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LONDON: Royal enthusiasts use anumbrella to protect themselves fromthe sun as they sleep in front ofWestminster Abbey in London, yester-day. Revelers are camping out outsidethe Abbey where Prince William andKate Middleton are due to get marriedtoday. — AP

L o c a lFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

In my view

By Chidi Emmanuel

[email protected]

Mafi oil in Syria

How many dead bodies will be enough before the BigThree (US, Britain, France) and their Arab Leaguecounterparts move for a resolution (even if it is non-

binding) against Syria? ‘Gaddafi is killing his own people’ wasthe chorus from this Tom, Dick and Harry trio when theWestern powers justified their Libyan invasion. The questionat present is: What is President Assad doing right now?‘Maybe he’s killing his own animals’? Hundreds of peoplehave been slaughtered in Syria in the ongoing march to free-dom and better governance. Unlike Libya, the US for now islimiting its response to the brutal crackdown on civilianprotests in Syria to diplomacy and possible sanctions. TheArab League which championed the UN Resolution No 1973is now reluctant to even condemn Bashar and the Syrianmassacre.

Deploring what it called ‘the gross and systematic viola-tion of human rights’ in troubled Libya, on Feb 26, 2011, theUNSC adopted Resolution 1970 (2011), demanding an end tothe violence and deciding to refer the situation to theInternational Criminal Court while imposing an arms embar-go ‘on the country’ and a travel ban and assets freeze on thefamily of Muammar Gaddafi and his government’s officials.

The UN Council mandated all its member states to seizeand dispose of all military-related materials bound for Libya.Resolution 1973 is the first of its kind from the UN. As a mat-ter of fact, it broke the record for being the fastest-ever UNSCresolution. In these two resolutions, assets were frozen,Gaddafi and his cronies were referred to the InternationalCriminal Court, an arms embargo was imposed, etc.

Some, if not all, of these restrictions have been violated bythe same Big Three as they try to bend the rules to suit theirinterests. Western boots (CIA, French and British military per-sonnel) are now on Libyan soil; arms are now sent to therebels and to crown it all, the Obama administration haseased its sanctions against Libya to allow for the sale of oilcontrolled by the rebels. With this latest decision, ‘Americancompanies can now deal directly with the rebels in marketingthe Libyan oil.’

The move will allow Libya’s opposition forces to use theincome from oil proceeds to buy weapons and other sup-plies. This new order modified sanctions the administrationhad imposed in February, freezing $34 billion in assets heldby Libyan leader Gaddafi, his family members and top gov-ernment officials. I guess all these support the maxim that“the US has no permanent friend nor permanent enemy butonly permanent interest.” The question is: if the West can doit in Libya why not Syria, Yemen, Uganda, Zimbabwe etc?

Local Spotlight

By Muna Al-Fuzai

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Media calling

After three days of meetings, theArab Media Forum experts calledfor professional and balanced

media coverage. I think this appeal isneeded for everyone working in the newsmedia. I believe that the Arab worldneeds to be made aware of current eventswithout exaggeration and negativity,whilst not being misled as to what is reallytaking place in the world. This forum,which was held under the theme, ‘Mediaand Social Issues’, made me wonderwhether we need to see more transparen-cy and objectivity in the reporting of cur-rent affairs, regardless of the nature of thenews stories in question, whether politicalor social.

This call for greater professionalism willbe answered only when media personnelshare the belief that their mission is topresent the objective truth, not to distortit to create the scenario they would like tosee from a personal perspective.

For example, the experience of privatechannels in the Arab world proved thatwhile they are tools for news coverage,they are certainly not the best in the worldand they need to pursue higher ethicalstandards and to learn that their purposeis to inform viewers rather than to reshape

their opinions. In the end, the audiencemembers have to feel that they are free todecide on issues for themselves ratherthan to be told how or what to think andsay.

For years private TV channels were adream in the Arab world simply becausethey would be free of the official channelsrun and controlled by state bodies. Theproblems with state media is that they arespun and manipulated to present onlyfavorable views of the ruling system andare not permitted to present any contro-versial or unfavorable news or to think inany way outside the box.

Online journalism and blogging are thenew news outlets for Arab people, espe-cially the younger generation, and thiswas one of the subjects of discussion atthe forum. I think that these new forms ofjournalism are becoming more populardue to their accessibility and am keen thatyoung people should be given the oppor-tunity to express their thoughts as freelyas possible. Of course, we must rememberthat the older forms of journalism, such asTV, radio and the press, have differingobjectives and are not necessarily as sim-ple as blogging.

I think that the objectivity called for by

some of the forum participants may beharder to achieve than they imagine since,at the end of the day, private TV channelsand other privately owned media are busi-nesses, and business-owners have theirown policies and objectives, even ifreporters must strive for professionalobjectivity and impartiality in their cover-age, whatever their own feelings on thesubject.

There is already enough tension in theArab world without news media adding toit, and reporters attempting to influencepublic reaction through their coveragecould have frustrating and negative con-sequences. I believe that Arab media needto focus on a number of crucial subjects,like the challenges that continue to con-front women in the Arab world, as well asdemocracy and the associated issues, andshould do so in a professional, objectivemanner that they have not yet attained inmany cases.

Ultimately, I believe that events like theArab Media Forum can be helpful if theconclusions and recommendations madeare taken into consideration and actedupon. This is an area in which the Arabworld needs to make real progress inorder to achieve greater development.

Scribbler’s notebook

By Jamie Etheridge

[email protected]

Selling out: Kuwait’s blogosphere goes corporate?

I’m a long time fan of blogs in Kuwait.When I first arrived in the country, I wasdelighted to discover so many great

blogs where bloggers wrote openly aboutthe politics of the country and the region,discussed the issues of the day and keptreaders up with all the latest happenings inthe country. For an outsider, Kuwait’s blogsprovide a uniquely fascinating and insight-ful view into Kuwait’s culture, society andpolitics. I loved them and would praisethem to all my friends and family.

Lately, however, I’ve noticed that manyblogs have closed or only have a few ran-dom posts and others spend more timediscussing their latest free gifts or theopening of a new restaurant/shop, etc. As ajournalist and writer, I am sadly all toofamiliar with the need for and demands ofadvertising. We are all servants of the mas-ters who sign our paychecks and blogs, likenewspapers and magazines, often havesponsors.

I realize that blogging is work and blog-gers should be paid and that advertising isthe only way that this will happen. I alsounderstand that PR can be useful andinformative. I enjoy reading news of a newrestaurant, especially when they are cou-pled with an honest review or comparedwith other shops/restaurants. I also appre-

ciate that consumer culture is a large partof life in Kuwait and that shopping, eatingout and following the latest trends in fash-ion and technology all reflect what’s reallyhappening in society here.

But where has all the political discus-sion gone? When the elections were takingplace every year or Nabiha Khamsa hap-pened, Kuwait’s blogosphere set the toneand agenda for what the country was talk-ing about. When protestors were in thestreets demanding government debt for-giveness or MPs were calling for yet anoth-er grilling of yet another minister, the blo-gosphere explained the issues, providedanalysis and basically gave us all a clearerpicture of what was going on and why.

More than that, the blogosphere usedto take on issues of social relevance -Tarsheed and the need to conserve waterand power; the mistreatment of maids andmenial laborers; high divorce rates andpoor education.

Nowadays, it’s company promotionsand the occasional controversial, butmuch appreciated, honest restaurantreview. I know this won’t be popular withmany bloggers and I guess I’ll get lots ofemails hitting back at my comments. (Iaccept any criticism as long as it is focusedon the issue and not my poor spelling or

inadequate grammar.) Please don’t misunderstand me. I con-

tinue to love Kuwait’s blogs and read sev-eral every day. And there are many blog-gers who continue to post interestingcomments about life in Kuwait, about thepolitics of the glacial development plan orthe impoverished education system,about the potential Kuwait has to be theleader in the Gulf instead of a forgottenpearl of its past.

At a time when bloggers in Egypt andTunisia were battling for their freedom,when bloggers in Saudi and the UAE arebeing detained and bloggers in Syria facearrest or worse, Kuwait’s blogosphereenjoys an unmatched level of freedom ofspeech.

Bloggers here are a voice, a group thatcan influence public discourse. They havethe power to shake things up. To demandKuwait reach for its potential. To ask forimprovements in education, healthcare,road networks, government services, etc.They keep the pressure on the parliamentto get things done. Bloggers represent thebest and the brightest of what Kuwait hasto offer.

I just hope that they will continue toserve as the voice of Kuwait’s future andnot Kuwait’s future POS (point of sale).


Satire Wire

By Sawsan Kazak

[email protected]

Wedding of the Century

Prince William and Kate Middleton get marriedtoday. Dubbed by the media the Wedding of theCentury, this moment has been keenly anticipat-

ed since even before the two were engaged. Thousandshave descended on London to watch the procession,camping out on the street just to be able to get aglimpse of the happy couple on their big day. Alongsidethe spectators will be countless representatives ofmedia outlets from across the world which will bebroadcasting the nuptials live, complete with a sports-style play by play voiceover.

Why has so much worldwide attention been placedon this marriage, though? Why has every aspect of thewedding already been scrutinized and debated. Fromthe cost of the dress to what food will be served, wehave all been there for every decision. But why has thisevent mesmerized us more than our actual lives? Manypeople are annoyed at the amount of attention that has

been given to this royal wedding, but one thing thatcannot be argued is that this will be a life marker event.

We all remember where we were when the TwinTowers of the World Trade Center were hit or when wefound out Michael Jackson passed or perhaps a morefitting example, when we found out that Princess Dianahad died. This is, of course, not to compare this wed-ding to a terror attack or tragic death, but these arelarge-scale events that the world watches and then talksabout for weeks to come. These are the kind of storiespeople write books about and make movies on. This is atrue life ‘fairytale’ unfolding in front of our eyes.

By watching today’s events, every girl who oncewished she were a princess can vicariously live herdreams. And it’s nice for a change to have a happyevent plastered all over the news. I wish the newlywedsa long life of happiness and prosperity. Whether we likeit or not, April 29, 2011 will be a day to remember.

[email protected]

By Abd Al-Rahman Alyan

From the editor’s desk

Traffic dilemmaunsolved

Editor-in-Chief

Conspiracy Theories

[email protected]

By Badrya Darwish

Thanks, Al-Tabtabaei!

Iam usually an opponent of many of MP Walid Al-Tabtabaei’s views. But this time I can’t do any-thing but salute him. I salute Tabtabaei, a member

of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee, forraising the issue of the low salaries paid to cleanersand unskilled workers in Kuwait. It is high time parlia-ment took this issue seriously and to heart. For achange, you guys are discussing an issue which con-cerns human rights and expat labor. This topic is notnew to Kuwait, but has gone on and on for years.Kuwait has been criticized from every corner of theworld for being abusive to its foreign workforce.Reports from left, right and centre have been vocalagainst the injustice to drivers, maids and otherunskilled blue-collar workers.

I don’t know what the big di lemma is at theMinistry of Social Affairs and Labor. Why can’t it solvethe problem of mistreatment of the labor force? Whycan’t it introduce a system to control all issues relatedto these members of the expatriate workforce? Let’snot kid ourselves. We cannot do without them. So letus at least give them their rights. They work hard,cleaning our streets, cleaning our buildings andcleaning our homes. They build our infrastructureand they are an important part of our society. They

are, in short, indispensable, whether we like it or not. The salaries quoted by Al-Tabtabaei showed that

these workers are earning an average of KD 20 amonth. Al-Tabtabaei has asked the ministry to forcecompanies who employ workers at such wages toprovide them with food. Believe me, KD 20 is lessthan the monthly pocket money of the poorestKuwaiti kid in Kuwait. If I didn’t want to exaggerate, Iwould say it is the pocket money per week of such akid.

I am wholly supportive of Al-Tabtabaei on this -these workers should be provided with breakfast,lunch and dinner, as well as regular inspections oftheir living quarters. I wish to read one day that thesocial affairs minister, whoever he or she is, or evenhis or her deputy, has visited the residence of one ofthese workers without prior notice. I would like to seehis or her reaction and opinion. Even a visit by an offi-cial from the ministry or an inspector from the munic-ipality would do - those we see inspecting illegal CDsales on the streets. For a change, they can go andvisit one of the buildings where these low-paid work-ers are staying. They can then check how many peo-ple share a bathroom, toilet and living space and howmany hours they toil a day. Thanks, Al-Tabtabaei!

Traffic in Kuwait has been the center of discus-sion a few times. Be it in diwaniyas, parliamentor the media several reasons, several solutions

have been highlighted. The most common and obvi-ous reason is the increase in population and themost annoying solution I keep hearing is limiting thenumber of expats who are allowed to get a licence.The law of the country is that only foreigners whofulfill the following criteria are allowed to apply for alicence - those who have a two-year residency, aminimum salary of KD 400 per month and are gradu-ates. The only expats who are exempt from this cri-teria are doctors, specific managerial positions andobviously drivers.

I don’t understand what someone’s education orincome has to do with their ability to apply forlicence. I have written about many factors that playa big role in the increase of traffic such as bad road-planning, violations by buildings that don’t makeroom for parking etc. However, my attention wasbrought to another reason that can be easily con-trolled: The police. For some reason, the police planscheckpoints and roadblocks at times that are knownfor being busy. Many times they have blocked turnsin central areas where many people go at the week-end, forcing motorists to head in one directionwhich eventually makes matters worse than theyare.

A friend of mine also brought to my attentionthat in certain areas, the police are setting up check-points before or after Friday prayers in certain expat-populated areas. It is a well-known fact that therewill be traffic heading in and out of mosques on aFriday so what is the logic of adding to that trafficand disrespecting the Friday prayers.

I think the biggest factor of traffic is that manymotorists don’t respect the law and have no man-ners on the road. Drivers don’t like queuing on mainroad exits so they overtake waiting cars and try tocut into the exit and that blocks the second lane andthen another car cuts via the third lane and thewhole road is blocked for one exit and a whole high-way has to stop for selfish drivers trying to turn left.If that is not the reason for traffic, then it’s probablya small incident on the side of the road that has peo-ple slowing down to near stopping speeds just towatch and feed their curiosity and the police doesnothing about that.

The traffic department has to revise how drivingtests are done and how people pass because thetest does not go into details over driver etiquettenor does it ensure that drivers have the skills to driveand understand traffic laws. The police have to beharsh on traffic violators by introducing a points sys-tem that eventually leads to violators losing theirlicence and having to go through a new revised driv-ing test. Make that a government plan to tackle theproblem and see how traffic will flow.


By Ruth Riegler

Presuming anyone’s around to read this and theworld isn’t a smoldering radioactive wasteland,it’s safe to say that the predictive powers of

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles aren’t asgood as they might be. For non-Terminator geeks,April 21, 2011 was the date given in that spin-off ofthe classic cinematic series for nuclear Armageddon.This takes place when the machines finally becomeself-aware and wreak dreadful nuclear revenge for allthe years of swearing at the microwave, laptop-thumping and TV remote-hurling, wiping out theircreators and pretty much everything else beforeassuming control of the smoking barren wildernessleft behind. How the machines survive the nuclearapocalypse intact without being melted into liquidmetal gloop was never quite explained, but anywaythat’s the general gist.

This apocalyptic prediction was, of course, hardlynew. If there’s one thing humans have been exceed-ingly and rather disturbingly interested in forecastingthroughout our history, it’s the end of it. In 2800 BC,an Assyrian scholar and op-ed writer of the day fore-cast that things were getting out of hand (and provedthat some things never change), inscribing on atablet, “The Earth is degenerating today. Bribery andcorruption abound. Children no longer obey theirparents...and it is evident that the end of the world isfast approaching.”

A couple of millennia later, renowned Germanmathematician and astronomer Johannes Stoefflerpredicted that on February 20, 1524, twenty planetaryconjunctions would cause flooding of global andapocalyptic proportions. Given his eminent stature,the prediction wasn’t taken lightly, with over 100books and pamphlets quickly published to warn thepublic of Stoeffler’s grim forecast. Boat-builders were(pardon the pun) flooded with orders, whilst thou-sands of people across Europe abandoned theirhomes and headed for high ground. One Germannobleman, Count von Iggleheim, had a three-storeyark built on the River Rhine in preparation for the del-uge.

As events transpired, in fact, Europe was experi-encing a drought in 1524, but on February 20 a lightrain began to fall. Given the prophecy of imminentdeluge, even this was enough to cause public riots,with hundreds killed in the resulting panic as peoplequite literally trampled one another to gain passageon Count von Iggleheim’s ark. Meanwhile, the unfor-tunate count himself, far from being saved by his fore-sight, was stoned to death in the melee.

Undaunted by his miscalculation and the fatalresults, Stoeffler readjusted his theory, shifting theend times to 1528 instead, although the public wiselyadopted a ‘once bitten twice shy’ attitude to his apoc-alyptic predictions.

While seers and mystics have been the most prolif-ic generators of apocalypse predictions, accountingfor at least a few thousand premature prophecies ofJudgment Day to date, as we can see from Stoefflerastronomers have been responsible for a number ofEnd Times panics. Even poor old Halley’s Comet gen-erated periodic dread in observers right up to lastcentury when in 1910, as the comet was due to makeits latest appearance, staff at Chicago’s YerkesObservatory told the world that they’d discovered thelethal gas cyanogen (as in cyanide) in its tail. As if thisweren’t enough, the distinguished Frenchastronomer Nicole Camille Flammarion then steppedin to offer not a whole lot of reassurance by statingthat the gas “would impregnate the atmosphere andpossibly snuff out all life on earth.”

Entrepreneurial-minded traders did a roaring tradein ‘comet pills’ and gas masks, while many people pre-pared ‘safe rooms’ in their homes, boarding up theirwindows and stuffing doorjambs and keyholes withblankets, paper and whatever else came to hand. Thereaction of Monsieur Flammarion to the ChicagoTribune’s headline, ‘We’re Still Here’ after Halley’sComet passed without incident or lethal gas emana-tions was unnoted.

The next favorite date for apocalypsists is, ofcourse, somewhere round December 2012 when,according to ancient Mayans and a more recentHollywood blockbuster, humanity’s set to really defi-nitely for sure get its terminal comeuppance. Thereare evidently rather a lot of people preparing them-selves for the big date; typing ‘2012 world ends’ intoGoogle yields 71.5 million results alone.

On the bright side, if this prediction has any credi-bility, it would mean that if you’re going to take out amassive loan you can never hope to repay, early 2012looks like the time to do it, whilst the smokersamongst us can offer one more reason why consider-ing the long-term health implications isn’t really allthat crucial. On the downside, the end of the worldtaking place in 2012 could put a serious crimp in theplans of those booking holidays for 2013. But in theend, it puts everything else into perspective - what-ever happens, after all, it’s not the

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The end is nigh...er, maybe

Help mesearch within me

The never-ending craze of self-help talk

By Hussain Al-Qatari

Over the past year, a self-help trend has gone viralin Kuwait. From newspa-

per columnists and bloggers, tobooks and TV programs, thistrend of self-help has becomequite dominant in the variousforms of media in the country. Iwas skeptical of it at first, assum-ing it was just another craze, likeKuwait’s obsession withJapanese food and mini burgers,but it appears to be somethingthat will last for a while as busi-nesses in that field are beginningto launch in the county.

Watching my Twitter timelineand Facebook feeds being bom-barded with verses from the HolyQuran, aphorisms from OprahWinfrey and optimistic quota-tions from the speeches of theDalai Lama, I found this reasonenough to examine how thisnew trend is operating in Kuwait.The most important aspect ofthis trend is the fact that it seemsto have uncovered the core inmany people’s lives regardless oftheir different faiths and back-grounds: to be happy. Muslimreaders are slowly acceptinggood advice even if it comesfrom non-Muslims and vice ver-sa.

One beautiful thing that hap-pens often these days is that pro-gressive Muslim writers andthinkers are unashamed to rec-ommend books written byWestern authors to their readers.Take for example progressiveKuwaiti writer Dr Sajed Al-Abdali,who has promoted numeroustimes on his public Twitteraccount the internationally best-selling memoir of ElizabethGilbert, ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. For manydecades, the majority of thinkersin this part of the world discour-aged people from reading booksby Western authors, claimingthat Islamic heritage has enoughideas to teach people the key forhappiness.

While on one hand it is a suc-cess for the author of ‘Eat, Pray,Love’ that her memoir has man-aged to cross geographi-cal and lan-guage barri-ers andreach thehearts andintellects of

readers in the Muslim world, it isa bigger success in my opinionthat Arab thinkers today are ableto accept, enjoy and promoteprecious lessons from a non-Muslim source. There are ofcourse many other examples,but this is by far one of the mostprominent ones in my opinion.

There are also several thinkersand writers who uncover themarginalized gems of wisdompresent in Islamic tradition andthe Holy Quran, which for manypeople is a breath of fresh airsince a majority of Islamists inthis region don’t focus on theinclusive and positive aspects ofIslam, but rather regurgitate theinterpretations that promoteintolerance.

One worrying thing, however,is the fact that there are many ofthese seminars that discussissues of harmony in relation-ships and conflict-free family lifewhich only parrot cliches. Are wereally willing to take off time inour schedules, money from ourpockets and attention just so wecan listen to someone telling usto accept differences, enjoy life,and exercise to lose weight? Afriend of mine answered thisquestion by telling me that thesethings are indeed worth it. In hisopinion, we consume quite a lotof our time entertaining uselessideas, and despite the fact thatwe know so many solutions toour problems, we don’t act onany of them. It makes perfectsense to me, but I’d rather revisethe cliches I’ve memorized mywhole life before signing up for aseminar or shelling out the feesto attend a course in life balance.

This is by no means anattempt to discourage peoplefrom participating in such pro-grams, nor is it my intention todiscredit self-help speakers andauthors. It is only my way of sug-gesting that perhaps we shouldlook within ourselves beforereaching out only to be told tosearch within.

L o c a l

Anniversary

Years

FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

By Sunil Cherian

Colors in chaos? Or lines in alabyrinth? Art lovers couldinterpret these sketches as

their eyes tell them. M V Johnwould not reveal what the over-flowing eyes in his drawings aremeant to represent. Asked whatmade him focus on human eyes,he replies, unblinking, ‘That’s apoint of view.’

John, who was featured in aFoote, Cone & Belding’s (FCB)anniversary poster in 1998, hashad a long love affair with thehuman eye. His infatuation withhuman eyes began while he wasworking at FCB Kuwait for severalyears in the ‘90s. The FCB photo-mosaic poster, designed to com-memorate the US advertisingagency’s 125th anniversary, fea-tured 1,302 company employeesfrom 73 countries. Among themyriad photos was one of John,now 49, who marveled at theamount of information andimages that were around at thattime. He wanted something tocreate unique as part of theimage revolution that was takingplace on the Internet. As a trainedphotographer and artist he wasfascinated by everyday scenesand sights, eventually focusing onthe most used sensory organ in avoyeuristic world, the eye.

From then on John’s pens,acrylic and oil paints were usedthrough sleepless nights resultingin a panorama of eye-relatedsketches against a backdrop ofhuman abstract figures. Deep,doleful, beady, joyous and weepy,every kind of eye expression wasfeatured. There are now over 100works in his eye series, some ofthem adorning the living room ofhis Salmiya flat, watching overJohn and the busy bustle of lifearound him. He lives the life of abachelor after his family left forIndia for his children’s higher edu-cation. Between being a business-man and an artist, he is happy, hesaid, to use his time creatively,without eying a market or publici-ty for his artwork. “I’ve been anobserver all my life,” he said.

That observation was certainlyaccurate. This series of interviewsdid not go easily, with Johnwatching your intrepid interview-er more than he talked andexpressing himself most clearlywith his wide, deep-set eyes. Inthe third sitting he said, “Most ofmy drawings are black and whitebecause our eyes are black andwhite”.

The recipient of an Al-Anba

award for his artwork, Johnplayed key roles in the advertisingfield in Kuwait before he startedhis own enterprise, Al-ArabUnited Trading and ContractingCompany. John’s creative energydoes not stop at his series of eye-related sketches. He has also pro-duced an album of Indian ghazalsongs, a rare path to tread in themusic industry. Some of the songson the album portraying expatlife, are penned by ONV Kurupp,one of the winners of India’s high-est literary award, the JnanapithAward, who’s only one of thegreat songwriters name-checkedon the album.

Another of his ventures is anonline brand directory website,ezeebrands.com, which offers awindow on the world of businessbrands, with links to other sitesconcerned with associated mate-rial.

He’s also currently working onsetting up an online gallery forany artists wanting to tell theworld about their artworks. Artistswill be able to upload images oftheir work which can then beshown to the world for sale. “I’llget only the commission,” Johnsaid. “But it’s not for business, it’sfor artists who cannot find theirspace in the world - like me.”

The artist with an

eyeon the world

M V John

L o c a l

Anniversary

Years

FRIDAY, APRIL 29 , 2011

By Abdullah Al-Qattan

Instead of paying KD 8,000 for a brandnew head of hair, 31-year-old Kuwaiti cit-izen Humoud decided to do some

research onl ine and picked a cheaperoption that would give him the hair he haslong yearned for. Humoud said that heboarded a plane to Iran and got his long-lost hair back for only KD 1,800. For a widevariety of people, getting the perfect lookmeans travelling abroad. Kuwaiti privateclinics usually charge KD 1 per hair, andsometimes a bald man needs as many as8,000 to 10,000 hairs. Simple math showsthat covering your balding head with newhair could add up to KD 8,000 to KD 10,000or even more.

Usually when people ask how far a per-son is ready to go when it comes to plasticsurgery, it means where will they draw theline. For a host of Kuwaiti men, however,the question means: are they willing to goto Saudi Arabia, Iran or even China in thepursuit of the perfect hair transplant, nosejob or facel i f t? Gett ing a nose job ofGerman qual i ty at Chinese pr ices hasbecome a major trend recently, as guys of

different ages become increasingly morepreoccupied with doing some ‘upgrades’ totheir appearance here or there.

Humoud was not alone in his pursuit ofbeing hirsute. Twenty-year-old compatriotJassem, who was already suffering hair loss,said that he was contemplating whether ornot to have hair implant surgery at a clinicoutside Kuwait . He made the decis ionquickly after contacting one of the repre-sentatives of a foreign clinic here in Kuwait.Jassem said that upon calling the represen-tative of the overseas clinic, he was able toquickly set up an appointment with a con-sultant to answer all his questions.

“When you first sit down you get thefeeling that you are in a secret meeting andthat something wrong is going on,” Jassemsaid. He explained that the clinic represen-tative didn’t only bring along pictures ofpeople who had already been given a newhead full of hair, implanted at the overseasclinic, but also offered would-be patients apackage deal that included specially pricedairline tickets, as well as reservations at ahigh-class hotel there, along with addition-al cosmetic rhinoplasty and dentistry work.So, after receiving a new glossy mane of

hair and a perfect nose, patients could alsoexpress their joy at their new look with ablinding white smile that could be seenfrom a distance.

As a destination for those seeking cos-metic surgery, Al-Khafji has long been pop-ular amongst local patients seeking thatperfect smile. Fawaz, a 33-year-old Kuwaiti,pointed out that whilst going abroad tohave one’s teeth fixed and/or whitened canend up costing as much as one would payto have the same work done in Kuwait onceone factors in the cost of airline tickets,hotel accommodation, etc, “since Al-Khafjiis just a two-hour drive away, you are sav-ing money and getting the best results atonce”.

Women, of course, discovered the bene-fits of cosmetic surgery much earlier thanmen. The contemporary dream of mostKuwaiti women comes in three parts: a per-fect husband, a well-paying job and a nosejob done in Lebanon or Iran. Noorah, a 27-year-old Kuwaiti woman, says that somewomen today walk around believing thatnobody else will be able to tell they’ve hada nose job when in fact some people -especially other women - can tell not only

that they’ve had one, but whether it wasdone in Lebanon or Iran, for example.

In their defense, some women explainthat nose jobs or liposuction sessions cancost between KD 2,000 and KD 3,000 inKuwait compared to only half that price inany other country. They also suggest thatforeign clinics are more “in the bag” when itcomes to offering the assurance of a jobwell done.

High heels or healthy feet?

By Nisreen Zahreddine

Lina, an expat in her 20s has undergone amajor transformation in her sartorial stylesince she discovered that long nights of

chronic back pain were associated with herobsession with wearing stilettos. “I was reallyupset when an old friend of mine happened tosee my bare feet and said that my big toe wasn’tstraight anymore because of the shoes I waswearing, while she always used to complimentmy feet before,” Lina explained. Soon after thismisshapen toe was pointed out, Lina beganexperiencing back pain, something an orthopedicspecialist related to her love of high heels. “I feltterrible pain in my toes and the backs of my feet;just touching them felt like I was walking onjagged rocks, which made me feel terrible andless able to work.”

Lina is certainly not alone in suffering for fash-ion. Another European expat was given similarbad news by her beautician while having a pedi-cure done: “Your feet are deformed,” she recalledthe beautician telling her. Despite this deformityand persistent back pain, however, this stilettoaddict has no intention of reconsidering her highheel habit: “I have been wearing high heels foralmost 20 years now and I don’t think I will stop it

any time soon”, she said. Dana, a young Kuwaiti woman, adores

stilettos and is indifferent to thehealth hazards they might bring. “I

love sandals with sky-high heels, they’re very ele-gant,” she said. She does, however, acknowledgethat her high heel habit means that she needs toput a lot more effort into maintaining healthy,nice-looking feet than she might otherwise haveto. Her recipe is simple: she dips her feet almostdaily in salty hot water. Dana swears that thishelps in reducing the pain and reddening, as wellas helping to get rid of the dead skin which hasaccumulated massively around her heels.

Manal, a young Lebanese woman and anotherself-confessed stiletto enthusiast, has recentlybeen trying to cut down on her high heel habit.“Recently, I’ve had problems with my vertebraeand [as a result] I decided to control the obses-sion with high heels,” she explained. Manal addedthat she’ll wear high heels even when loungingaround at home. “I don’t know what I’d do ifstilettos hadn’t been invented!” she said. Onceagain, however, back pain has recently forcedManal to reconsider her love affair with highheels.

Orthopedic consultant Dr. George Dabbaghhad some sobering news for stiletto addictsthough. He told Kuwait Times that wearing highheels is one of the main factors behind back pain,slipped discs and calcification (when calciumbuilds up around the bone) in women. In medicalterms, he said, high heels are any shoes withheels that exceeds four or five centimeters inheight. Conversely, Dr Dabbagh also warnedagainst wearing extremely flat, thin-soled shoes,

especially ballerina pumps, which could also bedamaging to the feet. According to him the bestchoice would be selecting a pair of shoes wherethe difference in height between the sole cup-ping the ball of the foot and the heel at the backis no more than two to three centimeters. Solidchunky heels are always preferable for healthyfeet and posture, he added.

“If there are any problems with one’s back,wearing high heels constantly will worsen it andintensify them,” Dr Dabbagh warned. Evenwomen who do not suffer from back pain shouldavoid regularly wearing high heels, he recom-mended, adding that this is even more stronglyadvised for those who do. Older women, mean-while, should also strenuously avoid wearing highheels on a regular basis in order to avoid backpain or other associated problems, he continued.

Dr Dabbagh added that whilst wearing highheels on a regular basis is a very bad idea health-wise, wearing them once or twice a week for afew hours at time, rather than on a daily basis,should pose no problems.

Hair implants, whiter teeth,nose jobs all the rage

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By Ben Garcia

Asix-year old non-governmental organization hasembraced the task of taking care of stray ani-mals in Kuwait through education. K’S PATH

which stands for Kuwait Society for the Protection ofAnimals and Their Habitat has taken on the mission ofcaring for abandoned animals through spreadingawareness. In the words of K’S PATH Chairman AyeshaAl-Humaidhi, greater awareness of animal welfare isneeded. “Education is key to changing views aboutanimals in Kuwait,” Al-Humaidhi said. Speaking withFriday Times, she noted that K’S PATH last month hiredan ‘Education Coordinator and Assistant’ to developand implement a multifaceted education program forthe organization, which has been specifically designedto be taught in Kuwait’s public and private schools andwill be launched in the next school year. “We want toimprove the treatment of animals in Kuwait and thatwe believe education is key to change views about ani-mal welfare here,” she explained.

The following is an excerpt from the interview withK’S PATH Chairman Ayesha Al-Humaidhi.

KT: Can you tell us briefly about the history of K’SPATH?

AA: K’S PATH was founded in March 2005 and is a non-profit organization that works to protect animalsand their habitat. The organization started by focus-ing on building a companion animal shelter helpingdogs, cats and other household pets but quickly

expanded to include farm animals and wildlife. Thecurrent sanctuary houses dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks,tortoises, turtles, hamsters, mice, donkeys, a horse,baboons and birds.

FT: Since its establishment how many animals[dogs, cats, birds, fish, lions, deer, eagles, horses]have been rescued to date? Where do you keepthem? Is there a shelter available for them?

AA: Gosh, that is a large question but I will do my best.Here’s the list of animals in our shelter. Dogs: 6,000,cats: 5,000, birds: 20, gazelles: 2, donkeys: 6, horses:2, baboons: 10, tortoises: 4, ducks: 6, rabbits: 40,hamsters: 30, mice: 5, hyena: 1 - and I am sure I amforgetting a few. For dogs, cats and other compan-ion animals, we are an adoption center. This meanswe provide shelter to adoptable animals until theycan find a home. For wildlife and farm animals weprovide sanctuary as space allows. For larger wildanimals, such as the hyena, we rehabilitate the ani-mals then look for a more appropriate place for theanimal. In the case of the hyena, we sent her to theAl-Ain Wildlife Park.

FT: How do you care for them? What are their regu-lar regimens to offer them normal lives like otherpets?

AA: We do our best to provide each animal with aspecies-appropriate setting. For dogs we providethem with large kennels measuring 1.5m by 4mwhere they’re grouped in twos or threes to providecompanionship. The dogs are taken out for play-time in their play yards a minimum of four times perday in addition to spending one-on-one time with astaff member or a volunteer in our garden and areall taken for a long walk on our farm again by a staffmember or volunteer. In their kennels they alwayshave a comfortable bed, toys and items to chew.Our cats are housed communally in rooms withcouches, dining tables and other household itemsagain to keep them happy and relaxed.

Our equine animals (horses, ponies, asses, etc) eachhave their own stable for sleeping in the eveningand are turned out during the day into one of ourthree corrals. The raptors are housed in large verytall cages so they can perch very high makingthem feel safe. Our baboons have two very largespecially designed enclosures that allow them toclimb very high and sleep at night, as well as for-age for food. The enclosures provide many spacesto hide away from the sun. So we try very hard to

provide each species of animals with appropriatehousing for both their physical and mental healthin the long term.

FT: How do you control their population?AA: We spay and neuter all companion animals. With

wildlife and farm animals we castrate the males,thus controlling the population.

FT: What is the culture of Kuwait especially inkeeping animals at home? Is there growingtrends in keeping pets at home in Kuwait?

AA: Generally pet ownership is not a highly valuedactivity although it is definitely on the rise. This riseis a double-edge sword because, unfortunately,many people getting pets are getting them for thewrong reasons and without adequate knowledgeabout pet ownership and the needs of each animal.The result is animal suffering and many more ani-mals being given up whether directly to us orturned onto the streets of Kuwait. It is a difficult sit-uation to deal with.

FT: In some apartment blocks and other buildings,the owners discourage tenants from keepingany pets at home? What is your advice to peoplewho want to keep a dog/cat at home?

AA: The first question that must be asked is if thelandlord will allow pets. If the answer is no, thenthat individual should not get a pet. If the landlordallows it, then we need to look at what is the mostappropriate pet for this person. Is it a dog or a cat,what size, what activity level and so on? Pet owner-ship is a big responsibility along with being a long-term commitment. Dogs and cats can live 15 yearsand a prospective owner needs to be able to makethat commitment.

FT: How can people learn about your activities?AA: They can visit our website www.kspath.org or call

our hotline 6700 1622 or join our group onFacebook “K’S PATH”.

FT: What are the requirements for adoption?AA: Our first requirement is for the person to come to

our shelter during open hours so we can meetthem and conduct an interview. If they areapproved for adoption, we will help them choosean appropriate pet. To adopt, the person will needto sign an adoption contract and pay our adoptionfee of KD 30.

K’S PATH rehomes, cares for animals

The right path to raise awareness of animal welfare

AyeshahAl-Humaidhi,

Chairman of K’S PATH,feeds Ayana thestriped hyena.

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FT: How do you monitor their welfare if pets are con-sidered for adoption? Is there any monitoring sys-tem to track down pets in order to ensure theirsafety and welfare?

AA: We provide a follow-up service to all our adopters fora minimum of one year.

FT: Since K’S PATH is a non-profit organization, whoare the companies that support your programsfinancially or by buying food supplies for the ani-mals?

AA: The people supporting us are animal lovers in thecommunity and companies that see the value in ourefforts to protect animals and the environment.

FT: What activities have you been doing to eradicatethe abuse of animals?

AA: Education is the key to trying to change views on ani-mals. Last month we hired an Education Coordinatorand Assistant to develop and implement a multifac-eted education program in both public and privateschools. We plan to launch the program in the newschool year.

FT: There are many abandoned animals. What shouldwe do if we spot a stray animal?

AA: If the dog or cat is friendly, we ask the community toplease pick the animal up and bring it to the shelter.Feral cats should be left alone as they are able to fendfor themselves and survive. As for dogs, if a dog isinjured or its safety is being directly threatened, pleasegive us a call or email us and we will try to help.

FT: Are you in favor of government’s method ofimpounding cats/dogs found homeless then even-tually killing them via chemicals? What is the bestmethod though?

AA: The government does not impound dog/cats as theirmethod of animal control. The current predominantmethod of animal control in Kuwait is poisoning,which is an extremely cruel and inhumane method aswell as being dangerous and ineffective. There is anexception to this with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). KOCapproached K’S PATH several months ago to designand implement a humane animal control program for

the area of Ahmadi. Under this program dogs arehumanely captured and evaluated for adoption. Catswill be sterilized and released which is an internation-ally proven method of cat control. We hope that thegovernment of Kuwait will appreciate the effective-ness of this partnership between KOC and K’S PATHand change the methods used nationally.

FT: What’s your reaction to comments by individualssaying that you should rescue abused expatsrather than abused animals?

AA: We never make a choice between animals andhumans. As human beings, we are responsible to allcreatures in need and as a country hoping to continueto develop, our attention has to be turned to allaspects of humanity. We can’t help one and leave theothers behind. There are groups in Kuwait that workvery hard to help people in need and we applaudthem for their work and provide support where wecan. We have chosen to serve the animal populationand it is through all of our efforts combined thatKuwait will improve for everyone in need.

FT: Do you really think K’S Path is needed in Kuwait?Why?

AA: I think all you have to do is step out of our house andlook around you to answer that question. Animals aresuffering in Kuwait, wild animals are being illegallysmuggled into the country and sold, birds are beingshot, the environment is being degraded at an aston-ishing level. If groups like K’S PATH don’t step up, whatwill be left?

The K’S PATH sanctuary in Wafra.


KUWAIT: British Ambassador to Kuwait Frank Baker poses with the winners, teachers and parentsafter the awards ceremony yesterday.—Photos by Ben Garcia

Habeeb Hassan poses by hiswork

Fatima Dashti poses at the dis-play of her work at the embassy

Royal Wedding celebratedthrough art in Kuwait

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: Kuwait is not exempt from the British Royal wedding obses-sions gripping the world, as the second-in-line to the British thronePrince William and Kate Middleton prepare to exchange their vowstoday in London’s Westminster Abbey. To celebrate the royal wed-ding, the British Embassy in Kuwait, in cooperation with the BritishCouncil, organized a painting competition for junior and senior stu-dents, under the theme ‘Contemporary Royal Wedding.’

The British Embassy was inundated with entries from elementaryand high school students, especially those at Kuwait’s leading interna-tional English schools. The awards ceremony was held at the BritishEmbassy yesterday in the presence of the British Ambassador toKuwait Frank Baker and the entrants’ proud parents and teachers.

The competition was divided into two categories: Junior for thosein the 9-11 age group and Senior, for 12-14 year-olds, with HabibHassan from The English Academy and Fatima Dashti from the BritishSchool of Kuwait winning the respective top prizes in the two cate-gories.

Hassan’s work was especially recognized by the ambassador beingthe most creative, with his painting showing the popular Londonlandmarks Big Ben and London Bridge. “The two birds in this paintingrepresents Prince William and Kate Middleton,” 11-year-old HabibHassan explained. “I chose birds to represent them because they sym-bolize peace and they [Prince William and his wife] will rule in peace. Inthe background I also painted the famous London landmarks to virtu-ally bring you inside England and have the real essence of the place. I

also added their national flag and the royal throne.”Fatima Dashti’s portrait of William and Kate set against a bright and

colorful background was equally lauded. “I used royal colors here andadorned the portray with wedding bells to announce their union. Ilove doing this kind of stuff and I’m very happy to have been selectedas the winner,” she said. The runners-up in the close-fought contestwere Yasmine Magdy and Marwan Salah Hashem, both from theEnglish Academy, in second and third place in the junior category, andJohar Amer from the Kuwait English School, along with Rogina Faraqfrom the English School of Fahaheel in second and third place in theSenior category.

“I think they all deserve our appreciation and applause,”Ambassador Baker said in his speech at the event. “Looking at thesebeautiful paintings really amazes me so much; they all look gorgeous.Thank you for your participation.” The ambassador added that theexcellent artworks submitted for the competition are “proof that thereare budding young artists out there and this endeavor could just be agreat start for their great fame in the future.”

The ambassador also revealed that HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah will be represented at the royal wedding by SheikhJaber Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, who arrived in London on Wednesday toprepare for the event. Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah certainly won’t be theonly person from Kuwait keen to see Prince William marry his bride,however, the ambassador told reporters. “Many Kuwaitis are alreadyexcitedly waiting in London to witness the historic wedding. We are allvery excited as well and this is going to be the most spectacular andmulticultural wedding in history.”

By Hussain Al-Qatari

KUWAIT: Kuwait Energy Company and the GulfStudies Center in the American Universityorganized Wednesday evening a forum to dis-cuss bilateral relations between Kuwait and Iraq.With a panel of speakers specialized in econom-ics, politics and social issues, the forum covereda variety of subjects including logistics, tourism,the role of private sector, and investmentbetween both countries. The event was chairedby Waleed Al-Nisf, the Editor in Chief of Al-Qabas newspaper.

Dr Mohammad Akbar, the Director of theGulf Studies Center at AUK said during hisspeech that the two countries share quite a lotin common. “As other states around the regionundergo a big transformation, it is indeed

important that Kuwait and Iraq foster the rela-tions with one another,” he said. He added thatwhile both countries mutually decided to turn anew page and forget a difficult era in their histo-ry, efforts still need to be made in order to fostercultural, social and economic relations betweenboth states.

Dr Ibrahim Bahr Aloloum, former Iraqi minis-ter of oil, noted that the role of the private sec-tor in the development of Iraq is essential and isno longer a mere option. “We believe that theKuwaiti private sector has the ability to changethe status quo, as it has the experience andresources required to create a rich fruitfulatmosphere for investments,” he said. He alsoadded that the honest dialogue between bothparties is essential for improving relationships,thanking the organizers of the forum for allow-

ing for such an opportunity.Managing Director of Kuwait Energy

Company Dr Mansour Aboukhamseen men-tioned that the cultural, social and economicrelationship between Kuwait and Iraq datesback to many decades ago. “The outlook for therelationship between both countries seems tobe quite bright; there are great efforts from bothparties to rekindle the strong ties between bothcountries,” he said.

Discussing tourism, businesswoman NabilaAl-Anjari, the General Manager of Leaders Groupfor Consultation and Training said that tourismbetween both countries can be the backbonefor a flourishing economy. “Kuwaitis have alwaysloved traveling to Iraq before the troubled era ofSaddam, and we are looking forward to see andpossibly invest in Iraq’s tourism sector today,”

she said. Al-Anjari stressed that tourism is one ofthe most sensitive subjects to discuss, since itinvolves the perceptions of the people of bothcountries of one another. She said that safety isa major player in improving tourism.

Iraqi researcher and academic Nabil Yaseenstressed that investing the relationship betweenKuwait and Iraq’s people is essential, sincehuman relations are the core of all other rela-tionships between both countries. “There are, tothis day, many people in both countries whoblame one another for the mistakes of Saddam’sregime. It is not going to be of any benefit ifpoliticians and investors meet as long as thepeople aren’t willing to rekindle the relationshipwith one another. Kuwait and Iraq need toestablish projects that will re-bridge the peoplewith one another again,” he said.

Kuwait Energy hosts Kuwait-Iraq forum


KUWAIT: The new Cabinet wil lalmost certainly be announced nextweek, most probably Monday orTuesday, sources said, amid increas-ing threats of grillings to be filed byopposition MPs against the premierand several ministers. Based on avail-able information, the most probabledate for the government is expectedto be May 3, when the nationalassembly is due to resume its regularsessions which have been suspendedsince the government quit about amonth ago.

If the new Cabinet is announcedon May 3, then its members will nottake the oath to become members ofparliament on the same day and thisis likely to take place at the next reg-ular session scheduled for May 17,further blocking the Assembly fromholding meetings. Most of thesources have expected the change inthe new Cabinet to be limited and isunlikely to affect senior ruling familymembers who are ministers.

The five ruling family ministers arealso expected to be retained in the

same posts, including defense, interi-or and foreign affairs. Sheikh AhmadAl-Fahd is also expected to stay asdeputy premier for economic affairsbut he is likely to get a different min-istry. Also, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullahis expected to be retained as oil min-ister, losing the information portfolio.

Independent MP Hussein Al-Huraiti yesterday criticized the delayin forming the new government, say-ing that in accordance with the con-stitution, the period for forming anew Cabinet should not exceed 15days. He said that many MPs havecertain reservations over a number ofministers and if they are retained inthe new Cabinet, those MPs areexpected to use constitutional toolsagainst them. But Huraiti advisedMPs to judge new ministers by theirperformances and not on theirnames.

The Popular Action Bloc has pub-licly said it will fi le to grill PrimeMinister HH Sheikh NasserMohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah onthe same day the Cabinet takes oath

in the Assembly. But it appears thatcooperation with the National ActionBloc over this issue has witnessedsome cracks and it appears that theliberal National Bloc will not supportthe grilling of the prime minister.Also, Islamist MP Ali Al-Omair saidthat all ministers who accept to be inthe new Cabinet should be preparedto face any grilling, adding that hebelieves that this is the main reasonfor many personalities declining invi-tations to be in the next Cabinet.

In another development, inde-pendent MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizriwarned that fighting between theforces of corruption in Kuwait willlead to catastrophic results on thecountry and its future and called onall parties to confront corruptionand the fighting. Muwaizri said thatfighting is taking place betweenforces of corruption to “rob thecountry’s resources” and over minis-terial positions or parliamentaryseats to boost their influence andserve their selfish interests at theexpense of the country.

New Cabinet set to be announced next week MP warns against forces of corruption

News

Kuwait Radio marks 60th anniversary KUWAIT: Kuwait Radio will mark its sixtieth anniversary inMay with the launch of a new station ‘Huna Al-Kuwait’ (Here’sKuwait). In a press release issued yesterday, Kuwait Radio saidthat the new station would be launched under the auspicesof oil minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, who isalso the Minister of Information. It explained that the new sta-tion’s name was chosen since these were the first two wordsever heard on Kuwait Radio in its very first broadcast in 1951by the late media figure, Mubarak Al-Maiyal. The pressrelease also revealed that a number of events will be held tomark Kuwait Radio’s anniversary and the launch of the newstation, including the rebroadcasting of some of the memo-rable programmes from Kuwait Radio’s 60-year history andan exhibition of photos on Kuwait Radio.

IT agency warns of online fraud KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Central Agency for Information Technologyyesterday warned local internet users of the growing dangerfrom email fraudsters using various scams to cheat unsuspect-ing people out of money. A report issued by the agency noteda recent surge in fraudulent e-mails from copycat sites ofinternational official bodies and banks, requesting financialand personal information from individuals. These messagesinclude links to fake sites where hackers can retrieve users’confidential information, which they can then use to emptytheir bank accounts, open fraudulent accounts or otherwisemisuse the personal details in question. The report said thatanyone receiving emails claiming to be from their banks orother official bodies should first check with the bodies inquestion before responding to any such communications toensure that the communications are genuine. Recipientsshould also install firewalls and anti-spam and anti-spywaresoftware on their computers and notify the relevant authori-ties on receiving any such fraudulent communications.

in brief

KUWAIT: Police trucks recently destroyed 15,462 liquor bottles of various brands and kinds along theSeventh Ring Road. Security sources noted that the liquor had been confiscated in cases filed in theyears 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2010. The destruction operation was supervised by the dis-trict attorneys Nasser Al-Bader, Fahd Al-Awadhi, Mohammed Al-Hajri and Faisal Al-Hassan.


KUWAIT: The Ministry of Electricity andWater is to provide an additional 2,200megawatts of energy for the summerseason to avoid power outages or cuts.Minister Bader Al-Shuraian said there isless of a challenge this year as all powerstations will be working at full capacity,with Al-Zour station also planned tostart service in June to supply 1,300megawatts. The minister was speakingon the sidelines of a ceremony markingthe authorization of the first batch ofministry staff to issue legal notices and

fines upon inspections.“Last year, we had two units with

capacity of 500 megawatts out of serv-ice in Sabiyya and Doha. Service andmaintenance this year was excellentand all units are back online in fullforce.” As for the situation when itcomes to water, the minister noted thestate’s water reserve is stable and thereis no intention for water supply restric-tions ahead.

“As of next week, all desalinationunits would be operational to ful l

capacity, and we also hope to see thefruit of rationalizing plans and aware-ness campaigns to head into the sum-mer with good reserves on hand.” Thecooperation of many state bodies withcampaigns aiming to curb power andwater consumption was “good”, theminister said, pointing out “the Ministryof Defense cut its consumption by 300megawatts and the Ministry ofEducation by 240 megawatts last year.”Curbing peak hour power consumptionin particular translates into saving in

expensive fuel, he said.The issue of nuclear power came up,

and the minister remarked the recentdisaster in Japan merits much carefulthought and the state’s specializedcommittee is still in the first stages of itshandling of this proposal. As to theauthorization of ministry staff to issuenotices of violations on premises andbodies failing to pay their dues to theministry, Al-Shuraian said this aims tocounter waste of power and water dueto carelessness and ignorance. — KUNA

MOSCOW: All the relevant bodies should cooperate and coordi-nate their efforts to counter a growth in non-communicable dis-eases, said Kuwait’s Minister of Health Dr Helal Al-Sayer yesterday.Speaking on the sidelines of his participation in the First GlobalMinisterial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-communi-cable Disease Control currently taking place in Moscow, Dr Al-Sayer said that Kuwait has introduced a number of special pro-grams for improving healthcare and countering non-communica-ble diseases. Kuwait also works closely with the World HealthOrganization (WHO) to draw upon international experience infighting these diseases, he added.

The health ministerrevealed that non-communi-cable diseases like diabetesaffect 16.7 percent ofKuwaitis, whilst a further 24percent suffer from highblood pressure and a remark-able 80 percent of the popu-lation are obese. He high-lighted the importance ofthe role played by civil socie-ty organizations in curbingthese diseases. Another sen-ior official attending theevent, Dr Tawfiq Bin AhmadKhoja, the Director Generalof the Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) HealthMinisters Council ExecutiveBoard, told KUNA that theGCC has formulated a num-ber of innovative approachesin its drive to control thesediseases in the past seven years. The GCC Health MinistersCouncil has issued more than 30 resolutions that were thendeveloped into an eleven-year plan (2011-2022) for counteringnon-communicable diseases, he added. Dr Khoja indicated thatdiabetes affects between 15 and 30 percent of adults in the GCCmember states, whilst high blood pressure affects 10-20 percentand obesity affects over 70 percent. He also called for cooperation

between all GCC health institutions and their global counterpartsin the campaign to eradicate these disease, which are responsiblefor a considerable percentage of international mortality rates. Anon-communicable disease, or NCD, is a medical condition or dis-ease which is non-infectious. NCDs are diseases of long duration,which generally show a slow rate of progression. They includeheart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, osteoporosis,Alzheimer’s disease, cataracts, and more. According to the WHO,NCDs to be by far the leading cause of mortality in the world,being responsible for 60 percent of all deaths.

The three-day conference is a key milestone in the internation-al campaign to curb the impactsof cancers, cardiovascular dis-eases, diabetes and chronic lungdiseases, which was jointlyorganized by the RussianFederation and the WHO andwill conclude today. Its aim is tosupport WHO member statesdevelop and strengthen policiesand programs on healthylifestyles and NCD prevention.These efforts are based on theglobal strategy for the preven-tion and control of NCDs and itsaction plan, which include multi-sector innovative approaches toprevention and care. The confer-ence is also taking place in thelead up to the United NationsGeneral Assembly High-levelMeeting on the Prevention andControl of Non-communicableDiseases on 19-20 September

2011.The Kuwaiti delegation to the conference includes Dr Al-Sayer

and Assistant Undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of Health (MoH)Dr Yousef Al-Nisf, MoH Assistant Undersecretary of HealthServices Dr Qais Al-Duwairi, head of the ministry’s LegalDepartment Mahmoud Abdulhadi and head of its PublicRelations department Faisal Al-Dousari. — KUNA

KUWAIT: Minister of Electricity and Water Bader Al-Shuraian is seen during the graduation of the first batch of inspectors. — KUNA

MEW set for the summer

KUWAIT: The Executive Director of the Central System forRemedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) Yousef SalehAl Fadhalah yesterday reiterated the government’s seriousnesson addressing the problems of illegal residents. “This body wasformed for this reason and our doors are open. We are all earsfor any complaint from any illegal resident,” Fadhalah said dur-ing a ceremony organized by the popular committee for moni-toring illegal residents’ human rights to honor him due to hisbody’s role in ensuring that illegal residents’ human rights arerespected.

Fadhalah thanked the popular committee for the honorbestowed on him, noting that the CSRSIR, which was formedonly last year, had already attained considerable achievements.“From the very beginning of our work, we were aware of theneeds of this group, so we held several meeting to put forwardsolutions and discuss how to provide them with their needs,”he said. The CSRSIR has helped in solving the problem of offi-cial birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates and health-care as well as children education, he added. Fadalah pointedout that the government has already passed a law allowingstateless residents free healthcare at government hospitals. Thegovernment has also established a special fund to finance theeducation of stateless children at private schools.

At the CSRSIR’s recommendation, the government hasapproved food rations for stateless residents, Fadhalah added,stressing that decisions on naturalization are a sovereign mat-ter: “We only present our reports and recommendations to thegovernment, and it can decide whether these individualsdeserve Kuwaiti nationality or not,” he clarified. For his part, thehead of the popular committee Jaber Al-Fadali said that thedecision to honor Fadhalah was taken in order to show thecommittee’s gratitude and appreciation of his efforts to facili-tate the rights of Kuwait’s stateless residents and help to solvetheir problems. — KUNA

Cooperation urged to control diseases All doors open for bedoons to

voice grievances

MOSCOW: Minister of Health Dr Helal Al-Sayer isseen during the conference. — KUNA

Anniversary

Years

1514 15Defiant Syriavows morecrackdown

4 Bahrainprotesters sentenced to death

Blast hits cafe in Morocco, 14 die


ALABAMA: A man pauses to look at damage from a deadly tornado yesterday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. — AP

BIRMINGHAM: The worst storms to slamsouthern US states in years flattened build-ings and overturned vehicles, with intensetornados and floods leaving a trail of destruc-tion and 190 people dead. The severe weath-er kil led 128 people in Alabama onWednesday alone, authorities said, andPresident Barack Obama said Washingtonwould be rushing assistance to the batteredsoutheastern state. States of emergency weredeclared in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennesseeand Oklahoma, and governors called out theNational Guard to help with rescue andcleanup operations. The National WeatherService (NWS) had preliminary reports ofmore than 300 tornados since storms beganFriday, including more than 130 onWednesday alone.

Alabama was especially badly hit, caughtby two lines of storms and an evening torna-do that tore through the city of Tuscaloosa,home to the University of Alabama.Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox told CNNthat the tornado had “obliterated blocks and

blocks” of his city, leaving 36 people deadthere. “Infrastructure has been absolutelydevastated,” he said yesterday. “When youlook at this path of destruction, likely five toseven miles long and half a mile to a milewide, I don’t know how anyone survived,”Maddox said. “There are parts of this city Idon’t recognize.... It is a dark hour for our city.”

A tornado also struck the city ofBirmingham and officials were still assessingthe damage. “This has been a very serious anddeadly event that’s affected our state, and it’snot over yet,” Alabama Governor RobertBrantley told reporters after the second stringof storms. Stunned Birmingham residentsassessed the damage yesterday, some count-ing their blessings to still be alive, others dis-traught over the loss of their loved ones orhomes. “There were two-by-fours (woodenbeams) falling out of the sky,” conveniencestore manager Jack Welch said, adding that“there were well over 30 homes destroyed”just behind his store in Birmingham.

Facilities manager John Filmore said hewas grateful to be alive, as he walked up his

front steps-the only part of his home stillintact after a tornado ripped it to its founda-tions. Some personal property swept up bythe killer twisters was found 50 miles away, aspower was knocked out in communitiesacross the south.

The Tuesday-Wednesday storms arebelieved to be the deadliest US natural disas-ter since Hurricane Katrina of 2005, andAccuweather.com said the tornados were theworst since 310 people were killed on April 3,1974. The NWS issued a rare “high-risk” warn-ing of tornados, hail, flash flooding and dan-gerous lightning for parts of Alabama,Georgia and Mississippi.

It warned that severe weather could alsostrike 21 states from the Great Lakes down tothe Gulf Coast and across to the Atlantic, andtornados were reported as far east as Virginiaand Maryland. In Mississippi the storm killed32 people and caused damage in 50 of its 82counties, according to Greg Flynn at thestate’s emergency management agency. Hesaid most of the deaths and damage werecaused by tornados and high winds. State

officials reported 11 dead in Arkansas, 10killed in Georgia, seven in Virginia, and anoth-er three killed in Missouri and Tennessee, withthe overall toll likely to rise. Storm victimsacross the region were trapped in homes,trailers and cars by falling trees. Hail the sizeof golf balls cracked windows.

Roads were washed out or renderedimpassable by fallen trees and power linesacross the region. Homes, schools and busi-nesses were flattened, flooded and set on fireby lightning. “Our citizens have endured daysof consecutive severe storms and flooding,”said Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear. “Weurge Kentuckians to remain on alert until thisstorm system finally passes.” Hundreds ofpeople were evacuated from their homes inMissouri after levees failed to hold backswollen rivers.

“I’m just glad my family is safe,” said ChrisPigg, who spent the night at a shelter withhis wife and daughter and wasn’t sure if he’dhave a home to return to after the BlackRiver breached the levee in Poplar Bluff,Missouri.— AFP

Death toll passes 190; Alabama worst hitTornadoes rip through US South

I n t e r n a t i o n a lFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

TEHRAN: Syria, Iran’s main Arab ally,has put Tehran in an uncomfortableposition as it has reacted cautiously to abloody crackdown on pro-democracyprotests there in contrast to its sharpcriticism of other Arab regimes. Leadersin the Islamic republic firstly kept silentover the crisis in Syria, which hasclaimed hundreds of lives, before ittried to minimize the importance ofevents there. Iran’s hardline PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad said earlierthis month that his country was not“interfering” in Syria. “The governmentof Syria is our very good friend... so arethe people of Syria... the governmentand the people of Syria can solve theirissue through dialogue,” he said at thetime. The unrest in Syria serves “theobjective of the United States, its alliesand the Zionist regime (Israel) to breakthe resistance’s forefront,” he added.

However, Ahmadinejad concededthat there is “no alternative but to

accept the freedom of the people... andthe vote of the majority in Syria andelsewhere.” Iran’s conservative-domi-nated parliament, which is usuallyquick to take tough stances in foreignpolicy, has so far remained silent on thesituation in Syria. Events there havebeen covered by the media, which hasstuck to reporting only factual develop-ments.

Tehran’s cautious stance with Syriais in contrast with its repeated verbalattacks against the repression of otherpopular movements sweeping the Arabworld, including in Bahrain which ispredominantly Shiite like Iran, but isruled by Sunnis.

“Iran backs the Arab movement inother nations, but not the one in Syriabecause Syria is resisting Israel and it isin line with the Iranian foreign policies,”Mohammad Saleh Sedghian, head ofTehran-based think-tank the Arab-Iranian Studies Centre said. “Iran shapes

its foreign policies with Arab nationsbased on the level of that nation’sresistance against Israel,” he added.“Meanwhile, some elites have criticizedthis differentiation, and Iranian officialshave adopted a more balanced stancethese days,” Sedghian added. TheUnited States last week accused Iran ofhelping the regime of Syrian PresidentBashar Al-Assad to crack down on thedemonstrators, a charge Tehran vehe-mently denied as it indirectly criticizedDamascus for the first time.

“We respect the sovereignty of othercountries and we respect the demandsof people. We consider as unacceptablethe use of violence against the peopleof any country,” foreign ministryspokesman Ramin Mehmanparast saidin response to the statement fromWashington without directly referringto Damascus. Though dominantlySunni, Syria is ruled by the minorityAlawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam,

and has been the main ally of Tehran inthe Arab world since the 1979 Islamicrevolution. Strategically, a weaker orchanged regime in Syria “could havenegative consequences for Iran,” saidMehrdad Serjouie, an independent ana-lyst in Tehran.

“Syria is Iran’s connecting bridge toHezbollah in Lebanon,” which is vehe-mently backed by Tehran, and “Israelwill gain the most from this disruption(of ties). The pressure lever on Israel willlessen,” he added. Amir Mohebian,director of Arya Strategic Studies, amoderate think-tank, said he believesthat “given the anti-Israeli sentiment inthe Arab revolts, (a victory of) demo-cratic movement would not put Syriaunder the influence of Israel.” Howeverhe acknowledged that “Iranian supportfor the regime of President Assad maybe perceived negatively by the Syrianopposition,” and weigh on relationswith Tehran if it came to power.— AFP

Syria unrest embarrasses Iran

BORDER: Syrians cross the border as they flee violence in Syria, in the Wadi Khaled area, about one kilometer from theLebanon-Syria border yesterday. — AP

Defiant Syria vows more crackdown UK revokes wedding invite for Syrian envoy

DAMASCUS: Syria defiantly vowed torestore “security and stability” across thecountry despite growing international cen-sure for its violent crushing of dissent, asactivists called for more protests today.Growing anger at the regime’s brutal crack-down on pro-democracy protesters, mean-while, saw Britain yesterday withdraw theSyrian ambassador’s invitation to the wed-ding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

And in the southern town of Daraa, epi-center of the protests that have shakenPresident Bashar Al-Assad’s once uncon-tested rule, water and power have been cutand the death toll has risen to 42 on thefourth day of a military siege, a rightsactivists said. Syria has been rocked sinceMarch 15 by increasingly strident pro-democracy demonstrations, which theauthorities have attempted to crushthrough violence that rights groups say haskilled at least 453 civilians.

Information Minister Adnan Mahmud

said yesterday that the crackdown wouldcontinue, despite a European Union threatof sanctions and growing world pressure toallow peaceful protests. “The authoritiesare determined to restore security, stabilityand peace to the citizens,” Mahmud said.“In Daraa, the army intervened at therequest of the population to restore securi-ty,” he added. According to the minister,more than 50 soldiers and dozens of policehave been killed and hundreds injuredsince the revolt began. Further showdownsare expected after the weekly main Muslimprayers today, when protesters traditionallyemerge from mosques to stage mass streetdemonstrations.

“Friday of Anger, April 29, in solidaritywith Daraa,” says a notice on the SyrianRevolution 2011 page of Facebook, a motorof the protests in which demonstratorsinspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arabworld are seeking greater freedoms. “Tothe youths of the revolution, tomorrow we

will be in all the places, in all the streets ...we will gather at the besieged towns,including with our brothers in Daraa,” saidthe statement posted online yesterday.“We will not leave Daraa isolated,” it said,adding demonstrations would also bestaged in other flashpoint towns such asHoms in the centre of the country andBanias in the northwest.

A London-based spokesman for Syrianopposition activists called on the army toprotect citizens confronted with “brutalrepression and killings by security forces.”“We hope that Bashar Al-Assad still has anounce of humanity in him so he can stopthis massacre, otherwise the response willbe on the street, where hundreds of thou-sands will turn out to demonstrate againsthim and his regime, demanding his depar-ture,” Ausama Monajed said. His group onWednesday called upon the regime toimplement real reform lest it is “overrun bya popular revolution.” —AFP

MOSCOW: Russia is refusingto cooperate with the Westover the unrest in Syria as itdoes not want to wreck tieswith a traditional ally andfeels let down by theWestern military action inLibya, analysts said. OnWednesday, Moscowclashed with the West at theUnited Nations over Syria’sdeadly crackdown on oppo-sition protests, with Russiaand China blocking a pro-posed Security Councilstatement condemning theSyria violence. The positionstands in contrast to itsmore cooperative stancelast month when PresidentDmitry Medvedev orderedRussia to abstain from theUN Security Council resolu-tion on Libya that essentiallyauthorized military action.

Medvedev, who seeks better ties with Washington, riskedworsening his relationship with his senior partner in the rulingtandem Vladimir Putin, who is known for his uncompromisingposition on the use of force in crises. But now the Kremlin feelscheated by the West, accusing it of exceeding the UN mandateand getting entangled in a military operation in Libya. And ifthe West expects Russia’s cooperation on Syria, Kremlin good-will will be in short supply, analysts said. “Russia has seen whathappened in Libya. It would be logical to assume that Russia’sstance on Syria would be more clear-cut that that on Libya,”said Alexander Filonik, head of the Arab Studies Center at theInstitute of Oriental Studies. “There is concern that events inSyria could develop according to the Libyan scenario,” he said.Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Institute of the MiddleEast, struck a similar note. “Russia’s position on Libya was sim-ple-run around this minefield yourself. On Syria it will be evensimpler,” he said. “The logic calls for Russia to say ‘no’.”

Mindful of accusations of human rights violations at home,Russia has traditionally been sensitive about UN interference inwhat it considers the domestic affairs of sovereign nations.Nerves are especially frayed ahead of presidential polls nextMarch amid frenzied speculation over whether Medvedev orPutin will stand. Putin last month famously called the UN reso-lution on Libya a “medieval call to crusade” and this weekagain slammed the West over its action in Africa. — AFP

Angry over Libya,Moscow takes hard

stance on Syria

MOSCOW: RussianPresident DmitryMedvedev looks at his ownreflection, while visitingthe Lytkarino Optical GlassFactory in the town ofLytkarino. — AP


MUHARRAQ: A man looks at a billboard in Muharraq, Bahrain yesterday demanding no leniency for those who opposedthe Bahraini regime. — AP

DUBAI: A Bahraini court sentencedfour men yesterday to die over thekilling of two policemen during recentpolitical unrest, state media reported,a move that could boost sectariantensions in a close US ally. The rulingcame amid heightened antagonismbetween Bahrain’s Shiite Muslimmajority and its Sunni ruling familyafter the island kingdom crushed anti-government protests last month withmilitary help from fellow Sunni-ledGulf Arab neighbors.

The verdicts handed out by a mili-tary court marked only the third timein more than three decades thatBahrain had issued a death sentence.One of the prior cases came in themid-1990s, during the greatest unrestBahrain had seen before this year.Three other defendants in the currentcase got life sentences, state mediasaid. Rights groups and relatives ofthe condemned men dismissed theproceedings as a farce. “They wereactivists in their villages and we thinkthey were targeted because of theiractivities,” said Nabeel Rajab, head ofthe Bahrain Center for Human Rights.“This will deepen the gap betweenthe ruling elite and the population.”

Bahrain’s state news agency saidthe verdicts could be appealed andthat defendants had “every judicialguarantee according to law and in

keeping with human rights stan-dards.” Relatives of the condemnedmen attended the sentencing disput-ed this. “Even the accusations contra-dicted each other,” said a relative ofone of the men sentenced to death,who said there were discrepanciesbetween statements by prosecutorsand coroner reports issued at the timeof the killings.

At least 29 people have been killedsince the protests started, all but six ofthem Shiites. The six included two for-eigners-an Indian and a Bangladeshi-and four policemen.

The recent turmoil began withShiite-led political protests inFebruary demanding greater politicalliberties, a constitutional monarchyand an end to sectarian discrimina-tion. A few Shiite groups called forabolishing the monarchy. BahrainiShiites say the ruling family systemati-cally denies them equal access toemployment and land, and say thenaturalization of predominantly SunniMuslim foreigners, including somewho man the security forces, proves apolicy of discrimination.

Bahrain, blaming the protests onregional powers including Shiiteneighbor Iran, declared martial lawand welcomed troops from SaudiArabia and the United Arab Emiratesto back up security forces which set

about crushing demonstrations.Bahrain this week expelled an

Iranian diplomat it said was part of aspy network based in Kuwait, which inMarch sentenced two Iranians andone of its own nationals to death overespionage. Government officials havesaid that four policemen were killedduring the unrest that gripped thecountry in February and March, atleast three of whom were run over bycars around March 16. Since then,Bahrain’s security forces havedetained hundreds of people, at leastthree of whom have died in custody.

Opposition groups and interna-tional aid organizations say hundredsof people have been sacked frompublic sector jobs for participating inthe protests.

Bahrain says it has taken steps onlyagainst those who committed crimesduring the unrest. The state newsagency on Wednesday said 312 peo-ple detained under martial law hadbeen released and about 400 othersreferred for prosecution. Yesterday’sverdicts were the first to emerge fromprosecutions related to the protestsand their aftermath. Relatives of thecondemned men who attended thesentencing said there was no indica-tion of when sentences might be car-ried out. Bahrain hosts the US Navy’sFifth Fleet.— Reuters

4 Bahrain protesters sentenced to death3 defendants sentenced to life in prison

RABAT: A massive explosion ripped through a cafe popu-lar among tourists in the Moroccan city of Marrakech yes-terday, killing 14 people including foreigners and wound-ing 20 in what the government called a criminal act. Ifconfirmed as terrorism, the blast in the iconic Djemma El-Fna square would be Morocco’s deadliest bombing ineight years. The explosion just before noon tore thefacade off the two-story terracotta-colored Argana cafe,leaving awnings dangling. Panicked passersby draggedaway bodies and tried to put out flames with fire extin-guishers, witnesses said.

Moroccan government spokesman Khalid Naciri saidthat the 14 slain people came from a variety of countriesbut he did not say which ones. “We worked for more thanan hour, maybe less, on the hypothesis that this couldeventually be accidental. But initial results of the investi-gation confirm that we are confronted with a true criminalact,” Naciri said in an interview with France-24 television.He said that more about the bombers’ methods should beknown within hours.

“There was a huge bang, and lots of smoke went up,there was debris raining down from the sky. Hundreds ofpeople were running in panic, some towards the cafe,some away from the square. The whole front of the cafe isblown away,” witness Andy Birnie, of north London, toldthe AP by telephone. Birnie is honeymooning inMarrakech. The square is a UNESCO World Heritage siteknown for its snake charmers, fire breathers and old town,or medina. “It was lunchtime so the square was very busy.We had just walked into the square, but were shielded bysome stalls,” Birnie said.

The state news agency MAP quoted a statement fromthe Interior Ministry as saying that 14 people were killedand 20 hurt in the explosion. The ministry said it appearedto be a “criminal act” and an investigation is under way.The nationalities of the victims were not immediatelyclear. The Spanish foreign ministry said it wasn’t aware ofany Spaniards among the victims but that its consul inCasablanca was making inquiries. Morocco is largely calmbut was hit by terrorist bombings in Casablanca in 2003that killed 45 people, including the suicide bombers.Moroccan authorities have regularly rounded up terrorsuspects since then and have been on alert for terroristactivity.

The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, or GICM, amilitant group was believed linked to those attacks. TheGICM has also been implicated in the deadly attacks inMadrid in March 2004. Al-Qaeda has an affiliate operatingin North Africa that stages regular attacks and kidnap-pings in neighboring Algeria. Morocco has said in the pastthat it has dismantled several Al-Qaeda plots. Al-Qaeda inthe Islamic Maghreb currently holds four Frenchmenhostage after kidnapping them in Niger last year, andrecently released new images and audio recordings oftheir voices. — AP

Blast hits cafe in Morocco, 14 die

MARRAKECH: A victim lies amid the debris of anexplosion which ripped through a cafe popularamong foreign tourists in the Moroccan city ofMarrakech yesterday. — AP


TARHOUNA: Students rally in support of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, ata school yard in Tarhouna district, Libya. — AP

MISRATA: Libyan rebels fought to captureMisrata’s airport yesterday after pushing backMuammar Gaddafi’s forces from the city’s lifelinesea port and as the country’s tribes urged thestrongman to quit. A powerful blast rocked Tripolisoon after NATO warplanes overflew the capital,while the insurgents appealed for heavy weaponsfrom the West and refugees streamed out of dan-ger zones in western Libya. Rebels in Misrata saidthey were confident victory was “very close” forthem in the strategic port city, as a UN panelarrived in Libya to investigate violence and humanrights abuses.

“Our freedom fighters have managed to defeatthe soldiers of Gaddafi” by forcing them out ofMisrata, Khalid Azwawi, head of the local transitioncommittee, told a news conference lateWednesday. “They managed to force them toleave, but not very far. That’s why Gaddafi is tryingto bomb the port,” he said. Rebel fighters backedby NATO air strikes said Wednesday they droveGaddafi’s troops out of missile range of the port,an aid conduit for the city of half a million peopleunder siege for more than seven weeks.

Fighting continued around the airport onThursday morning, the rebels said. “SignificantGaddafi forces” were concentrated around the air-port a few kilometers west of town, rebel militarychief Ibrahim Bet-Almal said, noting “cooperationbetween (his) forces and NATO.” “We’re trying toclear this area” on the city’s outskirts, which wasrocked by continuous explosions on Wednesdaynight as missiles and rockets fell randomly, he said.Rebel comrades defending Zintan, in the moun-tains southwest of Tripoli, also pushed backGaddafi forces who bombarded the town with atleast 20 Grad rockets, wounding three people anddamaging a hospital, before retreating.

Late Wednesday, an AFP team in the town wit-nessed rebels firing off celebratory salvos into thenight as a NATO warplane flew overhead. InBrussels, rebel military chief Abdulfatah Yunis, whoused to be Gaddafi’s interior minister, urged theWest to deliver heavy weapons and warned thatthe strongman could use mustard gas on them ina bid to stay in power. “Gaddafi is desperate now.Unfortunately he still has about 25 percent of hischemical weapons, which maybe he will use sincehe’s in a desperate situation,” Yunis told a newsconference. “So we have to stop him. We have tocooperate to stop him,” he said.

Chiefs or representatives of 61 tribes fromacross the North African country called for an endto Gaddafi’s four-decade rule, in a joint statementreleased Wednesday by French writer Bernard-Henri Levy. “The Libya of tomorrow, once the dic-tator has gone, will be a united Libya, with Tripolias its capital and where we will at last be free tobuild a civil society according to our own wishes,”it said.

Levy has become an unofficial spokesman inParis for the revolt and is credited with pressingPresident Nicolas Sarkozy to mobilize internationalpolitical and military support for it. “Each of thetribes in Libya is represented by at least a repre-sentative. In this list of 61 signatures, some tribesare represented 100 percent, others are still divid-ed,” he said. Having secured Misrata’s port, rebelswere bolstered by the arrival of a ship carryinghumanitarian supplies including food and medi-cines, as well as at least one boat loaded with arms,an AFP correspondent reported.

Othman Belbeisi of the InternationalOrganization for Migration said 1,091 people wereevacuated to the eastern rebel stronghold ofBenghazi despite heavy shelling. Among themwere hundreds of Niger citizens and the Frenchblogger Baptiste Dubonnet, who was in criticalcondition after suffering a gunshot wound to theneck. Further west, 5,150 people crossed fromwestern Libya into Tunisia at the Dehiba borderpost within 48 hours as fierce fighting raged in theregion, a Tunisian police source said. Witnessessaid the area was rocked by artillery and mortarfire. “There is a lot of fire in the area at the foot ofthe mountains,” said a taxi driver at the border,200 kilometers south of Ras Jdir, the main crossingpoint into Tunisia the rebels seized yesterday.

The United Nations said a three-member inter-national panel arrived in Libya on Wednesday tobegin a UN-ordered inquiry into the violence andabuses since Gaddafi forces began a crackdownagainst protesters in mid-February. The team wasled by Egyptian war crimes expert Cherif Bassiouniand included Jordanian-Palestinian lawyer AsamAder and Philippe Kitsch, a Canadian who was thefirst president of the International Criminal Court.The inquiry was “ordered after reports emerged ofserious human rights abuses against civilians inLibya, where initially peaceful protests have trans-formed into open conflict between oppositiongroups and the Gaddafi regime,” it said.— AFP

Libyan rebels battle to capture Misrata airport

Powerful blast rocks Tripoli

TRIPOLI: The United States threw a financiallifeline to rebels controlling eastern Libyawhile forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi har-ried insurgent strongholds in the west andfar southeast of the country. Governmenttroops kept up shelling overnight of thebesieged rebel outpost of Misrata, where aidships have been attempting to bring inemergency supplies and evacuate thewounded. A local doctor said by telephonethat seven insurgents were killed when acheckpoint came under rocket and heavyartillery fire. The Arabic Al Jazeera televisionsaid forces under Gaddafi, who has ruled theoil-producer over four decades, also clashedwith rebels in the remote southeastern dis-trict of Kufra, near the Egyptian border. Itgave no further details.

The rebel-held western town of Zintancame under fire from government forcesusing multiple rocket launchers yesterday.“Gaddafi forces have been using Grad mis-siles to bomb the town including inhabitedareas. Today alone, 80 missiles hit the town,”said a rebel spokesman in Zintan identifyinghimself as Abdulrahman. “Fortunately themajority of Zintan residents have already lefttheir homes and fled either towards theTunisian border or to secure areas in andaround Zintan,” he said. After weeks of fast

moving advances and retreats by rebel andpro-Gaddafi forces along the Mediterraneancoast, fighting appears to have settled into apattern of clashes and skirmishes from themountains of the west to the southeasterndesert.

French and British-led NATO air attackshave eased the plight of poorly trained andarmed rebels, but have not brought the col-lapse of the Gaddafi leadership rebels hadwished for. The protracted struggle hassown division among Western countries onhow to increase pressure on Gaddafi andgiven him time to shore up support amongtribal and political allies from his Tripolipower base. Senior rebel National Councilspokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told a newsconference in the rebel heartland city ofBenghazi that he was particularly concernedby use of Russian-made Grand missiles, firedin volleys, often from the back of trucks.

“Many in the Western Mountains in townssuch as Yefrin, Zintan and Kabau are beingkilled by this indiscriminate shelling,” rebel

National Council spokesman Abdel HafizGhoga told a news conference in Benghaziin the east on Wednesday. The United Statesvoiced confidence in the Benghazi-basedcouncil Wednesday as the US Treasurymoved to permit oil deals with the group,which is struggling to provide funding forthe battle-scarred areas under its control.The order by the US Treasury Department’sOffice of Foreign Assets Control may help toclear up concerns among potential buyersover legal complications related to owner-ship of Libyan oil and the impact of interna-tional sanctions.

The first major oil shipment from rebel-held east Libya, reported to be 80,000 tonsof crude, was expected to arrive inSingapore yesterday for refueling but oiltraders told Reuters finding a buyer was notstraightforward, with many of the usualtraders still worried about legal complica-tions. A tanker booked for Italian oil compa-ny Eni to carry crude to Italy from Gaddafi-held territory in Libya never arrived in portand left empty last week because the sanc-tions meant the government would nothave got paid, trade sources said. “They did-n’t want the crude to go, because theywouldn’t have gotten any money for it,” anindustry source said on Wednesday, adding,

“They could use it to refineinto gasoline.”

Residents say pro-Gaddafi forces have beensurrounding mountain-toptowns in western Libya,cutting them off from food,water and fuel supplies andunleashing indiscriminatebombardments on theirhomes with rockets andmortars. Libyan officialsdeny targeting civilians,saying they are f ightingarmed gangs and Al-Qaedasympathizers who are ter-rorizing the local popula-tion. Rebels who seized aremote post on the west-ern border with Tunisiahurriedly dug trenchesafter hearing that forcesloyal to Gaddafi were ontheir way to re-take the

crossing. The rebel spokesman in theWestern Mountains town of Zintan, scene ofsome of the region’s most intense fighting,said there was heavy bombardment thereon Wednesday, that at least 15 people werewounded and five houses destroyed.

Both the rebels and the European Unionsaid the shelling of the Misrata port threat-ened a vital supply and rescue route. “Weare receiving reports of hospitals being over-whelmed by a growing number of wound-ed,” EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgievasaid in a statement. An aid ship took advan-tage of a brief lul l in the f ighting onWednesday to rescue Libyans and a Frenchjournalist wounded in the f ighting inMisrata, along with migrant workers, fromthe western rebel enclave and headed forBenghazi, centre of the rebel heartland inthe east. “Despite heavy shelling of the portarea ... about 935 migrants and Libyans havebeen rescued and are now safely en route toBenghazi,” the International Organization forMigration (IOM) said.— Reuters

US helps Libyan rebels as Gaddafi open new fronts

BENGHAZI: A Libyan rebel carries a banner as hetakes part in a military parade calling for arming therevolution and rejecting foreign ground troopsintervention in the conflict, in Benghazi. — AP


BEIJING: A US envoy accused China of “seri-ous backsliding” on human rights yesterdayfollowing talks on the issue that were heldas Beijing carries out a severe crackdown ongovernment critics. Assistant Secretary ofState Michael Posner also indicated Chinarebuffed US appeals to soften the crack-down and resolve the cases of prominentartist Ai Weiwei and other detained activistsand dissidents. “In recent weeks we haveseen a serious backsliding on human rightsand the discussion of these negative trendsdominated the human rights dialogue overthe past few days,” Posner told reporters.“The most senior officials of the UnitedStates are deeply concerned about thedeterioration of human rights in China,” headded.

Posner, whose brief includes humanrights, led the US delegation to the two-day

US-China Human Rights Dialogue, a recur-ring discussion held this time in Beijing. TheUS State Department had made clearbeforehand that it would zero in on China’sclampdown and a “negative trend of forceddisappearances, extralegal detentions, andarrests and convictions”. Chinese authoritieshave launched their toughest campaignagainst government critics in years afteranonymous online appeals emerged inFebruary calling for weekly protests to emu-late those that have rocked the Arab world.

Scores of Chinese activists and rightslawyers have been rounded up since theemergence of the “Jasmine” campaign,which has gone largely unheeded. Humanrights groups had urged the Americans tostep up pressure in the dialogue, which hasbeen criticized as a toothless talking shopthat had achieved nothing so far in pressur-

ing China to improve its human rightsrecord. But it appeared that the latestinstallment had similarly achieved no break-throughs, with China yesterday repeatingits insistence that its handling of dissentwas its own business.

“We are against any country interferingin China’s internal affairs under the pretextof human rights issues,” foreign ministryspokesman Hong Lei told a regular newsbriefing, when asked about the dialogue’soutcome. Posner said the US side raised anumber of sensitive rights issues includingrestrictions on religious groups, China’shandling of restive minorities such asTibetans and Muslim Uighurs, and thedetentions of scores of rights lawyers andactivists. These included the case of AiWeiwei, a prominent artist and staunch crit-ic of the Communist Party whose disap-

pearance into police custody in early Aprilsparked criticism from around the world.

While refusing to characterize China’sresponse in detail, Posner said China’s dele-gation, led by foreign ministry official ChenXu, acknowledged that government criticshad vanished. “There was a recognitionthat in the past month people had disap-peared,” he said. Yet he made clear the USotherwise made no headway in particularcases such as Ai’s. “We did not get ananswer that satisfied us,” he said of Ai.Posner indicated China similarly rebuffedappeals in the case of jailed dissident writerLiu Xiaobo-who won the Nobel Peace Prizein October-and his wife Liu Xia. Liu wasjailed in 2009 for 11 years for subversion,and Liu Xia has been incommunicadounder house arrest since shortly after theNobel announcement.—AFP

US raps China for ‘serious backsliding’ on rights

JERUSALEM: Israel said yesterday aPalestinian unity deal would sabotageprospects for peace and stemmed frompanic by Hamas and Western-backedPresident Mahmoud Abbas over popularuprisings in Syria and Egypt. The surprisereconciliation between the Islamist groupthat runs Gaza and Abbas’s Fatah move-ment that exercises limited self-rule in theWest Bank presented a new challenge forIsrael as it mounts a diplomatic driveagainst a Palestinian campaign to win UNrecognition of statehood ambitions inSeptember. “The agreement betweenFatah and the terror organization Hamas isa fatal mistake that will prevent the estab-lishment of a Palestinian state and will sab-otage chances of peace and stability in theregion,” Israeli President Shimon Peressaid.

Peres, a respected elder statesman, saidin a statement he feared Hamas would ulti-mately take over the West Bank after aPalestinian election envisaged by the unitydeal and that the influence of Hamas allyIran would be strengthened as a result.Peace talks between Israel and Abbas’sadministration resumed in September inWashington but quickly fizzled after PrimeMinister Benjamain Netanyahu refused toextend a partial building freeze in Jewishsettlements in the occupied West Bank.

Speaking publicly for the first time sincethe reconciliation pact was unveiled onWednesday, Abbas signalled negotiationswith Israel would still be possible duringthe term of a new interim governmentformed under the agreement. He said thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO),which he heads and to which Hamas doesnot belong, would still be responsible for“handling politics, negotiations”. ButAbbas said Palestinian unity is vital.“Dislike, agree or disagree (with Hamas) -they’re our people. You, Mr Netanyahu(are) our partner,” Abbas, speaking inEnglish, told Israeli peace activists who methim.

Israeli leaders have said they cannottalk to Hamas, which has spurned Westerndemands to renounce violence, recognizeIsrael and accept existing interim peaceagreements. “This (unity) deal ... stems

from panic-a huge panic,” Foreign MinisterAvigdor Lieberman told Army Radio, aview echoed by Defence Minister EhudBarak in a separate interview. “(Hamasleader) Khaled Meshaal, sitting inDamascus, sees his patron President(Bashar) al-Assad shooting up mosques,tanks firing deliberately (at civilians), andunderstands the ground is burning underhim,” the far-right minister said.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip,Palestinians said the unity accord was born

of a deep-seated popular desire to over-come the Hamas-Fatah divide and reflect-ed frustration over the slow move towardsstatehood. “The signing of the agreementis very, very good and I pray to God tomake it succeed because we are one peo-ple in one trench,” said Salman Al-Dairi, 50,who described himself as a Fatah support-er in Gaza.

Lieberman also said Abbas had “leanedfor years” on Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptianpresident toppled by a pro-democracyrevolt in February, and now felt his ownposition was shaky. The result, accordingto Lieberman, was an alliance betweenPalestinian factions that “crossed a red

line” for Israel. He held out the possibility ofwithholding Palestinian tax revenues thatIsrael transfers to the Palestinian Authorityand a suspension by the US Congress ofcrucial financial aid to Abbas’s administra-tion if it shares power with Hamas. Abbashas said he will not return to US-sponsoredpeace negotiations until settlement-build-ing is halted in the West Bank and in EastJerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967war and which Palestinians want as part ofa future state.

Israel has called that an unacceptablepre-condition, and has been urgingWestern governments to opposePalestinian plans to ask the UN GeneralAssembly in September to recognize aPalestinian state in all of the West Bank andGaza. Next month, Netanyahu is due toaddress a joint meeting of the USCongress, a speech that had been widelyexpected to include new, interim stepstowards a peace agreement. Speaking onWednesday after the unity deal wasrevealed, Netanyahu said: “The PalestinianAuthority must choose either peace withIsrael or peace with Hamas. There is nopossibility for peace with both.”—Reuters

Israel growls as Palestinians applaud Fatah, Hamas deal

Israeli leaders fear Hamas takeover of West Bank

WEST BANK: Palestinian security officers take part in a trainingsession in the West Bank city of Jenin yesterday.— AP

China-US dialogueBEIJING: Human rights is one of the most contentious issues inUS-China ties and the two powers yesterday end a two-dayannual dialogue on the issue. Washington said it would speakstrongly about Beijing’s crackdown on dissent. Here are somequestions and answers about Chinese human rights, the dia-logue and US policy.

WHY IS HUMAN RIGHTS A CONTENTIOUS ISSUE?The United States has a tradition of pressing other states,

especially communist states, about their restrictions on citi-zens’ political, legal and religious rights. Communist Party-ruled China has been a focus of such criticism from the WhiteHouse, Congress and US groups, especially since 1989, whenthe Chinese army crushed student-led protests for democracycentered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. In the United States,China’s rights record can galvanize conservatives and liberals,religious groups, lawyers, and trade unionists, making forpotent coalitions. China has long rejected US criticism as med-dling and Cold War-style subversion. It has also honed counter-arguments: that the United States is hypocritical, that China iscommitted to its own version of human rights, and that provid-ing basic subsistence and economic development takes priori-ty over individual political rights. The resulting friction can bevolatile as US criticisms overlap with worries about Chinesetrade policies, mutual distrust over military intentions, andChinese fears Washington is bent on overturning CommunistParty rule.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CRITICISMS?The United States, other Western governments, and human

rights advocates in China and abroad have repeatedly criti-cized Beijing for a range of restrictions on citizens: China’sdetention and jailing of dissidents and human rights advo-cates, often using sweeping state security laws and secretiveCommunist Party-run courts to punish critics. Dozens of rightslawyers and activists have been arrested, detained or placed insecretive informal custody since February, when party fears ofcontagion from anti-authoritarian uprisings across the Arabworld triggered a crackdown by China’s domestic securityapparatus.

Re-education-through-labor camps. This imprisonment sys-tem is used to hold people for up to three years, or four yearson extension, without trial or easy means to appeal. Labor-reeducation allows police to sidestep courts and critics say thesystem violates international rules and China’s own laws. Thecamps hold tens of thousands of people accused of prostitu-tion, illegal drug use, theft and other offences, and also dissi-dents and protesters.

Tibet and Xinjiang. Beijing faces international criticism thatit is repressing religion and legitimate political demands inthese two western regions with large ethnic minority popula-tions who feel little affinity with the rest of China. The UnitedStates has urged China to lift restrictions on Christian, Muslimand other religious groups. China says it respects citizens’ rightto worship, but it also demands that they accept party over-sight and limits. Groups, such as a Protestant “house” church inBeijing that has recently challenged those limits and sought apermanent place of worship, risk detention or arrest. —Reuters


KARACHI: Pakistani women mourn the death oftheir family member, killed in a blast in Karachiyesterday. — AP

NEW DELHI: India has rejected US firms foran $11 billion fighter jet contract, shortlistingEuropean companies instead, in a move thatcould sour its relationship with the UnitedStates while broadening its strategic tieswith other regions. The rejection comesdespite lobbying from President BarackObama during a high-profile visit to Indiafive months ago, and coincides with theunexpected resignation of the US ambassa-dor to India, who cited “personal, profession-al, and family considerations” in a statementyesterday.

The US embassy in India declined to com-ment if Timothy Roemer’s resignation waslinked to the jet decision, with a spokes-woman referring queries to a statement ontheir website. Roemer said in a separatestatement on India’s decision: “Weare...deeply disappointed by this news. Welook forward to continuing to grow and

develop our defense partnership with India.”Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and Boeing’s F/A-18Super Hornet did not meet the Indian AirForce’s technical requirements, a defenseministry source told Reuters.

“The Americans will be very unhappy andpeople who have been backing the contractwill say India has not sufficiently taken intoaccount the political relationship with theUS,” said Kanwal Sibal, a former Indian for-eign secretary. “That is a political setback forrelations.” Relations between the twodemocracies have been on the rise after theend of the Cold war, when India was seen ascloser to the Soviet Union. The two nationssigned a landmark civil nuclear cooperationdeal in 2007 and Obama last year promisedto back India’s bid for a permanent place onthe UN Security Council during a visit withmore than 200 business executives. In histhree-day trip-the longest stay in any foreign

country by Obama-the US leader alsoannounced $10 billion in business deals.

But suspicions remain. India has strived tobroaden the base of its diplomatic relation-ships, working along with China, Russia andother emerging powers to avoid being per-ceived as part of the US camp. India has alsobeen unwilling to commit to greater defenseties, including joint military exercises andpatrols. Obama, meanwhile, has been walk-ing a diplomatic tightrope, on the one handtrying to boost diplomatic and business tieswith India while on the other ensuring rela-tions with Pakistan and China, nations oftenat loggerheads with India, stay stable. Indiaalso ruled out Sweden’s Saab JAS-39 andRussia’s MiG-35, departing from a long-run-ning tradition of relying mainly on Russianaircraft for its Air Force.

Eurofighter, which makes the Typhoonfighter jet shortlisted for the order, is a four-

nation consortium of EADS , representingGermany and Spain, Britain’s BAE Systemsand Italy’s Finmeccanica. Dassault makes theRafale. The contest now sets up a showdownbetween two multi-role European fightersnow actively deployed in policing the no-flyzone over Libya, both hungry for export salesto compensate for defense spending cuts athome. The order has been keenly contestedby global defense firms and has seen lobby-ing from leaders like Britain’s David Cameron,France’s Nicholas Sarkozy and Russia’s DmitryMedvedev. “To the extent that it has comedown to the Rafale or Typhoon, theEuropeans have, in a sense, won. India is bal-ancing its international relationships,” saidHoward Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGCPartners in London. Boeing said it was disap-pointed with the decision and would seek a“debrief” from the Indian Air Force beforeconsidering its options. —Reuters

India picks Europeans, spurns US for jet order

WASHINGTON: A US plan to pull GeneralDavid Petraeus from Afghanistan threat-ens to derail US efforts to build strong tieswith Islamabad and Kabul and helpAmericans win the decade-old war againstthe Taleban. While President BarackObama’s decision to move Petraeus to theCIA will give him a strong voice on securityissues, it opens him to criticism that he,like George W Bush before him, is not giv-ing the war the attention it needs for suc-cess. “We’re just starting to see somemomentum, some shifts, and now we’reswapping out the Afghanistan command-er,” said Rick “Ozzie” Nelson, anAfghanistan veteran and a fellow at theCenter for Strategic and InternationalStudies.

The shake-up in Kabul-Obama will alsosend veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker toreplace Karl Eikenberry as US ambassador-comes as the United States struggles toshow it can decisively weaken the Talebanalmost 10 years after the Sept 11 attacksthat triggered the war. The Obama admin-istration will name Lieutenant GeneralJohn Allen, who commanded troops inIraq and is now deputy commander of USCentral Command, to take over inSeptember. Despite areas of improvedsecurity in southern Afghanistan, violenceshows few signs of receding and foreigntroops are bracing for a bloody springfighting season only two months beforeObama starts withdrawing US soldiers.

In that context the decision to removePetraeus, who has sought to apply hiscounterinsurgency success in Iraq toAfghanistan-is a gamble for the US presi-dent, under pressure at home to end along war and mindful of advice from mili-tary leaders who say the Afghan fight is farfrom won. It was only 10 months agowhen Obama, the war critic who struggledat first to find his footing with the US mili-tary leadership, suddenly asked Petraeusto effectively take a demotion andbecome Afghanistan commander whenhis predecessor, General StanleyMcChrystal, resigned in a media scandal.

Since then Petraeus has embodied US

hopes the long-neglected Afghan cam-paign could be salvaged by putting moreboots on the ground and winning overwar-weary Afghans. Petraeus has workedto improve ties with Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai, strained at times due toaccidental civilian deaths, and to convincePakistani leaders like army chief GeneralAshfaq Kayani to crack down on militantslaunching attacks on US troops inAfghanistan.

His departure may make it even harderto reassure Kabul and Islamabad, wheresome leaders have staked their futures on

close ties with Washington, the UnitedStates is not quickly bolting for the exit aspublic support for the war drops. “It’s hardto get a focused campaign and developthose relationships” when top brass don’tstick around, Nelson said. The departure ofthe US military’s brightest star may alsofuel doubts about how many troopsObama, who sent an additional 30,000 USsoldiers to Afghanistan after overhauling

US strategy on Afghanistan in 2009, canafford to bring home starting in July. “Wewon’t know if (Petraeus’) surge strategywill work until the end of 2011, which islong after he’s left,” said Joshua Foust, afellow at the American Security Project.

Obama will announce a major securityshake-up today, nominating CIA directorLeon Panetta to replace Robert Gates asdefense secretary and putting Petraeusforward to lead the US spy agency. InAfghanistan analysts expect continuity inNATO’s strategy and operations as com-manders seek to expand “bubbles” of

improving security, which they hope willallow Afghans to resume commerce andimprove governance, and as they conducta air strikes aimed at mid- and senior-levelTaleban leaders.

Likewise, the US military’s deep com-mand structure could minimize the impactof Petraeus’ departure, which althoughexpected at some point comes at a deli-cate juncture. —Reuters

KARACHI: Taleban militants detonated a roadside bomb in thePakistani city of Karachi yesterday, killing four members of the navy,the third attack on the navy in less than a week. A motorcyclist wasalso killed in the blast targeted at a navy bus, while at least five peo-ple were wounded, navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali and ahospital official said. Security experts say the attacks on the navy,seen as a soft target with less effective protection, could be part of anew strategy to widen their violent campaign.

Militants linked to Al-Qaeda and Taleban have carried out severalattacks on the Pakistani army and air force, which spearhead offen-sives against them in their northwestern strongholds near theAfghan border, but the navy had not been targeted before thisweek’s attacks. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack, asthey did for the twin attacks in Karachi on Tuesday, when twobombs hit buses carrying navy personnel, killing four people andwounding 56. “Our men carried out this attack and all security forcesare our target,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taleban spokesman, told Reutersby phone from an undisclosed location. “They will be attacked every-where in the country. Our organisation is still strong in cities ofPakistan.”

A senior security official said educational institutions run by thePakistan Navy in Karachi were closed for three days after Tuesday’sattacks. Karachi is Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub. It isalso home to the main base of the Pakistani navy. “It is a precaution-ary measure as the militants are targeting navy buses, many of whichare used to pick and drop school children,” the official said, whodeclined to be identified. “We may have to extend the closure fur-ther given the situation.” Some security experts said the insurgentswere after all security forces, not just the navy, and this week’sattacks on the navy could mean they were widening their targets,with more dangerous devises. “It’s not the navy that is being target-ed, it is the armed forces,” said former interior minister and retiredarmy general Moinuddin Haider. “And the most dangerous thing isthat IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and remote bombs are nowbeing used. This is a new thing which here first started in Iraq andhas caused a lot of damage in Afghanistan,” said Haider. —Reuters

Taleban attack Pakistan navy bus, 3rd this week

Petraeus exit adds to US troubles in AfghanistanLeadership change affects important local relationships

KABUL: An Afghan man runs past a building destroyed during thecivil war in 1992 when Afghanistan was ruled by the AfghanMujahideen (holy warriors). Today marks the 19th anniversary ofthe Afghan Mujahideen victory over the former Soviet Union inva-sion in Afghanistan and a nationwide celebration which wasplanned to mark the anniversary was canceled. — AP

B u s i n e s sFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

Retail sales picked up in 2010, butthat isn’t showing up in demandfor retail space in 2011, according

to research firms tracking the market.Commercial real estate across the boardisn’t faring much better despite improve-ments in tourism and gaming and a dropin the jobless rate.

The retail vacancy rate stood at 10.4percent at the end of March, up from10.2 percent at the end of December butdown from 10.7 percent in the first quar-ter of 2010, according to AppliedAnalysis. That’s the first quarterlyincrease after three consecutive quartersof decline, the firm said.

John Restrepo, principal of RestrepoConsulting, pegged the vacancy rate at12.3 percent, saying more than 5.4 mil-lion of 43.9 million square feet of inven-tory is available.

“Last quarter the anchored retail mar-ket hit a floor, but it now appears thatthere was a trap door,” Restrepo said. Thelack of job creation combined with highconsumer debt levels, rising gasoline andfood prices and the move to Internetshopping have hurt the retail market,Restrepo said.

Applied Analysis attributed theincreased vacancy in part to store clos-ings for Ultimate Electronics, whichrecently filed for bankruptcy protection.

Applied Analysis Principal BrianGordon said the retail market will be

volatile for the next year and rents arelikely to continue to decline.

The average rent requested in the firstquarter was $1.53 per square foot permonth, down from $1.72 a year ago,Applied Analysis reported. Prices aredown 31 percent since early 2008, it said.

North Las Vegas had the highest

vacancy rate at 11.8 percent, followed by11.1 percent in Las Vegas, 10.6 percent inHenderson and 9.3 percent in unincorpo-rated Clark County.

Office market Only Applied Analysis reported an

improvement in the vacancy rate in thefirst quarter, while Grubb & Ellis, CBRichard Ellis, Restrepo Consulting andColliers reported slight increases.

Applied Analysis said the vacancy ratefell from 24.2 percent at the end ofDecember to 24 percent at the end ofMarch. CB Richard Ellis reported a 24.3percent vacancy rate, Grubb & Ellis 23.5percent and Restrepo Consulting 23.3percent. Earlier this month, Colliersreported a 24.8 percent vacancy rate.

CB Richard Ellis said the office marketis improving since it has gone three con-secutive quarters where more space hasbeen occupied than vacated. “We inter-pret that as a positive indicator that theworst of the down cycle is behind us,”the report released by research directorSara Dinwoodie said.

But Grubb & Ellis said it sees trouble

ahead when banks release more of theirdistressed properties on the market. Thatshould bump up the vacancy rate evenmore.

“However, it’s likely that this latestincrease to vacancy will only be tempo-rary,” said Grubb & Ellis ResearchManager Dave Dworkin. Those newly

marketed properties will introduce a low-er bottom line for sales prices and leaserates that will become the focus of com-petition throughout the year, Dworkinsaid.

Las Vegas isn’t attracting out-of-statecompanies to fill the office space,Dworkin said. Most of the transactionsare locally owned businesses relocatingto other parts of town or renewing theirleases. Three-year to six-year leases havebeen common as landlords accept long-term leases with low rates to keep occu-pancy up, he said.

Restrepo said the office marketappears to him as the one sector thatshould continue to worsen because of anoversupply and lack of job creation.

Applied Analysis said the rentsrequested declined 5 percent betweenthe first quarter of 2010 and first quarterof 2011. In that same period, the firm saidthe vacancy rate rose from 26.5 percentto 27.2 percent in unincorporated ClarkCounty and from 24.5 percent to 24.9percent in Henderson. In North LasVegas, the vacancy rate rose from 18.2

percent to 21.2 percent and in Las Vegasit rose from 18.9 percent to 19.8 percent,according to Applied Analysis.

Industrial marketSeveral firms said the vacancy rate

continues to increase, with AppliedAnalysis reporting it at 17.9 percent, upfrom 16.9 percent at the end ofDecember. The industrial market has hadincreasing vacancy for 18 consecutivequarters, Applied Analysis reported, andlease rates are likely to continue todecline. Rents have fallen more than 8percent over the past year and are down33 percent from the peak in mid-2007,the firm said.

The vacancy rate rose from 14.9 per-cent a year ago in North Las Vegas to18.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011.Unincorporated Clark County saw itsvacancy rate jump from 15.7 percent to18.3 percent. Henderson’s vacancy ratewent from 11.5 percent to 16.4 percentand Las Vegas saw an increase from 14.7percent to 15.2 percent.

Like the office market, Dworkin said heexpects distressed properties to hit themarket during the first half of the year,which should temporarily increase thevacancy rate.

Overall, however, he said lease ratesand the vacancy rate should remain flatfor the year. Renewals are more likelythan companies relocating to otherspace, he said. — MCT

George Merrill shops at an Office Depot store in Delray Beach, Florida. Increased retail sales in 2011 could signal a new season forthe economy. — MCT

US retail space yet to fillBusiness picking up, but commercial real estate not faring good

Commercial real estate in

the US across the board

isn’t faring much better

despite improvements in

tourism and gaming and

a drop in the jobless rate.

The retail vacancy rate

stood at 10.4 percent at

the end of March, up

from 10.2 percent at the

end of December but

down from 10.7 percent

in the first quarter of

2010, according to

Applied Analysis.

B u s i n e s s

Anniversary

Years


TOKYO: Before disaster struck, Japan’sleaders were vowing to counter theprospect of long-term economic declinewith a new spirit of engagement with therest of the world. Freer trade and deepereconomic ties could help re-energize aneconomy stifled by deflation andeclipsed in size by rising rival China andin vision by smaller, more dynamic coun-tries such as neighboring South Korea.

Now, as Japan deals with the after-math of triple calamities — earthquake,tsunami and nuclear reactor leaks — theconsiderable challenges of remaking theworld’s third-largest economy havebecome even bigger and may take abackseat to reconstruction.

“Those who want to return to a moreKeynesian, pump-priming and heavygovernment control of the economy willargue that this is the time to rebuildJapan and to use the government’s lead-ership,” said Michael Green, an analystand Japan expert at the Center forStrategic and International Studies inWashington. “The other side of thedebate will say no, now is the time tobuild more market fundamentals andreally put some dynamism and growth”into the economy.

Japan faces a massive recovery bill,already estimated as high as 25 trillionyen ($305 billion), equivalent to the sizeof Greece’s entire economy and that mayget bigger. The tab could strain alreadyoverloaded government finances againstthe backdrop of one of the world’s mostrapidly aging societies.

Things weren’t looking bright for

Japan even before March 11, the day itsnortheast coast was struck by a magni-tude-9.0 earthquake and devastatingtsunami, which crippled a nuclear powerplant and led to the world’s worstnuclear crisis in 25 years.

Faced with a bleak future marked byslow decline as national wealth fadedaway with a shrinking population, thecountry was widely described as havingfallen into a psychological funk.

China, where economic growth rates

sometimes exceed 10 percent a year,overtook Japan last year as the world’sNo 2 economy, a position held fordecades behind close ally, the US.

Beijing also appeared to be flexing itsgrowing economic muscle at Tokyo’sexpense. A tense encounter near disput-ed islands last year ended with Japanseen as giving in to Chinese threats andpunitive action, such as halting exportsof rare earth metals needed to makehigh-tech products.

Japan is also facing the demographicchallenge of a fast aging society, with 40percent of citizens expected to be 65 orover by 2050. The country’s populationfell by a record amount last year anddeclined for the fourth straight year.Adding to the overall pessimism hasbeen a public debt of more than twice itsgross domestic product. Prime MinisterNaoto Kan, whose political stature waswobbly even before the disasters, hasbeen a vocal advocate of his countrylooking outward for opportunity andrevitalization. His government has calledfor slashing trade barriers, cutting redtape and encouraging investment.

Japan is studying participation in theUS-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership, aproposed free trade zone that would linkseveral economies lining the Pacific Rim,but which is opposed by Japanese farm-ers. It has also been studying a possiblethree-way free trade deal with China andSouth Korea. Tokyo has looked on anx-iously in recent years as dynamic smallerneighbor South Korea has carried out anational strategy of forging free tradeagreements with the United States,European Union and other economiesincluding India. Talk of the need forJapan to further open its economy hasbeen a call heard for decades withoutmuch progress. “Japan has been and isin many respects a fortress,” said Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of internation-al political economy at the IMD businessschool in Lausanne, Switzerland, citinglow levels of imports, inward investmentand foreign workers. —AP

How to reinvent Japan IncDisasters challenge plans as leaders pledge determination

A Japanese flag with a ‘cheer up’ message tied on a crossover bridge flaps in thewind at an intersection in a tsunami-devastated area of Kesennuma port inKesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Now, as Japan deals withthe aftermath of triple calamities — earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactorleaks — the considerable challenges of remaking the world’s third-largest econ-omy have become even bigger and may take a backseat to reconstruction. —AP

BERLIN: Germany’s unemployment ratedropped to 7.3 percent in April as the endur-ing strength of Europe’s biggest economycombined with a seasonal upturn to bolsterthe labor market, official data showed yes-terday. The unadjusted jobless rate declinedfrom 7.6 percent in March, with 3.078 millionpeople registered as unemployed — 132,000fewer than the previous month, the FederalLabor Agency said.

Some 321,000 fewer people were out ofwork than in April 2010. While jobless figurestypically improve as winter ends, Germany’spowerful economic recovery is powering thedecline.

Adjusting for seasonal variations, theunemployment rate was steady in April at7.1 percent, but the number of jobless wasdown 37,000 compared with March — just alittle less than in the previous two months.Economists expect the job picture will con-tinue to brighten this year after strongexports helped propel Germany to a spec-tacular economic comeback in 2010, withoutput growing by 3.6 percent.

“Overall, labor market conditions will con-tinue to improve markedly in the monthsahead,” IHS Global Insight economist TimoKlein said. “Recent output and leading indi-cator data have shown that domesticdemand in particular is demonstrating new-

found strength.” Klein said that temporaryemployment is “significantly exceeding” itslevels from before the economic crisis _ aflexibility that has enabled firms in Germanyto respond to improving global demandmore swiftly than in other countries.

Debt problems elsewhere in the 17-nation euro-zone, related worries about thebanking system, and the consequences ofpolitical upheaval in the Arab world andJapan’s earthquake pose risks to the growthand job outlook, Klein said.

However, “the economic recovery doeshave sufficient inherent momentum to leadto continually declining unemployment dur-ing 2011-12,” he added, forecasting full-yeareconomic growth this year of 3 percent.Official economic growth data for the firstquarter are due on May 13 and are expectedto show that the year got off to a strongstart.

The DIW economic think tank said onWednesday that it expects first-quartergrowth of 0.9 percent, followed by still-healthy quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.6percent in the April-June period.

Those figures compare with less robust0.4 percent growth in last year’s fourth quar-ter, when business in construction and else-where was hurt by an early spell of harshwinter weather. — AP

Germany’s jobless rate drops to 7.3%

LONDON: NYSE Euronext, the transat-lantic exchange operator, stepped upcalls for investors to back an offer worthabout $10 billion from Deutsche Boerseas it unveiled robust f irst-quarterresults.

The US-listed exchange, which is bat-tling an aggressive counterbid, yester-day narrowly missed average profitexpectations but topped a mean rev-enue forecast, driven by derivativestrading, a clutch of new market listingsand technology services.

But with some investors calling onNYSE to at least talk to cross-town arch-rival Nasdaq OMX, which is leading acounterbid for NYSE worth around $1.0billion more, all eyes are on a New Yorkshareholder meeting at 1200 GMT.

US-listed NYSE, which has repeatedlyrejected Nasdaq andIntercontinentalExchange’s advances,insisted again it was confident growthprospects would be “enhanced andaccelerated” by the proposed DeutscheBoerse merger.

“I look forward to articulating thepower of the proposed combination atour annual stockholder meeting latertoday in New York,” said Chief Executive

Duncan Niederauer. Analysts welcomedthe results, which saw net profit jump19 percent on 5 percent higher rev-enues, and one market expert said thenumbers underlined the strength of theNYSE management.

“These are solid results which willencourage shareholders that the NYSEmanagement, and their plan to joinwith Deutsche Boerse, are credible,”said Herbie Skeete, managing directorat exchange consultants Mondo Visione.

Market experts say NYSE still has abattle to convince investors to back alower bid with its German merger part-ner and analysts have speculated thatDeutsche Boerse may have to makesome gesture ahead of a crucial NYSEshareholder vote on July 7. The twoNew York-based exchanges have beenlocked in an escalating war of wordssince Nasdaq OMX teamed up withAtlanta-based ICE to launch their higherbid on April 1, a move to derail NYSE’sFebruary agreement with DeutscheBoerse. NYSE’s board took just ten daysto snub Nasdaq earlier this month, dis-missing its bid as “strategically unattrac-tive” and warning of heavy US job lossesfrom such a deal. — Reuters

NYSE Euronext renews calls to support Deutsche bid


TOKYO/WILMINGTON: Sony Corp couldface legal action across the globe after itdelayed disclosing a security breach of itspopular PlayStation Network, infuriatinggamers and sending the firm’s sharesdown nearly 5 percent in Tokyo yesterday.

Sony shut down the network on April19 after discovering the breach, one of thebiggest online data infiltrations ever. But itwas not until Tuesday that the companysaid the system had been hacked and thatusers’ data could have been stolen. In theUnited States, several members ofCongress seized on the breach, in whichhackers stole names, addresses and possi-bly credit card details from 77 millionusers. One U.S. law firm filed a lawsuit inCalifornia on behalf of consumers.

“Gamers are angry that Sony’s CEO has-n’t come out to explain the situation andinvestors are disappointed over the com-pany’s corporate governance,” saidMichael Wang, manager of overseas fundsat Prudential Financials in Taipei, whichowns shares in Sony.

Sony’s PlayStation Network, a servicethat produces an estimated $500 millionin annual revenues, provides access toonline games, movies and TV shows. Nineout of 10 of PlayStation’s users are basedin the United States or Europe.

Gamers could ditch Sony and analystssaid people looking to buy a video gameconsole could steer toward MicrosoftCorp’s Xbox, which has its own popularonline network.

“I am outraged that my personal infor-mation may have been accessed by hack-ers,” said Rich Chiang, a PlayStation andXbox user in Shanghai. Security expertssaid Sony would need to account for theloss of business-as well as damage to itsbrand-when it tallies up the cost. Othercosts include notifying customers of theattack and bringing in experts to cleanseits network.

Larry Ponemon, chairman and founderof the Ponemon Institute, said the theftcould cost Sony more than $1.5 billion, oran average of $20 for each of the 77 mil-lion customers whose data was potential-ly compromised. Poneman’s firm special-izes in securing information on computernetworks.

Sony said the delay in notifying the

public was needed to conduct a forensicinvestigation but it is fast becoming apublic relations nightmare akin to ToyotaMotor’s bungled response to a giant vehi-cle recall last year, fuelling criticism of cor-porate Japan’s standards of disclosure.

Neither Sony CEO Howard Stringer norKazuo Hirai, who was appointed to the

company’s No. 2 position last month afterbuilding up Sony’s networked services,have commented publicly.

Sony shares closed down 4.5 percentafter falling more than 5 percent at onestage, while the broad market rose 1.6percent. The stock has now lost morethan 8 percent this week.

Some fund managers said the impact

might be contained. “Shares of Sony havealready reached the low since the earth-quake so I think further downside is limit-ed. Investors who buy Sony are buying onits growth in PlayStation. Gamers usuallywill not stop playing just because a singleincident,” said Prudential Financial’sWang. — Reuters

Sony faces global legal action over data theftStock falls 5%, biggest drop since mid-March

SEOUL: A South Korean security official sits insidethe headquarters of Hynix Semiconductor Inc inSeoul yesterday.—AP

TOKYO: Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO KazuoHirai speaks how to use its new PlayStation Portable “NGP” atPlayStation Meeting 2011 in Tokyo. — AP

OSAKA: Panasonic Corp PresidentFumio Ohtsubo attends a press confer-ence at the Japan’s biggest homeappliance maker’s headquarters inOsaka, western Japan, yesterday.—AP

SEOUL: Hynix Semiconductor’s quarterly profit fell 66 percent assales declined and memory chip prices remained weak, though thecompany said business conditions should improve in the secondquarter. Hynix, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of comput-er memory chips, earned 273.5 billion won ($254.9 million) in thethree months ended March 31, it said in a regulatory filing yester-day. It had net profit of 808.1 billion won a year earlier.

Sales in the first quarter fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 2.79trillion won. “The business environment was very challenging,”Hynix’s chief financial officer Kim Min-chul told an earnings confer-ence call. Prices for dynamic random access memory or DRAMchips, used mostly in personal computers, remained weak anduncertainties about global economic growth persisted, he said.

Hynix’s share price rose 1.3 percent to close at 34,350 won, par-ing earlier gains of as much as 3.4 percent. The companyannounced earnings shortly before the stock market opened.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc. ranks No. 2 globally in DRAM chipsbehind South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co. It also ranks No.4 in NAND flash memory chips used in products such as digital cam-eras, music players and smartphones.

Hynix said its average selling price for DRAM chips fell 13 per-cent in the first quarter from the final three months of last year.Shipments, however, increased 15 percent. The company said itsaverage selling price for NAND flash memory chips, meanwhile, wasflat, while shipments also increased 15 percent. Kim Ji-bum, Hynix’schief marketing officer, said that demand for chips used in PCs wasweaker than expected during the first quarter as manufacturersreduced inventories amid slower-than-expected demand for per-sonal computers from consumers. —AP

Hynix Semiconductor Q1 profit falls 66%

TOKYO: Japanese consumer electronicsgiant Panasonic Corp said it would cutanother 17,000 jobs and close up to 70factories around the world over the nexttwo years in a bid to pare costs and keepup with Asian rivals.

The maker of Viera TVs and Lumixcameras said it was aiming to trim itsworkforce of 367,000 at the end of lastmonth to 350,000 by March 2013. Thecull comes on top of nearly 18,000 jobcuts made in the past business year, for atotal of around 35,000 over three years.“The figure is huge, but so is the compa-ny, and for an old-fashioned one likePanasonic, this is a big move,” said ToruHashizume, chief investment officer atStats Investment Management in Tokyo.

Panasonic set aside 110 billion yen($1.3 billion) in restructuring expensesfor the current financial year. CompanyPresident Fumio Ohtsubo said Panasonichad about 350 manufacturing bases

around the world and would look tomerge operations where it could.

“I can’t say for sure, but I think it’spossible we will cut the number of man-ufacturing bases by 10 or 20 percent,” hesaid, declining to comment on whichcountries might see job cuts. APanasonic spokesman said the companydid not even have a figure for the num-ber of countries they operate in sincerecently taking over some other compa-nies.

Once unrivalled, Japan’s consumerelectronics firms are facing increasingcompetition from cheaper Korean andChinese producers in particular .Panasonic is seeking to shift its focusto environmental and energy-relatedbusinesses such as rechargeable bat-teries in order to duck competitionfrom Samsung Electronics , LGElectronics and others in consumertechnology. — Reuters

Panasonic to axe thousands of jobs

LONDON: Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell turned in a 60-percent netprofit leap for the first quarter yesterday, benefiting from resur-gent oil prices and the sale of non-core assets.

Earnings after tax rallied to $8.78 billion (six billion euros) inthe three months to March, up from $5.48 billion a year earlier,the company said in a results statement. Sales rose 28 percent toalmost $110 billion. “Our first quarter 2011 earnings have risenfrom year-ago levels, driven by higher industry margins and ourown operating performance,” chief executive Peter Voser said inthe earnings release.

“We continue to make good progress in implementing ourstrategy; improving near-term performance, delivering a newwave of production growth, and maturing the next generation ofgrowth options for shareholders.” Adjusted net profits, strippingout movements in the value of inventories and other non-operat-ing items, jumped to $6.29 billion, compared with $4.82 billionlast time around.

Market expectations had been for a figure of about $6.11 bil-lion, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. “Wehave announced new asset sales and cost savings programs, aspart of Shell’s focus on continuous improvement, to enhance ourprofitability and performance,” added Voser.

Shell sold $3.2 billion of non-core positions, including tightgas assets in South Texas, in the quarter.

Total oil and gas production, meanwhile, declined by 2.5 per-cent to 3.504 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in thereporting period. —AFP

Shell Q1 profits rise to $8.78bn


SEOUL: A Hyundai Motor Co.’s vehicle Veloster isdisplayed at the South Korean top car maker’sshowroom in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.—AP

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and its top trading partner China signedeight agreements yesterday to deepen trade and investment tiesas Beijing seeks to raise its economic clout in Southeast Asia.

The deals are part of a series of agreements while Premier WenJiabao visits Malaysia and Indonesia. Government and companyofficials from China andMalaysia signed the agree-ments involving education,banking, power and con-struction after Wen metMalaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak in the adminis-trative capital.

Malaysian officials gaveno value for the deals.Analysts said the invest-ment pacts signalledChina’s move to boost tieswith Southeast Asianeconomies it relies on forits supply of commoditiessuch as natural gas andcrude palm oil.

“From a political pointof view, I think China doesfavor Malaysia in trade rela-tions largely to Malaysia’snatural resources,” said OoiKee Beng, a senior fellow atthe Institute of SoutheastAsian Studies in Singapore.“Indonesia has more tooffer than Malaysia but isgenerally harder to dealwith because of its weakerstate capacity.”

China has been wooing Southeast Asian economies and aChina-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement came into effect in Januarylast year, forming an economic bloc of 1.9 billion people.

China has also signed free trade agreements with NewZealand, Pakistan, and Singapore while negotiations are ongoing

with Australia and South Korea.The deals signed in Malaysia included a contract between

China Huadian Engineering Co and Malaysia’s Janakuasa to builda coal-fired plant and a pact between DiGi and China’s ZTE Corpto supply telecommunications network infrastructure.

Aluminium Corporationof China also agreed towork with Smelter Asia SdnBhd to construct a smelterin Malaysia, building on anearlier deal for a $1 billionaluminium smelter in east-ern Sarawak state onBorneo island which has yetto get off the ground.“China appreciatesMalaysia’s role in enhancingthe ties of China with otherASEAN countries,” Wen toldreporters.

Malaysia’s central bankwas also given approval toset up a representativeoffice in Beijing.

In 2009, China signedcurrency swaps withMalaysia and Indonesia in abid to give the yuan a big-ger international role. Chinais also a big buyer ofMalaysian palm oilalthough its imports of thevegetable oil last year fell12.5 percent to 3.4 milliontons.

“We also touched onways to increase investment and identified certain importantinfrastructure projects that Chinese investors can get into,” Najibsaid. Malaysia has been China’s largest trading partner amongASEAN countries for three straight years, and China has beenMalaysia’s top trading partner globally for two years. — Reuters

China, Malaysia ink pacts, plan more investments

Beijing to raise economic clout in S Asia

KUALA LUMPUR: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (left) wavesafter giving his speech as Malaysian Prime Minister NajibRazak (right) stands beside him during the Malaysia-China Economic, Trade and Investment CooperationForum in Kuala Lumpur.—AP

SEOUL: Hyundai Motor’s first-quarter profit rose 46 percent as gainsin overseas vehicle sales countered a sluggish domestic market.Investors cheered the news, sending the company’s share price upmore than 7 percent.

Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea’s largest automaker and a majorforce in the global industry, earned 1.88 trillion won ($1.75 billion) inthe three months ended March 31, it announced Yesterday. Thatcompared with net profit of 1.28 trillion won a year earlier. First-quar-ter revenue increased 21 percent to 18.2 trillion won, and overallvehicle sales rose 9.2 percent to 919,130. Shares in Hyundai Motorsurged 7.3 percent yesterday to close at 250,500 won. The compa-ny’s stock price has jumped 44 percent so far this year.

The company recorded strong profits last year due to strength inits overseas factories and sales operations. Hyundai has pursued anaggressive overseas expansion and now has factories in China, India,the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Russia and isbuilding one in Brazil.

Sales in South Korea fell 0.8 percent to 166,664 vehicles in the firstquarter. The company attributed the decline to what described as“exceptionally high” results during the same period last year.Overseas, however, sales rose 11.6 percent to 752,466 vehicles,Hyundai said. The gain was mostly driven by the company’srevamped Elantra sedan, it said. The company has set a global salestarget of 3.9 million vehicles for this year.

Hyundai said that its results from the first quarter were nowbased on international financial reporting standards, or IFRS. — AP

Hyundai quarterly profit rises 46%

NEW DELHI: Two American fighter aircraft makers are out ofthe running for a multibillion-dollar contract for the Indian airforce, the US ambassador said yesterday. Boeing Co andLockheed Martin were both bidding for a slice of the $11 bil-lion Indian deal for 126 fighter jets. “The US Embassy in NewDelhi was informed yesterday that two aircraft offered by theUS government through the Foreign Military Sales processwere not selected for procurement by the Indian Ministry ofDefense,” Ambassador Timothy J Roemer said in a statement.It added that the US was deeply disappointed but respectedthe procurement process.

Indian news reports say two of six contenders are stillbeing considered: German consortium Eurofighter Typhoonand the French company Dassault Aviation. Russian Mikoyan-Gurevich and SAAB of Sweden also are out of the running.

Indian officials were not immediately available for com-ment. “I am extremely confident that the Boeing F/A 18IN andLockheed-Martin F-16IN would provide the Indian air force anunbeatable platform with proven technologies at a competi-tive price,” Roemer said.

India is expected to spend $80 billion over the next decadeto upgrade its military. Over the last few years, India hasbecome the world’s top arms and defense equipment buyeramid its rising concerns about China’s regional power and atraditional rivalry with neighboring Pakistan. India is expectedto sign the aircraft deal within a year’s time, said Rahul Bedi, aNew Delhi-based analyst for the independent Jane’sInformation Group. —AP

Lockheed Martin, Boeing out of

India defense dealTOKYO: Honda Motor Co said yesterday its quarterly profitdropped 38 percent due to a slump in car production follow-ing last month’s earthquake and withheld earnings projec-tions amid a chronic shortage of auto parts. The company saidit would let go all 600 contract workers at one of its two autofactories in Japan. Honda has been struggling to maintain lim-ited vehicle manufacturing because of parts shortages follow-ing the March 11 quake and tsunami.

Honda’s net profit for the January-March quarter shrank to44.5 billion yen ($545 million). Revenue fell 2.9 percent to 2.21

trillion yen. “The March quake was the biggest reason fordeclining profit. We simply could not produce cars due toparts shortages after the quake,” said Honda spokesmanTomohiro Okada.

The magnitutue-9.0 earthquake and tsunami destroyedmany factories in northeastern Japan, causing severe autoparts shortages for Honda and other automakers. The twindisasters forced Honda to shut down its entire production inJapan from March 14 to April 10, resulting in a production lossof 58,500 cars. Faced with a parts supply crunch, Honda’s autoplants in Japan will operate at half capacity until the end ofJune. Honda said it doesn’t expect to return to full productionin Japan until the end of the year. Apart from production loss-es, Honda’s sales in Japan took a beating during the January-March quarter. Honda sold 142,000 cars in Japan during thequarter, down 21 percent from the same period a year earlier.But the company’s auto sales abroad rose 3.8 percent to718,000 cars thanks to brisk demand in North America andChina. Honda did not provide earnings projections for thecurrent fiscal year to March 2012 due to uncertainty over partssupplies.

Honda said it would cut all 600 contract workers at its plantin Saitama, north of Tokyo, by not renewing their three-monthcontracts. The workers will lose their jobs by the end ofSeptember.

Meanwhile, Mazda Motor Corp reported yesterday a netloss of 62.8 billion yen in the January-March quarter, reversingfrom a net profit of 9.9 billion yen a year earlier. Mazda blamedthe March disasters for the quarterly loss. Shares in Hondarose 2.9 percent to close at 3,190 yen on the Tokyo StockExchange yesterday. Mazda’s stock price slipped 0.5 percentto 185 yen. - AP

Honda quarterly profit drops 38%

SAYAMA: Workers give the final checkup on thecars of Honda Accord Tourer at Honda Motor Co’sSaitama Factory in Sayama, north of Tokyo.—AP

B u s i n e s s

Anniversary

Years


WASHINGTON: US economic growthbraked sharply in the first quarter ashigher food and gasoline prices damp-ened consumer spending, and sent abroad measure of inflation rising at itsfastest pace in 2-1/2 years.

Another report yesterday showed asurprise rise in the number of Americansclaiming unemployment benefits lastweek, which could cast a shadow onexpectations for a significant pick-up inoutput in the second quarter.

Growth in gross domestic product-ameasure of all goods and services pro-duced within US borders-slowed to a 1.8percent annual rate after a 3.1 percentfourth-quarter pace, the CommerceDepartment said. Economists hadexpected a 2 percent growth pace.Output was also restrained by harshwinter weather, rising imports as well as

the weakest government spending inmore than 27 years.

“The biggest factor was weather. Ithurt consumption and construction.Energy also hurt consumption as well.Higher gasoline prices took a bigger biteout of people’s budget,” said StephenStanley, chief economist at PierpontSecurities in Stamford, Connecticut.

Initial claims for state unemploymentbenefits jumped 25,000 to a seasonallyadjusted 429,000, the Labor Departmentsaid. Economists had expected claims toslip to 392,000.

US government debt prices rose afterthe data, while stock index futuresadded to losses. The dollar extendedlosses against the yen and the euro. TheFederal Reserve on Wednesdayacknowledged the slowdown in first-quarter growth, describing the recovery

as proceeding at a “moderate pace”-aslight step back from a statement inMarch when it said the economy was ona “firmer footing.”

It trimmed its growth estimate for2011 to between 3.1 and 3.3 percentfrom a 3.4 to 3.9 percent January projec-tion. The US central bank signaled it wasin no rush to start withdrawing the mas-sive monetary stimulus it has lent theeconomy. It confirmed plans to com-plete its $600 billion bond buying pro-gram in June. “Coming in at 1.8, to getto where Fed’s forecast is, you’re goingto need some robust growth,” said BobAndres, chief investment strategist andeconomist at Merion Wealth Partners inBerwyn, Pennsylvania. “In my mind, theFed’s forecast and the Street’s forecastare more than likely a little too opti-mistic.” — Reuters

US economic growth slows, inflation rises

Weak consumer, govt spending restrain growth

Kodak products are displayed in a store in Brunswick,Maine. Eastman Kodak said yesterday it lost $246 millionin the first quarter — its third quarterly loss in the lastyear — on weaker camera and film sales. —AP

ROCHESTER, New York: Eastman Kodak Co said yesterday itlost $246 million in the first quarter — its third quarterly lossin the last year — on weaker digital camera and film sales.

The results missed Wall Street expectations, and its sharesfell 20 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $2.97 in pre-market trading.Vigorous sales of inkjet printers, however, offered glimmers ofhope that the picture-taking pioneer remains on course torecast itself into a profitable player in digital photography andprinting.

Kodak said its loss in the January-to-March quarteramounted to 91 cents a share. That compares with netincome of $119 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlierwhen results were swelled by $550 million in one-time rev-enue from a digital-imaging patent-litigation triumph.Excluding items, Kodak said it lost $1.13 per share in the latestquarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a loss of 48cents a share.

Revenue dropped 31 percent to $1.32 billion from $1.9 bil-lion a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $1.41 billion.Revenue from the company’s digital business plunged 36 per-cent to $955 million. But excluding the year-ago licensingpayment from South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co., Kodaksaid digital revenue rose 2 percent and overall sales fell by just3 percent. —AP

Kodak posts Q1 loss on weaker sales

ALLAHABAD: Indian farmers sort tomatoes after harvest on the outskirts of Allahabad yesterday.—AP

MUMBAI: Quarterly profit at India’s ICICIBank surged 44 percent as strong loangrowth and higher fee and interestincome made up for losses on treasurytrading and higher employee costs.

Profit for the January to March quar-ter was 14.5 billion rupees ($326 mil-lion), while total revenue rose 14 per-cent from last year, to 88.0 billion rupees($2.0 billion). “We said two years agothat we would focus the financial year2010 on consolidation and by the year2011 we would resume growth,” saidchief executive Chanda Kochhar. “This isclearly what we have done.”

Asset quality at India’s largest privatebank continued to improve, with the netnon-performing asset ratio falling to0.94 percent as of March 31, from 1.87percent a year earlier. The bank also putaside less money to cover bad loans,

with a 61 percent drop in provisioning,to 3.8 bill ion rupees ($86 million).Kochhar forecast loan growth of at least20 percent this fiscal year, despite risinginterest rates in Asia’s third largest econ-omy, which tend to sap demand forcredit. She said the bank began toincrease retail loans slightly during thequarter, after trimming retail credit fortwo years.

Volatile trading of government secu-rities resulted in an unanticipated 2.0billion rupee ($44 million) loss duringthe quarter. Kochhar said expenseswould continue to rise as the bankresumes its growth trajectory, but willnot result in deterioration of cost toasset or cost to income ratios. Staffcosts accounted for much of the rise inexpenses. After several years of slashingcosts, the bank gave employees an 8

percent average salary hike in the yearended March and plans to raise wages12 percent, on average, this fiscal year.

Kochhar said the decision was taken“in view of the performance of the bank,the growth prospects and the inflation inthe country.” Angel Broking analystVaibhav Agrawal said that aside from theunanticipated treasury loss, whichpushed profit below expectations, thebank’s performance was strong. “If youlook at the core operating performance itwas quite strong,” he said. “They are con-tinuing with their well-charted strategyand it’s giving good results.” India’s cen-tral bank is widely expected to furtherhike rates when it meets next week aspolicymakers scramble to contain higher-than-expected inflation. Agrawal said ris-ing rates have so far had little impact oncredit demand in India. — AP

ICICI Bank’s profit up 44% on loan growth

UAE Upper Zakum oil output may drop 40%

SINGAPORE/DUBAI: Output of Upper Zakum crude fromthe Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in theUnited Arab Emirates will fall in late April and May by asmuch as 40 percent because of a partial field outage,traders said yesterday.

Abu Dhabi’s Zakum Development Company (ZADCO),operator of the field on behalf of ADNOC, confirmed theoutage, but said it was for normal maintenance andwould not affect monthly average production. Twotraders said production during the outage would fall tobetween 300,000 and 320,0000 bpd, while three othertraders said state-owned ADNOC planned to resume fullproduction of about 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) byJune. “I don’t know if it was planned or not, but it sur-prised people,” a trader said, adding that was reflected byDubai spreads, or the premium of prompt supplies overlater-dated cargoes. The premium of May Dubai crudeswaps over June increased by 4 cents over the past twodays to 47 cents a barrel, Reuters data shows. UpperZakum crude can be delivered instead of Dubai for pric-ing purposes according to the methodology of pricingagency Platts. Some traders said the outage could raisedemand for spot Middle East crude loading in May.

ADNOC holds a 60 percent stake in Upper Zakum.Other shareholders include ExxonMobil and Japan OilDevelopment Company Limited, according to Exxon’swebsite. ExxonMobil declined to comment.

Crude oil from the Upper Zakum, Umm Al Dalkh andSatah fields is pumped via main oil lines to Zirku Islandfor further processing, storage and export. — Reuters


Egyptian traders follow the market activity at the Cairo stockexchange in the Egyptian capital on April28, 2011.

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)ended the weekend session registeringgains in major indicators with strong sup-port from the banking sector. NationalBank of Kuwait NBK) led the rally endingthe day up 1.61 percent and closed atKD1.260 its highest level since March06,2011. On a weekly basis, GlobalGeneral Index (GGI) ended on a positivenote with a gain of 1.44 percent.

Global General Index (GGI), marketweighted, ended the day up by 0.87 per-cent, at 207.18 point, its highest levelsince March 14, 2011. Market capitaliza-tion was up for the day at KD33.97bn. Onthe other hand, KSE Price Index closed at6,521.7 point, adding 32.90 points (0.51percent) to its previous close.

Market breadthDuring the session, 119 companies

were traded. Market breadth was skewedtowards advancers as 54 equitiesadvanced versus 30 that retreated.

Yesterday’s performance was accom-panied by diminishing trading activitywith most of the trades conducted in theInvestment and Services sectors. Totalvolume traded was down by 31.45 per-cent with 191.95mn shares changinghands at a total value of KD30.26mn(44.64 percent lower compared to the daybefore). The Investment Sector was thevolume leader yesterday, accounting for27.84 percent of total shares. The Bankingsector was the value leader, with 32.41percent of total traded value. KuwaitFinance House (KFH) was the most activein terms of values of shares traded duringThursday session, with 2.2mn sharesexchanged at an aggregate value ofKD2.3mn.

Sector-wiseRegarding Global’s sectoral indices,

five out the eight ended on a positivenote. Among the gainers, Non-Kuwaiti

Index took the lead posted a 1.90 percentgain, backed by heavyweight Ahli UnitedBank ending in the green. The scrip endedthe day up 1.87 percent and closed atKD0.218. Global Banking Index followedwith a 1.46 percent gain backed by fiveout the nine banks in the sector ending inthe green. The four remaining banks wereunchanged. Ahli United Bank was thebiggest gainer in the sector, followed byKuwait Finance House (KFH) which endedthe day up 1.89 percent and closed atKD1.080. Kuwait Finance House in Turkey(KFH-Turkey) announced that the launch-ing of a new innovative investment prod-uct that allows its clients to withdraw goldcoins from ATM machines directly accord-ing to certain regulations, in addition toregular cash withdrawal.

Global Real Estate Index was the onlydecliner during the session, down 0.17percent. Kuwait Business Town Real Estateand Al-Dar National Real Estate, ended

the day down 6.58 percent and 5.41 per-cent, respectively. Global’s special indicesalso ended on a positive note todayexcept for Global High Yield Index beingthe only decliner. The index ended theday down 0.20 percent backed by AgilityPublic Warehousing Company ending theday down 1.16 percent.

Corporate NewsShares of National Industries Company

will be traded ex-dividends as of SundayMay 01, 2011. The company will distributea 8 percent cash dividend. Shares of HayatCommunications Company will be tradedex-dividends as of Sunday May 01, 2011.The company will distribute a 10 percentcash dividend.

The price of OPEC basket of twelvecrudes stood at $119.34 a barrel onWednesday, compared with $118.96 theprevious day, according to OPECSecretariat calculations.

Banking sector helps KSE rally, index rises

GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

MIDEAST WEEK AHEAD

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Global Investment House got shareholderapproval to scrap its capital hike plan, saying regional condi-tions were not ripe to proceed.

Global’s shareholders had approved a 76 percent capitalhike worth 100 million dinars last May but the plan was notenacted. Under Kuwaiti law, that approval was slated to expirea year after it was granted on May 5.

The increase would have raised Global’s capital to 231.24million dinars through issuing shares at a nominal value of100 fils per share. There are 1,000 fils to the dinar.

Shareholders also voted to give the company a greenlightto write off 171.3 million dinars ($624.3 million) in losses.Earlier this week, Global won a Dubai court ruling to get back$250 million from Abu Dhabi-listed National Bank of Umm AlQaiwain in addition to $54.6 million in interest. Maha al-Ghunaim, Global’s managing director, said the interest will beadded to the firm’s revenues while the $250 million will beused to strengthen Global’s financial position. —Reuters

Global scraps itscapital hike plan

DUBAI: Middle East markets will grapple with divergent catalystsnext week, from positive bank results in the UAE to court cases thatare causing jitters in Egypt. The earnings news in the United ArabEmirates-led by a trio of major banks-is expected to drive marketshigher after a recent consolidation period. “We have seen some pret-ty good figures ... the macro economic factors in terms of increasedliquidity and lower borrowing rates are giving positive signs to themarket,” said Samer Al-Jaouni, general manager at Middle EastFinancial Brokerage. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s first quarter profitmore than doubled while Emirates NBD saw a 27 percent jump inquarterly profit. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s profit rose 3 percent.

Earnings from the property sector, one of the UAE’s biggest sec-tors, could put a damper on gains. Traders are adopting a cautiousstance on the sector.

Emaar Properties, the UAE’s largest developer by market value,posted a 42 percent drop in net profit last Sunday, missing forecasts.But its operational profit was strong, signalling recovery in the mar-ket, according to traders.

“There is still a clear gap between demand and supply in the prop-erty sector but whenever bank lending returns, people will invest inthe market,” Jaouni said.

Other property firms, unlike Emaar which also relies on revenuesfrom its hospitality and retail operations, will provide a better gaugeof the sector’s recovery, traders said.

In Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest bourse, petrochemicalsare expected to drive the index in the wake of strong earnings andhigh commodity prices. “What we saw in the first-quarter justifies theSaudi market recovering the full gap when they had fallen during thepolitical unrest,” said a Riyadh-based trader. “Overall the higher ener-gy prices contributed very positively to results and set into the marketimmediately. That has set the tone.”

The banking sector will also be in focus as the impact of the Saudiking’s $93 billion in social handouts begins to be felt. “Banks shouldtake the lead soon-government funds should start to feed into thebottom line,” the trader said. “We’re seeing a lot of switching already.”Real estate cases troubling Egypt’s market will keep investors cau-tious and on the sidelines as the new government attempts to stampout corruption that thrived under the administration of oustedPresident Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian real estate stocks have tumbled this year amid turmoiland investigations of state land sales that took place on the watch ofthe autocratic Mubarak. The country’s second-biggest listed develop-er Palm Hills Development Co appears to be under pressure after anEgyptian court ruled on Tuesday that a sale of state land to the devel-oper was illegal and scrapped it.

The court will also hear a similar case against Talaat MoustafaGroup for a $3 billion government project that may be scrapped. Thefirm had signed a new contract last November with the cabinet in anattempt to end a legal row which has rumbled since June andunnerved investors in Egypt’s property sector.

“People are worried about these rulings coming out, about theway decisions are being made. It’s not creating a positive attitudetowards investing,” said Hashem Ghoneim, vice president atPyramids Capital.“Sentiment is also damaged because of the waydecisions are being made-they are very quick and very harsh. It’s hap-pening in the real estate sector but people might be worried that itmight spill into other sectors.”—Reuters

Egypt court cases to weigh, UAE banks in focus after Q1

O p i n i o n

Anniversary

Years


By Reva Bhalla

Nearly three months have passed since theYemeni capital, Sanaa, first saw massdemonstrations against Yemeni President

Ali Abdullah Saleh, but an exit from the currentstalemate is still nowhere in sight. Saleh retainsenough support to continue dictating the terms ofhis eventual political departure to an emboldenedyet frustrated opposition. At the same time, the writof his authority beyond the capital is dwindling,which is increasing the level of chaos and allowingvarious rebel groups to collect arms, recruit fightersand operate under dangerously few constraints.

The prospect of Saleh’s political struggle provid-ing a boon to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) is understandably producing anxiety inWashington, where US officials have spent the pastfew months trying to envision what a post-SalehYemen would mean for US counterterrorism effortsin the Arabian Peninsula.

While fending off opponents at home, Salehand his followers have been relying on the “me orchaos” tactic abroad to hang onto power. Loyalistsargue that the dismantling of the Saleh regimewould fundamentally derail years of US investmentdesigned to elicit meaningful Yemeni cooperationagainst AQAP or, worse, result in a civil war that willprovide AQAP with freedom to hone its skills.Emboldened by the recent unrest, a jihadist groupcalled the Abyan-Aden Islamic Army launched amajor raid on a weapons depot in Jaar in lateMarch, leading a number of media outlets to spec-ulate that the toppling of the Saleh regime wouldplay directly into the hands of Yemen’s jihadists.

Meanwhile, the opposition has countered thatthe Yemeni jihadist threat is a perception engi-neered by Saleh to convince the West of the dan-gers of abandoning support for his regime.Opposition figures argue that Saleh’s policies arewhat led to the rise of AQAP in the first place andthat the fall of his regime would provide the UnitedStates with a clean slate to address its counterter-rorism concerns with new, non-Saleh-affiliatedpolitical allies. The reality is likely somewhere inbetween.

The Birth of Yemen’s Modern Jihadist Movement

The pervasiveness of radical Islamists inYemen’s military and security apparatus is nosecret, and it contributes to the staying power of Al-Qaeda and its offspring in the Arabian Peninsula.The root of the issue dates back to the Soviet-Afghan war, when Osama bin Laden, whose familyhails from the Hadramawt region of the easternYemeni hinterland, commanded a small group ofArab volunteers under the leadership of AbdullahAzzam in the Islamist insurgency against theSoviets through the 1980s. Yemenis formed one ofthe largest contingents within bin Laden’s Arab vol-unteer force in Afghanistan, which meant that by1989, a sizable number of battle-hardened Yemenisreturned home looking for a new purpose.

They did not have to wait long. Leading thejihadist pack returning from Afghanistan was TariqAl-Fadhli of the once-powerful Al-Fadhli tribe basedin the southern Yemeni province of Abyan. JoiningAl-Fadhli was Sheikh Abdul Majid Al-Zindani, thespiritual father of Yemen’s Salafi movement andone of the leaders of the conservative Islah party(now leading the political opposition against

Saleh). The Al-Fadhli tribe had lost its lands to theMarxists of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), whichhad ruled South Yemen with Soviet backingthroughout the 1980s while North Yemen wasruled with Saudi backing.

Al-Fadhli, an opportunist who tends to down-play his previous interactions with bin Laden,returned to his homeland in 1989 (supposedly withfunding from bin Laden) with a mission backed byNorth Yemen and Saudi Arabia to rid the south ofMarxists. He and his group set up camp in themountains of Saada province on the Saudi borderand also established a training facility in Abyanprovince in South Yemen. Joining Al-Fadhli’s groupwere a few thousand Arabs from Syria, Egypt, SaudiArabia and Jordan who had fought in Afghanistanand faced arrest or worse if they tried to returnhome.

When North and South Yemen unified in 1990following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yemen’stribal Salafists, still trying to find their footing, werelargely pushed aside as the southern Marxistsbecame part of the new Republic of Yemen, albeitas subjugated partners to the north. Many withinthe Islamist militant movement shifted their focusto foreign targets - with an eye on the United States- and rapidly made their mark in Dec 1992, whentwo hotels were bombed in the southern city ofAden, where US soldiers taking part in OperationRestore Hope in Somalia were lodged (though noAmericans were killed in the attack). A rocket attackagainst the US Embassy in Jan 1993 was alsoattempted and failed. Though he denied involve-ment in the hotel attacks, Al-Fadhli and many of hisjihadist compatriots were thrown in jail on chargesof orchestrating the hotel bombings as well as theassassination of one of the YSP’s political leaders.

But as tensions intensified between the northand the south in the early 1990s, so did the utility ofYemen’s Islamist militants. Yemeni President AliAbdullah Saleh brokered a deal in 1993 with Al-Fadhli in which the militant leader was releasedfrom jail and freed of all charges in exchange for hisassistance in defeating the southern socialists, whowere now waging a civil war against the north.Saleh’s plan worked. The southern socialists weredefeated and stripped of much of their land andfortunes, while the jihadists who made Saleh’s vic-

tory possible enjoyed the spoils of war. Al-Fadhli, in particular, ended up becoming a

member of Saleh’s political inner circle. In tribal cus-tom, he also had his sister marry Brig Gen AliMohsen Al-Ahmar, a member of the president’sSanhan tribe in the influential Hashid confedera-tion and now commander of Yemen’s northwest-ern military division and 1st Armored Brigade.(Mohsen, known for his heavily Islamist leanings,has been leading the political standoff againstSaleh ever since his high-profile defection from theregime March 24.)

The Old Guard Rises and FallsSaleh’s co-opting of Yemen’s Islamist militants

had profound implications for the country’s terror-ism profile. Islamists of varying ideological intensi-ties were rewarded with positions throughout the

Yemeni security and intelligence apparatus, with aheavy concentration in the Political SecurityOrganization (PSO), a state security and intelligenceagency. The PSO exists separately from the Ministryof Interior and is supposed to answer directly to thepresident, but it has long operated autonomouslyand is believed to have been behind a number oflarge-scale jailbreaks, political assassinations andmilitant operations in the country. While the leader-ship of the PSO under Ghaleb Al-Ghamesh hasmaintained its loyalty to Saleh, the loyalty of theorganization as a whole to the president is highlyquestionable.

Many within the military-intelligence-securityapparatus who fought in the 1994 civil war todefeat South Yemen and formed a base of supportaround Saleh’s presidency made up what is nowconsidered the “old guard” in Yemen. Interspersedwithin the old guard were the mujahideen fightersreturning from Afghanistan. Leading the old guardwithin the military has been none other thanMohsen, who, after years of standing by Saleh’sside, has emerged in the past month as the presi-dent’s most formidable challenger.

Mohsen, whose uncle was married to Saleh’smother in her second marriage, was a stalwart allyof Saleh throughout the 1990s. He played an instru-mental role in protecting Saleh from coup attemptsearly on in his political reign and led the NorthYemen army to victory against the south in the

1994 civil war. Mohsen was duly rewarded withample military funding and control over Saada, Al-Hudaydah, Hajja, Amran and Mahwit, surpassingthe influence of the governors in these provinces.

While the 1990s were the golden years forMohsen, the 21st century brought with it an arrayof challenges for the Islamist sympathizers in theold guard. Following the 2000 bombing of the USSCole, Saleh came under enormous pressure fromthe United States to crack down on Al-Qaeda oper-atives and their protectors in Yemen, both withinand beyond the bounds of the state. Fearful of thepolitical backlash that would result from US unilat-eral military action in Yemen and tempted by largeamounts of counterterrorism aid being channeledfrom Washington, Saleh began devising a strategyto gradually marginalize the increasingly problem-atic old guard.

These were not the only factors driving Saleh’sdecision, however. Saleh knew he had to prepare asuccession plan, and he preferred to see the nextgeneration of Saleh men at the helm. Anticipatingthe challenge he would face from powerful figureslike Mohsen and his allies, Saleh shrewdly creatednew and distinct security agencies for selected fam-ily members to run under the tutelage of theUnited States with the those agencies run by formi-dable members of the old guard. Thus the “newguard” was born.

The Rise of Saleh’s Second-Generation New Guard

Over the course of the past decade, Saleh hasmade a series of appointments to mark the ascen-dancy of the new guard. Most important, his sonand preferred successor, Ahmed Ali Saleh, becamehead of the elite Republican Guard (roughly 30,000-plus men) and Special Operations Forces. Ahmadreplaced Saleh’s half-brother, Ali Saleh Al-Ahmar, aschief of the Republican Guard, but Saleh made sureto appease Ali by making him Yemen’s defenseattache in Washington, followed by appointing himto the highly influential post of chief of staff of thesupreme commander of the Armed Forces andsupervisor to the Republican Guard.

The president also appointed his nephews - thesons of his brother Muhammad Abdullah Saleh(now deceased) - to key positions. Yahya becamechief of staff of the Central Security Forces andCounter-Terrorism Unit (roughly 50,000 plus); Tariqwas made commander of the Special Guard, whicheffectively falls under the authority of Ahmed’sRepublican Guard; and Ammar became principalduty director of the National Security Bureau (NSB).Moreover, nearly all of Saleh’s sons, cousins andnephews are evenly distributed throughout theRepublican Guard.

Each of these agencies received a substantialamount of money as US financial aid to Yemenincreased from $5 million in 2006 to $155 million in2010. This was expected to rise to $1 billion or moreover the next several years, but Washington frozethe first installment in February when the protestsbroke out. Ahmed’s Republican Guard and SpecialOperations Forces worked closely with US militarytrainers in trying to develop an elite fighting forcealong the lines of Jordan’s US-trained Fursan Al-Haq (Knights of Justice). The creation of the mostlyUS-financed NSB in 2002 to collect domestic intelli-gence was also part of a broader attempt by Salehto reform all security agencies to counter the heavyjihadist penetration of the PSO.

Militancy in YemenThe United States has a Yemen problem that it cannot avoid,

but it also has very few tools with which to manage or solve it

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh kisses a girl during a rally in his supportin Sanaa April 22, 2011. — AP

O p i n i o n

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Meanwhile, Mohsen watched nervously as hispower base flattened under the weight of the sec-ond-generation Saleh men. One by one, Mohsen’sclose old-guard allies were replaced: In 2007, Salehsacked Gen Al-Thaneen, commander of theRepublican Guard in Taiz. In 2008, Brig Gen MujahidGushaim replaced Ali Sayani, the head of militaryintelligence (Ali Sayani’s brother, Abdulmalik,Yemen’s former defense minister, was one of thefirst generals to declare support for the revoltagainst Saleh). The same year, Gen Al-Thahiri Al-Shadadi was replaced by Brig Gen Mohammed Al-Magdashi as commander of the Central Division;Saleh then appointed his personal bodyguard, BrigGen Aziz Mulfi, as chief of staff of the 27th mecha-nized brigade in Hadramawt.

Finally, in early 2011, Saleh sacked Brig GenAbdullah Al-Gadhi, commander of Al-Anad Basethat lies on the axis of Aden in the south and com-mander of the 201st mechanized brigade. As com-mander of the northwestern division, Mohsen hadbeen kept busy by an Al-Houthi rebellion that ignit-ed in 2004, and he became a convenient scapegoatfor Saleh when the Al-Houthis rose up again in2009 and began seizing territory, leading to a rareSaudi military intervention in Yemen’s northernSaada province. Using the distraction and intensityof the Al-Houthi rebellion to weaken Mohsen andhis forces, Saleh attempted to move the headquar-ters of Mohsen’s 1st Armored Brigade from Sanaato Amran just north of the capital and ordered thetransfer of heavy equipment from Mohsen’s forcesto the Republican Guard. While Saleh’s son andnephews were on the receiving end of millions ofdollars of US financial aid to fight AQAP, Mohsenand his allies were left on the sidelines as the old-guard institutions were branded as untrustworthyand thus unworthy of US financing.

Mohsen also claims Saleh tried to have himkilled at least six times. One such episode, revealedin a WikiLeaks cable dated Feb 2010, describes howthe Saleh government allegedly provided Saudimilitary commanders with the coordinates ofMohsen’s headquarters when Saudi forces werelaunching airstrikes on the Al-Houthis. The Saudisaborted the strike when they sensed somethingwas wrong with the information they were receiv-ing from the Yemeni government.

Toward the end of 2010, with the old guard suf-ficiently weakened, Saleh was feeling relatively con-fident that he would be able to see through hisplans to abolish presidential term limits and pavethe way for his son to take power. What Salehdidn’t anticipate was the viral effect of the NorthAfrican uprisings and the opportunity they wouldpresent to Mohsen and his allies to take revengeand, more important, make a comeback.

An Old Guard Revival?Mohsen, 66 years old, is a patient and calculat-

ing man. When thousands of Yemenis took to thestreets of Sanaa in late March to protest against theregime, his 1st Armored Brigade, based just a shortdistance from the University of Sanaa entrancewhere the protesters were concentrated, deliber-ately stood back while the CSF and RepublicanGuard took the heat for increasingly violent crack-downs. In many ways, Mohsen attempted to emu-late Egyptian Field Marshal Mohamed HusseinTantawi in having his forces stand between the CSFand the protesters, acting as a protector of the pro-democracy demonstrators in hopes of making hisway to the presidential palace with the people’sbacking. Mohsen continues to carry a high level ofrespect among the Islamist-leaning old guard and,just as critically, maintains a strong relationshipwith the Saudi royals.

Following his March 24 defection, a number ofhigh-profile military, political and tribal defectionsfollowed. Standing in league with Mohsen is thepolitically ambitious Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar, oneof the 10 sons of the late Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Ahmar, who ruled the Hashid confederation as themost powerful tribal chieftain in the country andwas also a prominent leader of the Islah politicalparty. (Saleh’s Sanhaan tribe is part of the Hashidconfederation as well.) Hamid is a wealthy busi-nessman and vocal leader of the Islah party, which

dominates the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), anopposition coalition.

The sheikh who, like Mohsen, has a close rela-tionship with the Saudi royals, has ambitions toreplace Saleh and has been responsible for a waveof defections from within the ruling GeneralPeople’s Congress, nearly all of which can be tracedback to his family tree. In an illustration of Hamid’sstrategic alliance with Mohsen, Hamid holds theposition of lieutenant colonel in the 1st ArmoredBrigade. This is a purely honorary position but pro-vides Hamid with a military permit to expand hiscontingent of body guards, the numbers of whichof recently swelled to at least 100.

Together, Mohsen and Sheikh Hamid have agreat deal of influence in Yemen to challengeSaleh, but still not enough to drive him out of officeby force. Mohsen’s forces have been gradually try-ing to encroach on Sanaa from their base in thenorthern outskirts of the capital, but forces loyal toSaleh in Sanaa continue to outman and outgun therebel forces.

Hence the current stalemate. Yemen does nothave the luxury of a clean, geographic splitbetween pro-regime and anti-regime forces, as isthe case in Libya. In its infinite complexity, thecountry is divided along tribal, family, military andbusiness lines, so its political future is difficult tochart. A single family, army unit, village or tribe willhave members pledging loyalty to either Saleh orthe revolution, providing the president with justenough staying power to deflect oppositiondemands and drag out the political crisis.

Washington’s Yemen ProblemThe question of whether Saleh stays or goes is

not the main topic of current debate. Nearly everyparty to the conflict, including the various opposi-tion groups, Saudi Arabia, the United States andeven Saleh himself, understand that the Yemenipresident’s 33-year political reign will end soon. Thereal sticking point has to do with those familymembers surrounding Saleh and whether they,too, will be brought down with the president in atrue regime change.

This is where the United States finds itself in aparticularly uncomfortable spot. Yemen’s opposi-tion, a hodgepodge movement including every-thing from northern Islamists to southern socialists,are mostly only united by a collective aim to dis-mantle the Saleh regime, including the second-generation Saleh new guard that has come todominate the country’s security-military-intelligence apparatus with heavy US-backing.

The system is far from perfect, and counterter-rorism efforts in Yemen continue to frustrate USauthorities. However, Saleh’s security reforms over

the past several years and the tutelage the US mili-tary has been able to provide to these select agen-cies have been viewed as a significant sign ofprogress by the United States, and that progresscould now be coming under threat.

Mohsen and his allies are looking to reclaimtheir lost influence and absorb the new-guard enti-ties in an entirely new security set-up. For example,the opposition is demanding that the RepublicanGuard and Special Forces be absorbed into thearmy, which would operate under a general loyal toMohsen (Mohsen himself claims he would stepdown as part of a deal in which Saleh also resigns,but he would be expected to assume a kingmakerstatus), that the CSF and CTU paramilitary agenciesbe stripped of their autonomy and operationallycome under the Ministry of Interior and that thenewly created NSB come under the PSO.

Such changes would be tantamount to unravel-ing the past decade of US counterterrorism invest-ment in Yemen that was designed explicitly to raisea new generation of security officials who couldhold their own against the Islamist-leaning oldguard. This is not to say that Mohsen and his allieswould completely obstruct US counterterrorismefforts. Many within the old guard, eager for USfinancial aid and opposed to US unilateral militaryaction in Yemen, are likely to veer toward pragma-tism in dealing with Washington. That said,Mohsen’s reputation for protecting jihadists oper-ating in Yemen and his poor standing withWashington would add much distrust to an alreadycomplicated US-Yemeni relationship.

Given its counterterrorism concerns and thelarge amount of US financial aid flowing intoYemen in recent years, Washington undoubtedlyhas a stake in Yemen’s political transition, but it isunclear how much influence it will be able to exertin trying to shape a post-Saleh government. TheUnited States lacks the tribal relationships, historicalpresence and trust to deal effectively with a resur-gent old guard seeking vengeance amid growingchaos.

The real heavyweight in Yemen is Saudi Arabia.The Saudi royals have long viewed their southernneighbor as a constant source of instability in thekingdom. Whether the threat to the monarchyemanating from Yemen drew its roots fromNasserism, Marxism or radical Islamism, Riyadhdeliberated worked to keep the Yemeni state weakwhile buying loyalties across the Yemeni triballandscape. Saudi Arabia shares the US concern overYemeni instability providing a boon to AQAP.

The Saudi royals, who are reviled by a large seg-ment of Saudi-born jihadists in AQAP operatingfrom Yemen, are a logical target for AQAP attacksthat carry sufficient strategic weight to shake the oil

markets and the royal regime, especially given thecurrent climate of unrest in the region. Moreover,Saudi Arabia does not want to deal with a dramaticincrease in the already regular spillover of refugees,smugglers and illegal workers from Yemen shouldcivil war ensue.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia and the UnitedStates may not entirely see eye to eye in how tomanage the jihadist threat in Yemen. The Saudishave maintained close linkages with a number ofinfluential Islamist members within the old guard,including Mohsen and jihadists like Al-Fadhli, whobroke off his alliance with Saleh in 2009 to lead theSouthern Movement against the regime. TheSaudis are also more prone to rely on their jihadistallies from time to time in trying to snuff out moreimmediate threats to Saudi interests.

For example, Saudi Arabia’s current concernregarding Yemen centers not on the future ofYemen’s counterterrorism capabilities but on theAl-Houthi rebels in the north, who have wasted lit-tle time in exploiting Sanaa’s distractions to expandtheir territorial claims in Saada province. The Al-Houthis belong to the Zaydi sect, considered anoffshoot of Shiism and heretical by Wahhabi stan-dards. Riyadh fears Houthi unrest in Yemen’s northcould stir unrest in Saudi Arabia’s southernprovinces of Najran and Jizan, which are home tothe Ismailis, also an offshoot of Shiism.

Ismaili unrest in the south could then emboldenShiites in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province,who have already been engaged in demonstra-tions, albeit small ones, against the Saudi monarchywith heavy Iranian encouragement. Deputy AQAPleader Saad Ali Al-Shihri’s declaration of war againstthe Al-Houthi rebels on Jan 28 may have surprisedmany, but it also seemed to play to the Saudi agen-da in channeling jihadist efforts toward the Al-Houthi threat. The United States has a Yemen prob-lem that it cannot avoid, but it also has very fewtools with which to manage or solve it. For now, thestalemate provides Washington with the time tosort out alternatives to the second-generationSaleh relatives, but that time also comes at a cost.The longer this political crisis drags on, the moreSaleh will narrow his focus to holding onto Sanaa,while leaving the rest of the country for the al-Houthis, the southern socialists and the jihadists tofight over. The United States can take some com-fort in the fact that AQAP’s poor track record ofinnovative yet failed attacks has kept the group inthe terrorist minor leagues. With enough time,resources and sympathizers in the government andsecurity apparatus, however, AQAP could find itselfin a more comfortable spot in a post-Saleh sce-nario, likely to the detriment of US counterterrorismefforts in the Arabian Peninsula. — Stratfor

An elderly anti-government protestor reactsduring a demonstration demanding the resigna-tion of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh inSanaa April 24, 2011. — AP

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French actress Sophie Marceauattends a promotional event of theFrench brand " Chaumet " in HongKong, China, yesterday. — AP

Te c h n o l o g y

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Office appsGoogle Docs (http://docs.google.com) and Microsoft’s

Office Web Apps (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/web-apps) are the two front-runners in the cloud-based officesuite arena, and both offer a strong set of tools for creatingeverything that most people need, including word processingfiles, spreadsheets, and presentations.

The Office web apps have an inherent advantage if you’realready using Office 2007 or 2010 because the interface isfamiliar. And, of course, file formats are easily interchange-able. Google Docs, though, offers the quicker, more stream-lined document creation experience. Google’s apps them-selves seem a bit more responsive, and unlike Office WebApps, you don’t have to name a file before you start workingon one.

Neither of the cloud-based office suites have the robustset of features of desktop programs. Tracking changes or cre-ating macros is not available in either, for example. But for thetypes of tasks that most people need to perform, the cloudoffice apps have all you’ll likely need.

PDF creationBeing able to create documents in Adobe’s read-only PDF

format is almost a requirement today, and the leading officeapps do not yet allow you to perform a “save as” to createPDF files. But other free cloud-based apps can help.

7-PDF (http://www.7-pdf.de), for instance, will let youupload any document and convert it for you instantly. PDFEscape (http://www.pdfescape.com) boasts the ability notonly to convert your documents to PDF format but also toprovide PDF editing, form filling, and designing solutions aswell.

ILovePDF (http://www.ilovepdf.com) lets you performsome advanced functions with PDF files, including mergingPDFs and splitting an existing PDF into multiple files.

Scheduling and calendarsGoogle’s cloud-based Calendar (www.google.com/calen-

dar) may be one of the handiest cloud apps going, primarily

because of how useful it can be in helping both individualsand groups stay organized. The interface is as you’d expect: acalendar that can be shown in day, week, or month, four-day,or agenda mode. To schedule an event, meeting, or reminder,just click a cell, provide a title, and optionally add details.

The power of Calendar comes into full view, though, whenyou start exploring the options in the Settings link. Forinstance, you can share your calendar with others - and youcan add others’ calendars to your view - to start synchronizingyour schedule with friends or colleagues anywhere in theworld. Just as nifty, you can set up Google Calendar to deliversmartphone notifications of important events. The Labs tabwithin the Settings page reveals yet more goodies, includingthe ability to add a world clock to your calendar and uploadattachments to events, either from your computer or fromGoogle Docs.

Image editingImage editing in the cloud seems counterintuitive. After

all, image editors require some serious horsepower on thedesktop, and internet connections would seem to limit theresponsiveness. But Picnik (http://www.picnik.com) provesthat cloud-based image editing can be fast, fun, and reason-ably powerful.

A tabbed-based interface makes it easy to load, edit, andsave photographs. Rotating images, cropping, and resizingare all simple to perform. Even sharpening and red-eyeremoval are possible. Perhaps best of all, you don’t have toupload your photos from a local computer. You can importthem from other online services, including Facebook andPicasa.

Adobe’s Photoshop Express(http://www.photoshop.com/tools) is another capable cloud-based image editor. It offers some advanced tools - such aswhite balance adjustments, soft focus, and tinting controls -that Picnic does not, and its interface will be familiar to usersof Adobe’s image browsing applications such as Lightroom.And with the companion Photoshop Express Organizer

(http://www.photoshop.com/tools/organizer), you can easilyimport images from Facebook, Flickr, and Picasa as well.

Offline accessMost people are worried about storing their files online.

After all, how do you get to them when you don’t have aninternet connection? Most cloud apps have that concernedcovered. Some offer an offline mode that lets you work onyour files regardless of whether you’re connected to the net,and all of them save files in formats that are easily editablewith offline programs. The process is pretty seamless, andthe payoff - not having to worry about backing up or syn-chronizing your data - may just make you a cloud convert inno time. — dpa

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing refers to running applications online

through a web browser and, often, storing the files that

you create with those applications on a remote server rather

than on your PC or handheld device. Cloud computing is

becoming increasingly attractive and popular because of the

proliferation of internet-connected devices. Also, in a cloud-

based model, you no longer have to worry about installing

applications, storing files, or synchronising them if you regu-

larly work on more than one computer. The disadvantage of

cloud computing is that an internet connection is required,

so you have to remember to download files that you want to

work on offline. — dpa

The best cloud-based apps Most people are worried about storing their files online. After all, how do you get to them when you don’t have an internet connection? If you haven’t tried cloud-

based applications in a while - or you’ve never tried them - you’re in for a treat. The best cloud-based apps are almost as powerful as their desktop equivalents,and they cover the range of tech tasks that most people need to perform on a daily basis.

R e l a t i o n s h i p s

Anniversary

Years


Carole Brody smiled when shesaw the police lights flashing inher rear view. She knew it was

just Mike. Mike Fleet, an all-star SantaAna, California, cop, responsible forseizing more than $50 million in drugmoney and 20,000 kilos of cocaine.Uncle Mike to Carole’s young daugh-ter, Kendall, and one of Carole’s bestfriends. A few weeks earlier, Mike askedCarole why they weren’t a couple.“Need a list?” she asked him. “City girl,cowboy. Democrat, Republican.”Besides, she said, they were too closeas friends; it’d never work. He courtedher anyway. He’d sneak into her officeand leave flowers, and visit her atlunch. He’d park along her route towork. When she drove by, he’d pull upbehind her and turn on the flashinglights.

When she spotted him, she pulledover and smiled as he handed her amuffin and juice. They were married in1995. It shook her out of a rut, personaland professional. She was coming off adivorce. Her job as a paralegal wasn’tas fulfilling as she’d hoped - not asmuch writing, and not as much differ-ence-making, as she’d hoped. Beingmarried to Mike made life excitingagain - “as idyllic as marriage can be,”she says now.

She learned to ride horses for him.Nothing had changed from their yearsas friends. She called him Fleet as shealways had, and he still teased her.They hosted huge holiday parties, anddanced together at the Crazy Horse -“May it rest in peace,” she says of theshuttered Santa Ana steakhouse. Hewas riding one day when a stray dogspooked his horse, Star. A tree branchknocked him unconscious. It didn’tseem serious, but a week later his armstarted twitching. Then the other arm.

“We can’t say with absolute certain-ty that that accident caused some-thing, but I can tell you this: I had acompletely healthy husband the daybefore the accident. And after thataccident, nothing was ever the sameagain,” Carole says. Mike’s body deteri-orated from Amyotrophic lateral scle-

rosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s dis-ease. In 2000, while 10-year-oldKendall held him, Mike Fleet died in hisliving room. It was one of the biggestpolice funerals Santa Ana had seen.Nearly 1,000 people from law enforce-ment agencies came from all over thestate. They had to turn people away,Carole says.

Bagpipes played “Amazing Grace.”Canine unit officers gave the dogs asimultaneous command to bark.Carole watched the flag being folded,and realized the police chief was goingto present it to her, the widow. Thewidow. It sounded so wrong. I’m not awidow, she thought. Widows wearsensible shoes. I wear low-rise pantsand miniskirts. I listen to heavy metaland drink. Widows have got to be mar-ried for 60 years. I’m not a widow!

She looked for support groups, butthe widows she met didn’t seem muchlike her. They were older, sharing pic-tures of grandkids. She felt like she wasdealing with something different. Shestill had to earn an income. She had tofigure out when it was OK to start dat-ing again, to be physical with anotherman. There was no group for her. Soshe shut down. She was eating dread-fully, exercising never. For the first timein her adult life, she quit wearingmakeup. “Why bother? There’s no onearound to care.” “When you wake upand your thought is, ‘Let’s just getthrough today,’ you don’t even realizeyou’ve quit caring for yourself,” shesays.

And Mike’s illness had made hermad. Slowly, things got better. Sheasked her priest “Why me” and got asurprising response. “Why not you?” hetold her. “If not you, then who?” “That’swhen I began to think, bad things real-ly do happen to good people, and it’shorrendous. But my mission became,how am I going to make good comeout of this? I can’t go into the fetalposition.” Then it was her daughter’sturn to jolt her. Kendall convinced herone night to go watch a movie, aSusan Sarandon comedy about a mid-dle-aged woman picking up rich men.Carole came downstairs in faded leg-gings and an oversized sweatshirt.

“You’re not going out like that,”Kendall told her. She went backupstairs to change and put on make-up. “I looked at myself for the first timein 2 years,” she says. One night she waswatching a TV show about servicemenkilled in Iraq - and their young widows.“I’d been there, and I’d grown, and I’dsufficiently recovered. And I thought,you know, there’s a book here,” shesays. She grabbed a legal pad and jot-ted ideas. A chapter on the insensitivethings people say. (“It was his time.”“You’ll get over it when you find a newman.”)

A chapter on being a single mother.On dating. On finance. On beautyadvice. And a title: “Widows WearStilettos.” She went downstairs at 3 am.Kendall was watching MTV. “Don’tlaugh at me,” Carole told her, “but Ithink I’m going to write a book.”

“Widows Wear Stilettos” will be pub-lished in August. It’s touching and fun-ny, a blend of memoir and advice thatincludes a recipe for Mike’s green beancasserole, a workout music mix andfashion advice: Wear a mini skirt or alow-cut top, she writes, but never atthe same time.

After years of wishing she could bea full-time writer, Carole Brody Fleetfinally is. “That’s the only thing I canthink of her doing for the rest of herlife,” says Kendall, now 18. Shelaunched widowswearstilettos., andshe says she now gets more than 800e-mails a week from widows. Some areas young as 17; some are in their 80s.She counsels young widows on thephone. After some horrendousattempts at romance - one guy pro-posed to her on the first date - she’s inlove again, with a businessman she’sbeen dating since September.

She’s still heartbroken to have lostMike, but she’s past the period ofmourning, when she’d hidden hersexiness in the closet. “As far as beingthe hurt woman, I don’t see myselfthat way. I see myself as having takentragedy and turned it into triumph.I’m trying to take as many peoplewith me as I possibly can on that jour-ney.” — MCT

Reclaiming life after it’s over‘When you wake

up and yourthought is, “Let’sjust get through

today,” you don’teven realize

you’ve quit caringfor yourself’

Carole Brody Fleet poses for portraitat her Lake Forest, California home.Fleet lost her husband to Lou Gehrig’sdisease when she was forty. — MCT

E V E R Y D A Y C O O K I N GF o o d

Anniversary

Years


By Sawsan Kazak

You know you are an importantfood when people use you todescribe a color. Salmon, the

fish and the color, are absolutelyscrumptious. Beyond being high inomegas and all, Salmon has a velvetyflesh with delicious taste that shinesin a multitude of dishes. Thick anddense, this fatty fish is easy to cookand very forgiving. Due to its strongflavors, a small slice goes a long way.Try the following recipes to get thatsalmon fix.

[email protected]

Salmon is a highly nutritious food. Ofcourse, it is high in protein, and the“good fats.” But did you know that a

4 oz serving of wild salmon provides a fullday’s requirement of vitamin D? It is oneof the few foods that can make that claim.That same piece of fish contains over halfof the necessary B12, niacin, and selenium,and is an excellent source of B6 and mag-nesium. Canned salmon also containslarge amounts of calcium (due to thebones of the fish).

Health Benefits of SalmonPeople who eat fish seem to be pro-

tected from a host of conditions. Some ofthis is probably due to the omega-3 fats,but there may be other benefits apartfrom this. The science isn’t clear yet as toall the reasons why eating fish (particularlyfatty fish such as salmon) seems to be sodarned good for us.

Omega-3 fats seem to primarily workthrough reducing inflammation in ourbodies. Inflammation is turning out to beat the base of many health problems,

including heart disease, diabetes, sometypes of cancers and arthritis. Omega-3’salso help prevent the blood clots whichcause many strokes.

An exciting, fairly recent developmentis the realization that omega-3 fats have

potential to help slow cognitive problemssuch as Alzheimer’s disease and age-relat-ed cognitive decline. Also, people whohave sufficient levels of omega-3’s (espe-cially as compared to omega-6 fats) seemto have less depression and suicide risk, as

well as less aggression — in one study,giving prison inmates this type of fat (plusvitamins) reduced aggressive behavior bya third in a mere two weeks.

Omega-3’s: Farmed fish is fattier —much as farm animals are “fattened up,”the same is true of salmon. This meansthat there are higher levels of omega-3fats. But there are caveats regarding this:

1.Because of the contaminants, it isoften recommended that farmed salmonbe cooked in ways that reduce the fat con-tent.

2.New feeds are being developed withless fish meal in them and more plantfoods. In general, the more plant-basedingredients, the lower the level of omega-3 fats in the salmon. (Note that in theocean, salmon are carnivores: they eat noplants at all.)

3.Even today, the percentage ofomega-3 fats is lower in farmed salmon,apparently because of the soybean,wheat, etc., in the meal fed to them.

—About

Salmon Nutrition

E V E R Y D A Y C O O K I N GF o o d

Anniversary

Years


1 1/2 pounds salmon filletslemon pepper to tastegarlic powder to tastesalt to taste1/3 cup soy sauce1/3 cup brown sugar1/3 cup water1/4 cup vegetable oil

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt. In a smallbowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil untilsugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy

sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheatgrill for medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill,and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fishflakes easily with a fork.

Simply grilled salmon

2 tablespoons minced shallots1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme3 tablespoons honey1 tablespoon Dijon mustard1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)Cooking spray

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Brush honey mixture over skin-less side of fish. Place fish on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cook-ing spray, and cook 6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when

tested with a fork. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Honey-Glazed Salmon

1 to 1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets1/2 cup fish stock 1/2 cup waterA few thin slices of yellow onionand/or 1 shallot, peeled and slicedthinSeveral sprigs of fresh dill or sprinkleof dried dillA sprig of fresh parsleyFreshly ground black pepper

Put stock, water, dill, parsleyand onions in a saute pan, andbring to a simmer on medium

heat. Place salmon fillets, skin-sidedown on the pan. Cover. Cook 5 min-utes or to desired done-ness. Do notovercook. Serve sprinkled with fresh-ly ground black pepper.

Fresh Salmon (cut into bite sizes)1/4 cup Soy sauceHot sesame oil1 tsp Ginger, minced1 tsp lemon

Mix the sauce and pour over the sashimi. Serve cool

Salmon Sashimi with Ginger Sesame Soy Sauce

Poached Salmon

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THEY ARE THE 99!

THE STORY SO FAR :

99 Mystical Noor Stones carry all that is left of the wisdom and knowledge of the lost civilization of Baghdad. But the Noor Stones lie scattered across the globe - now little more than a legend. One man has made it his life’s mission to seek out what was lost. His name is Dr. Ramzi Razem and he has searched fruitlessly for the Noor Stones all his life. Now, his luck is about to change - the first of the stones have been rediscovered and with them a special type of human who can unlock the gem’s mystical power. Ramzi brings these gem - bearers together to form a new force for good in the world. A force known as ... the 99!

Jabbar, Samda, and Mukit take a vacation to the Red Sea. On a scuba diving trip, they see a giant octopus -- and then a small boat capsizes, falling right past them! They rush to rescue the passengers…

www.the99.org

Tr a v e lFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

Tuscany and Umbria have a reputationfor being stuffed to the salami-hungrafters with braying, posh types in

raspberry chinos, but it’s easy to steer clearof the Chianti-quaffing crowds. The solar-powered Locanda della Quercia Calante onthe Umbria/Tuscany border is a peaceful,eco-friendly agriturismo. The emphasis ison the simple things in life: good food(home cooked and mainly organic); wellbe-ing (Iyengar yoga in the onsite studio), andchilling. Even the wine is biodynamic,which must be good for you, surely? OwnerFausto makes much of the fact that theproperty is built on leylines and the roomsare free of magnetic fields, which he claimsmakes for a better night’s rest. We weresceptical until my insomniac partner sleptlonger and deeper than he had in years. Byday you can mooch around nearby towns -historic Orvieto is 18km away - and spookilyquiet medieval villages. Evenings are forwining and dining in the cosy restaurant.We made the mistake on the first day ofaccepting second helpings of the fantasticmeat-free lasagne, only to realise it was justa starter. Perhaps it’s not the leylines thatensure a good night’s kip.

Very fine dining, Copenhagen, Denmark

Unless you’re the kind of person whoprecision-plans their leisure time, you prob-ably won’t book a holiday in Copenhagensufficiently far in advance to get a table atNoma, named Best Restaurant in the Worldfor the second year running. But at Relae

(restaurant-relae.dk), former Noma headchef Christian Puglisi cooks in a way that’sjust as surprising and inventive, and a gooddeal cheaper. And Geranium (geranium.dk;this year singled out by Michelin as a risingstar) is equally brilliant, in more of a pol-ished, big-night-out way. Aamaan’sEtablissement (aamanns.dk) was ourfavourite lunch spot, mainly for its steaktartare and citrus-and-spice marinatedsalmon. And for mornings after, the greatcoffee and the brunch menu (plus the cosysheepskin-covered chairs) at cafe/deliGourmandiet (gourmandiet.dk) made ourhangovers almost pleasurable.

Romantic retreat, Carswell Farm, Devon

Arrive in daylight and wear sensibleshoes, the instructions from Carswell Farmadvised. We pulled up after midnight afterthe long drive to south Devon. The direc-tions from the farmhouse to the impossiblysecluded Beach Hut were clear, but scram-bling across cliff tops with bags and veryunsensible footwear, we had only an inade-quate torch and the alarming sound ofcrashing waves to make sure our romanticholiday didn’t start with the wrong sort ofsplash. Once there we just climbed the littleladder to our bed in the eaves, so the nextmorning, we were unprepared for the pic-ture-book adorableness of our surround-ings. The Beach Hut is fairly basic, but noless lovely for that: there’s no electricity,but a woodburner and gas hob - and a

wood-burning hot tub outside (everythingis eco, including the loo)! And then there’sthe view - this beach hut gives new mean-ing to the idea of a private beach. Nestledin a cove, unreachable except by that rockyfootpath, this is as hidden-away a hideawayas you could dream of. It isn’t cheap, butyou could travel the world and not findsuch a romantic retreat. If the sun shines itis bliss, and if it rains it is bliss too.

Life after children, Sicily“Why’ve we stopped?” whined our eld-

est, then 14. “There’s nothing here!” “Here”was a quaint Italian riverside village with abar with Prosecco on tap, but this waswhen we realised we’d have to put moreeffort into holidays with teens. So for a fewyears it was activities (rafting, canyoning)and cities (they loved Amsterdam). Butteenagers grow up, go to university, andsuddenly mooching around Europe is pos-sible again. And cheap. Term time in Sicilyand not only were hotel rooms almost halfthe summer price, half-board was some-times thrown in. We stayed at friendlyPensione Tranchina in Scopello, an hourfrom Palermo, and ticked off all the thingsour offspring would have moaned about.No pool, tiny rocky beach, no shops, noth-ing to do after dinner except sit chattingwith the owner over a digestivo. Worst ofall, the rugged Zingaro natural park stretch-es for 7km up the coast, with footpaths forlong bracing walks. There were even - hor-ror! - wild flowers. Some things the young-

sters would have liked: the fantastic food,and especially our cute black hired FiatCinquecento. But that’s the sort of iconicvehicle only the child-free can bombaround Italy in. No room in the back forlong teenage legs. Shucks, kids.

Canaries in style, LanzaroteForget the sun, sand and sex-on-the-

beach stereotype; there’s another side toLanzarote. Away from the big resorts, theeasternmost of the Canaries is a heady mixof wild volcanic landscapes, surfer-friendlybeaches, theatrical modernist architectureand vineyards made up of volcanic stonecircles that could have been designed byAndy Goldsworthy. You can reach them alleasily enough from the coastal resorts witha hire car, but a much better idea is to baseyourself at Caserio de Mozaga, an 18th-cen-tury country house in the centre of theisland that’s been turned into a very stylishboutique B&B with restaurant. Or you couldbook into a luxury yurt and cosy up undercanvas at Finca de Arrieta on the north-eastcoast.

Grecian splendour, KefaloniaAlong a rambling road near Fiscardo in

the north of Kefalonia lay our cottage, VillaTrizoni. It had all the ingredients for aromantic break - the bare minimum, butdone in style. We had three gorgeous bed-rooms at our disposal, an airy open plan liv-ing space of white sofas, and an infinitypool surrounded by funky day beds. There

Keep it simple, Umbria, ItalySummer holidays: 10 of the best trips for couples

You may only have eyesfor each other, but stu-pendous views and fan-tastic food and wine willonly make things better.

Here are our experts’tips for romantic

breaks a deux.

Keep it simple, Umbria, Italy

Tr a v e lFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

was almost nothing to do, but that was fineby us - all we wanted was to loll around inthe sunshine and spend time together.

Then it poured with rain all week.Instead of languorous afternoons in thepool our memories are of drinking Mythosbeer behind a rain-splashed plastic awning,paddling in the drizzle at beautiful DafNoudi beach, and getting caught in a dra-matic storm while half-way across to theneighbouring island of Ithaca in our rentedmotorboat. There, we were revived at themagical Polyphemus restaurant by an ine-briated communist chef who fed us CheGuevara rum and sun-dried octopus forhours, then insisted he drive us back to theharbour. We even made up a silly songabout Polyphemus which make us feel liketeenagers recalling their first kiss when wesing it now.

Mountain highs, Slovenia We’d seen photos of the Soca Valley,

and read reviews about the chic mountainretreat called Nebesa. But nothing pre-pared us for the staggering Alpine beautyof the region - flower-filled meadows,crystal-clear rivers and lakes - nor theviews from Nebesa’s chalets; snow-cappedmountains to the east, endless valleys tothe west, trailing down to the Adriatic.Four glass-fronted chalets are the basefrom which to soak up these views. Fromour terrace, we watched a storm come in,then get chased away by glorious sun-shine. We hiked up the mountain one dayand white-water rafted down theturquoise Soca the next. In the evening wetook at taxi to Hisa Franko, Slovenia’sanswer to The Fat Duck, for a sublimegourmet feast. The X factor at Nebesa isn’tthe luxuriousness of the hotel - it’s actuallyfairly simple. What makes it so special isthe setting and the isolation: it’s a perfectplace to hole up with a partner.

Surf and city, Biarritz, FranceI thought a trip to Biarritz would be

ironically glam: pink cocktails and dis-cotheques, that kind of thing. But atsome point since the 1980s, it had mor-phed into a quietly hip surfing mecca.My then-boyfr iend suddenly lookedinterested. We camped under the pinesin the main surf ie site at Anglet andwalked down to the beach every morn-ing. Compensating for the lack of kitsch,the boyfriend even serenaded me withElvis Presley on the sand. Surf by day,

cosmopolitan comforts by night: we ateoutside at pretty old clifftop restaurants,drank wine from Gerard Depardieu’snearby vineyards, and wandered alongthe pier that juts from the spectacularcoastline out through the breakers. A lit-tle black dress and a surfboard are allyou need in this town where la bonne viemeets.

San Sebastian, Spain We took the Eurostar to Paris and the

sleeper train to Hendaye. When we woke,it was a short hop over the border to SanSebastian - or Donostia, as it is known byits Basque inhabitants. We chose from oneof scores of affordable pensions in thebeguiling parte vieja (old town). We spentlazy days on the city’s beautiful beaches,and late nights bar-hopping.

The city specialises in pintxos, simpleBasque tapas: we wandered from tavernto tavern, greedily sampling as many aswe could. For a once-in-lifetime meal, tryto get a table at legendary restaurantArzak (arzak.info), ranked eighth in theworld. We relaxed at La Perla (la-perla.net),a beachside spa; visited Eduardo Chillida’swave-lashed sculptures in La Concha Bay;and climbed Mount Urgull for the castle,enormous Jesus Christ statue andpanoramic views. We bought a couple ofbeers just as the basic hilltop bar was clos-ing and sat alone by the fig trees, watch-ing the sun set over the bay.

I left my heart in San FranciscoI’d been obsessed by San Francisco

since reading Armistead Maupin’s Tales ofthe City series - the rolling hills, the smellof marijuana, the glamorous casualties of alife lived as though every day was 1969 -but it wasn’t until my 27th birthday that Ifinally visited, a surprise present from myboyfriend, who’d been choking on thesecret for months.

It was San Francisco I’d had in mindwhen I chose to move to Brighton for uni-versity, where the lovely gayness andscattered vintage shops charmed me,briefly. But it took a week in a budgetdowntown hotel - queuing for breakfastsat Dottie’s True Blue cafe, taking shy pho-tos outside the house Maupin was inspiredby - an afternoon in Alcatraz, and varioussecond-hand clothing purchases alongHaight Street, for me to convince myboyfriend that this, one day, should be ourhome. — Guardian

B o o k s

Anniversary

Years


fantastic memoirs

Blood, Bones and ButterBy Gabrielle Hamilton

Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed NewYork restaurant Prune, she spent twenty fierce, hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in

her life. Above all she sought family, particularly the thrilland the magnificence of the one from her childhood that,in her adult years, eluded her. Hamilton’s ease and comfortin a kitchen were instilled in her at an early age when herparents hosted grand parties, often for more than one hun-dred friends and neighbors. The smells of spit-roastedlamb, apple wood smoke, and rosemary garlic marinadebecame as necessary to her as her own skin.

Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional jour-ney through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabitedthrough the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood,where her adored mother stood over the six-burner withan oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France,Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by completestrangers and learned the essence of hospitality; the soul-less catering factories that helped pay the rent; Hamilton’sown kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected chal-lenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, whoserves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and herown future family-the result of a difficult and prickly mar-riage that nonetheless yields rich and lasting dividends.

Blood, Bones & Butter is an unflinching and lyrical work.Gabrielle Hamilton’s story is told with uncommon honesty,grit, humor, and passion. By turns epic and intimate, itmarks the debut of a tremendous literary talent.

8By Meghan O’Rourke

From one of America’s foremost young literary voices, atranscendent portrait of the unbearable anguish of griefand the enduring power of familial love.

What does it mean to mourn today, in a culture that haslargely set aside rituals that acknowledge grief? After hermother died of cancer at the age of fifty-five, MeghanO’Rourke found that nothing had prepared her for the intensi-ty of her sorrow. In the first anguished days, she began to cre-ate a record of her interior life as a mourner, trying to capturethe paradox of grief-its monumental agony and microscopicintimacies-an endeavor that ultimately bloomed into a pro-found look at how caring for her mother during her illnesschanged and strengthened their bond.

O’Rourke’s story is one of a life gone off the rails, of how

watching her mother’s illness-and separating from her hus-band-left her fundamentally altered. But it is also one ofresilience, as she observes her family persevere even in theface of immeasurable loss.

With lyricism and unswerving candor, The Long Goodbyeconveys the fleeting moments of joy that make up a life, andthe way memory can lead us out of the jagged darkness ofloss. Effortlessly blending research and reflection, the personaland the universal, it is not only an exceptional memoir, but anecessary one.

The Long Goodbye

By Randy Christensen

The unforgettable inspiring memoir of one extraordi-nary doctor who is saving lives in a most unconven-tional way Ask Me Why I Hurt is the touching and

revealing first-person account of the remarkable work ofDr. Randy Christensen. Trained as a pediatrician, he worksnot in a typical hospital setting but, rather, in a 38-footWinnebago that has been refitted as a doctor’s office onwheels. His patients are the city’s homeless adolescentsand children.

In the shadow of one affluent American city, Dr.Christensen has dedicated his life to caring for society’sthrowaway kids-the often-abused, unloved children wholive on the streets without access to proper health care, allthe while fending off constant threats from thugs, gangs,pimps, and other predators. With the Winnebago as hismoveable medical center, Christensen and his team travelaround the outskirts of Phoenix, attending to the childrenand teens who need him most.

With tenderness and humor, Dr. Christensen chronicleseverything from the struggles of the van’s early begin-nings, to the support system it became for the kids, andthe ultimate recognition it has achieved over the years.Along with his immense professional challenges, he alsodescribes the trials and joys he faces while raising a grow-ing family with his wife Amy. By turns poignant, heart-breaking, and charming, Dr. Christensen’s story is a grip-ping and rich memoir of his work and family, one of thoserare books that stays with you long after you’ve turned thelast page.

Ask

Me

Why

I H

urt

EatingBy Jason Epstein

Jason Epstein, legendary publisherof Norman Mailer and VladimirNabokov, editor of such great chefs

and bakers as Alice Waters andWolfgang Puck, takes us on a culinarytour through his eventful life.

From the great restaurants of post-war Paris to the narrow streets of NewYork’s Chinatown today; from a NewYear’s dinner aboard the old Ile deFrance with Buster Keaton to anevening at New York’s glamorous “21”restaurant with the dreaded Roy Cohn;from Chinese omelettes with the greatJane Jacobs at the edge of the ArcticOcean to a lobster dinner with theMailers on Cape Cod, this deliciousbook celebrates a lifetime of pleasurein cooking and eating well.

B o o k s

Anniversary

Years


By Molly Wizenberg

When Molly Wizenberg’s fatherdied of cancer, everyone told herto go easy on herself, to hold off

on making any major decisions for a while.But when she tried going back to herapartment in Seattle and returning tograduate school, she knew it wasn’t possi-ble to resume life as though nothing hadhappened. So she went to Paris, a city thatheld vivid memories of a childhood tripwith her father, of early morning walks onthe cobbled streets of the Latin Quarterand the taste of her first pain au chocolat.She was supposed to be doing research forher dissertation, but more often, she foundherself peering through the windows ofchocolate shops, trekking across town totry a new p‚tisserie, or tasting cheeses atoutdoor markets, until one evening whenshe sat in the Luxembourg Gardens read-ing cookbooks until it was too dark to see,she realized that her heart was not in herstudies but in the kitchen.

At first, it wasn’t clear where thisepiphany might lead. Like her long lettershome describing the details of every mealand market, Molly’s blog Orangette startedout merely as a pleasant pastime. But itwasn’t long before her writing and recipesdeveloped an international following.Every week, devoted readers logged on tofind out what Molly was cooking, eating,reading, and thinking, and it seemed shehad finally found her passion. But the storywasn’t over: one reader in particular, acurly-haired, food-loving composer fromNew York, found himself enchanted by theredhead in Seattle, and their email corre-spondence blossomed into a long-distanceromance.

In A Homemade Life: Stories and

Recipes from My Kitchen Table, MollyWizenberg recounts a life with the kitchenat its center. From her mother’s poundcake, a staple of summer picnics during herchildhood in Oklahoma, to the eggs shecooked for her father during the weeksbefore his death, food and memories areintimately entwined. You won’t be able todecide whether to curl up and sink into thestory or to head straight to the market tofill your basket with ingredients for Cider-Glazed Salmon and Pistachio Cake withHoneyed Apricots.

A Homemade Life

By Elif Shafak

An acclaimed Turkish novelist’s per-sonal account of balancing a writer’slife with a mother’s life.

After the birth of her first child in 2006,Turkish writer Elif Shafek suffered frompostpartum depression that triggered aprofound personal crisis. Infused with guilt,anxiety, and bewilderment about whethershe could ever be a good mother, Shafakstopped writing and lost her faith in wordsaltogether. In this elegantly written mem-oir, she retraces her journey from free-spir-ited, nomadic artist to dedicated by emo-tionally wrought mother. Identifying a con-stantly bickering harem of women who liveinside of her, each with her own character-istics-the cynical intellectual, the goal-ori-ented go-getter, the practical-rational, thespiritual, the maternal, and the lustful-shecraves harmony, or at least a unifying iden-tity. As she intersperses her own experi-ence with the lives of prominent authorssuch as Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, AliceWalker, Ayn Rand, and Zelda Fitzgerald,Shafak looks for a solution to the inherentconflict between artistic creation and

responsible parenting.With searing emotional honesty and an

incisive examination of cultural moreswithin patriarchal societies, Shafak has ren-dered an important work about literature,motherhood, and spiritual well-being.

Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood,and the Harem Within

By Diane Ackerman

Everyone who cherishes the gift of lan-guage will cherish Diane Ackerman’snarrative masterpiece, an exquisitely

written love story and medical miracle sto-ry, one that combines science, inspiration,wisdom, and heart.

One day Ackerman’s husband, PaulWest, an exceptionally gifted wordsmithand intellectual, suffered a terrible stroke.When he regained awareness he was afflict-ed with aphasia-loss of language-and couldutter only a single syllable: “mem.” The stan-dard therapies yielded little result but frus-tration. Diane soon found, however, that byharnessing their deep knowledge of eachother and her scientific understanding oflanguage and the brain she could guidePaul back to the world of words. This tri-umphant book is both a humane andrevealing addition to the medical literatureon stroke and aphasia and an exquisitelywritten love story: a magnificent addition toliterature, period.

By Jill Bialosky

On the night of April 15, 1990, JillBialosky’s twenty-one-year-old sisterKim came home from a bar in down-

town Cleveland. She argued with herboyfriend on the phone. Then she took hermother’s car keys, went into the garage,closed the garage door. She climbed intothe car, turned on the ignition, and fellasleep. Her body was found the next morn-ing by the neighborhood boy her motherhired to cut the grass.

Those are the simple facts, but the act ofsuicide is anything but simple. For twentyyears, Bialosky has lived with the grief, guilt,questions, and confusion unleashed byKim’s suicide. Now, in a remarkable work ofliterary nonfiction, she re-creates withunsparing honesty her sister’s inner life, theevents and emotions that led her to take herlife on this particular night. In doing so, sheopens a window on the nature of suicideitself, our own reactions and responses toitóespecially the impact a suicide has onthose who remain behind.

Combining Kim’s diaries with family his-tory and memoir, drawing on the works ofdoctors and psychologists as well as writersfrom Melville and Dickinson to Sylvia Plathand Wallace Stevens, Bialosky gives us astunning exploration of human fragility andstrength. She juxtaposes the story of Kim’sdeath with the challenges of becoming amother and her own exuberant experienceof raising a son. This is a book that exploresall aspects of our familial relationships —

between mothers and sons, fathers anddaughters — but particularly the tender andenduring bonds between sisters.

History of a Suicide†brings a crucial andall too rarely discussed subject out of theshadows, and in doing so gives readers thecourage to face their own losses, no matterwhat those may be. This searing and com-passionate work reminds us of the precious-ness of life and of the ways in which thosewe love are inextricably bound to us.

History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life

One Hundred Names for Love

B e a u t yFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

What You Need:• Eye primer • 2 Shadows: One light, one darker• Eyeliner• MascaraThe key to the perfect smokey eye is

proper blending. You want to make surecolors are blended together flawlessly.Also, it’s important to pair light base col-ors with rich dark colors. Nice mixesinclude: Soft gold base with deep purpleon top, champagne base with bright blueand peach base with green hue.

Difficulty: AverageTime Required: 10 minutesHere’s How:1.Prep the lid. The key to keeping eyeshadow from

melting into your eyelid crease as the daygoes on is to kept eyelids oil-free. To do

this start with an eyeshadow base (alsocalled “primer”). Simply swipe the primeracross the eye and let it dry before youcontinue to the next step.

2.Apply eyeliner. If you’re going for a typical black,

brown or gray smokey eye, apply liner inone of those colors above the upper lashline, drawing line thicker in the middle ofeye. If you’re opting for a jewel-toned eye(violet makes a gorgeous smokey eye),line eyes with a purple, blue or deepgreen liner.

For more intricate directions on liningfor a smokey eye see How to apply eyelin-er. Also see my list of the best eyeliners. Iinclude several that work great for thesmokey eye.

3.Blend in color on bottom lashes For color on the bottom (a key smokey

eye look) you’ll want to use a eyeliner pen-cil because they’re easiest to smudge.Once the line is drawn, run your fingerover it to smudge the line. You can alsoapply a bit of shadow to get full smudgeeffect.

4.Apply light base color Again, the key to a smokey eye is pair-

ing a lighter base with the darker hue. Iprefer a nice cream shade for my base.Sweep a light, shimmery shadow over thelids to your browbone. I love Stila’swhipped eye shadows. The moist“mousse” consistency seems to stay onforever. My favorite colors are taupe andpearl.

5.Blend in darker color, but keepdark color below the crease.

Now that you have the base and eye-liner on, it’s time to get the smokey effect.You need a darker eyeshadow shade.Using an eyeshadow brush blend in colorstarting at your lash line, blending up.Make sure to blend color into the lash lineso the eye liner disappears. Stop deep col-or at crease. The key here is to blend,blend, blend.

6.Doublecheck your work Make sure eyes match and blend color

with a Q-tip if need be. 7.Finish with several coats of mas-

cara.

You’ll want to apply a few coats ofmascara so lashes are thick and dark. Ifyou don’t have naturally long, curled lash-es, curl them with a lash curler first.

Tips:1.Remember to keep lips nude. When

applying strong makeup (like smokey eyesor red lips) put the focus on either eyes orlips, never both. (Think Angelina Jolie: Sheeither plays up her huge eyes or her hugelips, never both. If she did, she’d look like aclown).

2.For a bit of fun, try a blue or purplemascara. It will make blue eyes “pop.”

3.Liner doesn’t have to come in pencil

form. Makeup experts know eyeshadowsmake some of the best eyeliners. To dothis take an eyeliner brush (available atSephora, MAC or any dept store), wet it,then dab wet brush into the dark shadow.This allows for a deep, precise line. Youcan also use the dark shadows withoutwetting brush first. Either way, eyeliner isnecessary for smokey eye.

4.This season go jewel-toned (blue isgreat for you blue-eyed girls) and keepyour eyes smokey but stay away from darkbrowns and black. Instead, go for a deeppurple, a gold-brown or any of the manyvibrant colors in this year. —About

How to getsmokey eyes

Smokey eyes have been a big style forquite awhile and there’s no sign this

particular trend is dying. Here we showyou step-by-step instructions on how to

get the perfect smokey eye.

B e a u t yFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

Your hair is like a plant, it’s a living andbreathing part of your body. Therefore,the more that you care for your hair

and feed it with vitamins, the better thechance that your hair will grow faster andlonger and even in time more-healthier.

Healthy hair will grow faster thanunhealthy, damaged hair and by followingthese 10 steps you can make your hair growfaster. But keep in mind, that there is a certainmaximum hair growth per year in the humanbody that even by using the best of treat-ments will not make a difference. An averageperson’s hair grows an average of 1/2 inch amonth. Follow these steps to make your hairgrow faster and longer

• Avoid using extremely hot water, hairdryer and/or hair styler:

Heat can damage your hair whether its hotwater or hot air or its extremely hot/cold air,water and weather conditions, can damageyour hair. Wash your hair with warm waterinstead of extremely hot water.

• Overall health, life style and eating habitsplay a major role in having healthy hair:

Your overall health and life style will affectyour hair growth rate and health of your hair.You need to get enough sleep every day. Theamount of sleep depends on the person.There is not any specific amount of hours ofsleep required for one person in general. Theamount can vary depending on age, bodytype as well as other factors. Eat healthy, cut

back fast food, fried food, packaged food andincrease the amount of vitamins, fruits andvegetables. Exercise more, any cardio exercisewill increase the blood flow in your bodywhich will help your scalp to get more oxygenand help your hair grow faster.

• Trim and cut hair regularly:Getting a trim will help to remove split,

thin, and dry ends. Again, since your hair islike a plant you need keep the hair folicalhealthy so that it’s not working overtime.Since the hair grows from the scalp whereyour hair folical is located, by trimming thedead ends off of your hair your hair folical isworking less to repair split, dead ends.Therefore, it will help to make your hair growfaster,longer and healthier. Due to the factthat your hair is not working overtime torepair dead split ends.

• Take a daily vitamin:Biotin would be an ingredient that you

need to add to your list when you buy vitaminfor hair growth. Biotin helps cell growththerefore, will help your hair grow faster andhealthier. Also protein will help your hairgrow fast too, this can be taken naturally fromeggs, milk, meat etc.

• Reduce the number of coloring sessions:Hair coloring can also damage your hair.

Stay away from cheap, unknown products.Prefer new generation color dyes with mois-turizing protection. Coloring your hair toooften can damage and prevent your hair fromgrowing faster.

• Keep your hair clean:Oily scalp can stop your hair from growing

faster you need to find the happy mediumbetween keeping your hair clean but notover-washing. Over-washing your hair anddamaging the oil balance can be harmful asmuch as dirty hair.

• Do not wear pony tail too often: Usingrubber bands and pulling your hair tight candamage your hair and stop your hair fromgrowing fast and healthy.

• Stop smoking and reduce or quit caffeine: Well these are not only good for your hair,

also will help you to be healthier.• Do not over brush your hairand NEVER use a bristled brush, as this will

tear and damage your hair.• Be patient.Take care of your hair, health and before

you know it, you’ll have long gorgeous locks!

(www.10wayshowto.com)

How to make yourhair grow faster

and longer naturallyin 10 ways

Healthy hair will grow faster thanunhealthy, damaged hair and byfollowing these 10 steps you can

make your hair grow faster

P inkeye (also called conjunctivitis) isredness and swelling of the conjunc-tiva, the mucous membrane that

lines the eyelid and eye surface. The liningof the eye is usually clear. If irritation orinfection occurs, the lining becomes redand swollen. See pictures of a normal eyeand an eye with conjunctivitis .

Traditionally, at-home remedies havebeen sufficient for soothing conjunctivitisassociated with uncomplicated colds,minor infections, or allergies. Treatment

consists primarily of cleansing the eyes andpreventing the condition from spreading.

Viral conjunctivitis usually runs itscourse in one to two weeks. Because it isnot caused by bacteria, viral conjunctivitisdoes not respond to antibiotics. Artificialtears will also help relieve symptoms.

For bacterial conjunctivitis, the treat-ment will probably call for antibiotic eyedrops or ointment. This generally clears thesymptoms within a few days.

Common symptoms of pinkeye are:● Eye redness (hyperemia).

● Swollen, red eyelids.

● More tearing than usual.

● Feeling as if something is in the eye

● An itching or burning feeling.

● Mild sensitivity to light (photophobia).

● Drainage from the eye.

Most cases of pinkeye are caused by:● Infections caused by viruses or bacteria. ● Dry eyes from lack of tears or exposure to

wind and sun.● Chemicals, fumes, or smoke (chemical con-

junctivitis).● Allergies.● Viral and bacterial pinkeye are contagious

and spread very easily. Since most pinkeye is

caused by viruses for which there is usually nomedical treatment, preventing its spread isimportant. Poor hand-washing is the maincause of the spread of pinkeye. Sharing anobject, such as a washcloth or towel, with a per-son who has pinkeye can spread the infection.For tips on how to prevent the spread of pink-eye, see the Prevention section of this topic.

People with infectious pinkeye should not goto school or day care, or go to work until symp-

toms improve. If the pinkeye is caused by a virus, the person

can usually return to day care, school, or workwhen symptoms begin to improve, typically in 3to 5 days. Medicines are not usually used to treatviral pinkeye, so it is important to prevent thespread of the infection. Pinkeye caused by a her-pes virus, which is rare, can be treated with anantiviral medicine. Home treatment of viral pink-

eye symptoms can help you feel more comfort-able while the infection goes away.

If the pinkeye is caused by bacteria, the per-son can usually return to day care, school, orwork 24 hours after an antibiotic has been start-ed if symptoms have improved. Prescriptionantibiotic treatment usually kills the bacteriathat cause pinkeye.

Pinkeye may be more serious if you:● Have a condition that decreases your

body’s ability to fight infection (impairedimmune system).

● Have vision in only one eye.● Wear contact lenses.● Red eye● Red eye is a more general term that

includes not only pinkeye but also many otherproblems that cause redness on or around theeye, not just the lining. Pinkeye is the maincause of red eye.

● Red eye has other causes, including:● Foreign bodies, such as metal or insects.

For more information, go to the topic Objects inthe Eye.

● Scrapes, sores, or injury to or infection ofdeeper parts of the eye (for example, uveitis, iri-tis, or keratitis). For more information, go to thetopic Eye Injuries.

● Glaucoma. For more information, go to thetopics Eye Problems, Noninjury or Glaucoma.

● Infection of the eye socket and areasaround the eye. For more information, go to thetopic Eye Problems, Noninjury.

● Swollen, red eyelids may also be caused bystyes, a lump called a chalazion, inflammation ofthe eyelid (blepharitis), or lack of tears (dry eyes).For more information, go to the topics Styes andChalazia or Eyelid Problems (Blepharitis).

—(www.webmd.com)

H e a l t h

Anniversary

Years


New clues on brain’s ability to learnThe adult brain may never be too old to learn new tricks.

A new study shows as little as two hours of “child-like”learning may be enough to stimulate growth of gray

matter in the brains of mature adults.Researchers say the findings suggest that the adult brain’s

ability to change-or “plasticity” as it’s known in medical terms-occurs much faster than previously thought.

Prior studies have shown increases in gray matter in adultsafter weeks or months of training, but in this studyresearchers induced changes in less than two hours of train-ing in which adults learned new, nonsensical names for colors.

“This pattern of findings demonstrates that the anatomicalstructure of the adult human brain can change very quickly,specifically during the acquisition of new, named categories,”write researcher Veronica Kwok of the University of HongKong and colleagues in the Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences.

In the study, researchers used whole-brain magnetic reso-nance imaging (MRI) scans to examine gray matter changes inthe brains of 19 adults after using a training method used tostimulate rapid word learning, similar to flash cards.

Over the course of five sessions, totaling one hour and 48minutes over three days, the participants used listening, nam-ing, and matching tasks to learn artificial names for twoshades of the color green and two shades of the color blue.

Brain scans taken before and after the training sessionsshowed the participants’ gray matter increased in areas of thebrain associated with color vision and perception.

Researchers say the results not only show that adult brainplasticity is greater than previously thought, but color percep-tion and processing may have unique effects on learning andlanguage. —(www.webmd.com)

Study suggests graymatter in the brain

may grow more quickly than thought

Do you have pinkeye ?

Traditionally, at-home remedies have been sufficient

for soothing conjunctivitis associated with uncomplicated

colds, minor infections, or allergies. Treatment consists

primarily of cleansing the eyesand preventing the condition

from spreading.

H e a l t h

Anniversary

Years


“The effect that diet can have on howyou feel today and in the future isastounding,” says nutritionist

Elizabeth Somer, author of NutritionforaHealthy Pregnancy, Food & Mood, andThe Essential Guide to Vitamins and Minerals.

“Even people who are healthy can make afew tweaks and the impact will be amazing,”Somer says. “I’d say that 50% to 70% of suffer-ing could be eliminated by what people eatand how they move: heart disease, diabetes,cancer, hypertension can all be impacted.”

You don’t need specific foods for specificailments. A healthy diet incorporating a vari-ety of the following superfoods will help youmaintain your weight, fight disease, and livelonger. One thing they all have in common:“Every superfood is going to be a ‘real’(unprocessed) food,” Somer points out. “Youdon’t find fortified potato chips in the super-food category.”

Top Superfoods Offering Super Health Protection● Beans● Blueberries● Broccoli● Oats● Oranges● Pumpkin● Salmon● Soy● Spinach● Tea (green or black)● Tomatoes● Turkey● Walnuts● Yogurt● Blueberries-Antioxidant Superfood

Packed with antioxidants and phytoflavi-noids, these berries are also high in potassiumand vitamin C, making them the top choice ofdoctors and nutritionists. Not only can theylower your risk of heart disease and cancer,they are also anti-inflammatory.

“Inflammation is a key driver of all chronicdiseases, so blueberries have a host of bene-fits,” says Ann Kulze, MD, of Charleston, SC,author of Dr. Ann’s 10-Step Diet, A SimplePlan for Permanent Weight Loss &Lifelong Vitality. When selecting berries, notethat the darker they are, the more anti-oxi-dants they have. “I tell everyone to have aserving (about 1/2 cup) every day,” Dr. Kulzesays. “Frozen are just as good as fresh.” Besure to include lots of other fruits and vegeta-

bles in your diet as well. Remember too that,in general, the more color they have, themore antioxidants.

Omega 3-Rich Fish-Superfoods for theHeart, Joints, and Memory

“We know that the omega 3s you get in fishlower heart disease risk, help arthritis, and maypossibly help with memory loss andAlzheimer’s,” Somer says. “There is some evi-dence to show that it reduces depression aswell.”

Omega-3s are most prevalent in fatty, cold-water fish: Look for wild (not farmed) salmon,

herring, sardines, and mackerel. Aim for two-to-three servings a week. Other forms ofomega 3s are available in fortified eggs, flaxseed, and walnuts. These superfoods have theadded benefit of being high in monounsatu-rated fats, which can lower cholesterol.

Soy-Superfood to Lower CholesterolA study reported in The Journal of the

American Medical Association (2003) showedthat a diet of soy fiber, protein from oats andbarley, almonds, and margarine from plantsterols lowered cholesterol as much as statins,the most widely prescribed cholesterol medi-cine. “Look for tofu, soy milk, or edamame-notsoy powder,” says Somer. In other words, soysauce won’t do the trick. One caveat: If youhave a family history of breast cancer it is notrecommended that you eat extra soy.

Fiber-Superfood Aids Weight Loss andChecks Cholesterol

A diet high in fiber will help you main-

tain healthy cholesterol and blood sugarlevels. As a bonus, because fiber helps youfeel full longer, it’s a great tool in weightmanagement. Whole grains, beans, fruit,and vegetables are all good sources. Trythrowing some beans in your salad, rec-ommends Kulze. “Fresh, frozen, or driedare the best. You can use canned, but theytend to be higher in sodium,” Kulze warns.

Tea-Superfood for Lowering Cholesteroland Inhibiting Cancer

“The overall antioxidant power of blacktea is the same as green tea,” says Kulze, “butgreen tea does have ECGC, a powerful antiox-idant that we really do think is quite special.”A recent Japanese study on green tea foundthat men who drank green tea regularly hadlower cholesterol than those who didn’t.Researchers in Spain and the UnitedKingdom have also shown that ECGC caninhibit the growth of cancer cells. For a dou-ble health whammy, replace sugary sodaswith tea.

CalciumOK, OK, you know the drill: Calcium helps

build strong bones and prevents osteoporo-sis. Look for it in dairy products or supple-ments. Added bonus: Some studies showthat calcium helps with weight loss. Here arethe calcium levels recommended for adultsby the USDA:

Age 9 to 18 — 1,300 mgAge 19 to 50 — 1,000 mgAge 51 and over — 1,200 mgAnd Finally, the Yummiest Superfood Yet

... Dark ChocolateNew research has shown that dark choco-

late is packed with antioxidants and can low-er blood pressure. Kulze recommends thatyou look for chocolate with 60% or highercocoa content; the darker, the better. In addi-tion, the darker it is, the lower the fat andsugar content. Now that’s our kind of healthfood! —(www.webmd.com)

‘Superfoods’ Everyone Needs

Experts say dozens of easy-to-find ‘superfoods’ can help ward off

heart disease, cancer, cholesterol, and more.

A r t s

Anniversary

Years


Age discrimination in themedia doesn’t stop withhumans. Our collective obses-

sion with youth extends to the ani-mal world. Considering how much ofthe internet is given over to theextreme cuteness of kittens, howoften do you click on images of eld-erly cats or glaucomic dogs at thetail end of their lives? How many adcampaigns show us horses past theirprime or birds in their twilight years?Not often, and probably none.

Isa Leshko has set out to docu-ment old age in the animal kingdomwith a series of beautiful photo-graphs entitled Elderly Animals.Some of the subjects wear their agelightly. A 28-year-old Embden gooseregards the camera with indifferenceand buries its beak in a stately

expanse of feathers. Others seemmore time-worn. With dimmed eyesand splayed legs, a 19-year-oldAustralian kelpie looks as weak andhelpless as a newborn pup, while awrinkled bronze turkey calledMarino might have seen 100 years,not merely five.

Leshko, who lives in Houston,Texas, started the series after a yearspent caring for her mother, anAlzheimer’s sufferer, in New Jersey. Itoffered her an oblique way of deal-ing with her grief, but the projectalso allowed the photographer to“challenge commonly held assump-tions about... animals in their lateryears” and “raise questions aboutwhat it means to be elderly”.

Most of Leshko’s subjects arefarm animals and pets that have

ended up in animal sanctuariesaround America. It is commonlyassumed that animals bred in captiv-ity, excepting those reared forslaughter, live longer than theircounterparts in the wild. We do ourbest to shield them from predators,injury and disease, and the amountlavished on veterinary care in the

west - $43bn in America in 2009 -has undoubtedly added years to thelifespan of the creatures that keep uscompany. The oldest canine onrecord, an Australian cattle dogcalled Bluey, lived to 29, while horseshave reached the half-century mark.

Determining the age of animalsin the wild is much more difficult,but biologists have developed tech-niques to generate rough estimates.Growth rings in the scales, fin spinesand vertebrae of fish, and on theshells of turtles, indicate how manywinters they’ve swum through, andsimilar information can be gaugedfrom the wax-like plug in the exter-nal ear of a whale. Other mammalscan be aged by studying their teeth,and tagging is the surest way ofkeeping track of wild birds. The aver-age lifespan of an Amazon parrot (80years) is four times greater than thatof a bottlenose dolphin.

It’s not strictly true that all livingthings grow old and die. The jellyfishTurritopsis nutricula returns to sexu-al immaturity after reproducing andis believed to be biologically immor-tal.

The rest of us, however, succumbto our age with weary inevitability.It ’s good to have work such asLeshko’s to remind us that - be wehorse, hound or human - there’smore to life than youth.—Guardian

Isa Leshko’s Elderly Animals:

There’s life in the old dog yet

A series of studies ofelderly animals by

the American photographer IsaLeshko calls into

question our attitudes to ageing

Old timer:Moonie, a 32-year-oldAmerican quarter horse byIsa Leshko.—Guardian

A R T S

Anniversary

Years


Although LS Lowry is one of the most popu-lar British painters, his idiosyncratic out-look has never fitted into the mainstream

story of modern art. Reproductions of his workabound. But he is far less easy to encounter ingalleries - apart, of course, from the Lowry centreat Salford Quays. Hence the resentment voiced inITV1’s provocative Easter Day programme.Narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, it rightly dismissesthe accusation that Lowry was nothing more thanan ignorant, unskilled amateur.

The truth is that Lowry did train in Manchesterand Salford colleges during the early 20th centu-ry. He may have cultivated a “primitive” style, butit was a sophisticated decision made by an artistwho could easily have adopted a more conven-tional manner. The “matchstick men” in many ofLowry’s canvases convey the vision of a defiantand stubborn loner, who avoided contact withthe art world and worked in a nine-to-five officejob for nearly half a century.

Most of his pictures were painted at night, illu-minated solely by an electric light bulb. The artisthad no interest in pursuing a more photo-realistpath. The isolation which haunts the people in hiswork reflects Lowry’s own sense of being an out-sider.

McKellen becomes openly angry in the docu-mentary when he focuses on the Tate, claimingthat “it is a shame verging on the iniquitous thatforeign visitors to London shouldn’t have accessto the painter English people like more than mostothers”.

He even suggests that the Tate should sell itscollection of 23 Lowrys - a bizarre proposal, whichmight well mean that the collection ends up insome wealthy collector’s mansion, invisible to

anyone except his dinner guests, family and staff.Selling off the nation’s assets is a foolish idea, andit must never be implemented.

At the moment, Tate Britain does undoubtedlysuffer from an acute space shortage. Too much ofits outstandingly rich collection of 20th-centuryart is unable to find permanent display space, andthis problem will only be alleviated when its gal-leries are extended two years from now. But inthe meantime, Tate Britain’s curators are emi-nently capable of mounting a thematic displaydevoted to Lowry’s work. It would be fascinatingto compare his images with paintings, photo-graphs and even films of northern scenes by oth-er artists from that period.

At one point in the programme, NoelGallagher of Oasis voices his Mancunian suspicionthat the 23 Lowrys are invisible because “they’renot considered Tateworthy. Or is it just becausehe is a northerner?” People who live outsideLondon often feel uneasy about the overwhelm-ing power of metropolitan culture in this country.So the Tate has much to gain from counteringthis sense of discomfort, and attending moreclosely to the l i fe f lourishing in places farremoved from our capital city.

Not that Lowry’s paintings present a visionwhich tallies with our experience of northern lifetoday. Born in 1887, he concentrated on theurban scene familiar to him during his childhoodand adolescence. In Lowry’s work, many of thebuildings - both industrial and domestic - havelong since disappeared. But their replacementdoes not invalidate his art. On the contrary: wecan now see Lowry even more clearly, as a life-long obsessive who committed himself to inter-preting an almost vanished world. —Guardian

Reclaiming LS Lowry

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C o m i cFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

ACROSS1. A rotating disk shaped to convert circular into linear motion.4. A historical region in central and northern Yugoslavia.10. Someone who engages in arbitrage (who purchases securities in one marketfor immediate resale in another in the hope of profiting from the price differential).13. The capital and largest city of Japan.14. Someone who snores while sleeping.15. Primitive predaceous North American fish covered with hard scales and havinglong jaws with needle-like teeth.16. A hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons).18. Informal terms for money.19. A type of submachine gun that is designed and manufactured in Israel.20. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).22. Relating to the Lamaze method of childbirth.24. An accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape.25. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.27. One of the common people.28. A short labored intake of breath with the mouth open.32. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.35. Minute freshwater crustacean having a round body enclosed in a transparentshell.36. A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point orevent.38. Tag the base runner to get him out.39. (Greek mythology) One of the three Graces.42. A woody climbing usually tropical plant.44. Distinctive and stylish elegance.45. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group.47. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.49. A unit of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiatedmaterial.50. A badly assembled collection of parts hastily assembled to serve some particu-lar purpose (often used to refer to computing systems or software that has beenbadly put together).55. A populous province in northeastern China.59. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.60. A sweetened beverage of diluted fruit juice.61. Naked freshwater or marine or parasitic protozoa that form temporarypseudopods for feeding and locomotion.63. Japanese ornamental tree with fragrant white or pink blossoms and small yel-low fruits.64. Having undesirable or negative qualities.65. Of or relating to or characteristic of Hades or Tartarus.66. Fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer.

DOWN1. Of or like a cecum.2. A condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experi-ence that is taken as true by many people.3. Soft suede glove leather from goatskin.4. The compass point midway between south and southeast.5. A radioactive gaseous element formed by the disintegration of radium.6. One of two official languages of Norway.7. A self-funded retirement plan that allows you to contribute a limited yearly sumtoward your retirement.8. A loose cloak with a hood.9. Of or relating to or involving an area.10. Largest known toad species.

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11. Harass with persistent criticism or carping.12. Soft creamy white cheese.17. Australian shrubs and small trees with evergreen usually spiny leaves anddense clusters of showy flowers.21. A protocol developed for the internet to get data from one network device toanother.23. The eleventh month of the Hindu calendar.26. Spread or daub over.29. A former copper coin of Pakistan.30. A city of central China.31. A metabolic acid found in yeast and liver cells.33. A cgs unit of work or energy.34. With no effort to conceal.37. King of Saudi Arabia since 1982 (born in 1922).40. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.41. (Old Testament) The first of the major Hebrew prophets (8th century BC).43. A hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care.46. Jordan's port.48. English monk and scholar (672-735).49. (astronomy) The angular distance of a celestial point measured westwardalong the celestial equator from the zenith crossing.51. Lacking excess flesh.52. Fallow deer.53. A Gaelic-speaking Celt in Ireland or Scotland or the Isle of Man.54. A member of an Iroquoian people formerly living on the south shore of LakeErie in northern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.56. A piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep.57. Alternative names for the body of a human being.58. Towards the side away from the wind.59. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.62. Informal terms for a mother.

Practice makes perfect: Kate Middletonand her bridesmaids, together withbest man Prince Harry, rehearsed one

more time at Westminster Abbey yesterday,the eve of the most anticipated royal wed-ding in decades.

The rehearsal came as Middleton andPrince William released their wedding pro-gram, which says they have been deeplytouched by an outpouring of affectiontoward them.

“We are both so delighted that you areable to join us in celebrating what we hopewill be one of the happiest days of ourlives,” they wrote. “The affection shown tous by so many people during our engage-ment has been incredibly moving, and hastouched us both deeply.”

They also released a new photograph bycelebrity photographer Mario Testino - awarm black-and-white image.

Much is at stake for the royal family, whohope the match bolsters the Windsordynasty and smooths over memories of thedamaging, embarrassing divorce ofWilliam’s parents, Princess Diana and PrinceCharles. William has often referred to hislate mother with great affection, and gaveKate his mother’s engagement ring - ensur-ing she isn’t forgotten during the sacredoccasion. The ceremony will offer pomp

and circumstance on a scale to rival Charlesand Diana’s fairy-tale wedding in 1981, with1,900 invited guests and royal carriagesdrawn by mounted troops of the HouseholdCalvary. Rows of bold red, white and blueUnion Jacks have been unfurled in thestreets and cleaners have scrubbed theparade route. Tens of thousands of peopleare expected to line the twisting path from

Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace,where the new royal couple will appear onthe balcony for a kiss watched by millionsaround the world.

Dozens of die-hard fans were alreadycamped out in tents and sleeping bags yes-terday near the iconic landmark. Amongthem was India Marlow-Prince, a 17-year-old from London who was picnicking withfriends. The trio painted their faces with theUnion Jack and wore tiaras and matchinghot pink T-shirts with the homemade slo-gan “Will and Kate forever.”

“She is the Diana of our generation. AndWills is a babe,” Marlow-Prince said. “We area little annoyed at her for taking him, butthere’s always Harry.”

Royal families from Bahrain, Bhutan,Brunei, Kuwait, Lesotho, Oman, Qatar, SaudiArabia and Swaziland have been invited tothe wedding, prompting the anti-monarchyRepublic group to call the guest list “aWho’s Who of tyrants and their cronies.”The wedding will bring “happiness and joyand light relief after some difficult times,”Cameron told Katie Couric on CBS.

“British people ... feel very deeply aboutthe monarchy and the institution, so it’sthat mixture of the good-looking prince andthe beautiful princess, but it’s so muchmore than that,” Cameron said. “It’s thisinstitution that’s helped bind the country

together. And it’s got this amazing historythat goes way, way back.”

Middleton will not promise to “obey” hernew husband in her vows but instead to“love, comfort, honor and keep” him.

She will walk up the aisle to the soundsof “I was glad,” the anthem setting of Psalm122 composed by Sir Charles HubertHastings Parry for the coronation of KingEdward VII in 1902. The anthem was alsosung at the 1981 wedding of William’s par-ents. The newlyweds will leave to the march“Crown Imperial” by William Walton, whichalso figured in Charles and Diana’s wedding.A spokesman at St. James’ Palace saidMiddleton was familiar with classical musicbut had “a lot of input” from Prince Charles.“They spent a lot of time listening to themusic together on iPods,” said the royalfunctionary, speaking on condition ofanonymity.

But as wedding excitement heated up,the weather in London started coolingdown. Royal wedding fans may want topack extra umbrellas. The MeteorologicalOffice says the day will start off gray and drywith low clouds across London. Some sunnyspells may break through but the chance ofshowers will rise to 30 percent aroundnoon, the time when William and Kate willemerge from the Abbey a newly marriedcouple. —AP

L i f e s t y l e

Anniversary

Years


Royal weddingrehearsals, music, and thanks

A policeman directs pedestrians near Westminster Abbey in London, yesterday. Royal enthusiasts are camping out on the pave-ment to reserve a spot to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton as they arrive to marry in Westminster Abbey today.— AP

A royal supporter relaxes on the pavement near Westminster Abbey in London, yester-day. Royal enthusiasts are camping out on the pavement to reserve a spot to watch PrinceWilliam and Kate Middleton as they arrive to marry in Westminster Abbey today. — AP

A spectatordressed as apolicemanlaughs outsideWestminsterAbbey

Emmylou Harris is looking out thewindow of her writing sanctuary, asmall room in the upstairs of her

house. Two friends are walking in thebackyard.

One is her longtime friend Kate Derr.The other is a black and white hound dognamed Scooter. “I think he’s just sort ofbeen a professional stray all his life,” shesays of Scooter. “He’s a beautiful dog. Veryhandsome.”

Scooter is more than just a visitor: Helives with Harris, albeit in another house atthe edge of her property. His accommoda-tions are part of Bonaparte’s Retreat,Harris’ at-risk dog rescue that she startedin 2004. “There are five dogs in thebunkhouse area. One dog is going to livepermanently in the office,” she says. “Hehas some fear issues with people he does-

n’t know. But once he gets to know you,he’s just a big, loveable dog.”

The Country Music Hall of Famer callsher rescue work her second career: “Theanimal piece, there’s a little more urgencyto it. I feel like I’m - well I am - dealing withlife and death, so I suppose it’s a differentkind of passion.” But she hasn’t given upher day job. She’s got a new album, “HardBargain,” out this week. And in some waysher two passions are symbiotic. One of the11 new songs she penned for the album iscalled “Big Black Dog.” The song’s aboutBella, a dog with “a little too much grayaround the muzzle” that she adopted.

Harris penned the tune, and the othersongs on her album, in her writing room inher home in Nashville. Bob Dylan is in thedisc player and pictures from various peri-ods in her life and career are on the wall.

“For some reason I felt very comfortable inhere, like a little nest or something up inthe trees, you know?” she said. “I just said,‘Well, I need to try to write,’ so I just literallylocked myself away like the character in‘Rumpelstiltskin:’ ‘Don’t come out of theretill you spin all that straw into gold!’ So Igot a big bunch of straw.”

Harris emerged from the room havingtaken something of an emotional journey.She visits two of her greatest influences,Gram Parsons and Kate McGarrigle, pon-ders difficult questions like stolen youth,death, the quick passage of time, the after-math of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans,and does it in a subtle, stripped down waythat’s simple yet still powerful. The 64-year-old played the songs for sometime-collaborator Jay Joyce and asked him toproduce the album. He brought in GilesReaves and the three joined an engineerand Joyce’s sweater-chomping dogClarence in Joyce’s studio to lay down sim-ple versions of the songs. “Emmy wouldplay guitar and sing and we would,depending on the song, choose an instru-ment that was working, and we’d just kindof jam around and get the live piece done,then put some colors on top of that,” Joycesaid. “There were no session players com-ing and going. It was just a hang.”

Harris’ collaborators often come awaymesmerized after working with her, andJoyce definitely experienced the magicshe’s spun over her 40-year career. “She’sjust got a real wisdom about her,” Joycesaid. “You just kind of forget you’re makinga record, you know. You’re just having funplaying music. I think that’s why she’s still a

force because she’s always just been kindof about the music. She’s kind of like oneof the people in the band. She comes fromthat sort of place.”

She got that from her time withParsons, a deep influence whom sheworked with for a short time before hisdeath in 1973. It was Parsons who showedher - and many rock ‘n’ roll friends - thebeauty of traditional country music. Sheopens the album with “The Road,” a nos-talgic remembrance of Parsons. It is anexpansive look at their relationship, onethat sent Harris on the way to iconic status.She sings: “You put me on that path/Howcould I refuse?/And I’ve spent my wholelife out here working on the blues.”

“It was like my ears opened up for thefirst time and I heard the connectionbetween my ear and my heart,” Harris said.“I crossed a line. It changed the way I heardmusic. It doesn’t mean country music isthe only music, but it became my homebase.

It became my point of departure, whereI could gather in all these other things. Butit was like ground zero for me.” She recent-ly added an electric guitar player to hertouring band and said she was beginningto feel excited about sharing the songswith her fans on the road. That meansshe’ll have to leave her rescue mission toher trusted friends for a while. But she wasfeeling that old passion for music again,and was ready to chase it for a while. “AndI’ve also started to think about bringing inold material that I haven’t done for awhile,” Harris said. “It keeps everythingfresh and new.” —AP

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makes room for a new passion

Harris’ collaborators often come awaymesmerized after working with her, and

Jay Joyce definitely experienced themagic she’s spun over her 40-year career.

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When most successful actorsthank their moms for helpingtheir careers, few are as literal

as Ben Stiller. Back as a 20-year-oldwannabe actor just starting out in NewYork in the mid-1980s, Stiller was audi-tioning with various degrees of failurewhen he heard about a new produc-tion of the play “The House of BlueLeaves.” Try as he might, Stil lercouldn’t arrange an audition. “Thecasting director had seen me in some-thing and didn’t think I was right,” herecalls. “So I asked my mom - the onlytime I asked my mom to help me.”

Stiller’s mother, Ann Meara, was theright person to call. She had been inthe first ever production of “The Houseof Blue Leaves” off-Broadway in 1971.She knew the playwright, John Guare,and called him up. “That’s the lastthing you want to do in the world as anactor. You know the deck is stackedagainst you and that it’s a favor,” Stillersays. “But I really, really wanted theopportunity on it.”

The phone call worked: Stiller audi-tioned for the first time while the otheractors were in final callbacks and yetmanaged to win the small but rich partof Ronnie Shaughnessy, a troubledyoung man to say the least. He stayedwith the show when it made the jumpto Broadway and used it as a launchingpad for a career in film and TV that hasveered from the adult “Greenberg” tothe kiddie “Night at the Museum.”

How grateful is he to his mom?“I owe my parents everything,”

Stiller says, smiling.Flash-forward a quarter century:

Stiller is back on Broadway in the verysame play. This time, he’s playing thefather of his old character, alongsideJennifer Jason Leigh and Edie Falco.And he didn’t need his mother’s helpthis time. “I feel very lucky to have hadthis play in my life,” he says at a barnear Times Square. “How often do you

have something like that? It’s such arare thing to have a touchstone likethat.”

Stiller, whose father is the actorJerry Stiller, had no intention of everrevisiting “The House of Blue Leaves,” ablack comedy about a group of des-perate strivers in Queens enthralled bythe idea of being famous. “It wassomething I had never thought about,”he says. “It was such a great experiencethe first time around on a lot of differ-ent levels - it was my first job, it wasgreat cast, a great production, and itwas very successful and ran a longtime.”

But he had been toying with theidea of another play since he appearedopposite Amanda Peet and JeffreyWright in 2005’s “This Is How It Goes”at the Public Theater. This winter, get-ting back on stage became even morelikely when he moved his family toNew York after 20 years in Los Angeles.

Producer Scott Rudin approachedthe actor with the possibility ofremounting Guare’s play. It had a nicering to it: Besides his family’s historywith the piece, Stiller was, at 45, theperfect age to tackle ArtieShaughnessy, a zookeeper who hasdreams of becoming a Hollywoodsongwriter. “I had never looked at theplay from Artie’s point of view. All of asudden, Artie starts to make a lot moresense at 45,” says Stiller, laughing. “Itreally was about having to wipe theslate clean and go, ‘OK, this is going tobe different.’”

The role puts Stiller in a love-trian-gle of sorts, torn between staying withhis mentally ill wife, played by Falco, orfleeing to Los Angeles with his mis-tress, played by Leigh. The role alsorequired Stiller to learn to play pianoand sing. Director David Cromer hasbeen deeply impressed by Stiller’s atti-tude. “He’s just a workhorse,” saysCromer. “When we were on a break, he

was playing the piano. When I came inthe room in the morning, he was sit-ting with the script. When I left atnight, he was running lines with some-body.”

Stiller acknowledges that he wasintimidated at first to tackle the part,having fond memories of JohnMahoney playing the part oppositeSwoosie Kurtz and Stockard Channing.But he thinks he and Falco and Leighhave created a new legacy. “Now thatwe’re at this place, it’s become its ownthing. Whatever it is, I know that it’sours,” he says. “It’s different and it’swhat it is and it makes sense to me andthat’s all I really need to know.”

Stiller says that though he’s now astar, he still identifies with his charac-ter’s longing for fame and recognition.On three different occasions, ArtieShaughnessy cries out that he’s “tooold to be a young talent.”

“As an actor, I can relate to all of it. Ithink any actor can, no matter whatlevel of success you have. It’s showbusiness, you know? There’s alwaysbeen a premium on youth in showbusiness going way back,” he says.“There are so many themes in the playthat are so relevant now - even proba-bly more relevant now than they were25 years ago or even 39 years agowhen my mom did the play.”

Being on stage again, however, isstill a nervy proposition. Stiller, whowas never a standup comedian, hasdone a few things live, but says gettingup in front of people still takes gettingused to. “It’s always different. Youhave that one shot where you want toget it right. But the reality is you neverget it quite right,” he says. “And that’sactually the great thing about doing aplay - you’re always finding differentways.” —AP

Ben Stiller performshis theater debut again

Stiller says that though he’s nowa star, he still identifies with

his character’s longing for fame and recognition.

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The teen singing sensation - who iscurrently on his ‘My World Tour’ - hasrevealed, despite having to travel the

globe, he has still found the time to laydown tracks for his next record and is“excited” about giving fans the opportuni-ty to hear his new music this summer.Writing on his twitter page, he said: “beenwriting alot of songs on the road. excitedto just get this music out later this yearand record this summer.” As well as writ-ing new songs, the 17-year-old ‘Baby’ hit-maker - who had a guest role on crime

show ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ earli-er this year - admitted he has caught theacting bug and “definitely” wants anotherrole in front of the camera. He recentlyexplained: “I definitely want to do moreacting, and further my career in that area,that’s something I would love to do.”However, although he wants to branchout in his career, Justin is still concentrat-ing on his music and hopes to securesome new collaborations in the future. Hesaid: “I would love to perform with StevieWonder or Beyonce Knowles.”

is writing his new album while on tour

The ‘Price Tag’ hitmaker thinks other starsare envious of her for being brave enoughto say whatever she wants, and she

believes other singers are so worried aboutappearing to be “perfect” they won’t do any-thing outrageous in case it harms their careers.She said: “I say it how it is and I don’t really thinkbefore I talk. I sometimes think that’s whateveryone else in the industry wishes they coulddo, but they started out being so perfect thatany time they do anything out of the ordinary,people pick up on it. “I decided that if I just start-ed out being me, no one can ever say I’vechanged.” Despite her burgeoning success onboth sides of the Atlantic, Jessie admits she stillhas days where she wants to “scream and throwsomething at the wall”, but puts it down to justbeing a typical female. She added to Top of thePops magazine: “I don’t ever want to feel guiltyabout having a bad day. I have to go with myemotions. Sometimes you’re overtired and yourmascara doesn’t go on right and you don’t knowwhat to wear and you rip your favorite trousers,and you want to scream and throw something atthe wall. “It’s not that you’re not appreciatingyour life, it’s justabout beinga girl.”

thinks somecelebs are cowards

Jessie J

The model-and-actress is five monthspregnant with her first child with herlover, former rugby player Thom Evans,

and she claims she knew within days of meet-ing him he was her ‘Mr. Right’. The 31-year-oldstar said: “I immediately felt he was ‘The One’and I have never felt that before. That hassomething to do with my age. I don’t want towaste my time with someone I wasn’t sureabout ... it was Thom. I had been single for along time - for six months - but I wasn’t think-ing about meeting anyone or settling down.Actually, I was thinking I’d be single for a while

longer, which was fine by me, because untilthen I’d always been in a relationship.” Kelly -who was previously in a relationship with rug-by player Danny Cipriani and dated actorsJason Statham and Billy Zane - discovered shewas pregnant just weeks after she startedromancing Thom, but she insists everythingjust felt right and the pair can’t wait to becomeparents. Kelly added to Britain’s HELLO! maga-zine: “This is what happens when you’re in love.You surrender to whatever is to be. It wasn’t aplan, but if it happened, it happened. We wereboyfriend and girlfriend.”

Kelly Brookknew her boyfriend was the one

The socialite was on her way to testify against Nathan Parada -

who is alleged to have tried to break into her property wielding

a knife in August 2010 - when a man jumped at Cy, punched at

the back of his head and tried to grab his neck. The man - later identi-

fied as James Rainford, who has also, separately, been arrested for

trespassing on Paris’ property in October 2010 - was wrestled to the

ground by the couple’s security team outside the courthouse in Van

Nuys, California. Paris, 30, tweeted her shock at the incident, writing:

“On my way to the court house to testify against the intruder. I’m very

nervous to see him face to face again :(“ She later tweeted: “Omg

@KathyHilton! That other psycho intruder just punched Cy in the back

of the head as we were walking into the court house. So scary! :(“ A

representative for Paris later told E! News: “After the attack, they real-

ized he is the same intruder that showed up to her home on a bicycle

a few months ago. They are both a bit shaken up but thankful security

acted quickly.” James was taken into police custody, and later claimed

he had only been trying to get an autograph from Paris and to ask her

father, Rick, for permission to ask her to marry him. James is currently

still on probation for misdemeanor assault and there is also a restrain-

ing order in place against him requiring that he stay at least 200 yards

away from the blonde hotel heiress. After her

court appearance, Paris later tweeted about

Nathan, writing: “So creepy seeing that guy

in court today, it sent shivers down my

spine. Now on my way to @URM to make

Mother’s Day cards with the kids.”

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Elton Johnhasn’t spoken to his mother in three years

Sheila Farebrother explained her64-year-old son has cut her out ofhis life “completely” after what

was believed to be a disagreement withhis partner David Furnish, with whomElton fathers four-month-old babyZachary. She explained: “He has cut meoff completely. It happened three yearsago this June. He has had nothing to dowith me since then. I don’t want to gointo what caused it. It is a painful sub-ject. My son cut me out of his life forgood.” The 86-year-old widower - whois still financially supported by thesinger - also claimed she has “no partic-ular interest” in meeting her new grand-son, who was brought into the world viaa surrogate mother on Christmas Day.Speaking to The Sun newspaper, sheadded: “I have no particular interestreally. You will have to ask them aboutthat.” Despite Sheila having sold a treas-ure trove of Elton memorabilia for£28,820 when she recently movedhouse, she also insisted it had “nothingto do” with the rift between her and herson. She said: “That has nothing to dowith it. I moved into a smaller place andhad nowhere to keep all that stuff.”

The royal couple will tie the knotat Westminster Abbey in Londonfollowed by a meal hosted by

Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palaceand the ‘Starry Eyed’ singer has beeninvited to provide the after-dinnerentertainment at an intimate gather-ing for 300 people hosted byWilliam’s father Prince Charles.William and Kate reportedly chosethe pop star because they believeher music will appeal to guests ofall ages. A source said: “Williamand Kate are huge fans of Ellieand were keen to sign her up. Hermusic goes down well with the

young ones, plus a few of the olderguests will be nodding their heads

along. They really wanted a top Britishtalent and the couple are delighted

Ellie agreed to perform. She can’t wait,although she’s a tad nervous.” William,28 and Kate, 29, hope Ellie will sere-nade them with her cover of ‘YourSong’ by Sir Elton John - who willattend the nuptials with his partnerDavid Furnish - and the excited singeris said to be “honored” with the invita-tion. An insider told the Daily Mailnewspaper: “Ellie was knocked off herfeet when she received the invitationto perform for Prince William and Kate- and was so hugely honored whenthey said they were both big fans ofher music. She still can’t quite believethat she will perform for the royal new-lyweds, all the young royal guests andtheir friends, it hasn’t sunk in yet.” Ellie,24, will be accompanied by herboyfriend, DJ Greg James.

Ellie Goulding will perform at the royal wedding reception today

A psycho attacked

Paris Hilton’s boyfriend Johnny Deppleft £700 in tips at a pub

The actor is shooting his new film ‘DarkShadows’ at Pinewood Studios inBuckinghamshire, which is just outside

London, and although he staying at a £1,000-a-night, five star hotel in Ascot, Johnny has preferredto spend his evenings in local pub the ThatchedTavern. A source told the Daily Star newspaper:“Johnny is staying at the five star country manorhouse estate in Coworth Park in Ascot. Instead ofchoosing from thefour hotel restau-rants, includingone which isMichelin-starred,he decided tohang out at a near-by pub with locals.Johnny chose tohave dinner anddrinks in theThatched Tavernpub a mile-and-a-half up the roadfrom his hotel. Onthe first night heleft a £300 tip forpub staff, followedby £400 the nightafter.” Along withsplashing his cash,Johnny - who isstaying in theEnglish countryside with his partner VanessaParadis and their two children Lily Rose, 12, andJack, nine - has delighted staff with his down toearth attitude. A source added: “Obviously every-one was really excited to hear Johnny Depp was inthe village. But he kept himself to himself in thepub. He wasn’t attracting any attention or trying toget noticed. He seemed really nice and said heloves the English countryside. The girls in the pubsaid he was nothing but charming.” This is not thefirst time generous Johnny has handed out a hugetip, the 47-year-old actor previously delighted staffat a Chicago eatery when he left a whopping $4,000gratuity.

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Rod Stewart would rather play withhis toy trains than write a hit song,but his domestic distractions did not

prevent him from getting a top songwrit-ers’ award in Hollywood on Wednesday.The 66-year-old rocker received theFounders Award for lifetime achievementat an annual dinner organized by ASCAP, afirm that collects royalties for songwriterswhenever their compositions are played inpublic.

Stewart attended the event, toweredover by his wife, Penny Lancaster, andaccompanied by five of his eight children.He has not written a hit song since“Forever Young” in 1988, and the sevenalbums he has released since 2001 havebeen covers of other peoples’ songs. He isperhaps better known as an interpreter ofmaterial written by renowned musicianssuch as Tim Hardin (“Reason to Believe”),Cat Stevens (“The First Cut is the Deepest”),Tom Waits (“Downtown Train”) and VanMorrison (“Have I Told You Lately”).

“I never saw myself as songwriter,”Stewart confessed in an interview withReuters. “Then I look back on the catalogand there’s been some big songs. It wasalways a struggle for me, writing songs,almost like being at school.” After his turnin the late 1960s with the Jeff Beck Group,which established him as one of England’spremier R&B singers, Stewart enjoyed solosuccess with such songs as “Maggie May”and “You Wear It Well” (both written withMartin Quittenton) and “Every Picture Tellsa Story” (written with Faces bandmate and

future Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood).During the awards ceremony, Stewart

recalled that his first songwriting attemptwith Wood was a dismal failure, withWood’s mother noticing their blank writingpads and remarking, “I don’t think theBeatles have got anything to worry about.”Stewart went on to write or co-write suchbig ‘70s hits as “Tonight’s the Night,”“You’re in My Heart,” “Da Ya Think I’mSexy” and “Young Turks.” He said he wasproudest of his gay rights-themed ballad“The Killing of Georgie,” a bold declarationin 1976. But his albums during the 1980sand 1990s were largely desultory affairs,and he spent less time writing his ownsongs even while remaining a populartouring act.

Stewart enjoyed a career renaissance inthe new century with his “Songbook”series of albums paying homage to such

songwriters as Irving Berlin and Georgeand Ira Gershwin. Stewart is currentlyworking on a blues album with Jeff Beck,covering such tunes as Muddy Waters’“Rollin’ and Tumblin’” as well as a fewcurveballs. He said the ASCAP honor will“maybe give me a push up the bum to startwriting again.”

On the other hand, it’s not easy being asongwriter when he is savoring his gildedfamily life in Beverly Hills. His top prioritywhen he awakened earlier in the day? “Icouldn’t wait to get up and work on mymodel railway,” he said with a boisterouslaugh. — Reuters

Katherine Jackson isn’t looking forward to the upcomingtrial of the doctor charged in connection with her son’sdeath. She says the pain of his loss nearly two years ago

remains and the potential punishment for the physician doesn’tseem like it’s nearly enough.

The matriarch of one of music’s most famous families isn’tplanning any special preparations for the daily trek to a down-town Los Angeles courtroom where the trial begins May 9, butshe says she’ll rely on her faith to carry her through. “I havemixed emotions,” she told The Associated Press in an interviewthis week. “Sometimes I think why have a trial if ... the maximumsentence is only four years.” She has not spoken to Dr. ConradMurray, who has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaugh-ter, although she has seen him often from her seat at pretrialhearings in the case. “I’ll be there, but it just hurts me becausemy son is gone and for forever and this man is trying to getaway and get off,” she said. “He needs to be punished.”Katherine Jackson spoke at her new hilltop house in Calabasas,a community 10 miles west of the Jackson’s longtime SanFernando Valley home, which is being renovated. White roseshave been planted to be seen when looking out the back win-dows into the valley below, and flower beds line the walkwaysand the outside of the house - one of the requests Jackson saidshe made for the property when she arrived.

Flowers have always been a source of joy for the soft-spokenwoman in her 80s, prompting smiles and excited descriptionsof her favorite plants and blooms.

She recently extended her floral passion beyond her owngarden, consulting on and endorsing a line of floral arrange-ments being sold online. Jackson said she hopes the venture

will help others show their love for one another. “I think flowersspeak a thousand words,” she said with a smile.

The retailer, sendherflowers.com, is hoping the $49-and-uparrangements with names such as “Precious,” “Field of Love”and “Dynasty” will be a hit for Mother’s Day. And Jackson hopespeople will use them for any occasion, with plans to change thearrangements through the seasons. As a devout Jehovah’sWitness, Katherine Jackson does not celebrate Mother’s Day ormany of the holidays that prompt people to buy flowers. Buther famous children still send Mom bouquets with some of herfavorite blooms, including tulips and azaleas.

“They know I don’t celebrate all the holidays, but they sendthem anyway,” she said. Her son Michael would send her flow-ers at least once a month, she said, including a large arrange-ment after his acquittal on child molestation charges in 2005.

In the days after his death, flowers poured into the family’shome and Katherine Jackson says they carried with them a mes-sage she immediately understood and appreciated - she wasnot alone. “They felt my pain,” she said of the outpouring fromfans and supporters. “It meant a lot to me. And at that time, Ineeded all of that to know the world was with me, the worldfelt my pain.”

Her son’s death at age 50 has thrust Katherine Jackson backinto the role of mother. She is the guardian and caretaker of thesinger’s three children, who range in ages from 9 to 14. Raisingchildren in the Internet age poses a whole new set of chal-lenges, she said, but her strategy hasn’t changed. She said shestill believes you have to show children respect, keep promises,and give them spiritual grounding. “Raise them with a con-science,” she said.

Discipline is key, but she adheres to a simple philosophy -“Discipline with love.” It was a lesson she said her son Michaelapparently heeded. After the singer’s death, Katherine Jacksonwent to his home to clean up. There, she found severalreminders he had scribbled to himself. “He had notes around,”she recalled. “‘Discipline with love.’” — AP

Rajinikanthto film new blockbuster

South Indian film megastar Rajinikanthis to begin work on a new film, hisstudio said yesterday, hoping to repli-

cate the success of last year’s record-break-ing “Endhiran” (Robot). Eros Internationalsaid shooting for “Rana” (Monarch) wouldget under way on Friday in the southerncity of Chennai, once the cast and crew hadconducted a ritual “puja” or prayer ceremo-ny.

As well as the evergreen former Chennaibus conductor-turned-actor, the film willfeature leading actress Deepika Padukoneand music by the Oscar-winning composerA.R. Rahman, the studio said in a statement.The award-winning creative directorCharles Darby, who worked on Hollywoodblockbusters including “Titanic”, the HarryPotter series and “Minority Report”, willoversee special effects, it added. “Rana willbe a l ive action magnum opus withRajinikanth playing a triple role,” the studiosaid.—AFP

Jackson’s mom hoping bouquets send message of love

honored in Hollywood

S t a r sFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

Afghanistan 0093Albania 00355Algeria 00213Andorra 00376Angola 00244Anguilla 001264Antiga 001268Argentina 0054Armenia 00374Australia 0061Austria 0043Bahamas 001242Bahrain 00973Bangladesh 00880Barbados 001246Belarus 00375Belgium 0032Belize 00501Benin 00229Bermuda 001441Bhutan 00975Bolivia 00591Bosnia 00387Botswana 00267Brazil 0055Brunei 00673Bulgaria 00359Burkina 00226Burundi 00257Cambodia 00855Cameroon 00237Canada 001Cape Verde 00238Cayman Islands 001345Central African Republic 00236Chad 00235Chile 0056China 0086Colombia 0057Comoros 00269Congo 00242Cook Islands 00682Costa Rica 00506Croatia 00385Cuba 0053Cyprus 00357Cyprus (Northern) 0090392Czech Republic 00420Denmark 0045Diego Garcia 00246Djibouti 00253Dominica 001767Dominican Republic 001809Ecuador 00593Egypt 0020El Salvador 00503England (UK) 0044Equatorial Guinea 00240Eritrea 00291Estonia 00372Ethiopia 00251Falkland Islands 00500Faroe Islands 00298Fiji 00679Finland 00358France 0033French Guiana 00594French Polynesia 00689Gabon 00241Gambia 00220Georgia 00995Germany 0049Ghana 00233Gibraltar 00350Greece 0030Greenland 00299Grenada 001473Guadeloupe 00590Guam 001671Guatemala 00502Guinea 00224Guyana 00592Haiti 00509Holland (Netherlands)0031Honduras 00504Hong Kong 00852Hungary 0036Ibiza (Spain) 0034Iceland 00354India 0091Indian Ocean 00873Indonesia 0062Iran 0098Iraq 00964Ireland 00353Italy 0039Ivory Coast 00225Jamaica 001876Japan 0081Jordan 00962Kazakhstan 007Kenya 00254Kiribati 00686

Kuwait 00965Kyrgyzstan 00996Laos 00856Latvia 00371Lebanon 00961Liberia 00231Libya 00218Lithuania 00370Luxembourg 00352Macau 00853Macedonia 00389Madagascar 00261Majorca 0034Malawi 00265Malaysia 0060Maldives 00960Mali 00223Malta 00356Marshall Islands 00692Martinique 00596Mauritania 00222Mauritius 00230Mayotte 00269Mexico 0052Micronesia 00691Moldova 00373Monaco 00377Mongolia 00976Montserrat 001664Morocco 00212Mozambique 00258Myanmar (Burma) 0095Namibia 00264Nepal 00977Netherlands (Holland)0031Netherlands Antilles 00599New Caledonia 00687New Zealand 0064Nicaragua 00505Nigar 00227Nigeria 00234Niue 00683Norfolk Island 00672Northern Ireland (UK)0044North Korea 00850Norway 0047Oman 00968Pakistan 0092Palau 00680Panama 00507Papua New Guinea 00675Paraguay 00595Peru 0051Philippines 0063Poland 0048Portugal 00351Puerto Rico 001787Qatar 00974Romania 0040Russian Federation 007Rwanda 00250Saint Helena 00290Saint Kitts 001869Saint Lucia 001758Saint Pierre 00508Saint Vincent 001784Samoa US 00684Samoa West 00685San Marino 00378Sao Tone 00239Saudi Arabia 00966Scotland (UK) 0044Senegal 00221Seychelles 00284Sierra Leone 00232Singapore 0065Slovakia 00421Slovenia 00386Solomon Islands 00677Somalia 00252South Africa 0027South Korea 0082Spain 0034Sri Lanka 0094Sudan 00249Suriname 00597Swaziland 00268Sweden 0046Switzerland 0041Syria 00963Taiwan 00886Tanzania 00255Thailand 0066Toga 00228Tonga 00676Tokelau 00690Trinidad 001868Tunisia 00216Turkey 0090Tuvalu 00688Uganda 00256Ukraine 00380United Arab Emirates00976

To convey my vision of how best to proceed in the coming week, I'll offerthe following metaphorical scenario: Imagine that you are not a profes-sional chef, but you do have a modicum of cooking skills. Your task is tocreate a hearty, tasty soup from scratch without the benefit of a recipe.You will need a variety of ingredients, but on the other hand you don'twant to just throw in a welter of mismatched ingredients without regardfor how they will all work together. To some degree you will have to use atrial-and-error approach, sampling the concoction as it brews. You willalso want to keep an open mind about the possibility of adding newingredients in the latter stages of the process.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Many artists want "to aim for the biggest, most obvious target, and hit it smack in thebull's eye," says Brian Eno, a Taurus genius renowned for his innovative music. Heprefers a different approach. He'd rather "shoot his arrow" wherever his creative spiritfeels called to shoot it, then paint the target around the place where it lands. That'swhy his compositions don't resemble anyone else's or fit into any traditional genre --it's Brian Eno-like music. Can I talk you into trying a similar strategy in the comingweeks and months, Taurus? I'd love to see you create a niche for yourself that's tai-lored to your specific talents and needs.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

When World War I ended in 1918, the victorious nations demanded crush-ing financial reparations from the loser, Germany. It took 92 years, but theremaining $94 million of the debt was finally paid last October. I hope thisstory serves as an inspiration to you, Gemini. If entities as notoriouslyinflexible as governments can resolve their moldering karma, so can you.In the next few weeks, I'd love to see you finally clean up any messes leftover from your old personal conflicts.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

I know how secretive you Cancerians can be because I'm one of yourtribe. Sometimes the secrecy is a bit neurotic, but more often it serves thepurpose of sheltering your vulnerable areas. I'm also aware of how impor-tant it is for you to be self-protective. No one is better than you at guard-ing your goodies, ensuring your safety, and taking care of your well-being. I would never shame you for expressing these talents and I wouldnever ask you to downplay them. Having said that, though, I want tomake sure that in the coming weeks they don't interfere with you gettingthe blessings you deserve. It's crucial that you allow yourself to be lovedto the hilt. You simply must let people in far enough so they can do that.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

With a fortune of $27 billion, business tycoon Larry Ellison is the sixth richestperson in the world. His monumental sense of self-importance is legendary.One of his colleagues says, "The difference between God and Larry is that Goddoes not believe he is Larry." Ellison seems to be what astrologers call anunevolved Leo -- an immature soul whose ego is a greedy, monstrous thing.Evolved Leos, on the other hand, are very different. Are you one? If so, you do alot of hard work on your ego. You make sure that in addition to it being strong,it's beautiful and elegant. It's not just forceful; it's warm and generous. It getsthings done, but in ways that bless those who come in contact with it.

Leo (July 23-August 22)

You've arrived at a phase in your cycle when you'll have the opportunity toscope out new competitors, inspirational rivals, and allies who challenge you togrow. Choose wisely! Keep in mind that you will be giving them a lot of powerto shape you; they will be conditioning your thoughts about yourself and aboutthe goals you regard as worthy of your passions. If you pick people of low char-acter or weak values, they'll bring you down. If you opt for hard workers withhigh ideals, they'll raise you up.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)

It's time for the Big Squeeze. All the contradictions in your life are coming upfor review. You will be asked to deal more forthrightly with enigmas you'vebeen avoiding, and you will be invited to try, try again to unravel riddles you'vebeen unable to solve. Does all that sound a bit daunting? It could be. But theend result should be evocative, highly educational, and maybe even exhilarat-ing. The scintillating play of opposites may caress you with such intensity thatyou'll experience what we could refer to as a metaphysical orgasm.

Libra (September 23-October 22)

In the coming weeks, I would love to see you get excited about manydifferent people, places, animals, and experiences. And I hope you willshower them with your smartest, most interesting blessings. Do youthink you can handle that big an outpouring of well-crafted passion?Are you up for the possibility that you might blow your cover, lose yourdignity, and show how much you care? In my opinion, the answer isyes. You are definitely ready to go further than ever before in plumb-ing the depths of your adoration for the privilege of being alive.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21)

Here's poet James Schuyler: "It's time again. Tear up the violets and plantsomething more difficult to grow." In my opinion, that's almost the rightadvice for you these days. I'd prefer it if you didn't actually rip out the violetsto make room for the harder-to-grow blooms. Would it be possible to find anew planting area that will allow you to keep what you already have in theoriginal planting area? One way or another, I think you really should giveyourself a challenging new assignment.

Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)

"Dear Dr. Brezsny: For five years my wife and I have been married but still havemade no children. We have consulted uncountable physicians with no satisfy-ing result. Please predict a happy outcome for our troubles. When will thestars align with her womb and my manhood? She: born December 31, 1983 inChakdaha, India. Me: born January 7, 1984 in Mathabhanga, India. - Desperatefor Babies." Dear Desperate: I'm happy to report that you Capricorns haveentered a highly fertile period. It's already going strong, and will culminatebetween May 16 to May 23. I suggest you jump on this sexy opportunity. Youcouldn't ask for a better time to germinate, burgeon, and multiply.

Capricorn (December 22-January 19)

Whatever you have been trying to say, it's time to say it stronger andclearer. You can no longer afford to hope people will read your mind orguess what you mean. Your communications must be impeccable andirresistible. A similar principle holds true for the connections and alliancesyou've been working to ripen. It's time to raise your intensity level -- to doeverything you can to activate their full potentials. Starting today, you'dbe crazy to tolerate shaky commitments, either from yourself or others.Be sharp and focused and unswerving, Pisces -- keen and candid and tothe point.

Pisces (February 19-March 20)

"Welcome home, beautiful!" I hope you hear those words or at least experi-ence those feelings very soon. In my astrological opinion, you need to inten-sify your sense of belonging to a special place or community. You've got togrow deeper roots or build a stronger foundation or surround yourself withmore nurturing -- or all of the above. And that's not all. As you bask and thrivein your enhanced support system, you also deserve to feel better appreciatedfor the wonderful qualities you're working so hard to develop in yourself. Askand you shall receive.

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)

COUNTRY CODES

W h a t ’s O n

Anniversary

Years


ICAI celebrates 5th anniversaryThe Kuwait Chapter of the Institute of CharteredAccountants of India (ICAI) is celebrating its 5th anniver-sary at 7pm tomorrow 30th April, at the Hotel HolidayInn Downtown. The 5th anniversary celebrations will befelicitated by Ajai Malhotra, Ambassador of India andinaugurated by G. Ramaswamy, President of theInstitute, in the presence of J.N. Shah, Vice-President ofICAI and other distinguished guests. Marking the occa-sion, the Chapter will be honoring members who havecompleted 25 years in the profession.

Thanima to present legend play Thanima (The Human and Nostalgic Interaction ofMalayalees Abroad) is presenting of yet anotherunique cultural event to the Kuwait cultural spectrumby enacting ballads of the epic Vadakkan Pattukal(Ballads of North Malabar) of medieval Kerala on stage.‘Oru Vadakkan Veerakatha’, drama scope mega budg-et full length visual entertainer becomes a reality inthe collective effort of Malayalee expatriate communi-ty in Kuwait spearheaded by Thanima. The play will bestaged at 4.30 pm and 8.30 pm on 20 May at Al-JeelAl-Jadeed School Auditorium at Hawally. The dramacombines both the legendary spirit of Vadakkan Pattuand the bravery of Kalaripayattu (martial art form ofKerala) and harmonizes with the technical excellenceof silver screen. In 18 sets it will be on stage designedby acclaimed Artist Sujathan. Entry will be restrictedthrough passes.

Al Taalib Scholarship 2011Al Taalib Scholarship is a financial aid scheme for theunder privileged school students in Kuwait, sponsoredby the Ministry of Awqaf in association with IslamPresentation Committee (IPC), Friday Forum andPakistan Kuwait Welfare Association. These scholar-ships were given to the needy students irrespective oftheir religion or nationality. The process of Al TaalibScholarship for the current academic year, 2011-12,has begun for all Indian and Pakistani Schools inKuwait. In order to avail this scholarship, applicantsare requested to collect the Application Form from AlTaalib Office located in CAMS, Ahmed Al Jaber Street,Darwaza, Near Warba Insurance Co., Int’l IslamicCharity Organization Building, 2nd Floor, Al Sharq. Theduly filled application form shall be submitted to AlTaalib office on or before 10th May 2011 along with allsupporting documents specified in the ApplicationForm.

ABCK golf tournament The American Business Council of Kuwait is hosting its10th annual Golf Tournament at the Sahara Golf Clubon Friday, May 13th, 2011. It will be a Texas 4-manscramble and your participation is encouraged.Registration begins at 7.00am and shotgun at 8.00am.Event includes breakfast, lunch and raffle prizes. Fordetails contact [email protected] May 10th.

NAFO to present Soorya’s ‘Sangamam’ National Forum Kuwait (NAFO Kuwait) is all set tobringing a spectacular, well conceptualized, a jewel incrown super cultural show ‘Sangamam’ for the artlovers of Kuwait, according to a press release. IndianAmbassador Ajai Malhotra will inaugurate the first ofits kind super show, scheduled for the evening ofFriday, May 13, 2011 (6.00 PM) at the AmericanInternational School Auditorium, Maidan-Hawalli.

Voice Kuwait 6th AnniversaryVoice Kuwait is celebrating its 6th anniversary“VISWAKALA 2011” on May 20th Friday from 4 pm to 9pm at Carmel School Khaitan. Voice Kuwait is givingaward to its member’s children who got highest markin last S.S.L.C. either from Kuwait or from Kerala. Thestudents who are eligible should give attested copy oftheir mark list to Area conveners or sent copy [email protected]

AnnouncementShaastrotsav - Festival of Science will

be held on Friday, May 6, 2011 in thecampus of Gulf University for Science

& Technology (GUST) Mishref, near KuwaitInternational Fair Grounds.

Shaastrotsav, which is a highly popularscience and technology event in Kuwait, isorganized by Kuwait chapter of NSSCollege of Engineering Palakkad Alumni,in association with Gulf University forScience & Technology (GUST).

15 schools and many technical andprofessional organizations includingIndian doctor’s forum, The institution ofengineers (India), Kuwait Engineers Forum& American Society of Safety Engineerswill be participating in the day longevents of Shaastrotsav. There will be sci-ence and technology exhibition, computeranimation contest, multimedia shows, filmshows on science & technology and med-ical & technical seminars. Kuwait OilCompany will be participating in the exhi-bition displaying various modern equip-ments including Rollover Simulator,Seatbelt Convincer etc. which are highlyuseful and informative for people from allwalks of life.

Shaastrotsav is designed to promote,encourage, showcase and reward theachievements of students in various fieldsof science and mathematics. As a part ofthis commitment Shaastrotsav will be pre-senting two child prodigies who willdemonstrate their amazing skills in mathe-matics and chemistry in front of audience.A panel of 4 doctors from Indian DoctorsForum will be conducting a seminar on‘Cancer - Everything You Want to Know’.

These specialists will interact and answerall questions related to cancer.

American Society of Safety Engineerswill make a presentation on OccupationalHealth, Safety and Environment. HSE spe-cialist will be available to answer ques-tions on the topic.

Technophilia - Robotic specialists fromIndia, who are well known in the field ofmodern Robotics will conduct a roboticdemonstration during the evening func-tion of Shaastrotsav. Technophilia is wellknown to robotic enthusiasts and theyconduct robotic workshops in IITs, NITsand other famous engineering institutes.Technophilia will be demonstrating vari-ous robots, Haptic Robotic Arm, I-TouchArm and many more interesting robotictechnologies.

The famous movie ‘First Orbit’ whichwas released worldwide on 12th April2011 to commemorate 50th anniversary of

Yuri Gagarin’s first space mission will beshown on big screen for the first time inKuwait. The film was watched by 2.3 mil-lion people worldwide within 48 hours ofits release. Watching First Orbit in bigscreen will be a treat and rare opportunityoffered by Shaastrotsav.

Science enthusiasts in Kuwait considerShaastrotsav - Festival of Science as a pre-mier science event for students, teachersand general public. Entry to Shaastrotsav,which will start at 10:30 AM on 6th May2011, is free to all . Visitwww.Shaastrotsav.org orwww.facebook.com/shaastrotsav or call66699504 / 99379966 / 99377238 /99778352 to know more about this sci-ence & technology extravaganza.

Shaastrotsav - Festival of Science

Exclusive talkfor teenage girls

MES Ladies Wing Kuwait is organizing a ‘Free’ Talk forTeenage Girls on ‘Life Skills and Personal Safety forAdolescents’ at Private Educational Center Salmiya

today 29, April 2011 from 5pm until 8pm. The program isdesigned exclusively for all girls falling in the age group of12 to 19 years. Mothers of the teenage girls are also wel-come to attend this program. Muna Al-Fuzai (a well-knowncolumnist of Kuwait Times newspaper) will be inauguratingthe program with a key note address.

Dr Susan Kuruvila (Leading Gynecologist at FarwaniyaHospital, Kuwait) and Simi Rajesh (renowned Counselor atJabriya Indian School, Kuwait) shall be the program leadersof the event. Interested participants may register at email:[email protected]

HappyChristening to our

daughter ShianaAliya Z. De Leon

Welcome to ChristianWorld! We love you.

From : daddy &mommy, ate CIA, lola

& lolo, ina & tatay,ninangs & ninongs,family and friends!!

Greetings Aware diwaniya presentation

The AWARE Center cordially invites you to its diwaniya pres-entation entitled, “Distinctions between culture and reli-gion,” by Iman Martin on Tuesday May 3rd, 2011. Scenario:

You have just arrived at the Kuwait Int’l Airport and notice thewide array of costumes all around. A local gentleman wearinghis traditional long white thobe and red and white checkeredheadgear and a group of women wearing the traditional long,black abaya, hijab and some with niqab or face veils. If onewere to ask the man why he chose to dress as he did, he’d likelyrespond “It is my culture and traditional dress that dictates myclothing choice”. Yet, if the same question were addressed tothe women, they might respond, “It is our religion which dic-tates the way we dress.” To better understand local practices ofboth culture and religion, please join us at AWARE. We wel-come your questions on the topic on May 3rd, 2011 at 7 pm. Formore information, call 25335260/80 or log onto:www.aware.com.kw or e-mail: [email protected]

Guided tour

AWARE Center announces Guided Tour & afternoon tea& sunset photo opportunity on the Balcony of theDickson House, Friday, May 6, 4:30pm-6:30pm. The

Dickson House Cultural Center, as it is now known, onceserved as the official residence for a series of British PoliticalAgents to Kuwait, with the most famous, Colonel HaroldDickson, who came to Kuwait in 1929 with his wife, Violetand two young children. The house was the scene of momen-tous occasions in Kuwait’s history and provided accommoda-tion to a multitude of fascinating characters including royalty,statesmen, writers, oil prospectors, rebel leaders and explor-ers. Reservations required. Contact us on Tel: 2-5335280 - Fax :2-5335230E-mail: [email protected] Working Hours: Sunday toThursday 9am - 1 pm and 5 pm - 9 pm

W h a t ’s O n

Anniversary

Years


EmbassyInformation

EMBASSY OF ARGENTINAIn order to inform that 23rd of October 2011,will be Argentine national election where allArgentinean citizen residents permanently inKuwait can vote only if they are registered at theElectoral Register of the Argentine Embassy. The pro-cedure of inscription is for free and will be end on 25 ofApril 2011. To register it is necessary that Argentineancitizens should come personally at the ArgentineanEmbassy (Block 6, street 42, villa 57, Mishref) and pres-ent the DNI and four personal photos (size 4x4, faceshould be front on white background). For furtherinformation, contact us on 25379211.

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EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIAThe Embassy encourages all Australians to reg-ister their presence in Kuwait throughSmartraveller Online (see link below).Australians who are registered are asked toupdate their details. The information provided willassist us in contacting you in an emergency.www.smartraveller.gov.au Kuwait citizens can applyfor and receive visit visas to Australia online atwww.immi.gov.au. This usually takes two workingdays. All others visa applications are handled by theAustralian Visa Application Centre Tel. 22971110.Witnessing and certifying documents are by appoint-ment only, please contact the Embassy on 2232 2422.The Australian Embassy is open from 8.00am to4.00pm, Sunday to Thursday.

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EMBASSY OF BRITAIN The British Embassy will be closed on

Monday, 2 May 2011 for training. The Embassywill reopen on Tuesday, 3 May 2011.

Visa and Consular ServicesThe Visa application Centre will open on the date

above. Application forms remain available online fromthe Visa Application Centre’s website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com. And also, from the UK Visa Application Centrelocated at:

4B, First Floor, Al Banwan BuildingBurgan Bank Branch Office Building Al Qibla area,

opposite Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait CityFor further inquiries, please contact the Visa

Application Centre:Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.comE-mail: [email protected]: 22971170The Consular Section of the British Embassy will be

closed on that date.The Consular Section working hours are: 0830 -

1030 Sunday - Thursday.For information on the British Embassy services, vis-

it the British Embassy website:www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk

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EMBASSY OF INDIA SOUTH AFRICAOn the occasion of the Workers’ Day, the SouthAfrican Embassy will be closed on Sunday, 1May 2011. The embassy will resume its normalworking hours on Monday, 2 May 2011, fromSunday to Thursday. Please note that the workinghours will be from 8h00 to 16h00 & the ConsularSection operation hours will from 8h30 to 12h30.

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EMBASSY OF SLOVAK REPUBLICThe Embassy of the Slovak Republic in

Kuwait would like to inform the public that onthe occasion of the International Workers’ Dayand Liberation Day of the Slovak Republic, theEmbassy of the Slovak Republic will be closed on May01 and May 08, 2011 respectively.

Kathakali performers from India Kalamandalam Sreekantan Nair, Kalamandalam Sreekumar and Sasikala SVellodi pose with Kalamandalam E Vasudevan and Arpan office-bearers on their arrival at the KuwaitInternational Airport yesterday. The artistes are here to present Arpan’s ‘Kathakali 2011’ at the IndianCommunity School (Senior Girls) auditorium, Salmiya tomorrow (April 30, 2011) evening.

Stage set for‘Kathakali 2011’

The stage is set for the spectacular ‘Kathakali 2011,’ aunique cultural show to be presented by Arpan Kuwaittomorrow, April 30 at 6.00 pm at the Indian

Community School (Senior Girls), Salmiya. All the performersof the show ‘Kalyanasougandhikam’, have arrived in Kuwaitand the organizers are engaged in last-minute preparationsto make the show a memorable one.

Arpan will honor Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra on theoccasion who will be chief guest of the event.

‘Kalyanasougandhikam’, an exotic dance drama, will bepresented by renowned Kathakali performers from IndiaKalamandalam E Vasudevan Nair, Kalamandalam Sreekantan,Kalamandalam Sreekumar and Sasikala S Vellodi. A 30-minute demo will also be held by the performers prior to theshow for the guests who are not familiar with the art formKathakali.

Arpan is presenting Kathakali, Kerala’s classical theatre, aspart of its cross-cultural initiative before an august gatheringcomprising diplomats, Kuwaiti guests, dancers and theatrelovers. For details, contact: 99716105, 97277151, 66872372or 94063428.

ICAI KUWAIT CHAPTER

5th Anniversary of the Kuwait Chapter of theInstitute of Chartered Accountants of India will be cel-ebrated tomorrow, 30th April 2011 at 7:00 pm at theHoliday Inn Downtown. The president and vice-presi-dent of the Institute and the Ambassador of India willattend. All members and their spouses are invited.

The yearly event “Balakalamela” conducted by Kerala ArtLovers Association (Kala-Kuwait) for the students of allIndian Schools in Kuwait for attaining the Benji Benson

EverRolling Trophy has been scheduled for May13th, Friday atCarmel School, Khaithan as informed by the Central Committee ofKala. The items that are included for the competition areBharthnatyam, Mohiniyattam, Oppana, MargamKali, Folk Dance,Group Dance, Fancy Dress, Mappilapaattu, Monoact, Light Music(Malayalam, Hindi), Group Song (Malayalam, Hindi), Classical Song,Poetry Recitation (English, Hindi, Malayalam), Elocution(Malayalam, English), Essay Writing (English, Malayalam), StoryWriting (English, Malayalam), Poetry Writing (English, Malayalam)and Drawing.Participants are categorized as shown below:L.K.G & U.K.G( Kindergarten) Standard1 - Standard 4 (Sub Juniors)Standard 5 - Standard 8 (Juniors)Standard 9 - Standard 12 (Seniors)Registrations can be done via the respective schools or throughKala Centre. Registration forms can also be downloaded from theofficial website of Kala, www.kalaonweb.com and the filled formsshould be mailed to the email [email protected]. For the success of the program areception committee was formed in which K.vinod was selectedas General Convenor . Members who are in charge of various SubCommittees are as follows:- Sunil (Program), Bineesh.K.Babu(Registration), Binu Rani Albert(Reception), Sunny Saijesh (Stage),C.Krishnan (Food), Skaria John (Volunteer), K.Chandran (Publicityand Souvenir) and R.Ramesh (Finance) . For more details regard-ing the program contact 24317875 (Kala Centre), 66180229,97817100 or 66656642

Balakalamelaon MAY 13

T V L i s t i n g sFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

00:45 Untamed And Uncut01:40 Dogs 10102:35 Venom Hunter With DonaldSchultz03:30 Pit Bulls And Parolees04:25 Crime Scene Wild05:20 The Most Extreme06:10 Extraordinary Dogs06:35 Cats Of Claw Hill07:00 Meerkat Manor07:25 The Really Wild Show07:50 Panda Adventures With NigelMarven08:40 Breed All About It09:10 Dogs 10110:05 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip11:00 Animal Precinct11:55 Wildlife SOS12:20 Wildlife SOS12:50 Animal Cops Houston13:45 RSPCA: Have You Got What ItTakes?14:10 E-Vets: The Interns14:40 The Most Extreme15:30 Animal Battlegrounds16:00 The Really Wild Show16:30 Growing Up...: Polar Bear Orphan18:20 Venom Hunter With DonaldSchultz19:15 Michaela’s Animal Road Trip20:10 Dogs 10121:05 Austin Stevens Adventures22:00 Sharkman22:55 Seven Deadly Strikes23:50 The Most Extreme

00:25 The Weakest Link01:10 Casualty02:00 Doctor Who02:45 Doctor Who Confidential03:00 Eastenders03:30 Doctors04:00 My Family04:30 Me Too04:50 Tweenies05:10 Teletubbies05:35 Charlie And Lola05:45 Me Too06:05 Tweenies06:25 Teletubbies06:50 Charlie And Lola07:05 Me Too07:25 Tweenies07:45 Teletubbies08:10 Charlie And Lola08:20 Me Too08:40 Tweenies09:00 Teletubbies09:25 Charlie And Lola AN EDUCATION ON OSN CINEMA

00:15 Kendra00:40 Fashion Police01:05 Extreme Close-Up01:30 25 Celebrity Near DeathExperiences03:15 25 Most Stylish04:10 Sexiest05:05 Extreme Hollywood06:00 THS07:45 Behind the Scenes08:10 Behind the Scenes08:35 E! News09:25 Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane10:15 THS12:00 E! News12:50 Giuliana & Bill13:15 Fashion Police13:40 Keeping Up with the Kardashians14:30 THS15:25 THS16:15 Behind the Scenes16:40 Behind the Scenes17:10 Kourtney and Kim Take New York17:35 Kourtney and Kim Take New York18:00 E! News18:50 Married To Rock19:15 Married To Rock19:40 THS20:30 The Soup20:55 Chelsea Lately21:20 Kendra21:45 Kendra22:10 E! News23:00 Chelsea Lately23:25 Fashion Police23:50 Kourtney and Kim Take New York

00:30 Ghost Lab01:20 A Haunting02:10 On The Case With Paula Zahn03:00 True Crime Scene03:50 Dr G: Medical Examiner04:45 Crime Scene Psychics05:15 Ghost Lab06:10 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries07:00 Forensic Detectives07:50 Hot Art08:40 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries09:30 Real Emergency Calls09:55 Real Emergency Calls10:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn11:10 FBI Files12:00 Murder Shift12:50 The Prosecutors13:40 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries14:30 Real Emergency Calls14:55 Real Emergency Calls15:20 On The Case With Paula Zahn16:10 Forensic Detectives17:00 Hot Art17:50 FBI Files18:40 Life Or Death: Medical Mysteries19:30 Real Emergency Calls19:55 Real Emergency Calls20:20 Murder Shift21:10 The Prosecutors22:00 FBI Case Files22:50 Undercover23:40 Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:15 Great British Menu01:10 Antiques Roadshow02:45 Eating With The Enemy03:30 Cooked04:00 Chuck’s Day Off04:25 How Not To Decorate05:10 Daily Cooks Challenge05:40 Antiques Roadshow06:30 Fantasy Homes By The Sea07:15 What Not To Wear07:50 Daily Cooks Challenge08:20 Daily Cooks Challenge08:50 Glamour Puds09:15 What Not To Wear10:05 Fantasy Homes By The Sea10:50 What Not To Wear11:40 Antiques Roadshow12:35 Fantasy Homes By The Sea13:20 Holmes On Homes14:05 Holmes On Homes14:50 Cash In The Attic USA15:55 Eating With The Enemy16:40 Cooked17:10 Chuck’s Day Off17:35 How Not To Decorate18:20 Eating With The Enemy19:10 Cooked19:40 Chuck’s Day Off20:05 How Not To Decorate20:55 Great British Menu23:00 Holmes On Homes

00:40 Dirty Jobs01:35 Destroyed In Seconds02:30 Ultimate Survival03:25 Man Made Marvels China04:20 Mythbusters

00:30 The Gadget Show00:55 Under New York01:45 The Future Of...02:35 Human Body: Ultimate Machine03:25 How Stuff’s Made03:50 Ldrs (Large Dangerous RocketShips)04:45 Brainiac05:40 One Step Beyond06:10 Eco-Tech07:00 Catch It Keep It07:55 Head Rush

00:00 Kim Possible00:25 Fairly Odd Parents00:50 Fairly Odd Parents01:15 Stitch01:35 Stitch02:00 Replacements02:25 Replacements02:50 Fairly Odd Parents03:15 Fairly Odd Parents03:35 Stitch04:00 Stitch04:25 Replacements

00:00 Business Edition With TanyaBeckett00:30 Business Edition With TanyaBeckett00:45 Sport Today01:00 BBC World News01:30 Asia Business Report01:45 Asia Today02:00 BBC World News America03:00 BBC World News03:30 Asia Business Report03:45 Asia Today04:00 BBC World News04:30 Asia Business Report04:45 Asia Today05:00 BBC World News05:30 Asia Business Report05:45 Asia Today06:00 BBC World News06:30 Peschardt’s Business People07:00 BBC World News07:30 World Business Report07:45 BBC World News08:00 BBC World News08:30 World Business Report08:45 BBC World News09:00 BBC World News09:30 World Business Report09:45 Sport Today10:00 BBC World News

05:15 How It’s Made05:40 How Stuff’s Made06:05 Dirty Jobs07:00 Man Made Marvels China07:50 American Chopper08:45 How Stuff’s Made09:10 How It’s Made09:40 Mythbusters10:55 Border Security11:25 Street Customs 200812:20 Ultimate Survival13:15 Mythbusters14:10 La Ink15:05 Dirty Jobs16:00 Street Customs 200816:55 Mythbusters17:50 Extreme Fishing18:45 Cake Boss19:10 Border Security19:40 Industrial Junkie20:05 How Stuff’s Made20:35 How It’s Made21:00 Weaponizers21:55 American Chopper: Senior vsJunior22:50 Powering The Future23:45 Black Gold

07:58 Sci-Fi Science08:25 Weird Connections08:55 Sci-Fi Saved My Life09:45 The Gadget Show10:10 The Gadget Show10:35 Human Body: Ultimate Machine11:25 Mean Green Machines11:50 Catch It Keep It12:40 One Step Beyond13:05 Weird Or What?13:55 Science Of The Movies14:45 Under New York15:35 The Gadget Show16:00 Head Rush16:03 Sci-Fi Science16:30 Weird Connections17:00 Brainiac17:50 Cosmic Collisions18:40 Ultimate Power Builders19:30 Bad Universe20:20 Sci-Fi Science20:45 How Does That Work?21:10 The Gadget Show21:35 The Gadget Show22:00 Ultimate Power Builders22:50 Bad Universe23:40 Colony

04:50 Replacements05:15 Emperors New School06:00 Phineas And Ferb06:20 Phineas And Ferb06:45 Kim Possible07:05 Sonny With A Chance07:30 Jonas La07:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place08:20 Fairly Odd Parents08:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse09:00 Handy Manny09:25 Special Agent Oso09:50 Jungle Junction10:10 Imagination Movers10:35 Phineas And Ferb10:50 Suite Life On Deck11:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place11:35 Good Luck Charlie12:00 Shake It Up12:25 Fairly Odd Parents12:45 Phineas And Ferb13:10 Hannah Montana13:30 Sonny With A Chance13:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place14:45 Have A Laugh14:55 Good Luck Charlie15:20 Good Luck Charlie15:40 Hannah Montana Forever16:25 Shake It Up16:45 Fish Hooks17:10 Sonny With A Chance17:35 Sonny With A Chance18:00 Good Luck Charlie18:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place18:45 The Princess Diaries20:25 Shake It Up20:50 Fish Hooks21:15 Phineas And Ferb21:35 Fairly Odd Parents22:00 Replacements22:25 Hannah Montana22:50 Sonny With A Chance23:15 Wizards Of Waverly Place23:35 Jonas

10:30 World Business Report10:45 Sport Today11:00 BBC World News11:30 Peschardt’s Business People12:00 BBC World News12:30 World Business Report12:45 Sport Today13:00 BBC World News13:30 World Business Report13:45 Sport Today14:00 GMT With George Alagiah14:30 GMT With George Alagiah15:00 BBC World News15:30 World Business Report15:45 Sport Today16:00 Impact16:30 Our World17:00 Impact17:30 World Business Report17:45 Sport Today18:00 World Have Your Say18:30 World Have Your Say19:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing19:30 BBC World News19:40 Weekend World20:00 The Hub With Nik Gowing20:30 World Business Report20:45 Sport Today21:00 World News Today With ZeinabBadawi21:30 BBC World News21:40 Weekend World22:00 BBC World News22:30 Middle East Business Report23:00 BBC World News23:30 Peschardt’s Business People

00:05 Cow And Chicken00:30 Cramp Twins00:55 George Of The Jungle01:20 Adrenalini Brothers01:45 Eliot Kid02:10 Ed, Edd N Eddy02:35 Ben 10: Alien Force03:00 The Powerpuff Girls03:15 Chowder03:40 The Secret Saturdays04:05 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey04:30 Ben 10: Alien Force04:55 Best Ed05:20 Skunk Fu!05:45 Cramp Twins06:10 Eliot Kid06:35 The Marvelous Misadventures OfFlapjack07:00 Codename: Kids Next Door07:25 Cow And Chicken07:50 Best Ed08:15 Foster’s Home For ImaginaryFriends08:40 Ben 10: Alien Force09:05 The Secret Saturdays09:30 Batman: The Brave And The Bold09:55 The Powerpuff Girls10:20 Robotboy10:30 Hero 10810:55 Ben 1011:20 Chowder11:45 The Marvelous Misadventures OfFlapjack12:10 Camp Lazlo12:35 George Of The Jungle13:00 Foster’s Home For ImaginaryFriends13:25 Codename: Kids Next Door13:50 Ben 1014:15 My Gym Partner’s A Monkey14:40 Squirrel Boy15:05 Cartoon Network Dance Club15:15 Eliot Kid15:35 Ed, Edd N Eddy16:00 Cow And Chicken16:25 Chop Socky Chooks16:50 Skunk Fu!17:15 Chowder17:40 Best Ed18:05 Hero 10818:30 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien18:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien19:20 Adventure Time19:45 Cow And Chicken20:10 The Marvelous Misadventures OfFlapjack20:35 Courage The Cowardly Dog21:00 The Powerpuff Girls21:25 Ed, Edd N Eddy21:50 Robotboy22:00 Camp Lazlo22:25 Hero 10822:50 Ben 1023:15 Bakugan Battle Brawlers23:40 Chowder

T V L i s t i n g sFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

PREDATOR ON OSN ACTION

01:00 Surfer Dude-PG1503:00 An Education-PG1505:00 Old Dogs-PG07:00 Rugrats Go Wild-FAM09:00 Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs-FAM11:00 Old Dogs-PG13:00 Phoebe In Wonderland-PG15:00 Whip It-PG1517:00 The Informant!-PG1519:00 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice-PG1521:00 Crazy Heart-PG1523:00 Ninja Assassin-18

00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart01:00 The Colbert Report01:30 Family Guy02:00 The Ricky Gervais Show02:30 Entourage03:00 Just Shoot Me03:30 30 Rock04:00 Family Guy04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno05:30 How I Met Your Mother06:00 Yes Dear06:30 The Drew Carey Show07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon08:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne08:30 Dharma And Greg09:00 Just Shoot Me09:30 How I Met Your Mother10:00 Yes Dear10:30 The New Adventures Of OldChristine11:00 The Drew Carey Show11:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno12:30 Dharma And Greg13:00 Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne13:30 How I Met Your Mother14:00 Yes Dear14:30 Community15:00 The New Adventures Of OldChristine15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart16:00 The Colbert Report16:30 The Drew Carey Show17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon18:00 Friends18:30 8 Simple Rules ...19:00 Outsourced19:30 Parks And Recreation20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart21:30 The Colbert Report22:00 Funny Or Die Presents22:30 Bored To Death23:00 Family Guy23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

00:00 WWE NXT01:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter02:00 UFC 129 Countdown03:00 WWE NXT04:00 V8 Supercars Championship05:00 V8 Supercars Championship06:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter07:00 WWE NXT08:00 Full Throttle08:30 V8 Supercars Championship09:30 V8 Supercars Championship10:30 WWE NXT11:30 UAE National Race Day Series12:30 Live NRL Premiership14:30 Full Throttle15:00 WWE NXT16:00 V8 Supercars Championship17:00 UFC 129 Countdown18:00 UFC The Ultimate Fighter19:00 WWE NXT19:45 WWE SmackDown21:45 Live European Challenge Cup

01:15 The Taking Of Pelham One TwoThree (1974)-PG1503:00 The Damned United-PG1505:00 Mrs Brown-PG1507:00 Bran Nue Dae-PG1509:00 Cutting Edge 3-PG1511:00 Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea-FAM13:00 Michael Jackson’s This Is It-PG15:00 Cutting Edge: Fire And Ice-PG16:30 The Express-PG19:00 Chocolat-PG1521:00 Titanic-PG15

00:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show01:00 American Idol03:00 The Cape04:00 The Gates05:00 Good Morning America07:00 Commander In Chief08:00 Emmerdale08:30 Look-A-Like09:00 The Martha Stewart Show10:00 The View11:00 The Gates12:00 American Idol14:00 Live Good Morning America16:00 Commander In Chief17:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show18:00 Downsize Me19:00 No Ordinary Family20:00 American Idol21:00 Survivor: Redemption Island22:00 Lie To Me23:00 Commander In Chief

00:15 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo00:40 The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop01:05 Pink Panther And Pals01:30 The Garfield Show01:55 Tom And Jerry02:20 King Arthur’s Disasters02:45 Popeye Classics03:00 The Scooby Doo Show03:25 Tom And Jerry Kids03:50 Looney Tunes04:10 The Flintstones04:35 Dastardly And Muttley05:00 Hong Kong Phooey05:35 Droopy: Master Detective06:00 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo06:25 Tom And Jerry Kids07:00 Looney Tunes07:25 The Flintstones07:50 Duck Dodgers08:15 Scooby Doo Where Are You!08:40 The Addams Family09:05 Pink Panther And Pals09:30 The Garfield Show09:55 Tom And Jerry10:20 Dastardly And Muttley10:45 The Scooby Doo Show11:10 Wacky Races11:35 The Jetsons12:00 Popeye Classics12:20 Looney Tunes12:50 Top Cat13:15 Droopy: Master Detective13:40 Hong Kong Phooey14:05 Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo14:30 King Arthur’s Disasters14:55 Tom And Jerry15:20 Dastardly And Muttley15:45 The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop16:10 Scooby Doo Where Are You!16:35 Pink Panther And Pals17:00 Duck Dodgers17:25 Popeye17:50 Scooby-Doo And Scrappy-Doo18:15 Looney Tunes18:40 Pink Panther And Pals19:00 The Garfield Show19:25 The Addams Family20:00 Johnny Bravo20:30 The Scooby Doo Show20:55 Tom And Jerry21:20 Wacky Races21:45 Dastardly And Muttley22:10 The Scooby Doo Show22:35 Top Cat23:00 Popeye23:25 The Jetsons23:50 Duck Dodgers

00:00 Backstory00:30 World Sport01:00 World Report03:00 World Business Today04:00 Piers Morgan Tonight05:00 Anderson Cooper 36006:00 World Sport06:30 Edit Room07:00 World Report07:30 Backstory08:00 World Report10:00 World Sport10:30 The Best Of Backstory11:00 World Business Today11:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East12:00 World One13:00 World Sport

00:15 Echelon Conspiracy-PG1502:00 Blue Crush-PG1504:00 Saw VI-R06:00 S.W.A.T.-PG1508:00 Con Air-PG1510:00 The Order-PG1512:00 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-PG1514:00 Con Air-PG1516:00 The Fan-PG1518:00 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-PG1520:00 Death Warrant-PG1522:00 Lake Placid 3-PG15

00:00 Parenthood01:00 American Idol03:00 The Gates04:00 The Cape05:00 Parenthood06:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show

01:15 The Tripper-1803:15 Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans-1805:00 Outpost-1806:30 Armageddon-PG1509:00 The Marine 2-PG1511:00 Collateral-1813:00 Beyond A Reasonable Doubt-PG1515:00 The Marine 2-PG1517:00 Predator-PG1519:00 Predator 2-1821:00 The Cottage-1823:00 Lake Placid 3-PG15

00:00 Mr. Magoo-PG02:00 Ira And Abby-PG1504:00 Maneater: Part I-PG1506:00 Maneater: Part II-PG1508:00 Blank Check-FAM10:00 Legally Blondes-PG12:00 The Tale Of Despereaux-PG14:00 Evolution-PG1516:00 Mr. Magoo-PG18:00 Everybody Wants To Be Italian-PG1520:00 Say It Isn’t So-1822:00 Observe And Report-18

01:00 Finding Forrester-PG03:30 17 Again-PG1505:15 The Wedding Singer-PG1507:00 Swing Vote-PG1509:00 The Princess And The Frog-FAM10:45 Shorts-PG12:15 Avatar-PG15:00 Head Of State-PG1517:00 The Princess And The Frog-FAM18:45 You Don’t Know Jack-PG1521:00 Tooth Fairy-PG23:00 My Best Friend’s Girl-18

00:00 The Archies In Jugman-PG1502:00 The Adventures Of Rocky AndBullwinkle-FAM04:00 Inspector Gadget’s Last Case:Claw’s...-FAM06:00 Fantasia-FAM08:15 Pinocchio-FAM10:00 Dennis The Menace: CruiseControl-FAM12:00 The Adventures Of Rocky AndBullwinkle-FAM14:00 Fantasia-FAM16:15 Pinocchio-FAM18:00 Gold Diggers: The Secret Of BearMountain-PG15

00:00 The Dry Land-PG1502:00 One Hot Summer-PG1504:00 Che Part Two: Guerilla-PG1506:15 The Building-PG1508:00 Dean Spanley-PG10:00 Max And Co.-PG11:30 The Blind Side-PG1514:00 Valentine’s Day-PG1516:00 Dean Spanley-PG18:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks: TheSqueakquel-FAM20:00 Tooth Fairy-PG22:00 New York I Love You-18

01:00 Total Rugby01:30 Golfing World02:30 PGA European Tour06:00 Trans World Sport07:00 Live AFL Premiership10:00 Total Rugby10:30 Live Super 1512:30 ICC Cricket World13:00 Trans World Sport14:00 AFL Premiership16:30 ICC Cricket World17:00 Live The All Sport Show18:00 Premier League Darts21:30 Futbol Mundial22:00 Live Super League

01:00 RFL Championship03:00 Premier League Darts07:00 Golfing World08:00 Live PGA European Tour11:00 NRL Full Time11:30 Live NRL Premiership13:30 Total Rugby14:00 Super 15

01:20 The Ambulance02:55 Foxy Brown04:25 Eureka06:30 Dead On Sight08:05 Dominick And Eugene-PG09:55 The Blue Lightning-PG11:30 Comes A Horseman-PG13:25 White Lightning-PG15:05 Chance Of A Lifetime-PG16:40 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers18:35 Across 110th Street-PG20:15 Garbo Talks-PG22:00 Save Me23:30 One Special Victory-PG

13:30 The Best Of Backstory14:00 Piers Morgan Tonight15:00 News Stream16:00 World Business Today17:00 International Desk18:00 The Brief18:30 World Sport19:00 World Report19:45 CNN Marketplace Middle East20:00 International Desk20:30 Talk Asia21:00 Quest Means Business21:45 CNN Marketplace Africa22:00 Piers Morgan Tonight23:00 Connect The World

00:30 Life After People01:20 UFO Files02:10 Man Moment Machine03:00 Ax Men03:55 Tunnellers04:50 Pawn Stars 05:40 Ancient Discoveries06:30 Life After People07:20 UFO Files08:10 Man Moment Machine09:00 Ax Men09:55 Tunnellers10:50 Pawn Stars 11:40 Ancient Discoveries12:30 Life After People13:20 UFO Files14:10 Man Moment Machine15:00 Ax Men15:55 Tunnellers16:50 Pawn Stars 17:40 Ancient Discoveries18:30 Life After People19:20 UFO Files20:10 Man Moment Machine21:00 The Universe21:55 Beyond The Moon: Failure Not AnOption23:40 Ship Ablaze: The General SlocumDisaster

20:00 Scooby-Doo And The ReluctantWerewolf-FAM22:00 Casper Haunted Christmas-FAM

16:00 Futbol Mundial16:30 Live Snooker World Championship20:30 ICC Cricket World21:00 Live Snooker World Championship

00:00 Jerseylicious01:00 Fashion Avenue01:30 Fashion Avenue01:55 Big Boutique02:25 How Do I Look?03:20 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?04:15 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?05:10 Homes With Style05:35 Area06:05 Clean House07:00 Big Boutique07:30 Big Boutique08:00 Homes With Style08:30 Homes With Style09:00 Fashion Avenue09:25 Fashion Avenue09:55 How Do I Look?10:50 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?11:50 Clean House: Search For TheMessiest...12:50 Clean House13:45 Clean House Comes Clean14:15 Mel B: It’s A Scary World14:45 Jerseylicious15:40 Ruby16:35 Giuliana And Bill17:00 Giuliana And Bill17:30 Top 1017:55 Top 1018:25 Glamour’s 20 Wedding Do’s AndDon’ts19:25 Big Boutique19:50 Fashion Avenue20:20 Clean House Comes Clean20:45 Clean House Comes Clean21:15 Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?22:10 Bridalplasty23:05 How Do I Look?

07:00 8 Simple Rules ...07:30 My Boys08:00 Smallville09:00 Parenthood10:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show11:00 8 Simple Rules ...11:30 My Boys12:00 American Idol14:00 Smallville15:00 Parenthood16:00 8 Simple Rules ...16:30 My Boys17:00 The Ellen Degeneres Show18:00 Friday Night Lights19:00 No Ordinary Family20:00 American Idol21:00 Survivor: Redemption Island22:00 Royal Pains

F l i g h t S c h e d u l eFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

Arrival Flights on Friday 29/4/2011Airlines Flt Route TimeKAC 544 CAIRO 0:30JZR 267 BEIRUT 0:35THY 772 ISTANBUL 1:15TAR 327 TUNIS / DUBAI 1:30ETH 620 ADDIS ABABA 1:45UAE 85 DUBAI 2:25DHX 370 BAHRAIN 2:55ETD 305 ABU DHABI 2:55FDB 67 DUBAI 3:10GFA 211 BAHRAIN 3:15QTR 138 DOHA 3:20JZR 503 LUXOR 5:15JZR 223 ALEPPO 5:20JZR 555 ALEXANDRIA 6:10BAW 157 LONDON 6:30KAC 416 JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR 6:35KAC 206 ISTANBUL 7:15KAC 302 MUMBAI 7:50KAC 332 TRIVANDRUM 7:55FDB 53 DUBAI 7:55KAC 678 MUSCAT / DUBAI 8:00KAC 352 COCHIN 8:05KAC 284 DHAKA 8:10KAC 362 COLOMBO 8:20UAE 855 DUBAI 8:25QTR 132 DOHA 9:00ABY 125 SHARJAH 9:10IRA 619 LAR 9:20ETD 301 ABU DHABI 9:30GFA 213 BAHRAIN 9:35MEA 404 BEIRUT 10:55JZR 165 DUBAI 11:10JZR 121 BAHRAIN 11:15IYE 825 SANAA 12:05MSR 623 SOHAG 12:10RBG 3553 ALEXANDRIA / SOHAG 12:55KAC 618 DOHA 12:55KAC 672 DUBAI 13:15MSR 610 CAIRO 13:20UAL 982 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 13:30RJA 640 AMMAN 13:35FDB 57 DUBAI 13:50OMA 645 MUSCAT 14:00KAC 546 ALEXANDRIA 14:30KAC 552 DAMASCUS 14:35KAC 788 JEDDAH 15:00JZR 257 BEIRUT 15:10QTR 134 DOHA 15:15JZR 201 DAMASCUS 15:45MLR 403 COLOMBO / DUBAI 16:40ETD 303 ABU DHABI 16:50UAE 857 DUBAI 16:55GFA 215 BAHRAIN 17:15SVA 510 RIYADH 17:20JZR 239 AMMAN 17:35ABY 127 SHARJAH 17:40ALK 227 COLOMBO / DUBAI 18:00JZR 177 DUBAI 18:00KAC 166 PARIS / ROME 18:40

KAC 502 BEIRUT 18:45KAC 542 CAIRO 18:50KAC 102 NEW YORK / LONDON 19:25KAC 674 DUBAI 19:25KAC 774 RIYADH 19:25AIC 975 CHENNAI / GOA 19:30JAI 572 MUMBAI 19:35KAC 562 AMMAN 19:50JZR 787 RIYADH 20:00FDB 61 DUBAI 20:00OMA 647 MUSCAT 20:10VOS 81 BAGHDAD 20:15MEA 402 BEIRUT 20:15KAC 786 JEDDAH 20:20SVA 506 JEDDAH 20:35KAC 744 DAMMAM / BAHRAIN 20:55DHX 372 BAHRAIN 21:00GFA 217 BAHRAIN 21:25FCX 304 RIYADH 21:30QTR 136 DOHA 21:35UAL 981 BAHRAIN 22:00UAE 859 DUBAI 22:00JZR 135 BAHRAIN 22:10JZR 185 DUBAI 22:35MSR 612 CAIRO 22:50DLH 636 FRANKFURT 23:00SAI 441 LAHORE / KARACHI 23:05KLM 447 AMSTERDAM / BAHRAIN 23:35JZR 481 SABIHA 23:50

Departure Flights on Friday 29/4/2011Airlines Flt Route TimeAXB 390 MANGALORE / KOZHIKODE 0:25DLH 637 FRANKFURT 0:40BBC 44 DHAKA 1:00AIC 982 AHMEDABAD / CHENNAI 1:05PIA 206 LAHORE 1:10THY 773 ISTANBUL 2:15TAR 327 TUNIS 2:20ETH 620 BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA 2:30UAE 854 DUBAI 3:45FDB 68 DUBAI 3:50DHX 371 BAHRAIN 3:55ETD 306 ABU DHABI 4:05QTR 139 DOHA 5:00JZR 164 DUBAI 6:55GFA 212 BAHRAIN 7:10KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 7:40VOS 94 DUBAI / KANDAHAR 8:00JZR 120 BAHRAIN 8:20BAW 156 LONDON 8:25FDB 54 DUBAI 8:40KAC 177 FRANKFURT / GENEVA 8:55KAC 671 DUBAI 9:00KAC 551 DAMASCUS 9:10JZR 256 BEIRUT 9:10KAC 787 JEDDAH 9:25KAC 617 DOHA 9:35UAE 856 DUBAI 9:40ABY 126 SHARJAH 9:50

QTR 133 DOHA 10:00KAC 117 NEW YORK 10:00ETD 302 ABU DHABI 10:15GFA 214 BAHRAIN 10:20IRA 618 LAR 10:20JZR 200 DAMASCUS 10:20MEA 405 BEIRUT 11:55KAC 541 CAIRO 12:00JZR 238 AMMAN 12:10KAC 103 LONDON 12:30KAC 501 BEIRUT 13:00IYE 825 DOHA / SANAA 13:05MSR 624 SOHAG 13:10RBG 3554 ALEXANDRIA 13:35JZR 176 DUBAI 13:40MSR 611 CAIRO 14:20RJA 641 AMMAN 14:30FDB 58 DUBAI 14:35UAL 982 BAHRAIN 14:45KAC 561 AMMAN 14:45OMA 646 MUSCAT 15:00KAC 785 JEDDAH 15:05KAC 673 DUBAI 15:10JZR 480 SABIHA 16:00KAC 773 RIYADH 16:05QTR 135 DOHA 16:15KAC 743 DAMMAM / BAHRAIN 16:25JZR 786 RIYADH 16:35ETD 304 ABU DHABI 17:35MLR 404 DUBAI / COLOMBO 17:40UAE 858 DUBAI 18:05GFA 216 BAHRAIN 18:15ABY 128 SHARJAH 18:20JZR 184 DUBAI 18:25SVA 511 RIYADH 18:35JZR 134 BAHRAIN 19:10ALK 228 DUBAI / COLOMBO 19:10KAC 283 DHAKA 20:00KAC 361 COLOMBO 20:20JAI 571 MUMBAI 20:35FDB 62 DUBAI 20:40JZR 528 ASSIUT 20:50KAC 343 CHENNAI 21:00KAC 351 COCHIN 21:05OMA 648 MUSCAT 21:10MEA 403 BEIRUT 21:15SVA 507 JEDDAH 21:55DHX 373 BAHRAIN 22:00GFA 218 BAHRAIN 22:30KAC 381 DELHI 22:30QTR 137 DOHA 22:35KAC 301 MUMBAI 22:45KAC 205 ISLAMABAD 22:55FCX 102 DUBAI 23:00JZR 502 LUXOR 23:05JZR 554 ALEXANDRIA 23:10UAE 860 DUBAI 23:10UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 23:40KAC 411 BANGKOK / MANILA 23:40MSR 613 CAIRO 23:50SAI 442 LAHORE 23:59

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ACCOMMODATION F O R S A L E

A Hindu bachelor wants onebachelor/couple to share acomplete 2 bedroom fur-nished flat near Holy sweet,Abbassiya, minimum rent KD100. Tel: 66913938. (C 3302)

29-4-2011

Sharing accommodationavailable with Indian decentbachelor single bedroomflat. 1+1 basic, very goodlocation in Salmiya, Ammanstreet, Indian Communityschool-3, adjacent building.Contact: 99813483. (C 3299)

Sharing accommodation inSalmiya C-A/C flat, 2 bed-room, 2 bathroom, for familyor bachelor with Indian cou-ple. Contact: 99467432. (C3300)

28-4-2011

Sharing accommodationavailable in Abbassiya for aKeralite family from May 1st2011. Contact: 66325825.

(C 3292)

Sharing accommodationavailable from 1st May 2011in Abbassiya near Neethistore building, looking onlyfor couples or bachelor, staffnurse, teachers, double roomflat furnished bedroom.Contact: 66944127. (C 3291)

25-4-2011

MISCELLANEOUS

MATRIMONIAL

SITUATION VACANT

SITUATION WANTED

Indian male MBA (finance),B.Com experience - 1-2 yearsseeking job, finance /accounting. Contact:55210681/ 99581696. Email:[email protected]

(C 3287)21-4-2011

Sri Lankan lady looking forpart time job, any Englishhouse. Contact: 55680045.

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CHANGE OF NAME

Tamil CSI Nadar parentsinvite marriage proposals fordaughter (27 years, 162cm,working in MOH Kuwait),well settled in Kuwait, prefer-ably from same caste.Contact:veneetha2008@gmail /[email protected]

28-4-2011

2005 model MitsubishiNativa white color, running96,000 km excellent condi-tion, CD, remote, alloy wheel,single owner, accident freenew 4 tires, price KD 2400.Contact: 60797291. (C 3303)

29-4-2011

Toyota Corolla, model 2009,color sky blue, good condi-tion. Tel: 60951195.

(C 3298)28-4-2011

Toyota Corolla white color,2008 model, excellent condi-tion, very low mileage, wellmaintained wanted price KD3050. Contact: 60099305. (C3293)

26-4-2011

I, Shaik Younus, S/o ShaikAhmed, resident of H.No. 17-1-34/2, Darga Barhanashah,Santoshna-gar, Hyderabad,holder of Indian PassportNo. E-6703568 issuedHyderabad, A.P., intendingto change my name as ShaikYounus instead of my oldname Mohammed Younus.

(C 3300)

I, Mario Angelo De Souza,

Indian male B.Com, 25 yearsGulf experience (Kuwait &UAE) in management, pro-curement, sales, seeks seniorposition, experience in oilfield materials, hard wares,power and hand tools, tim-ber, steel, building materialsetc. Contact: 66889375.

(C 3302)28-4-2011

Housemaid urgently need-ed. Please call 65881297,66088398.

27-4-2011

Required 2003 - 2004 modelHonda Accord, full option orregular, 4 cylinder, in excel-lent condition. Tel:60005317, 99976051.

29-4-2011

holder of Indian PassportF9269433 issued in Kuwaitwish to change my name toMario Agnelo De Souza.

(C 3301)28-4-2011

S p o r t s

Anniversary

Years


Indians notch ninth straight

home win CLEVELAND: Orlando Cabrera’s three-run double in thefirst inning set the Cleveland Indians on their way to aninth successive home win, beating the slumping KansasCity Royals 7-2 in the American League on Wednesday.

Cabrera hit a bases-loaded double off Jeff Francis (0-3)as the Indians jumped to a 5-0 lead. That was all the sup-port Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin (4-0) would need insending Kansas City to its fifth straight loss.

Tomlin gave up two solo homers in the second, butblanked Kansas City over the next four innings. He hasgone at least five innings in each of his first 17 appear-ances in the majors — a club record.

Athletics 2, Angels 1In Anaheim, Cliff Pennington opened the 10th inning

with a triple off a fielder’s glove to lift Oakland over LosAngeles. Former Angels closer Brian Fuentes returned inOakland colors and inadvertently helped his old team bygiving up the tying run in the bottom of the ninth. Butthe A’s recovered in the 10th, when the switch-hittingPennington sliced a pitch from Jordan Walden (0-1)toward left-center. Vernon Wells tried a sliding catch butthe ball went off his glove as he nearly collided with thecenter fielder.

After an intentional walk with one out, Conor Jacksondelivered the run with a groundout, hitting a high chop-per to shortstop.

Rangers 7, Blue Jays 6In Arlington, Texas, Mitch Moreland led off the seventh

inning with a tiebreaking home run and Texas hung on toedge Toronto.

Moreland sent a pitch from Octavio Dotel (1-1) overthe center-field fence for his third homer of the season.Michael Young and Mike Napoli earlier had two-run dou-bles in Texas’ six-run third. Rangers rookie Cody Eppley(1-0) allowed one hit in two innings for his first majorleague win.

Yankees 3, White Sox 1In New York, Bartolo Colon looked like the ace of old,

shutting down Chicago over eight crisp innings to steerNew York to victory.

Colon (2-1) outpitched Mark Buehrle to give him twowins in two starts this season — his first in the majorssince 2009. The husky right-hander, who won the 2005 ALCy Young Award for the Angels, signed a minor leaguedeal in February but had a good spring training and waslifted to the majors as a reliever. He has become a saviorfor a New York rotation missing the injured Phil Hughes.Robinson Cano hit an early three-run homer for theYankees.

Mariners 10, Tigers 1In Detroit, Erik Bedard pitched seven impressive

innings for his first win since June 2009, helping Seattlecrunch Detroit.

Bedard (1-4), who missed last season following shoul-der surgery, allowed just one run and issued no walks.Justin Smoak hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-high five runs for the Mariners. He has homered in con-secutive games after missing a week following the deathof his father. The Mariners broke it open with six runs inthe ninth. Detroit starter Justin Verlander (2-3) allowedfour runs in six innings, walking three.

Rays 8, Twins 2In Minneapolis, Ben Zobrist tripled and drove in three

runs as Tampa Bay overcame snowy conditions to beatMinnesota. The cold weather didn’t bother the boys fromthe Sunshine State, who moved over .500 for the firsttime this season. Wade Davis (3-2) allowed two runs andhad five strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings for the Rays.

Orioles 5, Red Sox 4In Baltimore, Derrick Lee had three hits and scored the

tiebreaking run to help Baltimore edge Boston. Afterblowing a 4-0 lead in the top of the eighth, Baltimoreregained the lead in the bottom half against Daniel Bard(0-3). Nick Markakis singled and took second on a singleby Lee. Both moved up on a passed ball before Markakiswas thrown out.

Vladimir Guerrero then bounced an RBI single up themiddle to bring in Lee from third base. Koji Uehara (1-0)got the victory and Kevin Gregg worked a perfect ninthfor his fourth save. — AP

HOUSTON: St. Louis Cardinals’ Nick Punto (left) gets a face full of dirt while sliding safely across home plate as HoustonAstros catcher JR Towles makes the catch in the seventh inning. — AP

SAN DIEGO: Chipper Jones hit a two-runtriple and finished with three RBIs as theAtlanta Braves beat San Diego Padres 7-0Wednesday, leaving Padres ace Mat Latoswinless since September.

Jones moved out of a tie with MickeyMantle and into sole possession of secondplace among switch-hitters with 1,512 RBIs.Hall of Famer Eddie Murray tops the list at1,917.

Braves starter Tommy Hanson (3-3)struck out 10 and walked only one in seveninnings and combined with two relievers ona four-hitter. The Padres were shut out forthe major league-leading seventh time in 25games, and for the third time on a seven-game homestand. San Diego scored only 10runs in the seven games.

Phillies 8, D’backs 4At Phoenix, Jimmy Rollins homered and

had three RBIs, and Cole Hamels pitchedseven solid innings to help Philadelphiaavoid a three-game sweep to Arizona.Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard eachhomered, Placido Polanco had four ofPhiladelphia’s 12 hits and scored three runs,and Ben Francisco had a two-run double.That was more than enough for Hamels (3-1)in his fourth straight solid start. The left-han-der allowed three runs on four hits in seveninnings.

Chris Young hit a pair of homers to drivein three runs for Arizona, a two-run shot inthe sixth inning off Hamels and a solo homerun off Antonio Bastardo in the eighth thatcut Philadelphia’s lead to 7-4.

Pirates 2, Giants 0At Pittsburgh, James McDonald pitched

six sharp innings for his first victory of theseason to lead Pittsburgh. McDonald (1-2)allowed four hits and four walks while strik-ing out three, and Chris Snyder and JoseTabata each singled in a run for the Pirates.

Mike Crotta, Joe Beimel, Chris Resop andJoel Hanrahan completed the five-hitter.Hanrahan recorded his seventh save in sev-en opportunities, getting Miguel Tejada toground into a game-ending double playwith runners on first and second.

Cody Ross had two hits for the Giants,who lost for the fifth time in six games to fallbelow .500 at 11-12.

Mets 6, Nationals 3At Washington, Daniel Murphy delivered

a game-leveling, pinch-hit homer in theeighth inning right after Jose Reyes wasruled out at third base on a disputed call,

then added a two-run double in the ninth tohelp New York win its sixth straight.

In a seesaw game delayed 45 minutes atthe start by rain, the Mets led 1-0, trailed 2-1,tied it at 2 in the eighth, fell behind 3-2 laterthat inning, then produced a four-run rallyin the ninth.

That allowed Pedro Beato (1-0) to recordhis first major league win despite giving upfellow rookie Wilson Ramos’ sac fly in theeighth that momentarily put Washingtonahead by a run.

The Mets loaded the bases with none outin the ninth. Hu Chin-lung followed with asacrifice fly and Josh Thole added an RBIgroundout before Murphy’s double.

Cardinals 6, Astros 5At Houston, Kyle Lohse pitched another

gem, and Matt Holliday and Tyler Greeneboth homered as St. Louis held off a late ral-ly by Houston.

Lohse (4-1) allowed four hits and pitchedseven scoreless innings. Holliday had threehits and his solo shot to the Crawford Boxesin left field put St. Louis up 1-0 in the fourthinning. Greene hit his first home run of the

season with his one-out shot to left field thatmade it 2-0 in the fifth. The Astros scoredthree runs in the eighth inning before cut-ting the lead to 6-5 after Jason Bourgeoistripled in a run with one out in the ninth andscored on sac fly by Michael Bourn.

Angel Sanchez doubled when LanceBerkman couldn’t get to his fly ball to rightfield, but Eduardo Sanchez struck outHunter Pence to end the game and get hisfirst save.

Dodgers 5, Marlins 4At Miami, Andre Ethier extended his hit-

ting streak to 24 games in the fourth inning,then homered in the 10th to help LosAngeles salvage the finale of the three-game series against Florida.

Ethier led off the 10th and homered on a1-1 pitch from Brian Sanches (3-1), endingthe right-hander’s streak of 13 2-3 scorelessinnings to start the season. Sanches, theMarlins’ eighth pitcher, had allowed onlyone hit previously this year. Ethier’s single inthe fourth extended his major league recordfor the longest April hitting streak. His bat-ting average rose to .380. —AP

Braves blank Padres

American League Eastern Division

W L PCT GB NY Yankees 13 8 .619 -Tampa Bay 12 11 .522 2Toronto 11 13 .458 3.5 Baltimore 10 12 .455 3.5 Boston 10 13 .435 4

Central DivisionCleveland 15 8 .652 -Kansas City 12 12 .500 3.5 Detroit 12 12 .500 3.5 Minnesota 9 13 .409 5.5 Chicago WSox 10 15 .400 6

Western DivisionTexas 15 9 .625 -LA Angels 14 11 .560 1.5 Oakland 12 13 .480 3.5 Seattle 10 15 .400 5.5

National League Eastern Division

Philadelphia 16 8 .667 -Florida 15 8 .652 .5 Atlanta 13 13 .500 4NY Mets 11 13 .458 5Washington 10 13 .435 5.5

Central DivisionSt. Louis 13 11 .542 -Cincinnati 13 12 .520 .5 Milwaukee 12 12 .500 1Pittsburgh 11 13 .458 2Chicago Cubs 10 13 .435 2.5 Houston 9 15 .375 4

Western DivisionColorado 16 7 .696 -LA Dodgers 13 13 .500 4.5 San Francisco 11 12 .478 5Arizona 10 13 .435 6San Diego 9 16 .360 8

MLB results/standings

Major League Baseball results and standings on Wednesday.LA Dodgers 5, Florida 4 (10 innings); Cincinnati 7, Milwaukee 6 (10 innings); Atlanta7, San Diego 0; Philadelphia 8, Arizona 4; Oakland 2, LA Angels 1 (10 Innings);Baltimore 5, Boston 4; NY Yankees 3, Chicago White Sox 1; Cleveland 7, Kansas City2; Seattle 10, Detroit 1; NY Mets 6, Washington 3; Pittsburgh 2, San Francisco 0; St.Louis 6, Houston 5; Texas 7, Toronto 6; Tampa Bay 8, Minnesota 2.

S p o r t s

Anniversary

Years


BRATISLAVA: The world’s top 16 icehockey national squads clash at theannual world championships startingtoday in Slovakia, with Russia seekingrevenge for the defeat in the final bythe Czech Republic last year.

The Slovak capital Bratislava, whichpreviously hosted the world champi-onships in 1959 and 1992, will stage theworld hockey extravaganza for the firsttime since Czechoslovakia split into twoindependent states.

Reigning world championshipsCzech Republic come into the eventaiming to confirm their status and wintheir second consecutive world title forthe first time since 2000.

Meanwhile a set of challengers are

determined to throw down the gaunt-let and provide the champions withtough opposition in the struggle for theworld crown.

Last year’s runners-up Russia, bronzemedalists Sweden and traditional pow-erhouses Canada, who failed to winmedals last year, and Finland, whoclinched their only world title in 1995,are also ready to fight for the title.

The hosts Slovakia, who also won theworld championship only once in 2002in Gothenburg, Sweden, are alsodreaming about a repetition of theirbest ever performance at their homeice.

Few of the European ice hockeygiants have announced their final line-

ups, as they are still able to boost theirsquads with players from sides eliminat-ed in the first round of the NHL’sStanley Cup.

Some big stars of ice hockey will beabsent from the world championshipsdue to their NHL commitments but topnames could still perform for theircountries if their clubs are knocked out.

The world’s top 16 teams will starttheir quest for the title in four prelimi-nary round groups. Russia, who aredreaming of reclaiming the glory thataccompanied almost every display bythe all-powerful Red Machine beforethe fall of the Soviet Union, top GroupA, which is based in Bratislava.

They are up against the hosts

Slovakia, last year’s semi-finalistsGermany and just-promoted Slovenia.Vancouver Olympic champions Canadahead Group B, which is based in Kosice,metropolis of Eastern Slovakia, the sec-ond largest city after the capital,Bratislava.

They will play against Switzerland,Belarus and France. Sweden, who wontheir last title in 2006, will fight it outwith the 2010 Olympics’ runners-up theUnited States, Norway and Austria, pro-moted to the top division last year, forthe top place in Group C, also in Kosice.

Reigning champions Czech Republicface Finland in Group D, which is alsoset to play in Bratislava, alongsideLatvia and Denmark. —AFP

Slovakia hosts battle for world crown

BOSTON: Nathan Horton scored 5:43 intoovertime to give the Boston Bruins a 4-3victory over the Montreal Canadiens onWednesday in Game 7 of their first-roundplayoff series.

The Bruins will play the PhiladelphiaFlyers in the Eastern Conference semifi-nals for the second consecutive year.

Tim Thomas stopped 34 shots for theBruins, who recovered after losing thefirst two games of the series at home.Boston had never won a playoff seriesafter trailing 0-2 in 26 tries.

Carey Price stopped 30 shots forMontreal, which erased deficits of 2-0 and3-2 in Game 7. It was Boston’s third over-time win in the series, including Game 5on Saturday night when Horton scored9:03 into the second extra period. Johnny

Boychuk and Mark Recchi scored in thefirst 5:33 of Game 7 to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. But Yannick Weber made it a one-goal game with a power-play goal in thefirst. Tomas Plekanec tied it in the secondwith an unassisted, short-handed goal.

After Chris Kelly scored with just under10 minutes left to give Boston a 3-2 lead,P.K. Subban tied it in the final two min-utes _ again on the power play.

Lightning 1, Penguins 0At Pittsburgh, Dwayne Roloson made

36 saves for his second NHL playoffshutout and Sean Bergenheim scored thelone goal as Tampa Bay completed a bigseries comeback and el iminatedPittsburgh in Game 7. Roloson becamethe second goalie to go 6-0 in eliminationgames. He allowed only four goals in win-

ning the final three games as Tampa Bayerased a 3-1 series deficit. The fifth-seed-ed Lightning will face the top-seededWashington Capitals in the EasternConference semifinals.

The Penguins lost their second consec-utive Game 7 and fell to 2-6 in such decid-ing games at home. Bergenheim’s goal5:41 into the second period was his thirdin the final four games of the series.Tampa Bay hadn’t advanced in the play-offs since winning the Stanley Cup in2004.

The Lightning are 3-0 in Game 7s.Despite a 36-23 edge in shots, the SidneyCrosby-less Penguins lost three consecu-tive games for the first time since Dec.27, 2009-Jan. 3, 2010 — a span of 141games. — AP

Bruins edge Canadiens in OTBOSTON: Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) and Montreal Canadiens left wing Travis Moen (32) battle for the puck during the thirdperiod of Game 7 in a first-round NHL Stanley Cup hockey playoff series. —AP

Gibson breaks record as youngest cricketer

DURHAM: Barney Gibson skipped sci-ence and religion classes this week toconcentrate on history — making hisown as the youngest first-class cricketerin England.

Aged 15 years and 27 days, the wick-etkeeper broke a 144-year record afterbeing given permission to take time offfrom school. He started Yorkshire’sthree-day county championship matchagainst Durham University onWednesday.

Gibson surpassed the record set byCharles Young in 1867, when Hampshireselected him at 15 years and 131 daysold, according to ESPN CricInfo’s statis-tics database. “It feels excellent to havegone into the history books,” Gibsonsaid. “I was astonished when I heard Iwas playing for the first team and I justthought, ‘Right it’s time to step up to themark.”‘ “On a normal Wednesday (atschool) I would have had science threetimes, maths and RE (religious educa-tion) so it was not a bad day to miss. Theschool set me work to do while I amhere so I will have to get cracking onsome business studies tonight.”

Gibson’s first major impact on hisdebut came in the 10th over, when hetook a diving catch off Oliver Hannon-Dalby. “For the first couple of overs I felta bit shaky, but then I just tried to bemyself and do what I normally do — juststand there and catch it,” Gibson said.

He claimed a second catch off thespin of David Wainwright after spending81.2 overs in the field. “We like to giveour young players a chance, but theyhave to be good enough and Barney’sproved he’s good enough at thismoment in time,” Yorkshire’s director ofcricket, Martyn Moxon, said. “His firstcatch today was outstanding and wouldhave been a good catch for a keeper ofany age.

“He’ll not have kept to that kind ofpace very much, but he’s not fazed bythe occasion or the publicity he’s nowgetting. For someone so young he’s verylevelheaded.” —AP

S p o r t s

Anniversary

Years


LONDON: While sports icons David Beckham and Ian Thorpe jointhe celebrities and dignitaries inside Westminster Abbey forFriday’s royal wedding, cricketers and snooker players will be try-ing to ignore the hoopla and carry on with their jobs as usual.

Just when Kate Middleton arrives at the abbey at 11 a.m. forher marriage to Prince William, the first ball will be bowled —weather permitting — in the third day of the county cricket matchbetween Middlesex and Surrey at Lord’s, a short underground rideaway in northwest London.

By that time, play will have been under way for an hour in thetelevised second session of the first semifinal of snooker’s worldchampionship, featuring Judd Trump of England and Ding Junhuiof China, in the northern English city of Sheffield.

The British government is predicting a global television audi-ence of 2 billion for the royal wedding but Trump, snooker’s newsensation, won’t be tuning in. “It’s not too much of a disappoint-ment to miss it,” he said.

Friday is a national holiday for the wedding, but cricket andsnooker have refused to change their schedules for the occasion.

“It was never a consideration to cancel the fixture,” Middlesexspokesman Steven Fletcher told The Associated Press. “It was morea case of embracing the royal wedding than anything else. We areactually hoping for a bumper crowd.” To satisfy royal enthusiasts,Middlesex will show the wedding on giant screens around theground as part of the club’s Royal Wedding Street Party celebra-tions — allowing spectators to watch Kate and William exchangevows while hearing the thwack of cricket bats echo around one ofBritain’s most famous sporting venues.

The popularity of snooker has slightly dipped in recent years in

Britain but the highly anticipated semifinal between Trump andDing, two of the sport’s rising stars, has captured the imaginationof fans and provides armchair viewers with a dilemma.

The BBC will provide live coverage of the wedding on its pri-mary channel, BBC1, while the snooker will be shown live on BBC2— and on Eurosport.

“It will be interesting to see what the viewing figures are like,”World Snooker spokesman Ivan Hirschowitz said. “We’re fairly con-fident we’ll keep our viewers.” Ding is one of the biggest sportingnames in China, behind NBA star Yao Ming and hurdler Liu Xiang.Ding’s match against Trump will be aired on the state televisionsports channel in China, where the royal wedding is not a majorevent for average Chinese. The union of Kate and William, who isthe president of England’s Football Association and a patron of theWelsh Rugby Union, will have a sporting flavor of its own. Theyhave invited a smattering of high-profile names from the world ofsport for their big day.

Beckham became close to William last year when the pairworked together during England’s failed bid to host the 2018World Cup. The former England captain is taking a short breakfrom the Los Angeles Galaxy to attend the wedding, but will flyback to the United States on Saturday morning in time to play forthe Major League Soccer club.

Another member of the football fraternity invited to the wed-ding is Trevor Brooking, the ex-England and West Ham midfielderwho is currently an FA director. From rugby, England center MikeTindall, who is due to marry Zara Phillips — Queen Elizabeth II’seldest granddaughter — on July 30, will attend along with Walesflanker Martyn Williams and England’s 2003 World Cup-winning

coach Clive Woodward.New Zealand captain Richie McCaw rejected an invite due to

his club duties with the Crusaders and Ireland captain BrianO’Driscoll also chose to turn down an opportunity to attend, ensur-ing he won’t miss a training session with Leinster ahead ofSaturday’s European Cup match against French giant Toulouse.

“As big an honor as it was to be invited, I can’t ask for team runsto be at 6:30 in the evening so I can go to the wedding,” O’Driscolltold British newspaper The Guardian. “It’s going to be an incredi-ble thing, with 2 billion watching, but I’ll be at home preparing forToulouse.”

Jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, who rode Long Run to success inboth the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup thisyear, will be present. After all, it was at a party hosted by Waley-Cohen at his family home in 2007 that William and Kate rekindledtheir romance after they had split for a short while.

Horse racing will be in full action Friday afternoon, hours afterthe ceremony. Four of the five meet — Doncaster, Fontwell,Bangor-on-Dee and Leicester — have their race days dedicated tothe royal wedding. A horse called Royal Wedding, currently an 8-1shot with some bookmakers, is scheduled to run in the 5:30 p.m.race at Fontwell. With royal wedding fever big in Australia, Thorpe— one of the country’s biggest sports stars — made the exclusiveguest list.

The multiple Olympic swimming gold medalist met William forthe first time last year, according to Australian media. The princehas since supported Thorpe’s charitable organization — theFountain for Youth — which focuses on improving health andeducation for children. — AP

MIAMI: The Miami Heat got a signifi-cant return on its massive preseasoninvestment in star players, beatingthe Philadelphia 76ers 97-91 onWednesday to take their NBA EasternConference playoff series 4-1.Dwyane Wade scored 26 points andChris Bosh added 22 points and 11rebounds as Miami advanced to theEastern Conference semifinals and ameeting with Boston, starting inMiami on Sunday.

Mario Chalmers scored 20 pointsand LeBron James finished with 16points, 10 rebounds and eight assistsfor the Heat, who recorded their firstplayoff series win since the 2006 NBAfinals, indicating the pricey additionof Bosh and James this season waspaying off.

Andre Iguodala and Elton Brandeach scored 22 points forPhiladelphia, which got 13 pointsfrom Thaddeus Young, 12 from JodieMeeks and 10 from Jrue Holiday. TheHeat saw a double-digit lead cut toone in the final minute but JoelAnthony sank two free throws with16.8 seconds left to clinch the game.

Thunder 100, Nuggets 97In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant

matched his best playoff perform-ance with 41 points, including thefinal nine for Oklahoma City, and theThunder beat Denver to close out thefirst-round series in five games.

The Thunder, who overcame anine-point deficit over the final 4minutes, won their first playoff seriessince they were in Seattle in 2005.

Durant put the Thunder ahead tostay with two free throws with 46 sec-

onds left. Serge Ibaka then swattedaway Nene’s dunk attempt to pre-serve the hosts’ lead. Durant added a19-foot jumper to put the Thunder up100-97 with 12 seconds left.

He then blocked J.R. Smith’s shotat the tie from the left wing, andArron Afflalo missed one last attemptat a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.Afflalo, who missed the first twogames of the series with a hamstringstrain, led Denver with 15 points andKenyon Martin added 14 points and10 rebounds.

Spurs 110, Grizzlies 103In San Antonio, the hosts only just

staved off elimination, beatingMemphis in overtime to cut the seriesdeficit to 3-2.

Gary Neal caught an inboundspass with 1.7 seconds left and forcedovertime with a 3-point heave as timeexpired. Neal’s 3-pointer was the sec-ond of two remarkable San Antoniobaskets in the final 2.2 seconds ofregulation.

Manu Ginobili , who scored 33points, hit the other with a long cor-ner jumper while fall ing out ofbounds. The basket was originallycounted as a 3 that would have tiedthe score, but the officials went tovideo review and ruled Ginobili’s toewas on the line. Zach Randolph ledMemphis with 26 points and 11rebounds. Tony Parker of the Spursscored six of his 24 points in over-time.

The eighth-seeded Grizzlies willhost the top-seeded Spurs on Fridaywith a chance to take a shock seriesvictory. — AP

Cancer battlefires up Blues

for Otago clashWELLINGTON: The Auckland Blues aresteeled to produce a huge performance intheir crunch Super 15 game against theOtago Highlanders this weekend, motivatedby news long-serving lock Kurtis Haiu hascancer.

Blues coach Pat Lam described the shocknews as “an emotional time for the team,”and captain Keven Mealamu said they wouldbe “playing our hearts out” for the veteran of53 Super rugby appearances.

The Blues’ clash with the Highlanders inNew Zealand is one of two crucial local der-bies this weekend along with the WesternStormers’ battle with the Coastal Sharks forsupremacy in the South African conference.

Top Australian side Queensland Reds, co-leaders of the Super 15 with the Blues on 39points and two points clear of the Stormersin third place, have a less demanding chal-lenge against the Wellington Hurricanes.

But with a five-point spread between firstand sixth overall, the Blues and Stormers willbe scrapping for wins to maintain their posi-tions in the top three.

The Highlanders and Sharks-fifth andsixth overall-need wins to keep their dis-tance from the NSW Waratahs, who are onlysix points from a play-off position.

The Blues head south today toCarisbrook stadium or the “House of Pain”,home to the Highlanders who have provedto be the surprise package of the champi-onship this year.

Both sides have won seven of ninegames but a draw for the Blues and a lack ofbonus points for the Highlanders see themseparated on the ladder by the CanterburyCrusaders.

Mealamu said the Blues have no short-age of motivation after the news about Haiu,who revealed early this week he had beendiagnosed with a tumour in one of his ribs.

“It’s tough because I don’t know if we’llget to see him again this year or if we’ll getto see him in any team again,” Mealamusaid.—AFP

Heat take 4-1 series victory over Sixers

OKLAHOMA: Denver Nuggets center Nene (center) of Brazil,falls between Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka(top) and guard James Harden after blocking a shot byHarden in the second quarter of Game 5 of a first-round NBAbasketball playoff series. — AP

No royal wedding break for snooker, cricket

S p o r t s

Anniversary

Years


MOSCOW: Patrick Chan won hisfirst world title in record-settingfashion. The Canadian set worldrecords for the free skate and totalpoints yesterday, a day after set-ting a new mark in the short pro-gram.

His total score of 280.98 pointssmashed the previous record of264.41, set in 2008 by last year’sworld champion DaisukeTakahashi of Japan. “I hoped Icould get 300,” Chan joked.“Maybe next time.”

Japanese national championTakahiko Kozuka won the silvermedal. Russia’s Artur Gachinskitook bronze in his first appearanceat the world championships. Chanwas the heavy favorite after acommanding victory at the GrandPrix final, and his two days of ele-gance and athleticism made for adramatic opening to a worldchampionships that many hadworried wouldn’t even happen.

The event was supposed totake place in Tokyo in March, butwas hastily moved to Moscow inthe wake of Japan’s catastrophicearthquake and tsunami and theensuing nuclear crisis.

Chan’s free skate wasn’t thespot-on marvel of his short pro-gram. He stepped out on a tripleaxel and had to fight to hold ontothe landing of his opening quad,forcing him to tack the secondjump of his planned combination,a triple toe loop, onto his nextquad.

Next being the key word — hewas the only skater to even try twoquads. But he refused to play itsafe despite having a formidablelead of almost 12 points after theshort program. “I didn’t changemy program, which is very impor-tant to me,” said Chan, the silver

medalist at the previous twoworld championships.

“I did have some doubts in mymind if I should, but I said ‘No, no,no,’ because I’ve been training thisprogram all season long sincenationals. I’m very proud of myselfto be able to do two quads in theopening of the program.”

Aside from his impressive tech-nique of clean landings and tightspins, Chan’s artistry was notable.Skating to “Phantasia” by AndrewLloyd Weber, his dignified movesmatched the music’s expressive-ness without crossing into melo-drama.

Chan scored 187.96 for the free

skate to top the previous mark of175.84, also set by Takahashi in2008. Kozuka, who won the quali-fying round Monday, went formore intensity in his program to aLizst piano concerto.

He exceeded Chan by morethan two points on technical ele-ments, which included a solidopening quad and a triple-double-double cascade. But he was morethan nine points behind on pro-gram components, the so-calledartistic elements in the program.

“Looking back on the whole ofmy season, thinking about all thetraining I have accumulated I toldmyself that I did quite a lot,”

Kozuka said. “So, I went there andput all my experience to it and theresult came.” Gachinski’s medalthrilled the Russian fans — andgives the country a boost as it pre-pares for the Sochi Olympics in2014.

Russia failed to win a single fig-ure skating gold at last year’sVancouver Olympics, and this wasthe first world medal by a Russianman since Evgeni Plushenko wonthe last of his three world titles in2004. Gachinski’s rapid steps andvogue-like arm movements to thedissonance and clashing rhythmsof Shostakovch’s “The Bolt” werereminiscent of Plushenko _ who

was watching in the stands.“I’m happy with my presenta-

tion today,” said Gachinski, who isjust 17 and was the bronze medal-ist at junior worlds a year ago. “Icompleted the quad and bothtriple axels, though like yesterday Ihad a slip on a toe loop. I think it’sbecause I’ve been practicing thetoe quad and it’s difficult toreduce it.”

Takahashi, trying to becomethe first man since StephaneLambiel in 2006 to defend his title,finished fifth after a problem withhis skate blade. He was forced tobail out of his first jump just sec-onds into his program, and seekan emergency repair.

The competition continuesThursday with the pairs free pro-gram, where defending champi-ons Pang Qing and Tong Jian ofChina carry the lead after the shortprogram. Current world silvermedalists Aliona Savchenko andRobin Szolkowy of Germany werein second and Russia’s TatianaVolosozhar and Maxim Trankov, intheir first season of skating togeth-er, held third place.

Friday includes the first day ofthe women’s competition, whereJapan’s Mao Asada, the defendingchampion, and Miki Ando faceOlympic champion Kim Yu-na ofSouth Korea in her return to com-petition.

Asada, though capable ofdoing two triple axels in her freeprogram, said Thursday that’s notin the cards for this champi-onships.

“I will be doing one triple axelfor the short program as well asone for the free program,” Asadasaid. “Because that’s what I’vebeen practicing and training for.I’ll keep that.”—AP

ROMONT: Former Tour of Italy cham-pion Damiano Cunego got back towinning ways with victory in the 171.8km second stage of the Tour deRomandie yesterday.

Cunego led Australia’s 2006 racewinner Cadel Evans of BMC by two sec-onds in a sprint finish, followed byAlexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan,after a series of breakways split thepack and left yellow jersey Pavel Brutttrailing.

While the Russian Team Katusha rid-er kept his overall lead, Cunego cut itby two-thirds to about 40 seconds afterhis Lampre team-mates helped reel in asuccession of breakways including afinal bid by Briton David Millar. “Thiswin was also built by my team mates,”Cunego, who rides for Lampre, said. “Itwasn’t easy because it was a very hillyrace with lots of attacks from far out

which we always managed to closedown, especially in the final 11 kilome-tres. And then there was this hotly con-tested final sprint,” he added.

The race came alive in the final 50kilometre circuit with an ill-fatedattempt by German hope Tony Martinand Poland’s Sylvester Szmyd, whononetheless built up a lead of morethan a minute and half during theirescapade.

They were eventually reeled in byLampre and Vinokourov’s Astanateam, who then had to stifle a rapidseries of lone attempts, bringingCunego, the Kazakh and Evans to thefront while Brutt spearheaded a dis-tant second group. Today’s 165.7 kmfourth stage will be largely flat butmarked by a category one climb intothe Jura hills before the stage finish inNeuchatel. — AFP

Cunego wins Tour de Romandie stage

ROMONT: Italy’s Damiano Cunego (center) celebrates his victory ahead of Australia’s Cadel Evans (farright) during the second stage of the UCI World Tour six-day stage Tour de Romandie cycling race. — AFP

Chan soars to gold at worlds

MOSCOW: Canada’s Patrick Chan (center), Japan’s Takahito Kozuka (left) and Russia’s Artur Gachinski hold theflags of their countries after winning the men’s event of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. — AFP

S p o r t sFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

FRANKFURT: When Borussia Dortmundlast won the Bundesliga title in 2002, itwent into the final three games of theseason trailing Bayer Leverkusen by fivepoints. Now, the roles are reversed. It isDortmund that holds a five-point leadover Leverkusen and a feeling that itmight be losing some momentum.

Dortmund goalkeeper RomanWeidenfeller says the players are notworried even though the team hasearned only eight points from the last sixgames and is coming off a loss at thenlast-place Borussia Moenchengladbach.

“I don’t see much of a problem. Wehave two home games and a difficultone away. We should win at homeagainst Nuremberg and Frankfurt andthat’s it,” Weidenfeller said. Just to make

sure his players realize that nothing hasbeen won yet, coach Juergen Kloppshowed them a video of a cyclist raisinghis arms in celebration, only to fall on hisnose before the finish line.

“I find it good that he prepares us forall possibilities but we all know what’s atstake,” said Weidenfeller, a 30-year-oldveteran on the Bundesliga’s youngestteam. “We should concentrate on ourstrengths. We are an extraordinary team,with an extraordinary season behind usand we want to have extraordinary endto it.” Dortmund plays Nuremberg onSaturday, then visits Werder Bremen andhosts Eintracht Frankfurt on the final dayof the season.

Leverkusen has a tough match atCologne, which is fighting against rele-gation after losing three straight games.

If Leverkusen loses and Dortmund wins,Dortmund will have its seventh champi-onship. Although it has lost some pace,Dortmund doesn’t look likely to lose thetitle l ike Leverkusen in 2002. “Wehaven’t converted enough chancesthat’s our problem. We create enoughchances to last us two games but we justhaven’t scored enough. We need someluck and more confidence in finishing,”Weidenfeller said. “Even in the gameswe’ve lost we played well and showedour quality.” Weidenfeller has concededonly 19 goals in 31 games and has achance to break Oliver Kahn’s record of21 from 2008. Nuremberg still has achance of clinching a place in the EuropaLeague and won’t be traveling toDortmund just to congratulate Kloppand his players on the title. —AP

Dortmund can seal Bundesliga title Preview

LONDON: Fulham’sMousa Dembele (left)fights for the ball withBolton Wanders’ ZatKnight during theirEnglish Premier Leaguesoccer match. —AP

LONDON: Fulham look assured of keep-ing their Premier League status nextseason after a resounding 3-0 win overBolton at Craven Cottage onWednesday.

American international ClintDempsey scored either side of half timewith Brede Hangeland adding a third toearn Fulham a crucial victory whichpushed them up five places to ninth,eight points above the relegation zone.

Fulham named an unchanged side tothe one that shared the points withWolves, while the visitors welcomedback Tamir Cohen, who scored the win-ner in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Arsenal, forDaniel Sturridge, out with an ankleinjury.

Dempsey tested Bolton ‘keeper JussiJasskelainen in the opening minuteswith a low effort, and then watchedwhen Eidur Gudjohnsen fluffed hisdecent centre into the box by spooningit over the bar. On the quarter of an hourmark Dempsey put the Cottagers infront. Bolton failed to clear a corner,with the striker thumping the ball highinto Jasskelainen’s net from 12 metresout in am acrobatic strike that Fulhamfans will claim should be one of the con-

tenders for goal of the season.Just before the half hour

Jaaskelainen prevented Bolton slippingfurther behind when pulling off adecent save to deny Moussa Dembele’slow shot from the edge of the box.

The Bolton stopper then did well todeflect a dangerous Gudjohnsen chip.After a first half dominated by the hostsit was more of the same after the break,with Dempsey doubling up in the 49thminute.

The in-form American ensured a pre-cious three points for Mark Hughes’ sidewhen scoring from six metres out, sec-onds after Dembele had hit the bar witha long range shot. Hangeland complet-ed a perfect night when heading homeDanny Murphy’s —AFP

Dempsey brace helps lift Fulham to safety

PARIS: Sounding like a stuck record by a lovesick crooner,but repellently sour not sweet, Jose Mourinho wailed why,oh, why? In the warped view of Real Madrid’s coach, the diceare stacked in Barcelona’s favor. “They have got great power.The rest of us have no chance,” he said.

And some of Europe’s most respected referees —Mourinho rattled off the names of several of them — areseemingly part of some kind of pro-Barca plot. Well, Jose,here’s the real question: Why are you such a bad loser?

There is simply no excuse for it, and UEFA should nowmake it painfully clear that his hinted-at conspiracy theories,his mutterings of “scandalous goings-on” and suggestionthat the European football governing body is cuddly withMadrid’s historic rival are unacceptable.

“To win this way must leave a bad taste,” the self-decreed“Special One” said acidly of Barcelona’s deserved 2-0Champions League semifinal victory on Wednesday, showingthat he’s not so special, after all. Or, to be more precise, not agood sport. Shame, really, because Mourinho is a fine foot-ball coach, with a record of trophies and victories that speakseloquently of his talents for organizing and motivating play-ers, no matter their nationality or the culture he’s operatingin. In crafting winning teams in four countries — Portugal,England, Italy and Spain — the multilingual Portuguese hasproven himself to be the ultimate European. He seems anice enough guy, too, who will always have friends in thepress box by providing an endless diet of controversy andflashes of charm and wit. Mourinho, anti-football? Rubbish.There’s no such thing. Winning is all that counts.

As Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger can attest, hoping to out-playor out-pass this Barcelona side is suicide, since the blue andreds so rarely share the ball. Out-foxing them is a more viableoption. And Mourinho is as foxy as they come. He need notapologize, especially after the 5-0 Catalan slap in the face thatMadrid got last November, for deciding that the only way tobeat the Barcelona machine is tobreak it. Be brutish and defensive,stop them from playing. AndMourinho’s scheme looked like itmight work before midfielder Pepe’ssecond-half red card opened gapsthat Barcelona swarmed into. One ofthe true things Mourinho said in hissour-grapes post-match press confer-ence was that Barcelona “will kill usagain” if Madrid plays an open gamein the semifinal second leg at theCamp Nou next Tuesday.

Of course, the millions of viewersworldwide were, undoubtedly naively, hoping that this seriesof four “clasico” encounters in 18 days would prove as classicas the name suggests. But they don’t pay Mourinho’s hand-some wage. It’s entirely immaterial to him or his players ifthey win ugly, so long as they win. Rightly so.

Before he lost his grip on the trophy and dropped it undera bus, Madrid defender Sergio Ramos certainly was nothingbut delighted to have won the Copa del Rey on April 20, withBarcelona prevented from scoring thanks in no small meas-ure to Mourinho’s bruising tactics. Nor did we hear InterMilan players protest vociferously about Mourinho’s sup-posed negativity when he led them to the European title lastyear. Instead, Inter defender Marco Materazzi rewardedMourinho with a tearful hug. Take it from Rio Ferdinand, who,of course, wasn’t on the Santiago Bernabeu pitch Wednesdaynight but was, of course, watching, because he’ll likely be fac-ing Barcelona next in the Champions League May 28Wembley final.

“If u seriously would be happy to finish your career withno medals but ya team played good football u are MAD!!” theManchester United defender tweeted. “Great passing teamswho win nothing are not remembered.”

But as smart and as pragmatic as Mourinho is, none ofthose coaching notes that he scribbles during matches couldcome up with a foolproof plan to thwart Lionel Messi. Theutter cheek of his second goal — ghosting past five Madridplayers as if they weren’t there and placing a perfect shot ashis feet slid from under him — made Barcelona the worthywinner. One cannot plan for such unpredictable genius. Inasking over and over “why” Barcelona appeared unbeatable,Mourinho should have acknowledged that Messi was thehonest answer on this night — not the referee, UEFA or any-one else. Again, great coach, but Mourinho would be more ofa truly special one if he was a better sport, too.—AP

Fulham 3

Bolton 0

The Real question:Why is Mourinho

a bad loser?

Mourinho

S p o r t sFRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2011

PARIS: Marseille coach DidierDeschamps is relieved his team willdetermine its own destiny after havingovertaken Lille at the top of the Frenchleague. Defending champion Marseillemoved into first place on Wednesdayafter a 4-2 home win against Nice, profit-ing from Lille’s unexpected slump thathas seen its title rival pick up just twopoints from three matches.

“We have six matches left. I wouldrather be ahead than chasing,” Marseillecoach Didier Deschamps said. “We nolonger have to rush around and hopethat others drop points.” Marseille hostsstruggling Auxerre at home on Sundayand Lille is at home to last-place Arles-Avignon tomorrow.

Marseille remains on course for aanother double, having successfullydefended its League Cup title last week-end. The recent surge in form, coupledwith Lille’s dip, means Deschamps canfurther cement his place in Marseille folk-lore. He was the captain when Marseillewon the Champions League in 1993 —

the only French club ever to do so — andcoached the club to success in his firstseason when he took over from EricGerets two years ago.

Fans chanted Deschamps’ name atthe end of Wednesday’s match at StadeVelodrome, but the former France mid-fielder gave only a small wave inresponse. He has not forgotten how thesupporters chanted for his predecessor’sreturn in the final match before the win-ter break, when Marseille was in fifthplace and trailed Lille by six points. “Iprefer to hear that than the ‘Gerets,Gerets’ chants on December 23rd,”Deschamps said. Deschamps has man-aged to eke out results when his teamhas not played well and key players havenot performed. He also made the bolddecision to leave Argentine playmakerLucho Gonzalez on the bench againstNice.

While Gonzalez’s erratic form hasfinally forced Deschamps to drop theplayer he credited with inspiring last sea-son’s title run, the coach has invested histrust in Ghana winger Andre Ayew with

spectacular results. The 21-year-oldAyew has hit winning goals away toToulouse and Nancy, scored in a crucialhome win against bitter rival Paris Saint-Germain and grabbed his first career hattrick in Wednesday’s win against Nice.

Ayew’s performances this seasonhave drawn high praise, with ManchesterUnited manager Alex Ferguson saying hewas immensely impressed with the play-er’s performance against his team in theChampions League in February.Deschamps totally overlooked Ayew lastseason, sending him out on loan to thesecond division.

Only after talks during the offseasonwith Ayew’s father, the former AfricanPlayer of the Year Abedi Pele, didDeschamps bring him back. “I wasn’there to experience the title last year,”said Ayew, who has scored nine leaguegoals so far. “I want to be a championwith the club that made me.” With Lilleout of sorts, third-place Lyon could nowemerge as Marseille’s toughest chal-lenger. Claude Puel’s Lyon team is fivepoints behind Marseille after beating

Montpellier 3-2 on Wednesday, thanks toa last-minute goal from Yoann Gourcuff.Gourcuff, once tipped as the natural suc-cessor to Zinedine Zidane when hebroke into the France team three yearsago, has been so poor recently that Puelfinally dropped him.

Gourcuff responded by coming offthe bench to slam home the winneragainst Montpellier, a goal Lyon fans willhope finally spark a return to the form heshowed when leading Bordeaux to thetitle three seasons ago.

“It was touching to see all the playersrushing over to me after I had scored,”Gourcuff said. “Obviously (I was) a bit dis-appointed (to be dropped) but Lyon hasa lot of quality players.” Lyon plays atToulouse on Sunday, but could be with-out captain Jeremy Toulalan. He hurt hisknee against Montpellier.

In tomorrow’s other matches, it is:Lens vs. Lorient; Rennes vs. Bordeaux;Sochaux vs. Nancy, and PSG vs.Valenciennes. Also Sunday, it is:Montpellier vs. Brest; Nice vs. Caen, andSaint-Etienne vs. Monaco.—AP

Marseille’s hopes in its own hands

MADRID: Real Madrid must quicklyforget its Champions League setback ifit wants to keep pressure on Barcelonaas the Spanish leader homes in on athird straight league title as both clubscome up against teams battling toavoid the drop.

Barcelona took a big step towardreaching the Champions League finalin an ill-tempered 2-0 semifinal first-leg win at Madrid on Wednesday.

Madrid trails Barcelona by eightpoints with five matches to play start-ing Saturday against Zaragoza, whichis battling to avoid relegation.

Madrid shouldn’t have problemswith Zaragoza although morale maybe low as the club has little hope ofreaching its first European final since2002. Although the league is still insight, Madrid knows the possibility isslim with a Copa del Rey triumph overBarcelona shaping up to be the onlysilverware of coach Jose Morinho’sfirst season in charge.

Mourinho is likely to rest most ofhis regulars again and rely on his “B-team” of Kaka, Karim Benzema andGonzalo Higuain after it easily routedthird-place Valencia 6-3 last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi looks tofollow up his brace against Real byadding to his league-leading tally of31 goals and season tally of 52 whenBarcelona plays at Real Sociedad.

The Argentina forward againshowed his class with a sublime indi-vidual effort as he dashed throughMadrid’s half and around threedefenders before slotting past goal-keeper Iker Casillas for his 179th clubgoal to move into third all-time atBarcelona.

“It’s not the first time he’s done this,it’s worth noting how lucky we are tohave him,” Barcelona coach Pep

Guardiola said. “He’s only 23 and he’snow the third leading scorer at theclub, with its long, long history. Thatsays it all. It’s incredible. That’s what isbeautiful about our game and ourfootball.” Messi did not train with theteam on Thursday after appearing toemerge from Wednesday’s victorywith a leg injury.

Defender Carles Puyol played a 90minutes for the first time sinceJanuary, with Barcelona’s defensewithout Eric Abidal, Adriano andMaxwell, who may return from a groininjury. But Guardiola may have to fieldseveral youth team players since mid-fielder Andres Iniesta may also besaved for Tuesday’s return leg againstMadrid.

Sociedad has seen its impressivefirst half of the season marred by a sec-ond-half slide to sit only three pointsabove Osasuna, which is in the last rel-

egation spot ahead of its game againstValencia on Sunday. Last-placeAlmeria could be the first team rele-gated if it loses to Sevilla on Sunday,depending on other results.

Almeria has lost five straight to trailZaragoza by 11 points and comes upagainst a Sevilla team looking tosecure its place in next season’sEuropa League. Sixth-place Sevilla istied with Atletico Madrid on points,with both trailing Athletic Bilbao bytwo points. Bilbao can complicateEspanyol’s hopes of finishing in theEuropean places when the pair meeton Monday night. Atletico travels toDeportivo La Coruna, which is justthree points above the relegationspots. In Sunday’s other 34th-roundgames, it ’s : Levante vs. SportingGijon; Malaga vs. Hercules; RacingSantander vs. Mallorca; and Villarrealvs. Getafe. —AP

Real look to league to ease European woes

Preview

MADRID: Real Madrid’s coach Jose Mourinho from Portugal (left) reacts ashis players run during a training session. —AP

BRAZIL: Mexico’s Americaís Andres Olivera (left) fights forthe ball with Brazilís Santosí Arouca during a CopaLibertadores soccer match. —AP

Santos, Cruzeiro winBUENOS AIRES: Brazilian clubs Santos and Cruzeiro eachclaimed victories Wednesday in the first-leg of the CopaLibertadores round of 16. Santos defeated Mexico’sAmerica 1-0 and Cruzeiro won 2-1 against Once Caldas ofColombia.

In two other matches on Wednesday, Mexico’s Jaguaresdrew 1-1 with Junior of Colombia and Argentina’sEstudiantes played out a scoreless draw against CerroPorteno of Paraguay.

The second leg matches are next week, which will nar-row the field to eight teams. Pablo Ganso scored the win-ner for Santos in the 38th minute. Jose Ortigoza andWallyson scored the two goals Cruzeiro needed.

Jackson Martinez of Colombia scored in 57th minute torally Jaguares to the draw, while Luis Paez gave Junior thelead in the 7th minute after a key pass from Jhon Viafara.In Tuesday matches, Velez Sarsfield defeated Ecuador’sLiga de Quito 3-0 and Universidad Catolica of Chile beatBrazil’s Gremio 2-1.

In the final two matches of the round yesterday,Fluminense of Brazil was due to face Libertad of Paraguayand Penarol of Uruguay is up against defending championInternacional of Brazil.—AP

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Anniversary

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MOSCOW:China’s QingPang and JianTong perform dur-ing the pairsshort programevent of theISU WorldFigureSkatingChampionships. —AFP

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