reflecting comments linking the influx of migrants itself on its African identity but the mount- views propagated by some Algerian media. with an alleged rise in AIDS cases. In reality, ing influx of migrants from south of the Arabic daily Al-Fadjr carried a front-page just 8,258 people are infected with the HIV Sahara has sparked a racist backlash, even article about “the thousands of Africans virus in a country of 38 million, according in sections of the media, that has shocked invading the streets of the capital.” It to official figures. —AFP traditionalists. “They bring diseases with them, they don’t even wash,” Mohammed says, speaking in Boufarik, one of a string of northern Algerian towns that now host tent cities hosting hundreds of sub- Saharan migrants. Boufarik lies just 35 kilo- meters from the Mediterranean coast in the rich farmland of the Mitidja region, south of Algiers. It has become a favored stopping off point for migrants who have endured the arduous journey across the Sahara before they brave the perilous sea voyage to Europe as armed conflict between rival militias rocks Libyan cities that used to be the preferred route. Those who make it this far are the lucky ones. Many lose their lives in the desert. Earlier this month, dozens of migrants disappeared on the rough piste between Niger and Algeria. Troops recov- ered the bodies of 13 of them, a Nigerien a military source said. Last October, 92 migrants died of thirst when the two trucks BOUFARIK: Photo shows illegal migrants from Niger standing next to their carrying them to Algeria broke down. But tents, near the fruit market in the Algerian town of Boufarik. — AFP

NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Amir to visit Iran, turn ‘new page’...

Continued from Page 1 interaction is influential in the regional scope,” she added. Last week, Riyadh’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al- In December last year, Iranian Foreign Minister Faisal said he had invited his Iranian counterpart to visit Mohammad Javad Zarif started a tour of Kuwait, United the kingdom. Tehran welcomed the plan and stressed Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar after Tehran signed an the need to boost relations after years of strained ties. interim nuclear deal with world powers. Kuwait welcomed The two countries have been at odds over Syria’s civil war the agreement, saying it hoped it would help to preserve and the fallout from unrest in Bahrain. In the Syrian con- stability and security in the region. But the tour ended flict, Iran has backed the government of President Bashar without Zarif travelling to Iran’s main rival, Saudi Arabia. Al-Assad while Saudi Arabia has been a leading support- Afkham said a visit to Saudi Arabia was on Zarif’s agenda. er of rebel forces. Rouhani said after his election win last “We have received the verbal invitation and measures are June he wanted to reach out to Gulf Arab governments being taken to organise this trip,” she said. “Iran and Saudi as part of efforts to end his country’s international isola- Arabia are two important countries in the region and their tion. — Agencies Govt warns deficit ‘inevitable’

Continued from Page 1 ence on oil as the only source of income. MP Youssef Al-Zalzalah said that the government presented similar Subsidies also increased fourfold from KD 1.16 bil- figures to the National Assembly in 2004, but since lion to KD 5.05 billion in the same period, he said, then nothing has been done and things became worse. adding that spending on subsidies must be rational- MP Abdulhameed Dashti said that the government ized. At this point, Saleh reiterated that the govern- proposes “mere rosy dreams” and nothing is imple- A long exposure shot shows lightning in the sky with reflection in the water on the floor of a building under ment is revising subsidies but does not plan to cut sub- mented on the ground. “The figures we have seen now construction during an evening thunderstorm on Monday in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. — AFP sidies as such but “to ensure that they reach those who show that we are headed to bankruptcy and we may need it and to stop it from those who don’t”. consume our financial reserves within 10 years,” he said. Hamada said that the ministry has studied three MP Awdah Al-Awdah said the contribution of non- Thai army declares martial law main scenarios for financial development in the future oil revenues to public income has not changed for Continued from Page 1 disrupting government spending, spooking investors and based on oil price movements. The first scenario is years, which shows that the government has done deterring foreign tourists. The United States, a key ally of based on the assumption that oil prices will drop to nothing and “this will lead us to catastrophe”. MP of civil war if power is handed to an unelected leader, as Thailand, said the use of martial law must be temporary and $80 a barrel, and in this case, Kuwait will post its first Jamal Al-Omar said the presentation is a clear indica- opposition protesters demand. Thaksin, who lives abroad to urged all parties “to respect democratic principles”. budget deficit in 2014/2015 estimated at KD 3.2 billion. tion that this government “does not deserve to man- avoid a jail term for corruption, said on Twitter that the impo- Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy is sliding towards But the country will accumulate deficits totalling KD age the future of the country and its billions”. “We have sition of martial law was expected but must not “destroy” recession and Japan, whose companies have some of the 283 billion by 2034/2035. This scenario is unlikely been graced with a fortune but we have a government democracy. The backdrop is a nearly decade-long struggle pit- biggest foreign investment in Thailand, also expressed “grave because oil prices are still holding above $100 a barrel. that does not know how to manage it,” said Omar, ting a royalist establishment - backed by parts of the military, concerns” at the unfolding crisis. Niwattumrong, who replaced judiciary and Bangkok-based elite - against Thaksin’s billion- Yingluck, also called for fresh polls on August 3 to cut through In the second scenario, oil prices are expected to adding that the only source of income is now at risk aire family, which has traditionally enjoyed strong support the political quagmire, urging election authorities to help craft remain at the current level of $100 a barrel, and in this from new discoveries of shale oil and shale gas. “I among poor and rural voters in the north. a decree for the king’s endorsement next week. But the pro- case, Kuwait will post its first deficit of KD 635 million in believe we will be headed for a real economic catas- New York-based Human Rights Watch branded the imposi- testers say they will not stomach new polls without wide- 2017/2018. It will accumulate deficits totalling KD 177.9 trophe if oil prices drop. We will start consuming our tion of martial law a “de facto coup”, voicing alarm at the spread reforms to weaken Thaksin’s influence on Thai politics. billion by 2034/2035. The third scenario is based on the reserves,” he said. impact on freedom of expression. It was not immediately clear The early-hours announcement on military-run television assumption that oil prices will rise to $120 a barrel. In The Assembly will continue the debate today and is how the intervention of the generals - traditionally seen as said martial law had been invoked after nearly seven months this case, the budget will post its first deficit of KD 761 expected to issue recommendations to the govern- staunch defenders of the monarchy - would affect the balance of protests that have left 28 people dead and hundreds in the long-running power struggle. The government officially wounded. “This is not a coup,” it said. “The public do not need million in 2022/2023. This will accumulate to KD 89.6 ment. Earlier this month, the IMF warned Kuwait to remained in office, and General Prayut presented himself as a to panic but can still live their lives as normal.” Despite the billion by 2034/2035, according to Hamada. The official contain a rapid rise in public wages and subsidies to mediator. “We are in the process of inviting both sides to talk assurances, concerns a military takeover was under way were also said that the share of oil income in public revenues safeguard the economy against oil price shocks. The but at the minute the situation is still not normal... that’s why I fuelled by the troop presence and strict censorship of media increased from 85 percent in 2001 to 95 percent in IMF said general subsidies, particularly on electricity have had to invoke martial law,” he told reporters. “The military in the interests of “national security”. “I think what we are 2013. and fuel, constitute a massive 7.0 percent of GDP and will not tolerate any more loss of lives.” looking at is a prelude to a coup. That is for sure. It is all part But MPs squarely blamed the government for what as high as a quarter of spending, which was around Martial law allows the army to ban public gatherings, of a plot to create a situation of ungovernability to legitimise they called the disastrous affairs of the national econo- $70 billion last fiscal year. Kuwait has boasted a budg- restrict people’s movements, conduct searches, impose cur- this move by the army,” said Pavin Chachavalpongpun from fews and detain suspects for up to seven days. Thailand has the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Japan’s Kyoto my by failing to take any measure to reduce depend- et surplus in each of the past 14 fiscal years. been without a fully functioning government since December, University. — AFP WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 ANALYSIS

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Issues Europe election: And the winner is... Angela Merkel

By Daniel Aronssohn

argely untouched by the eurosceptic wave sweep- ing the continent, Germany’s Angela Merkel looks Lset to emerge the biggest winner of Sunday’s European elections. With a new victory expected for her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in Germany, the only leader of a major European country to have survived the financial crisis looks set to once again earn her nick- name of the “Queen of Europe”, say analysts. Chancellor Merkel, who in September scored a stunning national election win, is not a candidate this time around, but her face is everywhere in the streets of Germany, gently smil- Quick fixes unlikely for Iraq after election ing from posters with the slogan “Successful Together in Europe”. By Prashant RAO which lies just a short drive from Baghdad, and shifting parts of In April’s polls, however, only one major party even attempted to The CDU posters show popular Merkel rather than Anbar provincial capital Ramadi. Security forces have regularly win votes nationwide, with ex-premier Iyad Allawi’s Wataniya bloc Luxembourg’s former prime minister Jean-Claude trong election results may deliver a third term for incumbent shelled Fallujah and have announced multiple operations against finishing with just 21 out of 328 seats, less than a quarter of Juncker, who is the conservatives’ top candidate for the premier Nouri Al-Maliki, but few of Iraq’s intractable prob- militants in the city, but appear to have made little headway, with Maliki’s haul. “This is extremely bad,” said Kirk Sowell, the Amman- presidency of the European Commission but unknown to Slems, from brutal violence to fragile sectarian ties, appear election officials unable to carry out polling in the city at all. based publisher of the Inside Iraqi Politics newsletter. “If you go large parts of the public here. Polls show that in the race closer to resolution, experts say. Iraq’s security forces are mired in Diplomats have voiced hope that following heated rhetoric back to 2010, and imagine a good outcome following the US for the Commission presidency, Germans prefer Juncker’s near-daily clashes with militants in western Iraq, to say nothing of during campaigning, a resumption of talks between Iraq’s political withdrawal, this is exactly the opposite of that,” he said, referring to rival Martin Schulz, a countryman from the Social regular attacks elsewhere in the country, while corruption has run parties could cool tensions and contribute to reduced unrest, par- the late-2011 departure of American military forces from Iraq. He Democratic Party (SPD)— a partner in Merkel’s coalition rampant and unemployment remains high. Meanwhile, a lack of ticularly in Anbar. noted, however: “This doesn’t mean that Iraq is going to fall apart. government. However when it comes to sending legisla- electoral success for secular cross-sectarian alliances could further ... It’s an absolute dysfunctional mess, but it’s not literally going to tors to the European parliament, Merkel’s CDU has a contribute to worsening communal relations, fuelling fears Iraq ‘Dysfunctional Mess’ fall apart and break up into multiple pieces.” yawning lead over the SPD of about 38 to 27 percent. This may slip back into the all-out conflict that plagued it years ago. Indeed, Haddad said, Iraq’s best case scenario could simply be Possibly compounding the various problems, as well, is the is similar to September’s national election outcome, And with no new government expected to be formed for that no major issue significantly worsens. “The best case scenario likelihood that, despite the publication of results, formation of a which ended with the two big parties forming a left-right months, the lone major positive may well be that with unrest at its is business as usual,” he said. “Even if they are able to nudge Maliki new government is likely to take time. It took nine months to “grand coalition” government. With a population of over worst since 2008, an election was held at all. “It is a positive that away from a third term, I can’t see a reformist drive, or anything agree a national unity coalition following parliamentary elections 80 million people, Germany sends 96 lawmakers to the the elections actually took place, especially given the difficult con- like that.” Also of concern, analysts say, is the general lack of suc- in 2010 and while analysts say it is unlikely to drag on for as long European parliament, the largest of any other member of ditions Iraq is going through,” said Fanar Haddad, a research fellow cess for overtly secular and cross-sectarian blocs, amid signs of this year, the process is still expected to take months. the 28-nation bloc. at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute. But, worsening tensions between Iraq’s communities and fears Iraq is According to Ihsan Al-Shammari, a professor of politics at he added, “I certainly don’t think anything rested on the elections.” teetering on the brink of the bloodletting of 2006 and 2007 that Baghdad University, Maliki’s Shiite rivals in particular “will not German Economy Humming Haddad said any pretence of non-sectarian coalition building left tens of thousands dead. accept the results easily”. “The numbers they won were weak, so The CDU and its Bavarian sister party the CSU may had largely been abandoned in the campaign, and added that During the country’s last elections in 2010, the party that dealing with the results will be difficult,” he said. “The competition lose some support on their right fringe to new euroscep- unrest in the Sunni Arab western province of Anbar was out of the emerged with the most seats was a secular Sunni-backed coali- and the negotiations will continue. The results did not produce tic party the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which will control of politicians and unlikely to abate. For more than four tion, and even Maliki’s Shiite-dominated State of Law alliance, the half-plus-one required (to form a government), and this takes likely win about seven percent, said Jens Walther, a politi- months, anti-government fighters have held control over Fallujah, which finished a narrow second, courted a wide variety of voters. us back to square one for long-term negotiations.” — AFP cal scientist at Duesseldorf University. Though worrying for mainstream parties, this doesn’t compare to the larger gains expected for eurosceptic and anti-immigrant par- ties in Austria, the Netherlands, Britain and France, where the far-right National Front is looking at big wins. US stalls military aid amid Egypt abuses “From a European perspective,” the expected score in Germany for Merkel’s conservatives would be “an extraor- By Missy Ryan and Phil Stewart tences for Muslim Brotherhood supporters as lyst at the Center for American Progress. “In try- Department was eager to move America’s dinarily good result”, said Walther. “(German) support for well as repression of other opposition parties ing to split the difference between these two strategic relationship with Egypt back to a Merkel’s leadership and her defence of German interests espite resuming some military aid, the and imprisonment of some journalists. goals, the United States has sent an unclear more normal footing. Egypt has been key to in the euro crisis continues,” agreed Julian Rappold, an United States appears unlikely to quick- “The Obama administration wants to keep message to Egyptians.” US military activity in the region, allowing US expert on European politics at the German Council on Dly restore the close ties with Egypt that working with Egypt on regional security and aircraft to fly over Egypt and facilitating US Foreign Relations think tank. framed US Middle East policy for decades, as counterterrorism - but at the same time it Soldier to Soldier ships’ transit in the Suez Canal. The timing of Germany’s export-driven economy is humming and concerns persist over the authoritarian crack- wants to send a message about the political David Schenker, a former Pentagon official the decision last month to resume the $650 continues to outperform those of its neighbours. And down since last year’s military takeover. Even transition and the need for greater respect for now at the Washington Institute for Near East million in military financing was driven mainly after eight years in power, Merkel has also delivered some as Egypt prepares for elections this month that basic human rights,” said Brian Katulis, an ana- Policy think-tank, said the Defense by the US government’s need to make pay- social relief, from a national minimum wage to pension could give new legitimacy to the country’s mil- ments at the end of April to defense contrac- gifts, steps demanded by her SPD governing partners of itary-backed leaders, many Obama administra- tors who deliver military assistance to Egypt, convenience, while much of the rest of Europe continues tion officials question the need to restore US officials said. The move was made in spite to chafe under tough austerity policies. While these poli- Egypt to its place as the premier US partner in of worries about the direction the military- cies, promoted by the European Commission of outgoing the Arab world. backed government has taken. chief Jose Manuel Barroso, are unpopular and will Washington’s caution reflects a desire to “They’ve taken steps whenever they’ve penalise the conservatives in many countries, the Social help Egypt nip a mounting insurgency in the been forced to act for budget or programmatic Democrats are unlikely to benefit for lack of a clearly bud without being seen as sanctioning the reasons - but they really haven’t taken any fun- articulated alternative vision. As a result, the right and left interim government’s repression of political damental decisions about what US policy on will govern side by side at the European level, amid rising opponents and the media. The focus of bilater- Egypt should be in the long-term,” Katulis said. euroscepticism and with protracted negotiations expect- al aid, at least for the time being, is on con- US officials hope that the Apaches will help ed to appoint the successor to Barroso. fronting the militant threat and other security Egypt fight militant groups based in Egypt’s issues while US officials assess how the coun- Sinai peninsula, including Ansar Bayt al- ‘People Vote, Merkel Decides’ try’s next government responds to demands Maqdis. Egyptian officials say the groups have If the new president of the commission is a conserva- to halt the harsh treatment of dissent. “Going killed about 500 people in recent months. tive, Juncker or someone else, Merkel “will maintain or back to the status quo of the past 30 years is Ge Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who ousted Morsi increase her influence”, said Rappold. If it is Schulz or not really an option that’s available to us,” a and is widely expected to win next week’s another Social Democrat, “he must somehow work with senior administration official said on condition presidential vote, said in an interview with the commissioners from the other parties”, said Rappold, of anonymity. Reuters last week that the West risked letting who added that he does not foresee any “fundamental Egypt has been the second-largest recipi- militant groups in places like Egypt, Libya and change” in policy. He also predicted that French President ent of US foreign aid since its landmark peace Syria metastasize if it didn’t act decisively to Francois Hollande will not rebalance Merkel’s European treaty with Israel in 1979. But the policy was help fight them. Last month, the White House policy as he promised after his election in 2012. “France is upended by the political transformations trig- announced it would designate Ansar Bayt al- not doing well economically” and “is occupied with itself”, gered by the 2011 popular uprising that top- Maqdis as a terrorist group, another move wel- said Rappold. pled President Hosni Mubarak. After the army comed by Egypt’s military-backed govern- Walther also highlighted the relative convergence of last July ousted Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist ment. views between the conservatives and socialists - to limit leader elected after that uprising, Washington Robert Springborg, an Egypt expert at the public debt and boost competitiveness while promoting responded by freezing much of the annual department of war studies at King’s College in some measures for growth, including investment in infra- $1.3 billion in military aid. London, said that a US focus on counterterror- structure and education. The Franco-German couple On April 22, the US government relaxed its ism could suit Sisi. He had signaled since recently appeared “very harmonious” but “I believe it is position and said it would provide $650 million becoming defense minister in 2012 that Egypt in military financing, a move which required needed weaponry suited for fighting insur- Hollande who made the biggest step. I do not think Secretary of State John Kerry to certify Egypt gents rather than high-end arms like jets, Merkel has changed a lot”, added the political scientist was maintaining its peace treaty with Israel. It which are more useful in a ground war and from Duesseldorf. A recent cartoon in Berlin’s centre-left also announced that it separately would send which had been sought for decades by Tagesspiegel daily jokingly said of Merkel: “I decide what’s Egypt 10 US Apache helicopters to help it fight Mubarak. State Department officials, including for dinner. The voters choose who waits the table.” — AFP insurgents. Washington continues to withhold Secretary of State Kerry, appear to view US ties hundreds of millions of dollars more in aid, to Egypt as increasingly important given the along with other hardware that Egypt had turmoil throughout the region, particularly in All articles appearing on these pages requested, including Harpoon missiles and Syria, Iraq and Libya, Schenker said. fighter jets. But Egypt’s fierce crackdown on dissent is are the personal opinion of the writ- “Egypt is a very hard country to support still impeding closer ties. “The White House is ers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibil- right now, even in Washington among those looking at this saying there are legitimate ity for views expressed therein. Kuwait who are strong defenders of the relationship,” human rights concerns,” Schenker said. Where said Amy Hawthorne, a former State US policy on Egypt is heading is “still being Times invites readers to voice their Department official now with the Atlantic written,” a senior US military official said. Even opinions. Please send submissions via Council, a Washington think tank. “This recent recently restored aid could ultimately be held email to: [email protected] or aid decision is about getting parts of our rela- up in Congress. On April 29, influential Senator tionship back on track - but it’s far from a warm Patrick Leahy said he would not approve the via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, embrace.” Egypt has pursued a campaign aid, denouncing death sentences that Kuwait. The editor reserves the right against the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist Egyptian courts have handed down for hun- to edit any submission as necessary. party that propelled Mursi to power. Western dreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters or officials have condemned mass death sen- Egyptians walk past graffiti on a wall in Cairo yesterday. — AFP other government opponents. — Reuters

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 SPORTS

Messi: I need to change ‘chip’ Test game at the Arena Toure dampens City joy BUENOS AIRES: Lionel Messi wants to change the Barcelona “chip” in his head LONDON: Midfielder Yaya Toure is upset with Manchester City after an appar- to an Argentina one to do well at the World Cup, the national captain said yes- SAO PAULO: Corinthians have hastily arranged a second league ent birthday snub and could leave the Premier League champions, his agent terday. Messi told reporters on arrival in Buenos Aires that he would try to put game at their stadium later this month after FIFA said it wanted to said yesterday. a disappointing season in Spain behind him with Barcelona failing to win a test the venue with a bigger crowd ahead of the World Cup’s open- According to Dimitri Seluk, who represents the Ivory Coast international, major trophy for the first time in six years. “Now I must think of the national ing match there in June. Toure was dismayed that, despite the club giving him a 31st birthday cake, the team and change my chip,” Messi, who signed a new contract with Barcelona Corinthians are to play Cruzeiro at the Arena Corinthians on May owners did not personally congratulate him at a post-season party in Abu on Monday, said. “Many times it was the reverse, I’d go to Barcelona and play 29, just two weeks before the stadium hosts the opening game in Dhabi. Former Barcelona powerhouse Toure, whose goals were instrumental in well, let’s hope it’s the other way round. When I join my friends at the Group A between Brazil and Croatia, the club said. City’s second title in three seasons, could even seek a move, Seluk said. “He got (Argentine FA training) complex it’ll be another story.” The game “will count on the operation and services of some a cake but when it was Roberto Carlos’s birthday, the president of (Russian Before Messi won over Argentina fans with his performances in the World aspects of a FIFA World Cup match,” a statement on the Corinthians side) Anzhi (Makhachkala) gave him a Bugatti,” Seluk told BBC Sport. Cup qualifiers, he was criticised in his home country for not replicat- website (www.corinthians.com/br) said. Corinthians lost 1-0 at home “I don’t expect City to present Yaya with a Bugatti, we only asked that they ing his Barcelona form in the light blue and white striped nation- to Figueirense at the Arena Corinthians on Sunday in front of 36,000 shook his hand and said ‘we congratulate you’. It is the mini- al shirt. Messi headed from Ezeiza international airport on the paying fans in the first official game to be held at the ground. mum they must do when it is his birthday and the squad is outskirts of the capital to his home town of Rosario for a break FIFA, however, expressed concern that the stadium was still all together. “Of course Yaya is upset about this. It is his before beginning training next week under coach Alejandro incomplete and wants to see another game. “Arena de Sao Paulo still birthday and nobody said anything or shook his hand, so Sabella for the tournament in Brazil starting on June 12. needs 100 per cent from everybody to guarantee necessary struc- he does not feel comfortable,” added Seluk, who said City “This wasn’t my best season, I’d have liked to finish it differ- tures are in place for opener,” FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke sent a Twitter message wishing Toure a happy birthday. ently but it was the whole (Barcelona) group, not only at an said on Twitter. “The most important thing is a human relationship individual level, rather a slump of the whole team,” “A test event does not compare to the scale, needs and global and maybe this is his opportunity for Yaya to find said Messi, surrounded by reporters with micro- attention of the opening match of the World Cup. “The opening phones and cameras and autograph-hunting fans World Cup match attracts 65,000+ watching live in the stadium and that. If City don’t respect him, then easy - Yaya in the arrivals sector at Ezeiza.—Reuters a billion on TV. 24 Days to Go.”—Reuters will leave. No problem.”—Reuters

Pistorius to start mental evaluation next week

PRETORIA: Oscar Pistorius will start a tion could affect both the verdict and, if period of psychiatric evaluation at a Pistorius is convicted, the sentencing. government institution next week, a She saw three possible outcomes: judge ruled yesterday as she postponed -An “extreme” conclusion in which the star athlete’s murder trial until June the panel decides Pistorius was unable 30. to distinguish between right and wrong, A panel of mental health experts is or act in accordance with that under- now to decide if the double-amputee standing, because of an anxiety disorder runner can be held criminally responsi- when he killed Steenkamp. Such an out- ble for killing his girlfriend. come, according to Phelps, would result Judge Thokozile Masipa took just a in a verdict of “not guilty by reason of few minutes to read out her ruling that mental illness.” the Olympian must present himself at 9 -The panel basically agrees with the a.m. on Monday and every weekday defense witness, Dr. Merryll Vorster, who after that at the Weskoppies Psychiatric said Pistorius was able to distinguish Hospital in Pretoria. Pistorius will be between right and wrong but had the treated as an outpatient, Masipa ruled, anxiety disorder, possibly bolstering and will be allowed to leave the facility Pistorius’ argument that he was acting in the South African capital each day at in “putative self-defense” because he 4 p.m. or when “formally excused” by feared his life was in danger from a per- hospital authorities. The period of eval- ceived intruder. uation will be for no more than 30 days, -The panel contradicts Vorster and the judge said, and will depend on how says Pistorius does not have an anxiety long the panel of four experts needs to disorder, possibly casting doubt on the observe Pistorius and compile a report defense’s argument that Pistorius had a for the court. The panel will consist of long-held fear of crime and felt anxious three psychiatrists and a clinical psy- and vulnerable when he shot chologist, Masipa said. Steenkamp. CLEVELAND: Indians’ Jesus Aguilar hits a sacrifice fly off Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Phil Coke in the seventh inning. —AP Pistorius, 27, claims he shot Reeva Judge Masipa said yesterday that the Steenkamp, 29, by mistake through a panel should determine whether any toilet stall door in the pre-dawn hours mental illness may have affected of Feb. 14, 2013, thinking she was an Pistorius’ capacity to be “criminally Indians down drowsy Tigers intruder. The prosecution says he mur- responsible” for killing Steenkamp. She dered her during an argument. said the panel would evaluate “whether CLEVELAND: Michael Brantley homered with striking out eight. He didn’t allow a runner past Overbay got the final out in Atlanta’s five-run A psychiatrist called by Pistorius’ he was capable of appreciating the two outs in the 10th inning off Al Alburquerque, second base until the ninth, when manager Bo eighth.\ defense lawyers recently testified she wrongfulness of his act or of acting in giving the Cleveland Indians a 5-4 win over the Porter pulled him after two-out infield singles by believes the runner had an anxiety dis- accordance with an appreciation of the drowsy Detroit Tigers on Monday night. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. REDS 4, NATIONALS 3 order from childhood which may have wrongfulness of his act.” Brantley connected on a 3-2 pitch from Howie Kendrick followed with a two-run Todd Frazier’s two-run homer in the 15th contributed to him killing Steenkamp. The world-famous disabled athlete Alburquerque (1-1), driving it into the Tigers’ triple off Josh Zeid, who got C.J. Cron on a inning lifted Cincinnati over Washington. That prompted the chief prosecutor to faces 25 years to life in prison if found bullpen to end Cleveland’s four-game losing grounder to end the Angels’ third loss in 11 Brandon Phillips singled off Ross Detwiler (0-2) ask the court that he be sent for inde- guilty on the premeditated murder streak. Scott Atchison (1-0) pitched a perfect games. Dexter Fowler and Chris Carter also to open the inning and, with one out, Frazier pendent psychiatric tests. charge. He is free on bail. 10th, retiring Miguel Cabrera and Victor drove in runs for the Astros (17-28), who still homered to center. The drive ended a scoreless Kelly Phelps, a senior lecturer in the Masipa’s ruling came on day 33 of Martinez for the first two outs. Detroit’s JD have the AL’s worst record despite six wins in streak of 27 2-3 innings by the Nationals’ public law department at the University proceedings in the trial, which started Martinez hit a pinch-hit homer in the ninth to tie their last eight games. bullpen. of Cape Town and a legal expert observ- March 3 and was initially predicted to it 4-all, but the Tigers couldn’t muster more mag- Logan Ondrusek (1-2) worked two innings for ing the trial, said the psychiatric evalua- last three weeks.—AP ic in extra innings. The Tigers, who arrived just BRAVES 9, BREWERS 3 the win, allowing an RBI single to Greg Dobbs in three hours before the first pitch because of Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton homered the bottom of the 15th before getting Danny travel delays from Boston, had their 11-game to help Mike Minor win his second consecutive Espinosa to fly out to deep right to end the 4- road winning streak ended. start in Atlanta’s victory over Milwaukee. Pinch- hour, 58-minute game. The Reds’ defense twice Rookie Jesus Aguilar had two RBIs for the hitter Ryan Doumit also went deep for the extended the game with two-out diving catches Indians, outscored 30-6 while being swept by Braves in a matchup of first-place teams. that prevented the winning run from scoring. Oakland last weekend. Martinez hit his 11th Atlanta began the night with the fewest runs Phillips robbed Wilson Ramos behind second homer for the Tigers. in the majors. But the Braves banged out 15 hits base with a runner on third to end the 11th. Billy and improved to 18-5 when hitting a home run. Hamilton’s diving grab in right-center of WHITE SOX 7, ROYALS 6 Minor (2-2) gave up two runs and five hits Anthony Rendon’s liner sent the game to the Alexei Ramirez homered and drove in four with five strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings. Ryan Braun 15th. Espinosa doubled off Aroldis Chapman to runs as Chicago climbed out of a five-run hole and Khris Davis homered for the Brewers, who start the ninth and scored on a sacrifice fly by before holding on for a wild win over Kansas have lost three straight. Braun also threw out a pinch-hitter Scott Hairston. That rally cost Reds City. Zach Putnam (2-0) worked two shutout runner at the plate from right field. Wily Peralta starter Mike Leake his first win since April 15. innings in relief of Scott Carroll, and Ronald (4-3) allowed nine hits and three runs — two Stephen Strasburg went seven innings for Belisario also threw two scoreless innings before earned — in five innings. Washington, allowing two runs and six hits. The Scott Downs and Jake Petricka bailed out Matt Brewers manager Ron Roenicke put in first Reds were 2 for 24 with runners in scoring posi- Lindstrom. baseman Lyle Overbay to pitch late in the game. tion, and the Nationals went 2 for 18.—AP Lindstrom, normally the White Sox closer, gave up a leadoff single to Nori Aoki in the ninth, then appeared to hurt his foot fielding a sacrifice MLB results/standings bunt by Alcides Escobar that resulted in an error. Downs entered and struck out Eric Hosmer, then Cleveland 5, Detroit 4 (10 Innings); Cincinnati 4, Washington 3 (15 Innings); Atlanta 9, Milwaukee 3; Chicago White Sox Petricka picked off pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson at 7, Kansas City 6; Houston 5, LA Angels 2. second base before getting Billy Butler on a American League National League groundout for his first save. Eastern Division Eastern Division Jason Vargas (4-2) squandered the rare five- W L PCT GB Atlanta 24 19 .558 - run lead the Royals’ pop-gun offense gave him. NY Yankees 23 20 .535 - Washington 23 21 .523 1.5 He allowed all seven White Sox runs in 4 2-3 Baltimore 22 20 .524 0.5 Miami 23 22 .511 2 Toronto 23 22 .511 1 innings, his shortest outing of the season. NY Mets 20 23 .465 4 Boston 20 23 .465 3 Philadelphia 19 22 .463 4 Tampa Bay 19 26 .422 5 Central Division ASTROS 5, ANGELS 2 Central Division Milwaukee 27 18 .600 - Detroit 27 13 .675 - Dallas Keuchel came within one out of his St. Louis 23 21 .523 3.5 Kansas City 22 22 .500 7 second consecutive shutout as Houston beat Los Cincinnati 20 23 .465 6 Angeles for its first three-game winning streak of Minnesota 21 21 .500 7 Chicago White Sox 22 24 .478 8 Pittsburgh 18 25 .419 8 the season. Cleveland 20 25 .444 9.5 Chicago Cubs 15 27 .357 10.5 Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez drove in Western Division Western Division runs during a three-run first inning for the Oakland 28 16 .636 - San Francisco 28 17 .622 - Astros, who got 10 hits off Garrett Richards (4-1) LA Angels 24 20 .545 4 Colorado 25 20 .556 3 in the opener of a 10-game road trip. Seattle 21 22 .488 6.5 LA Dodgers 23 22 .511 5 Keuchel (5-2) followed up his first career Texas 21 23 .477 7 San Diego 21 24 .467 7 PRETORIA: Oscar Pistorius, listens as a court ruling is handed down that he would Houston 17 28 .378 11.5 Arizona 18 28 .391 10.5 undergo psychiatric evaluation. —AP shutout with another gem, yielding five hits and Bouhanni sprints to third win as Evans retains lead

ITALY: Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni sprinted eight days as a mass pile-up with 700m to lead reached 8min 30secs before the pelo- to victory in the 10th stage of the Giro go played havoc with the peloton racing ton swept them up with 9km to go which d’Italia yesterday after a mainly flat 173km for home. set up a mass sprint for the line. Evans run that finished in Salsomaggiore Terme. “It’s never easy,” said Bouhanni, who maintains his 57sec lead over Colombian It was a third stage win of this year’s race solidifies his position as points leader and Rigoberto Uran as both riders came home for the Francaise des Jeux rider, who again holder of the red jersey. “It was pretty fast with the pack. held off Italian Giacomo Nizzolo, as during in the final sprint. Nizzolo attacked but I However, the 2011 Tour de France win- his two previous wins. was able to go past him,” added the 23- ner lost one of his BMC team-mates when Australian Michael Matthews came year-old, who equalled compatriot Laurent Belgian Yannick Eijssen fell victim to a crash home third in a mass sprint as his compatri- Jalabert’s haul of three stage wins on the during the last hour of the stage. ot Cadel Evans retained the overall leader’s 1999 Giro. Under sunny skies, Italian duo Today’s 11th stage will feature a 249km pink jersey. Andrea Fedi and Marco Bandiera launched run from Collecchio, near Parma, to Savona Following Monday’s rest day, the French an escape in the early stages that was and includes a category two climb before a ITALY: French rider Nacer Bouhanni crosses the finish line to win the10th stage of the 97th champion triumphed for the third time in doomed from the outset. Their maximum descent to the finish. —AFP Giro díItalia, Tour of Italy, cycling race. —AFP

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 SPORTS

Barcelona entrusts Enrique Photo of the day with delivering change

MADRID: Barcelona promised change, and team built around the “tiki-taka” - quick delivered it quickly. By bringing in Luis combinations based on keeping posses- Enrique as the team’s new coach, Barcelona sion - inspired by Xavi. This despite the 34- is returning to the philosophy of having a year-old Xavi having helped generate so former player in charge after the failed one- many successes for club and country. year tenure of Gerardo Martino. Against Sociedad, Xavi was on the sub- The 44-year-old Enrique, who was stitute’s bench alongside Cesc Fabregas as appointed Monday on a two-year contract, the Catalans crumbled with the little used will no doubt be expected to also return Alex Song in midfield. the team to its beloved “tiki-taka” style of Neymar’s arrival did not generate the football - which Martino decided to aban- excitement that Barcelona expected from don on Saturday when he opted to leave having two of the best players in the world Xavi Hernandez on the bench in the title- in the same team, with Gareth Bale and decider against Atletico Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo providing much more The Argentine coach opted to play excitement - and goals - at rival Real Atletico at its own game, which proved a Madrid. terrible mistake. A 1-1 draw gave Atletico Barcelona’s decision to live off the suc- its first league title in 18 years - and left cess of previous president Joan Laporta’s Barcelona without a major trophy for the transfers eventually caught up to it, with an first time in six years. already frail defense left without options as “The league ended and so did many Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba were sidelined other things,” Barcelona midfielder Andres more often than not. Iniesta said on Saturday. For Enrique, the While the off-field troubles certainly dis- biggest task will be to get Lionel Messi tracted the club - from president Sandro back to his best again. Rosell’s resignation over tax fraud charges With Messi having a below-par season, relating to the signing of Neymar to Messi’s Barcelona’s brand of football simply didn’t own problems with the tax authorities - work during the second half of the season, Martino’s swift change of tactics led to when the team took a nosedive. upheaval. Messi looked pedestrian on Saturday, a With Barcelona needing to score against day after becoming the highest paid player Atletico to retain the title, Martino intro- in the sport and with silverware on the line. duced Xavi instead of a forward late in the And the numbers don’t lie: Barcelona was game, another indication of how confusion better this season without Messi. Barcelona reigned. Mohammed Jaffar performs in Kuwait City.— www.redbull.com dropped just five of a possible 54 points With Fabregas reportedly set to be sold through the first 18 rounds of the season as in the summer, the DNA that personifies Martino became the first Barcelona coach Barca’s brand “More than a club” could be in to start a season unbeaten in his first 20 danger. “An era is over, whether we like it or games in all competitions. But Barcelona not. And that’s why it pains us so much, Ronaldo confident he’ll be fit won just 38 of a possible 60 points after because you never want nice things to Messi returned to play the last 20 games. come to an end,” defender Javier Messi wasn’t the only problem, though. Mascherano said. “This club brought a cer- for Champions League final The tide turned with a 3-1 loss at Real tain style of play to the world and it needs Sociedad in February, when Martino made to keep playing that way.” And now, it’s up it clear he no longer had confidence in a to Enrique to make it happen.—AP BARCELONA: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is confident he will have recovered from a persistent thigh injury in time for Saturday’s Champions League final. Alonso tips Red Bull to The FIFA Ballon d’Or winner, top scorer in La Liga this season with 31 goals, has been suffer- ing recurring thigh problems since early April challenge in Monaco and has spent the last two weeks concentrating on being ready for the Lisbon showdown MONTE CARLO: Fernando Alonso may mine their qualifying supremacy of against Atletico Madrid. hold few hopes of winning this week- recent years on the famous His last match was away to Valladolid on May end’s Monaco Grand Prix for Ferrari, but Mediterranean street circuit. 7 where a 1-1 draw practically ended Real’s La he does believe that champions Red Bull That was achieved, by Rosberg last Liga title hopes and Ronaldo lasted less than 10 can mount a challenge to runaway lead- year, and compatriot Michael minutes before limping off. ers Mercedes. Schumacher in 2012 (before he was “I feel good but still not 100 percent. I hope “This year,” he said, after the recent penalised for a misdemeanor at the pre- to be ready for Saturday,” the Portuguese told Spanish Grand Prix, “I think Monte Carlo vious race) thanks to their car’s character- Real Madrid TV yesterday. The Portuguese will be one of the few possibilities to istic of over-heating the tyres, a negative missed the last two games of the season and is challenge Mercedes-especially for Red issue for anywhere else, but perfect for still not back to full training. “It is my first day Bull. It is a chance, but not I think for us.” peak performance one-lap blasts in out on the pitch and I feel ok and happy,” he The 32-year-old Spaniard has not won Monaco. “In the past, on a low-grip cir- said. in the principality since the second of his cuit like Monaco, we have been able to “Playing during the week and weekends two successive victories in 2007, in a race keep the tyres alive easily, but over-work- means it is normal that the body has a negative that ended amid controversy as he led ing the tyres is not a problem for us any- response. Unfortunately I have had a few prob- his then-Mercedes team-mate Lewis more,” said Wolff. lems but if you look around Europe the same Hamilton home. Hamilton, then a rookie, And that, plus the tight, twisty and thing is happening and players are getting claimed he should have won because he punishing nature of the 3.34-km circuit injured. was faster than Alonso, but was told to means that Mercedes’ power advantage “Nobody wants to miss a final, a final we obey instructions and hold position. this year may also be reduced, according have been aiming for and it is obviously impor- A post-race inquiry vindicated the to Alonso, who believes Red Bull have tant. If the body can’t do it then it is not the end team’s position in controlling their driv- the performance characteristics to of the world but I will be there, I am confident.” ers as they claimed a crushing one-two mount a challenge. There is more concern over whether defend- victory. This time around, Hamilton “In the corners, they (Red Bull) are er Pepe and striker Karim Benzema, with calf arrives in Monaco not as a new boy, but very fast, but on the straights they seem and adductor injuries respectively, will be ready as the in-form championship leader fol- to lose a lot of lap time,” he explained. in time. Cristiano Ronaldo lowing four straight wins for the ‘silver “But in Monte Carlo, there are no “They are the only two players over whom arrows’-and intent on adding another tri- straights. So, Red Bull could challenge we have doubts,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told umph to that he claimed with McLaren, Mercedes there.” Hamilton, who gained a news conference. “I am not optimistic or pes- following Alonso’s abrupt departure, in the lead in the drivers’ title race by win- simistic. Right now they wouldn’t be able to Allardyce to stay 2008. ning in Spain, is also worried that he has play but we are not taking the decision now. If And, after clocking the fastest times in enjoyed a fat slice of luck in his four Pepe isn’t ready then Varane would take his qualifying for the last two years, straight wins and pointed out that place.” at West Ham Mercedes know they should be confi- Rosberg was the faster driver in two of Real have faced Atletico four times this sea- dent of securing another pole position, those races. son, losing to them and drawing in La Liga but LONDON: Sam Allardyce will remain as West Ham “We have a very clear vision of how we want perhaps a front-row lockout and turning “It’s still encouraging that I won,” he winning both legs of the King’s Cup semi-final. “I United manager next season, the Premier League West Ham United to operate under our joint own- the traditional 78-laps contest into a pri- said. “As in Bahrain, I felt massively good don’t think there is a favorite, it will be an even club said yesterday, although he will be expected ership,” joint-chairmen David Sullivan and David vate in-house duel. after that, but I know what I’ve got and I game,” Ancelotti said. “Atletico have shown to deliver a more entertaining style of play. Gold said in a statement on the club website But, contrary to expectations, there is feel it shouldn’t have been that close. I plenty of quality during the season but normal- The 59-year-old steered the east London side (www.whufc.com), following lengthy talks with an air of nervous concern in the want to be further ahead and to be ly in finals like this there aren’t favourites. to 13th place in their second season back in the Allardyce. top flight, but came in for criticism from fans for “Although not everybody understands the Mercedes camp as German Nico faster, but in Spain and Bahrain, he was Maybe Atletico are in high spirits and we have Rosberg, last year’s winner and quicker. “Even though I finished ahead- the manner in which the team played. West Ham way, we do and we respect it as we the desire to win,” said Ancelotti, who denied he The team was booed by supporters after a 2-1 have been supporters all our lives. We believe this Hamilton’s main rival, bids to halt the and it’s positive for me in the sense I felt under pressure to win Real’s 10th European Englishman’s streak of successes. know I’m able to behave well under pres- league win over Hull City in March, having failed is about a philosophy that is not just about the Cup. to dominate the opposition despite playing style of play, but the whole ethos that surrounds Team chief Toto Wolff explained that, sure - I know that ultimately he was “For me it is an honour to be in the final with perversely, it is the near-perfection of the quicker. I’m not being negative. It’s just against ten men for over an hour. the club. Madrid and I am just happy to be in this posi- They also faced jeers after defeat by West “Sam was asked to give us a detailed presenta- team’s car performance that may under- I’m a perfectionist.”—AFP tion,” he said. “It is not an obsession but a big Bromwich Albion the following month, with tion on his vision for next season and during this opportunity. We can become part of the history Allardyce’s supposed long ball tactics failing to he assured us that he can deliver that ethos to of this club but this doesn’t make it an obses- satisfy those craving more eye-catching methods West Ham United and we have agreed to support sion but a one-off opportunity.”—Reuters at a club once noted for its enterprising style. him with the resources that he needs.”—Reuters Cole bids farewell to Chelsea

LONDON: Former England defender Ashley Cole has tweeted that his eight-year spell at Stamford Bridge is almost certainly over and he will not be playing for Chelsea next season. Cole, who called time on his 107-cap England career earlier this month after being offered a standby spot in Roy Hodgson’s squad for the World Cup, will be out of contract next month. “I am weighing up my options for playing next season with my agent and sadly it does not look like chelsea will be one of them,” the 33-year-old posted. “Thank u Chelsea FC for making my 8 years there a pleasure to work all the staff and players, we’ve been through a lot, good and bad. “And now I’ll be looking for another journey in my life hope it can be like my others full of fun and of course WIN something.” Although a divisive figure in England because of some of his off-field antics and pronouncements, Cole was con- sidered one of the best left backs in the world at his peak. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said he would like to keep Cole for next season even though he preferred Spaniard Cesar Azpilicueta in his defence for much of the recently concluded campaign. Cole joined Chelsea from Arsenal for 5 million pounds ($8.41 million) and William Gallas in 2006 and has won one Premier League title, four FA Cups, a Europa League as well as the 2012 Champions League with the west Fernando Alonso London club. —Reuters Ashley Cole WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 SPORTS In backing Scudamore, EPL turns on women LONDON: It’s now crystal clear why clubs cited his “previously unblemished League’s working environment,” they be darlings and play in tight shorts, as black women or players would he have Premier League boss Richard record over 15 years of service to the said in their statement Monday. But they FIFA president Sepp Blatter once sug- survived as chief executive? Certainly, Scudamore is often called the most Premier League.” also accepted Scudamore’s “genuine and gested?) the clubs might not have agreed quite powerful man in English football. Perhaps the outcome would have sincere apology” and “resolved unani- “The Premier League has missed a so readily with his argument that these Exchanging smutty, sexist emails been different had Scudamore’s fate mously that no further disciplinary significant opportunity to demonstrate were private emails and that the secre- with chums, provoking a wave of con- been left to women like Rachel Brown- action is required or justified.” a strong commitment to equality in the tary shouldn’t have accessed them. One demnation when they were published, Finnis. The England goalkeeper found The clubs turned their back here on a workplace,” said Women in Football, a inevitable conclusion here is that English wasn’t enough to force his resignation nothing funny about the exchanged vul- chance to show that all the talk in foot- grouping of more than 1,000 women football doesn’t feel sexism is quite as or get him sacked from his high-flying garities between Scudamore and what ball of equality and non-discrimination, who work across the sport. “In not rec- heinous as racism. job as chief executive of the world’s the Premier League said were “friends of the campaigns to promote female par- ommending action - in any form what- “The process adopted by the Premier wealthiest, most popular league. How’s long standing.” According to the Mirror, ticipation and the photo-ops with girls soever - it will be extremely difficult for League is a flawed one and there was that for untouchable and proof that which got the emails from his former in their football kit, isn’t simply lip serv- women working in the industry to feel only ever going to be one outcome,” said football remains very much a male- secretary, Scudamore mocked “female ice and window dressing. reassured that this issue has been ade- Herman Ouseley, chairman of English dominated domain? irrationality” and likened a former girl- The next time Scudamore visits a quately addressed.” Contrast the league’s football’s anti-racism body, Kick It Out. “A It wasn’t an independent commission friend to a double-decker bus: “Happy women’s college and discusses Premier decision - which took more than a week decision like this and the way it was that saved Scudamore’s skin. His sympa- for you to play upstairs, but her Dad got League efforts to promote girls’ sports, after the Sunday Mirror newspaper first made reflects the dominance, strength thetic jury was made up of Premier angry if you went below.” as he did on a British trade visit to India published extracts of the emails - with and culture at the very top of the foot- League clubs who float on the river of “An insult to all women” was Brown- last year, it will be a struggle not to view the NBA’s swift and unequivocal rejec- ball pyramid.” television money he’s helped secure for Finnis’ view, speaking to the BBC. “Just him and the league as hypocritical, their tion of Donald Sterling. The NBA took Even British Prime Minister David them in his position since 1999. The cur- totally unacceptable in this day and age.” words hollow. In effect, letting him off just four days to investigate and then Cameron acknowledged that a member rent deals with broadcasters are gener- The Premier League clubs and scot-free says: Women in football? Sure. hand a life ban and $2.5 million fine to of his government wouldn’t keep their ating 5.5 billion pounds for the league Scudamore preferred a euphemism: But be aware that the men who run the Los Angeles Clippers owner after an job if they acted like Scudamore. But, as over three years. Jackpot! In unanimous- “Inappropriate.” football are entitled to make puerile audio recording surfaced in April of him this affair again shows, football isn’t the ly ruling Monday that Scudamore’s jibes “The Clubs agreed that such remarks jokes at your expense. (Oh, and while making racist remarks. Had Scudamore real world. It is a bastion of older white about women aren’t a firing offense, the should have no place in the Premier we’re on this subject, could you please and pals swapped similar jokes about men who hold most of the power.—AP Van Gaal in a hurry to put Man United back on top

AMSTERDAM: Louis van Gaal wants to put Manchester United back top of the English game as soon as possible, he said yesterday after being confirmed as the Premier League club’s manager. “My ambition is to have them back top where they were in the years of (Sir Alex) Ferguson,” he told reporters in Amsterdam as he flew out to Portugal with the Dutch national squad for training camp. “I have always had a winning mentality and will find a system to make sure we are not beatable. “They are hoping I can do it in my first sea- son. I did it in Spain (with Barcelona) in my first season and I think I can do it in England too. I think it is a difficult task but a fantastic chal- lenge. “At such a big club it is always going to be difficult but I’m very happy to have the chance. I said last October that I’d like to coach in England but I never thought it would be with the biggest club in the world.” The 62-year-old Van Gaal said he was already in deep discussion over new signings for next season but refused to confirm he had been handed a considerable budget to strengthen the team after a disap- pointing season. HOENDERLOO: In this Thursday, May 15, 2014 file photo, Louis Can Gaal, coach of the Dutch Giuseppe Rossi “I’ve haven’t talked to them (the club) about national soccer team walks towards the mixed zone after a team training. —AP money, only over the players that I would like to have and those that may leave,” he said. am, in general, usually open-hearted,” he said. specialist in negotiating to do the deal for me. If Italy’s Rossi must prove Asked whether his first signing might be The World Cup-bound coach, who last year you negotiate yourself it affects your relation- Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman, who will announced his decision to quit the Dutch job ship with those seeking to appoint you and I miss the World Cup because of a knee injury, he after the tournament in Brazil, said the process don’t think that’s a good idea.” Van Gaal said he he’s ready for action added: “That’s for you to ask and me to know.” of signing for Manchester United had been rela- had sent a text message to family and friends 30 tively quick. minutes before Monday’s announcement, ROME: Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi has 10 wealth of in-form and fit Italian strikers UNCONVINCING DENIALS “It didn’t take very long. I was approached including one to Chelsea manager Jose days to prove he is fit and ready for action Prandelli has at his disposal. Many in Italy Van Gaal hinted at his frustrations over directly after the sacking of (David) Moyes. I Mourinho, his former assistant in Spain. “He was in the World Cup in Brazil, national manag- believe that rejuvenated Parma playmaker recent weeks as mass media speculation about have negotiated much longer with other clubs.” the first who responded. He said he was jealous er Cesare Prandelli said yesterday. Antonio Cassano will miss out should his move to Old Trafford had to be met with He said he had already had intensive discus- of the list of clubs that I have worked at,” said The Fiorentina player has had a series of Prandelli pick Rossi. unconvincing denials. sions with his new club over his coaching staff, Van Gaal, who first coached Ajax Amsterdam problems with his right knee since his time The 31-year-old has been in his best “It’s a process and I couldn’t tell what was the playing squad, the pre-season preparations and has worked at Barcelona twice, Bayern with Villarreal in 2011 and missed much of form for years and has played a key part in happening. I found it frustrating because for and the youth development set-up at the club. Munich and won the Dutch title with unfashion- the second half of this season with injury. Parma qualifying for next season’s Europa several weeks I have had to peddle ‘no’s’ when I “I have no agent but I had a friend who is a able AZ Alkmaar in 2009.—Reuters However, after selecting him in his pro- League. He has also cut out the outbursts visional 30-man squad Prandelli said he will that marked much of his career and had give Rossi every chance to recover before him tagged the bad boy of Italian football. finalising his squad for the World Cup “It’s only been two hours of training, and which starts next month. it’s like the first day of school with everyone Pakistan ball maker to “I decided to bring Giuseppe Rossi for a wanting to impress me, but Cassano looks number of reasons,” Prandelli told reporters happy to me,” added the coach. “I think he yesterday. “We have a great player with an realises that this is his last chance to do extraordinary talent in front of us. One of something really big in his career.” fulfil World Cup dream the most important players in Italy.” “It’s Prandelli also said that he wants his side obvious that there needs to be a response to be as tactically flexible as they were in SIALKOT: It was when he felt the roar of the studying how to make them himself. 1,400 employees. Unusually for Pakistan, nearly on the pitch, and I hope that over the next last year’s Confederations Cup, where they crowd at the 2006 World Cup in Germany that He was so successful that soldiers all over the a quarter of them are women. 10 days we get that, but even if it isn’t like lost to world champions Spain in a semi- Pakistani factory owner Khawaja Akhtar first region started buying from him. Business blos- Some wear the niqab, a long black covering that he has already won with what he’s final penalty shoot-out. dreamt up a goal of his own: to manufacture the somed — but so did child labor. A series of scan- that leaves only a pair of brown eyes exposed. done,” Prandelli added. Italy face differing challenges in a tough ball for the biggest soccer tournament on the dals, and changing technology, forced many fac- Others flaunt bright sandals with imitation jew- “I don’t want to make him nervous. He’s group, beginning with a clash against planet. tories to close. Others had to clean up their acts. els and wear robes the color of tropical birds. one of the 30 and we need to see if he’s in England in Manaus before playing Costa “The people were chanting all around me. I These days foreign brands frequently inspect Almost all say they are the first woman in the condition to play, that his condition is Rica and then Uruguay. just thought, ‘This is the real thing’,” Akhtar told Sialkot factories that make their footballs. Large their family to work. Shakila Ashrafi, a 38-year- better than a few days ago.” “The idea is for players to have more Reuters. “I was part of the crowd. I never had that signs on Akhtar’s factory walls sternly proclaim old mother whose long beige coat reached Rossi was Serie A’s leading scorer with than one way of interpreting a system,” kind of feeling before.” that child labor is forbidden and unions are down to her ankles, said one of her first purchas- 14 goals when he was ruled out for five Prandelli said. “We won’t have a rigid sys- His factory in eastern Pakistan had made balls allowed. es was a television. When the World Cup kicks off months in early January. Since his return to tem, it will change. for the German Bundesliga, French league and Workers that Reuters spoke to privately con- in Brazil on June 12, they plan to invite their league action in early May he scored two in “I want to prepare the team to changes Champions League, but he had never snagged a firmed that conditions were good — the salary neighbors — all avid cricket supporters — to three appearances. during the match, just like we did in the World Cup contract. was mostly minimum wage, around $100 a come and watch the strange foreign game being “His determination, his desire to make Confederations Cup. “The players need to Last year he finally got his chance - but only month, but social security, life insurance and played half a world away. all the sacrifices to be here is a demonstra- be a resource for us. They have to all be 33 days to make it happen. When Akhtar heard transport were extra benefits. A small govern- “We will bring everyone together to see the tion that even the great players have to put aware that you only need a few minutes last autumn that Adidas’ Chinese supplier for ment hospital sits on the premises. match,” she said, her busy hands pausing for a in effort,” said Prandelli. “This is a good les- to make your mark. If we start with that the World Cup couldn’t keep up with demand, In the past 40 years, Akhtar’s own family busi- moment. “I want them to see what we make and son for the whole group.” mentality then we’ll be on the right he immediately invited executives to his plant in ness, called Forward, has grown from 50 men to where the balls go.”—Reuters Rossi’s call up is seen as a risk given the track.”—Reuters Sialkot, a wealthy Pakistani manufacturing town with a long history of leatherwork. Their first visit was not a success. “They said ‘You have Stone Age equipment,” said his oldest son, Hassan Masood Khawaja, laughing. “After they left, my father called a meeting and said: ‘This is our only chance. If we show them we can’t do it, we’ll never get anoth- er chance again.’” It usually takes six months to set up a produc- tion line, but the factory only had a month - Adidas, the German sports equipment maker, was in a hurry. So Khawaja designed, made and moved the equipment into place within 33 days. Everything had to be done from scratch. “It was hard, maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he said over the noise of the hot, hissing machines. But it was a success, and the firm’s previous investment in thermal bonding technology paid off. Only thermally bonded balls - made using a glue that reacts with heat - are round enough for the World Cup’s strict stan- dards.

COBBLERS TO THE BRITISH A leading force in world cricket, Pakistan is a mere also-ran in soccer, where it ranks just 159th in the world. But Akhtar’s factory, where men and women in bright, flowing robes move plas- tic ball panels from machine to precision machine, is part of a long tradition of Sialkot football makers. BRASILIA: In this Sept. 24, 2012 file photo, a man makes a picture of ‘Fuleco’ the 2014 World PARIS: France’s head coach Didier Deschamps observes his players during a training Local legend tells of a poor cobbler who Cup mascot, in Brasilia, Brazil. An environmental group in Brazil launched yesterday an effort session of the French national football team as part of the team’s preparation for the made his fortune by repairing the punctured to save the endangered three-banded armadillo, the mascot for the international soccer tour- upcoming FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil. —AFP footballs of colonial-era British soldiers, then nament that starts next month in Brazil. —AP WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

SAN ANTONIO: Spurs’ Tony Parker (left) of France, drives around Oklahoma City Thunder’s Caron Butler (2) during the first half of Game 1 of a Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoff series. — AP Spurs rout Thunder

SAN ANTONIO: The San Antonio Spurs were planning to attack Parker scored all but two of his points in the first half as the the lane whether Oklahoma City big man Serge Ibaka was play- Spurs beat the Thunder for the first time this season. Even ing or not. The fact that the Thunder’s athletic defender was though San Antonio improved to 7-1 at home in the playoffs, absent only made things easier for them. winning their past five games by an average of 20.6 points, Tim Duncan scored 27 points as San Antonio took advantage Monday’s victory was not easy. of Ibaka’s absence to dominate the paint, beating the Oklahoma The Spurs also still remember what happened in the 2012 City 122-105 on Monday night in the opener of the Western conference finals, when the Thunder won four straight to rally Conference finals. from an 0-2 deficit. Tony Parker did not appear limited by a hamstring injury, scor- “It’s great to have an appropriate fear,” Parker said. “They ing 14 points and having 12 assists in 36 minutes. The Thunder played great against us in 2012, and we know that we have to be got their usual offensive outputs from All-Stars Kevin Durant and perfect. They’re younger than us and more athletic, and so we Russell Westbrook, who scored 28 and 25 points respectively. have to be more perfect.” San Antonio played nearly perfectly But Oklahoma City’s remaining starters, Nick Collison, Thabo offensively and still rallied to take a 76-75 lead on Westbrook’s 17- Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins, combined to score five points foot jumper with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. with 13 rebounds and one assist. “We don’t believe in moral victories,” Durant said. “Third quar- But it was defensively were the Thunder struggled without ter was obviously our best quarter, but we didn’t close it out well. Ibaka, who will miss the remainder of the postseason after injur- It’s Game 1, we’ve got to make adjustments and be better for the ing his calf muscle in Oklahoma City’s series clincher against the next game. We’re not taking no moral victories out of it.” Los Angeles Clippers. The Spurs had 66 points in the paint and Despite missing his first four shots, Westbrook continued to shot 58 percent from the field. It was the highest shooting per- bull his way into the lane and it paid off as the game wore on. centage allowed by the Thunder in the postseason since relocat- Westbrook had 12 points in the third quarter, continually driving ing from Seattle. “We’re a no-excuse team,” Oklahoma City coach past Parker and the Spurs before they could settle in defensively. Scott Brooks said. “Serge is out. He’s not coming back. We have to With the exception of a pair of free throws by Derek Fisher, play better. If we expect to beat one of the best teams in basket- Westbrook and Durant scored all of Oklahoma City’s points in a ball, and a very good offensive team, we have to play and we’re 23-22 third quarter. not going to make an excuse.” The extended efforts exerted by the Thunder’s two All-Stars The Spurs fed Duncan early with Ibaka out, and the veteran eventually took a toll, especially with the Spurs bench coming to responded by shooting 6 for 7 in scoring 12 points in the open- life. Westbrook and Durant were limited to seven points in the ing quarter. Parker, who picked up a mild hamstring strain in San final quarter. Durant and Westbrook were a combined 19 for 40. Antonio’s series clincher against Portland, drove the paint and Durant was 1 for 4 in the fourth quarter. dished to Duncan early before looking for his own shot midway “That’s the key with Kevin,” Popovich said. “You’re obviously through the quarter. not going to stop him, but making him work hard is certainly the “That’s part of our game plan,” Duncan said. “He knew that plan. It’s everybody’s plan, no matter who he plays against, they weren’t going to let him shoot the ball like he did in the last they’re going to make him work hard. I thought Kawhi was good, series. They were going to try to take that away from him, so he didn’t foul, but I think the team did a nice job behind him, help- knew he was going to have to be an assist man.” ing him.” — AP

INDIANAPOLIS: The car driven by Kurt Busch catches fire after hitting the wall in the second turn during practice for the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar auto race. — AP Busch crashes during practice INDIANAPOLIS: Kurt Busch wrecked his car during Monday’s Indy rookie orientation program earlier this month in a different practice at Indianapolis, putting him in a backup car for the open- Andretti Autosport car. “The ability of the Andretti Autosport wheel portion of his historic double this weekend. team to field the car, it doesn’t matter how it starts, or where it Busch spun coming out of the second turn on the 2.5-mile comes from, they’ve been very accurate with everything,” Busch oval and slammed hard into the outside wall. It was the biggest said by phone. “I’ll get over it quick. I’ve wrecked cars before.” crash of the month. In the garage area, crew members covered the damaged right Andretti Autosport said Monday night the car would not be side of the car with blankets before moving in into the garage repaired by the Indy 500 and Busch will drive teammate Marco and closing the door. When some fans attempted to take parts Andretti’s backup car. Busch will still start 12th. from the car, Andretti Autosport team members chased them Debris flew into the air, there was a small fire and one of the down and retrieved the parts. tires rolled dangerously down the track as the car rolled to a stop The team then took the car back to its Indy shop to determine on the infield grass. But the hardest part for Busch was contem- whether the car could be repaired. “We’ve already worked our plating all the work that must be done now as he becomes the crews to death, trying to work with this schedule,” said Kyle fourth driver to attempt completing the Indianapolis 500 and Moyer, Andretti’s director of racing operations. “But we’ll get it NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Both races will be held done.” Initially, officials said Busch would start from the back of Sunday. the field if he used another car in the race. Series officials later “This created a lot of work for the Andretti guys. I feel bad for clarified that would not be the case, something that should help that,” he said. “As a rookie, there’s things you learn and put it up Busch. He qualified 12th, the outside of Row 4 on the 33-car start- on the edge and get away with and then there’s times when it ing grid. No driver has won Indy after starting 33rd. What hap- will bite you. It’s just tough.” pened? Busch was checked by IndyCar medical director Dr. Michael “I was starting to feel comfortable,” Busch said. “That’s when I Olinger at the infield medical center and immediately cleared to made the mistake of just letting my guard down or settling into drive. Busch said he was fine and ready to return to racing Friday that long run-type mentality whereas with an Indy car you have when the final 1-hour practice sessions will be held. Busch said it to be on edge. You have to keep track of where you are at all wasn’t a big deal he had to switch cars because he completed his times and the adjustments in the car.” — AP ADIB wins regulator nod for purchase of Barclays unit

Page 22 Business Crude prices climb back on regional tensions WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Page 25 Putin yet to seal gas deal on China visit Bentley claims top honors at Telegraph Motoring Awards Page 26 Page 23

RAWALPINDI: A Pakistani youth sells melons at the roadside in Rawalpindi yesterday. Economists urged the government in a pre-budget seminar that the budget for the fiscal year 2014-15 should be formulated considering long term restructuring of the national economy. —AFP Credit Suisse pleads guilty to US charges Bank to pay $2.5bn fine for complicity in tax evasion

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/ZURICH: Switzerland’s left-wing Social ness due to the guilty plea. “While we Credit Suisse has agreed to pay a $2.5 Democrats renewed a call first made expect that this event has been well- billion fine to authorities in the United last week for Dougan and other execu- flagged and the impact likely to be States for helping Americans evade tives to step down to allow the bank to muted, there is always the small risk of Kuwait’s Global swings taxes after becoming the largest bank make a fresh start. Asked whether he unintended consequences,” Citigroup in 20 years to plead guilty to a US crim- had considered such a move, Dougan, analysts Kinner Lakhani and Nicholas inal charge. The bank’s guilty plea a 24-year veteran of the bank who took Herman wrote in a note to investors. to profit in Q1 2014 resolves its long-running dispute with over as CEO in 2007, said resignation the United States over tax evasion, but had “never been a consideration” and Hand-delivered cash KUWAIT: Global Investment House, the Kuwaiti firm a filing on Bahrain’s stock exchange. could have implications for the clients he remained committed to the bank. The United States has been trying which completed a second debt restructuring last year, “We are delighted to have returned on a path of prof- and counterparties that do business New York bank regulators discussed to wrest client data from Swiss banks in swung to a first-quarter net profit as fees from its asset itability after achieving a sustainable solution to our capi- with the group. replacing Dougan and others, a source a long-standing fight with Switzerland management, investment banking and brokerage busi- tal structure during 2013,” chief executive Maha Al- Credit Suisse said it had not seen a familiar with the negotiations said. But and its bank secrecy laws. The standoff nesses grew. Global, which counts the governments of Ghunaim said in the statement. The company said last material impact in the past few weeks in the end, the option was not made a has already forced Wegelin & Co, the Kuwait and Dubai as shareholders, said its net profit in the year it had completed a $1.7 billion restructuring plan, the on its business, and that clients faced condition of the deal. oldest Swiss private bank, to close three months to March 31 was KD3.1 million ($11.0 mil- second since the global financial crisis. Global was one of no legal obstacles from doing business The Swiss government said its main shop after a guilty plea to charges of lion). This compares with a loss of 3.9 million dinars in the several Kuwaiti investment firms hit badly by the crisis, with it despite the guilty plea. concern was that Credit Suisse was helping US clients evade taxes. Credit prior-year period. having used short-term debt to invest heavily in local real Switzerland’s second largest bank managed well and could move on, and Suisse, which has a large business Global said its total quarterly revenue rose 86 percent estate and stocks whose values fell sharply. Shares in the escaped what could have been the that any change in leadership “wasn’t managing wealthy clients’ money, to KD6.1 million. Fee-based revenue, which includes asset company have been delisted from Kuwait. Global posted worst outcome for its business - its top the concern of politics.” The bank’s helped them withdraw funds from management, investment banking and brokerage, annual losses for four straight years from 2009 to 2012, management stayed in place and it will chairman, Urs Rohner, told Swiss radio their undeclared accounts by either increased by 30 percent to 3.4 million dinars, according to but made a profit of 1.9 million dinars last year. — Reuters not have to hand over client data, pro- yesterday that he and CEO Dougan providing hand-delivered cash to the tected by Swiss secrecy laws. And the personally had a clean record, but the United States or using Credit Suisse’s New York state bank regulator decided same could not be said for the bank’s correspondent bank accounts in the not to revoke the bank’s license in the behavior in past decades. United States, the Justice Department state. Switzerland’s regulator effectively said. Dubai tumbles to 6-week low US prosecutors said the bank cleared the two, saying it had found no Prosecutors said Credit Suisse had helped clients deceive US tax authori- evidence that Credit Suisse top man- around 22,000 US client accounts ties by concealing assets in illegal, agement knew of specific misconduct. worth around $10 billion, which includ- MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS undeclared bank accounts, in a con- ed both declared and undeclared spiracy that spanned decades, and in Appeasing investors accounts, although the bank will not one case began more than a century Credit Suisse will take an after-tax hand over any data of its American DUBAI: Dubai’s index tumbled to a six-week low yesterday as remain high and we’ll still see some speculation, but it will be ago. charge of 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.79 clients as part of the deal. Bank account investors booked profits from a near 18-month bull run, while much less than before and volumes may decline dramatically “This case shows that no financial billion) in the second quarter for the data, protected by Swiss secrecy laws, Saudi Arabia’s bourse was again lackluster and is seen stuck in in the coming months.” institution, no matter its size or global fine, which dwarfs a $780 million has proven a sticking point in the Credit the doldrums until July’s results season. Dubai’s benchmark Most of yesterday’s activity was aimed at property-related reach, is above the law,” Attorney penalty Swiss rival paid to settle a US Suisse probe and in the wider US crack- dropped 4.1 percent to 4,656 points, its lowest finish since April stocks, which are a favorite target for day-traders. Builder General Eric Holder said at a news con- tax dispute in 2009. To appease down on the industry. 7. It fell 5.5 percent the day before and rebounded in early yes- Arabtec fell 8.6 percent, Emaar Properties dropped 3.7 percent ference in Washington. “We deeply investors, the bank will begin paying Credit Suisse’s plea raises ques- terday trade, but buying pressure was brief and it has fallen and Union Properties lost 2.8 percent. Abu Dhabi fell 2.5 per- regret the past misconduct that led to out roughly half its profits to share- tions about roughly a dozen other 12.6 percent in a week, trimming 2014 gains to 38.2 percent. cent to a two-month low of 4,750 points. It is up 10.7 percent in this settlement,” Credit Suisse CEO holders once it hits a key capital ratio. It Swiss banks including Julius Baer and “A revaluation of the market has been happening for the 2014. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia’s index rose 0.07 percent to Brady Dougan said yesterday. will also reduce assets, sell real estate Bank Pictet & Cie, also under criminal past week - the fundamentals haven’t changed, it’s pure profit- 9,731 points, but is down 1 percent from Wednesday’s six-year The Justice Department has not and take other actions to help to meet investigation in the US. taking by speculators,” said Samer Al-Jaouni, a Gulf-based trad- high, having failed to break above 9,830 points. often pursued such convictions of the 10 percent capital ratio, which it Yesterday, Swiss finance minister er. Dubai’s measure is up 187 percent since the start of 2013 as “It gives the possibility for new cash to come into the mar- financial companies, especially large expects to achieve by year-end. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said there renewed confidence in Dubai’s property sector and a retail and ket,” said Hesham Tuffaha, a Riyadh-based portfolio manager. ones that could become destabilized Credit Suisse shares were up 2.2 were no metrics to determine poten- tourism boom brought traders back to the emirate’s belea- “When there’s a continuous rally, there’s usually money on the following an indictment. But US politi- percent by 0917 GMT, outpacing a 0.6 tial fines or other measures for those guered stock market. sidelines waiting for a correction.” cians have pushed for tougher punish- percent firmer European banking sec- banks, but she expected their settle- But analysts had warned that such a surge was unsustain- He said Saudi’s stuttering performance in the past week was ment for big banks in response to the tor. “We see the size of the fine as ment talks to be resolved in coming able, even with index compiler MSCI upgrading the United due to a glut of local share sales in the offing. These include 2007-2009 financial crisis. affordable given the high ROE (return months. Credit Suisse pleaded guilty Arab Emirates to emerging market status, effective June 1. “A floatations from National Commercial Bank, the kingdom’s Credit Suisse will pay the penalties on equity) of Credit Suisse’s business- not only because of its complicity in lot of the earlier buying was by speculators ahead of MSCI,” said largest lender, and hotel and leisure group Abdul Mohsen Al- to the US Department of Justice, the es,” Nomura analyst Jon Peace said. tax evasion, but also because of its Jaouni. He said high valuations were likely to deter foreign Hokair. On Monday, the Saudi regulator also granted approval Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Peace, who rates the stock as a “buy”, poor cooperation in the investiga- funds that track MSCI’s emerging index from buying UAE for healthcare firm Al-Hammadi Company For Development & Reserve and New York’s banking regu- said the payout guidance gave the tion, prosecutors said. It did not stocks immediately after the upgrade comes into effect. “We Investment to float 30 percent of its shares. Samba Capital will lator, the New York State Department bank a yield premium compared to the begin an internal probe until early might see a further downside to levels where prices can be jus- arrange the offering, which will consist of a bookbuilding peri- of Financial Services. It had already sector. 2011, and did not preserve some evi- tified,” said Jaouni, adding this would likely be around 4,200 to od with institutional investors before being opened to subscrip- paid just under $200 million to the But some analysts said clients and dence of the wrongdoing, docu- 4,300 points. “Investors will be much pickier - volatility will tion by retail investors between June 11-17. — Reuters Securities and Exchange Commission. counterparties could pull their busi- ments showed. — Reuters WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 BUSINESS

Thailand investors express ADIB wins regulator nod for fears after army takeover purchase of Barclays unit TOKYO: Thailand’s biggest investor “We are watching the political situation Japan yesterday expressed “grave con- in order to decide to go ahead with the cerns” after the army imposed martial plan (to start operations) or not. If the UAE bank weighs options on buys in SE Asia law, while the United States said it must political situation improves, we may only be “temporary” as multinational complete the factory and start produc- ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has branches, lots of services and we have overseas Islamic finance industry in the region. firms monitored events nervously. tion.” received regulatory approval from the United offices,” Mahmoud added. ADIB has a branch in Mahmoud also said ADIB had reached a After almost seven weeks of anti- And Toyota, the world’s biggest Arab Emirates central bank for its purchase of Knightsbridge in London, as well as offices in “tentative agreement” with a creditor commit- government protests, generals ordered automaker, also said it was watching Barclays’ retail operations in the country, its Egypt, Qatar and Iraq. UAE banks have been tee set up to help negotiate a debt restructur- forces onto the streets of Bangkok and events carefully, but added all three of chief executive said yesterday. The largest expanding at a time of intense competition in ing of Dubai-based Amlak Finance. Amlak has troops were positioned at television sta- its plants were operating normally. “The sharia-compliant lender in the emirate agreed a the Gulf Arab country, with some focusing on been in talks with a creditor committee which tions as the army said the media would morning shift started as per usual at all 650 million dirham ($177 million) deal with the domestic opportunities and others going includes two government entities - the Dubai British bank last month following a competition abroad. Financial Support Fund and National Bonds - as be censored. But despite the crisis- plants. A decision concerning the in which both local and international players Last week, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), ADIB’s well as commercial banks including ADIB for which saw Southeast Asia’s second evening shift will be made based on the biggest economy shrink 0.6 percent in showed interest. main rival in sharia-compliant lending in the the restructuring of 7 billion dirhams of debt. situation,” a spokesman said. Mahmoud said yesterday the agreement January-March-analysts said the econo- ADIB received regulatory assent ten days UAE, said it had agreed to buy 25 percent of Washington urged “all parties to ago and the process of migrating Barclays’ Indonesian Islamic lender Bank Panin Syariah would see repayment of the mortgage lender’s my could bounce back. respect democratic principles, including 110,000 customers in the country to the Abu for an undisclosed amount. ADIB was studying debts proposed for a period of time, although “We have grave concerns about the respect for freedom of speech”. US State Dhabi lender would begin on Sept. 1, Tirad the possibility of making acquisitions in South he declined to provide specifics. It was hoped situation in Thailand,” Japan’s chief cabi- Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki Mahmoud told reporters. “We are highly confi- East Asia but no decisions had been taken, the extension of principal repayments would net secretary Yoshihide Suga told said in a statement: “We understand the dent that a super-majority of customers will Mahmoud said, declining to elaborate. help the firm regain solvency and allow for a reporters in Tokyo. “We once again Royal Thai Army announced that this migrate from Barclays to ADIB,” he said when Southeast Asia is attractive for Gulf-based recovery in its fortunes which would prevent strongly urge all parties concerned to martial law declaration is not a coup. asked if people would remain with the lender Islamic banks, given the significant Muslim the need for creditors to take haircuts on the act in a self-restrained manner without “We expect the Army to honor its post-acquisition. populations in centers such as Malaysia and debt, he added. A spokesperson for Amlak using violence.” commitment to make this a temporary “We are optimistic because we have 80 Indonesia but the relatively-underdeveloped could not be reached for comment. — Reuters The dismissal of prime minister action to prevent violence, and to not Yingluck Shinawatra this month in a undermine democratic institutions.” controversial court ruling has sent ten- And Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest sions soaring in the country, which has economy and a key ASEAN partner, also endured years of political turmoil. expressed its fears and urged a return “Red Shirt” supporters of Yingluck to normality. and her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, “Indonesia has consistently called for who was deposed as premier in a 2006 respect of constitutional process and coup, have warned of civil war if power democratic principles in order to pro- is handed to an unelected leader, as the mote national reconciliation and unity, opposition demands. The army, which reflecting the wishes of the Thai peo- has mounted numerous coups in recent ple,” foreign minister Marty Natalegawa decades, insisted Tuesday’s declaration was not an attempt to seize power. said. “This is not a coup,” it said. “The public However, market reaction was tem- do not need to panic but can still live pered. The Stock Exchange of Thailand their lives as normal.” sunk 1.58 percent on opening before picking up slightly to sit 0.88 percent Important for Japan firms lower. The baht dipped to 32.53 against Private-sector think-tank Teikoku the dollar from 32.47 baht on Monday. Databank said in February nearly 4,000 Analysts said the economy was largely Japanese firms operate in Thailand, with immune to shocks-a legacy of decades investments the Bank of Thailand said of political uncertainty. Invesco fund were worth $6.89 billion in 2013 — half manager Jalil Rasheed told Dow Jones of the total inward investment. That fig- Newswires: “Thais are so used to having ure is more than the next three biggest tanks on the streets.” He added that investors combined-the United States, from a markets perspective, “the largest Britain and the Association of Southeast participants are local retail investors, Asian Nations (ASEAN). who have been through this before”. Thailand has become increasingly And Andrew Colquhoun, Fitch important for Japanese firms as they Ratings’ head of Asia Pacific sovereign shift operations from home to counter ratings, said the move could actually high wages and an overvalued yen and help break the long-running political to mitigate the effects of natural disas- deadlock. “The key factors for the rat- ters on the supply chain. Car giant ings are whether Thailand can avert Honda said political instability was lead- more serious and bloody political disor- ing it to reconsider a second assembly der, and whether we see a return to a plant it is hoping to go online in April fully functioning government that is 2015. able to make policy and pass a budget,” LONDON: A Marks & Spencer store in central London. British retailer Marks and Spencer yesterday, posted a 16-percent gain in annual net prof- Spokesman Teruhiko Tatebe said: he said. —AFP its, buoyed by rising sales despite a poor performance for clothing. —AFP Emirates could buy more Marks & Spencer profits A380s if Airbus revamps jet drop for third year BERLIN: Emirates, Dubai’s flagship airline, already the A380s largest customer, could would be interested in buying more A380s be interested in. from Airbus if the planemaker brought a A surprise order for 50 more of the LONDON: British retailer Marks and Spencer for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new tional activity,” MandS added. The company’s revamped version of the superjumbo onto planes from Emirates at the Dubai air show reported that underlying profits slid in floor space, British sales grew 0.2 percent with share price sank 1.96 percent to 422.145 pence the market, much like it has done with its in November effectively pulled the pro- 2013/2014 for the third year, hit by falling sales general merchandise down 1.4 percent but food in early afternoon deals, with some analysts A320neo, an executive told Reuters. gram back from the brink after sales failed of clothing, in results yesterday. Profits before up 1.7 percent. Bolland, who has been chief unconvinced over the group’s turnaround plans. Airbus head Fabrice Bregier said on to match up to initial projections. taxation sank 3.9 percent to £623 million ($1.05 executive since May 2010, has overseen an “Today’s announcement that the company had Monday that the A380 would have to Antinori, speaking to Reuters on board a billion, 765 million euros) in the year to March investment program that ploughed hundreds of reported a fall in profits for the third year in a evolve in order to meet the challenges pre- brand new A380 picked up from Hamburg 29, compared with £648 million, MandS said. millions of pounds into refreshing the business. row ... has once again prompted shareholders to sented by Boeing’s rival 777x jetliner, but on Monday, also said the airline was well In reaction, shares in the company fell two “Three years ago, we recognized the scale of ask questions about the pace of the latest turn- he did not provide further details. financed this year and did not currently percent in afternoon deals on the London stock investment required to transform our business, around strategy,” said CMC Markets analyst “We can just encourage Airbus to con- intend to place any bonds in the market. market. The group added however that net prof- investing to strengthen our foundations and Michael Hewson. He added: “Shareholders con- tinue and speed up the possible improve- He said the airline had reduced services to its rose 16 percent to £524.8 million, as total improve our customer offer,” he said. “We are tinue to ask themselves when they can look for- ments, especially the fuel efficiency and a Ukraine due to the crisis there as fewer sales swelled 2.7 percent to £10.3 billion. making solid progress on this journey and are ward to the fruition of this task as the CEO grap- Neo version,” Emirates Chief Commercial people were flying to Kiev. Demand “We are focused on improving our perform- now focused on delivery.” ples with an ever competitive retail environ- officer Thierry Antinori told Reuters at the remained strong in Russia, however, and ance in general merchandise and were pleased However, the retail company acknowledged ment, and the general merchandise division Berlin ILA Airshow yesterday. the airline expected to go ahead with plans to see early signs of improvement,” said chief that general merchandise profit margins had continues to struggle.” The British capital’s FTSE “If the Neo version is coming we could this summer to replace a smaller plane with executive Marc Bolland in the earnings release. suffered from promotions and price discounts. 100 index, on which the company is listed, was consider ordering more planes,” he said, an A380 on one of its twice-daily flights to “Our food business had a very strong year, con- “We faced a challenging clothing market, with down 0.50 percent at 6,814.34 points, partly without specifying how many the airline, Moscow from Dubai. —Reuters sistently outperforming the market.” On a like- unseasonal conditions and high levels of promo- because of the MandS results. —AFP EXCHANGE RATES

Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. UAE Exchange Centre WLL Syrian Pound 2.900 Sierra Leone 0.000069 0.000075 Nepalese Rupees 3.880 Singapore Dollar 0.222208 0.228208 South African Rand0.021140 0.029640 ASIAN COUNTRIES Malaysian Ringgit 87.040 COUNTRY SELL DRAFT SELL CASH Chinese Yuan Renminbi 45.395 Sri Lankan Rupee 0.001866 0.002446 Japanese Yen 2.781 Australian Dollar 268.28 265.28 Thai Bhat 9.680 Taiwan 0.009244 0.009424 Indian Rupees 4.823 Canadian Dollar 263.82 264.82 Turkish Lira 134.045 Thai Baht 0.008372 0.008922 Pakistani Rupees 2.858 Swiss Franc 321.28 319.28 Arab Srilankan Rupees 2.162 Euro 390.18 391.18 Bahraini Dinar 0.742351 0.750351 Nepali Rupees 3.024 US Dollar 281.70 284.70 Egyptian Pound 0.036440 0.039540 Singapore Dollar 226.110 Sterling Pound 478.08 481.08 Bahrain Exchange Company Iranian Riyal 0.000078 0.000079 Hongkong Dollar 36.419 Japanese Yen 2.84 2.86 Bangladesh Taka 3.630 Bangladesh Taka 3.631 3.901 CURRENCY BUY SELL Iraqi Dinar 0.000181 0.000241 Philippine Peso 6.470 Indian Rupee 4.830 5.130 Europe Jordanian Dinar 0.393943 0.401443 Thai Baht 8.706 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.164 2.599 Belgian Franc 0.007336 0.008336 Kuwaiti Dinar 1.0000000 1.0000000 Irani Riyal transfer 0.271 Nepali Rupee 3.025 3.560 British Pound 0.467482 0.476482 Lebanese Pound 0.000138 0.000238 Irani Riyal cash 0.273 Pakistani Rupee 2.868 2.790 Czech Korune 0.006053 0.018053 Moroccan Dirhams 0.025298 0.049298 GCC COUNTRIES UAE Dirhams 76.76 77.23 Danish Krone 0.047714 0.052714 Nigerian Naira 0.001135 0.001770 Saudi Riyal 75.310 Bahraini Dinar 749.77 751.84 Euro 0.381074 0.389074 Omani Riyal 0.727214 0.732894 Qatari Riyal 77.598 Egyptian Pound 39.55 40.15 Norwegian Krone 0.043463 0.048663 Qatar Riyal 0.076831 0.078044 Jordanian Dinar 400.93 406.58 Omani Riyal 733.630 Romanian Leu 0.087091 0.87091 Saudi Riyal 0.074643 0.075343 Omani Riyal 732.60 739.90 Bahraini Dinar 750.100 Slovakia 0.008073 0.018073 Syrian Pound 0.001751 0.001971 Qatari Riyal 77.79 78.34 UAE Dirham 76.911 Swedish Krona 0.038713 0.043713 Tunisian Dinar 0.170179 0.178179 Saudi Riyal 75.25 75.65 ARAB COUNTRIES Swiss Franc 0.309624 0.319824 Turkish Lira 0.139008 0.146008 UAE Dirhams 0.075878 0.077027 Egyptian Pound - Cash 39.750 Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Turkish Lira 0.139008 0.146008 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 39.583 Australasia Yemeni Riyal 0.001282 0.001362 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.318 Australian Dollar 0.253804 0.265304 Tunisian Dinar 174.800 Rate for Transfer Selling Rate New Zealand Dollar0.236627 0.246127 Al Mulla Exchange Jordanian Dinar 398.810 US Dollar 281.500 America Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.895 Canadian Dollar 259.510 Canadian Dollar 0.253943 0.262443 Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) Syrian Lira 2.013 Sterling Pound 475.750 US Dollars 0.278200 0.282550 US Dollar 281.700 Morocco Dirham 35.156 Euro 391.810 US Dollars Mint 0.278700 0.282550 Swiss Frank 320.975 Euro 388.600 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES Asia Bahrain Dinar 749.235 US Dollar Transfer 282.300 Bangladesh Taka 0.003330 0.003930 Pound Sterlng 475.450 UAE Dirhams 76.620 Euro 388.160 Chinese Yuan 0.044066 0.047566 Canadian Dollar 261.150 Qatari Riyals 78.200 Sterling Pound 475.820 Hong Kong Dollar 0.034326 0.037076 Indian Rupee 4.823 Canadian dollar 260.420 Saudi Riyals 75.340 Egyptian Pound 39.440 Jordanian Dinar 396.715 Indian Rupee 0.004480 0.004881 Turkish lira 134.720 Indonesian Rupiah 0.000020 0.000026 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.160 Swiss Franc 317.550 Egyptian Pound 40.115 Bangladesh Taka 3.628 Sri Lankan Rupees 2.154 Japanese Yen 0.002694 0.002874 Australian Dollar 263.670 Philippines Peso 6.440 Indian Rupees 4.679 Kenyan Shilling 0.003211 0.003211 US Dollar Buying 281.100 Pakistan Rupee 2.860 Pakistani Rupees 2.852 Korean Won 0.000265 0.000280 GOLD Bangladesh Taka 3.622 Malaysian Ringgit 0.083589 0.089589 Bahraini Dinar 750.200 20 Gram 245.000 Philippines Pesso 6.322 Nepalese Rupee 0.003002 0.003172 UAE Dirham 76.650 10 Gram 124.000 Cyprus pound 691.420 Pakistan Rupee 0.002670 0.002950 Saudi Riyal 75.250 5 Gram 64.000 Japanese Yen 3.750 Philippine Peso 0.006333 0.006613 *Rates are subject to change BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Homeserve looks to US, Spain for further growth

LONDON: British repair and insurance company insurance services to 26 million of the 128 million but that will take time to come through,” he added. Homeserve said customer numbers in its UK busi- Homeserve plans to double the size of its US sales households, by doubling the number of people look- The company said it had also seen strong growth in ness, which accounts for 38 percent of total customers, force in its new financial year, after strong growth ing for partnership opportunities with utility compa- Spain, from its partnership with utility company had stabilized at 2.1 million, with a retention rate of 82 there and in Spain helped to lift annual revenues by 4 nies. “We’ve made a decision that we need to be Endesa, which had helped doubled customers num- percent. Customer numbers have fallen by nearly a percent. Homeserve, which sells cover for household investing more business development people in the bers to 800,000 in the past year. Group pretax profit third, having previously stood at 3 million in mid-2012. emergencies such as boiler breakdowns and burst US, so we are doubling the size of the sales force from fell to 84.1 million from 105 million, impacted by a 30.6 Shares in the firm were up 7.5 percent to 341 pence water pipes, said yesterday it had seen a marked 10 to 20 people over the course of the year,” he said. million pound fine imposed by the UK’s financial regu- by 0907 GMT, the biggest rise on the midcap FTSE 250 increase in customer numbers in both markets, help- He also plans to sign more partnerships with utility lator, after the company was found to have committed index. “We highlight a number of positives in the state- ing group revenues to 568.3 million pounds ($956.3 providers in the United States, having signed 12 last a series of failings including mis-selling policies in ment, notably confidence in the UK stabilizing, opti- million)for the year ended March. year, after profit there rose by 36 percent to 13 million 2012. It was expected to report a profit of between mism on the US market ... which, added to the resolu- CEO Richard Harpin, who founded the company pounds. 82.78 million and 84.74 million, with an average esti- tion of past issues, leaves the business better posi- more than 20 years ago, told Reuters he planned to “We would hope that we are signing a similar sort mate of 83.95 million, according to a Thomson Reuters tioned to deliver growth going forward ,” JPMorgan expand the US business, where it provides repair and of number of utilities over the coming 12 months ... poll of 7 analysts. Cazenove analysts in a research note. — Reuters

China could miss trade target in 2014: Govt BEIJING: China could miss its target for credit insurance and currency hedging trade growth for a third consecutive options to its exporters. year in 2014 as higher labor costs and Zhang said the ministry has set up a weaker global demand hurt what has special task force to implement the been one of the economy’s main measures, with most to be done in May engines, a senior commerce ministry and June. China’s exports and imports official said yesterday. The government returned to slight growth in April as has a target of 7.5 percent growth in orders to the United States and exports and imports this year. After a European Union surged, offering some soft start to 2014, the ministry says positive signals for the world’s second- combined exports and imports need largest economy. to grow by an average annual rate of Analysts said the trade picture was 11.3 percent each month from May to better in April than the data suggested, December. as export figures last year had been “The foreign trade situation is com- inflated by fake invoices before a mid- plex and grim this year. It’s a very ardu- year crackdown by authorities. ous task to achieve the annual target China’s foreign trade grew an annu- of 7.5 percent,” Zhang Ji, head of for- al average 15.9 percent between 1978 eign trade department at the com- and 2013, accounting for a fifth of eco- merce ministry, told a news confer- nomic growth in recent years and cre- ence. “The economic recovery of devel- ating millions of jobs, Zhang said, oped countries remains slow while adding the sector directly employs growth of emerging economies is more than 100 million people. Zhang weakening,” Zhang said. China missed said a period of high growth for China’s its trade growth targets of 8 percent in trade sector had ended as higher costs 2013 and 10 percent in 2012. Annual reduce its competitiveness and as the SHANGHAI: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (centre right) and China’s President Xi Jinping (centre left) walk to open joint naval exercises in economic growth slowed to an 18- United States and Europe try to boost Shanghai yesterday. — AP month low of 7.4 percent in the first their manufacturing and export sec- quarter, raising the risk that China tors. The labor costs of Chinese could miss its economic growth target- exporters in coastal areas, the main set at 7.5 percent in 2014 — for the export hubs, are two to three times Putin yet to seal gas first time in 15 years. Last week, the those in India, Vietnam and Cambodia, government announced a raft of meas- he said. Zhang also said recent vio- ures to support the wobbly trade sec- lence against Chinese firms in Vietnam tor, including giving more tax breaks, could hurt bilateral trade. — Reuters deal on China visit Beijing seen having upper hand in gas talks

SHANGHAI: China and Russia failed to sign a Gazprom would supply China National $400 billion gas supply agreement yesterday, Petroleum Corp (CNPC) with 38 billion cubic despite growing urgency for the Kremlin to seal meters (bcm) of natural gas a year for 30 years. News a deal as it faces economic and political isolation After more than a decade of false starts, there in brief in the West over the crisis in Ukraine. has been a convergence of interests as Negotiators from both countries have been European countries look to reduce dependency Gulf Air losses halve unable to bridge differences on price, a on Russian natural gas supplies amid the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin Ukraine crisis and Beijing seeks to switch from after restructuring said in Shanghai, meaning that the contract was coal to cleaner fuels. DUBAI: Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air said yesterday its not signed on Tuesday as many in the industry China’s gas consumption is forecast to more annual losses fell by 52 percent in 2013 as it neared the end had predicted. But there is still a chance that the than double between 2014 and 2020, while of a five-year restructuring. Gulf Air, which has cut routes two sides could agree before Putin leaves China Beijing’s move to curb coal use led to a severe and staff, said its losses fell by more than 100 million dinars today, or, more likely, in time for an economic gas supply shortage last winter. ($265.25 million) resulting in its strongest earnings in eight forum in the Russian city of St Petersburg later The failure to reach a deal so far, despite talk years. The airline did not give the actual profit or revenue this week. of a narrowing price gap, suggests China is driv- figures in its statement. The losses were reduced by retiring Despite disappointment so far over an ener- ing a hard bargain. “Despite all the talk out of aircraft, closing eight routes, reducing staff expenses and gy deal seen as vital to both countries’ long-term Russia, despite their desperation, China has the renegotiating over 2,000 contracts with suppliers, it said. economic interests, Putin did receive a rare nod upper hand,” said Gordon Kwan, regional head Competition from other Middle East airlines such as Dubai- ZURICH: Swiss flags fly at the entrance of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Zurich. of support from Chinese President Xi Jinping of oil and gas research at Nomura Research. based Emirates, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad and Qatar Airways, and European bank Credit Suisse AG pleaded guilty yesterday to helping wealthy over the Ukraine crisis. In a statement issued “China wants to really squeeze the price low- damage to Bahrain’s tourism industry from anti-government Americans avoid paying taxes through secret offshore accounts and agreed to pay after the two leaders met, Russia and China er. China has other options such as the gas proj- protests, have reduced its passenger numbers. Budget air- about $2.6 billion. — AP called for the de-escalation of tensions in ect in Sichuan and North American liquefied line Bahrain Air shut down last year, blaming the political Ukraine and for “peaceful, political ways to natural gas. I think it will be a mistake by Russia unrest and the government’s refusal to compensate it. Gulf How Credit Suisse got a resolve existing problems.” The countries also if they couldn’t agree on a deal just because of Air has cut about 27 percent of its staff as part of the restruc- referred to the crisis as “domestic”. Across much the price.” Gazprom’s shares were down 2.3 per- turing. It retired 14 aircraft in 2013 and now has a fleet of 26 of the rest of the world, Putin stands accused of cent at 1105 GMT on Tuesday, underperforming Airbus wide and narrow-body jets. The airline said it was tar- stiffer penalty than UBS fomenting pro-Russian sentiment in neighbor- a flat Moscow stock market. geting a further reduction in losses of approximately 10 per- ing Ukraine, which has already lost the peninsu- But Russia said there was still a chance a deal cent in 2014. WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: US prosecutors ers in 2010. Since then, political opposition in la of Crimea after it was annexed by Moscow. could be reached in China. “The visit is not over first raised the specter of a criminal plea by Switzerland against banks has hardened, with In more recent conciliatory steps, Putin yet. Talks will continue ... substantial progress is Oman CB says banking Credit Suisse Group AG more than two years lawmakers unwilling to help Credit Suisse ordered Russian forces massed on the Ukraine reached but there is still work to do on price,” system resilient to shocks after starting an investigation into whether with a UBS-style deal. The Swiss government border to return to bases and welcomed what Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told DUBAI: Oman central bank stress tests found the the Swiss bank had helped wealthy Americans had little room to maneuver either: it has the Kremlin called initial contacts between the reporters. “Talks are going on today, it can hap- country’s banking system would conform with its evade taxes. Credit Suisse on Monday became been successfully challenged in court in 2010 Ukraine government and those calling for more pen absolutely any moment.” minimum capital guidelines even under severe the largest bank in two decades to plead over its emergency decision to order UBS to power for largely Russian-speaking regions in Analysts said other issues, such as details shocks, it said yesterday. “Thanks to the comfortable guilty to a US crime and agreed to pay $2.6 send data to US officials. The government the east. China’s Xi has underscored the impor- over pipeline construction, upstream equity par- capital levels in the banking sector in Oman, even tance of ties with Russia, and Moscow was the ticipation for Chinese firms and pre-payment, billion in fines to prosecutors and regulators, a was later backed on appeal, but rebuked by after the application of severe shocks, the system as much more severe penalty than was dealt to Switzerland’s highest court over its methods first capital he visited after assuming the presi- may have also contributed to the delay. Chinese dency last year. Xi also attended the Winter state media on Monday quoted Putin as saying a whole appeared quite resilient,” the central bank rival UBS AG in 2009. in the case. Olympics in Sochi at Putin’s invitation. that preparations for a gas deal had entered “the said in its financial stability report. Should all the In a meeting with Credit Suisse’s lawyers in American officials grew increasingly impa- While observing a joint naval exercise con- final phase”, while Gazprom said at the weekend applied stressed scenarios materialize, the banking March 2013, US Justice Department officials, tient. In October of last year, Kathryn ducted outside of Shanghai, Xi and Putin said that it was “only one digit” away from a deal. system would need 77.5 million rials ($201.3 million) frustrated by what they viewed as poor co- Keneally, the head of the Justice the two neighbors would cooperate to maintain But sources close to Gazprom and in the gas to recapitalize all five deficient banks to the required operation from the bank, said an indictment Department’s tax division, called the bank’s stability in the region. But, while the two see industry said the Russian company wanted capital ratio of 12.0 percent. was possible if they did not see an improve- lawyers and said she was prepared to recom- eye-to-eye on many diplomatic issues including China to pay $25 billion up front to secure future ment, according to a person briefed on the mend prosecution, the source said. By the conflict in Syria, and generally vote as one gas supplies, which should start in 2018. China Saudi raising wheat storage situation. January, prosecutors had decided they want- on the United Nations Security Council, China has so far not been willing to commit, con- capacity by 790,000 tons Exact details of what prosecutors were ed to indict the bank and expected it to plead has been less willing to support Russia openly cerned that other suppliers would seek similar ABU DHABI: Saudi Arabia’s Grain Silos and Flour Mills seeking could not be learned, but Credit guilty, the source said. The bank, US authori- on Ukraine. deals. Russia and China said in the joint state- Organization said new wheat silos with a storage capacity of Suisse said Swiss law prevented it from hand- ties and Swiss government declined to com- ment that they would strengthen cooperation in 60,000 tons would be operational by the third quarter of ing over names of clients to US authorities, ment beyond their public statements. U.S. China has upperhand energy and infrastructure in Russia, and would 2015 in Al-Ahsa region in the eastern part of the kingdom. and Swiss lawmakers did not want to do any- prosecutors said Credit Suisse helped clients Expectations had run high that Putin’s China also step up financial cooperation and look to The Al-Ahsa silos project cost over 297 million Saudi riyals thing to help the bank to do so. By that time, deceive U.S. tax authorities by concealing visit would provide the setting for both parties increase trade in the ruble and the yuan curren- ($79.2 million), Director General Waleed Elkhereiji told Saudi Credit Suisse, officials in the United States, assets in illegal, undeclared bank accounts, in to ink a contract under which state-owned cies. — Reuters state news agency SPA yesterday. The new silos are part of a and the Swiss government had been negoti- a conspiracy that spanned decades, and in wider plan to add around 790,000 tons of Saudi storage ating for almost two and a half years with lit- one case began more than a century ago. capacity. Other projects include Makkah, Qassim and Jizan tle success. Credit Suisse, which has a large business and Aseer. The Al-Ahsa project also includes a flour mill with While US prosecutors insisted on getting managing rich clients’ money, helped them a capacity of 600 tons a day at the cost of 200 million riyals, at names of alleged US tax cheats, the Swiss withdraw funds from their undeclared which will come on stream at the same time, SPA quoted government steadfastly maintained it would accounts by either providing hand-delivered Elkhereiji as saying. The kingdom is looking to raise its not invoke emergency law in order to allow cash to the United States or using Credit milling capacity from 11,430 tons a day to 15,180 tons a day Credit Suisse to deliver data on any of its Suisse’s correspondent bank accounts in the in three years, Elkhereiji said. clients. In Switzerland, breaking banking United States, the Justice Department said. secrecy laws can mean fines and up to three Prosecutors said Credit Suisse had around Temasek’s StanChart years on jail, though the Swiss government 22,000 US client accounts worth around $10 stake dips to 18% has said it will loosen those laws and adopt billion, which included both declared and LONDON/SINGAPORE: Singaporean sovereign wealth data sharing agreements with its neighbors if undeclared accounts. The bank was forced to fund Temasek’s stake in Standard Chartered has dipped to it becomes a global standard. Swiss authori- plead guilty not only because of its complici- just below 18 percent after it opted to take the bank’s lat- ties have aggressively pursued breaches of ty in tax evasion, but also because of its poor est dividend in cash, while a majority of other investors secrecy in the past, closing off that avenue to co-operation in the investigation, prosecutors took their payouts in shares. Temasek has been Standard Credit Suisse. According to several sources, said. It did not begin an internal probe until Chartered’s biggest investor since 2006. It said yesterday the bank - much like its Zurich rival UBS - early 2011, and did not preserve some evi- its holding had dipped to 17.75 percent, from 18.06 per- cent at the end of December. Any change in holding refused to entertain the idea of its manage- dence of the wrongdoing, documents through a percentage point needs to be disclosed. The ment risking jail by meeting US demands for showed. Still, the bank escaped a much worse reduction was because Temasek took the final 2013 divi- client data. fate. Critically, the New York state bank regu- dend in cash, a person familiar with the matter said. NEW DELHI: Reserve Bank of India Governor, Raghuram Rajan (center) launches new UBS paid $780 million in fines and got a lator decided not to revoke its license, sparing Standard Chartered said about half of its shareholders took deferred prosecution agreement to settle it from what could have been a devastating competition preparation books during the Annual Day lecture by Competition the final dividend in stock, meaning it has to issue millions similar charges, but also turned over names blow for a foreign bank as it could effectively Commission of India in New Delhi yesterday. The Competition Commission of India is more shares, which dilutes the percentage holding of of 4,450 clients. That data handover was only have cut off its direct access to the US bank responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 throughout India and to pre- investors that take cash. backed by a narrow margin of Swiss lawmak- market. —Reuters vent activities that have an adverse effect on competition. — AFP BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 European stocks drop on poor earnings

LONDON: European equities fell yesterday, of the firm. “Schroders notes with disap- with London hit by poorly-received results pointment the quick rejection by the from British retailer Marks & Spencer and AstraZeneca Board of the latest offer from mobile phone giant Vodafone. In afternoon Pfizer and the decision of the Pfizer Board trade, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index to draw a premature end to these negotia- dropped 0.50 percent to stand at 6,814.34 tions by calling their latest proposal final,” points. said a spokeswoman. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 reversed 0.21 percent London investors also digested other to 9,639.48 points and in Paris the CAC 40 merger and acquisition activity yesterday. fell 0.41 percent to 4,451.91, compared with The London Stock Exchange’s share price Monday’s close. “Dominating the headlines rose 0.34 percent to 1,770 pence, after ... were Vodafone and M&S, which both saw revealing it was in exclusive talks to buy falls in their share prices,” analyst Chris US-based stock-index and asset-manage- Beauchamp at trading firm IG said of the ment business Frank Russell Company. London market. Vodafone’s shares topped On the downside, Cobham’s share price the FTSE 100 fallers board, slumping more sank after the British aerospace and than four percent despite surging annual defense group agreed to purchase US wire- net profits, as the group forecast that earn- less communications firm Aeroflex Holding ings would slide in 2014/2015. Corp. for $1.46 billion. Cobham shares The stock later stood at 208.53 pence, dived 2.37 percent to 304.80 pence on down 3.97 percent from Monday’s closing London’s second-tier FTSE 250 index, which level. was up 0.46 percent at 15,450.71 points. In “Those (investors) looking for capital foreign exchange activity, the euro sank to growth will be disappointed that the com- $1.3688 from $1.3709 late in New York on pany expects a drop in earnings for the Monday. coming year,” added Beauchamp. Marks & Spencer’s share price dived 1.96 percent to Sterling bounces 422.145 pence, after announcing that The pound hit a multi-month high underlying profits before tax slid 3.9 per- against the euro and rose against the dol- cent to £623 million in the 52 weeks to lar, as official data showed Britain’s 12- March 29, from a year earlier. month inflation rate accelerated to 1.8 per- That marked the third successive drop in cent last month, from 1.6 percent in March. underlying annual profits. The group, The European single currency sank to 81.19 involved in a big investment and rejuvena- pence-a level last seen in January 2013. It tion program did well with its food lines but later stood at 81.33 pence down from 81.52 the clothing sector struggled. pence on Monday. “Today’s announcement ... has once The British pound also climbed to again prompted shareholders to ask ques- $1.6829 from $1.6813. However, the data tions about the pace of the latest turn- also revealed that rising British inflation around strategy,” said CMC Markets analyst rate was due this year’s timing of Easter, Michael Hewson. which fell in April instead of March. Shares in Credit Suisse meanwhile That persuaded many transport compa- climbed a day after the Swiss banking giant nies to increase their prices to capitalize on was fined $2.6 billion by US authorities a peak-time for holidaygoers. “Once the after pleading guilty to helping Americans detail of today’s numbers was digested avoid taxes. After skyrocketing at open, sterling’s initial gains were eroded,” said Credit Suisse shares were later up 1.04 per- Investec economist Victoria Geoghegan. cent to reach 26.340 Swiss francs on the “Easter effects aside the latest release pro- Swiss stock exchange’s SMI index. vides little evidence of significant or broad Overall, the SMI was up by 0.16 percent. based price pressures,” she added. Meanwhile AstraZeneca’s share price fell Elsewhere, the price of gold slid to further, one day after it rejected a ‘final’ $1,291.43 an ounce on the London Bullion $117-billion takeover bid from US rival Market from $1,302 yesterday. In Asia yes- Pfizer. The British drugmaker argued that terday, markets mostly rose following gains the £55-per-share offer undervalued it, on Wall Street, but Thailand’s main index forcing Pfizer to walk away. slipped after the army declared martial law Shares fell by 0.31 percent to £42.74, following months of deadly anti-govern- having slumped by 11.11 percent on ment protests. Tokyo rose 0.49 percent, Monday. AstraZeneca’s stance sparked criti- Shanghai won 0.15 percent and Hong Kong cism from British investment group added 0.57 percent, but Bangkok fell 1.13 Schroders, which owns about two percent percent. — AFP

Employees on strike of the French steel industry group Ascometal, a company in financial difficulties, stand in front of their factory yesterday in Fos-sur-Mer, as they wait for the decision of the Nanterre commercial court concerning offers by investors. Ascometal, which employs 1,900 workers, was placed in receivership on March 7, 2014 by the Commercial Court of Nanterre, with an observation period of six months .— AFP Oil steady above $109 on Libya unrest, output

LONDON: Brent oil held steady above research note. $109 a barrel yesterday as unrest and low US commercial crude stocks were output in OPEC exporter Libya offset expected to have risen by a million bar- downward pressure from expectations of rels in the week to May 16, a preliminary a weekly build in US crude stocks to a Reuters poll of four analysts showed. record high. Libyan output has dwindled That would take crude inventories to a to about 210,000 barrels per day (bpd), new record after inventories hit 399.4 far below pre-crisis levels closer to 1.4 million barrels in the week to April 25, million bpd, with western fields still shut the highest since the US government’s after the government said it had reached Energy Information Administration (EIA) a deal with protesters to reopen them. began collecting such data in 1982. Brent crude was up 2 cents at $109.39 The poll was taken before weekly a barrel at 1117 GMT, after settling 38 inventory reports due later yesterday cents lower on Monday. US crude for from industry group the American June delivery was 18 cents higher at Petroleum Institute (API) and on $102.79 a barrel. The contract expires yesterday. US crude for July delivery was Wednesday from the EIA. “The summer up 22 cents at $102.33 per barrel. driving season could provide some sup- “It failed to hold over $110 yesterday port, but the economies aren’t yet show- and there has been no further deteriora- ing substantial growth in consumption,” tion in Libya ... We are in a broad range of said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of $105-$110,” said Christopher Bellew, trad- commodity research firm Barratt Bulletin er at Jefferies Bache. “The situation in in Sydney. “I don’t think there’s a lot out Libya is essentially not a major change there that can force prices either way. I and it leads me to believe that if Libya think we’re stuck in this range for some was exporting as much as it could, we time.” would be closer to $105.” Europe’s energy commissioner said on Monday progress had been made in the Record high US stocks gas price dispute between Russia and French oil major Total said on Monday Ukraine after talks with Russia’s energy it had cut its presence in Tripoli to a mini- minister and Gazprom. A new round of mum due to security concerns following talks is scheduled for May 26. In Norway, weekend clashes and an attack by a Statoil shut oil production at its Snorre B renegade general on parliament. platform in the North Sea and evacuated Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach is a quarter of the personnel there after an also evacuating workers. “The latest oil leak. events have no doubt quashed any Output at Snorre field’s two produc- hopes of oil production rising noticeably tion platforms averaged 88,000 bpd last from its current level of a good 200,000 year, data from the Norwegian Petroleum barrels per day,” Commerzbank said in a Directorate showed. — Reuters BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Egypt turns to army in war on unemployment More people out of work than before 2011 revolt

CAIRO: Since toppling the Muslim Brotherhood April, the State Minister for Military Production, A spark for revolt? from power last year, the Egyptian army has Major General Ibrahim Younis Ismail Ragab, Sisi has listed unemployment as a priority, but turned its substantial economic firepower on described the project as part of his ministry’s has given little detail on how he will tackle it. He is another perceived threat to the country’s stability: “responsibilities towards society”. eyed with suspicion by some young Egyptians unemployment. Putting to use a manufacturing The ministry sits at the heart of an army-con- who see him as a return to the army-backed order portfolio that stretches from pasta and refrigera- trolled sector of the economy likened by critics to against which they rebelled in 2011. “Now anoth- tors to tablet computers, the military announced a state within a state. Some analysts estimate its er military man will rule,” said Abdelrahman, a to great fanfare in April that it was offering voca- financial empire could amount to as much as 40 scowling 20-year-old at a street cafe in Cairo. “If he tional training to jobseekers in a new joint venture percent of the economy. Sisi told Reuters in a May makes one mistake as president, the entire people with the civilian government. 15 interview it was no more than 2 percent. will revolt against him.” Like many young It was part of a push to tackle joblessness, and Egyptians idling in the coffee shops, Abdelrahman evidence of a more prominent role for the army’s Gulf money is unemployed and lives at home. He had a job at economic muscle, with its former chief, Abdel Since Sisi toppled Islamist President Mohamed a clothing store that paid him 800 Egyptian Fattah Al-Sisi, the runaway favorite to become Morsi last July, following mass protests against his pounds ($110) a month but was sacked for folding president in May 26-7 elections. Egypt’s unem- rule, the army’s economic role has become even a shirt the wrong way. “Of course I’m angry,” he ployment crisis could make or break his presiden- more apparent. The military has positioned itself said. cy. The 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak was as the channel for some of the billions of dollars The government’s new training scheme aims largely fuelled by anger at the grim prospects fac- flowing into Egypt from the Gulf, for example. to address a skills mismatch partly rooted in a ing young Egyptians unable to find work, afford Sherbiny said the Ministry of Military Production state policy that has for decades offered free terti- their own home and get married. had never before agreed to open its facilities to a ary education to those with adequate grades, pro- Since then, as foreign investors and tourists civilian-run training program. But it is not doing it ducing a surplus of accountants and engineers shied away from the country of 85 million, the job for free. The United Arab Emirates is bankrolling who often end up driving taxis. The Industrial crisis has only got worse. “The problem is a time the scheme, part of billions of dollars in aid sent to Training Council (ITC), which belongs to the bomb,” said Mahmoud Al-Sherbiny. He heads a Egypt by Gulf states hostile to the Brotherhood, Industry Ministry, held a job fair earlier this year government industrial training scheme tapping and the civilian authorities pay Military Production offering 20,000 jobs in the industrial sector, but for the first time the Ministry of Military for their services. only 7,000 people came, an ITC official said. Production. “If it does not work it will blow up in “The (project) adds to the image of the military Some believe the Ministry of Military front of everyone’s faces,” he said. “They don’t want as Egypt’s guardians - not just in terms of politics Production may be harnessed even more widely to be faced by another revolution within the next and security, but social-economically as well - the to help address the mismatch. “The best welders year.” only institution capable of addressing Egypt’s mul- in Egypt are known to have come from those (mil- tiple problems,” said Oliver Coleman, senior analyst itary production) centers,” said Sameh Seif Elyazal, Responsibilities at Maplecroft risk research company. “The military a former army general who now heads a political Though it may appear to be a drop in the ocean may have the economic clout to improve youth research centre and says he is often in contact - the scheme aims to train 100,000 youths in skills employment in some sectors - manufacturing pri- with Sisi. “Military production is part of the entire needed by industry - it shows the army’s readiness marily. But in terms of the overall economy, the solution.” With perhaps a fifth of graduates unem- to back government and its evolving role in shap- impact will be extremely modest.” ployed, changing mindsets could be a harder nut ing domestic policy. The beneficiaries include According to official rates, more than 13 percent to crack. Many youths, such as 22-year old engi- those at a heavily guarded complex run by the of the Egyptian workforce are unemployed. This neering student Mohamed Abdel Kader, refuse to Ministry of Military Production on the outskirts of figure, higher than the 8.9 percent on the eve of take up blue-collar jobs like those in the military Cairo - young men and women in blue coats the 2011 revolt, masks the wider problem of under- scheme, because they are holding out for some- receiving training to be mechanics, industrial employment in a low-wage economy. Official fig- thing to match their education. “There’s no way - I machine operators or to build circuit boards. ures rarely tell the full story in a country where study for five years and then do something else? I Accompanying journalists during a visit there in much business activity goes under the radar. must have an appropriate job,” he said. — Reuters

Crude prices climb back Cameron signals on regional tensions concern over UK’s red-hot NBK ECONOMIC REPORT property market KUWAIT: After weakening in March, crude World oil demand outlook prices climbed back up again in April. Kuwait The International Energy Agency (IEA) has LONDON: Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday gave his Export Crude (KEC), after slipping to $99.7 per trimmed its forecast for world oil demand strongest signal yet that Britain may need to cool its red-hot barrel (pb) on 3 April, trended higher during growth in 2014, from 1.4 mbpd to 1.3 mbpd. property market, saying he agreed with the Bank of England the month. KEC closed the month at $102.1 This follows downward revisions to Russian that the housing market was the biggest risk to financial sta- pb. Similarly, the benchmark Brent crude oil oil demand this year in the wake of develop- price, climbed from a low of $103.7 pb on 2 ments in Crimea; both the IMF and the World bility. House prices are soaring in London and have risen by April to a high of $110 pb on 24 April, averag- Bank have adjusted their forecasts down- a tenth over the past year in Britain as the economic recov- ing $107.9 pb during the month. Meanwhile, wards for Russian GDP growth in 2014, high- ery and record-low interest rates tempt purchasers back into the performance of West Texas Intermediate lighting the negative impact that political one of the world’s most expensive property markets. (WTI), the main US crude benchmark, despite uncertainty may have on confidence and But Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned on some volatility during the month, began and investment. US oil demand growth has also Sunday that the housing market posed the biggest domes- ended the month at approximately the same been trimmed slightly on account of lower tic risk to the financial stability of Britain’s $2.5 trillion econo- level - around $100 pb. than expected delivery data for January and my. “I agree with everything he said in his interview,” The rise in prices appears to have been February. World oil demand is projected to Cameron told BBC radio. “It is absolutely right that we are driven largely by geopolitical factors, particu- reach approximately 92.7 mbpd in 2014, an alert to any dangers and problems.” Cameron also said he larly tensions arising from the crisis in increase of 1.4 percent on last year’s figure. would consider scaling back the government’s ‘Help to Buy’ Ukraine. This has helped to support oil prices mortgage guarantee scheme if Carney advised such a step in view of potential western sanctions World oil supply outlook would be prudent. Carney, who has repeatedly refused to be SINGAPORE: A general view shows a container port in Singapore yesterday. Singapore’s against Russia, the world’s second-largest Crude output of the OPEC-11 (excluding drawn on whether he sees signs of a property bubble in trade-reliant economy expanded a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent quarter-on-quarter crude exporter. Despite the signing of an Iraq) fell by a substantial 0.54 mbpd to 27.5 London, said the British housing market has “deep, deep” the trade ministry said. — AFP agreement between Russia, Ukraine, the mbpd in March, according to data provided structural problems, chief among them insufficient con- European Union and the United States in via ‘direct communication’ between OPEC and struction of new homes. Such stark warnings from Carney Geneva on 17 April to de-escalate tensions in national sources. This was largely attributed and now Prime Minister Cameron indicate a growing accept- Ukraine, violent confrontations between pro- to declines in Saudi Arabian and Libyan out- ance that something needs to be done to cool the market, Home Depot Q1 results Russian armed groups and the authorities in put, by 2.9 percent and 40.5 percent, respec- especially in London where even some estate agents admit Kiev have continued. Elsewhere, insecurity tively. Production in Saudi Arabia was the soaring prices are unsustainable. continues to plague Libyan and South reduced by 0.28 mbpd to an 11-month low of miss expectations Sudanese attempts to kick-start their oil 9.6 mbpd due to weaker demand from refin- Home owning dream? ATLANTA: Home Depot’s fiscal first-quarter net Atlanta company rose 3 percent to $19.69 bil- exports, adding further upward pressure to ers. Meanwhile, Libyan output fell by 0.16 Cameron’s coalition government has faced calls from the oil prices. mbpd, to a 2014 low of 0.24 mbpd. However, income climbed 12 percent as a key sales met- lion, but missed Wall Street’s estimate of $19.97 opposition Labor party to scale back its ‘Help to Buy’ mort- ric improved despite a slow start to the spring billion. Sales at US stores open at least a year But given recent downward revisions to output is expected to have recovered in April gage guarantee scheme which Cameron launched last year the global growth outlook in 2014, the risks with the resumption of exports from some of selling season due to bad weather. But both its increased 3.3 percent. For the entire company, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference. When adjusted earnings and revenue came in short the metric rose 2.6 percent. These figures are a to market fundamentals should be on the Libya’s previously blockaded eastern ports. asked if the government would consider changing the downside. Recently, the International Meanwhile, total OPEC production (includ- of Wall Street’s expectations, and its shares key indicator of a retailer’s health. They exclude scheme to reduce its upper borrowing limit, Cameron said: slipped in premarket trading yesterday. results from locations recently opened or Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank ing Iraq) also dropped to below 31 mbpd fol- “Of course. We will consider any changes that are proposed reduced their forecast for global economic lowing significant disruptions to Iraqi output. Nonetheless, the No 1 home improvement closed. by Mark Carney.” ‘Help to Buy’ allows people to buy property growth this year. The downgrade comes on Production in Iraq plummeted by 0.32 mbpd retailer raised its full-year earnings forecast. The company had 2,263 stores in all 50 worth up to 600,000 pounds ($1.01 million) with deposits as the back of a gloomier outlook for key in March to 3.1 mbpd - a major setback from Home Depot Inc. earned $1.38 billion, or $1 per states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the low as 5 percent. Carney said the BoE was checking the pro- emerging markets such as Russia, Brazil and the gains made in February when production share, for the three months ended May 4. That US Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces gram, which he said was targeted and relatively small South Africa - despite an expected recovery had surged by 0.6 mbpd to a 35-year high. compares with $1.23 billion, or 83 cents per and Mexico at the end of the first quarter. in the US. The Russian economy in particular Some of the decline has been attributed to though he cautioned it could grow a lot. Cameron said the share, a year earlier. The latest quarter’s results Home Depot now foresees fiscal 2014 earnings is expected to be adversely affected by the insurgent attacks which closed one of the average property price bought under Help to Buy was included a benefit of 4 cents per share related of $4.42 per share. Its prior guidance was for recent crisis. country’s important pipelines. 160,000 pounds and that 85 percent of the purchases were to the sale of part of its equity ownership in HD earnings of $4.38 per share. Analysts expect Going forward, oil prices should ease on Non-OPEC oil supplies are now projected outside London and the south-east of England. Supply Holdings Inc. Stripping out the benefit, full-year earnings of $4.41 per share. expectations of loosening market fundamen- to increase by 1.5 mbpd this year, lower than For Conservatives, ‘Help to Buy’ is the successor to earnings amounted to 96 cents per share. The chain reaffirmed its outlook for 2014 tals, as evidenced by the futures curve for previously projected. The IEA has revised Margaret Thatcher’s 1980’s ‘Right to Buy’ scheme which gave Analysts, on average, expected earnings of revenue to rise by about 4.8 percent. Based on Brent crude. Coupled with a weaker global down its estimates for non-OPEC supply the residents of state-owned housing the right to buy their 99 cents per share, according to a FactSet sur- 2013’s revenue of $78.81 billion, this implies outlook, large increases in non-OPEC sup- growth by 0.25 mbpd from the previous homes. “Since the Second World War, Conservative leaders vey. Shares of Home Depot shed 90 cents to approximately $82.6 billion. Wall Street expects plies are likely to set oil prices on a down- month, mainly reflecting lower projections have always believed in a property owning democracy,” $75.60 in premarket trading about 45 minutes revenue of $82.62 billion. Home Depot’s small- ward trajectory. for Russian production. Cameron said. —Reuters ahead of the market open. Revenue for the er rival Lowe’s Cos reports results today. — AP Africa investors looking beyond negative headlines

JOHANNESBURG: Investors in Africa are increasingly able newest nation, South Sudan, to bombs by suspected Africa’s largest economy through a rebasing of its GDP, only would reach a record $3.2-3.4 billion in the 2014 fiscal year to see beyond negative headlines of violence in nations Islamist militants in Kenya and the abduction of more had an installed generating capacity of 4,000 MW - 10 ending June 30, up from $2.8 billion last year, he said. like South Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya, but they also seek than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria by Islamist group Boko times less than South Africa, Wormser said. “Nigeria has to About a quarter of MIGA’s total cover globally this year more protection against risk for their business ventures, a Haram. “There is more understanding of the riskiness catch up. It’s absolutely critical for its competitiveness and would be in Africa. MIGA was also backing power expan- senior World Bank official said. “There was a time when and more ability from investors to distinguish between its growth prospects and the World Bank Group has sion projects in Angola and Cameroon, unlocking vital Africa for many investors was just like a big, big country,” what is media hype and what is the reality on the opened the way for new IPPs (independent power produc- additional investments and funding. Michel Wormser, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer ground, and the likeliness of their investment to yield ers) to come to the country,” he added. Wormser said this kind of intervention by the World of the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee what they expect,” he added. MIGA, which has a special facility for Conflict-Affected Bank’s political risk insurance arm in support of critical pri- Agency (MIGA), said. “Africa continues to be a land of great opportunities.” In and Fragile Economies, could consider supporting invest- vate investments could have an influential “demonstration “When something happened in one side of Africa, it Nigeria, for example, where President Goodluck Jonathan ments in Nigeria’s violent northeast, where the govern- effect” in rekindling job-creating economic activity in seemed to affect perceptions of the whole continent,” he has sought international help to combat a five-year-old ment has sought World Bank backing for a program to states emerging from the chaos and destruction of internal told Reuters in Johannesburg yesterday during a visit to Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast that has killed combat the poverty seen as a factor fueling the Boko conflicts. South Africa and Namibia. “This is not the case today. Many thousands, private investors were participating in ground- Haram rebellion there, he said. He cited the case of Ivory Coast, where following the investors understand the difference between countries breaking power generation expansion projects made pos- end of a 2011 civil war MIGA provided $750 million in guar- and even understand the difference within a country sible by recent reforms. Rekindling economic activity antees for a total of $2 billion of investment in major infra- between regions and sectors,” he said. MIGA, its sister arm the International Finance Wormser said the “huge increase” in investment flows to structure and power projects. The World Bank agency provides political risk insur- Corporation and the World Bank itself were helping to Africa in recent years had been accompanied by greater “As a country emerges from crisis, a private project ance and credit cover for investors in developing mobilise nearly $1.7 billion of private financing for projects efforts by investors to insure their equity and loans against which creates jobs, which restores services, is going to be nations often emerging from years of conflict. Wormser to expand Nigeria’s electricity generation. This involved political and commercial risk, both with private and public the most visible sign of stability,” Wormser said. “One good said most investors in Africa now had enough sophisti- more than $600 million of guarantees for the Azura Edo insurance providers and multi-lateral insurers like MIGA. project, even if it is a small project, is going to be seen as a cation to discern long-term opportunities despite a flur- power plant near Benin City in southern Nigeria. MIGA’s own coverage, including support for infrastructure signal for other investors that the time has come to return ry of negative news, ranging from civil war in the world’s The country, which recently replaced South Africa as and power generation projects in several African nations, to the country,” he added. — Reuters BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Mercedes-Benz the most innovative automobile brand AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award 2014

STUTTGART/FRANKFURT: A comprehensive study resulting from following traffic. by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) “Daimler is rolling out its innovations in other and the PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) consultan- segment categories even more quickly than cy has revealed Mercedes-Benz to be the most before,” said Prof Dr Bratzel in praise of the brand.” innovative automobile brand, thanks to a wealth of Around the same number of innovations for acci- innovations. Daimler has also won the competition dent-free driving - 19 in all - are to be found in the as the “Most innovative group” in the “Vehicle con- E- and C-Class.” cepts” and “Safety systems” categories. The presen- tation ceremony for the “AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Comprehensive innovation database Awards 2014” took place as part of a gala on 8 May The basis for decisions on the 2014 in Frankfurt/Main. AutomotiveINNOVATIONS Award is provided by a “With almost 170 index points, Mercedes- study founded on the innovation database of the Benz demonstrates by far the highest innova- Center of Automotive Management (CAM) in tive strength, even attaining the highest brand Bergisch Gladbach. For the ninth year in succes- ranking in the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS survey. sion, the automotive innovations of 18 global The three most innovative models also come automobile groups comprising 52 brands have from Mercedes-Benz, in the guise of the S-, E- innovations which are swiftly introduced into the GLA-Class offer leading aerodynamic values in been systematically surveyed and assessed and C-Class,” notes Prof Dr Stefan Bratzel from vehicle in all relevant fields.” their respective classes; and the CLA-Class has according to quantitative and qualitative criteria. the CAM. The innovations for which Mercedes-Benz even set a world record for series production auto- Innovations are defined as new developments “The love of invention never dies” was the mot- received the “Automotive INNOVATIONS Award mobiles as the BlueEFFICIENCY Edition with a drag which offer tangible additional customer benefits. to of Carl Benz, one of our founding fathers. Today, 2014” include the “suspension with eyes” - Magic coefficient of Cd= 0.22 and a drag area of 0.49 m2. The innovations must be already available or they innovations are a more important success factor body control, Distronic plus Traffic Jam Vehicle The award-winning new safety features include must at least have been presented in developed than ever before,” said Prof Dr Thomas Weber, Follow Assist and the Mercedes-Benz S 400 BAS PLUS Brake Assist featuring a function to prototypes. member of the board of management of Daimler HYBRID model. recognise crossing traffic, Night View Assist Plus, The CAM operates as an independent institute AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes- Exemplary aerodynamics and numerous safety which is able to recognize both people and ani- for empirical automobile and mobility research Benz Cars Development, at the symposium before innovations also saw Daimler win the competition mals, and PRE-SAFE PLUS. This system sees and for strategic consulting. The director of the the award ceremony. “The diverse challenges of as the “Most innovative group” in the “Vehicle con- Daimler broadening the established occupant pro- CAM is Prof Dr Stefan Bratzel, who founded the the future can only be addressed successfully by cepts” and “Safety systems” categories. The S- and tection measures to include dangerous situations institute in April 2004.

Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al- Babtain achieves re-certification to ISO 9001:2008 standard

KUWAIT: Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain demonstration of our commitment to contin- Company WLL - Automotive Division, a lead- ually improve the quality and consistency of ing automotive distributor of Nissan, Infiniti, sales and service to our customers”. Renault, CMC, JMC & Tadano vehicles for “Customers want to be confident that they Kuwait, announced that it has been recerti- are doing business with an organization that fied again by Intertek as meeting the require- can meet or exceed their requirements in a ments of ISO 9001:2008 standard. timely manner. Because it is an internationally Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain recognized Quality Management System, ISO Company WLL - Automotive Division was 9001:2008 certification gives customers a rea- assessed and certified as meeting the require- son to have that confidence”, said Mohammed ments of ISO 9001:2008 standard for “Import, Shalaby, COO of Al-Babtain Group. Sales & After sales service of Nissan, Infiniti, “This Re-certification covers all our Renault CMC Passenger and Light Company’s Automotive Division activities; it Commercial vehicles including JMC & Tadano means that the auditors could choose any site and parts sales”. to assess. Therefore, everyone has to ready to Commenting on the occasion Saleh Al- welcome them. Having the confidence to Babtain, CEO of Al-Babtain Group said, “Our allow the external auditors such open access Company is committed to providing our cus- is a testament to the faith we have in our tomers with high quality products and serv- quality systems across the country”, said Abey ice at a fair price meeting and exceeding their Thomas, Manager - Quality Assurance, Al- expectations. This Re-certification is a clear Babtain Group - Automotive Division. Bentley claims top honors at Telegraph Motoring Awards Bentley Mulsanne named ‘Best Luxury Car’ at national awards

KUWAIT: Bentley’s pinnacle flagship, the ment suite, which features a Wifi hotspot and S, the signature GT W12 and performance flag- Mulsanne, is honored with the title ‘Best Luxury iPads integrated within the picnic tables. ship GT Speed models, all available in coupe and Car’ at the prestigious Telegraph Motoring Bentley is marking its 95th anniversary in the convertible body styles - offers customers an Awards. Meanwhile, the iconic Bentley UK by unveiling the ‘Mulsanne 95’, a striking spe- unrivalled blend of performance and luxury. Continental GT and Flying Spur luxury sedan are cial edition of this pinnacle sedan. Only 15 exam- The Bentley Flying Spur is the fastest road- runners-up, in a luxury category dominated by ples will be hand crafted by Bentley’s Mulliner going luxury sedan in the world, delivering Bentley. division in Crewe and all are reserved for cus- supercar performance with an exquisitely The results, which were announced at a gala tomers in the United Kingdom. Their British- refined interior ambience. Powered by Bentley’s event in central London, were decided by mem- inspired colours, as well as a unique wood iconic 6.0 litre W12 engine producing 616 bhp, bers of the public who voted for their favorite veneer and range of design cues, all emphasise the car is capable of covering the 0-60 mph cars via the Telegraph’s Motoring website. the exclusive nature of the Mulsanne. sprint in just 4.3 seconds, and reaching a top Kevin Rose, Bentley Member of the Board for The Bentley Continental GT was first unveiled speed of 200 mph. Now, for the first time, cus- Sales, Marketing and Aftersales commented: in 2002 to great public and media acclaim, and tomers can also specify their Flying Spur with “Bentley is the most successful luxury car since has sold more than 75,000 examples. The Bentley’s powerful and efficient 4.0 litre V8, brand in the world, and our sales have been Continental range - now encompassing the con- which offers a range of over 500 miles on a sin- growing fast both in the UK and globally. It is summate GT V8, the new sports-enhanced GT V8 gle tank. particularly rewarding to be honored by the British public in our home market, so it is with real pride that we accept this award. “Every Bentley is handcrafted by our skilled and dedi- cated team in Crewe, which makes each car a true luxury possession. On behalf of Bentley Air Cairo launches direct flight Motors and our 3,700 colleagues, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that voted for from Kuwait to Hurghada us.” Launched to public and media acclaim in KUWAIT: As part of their “Wahashtouna” between Sharm El Sheikh and Kuwait 2009, the Bentley Mulsanne is the British compa- campaign aimed at promoting tourism have already been operated earlier this ny’s flagship model. The four door luxury sedan from Arab and Gulf nations to Egypt, the year. is named after the famous corner at the Le Mans Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Ambassador Nasser Hamdi, Chairman 24 hour race, where the company achieved an impressive six wins. Powered by Bentley’s leg- Tourism Authority announced that start- of the Board of the Egyptian Tourism endary 6.75 litre twin turbo V8, the 505 bhp ing Wednesday, May 28, Air Cairo will Authority, said: “Launching direct flights Mulsanne can complete the 0-60 mph sprint in provide Kuwaiti citizens and residents from Kuwait to Hurghada is a key mile- just 5.1 seconds, and go on to a top speed of 184 the opportunity to travel directly from stone is our strategy to promote mph. Kuwait to Hurghada in Egypt. Trips’ prices Egyptian tourism from Arab nations, In addition, the Mulsanne offers driver and will start at $450. These packages will specifically Kuwait. Making up 20 per- passengers alike a uniquely stylish, refined and include air tickets and accommodation cent of the total number of tourists visit- luxurious interior space. Striking wood veneers for three nights. ing Egypt each year, the Arab market is are paired with the finest hand-stitched leather, This step comes in line with a larger one of the most significant contributors meaning each Mulsanne interior takes Bentley’s strategy to provide more weekly direct to Egyptian tourism. We are taking tangi- craftsmen and women over 120 hours to com- flights between Kuwait and the various ble steps in extending a warm welcome plete. To enhance the cabin experience even tourist destinations in Egypt. The to Kuwaiti nationals and residents alike further, Mulsanne owners can specify their car direct trips from Kuwait to Hurghada through offering these competitive pack- with a refrigerated bottle cooler behind the rear are the most recent addition to these ages to our world-renowned tourist des- armrest, luxurious deep pile lambswool carpets, direct flights, since direct line trips tinations in Hurghada.” or with a comprehensive rear seat entertain- technology WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Swipe right for Ms right: The rise of dating apps ‘There is a general digital fear’

NEW YORK: So, a lady walks into a bar...Wait, scratch filtered out. The system avoids one of the more vexing Even Facebook is getting in on the action, from a fund Matrix Partners, believes companies have only that. A lady takes out her phone. With a left swipe of problems of older-generation dating websites, where more platonic angle. Last month, the world’s biggest just begun to tap into people’s willingness to “pay” to her finger she dismisses Alex, 25 and Robert, 48. She users, especially women, can become inundated with online social network launched a feature called “near- find love, a phenomenon that extends well beyond swipes right when a photo of James, 24, pops up. It’s a messages from unwelcome suitors. They also offer a by friends,” which lets users see which of their dating apps. After all, he points out, singles already match. James had swiped right too. They chat, and generation raised on Google and social media a Facebook friends are near them at any given moment. spend lots of money on texts, calls, drinks, food, gifts make plans to meet. They’re only three miles apart, chance to do background checks on potential mates. Despite the growing acceptance, the online and app- and everything else associated with the dating game. after all. Welcome to the new world of dating. As the “If you are in a bar and a guy comes to talk to you, based dating market is small. Research firm IBIS World “Despite it being a slightly difficult category in which near-constant use of smartphones proliferates and as you are immediately going to be freaked out and you estimates that the dating services industry will hit $2.2 to raise venture funding, consumers spend more time, people grow more comfortable with disclosing their don’t want to talk to them because they are drunk,” money, and mental energy on trying to find love than location, a new class of mobile dating applications is says Melissa Ellard, 23, who uses Hinge and says she pretty much anything in life, and the desire to be emerging that spans a range as broad as human wouldn’t have gone on a date in the past six months loved is universal,” says Fliesler. “So there will always be desire itself. Millennials, busy with school, jobs and were it not for the app. “When you are using the app, demand.” social lives, say the apps save time and let users filter you get to look at their picture and see background out the undesirables, based on a few photos, words information. You get to decide whether you want to ‘Social discovery’ and Facebook connections. Unlike the dating websites continue it or not. When I meet someone, I want to Creators of some of the more ambitious apps say of yore, with endless profiles to browse and lengthy know everything about them before I go on a date they have their sights set beyond romantic match- messages to compose, newer apps offer a sense of with them.” making to what they call “social discovery,” helping immediacy and simplicity that in many ways harkens While they are still new, dating apps - used for any- people meet business connections, new friends while back to the good old days of just walking up to a pret- thing from one-night-stands to serious dating, and traveling or moving to a new city. Tinder’s co-founder, ty stranger and making small talk. even finding new friends while traveling - are emerg- Justin Mateen, insists that his creation is not a hookup As with potential mates, there’s an array to choose ing as the use of older dating websites is moving into app and wasn’t created to facilitate one-night stands. from. Christian Mingle will “find God’s match for you.” the mainstream. A recent Pew study found that some Just don’t tell that to Tinder users. “I used Tinder Hinge’s promise hinges on its ability to hook you up 9 percent of US adults say they’ve used dating sites or before I found out about Hinge and it was creep cen- with friends of friends. Coffee Meets Bagel, mean- mobile dating apps, up from 3 percent in 2008. Of tral, it was just weird,” says Ellard, who lives outside while, will present you with just one potential mate at those who are “single and looking,” the number jumps Boston, runs a startup, works in jewelry sales and has a noon every day. Dattch, with a Pinterest-like interface, to 38 percent, according to the 2013 survey. The fashion radio segment. “I used it for a few months but is for women seeking women. Revealer will let you crowd trends slightly younger, with the largest group instead of looking for someone it was more like a fun- hear a person’s voice and only show photos if you’re of users between 25 and 44. Clearly, many people ny joke,” she says. both interested. The darling dating app du jour is have grown comfortable with online dating just as For some, though, Tinder can be liberating. Platt Tinder, helped by its simple interface, a host of celebri- they have with shopping, banking and booking travel says the app “equalizes gender power,” and notes that ty users and a popularity boost from Sochi Olympic over the Internet. he hears as many of his female students talk about it athletes who used it to hook up during the Winter as male ones. “Everyone has the same finger and abili- Games. ‘How I Met Your Mother’ ty to click,” he says. “It’s not like the guy buys the Cue the cries of “the lost art of courtship” and the NEW YORK: In this April 23, 2014 photo, Melissa drink.” Jenny Lewin, 21, a student of Platt’s who’s an It’s a match! “rise of hookup culture” from older generations, who Ellard poses showing her Hinge profile on her intern at San Francisco-based Coffee Meets Bagel, Tinder, like many dating apps, requires people to harbor selective memories of the more analog iPhone, in Foxborough. — AP thinks it’s inevitable that as dating apps enter the log in using their Facebook profiles, which users say hookup culture of their youth. “There is a general digi- mainstream, they will become more accepted and adds a certain level of trust. Facebook, after all, is built tal fear,” says Glenn Platt, professor of interactive billion in revenue this year. Internet conglomerate people will be more open about using them. “I think a on knowing people’s real identities. Your Tinder pho- media studies at Miami University. “People are happy IAC/InteractiveCorp has the biggest chunk of the mar- lot of people say that our generation doesn’t know tos are your Facebook photos. Users can reject or to giggle and watch Barney in ‘How I Met Your Mother” ket with a 27 percent share. The New York company how to talk to people face to face, that we don’t know accept potential mates with a left or right swipe of hook up with people based on looks. But somehow owns traditional dating sites such as OKCupid, how to communicate, which I totally disagree with,” their finger. If both people swipe right on Tinder, the taking that same behavior and placing it in a digital Match.com and Chemistry.com, as well as Tinder. IAC says Lewin. “I would be much more likely to click a app flashes “It’s a match!” and the pair can exchange context has a stigma attached to it. Even though in has a market value of just $5.2 billion, less than a third ‘heart’ on Tinder or a ‘like’ on Coffee Meets Bagel to messages. Because messages can only come from a that context you are more likely to get a better match, of Twitter’s. say I am interested in a guy than to walk up to him person you’ve “right-swiped,” unwanted advances are more information, a person’s real name.” Jared Fliesler, general partner at the venture capital and say I am interested.” — AP

Text 911: Calling for help without making a call

MONTPELIER: Sometimes a voice call to 911 centric, 1960s technology.” The FCC tells people just won’t work, such as for deaf people in need to limit texts for help to circumstances when of help or in certain domestic violence cases. voice calls can’t be made, such as for the deaf or Now, in a big step toward moving the nation’s hard of hearing, or in domestic violence cases or emergency dispatch system out of voice-only at other times when it’s not safe to speak. technology that dates to the 1960s, four major wireless phone companies are providing the Saving a life services to local governments that want it and Black Hawk County, Iowa, became the first to have the capability to use it. Local governments use text 911 in June 2009, said Judy Flores, direc- in 16 states are using it, according to the Federal tor of the consolidated communication center Communications Commission, and Vermont for Black Hawk County, located in Waterloo. “It’s became the first to offer the technology worked great,” Flores said, adding that Iowa is statewide Monday. expected to expand the service statewide within The four major providers - Sprint, Verizon the next few weeks. The text-to-911 service is Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T - voluntarily com- now limited to text only - photos, videos and mitted to providing the service by May 15. The location information will have to wait for the FCC has required all service providers to offer it next generation of the technology. by the end of the year. Brian Fontes, the chief Fontes said he expected the use of text-to- executive officer of the Virginia-based National 911 would grow, but he can’t say how fast. Emergency Number Association, said the four Vermont is one of the few states in the coun- major carriers offering text-to-911 is “a big deal.” try with a statewide emergency 911 phone He said that 911 texting is part of a broader push system, making rollout easier. While the num- GISEC 2014 dissects Heartbleed computer to use technology to enhance the information ber using text 911 is small -there have only that can be provided to emergency responders been 34 legitimate 911 texts for help since and to put emergency call centers on an equal Vermont started using the system, compared bug threatening global IT security footing with the technology many people carry to 208,000 911 voice calls last year - David in their pockets. Tucker, executive director of Vermont’s DUBAI: More than 17% of the Internet’s secure web what could happen when many applications and Conference will shed light on the vulnerability of Some professional sports teams already Enhanced 911 board, notes that it has saved servers are believed to be vulnerable to the servers around the world are vulnerable to a security Heartbleed, especially clear prevention methods the allow fans to report unruly behavior inside stadi- at least one life after dispatchers received a Heartbleed security bug attack, allowing the theft of flaw. Imagine what would happen if every secure audience can use to protect their internal corporate ums and arenas through texting, while law text about a suicide-by-hanging in progress. servers’ private keys and users’ session cookies and communication stream in the world became vulnera- networks under the theme ‘Change the way you con- enforcement has started using text messaging “We were able to get a location for the person passwords. To address the countermeasures against ble. Quantum computing has the potential to enable nect to the internet’. during standoff negotiations. “It’s been a long and it’s my understanding the police broke this potentially devastating bug, leading experts will the first organizations that build such machines to Mikko Hypponen - the man who tracked down the time - years, decades - since our nation’s 911 sys- down the door,” Tucker said. “The person had provide ‘Healing’ insights at the second Gulf eavesdrop on virtually any encrypted data streams at authors of the first PC virus ever recorded - will deliver tems have been advanced,” Fontes said. “They already hung themselves. They cut him down Information Security Expo & Conference (GISEC) 2014 will. BT is working with partners to develop the next his keynote address on Day 2 of the GISEC Conference are pretty much still almost 100 percent voice- and revived him.” — AP from 9 to 11 June at Dubai World Trade Centre generation of encryption schemes that may be a and will discuss critical information security issues to (DWTC). The Heartbleed bug is a serious vulnerability requirement for true data safety in the near future.” empower one with superior protection. Wim Remes, in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the Internet Chairman of the Board of Directors at (ISC)2 will focus library that allows stealing information protected to read the memory of the systems protected by the on strategies to map out existing infrastructures to under normal conditions, by the SSL/TLS encryption vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software. This adequately protect them against realistic threats used to secure the Internet. SSL/TLS provides commu- compromises the secret keys used to identify the serv- among several others. nication security and privacy over the Internet for ice providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and The conference segment of GISEC, from 10 to 11 applications such as web, email, instant messaging passwords of the users and the actual content. This June, will host delegates from over 18 countries and (IM) and some virtual private networks (VPNs). allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, explores issues on global cybersecurity vulnerabilities Leading information security experts including steal data directly from the services and users and to and threats against systems, applications, and person- Robert Bigman, former Chief Information Security impersonate services and users. “GISEC has identified al networks. The free-to-attend security sessions on Officer at the CIA; Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research that the Heartbleed bug could have disastrous conse- vendor-run educational presentations, workshops, Officer at F-Secure; Nader Henein, Advance Security quences if the threat is not managed properly and demonstrations, informative speeches and case-stud- Solutions, Advisory Division, Blackberry and Nicolai quickly. With several eminent authorities in the field of ies will give I.T. professionals useful insights to help Solling, Director of Technology Services at Help AG, information security convening at GISEC, those who defend their businesses from cyberattacks. which is currently into assessing the market require- would like to learn more about Heartbleed can find As the region’s only large-scale information securi- ments for Managed Security Services, will tackle vari- their answers at the event and they will gain global ty platform, GISEC will gather industry, government ous subjects about Heartbleed that was publicly dis- insight as well as grasp the regional impact and the and thought leaders as well as international and closed as recently as 7 April 2014. industry’s latest response to this threat,” said Trixie regional cybersecurity experts in various business ver- “Heartbleed is exactly what happens when you LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade ticals such as IT, oil & gas, banking & finance, govern- stop paying attention to the details. This race to the Centre, organizers of the exhibition and conference. ment, legal, healthcare and telecoms to meet the bottom that seems to have taken over the industry growing requirements for information security and with the push to consumerisation is not about sacrific- ‘Change the way you connect to the internet’ countermeasures in the region. JAPAN: Japanese electronics giant Hitachi’s humanoid robot ‘Emiew 2’ (Excellent ing security for usability, it’s about finding a solution In this context, topics such as ‘Learn how we can The must-attend event is set to draw 3,000 trade Mobility and Interactive Existence as Workmate) during a demonstration at the com- that does not require you to compromise on either, prevent another Heartbleed’, ‘Maximizing incident visitors from 51 countries and more than 100 pany’s central laboratory in Tokyo yesterday. — AFP there is no such thing as “Good Enough” when it response speed’, ‘How to avoid ‘Heartbleed’ threat’, ‘7 exhibitors from the world’s leading information securi- comes to security.” said Nader Henein, Advance Ways to Stop the Heartbleed’ amongst others will be ty companies and brands. 91% of last year’s attendees Security Solutions, Advisory Division, Blackberry. discussed by speakers and vendors alike. Robert were purchasing decision makers from a wide range Japan’s Hitachi unveils Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services at Bigman’s keynote address of Day 1 of the GISEC of industries. Help AG said: “What I can say is that organizations joking robot have been very busy making sure they are not vulner- able to cyber attacks. Immediately after news of the TOKYO: Japanese scientists unveiled a robot answered a question on the number of people vulnerability broke, we sent out communications from with a sense of humor yesterday, and claimed it working at the Hitachi facility with the some- our support help-desk and were continuously in was capable of knowing when its jokes had fall- what surreal: “We have two swans.” touch with our customers in addressing the impact. In en flat. The pint-sized roller-skating EMIEW2 — When its interlocutor appeared puzzled, the the first three days alone since it was exposed, there pronounced like the flightless bird is able to robot let on that it had been joshing. “You got it? were over 60 cases that were registered and numer- have a short conversation with a human being, I’m kidding. We have about 800 people working ous devices were patched, and certificates re-issued. without being given a script. The red and white here,” it drolly revealed. Hitachi’s Hisashi Ikeda “The response has been excellent and all the cus- robot picks key words from a sentence-for said while the robot’s sense of humor may not tomers, whom we provided the service as per the con- example, “how many”-to try to work out what be very refined at present, the ability to compre- tract agreements, are now secured against question it is being asked, then confirms the hend reactions was an important step forward. Heartbleed. I must emphasize that it is important not inquiry before firing back an answer. “The new technology makes it possible for a only to patch the affected servers but also to reissue Engineers at Hitachi have programmed the robot to understand what a human means, even the certificates since the private keys were exposed by android to understand a range of human if they only gesture,” he said. EMIEW2 — its the vulnerability,” he added. responses, including non-verbal signals like name is a rather strained acronym for “excellent nods. It uses this comprehension to determine if mobility and interactive existence as workmate”- True future data safety its interlocutor has got the “joke” it has just told, is intended ultimately to provide company in Konstantinos Karagiannis, Director of Ethical said scientists. At a demonstration in Tokyo yes- some form, perhaps as a kind of house pet, or Hacking Centre of Excellence at BT, commented: “The terday, the 80 centimeter- (32 inch-) tall device even as a receptionist, the company said. — AFP panic surrounding Heartbleed reminded the industry HEALTH & SCIENCE WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Minnesota bans anti-bacterial chemical from soaps

MINNEAPOLIS: It’s widely used nationwide as a mones critical for reproduction and development, germ-killing ingredient in soaps, deodorants and at least in lab animals, and contribute to the devel- even toothpaste, but it’s being banned in opment of resistant bacteria. Minnesota. Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday signed a bill to No evidence make Minnesota the first state to prohibit the use Critics including the FDA say there’s no evidence of triclosan in most retail consumer hygiene prod- that triclosan soaps are any more effective than ucts. The Minnesota House and Senate passed it washing with plain soap and water for preventing earlier last week because of health and environ- the spread of diseases. A University of Minnesota mental concerns about the chemical. The ban isn’t study published last year found increasing levels of due to take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, but one of its triclosan in the sediments of several lakes, and that lead sponsors, state Sen. John Marty, predicted the chemical can break down in those waters into Monday that the odds are good that most manu- potentially harmful dioxins. Two months later, facturers will phase out triclosan by then anyway. Dayton ordered all state agencies to stop buying “While this is an effort to ban triclosan from one hand soaps and dish and laundry cleaners contain- of the 50 states, I think it will have a greater impact ing triclosan. than that,” Marty said. The American Cleaning Institute had urged The Roseville Democrat said other states and Dayton to veto the new bill, saying triclosan has the federal government are likely to act, too. And been thoroughly researched and shown to provide he said come companies are already catching on important health benefits. “Instead of letting feder- that there’s no marketing advantage to keeping tri- al regulators do their jobs, the legislation would closan in its products. He noted that Procter & take safe, effective and beneficial products off the Gamble’s Crest toothpaste is now marketing itself shelves of Minnesota grocery, convenience and as triclosan-free. drug stores,” Douglas Troutman, the trade group’s MINNEAPOLIS: Soaps containing the antibacterial chemical triclosan are displayed on a Triclosan is used in an estimated 75 percent of vice president and counsel for governmental shelf at a Minneapolis pharmacy yesterday. — AP anti-bacterial liquid soaps and body washes sold affairs, wrote in a letter to Dayton. across the United States, according to the Food and ACI spokesman Brian Sansoni said Minnesota is Under an FDA rule proposed in December, man- ing public comments on the proposal. Drug Administration. The federal agency the only state to enact a ban so far. He said it ufacturers of anti-bacterial hand soaps and body Some manufacturers have announced plans announced last year that it would revisit the safety remains to be seen whether any individual manu- washes would have to demonstrate that their prod- over the last couple years to at least partially phase of triclosan and other germ-killing ingredients used facturers would go to the expense of reformulating ucts are safe for daily use, and more effective than out triclosan. Procter & Gamble plans to finish drop- in personal cleaning products. While triclosan their products just for the Minnesota market or sim- plain soap and water. Otherwise, they would need ping the chemical from its products this year. hasn’t been shown to be hazardous to humans, ply stop selling them in the state. He said triclosan to reformulate these products or remove anti-bac- Johnson & Johnson plans to eliminate it from all its studies have raised concerns that it can disrupt hor- is an issue best regulated at the federal level. terial claims from the labels. The agency is still tak- consumer products by 2015. — AP Mobile phones affect brains of children? Project to focus on memory, attention development LONDON: British researchers are launching the largest what, and for how long they use mobile or smart phones study in the world to investigate whether using mobile and other wireless devices. phones and other wireless gadgets might affect children’s Parents and pupils who agree to take part in the study brain development. The Study of Cognition, Adolescents will answer questions about the children’s use of mobile and Mobile Phones, or SCAMP, project will focus on cogni- devices and wireless technologies, well-being and lifestyle. tive functions such as memory and attention, which con- Pupils will also undertake classroom-based computerised tinue to develop into adolescence — just the age when tests of the cognitive abilities behind functions like memo- teenagers start to own and use personal phones. ry and attention. While there is no convincing evidence that radio waves “Cognition is essentially how we think, how we make from mobile phones affect health, to date most scientific decisions, and how we process and recall information,” said research has focused on adults and the potential risk of Toledano, who is also at Imperial College’s centre for brain cancers. Environment and Health. Because of that, scientists are uncertain as to whether “It is linked to intelligence and educational achieve- children’s developing brains may be more vulnerable than ment and forms the building blocks of the innovative and adults’ brains - partly because their nervous systems are creative potential of every individual and therefore society still developing, and partly because they are likely to have as a whole.” The World Health Organisation says a large a higher cumulative exposure over their lifetimes. number of studies have been performed over the past two “Scientific evidence available to date is reassuring and decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential shows no association between exposure to radiofrequency health risk, and to date, no adverse health effects have waves from mobile phone use and brain cancer in adults in been established. RIO DE JANEIRO: Trash floats on a polluted water channel that flows into the Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro. the short term - i.e. less than 10 years of use,” said Paul Still, the electromagnetic fields produced by mobile With just over two years to go until the Rio Olympics, nearly 70 percent of the sewage in the metropolitan area of Elliott, director of the Centre for Environment and Health at phones are classified by the International Agency for 12 million inhabitants continues to flow untreated. — AP Imperial College London, who will co-lead the research. Research on Cancer as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, “But the evidence available regarding long term heavy and the global health agency has said more research into use and children’s use is limited and less clear.” the issue is vital. Sailing official wants Rio Mobile phone use is ubiquitous, with the World Health Current British health policy guidelines say children Organisation estimating 4.6 billion subscriptions under 16 should be encouraged to use mobile phones for globally.In Britain, some 70 percent of 11 to 12 year-olds essential purposes only, and where possible use a hands- water pollution tests now own a mobile phone, and that figure rises to 90 per- free kit or text. cent by age 14. But Toledano said this advice was “given in the absence RIO DE JANEIRO: Sailing’s governing body may conduct The visible problem involves old couches, tires and dead of available evidence - and not because we have evidence independent water-quality tests in Rio de Janeiro’s polluted animals floating in the 148-square mile (383-square kilome- Cognitive abilities of any harmful effects”. “As mobile phones are a new and Guanabara Bay, the sailing venue for the 2016 Olympics and ter) bay. State officials are using garbage boats to collect Elliott and the study’s principal investigator, Mireille widespread technology central to our lives, ... the SCAMP the site of Rio’s first test event in 21/2 months. floating debris, with the detritus weaving giant blankets of Toledano, aim to recruit around 2,500 11 to 12 year-old study is important ... to provide the evidence base ... Any hope Brazil would be able to clean up the sewage- human and industrial waste along noxious shorelines. “If school children and follow their cognitive development through which parents and their children can make filled bay soon was quashed in a document obtained by The someone picks up a bag, or hits a sofa or something like over two years whilst collecting data on how often, for informed life choices,” she said. — Reuters Associated Press over the weekend. that, then clearly that is going to affect them in the race,” Fox In a May 7 letter to sports minister Aldo Rebelo, Rio’s said. “We’ve seen numbers from teams of the fecal content state environment secretary Carlos Francisco Portinho in the Guanabara Bay, which clearly are not safe,” Fox added. acknowledged in a best-case scenario that pollution flowing “For us, that’s a matter of concern. We’ve been assured again into the bay could be cut to “over 50 percent” - well below by the organizers that they are doing everything they can.” the promised reduction of 80 percent. The IOC said it had no plans to test, but suggested others Alastair Fox, head of competitions for the international might. “We trust the organizers and (the) ISAF will carry out sailing federation, told the AP the body is likely to test on its the necessary research and analysis that will be carefully own, hoping to allay athletes’ health concerns. considered in order to ensure the safety of the athletes,” the The tests could also push Rio organizers to move more IOC said in a statement. quickly on the problem. Fox said he hoped the International The IOC did not respond to repeated requests to inter- Olympic Committee would do independent testing, view IOC Medical Director Dr. Richard Budgett about poten- although the IOC indicated it had no such plans. tial health risks to athletes. In March, Nawal El Moutawakel, “If the IOC are not conducting water-quality tests, then I head of the IOC inspection team in charge of preparing Rio, think it is very likely the ISAF will,” Fox said Monday in an said she had been assured the bay could be “clean from email. “Certainly compared to most sailing venues, the water garbage.” “I don’t think we will forgive ourselves if we let the quality is very, very bad.” athletes compete in an environment that is not safe and Danish Olympian Allan Norregaard, a bronze medalist at secure,” she said. Malcolm Page, a two-time Olympic gold the 2012 Olympics, said Guanabara was “the most polluted medalist and chairman of the sailing federation’s Athletes’ place I’ve ever been.” Other sailors interviewed called it an Commission, said he trusted state tests, but welcomed inde- “open sewer.” The bay and similar concerns about Rio’s iconic pendent testing. Copacabana and Ipanema beaches add to the disarray “If the Brazilians are happy to receive any of that inde- plaguing South America’s first Olympics. pendent help, it only makes dealing with the problem easier The IOC has sent a special troubleshooter to monitor and removes any sugar-coating,” he said. “The sailors are cer- progress, and last month IOC vice president John Coates tainly worried about it.” An analysis last year of a decade’s said Rio’s preparations were the “worst” in memory. worth of government data on Guanabara and other water- Spending on Rio has reached $17 billion and is expected ways showed that sewage pollution indicators consistently to rise. Nearly 70 percent of Rio’s sewage goes untreated spiked far above acceptable limits, even under Brazilian laws into its waters. Exposure to fecal matter can cause hepatitis that are far more lenient on pollution than those in the ALGIERS: A jetliner leave a vapour trail as it passes in front of the moon yesterday, taken from the Algerian A, dysentery, cholera and other diseases. United States or Europe.—AP capital. — AFP E-cigarettes boost quitting success among smokers

LONDON: Smokers trying to quit are 60 percent more like- Mainly funded by the charity Cancer Research UK and stimulant not thought to be particularly harmful, although rettes, and warn they may also re-normalise smoking, ly to report success if they switch to e-cigarettes than if published in the journal Addiction, West’s study surveyed it is addictive - delivering it in a water vapour rather than in enticing children or other non-smokers to take it up. they use nicotine products like patches or gum, or just 5,863 smokers between 2009 and 2014 who had tried to smoke from burning tobacco. West agreed that evidence about long-term use is e- willpower, scientists said yesterday. quit without using prescription medicines or professional A relatively new product, they have become highly con- cigarettes is scant, but stressed the balance of risks had to Presenting findings from a study of almost 6,000 smok- help. The results were adjusted for a range of factors that troversial, with public health opinion split over whether be weighed against the very strong evidence of tobacco’s ers over five years, the researchers said the results suggest might influence success at quitting, West said - including they might be a powerful tool in helping those hooked on harms. “It’s not clear whether long-term use of e-cigarettes e-cigarettes could play an important role in reducing age, nicotine dependence, previous attempts to give up cigarettes to finally give up, or whether they simply replace carries health risks, but from what is known about the con- smoking rates and hence cutting tobacco-related deaths smoking, and whether quitting was gradual or abrupt. one bad habit with another. tents of the vapour these will be much less than from and illnesses. As well as causing lung cancer and other Because switching to e-cigarettes from tobacco ones smoking,” he said. Smoking tobacco kills half of all those chronic respiratory diseases, tobacco smoking is also a Nicotine patches does not entail kicking the addiction to nicotine, some who do it, according to the WHO, and has a death toll of 6 major contributor to cardiovascular diseases, the world’s They showed that 20 percent of people trying to quit specialists say they could spell the end of smoking - which million people a year. number one killer. with the aid of e-cigarettes reported having stopped the World Health Organisation (WHO) calls “one of the West said evidence shows that smokers who seek pro- “E-cigarettes could substantially improve public health smoking conventional cigarettes. biggest public health threats the world has ever faced”. fessional help from doctors or health clinics that provide because of their widespread appeal and the huge health That compared with just 10.1 percent of those using stop-smoking services have the highest success rates in gains associated with stopping smoking,” said Robert West over-the-counter aids such as nicotine replacement patch- Balance of risks quitting. “These almost triple a smoker’s odds of success- of University College London’s epidemiology and public es or gum. Of those using willpower alone, 15.4 percent But critics point to a lack of long-term scientific evi- fully quitting compared with going it alone or relying on health department, who led the study. had managed to stop. E-cigarettes contain nicotine - a dence to support the safety and effectiveness of e-ciga- over-the-counter products,” he said. — Reuters HEALTH & SCIENCE WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2014 WHAT’S ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 KIPCO announces employee awards

IPCO - the Kuwait Projects Company - has announced across the MENA region. The winner of the KIPCO Group Best the winners of its annual employee awards. The awards Company of the Year 2014 award went to Gulf Bank Algeria, a Kwere presented by KIPCO’s Vice Chairman, Faisal Al Ayyar, member of the Burgan Bank Group. The award was presented and Group Chief Operating Officer, Samer Khanachet at the to KIPCO CEO - Banking, Masaud Hayat, and Burgan Bank CEO, company’s annual Gala Dinner which took place in the Sheikha Eduardo Eguren. The winners of KIPCO’s Best Employee of the Salwa Hall at the Marina Hotel, Salmiya. The event brought Year 2014 were Amna Al Belooshi, Torina Misquitta, Melissa together over 350 KIPCO Group employees from companies Fernandes and Suha Jaradat.

Congratulations Basem and Rona

t was a rosy moment at the Al-Zummuroda ceremonial hall as Basem Esam Al-Masry and Rona celebrate their Ilove with an engagement party. The couple spent a once-in-a lifetime night amongst family and friends with everybody dancing and singing. Congratulations Basem and Rona- we wish you a very happy long life together. Lulu hypermarket and Felda Malaysia ink MOU

alaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority initiatives of FELDA and Malaysia’s strong representa- (FELDA), the world’s most successful land develop- tion in the UAE. Malaysia also wishes to strengthen fur- Mment and resettlement agency have signed a ther relations in the retail sector to bring these coun- Memorandum of Understanding with the Lulu Group for tries together. LULU Hypermarkets are targeting to the establishment of Lulu Hypermarkets in Malaysia. The begin operations in Malaysia by early 2016 and this will memorandum was signed by the Director General of FEL- add value to the Malaysian market by introducing the DA, Y Bhg Datuk Faizoull Ahmad and Yusuff Ali M A, unique concept of Halal Hypermarkets. LULU Managing Director, Lulu Group International and wit- Hypermarkets are also planning to introduce new halal nessed by Prime Minister of Malaysia, Y A B Dato’ Sri Mohd products as well as promoting FELDA SME products in Najib Tun Abdul Razak and Chairman of FELDA Tan Sri Hj LULU Hypermarket chains in Malaysia and the Middle Mohd Isa Abdul Samad. East. This initiative is expected to create job opportuni- FELDA confirmed its position as the land developer for ties in both countries and thus fulfilling the public the construction of the hypermarket building for the pur- demands. FELDA is currently promoting processed pose of establishment of Lulu Hypermarket in Malaysia food (frozen and dry), fresh fruits and vegetable and based in an agreement where Lulu will lease the hypermar- aquaculture as well as crafts, health and wellness prod- ket developed and constructed by FELDA on a long-term ucts. FELDA has been successful in transforming basis. The proposed locations for the establishment of Lulu Malaysian entrepreneur community from the humble Hypermarket in Malaysia are Kota Bharu Kelantan, Bukit beginning of selling only for the local market, to now Katil Malacca, Ipoh Perak, Nilai Icon City Negeri Sembilan, catering to the larger international market in partner- Shah Alam Selangor and other locations are currently ship with the Lulu Group. The Lulu hypermarket chain, being surveyed. FELDA is also interested to develop other which sells halal products at all of its 109 branches in potentially strategic areas such as the Klang Valley, Johor countries like the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Bharu and Penang. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt & India will see the addi- The increase in bilateral trade between Malaysia and tional new hypermarkets in Malaysia as key to their UAE in the F&B sector has been promising due to the growth in Asia.

GUST welcomes ArchiCamp for aspiring architects

he Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) who have taken it upon themselves for the past 3 years stress- and Technology strongly encouraged such projects, declaring the students to solve an existing problem pertaining to archi- hosted a press conference to announce the summer ing that the state is responsible for carrying on such projects that the university has recently received the approval from the tecture and design. The program is designed to show students Ttraining program for aspiring architects “ArchiCamp” for and supporting them as much as possible. I would like to Private Universities Council on the establishment of the what architecture is all about and the importance of it con- the summer 2014, in the presence of Shaikha Al-Zain Al- thank the Gulf University for Science and Technology for their College of Engineering and Architecture in association with tributing to society. Sabah, Under Secretary of the Ministry of State for Youth continuous support of the youth since their founding in 2002.” UMass-Lowell University, USA, and GUST plans to launch this Al-Bannay noted that the program was open for all high Affairs, Dr Salah Al-Sharhan, Vice President for Planning and Dr. Salah Al-Sharhan, VP for Planning and Development, project in September 2015. The construction of independent school students and that registration would end by May 31st, Development, GUST, Dalal Al Bannay, the project founder. said: “We are very pleased to host this initiative at GUST for the grounds for the College of Engineering will take approximate- 2014. The program will start on June 15th, 2014 until the end During the conference, Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah con- 2nd year and hope that it will continuously grow and evolve ly two years to accommodate around 2,000 students to com- of the month, and in the term of application process, firmed that the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs was honored over time. The goal behind hosting this important event is to plement the spatial capacity of the university; projecting ArchiCamppays more attention to the passion and love of to embrace that initiative of cooperation with “ArchiCamp” to encourage youth creativity; and events such as this represent 3,500 students by then. architecture of students applying in their personal interview. support the 40 young men and women training in architec- one of the most important pillars of the various solutions to In her part, Dalal Al-Bannay; the founder and Program For further information and online applications, please visit: ture, as art that they aimed to reconstruct the society through. our problems.” Director of “ArchiCamp”, noted that the camp is a two-week www.archicamp.co. It is worth mentioning that one thing She pointed out: “Our interest in this project came from our Al-Sharhan also noted that architectural planning wasn’t training program in architecture where the first week will ArchiCamp was very proud of is that the 12 students who focus on the youth; this is a youth-driven national initiative led limited to only drawing and design, but primarily meant to include lectures, workshops and site visits to engineering joined the program in the last two years are now at Kuwait by young Kuwaitis with distinct creativity and innovations solve problems, stressing that the Gulf University for Science offices and construction sites, and the second one will request University studying the same discipline. WHAT’S ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

The Regency Hotel’s Silk Road launches ‘Moroccan Flavors’

ocated on the magical shores of The Arabian Gulf, The number of rich dishes, starting off with salads and appetizers, Regency Hotel’s Silk Road restaurant serves nothing but continuing with different main dishes and ending the night Lthe finest dishes in its international buffet. Silk Road is with a delicious array of desserts. The Moroccan adventure considered to be one of the finest restaurants in Kuwait that includes items like “Zaalouk” a rich eggplant salad, serves a wide and rich variety of foods to entice your taste “Mezgueldi” which is stewed and caramelized pumpkin and buds. As a continuation to The Regency’s efforts to offer more appetizers. Guests also enjoyed main dishes that include guests the opportunity to taste different dishes from all over “Casablanca Fish Tagine” cooked fish with potatoes and roast- the world cooked by professional chefs, it introduced Australia ed peppers and olives, Couscous Tfaya with Caramelized Week, The Thai Feast, Spanish Week and much more. Onions and Raisins or “Seafood Pastilla”. And once again The Regency presents a new extensive As for desserts, Chef Limi presented guests with “Carrot culinary offering during the month of May. “Moroccan Flavors” and Orange Dessert”, “Milk and Almond Pastilla” and much kicked off on May 15th in the presence of Moroccan Embassy more to conclude this culinary journey. “Moroccan Flavors” Acting Charge D’affaires Mahdi Errami and embassy delegates with The Regency’s Chef de Cuisine “Adel Limi” will run every including members of the media. Invitees enjoyed dishes pre- night for 10 days starting from May 15th, 2014 until May 25th, pared by Chef Adel Limi, winner of numerous international 2014 at 7:00pm at The Regency’s Silk Road Restaurant. For culinary awards and The Regency’s Chef de Cuisine. more information please visit the hotel’s website www.there- Chef Adel prepared a flavorful and aromatic buffet with a gencykuwait.com or call 25766666

The Al Ma’rifa School in Mangaf organized a ceremony yesterday for its 2013-2014 graduates. The event was attended by Sheikha Nawal Al-Sabah. — Photos by Ben Garcia TV PROGRAMS WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

05:05 How It’s Made 05:30 How Stuff’s Made 06:00 Survive That! 07:00 You Have Been Warned 00:45 Crime Scene Wild 07:50 Manhunt 01:35 Untamed & Uncut 08:40 Fast N’ Loud 00:00 Chasing UFOs Dogs eclipse 02:25 Roaring With Pride 09:30 Border Security 01:00 Science of Stupid 03:15 Animal Clinic 09:55 Baggage Battles 02:00Humpbacks: Cracking The Code 04:05 Bizarre Animal ER 10:20 Lost And Sold 03:00 Nat Geo’s Top 10 Photos humans at Cannes in 04:55 Animal Cops South Africa 10:45 How It’s Made 04:00 Mega Breakdown 05:45 Charles & Jessica: A Chimp Tale 11:10 How Stuff’s Made 05:00 Engineering Connections Hungarian canine thriller 06:35 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors 11:35 Ed Stafford:Naked And 06:00 Air Crash Investigation 07:00 Animal Airport Marooned 07:00 Lords of War girl rides her bicycle in the deserted streets of 07:25 Animal Battlegrounds 12:25 Get Out Alive With Bear 07:30 Mystery Files Budapest. Suddenly, a pack of wild dogs bursts 08:15 Speed Of Life Grylls 08:00 Chasing UFOs Afrom round a corner, hurtling towards her as she 09:10 Crocodile Hunter 13:15 Dual Survival 09:00 Science of Stupid anxiously pedals on. The dramatic opener of “White 10:05 Roaring With Pride 14:05 Border Security 10:00Humpbacks: Cracking The Code God”, the latest film by Hungarian director Kornel 11:00 Animal Precinct 14:30 Baggage Battles 11:00 Nat Geo’s Top 10 Photos Mundruczo competing in the Cannes Film Festival, sets 11:55 Animal Airport 14:55 Lost And Sold 12:00 Mega Breakdown the scene for a strange, dystopian canine ride that has 12:20 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors 15:20 Finding Bigfoot 13:00 Engineering Connections 12:50 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner 16:10 Fast N’ Loud 14:00 Air Crash Investigation 13:15 The Wild Life Of Tim Faulkner 17:00 Flying Wild Alaska 15:00 Lords of War 13:45 Extreme Animals 17:50 Wheeler Dealers 15:30 Mystery Files 14:40 Roaring With Pride 18:40 You Have Been Warned 16:00 Chasing UFOs 15:30 Tanked 19:30 Survive That! 17:00 Science of Stupid 16:30 Untamed China With Nigel 20:20 How It’s Made 18:00 Human Ape Marven 20:45 How Stuff’s Made 19:00 Situation Critical 17:25 Steve Irwin’s Wildlife Warriors 21:10 Baggage Battles 20:00 The Indestructibles 18:20 Preposterous Pets 21:00 Naked Science 19:15 Natural World 20:10 Wildest Indochina 21:05 Roaring With Pride 22:00 Natural World 22:55 Wildest Indochina 00:00 Chelsea Lately 23:50 Animal Cops South Africa 00:30 The Dance Scene 00:20 Night Stalkers 01:25 Style Star 01:10 I, Predator 02:20 E! Investigates 02:00 Ultimate Animal Countdown 03:15 Extreme Close-Up 02:50 Caught In The Act (From left) Hungarian producer Viktoria Petranyi, 04:10 THS 03:45 Monster Croc Hunt Hungarian screenwriter Kata Weber, Hungarian 05:05 Beyond Candid With Giuliana 04:40 Prehistoric Predators director Kornel Mundruczo, Hungarian actress 00:25 Doctors 06:00 THS 05:35 Ultimate Animal Countdown 00:55 Hunderby Zsofia Psotta and Hungarian animal instructor 07:50 Style Star 06:30 Caught In The Act Teresa Ann Miller and her dog Buddy pose during a 01:20 Last Of The Summer Wine 08:20 Fashion Police 07:25 Monster Croc Hunt photocall for the film “Feher Isten”. — AFP photos 01:50 Mistresses 08:45 Eric And Jessie: Game On 08:20 Planet Carnivore 02:40 Absolutely Fabulous 09:15 Opening Act 09:15 Animals Gone Wild critics intrigued. In the story, Hagen-the beloved dog 03:10 Silk 10:15 Married To Jonas 10:10 World’s Weirdest: Animal of 13-year-old Lili-is dragged through heartbreak and 04:00 Hunderby 10:40 Chasing The Saturdays Taboo violence after being abandoned on the side of a high- 04:30 Last Of The Summer Wine 11:10 The Drama Queen 11:05 Animal Fight Club way, before toughing up and exacting his revenge 05:00 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll 12:05 Fashion Police 12:00 When Sharks Attack with the help of fellow, wronged mutts. 05:20 The Green Balloon Club 12:35 The Fabulist 12:55 Ultimate Animal Countdown The gold-furred mongrel is played by two dogs- 05:45 Nina And The Neurons: In 13:05 Extreme Close-Up 13:50 Caught In The Act The Lab real-life brothers Luke and Body-and the latter stole 13:35 Beyond Candid With Giuliana 14:45 Croc Ganglands the show at the screening when he appeared with a 06:00 Balamory 14:30 Style Star 15:40 Africa’s Blood River 06:20 Nuzzle & Scratch: Frock n Roll bow tie around his neck, barking his appreciation and 15:00 Keeping Up With The 16:35 Animals Gone Wild performing a few tricks. 06:40 The Green Balloon Club Kardashians 17:30 Bear Nomad 07:05 Nina And The Neurons: In 17:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 18:25 Mudcats The Lab 18:00 E! News 19:20 Ultimate Animal Countdown LEGENDARY AMAZONS ON OSN MOVIES ACTION Symbol for oppressed, outcast 07:20 Charlie And Lola 19:00 Fashion Police 20:10 Caught In The Act But his five-star treatment in the French Riviera 07:30 Last Of The Summer Wine 19:30 The Fabulist 21:00 Croc Ganglands 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring resort contrasts sharply with the way his character 08:00 Absolutely Fabulous 20:00 Giuliana & Bill 21:50 Africa’s Blood River Jimmy Fallon Hagen is handled in the film. As a mongrel and not a 08:30 Gavin & Stacey 21:00 The Drama Queen 22:40 Animals Gone Wild 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon pure-breed, Hagen is denigrated by every human 09:00 Eastenders Stewart 01:00 IPL being except his devoted owner Lili. But when the 09:30 Doctors 22:00 Sean Saves The World 01:15 Trishna-18 04:30 ICC Cricket 360 lonely girl finds herself staying with her father when 10:00 The Weakest Link 22:30 Getting On 03:15 Cadillac Records-18 05:00 IPL Highlights her mother travels abroad, problems abound and 10:45 Shark Therapy - Scary Sharks 23:00 Wilfred 05:15 The White Countess-PG15 09:00 ICC Cricket 360 Lili’s dad ends up abandoning her best friend on the 11:40 Absolutely Fabulous 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 07:30 Teenage Paparazzo-PG15 09:30 IPL Highlights side of a highway. Unused to being alone, a whimper- 12:10 Last Of The Summer Wine CHOICE HD 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 09:15 The Rainmaker-PG15 10:30 IPL Highlights ing Hagen has to survive with other strays including 12:40 Gavin & Stacey 00:35 The Jonathan Ross Show Stewart 11:30 I Am-PG15 11:30 IPL Highlights a cute mutt who saves him from more than one 13:10 Eastenders 01:30 Emmerdale 01:30 Sean Saves The World 13:00 Underground: The Julian 13:30 ICC Cricket 360 scrape. 13:40 Doctors 02:25 Coronation Street 02:00 Web Therapy 00:00 Graceland Assange Story-PG15 14:00 IPL Highlights Lili desperately looks for her friend, whose trust in 14:10 The Weakest Link 02:55 Paul O’grady: For The Love Of 02:30 Wilfred 01:00 24: Live Another Day 15:00 The Woman In The Fifth 15:00 IPL Highlights 14:55 Shark Therapy - Big Sharks humans proves to be his downfall. He is sold off to a Dogs 03:00 The Simpsons 02:00 True Detective 17:00 I Am-PG15 16:00 IPL Highlights 15:20 Shark Therapy - Scary Sharks man who trains him how to fight, gradually turning a 03:25 Agatha Christie’s Poirot 03:30 Raising Hope 03:00 Nip/Tuck 19:00 Being John Malkovich-PG15 17:00 ICC Cricket 360 15:50 Absolutely Fabulous lovable, adoring dog into a violent, killing machine. 05:15 May The Best House Win 04:00 Seinfeld 06:00 Graceland 21:00 Derailed-18 17:30 Live IPL 16:20 Lark Rise To Candleford By the end of the film, an unrecognizable Hagen rises Abroad 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 07:00 Devious Maids 21:00 ICC Cricket 360 17:10 Eastenders up against his oppressors and leads a pack of other 06:10 The Jonathan Ross Show Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Helix 21:30 IPL Highlights 17:40 Doctors strays on a murderous spree through Budapest. For 07:05 Paul O’grady: For The Love Of 05:30 My Boys 12:00 Emmerdale 22:30 IPL 18:15 The Weakest Link Mundruczo, Hagen is a symbol of the marginalized Dogs 06:30 Friends 12:30 Coronation Street 01:00 Dragon Hunters 19:00 Twenty Twelve and oppressed and the director drew inspiration for 07:30 Agatha Christie’s Poirot 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 02:45 Camp Nowhere 19:30 The Job Lot 09:20 May The Best House Win 08:00 Seinfeld 14:00 Helix 04:45 Princess Sydney: The Three the film on the current political situation in Hungary 20:00 Mistresses Abroad 08:30 My Boys 15:00 The Glades Gold Coins and much of Europe, where rising populism and 20:50 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 10:15 Doc Martin 09:00 The Simpsons 16:00 Emmerdale 06:00 The Great Bear nationalism is causing concern. In Hungary, for 21:35 My Hero 11:10 Emmerdale 09:30 About A Boy 16:30 Coronation Street 08:00 Emilie Jolie 00:00 Hearts Of The West-PG instance, the far-right Jobbik party is now the third 12:00 Coronation Street 10:30 Friends 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 09:45Luke And Lucy: The Texas Rangers 01:40 Splendor In The Grass-PG largest bloc in parliament. “In my eyes, art is commu- 12:30 The Jonathan Ross Show 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 18:00 Helix 11:30 Cinderella 03:40 Hearts Of The West-PG nication and art is criticism,” he told AFP. 13:25 May The Best House Win Jimmy Fallon 19:00 Once Upon A Time 13:00 Camp Nowhere 05:20 Penelope-FAM Abroad 12:30 Seinfeld 20:00 Unforgettable 14:45 Jelly T 07:00 The Merry Widow-FAM 250 street dogs 14:20 Doc Martin 13:00 My Boys 21:00 Chicago Fire 16:15 Eleanor’s Secret 08:40 House Of Wax-PG Mundruczo was inspired to use dogs to depict the 00:30 Ed Stafford:Naked And 15:10 Paul O’grady: For The Love Of 13:30 Friends 22:00 Bates Motel 18:00 Luke And Lucy: The Texas 10:30 Doctor Zhivago-PG oppressed by South African novelist J. M. Coetzee, Marooned Dogs 14:00 Raising Hope 23:00 Nip/Tuck Rangers 13:40 Hot Millions-FAM who has written about the human treatment of ani- 01:20 Get Out Alive With Bear 15:35 Dirk Gently 14:30 About A Boy 20:00 Ben 10: Alien Swarm 16:00 A Star Is Born-FAM mals in several books including Booker Prize-winner 16:30 Vera 19:00 Pat And Mike-FAM Grylls 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 22:00 Jelly T “Disgrace.” “His works called attention to the fact that 18:20 Doc Martin Stewart 23:30 Eleanor’s Secret 20:35 Seven Women-PG 02:10 Dual Survival there is a layer below even the most outcast of all, 19:10 Coronation Street 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 22:00 Straight Time-18 03:00 You Have Been Warned consisting of another species of intelligent, rational 03:50 Border Security 19:35 Dirk Gently 18:00 The Simpsons 00:00 Aliens beings that can be exploited in any manner by 04:15 Baggage Battles 20:30 Vera 18:30 Back In The Game 02:30 Sutures humans: animals,” he said in production notes. —AFP 04:40 Lost And Sold 22:20 Coronation Street 19:00 The Mindy Project 22:50 Emmerdale 19:30 Modern Family 04:00 Code Of Silence 00:00 Meteor Storm 06:00 Hellboy: Sword Of Storms 02:00 Oblivion 08:00 The Bourne Legacy 04:15 Midnight In Paris 00:00 Storage Wars 10:15 Legendary Amazons 06:00 Standing Ovation 00:30 Pawn Stars 12:15 Red Eye 08:00 Batman: The Dark Knight 01:00 Storage Wars Texas 14:00 Kung Fu Hustle Returns Part Two 02:00 Duck Dynasty 16:00 Legendary Amazons 10:00Jesse Stone: Benefit Of The Doubt 03:00 Storage Wars 18:00 Orcs! 11:45 Oblivion 04:00 Pawn Stars 20:00 Kung Fu Hustle 14:00 Thunderstruck 04:30 Pawn Stars 22:00 Apartment 1303 16:00 Batman: The Dark Knight 05:00 Ancient Aliens Returns Part Two 06:00 Storage Wars Texas 17:45 Star Trek Into Darkness 06:30 Counting Cars 20:00 Alex Cross 07:00 Storage Wars Texas 08:00 American Restoration 00:30 Sutures-18 08:30 Cajun Pawn Stars 02:00 Code Of Silence-PG15 09:00 Storage Wars Texas 04:00 Hellboy: Sword Of Storms-PG 09:30 Counting Cars 06:00 The Bourne Legacy-PG15 00:00 WEB.COM Tour Highlights 10:00 Pawn Stars 08:15 Legendary Amazons-PG15 01:00 Golfing World 11:00 Storage Wars 10:15 Red Eye-PG15 02:00 Super Rugby 12:00 Storage Wars Texas 12:00 Kung Fu Hustle-PG15 04:00 Snooker World 13:00 Ancient Aliens 14:00 Legendary Amazons-PG15 Championship 14:00 Duck Dynasty 16:00 Orcs!-PG15 07:00 Super Rugby 15:00 Storage Wars Texas Oscar-honored ‘Godfather’ 18:00 Kung Fu Hustle-PG15 09:00 Super Rugby 17:00 Pawn Stars 20:00 Apartment 1303-PG15 11:00 NRL Full Time 18:00 Storage Wars cinematographer 22:00 Born To Raise Hell-18 11:30 Futbol Mundial 19:00 Storage Wars Texas 12:00 HSBC Sevens World Series 20:00 Duck Dynasty Gordon Willis dead at 82 15:00 Golfing World 21:00 Pawn Stars 16:00 Premier League Darts ordon Willis, the cinematographer responsible for 19:30 Sevens World Series stirring camera work in such film classics as the 00:00 Slap Shot-18 20:00 European tour weekly 02:15 Splash-PG “Godfather” trilogy and several of Woody Allen’s 20:30 Inside The PGA Tour G 04:00 King Ralph-PG15 best-known films, has died aged 82, Hollywood publica- 21:00 Trans World Sport 00:10 Hoarding: Buried Alive 06:00 Dating Coach-PG15 22:00 Super Rugby tions reported on Sunday. “This is a momentous loss,” 08:00 A Kiss For Jed Wood-PG15 01:00 Secret Eaters American Society of Cinematographers President Richard 01:50 Dominican Conjoined Twins 10:00 Problem Child-PG Crudo told Deadline. “He was one of the giants who 02:40 Sister Wives 12:00 King Ralph-PG15 absolutely changed the way movies looked.” 14:00 Muppets From Space-FAM 03:30 I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant 03:55 Long Island Medium Willis received an honorary lifetime achievement Oscar 16:00 Problem Child-PG 01:00 Premier League Darts 04:20 Say Yes To The Dress in 2010 and was nominated for best cinematography 18:00 Overboard-PG15 04:30 Futbol Mundial 04:45 Say Yes To The Dress Academy Awards for Allen’s “Zelig” and “The Godfather: 20:00 The Hot Potato-PG15 05:00 Super Rugby 05:10 Toddlers & Tiaras Part III.” But his work was credited with lending unique, 22:00 Slap Shot-18 07:00 Golfing World 06:00 Oprah: Behind The Scenes often stunning imagery to a roster of films ranging from 08:00 Sevens World Series 07:00 What Not To Wear the romance “Manhattan” and lavish musical “Pennies From Highlights 07:50 Oprah’s Next Chapter Heaven” to the Watergate thriller “All the President’s Men.” 08:30 NRL Full Time 08:40 Oprah’s Master Class In thrillers such as Alan Pakula’s “The Parallax View” and 09:00 Futbol Mundial 09:30 Toddlers & Tiaras “Klute,” for which Jane Fonda won her first Oscar, Willis’ 01:00 The Speed Of Thought 09:30 Snooker World 10:20 Say Yes To The Dress camera work evoked a dream-like, fugue state that critics 02:45 The Next Three Days Championship 10:45 Say Yes To The Dress 05:00 Too Late To Say Goodbye 12:30 Champions Tour Highlights credited with elevating the films to the status of classics. 11:10 Cake Boss 07:00 Hold Fast 13:30 Web.com Tour Highlights The Queens, New York-born Willis worked often with 11:35 Jon & Kate Plus 8 09:00 The Speed Of Thought 14:30 NRL Full Time “Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola, Pakula and 12:00 Little People, Big World 10:45 The Next Three Days 15:00 NRL Premiership especially, Allen, with whom he made eight films. His films 12:25 Oprah: Behind The Scenes 13:00 The Wild Girl 17:00 Bellator MMA Prelims with Allen included the black-and-white “Manhattan,” 13:15 Say Yes To The Dress ‚Äì 14:45 The Flowers Of War 19:00 Bellator MMA Season 10 “Annie Hall,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Interiors,” “Stardust Bridesmaids 17:15 Wrecked Finale Memories” and “Broadway Danny Rose.” His credits in the 13:40 Say Yes To The Dress ‚Äì 19:00 Between Us 22:00 Sevens World Series 1990s included “Presumed Innocent,” “Malice” and “The Bridesmaids 21:00 The Paperboy Highlights Devil’s Own,” the final film in a nearly three-decade career, 23:00 The Most Fun You Can Have 14:05 Something Borrowed, 22:30 HSBC Sevens World Series APARTMENT 1303 ON OSN MOVIES ACTION HD Dying Something New which was also Pakula’s last directorial effort. — Reuters Classifieds

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Kuwait KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY (15/05/2014 TO 21/05/2014)

SHARQIA-1 NO SUN+TUE+WED THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 12:45 PM THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 3:30 PM FANAR-3 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 6:15 PM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 1:00 PM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 9:00 PM TRACKS (DIG) 3:15 PM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 11:45 PM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 5:30 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED TRACKS (DIG) 7:30 PM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 9:45 PM SHARQIA-2 THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 11:45 PM TINKER BELL AND THE PIRATE FAIRY (DIG) 12:30 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 2:30 PM GODZILLA (DIG) 5:00 PM FANAR-4 GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 7:30 PM THE QUIET ONES (DIG) 12:45 PM GODZILLA (DIG) 10:00 PM GODZILLA (DIG) 2:45 PM GODZILLA (DIG) 12:30 AM GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 5:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED GODZILLA (DIG) 7:45 PM GODZILLA (DIG) 10:15 PM SHARQIA-3 GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 12:45 AM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 1:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 3:30 PM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 5:30 PM FANAR-5 THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 7:45 PM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 1:45 PM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 9:45 PM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 4:30 PM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 12:05 AM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 7:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED THE QUIET ONES (DIG) 10:00 PM MATRIMONIAL Chevrolet Captiva, white, ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 12:05 AM 2009, urgent sale, KD 3,000, MUHALAB-1 NO SUN+TUE+WED Inviting marriage proposals ono. Please call 97855876 GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 12:30 PM for an educated Malankara THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 2:30 PM MARINA-1 (Eng), 55426224 (Arabic). Catholic boy from a well TINKER BELL AND THE PIRATE FAIRY (DIG) 4:30 PM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 12:30 PM (C 4721) THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 6:30 PM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 2:30 PM settled family in Kottayam, 14-5-2014 GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 8:30 PM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 4:30 PM presently working in a pri- THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 10:30 PM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 6:30 PM vate company in Kuwait. 2014 Suzuki 5x4 Sedan, GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 12:30 AM THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 8:30 PM Age 33 years, height 165 color seashell white, NO SUN+TUE+WED THE FACE OF LOVE (DIG) 10:30 PM cm. Contact email: mileage 21,000 km, original GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 12:30 AM [email protected] owner, price KD 2,450. Tel: MUHALAB-2 NO SUN+TUE+WED (C 4725) 99526902. (C 4719) SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 12:30 PM 19-5-2014 12-5-2014 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 2:30 PM MARINA-2 SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 5:15 PM THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 1:45 PM CHANGE OF NAME THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 7:15 PM THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 4:30 PM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 10:00 PM THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 7:15 PM I, George David Joseph, ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 12:45 AM ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 10:00 PM No: 16172 NO SUN+TUE+WED ELISA KHATAFHA JAMEEL (DIG) (Kuwaiti Film) 12:45 AM son of Mr. George David NO SUN+TUE+WED holder of Indian Passport MUHALAB-3 No. J 1331685, presently GODZILLA (DIG) 2:15 PM MARINA-3 residing at flat #36, bldg. GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 4:45 PM GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 2:00 PM #15169, street #6, block #4, GODZILLA (DIG) 7:15 PM GODZILLA (DIG) 4:30 PM Jaleeb Al Shuwaikh, Kuwait GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 9:45 PM GODZILLA (DIG-3D) 7:00 PM do hereby change my GODZILLA (DIG) 12:15 AM GODZILLA (DIG) 9:30 PM name as Joseph George NO SUN+TUE+WED GODZILLA (DIG) 12:05 AM with immediate effect. NO SUN+TUE+WED (C 4726) FANAR-1 21-5-2014 GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 2:00 PM AVENUES-1 GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 4:15 PM THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 2:15 PM SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 6:30 PM SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 5:00 PM SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 8:30 PM SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 7:15 PM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 10:30 PM SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 9:45 PM GRACE OF MONACO (DIG) 12:45 AM SALEM ABO OKHTO (DIG) (Arabic) 12:05 AM FOR SALE NO SUN+TUE+WED NO SUN+TUE+WED

FANAR-2 AVENUES-2 Mercedes Benz (SLK 280) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 1:15 PM THE LOVE PUNCH (DIG) 1:15 PM 2007 model registered in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 4:00 PM THE QUIET ONES (DIG) 3:30 PM 2008. Pearl white, excellent condition, single owner. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 6:45 PM THE LOVE PUNCH (DIG) 5:45 PM 24835616/7 ,24833199 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 9:30 PM THE QUIET ONES (DIG) 8:00 PM Contact: 66232732. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 (DIG) 12:15 AM THE QUIET ONES (DIG) 10:15 PM (C 4724) 20-5-2014

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

Arrival Flights on Wednesday 21/5/2014 MSC 4401 HRG 14:20 Departure Flights on Wednesday 21/5/2014 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 Airlines Flt Route Time SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 Airlines Flt Route Time CLX 792 Hanoi 14:30 QTR 1084 Doha 00:05 IRC 526 Mashhad 14:30 AIC 982 Ahmedabad/Hyderabad/Chennai 00:05 IYE 827 Mukalla/Sanaa 14:30 JZR 239 Amman 00:20 KNE 472 Jeddah 14:40 SYR 342 Damascus 00:15 QTR 1079 Doha 14:55 JZR 267 Beirut 00:25 KAC 788 Jeddah 15:00 JAI 573 Mumbai 00:20 MSR 576 Sharm el-Sheikh 15:00 JZR 539 Cairo 00:30 ABY 127 Sharjah 15:35 UAL 981 IAD 00:25 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:05 DLH 637 Dammam 00:35 KNE 462 Madinah 15:45 JZR 502 Luxor 01:30 KAC 673 Dubai 15:05 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:25 KAC 672 Dubai 15:45 DLH 637 Frankfurt 01:35 MSC 4402 HRG 15:15 THY 764 Istanbul 01:40 JZR 175 Dubai 15:50 THY 773 Istanbul 02:20 IRC 527 Mashhad 15:30 RJA 642 Amman 01:45 RJA 640 Amman 15:55 ETH 621 Addis Ababa 02:45 KAC 617 Doha 15:30 ETH 620 Addis Ababa 01:45 KNE 460 Riyadh 15:55 PGT 859 Istanbul 02:55 KNE 473 Jeddah 15:35 GFA 211 Bahrain 01:55 FDB 051 Dubai 15:55 MSC 404 Asyut 03:30 SVA 503 Madinah/Jeddah 15:45 UAE 853 Dubai 02:25 QTR 1072 Doha 16:15 FDB 5068 Dubai 03:45 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:50 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 02:30 JZR 787 Riyadh 16:15 MSR 613 Cairo 04:15 ABY 128 Sharjah 16:15 MSC 403 Asyut 02:30 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:45 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:20 KAC 513 Tehran 16:20 JAI 576 Kochi/Abu Dhabi 02:35 KAC 562 Amman 16:50 OMA 644 Muscat 04:20 KNE 463 Madinah 16:30 FDB 5067 Dubai 03:05 UAE 857 Dubai 16:55 QTR 1077 Doha 04:25 FDB 051 Dubai 16:35 MSR 612 Cairo 03:15 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 QTR 1085 Doha 05:20 KNE 481 Taif 16:40 RJA 641 Amman 16:55 OMA 643 Muscat 03:20 JZR 357 Mashhad 17:30 UAE 854 Dubai 05:30 JZR 266 Beirut 17:05 QTR 1076 Doha 03:25 GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 JZR 560 Sohag 05:35 THY 770 Istanbul 04:35 THY 765 Istanbul 06:00 QTR 1073 Doha 17:20 JZR 177 Dubai 17:45 JZR 538 Cairo 17:40 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:10 JAI 575 Abu Dhabi/Kochi 06:30 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:50 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:45 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:15 RJA 643 Amman 06:35 JZR 483 Istanbul 17:55 UAE 858 Dubai 18:15 BAW 157 London 06:35 THY 771 Istanbul 06:50 KAC 542 Cairo 18:15 SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 FDB 053 Dubai 07:00 RBG 553 Alexandria 18:20 GFA 212 Bahrain 07:00 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 KAC 382 Delhi 07:30 QTR 1080 Doha 18:25 KAC 545 Alexandria 07:20 JZR 156 Dubai 18:20 KAC 204 Lahore 07:35 KAC 786 Jeddah 18:30 FDB 054 Dubai 07:50 JZR 554 Alexandria 18:30 KAC 288 Dhaka 07:45 FDB 063 Dubai 18:30 BAW 156 London 08:25 JZR 238 Amman 18:45 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:50 KAC 166 Paris/Rome 18:40 QTR 1087 Doha 08:55 JZR 134 Bahrain 18:50 KAC 206 Islamabad 07:50 ABY 129 Sharjah 19:00 KAC 117 New York 09:05 RBG 554 Alexandria 19:00 QTR 1086 Doha 07:55 KAC 618 Doha 19:00 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:30 FDB 064 Dubai 19:10 KAC 364 Colombo 08:00 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:05 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:35 QTR 1081 Doha 19:25 KAC 352 Kochi 08:05 KAC 774 Riyadh 19:15 UAE 856 Dubai 09:50 ABY 120 Sharjah 19:40 KAC 344 Chennai 08:20 KAC 674 Dubai 19:25 JZR 482 Istanbul 09:55 GFA 218 Bahrain 19:50 UAE 855 Dubai 08:25 MSR 606 Luxor 19:30 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:15 MSR 619 Alexandria 20:30 ABY 125 Sharjah 08:50 FDB 5056 Dubai 10:15 JAI 572 Mumbai 19:35 KAC 283 Dhaka 20:30 IRM 1186 Tehran 09:10 IRM 1187 Tehran 10:20 KAC 102 New York/London 19:35 JAI 571 Mumbai 20:35 IRA 665 Shiraz 09:25 IRA 664 Shiraz 10:25 OMA 647 Muscat 19:55 FDB 5062 Dubai 20:50 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:30 JZR 174 Dubai 10:55 FDB 5061 Dubai 20:05 KAC 361 Colombo 20:50 FDB 5055 Dubai 09:35 QTR 1071 Doha 11:00 KAC 331 Trivandrum 20:50 MEA 402 Beirut 20:15 QTR 1070 Doha 10:00 KAC 671 Dubai 11:20 OMA 648 Muscat 20:55 DLH 636 Frankfurt 20:15 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 KAC 561 Amman 11:25 DLH 636 Dammam 21:00 MEA 404 Beirut 10:55 ETD 919 Abu Dhabi 20:25 KAC 541 Cairo 11:30 KAC 351 Kochi 21:05 IAW 157 Baghdad/Al Najaf 11:00 KAC 514 Tehran 20:50 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:35 MEA 403 Beirut 21:15 MRJ 4815 Mashhad 11:30 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 JZR 356 Mashhad 11:40 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 IRM 1188 Mashhad 11:50 UAE 859 Dubai 21:15 MEA 405 Beirut 11:55 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:15 JZR 561 Sohag 12:00 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:30 IAW 158 Al Najaf/Baghdad 12:00 ALK 230 Colombo 22:20 SYR 341 Damascus 12:05 QTR 1074 Doha 21:30 KAC 175 Frankfurt/Geneva 12:10 ETD 920 Sharjah 22:25 FDB 057 Dubai 12:40 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:15 UAE 860 Dubai 22:25 UAE 871 Dubai 12:45 JZR 135 Bahrain 21:45 KAC 103 London 12:30 KAC 381 Delhi 22:30 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 KNE 480 Taif 22:00 MRJ 4814 Mashhad 12:35 QTR 1075 Doha 22:40 THY 766 Istanbul 13:10 AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:25 JZR 786 Riyadh 12:50 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:40 CLX 792 Luxembourg 13:15 JZR 157 Dubai 22:55 KAC 785 Jeddah 13:00 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:45 IYE 826 Sanaa/Mukalla 13:30 BBC 043 Dhaka 23:10 JZR 176 Dubai 13:10 KNE 461 Riyadh 22:50 QTR 1078 Doha 13:45 FDB 059 Dubai 23:15 IRM 1189 Mashhad 13:15 KAC 205 Islamabad 23:35 MSR 575 Sharm el-Sheikh 14:15 JAI 574 Mumbai 23:20 FDB 058 Dubai 13:20 JZR 528 Asyut 23:50 KAC 546 Alexandria 14:15 KLM 411 Amsterdam/Dammam 23:40 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 KAC 415 Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta 23:50 GFA 221 Bahrain 14:20 THY 772 Istanbul 23:45 THY 767 Istanbul 14:10 FDB 060 Dubai 23:55 DIAL161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION stars34 WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

CROSSWORD 554 STAR TRACK

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

You may find yourself at odds with someone around you or with your life sit- This is a time when your spirituality is aroused, making you more philosophi- uation regarding issues of great sensitivity-very personal. Difficulties, blocks cal and compassionate about the less fortunate. Ventures of groundbreaking insight will be and all manner of hot spots may be discovered and worked through at this time. Have faith stimulating and successful. You are apt to spend a considerable amount of time and effort in yourself-you will know just what to do. It is possible that you could be spending too to find ways in which to improve your finances. This is a time when the desire for material much time with friends. Job and family may be suffering from a lack of attention. Today you success and considerable monetary gain is great, though you could be reckless in handling may want to reassess the way you spend your time and insert some notes or other type of newfound finances. Others may oppose your own life dreams and imagination. You may reminders to help you to bring about a balance in scheduling. The way you live and per- find yourself going head-to-head with someone older over matters of honesty and integri- haps your career and basic life direction may be changing. If you are entertaining friends ty. You could fear being deceived or misled. Good advice is available; reassess your plans- this evening, you might want to add a few family members as well. easy does it.

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

Today has the promise of evolving into a delightful, memorable time. There Your business partners are trustworthy and the business deals you create are progressive actions and any endeavor of yours is met with enthusiasm. This could mean together will be positive for some time to come. Balance your energies you have a new invention, or you help a co-worker or friend push forward with his or her today. Time spent in psychological support of others-in addition to your own accomplish- new idea or invention. This afternoon you may decide to work a little on some contest jin- ments today-can make for a stressful day. Be clear in your words and in your writing; you gle or an advertisement. About the only thing that catches the attention of the public is can be confusing if you try to hurry with particular instructions. This evening is a good time either something that they can relate to or something that one would not see every day. If to enjoy kind relations with friends and family. If you are really serious about losing weight, you are planning to sell a variety of colorful summer hats, you might try photographing counting calories may make you very nervous since you like good hearty meals. Eat your them on animals to catch the public eye and then add a fun little jingle that brings the hat meat without gravy and try one helping along with a salad. A friend will give you support to the human head. Enjoy your friends. Happy birthday! for your efforts to improve and may join you in an exercise program.

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

Your mind is quick and sharp and your way with words is just what you and It would be wise to listen to all those around you before making a particular- others need today. You have insight into your emotions and you can talk ly difficult decision today. An old habit needs changing and your friends will about your ideas with great insight. Goodwill and compromise should be your first help you change. Do not become preoccupied with one concept and accept it as gospel. thoughts in any activity you do that is a little out of the ordinary. There is a more outgoing Weighing all sides of a problem may be most beneficial at this time. You may be sought ACROSS means. quality to your lifestyle now and more of a possibility to forget the essentials, like brushing after as just the person for a particular job. You enjoy management and take your job quite 1. A mountainous landlocked communist 3. Of or pertaining to a number system hav- your teeth, buying milk or putting your keys in their proper place. It is a good idea to work seriously. There could be pressures today that will awaken you to some situation in your state in southeastern Asia. ing 8 as its base. on all aspects of a project or plan to see where your energies can be best applied. Maternal home or nearby vicinity that needs changing. Keep an eagle eye on the development and instincts, whether you are male or female, may come into play today-making you put forth you could be a part of the change. There could be some financial panic now as your mone- 5. Someone who plays the flute. 4. Make sharp or sharper. tary situation may be difficult to gauge-you will find a balance. 12. (British) A waterproof raincoat made of 5. A corporation authorized by Congress to every effort to appease any discord in the home. rubberized fabric. provide a secondary market for residential 15. A unit of length (in United States and mortgages. Britain) equal to one twelfth of a foot. 6. A toilet in England. Capricorn (December 22-January 19) 16. Having an illustrious reputation. 7. Having removed clothing. Cancer (June 21-July 22) 17. A rapid bustling commotion. 8. A doughnut-shaped chamber used in Today is the day you could plan for a new way of living or a new habit. Go There is some powerful energy available for you; however, do not rush about your day with a list in hand and have a purpose in mind so that you do 18. A globular water bottle used in Asia. fusion research. through projects. You could make mistakes that you would regret later. Use your power not sway from your goal. This could encompass a new job identity, a new diet, an undertak- 19. A fastener fitted to a door or drawer to 9. A heavy brittle metallic element of the wisely and pace yourself. Now is a good time to finish those jobs you have been putting off, ing to stop smoking, etc. You may show great pleasure in the creativeness of someone near keep it firmly closed. platinum group. whether it is from fear of failure or lack of confidence. Applying yourself to work will prove you. This could be a co-worker or a close friend or even a family member. Saving and creat- 20. A drug (trade names Atarax and Vistaril) 10. An airplane that can land on or take off successful. You will excel in activities that involve a great deal of concentration. Your burn- ing ways in which to make extra money grab your attention this afternoon. Instead of used as a tranquilizer to treat anxiety and from water. ing zeal for the ideal world and your need to be a part of a group of like-minded souls are throwing things away that may have some good use left, you may decide to toss things in a motion sickness. 11. (astronomy) A measure of time defined the topics of conversation during the noon meal. You learn and grow through your efforts container for a garage sale or a trip to your nearby charity. An evening bicycle ride or to 22. Evergreen Indian shrub with vivid yellow by Earth's orbital motion. to help others and to make your inner vision into a reality-volunteer work is possible. You exercise by walking could be enjoyed by you and others. flowers whose bark is used in tanning. 12. God of death. may hear from a long-lost friend tonight. 24. An inhabitant of Lappland. 13. (Old Testament) In Judeo-Christian 26. Avatar of Vishnu. mythology. 27. A high-crowned black cap (usually made 14. The ball-and-socket joint between the Leo (July 23-August 22) Aquarius (January 20- February 18) of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey head of the femur and the acetabulum. Business and family matters can be easily handled today. This would be an Take a little trip, or get outside today. You may want to change your routine and Iran and the Caucasus. 21. A river that rises in northern Colombia excellent time to weigh the possibilities of advancement or change in your a little and try something new or different at this time. Gathering information and helping 28. Congenital absence of an arm or leg. and flows generally eastward to the Orinoco career. You may find that someone close to you understands and is supportive of your others to understand difficult matters create a great deal of satisfaction. Your timing should 29. A trivalent metallic element of the rare in central Venezuela. ideas. You could come up with new solutions. People are affectionate and may show their be perfect and those around you should find you most spontaneous. This is a time in which imagination through gift giving at this time. You have clear insight into your own inner earth group. 23. American professional baseball player you may feel the need to feel secure through some material or sentimental objects that you sense of values, how you appreciate and love. This is a good time to become lost under the 30. An informal term for a father. who hit more home runs than Babe Ruth possess. Any depression or anxiety about the work you do or the state of your financial spell of a good salesperson-careful. You have an inborn ability to see the positive side of life, 31. Type genus of the family Ulvaceae. (born in 1934). affairs could be eliminated. Take full stock of your accounts and debts so as to know where especially when you help or allow someone else to excel. A short trip may be in order this 35. A mechanically operated piano that uses 25. A tricycle (usually propelled by pedalling). you stand financially. This is a perfect time to clear away any unfinished business and look evening-perhaps to a restaurant or some entertainment place. a roll of perforated paper to activate the keys. 32. A small amount of liquor added to a food to the future with insightful speculation. 40. Related by blood. or beverage. 41. (Old Testament) Cain and Abel were the 33. The capital and largest city of Austria. first children of Adam and Eve born after the 34. A genus of tropical American plants have Virgo (August 23-September 22) Pisces (February 19-March 20) Fall of Man. sword-shaped leaves and a fleshy compound 42. An inflammatory complication of leprosy fruits composed of the fruits of several flow- You could be inclined to misapply your energy on projects or people today. Your communication skills are at a high now. You will enjoy a debate today that results in painful skin lesions on the ers (such as pineapples). There is a tendency to drain your energy, making you tired. You could fall and will not mind speaking your thoughts on a particular matter. You could arms and legs and face. 36. Any tree or shrub of the genus Inga hav- under the heavy burden of responsibility and may have to work hard to acquit yourself be most persuasive with others. The situation is a natural for your particular ideas and 43. Marked by or showing unaffected sim- ing pinnate leaves and showy usually white well. However, this time also indicates great strides toward success and improvement in all thoughts. If your emotions and attitudes are applied right, no sacrifice will be too great to plicity and lack of guile or worldly experi- flowers. areas of your life. Caution should be applied before entering into any type of relationship or achieve personal success. You have a strong psychic potential. Your imagination is strong as ence. 37. With a forward motion. transaction impulsively. Family, home, relatives and real estate play a big part in your life. well and may lend itself to writing or some form of art. However, since you do not like to 44. An order of Eutheria. 38. Hungarian choreographer who devel- You want to belong on a private, intimate, personal level and to be needed and to feel it’s waste time, you may find it difficult to start such an endeavor, so try using a tape recorder. okay to have needs. Friends are among your greatest blessings and today a friend will give Educational pursuits and travel may figure prominently in your career growth. Go back and 45. Highly excited. oped Labanotation (1879-1958). you encouragement. Your inner resources are accented. 47. A bachelor's degree in religion. 39. Having help. consider some form of art as a good stress relief tool. 48. (Akkadian) God of wisdom. 46. United States financier (born in France) 49. A hotel providing overnight lodging for who helped finance the War of 1812 (1750- travelers. 1831). Word Search Yesterday Solution 50. Nearly cosmopolitan family. 51. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake 54. The father of your father or mother. Chad. 58. A public promotion of some product or 52. (of a young animal) Abandoned by its service. mother and raised by hand. 60. The blood group whose red cells carry 53. Any of several tall tropical palms native to both the A and B antigens. southeastern Asia having egg-shaped nuts. 61. The face or front of a building. 55. Streaming or flapping or spreading wide 62. A synthetic type of penicillin antibiotic as if in a current of air. (trade name Pipracil) used for moderate to 56. An official prosecutor for a judicial district. severe infections. 57. The absence of matter. 66. Lack of sight. 59. English aristocrat who was the first wife of 70. Marked by the reception of pay. Prince Charles. 71. (botany) Of or relating to the axil. 63. Having sections or patches colored differ- 73. A particular geographical region of indef- ently and usually brightly. inite boundary (usually serving some special 64. Showing self-interest and shrewdness in purpose or distinguished by its people or cul- dealing with others. ture or geography). 65. A large genus of dicotyledonous trees 74. Used of a single unit or thing. and shrubs of the family Aquifoliaceae that 78. Canadian hockey player (born 1948). have small flowers and berries (including hol- 79. A boy or man. lies). 80. Hypothyroidism marked by dry skin and 67. Extremely robust. swellings around lips and nose as well as 68. A three-tone Chadic language. mental deterioration. 69. A unit of length equal to 3 feet. 81. A coenzyme derived from the B vitamin 72. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation nicotinic acid. equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material. DOWN 75. Before noon. 1. Of a pale purple color. 76. A brittle silver-white metalloid element 2. A statistical method for making simultane- that is related to selenium and sulfur. ous comparisons between two or more 77. Informal terms for a mother. Yesterday’s Solution

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 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 Dermatology Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees 22666288 France 0033 Peru 0051 French Guiana 00594 Philippines 0063 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Gynaecologists & Obstetricians Dr. Mohammed Salam Rheumatologists: French Polynesia 00689 Poland 0048 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 DrAdrian arbe 23729596/23729581 Bern University 23845955 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 WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Gossip Pink Floyd hint at reunion tour ink Floyd fans are speculating the band could be set Wall’ tour stop at London’s O2 Arena but they have previ- to tour again or release a new album. The ously hinted at the possibility of a reunion. In September, P‘Comfortably Numb’ hitmakers have teased them by Nick told NME magazine that he was “ready to go but hold- posting a countdown to a big announcement today on a ing my breath”, and later said he thought Pink Floyd would website marking the 20th anniversary of their final record, most likely get back together for a charity concert, ‘The Division Bell’. Divisionbell20.com features a continu- although fans feel the 20th anniversary is a big enough ous clip of satellite images of the moon and urban land- celebration and have taken to Twitter to speculate a scapes to a soundtrack of Pink Floyd’s music. The site has reunion in coming months. Earlier today, a fan posted: also teased the hashtag #TBD20, referencing the fact the “Pink Floyd are up to something. 7 hours till we find out band’s last record was released two decades ago in March. what. Please tour. Please tour. Please tour. (sic).” Members Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason - who haven’t performed together publicly since the Live 8 benefit show in 2005 - briefly reunited during Waters’ ‘The

Culture Club announce Ashton personally told Demi first tour in 15 years about Mila’s pregnancy

ulture Club have announced their first tour in 15 emi Moore was “one of the first” people Ashton Kutcher told he was going years. The band - fronted by Boy George - will play to be a father. The 36-year-old hunk - who split from the 51-year-old screen C11 UK dates and will also head back into the studio beauty in 2011 after six years of marriage amid rumors he had cheated on to record new material with producer Youth, who has D her - wanted to soften the blow that his new fiancee Mila Kunis is carrying his child worked with Paul McCartney, The Verve and Embrace, for by telling her personally before it became public knowledge. A source told an album to be released early in 2015. The ‘Karma RadarOnline.com: “Demi was one of the first people Ashton called when he found Kameleon’ hitmakers - Mikey Craig, Roy Hay, Jon Moss and out Mila was expecting his first child. “While that might seem shocking to many Boy George - sold in excess of 100 million singles and over given their bitter break up, it’s just Ashton’s style to inform Demi before the news 50 million albums, and were one of the biggest pop bands broke. He was fully aware of how much Mila’s news would affect Demi and wanted of the 1980s. They achieved seven Top 10 hits in the UK to be the one to tell her personally.” Ashton is reportedly trying to “salvage a close and also had big success in American and Australia. friendship” with Demi - who has daughters Rumer, 25, Scout, 22, and Tallulah, 20, Culture Club were also the first group since The Beatles to from her marriage to Bruce Willis - but insiders are unsure how open the ‘Ghost’ have three Top Ten hits in America from a debut album. actress is to staying amicable because she was hurt so badly by the ‘Two and a Half Boy George also recently released his first solo album is 20 Men’ star. The source added: “He’s still in denial of how much hurt he’s caused Demi years, ‘This Is What I Do’, and said being sober for six years and friends are convinced he’d do anything to salvage a close friendship with Demi has helped him to focus more on his career. He said: despite that.” “Certainly being sober clears things up, it gets rid of all the cobwebs in the clouds and you start to think about things in a more professional, functional manner. It’s more a ques- tion of following my instincts. As an artist, you just follow what you feel, and it felt like the right time.” Musician Alison Moyet, who has sold more than 20 million records both as a solo artist and as one half of the duo Yazoo, will support the band on tour.

The full dates for the Culture Club tour are Monday, December 1 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro Tuesday, December 2 - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena Thursday, December 4 - Leeds, First Direct Arena Friday, December 5 - Manchester, Phones 4U Arena Saturday, December 6 - Nottingham, Capital FM Arena Monday, December 8 - Liverpool, Echo Arena Tuesday, December 9 - London, The O2 Thursday, December 11 - Brighton, Brighton Centre Friday, December 12 - Birmingham, National Indoor Arena Sunday, December 14 - Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena Monday, December 15 - Bournemouth, Bournemouth International Centre

he ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star - who was pictured at LAX airport on Sunday the first time he Thas been seen in public for several weeks - laughed off reports he has been to rehab or “fat camp” to address his weight problems, and insists he will do something Charlize Theron about his size when he feels ready to. He tweeted: “so i found out i was trending for being fat... thank you all it really made my day :) “and to the blogs saying i went to hit ‘rock bottom’ fat camp or rehab LOL then why am i still fat u fools?? y’all must have run out of real news. “first, i don’t believe in harlize Theron reached “rock bottom” in her early rehab or therapy or anything of that sort and second I’m a 30s. The 38-year-old actress - whose mother killed grown man and will work on myself when i choose “I’m Cher father in self-defense when she was 15 years old aware that I’m fat that def aint a surprise to me lol and my - “didn’t know” she needed therapy, but has found having only therapy will be in the gym anyways had to say regular sessions incredibly useful. She said: “I didn’t know somethingggggggggg (sic)” Rob was recently warned by that I needed therapy. I was walking through life just kind doctors he risked an early death if he didn’t tackle his weight problem after undergoing medical testing. In of thinking everything was fine - you go and you work and scenes which aired on ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ there’s this catharsis that happens when you are an actor, recently, the doctor advised Rob was at risk of developing and that’s healthy, right? “[In my early 30s, I was] kind of at diabetes and eventual organ failure, prompting his moth- rock bottom. I called a friend and said, ‘Will you give me er Kris Jenner to give her 26-year-old son a stark warning. the number of your therapist?’ And I started seeing an She told him “Your liver is shutting down. “This is life- incredible woman who is always just a phone call away.” threatening at this point. You can only sustain this level of The ‘Million Ways to Die in the West’ star adopted her two- being unhealthy for so long.” The shocking news came year-old son Jackson in March 2012, and says taking on weeks after the sock designer admitted to his older sister the care of a child is something she has always wanted to Khloe Kardashian that his weight gain has made him do, even when her then-boyfriend Stuart Townsend - who depressed. He recently said: “I’ve never felt so down she split with in 2010 after almost nine years together - depressed in my life. I’m trying to be in the fashion indus- didn’t agree with her idea of what a “family” is. Charlize’s try and I’m not going to be taken seriously when I’m fifty mother recently showed her a letter which she wrote knows he is ‘fat’ pounds overweight. It’s embarrassing to the family.” when she was eight years old that read: “What I want for Christmas this year is for you to take me to the orphanage so that we can adopt a brother or a sister.” Speaking about the note, the actress - who is now dating Sean Penn - told the new issue of Vogue magazine: “I don’t know where that came from. “Maybe it was just an awareness of the fact that at that time, orphanages were everywhere in South Africa. But even in my relationship with Stuart, that was something I was very clear about. We had very differ- Angelina Jolie: ent ideas of what a family looked like. There’s no judg- ment; that was not the reason why we broke up, but when we did, adopting was not a Vivienne could handle Maleficent last resort for me - it was almost like a ngelina Jolie found it difficult being mean to daughter Vivienne in first resort. And ‘Maleficent’. The 38-year-old actress who plays the titular villain in the it’s the only thing Are-imagining of Walt Disney’s 1959 ‘Sleeping Beauty’ worked opposite in my life that’s her adorable five-year-old daughter who was cast as the young Princess surpassed how Aurora and although she had to say horrible things to the tiny tot she was glad great I thought it to have her lovingly staring back at her. Talking on ‘Good Morning Britain’, she would be.” said: “It’s not easy. I actually had to say to her things like ‘I don’t like children, go away’. When you say that to your own kids in the big devil horns, in the staff... But, fortunately, because she’s my kid, that’s why we cast her, other kids were scared of me. I could say anything and look as scary as they come and she’d just smile at me like ‘I don’t care, I love you’.” Despite Vivienne being in the film Jolie - who also raises Maddox, 12, Pax, 10, Zahara, nine, Shiloh, seven, and twins Knox with fiance Brad Pitt - admitted they didn’t want any of their six children to become movie stars. She told Mail Online: “Neither one of us want our children to be actors, Brad and I but it was just I really couldn’t ask another Kardashian Rob four/ five year old to do it because kids on set did actually get scared and they would cry when they would see me.”— Bangshowbiz lifestyle WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Features Theme parks opening new rides, slides this year

This undated image released by Six Flags New England shows The New England SkyScreamer, the tallest swing ride at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Mass.

arry Potter’s Diagon Alley in Orlando, the world’s longest Mayhem” 3-D motion-simulation ride and a new “Despicable Me”- riders forwards and backwards - and close to a shed of exploding and fastest inverted roller coaster in Ohio and water parks themed play area called Super Silly Fun Land. fireworks. Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay - once under the Hin every corner of the United States are among the many Knott’s Berry Farm celebrates 30 years of Snoopy and the Six Flags umbrella - is scheduled to reopen late May. The center- new attractions at theme parks this season. And families with Peanuts gang; it has made improvements to its Grand Sierra piece ride will be Lightning Run, which will take riders on a 100- young kids won’t be disappointed, either: Many parks are unveil- Railroad attraction. foot, 80-degree drop. ing rides appropriate for children, yet exciting enough to thrill adults. “Amusement park guests demand innovation year after year,” said Jeremy Schoolfield, editor-in-chief of Funworld Magazine, which chronicles the amusement park industry. “Coming up with new experiences is built in our DNA.” Here’s what’s hot.

Florida Universal Orlando Resort will open its second Harry Potter- themed area this summer, called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Diagon Alley. The zone’s centerpiece will be a ride called Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, which takes visitors into Gringotts bank to help retrieve a magical object. The original Potter attraction is at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, while the new one will be at the adjoining Universal Studios Florida park. Guests must buy a two-park ticket to visit both Potter areas, but they can travel between them on the Hogwarts Express train, which will offer views of characters and magical creatures from the book. Among them: Hagrid on a flying motorbike, the Weasley twins on brooms, and the Knight Bus in London traffic. Universal has also opened new restaurants at City Walk and the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, an 1,800-unit hotel, where half of the rooms are suites that sleep six people. Also for the younger family members, Legoland California has Six Flags Over Georgia is opening Hurricane Harbor, a multi- At Disney World, the unveiling of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train turned its entire water park into a “Legends of Chima” themed million park expansion that includes tropical landscaping and a ride May 28 will complete the New Fantasyland area that opened water park. SeaWorld has redone its entrance and now includes 38,000-square-foot wave pool. in December 2012. The ride is charming and exciting at the same Explorer’s Reef, with kid-friendly touch pools, waves and coral time: Visitors will enjoy animatronic dwarfs singing “Heigh-Ho” in reefs. Midwest an underground-themed gem mine, then experience the thrilling The Banshee recently opened at Kings Island north of anticipation of the roller coaster as cars climb a steep hill, before Northeast Cincinnati. The steel coaster, named for a wailing mythological This artist rendering provided by NBC Universal shows plunging down a mountainous landscape. And let’s not forget At Luna Park on Coney Island, in Brooklyn, NY, the Thunderbolt messenger from the underworld, includes a 167-foot lift hill and a the new Harry Potter-themed area of the Universal one of the most popular attractions in New Fantasyland these will soon open. The steel coaster is named after a now-demol- 150-foot curved first drop. Riders also experience a zero-gravity theme park in Orlando, Fla. days: meet and greets with Anna and Elsa from Disney’s hit movie ished and once-beloved wooden roller coaster. Roar-o-Saurus at roll and speeds up to 68 mph. Six Flags Great America just outside “Frozen.” Recent wait times to meet the royal sisters ran four hours. Story Land in New Hampshire is a tame wooden coaster with cars of Chicago is showcasing Goliath, touted as the world’s fastest Hardcore thrill seekers will want to visit Busch Gardens in shaped like dinosaurs. wooden coaster with the tallest and steepest drop. Tampa, where Falcon’s Fury will soon open. Riders will be seated There’s nothing tame about Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom at Six Speaking of drops, Schlitterbahn in Kansas City, Kansas, is upright and whisked to the top of a 335-foot tower before the Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The drop tower is perched scheduled to open Verruckt in June. It’s been certified by Guinness seat pivots 90 degrees so the guest is looking straight down. The on the face of the Kingda Ka coaster - and it will lift riders up 415 World Records as the world’s tallest water slide; four people at a rider then plunges in a six-second free fall. feet in the air and plunge them downward at 90 mph. At Six Flags time will plummet 168 feet in a raft. The raft is expected to reach a New England in Springfield, Mass., the SkyScreamer is billed as the top speed of 65 mph. — AP California world’s tallest swing at 400 feet. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk will open its latest thrill ride, The Undertow. It’s fast and does a complete 360-degree spin. New South at Universal Studios Hollywood are the “Despicable Me Minion Dollywood’s FireChaser Express opened in March, and takes

Photo shows Disney cast members testing the new Seven This undated image provided by Kings Island amusement park in Kings Island, Ohio, near This computer image released by NBCUniversal Orlando shows a setting for the ride that Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster in the Magic Kingdom at Cincinnati, shows the recently opened Banshee roller coaster. will be the centerpiece for the new Harry Potter-themed area at Universal Orlando Resort Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — AP photos theme park. THE One presents ‘Cottage Chique’

ring a quaint, countryside feeling to your pad with with a traditional toffee brown leather armchair with THE One’s delightfully down-to-earth, charmingly stud detail and a space-saving two tier oval coffee table, Bromantic ‘Cottage Chique’ home fashion style. all perched on a hand-woven rug. Vintage floral print wallpaper sets the tone for this femi- Add personality and interest with a variety of eccen- nine lived-in look, which combines an earthy palette of tric lighting choices and accessories, ranging from clas- greens, off-whites and browns with natural linen and sic candelabra and a table lamp with a repurposed gin- leather upholstery, rough metal and natural wood for a ger jar-base, to a quirky collection of ceramic jars and warm and welcoming ambience. vases. When it comes to dressing up your walls, make a To create this cozy, cottagey living room, think petite feature of a rustic wood and metal curved bookshelf furniture and eclectic accessories. Start with a beautiful- above the sofa - not only is it a unique talking point, but ly buttoned, cottage-sized sofa and armchair with clas- will also keep your favourite reads close at hand. Round sic, turned wood legs, upholstered in taupe linen and off your rural retreat with a crocheted throw and a floral piled high with cushions for ultimate comfort. Pair this cushion or two and you are all set for cottage life! lifestyle WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 MUSIC & MOVIES Paul McCartney cancels Beyonce, Jay Z release Japan tour over illness starry fake Music legend Paul McCartney has cancelled his Japan tour because of regrettably have to cancel the remaining Japanese shows. Paul is still a debilitating virus that has laid him up in a Tokyo hotel, organizers not feeling better and this cancellation is unavoidable,” organizer movie trailer said yesterday, disappointing thousands of the 71-year-old’s fans. Kyodo Tokyo said in a statement. McCartney-one of two living members of The Beatles-had already can- The musician was “staying at a hotel in Tokyo and doctors are with celled performances at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday and him”, a company spokeswoman said, but added that it was “unclear” if eyonce and Jay Z released a Sunday, after coming down with the unspecified illness. He “will he would still perform at a South Korean concert scheduled for May trailer for a fake movie online 28. The cancellation generated an outpouring of good wishes from Bwith guns blazing, and now fans of the Liverpool-born musician. “Dear Paul, please take care of fans want to see the film actually you! Our hope is only your perfect recovery,” Mari Yamashita wrote in made. Fans launched a petition English on the tour’s official Facebook page. Monday on Change.org to support a McCartney was to play at another venue in Tokyo today and the last feature-length version of “Run.” The one in Osaka on Saturday as part of his “Out There” world tour. In all, trailer that debuted Sunday stars the McCartney had been expected to play in front of about 170,000 fans in superstar couple as gun-toting out- Japan during the four-date tour, according to public broadcaster NHK. laws. It features cameos by Sean Penn, Don Cheadle and Blake Lively, ‘Hugely disappointing’ among others. Among McCartney’s Tokyo dates was a show at the Nippon The fake trailer concludes with the Budokan Hall, which would have marked his first return to the venue words “coming never.” Beyonce and since appearing there with The Beatles in 1966. “I was really looking Jay Z are sharing top billing for their forward to playing in Japan again after we had such an amazing time “On the Run” concert tour that’s set to here in November,” McCartney said in the statement, calling the can- begin next month in Miami. The cou- cellations “hugely disappointing”. “I’d like to thank my Japanese fans ple made news last week for a differ- for their love, messages of support and understanding. ent video. TMZ posted footage show- I hope to see you all again soon. Love, Paul,” he added. Concert- ing a physical altercation between goers instead flocked to a downtown Tokyo live music club that plays Jay Z and Beyonce’s sister, Solange File photo shows Jay Z, left, and Beyonce arrive at The Beatles tunes, hoping for their fix of The Fab Four. “Disheartened fans Knowles. The trio said in a statement Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute bene- Japanese fans gather in front of a hotel where Paul McCartney is flocked to our club as they wanted to listen to Beatlesmusic,” said they had “worked through” that inci- fit gala celebrating ‘Charles James: Beyond Fashion,’ in staying yesterday in Tokyo. —AFP Yukihiro Higashi, a manager of Abbey Road Roppongi. —AFP dent. — AP New York. — AP Chopard ‘Backstage party’

Brazilian model Adriana Lima

British model Selita Ebanks

Canadian model Coco Rocha

(From left) Models Liu Wen, Alessandra Ambrosio, Arlenis Sosa, Eva Herzigova, Chopard’s German co-president Caroline Scheufele, models Petra Nemcova and Adriana Lima arrive to the Chopard ‘Backstage party’ on the sidelines of the 67th Cannes film festival at the Cannes-Mandelieu aero- drome in Cannes. — AFP photos Macklemore apologizes for offensive costume apper Macklemore posted an apology Grammy Award winners Macklemore & efforts before Macklemore posted his message on his website late Monday, saying he Ryan Lewis made the appearance at the EMP Monday night. In a postscript, the rapper Rdidn’t mean to mock Jewish people by Museum in their hometown to help celebrate pointed out the work of the Anti-Defamation wearing a costume that some say was anti- the debut of a new exhibition. Photos from League, providing a link to the group’s web- Semitic during a performance in Seattle last the concert show Macklemore wearing a black site. The ADL was formed to fight anti- week. Macklemore wrote that he randomly wig and beard and a fake hooked nose. Semitism. chose the pieces of the costume he wore at Macklemore and Lewis gained widespread Macklemore said he understood his detrac- Friday’s performance so that he could disguise fame with a message supporting diversity, and tors’ point of view. “I acknowledge how the himself and move freely around during the their hit song “Same Love” calls for tolerance costume could, within a context of stereotyp- Russian model Valentina secret show. He said it wasn’t meant to be a and support for members of the gay commu- ing, be ascribed to a Jewish caricature,” he Zelyaeva caricature of a Jewish man. “I respect all cul- nity. The two performed the song at January’s wrote. “I am here to say that it was not tures and all people,” he wrote. “I would never Grammy Awards while several same-sex cou- absolutelynot my intention, and unfortunately intentionally put down anybody for the fabric ples were married, and they have been lauded at the time I did not foresee the costume to be that makes them who they are. I love human for their progressive messages. Lewis and his viewed in such regard. I’m saddened that this beings, love originality, and ... happen to love mother appeared on Anderson Cooper’s show story, or any of my choices, would lead to any a weird outfit from time to time.” on CNN to talk about their HIV AIDS charity form of negativity.” — AP

In this photo Macklemore of the group Macklemore & Ryan Lewis strikes a pose as he performs ‘Thrift Shop’ to a mob of waving fans during Vivid: Spectacle Opening Indian actress Sonam Kapoor Night Party at the EMP Museum in Seattle. — AP Danish model Katharina Damm lifestyle WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 MUSIC & MOVIES Q&A Jessica Chastain on ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ Cannes ears ago at a film festival, Jessica of Life,” a breakout that announced Chastain saw a short by Ned Benson Chastain as an uncommonly gifted actress, Yand chased him down to say she seemingly fully formed from the start. In an wanted to work with him. “I was his first interview, she reflected on the distance fan,” she says. When Benson later penned a she’s traveled between “Tree of Life” and script about a man’s relationship with his “Eleanor Rigby.” wife before and after a tragic event, Chastain urged him to develop a female AP: How is to be back where your perspective: “It was just me wanting equal career essentially started? opportunity,” she says, flashing a smile. The Chastain: What I’m having trouble result was Benson’s innovatively structured understanding is that was only three years feature debut “The Disappearance of ago. It feels like it was years and years and Eleanor Rigby,” which is essentially three years ago. I don’t know if that’s a good thing films: “Him” (the tale from the point of view or a bad thing. Maybe it’s because I feel like of Connor Ludlow, played by James I’ve had so much experience the last three years. But I love coming to Cannes because that premiere for “Tree of Life” was my debut to the world as an actress. It changed my life for the better. It was one of the great, great moments of my life.

AP: What do you remember about it? (From left) Director Luc Dardenne, actress Marion Cotillard, actor Fabrizio Rongione, and director Jean-Pierre Dardenne pose for photogra- Chastain: I was scared a lot. Someone said phers during a photo call for Two Days, One Night (Deux jours, une nuit) at the 67th international film festival, Cannes, southern France to me, “You’ve changed so much. You seemed yesterday. — AP less worried.” Which makes sense because I was always nervous, I always had my stom- ach going. What a big festival this is and the most incredible filmmakers and artists and writers and actors here. I didn’t know how I fit Could ‘Two Days, 1 Night’ in, so it was very daunting. I guess I just feel more secure. It’s nice to be tired from working instead of tired from worrying. AP: You’ve been working a great deal make Cannes history? in those three years. Chastain: I made two films already this ould “Two Days, One Night” make Cannes year. “A Most Violent Year” with J.C. Chandor history? Gritty social commentators the directing opposite Oscar Isaac, and CDardenne brothers are back painting on Guillermo Del Toro’s “Crimson Peak.” I met J.C. their cinematic human canvas with the movie - at Cannes here last year. Now I make it priori- a gut-wrenching parable on human survival ty: OK, yes, I’m going to do all this work. But I and the value of 1,000 euros in a working-class have to be able to go support other artists Belgian community. The film stars a magnifi- and see other movies. I saw “All Is Lost” last cent Marion Cotillard - unrecognizable as year and I was blown away by J.C. depressed, Xanax-gobbling Sandra who Actress Jessica Chastain poses for pho- embarks on a devastating two-day struggle, tographers as she arrives for the screen- AP: In the varied roles of those three and even a brush with suicide, to save her job ing of Foxcatcher at the 67th interna- years - from “Zero Dark Thirty” to the at a solar-panel factory. Director Jean-Pierre tional film festival, Cannes, southern upcoming “Interstellar” - have you wanted The film that had audiences in sobs has Dardenne, right, and France, Monday. — AP to explore your range as much as possible? already set social media alight with critics’ whis- director Luc Dardenne, Chastain: My favorite book is “To Kill a pers it’s a heavyweight contender for the Palme left, kiss actress Marion McAvoy), “Her” (centered on his wife, Mocking Bird” and Atticus Finch - I’m going d’Or. If they succeed, the Belgian auteurs would Cotillard as they pose Eleanor Rigby, played by Chastain) and to butcher it - says something about: You break the record as the only filmmakers to have for photographers. “Them” (a two-hour fusion of both). don’t judge a person until you’ve worn won three top awards in the entire 67-year-his- After “Him” and “Her” premiered last year their skin and walked around it. As an tory of the Cannes festival. Their naturalistic films every one of her colleagues to confront them simple gives the “car keys to the character” and at the Toronto Film Festival, “Them” actress, I get to wear other people’s skin. In took the Palme d’Or in 1999, for “Rosetta,” and in with a choice: Self-interest or empathy. Striking the acting from day one happens as if on auto- debuted this week at the Cannes Film doing so, it make me feel bigger than 2005, for “The Child.” Cotillard, too, has drawn transformations are nothing new for the French pilot. Her other niche, she admits, is taking on Festival. The combined version, which myself. Sometimes America, especially, can praise and award-predictions. The red-carpet actress, who won an Academy Award for her the role of the struggling underdog. “I like com- Chastain also produced, opens in theaters be a self-centered nation. The more variety beauty gives her all in her transformation as a portrayal of frail Edith Piaf in “La Vie en Rose.” plex roles ... beings that fight for their survival in September. Cannes is where the twice of women I play, the more it reminds me of hunched, scruffy and effaced mother-of-two And in last year’s “The Immigrant,” she learned to and that will in doing this discover things inside Oscar-nominated Chastain emerged in the variety of people in the world and that who frequently breaks down in tears and is vic- speak Polish for the role. Cotillard says she them that they didn’t suspect,” she said. Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or-winning “Tree we’re all connected. — AP tim to debilitating panic attacks. researches the psychology of the character, and Cotillard’s starry presence on this project has With a history of depression, she has her life the physical changes happen automatically. “It’s assured the biggest international exposure for thrown back into chaos when her boss asks fac- a work of investigation,” she said. “All the physical Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne - who normally tory co-workers to vote to sack her or lose their behavior in each of us is a way to express our- cast lesser-known figures. In the United States, 1,000 euro bonus. In an odyssey exploring core selves.” IFC has already announced it will distribute the human nature, in the film she visits each and She says after the initial research is over she movie later this year. — AP Hockey great Fetisov chronicled in Cannes film

iacheslav “Slava” Fetisov has had a storied hockey career - including two Stanley VCups with the Detroit Red Wings - but he was initially reluctant to see it documented with a movie. “He tried to bring me into the film from the beginning,” said Fetisov of director Gary Polsky. “For some reason I didn’t like it though.” Polsky eventually won him over, and the result is In this Friday, May 16, “Red Army,” which is being shown at the Cannes 2014 file photo, director Film Festival out of competition. Gleb Polsky, left, and The movie explores the social and cultural (From left) Director Ned Benson, actress Jessica Chastain, actor James McAvoy and Slava Fetisov, the former changes in the Soviet Union, then Russia, actress Jess Weixler pose as they arrive for the screening of Wild Tales (Relatos captain of the Russian through the experiences of the national hockey Salvajes). — AP Red Army hockey team team, and the life of its superstar captain, Fetisov. pose for photographers Polsky’s first impressions of the “Red Army” team during a photo call were their balletic style of play, compared to the for Red Army. more brutish style practiced in the United States. Adrien Brody to “You, know I preferred this style of play and I think it really evolved sport and hockey to anoth- It also touches on his difficult transition in gay, Fetisov is hugely proud of the Sochi games. er level,” said the director in an interview here last America. “And even though I don’t speak any “I spend the all two weeks in Sochi during the week. “That really piqued my interest about the English, when you walk in the dressing room, you Winter Olympic games and for me it doesn’t mat- play Charles V Soviet Union and my roots, through hockey, and I can feel that people don’t like you here, you can ter what kind of result on the sports field, I see wanted to explore why, how they got so good feel how they do stuff and you ask yourself why the new facilities, I see the happy people on the ilming hasn’t started yet, but and what was going on over there.” Though the you’re here, you know,” he said in an interview. street and venues in the Olympic Park, I see the Adrien Brody is already starting to film features interviews with former teammates, Eventually, he became more settled, won two volunteers from around the country who came, Fthink about how he’ll research his Fetisov - who won medals including gold for his National Hockey League championships for the young people came to help run the Olympic latest role as a 16th century emperor. The country but was on the 1980 USSR hockey team Red Wings and even was an assistant coach. He games,” he said. Oscar-winner has signed on to play the which lost the “Miracle on Ice” game to the later returned to Russia to become the Minister “They take pride, they try to show the new Charles V in “Emperor,” a Lee Tamahori underdog United States - is the focus. It touches of Sport. Now a member of the Federal Assembly Russia for the rest of the world, it was so nice and film that explores the reign of the Roman on his falling out with his Russian coach over his of Russia, he helped Russia get the winning bid people admit this and I talk to my friends from Empire ruler. Brody appeared with decision to play professional hockey in the to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. IOC and they say, ‘You were right, Slava, you got Tamahori to talk up the film in Cannes. United States and being branded an enemy in his Despite the controversy that followed, with the best ever Olympic for the winter sports,’ and “Now is the time to amass all the infor- native country. protests over Russian legislation branded as anti we could be proud.” — AP mation and sit with it and let it become a part of me, and so we will do that and see what we come up with,” he said in an interview Monday. The film won’t be a studious version Critics slam Gosling’s of Charles V’s time in power. Promotional materials promise a film that explores “wealth, debauchery, violent relations, ‘Lost River’ in Cannes manipulation and treason” and Brody said it’s not aiming to be a historical doc- yan Gosling has debuted as a film director at Cannes with a ument. “We’re consolidating 35 years in stylish, theatrical fable that critics quickly slammed. The first to two. There will be a great deal of Rscreening of Gosling’s “Lost River” played for one of the festi- imagination in play here and that’s val’s most packed crowds yesterday, who surely got something what’s exciting,” he said. While Brody was they weren’t expecting. “Lost River” is a baroque fairy tale set in the promoting “Emperor,” he also has other ruins of Detroit, filmed with bold cinematography and a lurid, projects in play: He said “American Heist” David Lynch-like atmosphere. is being shown to buyers in the Cannes Actor Adrien Brody poses for a por- Immediate reaction from critics was largely negative. Variety’s film market, he is starting a production trait for the film Emperor at a hotel Scott Foundas called it a “first rate folie de grandeur.” The company and has a movie, “Third during the 67th Cannes international Telegraph’s Robbie Collin dubbed it “dumb-foundingly poor.” Person,” out in June. — AP film festival. — AP Warner Bros has not yet scheduled a release date for “Lost River,” (From left) Reda Kateb, Matt Smith, Iain de Caestecker, Christina Hendricks which was previously titled “How to Catch a Monster.” — AP and Ryan Gosling during a photo call for Lost River. — AP Could ‘Two Days, 1 Night’ make Cannes39 history WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

This photo provided by The New York Botanical Garden shows the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden in Seal Harbor, Maine, designed by Beatrix Farrand. — AP photos Rockefeller gardens highlight of NY Botanical Garden exhibit f you’d like to see Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s Marks, and he plans to restore the Shipman gar- other summer garden, the Maine oasis where dens, according to Anne Osborn. Ishe went to escape Hudson Valley summers Fortunately, three of Shipman’s best-known after the blooms in her rose garden at Kykuit had gardens - Longue Vue in New Orleans, the faded, be sure to check out a new exhibit open- Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in ing Saturday at the New York Botanical Garden. Jacksonville, Fla., and the Sarah P Duke Gardens “Mrs Rockefeller’s Garden” will be the center- at Duke University in Durham, NC. - have been piece of the new show, “Groundbreakers: Great preserved and are open to the public. American Gardens and the Women Who Other highlights of the “Groundbreakers” Designed Them,” which runs through Sept 7. The exhibit at the Botanical Garden include an out- Seasonal Galleries in the Enid A Haupt door Edna St Vincent Millay poetry walk and Conservatory have been remade into a gorgeous “Groundbreaking Women in Science” in the evocation of the gardens at the Eyrie, the sum- Conservatory’s Rain Forest Galleries. And yes, mer home of Abby and John D Rockefeller Jr in there is a free downloadable “Groundbreakers Seal Harbor. App” with enhanced programming and a walking The Maine gardens were designed in 1926 by tour.— www.lohud.com Beatrix Farrand, one of three early 20th century This 1914 image provided by The New York female landscape architects featured in the show, Botanical Garden and courtesy of Library of along with Marian Coffin and Ellen Biddle Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Shipman. Pioneering garden photographers shows a hand-tinted photograph of Jessie Tarbox Beals, Mattie Edwards Hewitt and Admiral Aaron Ward and his wife Elizabeth Frances Benjamin Johnston are also part of the in Roslyn Harbor, New York, taken by pho- exhibit. Shipman was one of the country’s lead- tographer, Frances Benjamin Johnston. ing landscape architects in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. House & Garden magazine called her the “dean of women landscape architects” in 1933. She designed more than 600 gardens, including “about 50 in the Westchester area,” says Judith This undated image provided by Visit Florida shows St George Island Beach in Tankard, a garden historian and the author of Florida. —AP “The Gardens of Ellen Biddle Shipman” (Harry N. Abrams, 1997). Most of her gardens disappeared after World War II. Tools help Florida visitors Shipman’s clients included Fords, Astors, duPonts and Edisons. In 1924, she designed the This 1919 image provided by The New York gardens at Cat Rock in Garrison, which has been Botanical Garden and courtesy of the home to several generations of the Osborn fami- Library of Congress, Prints and plan beach vacations ly. It was recently sold to art dealer Matthew Photographs Division, shows a hand-tinted photograph of the garden of Helen Thorne in Millbrook, New York. ith 825 miles of Florida beaches to You can also virtually walk the beaches This circa 1922 image shows a hand-tinted plant your beach umbrella on, with Street View imagery in Google Maps. photograph of the gardener for the estate Wpicking just the right spot for you Last summer, Google spent four months of James and Elizabeth Metcalfe in Bedford and your family can be daunting. Do you photographing Florida beaches to create Hills, New York. want adventure or laid-back beaches? panoramic views of every beach in the state. Family friendly or romantic setting? On It was Google’s first large-scale beach-map- Monday, Visit Florida, the state’s tourism and ping project and now all of those images - marketing arm, launched some high-tech Google Beach View - are available on Visit tools to help visitors find just the right Florida’s site. beach for their summer vacation. Nearly 95 million people visited the The Florida Beach Finder allows travelers Sunshine State in 2013. With tourism being to virtually walk hundreds of miles of beach- the state’s top industry, these high-tech es - from legendary locations such as tools will allow future visitors “to dig their Miami’s South Beach to lesser-known sanc- virtual toes into any of Florida’s beaches and tuaries like Cayo Costa off the west coast of find their dream beach before them come,” Florida. It’s like Spotify, but for your beach said Susannah Costello, a vice president of vacation. Here’s how it works: Visit Florida. “For Florida, it’s an opportunity Go to www.VISITFLORIDA.com and click to showcase that we have the greatest vari- on Florida Beach Finder. Then “tune” your ety of beach experiences in the world.” preferences by moving four dials (red-dot And to remember that fabulous beach sliders) up and down to adjust your beach vacation, Visit Florida is also launching a tool personality, with preferences ranging from called Floridagrams where visitors can make action-packed to secluded and somewhere a mini-movie of their trip. Users can upload in between. The beach finder displays differ- up to five pictures of their beach vacation This undated image shows photographer, ent pictures that best match your prefer- into the website, pick a story with an audio This undated image shows photographer, Frances Benjamin Johnston, in a photo- Jessie Tarbox Beals, in a photograph from This photo shows the flower show inside graph from the Frances Benjamin Johnston, ences, and the visual options change with narration, and then email it to friends and the Conservatory, evoking ‘Mrs every tweak of the tuner. family. — AP The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Library of Congress, Prints and Harvard University. Rockefeller’s Garden’. Photographs Division.