KUWAIT: 11shootingsuspectspicturedaftertheirarrestinTaimaandSulaibiyaareas. throughout the city.“Therichandthepoor crete blastwalls and securityforcespeppered referring totheubiquitouscheckpoints, con- plained HamidAl-Daraji,apaper salesman, lems.”We liveinamilitarybarracks,” com- unemployment andamyriad otherprob- rampant corruption,regulargridlock, high water, poorsewerageanddrainage systems, daily attacks,alackofelectricityandclean intellectual, economicandpoliticalcentre. 1,250-year-old city’sfallfromgraceasaglobal Port-au-Prince, thelatestconfirmationof Central AfricanRepublicandtheHaitiancapital tal waslumpedwithBanguiintheconflict-hit pollution, placedBaghdadlast.TheIraqicapi- factors includingpoliticalstability,crimeand ing qualityoflifeacross239cities,measuring Mercer consultinggroup,whichwhenassess- least, accordingtothelatestsurveyby conflict, itistheworld’sworstcity.Thatis,at But now,afterdecadesofseeminglyendless was laudedasamodelcityintheArabworld. BAGHDAD: car collide dies aslorry, Lieutenant Kuwait Army B Residents ofBaghdadcontendwithnear- SUBSCRIPTION agh Twitter bansparks outrage inTurkey As recentlyasthe1970s,Baghdad 4

Iraq capitalonceanArabModel 150 Fils AUDY AC 2 04 AAAAAWL2,13 HNo:16112 SATURDAY, 1435 AH JAMADA MARCH22,2014 ALAWWAL 21, shooting suspects Kuwait policenab d a d

- wo of politicalhistory atthecity’sMustansiriyah Abbasid state,”noted IssamAl-Faili,aprofessor represented theeconomiccentre ofthe Muslims, Christians,Jewsandothers. “Baghdad OPEC wasfoundedintheIraqicapital. international airportasamodel, and oilcartel from theregionwouldholdup Baghdad’s care. Officialsstillnotehowtheircounterparts vibrant culturalsceneandtop-notchhealth- and museums,ahighly-educatedelite, city withsomeoftheregion’sbestuniversities up asagleamingexampleofmodernArab since. Inthe20thcentury,Baghdadwasheld a pivotalroleinArabandIslamicsocietyever caliph AbuJaafarAl-Mansur,andithasplayed began in762ADduringtheruleofAbbasid Construction ofthecityonTigrisRiverfirst where wefacedeathatanymoment.” killing, justlikethepoor.“Ourlivesareones moment toanexplosion,akidnapping,or tinued. “Therichmightbesubjectedatany share thesamesuffering,”48-year-oldcon- And itwashometoadiversepopulation of It wasnotalwayssofortheIraqicapital. ‘Awaited Mahdi’inpolicenet r Mumbai survive in tightrope to Walking the 13 l d’ s wo PAGE convicts. Theyhavebeenreferredtorele- Most ofthesuspectswerefoundtobeex- were alsoconfiscatedduringtheraids. Al-Enezi andaKuwaitiRabahKhalid. two SyriansSalemAl-EneziandAbdallah Mohammad Al-Shimmari,DhaherAryan; Mohammad Samran,HusseinAli,SamiAjaj, Samran, EssaAdel Fahad, FahadEnad,BaderEssa,Khalaif suspects include11bedoons-Mansoor tracked themdowninSulaibiyaharea.The nabbed afterthesecurityoperatives in SulaibiyaandTaimadistricts.Theywere pects havebeenchargedwithopeningfire lowed massiveraidsintheareas.Thesesus- Taima andSulaibiyaareas.Thearrestsfol- arrested 11suspectsforfiringweaponsin KUWAIT: By HananAl-Saadoun for ordinaryIraqis. —AFP British embassies, accesstowhichisdifficult is alsohometoparliamentand theUSand sits intheheavily-fortifiedGreen Zone,which mixed neighborhoods,whilethe government of explosions,stilldivideupconfessionally- crete walls,designedtowithstand theimpact movement asmuchpossible. Massivecon- scattered aroundBaghdad,andrestricting checkpoints toaddtheplethoraalready heavy-handed tacticsreliantonsettingupnew dead. Securityforcestypicallyrespondwith The verynextday,fourmorebombingsleft11 and bombingsacrossthecitykilled20people. car bombs. incidents strucktheIraqicapital,including31 miserable cities.”InFebruaryalone,57violent today, ithasbecomeoneoftheworld’smost to beacapitaloftheworld,”Failisaid,“but order tostrengthenIslamicinfluence.”“Itused base fortakingcontrolofneighboringareasin history backnearly800years.“Itwasusedasa University, aninstitutionwhichtracesitsown Some firearms,pistol,bulletsanddrugs r As recentlyasMarch5,adozenshootings militants seizevillage 27 killedacrossIraq; st cit Kuwait securityforceshave in Twenty20 7 wickets Pakistan by India beat y 43 water atnight in Baghdad.—AFP BAGHDAD: An Iraqigirlfillscontainers with action againsthim. examine hismentalhealthbeforetaking will kill‘FakeMessiah’.Policewantedto arrogant, andIamthe‘awaitedMahdi’who not true,thisone(pointathismother)is tioned aboutthechargeshesaid“thisis of attemptedmurder.Whenhewasques- Saudi, 24,wasarrestedinJahraoncharges ered himselfthe“awaitedMahdi.”The turn describedherasarrogantandconsid- accused himofattemptingtokillher.Hein denied thatheattackedhismotherwho with anyviolator. and thesecurityforceswoulddealfirmly rence ofsuchdeadlyandillegalactivities warned thatitwouldnotallowtherecur- of armsandopeningfire.Theministry vant authoritiesonchargesofpossession In anotherdevelopment,aSaudiexpat ‘Awaited Mahdi’ Min Max PAGE 17º 27º LOCAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

PM, officials Arab League officials set review summit agenda for Arab summit preparations Closed-door sessions to finalize resolutions KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah inspected the Liberation Hall at Bayan KUWAIT: Permanent representative to the Arab League and senior noted. The Kuwaiti official pointed out that the conferees would tack- Palace to ensure preparations are satisfactory at various facili- officials in the Foreign Ministries met in Kuwait yesterday to prepare le the issue of Arab national security, world peace, human rights and ties for the upcoming Arab summit. He said all preparations the agenda for the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, which would be held the mechanisms needed to restructure the Arab League system. must be at their optimum. ahead of next week’s Arab summit. Head of the delegation of Qatar, He added that head of the delegation of Qatar, the outgoing Information Minister and State Minister for Youth Affairs the outgoing rotating president of the summit, would give a speech rotating president of the summit, would give a speech in an open- Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah said Kuwait continues to in an open-door session, then the presidency will be handed over to door session, then the presidency will be handed over to Kuwait. The exert effort to unify Arabs and close the gaps so that enemies Kuwait. The delegate of Kuwait will then give a speech followed by delegate of Kuwait will then give a speech followed by remarks of the cannot take advantage of them. remarks of the Arab League Deputy Secretary General. Arab League Deputy Secretary General. The senior officials will hold He said if Kuwait summit is to face tough questions then we The senior officials will hold two closed-door sessions to prepare two closed-door sessions to prepare the draft resolutions that were are confident of its leaders’ ability to direct it according to the the draft resolutions that were referred by the Economic and Social referred by the Economic and Social Council, which met in Kuwait nation’s interests. We are sure that the Arab history is able to Council, which met in Kuwait yesterday. The draft resolutions covered yesterday. The summit will be held on March 25-26. — KUNA create great leaders when the nation faces danger. a wide range of issues including the follow up of implementation of Meanwhile, Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Sheikh the resolutions of the last Arab summit, and the Arab Economic, Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah visited the decision making Development and Social summits. The draft resolutions also include room on Thursday at the Central Directorate General accompa- the establishment of the Arab Banking Commission, the establish- nied by Interior Ministry Undersecretary, Chairman of the ment of a Grand Investment Zone and a mechanism for coordination 188 prisoners get Security Committee Lt General Suleiman Al-Fahad, to oversee of humanitarian aid. the preparations and steps taken by the security committee of The Economic and Social Council of the Arab League will meet at Amiri pardon the Arab Summit to be hosted in Kuwait from 24-26 March. the Finance Ministers’ level tomorrow to put the final touches on the Assistant Undersecretary for General Security, field com- economic and social documents to refer them to the Foreign KUWAIT: On the occasion of the 53rd National Day and at mander of the security committee for the Arab summit Maj Ministers who will meet in the following day. Foreign Ministry the initiative of HH the Amir, 188 prisoners were pardoned General Mahmoud Al-Dousary said the security systems have Undersecretary Khaled Suleiman Al-Jarallah said here yesterday that and the jail sentences of 340 inmates were commuted, completed all preparations to implement the comprehensive the meeting of permanent representatives to the Arab League and according to Amiri pardon rules. Fines were dropped from plan for the summit. He said that the interior ministry, in coop- senior officials in the Foreign Ministries was preparing the agenda for 223 and deportation of 114 individuals was cancelled. eration with concerned state authorities, prepared a plan to the Foreign Ministers’ meeting, which would be held ahead of next Acting Assistant Undersecretary Secretary for Reform secure the summit activities. Several measures were taken to week’s 25th Arab summit. Establishments and Sentences Implementation Major ensure the safety of dignitaries and have full control on securi- Al-Jarallah said before the meeting that the gathering would dis- General Khalid Al-Dayeen thanked HH for his benevolence. ty and traffic in all areas. Several security precautions were also cuss political, social, economic and cultural issues related to the joint He told those pardoned as “you were blessed with this taken including the deployment of security men to prevent Arab action, topped by the Palestinian cause and the Syrian humani- pardon, and restriction on your freedom was removed. You any untoward developments. — Al-Qabas tarian crisis. The issues of Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, should return to your society and participate in building it.” Sudan, the Comoros Islands and Djibouti will be probed, Al-Jarallah Arab Summit takes place in critical period: Experts

BEIRUT: Kuwait’s 25th Arab Summit, due next week, holds great significance because it is held amidst critical circumstances tak- ing place in the Arab World, especially at political and security fronts, two Lebanese political experts said yesterday. The two experts stressed Kuwait’s vital role in bridging the gaps between conflicting parties and creating a common under- standing for international relations. Dr Imad Salamey, an associ- ate professor of Political Science and International Relations at Lebanese American University (LAU), told KUNA that the March 25-26 Arab Summit will be held amidst unprecedented chal- lenges facing the Middle East region, like the Syrian bloody con- KUWAIT: First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah during the opening of the media flict and developments in Egypt.—KUNA center for the Arab Summit. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Female Nurse Vacancy v5HJLVWHUHG1XUVH v+LJKO\SURIHVVLRQDO v)OXHQWLQ(QJOLVK v:HOO([SHULHQFHG KUWAIT: Sheikh Khalid Al-Sabah accompanied by officials inspects the preparations at the media center. v:RUNLQJKUVKUVGD\ Sheikh Khaled opens media center KUWAIT: First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- He said since Kuwait is hosting the summit, efforts of the con- VKLIWGD\VDZHHN Khalid Al-Sabah officially declared the start of the 25th Arab summit cerned authorities along with the Arab League initiative would work Resumes to be sent to: activities to be held on March 25 and 26. He said during the opening hand in hand for this moment. He hoped that all efforts will be put of the summit’s media center, “We declare at this moment the start together to ensure the success of this summit which is being held for Fax: 22454949 of the activities of the 25th Arab Summit which is being held under the first time in Kuwait. He hoped that the summit will herald the very delicate circumstances regionally and internationally during momentous start of positive changes around the world that will take [email protected] which the national issues come face to face with international chal- into consideration strong ties between the Arab countries. Al-Khalid lenges. also toured the center’s preparatory committees. — Al-Qabas LOCAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Sales of contaminated Roumi cheese ‘contained’ Retailers told to pull it off shelves

By Hanan Al-Saadoun known. She said the agent reportedly sold the contaminat- branches to withdraw the stock from the market in order ed cheese to another businessman and was moved to to avoid selling of it by any other businessmen inadver- KUWAIT: The Kuwait municipality clarified that most quantity of the another store. He also was informed not to do anything tently. The quantity is less than two tons, not 25 tons as contaminated Roumi cheese that was in circulation at stores is now with the cheese before the test results were announced. mentioned in papers. The importers are forced to return in its custody and the agent will be given the choice either to destroy She said the precautionary inspection team found out the cheese to the store because the cheese was not fit for it or send it back to the importer. about the sale, so letters were sent to all municipality human consumption, she clarified. Director of Imported Food Department at Kuwait Municipality Eng Istiqlal Al- Musallam said the cheese in ques- tion and samples were taken for laboratory tests. The rest of the quantity is being accounted for which is less than two tons. In case it was sold and not returned by the agent, he will face legal action. The clarification was given after news reports appeared about the release of nearly 25 tons of ‘smoked’ Roumi (contaminated) Eng Istiqlal Al-Musallam cheese into the market. The report also suggested that things had gone out of the municipality’s control though the cheese was not fit for human consumption because it was fungi-infested, according to health ministry tests. The rest of the quantity was taken to warehouses and the agent was committed not to do anything with it until test results were

KUWAIT: Cartons of contaminated cheese are being sealed at a store by a municipal official. LOCAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Army lieutenant dies in collision

By Hanan Al-Saadoun

KUWAIT: A First Lieutenant of the Kuwait Army suc- cumbed to injuries he sus- tained when his car collid- ed with a half lorry near camel pens in Jahra.

Tank explosion A Bangladeshi expat was killed and another was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Adan Hospital following a tank explosion. The inci- dent took place while the two were welding a tank in Ahmadi. The tank exploded while the two were working on it. The deceased The gutted remains of the ninth floor apartment of a building in Hawalli. was moved to the coroner.

Police patrol hits car A security source said a police patrol col- Wanted Ethiopian lided with a car on Fifth Ring Road. The source said the car had a flat tire when the patrol driver hit it from behind. The injured woman arrested were taken to Farwaniya hospital. They are stated to be stable.

Escaping drug pushers in net Arabs injured Two Arab expatriates were recently KUWAIT: Farwaniya police arrested an Ethiopian was parked in Shuwaikh area. The victim told injured when a fire broke out in their ninth woman wanted on theft charges. The woman Shuwaikh police about the incident and detec- floor apartment in Hawalli said security attempted to escape when an officer asked her for tives launched a search operation for the suspect sources noting that Hawalli firefighters were the ID. When questioned, it was found that she based on the finger prints left on the car. immediately dispatched to the scene assist- KUWAIT: The wreckage of the car follow- was moving around without any ID. When she was ed by other teams from Salmiya and the ing the collision in which Army lieutenant finger-printed, it was found that she was among House ransacked backup unit. The two injured people were (inset) travelled. the wanted. An unknown person broke into a home, ran- rescued. sacked the place and left it after messing it up. It is street, Hawalli, said security sources noting Absconding girl assumed that the culprit could not find anything that Hawalli firefighters rushed to the scene Vehicle caught fire and managed to control the fire without A girl who used to frequent a café in Salmiya light to steal from the house. Police are investigat- A vehicle yesterday caught fire on Tunis now turned out to be the girl who absconded ing the case. casualties. from her family home two weeks ago. According to sources, Hawally detectives became suspicious Drug pushers held of a girl who repeatedly frequented a café in Policemen foiled the attempt of two wanted Salmiya. When checked the ID, it was discovered drug users to leave the country when they were that she was the girl who had been absconding. caught at ‘Kilo 90’ area on Salmy Road near Saudi She was taken for questioning. Arabia border. A police patrol noticed the two men attempting to leave illegally through the Car broken into security fence. Both were under the influence of A thief broke into the car of a citizen and stole drugs. The two were among wanted Gulf citi- KD 1370, and a bag containing documents. The car zens. They were sent to concerned authorities. Call to ration use of water on World Water Day KUWAIT: The international community with clean water, in addition to securing celebrates the annual United Nations’ strategic reserves of water. Moreover, it is World Water Day today (March 22) amid engaged in conducting scientific research- worldwide calls to preserve and ration es and coordinating with other states and consumption of the vital life resource. international agencies for acquiring mod- Mohammad Bou-Shehri, the assistant ern technologies for water production. undersecretary at the Ministry of According to 2013 statistics, average Electricity, said on the international occa- water consumption amounted to 375 mil- KFSD buys rescue boats sion, that this day is an opportunity to edu- lion gallons per day, compared to 373 mil- cate the society about necessity of pre- lion gallons pd in 2012. This limited rise of By Hanan Al-Saadoun serving and rationing consumption of the consumption is attributed to the ministry water supplies. effort to ration the water usage, said Bou- KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Kuwait is among top states in water Shehri. Services Directorate (KFSD) consumption, although it has limited Moreover, the ministry carries out a full- yesterday signed a contract resources of natural water due to its loca- scale campaign to enhance citizens’ aware- to buy four new search and tion in a desert region of limited rainfalls. ness of necessity to preserve the national rescue boats with a total cost Despite the natural challenge, the State of water resources and ration consumption of KD 838000 to join the Kuwait spares no effort to secure water to and has formed a team of inspectors to service and improve its citizens, partly through establishment of penalize those who may misuse the sup- marine firefighting and res- sea water desalination plants. The ministry, plies. He also pointed out that the ministry cue operations. The contract he said, works round the clock to supply saved KD 55 million as a result of the water signing ceremony was the citizens and residents of the country rationing policy of 2013. — KUNA attended by KFSD’s director Maj General Yousif Al-Ansari.

LOCAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Kuwait regional hub for culture, arts: Sheikh Nasser

KUWAIT: Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad guage, adding “Europe’s renaissance has been Al-Sabah said that Kuwait in its modern history has ongoing since the 17th century, and French since always been a regional hub for culture and the arts that time and until the 20th century has led in the and has opened its doors to learn from other cul- field of diplomatic work.” Francophone has tures. become an ideology, a form of expression and a “Francophonism seems at a first glance to refer lifestyle by which mankind can maneuver through to speaking in French, but it goes beyond that,” he diverse ethnic, religious and national boundaries, told people gathered to celebrate the International he said. Francophone Day - which falls on March 20 - at the Additionally it is a tool of dialogue between var- Embassy of Switzerland in Kuwait on Wednesday ious cultures, he said, adding that celebrating the evening. Francophone culture carries with it an assurance of “For those who are native speakers or who have this cultural diversity in the modern world and an chosen it (the French language) for educational or insistence of the continued quest for knowledge business purposes it is a wide door through which assumed by languages. they may learn about modern-day Western civiliza- In conclusion, Sheikh Nasser expressed his tion.” “Through the French language, rules theories delight at attending the event, stating that he had and ideologies have been discovered; novels, plays, nothing but feelings of respect and admiration for dramas and poems have been published; and con- all French-speaking nations, mentioning, in his stitutions, laws, agreements, treaties and conven- praise, the ambassadors of Switzerland, France, tions have been formed. Canada, Belgium and Senegal. At the event, Sheikh “In addition, French has played a large role in Nasser had taken a stroll amongst an exhibition of every form of knowledge known to mankind, like photographs taken by Jean Mohr depicting the vic- philosophy, religion, politics, law, literature, art and tims of armed struggle on the occasion of the science,” he added. sesquicentennial, or 150-year, anniversary of the KUWAIT: Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah attends the International He went on to pay further homage to the lan- International Red Cross. — KUNA Francophone Day at the Embassy of Switzerland in Kuwait on Wednesday evening. —KUNA Kuwait set to upgrade refineries

KUWAIT: The recent approval of bids worth more than $12bn Fluor, meanwhile, will provide EPC services as well as asso- The recent deals are part of a broader modernization effort, has paved the way for a major overhaul of two of Kuwait’s ciated commissioning, start-up and testing support. Contracts known as the Clean Fuels Project, which includes plans to con- refineries, following costly shutdowns earlier this year. will be finalized in April, with construction work due to begin struct a new $14.5bn refinery known as Al-Zour, with a capaci- In February, the state-owned Kuwait National Petroleum soon after, according to the KNPC. ty of 615,000 bpd. Company (KNPC) announced that a consortium led by Japan’s The development of Al-Zour has experienced several JGC Corporation had won a bid to carry out $4.8bn of work at Meeting the demands of customers delays. In March 2009 the government suspended progress on the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery. Capable of processing 460,000 Following the upgrade work, Mina Abdulla and Mina Al- the project in response to allegations by lawmakers that the barrels per day (bpd), the facility is the largest of Kuwait’s Ahmadi will be able to produce cleaner-burning fuels, includ- construction contracts had been awarded outside the normal three installations. ing low-sulfur varieties (fuels whose sulfur content is equal to channels of approval. The Supreme Petroleum Council then In a separate development, two contracts were awarded to or less than 10 parts per million) and Euro IV fuel (a low emis- approved the project in 2011, and in December 2012 interna- consortia led by the UK’s Petrofac ($3.7bn) and US-based Fluor sions diesel petrol that complies with European emissions tional engineering and project management company AMEC Corporation ($3.4bn) for work on the 270,000-bpd Mina control standards). Capacity will also be expanded to reach a was awarded a $528m project management consultancy con- Abdullah refinery. Petrofac will provide engineering, procure- combined 800,000 bpd. tract. ment and construction (EPC) services, including the provision The new products will help Kuwait meet the demands of its This past December, Honeywell announced it had been of 19 new refining units at Mina Abdulla, revamping of five established export markets. The country refines about one selected by KNPC to provide the front-end engineering design existing units at the Shuaiba refinery, and building the accom- third of its crude oil production, of which around 660,000 bpd for the Al-Zour facility. The refinery, which will be the largest in panying inter-refinery transfer lines. is sold abroad as refined products, according to OPEC. the Middle East, is now expected to come on-line in 2018.

Stumbling blocks The cost of delays to Kuwait’s development plans became more apparent in January, when a power failure led to a tem- porary shutdown of all three refineries, bringing production to a halt across the country. While reasons have yet to be given for the power cuts, experts have suggested that the state’s grid, rather than onsite technical faults, were to blame. An inadequate power supply system has often been cited as a challenge to boosting refinery output in Kuwait. The February tender announcement is a positive sign that the state is committed to moving forward on enacting its development plans, but challenges persist. It is still unclear whether the Clean Fuels Project will include construction of backup power supply systems, or if proposed projects will be delivered on schedule, given previous delays. More broadly, parliament’s recent decision to investigate government deals signed with GDF Suez and Airbus will do lit- tle to boost investor confidence. Last year Kuwait awarded the Al-Zour north independent water and power project (IWPP) to a consortium led by GDF Suez. The project, the first public-private partnership IWPP for Kuwait, has been considered a test for the country, which has faced challenges in attracting foreign investors. “Ultimately, parliament and the government need to believe in the role of the private sector. If the law was reformed and projects were executed in a timely manner, opportunities for investors would be created, more Kuwaitis would be able to find stimulating jobs, and the private sector would be more productive and more competitive,” said Faisal Al-Ayyar, Vice-Chairman of Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO). — Oxford Business Group SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Jet not spotted: Australia Putin formally gets Crimea Michelle Obama pushes soft 9 10 diplomacy in China 14

ISTANBUL: A Turkish man stands in front of a poster showing Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. — AFP Turkish attempt to ban Twitter backfires On campaign trial, Erdogan vows to ‘wipe out’ Twitter

ANKARA: Turkey’s attempt to block access to Twitter long,” he wrote. Links to the leaked recordings have been pop- court to overturn the ban, arguing it was unconstitutional and appeared to backfire yesterday with many tech-savvy users ping up on two Turkish Twitter accounts - and continued yes- violated Turkish and European human rights laws. Turkey’s circumventing the ban and suspicions growing that the prime terday - including one in which a voice resembling Erdogan’s main opposition party also applied for a cancellation. minister was using court orders to suppress corruption allega- instructs his son to dispose of large amounts of cash from a res- Twitter’s @policy account earlier sent out messages telling tions against him and his government. Turkey’s telecommuni- idence amid a police graft investigation. Erdogan, who denies Turkish users in both English and Turkish they could send out cations authority confirmed early yetserday that it had corruption, said the recording was fabricated and part of plot tweets by using short message service, or “SMS.” It was unclear blocked access to the social media network hours after Prime by followers of an influential US-based Muslim cleric to discred- how those tweets would be viewable. European Commission Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to “rip out the it the government ahead of the March 30 elections. Vice President Neelie Kroes criticized the Twitter ban in Turkey roots” of the website. Tweets have proliferated with links to Erdogan has cast the elections are a referendum on his - a country that is seeking to join the European Union - as recordings that appear to incriminate him and other top offi- rule. “Prime Minister Erdogan’s move spells the lengths he will “groundless, pointless, cowardly.” cials in corruption. go to censor the flood of politically damaging wiretap record- Lutfi Elvan, the minister in charge of transport and commu- Turkey in the past blocked access to YouTube, but it is the ings circulating on social media,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, nications, said Turkey was merely obeying court orders. The first ban on Twitter, which is hugely popular in the country - to senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. Andrew telecommunications authority accused Twitter of violating the point where Turkish hashtags routinely appear in global Przybylski, a researcher at Britain’s Oxford Internet Institute “personal rights and the confidentiality of private lives” and trends. The social network was instrumental in organizing said the ban appeared to be working through the Domain said access would be restored only when Twitter removes ille- flash protests against the government last year. By midday yes- Name System -or DNS - blocking, which was easy to work gal content. “Turkey is not a country that bans the Internet,” he terday, tweets were continuing unabated as users swapped around. said. “We have to stand together against insults and unlawful- instructions online on how to change settings. One enterpris- He said many Twitter-hungry Turks manually changed the ness.” The original source of the leaked recordings is unclear. ing user spread the word by defacing Turkish election posters DNS settings on their computers and in their phones to point The ban comes amid rumors and news report that even more with instructions on beating censors. to Google’s Domain Name System, which isn’t affected by the damaging recordings are about to emerge. “Conspiracy or not, President Abdullah Gul, a political ally of Erdogan’s, was ban. Earlier, many users trying to access the network instead limiting freedom of speech is no way for the Turkish govern- among those who circumvented the order, which he contested saw a notice from Turkey’s telecommunications authority, cit- ment to tackle a political crisis,” said Sinclair-Webb of Human in a series of tweets. “I hope this implementation won’t last ing four court orders. Turkey’s lawyers’ association asked a Rights Watch. — AP INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 27 killed across Iraq as militants seize village

KIRKUK: Militants seized a village in north Iraq yesterday as attacks nationwide killed 27 people, including at least 10 police- men, amid a surge in bloodshed ahead of parliamentary elec- tions. The latest unrest comes barely a week before campaigning begins for the April 30 election due to take place as Iraq grapples with its worst protracted bloodletting since a brutal 2006-07 Sunni-Shiite sectarian war in which tens of thousands of people were killed. The unrest has been primarily driven by anger among the minority Sunni Arab community, which alleges discrimination at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, as well as by the civil war in neighboring Syria. Shootings and bombings yesterday mostly took place in Sunni-majority parts of northern and western Iraq, killing 27 peo- ple and wounding more than 50, security and medical officials said. In Sarha, militants mounted a coordinated pre-dawn assault on the village involving gunmen and a suicide truck bomb, and were in control of it as of noon (0900 GMT) yesterday, according to Lieutenant General Abdulamir Al-Zaidi, head of a northern Iraq security command, and Shallal Abdul, mayor of the nearby town of Tuz Khurmatu. Sarha is near the town of Sulaiman Bek, which has been This photo shows Royal Australian Air Force Loadmasters preparing to launch a Self Locating Data Marker Buoy from a C-130J repeatedly targeted over the past year by militants who have Hercules aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean as part of the Australian Defense Force’s assistance to the search for Malaysia sought to take control of the area. The latest move is a small-scale Airlines flight MH370. — AFP version of the ongoing, months-long crisis being played out in Iraq’s western Anbar province, where militants hold major territo- ry. Clashes first erupted early yesterday in the Sarha region of Jet not spotted: Australia Salaheddin province, between anti-government fighters and police manning checkpoints. There was also an explosion at a bridge in the area, Abdul said. Shortly afterwards, a suicide Chinese, Japanese aircraft to join search bomber set off a fuel tanker rigged with explosives near an army base where senior police and military officers were meeting, PERTH: Search planes scoured a remote patch of the Indian Ocean the 227 passengers are Chinese - hope was slipping away, said Nan killing 11 people and wounding five others. Among those killed but came back empty-handed yesterday after a 10-hour mission look- Jinyan, sister-in-law of passenger Yan Ling. were police Brigadier General Ragheb Al-Timimi, his deputy ing for any sign of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, another disap- “I’m psychologically prepared for the worst and I know the Colonel Jawad Mohammed, and two other army officers. pointing day in one of the world’s biggest aviation mysteries. chances of them coming back alive are extremely small,” said Nan, Australian officials pledged to continue the search for two large one of dozens of relatives gathered at a Beijing hotel awaiting any Suicide bomber hits funeral objects spotted by a satellite earlier this week, which had raised hopes word about their loved ones. Abbott spoke with Chinese President Xi Elsewhere in Salaheddin, gunmen killed five policemen and that the two-week hunt for the Boeing 777 that disappeared March 8 Jinping, whom he described as “devastated.” “It’s about the most wounded five in an attack on a checkpoint outside Samarra, with 239 people on board was nearing a breakthrough. inaccessible spot that you could imagine on the face of the Earth, but while three other policemen were killed by a roadside bomb in But Australia’s acting prime minister, Warren Truss, tamped down if there is anything down there we will find it. We owe it to the families Siniyah. In the ethnically mixed northern province of Kirkuk, twin expectations. “Something that was floating on the sea that long ago of those people to do no less,” Abbott said. car bombs killed two people and wounded 26. And in Anbar may no longer be floating - it may have slipped to the bottom,” he The Norwegian cargo vessel Hoegh St Petersburg is also in the province, where militants have held key territory for more than said. “It’s also certain that any debris or other material would have area helping with the search. The ship, which transports cars, was on two months, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral inside moved a significant distance over that time, potentially hundreds of its way from South Africa to Australia. Haakon Svane, a spokesman for a mosque in provincial capital Ramadi, killing six people. kilometers.” In Kuala Lumpur, where the plane took off for Beijing, the the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, said the ship and its crew of In early January, anti-government fighters took control of country’s defense minister thanked more than two dozen countries 20 Filipinos had searched a strip of ocean stretching about 100 nauti- parts of Ramadi and all of nearby Fallujah, just a short drive from involved in the search that is stretching from Kazakhstan in Central cal miles (115 miles; 185 kilometers) using binoculars and unaided Baghdad. Security forces have since managed to wrest back con- Asia to the southern Indian Ocean, and said the focus remains on find- eyes. “The visual observations are the most important. The fact that trol of most of Ramadi, but a stalemate has persisted in Fallujah, ing the airplane. they are there and have the capacity to move in a specific pattern is with soldiers staying on the outskirts and periodically shelling “This going to be a long haul,” Hishammuddin Hussein told a news the most important contribution,” he said. what they say are militant strongholds.—AFP conference. The search area indicated by the satellite images - some The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said another commercial 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth - is so remote it ship was also in the area and an Australian navy vessel was en route, takes aircraft four hours to fly there and four hours back, leaving them and AMSA officials also were checking to see if there was any new Syrians, Russians with only enough fuel to search for about two hours. Yesterday, five satellite imagery that could provide searchers with more information. planes, including three P-3 Orions, made the trip. While search condi- Pieces of an aircraft have been found floating for days after a crash lead asylum list tions had improved from Thursday, with much better visibility, the into the ocean. Peter Marosszeky, an aviation expert at the University Australian Maritime Safety Authority said there were no sightings of of New South Wales, said the plane’s wing could remain buoyant for GENEVA: Most asylum seekers turned to Europe last year as Syria, plane debris. Searchers relied mostly on trained spotters aboard the weeks if the fuel tanks inside were empty and had not filled up with Russia and Afghanistan topped the list of places where people planes scanning the ocean rather than radar because the use of radar water. fled their homelands to ask for protection from another country, found nothing during the first day of the search on Thursday, the United Nations refugee agency said yesterday. The agency’s Australian officials said. ‘Hiding something from us’ report found that Europe totaled 484,600 asylum claims last year, Other experts said that if the aircraft breaks into pieces, normally 32 percent higher than in 2012. The report, which analyzes trends Search to be visual only items such as seats and luggage would remain floating. “We sel- in 44 industrialized countries, says 612,700 people applied for asy- Going forward, the search will focus more on visual sightings dom see big metal (pieces) floating. You need a lot of (buoyant) mate- lum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific in 2013 - because civilian aircraft are being brought in to participate. The mili- rial underneath the metal to keep it up,” said Lau Kin-tak, an expert in the highest total for any year since 2001 mainly due to Syria’s civil tary planes will continue to use both radar and spotters. “Noting that aircraft maintenance and accidents at Hong Kong Polytechnic war. “If you look at it in a broader perspective, it’s the second- we got no radar detections yesterday, we have re-planned the search University. The anguished relatives of passengers met yesterday with highest annual level over the past 20 years,” said Volker Turk, the to be visual. So aircraft flying relatively low, very highly skilled and Malaysian officials at the Beijing hotel. Attendees said they had a two- agency’s director of international protection. “We are actually trained observers looking out of the aircraft windows and looking to hour briefing about the search but that nothing new was said. going back to sort of the beginning of the 1990s where indeed we see objects,” said John Young, manager of the maritime safety author- Wang Zhen, son of missing artist Wang Linshi, said there were had a very high number of asylum applications in the industrial- ity’s emergency response division. questions about why Malaysian authorities had provided so much ized world,” he said, largely resulting from crises in the Balkans Two Chinese aircraft are expected to arrive in Perth today to join seemingly contradictory information. Wang said he still has hopes his and African Great Lakes region. the search, and two Japanese aircraft will be arriving tomorrow, Truss father can be found alive and is praying that the satellite sightings Syria’s 3-year-old civil war generated 56,351 asylum seekers in said. A small flotilla of ships coming to Australia from China was still turn out to be false. He said he and other relatives are suspicious 2013, more than double the previous year’s total of 25,232, several days away. “We are doing all that we can, devoting all the about what they are being told by the Malaysian side, but are at a loss according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner resources we can and we will not give up until all of the options have as to what to do next. “We feel they’re hiding something from us,” for Refugees. Syria became the world’s biggest source for asylum been exhausted,” said Truss, who is acting prime minister while Tony said Wang, who is filling his days attending briefings and watching seekers, surpassing Afghanistan, which fell to third. Russia, mean- Abbott is in Papua New Guinea. the news for updates. Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any while, become the second-biggest source of asylum seekers with Experts say it is impossible to tell if the grainy satellite images of possible explanation for what happened to the jet, but have said the 39,779, up from 22,650 in 2012. Turk attributed Russia’s surge to the two objects - one 24 meters (almost 80 feet) long and the other evidence so far suggests it was deliberately turned back across migration from Chechnya, which has had years of conflicts measuring 5 meters (15 feet) - were debris from the plane. But officials Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca, with its communications systems between separatist movements and Moscow. He also said that he have called this the best lead so far in the search that began March 8 disabled. They are unsure what happened next. Police are considering is expecting the number of Syrian asylum seekers to increase this after the plane vanished over the Gulf of Thailand on an overnight the possibilities of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to year.—AP flight to Beijing. For relatives of the people aboard the plane - 154 of the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board. — AP INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Missing radioactive material may pose ‘dirty bomb’ threat

VIENNA: About 140 cases of missing or unauthorized must be done to ensure that dangerous substances threat than a deadly atom bomb. Radical groups could use of nuclear and radioactive material were reported don’t fall into the wrong hands. The Dutch hosts say the theoretically build a crude nuclear bomb if they had the to the UN atomic agency in 2013, highlighting the chal- aim is a summit communique “containing clear agree- money, technical knowledge and fissile materials need- lenges facing world leaders at a nuclear security summit ments” to prevent nuclear terrorism by reducing stock- ed, analysts say. next week. Any loss or theft of highly enriched uranium, piles of hazardous nuclear material, better securing One of the biggest challenges ahead is to finally plutonium or different types of radioactive sources is such stocks and intensifying international cooperation. bring into force a 2005 amendment to the Convention potentially serious as Al-Qaeda-style militants could try Flory said member states had reported a total of nearly on Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM), to use them to make a crude nuclear device or a so- 2,500 cases to the IAEA’s Incident and Trafficking Flory said. There are still 27 countries - including the called “dirty bomb”, experts say. Denis Flory, deputy Database since it was set up two decades ago. More United States - which need to ratify the amendment, director general of the International Atomic Energy than 120 countries take part in this information which expands the coverage from only the protection Agency (IAEA), said most of the reported incidents con- exchange project, covering theft, sabotage, unautho- of nuclear material in international transport to also cerned small quantities of radioactive material. rized access and illegal transfers. include domestic use, transport and storage. But, “even if they can’t be used for making a nuclear “It is extremely important because this amendment weapon, they can be used in radioactive dispersal Nuclear security pact delayed brings a lot of strengthening in the field of nuclear secu- devices, which is a concern,” Flory told Reuters in an In 2012, 160 incidents were reported to the IAEA, of rity,” he said. Harvard University professor Harvard Bunn interview. In a “dirty bomb”, conventional explosives are which 17 involved possession and related criminal said this month that a US failure so far to ratify the used to disperse radiation from a radioactive source, activities, 24 theft or loss and 119 other unauthorized amended convention “has made it far harder” for which can be found in hospitals, factories or other activities, its website says. “It is continuing, which means Washington to pressure others to do so. “The problem places that may not be very well protected. Holding a there is still a lot of work to do to have that really appears to be a combination of lack of sustained high- third nuclear security summit since 2010, leaders from decrease,” Flory said with respect to the statistics. level attention by both the administration and 53 countries - including US President Barack Obama - However, there are also “more and more countries Congress and disputes over unrelated issues,” Bunn are expected to call for more international action to which declare incidents. The number of incidents we said. Flory, who heads the IAEA’s nuclear safety and help prevent radical groups from obtaining atomic don’t know is probably decreasing.” security department, said he knew that the US adminis- bombs. Because radioactive material is less hard to find and tration was “very keen on finishing the process” as soon At the March 24-25 meeting in The Hague, they will the device easier to make, experts say a “dirty bomb” - as possible. “This is a country where you have a lot of say that much headway has been made in reducing the which could cause panic and have serious economic nuclear material, a lot of nuclear facilities and they have risk of nuclear terrorism but also make clear that more and environmental consequences - is a more likely a lot of influence on nuclear security.” — Reuters

S Sudan refugees Putin formally gets Crimea return to fight as Putin signs Crimea seizure into law in Kremlin ceremony peace talks drag MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin complet- President Barack Obama on Thursday day’s televised session of the presidential ed his annexation of Crimea yesterday, sign- ordered a second round of sanctions against Security Council. “We should keep our dis- ing the Black Sea peninsula into Russia just as nearly two dozen members of Putin’s inner tance from those people who compromise GAMBELLA: Paul Kuon’s escape from his war-torn nation was the Ukraine itself sealed a deal pulling the coun- circle and a major bank supporting them. us,” he said, a jocular reference to the officials most brutal of journeys, with the South Sudanese rebel fighter try closer into Europe’s orbit. Putin said he Moscow retaliated by banning nine US on the sanctions list, some of whom attend- forced to dodge gunfire as he trekked with his wife and two saw no need to further retaliate against US officials and lawmakers from entering Russia, ed the meeting. Putin added sardonically young children. But after his two month-long ordeal, passing sanctions, a newly conciliatory tone appar- but Putin indicated that Russia would likely that he would open an account to keep his scores of dead bodies and spending days without food or water ently aiming to contain one of the worst refrain from curtailing cooperation in areas salary in the targeted Bank Rossiya, a private to reach the relative safety of an Ethiopian refugee camp, Kuon is crises in Russia’s relations with the West since such as Afghanistan. Moscow appears to bank that is owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, con- readying to return to fight. “There is no choice... we will not give the Cold War. His spokesman, however, later hope to limit the damage. But the latest US sidered to be Putin’s longtime friend and up, we will continue fighting,” said Kuon, a member of one rebel kept the Kremlin’s warning open that it could sanctions, which targeted Putin’s chief of banker. With about $10 billion in assets, force that is fighting against the government. consider various options. staff along with other senior Kremlin aides Rossiya ranks as the 17th-largest bank in “What was done by the government in Juba is not correct, At Ukrainian bases on the peninsula, and four businessmen considered to be his Russia and maintains numerous ties to banks they tried to kill each individual, brothers and sisters were killed,” troops hesitated, besieged by Russian forces lifelong friends, dealt a painful blow to Russia. in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. he told AFP, standing among hundreds of refugees under a cloud and awaiting orders. Russia claimed some Obama also warned that more sweeping At the same time, Putin said he sees no of buzzing flies, in a rapidly growing camp just across the border had already switched sides and agreed to penalties against Russia’s economy, includ- immediate need for further Russian retalia- in western Ethiopia’s Gambella region. Kuon is leaving his family join the Russian military. Yesterday had been ing its robust energy sector, could follow. tion to the US sanction. “We must refrain behind in the camp to return to a bloody civil war in the world’s the deadline for Ukrainian troops to leave International rating agencies downgrad- from retaliatory steps for now,” Putin said. youngest nation, in which thousands have already been killed. Crimea, join the Russian military or demobi- ed Russia’s outlook and Russian stocks tum- But Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, later Despite the brutal suffering the war has caused-displacing lize. Russia rushed the annexation of the bled yesterday. “The economic impact of the said that Russia would retaliate to the latest nearly one million people, many without sufficient food or med- strategic peninsula after Sunday’s hastily sanctions is already visible - on the stock US sanctions. “We will react every time. We ical care-troops have refused to lay down their arms, violating a called referendum in which its residents over- exchange, the value of the Ruble, the invest- responded to the first round of sanctions, ceasefire deal signed in January. Slow moving peace talks whelmingly backed leaving Ukraine and join- ment climate,” EU President Herman Van and we will respond to those too,” he said, between the government and rebels failed to resume as sched- ing Russia. Ukraine and the West have reject- Rompuy told VRT network. Putin tried to play according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. He uled on Thursday in the comfort of a high-end hotel in the ed the vote, held two weeks after Russian down the sanctions’ toll on Russia at yester- did not elaborate.—AP Ethiopian capital, although mediators insisted they would restart troops had seized control of Crimea. The US soon. So far they have made little, if any, progress. “You cannot leave this fight because I’ve left my brothers there fighting, they and EU have responded to the crisis by slap- are fighting for our freedom,” said Chuot Mach, a bony-chested ping sanctions on Russia. rebel soldier from a separate rebel force, flashing a toothless Putin hailed the incorporation of Crimea smile. “I will go and fight until we get a solution.” into Russia as a “remarkable event” before he signed the parliament bills into law yesterday Refugee conditions worsening in the Kremlin. He also ordered fireworks in South Sudan’s government has been at war with rebel groups Moscow and Crimea. At nearly the same time since December 15, when a clash between troops loyal to in a ceremony in Brussels, Ukraine’s new President Salva Kiir and those backing sacked vice-president Riek prime minister pulled his nation closer to Machar descended into full-scale fighting. The conflict has taken Europe by signing a political association on an ethnic dimension, with the Dinka people-Kiir’s tribe and the agreement with the European Union. It was country’s biggest-largely allying with the government against the same deal that touched off Ukraine’s Nuer forces loosely tied to Machar. Aid agencies warn of a grow- political crisis, the deal that President Viktor ing humanitarian crisis, with observers saying the country faces Yanukovych rejected in November, igniting possible famine if warring parties do not heed the ceasefire. the months of protests that drove him from Refugees desperate for food and medicine have poured into office and sent him fleeing to Russia. neighboring countries, including Ethiopia, where over 72,000 “Russia decided to actually impose a new have arrived since mid-December. A new camp opened in late post-Cold War order and revise the results of February is already full, and officials are seeking to expand exist- the Second World War,” Ukrainian Prime ing settlements or open new ones on the dusty and heat-cracked Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in Brussels. earth. —AFP “The best way to contain Russia is to impose KREMLIN: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (center) signs a law on ratification real economic leverage over them.” of a treaty making Crimea part of Russia, during a ceremony yesterday. — AFP Available at The Sultan Centre & Carrefour INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Thailand left in limbo after election annulled

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Constitutional Court yester- place on the same day around the country. Anti- the year, that Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn help support growth in the second half,” said day annulled last month’s general election, leav- government protesters had stopped voting in Trairatvorakul had tentatively forecast in a speech Assistant Governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan. But ing the country in political limbo without a full about a fifth of constituencies, and in 28 of them on Thursday. the outlook is highly uncertain. “We would not be government and further undermining a prime voting was not possible at all because candidates The central bank’s new forecast of 2.7 percent surprised to see further downgrades to the Bank of minister faced with impeachment over a failed were unable to register. growth this year compares with the 4.8 percent it Thailand’s growth assessment given persistent rice subsidy scheme. Weakened by five months of The agitation was the latest chapter in an was expecting last October, just before the political weakness in domestic activity amidst lingering unrest, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is eight-year crisis that pits Bangkok’s middle class crisis flared up. “Tourism should improve after the political uncertainty,” said Benjamin Shatil, an econ- expected to defend herself before an anti-corrup- and royalist establishment against supporters of lifting of the state of emergency and that will also omist at JP Morgan in Singapore.—Reuters tion commission by March 31, and a decision to Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra, who was top- seek her impeachment could come soon after pled by the army in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid that, with the Senate expected to take up the mat- a jail term for graft. Encouraged by the dwindling ter quickly. number of protesters in recent weeks and relative As the crisis deepens, there is a growing risk calm on the streets, the government lifted a state that the “red shirt” supporters of Yingluk and her of emergency on Wednesday. But the focus has brother, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra could con- shifted to the courts, in particular to the prospect front their opponents in the streets, plunging of Yingluck being impeached over a rice scheme Thailand into a fresh round of political violence. that has gone badly wrong, with hundreds of Twenty-three people have been killed in the unrest thousands of farmers not getting paid for grain since November, and the economy suffered and sold to the state since October. “Independent tourists stayed away as protesters shut govern- agencies are being quite obvious that they want ment offices and at times blocked major thorough- to remove her and her entire cabinet to create a fares in Bangkok to try to force Yingluck out. power vacuum, claim that elections can’t be held Consumer confidence is at a 12-year low, prompt- and then nominate a prime minister of their ing the central bank yesterday to cut its economic choice,” said Kan Yuenyong, an analyst at the Siam growth forecast for this year to 2.7 percent from 3 Intelligence Unit, referring to the courts and the percent. Confident that her Puea Thai Party would anti-corruption commission. win, Yingluck had called an election on Feb. 2 in a “If they run with this plan, then the govern- bid to defuse anti-government protests, and since ment’s supporters will fight back and the next half then has headed a caretaker government with lim- of the year will be much worse than what we saw in ited powers. The Constitutional Court judges ruled the first half,” he said. More upheaval would scup- in a 6 to 3 vote yesterday that the election was per chances of the recovery in private spending BANGKOK: Leader of the anti-government protests Suthep Thaugsuban speaks to sup- unconstitutional because voting failed to take and therefore in the economy in the second half of porters yesterday. — AP South Korea, Japan to Foreigners, kids among 9 hold summit with US killed in Afghan attack SEOUL: South Korea and Japan said yesterday that their lead- ers will hold a summit with US President Barack Obama next week, in a breakthrough after Washington urged the pair to mend badly strained ties. The meeting on the sidelines of an ‘Our people can attack any place’: Taleban international nuclear conference taking place in The Hague Monday and Tuesday will mark the first formal talks between KABUL: The four gunmen were swift as they rying that out. The presidential vote will be ers after a three-hour standoff, with shooting President Park Geun-Hye and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo entered the Kabul hotel, making their way to the first democratic transfer of power since resounding through the cordoned off streets Abe since they took office more than a year ago. the restaurant where they pulled out small the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the outside. “The government has decided to take part in a three-way pistols and began shooting diners in the Islamic militant movement. President Hamid Sediqqi said the four foreigners killed summit with the United States and Japan to be hosted by head, killing nine people, including two Karzai is constitutionally barred from seeking were from Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan the United States on the occasion of The Hague nuclear Canadians and an Afghan journalist, his wife a third term. and India, but the New Zealand, Pakistani security summit,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a state- and two children, officials said yesterday. The and Indian foreign ministries denied any of ment. “At the three-way summit, North Korea’s nuclear pro- Afghan capital has been hit by several No Pakistani national harmed their citizens were among the dead. Canada grams and the issue of nuclear non-proliferation will be dis- attacks, but authorities appeared stunned Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that two Canadians were killed. cussed.” The Japanese foreign ministry confirmed the plans, that the militants had managed to get claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said while Seoul said the pair were also consulting over possible through the tight security at the Serena hotel saying it shows that “our people, if they in a statement that a woman from New talks between senior officials on Japan’s use of Korean - considered one of the safest places to stay decide to attack any place, they can do it.” At Zealand was in the Serena at the time of the women in military brothels during World War II. in Kabul. The shooting spree was the latest in the time of the attack, the hotel restaurant attack but was unharmed. Islamabad also Although not a one-on-one encounter, the talks are a sig- a series of high-profile attacks as the Taleban was packed with Afghans celebrating the eve said no Pakistani nationals were killed. nificant step forward as Park had repeatedly ruled out a sum- and allied militants step up a campaign of of the Persian New Year, Nowruz as well as Afghan authorities have released a series mit with Abe until Tokyo demonstrates sincere repentance violence in the weeks leading to April 5 foreigners who frequent the hotel. Interior of conflicting statements since the attack for “past wrongdoings”. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo national elections. Among the victims was Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said most began to unfold on Thursday night, citing the are at their lowest ebb for years, mired in emotive issues Sardar Ahmad, a widely respected 40-year- of the civilians were killed when two of the need to focus on protecting the hotel guests linked to Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule and an island territori- old an Afghan journalist who was killed along attackers walked into the restaurant and and the chaos. The attackers reached the al dispute as well as its wartime use of so-called “comfort his wife and two children, French news began shooting, while the others were shot hotel at 8:30 pm, evading security checks by women”. Recent surveys have shown that the Japanese agency Agence France Presse confirmed. It to death as the gunmen made their way hiding small pistols and ammunition in the leader is even more unpopular with South Koreans than said the family’s youngest son was undergo- through the hotel. Police killed all four attack- soles of their shoes, Sediqqi said.—AP North Korean supremo Kim Jong-Un. ing emergency treatment after being badly wounded in the attack. ‘Smoothing ruffled feathers’ Ahmad also ran the Kabul Pressistan But prospects for a meeting between Park and Abe rose media company and joined AFP in 2003 to earlier this month after the Japanese leader promised to become the agency’s senior reporter in honor Tokyo’s two previous apologies over its colonial past, Kabul. He covered all aspects of life, war and issued in 1993 and 1995. Park has welcomed Abe’s pledge, politics in his native Afghanistan, according saying she hopes it will pave the way for better bilateral ties. to a statement tweeted by the news agency. South Korea has accused Japan of showing insufficient The attack in Kabul came on the heels of an remorse for wartime abuses, particularly the use of sex uptick in bombings and shootings against slaves. Japanese politicians express exasperation at the foreigners in the Afghan capital, something repeated requests for contrition, pointing to numerous that had been relatively rare. Earlier this apologies as well as a 1965 agreement that normalized rela- month, a Swedish journalist was shot on the tions and included a large payment to Seoul. The situation street and a Lebanese restaurant popular was exacerbated by Abe’s visit to a controversial war shrine with foreigners was attacked by a suicide in December that drew strong protests from South Korea bomber and gunmen in January. and China, which also suffered during Japan’s past colonial The Taleban have threatened to use vio- KABUL: Afghan boys watch adult men struggle to reach the holy mace to kiss it in aggression.—AFP lence to disrupt next month’s elections and front of the Sakhi shrine during Nowruz festivities which marks the Afghan New the bloodshed shows they are capable of car- Year yesterday. — AFP INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 India’s Chidambaram Walking the tightrope to election shy as party popularity slides survive on Mumbai streets

NEW DELHI: India’s finance minister, P Chidambaram, has MUMBAI: With a bronze pot balanced on her this is not properly implemented, said Kushal pleting eight years of education. Barsati’s rare declined to stand in upcoming national elections, adding to a head and a painted bamboo pole in her Singh, head of the National Commission for skills allow her to take home 1,500 to 2,000 sense of gloom in the ruling Congress party as a growing list of hands, 9-year-old Barsati steps onto a Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a govern- rupees per day for her family, according to high-profile cabinet members shies away from facing voters at tightrope nearly six feet above a Mumbai ment body. “The basic thing is ignorance, her uncle, but her job on the tightrope leaves the ballot box. After ten years in office, the Congress party is trail- street. Her mid-air performance varies-some- and the belief that the child is required to little time for schoolwork. ing in opinion polls. Thanks to its failure to check corruption, cool times barefooted, sometimes in flip flops, earn for the family because families are so At the end of her day performing, she inflation and spark an economic revival, it is widely expected to sometimes walking inside a wheel or with a poor,” Singh said. “This is keeping them in a faces a two-and-a-half hour train ride to her be defeated in the election that begins on April 7. Chidambaram, plate beneath one foot. But each time, her vicious circle. The only way out is if a child family’s slum home on the outskirts of the a Harvard-trained former lawyer, 68, is credited with overseeing aunt thumps rapidly on a drum and draws in studies and gets an education.” While meth- financial capital, where her parents work as India’s years of fastest growth. But he was less successful in his curious passers-by. ods to measure poverty are hotly contested, menial laborers. Other relatives join Barsati’s third stint in the finance ministry from 2012, a period of economic Indians on their way to work or tourists a study by the McKinsey Global Institute commute to the street. Her little brother malaise that fuelled the slide in his party’s popularity. “He has filming the spectacle with their smartphones released in February found more than half of Rajababu, bearing a painted moustache, seen victory and he has also seen results which have not been in throw rupees into a bowl on the pavement Indians lacked the means to meet their crouches by the tightrope-propping poles his favor,” said his son, Karti Chidambaram, who confirmed the below. Although most are amazed by her essential needs, spending less than 1,336 while she performs and occasionally picks up decision, and will now contest from his father’s constituency in skills, Barsati, who took to the rope from the rupees (21.5 dollars) a month. the bowl to encourage donations. A baby the southern state of Tamil Nadu. age of five instead of going to school, is non- Many children are therefore encouraged cousin sleeps on the pavement through it all, Asked by Indian network NDTV if his father feared defeat, he plussed. “Now I am used to it. People give us into work. UNICEF says more than eight mil- shaded by a cardboard sign for a recent city replied, “That’s not a correct comment about the reasons why he money,” she shrugged, taking a break lion young Indians are out of school, and arts festival. “We want him to go to school,” has opted out.” But he did not elaborate. In the past, between performances in the teeming Fort more than 80 million drop out before com- said Nath, the baby’s father.—AFP Chidambaram has said older leaders should make way for a new district of south Mumbai. generation. Barsati’s uncle Chotu Nath, who oversees Government heavyweights, including defense minister AK the proceedings and gives his age as “about Antony and shipping minister GK Vasan, have also shown reluc- 20”, explained that both his mother and his tance to fight the elections, while a senior party leader has admit- grandmother were tightrope walkers in their ted the party was going through an “adverse phase”. “Obviously, youth. “It’s a family thing,” he said, adding the situation is not very good for the Congress,” said political ana- that the children “never fall” because they lyst Neerja Chaudhary. “It is not surprising that (Chidambaram) learn from such a young age. doesn’t want to contest what is obviously a losing battle.” Chidambaram’s decision not to stand does not necessarily ‘Vicious circle’ spell the end of his political career. Many Indian leaders, including Barsati spends just a few weeks each year Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, hold seats in the upper house going to school during India’s rainy season, of parliament, elected by state assembly lawmakers. according to her uncle, but the rest of her Chidambaram has represented his Tamil Nadu constituency for time is spent earning for her family. She is the past decade. But a slender margin of victory in 2009 has one of more than 28 million Indian children made re-election from that seat uncertain, especially as the estimated by UNICEF to be engaged in some Congress struggles to find alliance partners in the state. Investors form of labor. A 2009 Right to Education Act who once championed the market-friendly reformer mandates free and compulsory schooling for Chidambaram as a good candidate for prime minister are now those aged 6 to 14, but an outright ban on cheering for pro-business opposition leader Narendra Modi of child labor, proposed by the government in 2012, is yet to be passed by parliament. the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP called The current law prohibits children under Chidambaram’s decision a surrender before the fight. —Reuters MUMBAI: This photo shows nine-year-old Indian girl Barsati walking on a tightrope 14 from working in hazardous jobs yet even entertaining a crowd of onlookers in Mumbai. — AFP INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Pressure on Michelle Obama pushes soft Berlusconi kids diplomacy on visit to China to enter politics US first lady meets Chinese president Xi and wife ROME: Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter Marina should lead his centre-right party in European parliamentary elections after he was banned from public office, the companion of BEIJING: US first lady Michelle Obama met with Chinese President Xi robots and tried her hand at Chinese calligraphy at the Second High the 77-year-old media billionaire said in an interview yes- Jinping yesterday, the first day of her weeklong China visit, in a sign School Attached to Beijing Normal University in central Beijing. The terday. “It’s obvious that without him the centre-right is that the leaders of the world’s two largest economies are seeking to elite school has 33 American exchange students, and some of its stumbling. That’s why I hope his daughter Marina takes build stronger bonds. The formal meeting between Xi and Mrs Chinese students aspire to study in the United States. In a calligraphy up the challenge,” Francesca Pascale told the daily La Obama, in the company of Xi’s wife Peng Liyuan and the first lady’s class set up for Mrs Obama’s visit, the first lady practiced writing the Repubblica. daughters and mother, took place in a state guesthouse after Mrs Chinese character for “eternal” under the guidance of 16-year-old stu- “I hope, humbly, even egotistically, that Marina Obama toured a Beijing high school and the former Imperial Palace dent Lu Yuhong. Berlusconi will really think of this incredible challenge, with her host Peng. “I’m nervous,” Mrs Obama said. “Don’t be nervous,” Peng replied in even though, as a woman, I realize what a sacrifice it “I cherish my sound working relationship and personal friendship I English. Lu said he too was nervous, as well as “very excited.” “But the would represent.” Italy’s highest appeals court this week already established with your husband,” Xi said. “We stay in close first lady was so amicable. She was very approachable,” Lu said. Peng touch between phone conversations and correspondence.” Mrs. also picked up the brush and wrote a four-character Chinese apho- confirmed a two-year ban on holding public office Obama thanked Xi for the warm reception for herself and her family. rism on virtues before presenting it to Mrs Obama as a gift. imposed on Berlusconi after he was convicted of master- “We have had a wonderful first day here in China,” she told Xi. In another class, students showed the first lady small robots they minding a serious tax fraud scheme at his Mediaset televi- The meeting was not on the first lady’s official itinerary but was had built, moving the devices with remote controls. One knee-high sion empire. expected. “It is only logical for President Xi to meet her, because it is a robot climbed over a pile of yellow plastic bricks. “All the students that Pascale, 28, is widely considered to have a strong matter of etiquette for the head of the household to meet the guest she met with, the Chinese students, spoke English and were able to influence over Berlusconi but there has so far been no of his wife,” said Teng Jianqun, director of the American studies explain to her in very fluent English what they were doing,” said Tina clear indication from any of Berlusconi’s children that department at China Institute of International Studies. He added that Tchen, Mrs Obama’s chief of staff. they will enter politics. Marina Berlusconi, 47, a senior Mrs Obama likely served as a messenger on behalf of President Barack “And I think she found that very impressive, because we know it’s executive at Fininvest, Berlusconi’s financial holding Obama. something that we struggle within the United States, about having company, has long been seen as a potential political heir Her China visit has been seen as a prelude to an upcoming meet- our kids be able to be fluent in a second language by the time they although she has always resisted pressure to take over ing between Xi and Obama at a nuclear security summit in The get to high school.” Lu, the student, said he had bonded with her father’s party. Hague, when more thorny issues would be raised. “She also made his- American friends over a shared love of US television, including his However speculation has grown that she or one of the tory as the first US first lady to visit China independently,” Teng said. favorite series, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Among the six American former prime minister’s other children Pier Silvio, 44, or Aides for Mrs Obama have said the first lady is staying away from con- exchange students attending the calligraphy class was Audrey Fritz, Barbara, 29, could take the reins to ensure the Berlusconi tentious issues but promote education and people-to-people 17, at the exclusive Sidwell Friends School in Washington. “It’s been name remains on the ticket. Pier Silvio, deputy chairman exchanges during the seven-day, three-city visit. an amazing experience,” Fritz said of her time in China. “I have learned of Mediaset, was quoted by several Italian newspapers Earlier in the day, Mrs Obama excited students who were building to be much more independent.”—AP yesterday ruling out a political career. “Politics is not about succession but experience and competence. It’s something you have to earn,” he was quoted as saying by the La Stampa daily. Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party has been weakened by a split in the centre-right which saw a breakaway group defect last year to support the government of former Prime Minister Enrico Letta. That group, headed by Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, a former Berlusconi protege, now supports the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. According to an opinion poll by the SWG institute yes- terday, a broad coalition of centre-right parties holds a very slight advantage over the centre-left but Forza Italia officials fear that without Berlusconi’s vote-winning charisma support for the party could crumble. Forza Italia currently enjoys around 22 percent support compared with 31.6 percent for Renzi’s centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and 20.4 percent for the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement led by Beppe Grillo. As well as the ban on pub- lic office, Berlusconi, who was stripped of his seat in the Senate last year, also faces a year under house arrest or in BEIJING: US first lady Michelle Obama, (third right), her daughters Malia (right) and Sasha (second right) are greeted by community service over the tax fraud conviction, with a Chinese President Xi Jinping (second left) and his wife Peng Liyuan (left) at a guest house yesterday. — AFP court due to rule on the sentence on April 10. — Reuters Busy day to ‘organized chaos’ after Boston bombing

CONCORD: From inside the cinder block walls of the emergency Street. One suspect is awaiting trial in the bombings; another is running? Where is my sister who is eight months pregnant department at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, with just 10 died during a police pursuit. At Mass Eye and Ear, like the other and lives two blocks from the finish line?’” said Dr Aaron rooms total, it was hard to tell that April 15 had gone from sim- hospitals in Boston, first word of the bombings came over the Remenschneider. “We tend to forget now that in the aftermath, ply a normal day to a moment that would rivet the world’s radio. Normally, the emergency radio squawks twice a day as a things were very much unclear.” attention on Boston and its famous marathon. But when a test. “Roger, test,” is the usual response. “Trying to make sense of it all was very difficult,” woman arrived in a silent daze, shrapnel and debris embedded “I went to the radio and realized that all I could hear was Remenschneider said. “There was a lot of fear. But we can’t real- in her head and neck, the scope of what transpired became ‘multiple victims’ and I realized that this was definitely not a ly worry about that, that’s not our job. Our job is to take care of apparent to the doctors and nurses on duty that day. drill,” said Deb Trocchi, a registered nurse at the hospital. Soon, the patients.” Some worked around the clock that Monday and “My ‘Oh, my god’ moment was when the first patient came dozens of patients would arrive, carefully sorted at the scene the week, in Martinez’s words, became a blur. Beyond the med- into the emergency department,” Maureen Martinez, nursing and sent to Mass Eye and Ear with head, neck, eye and ear ical challenges, there were the quirks: The hospital being locked manager at Mass Eye and Ear, said Wednesday night at a forum injuries. Mostly, they saw ruptured eardrums and injuries caused down twice, the FBI agents collecting debris. at the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord. “She was a by the blasts’ concussion. There were also eye injuries from “I’d call it organized chaos,” said Trocchi. “You have experi- young woman. She walked in and was pretty stunned. She shards of glass and shrapnel. It was a far cry from the unstop- ence that prepares you for things like this. It’s what we do.” As a couldn’t say anything, she was alone. You could just really see pable nosebleeds, throat infections - even a chicken bone stuck research hospital, Mass Eye and Ear is using what they learn what she went through. You could see the impact of the blast in the throat - that can mark the passage of a day in the emer- from this group of patients to try to better treat others who and I’ve never seen that in my experience. It just became real to gency room. experience bombings. “The victims of that day have been so me.” And as they were treating the patients who came through empowering and so willing to share their stories and take part in Three people died and 260 were injured that day when two their doors, the doctors and nurses had to stay focused. “Like a the research,” said Remenschneider. “I have been so impressed homemade bombs exploded near the finish line on Boylston lot of others, my first thought was ‘Where is my friend Kyle who at their willingness to help a broader community.” — AP Euro zone shares set for Britain on track for Toyota to lift lockout at big weekly gain in 2014 borrowing targets Business16 17Indian plants after unrest 18

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Lufthansa pilots vote for strike in pay row 18

PHILADELPHIA: In this Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, file photo, a person walks past a Citibank location, in Philadelphia. As announced Thursday, all but one of the nation’s 30 largest banks are in a stronger position to withstand a severe US recession and a global downturn than at any time since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has determined. — AP All major US banks pass Fed ‘stress tests’

WASHINGTON: More than five years after the financial crisis pared with the capital each holds as a buffer. The Fed said that Wall Street powerhouses struck, the biggest US banks are better able to withstand a under the crisis scenario, the 30 banks would suffer combined Last year, government-owned Ally Financial Inc. was the severe recession than at any time since the meltdown, the losses on loans of $366 billion through the fourth quarter of only bank that failed. In this round, Ally passed. Ally said it was Federal Reserve has determined. Results of the Fed’s annual 2015. That’s down from projected losses of $462 billion in last pleased that the test results “recognized the substantial trans- “stress tests” showed Thursday that all but one of 30 top year’s tests - even with a much larger number of banks. Fed formation that the company has undergone since last year.” banks passed muster with sufficient capital buffers to keep officials said the change reflected the banks’ progress in shed- The Fed concluded last March that Wall Street powerhous- them lending through an economic crisis. Only Zions Bancorp ding delinquent and defaulted loans from their balance es JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell short. The results showed continued improvement in sheets. needed better plans for coping with a severe downturn and banks’ financial positions since the 2008 crisis, the Fed said. The 30 banks were also tested on how well they would gave the banks until September to revise them. The two banks That built on positive results from last year’s tests. withstand severe downturns in Europe and in Asian countries were allowed to increase their dividends and buy back their “The industry is stronger and more profitable than a year like China and Japan. The Fed will announce next week stock on condition they submitted revised capital plans that ago,” said RBC Capital Markets banking analyst Gerard Cassidy. whether it will approve plans by some of the banks to increase satisfied the Fed. The banks’ stronger positions should enable them to pursue dividends or buy their own stock. At the same time, the Fed approved requests outright from business plans, pay dividends to shareholders, raise capital Nearly all US banks with $50 billion or more in assets were 14 of the 18 banks tested, including Bank of America, from investors and expand services to customers, said Frank in the group of 30 that were tested. Together they account for Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. But the Fed for- Keating, president of the American Bankers Association. some $13.5 trillion in assets - about 80 percent of US banks’ bade Ally and BB&T Corp. from making any dividend increases The 30 banks tested included Bank of America Corp., total amount. Twelve of the 30 banks were added to the test- and share buybacks they may have been seeking. Next Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo and Co. ing roster for the first time this year. Wednesday, the Fed will announce whether it has approved The Fed has conducted stress tests of the largest US banks Most of the 30 banks tested, along with hundreds of others, each bank’s request, if one has been made, to raise dividends every year since 2009, when the financial crisis plunged the received federal bailouts during the financial crisis. The bank- for shareholders. Its decisions will be based on how each bank country into the worst economic downturn since the Great ing industry has been recovering steadily since then, with would fare in a severe recession if it increased its payout. Depression of the 1930s. The annual checkup is designed to overall profits rising and banks starting to lend more freely. Raising dividends costs money. The government doesn’t measure how well the industry would fare in another severe The banks have mostly repaid the taxpayer bailouts. want banks to deplete their capital reserves, making them vul- recession. It aims to ensure that banks could keep lending dur- Zions, the only bank to fall short this year, is based in Salt nerable in another recession. The other banks tested were: ing such a punishing stretch. Lake City. It slid to a loss in the fourth quarter as it booked American Express Co., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., BBVA Under the Fed’s stress tests’ “severely adverse” scenario, hefty charges related to losses on investment securities and Compass Bancshares Inc., BMO Financial Corp., Capital One the US would undergo a recession in which unemployment - other one-time items. Financial Corp., Comerica Inc., Discover Financial Services, now at 6.7 percent - would reach 11.25 percent, stocks would Zions said in a statement that its performance on the stress Fifth Third Bancorp, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., lose nearly half their value and home prices would plunge 25 tests was worse than it expected mostly due to significantly Huntington Bancshares Inc., KeyCorp, M&T Bank Corp., percent. higher commercial real estate losses, significantly greater risk- Northern Trust Corp., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., RBS weighted assets and lower pre-tax, pre-provision net revenue. Citizens Financial Group Inc., Regions Financial Corp., Defaulted loans The bank said that it will resubmit its capital plan to the Santander Holdings USA Inc., State Street Corp., US Bancorp Under the test, the losses projected for each bank are com- Federal Reserve. and UnionBanCal Corp. — Reuters BUSINESS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Boeing books 71 orders for 737s in a week

WASHINGTON: US aerospace giant Boeing said 170 orders for the single-aisle 737. beginning in 2017. Thursday it had won 71 new orders for its best-selling A Boeing spokesman said that 40 of the 71 new 737 Boeing said it had completed Wednesday its first 737 commercial jetliner in a week, with more than half orders were for the 737 MAX, a new, re-engined model Next-Generation 737 made at the increased production for its new 737 MAX. Boeing did not disclose the name that will improve fuel efficiency. He said the future air- rate of 42 airplanes per month. Due to continued of the buyer or the buyers of the short- to medium-haul plane already has more than 1,800 orders. strong market demand for jetliner, it plans to ramp up aircraft in the week through March 18. The 737 MAX is Boeing’s response to European rival production to 47 airplanes a month in 2017. The Chicago-based company said it had a total of Airbus’s new A320Neo. The first flights of both planes Dow member Boeing shares climbed 1.2 percent to 176 net new orders since the year started, including are scheduled in 2016, with deliveries to customers $123.73 in New York trade. — AFP

Tiffany posts Q4 loss due to large charge

NEW YORK: Tiffany & Co. posted a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, dragged down by a hefty charge tied to an unfavor- able arbitration ruling. But its sales improved during the criti- cal holiday selling season. Even without the charge, its adjusted earnings missed Wall Street expectations. Its forecast for this year also was short of expectations. Tiffany’s shares fell more than 3 percent in Friday premarket trading. For the three months ended Jan. 31, the luxury jewelry company - known for its little blue boxes - lost $103.6 million, or 81 cents per share. A year earlier it earned $179.6 million, or $1.40 per share. Removing the charge of $2.27 per share for the unfavor- able arbitration ruling, earnings were $1.47 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected higher earnings of $1.51 per share. Tiffany’s stock declined $3.17, or 3.5 percent, to $88 in premarket trading two hours before the market open. Revenue climbed 5 percent to $1.3 billion from $1.24 bil- lion, led by strong sales of fine and statement jewelry as well as jewelry collections. That matched Wall Street’s expecta- tions. Sales increased in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe. Sales declined in Japan due to the weaker yen, but climbed on a constant exchange rate basis. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, rose 6 ATHENS: Teachers, who are on a mobility scheme for eight months and face layoffs as of tomorrow, stage a protest in central percent due to higher sales in all regions. This metric excludes Athens yesterday against planned job cuts in their sector demanded by foreign lenders. Hard hit by the economic crisis, Greece results from stores recently opened or closed. Full-year net is experiencing a sixth straight year of recession and has a staggering 28 percent unemployment rate. — AFP income declined 56 percent to $181.4 million, or $1.41 per share, from $416.2 million, or $3.25 per share, in the previous year. Adjusted earnings were $3.73 per share. Annual revenue increased 6 percent to $4.03 billion from $3.79 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year climbed 6 percent. For Euro zone shares set for fiscal 2014, the New York company anticipates earnings between $4.05 and $4.15 per share. Analysts predict $4.27 per share. The retailer foresees full-year worldwide sales rising by a high single-digit percentage rate on strength across all big weekly gain in 2014 regions. Tiffany also announced that its board approved the repur- chase of up to $300 million of its common stock. The compa- New sanctions no big shock to markets ny’s prior repurchase program expired at the end of January. The new buyback will expire on March 31, 2017. — AP LONDON: A top European share index was set for its best week of prompted a rally from the morning’s lows. the year yesterday although stocks exposed to Russia remained Stocks were hit in early deals of the previous session after sensitive as investors assessed the impact of tit-for-tat sanctions Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen had hinted that rate rises could over the Ukraine crisis. begin as soon as Q2 2015, earlier than the market expected, and a Russia has annexed Crimea from Ukraine, a move condemned quartet of Fed speakers due to speak later yesterday will be scru- by the West, but Moscow’s assertion that no other Ukrainian tinised for any further details. region would be subject to intervention helped European stocks Danish shipping firm Moller-Maersk rose 2.2 percent, after its to move higher on Monday and Tuesday. Maersk Line won regulatory approval for an alliance with two “The longer this goes on, the more relaxed people are about it. partners from the US Federal Maritime Commission. There’s generally been an avoidance of bloodspill, and it’s been a Crimea-related turmoil has left the FTSE Eurofirst 300 over 3 relatively painless transition of Crimea from Ukraine to Russia,” percent off the year’s closing high towards the end of February, Alastair McCaig, analyst at IG, said.“In contrast to this time last although medium term prospects for European equity remained week, when we were nervous about what would happen over the healthy, analysts said. weekend (in the referendum), there’s a bit more of a relaxed men- The FTSEurofirst 300 had gained nearly 20 percent since the tality.” The euro zone EuroSTOXX 50 is up 2.8 percent so far for start of 2013 to that February peak, however. A Reuters poll on the week, set for its best weekly gain since December, while the Thursday found that European stocks will extend their rally in pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 is up 1.7 percent in a weekly rise 2014, fuelled by a long-awaited rebound in corporate profits as not seen in over a month. the region’s recovery picks up and global investors shift from The escalation of sanctions from the United States late on emerging markets to Europe. Thursday helped to peg back stocks that are the most exposed to In addition, the Lipper poll of 103 US-domiciled funds invested Russia, with Danish brewer Carlsberg down 1.2 percent. in European stocks showed they raked in a net $214 million, the However, in general growth-sensitive stocks without direct smallest inflow since July 2013, although the funds still managed exposure to Russia such as miners, banks and industrial firms to extend their longest winning streak on record into a 38th were stronger, with traders saying that the new sanctions were week. no big shock to markets. “The performance of stocks over the past couple of years has BOSTON: In this Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, file photo, a man walks The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.3 percent to 1,309.84 by 0859 been spectacular, and has handily beaten returns on bonds,” pastg Tiffany & Co. sign in Boston. Tiffany reports quarterly GMT, with the EuroSTOXX 50 up 0.6 percent. The FTSEurofirst 300 strategists at Barclays wrote in a note. “Fundamentals continue to financial results before the market opens yesterday. — AP ended Thursday roughly steady, after encouraging US data support our preference for stocks over bonds.” — Reuters BUSINESS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Downsized Dutch banks start again in tough local market AMSTERDAM: Dutch banks ABN Amro and ING, once Dutch are traditionally big savers - are taking advantages New strategies the pride of Amsterdam’s international financial hub, are of low interest rates and a tax change as well as hoarded ING, the Netherlands’ largest bank by assets, is in a emerging from government bailouts to face a very differ- savings to pay off mortgages early. Rabobank, a mutual better position than rivals given its domestic business ent future in their local markets. lender and the country’s No 2 bank, says it expects its makes up just a third of its earnings. Both banks cost their country nearly 32 billion euros stock of mortgage loans to halve within 30 years. The group, which had to take a 10 billion euro state to prevent a collapse during the financial crisis. Both are As a result, banks will be competing fiercely for a small bailout in 2008, is aiming to repay the government close to repaying their debts and standing alone again. pool of business from small and medium-sized enterpris- next year and finish its restructuring by the end of But having reshaped the international units that got es - larger firms are increasingly financing themselves 2016. them into trouble, both now have to work out how to through debt markets - and counting every fee and com- But its 2013 return on equity of 6.4 percent is a far profit in a weak local economy and an industry stifled by mission. Bert Bruggink, chief financial officer at cry from its 2015 goal of 10-13 percent, a target it some of Europe’s toughest regulations. Rabobank, which relies on the Netherlands for 75 percent needs to hit if the bank is to keep pace with the returns “If growth was your main objective then you’ve got a of its earnings, says balance sheet growth will be “limit- reached by Nordic banks such as Nordea. ING is set to difficulty in this market,” says Koos Timmermans, vice- ed” in the coming years. “On the income side, it is a very unveil a new banking strategy on March 31 ahead of chairman for banking at ING. unattractive market, margins are low, commissions are the sale later this year of its insurance business. It has The Dutch economy, hit by a 20 percent drop in non-existent,” he told Reuters. But ING’s Timmermans already ruled out a return to empire-building once a house prices and a collapse in consumer spending, is said his bank was dealing with the challenge of weak state-aid inspired ban on acquisitions lifts next year. expected to grow just 1 percent this year and 1.3 percent demand by cutting prices for customers and offering ABN’s rescue cost the state 21.66 billion euros. By next. That’s below European Commission estimates of 1.2 them products beyond just plain vanilla loans. the time it returns to the stock market, most likely in and 1.8 percent for the euro zone, and well below long “Are we sitting here and waiting for the balance sheet 2015, it will be radically different to the bank that was term average growth of 2.4 percent. (in the Netherlands) to shrink? The answer is no...You taken over by Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and In such an environment, thrifty households - the need to work harder to make your lending work.” Fortis in 2007 in an ill-fated $100 billion deal.—Reuters Britain on track for borrowing targets Financial markets unmoved by data

LONDON: Britain’s public finances showed an Departmental spending jumped more than 7 improvement in the fiscal year to February, two percent in the 11 months to February, driven by days after finance minister George Osborne new data on spending from the Department of announced a cut to government borrowing Health last month, and as government depart- forecasts for this year and next. ments consolidated their accounts towards the Deficit reduction has been Osborne’s central end of the fiscal year, an ONS official said. But economic policy since Britain’s Conservative-led there was also a large rise in the “other receipts” coalition came to power in 2010, when Britain’s category. An ONS official said that largely reflect- budget gap was 11 percent of annual economic ed cash transfers to the Treasury from the Bank output - one of the highest for a major economy. of England’s bond buying programme. Financial Britain’s public finances, excluding financial sec- markets were unmoved by the data. For the year tor interventions, showed a deficit of 9.311 bil- to date - stripping out the effect of cash transfers lion pounds ($15.4 billion) in February, the Office from Royal Mail and the Bank of England - the for National Statistics said yesterday. deficit totalled 99.3 billion pounds, 4.3 percent MADRID: Housing rights activists block the BBVA bank’s customer service office to demand Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a lower than at the same point in 2013. solutions for the mortgage holders of BBVA, in Madrid, Spain, Thursday. — AP slightly smaller deficit of 9.0 billion pounds. That Public sector net debt was 1.247 trillion was up slightly compared with a year ago, pounds in February, equivalent to 74.7 percent although government income last February was of gross domestic product. With one month left boosted by the sale of 4G mobile phone spec- of the fiscal year, that puts finance minister Ryanair set for weekly gains trum. “February’s public finances figures confirm Osborne in position to meet a new full-year bor- that the UK’s budget deficit is continuing to rowing forecast of 108 billion pounds - or 6.6 LONDON: European shares were set for strong over Crimea, with European shares proving more make slow downward progress,” said Jonathan percent of gross domestic product. weekly gains yesterday, demonstrating an ability resilient to volatility over the region than in previ- Loynes, chief European economist at Capital The Office for Budget Responsibility - Britain’s to shrug off concerns over the Crimean crisis as ous weeks. Economics. He said Britain could beat an official budget watchdog - predicted the budget deficit strength in Ryanair and the mining sector helped Russia has annexed Crimea from Ukraine, a forecast for cutting the deficit next year, given will fall to 5.5 percent of GDP next year. growth sensitive sectors higher. Irish airline move condemned by the West, but relief over a signs the economy could grow by around 3 per- Osborne’s budget courted voters ahead of an Ryanair rose 3.7 percent, the top FTSEurofirst 300 calm Crimean referendum and Moscow’s asser- cent. “But the big picture is still that there is a election in 2015 with promises of help for savers, riser, after a spate of upbeat broker comment fol- tion that no other Ukrainian region would be very long way to go before the public finances tax breaks for manufacturers and lower levies on lowing an update on its marketing overhaul and subject to intervention helped European stocks are restored to full health,” said Loynes. beer and bingo. financing plans. “There was a positive site visit to to move higher on Monday and Tuesday. February’s figures benefitted from a carry-over He also announced upgrades to official fore- Ryanair, and with fares going up this summer However, despite a renewed sell-off in of delayed payments of income tax from casts for economic growth, although he stressed and improved booking, and it’s prompted the Russian markets yesterday after the United January, when there was a smaller-than-expect- he would stick to his belt-tightening plans which likes of Deutsche Bank to push them today,” Zeg States escalated its sanctions, European equity ed seasonal surplus. include a cap on welfare spending. — Reuters Choudhry, head of equities trading at Northland markets still managed decent gains. “The longer Capital, said. The basic resources sector was up 1 this goes on, the more relaxed people are about percent, rebounding from near two-month lows, it. There’s generally been an avoidance of blood- with miners boosted by speculation that China spill, and it’s been a relatively painless transition could support its economy through stimulus of Crimea from Ukraine to Russia,” Alastair measures, traders said. McCaig, analyst at IG, said. “In contrast to this On Thursday the Chinese premier said that time last week, when we were nervous about China would act to stabilise demand, with what would happen over the weekend (in the Chinese shares having their strongest gains in referendum), there’s a bit more of a relaxed men- four months following news of looser finance tality.” restrictions for developers. The surge in Ryanair The FTSEurofirst 300 ended Thursday roughly and the miners helped push the FTSEurofirst 300 steady, after encouraging US data prompted a up 0.3 percent to 1,310.08 by 1117 GMT, leaving rally from the morning’s lows. Stocks were hit in it set for a weekly gain of 2 percent, which would early deals of the previous session after Federal be its biggest such rise in over a month. The euro Reserve Chair Janet Yellen had hinted that rate zone EuroSTOXX 50 was up 0.4 percent on the rises could begin as soon as Q2 2015, earlier than day and is up 3.2 percent so far for the week, set the market expected, and a quartet of Fed speak- for its strongest weekly gain since December. ers due to speak later on Friday will be scruti- DUARTE: A May 28, 2013, file photo, an outdoors sign for Walmart is seen in Duarte, Calif. The gains come despite ongoing uncertainty nised for any further details.—Reuters After enduring a severe winter that chilled business, Wal-Mart is trying to lure shoppers into its stores with the biggest weapon in its arsenal: a big sale. — AP BUSINESS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Philippines to sign Lufthansa pilots vote aircraft contracts worth $526m for strike in pay row

MANILA: The Philippines will award aircraft contracts to No plans for action over Easter holidays South Korean and Canadian companies worth $525.62 million (23.7 billion pesos), a senior defence official said FRANKFURT: Pilots at German flagship carrier Lufthansa voted in strike by security staff at Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa’s home base, yesterday, boosting its capability as tension simmers in favour of going on strike in a dispute over pay and working condi- last month. the South China Sea. tions, union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) said yesterday. Lufthansa is in the middle of a restructuring programme, The Philippines has embarked on a five-year, 75-billion- The union, which represents more than 5,000 Lufthansa pilots, dubbed SCORE, which aims to improve operating profit by 1.5 bil- peso modernisation programme to boost its capability to said more than 90 percent of its members voted in favour of a lion euros compared with 2011. It has already agreed pay deals defend its maritime borders against the creeping expan- strike. with ground staff and cabin crew, leaving the pilots as the final sion of China in the South China Sea. “No one of us really wants to strike and we’ve been negotiat- major frontline staff group with which it has to reach agreement. Fernando Manalo, undersecretary of defence for ing very patiently, but our patience has run out,” the pilot’s chief Analysts at Barclays estimate Lufthansa’s staff costs are 15 per- finance, munitions, installations and materiel, said the negotiator Thomas von Sturm told journalists. The union said it cent lower than Air France, but still around 10-15 percent higher Philippines would acquire 12 brand-new FA-50 fighter- would announce any strike action 48 hours in advance to give than British Airways. The current dispute concerns both pay trainers and eight Bell 412 helicopters under a govern- passengers time to change their travel plans and said it had no increases and so-called ‘transition contracts’ awarded to pilots ment-to-government deal. intention, for now, to call for a strike over the Easter holidays. retiring before the legal pension age officially kicks in. Lufthansa “This is significant because we need to give our armed Lufthansa’s passengers were among the worst affected by a was not immediately available to comment. — Reuters forces the minimum capability to perform its mission and responsibility,” Manalo told reporters after completing negotiations with the two companies. Korean Aerospace Industries Ltd. got the contract for the fighter-trainers worth 18.9 billion pesos while Canadian Commercial Corporation, which is licensed to market Bell helicopters, promised to deliver its first craft next year. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on Friday warned that China was determined to change the status quo in the disputed waters, taking control of the Scarborough Shoal and forcing Manila to remove a trans- port ship that ran aground in the Second Thomas Shoal. Last week, China prevented two civilian ships from delivering supplies to troops stationed in the shipwreck in the Second Thomas Shoal. China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea’s 3.5 million sq. km. (1.35 sq miles) of waters. The sea provides 10 percent of the global fish catch and carries $5 trillion in ship-borne trade each year. Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims to the sea. The Philippines’ ill-equipped armed forces are no match for those of China, despite receiving two cutters and coastal radar stations from the United States. The mili- tary lost its fighter capability when it mothballed all its F- 5A/Bs in the early 2000s. Manalo said the Philippines was also spending 26 billion pesos within the year to acquire two frigates, two strategic sealift and three anti-subma- FRANKFURT: In this Feb. 22, 2010 file picture a pilot of German airlines Lufthansa waits in front of the company’s logo at the rine helicopters. — Reuters airport in Frankfurt, Germany. Pilots at Germany’s Lufthansa have voted for strike action in a long-running pay dispute with the airline, but their union hasn’t yet set dates for any walkouts. — AP Toyota to lift lockout at Joyalukkas’ popular Indian plants after unrest Gold Exchange Offer is back BANGALORE: Toyota said that it would lift a lockout next failed. Toyota said some employees had resorted to delib- week on its Indian assembly plants after a meeting with erate stoppages of the production line, abuse and threats labour groups and a local government mediator to resolve to supervisors and continuous disruptions to business for KUWAIT: Joyalukkas has announced its popular Gold Exchange Offer across its showrooms in the GCC coun- a pay dispute. A total of 17 workers have been suspended the past 25 days. tries. The offer will be open to all customers from 20th for alleged misconduct and indiscipline including threats Company and union officials have been trying to agree March to 5th April, 2014. Customers can walk into any against management and deliberate assembly-line stop- a new contract for the past 10 months, with the govern- Joyalukkas showroom during the offer period and pages over the protests at two factories in southern India. ment helping mediate negotiations. Toyota Kirloskar Motor exchange their old gold jewelry without any loss in Toyota decided to resume production on March 24 after Ltd Union has demanded a pay hike of at least 4,000 weight or rate during the offer period. talks with its workers’ union and a senior state labour offi- rupees ($65), while the company is offering only 3,050 “The Gold Exchange Offer is very popular amongst cial late on Thursday. ($50), citing difficult market conditions which have seen jewelry lovers because this helps them exchange their “The decision (to lift lockout) was taken considering the car sales in India fall almost 10 percent for first time in over old gold jewelry for brand new collections without any inclination and in the interest of the majority of law-abid- a decade. loss in weight or rate. This offer is in line with creating as ing team members,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd said in an The two factories produce about 310,000 autos annually many convenient schemes as possible to help jewelry emailed statement late Thursday. in a range of models including the flagship Camry sedan, lovers make the most of it,” said John Paul Joy Alukkas, The company has asked the employees to give an the Corolla and the Prius hybrid, mostly for the domestic Executive Director, Joyalukkas Group. undertaking of good conduct before resuming work on market. The strife at the factories comes after unrest at oth- To make the offer special Joyalukkas Jewellery has Monday, a precondition termed as “harsh” by trade union er Indian car plants. A riot in 2012 at Maruti Suzuki’s procured many latest designs and collections from vari- leader R. Satish. Manesar plant near New Delhi saw workers chase supervi- ous sources around the world so that jewelry lovers can The union representing the workers demanded Toyota sors with iron rods, killing a personnel manager and injur- have the widest choice. The designs have been sourced withdraw the suspensions, saying there had been no offi- ing close to 100 other managers. The riot, which workers’ from India, Turkey, Singapore and other parts of the cial warning beforehand as required under law. The world’s representatives at the time said was caused by unhappi- world and crafted by skilled designers. Joyalukkas jew- largest automaker suspended production on Monday at ness over wages and working conditions, saw India’s lead- ellery showcases over one million options for customers the factories which employ about 6,400 workers near ing carmaker by sales lock out workers for a month and to choose from at each of their showroom. Bangalore after efforts to hammer out a new pay deal cost it some $250 million in lost production. — AFP BUSINESS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Malaysia’s i-VCAP launches second Islamic ETF

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s i-VCAP Management Sdn ETFs are funds which track indexes of shares, bonds internationalise the country’s Islamic finance industry. Bhd has raised 20 million ringgit ($6.1 million) for its sec- or commodities and are traded on stock exchanges. The new ETF from i-VCAP offers access to a basket of ond Islamic exchange-traded fund (ETF), a modest show- Their sharia-compliant versions follow religious princi- sharia-compliant stocks at a lower cost than through a ing compared to its maiden product launched in 2008. ples such as bans on interest and gambling. mutual fund, charging total annual fees of 0.505 percent. The firm, partly owned by sovereign wealth fund The launch brings the total number of ETFs listed on Since ETFs are designed to minimise cost, reaching Khazanah Nasional, issued 20 million units this week for Bursa Malaysia to six and comes after Malaysia’s securi- an optimal size is particularly important, with several the MyETF MSCI Malaysia Islamic Dividend fund. ties commission introduced a new method to screen Islamic ETFs in the market yet to arrive at such a thresh- That is well below the 840 million units issued in stocks for sharia-compliance. old. i-Vcap is a subsidiary of Valuecap Sdn Bhd, which is January 2008 for the MyETF-DJIM25, the first Islamic ETF The new methodology incorporates quantitative fil- owned equally by Khazanah, Permodalan Nasional Bhd in Asia, which now has 255.1 million units in circulation ters such as benchmarks for financial ratios, moving clos- and civil service pension fund Kumpulan Wang giving it a net asset value of 289 million ringgit. er to the approach used in the Gulf as authorities try to Persaraan. — Reuters Asian shares rise after Wall Street gains Shanghai surged 2.72% after big losses

HONG KONG: Asian markets rose yesterday as percent to NZ$2.10. bargain-hunters moved in after the previous Manila shed 1.22 percent, or 78.09 points, to session’s heavy losses, with investors taking a 6,339.26. JG Summit Holdings tumbled 5.24 per- lead from Wall Street and a positive batch of US cent to 47.00 pesos and Philippines Long data. The dollar held on to its recent gains after Distance Telephone lost 2.47 percent to the head of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday 2,680.00 pesos, while GT Capital Holdings was hinted that US interest rates could be hiked ear- down 2.12 percent at 808.50 pesos. ly next year, sooner than analysts had expected. Kuala Lumpur rose 0.13 percent, or 2.31 Sydney climbed 0.83 percent, or 44.1 points, points, to 1,820.48. UMW climbed 2.1 percent to to 5,338.1 and Seoul gained 0.80 percent, or 10.80 ringgit, while Top Glove lost 3.6 percent to 15.42 points, to close at 1,934.94 while Shanghai 5.09 ringgit. Singapore gained 0.53 percent, or surged 2.72 percent, or 54.14 points, to 2,047.62 16.19 points, to 3,073.39. after big losses Thursday. Hong Kong jumped Jakarta closed flat, gaining 1.24 points to 1.20 percent, or 254.54 points to 21,436.70. 4,700.22. Cement producer Indocement Tokyo was closed for a public holiday. Tunggal Prakarsa rose 1.73 percent to 23,550 Global markets skidded after Janet Yellen rupiah, while telecoms firm Telekomunikasi NEW YORK: In this March 14, 2014, file photo, trader Gregory Rowe, center, works on the floor told a news conference that a rate rise could Indonesia fell 1.37 percent to 2,160 rupiah. of the New York Stock Exchange. World stock markets bounced back yesterday as upbeat US come “around six months” after the bank’s stim- Bangkok ended flat, edging down 0.97 economic data helped shake off worries about future increases in US interest rates. — AP ulus programme ends. Economists took that to points to 1,360.50. Power giant Electricity mean an increase in borrowing costs in the first Generating Public Co. fell 1.55 percent to 127 half of 2015. They had forecast a hike in the lat- baht, while satellite company Thaicom dropped ter part of the year. 2.99 percent to 40.50 baht. Brent oil rises above $107, However, US shares enjoyed a bounce on Mumbai ended flat, rising 13.66 points to Thursday from a string of upbeat data. The 21,753.75. HDIL gained 5.16 percent to 48.90 US expands Russia sanctions Labor Department released figures showing ini- rupees, while Ashok Leyland added 4.52 percent tial claims for jobless benefits were lower than to 18.50 rupees. — AFP LONDON: Brent crude rose by almost 1 percent to cies. A strong dollar makes commodities priced in expected last week, while the Philadelphia above $107 per barrel yesterday as US sanctions the greenback more expensive for holders of other Federal Reserve’s March manufacturing activity against Russia, the world’s second-largest oil currencies. index beat forecasts. S Lanka GDP exporter, increased fears of a supply disruption. Also, the Conference Board’s leading eco- Brent remained on track for a fourth weekly Gunvor nomic index for February came in above expec- growth below loss, however. A seasonal slump in demand has led While Timchenko said he had sold his stake in tations, while US existing-home sales for to a near 5 percent price slide since the beginning Gunvor before being sanctioned by the United February met expectations. forecast of March, when crude briefly jumped to a three- States on Thursday, the fact that a major energy The Dow rose 0.67 percent, the S&P 500 month high above $112 as Russia took control of trader has been dragged into a growing political advanced 0.60 percent and the Nasdaq added COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s economy grew a weaker- Ukraine’s Crimea region. stand-off over Ukraine is adding to market con- 0.27 percent. On forex markets, the dollar main- than-expected 7.3 percent last year, the country’s Washington expanded sanctions to 20 more cerns. tained its strength after rallying in response to central bank said yesterday as it kept interest prominent Russians and allies of Russian President “We need to add a risk premium to oil prices as Yellen’s remarks. rates at multi-year lows as it looks to boost private Vladimir Putin on Thursday, including Gennady US sanctions start to get closer to Russian oil and The euro fetched $1.3771 against $1.3779 in investment and lending. Timchenko, co-founder of oil trading firm Gunvor. gas,” said Olivier Jakob, an oil analyst at Petromatrix New York late Thursday, while the greenback The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said last year’s Within hours Gunvor announced that in Switzerland. also bought 102.11 yen compared with 102.42 expansion was much stronger than the 6.3 per- Timchenko had sold his near 50 percent stake in Gunvor, which had a turnover of $93 billion in yen. It had been sitting at $1.3930 to the euro cent recorded in 2012 thanks to a pick-up in the company to allow the firm, which handles 2012, grew rapidly by trading large volumes of oil and 101.51 yen before the rate remarks. The exports and foreign remittances. almost 3 percent of global oil supplies, to avoid dis- from Russian state companies such as Rosneft at euro fetched 140.67 yen from 141.14 yen. However, the figure was below the bank’s 8.0 ruptions to its operations. the end of last decade, but has since then ceded its percent forecast as an expected rise in lending “The uncertainty is definitely back,” said leading positions and now focuses on trading in Oil prices slip had not taken place. “Credit to the private sector Abhishek Deshpande, a commodities analyst at Europe and Asia. New York’s main contract, West Texas by commercial banks moderated, growing only Natixis in London. “The US has shown a willingness President Barack Obama threatened broad Intermediate for May delivery, tumbled 17 cents by 5.2 per cent in January 2014 in comparison to to intensify sanctions against Putin’s inner circle penalties against sectors of Russia’s economy if to $98.73 a barrel and Brent crude for May 7.5 per cent in December 2013,” the bank said in and may impose targeted penalties on businesses, Moscow moves deeper into Ukraine. Senior dipped two cents to $106.43. its monthly review of the economy. including the energy sector.” administration officials said many parts of the Gold fetched $1,341.57 an ounce at 1108 Officials said the softer data came as loans to Brent for May delivery was up 94 cents at Russian economy could be targeted, including GMT compared with $1,325.28 late Thursday. the private sector rose just 15.5 percent last year, $107.39 per barrel by 11418 GMT, having hit a high energy, defence, mining and financial services sec- well short of estimates of 18 percent. But the bank for the day of $107.43. It extended a gain of 60 tors. In other markets said its Monetary Board viewed the deceleration cents on Thursday. European leaders on Thursday added 12 people Taipei slipped 0.23 percent, or 20.16 points, in those loans to be “temporary”. US crude for May delivery, which became the to a list of those subject to travel bans and asset to 8,577.17. Acer rose 0.85 percent to Tw$17.8 It added: “Private sector credit is likely to front-month contract on Friday, was up 62 cents at freezes for their part in Russia’s seizure of Crimea while Formosa Plastics dropped 1.08 percent to rebound from the second quarter of (2014), sup- $99.51 a barrel. Moscow will respond in kind to the and will begin preparations for trade and economic Tw$73.0. ported by declining market lending rates, suffi- latest US sanctions, Putin’s spokesman said yester- measures if Russia expands its footprint in Ukraine. Wellington fell 0.69 percent, or 35.40 points, cient liquidity levels and increased demand for day. Gains were capped as the US dollar rose near a Russian stock markets fell by more than 2 percent to 5,124.99. Telecom was down 0.63 percent at exports from the advanced economies.”—AFP three-week high against a basket of major curren- yesterday in response to the sanctions. — AP NZ$2.375 and Mighty River Power slipped 0.47 BUSINESS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Volvo Cars returns to profit on China sales, cost cuts

STOCKHOLM: Volvo Cars, the Swedish sub- strong performance in China.” Sales in China, sidiary of Chinese auto maker Geely, posted which seems to be on the brink of becoming strong profits in 2013 after a first half year of Volvo Cars’ most important market, grew by losses, thanks to soaring China sales and cost- 45.6 percent in 2013 compared to a year earlier cutting. to reach 61,146 cars sold. The company reported a 960-million-kronor In the United States, so far Volvo Cars’ (108.5-million-euro, $149.7-million) net profit in strongest market, sales were down by 10.1 per- 2013, compared to losses of 542 million kronor cent to 61,233. In January, the company hinted the year before. at the need to broaden the product range in the The full-year result implied a startling turn- US market to boost sales. around in the second half of 2013, following a Although global sales for the year were up loss of 778 million kronor in the first half, and by 1.4 percent to 427,840 cars, revenue in 2013 three consecutive six-month periods in the red dropped to 122.3 billion kronor from 124.5 bil- before that. lion kronor in 2012. “Apart from a good sales performance in the Operating profit rose to 1.92 billion kronor second half of the year, our focus on cost has from 66 million a year earlier. The company’s been an essential factor in returning to prof- market share in Europe grew slightly from 1.87 itability,” Volvo Cars chief executive Haakan percent in 2012 to 1.90 percent in 2013 and the Samuelsson said in a statement. group expects to keep it this year. “Market cir- Samuelsson, who already announced in cumstances in Europe are expected to remain January that the company had switched back challenging, but Volvo Cars aims to retain its into profit, said he expected continued growth market share in the region,” the company said. in 2014. Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely in 2010, “First and foremost, we will stay profitable in which manufactures brands such as Geely, KANO: Shoppers look at goods in the new South African retail giant Shoprite outlet in 2014,” he said. “The coming year will also be a Gleagle, Emgrand and Englon, unknown in the Kano, northern Nigeria, yesterday. South African retailer Shoprite on March 20 opened year of growth, with a good five-percent West. The company has been independent from its first outlet in northern Nigeria, as part of an aggressive expansion drive and defying increase in sales, characterised by a continued truck maker Volvo Group since 1999. — AFP wider concerns about security in the region. — AFP

WellPoint raises US is not waging industrial 2014 earnings espionage: Intel officials forecast WASHINGTON: US spy agencies are not waging a vast agencies to hone in on a company like Russian-owned industrial espionage campaign on behalf of American com- Gazprom-given the current crisis in Ukraine, said the offi- INDIANAPOLIS: WellPoint has already raised a 2014 panies as alleged by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, cial. earnings forecast it laid out earlier this year, but pro- senior officials said Thursday. In such a case, the intelligence gathering would be justi- jections from the nation’s second-largest health insur- The United States collects economic intelligence to try fied based on US national security interests, whether to er are still below analyst expectations. to assess the stability of governments and trace the financ- shape a strategic analysis of Russia or examining sanctions The Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer, based in ing of terror groups or dangerous weapons, according to issues, officials suggested. Some media coverage of Indianapolis, said yesterday that it now expects full intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymi- Snowden’s leaks had implied that the United States had year earnings to be greater than $8.20 per share. It ty. spied on Brazil’s state-owned Petrobas oil firm to help US also forecast that operating revenue, which excludes “The fact that we target foreign companies for intelli- oil companies but the official said “that’s not true.” investment gains or losses, will grow about 4 percent gence is not part of any economic espionage,” said one The officials did not confirm or discuss why Petrobas to $73 billion. WellPoint had said in late January that senior intelligence official. The goal of economic intelli- may have been a focus for the spy agencies. Documents it expected earnings to be greater than $8 per share. gence efforts is “to support national security interests,” and leaked by Snowden reportedly include a slide that names Analysts forecast earnings of $8.37 per share on “not to try to help Boeing, “ he said. the oil giant as a target, but the purpose remains unclear. $73.45 billion in operating revenue. WellPoint is sell- The officials’ comments were part of a growing effort by Economic intelligence gathering and analysis was an ing coverage on 14 state-based health insurance the US intelligence community to argue its case after a increasingly crucial element to the spy agencies’ work, offi- exchanges created through the federal health care wave of leaks by Snowden that exposed the scale of US cials said, though it was aimed at trying to predict geopo- overhaul, a law designed to help millions of unin- electronic spying and sparked a global furor. litical trends and disrupt terrorists. sured people. Those exchanges started accepting Snowden, the fugitive former intelligence contractor “We could care less about a bank’s balance sheet,” said a enrollment for 2014 last fall, but many customers who has leaked a trove of classified documents, has second official, unless the funds are linked to weapons pro- were left frustrated by technical glitches and frequent accused the National Security Agency of waging economic liferation or extremist groups. The fact that the officials crashes, especially on the federal HealthCare.gov espionage and scooping up commercial information declined to be quoted by name highlighted how pervasive website, the main conduit for enrollment in many regardless of its value to national security. secrecy often hampers the intelligence community’s states. “If there is information, for example on Siemens, which attempts to counter Snowden and influence the public Government officials have said the websites are is in the national interest, but has nothing to do with debate over electronic spying. running much better now. WellPoint CEO Joseph national security, they will still use this information,” The top lawyer for the intelligence services acknowl- Swedish said in a statement on Friday that the Snowden said in a January interview broadcast by German edged this week that the Snowden leaks had forced the exchanges “are tracking our general expectations,” public television ARD. agencies to reflect on how much of their work should be and the company was encouraged so far by results shrouded in secrecy. “These leaks have forced the intelli- across its business. Industrial spying restricted gence community to rethink our approach to transparency The exchanges make up a relatively small slice of US officials vehemently rejected Snowden’s allegation and secrecy,” said Robert Litt, general counsel for the direc- WellPoint’s overall business, which also includes and point to legal restrictions that ban industrial spying tor of national intelligence. employer-sponsored coverage and enrollment in the under the 1996 Economic Espionage Act. Speaking at American University Washington College of government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. The While industrial snooping is prohibited, officials said the Law, Litt said he disapproved of Snowden’s leaks which insurer said its total medical enrollment could grow 3 law provides an exemption for the intelligence community had “seriously damaged our national security.” percent or 4 percent this year to almost 37 million to “collect for a valid foreign intelligence purpose” such as But if the intelligence agencies had been more forth- people. It trails only UnitedHealth Group Inc. in both countering the proliferaton of nuclear or other weapons, coming about their activities and the rules that govern revenue and enrollment. enforcing sanctions and tracking terrorist threats. them, the Snowden leaks likely would have proved less WellPoint Inc. shares climbed 69 cents to $100.40 Officials said they were not aware of any US intelligence damaging, he said. in premarket trading yesterday. The stock hit an all- officer being prosecuted or disciplined for carrying out “Going forward, I believe that the intelligence com- time high price of $100.59 on Wednesday, according industrial espionage in the past. munity is going to need to be much more forward-lean- to FactSet. — AP Although US intelligence agencies were not going after ing in what we tell the American people about what we trade secrets, it would be plausible and justified for the do.” — AFP 22, 2014 SATURDAY, MARCH MARCH SATURDAY, www.kuwaittimes.net

Police release new photos from Kurt Cobain suicide PAGE 25

Jagger comforted by daughters in Los Angeles

PAGE 24 SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Editta Sherman in front of the Gothic bridge in Central Park, which was Editta Sherman dressed in a Victorian period costume, on the train to a photo designed in 1860, in New York. shoot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 1972, in New York. Bill Cunningham’s ‘Facade’ photos at NYC museum

ill Cunningham is a familiar presence on the social and A former hat maker, Cunningham’s models are featured in fashion pages of The New York Times, and the streets of fantastical headdress. In one composition, Sherman wears a BNew York City, riding a bicycle with a small camera bag fur pillbox that playfully mimics the spiral lines of Frank Lloyd strapped to his waist. But long before his images of street fash- Wright’s Guggenheim Museum. In another, a large hat brim- ion became a regular newspaper feature, Cunningham spent ming with oversized feathers and flowers perched high on eight years, from 1968 to 1976, working on a whimsical photo Sherman’s head is used as a perfect counterpoint to the sculp- essay of models in period costumes posing against historic sites of the same vintage. Astride his bike, he searched secondhand shops for antique clothing and looked for architectural sites across the city to create the perfect tableaux, many of which featured his muse and fellow photographer, Editta Sherman. The result was “Facades,” a book published in 1978. Now, nearly all of the 88 gelatin silver prints from the series, which Cunningham donat- ed to the New-York Historical Society, are featured in an exhi- bition there. “Bill Cunningham: Facades” runs through June 15.

This photo provided by the New-York Historical Society shows the photographer Bill Cunningham’s muse Editta Sherman in front of the Associated Press Building at Rockefeller Center, which was built ca 1939, in New York. — AP photos A humble and private man, the 85-year-old photographer said at the exhibition opening that he rarely paid more than a few dollars for any of his finds. “I’m crazy about fashion and I’m mad about architecture,” he said. “It was all here in New York City.” Cunningham and Sherman, a celebrity photographer of Bill Cunningham’s muse Editta Sherman in front of St famous artists and musicians who died at age 101 last year, Paul’s Chapel and Churchyard, which was built ca 1766- were neighbors in the Carnegie Hall Studios, once live-work 96, in New York. spaces for artists, musicians and actors above the famous music emporium. They often rode the subway to the various ture of Hercules, Minerva and Mercury on the clock atop Grand locations to avoid wrinkling the costumes. An amusing photo Central Terminal. “I don’t think he ever thought of it as a fash- in the exhibition shows Sherman sitting in a graffiti-covered ion project,” said the show’s curator, Valerie Paley. “It’s more a subway car resplendent in Victorian dress. social, architectural and fashion history of the city. ... He saw The “Facades” project demonstrates that Cunningham is the grace of old architecture, the lines and the architectural “clearly somebody that knows the history of fashion thorough- integrity.” Architectural preservation in New York City was in ly and is in love with all aspects of fashion, not just what’s its infancy when Cunningham began work on the photo trendy this season but the aesthetic value of fashion in any series. Just a few years earlier, two of the city’s masterpieces - period,” said Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of The the original Penn Station and the Hotel Astor (the Waldorf Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology. Astoria’s predecessor) were demolished. His interplay of fashion and architecture “just shows how much he knows,” that fashion has to do with art, style and Crazy about fashion change over time, she added. That knowledge is abundantly But while Cunningham may not have been making a state- obvious from the pencil notations he jotted on the back of the ment about preservation, said Paley, “he certainly was seeing prints. In his evocation of the Civil War era, he wrote that the beauty where others weren’t seeing it.” The exhibition also period’s brightly colored fabrics were made possible by “the recounts some of the amusing stories of Cunningham’s vin- industrial revolution in textile dye from natural to chemical.” tage clothing expeditions. One of his earliest finds was a 1770s Bill Cunningham’s muse Editta Sherman wearing a cos- “Almost as an anthropologist,” Paley said, Cunningham mob-cap of white lace and taffeta that a thrift store had mis- tume ca 1910, in front of Federal Hall, which was built ca recorded his field notes about the history of the buildings and taken for a chair doily. He paid $2 for it. 1842, in New York. the costumes. — AP SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

New York City mayors turn to comedy at annual show

Indian Bollywood actor Sidhant Singh poses with actress Priti Sharma on the set of the Hindi Film ‘Hum Toh Loot Liye’ in Mumbai on March 20, 2014. — AFP In this March 10, 2014 photo provided by the New York City Mayor’s Office, Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, and actor ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ review: Steve Buscemi lift weights during the production of a video to promote the city’s annual Inner Circle dinner, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. — AP udolph Giuliani donning drag. Edward Koch stepping out of Superheroic, yes, but the mouth of a man-eating plant. Michael Bloomberg wear- Ring a harness and flying 20 feet in the air while dressed as Spiderman. The annual Inner Circle, the New York City news media’s answer to the White House Correspondents’ Association smart and subversive too dinner, gives mayors a chance to let their hair down - or, just as likely, put on a wig - and poke fun at both themselves and the city n one of the many Paddy Chayefsky- treatise about geopolitics as much as it’s a with Fury learning he needs to open up and they lead. Their appearances, which attempt to earn goodwill with penned monologues in “Network” that movie where a ripped guy throws a shield in have faith in his fellow man, it’s actually the reporters who cover them, also can help shape their image in Istill resonate today, Peter Finch’s news- people’s faces, but it does all the things it’s Captain America who discovers that not all the public eye. man Howard Beale rails against one of televi- supposed to do very well. If you’re just here things are as they seem, and that even those “At a time when it is hard to break through the 24-hour media sion’s dramatic shortcomings: “We’ll tell you to watch Cap (Chris Evans) beat up a bunch who wear the colors of democracy and liber- cycle, this is one way to do it and to do it in a way that is positive anything you want to hear; we lie like hell. of well-trained tough guys in a tiny elevator, ty might be in disguise. and self-effacing,” said Jeanne Zaino, political science professor at We’ll tell you that Kojak always gets the killer, you’ll get that in spades, but if you prefer Fury’s boss in the state department, Iona College. It will give new Mayor Bill de Blasio “a chance to reach or that nobody ever gets cancer at Archie superhero movies that allow themselves to Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), is the a broader and different audience in a positive way.” Saturday’s Bunker’s house, and no matter how much run a gamut wider than A to B, there’s that as film’s major new character, so it’s not a big show, which features a two-act reporters’ production followed by trouble the hero is in, don’t worry, just look well. We find Captain America still adjusting surprise when he winds up being the turn- the mayor’s rebuttal show, will mark de Blasio’s debut and comes at your watch; at the end of the hour he’s to life in modern-day Washington, DC, after coat who’s behind turning SHIELD’s domes- at a time when the mayor could use a good headline. He has seen going to win. We’ll tell you any s-t you want decades in suspended animation, getting tic surveillance program into a deadly bit of his poll numbers tumble, he’s dealt with a few political missteps - to hear.” music recommendations from a new friend, social engineering. And given Redford’s past from calling the NYPD to inquire about the arrest of a political ally This isn’t always the case nowadays, of veteran Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), and participation in classics like “All the to the handling of a pair of snowstorms - and he has enjoyed less- course; groundbreaking series from “Buffy fending off matchmaking suggestions from President’s Men” and “The Three Days of the than-warm relations with the City Hall press corps. But de Blasio the Vampire Slayer” to “The Wire” to “Game seems game to make a good impression. The mayor, who fre- of Thrones” presented worlds in which even quently cracks jokes at public events - to varying levels of success - beloved characters could suddenly die with- released a video this week in which he “trains” for the performance out warning. And if a character from “Mad with actor Steve Buscemi. In the short video, de Blasio practices his Men” threatens to decamp for another jazz hands, pretends to growl like an animal and even uses a ven- agency, the show doesn’t contrive to make triloquist’s dummy to poke fun at an incident earlier this year when him or her have a change of heart by the end he was caught not using his hands to eat his city’s signature dish. of the episode. “He eats pizza with a knife and fork and they call me a dummy?” de Still, in any serialized drama, the norm is Blasio has the doll say, badly. Details about de Blasio’s appearance to offer the threat of change or imbalance have largely been kept under wraps. But the mayor, a Democrat, is before quickly reverting to the status quo. expected to forgo enlisting the help of a Broadway cast like That’s the kind of safety net that can creep Bloomberg did, instead opting for a no-frills performance featuring into movie franchises as well. In the cinemat- a few celebrity friends. “Our basic philosophy is that you can never ic Disney-Marvel universe, for instance, have too much Steve Buscemi,” mayoral spokeswoman Rebecca SHIELD is always the good guy and HYDRA is Katz said. The reporters’ show is always filled with jokes - some always the villain and superheroes have a cringe-worthy - and a parody of songs that make fun of that year’s clear-cut moral agenda with no wiggle room current events, including a 2008 reworking of the song “Love for the complications of the real world. Potion No. 9” as “Client No. 9,” to mock former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s alias in the prostitution case that led to his resignation. Outside safety zone Until now, that is. With “Captain America: Absurd costumes The Winter Soldier,” the corporations behind This year’s show, which will be held in a Manhattan hotel ball- one of the most lucrative series in contempo- room in front of a crowd of journalists and politicians, is entitled rary cinema dare to step outside of their safe- “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” It pokes fun at de Blasio’s efforts to ty zone, not only tossing the building blocks From left, actors Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and combat income inequality by portraying him as a vigilante trying of a film and television canon up in the air Hayley Atwell pose for photographers at the UK premiere for the movie to steal from the rich to give to the poor. but also using a mainstream entertainment Captain America: The Winter Soldier in London, Thursday. — AP But the spotlight is inevitably stolen by the mayor’s response. to ask provocative questions about our own Bloomberg, known for his buttoned-up persona, surprisingly drew big laughs on stage every year. He would dress in absurd cos- government and about the compromises the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). After Condor,” who better to be part of a vast, tumes, from a hippie to a superhero, and his deadpan, understated that we are willing to make in a technologi- Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) sends the paranoia-inducing conspiracy within the US performance meshed nicely with the silliness erupting around him. cal world where privacy is rapidly disappear- Captain and the Widow to rescue a SHIELD government? Mayors have enlisted big names to help: David Dinkins did a fake ing around us. That screenwriters ship that has been taken hostage, and Cap With Fury being taken off the chessboard newscast with Mary Tyler Moore, while John Lindsay did a song Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely discovers that the Black Widow has a side early on, it’s up to Captain America, Black with actress Florence Henderson. But Giuliani’s turn as “Rudia” (“Thor: The Dark World”), working from a sto- agenda involving data in the ship’s comput- Widow and Sam - whom comics readers remains the show’s most unforgettable highlight. ry by comic book writer Ed Brubaker, and ers, the shield-slinger gets angry with his know as The Falcon, brought to the screen in The brash conservative donned a pink gown, blond wig, high directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo could boss about being kept in the dark. a thrilling way - to uncover just what’s going heels and makeup to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr President” on stage ask these kinds of questions in an “Avengers” on and how to stop it. (Marvel fans will also in 1997 and brought the character back three years later. The sur- film would be achievement enough, but to People in disguise get a kick out of the inclusion of characters prising turn graced the tabloid front pages and became a punch- bring them up in a Captain America movie Fury and Cap have an argument early on like Jasper Sitwell and Batroc, although their line for David Letterman for weeks. —AP feels downright subversive. about trusting people, and while you’re screen incarnations differ greatly from their Ultimately, of course, this sequel isn’t a expecting that a movie like this would end four-color versions.) —Reuters SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 ‘Stomach-churning’ film on child trafficking opens in India n award-winning film spotlight- Andhra Pradesh, and there have since able and disturbing in parts because ing the problem of child traffick- been more than 100 successful cases of we are numb to statistics and until I Aing in India opened in cinemas girls bringing their abductors to book met these women I was also desensi- yesterday based on the true story of a in the state. Tens of thousands of chil- tized. I needed to serve the story and girl sold into the sex trade who fought dren are trafficked within South Asia not sensationalize it.” Social commen- to see her kidnappers convicted. every year and India has become a hub tator Shobhaa De wrote in a recent col- Described as “stomach-churning” by in the trade of girls for prostitution. umn in the Mumbai Mirror that the film one commentator, Hindi-language Kukunoor said he heard “story after was “a savage story, savagely told”. “I “Lakshmi” was directed by Nagesh story of inhuman behavior” from could watch just 70 per cent of what Kukunoor who also stars in it as a ruth- women at the rescue centre. “In spite was being projected in the darkened less pimp. He said he was inspired to of the abuse they had endured, these theatre, without throwing up or rush- make the film after meeting a girl, women were having a normal conver- ing out of the screening, unable to take whose real name is not revealed, on a sation with me which was a testimony any more of the relentless, stomach visit to a rescue centre on India’s south- to their resilience,” the director said. churning and exceedingly graphic bru- eastern coast. “Lakshmi”, an independent film that tality on screen,” she wrote. — AFP “A 14-year-old forced into prostitu- won an audience award at the Palm tion who, when she got away, had the Springs Film Festival in the United courage to take her traffickers to court States this year, has been certified for and set a precedent was a compelling adults only when it opened across In this photograph taken on late story,” Kukunoor told AFP. “When I met India yesterday. “There is no way to February 5, 2014, Indian Bollywood her she was 17 and living and working sugarcoat child trafficking and yet I do film director Nagesh Kukunoor ges- in the rescue centre.” The director said not show any sexual activity-it is tures during a panel discussion for the verdict in the girl’s case was the implied,” explained Kukunoor. ‘Save and Empower The Girl Child’ first of its kind in his home state, “However I have made it uncomfort- in Mumbai. — AFP Kate Bush to play London gigs, 35 years after only tour

ritish singer Kate Bush yesterday announced a surprise series of live Bshows in London later this year, 35 years after her one and only tour. The 55-year-old, who recently launched a new album, “50 Words For Snow”, will play 15 dates at the Hammersmith Apollo in August and September, she announced on her website. Bush had her first number one in Britain at the age of 19 with “Wuthering Heights” in 1978, and went on tour the following year. But despite going on to produce a string of hits, including “Running Up That Hill” and “The Man with the Child in his Eyes”, she has only made occasional live performances since then. In a rare interview with Mojo magazine in 2011, she explained that touring was “enor- mously enjoyable. But physically it was absolutely exhausting”. She added: “Maybe I Kate Bush will do some shows some day. I’d like to think forming some live shows this coming August so before I get too ancient.”The London con- and September,” she wrote on her website. “I 2NE1 certs run from August 26 to September 19, hope you will be able to join us and I look for- and tickets go on sale on March 28. “I am ward to seeing you there. Very best wishes, delighted to announce that we will be per- Kate.” — AFP Jagger comforted by daughters in Los Angeles ick Jagger is being comforted by his daughters in Los Angeles after postpon- K-pop girl group 2NE1 Ming a Rolling Stones tour following his girlfriend’s suicide in New York, a spokesman said Thursday. The grieving Stones frontman flew from Australia to California, where one of his embark on Asian tour daughters lives and two others are staying fol- outh Korean girl group 2NE1 will ettes of the four girls standing tall on the lowing L’Wren Scott’s shock death. It remains embark on a nine-city Asian tour this planet and walking off into space. unclear when the funeral will be held for the for- weekend following the release of their ”Crush” ranked second on the US mer model turned fashion designer, who was S found hanged in her luxury apartment on new album “Crush”, their agent said yester- Billboard K-pop chart yesterday, and was day. Starting in Hong Kong on Saturday, the 61st on the US Billboard top 200 in early Monday. “No information on funeral yet,” Jagger’s spokesman Bernard Doherty told AFP in group will travel through nine other cities March, a week after its release.2NE1, one of an email, confirming the 70-year-old was in Los until July 13 — Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, South Korea’s most successful girl groups, Angeles with his daughters, but giving no further Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, are popular across much of Asia and details. Kanagawa and Hyogo. beyond. His daughter Karis lives in Los Angeles, while This Feb 16, 2012 file photo shows Their agent said tour concerts would be K-pop has garnered an increasing num- Elizabeth and Georgia May are also staying here, singer Mick Jagger, right, with designer co-directed by US choreographers Stacy ber of international fans particularly follow- according to media reports. The Stones post- L’Wren Scott after her Fall 2012 collec- Walker and Travis Payne. The quartet have ing the global success of Psy’s “Gangnam poned their tour of Australia and New Zealand tion was modeled during Fashion Week, unveiled a pink-and-purple teaser poster for Style”, the most popular video of all time on on Tuesday. —AFP in New York. — AP their new album and tour, showing silhou- YouTube with 1.7 billion views. SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

This April 1994 photo provided by the Seattle Police Department shows items found at the scene of Kurt Cobain’s suicide, in Seattle. — AP photos Police release new photos from Kurt Cobain suicide eattle police on Thursday released pre- ready to answer questions in connection with Mudhoney. Cobain grew up in the logging viously unseen images showing drug next month’s anniversary, she said. “There’s town of Aberdeen, Wash, about two hours Sparaphernalia from the scene of still a lot of interest in this case,” Witt said. southwest of Seattle. After he died thousands Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s suicide 20 “The detective went into the case files to of young people converged on Seattle years ago. Police spokeswoman Renee Witt refresh himself. The outcome of the case has Center, near the Space Needle, for a public said that a detective who recently reviewed not changed.” memorial. the Cobain case files found several rolls of Cobain’s body was discovered in Seattle Though his death was ruled a suicide undeveloped film that were taken at the sui- on April 8, 1994. An investigation determined some refused to believe that, leading to con- cide scene. The images released late that days earlier Cobain had gone into the spiracy theories that Cobain had been killed. Thursday were from that discovery. One greenhouse of his large home and taken a In a statement on the Seattle Police shows a box containing a spoon and what massive dose of heroin. He then shot himself Department’s online blotter, the detective look like needles on the floor next to half a with a 20-gauge shotgun. Earlier that year, who re-examined the case dismissed that cigarette and sunglasses. The other showed Cobain had tried to kill himself in Rome by speculation. “Sometimes people believe what the paraphernalia box closed, next to cash, a taking an overdose of tranquilizers. they read some of the disinformation from cigarette pack and a wallet that appears to Cobain, who was 27 when he died, sold some of the books, that this was a conspiracy. show Cobain’s identification. millions of albums with Nirvana and helped That’s completely inaccurate,” said Detective “There was nothing earth-shattering in popularize the Pacific Northwest’s heavy, Mike Ciesynski, who found the four rolls of any of these images,” Witt said. Police took muddy “grunge” rock, along with bands like undeveloped crime-scene photos. “It’s a sui- In this 1993 file photo, lead singer of another look at the Cobain suicide to be Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and cide. This is a closed case.” — AP Nirvana Kurt Cobain is photographed. ‘Noah’ starts fast with $1.1 million Lady Gaga first day at adds K-pop act to Korean box office North America tour he Russell Crowe Biblical saga “Noah” -pop made fresh inroads YouTube. Lady Gaga’s tour kicks off Tgot off to a fast start overseas debut. Thursday when Lady Gaga May 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but The effects-heavy action epic from revealed that South Korean girl Crayon Pop will join the star’s caval- Paramount Pictures and Regency K group Crayon Pop will open her cade seven weeks later in Milwaukee, Enterprises took in $1.1 million from 730 upcoming summer concerts in Wisconsin and remain until the screens on Thursday in Korea, the highest Canada and the United States. “I’m scheduled finale in Los Angeles. opening day in 2014 for the territory. The excited to announce June 26 through Last week Lady Gaga, who turns gross is on par with “Gravity’s” first-day July 22 of Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: The 28 next week, raised eyebrows dur- total in Korea - and better than the ARTPOP Ball will be opened by CRAY- ing a club gig at the South by $950,000 that “Inception” took in on its ON POP!,” the “Mother Monster” Southwest (SXSW) festival in Texas first day there in 2010, Paramount said. announced on her @ladygaga Twitter when she had a British “vomit artist” Only so much can be drawn from a big feed. The candy-colored quintet regurgitate colored soy milk onto her debut in a single territory, but both of topped the K-pop charts last year cleavage. That prompted New Jersey those films went on to take in more than when their danceable ditty “Bar Bar resident Chris Wolverton to launch $400 million overseas. “Noah” is directed Bar”-featuring their signature helmets an online petition at Care2.com by Darren Aronofsky and co-stars and piston-style line dancing-went accusing her of “glamorizing bulimia” Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly and viral on YouTube. and demanding she halt using Emma Watson. International grosses will South Korean pop music has an “imagery” that could impact on teens be critical for the $125 million “Noah,” avid cult following in the West, but it with eating disorders. Lady Gaga her- which is tracking to open in the $40 mil- broke into the mainstream in self said in 2012 that she wrestled lion range when it makes its US debut on Lady Gaga November 2012 when “Gangnam with bulimia and anorexia from the March 28. — Reuters Style” by Psy became, and remains, age of 15, prompting a debate on the most-viewed video ever on social media. — AFP SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 4 free things to do in historic Boston he city of Boston is known for Charlestown to the site of the Battle its “wicked” rich history, to use of Bunker Hill. Visitors can stop at Ta term the locals love, going any of the 16 designated sites from back to the Boston Tea Party and museums to graveyards to churches roots of the American Revolution. and meetinghouses dating back to But pride is not limited to the past: the 17th century. The city is also home to the World One notable spot is the home of Series champion Red Sox team. Paul Revere, famous for the ride he Historic landmarks are scattered made on horseback to warn across the downtown from 17th colonists that the British were com- century churches and meetinghous- ing. The 1680 wooden home is the es to some of the nation’s oldest oldest existing building downtown. schools. And taking in the sites Another memorable site is the

This undated image provided by the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau shows Faneuil Hall in Boston, which was used as a meetinghouse during the American Revolution. — AP photos

park. Located in the center of the from Boston, the school’s alumni and Mark Zuckerberg. A stroll city at the start of the Freedom Trail, include many important Americans, around the Ivy League campus pro- File photo shows tourists visiting the Paul Revere House in the North the park remains a vibrant part of including President Barack Obama, vides a look at quaint historic build- End neighborhood of Boston. city life. On any given day, it’s filled Chief US Supreme Justice John ings as well as more modern innova- with people relaxing or jogging. In Roberts, and tech giants Bill Gates tive architecture. — AP won’t cost you a penny. Just remem- nation’s oldest public school, called winter there’s ice skating; in warm ber that the cramped vintage streets the Boston Latin School, which was weather, fireworks and concerts. are better tackled on foot than by attended by four signers of the car. This spring will mark the one- Declaration of Independence: Ben Faneuil Hall year anniversary of a tragic event in Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Another signature landmark on the resilient city’s recent history: the Hancock and Robert Treat Paine. the Freedom Trail is Faneuil Hall, Boston Marathon bombing, which The trail also passes the Old used as a meetinghouse during the will be marked by a memorial serv- South Meeting House where American Revolution. The famous ice. The marathon takes place this colonists planned their protest phrase “no taxation without repre- year on April 21. against the British tax on tea. The sentation” was coined under this event became known as the Boston very roof. Today the building is a Freedom trail Tea Party, where revolutionists retail center with clothing shops, The city’s most trekked tourist dumped 340 crates of tea into the entertainment and great food. attraction is the 2.5-mile (4-kilome- city harbor. ter) bricked pathway that takes visi- Harvard University tors on a tour of Boston’s past. The Boston common Harvard University is the coun- route starts in the heart of the city at With a view of the beautiful gold- try’s first institution of higher educa- This undated image provided by Explore Asheville shows people gath- Boston Common and winds its way en-topped State House, Boston tion, dating back to 1636. Located in ering at Pack Square Park in Asheville, NC, near the county courthouse, over the Charles River to Common is America’s oldest public Cambridge, just a short distance left, and City Hall on the right. Norwegian museum agrees to return looted Matisse Norwegian museum says it has agreed to return was taken by Goering after Rosenberg fled to New York a Matisse once looted by Hermann Goering to in 1940, and sold to a Parisian art dealer later convicted Athe family of Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg. of dealing in Nazi looted art. It was acquired from a dif- The 1937 painting, “Woman in Blue in Front of a ferent French gallery in 1950 by Onstad, who was Fireplace,” has been the centerpiece of the Henie apparently unaware of its provenance. Onstad Art Center near Oslo since the museum was The museum investigated the painting’s past only established in 1968 by shipping magnate Niels Onstad after being notified by the Rosenberg family of their and his wife, Olympic figure-skating champion Sonja claim to it in June 2012. The museum said that in the Henie. wake of the investigation - which it believes is the first The museum said in a statement Thursday that of its kind undertaken in Norway - it has called upon the although it acquired the painting in good faith, it has country’s government to establish a committee to actu- This undated file pho- “chosen to adhere to international conventions and ally meet its obligations under the Washington to released by Henie return the painting to Rosenberg’s heirs.” Norway is a Principles. Similar reviews have been launched in the Onstad Kunstsenter on signatory of the 1998 Washington Conference US, Netherlands and Germany. Friday, April 5, 2013, Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, which requires “Ultimately, it was the strength of the moral claim shows the painting museums to review their collections for potentially loot- that persuaded the Henie Onstad Art Center to restitute “Woman in Blue in ed works and when such a work is found, to try to this painting unconditionally to the Rosenberg heirs,’ Front of a Fireplace,” locate rightful owners. said Chris Marinello of Art Recovery Group, a lawyer circa 1937 by Henry Now worth an estimated $20 million, the painting representing the family. — AP Matisse. — AP SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Tokyo Runway 2014 spring summer collections

Models wear creations by Japanese fashion brand Desigual during the Tokyo Runway 2014 spring sum- mer collections in Tokyo yester- day. —AP/AFP photos

Kate Spade VICKY Katie Holmes and Jeanne Yang close fashion line atie Holmes and celebrity stylist Jeanne the works,” Sloane-Zelnick said. “They have Yang knew it would happen one day: different lives now.” Holmes was on hand in KThey’ve shut down the fashion compa- New York in February to attend Donna ny they started together. “It’s a 5-year-old Karan’s anniversary show. Holmes and Yang business that they always knew was going to described the fashion mix they offered last end,” Leslie Sloane-Zelnick, a publicist for the fall as “wearable elegance,” including a black actress, said Thursday. There was no formal silk V-neck gown with leather piping and a announcement but word first circulated khaki camp-style shirtdress with a lace-up V about a month ago. “They still remain good at the neck. friends,” Sloane-Zelnick said. “The timing was This Sept 24, 2009 There was a bralette paired with a tie-front due to the fact that they have other projects file photo released blazer and men’s-style trousers. Nowadays, in their lives right now and they live on sepa- by Perrier Jouet Yang is busy “styling major people in LA,” the rate coasts. And this is what they always Champagne shows publicist said, and Holmes is in a movie about planned.” actress Katie a school teacher, “Miss Meadows,” that will Last September, the two were on hand at Holmes, right, and premiere next month at the 13th annual New York Fashion Week, presenting only 14 Jeanne Yang at the Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, the spring looks in a Chelsea gallery, but they did- Holmes & Yang “Dawson’s Creek” actress plans a return to TV n’t show at fashion week last month. The rea- launch party in Los in a starring role, in an ABC pilot for a drama son? Closing down Holmes & Yang was “in Angeles. — AP about a New York City socialite. — AP SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Darling by Little Berry Rich

f you have a taste for the dramatic and multifaceted mirror, which adds a dynamic darkly romantic, you can now transform dimension to the room. In order to restore Iyour dining room into a den of deca- some balance, keep the rest of the setup dence with THE One’s daring Rock & Rose quite simple. home fashion style. Opt for a plain carpet and basic white To set the scene for deco drama, go for crockery in your table setting to neutralise a striking colour palette of raven black and the dramatic palate, but don’t be afraid to deep red with gunmetal grey and hints of pick up the red in the tumblers and taper green. Think clean-lined furniture in dark candles. wood and a heavy dose of accessories with When turning your attention to light- attitude: bold print wallpaper and chunky ing, go for a funky, mismatched trio of weathered mirrors, wild weaves and wordy smoke grey, blown glass pendant lamps wall art. The key to pulling off this look is over the table and balance out the quirki- to create a lot of drama, but keep it organ- ness with a pair of elegant black table ised in groups. The drama lies in the colour lamps on the sideboard. Finally, add pops and pattern combinations: the statement of bright green in the form of basil plants wallpaper with its oversized roses, the and a bunch of leafy red roses to bring it all Dear Princess exaggerated repetition of the typographi- to life and you’re all set for a rocking dinner cal wall art, the ‘loud’ animal/floral print party where romance just might be on the

Ricori cushion and throw as well as the oversized menu! SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Federer dresses for success on tennis court

oger Federer says making a fashion statement is sits in his box at Grand Slam tournaments. He’s won difficult, despite being friends with Anna the tournament near Miami twice, in 2005 and ‘06. RWintour. Speaking Thursday on the eve of his Federer said he’s learned a lot about fashion during his opening match at the Sony Open, Federer said he’s career. “My advice probably is you’ve got to make sure already contemplating what to wear for the 2015 US you wear the clothes and not the clothes wear you,” Open. “It’s kind of hard sometimes to put myself in the he said. “Don’t wear something you totally feel right mindset to know, am I going to like stripes in one uncomfortable with, but take some chances. Play and a half years?” said Federer, with a smile. “I’m not around a bit. sure, you know? Right now I maybe do, but in one and “I felt very uncomfortable in suits when I was a half years, it’s maybe not so cool.” younger. So what I just started doing was wearing Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, wants to suits when I was going to dinner. I used to overdress a play well and look good. He has a popular line of ten- little bit, so I got used to wearing suits. Now wearing a nis apparel, and Vogue editor-in-chief Wintour often suit is like wearing a track suit for me.” — AP GAP presents ‘Lived-In’ spring campaign featuring cast of emerging artists ived-In,’ Gap’s global market- finding emerging talent from around ing campaign celebrates an the globe and sharing them with the ‘Lauthentic attitude, also cap- world in an authentic and meaningful tured in the brand’s spring product way,” said Seth Farbman, Gap’s collection featuring a modern and Global Chief Marketing Officer. “For youthful interpretation of classic, 45 years, Gap has celebrated individ- Roger Federer, from Switzerland, returns the ball during prac- casual styles. ual style, and as demonstrated tice at the Sony Open tennis tournament at Crandon Park in Key For years, Gap has shared its belief through ‘Lived-In,’ there’s just some- Biscayne on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. — AP in the power of the individual by thing about a well-loved denim jean highlighting people who are always or washed out cotton tee that truly expresses a person’s character.” The campaign will appear in March issues of national magazines, Depp makes first promotional visit outdoor in cultural hubs of key mar- kets and across Gap’s social media with a new washed down color to China, hawking ‘Transcendence’ channels. In partnership with Vogue palette and fabrics that look and feel magazine, Gap created a first-ever like you’ve owned them forever. ohnny Depp will tactile fabric print ad for their March “For spring, we’ve recognized the make his first visit issue, which includes a fabric logo brand’s iconic pieces - khakis, denim Jto China to pro- made from the cotton of a worn-in and tees - as the focal points, and mote through the feel of the fabric and “Transcendence,” the shade of colors, brought ‘Lived-In’ to film’s backers said life through design,” said Rebekka Thursday DMG, which Bay, Gap’s Creative Director. “We’ve is producing and dis- created a complete and cohesive col- tributing the film lection for all divisions that goes along with Warner beyond any one product category Bros. and Alcon and any one customer.” Entertainment, said it Standout styles in the women’s is planning a series of collection include the Broken-In promotional events in Straight and Boyfriend Roll Up Short the country that will bottoms, which pair with the see Depp appear Sunwashed Fleece and Washed alongside the most their most authentic selves. This sea- Boyfriend Shirt. Chinese actors, musi- son, the “Lived-In” attitude is brought For men, highlights include the cians, and artists and to life by a cast of emerging and tal- popular Lived-In Khaki and Lived-In will be broadcast ented young artists including musi- Cargo Short, topped with the Lived- across China. It will be cians, singers, actors and photogra- In Shirt, which is available in both Depp’s only interna- phers. solids and patterns. tional promotional Unveiled worldwide, the cam- activity for the sci- paign includes Trinidadian born ence-fiction adven- American recording artist Theophilus ture. The actor had London; English singer-songwriters been scheduled to Birdy and Anna Calvi; American tee. The campaign was developed in touch down in China last summer to promote “The Lone actors RJ Mitte and Julia Garner; Gap’s Creative Center in New York in Ranger,” but his appearance was scuttled after the country’s film Swedish photographer Lina partnership with Peterson Milla Hook. board shifted the picture’s release date. China-based DMG has Scheynius; and American singer- used its connections in the country to pull off a similar promo- songwriter and record producer Spring 2014 collection tional visit for Robert Downey Jr. last summer. That trip was tied Ernest Green (performing under the The spring collection, the first line to the release of “Iron Man 3.” The comic book movie went on to stage name Washed Out). Each artist developed by Creative Director gross more than $120 million, giving a sense of the size and was photographed by David Sims, Rebekka Bay, continues Gap’s expres- potential of the Chinese box office. who is known for his ability to cap- sion of American optimism and casu- China passed Japan as the second largest film market in ture his subject’s own easy style - a al style that feels as authentic as the 2012 and many industry experts predict its box office will even- confidence and comfort that can only talents of the artist wearing them in tually eclipse that of the United States. In addition to Depp, be expressed in clothes that you can the campaign. The collection is both “Transcendence” stars Rebecca Hall and Morgan Freeman. truly live in. authentic and relaxed - encompass- Wally Pfister, the cinematographer behind “Inception,” directs “We are proud of our tradition of ing women, men, kids and babies, all the picture. — Reuters TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 TOMS thrives Alibaba investment gives mixing business with social good Tango a reason to dance

VANCOUVER: From putting shoes on poor children’s feet to providing Internet from balloons in the sky, Internet Age compa- Chinese group investing $215 million nies are catching on to the power of mixing business with social good. SAN FRANCISCO: Tango is joining the technology blogs that cited people Alibaba is also privately held, but is TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie championed the idea at a conga line of mobile messaging services familiar with the negotiations. Yet anoth- preparing to sell its stock later this year prestigious TED conference, adding coffee to the “one-for-one” that have turned into hot commodities er mobile messaging specialist, Viber in an initial public offering that could model for which his California firm is known. The serial entrepre- as more people use them to communi- Media, sold for $900 million last month raise $15 billion. Its IPO is being hotly neur was traveling when an encounter with women in cate and share photos, music and other to Japan’s Rakuten Inc. anticipated because it has built the most Argentina led to him join them on a charity outing to give content. It’s likely that Tango is now valued at prosperous e-commerce site in China. closed-toe shoes to poor children barred from getting into China’s Alibaba Group is making the more than $1 billion, although the pri- Mobile messaging might open up more school without proper footwear. The experience inspired him to latest big bet on the trend with a $215 vately held company isn’t disclosing the ways for merchants to sell their goods launch TOMS nearly seven years ago to sell shoes that come million investment in Tango and its 200 size of the stake being sold to Alibaba. through Alibaba, although Setton says with a promise that for each pair bought, a pair is given to a child million registered users. Tango, a Tango has raised a total $367 million Alibaba’s investment doesn’t include the in need. Mountain View, California, startup, has since its inception. rights to use the Tango app as part of its Mycoskie ran the business out of his apartment, as a sideline, accumulated the audience in just four The latest infusion will be used to business. Tango, WhatsApp and similar for months until TOMS became a fashion industry sensation; years since the debut of its mobile mes- expand Tango’s workforce of 160 services have exploded in popularity stores began ringing him up and “we were in the shoe business.” saging service. Another group of employees and develop more features during the past few years after they He added eyewear to his line-up, donating sight-saving med- investors that includes Yahoo co- for its service, according to its co- released applications made for the ical treatment for each pair of glasses sold. founder Jerry Yang is anteing an addi- founder Eric Setton. iPhone and Android smartphones. Those tional $65 million to raise the total fund- Tango’s audience is half the size of applications, collectively, have supplant- Internet in the sky ing round to $280 million. WhatsApp, which boasts more than 450 ed sending traditional texts through the TOMS Coffee Roasting Company, launched this month, Alibaba is buying into Tango’s future million users. Alibaba launched its own services of telecommunications applies the premise to beans, guaranteeing 140 liters of clean just a month after online social network- mobile messaging service last year, but providers as the most popular way for water to a person in need for each bag sold. TOMS partnered ing leader Facebook Inc announced now has a piece of a larger player in the people on the go to keep in touch with with non-profit Water For People on the project. “The Internet plans to acquire mobile messaging serv- communications space. “We were simply their friends and family. The apps also and technology allow the concept of not having to be a ice WhatsApp for $19 billion. That deal blown away by the vision and quality of accommodate more than just texts. Rockefeller to make a difference in the world,” Mycoskie told AFP came together after another mobile the team at Tango and believe they have Tango, for instance, allows music to be on Thursday at a TED gathering where he was serving up coffee. messaging service, Snapchat, rejected a a disruptive way of looking at the mobile shared through Spotify’s streaming serv- A day earlier, on the TED stage, Google co-founder Larry Page $3 billion takeover offer from Facebook, and messaging opportunity,” said Joe ice and also provides social networking opined on how passionate entrepreneurs could be more effec- according to reports in newspapers and Tsai, Alibaba’s executive vice chairman. services. — AP tive than charities in tackling social woes. “Most people think companies are basically evil,” Page said during an interview with Charlie Rose. “That is not what we need, especially in technology; we need change.” Failed MtGox exchange finds Google’s Loon project envisioning free Wi-Fi hot-spots in high-altitude balloons provides hope for the “two-thirds of the 200,000 Bitcoins in old wallet world that don’t have Internet,” Page said. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, and Salesforce.com leader Marc Benioff, are among Silicon Valley titans standing up for the idea that compa- ny’s can make money while making the world a better place. New find worth $116 million Tesla founder Elon Musk has a vision of human colonies on Mars, a mission he is in a stronger position to take on than a TOKYO: Failed Bitcoin exchange MtGox charity, both Page and Mycoskie reasoned. “There is a great says it has found 200,000 coins worth advantage to being a for-profit business tied to a mission and a $116 million in an old “digital wallet”, purpose,” the TOMS founder said. after it collapsed in February admitting it “We can use our profits to go after different causes.” The had lost half a billion dollars in a possible Internet has helped people of all ages tune into global issues theft. The Tokyo-based digital currency and allowed them to check whether companies follow through exchange filed for bankruptcy protection on vows for social good. For example, people can go online to in Japan last month, saying it had lost see where TOMS water wells spring up. 850,000 coins worth nearly $500 million “TOMS is transforming an act as simple as buying a pound of at present prices. coffee into a way for shoppers to make a meaningful impact in But 200,000 Bitcoins were left in a communities around the world,” said John Mackey, co-founder “wallet” used before June 2011, the com- of Whole Food Market chain, which carries the coffee. pany said in a statement on its website on Thursday. Bitcoin wallets are used for Good deeds beat ads online transactions between currency Mycoskie was adamant that integrating social causes into holders. business models attracts passionate, talented employees and The new find would be worth $116 inspires loyalty in customers, both of which are boons to compa- million, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin ny bottom lines. “Everyone thinks giving one-for-one is a cost,” price index. The discovery has been Mycoskie said, gazing out at snow-capped mountains on the reported to the court overseeing the case, edge of Vancouver. — AFP the statement said. MtGox, which at one time reportedly processed 80 percent of global Bitcoin transactions, said that the THE HAGUE: A person uses a bitcoin ATM machine in a restaurant in The Hague 200,000 Bitcoins-discovered on March 7 on Thursday. The restaurant is part of a project ten restaurants joined, the — had been moved to an offline wallet. ‘Bitcoin Boulevard’. — AFP “Taking into account the existence of the 200,000 BTC, the total number of proceedings, as they try to get a handle on According to Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun Bitcoins which have disappeared is there- how and why the exchange imploded. newspaper, MtGox suffered a massive fore estimated to be approximately “The reasons for their disappearance and assault by hackers, coming under some 650,000 BTC,” the statement said. the exact number of Bitcoins which disap- 150,000 distributed denial-of-service The company filed for protection under peared is still under investigation,” MtGox (DDoS) attacks per second for several US bankruptcy law earlier this month, 10 said. days ahead of its spectacular failure. days after doing the same in Japan after a Under DDoS attacks, hackers hijack multi- huge loss of the digital currency. MtGox’s Hacker attack ple computers to send a flood of data to lawyer said 750,000 Bitcoins belonging to The global virtual currency community the target, crippling its computer system. customers had gone, along with MtGox’s was shaken by the shuttering of MtGox, Unlike traditional currencies backed by own store of the currency, which she said which froze withdrawals in early February central banks, Bitcoin is generated by was around 100,000 units. because of what the firm said was a bug complex chains of interactions among a VANCOUVER: TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie is pic- Japanese officials have said they are in the software underpinning Bitcoin that huge network of computers around the tured March 20 in Vancouver. — AFP closely monitoring MtGox’s bankruptcy allowed hackers to pilfer them. planet. —AFP TECHNOLOGY SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Google enhances encryption technology for email

WASHINGTON: Google has enhanced the do is being monitored by the government. A the Google and Yahoo data links is a project encryption technology for its flagship email decline in Internet use could hurt the companies called MUSCULAR, operated jointly with the service in ways that will make it harder for the financially by giving them fewer opportunities to agency’s British counterpart, GCHQ. NSA and National Security Agency to intercept messages show online ads and sell other services. GCHQ are copying entire data flows across moving among the company’s worldwide data “Your email is important to you, and making fiber-optic cables that carry information centers. Among the most extraordinary disclo- sure it stays safe and always available is impor- between the data centers of the Silicon Valley sures in documents leaked by former NSA sys- tant to us,” Nicolas Lidzborski, Gmail’s security giants, the Post reported. tems analyst Edward Snowden were reports engineering lead, wrote in a blog post. President Barack Obama has promised to that the NSA had secretly tapped into the main Lidzborski said that all Gmail messages a con- consider changing some of the surveillance pro- communications links that connect Yahoo and sumer sends or receives are now encrypted. grams that Snowden disclosed. But the type of Google data centers around the world. “This ensures that your messages are safe not surveillance Google is trying to prevent by Google, whose executive chairman, Eric only when they move between you and Gmail’s improving its encryption technology is not Schmidt, said in November that he was out- servers, but also as they move between among the reforms Obama has discussed. raged over the practice, didn’t mention the NSA Google’s data centers - something we made a Google and other technology companies in Thursday’s announcement, except in a veiled top priority after last summer’s revelations,” provide information to the NSA and other gov- reference to “last summer’s revelations.” The Lidzborski wrote. The NSA has said it only focus- ernment agencies when required by a court change affects more than 425 million users of es on targets with foreign intelligence value. A order. “Google is making it tougher for the gov- Google’s Gmail service. secret Jan. 9, 2013, accounting indicated that ernment to spy on its customers without going Yahoo has promised similar steps for its email NSA sends millions of records every day from through Google,” said Chris Soghoian, a senior service by this spring. Google and other technol- Yahoo and Google internal networks to data policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties ogy companies have been outspoken about the warehouses at the NSA’s Fort Meade, Maryland, Union. “There are still ways for NSA to spy on US government’s spy programs. The companies headquarters, according to documents released the bad guys,” Soghoian said. “But this will pre- are worried more people will reduce their online by Snowden and obtained by The Washington vent them from spying on 500 million people at activities if they believe almost everything they Post last year. The NSA’s principal tool to exploit once.” — AP Singapore talks to focus on control of Internet

Geopolitical overtones could fuel disputes

SINGAPORE: Stakeholders meet in thousand members of our community,” domain names,” it said. Singapore yesterday to discuss the said ICANN chief executive Fadi future of the Internet after the US said it Chehade. Brazil talks will hand over stewardship of its techni- Those attending are a broad mix Paul Wilson, director general of the SHANGHAI: The logo of Chinese microblogging platform cal operations to a global group includ- including representatives from the Asia Pacific Network Information Weibo on a smartphone in the Chinese financial city of ing businesses and governments. The technical community such as Internet Centre, the region’s Internet registry, Shanghai. While Internet giants like Twitter and Google US Commerce Department’s National and IT organizations, businesses, gov- said the transition would be a key topic champion free speech, the US listing document for Telecommunication and Information ernments, civil society groups and aca- at the Singapore meeting even though Chinese microblogging platform Weibo is littered with 56 Administration announced the move demia. firm decisions are some way off. “The pages of warnings on the risks of operating in a country on March 14, saying it marked the “final “The international multi-stakeholder first of the global community consulta- which seeks to control information. — AFP phase of the privatization” of the community will be concentrating on tion sessions on the Internet Assigned Internet’s domain name system. building a proper foundation for the Numbers Authority transition will take Microsoft says it snooped Control of the web has taken on geopo- transition process,” Chehade said. place in Singapore and it will be on Hotmail to track leak litical overtones with countries includ- watched very closely,” Wilson told AFP. ing China and Russia wanting manage- Snowden effect But “while everyone will be bursting LOS ANGELES: Microsoft Corp, which has skewered rival Google ment to be turned over to a body of Washington has come under with ideas about this transition, we’re Inc. for going through customer emails to deliver ads, acknowl- national governments, a push increasing pressure to relinquish con- not going to see decisions in Singapore edged it had searched emails in a blogger’s Hotmail account to Washington has said would impinge on trol following disclosures by former on the outcome.” “What we will hope- track down who was leaking company secrets. the Internet’s openness. The European National Security Agency contractor fully see are decisions on the process- John Frank, deputy general counsel for Microsoft, which owns Commission has also called for gover- Edward Snowden that US intelligence on how the community consultation Hotmail, said in a statement Thursday that the software company nance to become more global, but sup- agencies scanned volumes of Internet process will work, how inputs will be “took extraordinary actions in this case.” In the future, he said, ports the US approach of having traffic worldwide. Observers say the US gathered, how the community will Microsoft would consult an outside attorney who is a former diverse stakeholders-not purely nation- move to hand over the Internet’s stew- engage in the process and how deci- judge to determine if a court order would have allowed such a al governments-do the job. ardship to a diversified group is aimed sions will be made.” search. The Singapore meeting, the first for at blocking calls to give the role to the Further discussions are expected to The case involves former employee Alex Kibkalo, a Russian the Internet community since the US UN’s International Telecommunications be carried over to the bigger “global native who worked for Microsoft as a software architect in announcement, is being convened by Union, made up of national govern- multi-stakeholder meeting on the Lebanon. According to an FBI complaint alleging theft of trade the Internet Corporation for Assigned ments. future of Internet governance” to be secrets, Microsoft found Kibkalo in September 2012 after examin- ing the Hotmail account of the blogger with whom Kibkalo Names and Numbers (ICANN), which Currently, the US has the final say in held in Brazil from April 23-24. allegedly shared proprietary Microsoft code. The complaint filed the US has tasked with guiding the cre- changes to globally used data on top- European Commission Vice Monday in federal court in Seattle did not identify the blogger. ation of a transition plan. ICANN, a US- level Internet domain names, such as President Neelie Kroes said the Brazil “After confirmation that the data was Microsoft’s proprietary based non-profit group, manages the .com, .net and .org. The demand for meeting “will be a good occasion to trade secret, on September 7, 2012, Microsoft’s Office of Legal master database for top level Internet change in the Internet’s governance look at the details of the transition and Compliance (OLC) approved content pulls of the blogger’s domains like .com and .net and the cor- “should be viewed skeptically, particu- to ensure that the outcome is what we Hotmail account,” says the complaint by FBI agent Armando responding numerical addresses under larly when they come from govern- all want: a trusted, open Internet which Ramirez. contract by the US government. ments that do not respect the freedom continues to be an engine of innova- The search of the email account occurred months before That contract expires in September of expression,” The New York Times tion while protecting fundamental free- Microsoft provided Ramirez with the results of its internal investi- 2015, by which time the technical back- said in an editorial this month. doms and human rights”. gation in July 2013. The email search uncovered messages from end operations of the Internet are “Handing control of the system to “The next two years will be critical in Kibkalo to the blogger containing fixes for the Windows 8 RT expected to be under its new adminis- the (ITU), as China and Russia proposed redrawing the map of Internet gover- operating system before they were released publicly. The com- trators. in 2012, could create an opening for nance: all those with an interest in pre- plaint alleges Kibkalo also shared a software development kit that “The initial steps in that (transition) countries to try to squelch speech by, serving a trusted, free and open could be used by hackers to understand more about how process will occur at our Singapore for example, demanding that dissident Internet must act now,” she said in a Microsoft uses product keys to activate software. — AP meeting, which will draw well over a websites not be allowed to register blog post. — AFP TV listings SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

08:40 Mythbusters 10:05 How Tech Works 06:00 Austin & Ally 19:00 Cougar Town 09:30 Dual Survival 10:30 James May’s Man Lab 06:25 Dog With A Blog 19:30 Two And A Half Men 10:20 Survive That! 11:25 James May’s Man Lab 06:45 Suite Life On Deck 20:00 The Tonight Show Starring 11:10 Yukon Men 12:20 James May’s Man Lab 07:10 A.N.T. Farm Jimmy Fallon 12:00 Manhunt 13:10 James May’s Man Lab 07:35 That’s So Raven 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon 00:20 Doctors 12:50 Manhunt 14:00 James May’s Man Lab 07:55 Shake It Up Stewart 00:50 Casualty 13:40 Manhunt 14:50 Bang Goes The Theory 08:20 Good Luck Charlie 21:30 The Colbert Report 01:40 Walk On The Wild Side 14:30 Manhunt 15:20 Food Factory 08:45 Dog With A Blog 00:35 Four Weddings UK 23:00 Legit 02:10 Afterlife 15:20 Manhunt 15:45 How Tech Works 09:05 Mako Mermaids 01:30 The Jonathan Ross Show 23:30 Late Night With Seth Meyers 03:00 Last Man Standing 16:10 Manhunt 16:10 Eco-Tech 09:30 Jessie 02:25 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of 03:50 Friday Night Dinner 17:00 Gold Rush 17:00 Scanning The Skies 09:55 Austin & Ally Dogs 04:15 The Weakest Link 17:50 Alaska Gold Diggers 17:55 Junkyard Wars 10:15 Liv And Maddie 02:55 Emmerdale 05:00 Tweenies 18:40 Gold Divers: Under The Ice 18:45 Mega Builders 10:40 Starstruck 05:00 Coronation Street 05:20 Teletubbies 19:30 Dual Survival 19:35 Joe Rogan Questions Everything 12:00 Prank Stars 07:05 May The Best House Win 05:45 Jollywobbles 20:20 Survive That! 20:30 Space Voyages 12:15 That’s So Raven 08:00 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of 05:50 Me Too! 21:10 Yukon Men 21:20 Storm Chasers 12:35 Dog With A Blog Dogs 00:00 The Mob Doctor 06:10 Tweenies 22:00 Container Wars 22:10 Food Factory 13:00 A.N.T. Farm 08:25 Agatha Christie’s Marple 01:00 Graceland 06:30 Teletubbies 22:25 Container Wars 22:35 How Tech Works 13:25 Jessie 10:15 Ant And Decs Saturday Night 02:00 Survivor: Brawn vs. Brain vs. 06:55 Jollywobbles 22:50 Container Wars 23:00 Space Voyages 13:45 Austin & Ally Takeaway Beauty 07:05 Me Too! 23:15 Container Wars 23:50 Storm Chasers 14:10 Good Luck Charlie 11:30 The Hungry Sailors 03:00 The Newsroom 07:25 David Copperfield 23:40 Container Wars 14:35 Mako Mermaids 12:25 Agatha’s Christie’s Garden 04:00 American Idol 08:10 Little Britain 15:00 A Bug’s Life 13:20 Please Marry My Boy 05:00 Survivor: Brawn vs. Brain vs. 08:35 Friday Night Dinner 16:35 Mako Mermaids 14:10 The Jonathan Ross Show Beauty 09:00 The Omid Djalili Show 17:00 Mako Mermaids 15:00 The Chase 06:00 The Mob Doctor 09:30 Extras 17:20 Mako Mermaids 15:55 Four Weddings UK 07:00 Last Resort 10:00 Doctor Who 17:45 Mako Mermaids 16:50 Dancing On Ice 08:00 Necessary Roughness 10:50 The Vicar Of Dibley 00:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 18:10 Liv And Maddie 18:35 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of 09:00 Glee 11:20 David Copperfield 00:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 18:30 Prank Stars Dogs 10:00 American Idol 12:05 Little Britain 00:40 The Colony 00:45 Sonny With A Chance 18:55 Good Luck Charlie 19:00 The Chase 11:00 Graceland 12:35 Friday Night Dinner 01:30 Bang Goes The Theory 01:05 Sonny With A Chance 19:20 Mako Mermaids 19:55 Please Marry My Boy 12:00 Last Resort 13:00 Casualty 02:00 Food Factory 01:30 Suite Life On Deck 19:40 Jessie 20:50 May The Best House Win 13:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 13:50 Eastenders 02:25 How Tech Works 01:50 Suite Life On Deck 20:05 Austin & Ally 21:50 Paul Ogrady: For The Love Of 14:00 Necessary Roughness 14:20 Eastenders 02:50 Eco-Tech 02:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 20:30 Good Luck Charlie Dogs 15:00 The Mob Doctor 14:45 Eastenders 03:45 Brave New World 02:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 20:50 Dog With A Blog 22:20 The Jonathan Ross Show 16:00 Last Resort 15:15 Eastenders 04:35 Scrapheap Challenge 03:00 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 21:15 Liv And Maddie 23:15 Coronation Street 17:00 American Idol 15:45 My Family 05:25 How The Universe Works 03:20 The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody 21:40 Shake It Up 19:00 Bones 16:15 My Family 06:15 Food Factory 03:45 Sonny With A Chance 22:00 Austin & Ally 20:00 Criminal Minds 16:45 My Family 06:40 How Tech Works 04:05 Sonny With A Chance 22:25 A.N.T. Farm 21:00 Helix 17:15 Doctor Who Confidential 07:05 X-Machines 04:30 Suite Life On Deck 22:50 Good Luck Charlie 22:00 Sons Of Anarchy 17:25 Doctor Who 08:00 Storm Chasers 04:50 Suite Life On Deck 23:10 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:00 Game Of Thrones 18:10 David Copperfield 08:50 Space Voyages 05:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 19:00 Live At The Apollo 09:40 Food Factory 05:35 Wizards Of Waverly Place 19:45 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 00:00 Chelsea Lately 20:30 DCI Banks 00:30 The Dance Scene 21:20 Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle 00:55 The Dance Scene 21:50 Pramface 01:25 E! Investigates 22:20 The Vicar Of Dibley 03:15 E! Investigates 00:00 The Americans 22:50 Last Man Standing 04:10 E!ES 23:40 David Copperfield 01:00 Good Morning America 05:05 Extreme Close-Up 03:00 Nip/Tuck 05:30 Extreme Close-Up 04:00 Rescue Me 06:00 THS 05:00 Good Morning America 07:50 Style Star 07:00 The Bachelor 08:20 E! News 08:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 09:15 Fashion Police 09:00 24 00:00 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 10:15 E!ES 10:00 The Bachelor 00:50 Extreme Makeover: Home 11:10 E!ES 12:00 Royal Pains Edition 12:05 E! News 13:00 The Americans 01:35 Come Dine With Me 13:05 The Drama Queen 14:00 C.S.I. New York 02:25 Come Dine With Me: South 14:05 The Drama Queen 15:00 Live Good Morning America Africa 15:00 Giuliana & Bill 16:00 24 03:15 Holmes On Homes 16:00 Giuliana & Bill 17:00 Royal Pains 04:05 Antiques Roadshow 17:00 Eric And Jessie: Game On 18:00 The Americans 04:55 Extreme Makeover: Home 17:30 Eric And Jessie: Game On 19:00 24 Edition 18:00 E! News 20:00 Royal Pains 05:40 Bargain Hunt 19:00 E!ES 21:00 The Americans 06:25 Come Dine With Me 20:00 #RichKids Of Beverly Hills 22:00 Rescue Me 07:10 Holmes On Homes 20:30 Keeping Up With The 23:00 Nip/Tuck 08:00 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent Kardashians 08:50 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 21:30 Fashion Police 09:40 Antiques Roadshow 22:30 E! News 10:30 French Food At Home 23:30 Chelsea Lately 10:55 French Food At Home 11:20 French Food At Home 11:45 New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad 00:00 Bait-PG15 12:15 New Scandinavian Cooking 02:00 The Expatriate-PG15 With Andreas Viestad 04:00 The Saint-PG15 12:45 The Hairy Bikers USA 06:00 Jurassic Park-PG15 13:10 Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon 08:15 Metal Shifters-PG15 Notebook: London Stewart 10:00 Kung Fu Hustle-PG15 13:35 Come Dine With Me: South 01:00 The Colbert Report 12:00 Stealth-PG15 Africa 03:00 Last Man Standing 14:00 Metal Shifters-PG15 14:30 Antiques Roadshow 03:30 New Girl 15:45 Transformers-PG15 15:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 04:00 All Of Us 18:15 Stealth-PG15 16:10 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 04:30 The Tonight Show Starring 20:15 Dredd-18 16:55 Fantasy Homes By The Sea Jimmy Fallon 22:00 Transformers-PG15 17:40 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 05:30 Better Off Ted 18:25 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 06:00 The War At Home 19:10 Fantasy Homes By The Sea 06:30 Arrested Development 20:00 Fat & Fatter 07:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 20:55 Come Dine With Me: Supersized 08:00 All Of Us 22:30 Antiques Roadshow 08:30 Better Off Ted 00:00 Ingenious-PG15 23:20 Bargain Hunt 09:00 Last Man Standing 02:00 Peep World-18 09:30 Wilfred 04:00 The Giant Mechanical Man-PG15 10:00 The Michael J. Fox Show 06:00 Drop Dead Fred-PG 10:30 Arrested Development 08:00 Night At The Museum-PG 11:00 The Tonight Show Starring 10:00 The Great Outdoors-PG15 Jimmy Fallon 12:00 The Giant Mechanical Man-PG15 12:00 The War At Home 14:00 The Ringer-PG15 12:30 All Of Us 16:00 The Great Outdoors-PG15 00:30 Fast N’ Loud 13:00 Better Off Ted 18:00 White Chicks-PG15 01:20 Classic Car Rescue 13:30 Arrested Development 20:00 Cottage Country-PG15 02:10 Overhaulin’ 2013 14:00 New Girl 22:00 For A Good Time, Call-18 03:00 You Have Been Warned 14:30 Wilfred 03:50 Border Security 15:00 The Michael J. Fox Show 04:15 Auction Kings 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon 04:40 Container Wars Stewart 05:05 How Do They Do It? 16:00 The Colbert Report 05:30 How Stuff’s Made 16:30 The War At Home 06:00 Sons Of Guns 17:00 Late Night With Seth Meyers 01:00 The Next Three Days-PG15 07:00 The Big Brain Theory 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 03:15 Flying Lessons-PG15 07:50 Dynamo: Magician Impossible 18:30 How I Met Your Mother 05:00 Kathmandu Lullaby-PG15 TRANSFORMERS ON OSN MOVIES HD ACTION 07:00 Flower Girl-PG15 04:00 American Idol 05:00 Survivor: Brawn vs. Brain vs. Beauty

TV listings SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

09:00 The Next Three Days-PG15 19:15 Hyde Park On Hudson-PG15 05:00 ICC T20I World Cup 01:30 Duck Dynasty 12:30 Storage Wars 11:15 Offline-PG15 21:00 Celeste And Jesse Forever-PG15 07:30 ICC World T20 Highlights 02:00 Storage Wars 13:00 Pawn Stars 13:00 Class-PG15 22:30 Looper-18 08:30 ICC World T20 Highlights 02:30 Storage Wars 13:30 Pawn Stars 15:00 Someday This Pain Will Be 02:00 Inside The PGA Tour 09:30 ICC World T20 Highlights 03:00 Storage Wars: New York 14:00 Pawn Stars Useful To You-PG15 02:30 Super League 10:30 ICC World T20 Highlights 03:30 Storage Wars: New York 14:30 Pawn Stars 17:00 Red Lights-PG15 04:30 ICC Cricket 360 11:30 ICC Cricket 360 04:00 Storage Wars Texas 15:00 American Restoration 19:00 Salmon Fishing In The Yemen- 05:00 Top 14 12:00 Live OSN Studio 04:30 Storage Wars Texas 15:30 American Restoration PG15 07:00 Super Rugby 12:30 Live ICC T20I World Cup 05:00 Duck Dynasty 16:00 Storage Wars: New York 21:00 Little Birds-18 01:15 Free Birds 09:00 Total Rugby 16:00 Live OSN Studio 05:30 Duck Dynasty 16:30 Storage Wars: New York 23:00 The Most Fun You Can Have 02:45 Zambezia 09:35 Live Super Rugby 16:30 Live ICC T20I World Cup 06:00 Pawn Stars 17:00 Storage Wars Texas Dying-18 04:15 Dino Time 11:40 Live Super Rugby 20:00 Live OSN Studio Post Match 06:30 Storage Wars 17:30 Storage Wars Texas 06:00 Peter Pan (1953) 13:30 Total Rugby 20:30 ICC Cricket 360 07:00 Storage Wars Texas 18:00 Counting Cars 08:00 The Ugly Duckling In The 14:00 Live Super Rugby 21:00 ICC T20I World Cup 07:30 Counting Cars 18:30 Counting Cars Enchanted Forest 16:00 Super Rugby 08:00 Duck Dynasty 19:00 Mountain Men 10:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva 18:05 Live Super Rugby 08:30 Duck Dynasty 20:00 American Restoration LA Fiesta! 20:10 Live Super Rugby 09:00 Pawn Stars 20:30 American Restoration 11:30 Ben 10: Alien Swarm 22:00 Trans World Sport 09:30 Pawn Stars 21:00 Duck Dynasty 00:30 In The Land Of Blood And 13:00 Zambezia 23:00 Super Rugby 10:00 Pawn Stars 21:30 Duck Dynasty 14:30 Eleanor’s Secret 10:30 Pawn Stars 22:00 Storage Wars: New York Honey-R 00:00 Storage Wars Texas 16:00 Gaturro 11:00 Storage Wars 22:30 Storage Wars: New York 02:35 Philadelphia-18 00:30 Storage Wars Texas 18:00 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva 11:30 Storage Wars 23:00 Storage Wars 04:40 American Gangster-18 01:00 Duck Dynasty 07:40 The Firm-PG15 LA Fiesta! 12:00 Storage Wars 23:30 Storage Wars 20:00 Madagascar 10:15 Five-PG15 00:00 Trans World Sport 11:45 Dark Horse-PG15 22:00 Eleanor’s Secret 23:30 Gaturro 01:00 NRL Premiership 13:15 Here-PG15 03:00 Bellator MMA 2014 15:30 Thorne: Sleepyhead-PG15 04:00 Bellator MMA 2014 17:45 Dark Horse-PG15 05:00 Live Bellator MMA 2014 19:15 The Caller-PG15 07:00 Total Rugby 21:00 Twenty Bucks-PG15 07:30 HSBC Sevens World Series 23:00 Amour-PG15 00:15 The Guilt Trip-PG15 Highlights 02:00 Steel Magnolias-PG15 08:00 Live HSBC Sevens World Series 04:00 What To Expect When You’re 16:30 Total Rugby Expecting-PG15 17:00 Live Top 14 06:00 Girl In Progress-PG15 19:00 Trans World Sport 08:00 Magic Journey To Africa-PG15 20:00 Inside The PGA Tour 01:00 Knuckle-PG15 10:00 Steel Magnolias-PG15 20:30 Live PGA Tour 03:00 The Double-PG15 12:00 What To Expect When You’re 05:00 Chimpanzee-PG Expecting-PG15 07:00 Klitschko-PG15 14:00 Dating Coach-PG15 09:00 Red Dawn-PG15 16:00 Magic Journey To Africa-PG15 10:45 Fastest-PG15 18:00 Haywire-PG15 12:45 You Will Meet A Tall Dark 20:00 The Campaign-18 Stranger-PG15 22:00 Mama-18 01:00 ICC T20I World Cup 14:45 The Dark Knight Rises-PG15 04:30 ICC Cricket 360 17:30 Red Dawn-PG15 The Muppets return for new escapade

hile animated wizardry makes basi- Frenchman, the actor worked with an accent cally anything possible for filmmak- coach. “She helped me a lot. She was on set Wers these days, there is something with me for every take. Basically she had a per- comforting about the Muppets returning in fect ear,” Burrell told AFP. “I found it very chal- all their floppy, fuzzy puppet-ness. Kermit, lenging for sure,” he said, but added: “I really Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang are back enjoyed it because I don’t get to do stuff like to entertain a new generation of fans-as well that very often. I had a blast doing it.” as the older ones-in “Muppets Most Wanted,” The other challenge was working with released in the United States yesterday. The puppets-and legendary ones at that. “It’s a new movie comes three years after Disney little disconcerting at first to kind of see revived the franchise with “The Muppets,” behind the curtains so to speak, then you get which made $158 million and won a best used to it very quickly,” said Burrell, adding song Oscar for “Man or Muppet.” The 2011 that he was astonished at how the pup- film was such a hit that Disney, which in 2004 peteers work. “You gain even more admira- bought the children’s TV troupe created by tion for them after working with them. They Jim Henson, agreed to make a sequel with do basically seven things for every one thing the same director, James Bobin. we do as humans. I watched them with real The Briton and screenwriter Nicholas admiration. “I absolutely do consider them as Stoller may be the same, but a new human actors... They are doing something that’s cast this time includes British comic Ricky more difficult than what we’re doing I think,” Gervais, and Americans Tina Fey and Ty he said. “Any puppeteer is really expressing Burrell. “Muppets Most Wanted” opens where himself just like any actor would do.” the last film left off, with Kermit and co Burrell joked that he ended up treating flushed from their triumphant return to the Muppets like real people. “You do forget showbusiness. Their hintingly-named manag- that they are Muppets. When the scene gets er Dominic Badguy (Gervais) suggests a world started, you just start talking to Sam Eagle tour, an idea seized on by all of them-except and I even talked to Sam Eagle in between Kermit-little suspecting that Badguy is in real- scenes or in between takes,” he said. Burrell ity working with Constantine, an evil Kermit acknowledged that he is a life-long Muppet double. The film remains faithful to the fan, having watched the original TV “Muppet Muppet traditions: plenty of fun, lots of musi- Show” as a child. “I remember really distinctly cal numbers and featuring celebrity guest the opening sequence and sitting with my stars-in this case Celine Dion, making her film dad and having (old men puppet characters) debut as Miss Piggy’s fairy godmother. Statler and Waldorf make some comments, and my dad just laughing hysterically,” he ‘English like a Frenchman’ said. “Those are the kind of memories that Burrell, star of award-winning TV series stick with you. When your dad or somebody “Modern Family,” plays Jean-Pierre Napoleon, you look up to finds something funny, you a heavily-accented French policeman who really take note of that, you really pay atten- teams up with Sam the Eagle, patriotic and tion to it. “I was like, ‘Wow, OK, that’s what protective of the Muppets, to hunt for funny is...’ In that way they had a huge influ- Constantine. To speak English like a ence on me.”—AFP THE RINGER ON OSN MOVIES COMEDY WHAT’S ON SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Bangladeshis celebrate 94th birth Starbucks celebrates anniversary of Father of the Nation the launch of

he 94th anniversary of birth of the Father of the Nation the Father of the Nation. They said that with response to the clarion origin espresso Bangabhandu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National call of the Father of the Nation, the countrymen from all strata par- Children’s Day of Bangladesh 2014 was observed in a befit- ticipated in the Liberation War in 1971 and achieved the ultimate arking the start of a wonderful spring season, T Starbucks celebrated the launch of the all new ting manner by the Bangladesh Embassy and the Bangladesh com- victory on 16 December 1971 through a nine-month long armed munity in Kuwait on 17 March at the Chancery of the Embassy. To struggle. For his extraordinary leadership and contributions MStarbucks Origin Espresso, a concept that brings celebrate the day, the mission drew up elaborate programs which towards achieving Independence, Bangabandhu and Bangladesh coffee lovers a choice of espresso in their favorite Starbucks included recitation from the Holy Quran, Dua and Munajat, reading emerged as a unique symbol to the people of Bangladesh, they beverages. Starbucks introduced the Guatemala Antigua as out of messages of Hon’ble President of the Peoples Republic of added. the first choice of Origin Espresso: a premium, medium roast, Bangladesh Md. Abdul Hamid, Hon’ble Prime Minister of the In his speech, the ambassador of Bangladesh in Kuwait said Latin American coffee, hand selected by Starbucks’ master Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, that the Father of the Nation was a fearless, courageous, and brewers offering customers the ultimate coffee taste experi- and Hon’ble Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, MP. The humane leader. He said that Bangabandhu bed an extraordinary ence. “Offering the all new Origin Espresso concept, stems embassy also organized art competition, and essay-writing compe- intelligence. He was a visionary leader and Bangladesh emerged from our commitment to sharing great coffee with our cus- tition for the children to mark the day. A documentary film on the as an independent country breaking the subjugation, and tomers. It also allows us to help them discover new ones, giv- Father of the Nation was shown at the program. A discussion meet- Bangalee nationalism flourished under the indomitable leadership ing them a choice for their favourite coffee drink. The first ing was also organized to discuss the significance of the day. of Bangabandhu, he mentioned. The ambassador further added Origin Espresso choice is the Guatemala Antigua. Customers An art competition was organized on Friday, 15 March at the that the Father of the Nation was the leader of the oppressed and now have a choice of espresso in their beverages and can Chancery in three different groups. A (age limit upto 8 yrs), B (age deprived masses of the world and an instrument of realizing their enjoy a unique and different taste to our signature Espresso limit upto 14 yrs), and C (age limit upto 18 yrs). A large number of rights and emancipation. The enchanting and charismatic leader- Roast by choosing the Guatemala Antigua,” says Rana children from within the Bangladesh community in Kuwait partici- ship and personality of the Father of the Nation had united the Shaheen, the Starbucks regional communications and CSR pated in the competition. Five competitors from each group were entire nation in one string. The ambassador continued saying that manager for the MENA region. awarded with prizes and certificates of appreciation. All other par- it is very vital to make the young generation of Bangladesh with With the introduction of the Origin Espresso concept, cus- ticipants also received certificate of appreciation from the embassy. the noble sprit of patriotism so that they can lead the nation tomers can anticipate different Origin Espresso choices An essay-writing competition was also organized by the embassy towards prosperity and able to materialize the dreams of the throughout the year, helping them discover exciting new on “Chotoder Bangabandhu-Bangabandhu for the Children”. The Father of the Nation to transform Bangladesh into “Sonar Bangla coffees from around the world. participants wrote their essays on the Father of the Nation within [Golden Bengal]”. He urged the community members to devote The Guatemala Antigua comes from a small number of 1,000 words. Three of the competitors were awarded with prize, themselves to contribute to the country through their patriotism farms in the Antigua Valley in southern Guatemala, an area and certificates of appreciation. and bard work. He also requested the Bangladesh community to widely regarded as a region growing some of the world’s A discussion meeting was organized on 17 March at the ensure a peaceful co-existence in their second home Kuwait and finest coffees. It is an elegant, complex coffee that offers Chancery with participation of many Bangladeshi expatriates in to increase the image of own beloved motherland, Bangladesh, great depth; its refined acidity is balanced with a subtle Kuwait. The discussants highlighted the life and achievements of overseas. cocoa powder texture and soft spice flavours making it a lux- urious alternative for Starbucks’ customers. Espresso lovers’ favourite drink is smoother with a softer taste, giving them a more elegant experience! WHAT’S ON SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

‘Chaine Des Rotisseurs’ held at the JW Marriott Hotel

he JW Marriott Hotel Kuwait City, hosted the members and with delicious dishes presented by international chefs from the professionals, from all over the world, in the appreciation of fine invited guests of the elite “Chaine des Rotisseurs” Kuwait JW Marriott that emphasized the quality that the Terrace Grill is cuisine.” TChapter for an elegant gala dinner at the renowned Terrace known for in Kuwait. The members and guests of the Chaine des Rotisseurs enjoyed Grill steakhouse at the hotel. George Aoun, Cluster General Manager of Kuwait Marriott flavorsome and artistically presented trilogies’ and an ample of The dinner was graced by the Canadian Ambassador to Kuwait Hotels welcomed the guests saying: “We are delighted to wel- varieties from the sea world to Terrace Grill’s specialty, the US-cer- Douglas George Mohammed Najia and a host of other eminent come our elite members and guests of the Chaine des Rotisseurs tified Angus Beef cuts. The Chaine des Rotisseurs enjoyed the dignitaries. to this memorable dinner. We would like to take this opportunity gourmet evening while listening to a live jazz band music per- The popular steakhouse presented a creative and stylish menu to thank members of a society who bring together amateurs and formance which added to the lovely atmosphere.

Pravasandhra Telugu Desam calls Chandra Babu

ravasandhra Telugu Desam, Kuwait fare activities for Telugu community in Kuwait. President Mulakala Subbarayudu Naidu Meanwhile Chandra Babu also appreciates NRI Pcalled Telugu Desam Party Chief N Chandhra community for ‘Bring Babu Back’ efforts. Babu Naidu last week at NTR Bhavan, Hyderabad. Subbarayudu also met MP Ramesh, MLA Revanth He explained Pravasandhra TDP efforts and wel- Reddy and other senior TDP officials. HEALTH SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Humans can detect one trillion smells

WASHINGTON: The human nose can distinguish at least one tril- lion different odors, millions more than previously estimated, US researchers said Thursday. For decades, scientists accepted that humans could detect only 10,000 scents, putting the sense of smell well below the capabilities of sight and hearing. “Our analysis shows that the human capacity for discriminating smells is much larger than anyone anticipated, said study co-author Leslie Vosshall, head of Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior. The previous estimate for the nose’s capabilities-which are carried out with the help of 400 olfactory receptors-dated to the 1920s and was not backed by data. Researchers have estimated that the human eye and its mere three receptors can distinguish several million colors and that the ear can discriminate 340,000 sounds. “For smell, nobody ever took the time to test,” Vosshall said. To conduct their research, scientists subjected 26 participants to mixtures made with 128 different odorant molecules that individually might evoke grass, citrus or various chemicals, but were combined in groupings of up to 30. “We didn’t want them to be explicitly recognizable, so most of our mixtures were pretty nasty and weird,” Vosshall said. “We wanted people to pay attention to ‘here’s this really complex thing - can I pick another complex thing as being different?’” Volunteers would sample three vials of scents at a time-two that were the same and one that was different-to see if they could detect which was the outlier, completing 264 such comparisons. Although volunteers’ abilities varied greatly, they could on average discern the difference between vials with up to 51 percent of the same components, with fewer volunteers detecting a difference NEW YORK: In this Sunday Oct 24, 2010, file photo, a garbage bin sits full of bubble gum, at Yankee Stadium. — AP once the mixtures shared more components. Researchers then extrapolated how many odors the average person could detect if all possible combinations of the 128 odorants were sampled, com- Chew on this: Gum loses its pop ing to their estimate of at least one trillion. Lead researcher Andreas Keller, also of Rockefeller University, NEW YORK: Gum seems as appealing as that sticky wad on the Green Party nominee explained that he didn’t like the mess it creat- said the number is almost certainly too low given that there are bottom of a shoe these days. Americans just aren’t as crazy about ed on sidewalks and subways. numerous other odorants that can mix in countless ways in the real chomping away on the stuff as they once were, with US sales tum- “The other aspect of it is that it makes people look so stupid,” world. He said our ancestors relied more on the sense of smell, but bling 11 percent over the past four years. No one in the industry said McCourt, 82, in a recent interview. Gum’s bad image is one rea- that refrigeration and the development of personal hygiene have can pinpoint a single factor that’s causing the decline - the theories son that alternatives look more attractive. There’s also another limited odors in the modern world. “This could explain our attitude include an unwillingness to shell out $2 or more for a pack in the perennial complaint: “The flavor runs out too fast,” said Ryan that smell is unimportant, compared to hearing and vision,” Keller bad economy or that advertising veered too far from underlining Furbush, a 17-year-old from Sayreville, N.J. who has stopped chew- said. He added that upright posture, which raised humans’ noses gum’s cavity-fighting benefits. But the biggest reason may be that ing gum in favor of chewy candies and chocolates. It may be why far from the ground where odors often emanate, may also have people simply have more to chew on. Mars said its gum declines have been most significant with people contributed. The sense of smell is closely linked to human behav- From designer mints to fruit chews, candy companies have who are 25 and younger. In the meantime, Altoids mints, Welch’s ior and the researchers stressed that studying it could shed light on invented plenty of other ways to get a sugar fix or battle bad Fruit Snacks and countless other options have taken up space in how the human brain processes complex information. The study breath and anxiety. The alternatives don’t come with gum’s the checkout aisles where most gum is purchased. was published in the journal Science. — AFP unpleasant characteristics either, like the question of whether to spit out or gulp the remains. They’re also less likely to annoy par- ‘Chews like a gum, but dissolves like a mint’ ents, co-workers or romantic interests. The gum chewing habit Since peaking in 2009, US gum sales have fallen 11 percent to Indian guru aims for dates as far back as the ancient Greeks but arrived in the US in its $3.71 billion last year, according to market researcher Euromonitor modern form in the 1860s, according to Mars Inc, the No. 1 player International. That’s even as overall candy sales - including gum, world record with in the market with its Wrigley unit. chocolate, mints and licorice - have climbed 10 percent to $31.53 Over the years, gum makers positioned it as a way to “Kiss a billion. Over the next five years, Euromonitor projects gum sales mass yoga event Little Longer” in the famous Big Red jingle, quit smoking, curb crav- will drop another 4 percent to $3.56 billion. ings or just make the chewer happier. Catchy slogans or characters Hershey, which makes Reese’s, Kit Kat and Almond Joy, is taking NEW DELHI: An Indian guru said yesterday he hopes to set a included the “Doublemint Twins” and Orbit’s blonde spokes- data to retailers to illustrate the slowing demand for gum. The idea world record this weekend by practicing yoga with millions of woman who ends commercials with “Dirty mouth? Clean it up.” is to encourage them to devote less of their candy aisles to it, and other people, including opposition election frontrunner Narendra perhaps make way for more of its own products. Hershey, which Modi. Swami Ramdev, who heads a huge yoga empire and is a ‘Bubblegum’ also makes Ice Breakers mints and gum, is planning another blow household name in India, has thrown his support behind Modi, It popped up in pop culture too. In the 1960s, a genre of music against gum: This fall, it’s slated to roll out a version of Ice Breakers the prime ministerial candidate for the Hindu nationalist aimed at younger audiences came to be known as “Bubblegum.” In that “chews like a gum, but dissolves like a mint.”Steven Schiller, Bharatiya Janata Party, tipped to win the polls due to kick off next the 1975 movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” the silent Chief global head of Hershey’s non-chocolate candies including mints, month. Ramdev tweeted that “100 million people will do yoga Bromden speaks for the first time saying, “Mmm, Juicy Fruit” after said it gives gum chewers an alternative that doesn’t require “dis- together on March 23” and asked people whether they would the character played by Jack Nicholson gives him a stick of the posal” at the end. join in and become “a part of the history.” gum. And Janet Jackson played a feisty, gum-chewing beautician The guru told a news conference in New Delhi he plans to in the 1993 film “Poetic Justice.” ‘Phone, keys, gum’ hold the three-hour yoga session “simultaneously” with people But gum’s image as a tasteless habit also stuck, with some high- Gum makers are strategizing too. The maker of Trident, whose who will gather in the country’s more than 600 districts. The ses- profile gum chewing only making it worse. In 2003, Britney Spears total gum sales were down as much as 16 percent in developed sion in the capital will be held at the Ramlila Maidan, a traditional gave an interview to CNN where a white piece of gum could be markets at one point last year, has an online campaign reminding site for staging religious and political rallies that has the capacity seen floating around her mouth as she fielded questions on a people to run through the mental checklist before leaving the for tens of thousands of people. Ramdev told reporters that Modi range of topics, including the war in Iraq. Talk show host Wendy house: “phone, keys, gum.” would attend the event. He rejected suggestions that the gather- Williams has a “gum wall” backstage, where she sticks wads of it “We know when people have gum in their pocket or backpack ing was a political stunt to boost the politician’s popularity. before walking out. In one episode, she told Patti LaBelle that she or desk, they’re much more likely to chew it,” said Stephanie Wilkes, “The event’s only aim is to spread yoga by bringing together could put her gum on the wall after the singer spit out a wad into who heads the North American candy business for Mondelez, the people from different backgrounds, professions and regions,” her hand. No. 2 player in gum with Trident, Dentyne and Bubbalicious. Ramdev told the news conference. Modi’s office spokesman Mars, which makes Big Red, Doublemint, Juicy Fruit and Orbit, is could not be immediately reached for confirmation that he Tripling the tax on gum testing illuminated racks in candy aisles to make its gum and candy would take part. According to the Guinness World Records web- Such imagery may be why gum is still a no-no in business meet- stand out more. The company said the racks have led to a 10 to 30 site, the record for “the largest yoga class” held in “multiple ven- ings or first dates, according to Lizzie Post, the great-great grand- percent sales increase in tests. And after years of slowly vanishing ues” was set last December by a natural healer in south India. daughter of etiquette expert Emily Post and co-author of “Emily from shelves, Bazooka bubble gum last year relaunched its brand Some 62,824 people took part in the yoga class held by D Post’s Etiquette.” with new marketing and packaging. Distribution has since Veerendra Heggade, president of the Shantivana Trust, in 47 loca- “My grandmother used to tell me, ‘You look like a cow chewing rebounded. Still, executives are realistic about gum’s turnaround tions, the Guinness site said. Ramdev combines spiritualism, yoga cud’,” she said. The habit so bothered author Malachy McCourt that prospects. “We’re not expecting any dramatic recovery in the cate- and social activism and has courted controversy with his purport- the extremely long-shot gubernatorial candidate in 2006 told the gory anytime soon,” Mondelez CEO Irene Rosenfeld said during an ed cures for cancer and other diseases. —AFP New York Times he wanted to triple the tax on gum. The former earnings call last month.—AP health & science SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 VACANCY Kuwait SITUATION WANTED KNCC PROGRAMME FROM THURSDAY TO WEDNESDAY I am looking for a job in HALFLORRY accounts & finance, my expectation is between KD DRIVER 650 to KD 1000 depending SHARQIA-1 upon the position offered. I RED SKY (DIG) 1:00 PM MARINA-1 AL-KOUT.1 TRANSFERABLE LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 3:30 PM RED SKY (DIG) 1:45 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 2:00 PM have transferable residency RED SKY (DIG) 5:30 PM RED SKY (DIG) 4:00 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 4:00 PM article no. 18 & also valid driv- RESIDENCE 18 LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 7:45 PM RED SKY (DIG) 6:15 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 6:00 PM ing license. Kindly contact me LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 9:45 PM LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 8:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 8:00 PM by SMS with your email ID on RED SKY (DIG) 11:45 PM LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 10:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 10:00 PM this no. 66825635 to forward Contact: NO SUN+TUE+WED RED SKY (DIG) 12:30 AM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:05 AM you my CV. (C 4667) Tel: 24839076 / 89 NO SUN+TUE+WED NO SUN+TUE+WED 16-3-2014 SHARQIA-2 change my surname to 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:45 PM MARINA-2 AL-KOUT.2 MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 2:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 1:30 PM RED SKY (DIG) 1:45 PM Bhabhrawala Husain MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 4:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 3:45 PM RED SKY (DIG) 4:00 PM SITUATION VACANT Joharbhai. (C 4671) 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 6:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 6:00 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 6:15 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 8:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 8:00 PM RED SKY (DIG) 8:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 10:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 10:00 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 10:30 PM Housemaid required full- I, Eliyas Johnson S/O Elias 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:45 AM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 12:15 AM RED SKY (DIG) 12:45 AM time or part-time 6 - 3:30 pm holder of Passport No. NO SUN+TUE+WED NO SUN+TUE+WED NO SUN+TUE+WED in Farwaniya for 1 month A8968226 hereby changed who can take care of 2.5- Elias Johnson Kuriakose, no.3 SHARQIA-3 MARINA-3 AL-KOUT.3 year-old child and knows Bishopwallers Avenue west NON-STOP (DIG) 1:45 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 1:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:30 PM cooking, English speaking is a FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 4:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 3:15 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 2:45 PM Mylapore, Chennai 4. must, salary KD 120. Call: NON-STOP (DIG) 6:00 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 5:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 5:00 PM (C 4672) NON-STOP (DIG) 8:15 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 7:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 7:15 PM 97220933. FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 10:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 9:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 9:30 PM (C 4670) NON-STOP (DIG) 12:30 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:05 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 1:45 PM 19-3-2014 I, Mohinder Pal Singh, hold- NO SUN+TUE+WED NO SUN+TUE+WED NO SUN+TUE+WED er of Indian Passport No. G 1687598 hereby change my MUHALAB-1 AVENUES-1 AL-KOUT.4 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 1:30 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 2:15 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 12:30 PM FOR SALE name to Mohinder Singh. (C 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 3:30 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 4:45 PM LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 2:30 PM 4673) RED SKY (DIG) 5:30 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 7:15 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 4:30 PM Chevrolet jeep - Trail Blazer - 20-3-2014 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 7:45 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 9:45 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 6:30 PM LS 2008, black color, 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 9:45 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 12:15 AM LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 8:30 PM Alghanim. Excellent condi- I, Taza, holder of Indian NO SUN+TUE+WED LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 10:30 PM tion. KM 127,000, KD 2,650. MUHALAB-2 FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 12:30 AM Mob: 50994848. (C 4669) Passport No. K9682992 have RED SKY (DIG) 1:30 PM AVENUES-2 NO SUN+TUE+WED changed my name to RED SKY (DIG) 3:45 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 2:30 PM 18-3-2014 LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 6:00 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 4:30 PM BAIRAQ-1 Murtaza Shabbir Husain LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 8:00 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 6:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:30 PM 2011 Toyota Camry, white Raswala, residing at RED SKY (DIG) 10:00 PM FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 8:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 2:30 PM exterior, mileage 76,000, Partapur, Rajasthan. FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 10:30 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 4:30 PM price KD 3,450. Tel: 99883645. (C 4663) MUHALAB-3 FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 12:30 AM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 6:30 PM (C 4666) MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 1:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 8:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 3:00 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 10:30 PM I, Thopugunta Sudheer MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 5:15 PM AVENUES-3 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:30 AM 2013 Volvo SUV, brown exte- holder of Indian Passport No. rior, mileage: 14,000, under NON-STOP (DIG) 7:15 PM RED SKY (DIG) 2:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED K7916639 change my name NON-STOP (DIG) 9:30 PM RED SKY (DIG) 4:15 PM warranty + 2 years, full insur- RED SKY (DIG) 6:45 PM BAIRAQ-2 ance, price KD 10,300. Tel: to Ali Haider Shaik, my FANAR-1 RED SKY (DIG) 9:00 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) 1:30 PM 97227376. address in India is N.T.R. NON-STOP (DIG) 12:45 PM RED SKY (DIG) 11:30 PM REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 3:30 PM (C 4665) Nagar, Chitvel, K. NON-STOP (DIG) 3:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 5:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 5:15 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) 7:30 PM 15-3-2014 Kandulayaripalli, Kadapa NON-STOP (DIG) 7:45 PM AVENUES-4 LAMO AKHZA (DIG) (Arabic) 9:30 PM Dist, AP, 516104. (C 4664) NON-STOP (DIG) 10:00 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 1:45 PM REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 11:30 PM 13-3-2014 NON-STOP (DIG) 12:15 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 4:00 PM CHANGE OF NAME NO SUN+TUE+WED NON-STOP (DIG) 6:15 PM BAIRAQ-3 NON-STOP (DIG) 8:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 12:45 PM I, Dahodwala Husain FANAR-2 NON-STOP (DIG) 10:45 PM RED SKY (DIG) 3:00 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) 1:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 1:00 AM NON-STOP (DIG) 5:15 PM Joharbhai holder of Passport MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) 3:30 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED RED SKY (DIG) 7:45 PM No. K3652369, hereby LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) 5:30 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 10:00 PM LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) 7:30 PM AVENUES-5 RED SKY (DIG) 12:15 AM LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) 9:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 12:30 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED LAMO AKHZA (DIG)(Arabic) 11:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 2:45 PM THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR NO SUN+TUE+WED 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 5:00 PM PLAZA 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 7:15 PM BEWAKOOFIYAAN (DIG) (Hindi) 3:30 PM CIVIL INFORMATION FANAR-3 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 9:30 PM FRI+SAT RED SKY (DIG) 12:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 11:45 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG) 6:00 PM Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is RED SKY (DIG) 2:45 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 8:00 PM RED SKY (DIG) 5:00 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 10:00 PM 1889988 BEWAKOOFIYAAN (DIG) (Hindi) 7:15 PM A360°- 1 RED SKY (DIG) 9:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:30 PM LAILA RED SKY (DIG) 12:05 AM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 2:45 PM NON-STOP (DIG) 6:15 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 5:00 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG) 8:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 7:15 PM RED SKY (DIG) 10:30 PM FANAR-4 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 9:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 11:45 PM AJIAL.1 112 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 2:30 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 1983 (DIG) (Malayalam) 6:45 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 4:30 PM 1983 (DIG) (Malayalam) 9:45 PM MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN (DIG-3D) 6:30 PM 360°- 2 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 8:30 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 1:15 PM AJIAL.2 Prayer timings 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 10:30 PM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 3:45 PM BEWAKOOFIYAAN (DIG) (Hindi) 5:30 PM 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (DIG-3D) 12:30 AM 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 6:15 PM BEWAKOOFIYAAN (DIG) (Hindi) 8:00 PM NO SUN+TUE+WED 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 8:45 PM BEWAKOOFIYAAN (DIG) (Hindi) 10:30 PM Fajr: 04:31 3 DAYS TO KILL (DIG) 11:15 PM Shorook 05:50 FANAR-5 NO SUN+TUE+WED AJIAL.3 FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 1:45 PM RAJA RANI (DIG) (Telugu) 6:30 PM Duhr: 11:55 FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 3:45 PM 360°- 3 RAJA RANI (DIG) (Telugu) 9:30 PM LAST LOVE (DIG) 6:00 PM REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 2:30 PM Asr: 15:23 LAST LOVE (DIG) 8:15 PM REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 4:45 PM AJIAL.4 FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 10:45 PM REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 7:00 PM NIMIRNTHU NIL (DIG) (TAMIL) 7:00 PM Maghrib: 18:00 FORCE OF EXECUTION (DIG) 12:45 AM REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 9:15 PM NIMIRNTHU NIL (DIG) (TAMIL) 10:00 PM Isha: 19:17 NO SUN+TUE+WED REASONABLE DOUBT (DIG) 11:30 PM information SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 DIAL 161 FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION

In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers use seats

Arrival Flights on Saturday 22/3/2014 ABY 127 Sharjah 17:25 QTR 1071 Doha 10:55 Airlines Flt Route Time GFA 215 Bahrain 17:30 KAC 501 Beirut 11:10 JAI 574 Mumbai 00:10 JZR 777 Jeddah 17:55 GFA 214 Bahrain 11:25 KLM 413 Amsterdam/Dammam 00:30 JZR 135 Bahrain 18:00 KAC 541 Cairo 11:30 JZR 539 Cairo 00:40 KAC 542 Cairo 18:05 IRM 1185 Shiraz 11:35 THY 772 Istanbul 00:45 JZR 177 Dubai 18:20 KAC 165 Rome/Paris 11:50 QTR 1084 Doha 00:55 IZG 4167 Mashhad 18:35 IAW 158 Baghdad/Al Najaf 12:00 DLH 637 Dammam 01:10 QTR 1080 Doha 18:40 MSC 402 Alexandria 12:20 PGT 858 Istanbul 01:30 KAC 774 Riyadh 18:45 JZR 776 Jeddah 12:25 SAI 441 Lahore 01:30 FDB 063 Dubai 18:45 IZG 4162 Mashhad 12:35 GFA 211 Bahrain 02:10 KAC 502 Beirut 18:50 SYR 342 Damascus 13:30 THY 764 Istanbul 02:15 KAC 618 Doha 19:00 JZR 786 Riyadh 13:35 JZR 267 Beirut 02:30 KAC 176 Geneva/Frankfurt 19:15 TMA 223 Dubai/Beirut 13:45 UAE 853 Dubai 02:35 KAC 674 Dubai 19:25 JZR 176 Dubai 13:45 ETD 305 Abu Dhabi 02:45 GFA 217 Bahrain 19:30 MSR 580 Sohag 13:50 JAI 576 Kochi/Abu Dhabi 02:50 KAC 104 London 19:35 MSR 611 Cairo 14:00 PIA 239 Lahore 03:05 KAC 790 Madinah 19:45 IRM 1189 Mashhad 14:05 OMA 643 Muscat 03:05 IRA 607 Mashhad 19:50 UAE 872 Dubai 14:15 MSR 612 Cairo 03:10 OMA 647 Muscat 19:55 FDB 058 Dubai 14:30 MSC 401 Alexandria 03:45 TBZ 5483 Mashhad 20:00 QTR 1079 Doha 14:55 QTR 1076 Doha 03:45 KNE 474 Jeddah 20:00 MSR 576 Sharm el-Sheikh 15:00 FDB 067 Dubai 04:20 MSR 618 Alexandria 20:05 JZR 134 Bahrain 15:00 THY 770 Istanbul 05:35 JAI 572 Mumbai 20:10 KAC 673 Dubai 15:05 DHX 170 Bahrain 05:40 JZR 189 Dubai 20:15 KAC 773 Riyadh 15:20 JZR 503 Luxor 05:50 ABY 129 Sharjah 20:20 KAC 789 Madinah 15:20 JZR 529 Asyut 06:20 AXB 489 Kochi/Mangalore 20:35 KNE 473 Jeddah 15:30 KAC 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur 06:25 DLH 636 Frankfurt 20:55 KAC 617 Doha 15:30 BAW 157 London 06:40 FDB 071 Dubai 21:05 IRC 6693 Mashhad 15:35 KAC 412 Manila/Bangkok 06:45 ALK 229 Colombo 21:10 JZR 188 Dubai 15:40 KAC 206 Islamabad 07:40 MEA 402 Beirut 21:20 GFA 222 Bahrain 15:45 FDB 053 Dubai 07:50 ETD 307 Abu Dhabi 21:35 SVA 505 Jeddah 16:00 QTR 1086 Doha 07:50 UAE 859 Dubai 21:40 IRM 1187 Tehran 16:30 KAC 302 Mumbai 07:55 GFA 219 Bahrain 21:45 KNE 471 Jeddah 16:30 KAC 382 Delhi 07:55 KNE 480 Taif 21:45 KNE 463 Madinah 16:35 KAC 352 Kochi 08:10 FDB 059 Dubai 22:00 KNE 481 Taif 16:45 KAC 344 Chennai 08:35 QTR 1074 Doha 22:00 NIA 252 Alexandria 16:50 UAE 855 Dubai 08:40 KLM 415 Amsterdam 22:05 JZR 238 Amman 16:55 KAC 362 Colombo 08:45 UAL 981 Bahrain 22:10 KAC 785 Jeddah 17:00 KAC 284 Dhaka 08:50 JZR 239 Amman 22:20 JAV 622 Amman 17:15 ABY 125 Sharjah 09:00 JZR 181 Dubai 22:25 ETD 304 Abu Dhabi 17:35 AIC 975 Chennai/Goa 22:30 ETD 301 Abu Dhabi 09:20 QTR 1073 Doha 17:40 KAC 786 Jeddah 22:45 FDB 055 Dubai 09:40 JZR 180 Dubai 17:40 QTR 1070 Doha 09:55 KAC 614 Bahrain 23:00 UAE 858 Dubai 17:50 IRM 1186 Tehran 10:15 JZR 185 Dubai 23:20 JZR 538 Cairo 17:50 GFA 213 Bahrain 10:40 RJA 641 Amman 17:55 IAW 157 Al Najaf/Baghdad 11:00 Departure Flights on Saturday 22/3/2014 ABY 128 Sharjah 18:05 IZG 4161 Mashhad 11:05 Airlines Flt Route Time SVA 511 Riyadh 18:15 MSC 405 Sohag 11:20 AIC 976 Goa/Chennai 00:05 UAL 982 Bahrain 18:20 JZR 165 Dubai 11:30 JAI 573 Mumbai 01:10 GFA 216 Bahrain 18:20 TMA 213 Beirut 12:10 KLM 413 Amsterdam 01:45 JZR 184 Dubai 18:40 SYR 341 Damascus 12:30 DLH 637 Frankfurt 02:10 JZR 266 Beirut 18:50 IRM 1188 Mashhad 12:40 SAI 442 Lahore 02:30 FDB 064 Dubai 19:25 JZR 241 Amman 12:45 THY 773 Istanbul 02:55 IZG 4168 Mashhad 19:35 UAE 871 Dubai 12:50 PGT 859 Istanbul 03:20 JZR 325 Al Najaf 12:55 UAE 854 Dubai 03:50 QTR 1081 Doha 19:40 MSR 610 Cairo 13:00 ETD 306 Abu Dhabi 04:00 KAC 613 Bahrain 20:00 MSR 579 Sohag 13:05 OMA 644 Muscat 04:05 GFA 218 Bahrain 20:15 KAC 522 Al Najaf 13:45 MSR 613 Cairo 04:10 KAC 283 Dhaka 20:30 FDB 057 Dubai 13:50 QTR 1085 Doha 04:15 KNE 475 Jeddah 20:45 QTR 1078 Doha 13:55 PIA 240 Sialkot/Islamabad 04:35 TBZ 5484 Mashhad 20:45 KAC 672 Dubai 14:00 MSC 406 Sohag 04:45 IRA 604 Esfahan 20:50 JZR 778 Jeddah 14:10 FDB 068 Dubai 05:00 OMA 648 Muscat 20:55 MSR 575 Sharm el-Sheikh 14:15 QTR 1077 Doha 05:15 KAC 331 Trivandrum 20:55 SVA 500 Jeddah 14:30 JAI 575 Abu Dhabi/Kochi 06:45 ABY 120 Sharjah 21:00 KNE 472 Jeddah 14:35 JZR 164 Dubai 06:55 KAC 361 Colombo 21:00 IRC 6692 Mashhad 14:40 THY 765 Istanbul 07:05 MSR 607 Luxor 21:05 KAC 562 Amman 14:50 GFA 212 Bahrain 07:15 JAI 571 Mumbai 21:10 GFA 221 Bahrain 15:00 JZR 240 Amman 07:20 KAC 351 Kochi 21:10 KAC 788 Jeddah 15:10 THY 771 Istanbul 07:30 DLH 636 Dammam 21:35 IRM 1184 Shiraz 15:15 FDB 054 Dubai 08:30 KAC 543 Cairo 21:40 KNE 470 Jeddah 15:35 JZR 779 Jeddah 08:40 FDB 072 Dubai 21:45 KNE 462 Madinah 15:45 BAW 156 London 08:45 DHX 171 Bahrain 21:50 NIA 251 Alexandria 15:50 QTR 1087 Doha 08:50 ALK 230 Colombo 22:10 JZR 535 Cairo 15:50 JZR 534 Cairo 09:00 MEA 403 Beirut 22:20 JAV 621 Amman 15:55 KAC 537 Sohag/Sharm el-Sheikh 09:05 ETD 308 Abu Dhabi 22:20 KNE 460 Riyadh 16:00 KAC 787 Jeddah 09:25 KNE 461 Riyadh 22:30 KAC 118 New York 16:35 KAC 561 Amman 09:25 GFA 220 Bahrain 22:30 QTR 1072 Doha 16:40 KAC 671 Dubai 09:30 KAC 301 Mumbai 22:35 UAE 857 Dubai 16:40 JZR 324 Al Najaf 09:35 FDB 060 Dubai 22:40 JZR 357 Mashhad 16:45 ABY 126 Sharjah 09:40 UAE 860 Dubai 22:50 ETD 303 Abu Dhabi 16:50 KAC 101 London/New York 09:50 KAC 381 Delhi 22:50 RJA 640 Amman 16:55 UAE 856 Dubai 09:55 KAC 205 Islamabad 22:55 JZR 787 Riyadh 17:00 ETD 302 Abu Dhabi 10:05 JZR 552 Alexandria 23:00 UAL 982 IAD 17:05 KAC 521 Al Najaf 10:05 KLM 415 Dammam/Amsterdam 23:05 KAC 538 Sohag/Sharm el-Sheikh 17:05 FDB 056 Dubai 10:20 QTR 1075 Doha 23:10 SVA 510 Riyadh 17:15 JZR 356 Mashhad 10:45 KAC 411 Bangkok/Manila 23:55

Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw) SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Word Search DOWN CROSSWORD494 1. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad. 2. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa. 3. Gum resin used especially in treating skin irritation. 4. The 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 5. An impure form of quartz consisting of banded chalcedony. 6. (Greek mythology) Greek goddess of the night. 7. The highest point of something. 8. A unit of weight equivalent to 1000 kilograms. 9. Being one more than two. 10. A town in southeastern New Mexico on the Pecos River near the Mexican bor- der. 11. Used of a single unit or thing. 12. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers. 13. Type genus of the Ranidae. 14. Scottish sea captain who was hired to protect British shipping in the Indian Ocean and then was accused of piracy and hanged (1645-1701). 19. Mar or spoil the appearance of. 22. A Buddhist who has attained nirvana. 24. A New England state. 26. An accountant certified by the state. 30. A large fleet. 32. Silver-coated candy bead for decorating cakes. 33. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 35. The capital and largest city of Mozambique. 36. A drug (trade names Atarax and Vistaril) used as a tranquilizer to treat anxiety and motion sickness. 37. The Teutonic goddess of fertility. 39. Inquire about. 40. A collection of things wrapped or boxed together. 43. A small cake leavened with yeast. 47. Goddess of the dead and queen of the underworld. 49. (India) Absolutely first class and genuine. ACROSS 51. Widely separated especially in space. 1. A light touch or stroke. 52. A river of southwestern Africa that rises in central Angola and flows east and 4. Low stingless nettle of Central and South America having velvety brownish- then north (forming part of the border between Angola and Congo) and continu- green toothed leaves and clusters of small green flowers. ing northwest through Congo to empty into the Congo River on the border 12. (Judaism) Sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets con- between Congo and Republic of the Congo. Yesterday’s Solution taining the Ten Commandments. 56. A hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their 15. A unit of surface area equal to 100 square meters. characteristic color. 16. Of or relating to or characteristic of Egypt or its people or their language. 60. An island of central Hawaii. 17. Of or relating to or characteristic of Thailand of its people. 61. Liquid excretory product. 18. An unofficial association of people or groups. 63. A former copper coin of Pakistan. 20. An edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle. 65. African tree with edible yellow fruit resembling mangos. 21. A republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the island of Ireland. 66. Made from or covered with gold. 23. Of the most contemptible kind. 68. The state of needing something that is absent or unavailable. 25. Being ten more than eighty. 69. A small restaurant where drinks and snacks are sold. 27. Toward the mouth or oral region. 70. Type genus of the family Arcidae. 28. Located farther aft. 72. An associate degree in applied science. 29. An archaic name for Easter or Passover. 73. Usually large hard-shelled seed. 31. Designer drug designed to have the effects of amphetamines (it floods the 75. A condition (mostly in boys) characterized by behavioral and learning disor- brain with serotonin) but to avoid the drug laws. ders. 34. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else. 79. A ductile gray metallic element of the lanthanide series. 38. Any plant of the genus Erica. 41. A very wealthy or powerful businessman. 42. God of wisdom or prophesy. Yesterday’s Solution 44. (in golf) The standard number of strokes set for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course. 45. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. 46. Of or relating to or characteristic of the Republic of Chad or its people or lan- guage. 48. The occurrence of a sudden discharge (as of liquid). 50. An accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape. 53. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 54. A state in the western United States. 55. (Judaism) A Jewish festival (traditionally 8 days) celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. 57. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism. 58. The ball-and-socket joint between the head of the femur and the acetabulum. 59. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas. 62. (Irish) Mother of the Tuatha De Danann. 64. The younger brother of Edwy who became king of Northumbria when it renounced Edwy. 67. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill. 71. Of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East Indies or their peoples or Challenging Mazes languages or cultures. 74. Region of western Asia Minor colonized by Ancient Greeks. 76. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 77. The compass point that is midway between north and northeast. 78. The largest city and principal port of New Zealand. 80. A fluorocarbon with chlorine. 81. The sense organ for hearing and equilibrium. 82. Made steady or constant. 83. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

Daily SuDoku Yesterday’s Solution SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

EDMONTON: Luke Gazdic #20 of the Edmonton Oilers fights Zenon Konopka #24 of the Buffalo Sabres during an NHL game at Rexall Place on March 20, 2014 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. — AFP Red Wings fly over Penguins

DETROIT: Daniel Alfredsson scored his sec- KINGS 2, CAPITALS 1, SO game losing streak. Drew Stafford also scored and 23rd in the last 24. Brendan Gallagher ond goal of the game with 1 second left in Marian Gaborik got the deciding goal in for Buffalo, which had been outscored 21-6 and Thomas Vanek scored for the Canadiens, overtime to give the Detroit Red Wings a 5-4 the shootout and Los Angeles beat during its skid. Taylor Hall had Edmonton’s and Carey Price stopped 37 shots. Johansen victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Washington to give Darryl Sutter his 500th goal as it ended a two-game win streak in a took advantage of rookie defenseman Jarred Thursday. regular-season victory as an NHL coach. matchup of teams with the worst records in Tinordi’s giveaway at the Canadiens’ blue line. Alfredsson’s shot went off Pittsburgh goal- Jonathan Quick tied Rogie Vachon for the the NHL. The Oilers (25-37-9) dropped to 10- Johansen intercepted a weak pass and beat tender Marc-Andre Fleury and appeared to be most career victories by a Kings goaltender 5-3 in their last 18 games, and are 11 points Price on a partial breakaway for his team-lead- knocked into the net by Penguins defense- and stopped Alex Ovechkin, who leads the ahead of the Sabres (20-42-8). Edmonton had ing 27th goal of the year at 16:59 of the third man Rob Scuderi, who scored into his own league with 46 goals, on the Capitals’ second numerous chances on the power play late in period. net earlier in the game. The goal stood after shot in the tiebreaker. Ovechkin is 2 for 15 this the first period before Justin Schultz and Hall video review. Detroit was up 2-0, trailed 3-2 season in the tiebreaker and 25 for 83 in his connected for a man-advantage goal on DEVILS 4, WILD 3, OT and led 4-3 lead with 7:43 left. Craig Adams career. Quick made 21 saves, losing his Buffalo goalie Matt Hacket, who was making Andy Greene scored from in close 2 min- pulled Pittsburgh back into a tie two minutes shutout bid with 7:36 remaining when Joel his first start of the season for the Sabres. utes into overtime as New Jersey ended a later. Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar and Todd Ward extended his goal-scoring streak to a Conacher tied the score near the midpoint of three-game losing streak by beating Bertuzzi also scored for Detroit. Evgeni Malkin career-best four games with his 22nd of the the second period and then put them ahead Minnesota in Zach Parise’s first game against season. Anze Kopitar scored at 14:09 of the early in the third. his former teammates. Adam Henrique and had two goals and Lee Stempniak added one first period for Los Angeles. Patrik Elias each had three assists and com- for Pittsburgh Fleury made 25 saves. Detroit’s COYOTES 2, PANTHERS 1 bined to set up the game-winner for New Jimmy Howard stopped 39 shots. FLYERS 4, STARS 2 Radim Vrbata and Antoine Vermette Jersey, which blew a two-goal third-period Wayne Simmonds scored two goals as scored first-period goals as Phoenix held on lead. Michael Ryder, Mark Fayne and Jaromir SHARKS 3, DUCKS 2 Philadelphia beat Dallas for its fourth straight to win its third in a row. Coyotes goalie Mike Jagr also scored for New Jersey, which played Brent Burns scored the tiebreaking goal win. Mark Streit and Michael Raffl also scored Smith had a shutout until Chris Gomez scored with a lot more energy with their playoff with 3:59 to play to help San Jose beat for Philadelphia, which maintained its hold on with 4:08 to play. Smith had 22 saves. Phoenix hopes fading in the wake of the losing streak. Anaheim and take sole possession of first second place in the Metropolitan Division. has won five of six and seven of nine. Vrbata’s Parise, Mikael Granlund and Matt Cooke tal- place in the Pacific Division for the first time in Jamie Benn scored twice for Dallas, which lost goal came on a power play. The victory, cou- lied for the Wild, who have points in 17 of 21 more than three months. its fourth straight. The Stars began the day pled with Dallas’ loss to Philadelphia, put the games. Joe Thornton tied the game earlier in the two points behind Phoenix for the final wild- Coyotes four points ahead of the Stars for the third and got his second assist on the game- card spot in the Western Conference. eighth and final playoff spot in the West. LIGHTNING 5, SENATORS 4 winner for the Sharks, who have won seven of Simmonds scored his second of the game Robert Luongo had 20 saves for the Panthers. Teddy Purcell scored twice and Ryan eight to move two points ahead of Anaheim, with 7:39 left to put Philadelphia ahead 3-1. Callahan had a power-play goal midway although the Ducks have a game in hand. The Just 30 seconds later, Benn scored his second BLUE JACKETS 3, CANADIENS 2 through the third period to lead Tampa Bay Sharks, who trailed by 13 points after games of the contest. Raffl provided some insurance Ryan Johansen scored late in the third over Ottawa. Valteri Filpulla and Eric Brewer on Jan. 15, have not been alone in first since for Philadelphia by beating Thomas with a period to give Columbus a victory that ended also scored for the Lightning, who have won Dec 6. Patrick Marleau also scored and Antti backhander on a breakaway with 3:12 to play. Montreal’s three-game winning streak. Derek five in a row. Ben Bishop stopped 27 shots. Niemi made 26 saves for San Jose. Teemu MacKenzie and Brandon Dubinsky also scored Clarke MacArthur, Erik Karlsson, Ales Hemsky Selanne and Mathieu Perreault scored for the SABRES 3, OILERS 1 for Columbus. Sergei Bobrovsky, the reigning and Milan Michalek scored for the Senators. Ducks, who have lost six of their last eight. Cory Conacher had two goals and an assist Vezina Trophy winner, made 25 saves while Robin Lehner had 23 saves while losing his Frederik Andersen made 25 saves. as Buffalo beat Edmonton to end a seven- starting the Blue Jackets’ 16th straight game sixth straight game. — AP SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Williams shrugs off slow Thunder start, wins Miami opener overwhelm Sharapova eases past Nara Cavaliers

MIAMI: World number one Serena Williams overcame a wobbly CLEVELAND: Kevin Durant scored 35 points and start to open the defense of her Sony Open crown with a spirited Serge Ibaka had 16 as the Oklahoma City Thunder 7-6(9-7) 6-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova on held off a furious Cleveland comeback for a 102-95 Thursday. Fourth seeded Russian Maria Sharapova, who lost to win over the injury-riddled Cavaliers on Thursday. Williams in last year’s final, turned in a steady opening effort The Thunder won their 50th game of the season to after a shock third round exit at Indian Wells last week, brushing move within 11/2 games of San Antonio for the best past Japan’s Kurumi Nara 6-3 6-4. record in the NBA’s Western Conference. Durant A six-time winner on the Miami hardcourts, Williams’ second round meeting with the 59th-ranked Shvedova was expected to missed five of his first six shots, but the league’s top be little more than a tuneup for the 17-time grand slam winner scorer finally found his touch. He has scored 25 or but for a brief moment the match delivered some unexpected more in 33 straight games - the NBA’s second- suspense. “She was doing a little bit of everything,” Williams told longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consec- reporters. “She was hitting hard; she was hitting soft; she was utive times (1986-87). Three teams jockeying for doing a little bit of everything. “I was making a little more errors playoff position in the tight Western Conference than what I should have been making, what I should’ve made, also got victories. The Houston Rockets, currently in and that kind of threw me for a loop, as well. “She was up a fourth place, got 28 points from James Harden in a break (in the first set) and I started just really trying to fight to 129-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. make the shots. Turkish center Omer Asik started in his place of “And then when she was serving for the first set I really just injured Dwight Howard, who has an a strained left tried to be more Serena like.” The contest began with Williams ankle, and scored 12 points as the Rockets won for seizing control 3-1 but Shvedova had a sparse centre court the seventh time in 10 games to maintain a 11/2- crowd buzzing after breaking the American twice on the way to game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland a 5-3 lead. But with Shvedova serving for the match, Williams also picked up a win Thursday, defeating the showed why she is the sport’s dominant player breaking her Washington Wizards 116-103. Wesley Matthews opponent and forcing the opening set to a tiebreak. In the had 28 points and Damian Lillard added 23 points tiebreak, Shvedova, who had never taken a set off Williams in and 10 assists for the Blazers, who remained in fifth three previous meetings, surged ahead 6-3 but then crumbled place with three victories in their last four games under the mounting pressure, double-faulting before the after a four-game losing streak. Golden State is just defending champion blasted a pair of aces past her. 11/2 games behind after a tougher-than-expected Williams then clinched the set in emphatic fashion, a crushing 115-110 victory over the NBA-worst Milwaukee forehand followed by an equally forceful fist-pump. After trading Bucks. Stephen Curry had 31 points and 11 assists breaks to open the second set, Shvedova would hold serve and Klay Thompson scored 29 as Golden State before a focused Williams moved in for the kill, sweeping the moved 18 games over .500 for the first time in 20 next five games to secure passage to the next round. “It’s defi- years. The Warriors are in sixth place in the West, nitely going to help, knowing that I was able to pull that through KEY BISCAYNE: Serena Williams of the USA celebrates win- 21/2 games ahead of Memphis and Dallas with 12 after being down pretty drastically,” said Williams, will next face ning a point against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan dur- games left. Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia who advanced to the third round ing their match on day 4 of the Sony Open on March 20, 2014. — AFP with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) upset of 27th seed Klara Zakopalova of ROCKETS 129, TIMBERWOLVES 106 the Czech Republic. son, narrowly avoided an early exit and needed a third set tie- James Harden had 28 points with eight assists as A five-time runnerup in Miami, Sharapova has her sights firm- break to tame China’s Peng Shuai 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-5). Eighth seed- Houston rolled to victory over Minnesota. The ly set on finally making the Miami’s winner’s circle but will not ed Czech Petra Kvitova advanced with a straight-forward 6-3 6-4 Rockets trailed by as many as 10 before using a big face a re-match in the final against Williams, with both on the win over Argentine Paula Ormaechea. Italy’s Sara Errani, the same side of the draw. “Obviously I have been close, and I have run in the second quarter to take the lead. Turkish ninth seed, eased past Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-1 6-4. center Omer Asik started in his place of injured had my fair share of chances of winning the tournament,” said Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic, seeded 12th, raced into the third round Sharapova. “Obviously I’m still looking for that. “But with that Dwight Howard, who has an a strained left ankle, with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of American Lauren Davis while Italy’s and scored 12 points as the Rockets won for the sev- said, I have had really great experiences, great matches with her, Flavia Pennetta, riding the momentum from her BNP Parisbas enth time in 10 games. Kevin Love scored 29 points and it would be really special if I could win it, for sure. “I expect Open win at Indian Wells on Sunday, moved on with a 6-3 6-3 and Senegalese rookie Gorgui Dieng had 22 points to win because I have won before. I have won tournaments win over Belarusian Olga Govortsova. Former US Open champi- before.” It was smooth passage for all the top 10 seeds in action. on Sam Stosur of Australia, the 16th seed, was an easy 6-3-6-2 and 21 rebounds, both career-highs. Fifth seeded German Angelique Kerber, twice a finalist this sea- winner over Netherlands’ Kiki Bertens. — Reuters TRAIL BLAZERS 116, WIZARDS 103 Wesley Matthews had 28 points, including four 3- pointers, as Portland beat Washington. Damian Nieminen beats Tomic Lillard added 23 points and 10 assists for the Blazers, who are still without injured All Star LaMarcus Aldridge. Portland remained in fifth place in the in record 28 minutes Western Conference with three victories in their last four games after a four-game losing streak. John MIAMI: Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen claimed the fastest ever ATP Tour 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finals at the age of 18, Tomic was booted off Wall had 24 points and 14 assists for the Wizards, win on Thursday by crushing Australian Bernard Tomic 6-0 6-1 in 28 Australia’s Davis Cup team the following year for a perceived lack of who have lost two straight to open four-game West minutes and 20 seconds to advance to the second round of the Sony commitment in the wake of a string of late-season fade-outs. He Coast swing. Open. World number 74 Tomic had not played since retiring injured earned the nickname ‘Tomic the Tank Engine’ after an infamous against Rafa Nadal in the Australian Open first round in January and straight sets loss to American Andy Roddick at the 2012 US Open WARRIORS 115, BUCKS 110 won just 13 points in the shortest match since the Tour began keeping where he was accused of not trying by former players and pundits. Stephen Curry had 31 points and 11 assists and official records in 1991. His career has since been overshadowed by his father and coach Klay Thompson scored 29 as Golden State moved 18 Nieminen’s win eclipsed the 1996 record set by Briton Greg John Tomic, who was found guilty by a Spanish court last year for games over .500 for the first time in 20 years. David Rusedski who defeated Carsten Arriens 6-0 6-0 at the Sydney assaulting a former practice partner and banned by the ATP from Lee added 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the International in 29 minutes. “I felt like I did the best that I could and I’m accreditation to his son’s events. Despite playing injured against Warriors win a tougher-than-expected game against happy with the way I’m coming back,” said 21-year-old Tomic, who Spanish world number one Rafa Nadal, Tomic was jeered by centre the NBA’s worst team. Golden State remains in sixth had hip surgery after Melbourne Park. “Hopefully in a little bit of time I court fans at his home grand slam when he pulled out the match after place in the tight Western Conference standings, can get back to 100 percent. “It’s not easy but I’m trying, doing every- losing the first set. News of his record trouncing by 40th-ranked jour- 11/2 games behind Portland and 21/2 games ahead thing, doing my best to get there.” neyman Nieminen drew scathing criticism in Australian media and of Memphis and Dallas with 12 games left. Brandon Once regarded his country’s brightest prospect and a future top 10 social networks on Friday. “Tomic was returning from a month off with player, Australian tennis fans have grown increasingly weary of the injury so there will be excuses,” a column on News Ltd websites said. Knight had 27 points and eight rebounds, and two-time junior grand slam champion’s lack of progress along with a “But this performance didn’t so much scrape the bottom of the barrel Ramon Sessions scored 18 for Milwaukee, which has string of controversies that have blighted his career. After reaching the as drill straight through it.”— Reuters lost six straight and nine of 10. — Agencies SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Chigumbura fires India maintain WCup Zimbabwe to win record, beat Pakistan SYLHET: Allrounder Elton Chigumbura struck a fiery half- century to help Zimbabwe achieve a five-wicket win over United Arab Emirates in Sylhet yesterday, keeping their MIRPUR: India maintained their hopes of reaching the next round alive. Chigumbura impeccable World Cup record against smashed three sixes and six boundaries in his 21-ball 53 not Pakistan after Virat Kohli’s fluent 36 out to lift Zimbabwe from a struggling 34-4 and surpass a not out powered them to a seven- modest 117-run target in 13.4 overs. The win also lifted wicket victory against the arch-rivals Zimbabwe’s net run-rate over Ireland who face the in a group two super 10 stage match Netherlands in the crucial match to decide which team of the World Twenty20 yesterday. Put qualifies for the Super-10 stage from Group B. into bat, Pakistan did not get the fly- Bangladesh qualified for the Super-10 from Group A on ing start they were looking for and Thursday. Chigumbura added a match-winning 55 for the could not mount a late assault either sixth wicket with Timycen Maruma who made 22 not out. against India’s disciplined bowlers Before that Zimbabwe were jolted by left-arm paceman who restricted them to 130-7 at the Manjula Guruge (2-18) who dismissed Hamilton Masakadza Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. (two) and Sean Williams (nought) in successive overs. India made a strong, if not spec- Zimbabwe’s best batsman skipper Brendan Taylor also tacular, start to their chase with their managed just 15. Taylor praised his team, especially openers adding 54 runs in eight overs Chigumbura. “It was nice to see the guys coming out and before Shikhar Dhawan (30) fell to playing with freedom. We were a bit more clinical today, Umar Gul to trigger a mini-collapse. even if we did lose a couple of early wickets but Elton was Rohit Sharma (24) dragged a Saeed the guy who did it for us,” he said. Ajmal delivery on to his stumps while UAE captain Khurram Khan showed disappointment Bilawal Bhatti rearranged Yuvraj after their third loss of the tournament. “We have to work Singh’s stumps as India slumped to on our fitness and hopefully next time around we go better 65-3 in the 11th over. Kohli displayed SCOREBOARD than this,” said Khan. The UAE owed their total to a 58-run the kind of form that has made him third wicket stand between Khan (26) and Swapnil Patil (30) the mainstay of Indian batting, play- DHAKA: Scoreboard of the World Twenty20 Super-10 round group two match between before left-arm spinner Williams took a career best 3-15 in ing with characteristic ease and grace India and Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka yesterday: four overs. The UAE lost their way before a ninth wicket to add 66 runs with Suresh Raina (35 stand of 27 between Shadeep Silva (13 not out) and not out) to win the match with nine Pakistan: (w2), Shami 4-0-31-1, Mishra 4-1-22-2, Kamran Shahzad (21) lifted them to 116-9 in their 20 overs. balls to spare and prolong India’s Kamran Akmal run out 8 Jadeja 4-0-18-1 (w1), Yuvraj 1-0-13-0. Sikander Raza (2-15) and Tendai Chatara (2-21) were also unbeaten record against Pakistan in Ahmed Shehzad st Dhoni b Mishra 22 India: among the wicket takers for Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe have 20-over and 50-over World Cups. Mohammad Hafeez c Kumar b Jadeja 15 R. Sharma b Ajmal 24 now two wins out of three games while Ireland have two Wary of the dew factor and confi- Umar Akmal c Raina b Shami 33 S. Dhawan c Ajmal b Gul 30 wins out of two and the Netherlands one win out of two dent of his team’s ability to chase Shoaib Malik c Raina b Mishra 18 V. Kohli not out 36 matches. under floodlights, India captain Shahid Afridi c Raina b Kumar 8 Y. Singh b Bhatti 1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni earlier asked Sohaib Maqsood run out 21 S. Raina not out 35 Netherlands oust Ireland Pakistan to bat first and opened with Bilawal Bhatti not out 0 Extras: (w5) 5 In another development, The Netherlands smashed the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Extras: (lb2, w3) 5 Total (for three wickets, 18.3 overs) 131 record for most sixes in an innings on their way to upsetting Kamran Akmal warmed up with a Total (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 130 Fall of wickets: 1-54 (Dhawan), 2-64 Ireland in Sylhet yesterday, romping into the Super-10 stages couple of boundaries before running Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Kamran Akmal), 2-44 (Sharma), 3-65 (Yuvraj). in the World Twenty20. Wesley Barresi hit Tim Murtagh over himself out in the second over follow- (Hafeez), 3-47 (Shehzad), 4-97 (Malik), 5- Bowling: Hafeez 3-0-14-0, Junaid 3-0-23-0, mid-wicket for the 19th six of the innings to seal an emphatic ing a comical mix-up with Ahmed 103 (Umar Akmal), 6-114 (Afridi), 7-130 Ajmal 4-0-18-1, Gul 3.3-0-35-1 (w3), Afridi six wicket win as the Netherlands chased down a daunting Shehzad. Shehzad featured in anoth- (Maqsood). 3-0-24-0 (w2), Bhatti 2-0-17-1, 190-run target in just 13.5 overs. Their rampaging victory er confusion in the very next delivery Bowling: Ashwin 4-0-23-0, Kumar 3-0-21-1 India won by seven wickets. means the Netherlands qualify for the Super-10 from Group but was fortunate as Dhoni’s direct B at the expense of more fancied Zimbabwe and Ireland. throw missed stumps as the batsman They join Group One in the next round. hurried back abandoning his pursuit (15) could not make the most of the reprieve Akmal (33) added 50 runs with Shoaib Malik (18) In all 30 sixes were hit in the match beating the previous for a non-existent single. and fell to Ravindra Jadeja’s third delivery after but fell to Mishra just when he looked set for a record of 24 set by New Zealand and India at Christchurch Hafeez also had his share of luck Bhuvaneshwar Kumar ran from deep cover to late assault to push the score. Much depended in 2009. Australia previously held the record for most sixes as Yuvraj, usually a safe catcher, take a low, diving catch. Shehzad (22) joined on Shahid Afridi when he walked in but the all- in a Twenty20 innings with 18, smashed against England at dropped him at deep midwicket off him in the pavilion in the next over, having rounder fell for eight as Raina took a diving catch Southampton last year. The Netherlands needed to notch Mohammad Shami when the charged out only to be completely foxed by leg- in the deep to snuff out Pakistan’s hopes of a late the target in 14.2 overs and they owed their exhilarating Pakistan captain was on five. Hafeez spinner Amit Mishra’s prodigious turn. Umar surge. — Reuters chase to a fiery 23-ball 63 by opener Stephan Myburgh, 15- ball 45 by Tom Cooper and an unbeaten 22-ball 40 by Barresi. The defeat was a heartbreak for Ireland who beat Zimbabwe in their opening match but they failed to stop the rampaging Dutch led by Myburgh. Myburgh was in a punishing mood as he smashed three sixes in off-spinner Andy McBrine’s second over of the innings and then as many sixes and one boundary in one Alex Cusack’s over. He then brought up his second Twenty20 fifty in the event with a sweetly timed boundary off Tim Murtagh, off just 17 deliveries. The left-hander equalled the second fastest T20 fifty set by rival opener Paul Stirling, hit against Afghanistan in Dubai two years ago. The record for the fastest T20 fifty is held by India’s Yuvraj Singh who hit a 12-ball fifty against England in Durban in 2007. Myburgh, who smashed seven sixes and four bound- aries, finally holed out off George Dockrell at deep mid- wicket boundary with the total at 98. Cooper carried on from where Myburgh left off, hitting four sixes off Dockrell’s 11th over. Cooper’s innings had six sixes and a boundary. Winning captain Peter Borren felt for his rivals. “I am sad for Ireland,” said Borren. “They played very well for 2.5 games. It was Myburgh who set the scene. I am not really sure if I have seen cleaner hitting.” “We beat England in 2009 and that was a pretty special night. I will go back and sing the team song with the rest.” Ireland captain William Porterfield admitted his team fell short. — Agencies DHAKA: Pakistan’s batsman Umar Akmal (right) plays a shot as India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni reacts during their ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup match in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday. — AP SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Wenger - Arsenal’s professorial pioneer LONDON: Arsene Wenger will take charge standing attachment to possession foot- es and looks more like a schoolteacher.” ed with unfulfilled expectations. High-pro- of his 1,000th match as Arsenal manager ball-have now been universally adopted. Alex Ferguson’s United were England’s file departures (Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, today, and the rest of English football is still Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein dominant force, but Wenger quickly set Robin van Persie), allied with Wenger’s playing catch-up. London newspaper the has described Wenger, 64, as a “miracle- about challenging their superiority, spark- reluctance to spend big on new players, Evening Standard screamed “ARSENE worker”, who “revolutionized the club”. For ing off a ferocious rivalry. His early signings have rendered Arsenal’s teams flimsier and WHO?” when the urbane Frenchman was former Liverpool defender turned televi- were his most impressive, with young less pragmatic, and their failures have been hired by Arsenal in September 1996, but sion pundit Jamie Carragher, he “changed French players like Patrick Vieira and spectacular. 17-and-a-half years on, he has helped to the face of English football”. Thierry Henry either plucked from obscurity A side apparently destined for the title revolutionize the English game. When or rescued from disadvantageous situa- collapsed mid-way through the 2007-08 Wenger first arrived from Japanese club ‘Looks like a schoolteacher’ tions and transformed into global stars. The season after a bruising 2-2 draw at Nagoya Grampus Eight, Arsenal’s old guard Born and raised in Alsace, north-eastern 2003-04 ‘Invincibles’ season was the stuff of Birmingham City and it was against the baulked at the methods he introduced, France, Wenger had an unremarkable play- legend, as a team spearheaded by Henry same team that Arsenal crashed to a which included individualized dietary pro- ing career with local teams including cut elegant swathes through the Premier calamitous defeat in the final of the 2011 grams and intensive stretching routines. Mulhouse and Strasbourg, finding time to League to complete the first unbeaten top- League Cup. Nonetheless, they remain reg- His decision to ban the players from tuck- purse an economics degree that he com- flight campaign since Preston North End in ular Champions League participants, and ing into post-match chocolate bars almost pleted in 1974. His studiousness made him 1889. Legendary former Nottingham Forest with the team still in contention in both the sparked a mutiny, but they quickly came to an ideal fit for management, and he manager Brian Clough-never one to mince FA Cup and the Premier League this sea- appreciate the wisdom behind his enjoyed notable success in France, guiding his words-described Wenger’s team as son, their nine-year trophy drought may approach. Monaco to the Ligue 1 title and the French “nothing short of incredible”. soon reach its end. Whatever the outcome, Instituting a slick, passing game, Cup before leaving for Japan in 1995. His Wenger’s legacy is secure. Remodelled in Wenger led the north London club to two sojourn in the Far East only added to the Goodbye Highbury his image, Arsenal are now an internation- Premier League and FA Cup doubles-in sense of novelty when a slight, bespecta- The 2006 Champions League final in ally celebrated brand with a huge global 1998 and 2002 - before guiding them to an cled figure-quickly dubbed ‘Le Professeur’- Paris should have been their crowning glo- fan base, locked in symbiotic synonymity unbeaten season as champions in 2004. was unveiled by Arsenal as the successor to ry, but a 2-1 loss to Barcelona prefigured with their pioneering figurehead. “His team The trophies have dried up since a success Bruce Rioch on a sunny autumn day in profound change. Arsenal left Highbury for play the right way and he has a stadium on penalties against Manchester United in 1996. “At first I thought, what does this the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium-which that is full every week,” summarized his old the 2005 FA Cup, but the practices that Frenchman know about football?” said Wenger helped to design-later that year, foe Ferguson. “He has been an incredible Wenger introduced-as well as his long- then-captain Tony Adams. “He wears glass- and the new ground has become associat- manager for that football club.”— AFP Wenger targeting title Wenger’s top boost in 1,000th game Arsenal signings

LONDON: Arsene Wenger will hope to mark his LONDON: Arsene Wenger will take and elevated his dashing style to new 1,000th match as Arsenal manager by eating into charge of his 1,000th match as heights during six memorable years at Chelsea’s four-point lead at the Premier League sum- Arsenal manager today when the Arsenal. Was also an amazing value mit when the London rivals collide today. It is nine Gunners visit Chelsea. Here AFP takes replacement for Marc Overmars who years since Wenger last lifted a trophy, but Arsenal’s a look at the French coach’s best sign- was sold that same summer by 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend took ings since he arrived in north London Wenger for £25 million. Rated sixth on them to within four points of Chelsea, who had in 1996, as well as a couple he would the all-time list of Arsenal’s greatest slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa a day earlier. rather forget: ever players. Arsenal also have a game in hand on Jose Mourinho’s side, meaning that victory at Stamford Bridge would PATRICK VIEIRA SOL CAMPBELL give them the upper hand on their cross-town foes as Despite being a virtual unknown at Enraged Tottenham supporters the title race enters the finishing straight. the time, Wenger made the combative when he quit White Hart Lane to make With Arsenal also through to the FA Cup semi- French midfielder his first target when the short trip across north London, finals, where they will play holders Wigan Athletic, joining Arsenal and snapped him up joining Arsenal on a free transfer and Wenger admits he has allowed himself little time for for what proved a bargain price of just proving an inspired swoop by nostalgic thoughts. “It makes you feel, ‘Where did the £3.5 million in 1996. Vieira became the Wenger. The England centre-back time go?’” he told the Arsenal website. “It looks to Gunners’ inspirational captain during went on to be the defensive rock of a me like I started yesterday. I can’t believe it is such a eight years at the club, winning seven team that won three FA Cups and two long time. “Why? Because you’re always focused on club trophies plus the World Cup and Premier League titles, including going looking forward to the next game and when you look European Championships with France. the entire 2003-04 league season back you think, ‘I made quite a distance there.’” undefeated. And here’s two that Chelsea manager Mourinho faces a Football THIERRY HENRY didn’t quite pan out the way Wenger Association misconduct charge after being sent to Wenger had the foresight to see would have wanted: the stands during the loss at Villa, but he enjoyed a that the gifted but erratic Henry, who more memorable outing on Tuesday when his side was being played as a winger by FRANCIS JEFFERS beat Galatasaray 2-0 to reach the Champions League Juventus, could develop into an out- Hailed by Wenger as his “fox in the quarter-finals. and-out striker. The Frenchman soon box” after joining from Everton for Winger Eden Hazard is relishing the return to repaid his £11 million fee, becoming £10 million in 2001. Sadly his time in league action, telling the club website: “The game the outstanding striker in Europe and north London showed even an astute against Arsenal comes at an important moment Arsenal’s record goalscorer, claiming a judge of talent like Wenger could get because it follows a league defeat. “We will have a glittering array of silverware in the it horribly wrong as the diminutive LONDON: Arsenal’s French manager Arsene good rest and our great staff will help us recover. We process. striker scored only eight goals in 39 Wenger attends a training session at London are going to do our best in front of our own support- appearances before returning to Colney, in north London. — AFP ers in what is a big derby game. There is no better CESC FABREGAS Everton on loan in August 2003 and one to win.” Chelsea’s setback at Villa Park also and Cardiff have had some good results at home,” he In terms of a money-making sign- then joining Charlton permanently opened the door for second-place Liverpool and said. “We’ve got tough games right the way through. ing, there are few to equal Fabregas. the following year. fourth-place Manchester City. Like Arsenal, Liverpool We’ll speak about the run-in when it is finished at the He cost Arsenal just £500,000 in com- are four points behind Chelsea with a game in hand, end of the season.” After a three-week hiatus due to pensation to Barcelona in 2003, and ANDREI ARSHAVIN while City are potentially in an even stronger posi- various cup commitments, City returned to league the Catalan club bought him back in Arshavin arrived for a then Arsenal tion, two points further back but with three matches action with a 2-0 victory at Hull City last weekend. 2011 for £35 million after eight years record fee of £15 million in 2009 after in hand. They, too, face a struggling team this weekend, in which he was adored by Gunners earning plaudits across the world for with rock-bottom Fulham the visitors to the Etihad fans as the fulcrum of Wenger’s eye- his dazzling performances on the Rodgers cools run-in Stadium, and midfielder Fernandinho knows that his catching, if under-achieving, side. wing for Zenit St Petersburg and Liverpool recorded a fifth consecutive victory with side cannot afford to be distracted by thoughts of Russia. But he faded quickly, earning a fine 3-0 win at Manchester United last weekend, but next week’s derby at United. “Right now we need to ROBERT PIRES criticism for his lackadaisical attitude manager Brendan Rodgers has warned his players think just about Fulham, to beat them at home and The French winger arrived from on and off the field before being sent not to lose focus ahead of today’s trip to second-bot- play well, so we can take some confidence into next Marseille for a £6 million fee in 2000 packing back to Zenit last year. — AFP tom Cardiff City. “The run-in for us is the next game, Tuesday against United,” said the Brazilian. —AFP SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

Chelsea boss to contest Rodgers shying away from the FA misconduct charge EPL title talk

LONDON: Chelsea manager Jose LIVERPOOL: Brendan Rodgers continues to insist Mourinho announced yesterday that he there has been no discussion about Liverpool’s will contest the charge of improper Premier League title prospects as they look to pile conduct leveled by the Football the pressure on leaders Chelsea. Liverpool travel to Association following his side’s defeat Cardiff today four points behind Chelsea, with a at Aston Villa last weekend. The game in hand and with Jose Mourinho’s side still to Portuguese was charged after entering travel to Anfield. Last weekend’s 3-0 win at rivals Manchester United made it 26 points from a possi- the field of play during added time of a ble 30 since the start of 2014 for Liverpool and contentious game that ended with sparked renewed talk of a first championship since Mourinho’s side reduced to nine men 1990. following the dismissals of Willian and After the trip to Wales, Liverpool host struggling Ramires. Mourinho, who was fiercely Sunderland and off-color Tottenham before travel- critical of the performance of referee ling to West Ham. Home games against Chris Foy after the game, revealed that Manchester City and Chelsea come either side of a he will dispute the charge when he for- trip to Norwich and they finish the campaign with mally responds to the FA on Monday. matches against Crystal Palace and Newcastle. Speaking at his media briefing But Liverpool manager Rodgers is adamant that ahead of Chelsea’s meeting with not even the significant victory at Old Trafford has Arsenal at Stamford Bridge today, he had his players discussing ending the Anfield club’s said: “I don’t accept the charges. I have drought.”It was a wonderful result at Old Trafford to wait until Monday and work out but (there’s been) no talk about the title. what I will do. “For you, it’s enough to Chelsea’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho We are just enjoying our work and focused on know that, for obvious reasons, I don’t exchange in February when the would like to emulate Wenger with an Cardiff. “I don’t know how good the opportunity accept the charges.” Members of both Chelsea manager described his oppo- extended spell in charge of one club. “I is to win the league. There are tough games right benches encroached onto the playing site number as a “specialist in failure”. would like to do it, but it’s very, very dif- the way through. It’s a tough game against area at Villa Park immediately after ficult,” he said. “It was always difficult. In Cardiff. We will speak about the run in at the end of the season.” Ramires’s studs-up challenge on Villa ‘Difficult’ to emulate Wenger modern football, it’s even more difficult. Wales midfielder Joe Allen’s influence at midfielder Karim El Ahmadi, which Mourinho refused to discuss that “If I accumulate my first three and a bit Liverpool has been limited this season due to earned him a red card. Mourinho was exchange, but said that he admired years with Chelsea and this one, I have a injury and the form of others. But the former sent to the stands when he again Wenger’s longevity. Asked if he would few. Let’s see if I can reach, not 1,000, Swansea man, 24, has impressed in back-to-back crossed the touchline to approach Foy like to pay tribute to the Frenchman, he but 500. It would be fantastic.” Wenger matches against Southampton and United and after the referee had cleared the pitch. said: “The tribute is to say that I believe has never managed to register a victory Rodgers feels Allen will have a significant impact The Portuguese was fined £8,000 that any one of us, we would love to against a Mourinho team in 10 attempts, on the rest of the campaign. (£13,200, 9,600 euros) earlier this sea- have the same privilege with our clubs. but the Chelsea manager does not think “At Old Trafford, he covered more ground than son after being dismissed at Cardiff “I admire him and I admire Arsenal, that record will have any bearing today’s anyone. The way he presses the ball and looks after City and can expect a fine of around because it’s not possible to have 1,000 meeting. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s the ball; in this country, sometimes it can be £10,000 if he fails to overturn the latest matches unless the club is also a fantas- not against him. It’s Chelsea against frowned upon,” said former Swansea manager charge. Arsenal’s trip to Stamford tic club in the way they support the Arsenal. I didn’t play Arsenal with Inter, Rodgers. “People look for midfield players that are Bridge will mark Arsene Wenger’s manager, especially in the bad Madrid or Porto; just Chelsea. “It’s either scoring goals and wanting goals or smash- 1,000th game in charge of the moments, and especially when the bad Arsenal v Chelsea, not me against him. ing into challenges. “Joe is a really intelligent foot- Gunners. Mourinho’s relationship with moments were quite a lot. I admire the Records don’t play any role: a match is a baller; he understands the ball, he protects the ball the Arsenal manager has often been manager and the club.” match. It’s not coach against coach, it’s really well for the team, and his work-rate and strained and was marked by a fractious Mourinho also made it clear that he team against team.”— AFP intensity is incredible. “I believe that he is one of the top Premier League talents.” Man City’s Clichy Squad close to full fitness MATCHES ON TV As well as having no other competitions to con- tend with, Rodgers has also been boosted by his won’t settle for squad being close to full fitness for the final weeks ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE beIN SPORTS 2 HD of the season. France centre-back Mamadou Sakho, Chelsea v Arsenal 15:45 less than title who has been out since December with a ham- beIN SPORTS 1 GERMAN LEAGUE string injury, was on the bench at Old Trafford, beIN SPORTS 1 HD Stuttgart v Hamburger 17:30 MANCHESTER: Manchester City defender Gael leaving left-back Jose Enrique as the only played Cardiff v Liverpool 18:00 Dubai Sports Clichy has admitted that failure to win the Premier injured. Cardiff will kick off second bottom with League title this season would be unacceptable beIN SPORTS 1 Hannover 96 v Dortmund 17:30 their only win in their last six league outings being ahead of his side’s clash with Fulham today. City beIN SPORTS 1 HD Dubai Sports have already won the League Cup, but were on the a 3-1 success over basement club Fulham. West Ham v Man United 20:30 FSV Mainz 05 v Bayern Munich 17:30 end of a shock defeat by Wigan Athletic in the FA Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has failed to better beIN SPORTS 1 Dubai Sports Cup quarter-finals and were knocked out of the the results of his predecessor, Malky Mackay, and beIN SPORTS 1 HD VfL Wolfsburg v Augsburg 17:30 Champions League in the last 16 by Barcelona. They Cardiff supporters are planning to protest against Dubai Sports are currently fourth in the Premier League and six owner Vincent Tan before the match. ITALIAN LEAGUE Schalke 04 v E Braunschweig 17:30 points behind table-topping Chelsea although they They are upset that the Malaysian will not over- AC Chievo Verona v Roma 22:45 Dubai Sports have three games in hand on the leaders. And turn his controversial decision to ditch the club’s beIN SPORTS 3 Borussia M v Hertha Berlin 20:30 France international left-back Clichy said City must traditional blue shirts in favour of red, which Tan beIN SPORTS 3 HD Dubai Sports put recent disappointments behind them and go on regards as luckier-although no evidence for that and secure the only trophy they are still involved in. has yet presented itself on the pitch this season. SPANISH LEAGUE FRENCH LEAGUE “Just winning the Capital One (League) Cup won’t be Liverpool will aim to take full advantage of their Granada v Elche CF 18:00 Marseille v Stade Rennes 19:00 enough,” Clichy said. “If you don’t have this energy hosts’ problems and Cardiff striker Craig Bellamy, a beIN SPORTS 2 beIN SPORTS 5 and desire for winning every single game no matter former Anfield favorite himself, said: “This beIN SPORTS 2 HD beIN SPORTS 5 HD who you play, then you have nothing to do in City. Liverpool team, it’s the Liverpool team I grew up RCD Espanyol v Levante 20:00 Bastia v Stade Reims 22:00 “The project is fantastic, and we are lucky to be watching. here sharing this with the team-mates but, you beIN SPORTS 4 beIN SPORTS 5 know, it’s crunch time and we have to get the points “I get so excited watching Liverpool. I just feel beIN SPORTS 4 HD beIN SPORTS 5 HD until the end of the season starting with Fulham. “A this is such a great opportunity for Liverpool now Real Valladolid v Rayo Vallecano 22:00 FC Girondins v Nice 22:00 title is a title, this year is not in the pocket yet but to really establish themselves, and hopefully go on beIN SPORTS 4 beIN SPORTS 6 we’re going to try hard to give the fans who support and not just win a title, but kick on from there and beIN SPORTS 4 HD beIN SPORTS 6 HD City something to share at the end of the season.” dominate for a number of years.” The Bluebirds are Athletic de Bilbao v Getafe 0:00 Nantes v Montpellier 22:00 City won the 2011/12 Premier League title after they without injured defenders Mark Hudson, Ben beIN SPORTS 2 beIN SPORTS 9 HD chased down rivals Manchester United in the final Turner and Andy Taylor. — AFP few games. —AFP SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

SPL PREVIEW Celtic seek title tonic after Cup woes

GLASGOW: Celtic keeper Fraser Forster says before the Dons claimed their scalp in the you into the Champions League. You do work “The next few weeks are vital for us. If we securing another Scottish Premiership title Scottish Cup. Neil Lennon’s side were also hard for it. “It’s what you come back in early keep winning our matches then collectively it will make up for his side’s lack of success in dumped out of Europe following a poor in pre-season for. It justifies all the work you will all add up,” the English keeper said. “I cup competitions this season. The Glasgow Champions League campaign that saw the do throughout the season, if you go on and won a league before I came to Celtic and giants are 24 points clear of Aberdeen at the Parkhead club finish bottom of their group win the league. It’s always something special since coming here we’ve won a trophy every top of the table with just nine games left as with just one win. But Forster says finishing and it will be good if it comes along. “It’s year. “It’s obviously nice to win things and it’s they close in on their third successive champi- the season with a solitary trophy will still be a something the lads have been focused on a good pressure to have on you when you’re onship. Celtic, who host St Mirren today, are success as it provides a place in the since the start of the season. We’ve just been expected to win every game.” Elsewhere, just seven points away from three-in-a-row Champions League qualifiers. “It has been a chipping away at it and we’re getting near so today second place Aberdeen take on and can wrap up the title at Partick Thistle on bit disappointing in the cups but I feel we it’s important we continue to pick up results Kilmarnock at Pittodrie, Inverness Caledonian Wednesday if results go their way. have shown in the league how well we can and perform in a good manner as well.” Thistle will attempt to get over their League However, the Hoops have suffered disap- play and how consistent we can be,” the Forster says the desire to wrap up the title Cup final disappointment when they face pointment in both domestic cup competi- England international said. quickly means there is no way the Celtic play- Partick Thistle, Motherwell host Ross County tions this term as they were knocked out by “The league is the competition where you ers will be taking their foot off the gas in the at Fir Park and St Johnstone welcome Morton at the first hurdle in the League Cup play most games and fundamentally it gets coming weeks. Hibernian to McDiarmid Park. —AFP

GERMAN LEAGUE PREVIEW SPANISH LEAGUE PREVIEW ‘March madness’ as Bayern on verge of record triumph Barca ‘still believe’ BERLIN: Bayern Munich could be The 26-year-old suffered the injury in in Clasico chances crowned German league champions in the later stages of Dortmund’s 2-1 defeat record time today if they win at Mainz 05. at home to Zenit St Petersburg on Pep Guardiola’s Bayern hold an enormous Wednesday in the last 16 of the MADRID: Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta “Since the game in the first half of the season 23-point lead and victory would give Champions League. Dortmund still them the title providing rivals Borussia reached the quarter-finals with a 5-4 win has insisted they can turn around their poor we have improved a lot. We will need to be at Dortmund fail to win at Hanover and on aggregate having won the first-leg in away form and put themselves right back in our best, though, as you need to be at 100 per- Schalke do not beat bottom side Eintracht Russia 4-2 three weeks ago.Schmelzer’s the La Liga title race by beating leaders Real cent to beat Barcelona.” Real did suffer a blow Braunschweig at home. Should Bayern misfortune is the latest in a string of ail- Madrid tomorrow. The Catalans currently lie in in midweek as 21-year-old forward Jese wrap up a 24th German league title at ments to befall Dortmund, who are third, four points adrift of Real, having won just Rodriguez was ruled out for the rest of the sea- Mainz, they will do so with eight games to already without long-term knee injury-vic- one of their last five away games in La Liga. son with cruciate ligament damage in his right spare, breaking their own record of six, set tims centre-back Neven Subotic and However, Iniesta believes the Spanish champi- knee. That won’t affect Ancelotti’s starting line- last season. No side has ever been winger Jakub Blaszczykowski. ons showed in their two recent games against up, though, as the likes of Luka Modric, Angel di crowned German champions in March Despite last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City in the Champions League that Maria, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will and Bayern are bidding to become the home to Moenchengladbach, Dortmund they are still capable of beating anyone on return to the side after being rested from the first team to go through an entire are second in the table and are hoping to their day.”We have had bad days, like every- start in the 3-1 win over Schalke on Wednesday. Bundesliga campaign unbeaten. welcome back Germany winger Marco one, but no one can think that Madrid will beat The biggest winners of the weekend could Mainz, who are on their own five- Reus, who has missed their recent games us easily,” he told a press conference on be Atletico as at least one of their title rivals is match unbeaten run, have risen to fifth in with a leg injury. Schalke 04 host Thursday. guaranteed to drop points, whilst they travel to the table and are challenging for a Braunschweig without captain Benedikt “It is difficult to think that there are Barca bottom of the table Real Betis. Diego Simeone’s Champions League place next season. But Hoewedes, who has torn his left groin and fans that don’t believe in us. This team has won men will go top for a few hours at least should the Rhineland club are all too aware of the becomes the ninth Royal Blues’ player on the right to believe in it no matter what the sit- they win at the Benito Villamarin tomorrow enormous task facing them against the the injury list. This is the third injury of the uation is.” Barca boss Gerardo Martino will before Real and Barca kick-off. And Ancelotti European champions. “Perhaps the club season for the 26-year-old Germany cen- have the luxury of a fully-fit squad to choose warned his Real side not to underestimate who finally break Bayern Munich’s tre-back, who suffered the tear in from and looks set to name the side that start- Atletico’s title challenge even if they do see off unbeaten run should be given an extra Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid in the cup to mark the achievement. That’s what Champions League. Third-placed Schalke ed the home leg against City for just the sec- Barcelona. “It will be an open game, but I don’t we’re trying to win today,” said Mainz are just a point behind Dortmund, who ond time all season. That means Neymar and think it will decide the league because Atletico manager Christian Heidel. they meet in Tuesday’s Ruhr derby at Cesc Fabregas will return after being rested for are there too. I think the league will be decided Bayern will be at near full strength, Borussia’s Westfalenstadion. — AFP last weekend’s 7-0 win over Osasuna with in the last game of the season.” — AFP while Mainz are waiting on the fitness of Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez, who Cameroon striker Eric Choupo-Moting struck the winner the last time Barca met Real who has had a stomach infection. “We GERMAN LEAGUE TABLE back in October, dropping to the bench. Spanish La Liga table need to be brave and believe in a sensa- And Iniesta is urging his teammates to tional win against Bayern Munich,” said BERLIN: German League table ahead impose themselves on the game rather than MADRID: Spanish La Liga table ahead of the Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel.Should of this weekend’s matches (played, being cowed by the atmosphere at the weekend’s matches (played, won, drawn, lost, Bayern claim the title, any celebrations will won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals Bernabeu. “We need to play a perfect game goals for, goals against, points): be muted with the Bavarian giants in the against, points): because that is what the opponent will Real Madrid 28 22 4 2 77 26 70 quarter-finals of the Champions League demand of us, but we are capable of doing so. Atletico Madrid 28 21 4 3 64 21 67 and determined to defend their title. B Munich 25 23 2 0 74 12 71 “More than thinking about them, we need to Barcelona 28 21 3 4 81 22 66 “(Any party) wouldn’t last long, we still B Dortmund 25 15 3 7 56 29 48 think about ourselves. We need to be Barca, to Athletic Bilbao 28 15 7 6 51 32 52 have too many games ahead of us,” said Schalke 25 14 5 6 48 36 47 be brave. If we are not then it won’t go well for Real Sociedad 28 13 7 8 49 39 46 Bayern’s Dutch winger Arjen Robben. “We B Leverkusen 25 14 2 9 41 29 44 us. When things have gone well, it is because Villarreal 28 13 6 9 48 34 45 have a game every two or three days com- Mainz 25 12 5 8 37 38 41 we have played like that.” Madrid haven’t been Sevilla 28 12 8 8 51 43 44 ing up and the focus is on the Champions Wolfsburg 25 12 4 9 42 39 40 beaten in 31 games in all competitions since Valencia 28 10 6 12 39 39 36 League.” M’gladbach 25 11 6 8 43 3239 the two sides met at the Camp Nou. That run Espanyol 28 10 6 12 32 34 36 Augsburg 25 11 5 9 38 36 38 has allowed Carlo Ancelotti’s men to overtake Levante 28 9 9 10 26 35 36 ‘We will be champions’ H Berlin 25 10 6 9 35 31 36 Celta Vigo 28 9 6 13 33 39 33 Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, whilst also pro- Even if Bayern’s bid is foiled this week- Hoffenheim 25 7 8 10 54 5629 Granada 28 9 4 15 27 39 31 end, they can still claim the title at Hertha Hanover 25 8 5 12 34 43 29 gressing to the Copa del Rey final and the Elche 28 7 9 12 24 40 30 Berlin on Tuesday. “We will be champions, W Bremen 25 7 8 10 29 47 29 quarter-finals of the Champions League. Malaga 28 7 8 13 26 36 29 but exactly when is secondary,” said EFrankfurt 25 6 8 11 28 44 26 However, the Italian stressed they too have to Osasuna 28 8 5 15 24 48 29 Bayern’s attacking midfielder Toni Kroos. Hamburg 25 6 5 14 41 54 23 be at their best to all but kill off Barcelona’s Rayo 28 9 2 17 32 62 29 Dortmund travel to Hanover 96 today Nuremberg 25 4 11 10 28 44 23 title chances. Getafe 28 7 7 14 26 45 28 without Germany left-back Marcel Freiburg 25 5 7 13 26 46 22 “We are in good form and desperate for the Valladolid 28 5 11 12 30 48 26 Schmelzer, who has a torn muscle in his Stuttgart 25 5 6 14 39 52 21 game to come around. We know it will be diffi- Almeria 28 7 5 16 27 52 26 pelvis, to add to their latest injury woes. Braunschweig 25 4 6 15 20 45 18 cult and against a great team,” said Ancelotti. Real Betis 28 4 7 17 23 56 19 SPORTS SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 Juve edge Fiorentina; Sevilla sink city rivals Benfica survive Spurs Europa fright

LONDON: Andrea Pirlo kept Juventus on course for a home Europa League final after his superb free kick settled their battle with Italian rivals Fiorentina to send the Serie A leaders into the quarter-finals on Thursday. Pirlo’s dead-ball accuracy after 71 minutes, which saw him caress the ball high into the far right corner of the net, handed Juve a 1-0 win in Florence and a 2-1 aggregate success over a Fiore side who finished with 10 men. Juve were joined in the last eight by last sea- son’s beaten finalists Benfica, Porto, Valencia, NYON: A television screen shows the results of the draw Sevilla, Olympique Lyon, FC Basel and AZ for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League at the Alkmaar. Benfica survived a spirited fight- back by Tottenham Hotspur to earn a 2-2 UEFA headquarters in Nyon yesterday. — AFP second-leg draw in Lisbon and go through 5- 3 on aggregate while 2011 winners Porto, Juventus, Lyon to who sacked coach Paulo Fonseca this month, drew 2-2 at Napoli to win 3-2 on aggregate. Sevilla overcame city rivals Real Betis 4-3 on face off in Europa penalties, after a 2-2 aggregate draw, while 10-man Basel ended the impressive cam- NYON: Favourites Juventus were handed a difficult tie paign of Austria’s Salzburg although their 2-1 against Olympique Lyon in the Europa League quarter- away win, after a goalless first leg, was finals following yesterday’s draw at UEFA headquarters. marred by a first-half interruption when Antonio Conte’s team, whose stadium will host the final in Swiss fans threw objects on to the pitch. Turin in May, will travel to France for the first leg on April 3 This season’s final will be held at the Juventus stadium in Turin on May 14, which with the return a week later. Juventus, who eliminated fel- was a huge incentive for the Italian league low Serie A team Fiorentina in the round of 16, are chasing FLORENCE: Fiorentina’s Brazilian goalkeeper Neto makes a save as Juventus’ title holders, but Antonio Conte’s side need- Argentinean forward Alberto Carlos Tevez touches his head with the foot dur- their first European title since the 1996 Champions League. ed something special from talisman Pirlo to The twice European champions won the old UEFA Cup ing the UEFA Europa League round of 16, second-leg match on March 20, 2014. stay in the competition. Needing to score Juventus won 1-0. — AFP three times and the Cup Winners’ Cup once. after Fiore grabbed an away goal in a 1-1 Benfica, beaten finalists last season, were drawn against first-leg draw, Juve were struggling for inspi- save to keep out Gylfi Sigurdsson’s header. saw the visitors wipe out a 2-0 first-leg home Dutch club AZ Alkmaar while their compatriots Porto, who ration at the Stadio Artemio Franchi until The Portuguese then won a penalty in the deficit. Betis, who are bottom of La Liga and knocked out Napoli in the previous round, face Sevilla. In Gonzalo Rodriguez was sent off for tripping final seconds, which Lima converted to nine points adrift of the safety zone, had the the other tie, Basel meet Valencia with the Swiss side, beat- Fernando Llorente to leave Pirlo with a sight secure a 2-2 draw and extend Benfica’s upper hand in the shootout but successive unbeaten run at home in European competi- misses by Cedrick Mabwati and Nono con- en semi-finalists last season, at home in the first leg. Basel of goal. The Italy playmaker did not let run- away Serie A leaders Juve down, stroking a tion to 11 games. Porto ended Napoli man- demned the green half of the city to a heart- could still face disciplinary action after Thursday’s match at superb strike past Neto’s outstretched hand. ager Rafael Benitez’s hopes of leading a side breaking defeat. Salzburg was interrupted in the first half for 12 minutes “We knew that we were going to have to to a second successive final after the Lyon eased through 5-3 against Viktoria when their fans hurled plastic bottles and cigarette lighters fight for it, and Andrea’s goal was the crown- Spaniard triumphed in the competition with Plzen despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat in the at an opposing player. — Reuters ing glory of a great performance,” said Chelsea last season. Napoli had looked the Czech Republic, while a second-half goal Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci. more likely to progress after Goran Pandev’s from Paco Alcacer earned Valencia a 1-0 win 21st-minute goal cancelled out Porto’s 1-0 at home to Bulgaria’s Ludogorets for a com- Benfica scare first-leg win but the Portuguese side stunned fortable 4-0 aggregate success. Dutchman Romario, Ronaldo Benfica, who were 3-1 up from an impres- the hosts after the break. Fine strikes from Dick Advocaat, who guided Zenit St sive first-leg win in London, appeared to be Algerian substitute Nabil Ghilas and Ricardo Petersburg to the 2008 UEFA Cup title, took deepen WCup rift cruising through after Ezequiel Garay’s first- Quaresma put Porto 2-1 up with a stoppage- AZ Alkmaar into the last eight with a goal- half header but injury-hit Spurs rallied. time equalizer from Duvan Zapata proving less draw against Anzhi Makhachkala in Visiting Belgium winger Nacer Chadli’s quick- scant consolation for Napoli. Ramenskoye. Anzhi, propping up the BRASILIA: Brazilian legends Ronaldo and Romario on fire double, a low shot and then a close Russian Premier League with one win in 21 Thursday deepened their rift by indulging in a second range finish, left Tottenham a goal away Sevilla shootout games, failed to overturn a 1-0 first-leg slanging match in four days. Having Monday accused from forcing extra time with 11 minutes left. Sevilla piled on the misery for Real Betis deficit. Their frustrations boiled over in stop- his fellow world champion of being to blame for the The Premier League side had a strong penal- after booking a place in the last eight by win- page time when Karlen Mkrtchyan was absence to date of promised free tickets for handi- ty appeal turned down and then in stoppage ning a tense penalty shootout after goals shown a red card for a challenge on Steven capped fans, Romario this time opened up with both time Benfica keeper Jan Obrak made a fine from Jose Antonio Reyes and Carlos Bacca Berghuis. — Reuters barrels on the cost of renovating the Maracana. “In rela- tion especially to the World Cup, we are on opposite sides” of the debate, said Romario, now a lawmaker Juve stride on as race intensifies whereas Ronaldo is on the event’s Local Organization Committee (LOC). “If for you it’s normal to spend a bil- MILAN: The battle for European qualification dominates third consecutive title, Roma are also under pressure from lion reais ($434 million) on renovating the Maracana Serie A this weekend when leaders Juventus visit basement Napoli in the fight to secure the runners-up spot and an (stadium), when all around hospitals and schools are side Catania expecting to stretch their comfortable league automatic Champions League qualifying place. Roma head crumbling, and public transport is poor then I guess lead. Juventus visit the Sicilian strugglers only days after to Chievo and midfielder Rodrigo Taddei, who has stepped striding into the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to a 1-0 up in the absences of Kevin Strootman (injury) and Daniele you don’t care what I say,” Romario blasted. win at Fiorentina. With only four wins this season, Catania De Rossi (suspended), has called for focus. “It’s a pity how Romario repeated his jibe about the non-appear- should be easy prey for Juventus as they begin the final things have gone for us recently, but Juve are a great side ance of 32,000 tickets-500 per match-which were stretch of 10 games boasting a 14-point lead over Roma, and this season no-one expected us to really be challeng- promised in 2011 on behalf of the Brazilian Football who have a game in hand. ing,” said the 34-year-old Brazilian. “We’re in second spot and Confederation (CBF). Ronaldo, on the LOC since 2011, Roma’s hopes of ending their 13-year wait for the scudet- we aim to hold on to it-we have to get the points and focus said he was on the committee on a voluntary, unpaid to have frittered away during recent draws away to Lazio and on the remaining games left this season.” basis given that “the Cup is for and belongs to the peo- at home to Inter and an away defeat to Napoli. Roma captain Napoli will be given a boost if they can account for a ple and not to FIFA or the CBF or any other institution.” Francesco Totti, who marked his return from injury last week Fiorentina side which, like them, will be looking to refocus The 2002 World Cup winner added in a Facebook post- with a goal in the 3-2 win over Udinese, told Il Romanista: following Europa League elimination, Napoli following La ing: “It is to be regretted that Romario, once again, “The scudetto’s 99 per cent gone. “But as long as no-one Viola out the exit door after a 2-2 second leg draw for a 3-2 comes out and publicly blames me for things which are leaves, including (coach) Rudi Garcia, next year we can win it. aggregate defeat to FC Porto. not within my remit.” And he urged Romario: “If you We’re a really solid group, much like the one that won the For Rafael Benitez’s side, there is plenty of incentive-a win want my help, be more educated next time.”— AFP scudetto in 2001. at home would help refocus the San Paolo faithful and ”With Juve showing little sign of slipping on the road to a stretch their lead over Fiorentina to 13 points. —AFP Juve edge Fiorentina SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 SATURDAY, SportsSports in Europa 47

NYON: A television screen shows the draw for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions league at the UEFA headquarters yesterday. — AFP Bayern, United clash in ‘crazy’ CL draw Real to avenge Dortmund humiliation; Barca meet Atletico

NYON: The Champions League (CL) quarter have had a stuttering season under new coach Laurent Blanc. season they are certainly stronger and they final draw yesterday threw title holders Bayern David Moyes. They burst into life this week Paris St Germain reached the last eight last will be very determined on getting what they Munich against arch-rivals Manchester United when they defeated Olympiakos 3-0 to over- season with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, want. “We have a little advantage playing at in one of the most high tension rounds the come a two goal deficit and reach the quarter before going out against Barcelona on away Madrid first and anyway there are no easy competition has seen. Nine-time champions finals. Bayern defender Philipp Lahm warned goals. The French side and Atletico are the two opponents at this level of the competition.” Real Madrid earned a revenge meeting with against complacency despite United’s strug- teams in the last eight who have never won Argentina’s Messi is on 67 Champions League Borussia Dortmund who dumped them out in gles. “We can’t allow Man Utd’s current posi- the competition. Cristiano Ronaldo goes into career goals and just four short of the all-time last year’s semi-finals. Four-time winners tion in the Premier League table to affect our Real’s match against Dortmund with 13 goals, mark held by Spaniard Raul as Barcelona take Barcelona take on Atletico Madrid in an all- mindset for this game,” the veteran German one short of Lionel Messi’s record for on Atletico Madrid. Spanish blockbuster while Chelsea tackle Paris international said. Champions League strikes in one season. The Atletico are one point ahead of Barcelona Saint-Germain in the battle of Europe’s nou- “We’ll need all our strength but we have a first leg is set for the Santiago Bernabeu. in La Liga with Real Madrid a further three veaux riche. good chance of reaching the semi-finals.” Jose Dortmund, hobbled by suspensions and clear at the top of the Spanish table. Barcelona Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl called Mourinho’s Chelsea, bankrolled by Russian injuries, have been handed a stiff test in their goalkeeper Victor Valdes said the first leg the draw “crazy”. “These are the toughest tycoon Roman Abramovich, take on Paris St bid to return to the final after losing 2-1 could be decisive. “We need to not concede at quarter finals in history,” said Barcelona’s Germain who have become a force with Qatari against Bayern at Wembley last May. However home to be able to have a better chance in the sporting director and former player Andoni finance. The Portuguese two-time European Dortmund will take heart from the fact they second leg,” he told a press conference. “They Zubizarreta. “These will all be big confronta- champion has never lost at the quarter-final knocked out Real last season 4-3 on aggregate are a team that presses with an intensity in the tions.” Runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern stages. And his first Champions League game in the semi-finals. same style as their coach and I compliment will relish the chance of again taking on a with Chelsea was in a 3-0 win over Paris St Dortmund’s Polish international striker everything that they are doing.” added Valdes. United side that snatched a 2-1 victory from Germain in 2004. The two teams drew 0-0 at Robert Lewandowski scored four goals in the First leg matches will be played April 1/2 with the jaws of defeat in the 1999 final. Stamford Bridge in the return. Paris again host first leg of that tie but is suspended for the the return fixtures slated for April 8/9 before The two teams have played each other nine the first leg. “Getting the return leg is a small Madrid match this season. “Real is a crazy the draw for the semi-finals on April 11. The times-all in European competition-and Bayern advantage for Chelsea so we will have to make draw,” commented Dortmund’s Kehl. “The final will be played at Benfica’s Stadium of will definitely start this one as favorites. United the difference at home,” said Paris coach Spanish have a score to settle with us. This Light on Saturday May 24. — AFP