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MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 • plus@pen.com.qa • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741

Top 10 bridges around the world

Gaiteros de Qatar is a group of expats, who perform Venezuelan folk music in Doha. Singing Gaita, a style of music, they stay connected to their roots, while spreading the culture of their country.

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LATIN RHYTHM

2 COVER STORYPLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012

by Isabel Ovalle

There’s something about Latin music

that gets to you from the moment

the first note is heard. Unless

you’re made of stone, your body

will start moving as a reflex to the music.

The hips will go first, and your feet will fol-

low in a second. Famous Cuban singer Gloria

Estefan was right after all, eventually, the

rhythm is going to get you!

Things are like that for Hispanics, they

take music everywhere. If a few friends get

together, more often than not, someone will

bring out a guitar and everyone will start

singing to the top of their lounges,

from Mexico to the very last tip of

Argentina, all the way to Spain.

It’s not different for Venezuelans

who live abroad. In Qatar there are

approximately 400 of them. In 2009,

two friends from the land of Simón

Bolívar were strolling through

Doha on a regular day when they

got to talking about music, particu-

larly about the Gaita, a style of folk

music original from Maracaibo, in

the state of Zulia. A rhythm power-

ful enough to bring together a group

of Venezuelans over 12,000km away

from home.

That’s how it all began, with an

informal conversation of two friends

felt homesick for the music of their home-

land. Coincidently, many of the group’s mem-

bers are originally from Maracaibo, a city

located in northwestern Venezuela.

The two friends wondered if they could

find enough Venezuelans to form a group.

Four years later, the answer is clear, with 15

people from various backgrounds form ing

Gaiteros de Qatar. From engineers, doctors

and journalists, to a 15-year-old student, the

group is also an excuse to get together and

keep the country’s culture alive, given that

the children of some members arrived in

Qatar when they were a few months old and

know little about their home country.

Tap your feet to Tap your feet to Gaiteros de QatarGaiteros de Qatar

In 2009, two friends from the land of Simón Bolívar were strolling through Doha on a regular day when they got to talking about music and Gaiteros de Qatar was born.

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 3

The heart of Gaiteros de Qatar is

director, Enderson García, who moved

to Doha seven years ago. He explained to

The Peninsula that most of the Gaiteros

didn’t have much experience in music,

but some did play instruments, “plus

Venezuela is a very musical country, so

the experience with the group has been

like a school for us,” he added.

After many rehearsals and perform-

ances, the group now composes their own

songs, about quotidian topics, with one

main instrument: the ‘cuatro’, Spanish

word for four. The cuatro is the national

instrument of Venezuela, it has four

strings and it’s similar to a small guitar.

It has become an imperative instrument

for Venezuelan folk music.

The rest of the band plays other popu-

lar instruments from Venezuela, such as

the furro (marduyo, original from the

Canary Islands, in Spain),

the charrasca, or the

maracas. Modern

instruments are

also used to “gar-

nish”, like the

keyboards, the

base or the

flute.

All these instruments were care-

fully picked in Venezuela and brought

to Qatar as luggage. The first rehearsal

was held on August 11, 2009. Members

can hardly describe the emotion they

felt that evening, an inexpressible mix

of joy and nostalgia.

September 18, that same year,

the first performance, which was

in several languages, took place

in the Church of Our Lady of the

Rosary in Doha. Other shows fol-

lowed, such as the Halloween party

that year. This event featured two

unreleased tracks, Gaita in Qatar,

which describes how the group got

together, and another piece that turns

Doha’s crazy traffic into a gaita song.

All these instruments put the music

to lyrics that aim to express the voice

of the people. In its inception period,

during the colonial times, this style of

music was sung by the working class.

Now the songs are about diverse issues,

including the sporadic sadness of the

expatriate, a tribute to everyday things,

mixing culture with the context. For

Gaiteros it’s the perfect way to keep

their traditions alive when they are so

far away from home.

The group is especially popular

among the Spanish speaking commu-

nity, but locals also enjoy Latin rhythms.

Gaiteros rehearses once a week and

their high season goes from August to

December, when they usually perform as

part of local events. The group is open

all - amateurs as well as professionals,

and revolves around the joint aim to

spread the tradition of Gaita.

Famous Latin American artist Víctor

Hugo supports Gaiteros, and the group

is also well known back home, where

they have been featured in television

and radio shows.

“We are very thankful to the

Spanish Speaking Ladies in Qatar.

They have supported the band from

the very start, inviting us to perform in

various events like the

Gala Latina,” said a

band member.

The Gaita

combines the

contents of a piece that has a formal

structure of verse-chorus, the first is

sung by a soloist and the second by the

chorus. In the strophe, four verses are

used, while the chorus has four, six or

eight lines, both of octosyllabic meas-

ure, but other combinations of verses

can be used. The rhythm is six by eight,

six by twelve, six by fourteen, eight by

sixteen, also of regular and irregular

meter, rhyme, assonance or consonant.

The next chance to see a live perform-

ance of the group will be on December 7,

at 7 pm in the Club House of Al Fardan

1 compound, for the ‘Amanecer Gaitero

y Fiesta Decembrina’ (Gaitero dawn and

December party).

The Peninsula

Canary Islands, in Spain),

the charrasca, or the

maracas. Modern

instruments are

also used to “gar-

nish”, like the

keyboards, the

base or the

flute.

of joy and nostalgia.

September 18, that same year,

the first performance, which was

in several languages, took place

in the Church of Our Lady of the

Rosary in Doha. Other shows fol-

lowed, such as the Halloween party

that year. This event featured two

unreleased tracks, Gaita in Qatar,

which describes how the group got

together, and another piece that turns

Doha’s crazy traffic into a gaita song.

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to lyrics that aim to express the voice

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Members of Gaiteros

Enderson Garcia, Jesus Montiel,Andrés Quintero, Antonio Medina,Rosa de Medina, Grece Medina,Dave Villalobos, Jesus Lemus, Jesus Jr. Lemus, Miguel Colmenares, Gabriela Di Benedetto, Jose Manuel Gonzalez, Teresita de Añez, Francisco Marquez, Yasmin Rivera

Band at rehersal.

Gaiteros de Qatar members perfoming at an event.

Red Apple Events and Media with Rising Star Production is organising the first annual Rising Star Rock Inn

Festival – a multinational music festi-val at the Marriott Hotel Beach Side on November 15. The event is expected to draw 4,000 guests and features fun-filled live performances for Qatar party goers and music lovers.

This year’s Rising Star Rock Inn Festival will showcase bands with musicians from all over the world.

The festival will feature multina-tional local bands and performers such as DJ Anza, Lipstick with Music and Motion Culture Dancers (M2CD), Cronkite Sattelite, AZM, Analog Chemistry, Over Your Head, Green Color Thing, Deja Blues, Jive Turkey, Kaosilators, Live Mix Studio, Zyklone, and Exile.

Arman Custodio, event manager of Rising Star Rock Inn Festival, said: “We want to be different from other events. We have groups of local enter-tainers from Asia Pacific, Europe and America. I am positive that the specta-tors will enjoy this festival.”

Mindy Obeidat, executive producer of Rising Star Rock Inn Festival, added, “I have noticed that we have

lot of multi-talented artists here in Qatar and before I move forward to bring the well known entertainers from abroad, we will showcase our local artists first so that they will be encour-aged to continue and provide us more entertainment.”

Tickets are priced at QR100 and

are available at Virgin Megastores or through their online ticketing site. Gates open at 6pm. Admissions are for 21 years old and above only.

You can find more information about the festival on www.facebook.com/risingstarproduction

The Peninsula

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 COMMUNITY4

The organisers at the press conference.

What: Rising Star Rock Inn FestivalRock concert by local bands

When: November 15Where: Marriott Hotel

Ticket: Available at Virgin Megastore

(store & online) Price: QR100

The Ritz-Carlton, Doha has invited the community of Doha to “unite for a brighter future” during a fam-

ily charity day to increase awareness on social and environmental issues. The event will be starting at 8am on Saturday, with a series of programmes designed to cater to the entire family.

The Ritz-Carlton, Doha has approached several non-profit organi-zations including the Red Crescent and Palestine Children’s Relief Fund to take part in this good-cause event. They will set up booths and directly engage with participants to promote their social and environmental projects.

The day will start with a fun, four kilom-eter walk-a-thon, meaning that the par-ticipants can cover the distance at their own pace whether this means a walk, run or casual stroll. Physically challenged participants can also join in the excite-ment. The next sporting activity will be a swimming relay competition, engaging two members of the same family towards one common goal.

Other fun family workshops will con-tinue the day. A drawing competition for children, under the theme of “Green Qatar” will aim at educating youngsters in an entertaining way and creating early awareness towards a more sustainable environment. The Peninsula

Bazm-E-Alig, Qatar, an associa-tion of students from Aligarh Muslim University in Qatar celebrated the 195th birth

anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the renowned Indian educationist, social reformer, architect and founder

of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Aligarh, India.

The alumni and their families came out in big numbers and celebrated the founder’s day, commonly referred to as “Sir Syed Day” at Hotel Holiday Villa on November 9, 2012.

The Chief Guest of the event was Dr Rashid Al Ammari, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Qatar University. The Guest of Honour was Dr Mohieddin Benammar, Head of Department of Electrical Engineering, Qatar University. The Peninsula

Bazm-e-Alig celebrates Sir Syed DayBazm-e-Alig officials with guests at the Sir Syed Day celebration.

The Ritz-Carltonto host family charity day

Rising Star Rock Inn Festival to rock Doha on Nov 15

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 5MARKETPLACE

Following the success of its existing seven retail stores, Ettisal opened its new store in Al Mamoura Complex in Al Hilal area. The new Ettisal store is equipped with

four major brands of mobile phones such as Nokia, which is flagship brand of Ettisal, BlackBerry, Samsung and iPhones and related accessories.

In addition to this customers can avail all Qtel products and services through this new store including Qtel bill payments etc. The new store is easily accessible and located in the heart of city with spacious parking.

The chief guests at the function were Nasser Sulaiman Haider, Chairman, Al Sulaiman Holdings, and Mohd Al Marri, Chief Sales and Services Officer, Qtel.

At the launch, Haitham Tabra, General Manager, Ettisal said: “We are very happy to launch our eighth retail store in Al Mamoura complex. It has been our endeavor to enhance customer experience at our stores with the genu-ine mobile products and accessories, service and overall truly shopping ambience that we offer to our valued customers at a competitive prices and offers. The launch of this new store in Doha is a significant achievement for us and underlines the importance of this city in retail business”.

The Peninsula

From Right: Shaikh Yasin, Sayeed Al Marri, Mohammed Al Marri, Nasser Sulaiman Al Haider, Abdulla Al Khalaf, Haitham Tabra, Ali Al Khalfah, Laith Jalal, Abdulla Shawarib, Brian Speldewinde and Bhagat Kanad at the new Ettisal store in Al Mamoura Complex in Hilal.

W Doha Hotel & Residences celebrated its passion for cutting-edge design by

hosting its first ever ‘Cabana Nights’ at Wahm poolside lounge. In keeping with the hotel’s insider philosophy and commitment to supporting emerging talent across design, fashion and music, five local design and style visionaries; Selina Farooqui, Natalie Tahhan, Carla Mallari, Nada Hamad and Anfal Berier, were invited to get creative and curate their own cabanas.

A select number of Doha based guests were invited to mix and min-gle in Wahm’s ambient and laid-back lounge while admiring the creative work of the five designers. The cabana designs ranged from chic to conceptual and included a range of materials cho-sen specifically by each designer.

Farooqui’s cabana, Wonderland Revisited, drew inspiration from her favourite childhood movies Alice in

Wonderland and Wizard of Oz, while Hamad named her cabana, Lola, after the dancer in the famous 1978 Copacabana song of the same name. Berier designed her cabana, Malaze, to, “help in escaping the madness of life” whereas Tahan’s Arabian Dusk cabana was conceived to celebrate the rich culture of the desert landscape. The final cabana, Illuminated, by fash-ion designer and blogger Mallari, was a pure and unadulterated preview of her upcoming clothing line.

W Doha Hotel & Residences General Manager Safak Guvenc commented, “Our most recent ‘Design Happening’ displays just how creative W Doha is in terms of applying an art and design philosophy to every aspect of the hotel and guest experience. We are thrilled to be able to host such exciting events for the community, and in doing so, offer a platform for young design tal-ent in Qatar.” The Peninsula

W Doha hosts Cabana Nights

Carla Mallari’s Cabana

Mamas & Papas launches Autumn-Winter 2012 collection in Qatar

Ettisal opens eighth store in Qatar

Mamas and Papas unveiled new Autumn Winter 2012 collection that offers mums-to-

be with exciting pieces while mixing classic shapes with modern inter-pretations of exotic patterns.

Easy to achieve chic and relaxed look is key to the new collection that will keep expectant mothers warm and cozy throughout the coming winter months.

The range ‘Exotic Touch’ that has lady-like minimalism with a seduc-tive 1980s rock edge gives trendy options during your pregnancy. Over-scaled zips and feature zip pullers are modern and urban for a youthful mum-to-be and jewel like sapphire and cobalt are hero shades for the new season and work ton-ally in prints or as blocks of bold colour within an outfit. Draped shaped, soft cowl neck and asym-metric draping dominate the trend this season.

Lace returns this season and cre-ates subtle transparency and peek-a-boo effects on shoulders, and on the must have little black dress in soft stretch lace. The ‘Deco Deluxe’ range offers sophisticated glamour with a sense of historical style. Key colour blocking details in the must-have knitted dress; batwing details on knits and the on-trend “zip back” trim are all seen as part of this collection. The Peninsula

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 MARKETPLACE6

Salam Stores has introduced the new Nikon D600 digital SLR to the Qatar market. This latest addition to the

Nikon family carries the smallest, lightest body among other Nikon FX-format cameras. Boosted by its advanced performance capabilities the Nikon D600 digital SLR combines a number of highly effective familiar features of its predecessors while uniting them with a unique optimised set of new features that revel in best in class imaging technology of today. The launch took place in the presence of Takashi Yoshida, Managing Director Nikon Middle East.

“We are very proud to have launched the Nikon D600 and introduce it to Photography enthusiasts in Qatar. With photography, being an inherent passion for us at Salam Stores, we are very impressed by the camera ourselves and the host of new features it offers. The D600’s durability easily beats its competitor brands. Since Salam Stores is constantly on the look out for products that excite customers here and the region we are delighted with this addition to our already impressive range. We know that the superior rendering characteristics, image quality and operation of this model make it a considerable improvement over

other cameras,” said Pierre Khoury, Managing Director, Salam Stores.

Pierre Khoury, went on to say that while professional photographers use DSLR cameras, the D600 offers a perfect option for amateur photographers as well who are aspiring to take their craft to the next level.

D600 has many notable advanced features. Among the attributes that are said to stand out is an optical viewfinder with 100 percent frame coverage, a large and clear 3.2-inch LCD monitor with wide-angle viewing

and dust and water-resistance. It offers faster and better performance for rendering, vivid colour reproduction and capturing broader dynamic range.

The D600 supports the complete DX Nikkor lens lineup with both still image shooting and movie recording options. It has 24.3-million effective pixels with high resolution full-HD recording. Special noise reduction features help the photographer obtain more crisp and clear outlines in movies recorded in low-light situations. The Peninsula

Salam Stores unveils new Nikon D600

Salam Stores and Nikon officials at the launch of Nikon D600.

ExxonMobil hosted a series of half-day seminars on risk management training in Doha. Participants included

employees from Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Petroleum International, Qatargas, RasGas, Qatar Science and Technology Park, Qatar University, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and Texas A&M University in Qatar, in addition to representatives from the Ministry of Labour.

The rigorous management approach - Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS) - establishes common

worldwide expectations for addressing all aspects of its business that can impact personnel and process safety, security, health, and environmental performance.

OIMS guides the activities of more than 83,000 employees at ExxonMobil and roughly an equal number of third-party contractors around the world. Fundamentally driving operations from top to bottom, the OIMS framework includes a rigorous 11-point set of elements designed to identify hazards and manage risks.

“At ExxonMobil, safety is more than

a priority, it is a value that shapes decision-making at every level of the organization,” said Bart Cahir, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar Inc. “We believe effective risk management at all levels in an organization are essential to achieving an injury-free workplace. We appreciate the participation of our partners within Qatar in these valuable seminars led by experts from the ExxonMobil Human Factors Center of Excellence.”

The seminars focused on strategies for understanding and addressing

risk tolerance. The course concept was derived from a recently completed study taskforce to develop improved insights and understanding of the factors that inf luence individual decision-making to take unsafe or at risk actions. Led by Dr Joseph Deeb, Human Factors Advisor and member of the study taskforce, participants were introduced to a risk tolerance model, reviewed the 10 factors that influence risk tolerance and identified strategies and actions to address risk tolerance.

The Peninsula

ExxonMobil emphasises safety through risk management training

The participants with ExxonMobil officials at the training.

Qtel launches HEC-Paris development programme for senior executives

Top Qtel employees have been selected as the second class to participate in an exclusive leadership programme held

under HEC-Paris to strengthen their skills and increase their professional focus.

Qtel selected a group of 30 high-achieving senior managers to par-ticipate in the year-long “The Value Leader” programme. The programme began at the Grand Hyatt Doha on November 5 and will run into 2013.

Once employees graduate from the programme, they will be able to deploy a broader skill-set and sharp profes-sional insight to better manage col-leagues and deliver a higher quality of customer experience for the people of Qatar.

Qtel graduated its first class from “The Value Leader” programme in July 2012, and already the company has seen strong results.

In partnering with HEC-Paris in Qatar, the best business school in the country and one of the top institu-tions in the world, Qtel is enhancing its efforts to be an employer of choice in Qatar.

“The Value Leader” programme is one of the many aspects of Qtel’s inno-vative Talent Development Strategy.

The Peninsula

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012HEALTH 7

Health Tipsfrom DOCTOR

1. Hunger: This is probably the first thing a parent think of when your baby cries. Learning to recognise the signs of hunger will help you start your baby’s feedings before the crying stage. Some signs to watch for in newborns: fuss-ing, smacking of lips, rooting (a newborn reflex that causes babies to turn their head toward your hand when you stroke their cheek), and putting their hands to their mouth.

2. A dirty diaper: Some babies let you know right away when they need to be changed. Others can tolerate a dirty diaper for quite a while.

3. Needs sleep: Aren’t babies lucky? When they’re tired they can simply go to sleep – anytime, anywhere. Or so adults like to think. In reality, it’s harder for them than you might think. Instead of nodding off, babies may fuss and cry, especially if they’re overly tired.

4. Wants to be held: Babies need a lot of cuddling. They like to see their parents’ faces, hear their voices, and listen to their heartbeats, and can even detect their unique smell. Crying can be their way of asking to be held close.

5. Tummy troubles (gas, colic, and more): Tummy troubles associated with gas or colic can lead to lots of crying. In fact, the rather mysterious condition called colic is defined as inconsolable crying for at least three hours a day, at least three days a week, at least three weeks in a row. If your baby often fusses and cries right after being fed, he may be feeling some sort of tummy pain. Many parents swear by over-the-counter anti-gas drops for babies or gripe water (made from herbs and sodium bicarbonate). Get your doc-tor’s okay before using either of these.

6. Needs to burp: Burping isn’t mandatory. But if your baby cries after a feed-ing, a good burp may be all he needs. Babies swallow air when they breastfeed or suck from a bottle, and if the air isn’t released it may cause some discomfort. Some babies are intensely bothered by having air in their tummy, while others don’t seem to burp or need to be burped much at all.

7. Too cold or too hot: When your baby feels chilly, such as when you remove his clothes to change a diaper or clean his bottom with a cold wipe, he may protest by crying.Newborns like to be bundled up and kept warm — but not too warm.

8. Something small: Babies can be troubled by something as hard to spot as a hair wrapped tightly around a tiny toe or finger, cutting off circulation. (Doctors call this painful situation a “hair tourniquet,” and it’s one of the first things they look for if a baby seems to be crying for no reason.) Some babies are extra sensitive to things like scratchy clothing tags or fabric. And they can be very picky (understandably) about subtleties ranging from the position they’re held in to the bottle you offer.

9. Teething: Teething can be painful as each new tooth pushes through tender young gums. Some babies suffer more than others, but all are likely to be fussy and tearful at some point along the way.

10. Wants less stimulation: Babies learn from the stimulation of the world around them, but sometimes they have a hard time processing it all — the lights, the noise, being passed from hand

11. Wants more stimulation: A “demanding” baby may be outgoing and eager to see the world. And often the only way to stop the crying and fussing is to stay active. This can be exhausting for you!

12. Not feeling well: If you’ve met your baby’s basic needs and comforted him and he’s still crying, he could be coming down with something. You may want to check his temperature to rule out a fever and be alert for other signs of illness.The cry of a sick baby tends to be distinct from one caused by hunger or frustration. If your baby’s crying “just doesn’t sound right,” trust your instincts and call or see a doctor.

Dr. Nabeel Saif Hussein Shaif GP-Paediatrics

Healthspring World Clinic

What’s new

Organ on a chip? Scientists test drugs on tiny, artificial lung

US researchers have begun testing drugs using a microchip lined with living cells that replicates many of the features of a human lung, a technology that may one day help improve drug testing and reduce researchers’ dependence on animal studies.

In 2010, researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering developed the so-called lung-on-a-chip technology that mimics the function of air sacs called alveoli, which transfer oxygen through a thin membrane from the lung to the blood.

For drug companies, the technology offers a way to better predict how drugs will work in people, ultimately reducing the cost of drug development by identifying problems before drugs are tested in clinical trials. “Major pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of time and a huge amount of money on cell cultures and animal testing to develop new drugs, but these methods often fail to predict the effects of these agents when they reach humans,” Dr. Donald Ingber, whose study was published on Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, said in a statement.

Now the Wyss team is putting its artificial lung to the test, using the device to recreate pulmonary edema, a condition that causes fluid to leak into the air sacs of the lungs, and then treating it with an experimental drug from GlaxoSmithKline.

The device, which is about the size of a memory stick, is made of a flexible polymer that contains hollow channels. These channels are divided by a thin, permeable membrane lined on one side with human lung cells and on the other with tiny blood vessel or capillary cells that are bathed in fluid to simulate blood flow. A vacuum is applied to recreate the way human tissue stretches during breathing.

12 reasons why babies cry and how to soothe them

Home blood pressuremonitors show mixed

results: Study

Home blood pressure monitors may be useful to some older adults who have

suffered a stroke, but little help to others, according to a UK study.

Past studies have found that home monitoring may aid blood pressure control, with a 2010 review of 37 clinical trials finding that, overall, people who used monitors shaved a few extra points from their blood pressure. They were also more likely to cut down on medication.

The new study, which appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, focused on patients who’d recently had a stroke - a group that hasn’t really been studied when it comes to home blood pressure monitoring.

“Overall, home monitoring did not improve blood pressure control in patients with

hypertension and a history of stroke,” wrote lead researcher Sally Kerry, a researcher at Queen Mary, University of London.

The exception, though, was patients whose blood pressure was poorly controlled at the study’s start, meaning it was above the standard high blood pressure cutoff of 140/90 mm Hg.

In that case, patients given a home monitor cut an average of 11 points from their systolic blood pressure - the top number in the reading. That compared with just under five points among patients who were not given the devices.

Kerry’s team randomly assigned the patients to either stick with standard care only or get a home monitor, along with instructions on how to use it and periodic phone calls from a nurse to check on how they were doing.

Over the next year, the results

were mixed. Among the patients who didn’t seem to benefit were those who’d been left disabled by their stroke, while non-disabled patients cut about four points.

“Some patients had difficulty carrying out monitoring because they did not have a carer who lived with them to help,” said Kerry.

Many people with high blood pressure already have home monitors, and these findings don’t mean that stroke survivors can’t benefit, although a person left disabled by a stroke may be “not the best” candidate, said Hayden Bosworth, a professor of medicine at Duke University, who was not part of the study.

And for a monitor to benefit anyone, the numbers have to be put to good use, he added. That means a healthcare provider has to know what they are and make any needed adjustments to a patient’s medications. Reuters

ome blood pressuremonitors may be

hypertension and a history of stroke,” wrote lead researcher

were mixed. Among the patientswho didn’t seem to benefit were

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r O

livie

r M

arti

nez,

had

Nahla

, 4, w

ith form

er p

artn

er G

abrie

l A

ubry.

Canadia

n m

odel

Aubry,

who l

ives

and w

ork

s in

Los

Angele

s, h

ad p

eti

-ti

oned t

he c

ourt

to s

top B

erry’s

pla

ns

as

it w

ould

giv

e h

im l

imit

ed a

ccess

to

his

daughte

r. T

he d

uo a

ppeared in

court

Frid

ay,

reports

tm

z.com

.T

he 4

6-y

ear-o

ld a

ctr

ess

argued t

he

priv

acy law

s w

ere s

tronger in F

rance

and w

ould

keep N

ahla

safe

from

the

paparazz

i. B

ut

the c

ourt

reporte

dly

ju

dged in f

avour o

f A

ubry.

For n

ow

, B

erry a

nd M

arti

nez

have

put

their

weddin

g p

lans

on h

old

, w

hile

the a

ctr

ess

is

focuse

d o

n h

er c

ust

ody

batt

le, but

she r

eveale

d t

hey h

oped t

o

have a

child t

ogeth

er s

oon.

Berry a

nd A

ubry s

plit

in 2

010

, and

by

An

n H

orn

aday

“I’d

love t

o s

ay it

was

a ‘eureka’

mom

ent,

because

that

would

be v

ery d

ram

ati

c a

nd e

xcit

-in

g.

But

it w

asn

’t a

‘eureka’

mom

en

t. It

w

as m

ore a m

om

en

t of

accepta

nce.”

Th

e

En

gli

sh

dir

ecto

r

Joe

Wrig

ht

is t

alk

ing a

bout

his

new

movie

, A

nn

a

Ka

ren

ina, and t

he p

recis

e inst

ant

when

he k

new

that

he w

ould

film

Leo T

ols

toy’s

sp

raw

ling 1

870s

novel la

rgely

wit

hin

the

confines

of

a s

lightl

y r

un-d

ow

n t

heate

r,

presen

tin

g all

th

e rom

an

ce,

tragedy,

spir

ituality

, politi

cs,

his

tory a

nd g

ran

-deur it

conta

ins

as

light

opera, on a

tin

y

jew

el-

box s

tage.

“There w

as

a p

oin

t w

hen w

e w

ere 1

0

weeks

out

from

shooti

ng a

nd I

could

n’t

figure o

ut,

on lots

of le

vels

, how

to m

ake

this

film

— o

n a

practi

cal, c

reati

ve a

nd

fin

an

cia

l le

vel. S

o it

w

as a m

om

en

t,

really,

of sa

yin

g, ‘O

kay,

well, I’

ll just

have

to d

o w

hat

I’ve a

lways

wante

d t

o d

o.’

“W

hat

Wrig

ht

has

alw

ays

wan

ted t

o

do,

basi

cally,

is

take t

he m

ickey o

ut

of

both

the lit

eralism

and n

atu

ralism

that

have b

een

the c

onven

tion

al

cin

em

ati

c

approaches

when

dealin

g w

ith p

erio

d

dram

a,

wit

h u

sually t

urgid

or w

oefu

lly

tone-d

eaf

resu

lts.

When W

rig

ht

made

his

featu

re d

ebut

in 2

005 w

ith P

rid

e a

nd

Pre

jud

ice,

he in

jecte

d w

elc

om

e verve

into

the s

taid

Jan

e A

ust

en

adapta

tion

in

dust

ry; w

ith A

ton

em

en

t, b

ase

d o

n I

an

McE

wan’s

best

-sellin

g n

ovel, h

e e

xperi-

mente

d w

ith s

ubtl

e a

nachronis

ms,

such

as

a c

ontr

oversi

al

five-m

inute

trackin

g

shot

surveyin

g t

he c

haoti

c e

vacuati

on

at

Dunkir

k.

But

wit

h A

nn

a K

are

nin

a, W

rig

ht,

41,

ta

kes h

is n

atu

ral

proclivit

ies t

o e

ven

more t

heatr

ical

extr

em

es,

in

troducin

g

an e

lem

ent

of

arti

fice a

nd s

tylisa

tion t

o

Tols

toy’s

sto

ry o

f m

arria

ge a

nd its

dis

con-

ten

ts i

n I

mperia

l R

uss

ia t

hat

dram

ati

-cally p

ola

ris

ed a

udie

nces

when

the fi

lm

prem

iered a

t th

e T

oron

to I

nte

rn

ati

on

al

Film

Fest

ival

in S

epte

mber.

In W

rig

ht’s

producti

on, K

eir

a K

nig

htl

ey p

lays

Anna;

Aaron T

aylo

r-J

ohnso

n p

lays

Vronsk

y, h

er

lover; and J

ude L

aw

pla

ys

her c

uckold

ed

husb

and. W

ith t

heir

supporti

ng c

ast

and

500 R

uss

ian

extr

as,

they m

ove t

hrough

the s

tage a

nd w

ings

of W

rig

ht’s

imagin

ary

theate

r in a

sw

irling, oft

en ingenio

us

re-

imagin

ing o

f th

e n

ovel, a

t once m

inia

turis

-in

g its

grand c

anvas

but

als

o c

aptu

rin

g its

m

ost

subtl

e p

hiloso

phic

al ess

ence.

The c

oncept,

Wrig

ht

adm

itte

d d

urin

g

a v

isit

to W

ash

ingto

n, “w

as

quit

e r

adic

al,”

esp

ecia

lly b

ecause

he a

lready h

ad in h

and

a s

crip

t by p

layw

rig

ht

Tom

Sto

ppard a

nd

“was

dete

rm

ined n

ot

to c

hange t

he s

crip

t at

all. [I

wante

d]

to s

et

myse

lf t

he lim

ita-

tion o

f th

e t

heate

r, a

nd t

hen fi

nd s

olu

tions

in t

erm

s of film

gram

mar t

o e

xpress

what

Tom

had w

rit

ten.”

For

exam

ple

, in

on

e

scen

e,

Levin

(D

om

hn

all

G

leeson

) h

as

lun

ch

w

ith

Oblo

nsk

y (M

att

hew

M

acfa

dyen

), th

en

le

aves

to v

isit

Kit

ty (

Alicia

Vik

ander),

a

sequence t

hat

Sto

ppard w

rote

wit

h t

ra-

dit

ional

transi

tions

involv

ing c

arria

ges,

entr

ances

and e

xit

s. W

rig

ht

com

press

ed

the a

cti

on s

o t

hat

it a

ll t

ransp

ires

in o

ne

space,

wit

h t

he s

et

changin

g b

ehin

d t

he

pla

yers

and a

sta

ge c

urta

in s

tandin

g in for

the e

xte

rior

of K

itty

’s h

ouse

. T

he a

ppro

ach

is c

om

ple

x b

ut

als

o d

elightf

ully s

imple

, as

it f

ocuse

s in

on t

he p

ure e

moti

on a

nd

express

ion o

f T

ols

toy’s w

ork

, rath

er t

han

its

mate

ria

l tr

appin

gs.

The t

heatr

ical m

eta

phor,

Wrig

ht

adds,

was

utt

erl

y a

ppro

pri

ate

to t

he t

ime p

eri

od,

when t

he R

uss

ian a

ris

tocracy w

as

suff

er-

ing f

rom

what

he c

alls

an i

denti

ty c

ris

is.

“They r

eally d

idn’t k

now

where t

hey s

tood

betw

een t

he E

ast

and t

he W

est

. S

o t

hey

decid

ed t

hey a

spir

ed t

o t

he W

est

, and i

n

parti

cula

r t

o P

aris

. S

o t

hey s

poke F

rench

and t

hey w

ore t

he late

st P

aris

fash

ions

—

they e

ven h

ad t

heir

ballroom

s covered i

n

mir

rors

so t

hat

they c

ould

obse

rve t

heir

perfo

rm

ances

whilst

inte

racti

ng w

ith e

ach

oth

er.”

Perfo

rm

an

ce,

in

the

case

of

An

na

Ka

ren

ina,

als

o has to

do w

ith m

oral

agency,

a s

ubje

ct

that

is e

xplo

red n

ot

only

th

rough t

he t

itle

characte

r’s

heedle

ss a

nd

ult

imate

ly s

elf

-dest

ructi

ve love a

ffair

, but

in t

he s

tory

lin

es

of th

e idealist

ic L

evin

and

the a

ngelic K

itty

, as

well a

s th

e p

hilander-

ing O

blo

nsk

y a

nd h

is w

ife,

Dolly (

Kelly

Macdonald

). W

rig

ht

adm

its

that

he h

asn

’t

seen m

any p

revio

us

film

adapta

tions,

“but

I w

as

very s

urpris

ed t

o l

earn t

hat

most

people

left

Levin

out.

Because

he s

eem

s to

be t

he p

oin

t of it

, really.

Wit

hout

Levin

, you e

ither e

nd u

p w

ith a

very b

leak t

ale

of

obse

ssiv

e love, w

hic

h I

’m n

ot

sure is

love a

t all, or y

ou h

ave t

o c

om

ple

tely

change w

ho

Anna is,

into

som

e h

ero

ine-m

art

yr-

vic

tim

, and s

he’s n

ot

that,

eit

her.”

Wrig

ht,

who i

s m

arrie

d t

o t

he m

usi

-cia

n A

noush

ka S

hankar,

wit

h w

hom

he

has

a 2

0-m

onth

-old

son, sa

ys

that

makin

g

An

na

Ka

ren

ina c

oin

cid

ed w

ith h

is o

wn

explo

rati

on

of

sett

lin

g d

ow

n.

“The o

nly

advic

e t

he fi

lm g

ives

— a

nd t

his

isn

’t m

e,

but

Tom

Sto

ppard a

nd L

eo T

ols

toy,

but

I concur —

is

this

idea t

hat

you c

an’t

apply

th

e i

nte

llectu

al

rati

onale

to i

t. Y

ou h

ave

to learn t

o love t

he q

uest

ions.

”W

P-B

loo

mb

erg

Ber

ry c

an’t

tak

e da

ught

er t

o Fr

ance

Sin

ger J

usti

n B

ieber

and h

is a

ctr

ess

gir

l-fr

iend S

ele

na G

om

ez

made

a

perfe

ct

couple

, but

they h

ave r

eporte

dly

parte

d w

ays.

The n

ew

s c

om

es a

fter

Bie

ber,

18, w

as

seen c

hat-

ting u

p m

odels

backst

age

at

the

Vic

toria

’s

Secret

show

, and t

his

could

have

been t

he r

easo

n b

ehin

d t

he

split,

reports

eonline.c

om

.A

ccordin

g to

a source,

the duo broke up about

a

week

ago.

Th

ey

were

last

spott

ed to

geth

er on

Octo

ber 20,

an

d packed

sch

edu

les

als

o

perh

aps

took a

toll.

“Because

of

their

crazy

sch

edule

s,

it w

as gett

ing

harder

an

d

harder

to

main

tain

a rela

tion

sh

ip,”

sa

id t

he s

ource.

The c

ouple

sta

rte

d d

at-

ing 1

8 m

onth

s back.

Hav

e B

iebe

r an

d G

omez

spl

it?

Dab

angg

2 t

ease

r re

leas

ed o

n Fa

cebo

ok

Th

e

mu

ch

-aw

ait

ed

lo

ok

of

Da

ba

ngg

2

was

unveil

ed

on

Salm

an K

han’s

offi

cia

l F

acebook

page a

nd t

he s

tar s

ays

this

is

to c

ate

r

to n

ew

generati

on w

hic

h follow

s m

ovie

new

s on n

ew

media

.S

alm

an, w

hose

Facebook p

rofile

has

got

6.8

million l

ikes,

says

he w

ill

als

o

use

tradit

ional m

ediu

m t

o p

rom

ote

his

m

ovie

s.“T

here i

s a n

ew

generati

on f

ollow

-in

g m

ovie

new

s on n

ew

media

, so

we

laun

ched t

he c

am

paig

n o

n F

acebook.

We w

ill

con

tinue to

use tr

adit

ion

al

media

. It

’s n

ot

about

one r

epla

cin

g t

he

oth

er.

It

’s on

e alo

ngsid

e th

e oth

er,”

Salm

an s

aid

in a

sta

tem

ent.

Dir

ecte

d b

y A

rbaaz

Khan

, D

ab

an

gg 2

is

a s

equel

to 2

010

blo

ckbust

er

Da

ba

ngg a

nd a

lso s

tars

Sonaksh

i S

inha a

nd D

eepak D

obriy

al. I

t w

ill

hit

th

eatr

es

Dec 2

1.T

he 1

0-s

econd-t

ease

r, w

hic

h w

as

unveiled o

n N

ovem

ber 7

, ju

st s

how

s S

alm

an w

ith h

is t

radem

ark

shades.

While a

noth

er t

ease

r, w

hic

h w

ill als

o

be r

ele

ase

d o

n F

acebook.c

om

/Bein

gS

alm

anK

han,

will

giv

e a

sneak p

eak

into

the m

ovie

.

Big

B r

ekin

dles

Yaa

rana

in K

olka

ta

His

tory

repeate

d

itself

aft

er

three

decades

Satu

rday

as

Bollyw

ood s

uperst

ar A

mit

abh

Bacchan w

alk

ed d

ow

n t

he v

ery t

unnel

of th

e N

eta

ji S

ubhash

Indoor S

tadiu

m

here t

hrough w

hic

h h

e h

ad s

aunte

red

maje

stic

ally d

urin

g o

ne o

f th

e s

cenes

of

the 1

981

blo

ckbust

er Y

aa

ran

a.

The l

egen

d o

f In

dia

n c

inem

a,

who

recen

tly tu

rn

ed 70,

said

: “K

olk

ata

w

ill

alw

ays

have a

specia

l pla

ce i

n m

y

heart.

Every t

ime I

cam

e h

ere, I

was

welc

om

ed w

ith s

uch w

arm

th, lo

ve a

nd

adula

tion w

hic

h I

have n

ever f

ound in

any o

ther p

art

of

the w

orld

.”T

he

supersta

r

was

in

the

cit

y

to

inau

gu

rate

th

e

18th

K

olk

ata

In

tern

ati

on

al

Film

F

esti

val

(KIF

F)

at

the s

tadiu

m w

ith S

hah R

ukh K

han, on a

specia

l in

vit

ati

on f

rom

West

B

engal C

hie

f M

inis

ter M

am

ata

Banerje

e.

The c

hie

f m

inis

ter e

xpress

ed h

er r

esp

ect

for B

achchan.

“Am

itabh ji la

st c

am

e t

o t

he N

eta

ji I

ndoor S

tadiu

m h

ere for t

he s

hooti

ng

of

‘Yarana’. B

ecause

he h

as

com

e w

e a

re m

oved, and e

nti

re W

est

Bengal

is p

roud b

ecause

he h

as

inaugurate

d t

he fi

lm f

est

ival. H

e b

elo

ngs

not

only

to

India

, but

is a

lso a

legendary fi

lm fi

gure in t

he w

orld

,” s

aid

Banerje

e a

t th

e inaugurati

on.

Ya

ara

na,

whic

h c

am

e o

ut

in 1

981

sees

the a

cto

r w

alk

ing t

hrough t

he

tunnel

at

the N

eta

ji I

ndoor S

tadiu

m o

nto

a m

akesh

ift

stage a

nd b

elt

ing

out

the p

opula

r h

it S

aa

ra Z

am

an

a t

o a

packed a

udie

nce.

At

the i

naugural

cerem

ony o

f th

e fi

lm f

est

ival

on S

atu

rday,

he w

alk

ed

dow

n t

he s

am

e p

ath

leadin

g t

o t

he d

ais

to t

um

ult

uous

appla

use

from

nati

onal and inte

rnati

onal guest

s.“T

he p

eople

here h

ave t

he s

pecia

l knack o

f lift

ing y

our s

pir

its.

So I

alw

ays

say i

f you a

re d

epress

ed, com

e t

o K

olk

ata

. T

he p

eople

here w

ill

lift

your

spir

it,” h

e s

aid

, att

ired in a

bla

ck b

andhgala

coat.

As

a s

pecia

l tr

ibute

to B

acchan, K

IFF

will sc

reen s

even o

f his

cult

film

s,

inclu

din

g D

eew

ar,

Ab

him

an a

nd B

lack

.T

he fi

lm f

est

ival, r

unnin

g f

rom

Novem

ber 1

0 t

o 1

7, w

ill sc

reen 1

89 m

ov-

ies

from

60 c

ountr

ies.

Sta

ging

a g

rand

sto

ry o

n

an in

tim

ate

scal

e

she m

et

Marti

nez

the s

am

e y

ear o

n

the s

et

of

Da

rk T

ide. S

he w

as

marrie

d

to form

er b

ase

ball p

layer D

avid

Just

ice

from

1993 t

o 1

997,

and l

ate

r t

o s

inger

Eric

Benet

from

2001

to 2

005.

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 TRAVEL10

Top 10 bridges around the worldS

uspension bridges, covered bridges, wind-and-rain bridges, rope bridges, ornamental bridges. There’s a prac-tical purpose to every bridge; that

river has to be crossed or that gorge spanned. But it’s the romance, legend and spectacle of a bridge that led online travel consultants Cheapflights.com to create its list of the Top 10 most impressive bridges around the world.

1. Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom

The world saw Tower Bridge this year during Britain’s remarkable summer of Diamond Jubilee festivities, the Olympics and Paralympic Games. It was built in 1894, all Victorian Gothic with Cornish granite and Portland stone, close to the Tower of London from which it gets its name. Standing 42 metres (yards) above the legendary River Thames, its walkways are vantage points for many London landmarks. Plus, it’s the only bridge on the Thames that can be raised to let boats pass. The bascules are raised approxi-mately 1,000 times per year.

2. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA

No list of bridges is complete without this orange-vermillion wonder that spans the strait linking San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. It has stood above the Golden Gate, often shrouded in fog, for 75 years. At 4,200 feet long, the Golden Gate Bridge was, for almost 30 years, the longest in the world. In a city of superb see-before-you-die attrac-tions, the bridge tops the list. Visitors can walk or bike across it. Alternatively, the Bridge Pavilion tells the story of the bridge and has a range of souvenirs for friends and family back home.

3. Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, Canada

This is the bridge that Guinness built. Really. The Lions Gate Bridge, known officially as the First Narrows Bridge, spans Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver to the North Shore (North Vancouver and West Vancouver). The Lions Gate refers to the mountain peaks (The Lions) that are visible to drivers heading north. The wealthy Guinness family invested heavily in West Vancouver and part of the deal was that they - through their British Pacific Properties Co. - would build all roads and water lines. Knowing that they needed to make the area more accessible, they were involved with the construction of the bridge and, in 1986, gifted its lights.

4. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia

The bridge is the largest steel-arch bridge in the world. It’s not the longest (that honor belongs to the New River Gorge in West Virginia), but it’s one of the most recognizable symbols of Australia. It’s 1,149 meters (3,770 feet) long and its arch span is 503 meters. The top of the arch is 134 meters above the sea and the clearance for shipping under the deck is a spacious 49 meters. Eager to climb to the Pylon Lookout? There are 200 steps to ascend to get to one of Sydney’s oldest tourist attractions. If you want to climb it, you can do that too for about $218. In overalls and

secured to a safety line, you can climb 1,500 meters over the arch.

5. Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glenfinnan, Scotland

Fans of the Harry Potter films will rec-ognize this as the railway viaduct that the Hogwarts Express chugs across. It’s not the only film to feature it. It “starred” in Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, Stone of Destiny and Ring of Bright Water too. Built by Sir Robert McAlpine at the end of the 19th cen-tury, the viaduct is composed of 21 arches, each spanning 15 metres and has a maxi-mum height of 30 metres offering sumptu-ous views down to Loch Shiel below. The railway viaduct is on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Lochaber in the Highlands and a round-trip ticket, between mid-May and the

end of October, will set you back 32 pounds (around $50).

6. Si-o-se Pol, Isfahan, IranSi-o-se Pol, which means the Bridge

of 33 Arches, has stood in Isfahan, Iran, since the 17th century. Spanning the river Zayandeh Rud, it’s one of 11 bridges in Isfahan. It’s one of the most famous exam-ples of Safavid bridge design although Khadjou Bridge is considered to be more beautiful. There are two rows of 33 arches and its yellow brick and limestone masonry give it that buttery softness that, when the sun hits, makes it appear to melt into the river. It’s a charming bridge of alcoves, where you can sit and admire the view. Or, in the tea house, sip cups of steaming tea.

7. Ponte Vecchio, Florence, ItalyPonte Vecchio means “old bridge” in

Italian and it’s certainly that. The bridge on the River Arno was mentioned in a document as far back as 996 AD. Destroyed a couple of times but always rebuilt, it was spared by the retreating Germans in 1944 on the orders of Hitler (although the medieval buildings on each side of the bridge were demolished, blocking access). Once upon a time, bridges were places of commerce with butchers, tan-ners and fishmongers plying their trade there. By the end of the 16th century, the bridge was upgraded to sweeter-smelling businesses for goldsmiths and jewelers. Not too different to who’s there now. Lying across the Arno at its narrowest point, it’s just 98-feet long.

8. Victoria Falls Bridge, Zimbabwe/Zambia

The Zambezi River roars beneath the Victoria Falls Bridge, which links two coun-tries: Zimbabwe and Zambia. On one side is Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and on the other, Livingstone, Zambia. A feat of Victorian design and engineering, it took just 14 months to build. To press home its Victorian creden-tials, it was opened by Charles Darwin’s son, George, in 1905. It’s a road, railway and foot-way and a launch platform for thrilling bungee jumps. At 650-feet long and 420 feet above the river, it’s a close second to the spectacu-lar Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya).

9. Pont Alexandre III, Paris, FrancePont Neuf is Paris’s oldest bridge - and one

of its most famous - but the Pont Alexandre III is the most extravagant and highly deco-rated bridge on the Seine. This arch bridge (connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter with the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarters) was built for the Universal Exposition of 1900, the great world’s fair. Russia’s Tsar Nicholas II lay the first brick (it was at a time when France was courting Russia as an ally) and it was named after the Tsar’s father Alexander III. This historic monument is studded with gilded-bronze winged horses, composi-tions in copper that represent the nymphs of the Seine (the nymphs of the Neva in Saint Petersburg are represented downstream) and ornate lamp posts (candelabras really) that are adorned with cherubs.

10. Teufelsbrücke, SwitzerlandThis is the bridge that was built by the devil.

Or so it is said. The story goes that the devil built the bridge and in exchange for his engi-neering and construction skills, he’d receive the first soul to cross it. The canny villagers sent a goat instead of a person, and, enraged by this, the devil tried to destroy his newly constructed bridge by throwing a boulder (the Teufelsstein, the devil’s stone) at it. However, catching sight of an old woman carrying a cross, he took fright and ran away, drop-ping the stone as he went. Myths aside, the Teufelsbrücke spans the Reuss River high up in the Swiss mountains in the canton of Uri. It provides access to the St. Gotthard Pass. The bridge that is in use now is actually the third bridge. The first bridge (wooden and built by the devil) was built in 1230 and the sec-ond (built in the 1820s) is located close to this “new” (1950s) concrete bridge. Reuters

Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA

Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, Canada

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012BOOKS 11

by Max Scott

The lure of the desert is some-thing that strikes a chord in all of us. The legendary adventurers of bygone ages

have left us a record that tries to capture something of that attraction – the vast emptiness, the terrifying vulnerability of travellers venturing across it. Explorers such as Burton, Thesiger, Doughty and Lawrence were all driven to chart the experience and their mesmirising accounts were often the first reports the world had ever really had of this uncharted territory.

The most brilliant of all those early accounts must surely be what came to us from T E Lawrence, or “Lawrence of Arabia” as he was commonly known. In April 1917, as Woodrow Wilson was declaring war on Germany and Lenin was making his triumphal entry into Petrograd, this controversial British colonel was out in the Saudi desert try-ing to stir Arab tribal revolt against the lingering Ottoman presence. A born writer, he drew upon his experiences in the desert to write Seven Pillars of Wisdom. This book, one of the best ever written on Arabia, achieved levels of description that bordered on poetry. Whether plodding along on treks through endless sands or galloping to attack a Turkish outpost, Lawrence somehow managed to absorb the col-our, the detail, the mood of the moment and later recreate it in clear and lovely prose — such as this account of a raid-ing party’s return to camp after a raid on the Hejaz Railroad at Hedia, some 170km up from Medina:

“We had put our camels’ backs to the storm, to march before it: but these internal whirling winds tore our tightly-held cloaks from our hands, filled our eyes, and robbed us of all sense of direction by turning our camels right or left from their course. Sometimes they were blown completely round: once we clashed helplessly together in a vortex, while large bushes, tufts of grass, and even a small tree were torn up by the roots in dense waves of the soil about them, and driven against us, or blown over our heads with dangerous force. We were never blinded—it was always possible to see for seven or eight feet to each side—but it was risky to look out, as, in addition to the certain sand-blast, we never knew if we should not meet a flying tree, a rush of pebbles, or a spout of grass-laden dust.

“This storm lasted for eighteen min-utes, and then leaped forward from us as suddenly as it had come. Our party was scattered over a square mile or more, and before we could rally, while we, our clothes and our camels were yet smothered in dust, yellow and heavy with it from head to foot, down burst torrents of thick rain and mud-died us to the skin. The valley began

to run in plashes of water, and Dakhil-Allah urged us across it quickly. The wind chopped once more, this time to the north, and the rain came driving before it in harsh sheets of spray. It beat through our wollen cloaks in a moment, and moulded them and our shirts to our bodies, and chilled us to the bone....

“It was very dark; a pure night enough, but the black stone underfoot swallowed the light of the stars, and at seven o’clock, when at last we halted, only four of our party were with us. We had reached a gentle valley, with a yet damp, soft, sandy bed, full of thorny brushwood, unhappily useless as camel food. We ran about tearing up these bitter bushes by the roots and heaping them in a great pyre, which Auda lit. When the fire grew hot a long black snake wormed slowly out into our group; we must have gathered it, torpid, with the twigs. The flames went shining across the dark flat, a beacon

to the heavy camels which had lagged so much to-day that it was two hours before the last group arrived, the men singing their loudest, partly to encour-age themselves and their hungry ani-mals over the ghostly plain, partly so that we might know them friends. We wished their slowness slower, because of our warm fire.”

Lawrence goes on to describe how he and his companions laid mines beneath the sleepers of the railroad, scurry-ing to retreat and watch the impact of the explosion – scenes captured vividly in David Lean’s epic film, Lawrence of Arabia. One account tells of their horror as they realise the oncoming train is full only of women and chil-dren, southbound pilgrims to the Holy Cities, and their relief as the mine fails to detonate. Long hours through the night are spent searching for the hair trigger mechanism amongst 100 yards of clinker beneath the track. Success

is realised as they hear the distant detonation the following morning from Bir Rubi’aan, and later learn of the destruction of a train carrying engi-neers and replacement sleepers. As Lawrence later says:

“Some of the evil of my tale may have been inherent in our circum-stances. For years we lived anyhow with one another in the naked desert under the indifferent heaven.”

The wild empty spaces that Lawrence describes still holds us in thrall. The passing century since the events related in The Seven Pillars has not dimmed our fascination with this land. It is a space that to this day we enter at our peril, for all that we may be bolstered by technology and science, and that danger, coupled with a rugged beauty, can be relied upon to continue inspiring travelers and writers for many years to come.

The Peninsula

With Lawrence in Arabia

Seven Pillars of

Wisdom, the book on which the film Lawrence of Arabia is based, is avail-able in a collec-tors’ edition from the Folio Society, bound in bukram leather, introduced by Michael Asher with a foreword from Wilfred Thesiger.

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 MOTORING12

Sporty and open-top cars are back in Qatar this season, with thanks to MINI, the car small in size but big in space, design and personality.

The brand’s two newest models - the MINI Coupé and Roadster - are the world’s only two-seater MINI models and embodies sportiness, agility to provide the best-ever interpretation of MINI’s go-kart driv-ing experience. The streets of Qatar will enjoy the playfulness of MINI this winter that extends far beyond vehicle design, and highlights the sportiness and adventurous positioning of these new MINI models.

THE MINI ROADSTERThe first open-top two-seater MINI makes open-

air driving fun. Even with the roof closed the MINI Roadster displays an elegant, sweeping silhouette, with the transition from soft-top to rear end high-lighting its characteristic three-box design particu-larly clearly.

The MINI Roadster comes with a range of stand-ard equipment, including MINI Connected infotain-ment and communications functions that allow the driver to enjoy web radio, Google services, RSS news feeds, Mission Control, and in-car use of Facebook and Twitter through connecting smart phone.

Additionally, the car features speed-sensitive steer-ing assistance, Park Distance Control, height-adjust-able seats and an audio system with MP3-compatible CD player and AUX IN connection. Additional options such as xenon Adaptive Headlights, black headlight housing, Comfort Access and the Always Open Timer are also available on demand.

The latest generation 1.6 litre, four cylinder engines with TwinPower Turbo technology will be available as the John Cooper Works (211hp), Cooper S (184hp) and Cooper (122hp).

THE MINI COUPÉ

As one of the sportiest model in the MINI line-up,

the MINI Coupé sees the brand breathe new life into its successful racing history.

Inside the car, the two-seater concept is emphasised by features such as oval recesses in the roof liner which emphasis the two-seat layout. With its extremely high-opening tailgate and large luggage area with through-loading facility, the MINI Coupé displays versatility in day-to-day driving.

The MINI Coupé can be ordered with the most powerful petrol engines with outputs ranging from the 122 hp of the MINI Cooper Coupé, to MINI Cooper S Coupé (184 hp) and all the way up to the MINI John Cooper Works Coupé, a thoroughbred

athlete producing 211 hp that is now available in manual and automatic transmission

Mohammad Kandeel, General Manager of Alfardan Automobiles, the official MINI importer in Qatar, said, “MINI has always brought the fun and active side out of our customers. Now that winter has come, we are looking forward to seeing the MINI fans painting the streets of Qatar with MINI’s charismatic appeal and edgy looks.”

“The MINI Roadster provides the ideal and enjoyable open-air driving experience with its movable top, while the MINI Coupé fuels the active side of the driver, with its sportiness and agility design” he added. The Peninsula

New MINI models hit Doha roads

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveiled the 2013 model Ghost recently in Qatar with subtle enhancements that ensures the car is equipped to pinnacle Rolls-

Royce standards. On opening the 2013 Ghost’s coach doors, occu-

pants will be welcomed by soft, natural grain leather, complimented by cross banded wood veneers creating an atmosphere of sumptuous luxury.

Upgraded amplifier and the addition of ‘exciter’ speakers elegantly housed in the leather head-lining, ensures the audio system in Ghost richly fills the capacious rear cabin, raising the centre of sound closer to the passenger’s ear.

Ghost 2013 comes equipped with Comfort Access, a first of its kind convenience feature that allows the opening of the boot with an effort-less foot movement. In case both hands are busy, the mere presence of the key in the vicinity of the car will prime the boot release mechanism, and open automatically once you place your foot underneath the center of the rear bumper.

An additional forged alloy wheel option, which can be specified alongside a palette of 44,000 exterior paint options, completes the update.

The 2013 Ghost took inspiration from the Bespoke Ghost Six Sense collection and will com-mence production in the fall of 2012.

The Peninsula

New Ghost gets inspiration from Six Sense collection

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 COMICS

Garfield Jim Davis

13

Slylock Fox Bob Weber

ALL IN THE MIND Can you find the hidden words? They may be horizontal,vertical, diagonal, forwards or backwards.

ARTHUR, BAMBI, BARNEY RUBBLE, BETTY BOOP, BUGS BUNNY, CHARLIE BROWN, DAFFY DUCK, DONALD DUCK, DUMBO, EEYORE, ELMER FUDD, FELIX THE CAT, FRED FLINTSTONE, GARFIELD, GOOFY, MICKEY MOUSE, MIGHTY MOUSE, MR MAGOO, PLUTO, POPEYE, PORKY PIG, ROAD RUNNER, SCOOBY-DOO, SNOOPY, SYLVESTER, THE SIMPSONS, TIGGER, TOM AND JERRY, TOP CAT, TWEETY, WINNIE THE POOH.

Doonesbury Garry Trudeau

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012

HYPER SUDOKU

CROSS WORD

CROSSWORDS

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku

Puzzle is solved

by filling the

numbers from 1

to 9 into the blank

cells. A Hyper

Sudoku has

unlike Sudoku

13 regions

(four regions

overlap with the

nine standard

regions). In all

regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear

only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is

solved like a normal Sudoku.

ACROSS

1 Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins

10 Large parts of some support systems?

15 Bit of the magic of Disney

16 Increased

17 Start practicing, as bad habits

18 University next to the Centers for Disease Control headquarters

19 A.B.A. team that signed Moses Malone out of high school

20 Yellow fever carrier

21 “Vexations” composer

22 Cause people to disbelieve, with “on”

24 Flintstones vitamins maker

25 Pull up stakes, informally

26 U.S. United Nations representative, 2005-06

30 Pfizer brand since 1997

32 Dunce-cap-shaped

33 “The Great Santini” author

34 Nutty as can be

36 Kept slightly open artificially, maybe

37 Storms on the road

38 Spanish uncle?

40 Anne Brontë’s first novel

42 The U.S.S. Constitution has three

47 Grounation Day celebrant

48 Snack item next to a dip bowl

50 With lid rattling, say

51 These days

52 Waterfall or rapid

53 Feature of many a pizzeria

54 Builds up

55 Sticks firmly

DOWN 1 A little above average

2 Loop taken on a drive?

3 Gertrude Stein or Alice B. Toklas

4 “___ could” (expression of regret)

5 Thornburgh’s predecessor as attorney general

6 Mine entrance

7 Makeshift cat dish

8 Animal that has escaped from its owner

9 Fox Business Network show

10 Horrible

11 Provider of relief for a finger?

12 Roman count?

13 All in the family?

14 Le Carré specialty

23 Flashes

24 Ominous

26 Coastal setting of “The Birds”

27 Bistro offering

28 Bathroom item on a honey-do list

29 Bit of retribution

31 Locust tree feature

32 Cuban remnant

35 From Land’s End, e.g.

36 Aces, nowadays

39 Will, if intentions bear out

41 De-ices, perhaps

42 Rules of conduct

43 Lead-in to God or Congress

44 Trinity member

45 Post-marathon posts

46 Wiped out

49 “Best friend” from Germany?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16

17 18

19 20

21 22 23

24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31

32 33

34 35 36

37 38 39

40 41 42 43 44 45 46

47 48 49

50 51

52 53

54 55

M U S L I M S T E E N A G EA N T O N I O B A N D E R A SS P R I N K L E R S Y S T E M

L I N S E E D S S T Y L ES E PP A L I S H A S O F L I PI S I N T O T O R A B O R AD A N G E R O U S C U R V E SE N G E N D E R A L I E N SR T S T E R N S T E R E O

S A NI N T W O M A N I F O L DD O M E S T I C A N I M A L SE L E P H A N T T R A I N E RD O N T A S K L E T T E R S

How to play Kakuro:The kakuro grid, unlike in sudoku, can be of any size. It has rows and columns, and dark cells like in a crossword. And, just like in a crossword, some of the dark cells will contain numbers. Some cells will contain two numbers.However, in a crossword the numbers reference clues. In a kakuro, the numbers are all you get! They denote the total of the digits in the row or column referenced by the number.Within each collection of cells - called a run

- any of the numbers 1 to 9 may be used but, like sudoku, each number may only be used once.

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

14

EASY SUDOKUEasy Sudoku PuzzlesPlace a digit from 1 to 9 in each empty cell so everyrow, every column and every 3x3 box contains allthe digits 1 to 9.

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 CINEMA / TV LISTINGS

SHOWING AT CITY CENTER11:45 Spanish League

Malaga V Real

Sociedad

13:30 Magazine Tba

14:00 English Sports

News

14:15 Npower League

Blackburn V

Birmingham

16:00 Basketball

Nba Miami @

Memphis

18:00 English Sports

News

18:15 Dutch League

Pec Zwolle V

Ajax

20:00 Boxing Klitschko

V Wach

21:30 The Football

League Show

22:00 The Global

Game

23:00 Spanish League

Mallorca V

Barcelona

08:00 News

09:00 The Frost

Interview

10:30 Inside Story

11:00 News

11:30 Artscape

12:00 News

12:30 People &

Power

14:00 News

14:30 Inside Story

15:00 Witness

16:00 NEWSHOUR

17:00 News

17:30 Talk to Al

Jazeera

18:00 NEWSHOUR

19:00 News

19:30 Counting the

Cost

20:00 News

20:30 Inside Story

21:00 NEWSHOUR

22:00 News

22:30 The Stream

23:00 Empire

14:10 Border Security

14:35 Dirty Money

15:05 Auction Kings

15:30 Ultimate

Survival

18:15 Mythbusters

19:10 How Do They

Do It?

19:40 How It’s Made

20:05 Border Security

20:35 Scrappers

21:00 Auction Kings

22:25 Deadliest

Catch

23:20 An Idiot Abroad

14:00 Croc Labyrinth

15:00 Caught In The

Act

16:00 Killer Shots

17:00 Lion Battle

Zone

19:00 Built For The

Kill

20:00 Mother Croc

21:00 Caught In The

Act

22:00 How Big Can It

Get

10:35 Transformers

Prime

11:25 Thundercats

11:50 Regular Show

13:05 Johnny Test

14:00 The Marvelous

Misadventures...

23:00 Ben 10:

Ultimate Alien

23:50 The Powerpuff

Girls

10:00 Held Up (1999)

12:00 The Family

Stone

14:00 In Her Shoes

16:15 Held Up (1999)

18:00 Submarine

20:00 Analyze That

22:00 The Guru

15

14:45 Wildest Africa

15:40 Safari Vet

School

17:00 Wild Animal

Orphans

17:30 Bad Dog

18:25 Dogs v Cats

19:20 World Wild Vet

20:15 Gator Boys

22:05 Wild France

23:00 Into The Lion’s

Den

23:55 The Magic Of

The Big Blue

11:25 Ring Of The

Musketeers

12:50 Swamp Thing

14:25 Yentl

16:35 In The Shadow

Of A Killer

18:10 The 70’s

20:10 Eye Of The

Needle

22:00 Gate II

23:45 The Red Shoe

Diaries

11:10 What’s Up, Doc?

12:45 Passage To

Marseille

14:35 Philadelphia Story

16:25 Meet Me In Las

Vegas

18:15 They Were

Expendable

20:35 Ice Station

Zebra

23:00 Shoot The

Moon

13:15 Tommy & Oscar

16:15 Lucky Dragon

18:00 Chronicles Of

Narnia: Voyage Of

The Dawn Treader

20:00 Return To

Halloweentown

22:00 Mia And The

Migoo

GULF CINEMA

1

Student Of The Year (2D/Hindi) – 2.00, 5.00 & 11.15pm

Maatran (2D/Tamil) – 8.00pm

2Jawan Of Vellimala (2D/Malayalam)

– 2.30, 5.30, 8.30 & 11.15pm

MALL CINEMA

1Jawan Of Vellimala (2D/Malayalam)

– 2.30, 5.00, 8.00 & 11.00pm

2

Alex Cross (2D/Action) – 2.30pm

Wreck - It Ralph (3D/Animation) – 4.30 & 6.30pm

Flight (2D/Drama) – 8.30 & 11.00pm

3

Cash Flow (2D/Arabic) – 2.30pm

Sinister (2D/Horror) – 4.15pm

Hotel Transylvania (3D/Animation) – 6.15pm

Skyfall (2D/Action) – 8.15 & 11.00pm

ROYAL PLAZA

1

Cash Flow (2D/Arabic) – 2.30pm

Sinister (2D/Horror) – 4.30pm

Flight (2D/Drama) – 6.15 & 11.15pm

Skyfall (2D/Action) – 8.45pm

2

Brave (Animation) – 3.00pm

Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (Animation) – 5.00 & 7.00pm

Paranorman – 8.30 & 10.30pm

3

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – 2.30 & 4.30pm

The Amazing Spiderman (3D) – 6.30pm

The Guard – 9.00pm

The Bourne Legacy (Action) – 11.30pm

LANDMARK

1

Cash Flow (2D/Arabic) – 2.30pm

Here Comes The Boom (2D/Comedy) – 4.30 & 6.30pm

Skyfall (2D/Action) – 8.45 & 11.15pm

2

Hotel Transylvania (3D/Animation) – 2.30 & 4.15pm

Flight (2D/Drama) – 6.00, 8.45 & 11.15pm

3

Wreck - It Ralph (3D/Animation) – 3.00 & 5.00pm

Sinister (2D/Horror) – 7.00 & 9.15pm

Seven Psychopaths (2D/Comedy) – 11.30pm

PLUS | MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2012 POTPOURRI16

Today in Qatar

‘The UP Factory’ ExhibitionWHERE: VCUQatar Atrium & Gallery, Education City, Doha. WHAT: Co-founder and director of Droog, Renny Ramakers initiates projects, curates design exhibitions, and lectures worldwide. Free entry

Kimiko Yoshida WHEN: 10am - 10pmWHERE: Katara Gallery 1, Building 19 WHAT: Japanese photographer Kimiko Yoshida studied photography in Japan as well as in France, where she lives and works since 1995. For the Katara Galleries exhibition the curator has selected works where the artist features her interpretation of Middle Eastern, Arab and North African traditional dress and accessories.Free entry

“Elizabeth Taylor in Iran, 1976” Firooz Zahedi WHEN: 10am - 10pmWHERE: Katara Gallery 1, Building 19 WHAT: Firooz Zahedi was a personal friend and confidant of Elizabeth Taylor, as a friend and a photographer he accompanied the movie start in her visit to Iran in 1976. This exhibition will bring to Doha the photographs taken during that visit.Free entry

MEDIA SCAN

IN FOCUS

• People are asking why single workers are still staying near families.

• There is a discussion going on about chil-dren born to Qatari mothers and foreign fathers, and whether they should get Qatari passports.

• Many people are complaining about young people driving at high speed on motorcy-cles at night.

• There is a discussion about the Fanar build-ing in Doha. People say it’s beautiful but needs to be repainted.

• There is a discussion about 1,000 fake medical certificates which the Quality Control Department at Supreme Council of Health discovered from medical profes-sionals who applied for jobs in Qatar.

• Media people are complaining about the

difficulties they face when they try to inter-view someone in the government and how sometimes it’s hard to reach them.

• People are asking why school cases go directly to the police or prosecution instead of solving them at the Supreme Education Council.

• There is a discussion about the increas-ing rate of obesity among students and ways to combat it by educating students about proper diet and regular exercise and healthy food habits.

• There is a discussion about inflation in the country and what’s the government’s role to control it or take action about monopolies.

• There is a discussion about closing a school medical centre, especially psychia-try clinic and shifting it to a main centre.

A summary ofissues of the daydiscussed by the Qatari communityin the media.

Endangered finless porpoises swimming in Wuhan Baji Aquarium in China’s central Hubei province. Chinese scientists began a month-long survey of the dwindling population of the endangered finless porpoise known as the “river pig” by locals, in the Yangtze River.

by Peter Parks

by Richard Ingham

Aboriginal myths, tropical Australia and the Great Barrier Reef provide a stunning backdrop next

week to an eagerly-awaited total eclipse of the Sun.

For over three hours next Wednesday, the alignment of our Sun, our Moon and our planet will create one of the most spectacular sights in Nature.

The bringer of light and life is briefly blotted out, replaced by a corona of gold, its face obscured by a dark disc. Daytime stars appear in an indigo sky. The temperature eerily drops. Birds, confused by the strange coming of night, may fly into build-ings and bats may leave their roosts.

A swathe of northern Australia, led by the tourist paradise of Queensland, is the only place where the eclipse will be viewed by many people, for the event will mainly take place over the vast, uninhab-ited South Pacific.

The light show starts at 2035 GMT Tuesday -- shortly after daybreak

local time on Wednesday -- when the Moon’s shadow, or umbra, falls in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in the Northern Territory, about 250km east of Darwin, according to NASA eclipse-meister Fred Espenak.

The umbra then flits eastward, across the Gulf of Carpentaria, before alighting in Queensland, where eclipse junkies -- some of them well-heeled Europeans and Americans on specially-organised trips --- will gather in Cairns and Port Douglas, the gateways to the Great Barrier Reef. Weather per-mitting, they will get two minutes of “totality.”

After a 14,500-km trek, the three-body ballet comes to an end at 2348 GMT about 800km west of Chile.

Outside the path of totality, a par-tial eclipse will be visible in Papua New Guinea, the extreme eastern part of Indonesia, the eastern half of Australia, the whole of New Zealand, Polynesia, part of Antarctica and the southern part of Chile and Argentina, says Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).

AFP

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Cosmic quirk explainsDownunder eclipse

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