3 Sep

September 3, 2010

Kuwait Times

NO: 14840

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INSIDE

Spice up your life during Ramadan PAGE 4

Somalia: Inside the piratesʼ lair

WASHINGTON: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II walk to East Room of the White House before making statements on the Middle East peace negotiations in Washington, Wednesday. (Inset) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during remarks on the Middle East peace negotiations in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday. — AP

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Hope, skepticism rock talks Bibi, Abbas in face-to-face Mideast talks; Hamas vows more deadly attacks

Beirutʼs beautiful people splash out for Ramadan PAGE 55

Azarenkaʼs collapse shocks US Open PAGE 64

WASHINGTON: With a diplomatic push from US President Barack Obama, Israeli and Palestinian leaders started direct peace talks yesterday overshadowed by skepticism on all sides and violence in the volatile West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met at the State Department, relaunching talks after a 20-month hiatus and seeking a deal within one year that will set up an independent Palestinian state sideby-side with a secure Israel.

Obama, who has staked considerable political capital on the Washington talks during a pivotal US congressional election year, urged both sides to grasp the chance for peace after separate meetings at the White House on Wednesday. “This moment of opportunity may not soon come again. They cannot afford to let it slip away,” Obama said after a day of personal diplomacy on a problem that has confounded generations of US leaders.

But opponents of a settlement and the concessions that would be required to reach it threatened to sabotage the talks. In Gaza, Hamas said its militants would keep on attacking Israelis in West Bank settlements, where Palestinian police have rounded up more than 500 Hamas suspects after a member of the Islamist group shot dead four Jewish settlers on Tuesday.

“Mahmoud Abbas does not have the right to speak for the Palestinians,” said a Hamas spokesman. Jewish settlers announced plans to launch new construction immediately in their West Bank enclaves, defying the Israeli government’s moratorium which has three

more weeks to run. A settlers spokeswoman said the freeze was over and building would resume in 80 settlements without further delay. A spokesman for the Palestinians said Israel must stop any activity aimed at “sabotaging the peace efforts”.

The issue of settlements looms large over the peace talks. Abbas has warned he will walk out unless Israel extends its self-imposed moratorium before it expires on Sept 26. Yesterday saw both sides get down to business after the pomp of their White House reception. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will host the State Department talks, with opening statements expected around 10 am EDT (1400 GMT). US Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell, who has been shuttling between the two camps for months to lay down the parameters for the negotiations, will give a public briefing after talks conclude to explain what-if anything-has been accomplished.

Violence flared anew as the leaders arrived in Washington, underscoring challenges ahead. Four Israeli settlers were killed by the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas in a shooting attack in the West Bank on Tuesday. Another two people were wounded in a similar attack by suspected Palestinian gunmen on Wednesday. Both Netanyahu and Abbas condemned Tuesday’s attack, which Obama described as “senseless slaughter.”

But they put new emphasis on Israel’s security concerns and Netanyahu, who heads a coalition dominated by pro-settler parties, has resisted any formal extension of the partial construction freeze, leaving a ques-

tion mark over the prospects for the talks. Obama’s personal foray into Middle East peacemaking, with its ambitious one-year timeline for a deal, comes as his fellow Democrats face potentially big losses in November’s congressional elections. The talks are also seen as a test of Obama’s faltering drive to improve ties with the Muslim world as he pushes for a united front against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Both Netanyahu and Abbas were conciliatory after their meetings with Obama on Wednesday but both also stressed their own political imperatives: security for Israel in Netanyahu’s case, and a halt to settlement activity for Abbas. Abbas in particular is in a delicate position. His Fatah party holds sway over only the West Bank after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Analysts say it would be politically perilous for him to accept any resumption of settlement construction on land captured in the 1967 war while talks are under way.

Obama’s White House meetings on Wednesday also included Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, drawing in two key moderate Arab leaders whose countries already have peace deals with Israel. Mubarak spokesman Soliman Awaad said all sides should be ready for long, tough negotiations-provided the talks are not quickly derailed by the settlement issue. “It will take more than handshakes, smiles and photo ops to make this long-awaited peace in the Middle East. What is really needed is for the United States to step in, remain committed, remain engaged,” he told reporters. — Reuters

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Friday, September 3, 2010

IN MY VIEW

Who finally pays the price?

By Hussain Al-Qatari

I

have read with shock, various reports over the past few months, about inedible food that was brought and sold around the country by a specific merchant. The inedible frozen meat and chicken was sold to restaurants and supermarkets, endangering the lives of thousands of people living in this country. What is more heinous than this crime is the fact that the prosecution procedure takes at least one year, one entire year if not more to set punishment on a criminal whose greed let him endanger the lives of people. And we wonder why

However, if our government’s idea of punishing a big rich merchant is by fining him KD 1,000 for selling expired food to supermarkets, how are we expecting him to learn his lesson? the country is going down the slope.

If there is no punishment, how do we expect things to ever go right? How do we expect crimes to ever cease? We have all heard of people using nepotism or wasta in order to get away with things. Even though I really disagree with the concept of nepotism, one can tolerate when a person passes a test or gets a

day off from work thanks to a second cousin or a distant relative he knows who can make it happen. It is wrong, but it is tolerable.

However, if our government’s idea of punishing a big rich merchant is by fining him KD 1,000 for selling expired food to supermarkets, how are we expecting him to learn his lesson?

This punishment is much worse than actually

punishing him, I believe. I’m sure a merchant can spare a KD 1,000 fine once every now and then. He can just add it to his monthly expenses.

I believe that in order to stop such things from taking place, there must be precision and order. We need to have discipline; if you break a law, you must pay dearly. You cannot debate that, and if the legal procedure is going to take forever, some restrictions should be applied.

Leniency only makes the matter worse. This is no child’s play: this involves the health of thousands of people. hussain@kuwaittimes.net

IN MY VIEW

Wife’s increment, husband’s plans

By Sunil Cherian

I

t’s not like the milkman’s parable where he dreamt of accumulating enough in order to buy large house and spilled milk on a stumbled step over a shattered dream. Nurses at the Kuwait Ministry of Health have begun receiving salary increments that are due from October 2009. Their most cherished dreams are beginning to take shape. Most of them have remitted their hearty-fatty bank balances to their homeland. Some money is spent locally - from miniscule shopping to bumper buying - like shifting gear from a 1.3 to SUV egged on by Eid Al-Fitr offers. And who plays the trump card in this recurring story sans twists and turns against the backdrop of a male-dominated setting?

In India, home to a majority of the nurses, real estate business remains on demand after performing brisk business since 2007. Expats are into various investment schemes, unlike in the past, from land to stock market

Some female employees receive increments, much to the joy of their husbands

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What is the name of the mountain where the Aqsa Mosque is built?

Mount Nebo Mount Seir Mount Moriah

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and partnership business to entrepreneurship. ‘Nurses without Borders’ is a continuous phenomenon in some parts of India where almost every household has a nurse working abroad. While spinster-nurses have their fathers and brothers back home providing much needed support, turning their cash drafts into profit-producing investments, married ones have decision-making husbands who allegedly know better what to do with the large sum that show up on their wives’ ATM balance receipts. In the case of nurse-couples, plans simply multiply!

So now, in Kuwait, the pleasantly surprised husbands can be mostly found holding leather-draped steering wheels of an SUV - the bigger the better. The happy family has moved from stinking, suffocating, cockroach crawling accommodation to sprawling suites (a bit of an exaggeration there). Many have also invested locally by opening Danah, Jawahara, Najma accounts (like the proverbial milkman). They have better clothes, better food and LCDs. No story is complete without an anticlimactic ending.

A husband I know, who believes in women’s empowerment gave his wife the freedom to decide what she wanted to do with the money. Calculating in his mind that she would place all her earnings at her protectorhusband’s feet. The wise wife told him that she would like to invest in fixed deposits on her name. It never occurred to him that hard-earned income has its justified, reasonable and respectful place.

The milkman prototype has a realistic dream: If the money is yours, it will come to you. *Note to nurses: Please don’t take offense. Your perspiration is an inspiration for this article.

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Friday, September 3, 2010

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

FRIDAY SPOTLIGHT

Buses and bus drivers

By Muna Al-Fuzai

A

couple of months ago I wrote an article - a warning - about a possible explosion that could harm many poor laborers who depend on the KPTC buses for transportation.

The bus is the laborer’s daily vehicle for moving around in Kuwait in the heat. Now, many of the laborers are also fasting.

The bus problem started, as I learnt, not only when the company decided to decrease the drivers’ salaries, but also due to the rough condition of the drivers’ accommodation.

There were other small issues that also came together. The explosion came when bus drivers came forth to inform the public. Apparently, poor workers have waited for hours and hours in this heat for a bus, to take them out of hell.

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Bus drivers’ strike is not new news. It has happened before. Just like for many other laborers, the troubles here started when the masters, I mean the sponsors, decided that they can manipulate poor workers’ rights. They fear no law, that is for sure. They think they have enough wasta to do whatever they want. What can those poor workers do? I am talking about both the ones who drive the buses and the ones who wait for the bus. What about the Ministry of Social Affairs and L abor and the Ministry of Communications? The KPTC is a state-owned company.

During a recent visit to UAE, I spotted the bus stops that have been developed to match with the weather condition, and to make the long-waiting, a more pleasant experience. They have built small AC cabins to replace open air stops. Here in Kuwait, many of the bus stops have no facilities at all.

There is not even an emergency hotline for people to use in case of any urgent matter to report about - a crime or harassment or in case of need for medical help arises. At many bus

stops, there is no access to cold water.

I know this is not the KPTC’s job, but it is certainly our responsibility as citizens and humans.

I know that all bus drivers are expatriates and none of them are voters.

They are poor in general and if they would have a voice, I guess their embassies should step into that role to call for their rights. I suggest, if the company wants to infringe upon their rights, their embassies should be involved to repatriate them to their home countries at the expense of the local company and pay a compensation at least to enjoy Eid. This place will hopefully provide more respect to people’s rights and give them access to better accommodation.

If being a bus driver means getting abused or staying under pressure, and being frustrated all the time, then no one should accept that. If we cannot make the company provide a better offer and change as the workers want, then we can suggest another alternative - to help poor workers have a better choice. muna@kuwaittimes.net

Ruthless comedy

By Badr ya Dar wish

I

work in the media and I love it, but sometimes we harm people unintentionally, especially when it comes to comedies and TV series which accidentally or purposely portray a nation in a negative manner.

What I am talking about is the latest issue between Kuwait and Morocco which erupted more than a week ago over social satire animation Bu Qatada which appeared on private television channel Al-Watan TV. The series depicted Moroccan women as immoral, who are waiting to marry men from the Gulf. Using magic, the series showed, was the way to matrimony for these women. It is not only the Bu Qatada show that portrays Moroccan women in this manner. Unfortunately for Kuwait, that particular program caught the eye of the Moroccan government.

I have noticed that lately, the trend in the Gulf theater and comedy series is taking a dangerous curve. Directors and movie producers are not sensitive at all towards the feelings of other nations. They think it is funny to mock and run down whole nations. If you watch the Gulf series, in them, Indian nationals are always mocked. Asian maids and laborers are imitated for their speech and behavior.

Even if the series wants to say that someone is stupid, they do it like this: “Do you think I am an Indian?” I find this a bit gross. Who says that Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis or Sri Lankans etc etc are stupid? Then they started mocking other countries. The comedy has become so ruthless that it is building its sense of humor by mocking nations. Mocking comparisons have taken different directions. They start branding you by the food that a nation is known for. For instance a Palestinian will be called hummus. A Lebanese will be called tabouli. If you are Egyptian you will be called foul (fava beans) and the list goes on and on.

It all goes back to the harmful practice of branding and stereotyping. Whose fault is it? Should I blame the culture of the people or the minister of information or the producers who are seeking for more and more audiences? Or maybe our education system both at schools and at home is at fault. You do not have to be ruthless and make money off the pride of nations. A satire show can thrive as well on witty dialogues and creative plots, not just cheap stereotyping. Who are these people to mock and serve as judges of whole nations? What do they know about the culture of these nations? It looks like they know nothing.

They need to mock themselves, and I guarantee that if they mock themselves it will be a more successful and popular show. www.badr yadar wish.com

IN MY VIEW

What’s Eid without new clothes?

By R awan Khalid

P

eople are getting prepared for the ‘big’ clothes shopping that precede every Eid. It is no different with my family.

It has become a tradition that Eid days are celebrated by wearing a new outfit. Traditions like these mean good news for shopaholics who like spending time browsing stores and trying on outfits. But for those who need to buy presents for family and friends, shopping becomes a prolonged and expensive task.

I love Eid because I tend to get presents from my family. It seems that the tradition of Eid clothes shopping is not celebrated only in my family. Tareq Atef, 23, explains that he loves Eid holidays because this is the time he spends shopping with his family for clothes. This year, my family began the shopping frenzy earlier than usual. “Last week I went to one of the malls in Kuwait to buy new clothes. For myself, I bought pieces from different brands,” he said. Recalling his childhood years, he said that when he was a child, his father would give him money instead. “I never spent it on clothes then. Now

Ali Mohammad thinks that shopping for Eid clothes is the biggest problem he ever faces because he has four children and he pays more than KD100 only on clothes. things are different,” he said.

“But now I am employed and I make money, so I can afford to get whatever I want,” he said. He has also allocated a certain amount to buy Eid clothes. “I do not plan to spend all my salary on clothes. I have also allocated a small amount for my younger brother,” he said.

Moneya Hassan finds the holiday frenzy over shopping a bit exaggerated. She thinks that buying new clothing is a waste of money and time. “I’ve been buying new clothes for the past five years. Now I am 27-years-old and unemployed. It’s not

easy to ask your family for money to get some new clothes for Eid in these circumstances. I have enough clothes and I think that I don’t need new ones,” she says.

She said that she used to buy branded clothes for Eid and her father never refused to satisfy her whims. “Even if something was expensive he would tell me: ‘No problem, It is Eid’”.

Not all parents are as understanding as Hassan’s father. For some parents, shopping for Eid clothes is a big headache and a blow to the family budget. Ali Mohammad thinks that shopping for Eid clothes is the biggest problem he ever faces because he has four children and he pays more than KD100 only on clothes. “My wife is crazy about buying branded clothes especially for the children and me. I think it is haram to spend so much money on children’s clothes. They will grow up after one year and all these clothing will go to somebody else,” he said. “I’ve tried to convince her many times to stop buying branded clothing for the babies. I think she will never stop doing that. I stopped buying clothes for Eid some eight years ago,” Ali said.

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KUWAIT: Various kinds of spices are displayed.

Sales tend to increase during Ramadan, owing to the number of dishes that are prepared for the feast. — Photos

by Joseph Shagra

By Nawara Fattahova

U

pon entering any Middle Eastern household, a distinct aroma of home-cooked dish fills the air. However, the pleasant welcome fragrance originates from a rich selection of spices. Kuwait, based in a strategic geographic location has adopted the use of many a spice from the East and the beyond. Spices here are not only used for different dishes but for sweets and drinks also. Spices are also used in the natural herbal medicines in curing diseases or illness, natural masks and beauty products.

In the olden days spices were sold in small shops called ‘Hawaay’ located in the traditional markets of Kuwait. As supermarkets replaced the small vendors the spice-only shops became extinct. Today, those who are spice-savvy, however, prefer to shop for herbs and spice at the special places. “We speak the same language of spice,” says one such shopper.

Spices in Ramadan Spices become a needed commodity during Ramadan.

“Every year I notice an increase in the sales of spices during

Ramadan. I think that people buy more food stuff in general during this month and the spices are part of it; people cook more,” said Jasim, a salesman in a spice and herbs shop in Salwa.

His shop sells more than 20 spices that are used in preparing variety of dishes. “I have many other kinds of herbs and plants used especially for the traditional medicine and beauty purposes, which make a total of about 100 kinds,” he said. “I have more or less all the necessary spices and rarely people demand something that’s not available in my shop,” he says adding that even if there is a demand for a more exotic spice, he is able to provide it.

There are certain kinds of spices that are more demanded especially during Ramadan. The Saudi Spice is the most demanded and sold spice, which is a mix of spices such as cinnamon, pepper, dry onion and cumin. “This is the most expensive spice; one kilo of it costs KD3,” he said. Also the bay leaf and the dry lemon or lime is considered one of the best sold spices during this month, he added.

Sweet spices come next to the Saudi Spice. The reason, Jassim explains, is that in Ramadan people like to eat more sweet dishes and frequent visits to friends and family. “Sweet dishes are a must-have on the table,” Jassim says. In addition, Ramadan is a time for drinking the Chamomile tea and the Miramiya (Sage) tea after Iftar, Jassim points out.

The prices at Jassim’s have stayed stable during the whole month of Ramadan. “The spices are usually brought from India, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and others. There is the chewing gum sold by kilo that is imported from Africa,” Jassim says.

Having worked in the spices field for six years, Jassim claims that it is important to know your trade. He says, “I know all the spices and herbs available in the market. I can always give a good advice on what to be used”.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Turtle conservation project: Slowly but surely wins the race

By Ben Garcia

K

uwait’s Qaru, Umm AlMaradim islands are known to be the favorite nesting places of several species of sea turtles. The Hawksbill and Green turtle are the two main species of sea turtles that are commonly found in the islands.

Fishermen are well-informed about sea creatures and the manner in which they should be handled if mistakenly trapped in their fish nets. In fact, some of the local fishermen occasionally trap sea turtles; there are some instances of them going astray. But most of the time, people from the Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project (KTCP), Kuwait Diving Society and the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) coordinate with each other to return misguided sea creatures.

Ali Abullah Alhafez, a 27-year-old self-declared marine hobbyist and a marine biology student, is one of the many active volunteers of the Kuwait Turtle Conservation Projects. The work undertaken by the KTCP is one of many activities introduced by the Voluntary Work Center Kuwait, chaired

by Sheikha Amthal Al-Sabah.

Internationally-trained expert Nancy

Papathanasopoulou is the current KTCP manager.

The Friday Times interviewed Ali Alhafez on the subject: Q: Can you tell us about the

turtle conservation project? How did it begin?

A: The Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project began in June 2008, as an initiative for environmental cooperation

between TOTAL Foundation, TOTAL Kuwait, the Voluntary Work Center Kuwait and The Scientific Center Kuwait. TOTAL Foundation proposed to sponsor this project, in the

framework of its environmental activities held worldwide. Turtles are a flagship species in terms of marine conservation, and sea turtles have not been studied systematically in Kuwait before. The idea arose to carry out a three-year project to study population and propose conservation measures.

Q : What have you achieved since establishment?

A: The KTCP team is present on the islands of Qaru and Umm AlMaradim in the late spring and summer months in order to observe sea turtle activity (mating, nesting, hatching) as well as monitoring hatching activity in the fall months. It has been discovered that (1) Umm AlMaradim hosts nests of only the Hawksbill turtle (2) Qaru hosts the nests of both Hawksbill and Green turtles (3) The reefs in both Umm AlMaradim and especially Qaru are vibrant and interesting with more than 172 species of fish, more than 50 species of invertebrates, over 10 species of hard coral and the list is still growing (4) Fish nurseries in Qaru make it valuable environmentally, not only for Kuwait but for the northern Gulf region in general.

Q: How many turtles have you saved so far, and what does it

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Friday, September 3, 2010 mean to the turtle conservation project?

A: The KTCP, in cooperation with the Senyar team of the Voluntary Work Center, have saved two turtles from power plants in which they were trapped. But the team’s mission is not only to release turtles when they are trapped, but to actually study them in the wild, monitor their whole cycle of life in combination with the marine environment they live in, and propose measures towards their conservation and protection from the multiple dangers that they face.

Q: Where are the specific nesting places of Kuwaiti turtles?

A: Umm Al-Maradim, Qaru and Kubbar islands.

Q: Why do the islands deserve your attention? What are your recommendations to save their nesting place? What is the role of ordinary Kuwaiti or any individual in helping you with the project? Do you need more volunteers?

A: The search for volunteers in terms of field work is over. The response of Kuwait volunteers has been overwhelming and our missions are full. A lot, however, needs to be accomplished in terms of environmental education in schools and all professional sectors. Volunteers to help spread the word about the importance of the survival of sea turtles are needed desperately. A training session precedes their capability of communicating the information “the right way” in order for the educator to be able to provide accurate information and answer even difficult questions. But individual Kuwaiti and even expatriates can help sea turtles in many ways.

For weekenders in Qaru and Umm Al-Maradim, respect for the sea and the beaches is crucial, especially during turtle nesting and hatching seasons from May to October. When on the island, the visitor should not walk on turtle nests, not light fires after sunset or make noise. Most importantly, not interfere with any approach of sea turtle on the beach. Those animals are shy and any interference may result in them releasing their eggs in the water and thus a whole clutch will be destroyed. It is also forbidden by Kuwaiti law and many international conventions for humans to consume turtle meat or turtle eggs or injure turtles in any way. By respecting all these guidelines, the turtles are safe in Kuwait. Qaru and Umm Al-Maradim deserve constant attention. This is because due to their openness without limits to the public at all times of the year, they are vulnerable to destruction of the marine environment such as that what took place in Kubbar.

Q: Why do you think the project is important to you as one of the advocates? Do marine animals have a special place in your heart?

A: A scream for life from the sea towards us has reached me recently.

Like all Kuwaitis, I have always had a close connection with the sea, but previously never realized in what danger it is in. Marine animals are necessary for the survival of the world’s seas and oceans, especially large marine reptiles such as turtles and sea snakes as well as marine mammals and all sharks.

Q: How did you become involved?

Who recruited you and how did you become a part of the project?

A: I was recruited as a volunteer in the Senyar team in 2008 under Husain Al-Qallaf, managing director of the Voluntary Work Center Kuwait. His skill as a diver, his knowledge and love

for marine conservation as well as the contact with KTCP experts created a lot of enthusiasm and motivation for me to become involved in marine conservation issues.

Q: Where does Kuwait fit in when it comes to turtle preservation?

A: Some turtle research at the scientific level has been carried out by Dr Salim Al-Mohanna and Dr Robin Meakins during previous years. It is, however, certain, that no constant monitoring was ever done in Kuwait; one of the reasons being the difficult accessibility to Qaru and Umm AlMaradim. On a global level, Kuwait has not signed the Memorandum IOSEA .

It legally protects sea turtles in accordance with national law.

Q: Are you a fulltime worker/member of the project?

A: No, I am a volunteer.

Q: Does your group receive a budget from NGO’s or government agencies to continue

with marine life conservation?

A: No, in Senyar we are all volunteers, working in close cooperation with KTCP experts who come to Kuwait from Europe and Dubai to help with their expertise and train us in conservation methods, protocols and working techniques such as satellite tagging.

Q: Why do you concentrate on turtles, why not dolphins, whale sharks and other sea animals?

A: We have been focusing on turtles since the involvement of TOTAL who sponsors the project. Dolphins, whale sharks and all sea animals are in focus too. But the lack of a specific budget allocated for their care or experts and project managers has created a dearth in specific projects for these animals.

The KTCP and Senyar cover partial studies of these animals when encountered in the framework of the turtle project.

Q: What are other activities of KTCP?

Photos courtesy: KTCP

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A: I’m a volunteer. I like to work hard with my team (Senyar Dive Team). It is really worth doing anyway.

Some of the activities we enjoy are mooring buoy installations around coral reefs, beach and island clean-ups, reef cleanups, environmental education about Kuwaiti ecosystem and biodiversity, emergency campaign to fight pollution from industrial waste, emergency operations to rescue animals from accidental capture or entrapment. The Senyar team is the only a team of volunteers that constantly assist a sea turtle conservation project in the Gulf region, and as such it pioneers volunteerdriven work in this region.

Q: Who are other people involved in the project? What are their individual contributions to the project?

A: Nancy Papathanasopoulou, an internationally-trained environmental projects manager, is the KTCP Manager. Her contribution is crucial, as

not only does she bring foreign experts to Kuwait but is also constantly on the lookout for experts from the Gulf area to participate in the project. Hussain Al-Qallaf, Logistical and Diving Coordinator of KTCP, recruits people from the Senyar team for missions on the islands. Biologists, environmental educators and photographers from European countries are participating in the project, as well as our Senyar group of divers and some members of the Voluntary Work Center Photography and video team.

Q: What are the dreams or perhaps the objectives and goals of your group for the turtles in Kuwait, say 5-10 years from now?

A: We need a marine protected area for Qaru and, maybe seasonally, for Umm Al-Maradim too. The KTCP aspires to give enough arguments to the Kuwaiti government towards the creation of such an MPA. This way, not only turtles, but the whole precious and fragile coral reef environment of the two islands will be strengthened and left to its own devices and continue its existence with a minimum disturbance.

A permanent research project should be instituted. In countries of Europe, also in the USA, Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia, turtle research and conservation projects lasts for many years. This is so that long parts of the animal’s life cycle are monitored and continuation is ensured. Three years are simply not enough and sponsorship is needed for Kuwait to keep studying its turtles for many more years to come.

Whale sharks and sharks in general are an extremely important species to be studied long-term as well, as illegal fishing of sharks is practiced in our country.

For more information about the turtle project, please browse the following web addresses: www.kuwaitvolunteers.com, www.kuwaitturtles.com, www.salahif.org, www.senyar.net

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Friday, September 3, 2010

MP attacks communications ministry over mobile phones Dashti calls for national unity

By B Izzak KUWAIT: Islamist opposition member MP Faisal Al-Mislem yesterday blasted the communications ministry for failing to impose a decision on billing mobile calls as per seconds and not in minutes. Minister of Communications Mohammad Al-Baseeri announced last month that the system will be implemented at the start of September but the deadline passed off without implementation.

Al-Mislem accused the ministry of collaborating with the three mobile companies in exploiting people and sucking their blood by not implementing the decision. He urged the minister to take appropriate action.

The lawmaker said he and other MPs will strongly oppose a government request to allocate KD 60 million as additional funds in the budget for secret and special spending.

He said the government request reminds him of what he claimed as ‘misappropriation’ of funds at the office of the prime minister about two years ago for which the lawmaker grilled the prime minister. Al-Mislem greeted the national assembly’s Budgets Committee to reject the government request in the past. According to the law, the

government must submit a draft law to amend the financial allocations under the budget which was approved in June.

The approval of the assembly is essential.

In another development, MP Rola Dashti yesterday called for applying the Amir’s calls in his Ramadan speech two days ago, especially with regard to safeguarding national unity and shunning sectarianism, tribalism and factionalism. In a statement, Dashti called for firmly standing against those who harm national interests by inciting sectarianism, tribalism and factionalism and also called on the need to upgrade the level of all local media means.

But the lawmaker insisted that national unity cannot be strengthened in the existence of discrimination, lack of

equal opportunities among citizens and the wide-spread of influence (wasta) and the absence of justice. Dashti strongly warned against irresponsible media statements which greatly undermine national unity in order to serve vested and narrow interests, and those with special agenda. She also warned that ongoing political wrangles and squabbling risk the security of the country and could lead to internal division and a fragmented society.

Some Sunni and Shiite MPs exchanged controversial statements during the past few days over a variety of issues that resulted in stocking sectarian tensions in the country. In his Ramadan speech, HH the Amir called for the need to fight against those who incite division in the society.

KFSD team bags 5 gold medals

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: The Kuwait Fire Service Department’s (KFSD) sports team that participated in the 11th Firemen’s World Championship held in South Korea bagged five gold, one silver and six bronze medals. Lt Colonel Khalil Al-Amir Said, Team Leader said that this achievement follows the others that were garnered during the previous championship, and that it was the second time that the KFSD had participated. There were 6,000 firemen who participated from all over the world. He said that the tournament is held every two years, adding that Kuwait’s team won five medals in the last tournament. The next tournament will be held in Sydney and the KFSD has planned to participate.

The Kuwait Fire Service Department (KFSD) sports team is pictured.

—Photo by Hanan Al-Saadoun

crimes

Expat’s corpse found at Jahra resort KUWAIT: An employee of a wellknown resort in Jahra found the body of a 38-year-old French expatriate as he entered the room the man had occupied. The body was referred to a coroner.

Investigations into the case are underway.

Female pimp nabbed Immigration detectives arrested an Asian woman who encouraged domestic helpers to flee their sponsors’ households, only to be sold to prostitution rings. The Director General of Immigration Detectives Major General Abdallah Al-Rashid was tipped off on the woman’s activities. She was arrested later. Investigations into the

case are underway.

Citizen assaulted An Iranian garage owner physically assaulted a citizen in Sharq Industrial area. The victim apparently took his car keys without seeking the Iranian’s permission. The man was arrested and is being interrogated.

Unconscious woman A man spotted an unconscious woman in her car outside the Ice Skating rink and placed an emergency call to police. The woman was admitted to Amiri hospital.

Havoc on road Four expatriates reportedly

created havoc on the Sixth Ring Road by flinging stones at cars.

Traffic police rushed to the scene but could not trace the suspects who had escaped before the policemen had arrived. In another case, the Mubarak Al-Kabeer police put an end to illegal car ‘races’ organized by sports cars owners, who are believed to hold races on the streets of Subhan and Ghous. The men were arrested and their cars were impounded.

Child molestation case The Salmiya police arrested an Indian expat in connection with molesting his sponsor’s sixyear-old son. He was referred to the Public Prosecution Office.

KUWAIT: Workers are seen loading relief supplies into a plane that left for Pakistan. —KUNA

Kuwait distributes aid to victims in Pakistan Eighth Kuwaiti plane heads to Pakistan ISLAMABAD: While Foreign Minister Shah Mehmoud Qureshi visited Kuwait to thank HH the Amir of Kuwait and the government of Kuwait for support in this critical hour of need, the Kuwait embassy continues to distribute relief goods among the needy flood victims in northern areas of Pakistan.

The Kuwait Ambassador, Nawaf Abdul Aziz Al-Enezi, along with a team of Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRC) has been visiting refugee camps in eastern Multan city and Charrsadah, Malakand, and Swat districts of K h y b e r - Pa k h t u n k h a w a province. The camps’ in-charge briefed the ambassador on the devastation, unprecedented floods have caused. “The situation is really bad, it’s a tragedy over there,” said the ambassador. “The people are in dire need of immediate relief aid and assistance,” he said.

The ambassador himself directly distributed some of the relief goods, comprising rice, sugar, and tents, among 2,500 families in each district and donated rest to the National Disaster Management (NDM) authorities. “Despite the critical situation they (the flood victims) are in, the people received us warmly, said the ambassador. He said Kuwait will continue to support them in this hour of need when they are desperately waiting for food,

shelter and medicines. The ambassador said that he has conveyed to the Kuwait government and the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) about the types of goods that are mostly needed, as being conveyed to us by the Pakistani officials.

“The donation of medicines is one of the urgently needed items,” he said, adding, “The medicines will, too, be delivered by the Kuwait government soon in the near future.” A C-130 plane from the Defense Minister of Kuwait loaded with tents, clothes, and blankets arrived at military airbase on Wednesday. The ambassador received relief goods himself and handed them over to concerned authorities. Another plane is scheduled to arrive on Thursday afternoon, “It will further help bridge trust and friendship between Pakistan and Kuwait, “he said while reiterating that the aid will continue to arrive from Kuwait as long as it is needed. The ambassador said that the relief aid has been sent to Pakistan at the directives of HH the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He thanked the Foreign Minister of Kuwait and KRCS Chairman for sending the relief goods and also the Pakistani officials for coordinating with the embassy to deliver relief goods to the affected people. —KUNA

Interior minister visits northern border KUWAIT: Interior Minister Lt General (Rt) Sheikh Jaber Khalid Al-Sabah paid a visit to the northern borders after midnight and remained there until 5:00 am last morning. The minister visited Al-Abdaly border post, farms center, Al-Azmiya center, Um Naqa center, Baheeth (formerly Umm Qasar) center, and Subbiya center in addition to the coast guards. The minister conveyed the greetings of HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and HH the Premier Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah.

Friday, September 3, 2010

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Iraqi army needs US help to sustain itself AL-KISSIK BASE, Iraq: Iraq cannot yet sustain its army despite having managed to quell a violent insurgency, US and local commanders told AFP, raising the prospect that American troops will stay on beyond 2011. US military advisers described myriad inefficiencies and problems, from hospitals that lacked medics and dentists to byzantine processes that must be followed to request spare vehicle parts and other vital equipment. “Tactically, they do well, but ... warfare is about logistics,” said Colonel Steven Apland, who heads a Stability Transition Team that advises the Iraqi Army’s 3rd Division at Al-Kissik Base, west of the northern city of Mosul.

“Their logistics systems are just, at this point, way below what their tactical competence requires,” he said, as US forces ramped up an “advise and assist” mission in Iraq, following the formal end of combat operations on Tuesday. To illustrate

his point, Apland held up his pen, and related the complicated process that Iraqi soldiers - there are now more than 300,000 - must follow to request a new box of such pens. “I have to fill out this document in triplicate, quadruplicate, and then I have to hand it to some major, and he has to drive down to Baghdad to get it stamped ... and provide a document for you to come back up here, two blocks away, to actually release it (the supplies) to you,” he said.

One of Apland’s deputies, Lieutenant Colonel Craig Benson, later walked through a medical centre on the base and pointed out how well-supplied it was. But the centre’s lights were mostly off, because of a power cut on a base that has a generator farm that Benson says can provide sufficient capacity to power the base twice over. “They have the equipment, they need the staff, and they need their logistics systems,” he said.

“(Iraqi) combat lifesavers that we try and train to deal with a little bit of trauma on the battlefield have combat lifesaver kits that have expired stuff,” Benson added.

Lieutenant Colonel Salah Al-Din, the head of one of the base’s workshops, said many Iraqi units did not properly maintain their vehicles, eventually leading to engine and transmissions failures. “We tell them - before you go on a mission, check the vehicle, and after you come back from a mission, check the vehicle. If there is a small problem, you can fix it.

The big problems, they start from the small problems,” he said.

“Some units, they learn ... but some of them, they don’t come, they forget us. When they have a broken engine, they come to me,” Salah AlDin added.

As if to prove the point the colonel explained that he tells soldiers good maintenance can be compared to safe handling of IEDs,

the home-made bombs that every day target the Iraqi security forces.

“When you find an IED on the road, it’s better to remove it before it explodes, than for it to explode and for you to say, ‘Hey, help me, what should I do?’” he said. Salah Al-Din, an 18-year army veteran, said he often had difficulty obtaining spare parts from the logistics hub at Taji, north of Baghdad, and also struggled with the wide variety of cars in use.

Sitting side by side in his workshop, as if to hammer home the problem, were Nissan, Kia, Ford and Mitsubishi vehicles, all requiring their own unique parts.

A lack of competence in military logistics led the deputy commander of the new US mission, Operation New Dawn, to say he expects a new Iraqi government to ask for extra help beyond a Dec 2011 exit deadline for American troops.

“I know the Iraqi government are looking at some of the gaps they are going to have in their

capabilities in December 2011 and they are concerned about it,” Lieutenant General Michael Barbero said on Wednesday. “I would predict that they are going to ask for some assistance. We’ve got a lot of work to do right up to December 2011,” he said of the less than 50,000 US troops now tasked with Operation New Dawn’s training and advisory role.

Apland estimated that it would take two to three years for the Iraqi army’s logistics to improve to necessary levels, noting that after the 2003 US-led invasion, the then newly created forces were built to immediately conduct counterinsurgency operations only.

“We knew that some of the finesse of organisation, especially in areas like logistics, personnel, human resource management, those were going to lag behind,” he said. “Bottom line - it’s a terribly inefficient system right now.” — AFP

Lebanon backtracks on ‘arms-free’ Beirut calls Hezbollah warns against attempts to disarm it BEIRUT: A chorus of calls for an “arms-free” Beirut triggered by a deadly battle outside a mosque last week is fast fading after Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement warned against any attempt to disarm it. After an Aug 24 gunfight between supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and

those of Sunni faction Al-Ahbash - two loosely allied Syrianbacked parties - Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri launched a campaign calling for Beirut to be stripped of its omnipresent weapons. But Hezbollah has cautioned the Hariri camp against raising the issue of its huge arsenal.

“As usual, the situation is very, very precarious on all levels,” said Sahar Atrache, Middle East and North Africa analyst at the Brussels-based think-tank, the International Crisis Group. “Having these weapons spread everywhere is alarming, especially as security and stability in Lebanon are clearly not under control,” Atrache told AFP. “And again, what we do in Lebanon is try to handle the immediate consequences of the situation, and not the overall situation.”

Last week’s four-hour street battle in the west Beirut district

arms control in the capital, but failed to announce what measures, if any, the state would take. “Can we afford all these weapons in Lebanon?” Hariri said late on Wednesday.

“Addressing this issue means we need to recognise the existence of these arms across Lebanon,” he said, adding that 1,500 soldiers had been deployed across the capital.

Hariri’s comments were the latest in a harsh exchange of words between his Saudi-backed bloc and the Syrian- and Iranianbacked Hezbollah, sparked by the Burj Abi Haidar clash. “It is

of Burj Abi Haidar began as a row over a parking space but swiftly escalated with the use of machine guns and rocketpropelled grenades.

The violence raised fears of a repeat of May 2008, when gunmen supporting a Hezbollah-led alliance clashed with supporters of the Sunni prime minister.

Close to 100 people died in the week-long battle which saw the Hezbollah camp seize control of much of mainly Sunni west Beirut.

A slew of ministers and security officials met this week in a bid to forge an agreement on

AIN AL-HELWEH, Lebanon: Palestinian militants from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) demonstrate in this refugee camp in southern Beirut against the renewed peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis in Washington. — AFP

unacceptable that anyone go too far in their initiatives, which have no point but to complicate internal politics and increase mistrust among Lebanese,” Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said.

Hezbollah is the only Lebanese faction that retained its arsenal after the 1975-1990 civil war.

The Shiite party, which has two ministers in the government, argues its weapons are necessary to defend Lebanon against Israel with which it fought a devastating war in 2006.

The prime minister’s camp for its part has backpedalled on its insistence on Beirut as an armsfree zone. “The resistance (Hezbollah) is aimed at Israel.

Arms in back alleys cannot be part of the arms of the resistance,” MP Ammar Houry of Hariri’s bloc told AFP on Wednesday. “But it is not us who will translate this notion into action. It is up to the army command to decide how to act from here on.”

And while analysts doubt that Beirut will ever be a city with effective state arms control, rapprochement between regional powers Syria and Saudi Arabia, which back Lebanon’s two rival blocs, can at least help contain the situation. “Beirut, like Lebanon, will not be arms-free but... the Burj Abi Haidar incident might be a way to pressure Hezbollah to reduce its presence in Beirut, especially in Sunni neighbourhoods... and give the army support to play a moderately stronger role,” said Paul Salem, who heads the Carnegie Middle East Centre.— AFP

BAGHDAD: Iraqi policemen man a checkpoint yesterday, a day after the US military formally ended its combat operations in Iraq. — AFP

Iraq not sovereign despite US pullout BAGHDAD: With the US combat mission officially at an end Iraq is a step closer to independence, but contrary to what its leaders proclaim the country is still far from sovereign, analysts say. Seven years of occupation and two decades of United Nations sanctions that followed Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait have so disabled this once regional powerhouse that it is still in great need of the United States, they say.

“Iraq has for years been trying to recover its sovereignty,” said Hamid Fadel, who teaches political science at Baghdad University.

“The gradual withdrawal of the US army can be a step in this direction, but many obstacles remain in between,” he told AFP. US forces ended their combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday, drawing down troop numbers that surged to almost 170,000 following the 2003 US-led invasion to less than 50,000 at present, prior to a complete withdrawal at the end of 2011. “This is a day that will remain in the memory of all Iraqis. Today, Iraq has become a sovereign and independent country,” Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said in a televised speech on Tuesday.

But for Fadel, the supposed sovereignty of Iraq is also contradicted by the “preponderant” US role in the country, particularly on security issues, and UN sanctions which give the New York-based institution considerable power here. “Baghdad is still under Chapter 7 of the UN charter,” he said, which means that 20 years after the invasion of Kuwait, Iraq is still the target of drastic sanctions of the Security Council. Chief among them is the requirement to pay five percent of oil revenues into a UN special fund which handles war reparations, and to which Iraq has paid $30 billion so far. “Iraq still needs the American umbrella. It is unable to protect itself from external attacks,” Fadel added.

For Ihsan Al-Shammari, a political economist at Baghdad University, it is difficult to speak about Iraqi independence when 49,700 troops remain stationed in his country. “The withdrawal was a commitment that (US President Barack) Obama intended to keep, and it was symbolic,” he said. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, September 3, 2010

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Hurricane Earl closes in on US East Coast RALEIGH, North Carolina: Hurricane Earl quickly closed in on a large part of the US east coast yesterday, as tens of thousands of people fled North Carolina’s barrier islands to avoid dangerous winds and surf. The strongest Atlantic storm of 2010 was on course to lash the coast of North Carolina and then move north, wreaking havoc on the end-ofsummer Labor Day holiday weekend that usually draws millions to the beaches. The hurricane was expected to remain offshore as it barrels north, skirting the Atlantic coastline.

But with the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicting hurricane strength winds as far out as 90 miles from the eye of the storm, coastal residents were still preparing for dangerous conditions, including “large and destructive waves”. The NHC also warned of large ocean swells from the storm that could cause “dangerous surf conditions and rip currents” throughout the weekend. At 8:00 am (01200 GMT),

Earl’s top winds were 145 miles (230 kilometers) as the powerful category four storm sped toward the eastern seaboard, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The eye of the storm was about 575 km south of Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks - a narrow band of North Carolina barrier islands. Hurricane force winds were expected to reach the state’s coast later by late Thursday and a “dangerous” storm surge was due to raise water levels by up to 0.9 to 1.5 m above ground level in the hurricane warning area, the NHC said.

In a sign the hurricane season was heating up, the fourth storm in the past 11 days, Tropical Storm Gaston, formed in the Atlantic.

Gaston had winds of 65 km per hour and was centered 1550 km west of the Cape Verde Islands. But forecasters warned the storm’s track could well put it in the path of Haiti, a worst-case scenario now threatening to become reality for a nation still

struggling to recover from a January earthquake. Thousands of quake survivors remain in flimsy, makeshift, open air camps in and around the capital Port-au-Prince, and observers warn of a further humanitarian catastrophe if the area is hit by a major storm.

US officials meanwhile ordered a mandatory evacuation for 30,000 residents and visitors of North Carolina’s Hatteras Island.

Thousands more were told to leave the state’s Ocracoke Island, where ferry service is the only transport link with the mainland. President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for North Carolina, ordering federal assistance to support response efforts. “The timing is not good for folks trying to enjoy the last good summer weekend, but safety and protection of personal property comes first,” said Cyndy Holda, public affairs officer at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The storm was expected to brush

by the North Carolina coast late Thursday before making a turn to the north-northeast and speed up the rest of the eastern seaboard. It was due to gradually weaken but could still wreak serious damage. Earl was churning north-northwest at 30 km per hour, prompting watches and warnings along a wide area of the coastline as far north as Maine and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

A hurricane warning, meaning hurricane-force winds are expected, was in effect from the Bogue Inlet in North Carolina to the Virginia border.

A hurricane watch, which means dangerous conditions are possible, was in effect from the North CarolinaVirginia border to Delaware and further north to Massachusetts, including the tourist islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

Tropical storm warnings or watches were in effect around the Chesapeake Bay, Long Island, New York and parts of the New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine and Nova Scotia coast.

National Park officials anticipated a heavy storm surge on Hatteras Island as early as yesterday, when high tide occurs, possibly resulting in road closures. Briefed by top disaster response aides, Obama said officials were preparing for the “worst case” scenario and would do all they could to protect vulnerable east coast communities. Airlines said they may cancel flights if conditions worsen.

Earl, which brushed past Puerto Rico on Tuesday, pummeled the Bahamas and eastern Caribbean with rain and heavy winds that downed trees, damaged homes, blocked roads and snapped power lines earlier this week. The storm comes on the heels of Hurricane Danielle, blamed for rough surf and riptides in New York and New Jersey last weekend.

Tracking closely behind Earl was Tropical Storm Fiona, moving northwestward of Puerto Rico and packing top winds of 85 km per hour, with no immediate threats to land areas. — AFP

Hamas vows more attacks on Israelis Forces scour West Bank after second attack

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama (right) talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel (center) and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority during an event in the East Room to make statements on the peace process on Wednesday at the White House. — AFP

Netanyahu vows peace, but does he mean it?

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put his arm on the shoulder of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas after vowing to walk with him down the difficult path to peace. But did he mean it? Speaking at the White House on the eve of the formal relaunch of direct peace talks yesterday after a 20-month freeze, Netanyahu referred to Abbas as his “partner in peace” and spoke eloquently of forging a “historic compromise” between the two peoples. “We seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all.We seek a peace that will last for generations. This is the peace my people want. This is the peace we all deserve,” said Netanyahu.

The stirring words and warm embrace for Abbas surprised many, coming from Netanyahu, a hawk who only last year recognized the internationally-backed principle of a two-state solution. And doubts remain about his willingness to make to make the kinds of concessions needed to reach a deal with the Palestinians, particularly over the thorny issues of dividing Jerusalem and its holy sites and uprooting West Bank settlements. These stem not just from his rightwing world view, but also his reputation as a canny politician adept at balancing the demands of his hardline supporters and pressure from the international community. In part, the questions over Netanyahu’s intentions remain because he has kept his cards close to his chest, refusing to outline his ideas of what an agreement with the Palestinians would look like during months of indirect talks. “Above all, the meeting in Washington is a leadership test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Israel’s influential Haaretz daily wrote in its editorial. “The time has come for the prime minister to show his outline for a final status agreement.” “If Netanyahu really is, as he says, interested in reaching an agreement within a year, he had best not waste time on barren discussions about bargaining positions or unrealistic stances,” Haaretz said. —AFP

GAZA CITY: Hamas vowed to press its campaign of deadly attacks on Israelis aimed at protesting a new round of Middle East peace talks set to kick off in Washington yesterday. “The resistance operations will continue,” said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri following two shooting attacks on West Bank

roads in 24 hours that killed four Israeli settlers and wounded two others. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has claimed responsibility for both attacks and linked them to the relaunch of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington, which it vehemently opposes.

Security forces scoured the occupied West Bank for the gunmen and an Israeli official, who asked not to be named, hailed the Palestinian Authority for what he said was the arrest of hundreds of “terrorists” in the territory. Hamas gave conflicting accounts of the number of its members arrested in the crackdown, with the leadership in Gaza putting it at 550 but a senior Hamas official in the West Bank saying it was closer to 150.

The Palestinian Authority denied that it had arrested any Hamas members in connection with the attacks. Its security spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri said that Hamas members were given “routine summonses which the security services undertake to prevent any law-breaking.” The Westernbacked Palestinian Authority and Hamas have been fiercely divided since the Islamist movement seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who were in Washington for the talks, both condemned the latest attack as they appeared with President Barack Obama at the White House on Wednesday.

“I will not let the terrorists block our path to peace, but as as these events underscore once again, that peace must be anchored in security,” Netanyahu said. Abbas called for an end to the violence.

“We do not want at all that any

who promised the Zionists that the Hebron operation would not be repeated,” it said.

Furious settlers vowed to flout a moratorium on settlement construction in protest at the attack. In a symbolic protest, settlers on Wednesday laid the foundations for a sports centre at the Adam settlement, north of Jerusalem. In November, the Israeli government, under US pressure, imposed a partial, 10month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank outside annexed Arab east Jerusalem in a move aimed at promoting the peace talks.

HEBRON: An Israeli soldier holds his weapon at a flying checkpoint yesterday as troops check IDs of Palestinians near the site where Palestinian gunmen killed four Israeli settlers earlier this week. —AFP blood be shed... one drop of blood on the part of Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

In the second attack near Ramallah late on Wednesday, the attackers fired shots from a vehicle at a car in which Israelis were travelling near the Jewish settlement of Rimonim, Israeli army radio said. One of the Israelis was seriously hurt, it said. In a statement issued in Gaza, Hamas’s military wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades claimed “responsibility for the heroic operation.” It also claimed the earlier attack. “The Ramallah operation is a message to those

The Palestinians say that a renewal of settlement building after Sept 26, when the moratorium expires, would end the negotiations. But Netanyahu has told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that there is “no change to the cabinet decision to end the (moratorium) at the end of September 2010,” his office said. The recent attacks were the first in the West Bank to be claimed by Hamas since early 2008 and followed the deployment of thousands of UStrained Palestinian security forces in the territory over the past three years.— AFP

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Somalia: Inside the pirate’s lair HOBYO, Somalia: Mohamed Garfanji, Somalia’s top pirate boss, talks sparingly and has the edginess of a wanted man who never lowers his guard and is always planning his next move. On his first encounter with foreign journalists his eyes only stop scanning his surroundings when he breaks his silence, speaking with an intense gaze that is both menacing and playful. Speaking to AFP in the town of Wisil in central Somalia, he thumbs through his mobile phone picture gallery for shots he and his boys took of foreign tuna seiners off the coast of Hobyo, their nearby base. “See this one? Only a few months ago, 20 miles from Hobyo... And this one, a big Spanish ship,” Garfanji says, raising his eyebrows expectantly. “Now your armies have sent their soldiers so you can continue to take our fish,” he says, clenched fist and gold wrist watch sticking out of the sleeve of a warm dark blue bomber jacket.

His sidekicks nod silently as they devotedly chew their daily bundle of khat, a narcotic leaf widely consumed in Somalia and whose stimulant qualities make it particularly prized by pirates.

These men were behind some of the most spectacular catches in modern piracy -including the 2008 capture of a Ukrainian ship packed with tanks and weapons - and at barely 30, Garfanji now runs a small army. His is

a Robin Hood narrative of Somali piracy as a struggle by dispossessed fishermen against vessels from Europe and Asia violating Somalia’s exclusive economic zone and poaching its abundant tuna under naval protection.

Three centuries before him, charismatic pirate Black Sam Bellamy railed against the powers “who rob the poor under the cover of the law” while “we plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage”. In Hobyo the following morning, one of his top lieutenants, Mohamed, stands on the beach, clutching his machine gun behind his neck like a balancing pole, ammunition belts snaking down from his shoulders. The sand-charged wind blows his black-and-white checkered keffieh and cigarette smoke into his face as he squints at the imposing figure of a hijacked Korean supertanker anchored on the horizon.

“This one is bigger than Hobyo,” he says proudly.

The Marshall Islands-flagged VLCC Samho Dream is a third of a kilometre long, one of three largest vessels ever hijacked by pirates, and carries an estimated 170 million dollars of Iraqi crude destined for the United States.

“Enough to buy the whole of Galkayo,” Mohamed quips, in reference to the region’s largest city, which straddles the border with the neighbouring semiautonomous state of Puntland.

Fighting a losing battle against the

sand that has already completely covered the old Italian port, Hobyo’s scattering of rundown houses and shacks looks anything but the nerve centre of an activity threatening global shipping. “We have no schools, no farming, no fishing. It’s ground zero here,” says chief local elder Abdullahi Ahmed Barre. “And our most pressing concern is the sand, the city is disappearing, we are being buried alive and can’t resist.”

Gathered in the gloom of the council building, the elders haven’t seen a foreigner in years and the list of grievances is long. “The nearest hospital is an eight-hour drive on a rough road”, “The water is undrinkable, too salty”, “When the tsunami struck, nobody helped”, “This is one of the most peaceful parts of Somalia, why is there no assistance?”

Leaning discreetly against the door frame, Garfanji is listening keenly.

Hobyo pirates have collected millions of dollars in ransoms over the past two years. They even have currency checking and counting machines for the bags of air-dropped cash they receive.

Key players drive well-equipped Land Cruisers, have built new, slightly more stately houses and married more wives. Yet Hobyo is anything but a booming town, so where does all the money go? Residents say a significant portion of their income is lavished on

post-ransom binges of khat, alcohol and prostitutes but the pirate leaders insist much of the cash is re-invested to expand. “When we get more money, we recruit more,” says Fathi Osman Kahir, a key Hobyo-based piracy “investor”, who acts as a kind of pirate treasurer.

When a ship is hijacked, he pays for running costs such as increased onshore security, diesel for generators and basic supplies for captors and captives. When a ransom comes in, he takes the lion’s share. “There’s up to 500 people working with us in Hobyo, that’s 10 percent of the population and I’m just talking about the people on the ground... We have a hierarchy. What do you think we do? We pay wages too,” he says.

A visit to Hobyo by the secretary of state for security of the fledgling local administration of Galmudug, Ismail Haji Noor, doesn’t send the pirates scurrying into hiding.

“What am I going to do? Arrest them all? Even if I had the means as security minister to challenge them, it’s pointless if I don’t have something to offer, if nobody can provide an alternative,” Noor says. A former military man and a successful businessman who spent half of his life in Britain, Noor is lobbying donors in Nairobi for elusive development aid he hopes could make the pirates lay down their grapnels.

“There is no difference between life and death if you have nothing to eat...

Of course, what we do is criminal, it’s undeniable. We don’t love what we are doing but there is no choice,” says Kahir.

Since late 2008, NATO, the European Union, United States and other naval powers have sent warships, at a combined cost estimated to top $40 million a day, for the declared purpose or curbing piracy.

Hundreds of suspected pirates were captured but most had to be released immediately for lack of evidence and the number of hijacked ships currently stands at 22, one of its highest ever levels.

While Noor would like to see Hobyo’s pirate army turned into a legitimate defence force and a coastguard protecting Somali waters from both residual piracy and illegal fishing, foreign assistance has not been forthcoming.

Now the biannual inter-monsoon season favourable to piracy is just around the corner and September may be too good to sit out even for the least committed of pirates. On the beach of Hobyo, Mohamed Ali, a shark fisherman, says his catches are meagre, his fuel costs high and his boat inadequate. “Being with the pirates has advantages and disadvantages,” he admits. “I have not yet decided whether to join or not.” — AFP

Give us jobs, say pirates Somalia statelets want HOBYO, Somalia: The pirates of old often took to the seas to rebel against the social order but in lawless Somalia, many pirates say they would happily pay taxes and take a job in a factory. Among the pirates of Hobyo, there is no hint of libertarianism nor any assertion of an alternative lifestyle. Most describe their activity as a crime of survival. Ahmed Osoble is too young to have witnessed any form of organised government and like many young men in central Somalia’s remote coastal areas relied entirely on fishing for his livelihood.

“Since around 2003, the quantity of fish in our waters started decreasing badly and it became almost impossible to live off the sea,” says Ahmed, a soft-spoken 27-year-old. He remembers the day in 2008 he left his nets on the beach and set off on his first piracy mission.

“I wasn’t scared, it was a do-or-die situation. I had nothing to eat.” On another outing the following year, Ahmed and his comrades lost their way as they were prowling the vast Indian Ocean. “We got lost, it was raining heavily... We had no idea where we were when we saw some small yachts. They were tourists I think, we asked them and they said we were in the Seychelles. We were so confused we didn’t even think of kidnapping them,” he says.

“Later we saw two patrol boats and a helicopter coming our way, it was all over,” Ahmed says, recalling the episode with nearembarrassment. He spent several months in detention in the Seychelles before being swapped with hostages. “In the Seychelles, they didn’t torture us but we didn’t have enough to eat. We used to tie our shirts around our stomachs very tightly to stop the hunger.”

Now he is still a pirate but doesn’t go out at sea, has never successfully hijacked a ship, and struggles to make ends meet. “If I could get a job in a fish factory near Hobyo and a pay every month, I would start right away,” he says.

The problem is that there is no functioning industrial and marketing facility in Hobyo, no

more than in any of the coastal areas from which the pirates come, nor anywhere else in the country. Ecoterra International, a group which has campaigned for the protection of coastal communities’ rights and resources in the region, has offered to implement such a project but no significant funding has yet come through.

Ismail Haji Noor is in charge of anti-piracy efforts for Galmudug state, a regional administration that recognises the federal government in Mogadishu but is trying to obtain more international recognition. “Until we get more help, piracy will remain a reality,” he says. “But what the Europeans are offering at the moment is a prison sentence or a bullet.” “I think that if these boys had an opportunity to get monthly wages, they would stop going out to sea to capture ships.”

Western powers have responded to the surge in Somali piracy by dispatching dozens of warships to the region and focusing on the arrest and prosecution of suspects but have done nothing to develop alternative forms of employment.

While most pirates are former fishermen, their leaders have tasted power and someone like Mohamed Garfanji - Somalia’s top pirate heads a little army. “I don’t think Garfanji could return to fishing,” admits Mohamed Aden “Tiiceey”, the president of Himan and Heeb, another regional administration trying to take hold south of Galmudug. “But if we get help building our administration, he would have a place as head of the coastguard. He already knows all the tricks out there.”

Aweys Ali Jimaale “Madehe” (“Big Head” in Somali) is a top commander in pirate-run Hobyo who has a permanent brooding frown etched on his face. He says he joined piracy in reaction to what he sees as collusion between foreign navies and fishing fleets to take advantage of the Somali chaos. Jimaale insists that a chance to protect his country’s waters would mean more to him than money. “I would love to be a coast guard, even if the pay is small.” — AFP

more bucks for bang

GALKAYO, Somalia: As Mogadishu sinks ever deeper into chaos, the regions of central Somalia are pleading for international support to fend off Islamist extremists and save their youth from falling into piracy. Inspired by the success of the northern state of Somaliland that broke away in 1991, the dominant clans in central Somalia have come together under two self-styled administrations seeking their share of foreign support. In 2008, the Sufi movement Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa took up arms to stem the territorial advance of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab but local leaders now feel their largely successful effort has been poorly rewarded.

Mohamed Aden “Tiiceey” returned from his adoptive Minnesota in 2008 with funding from fellow clansmen in the diaspora to start the Himan and Heeb administration, which is headquartered in the town of Adado. “We have stopped the Shebab. Himan and Heeb is doing its best to provide security yet we see nothing coming from the international community,” he told AFP during his latest lobbying visit to Nairobi. “If you empower the people, they are going to help you but if they don’t have reason to hope... I already don’t have the energy I had two years ago and the world simply isn’t matching the effort I put into this region.”

North of Himan and Heeb lies Galmudug state, another self-proclaimed administration, where officials and residents also feel they have been abandoned by the international community.

“UN agencies are totally absent here, they are not fulfilling their duties,” said Habibo Kofro, the leader of Galmudug’s women’s group, at a recent meeting of elders in the regional capital Galkayo.

Galmudug’s minister for fisheries, ports and natural resources, Mohamed Ali Warsame, argues that waiting for stability to bring development ignores the fact that development is key to bringing about security. And piracy, which has flourished along the coast of central Somalia, is a case in point, he said. Combined anti-piracy

naval operations in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean are believed to cost at least $40 million a day, yet the number of hijacked ships remains at one of its highest ever levels. “Sometimes I ask myself, does the international community honestly want to solve the problem? If it does, why misplace these huge resources?,” he said.

According to Warsame, piracy could be eradicated if one percent of the West’s anti-piracy naval expenditures was used on adequate onshore development. In a recent article in World Affairs, US-based piracy expert Martin Murphy argued that the United States and its allies need to “place greater emphasis on regional, sub-state approaches”.

The international community’s approach to Somalia’s woes recently has been to bet everything on a central government in Mogadishu that has so far achieved nothing, has allowed the Shebab to expand and that lacks legitimacy. “The state department is... not looking at this problem with imagination,” he told AFP. Murphy said Somaliland, whose elections this year were widely acclaimed as free and transparent, and the neighbouring semiautonomous state of Puntland should get more direct support. “We have to somehow build on whatever stability there is,” he said. One Nairobibased foreign expert stressed it was a mistake to consider the regional bottom-up and the centralised top-down approaches as mutually exclusive, rather than complementary. Central Somalia’s self-styled administrations deserve support, he said. But he also warned that any talk of a “building blocks” approach to Somalia was pointless if the international community did not show more commitment and continued in its current vein of barge-pole diplomacy.

“Unfortunately we have a completely broken delivery machine... There is no engagement and until that changes, any new policy will produce more of the same.” — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, September 3, 2010

Page 13

French debate: First it was burqas, now burgers FLEURY-MEROGIS, France: The bacon is gone from the bacon burgers, replaced by smoked turkey. At a fast food restaurant outside Paris, a new certificate on the wall proclaims that its beef comes from cows slaughtered in line with Islamic law. On Wednesday, popular French fast food chain Quick, the No. 2 burger chain in France after McDonald's, started serving halal-only food in 22 of its French outlets, targeting France's large Muslim population, an underexploited market that has long been ignored by big business.

If it's a savvy business decision Quick says sales doubled at restaurants that have tested the concept - the move has also opened a new chapter in the perennial war over how much society should accommodate Muslim traditions. Or in essence, what it means to be French.

Politicians left and right have attacked the move from every conceivable angle. Some ask why halal food should be foisted on the general population, while others worry the Quicks in question will promote segregation of the Muslim community instead of acceptance. France argues that integration is the only option for minorities, and the only way to preserve social cohesion.

The spat over the halal burgers runs alongside an even more highprofile debate in parliament: This month, the Senate looks set to approve a ban on Islamic face-covering veils such as niqabs or burqas, a law that many Muslims worry will stigmatize them. There are also fears among Muslims that Quick's strategy change risks creating a stigma - even if many are delighted that a big French chain has their needs in mind, and tired of

the filleted fish sandwiches that are often the only fast food option open to them.

Halal beef must come from a cow that has been killed by a cut to its jugular vein from which all the blood from the carcass is drained. It tastes no different from other beef. Hedi Naamane, a 29-year-old technician who brought his 2-year-old son to taste a halal burger for lunch, says he is worried Quick's move will be fodder for racists. "There are a lot of people who complain about mosques popping up, about halal products, and this and that, and now some people are going to say, oh la la, hang on, Quick is European!" said Naamane, as he fed his son a kids' meal.

Naamane himself was not eating.

Perhaps a bit strangely, the chain launched its halal-only burger restaurants in the middle of Ramadan,

a month when devout Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Quick says the date was purely a coincidence. Another oddity of the decision is that Quick is 94-percent owned by a subsidiary of the state-controlled bank Caisse des Depots et Consignations. Some critics find it absurd that the French state _ which has such a strict interpretation of secularism that it does not allow girls to wear Muslim headscarves to school _ is technically behind the operation.

A main point of contention is that Quick is not offering a non-halal menu at the 22 outlets concerned. It has a total of 346 restaurants in France.

Stephane Gatignon, the mayor of the Paris suburb of Sevran and a member of the environmentalist party Europe Ecologie, says he is worried the Quick in his town will become a Muslimsonly hangout, preventing ethnic groups

from mingling.

On top of that, "It's stigmatizing," he told AP. Quick is saying, "in these towns there are only Muslims, but in a town like Sevran, there are not only Muslims, there are a lot of other religions here too. Everyone has to find their place."

Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Front party, said Quick's decision was a "scandal". "I'm not Muslim, I don't want this imposed on me," the daughter of French far-right icon Jean-Marie Le Pen told Europe-1 radio. Kentucky Fried Chicken France says it has served halal chicken in its French outlets for 19 years. That fact is not well-known, though, and the chain has largely been left out of the debate over the burger chain.

Quick already sparked a spat earlier this year during the testing phase of the halal operation. —AP

Leaders emphasized Muslims were also killed in 9/11 attacks

New York Muslim groups decry hostile atmosphere BUXTON, North Carolina: A window is boarded up with a message at the Buxton Beach Motel in Wednesday as Hurricane Earl approaches North Carolina’s Outer Banks. – AP

Hurricane Earl closes in on US East Coast RALEIGH, North Carolina: Hurricane Earl quickly closed in on a large part of the US east coast yesterday, as tens of thousands of people fled North Carolina's barrier islands to avoid dangerous winds and surf.

The strongest Atlantic storm of 2010 was on course to lash the coast of North Carolina and then move north, wreaking havoc on the end-of-summer Labor Day holiday weekend that usually draws millions to the beaches.

The hurricane was expected to remain offshore as it barrels north, skirting the Atlantic coastline.

But with the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicting hurricane strength winds as far out as 90 miles from the eye of the storm, coastal residents were still preparing for dangerous conditions, including "large and destructive waves". The NHC also warned of large ocean swells from the storm that could cause "dangerous surf conditions and rip currents" throughout the weekend. At 8:00 am (01200 GMT), Earl's top winds were 145 miles (230 kilometers) as the powerful category four storm sped toward the eastern seaboard, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The eye of the storm was about 575 km south of Cape

Hatteras in the Outer Banks - a narrow band of North Carolina barrier islands. Hurricane force winds were expected to reach the state's coast later by late yesterday and a "dangerous" storm surge was due to raise water levels by up to 0.9 to 1.5 m above ground level in the hurricane warning area, the NHC said. In a sign the hurricane season was heating up, the fourth storm in the past 11 days, Tropical Storm Gaston, formed in the Atlantic.

Gaston had winds of 65 km per hour and was centered 1550 km west of the Cape Verde Islands. But forecasters warned the storm's track could well put it in the path of Haiti, a worstcase scenario now threatening to become reality for a nation still struggling to recover from a January earthquake. Thousands of quake survivors remain in flimsy, makeshift, open air camps in and around the capital Port-au-Prince, and observers warn of a further humanitarian catastrophe if the area is hit by a major storm. US officials meanwhile ordered a mandatory evacuation for 30,000 residents and visitors of North Carolina's Hatteras Island. Thousands more were told to leave the state's Ocracoke Island, where ferry service is the only transport link with the mainland. —AFP

NEW YORK: It is "unethical, insensitive and inhumane" to oppose the planned mosque near ground zero, more than 50 leading Muslim organizations said Wednesday as they cast the intense debate as a symptom of religious intolerance in America. The imam behind the project, meanwhile, was preparing to return to the US after a taxpayer-funded good will tour to the Mideast, where he said the debate is about

much more than "a piece of real estate". Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf sidestepped questions about whether he would consider moving the $100 million mosque and Islamic community center farther from where Islamic terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Center. Instead, he stressed the need to embrace religious and political freedoms in the United States.

Leaders of the Majlis AshShura of Metropolitan New York, an Islamic leadership council that represents a broad spectrum of Muslims in the city, gathered on the steps of City Hall to issue a statement calling for a stop to religious intolerance and affirming the right of the center's developers to build two blocks north of the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks. "We support the right of our Muslim brothers who wish to build that center there," said Imam Al Amin Abdul Latif, president of the Majlis Ash-Shura. "However, the bigger issue and the broader issue is the issue of ethnic and religious hatred being spread by groups trying to stop the building of mosques and Islamic institutions across the country."

This is the first time that the council as a body has spoken out on the weeks-old debate over the proposed center. "When the issue became hotter and hotter, and people made more statements against the mosques, then we decided to get involved in it," said Syed Sajid Husain, secretary general of the council.

He said the process of bringing together the leaders to agree on a statement also took a handful of meetings.

Leaders of the council said they were calling attention to what they claimed was an antiIslamic climate, and that the development of a center near ground zero is simply one example. They also cited a suspicious fire that damaged construction equipment at the site of a future mosque in Tennessee that is being

Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday showed 71 percent of New Yorkers want the developers to voluntarily move the project. Islamic leaders on Wednesday said they would support a move to another location, if that's what the imam and his supporters choose to do.

But they emphasized that Muslims also were killed in the terrorist attacks and were first responders.

"We declare unethical, insensitive and inhumane, the notion that our co-religionists are not entitled to the respect of a place of worship according to their faith, near the location where men and women

NEW YORK: Rep Charles Rangel (center) joins Imam Al-Amin A Latif (left), Amir of The Majlis Ash-Shura of NY and Imam Al-Hajj Talib AbdurRashid, VP of the Masjlis Ash-Shura during a news conference on the steps of New York’s City Hall yesterday. – AP investigated by the FBI, and the successful opposition to the proposed conversion of a property owned by a Catholic Church into a mosque and community center on Staten Island, a New York City borough off the southern tip of Manhattan.

Rick Lazio, a Republican candidate for governor of New York who has opposed the mosque in lower Manhattan, has said criticism is "not an issue of religion". Like many critics, he has said it is an issue of being sensitive to the families of 9/11 victims and transparency regarding the center's funding. A

of our religion worked, lived and died - just like other people," the group's statement said in part.

The group is not associated with the planned Islamic center but is representative of a significant number of New York Muslim leaders.

Rauf has been on a US State Department-sponsored interfaith tour of the Middle East for several weeks and is currently in the United Arab Emirates, said State Department spokesman P J Crowley, speaking to reporters in Washington, D C Rauf was expected to return to the US yesterday. —AP

INTERNATIONAL

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Anti-Chinese sentiment sparks alarm in Mongolia ULAN BATOR: Bat - a soft-spoken, smartly dressed 24-year-old Mongolian educated in Moscow points to the screen saver on his mobile phone with pride. It's a picture of the skull of a German SS officer. Bat is the somewhat unlikely face of Dayar Mongol, one of three registered ultra-nationalist groups in Mongolia which sometimes take their cue from neo-Nazi outfits in Europe. Enemy number one for the xenophobic organisations is the landlocked country's neighbour to the south China. "We have 50 trained fighters whose job is to hunt down Chinese living in Mongolia and some Mongolians who have Chinese fathers," Bat said in an interview in

the capital Ulan Bator. "We reject their blood and their culture." Members of his group had assaulted Chinese nationals, he said.

Mongolia, a former Soviet satellite state wedged between China and Russia, has struggled to develop its economy since turning to capitalism two decades ago, and remains one of the poorest nations in Asia. Its rich deposits of copper, gold, uranium, silver and oil have caught the eye of foreign investors, sparking hopes for a brighter future, but members of groups such as Dayar Mongol reject any outside economic or cultural influence. "We can't just give Mongolia to the Chinese people. We are protecting it from them," said Bat,

who claims to have 300 active members in his group, which he revived in 2005 after it had lain dormant for several years.

Bat says Dayar Mongol also targets Mongolian women who have sex with Chinese men by shaving their heads, and sometimes tattooing their foreheads - in an eerie parallel to the numbers tattooed on Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz. The crimes of such groups have not gone unnoticed abroad - the US State Department has warned travellers about an "increased number of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals" since the spring of 2010. "Nationalist groups frequently mistake Asian-Americans for ethnic Chinese or Koreans and may attack

without warning or provocation," it says on its website.

Two Chinese nationals have been killed in Ulan Bator this year, police have said, adding that the murder of a Mongolian by a Chinese citizen outside the capital was the "reason that ultra-nationalist group have become more active". Franck Bille, who is doing research at Cambridge University on Mongolian attitudes towards China, said the xenophobia can be traced back to the country's past under Moscow's thumb. "These anti-Chinese sentiments are a direct product of the Socialist period," he told AFP. "Russians regularly used the 'threat of China' to ensure the Mongols' allegiance." When the Soviet

Union crumbled and Mongolia began its transition to becoming a market economy, the country's traditionally nomadic society fell apart, leaving poor social services and education, and growing social disparities. While Moscow is still perceived in a favourable light - both Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia last year - Beijing has come in for public scorn. "Increased Chinese influence in Mongolia in mining and construction has mainly contributed to a rise in nationalist sentiments," said Shurkhuu Dorj, of the Institute of International Studies at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences.—AFP

Labor now within two seats of forming government

Aussie PM wins backer in bid to regain power SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard won the support of a key independent MP yesterday, leaving her close to breaking the worst political deadlock in decades after elections failed to produce a winner. Former Iraq war whistle-blower Andrew Wilkie said Gillard's centre-left Labor party was most likely to deliver "stable" and

"competent" government, an endorsement that put her within just two seats of a parliamentary majority. "I have judged that it is the Australian Labor Party that best meets my criteria that the next government must be stable, must be competent and must be ethical," Wilkie told journalists in Canberra.

CANBERRA: Tasmanian Independent lawmaker Andrew Wilkie announces his support for the Labor minority government lead by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday. – AP

Tajik leader fires chiefs DUSHANBE: Tajikistan's leader fired almost the entire leadership of his security services yesterday as the first of 25 Islamist militants was recaptured more than a week after an armed jailbreak in the Central Asian republic. The armed prisoners, including Russian and Afghan nationals accused of plotting a coup in the former Soviet republic, killed five guards in a shootout when they escaped from a detention centre in the capital Dushanbe last week. [ID:nLDE67M0V9] A source in the security services told Reuters one prisoner, a former inmate of the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, had been apprehended as the result of a special operation in the town of Vakhdat, 20 km east of Dushanbe.

The source said Tajik authorities suspected Ibrahim Nasriddinov of helping to organise the escape. He said a second armed suspect was surrounded in a house in a nearby village.

Governments in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia are clamping down on what they see as growing Islamic radicalism in the predominantly Muslim, though secular, region

after a rise in clashes between security forces and armed gangs.

President Imomali Rakhmon's press service said yesterday that Saimumin Yatimov, a former ambassador to Belgium, had been appointed head of the State Committee for National Security, Tajikistan's successor to the KGB. Yatimov was the only senior security official to escape the cull.

He joined the security service several months ago as its deputy head. His predecessor, Khairidin Abdurakhimov, had served in the position for 11 years. Rakhmon's press service said he had asked to be relieved of his duties.

Authorities in Tajikistan, which shares a porous 1,340-km border with Afghanistan, ordered a manhunt for the fugitives when they escaped on Aug. 23 and requested assistance from Interpol, as well as Afghan and Russian security forces. The escaped prisoners were among the 46 people to whom Tajikistan's Supreme Court in August handed down long jail terms on accusations they had planned to overthrow the authorities. —Reuters

Wilkie's vote gives Gillard 74 seats in the 150-member lower house, just shy of an absolute majority of 76. But Tony Abbott's opposition coalition remains firmly in the hunt with 73 seats and three independents still undecided. Tasmania's Wilkie urged the three remaining "kingmakers" to make their move soon, following nearly two weeks of political paralysis after August 21 polls returned the first hung parliament since 1940.

"I hope that this sends a signal to the other three independents and they move as soon as they can to make their decisions," he said.

Rural MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, and cowboy hatwearing maverick Bob Katter, have pledged to begin formal negotiations today.

But momentum is now firmly behind Gillard, Australia's first woman prime minister, after she confirmed the support of parliament's lone Greens MP on Wednesday. She said Wilkie's decision was smoothed by a 100 million dollar (US$90 million) pledge for a hospital in his electorate, and assurances the government would try to ease gambling problems caused by omnipresent "pokie" slot machines.

"I thank Mr Wilkie for bearing in mind at all stages the national interest," she said. "He has clearly been motivated to enter this agreement based on his view of the national interest."

Gillard also received a boost yesterday when the opposition was accused of a policy blow-out of up to US$10 billion, prompting the "kingmakers" to question Abbott's trustworthiness. —AFP

BANGKOK: Noppadol Pattama, a legal adviser for ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, shows photos of Thaksin meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela at the latter’s office in Johannesburg on Aug 27, 2010. – AP

Fugitive Thaksin meets Mandela BANGKOK: Emerging from weeks of silence, fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has appeared in Africa, where he says he is dealing in diamonds and visiting Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela. A photo of his meeting with the former South African president was released in Thailand by Thaksin's lawyer in an apparent move to quash rumors that the divisive exprime minister is ill - and to advertise that he's rubbing shoulders with VIPs abroad.

"I travel all the time.

Currently, I'm in Africa for diamond mining," Thaksin told the Thai Rath newspaper in an interview published yesterday.

He did not specify if he was still in South Africa. He said rumors of his failing health were "lies." The Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg confirmed that the visit took place last Friday.

"It was not a meeting, it was a courtesy call," spokesman Sello Hatang said. He said he did not know what they discussed.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He is widely accused of funding antigovernment "Red Shirt" protests in April and May that occupied Bangkok's main retail district, forcing the

closure of major shopping malls and hotels. The protesters were seeking to unseat the current government and possibly bring Thaksin back to power.

Sporadic violence and a crackdown by the military left 91 people dead and 1,4000 wounded. The tycoon-turnedpolitician remains popular among his rural poor power base but was convicted on conflict of interest charges in 2008 and fled the country.

Thailand revoked his passports but Thaksin has acquired at least two new ones from Nicaragua and Montenegro. He is believed to be living in Dubai.

Thaksin has spent much of the past four years roaming the globe in search of business deals. He visited South Africa previously to inspect diamond mines and has traveled to Liberia, Uganda and Swaziland for investments in diamonds and gold. He has posted photos of meetings with leaders on trips to Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and the Maldives. Normally active on Twitter, Thaksin's last posts came on July 25, the day before his 61st birthday, when he called for political reconciliation in Thailand.

Since then he has kept a low profile.—AP

international

Friday, September 3, 2010

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Greenpeace anti-whaling activists face sentencing in Japan TOKYO: Two Greenpeace activists will face possible jail terms in Japan on Monday for stealing a box of whale meat in a trial the environmental group says will test the country's limits on political activism.

Prosecutors have demanded 18month prison sentences for each defendant, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, on charges of trespass and theft, in a case that started more than two years ago with their arrests in dramatic Tokyo police raids. The two activists admit taking the box of salted whale meat, but say they acted in the public interest to highlight alleged embezzlement in the state funded "research whaling" which Greenpeace has long campaigned to end.

The case goes to the heart of whaling, which Japan defends as a tradition going back centuries, but which activist groups such as Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd, and countries including Australia and New Zealand, have long fought to abolish.

Commercial whaling was banned worldwide in 1986, but the following year Japan set up the non-profit Institute of Cetacean Research and has kept culling hundreds of the ocean mammals a year since under a loophole in the moratorium.

While the whales are killed in the name of science, Japan does not hide the fact that the meat ends up in shops, restaurants and on family dinner tables. Greenpeace said it was

contacted over two years ago by a crew member of one of the statesponsored whaling ships, operated by private contractor Kyodo Senpaku, who was dismayed by what he saw as corruption and waste. His fellow sailors were receiving boxes of whale meat, often mislabelled as personal belongings, after they returned from their annual Antarctic hunts, the unidentified whistle-blower said, according to Greenpeace.

Sato and Suzuki followed the trail, which led them to the depot of courier company Seino Transport in the northern port city of Aomori. Suzuki walked into the facility on April 16, 2008 and took a 23-kg box labelled "cardboard and vinyl". In a local hotel

room, he and Sato opened it before a running video camera. "It was as if I had discovered parts of a corpse," Suzuki, 43, said at their trial, held in the same city. The box contained 10 salted pieces of "unesu", cuts from the whale's throat, underneath plastic and clothing.

A month later Greenpeace, after seeking comment from the Fisheries Agency which oversees whaling, handed the box to Tokyo District Prosecutors and called a press conference to publicise what the group saw as evidence of graft. Weeks passed, during which officials explained the crew members were receiving boxes of whale meat as souvenirs. Then on June 19, the

activists learned through the media of their imminent arrests. The next morning, Greenpeace says, a total of around 75 police officers arrested Sato and Suzuki, raided the organisation's Tokyo office and the homes of five staff members, seizing computer hard drives and boxes of documents.

Four days later the Tokyo Metropolitan Government also opened an investigation into the activities of Greenpeace Japan, the group said. While the embezzlement case was dropped on the day of the arrests, the two activists were taken to Aomori and held for the next 26 days, interrogated three times a day strapped to chairs without their lawyers present. —AFP

Pakistan boosts security after triple attacks

Shiites mourn Lahore bombings as toll rises KABUL: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates (right) is greeted by top NATO commander Gen David Petraeus as he arrives in Kabul yesterday. – AP

Gates on surprise Afghanistan visit 2 US troops killed KABUL: Two American troops died in fighting in Afghanistan on Thursday, while NATO and local officials said coalition and Afghan forces had killed at least 37 insurgents in a series of ground and air engagements. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, meanwhile, arrived in Afghanistan's capital for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and top NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus. Gates flew yesterday morning to Kabul from Baghdad, where he participated in ceremonies marking the formal close of the US combat mission in Iraq. The Pentagon chief also plans to visit US troops in Afghanistan.

NATO said one service member was killed in the country's east, the other in the south - regions where fighting between the coalition and Taliban insurgents has been at its most intense. No other details were given in keeping with standard NATO procedure. The deaths bring to three the number of US service members killed in September and follows a spike in casualties during the last two weeks of August that saw the monthly total rise to 55. The August figure was still below the back-to-back monthly records of 66 in July and 60 in June, although total US combat deaths in January-August of this year 316 - last month exceeded the previous annual record figure of 304 for the whole of 2009.

NATO said coalition forces

beat back an attack on a combat outpost in Paktika province's Barmal district along the mountainous border with Pakistan, killing at least 20 insurgents. Defenders first returned fire with mortars and small arms before calling in an air assault, the alliance said in a news release, adding that no NATO or Afghan government forces were killed.

Just to the west, another five insurgents were killed in an airstrike as they were placing a roadside bomb in Ghazni province's Andar district. That followed an incident in nearby Khost province on Wednesday when a suicide car bomber attempted to ram a coalition patrol, but managed to only set off his bomb's initiation device, killing himself but failing to detonate his explosives.

In volatile Helmand province to the south, coalition and Afghan forces killed 11 insurgents and captured four, including a regional Taleban shadow district governor, Mulla Sayed Gul, responsible for ordering attacks and dispensing funds, the provincial governor said. NATO said it used another airstrike in Paktika to kill the leader of an insurgent cell responsible for laying roadside bombs and smuggling foreign fighters into the country. Ground forces dispatched to the site found weapons and materials for making roadside bombs, NATO said. —AP

LAHORE: The death toll from suicide attacks that targeted a busy procession in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore rose to 31 yesterday as six people succumbed to their injuries, officials said. Three suicide bombers targeted a Shiite mourning procession made up of thousands of people on "Thirty-one people have died and a total of 281 were injured," Fahim Jehanzeb, a spokesman for Lahore's rescue agency told AFP, adding that he feared more would die from their injuries. Sajjad Bhutta, a senior local administration official, confirmed the new death toll. Head of police investigations for Lahore, Zulfiqar Hamid, told AFP that investigations were ongoing and no arrest had yet been made.

Prayers were held for seven of the dead yesterday, with police and paramilitary providing tight security, while local authorities announced a day of mourning with all public and private institutions closed.

Later hundreds of Shiites clad in black took to the streets to denounce the attack and said they would later hold a meeting to discuss a strategy in response.

"We strongly condemn this incident. We will not tolerate such attack in future," a Shiite leader, Hassan Zafar Naqvi, told AFP. An AFP reporter said that all markets were closed and roads were quiet yesterday, after the attacks provoked an outpouring of fury in the city a night earlier, with mourners trying to torch a nearby police station. Police fired tear gas to force back the surging crowd as furious mourners beat the bodies of the suicide bombers with sticks and shoes, while others beat their own heads and chests at the site of the attacks in frustration. The emotional crowd chanted slogans against the police and the provincial government over their failure to protect the Shiite procession, an AFP correspondent on the scene said. — AFP

Wednesday at the moment of the breaking of the fast in the holy month of Ramadan, wounding hundreds. It was the first major attack in Pakistan since devastating floods engulfed a fifth of the volatile country over the past month in its worst disaster yet.

LAHORE: Women mourn the deaths of Wednesday’s blast victims during their funeral yesterday. – AP

Coffin mix-up discovered HONG KONG: Three coffins used to bring back some of the eight Hong Kong tourists killed last week's Philippine hostage crisis had been mislabelled, a Hong Kong government spokesman said yesterday. The mix-up was discovered after the family of one victim went to a Hong Kong mortuary to identify their dead relative only to find the coffin contained the body of another victim of last week's hijacking. A senior Hong Kong official and weeping relatives had laid wreaths on the mislabelled coffins at a sombre airport ceremony in Hong Kong last week. "Three of the coffins were wrongly labelled," a government spokesman told AFP. "When the bodies were at the mortuary in Hong Kong, the error was discovered." The blunder was made at a Manila funeral parlour before the bodies were flown to Hong Kong, the spokesman said, most likely when the victims were transferred from plain coffins to more elaborate caskets. Philippine Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who is heading the hostage incident probe, said she was unaware of

any mislabelling. "There is no such indication in the reports that we received so far, but we can always verify that and that can be part (of the ongoing investigation)," she said, adding that "it has to be a really thorough and comprehensive investigation."

Gwendolyn Pang, secretary-general of the Philippine National Red Cross, said the victims' bodies were correctly labelled before they left for the funeral parlour, but could not verify if the coffins had been properly tagged. "They were identified in the hospitals by the travel agency and the family members," Pang said. "The family members claimed (the bodies) in the hospitals and then they were sent out for post-mortem care."

The hostage ordeal on Aug 23 began when sacked policeman Rolando Mendoza hijacked a bus with 22 Hong Kong tourists and three Filipinos on board in the heart of Manila. The daylong drama was played out on television screens around the world and ended in a botched rescue attempt riddled with police errors. —AFP

BUSINESS

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Unemployment claims drop for second straight week

Discounts spur US retail sales gains NEW YORK: US retailers are reporting surprisingly solid gains for August, helped by aggressive discounting, even as unusually hot weather and job worries kept a lid on back-to-school buying. The results are providing a sliver of hope for the economic recovery, but worries still remain about the holiday season. Meanwhile, the

number of Americans requesting unemployment benefits declined for the second straight week, suggesting that the slowing economy isn't prompting widespread job cuts.The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment aid fell last week by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000.

HOLLYWOOD: Job seekers attend a workshop to learn skills on seeking employment at Workforce One in Hollywood, Florida. — AP

UAE's Aug gold sales fall 15% in Ramadan

India cracks down on Google, Skype

DUBAI: Retail gold demand volumes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi dipped by around 15 percent in August on the year, as the holy month of Ramadan led consumers to focus more on food purchases, traders said yesterday.

"Ramadan is all about food and not about buying jewelry that's why we saw a dip of around 15 percent in August," said a jewelry trader at Mansuk Jewelrs in Dubai's old gold souk.

The holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset started on 11 August and is expected to end on 10 September depending on the lunar calendar.

"Last year we had Ramadan start closer to the end of August and that is also why the sales are lower on the year," said Tushar Patni, director of Ajanta Jewelrs, one of the largest retailers in the emirate capital of Abu Dhabi.

Retail sales represent the bulk of gold demand in the Gulf region because the investment market is in its infancy. There are no official monthly figures in the United Arab Emirates, and views gathered by Reuters are anecdotal from traders at the gold souks.

Spot gold gained $2.8, or 0.2 percent, to $1,246.30 an ounce yesterday, after a two-month high of $1,254.65 on Wednesday, which is just $10 below the all-time high.

Traders are expecting sales to accelerate during the first two weeks following Ramadan, said Pradeep Unni, senior analyst and trader at Richcomm Global Services in Dubai. "This pickup in demand will more than make up for the losses encountered over the past weeks," he said.

Overall, retail gold demand volume in the Middle East during the second quarter of the year was mixed, with Saudi recording a 5 percent rise on the year, while the UAE fell by 15 percent, according to a report by the World Gold Council (WGC).

Gold demand in Saudi was driven by strong domestic consumption, and UAE demand had tailed off in response to high prices during the second quarter, the WGC report added.

Other Gulf countries saw demand drop by 25 percent in the second-quarter this year compared to the same time a year earlier, the report said. — Reuters

MUMBAI: India has widened its security crackdown, asking all companies that provide encrypted communications -- not just BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion -- to install servers in the country to make it easier for the government to obtain users' data.

That would likely affect digital giants like Google and Skype. "People who operate communication services in India should (install a) server in India as well as make available access to law enforcement agencies," Home Secretary G K Pillai told reporters. "That has been made clear to RIM of BlackBerry but also to other companies." On Monday, India withdrew a threat to ban BlackBerry service for at least two more months after RIM agreed to give security officials "lawful access" to encrypted data.

Indian officials have for some time also been concerned about Google and Skype, neither of which maintains servers in India. Google has an Indian unit, but Gmail is offered by Google Inc, a US company subject to US laws. Luxembourgbased Skype has no India operations.

India began a sweeping information security review after the November 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, which was coordinated with cell phones, satellite phones and Internet calls.

Officials are also eager to avoid any trouble at the Commonwealth Games, a major sporting event to be held in New Delhi in October.—AP

Economists had expected a slight increase, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. The four-week average of claims, a lessvolatile measure, fell by 2,500 to 485,500, its first decrease after four straight increases.

Even with the declines, claims are still at much higher levels than they would be in a healthy economy. When economic output is growing rapidly and employers are hiring, claims generally drop below 400,000.

As merchants report their results, Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a robust gain, boosted by higher gas prices and improved international revenue. Limited Brands Inc and Macy's Inc also had solid revenue increases.

But shoppers are still keeping to their lists, hurting a number of clothing stores such as The Bon-Ton Stores and Gap Inc. Target Corp.'s results came in below expectations.

The figures still mask some underlying weakness in consumer spending, because they're being compared with a weak August 2009. They're based on revenue at stores open at least a year, considered a key measurement of retailer health because it excludes the effects of stores that open or close during the year.

"It's a glimmer of hope that the numbers are coming in ahead of low expectations," said Ken Perkins, president of research firm RetailMetrics.

"But it took retailers being heavily promotional to bring shoppers in. There's still serious concerns about the consumer's ability to spend during the crucial November and December periods."

Retailers, including many teen merchants, were aggressively promoting jeans in July as they sought to lure jittery shoppers in the stores. Tax-free holidays in nearly 20 stores also helped to lure shoppers. But still consumers remained selective about buying for back-to-school as they worry about a faltering economy. — Agencies

Apple iPod Touch (bottom), iPod Nano (center) and iPod Shuffle (top) are displayed during an Apple event on Wednesday in San Francisco.—AP

Apple unveils new TV box for renting movies and shows SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc is refining its plans to annex the living room into its entertainment empire. On Wednesday, Apple unveiled a smaller, cheaper version of Apple TV, which connects to a high-definition television and can show rented movies and TV shows from Apple's own service, plus content from Netflix, photos on Flickr, YouTube clips and more.

The new $99 gadget marks a slight improvement over Apple's first television set-top box, which went on sale in 2007. The original Apple TV had to sync with a computer, a concept most consumers weren't ready for, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at a media event Wednesday. It also didn't record live television shows the way TiVo and other digital recorders did, at a time when that was becoming a popular way to watch TV. "We've sold a lot of them, but it's never been a huge hit," Jobs said of the existing Apple TV, which went for $229. Jobs, who presided over a media event in San Francisco wearing a black crew neck instead of his trademark mock turtleneck, also unveiled social media features for its iTunes software, a new lineup of iPods including a touch-screen Nano and new software for its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

devices.

Apple's new TV box, about four inches square, still doesn't record television, but it comes at a time when more people have gotten used to watching shows online. The device lets people rent, not buy, content.

Apple TV owners will pay $4.99 to rent first-run highdefinition movies the day they come out on DVD. Highdefinition TV show rentals will be 99 cents.

Apple said the same movie studios that have allowed iTunes users to rent and buy movies have agreed to include their titles for streaming.

Apple did not rent TV shows before, but now episodes will be available from News Corp's Fox, The Walt Disney Co's ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel and BBC America.

Jobs said he hoped other television companies would join once the service gains popularity. Apple TV, which will be available within a month, will also display shows, movies, photos and music streamed over Wi-Fi from other devices -- computers with iTunes installed, as well as iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. For example, an iPad owner could start watching a movie on the tablet, then walk into the living room and, with a few taps, finish watching it on the TV screen. —AP

SHANGHAI: A man pulls a cart loaded with chairs in Shanghai. Chinese shares were up 0.58 percent in early trade tracking Wall Street’s rally overnight after encouraging US and Chinese manufacturing data renewed economic recovery hopes, dealers said. — AFP

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Samsung takes on Apple with iPad rival Galaxy Tab uses Google’s Android 2.2 system BERLIN: Samsung unveiled yesterday what the South Korean electronics giant hopes will be a major rival to Apple’s highly successful iPad tablet PC. The Galaxy Tab, presented at the IFA electronics trade fair in Berlin, Germany, has a seven-inch (17.8-centimetre) touchscreen, slightly smaller than the iPad’s 9.7 inches, and uses Google’s Android 2.2 operating system.

“Samsung recognizes the tremendous growth potential in this newly created market and we believe that the Samsung Galaxy Tab brings a unique and open proposition to market,” said mobile communications unit head JK Shin.

The Galaxy Tab, weighing 0.8 pounds (380 grams) — almost half the iPad’s 1.5 pounds-launches in Europe in mid-September, and in other markets including South Korea, the US and elsewhere in Asia in the coming months.

But Samsung gave no indication however of whether the Galaxy Tab

will undercut the iPad on price, which retails from $499 in the United Statesor 499 euros in Europe-for the basic model.

Reports in the trade press said that the Galaxy Tab will be more expensive, at 799 euros ($1,025) in Germany and 699 euros in France.

Apple sold more than three million iPads in the 80 days after going on sale in the United States in April, with demand so strong that some US customers had to wait several weeks to get their hands on one.

Since then, the device, which used Apple’s own MAC iOS operating system, has gone on sale in more than a dozen other countries and is poised to hit the shelves in China, the world’s largest Internet market, later this month.

The success caught California-based Apple’s competitors on the hop, and they have been rushing to respond with their own tablet PCs. It is rumoured however that Japan’s Toshiba will also unveil its own tablet

PC in Berlin later yesterday. Samsung’s South Korean rival, LG Electronics, has promised to release a tablet PC using Android before December.

Tablets are smaller both in size and in memory than a desktop, notebook or netbook computer, but are bigger than smartphones, offering users video, music, games, Internet and electronic books-all with touchscreen.

“The biggest market (for tablets) is for leisure. The iPad is becoming the main computer, the first to be switched on in the morning and the last one at night,” Joerg Wirtgen from German tech magazine c’t told AFP. “But you can’t do everything, only the pleasurable stuff. For lots of tasks you still need a PC or a notebook.”

He also said they offered much more than e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle.

Gadget website T3 said the Galaxy Tab is “coming for the iPad, and it means business,” saying it was on “everyone’s ‘must see’ list” for this year’s IFA, which opens to the public on Friday. — AFP

BERLIN: Thomas Richter, Samsung’s Head of Portfolio Management, Telecommunications Europe, presents Samsung’s new tablet device, the ‘Galaxy Tab’ during a press conference at the 50th edition of the ‘IFA’ yesterday in Berlin. — AFP

Walkman outsells iPod in Japan for first time

SAN FRANCISCO: Steve Jobs, chief executive officer of Apple Inc, speaks to reporters after announcing the release of new upgrades for the iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, iPod Touch, and iTunes at a press conference in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday. Jobs also announced the release of the new iTV which replaces the larger, more expensive Apple TV. — AFP

TOKYO: In a rare victory for Sony over archrival Apple, the Walkman portable music player outsold the iPod in Japan in monthly sales for the first time in August, a survey showed yesterday.

Sony’s share of the Japanese market for portable music players stood at 47.8 percent last month, ahead of Apple which had 44.0 percent, according to the Tokyo-based marketing research company BCN Inc. Sony has faced stiff competition in recent years from the huge popularity of the iPod and other products that rival its own, such as Nintendo’s Wii video game system that has challenged Sony’s PlayStation console.

“This is the first time that the Walkman outsold the iPod in monthly sales” since the 2001 launch of Apple’s music player in Japan, BCN analyst Eiji Mori said.

The result demonstrated “consumers’ reluctance to buy iPods ahead of the launch of a new iPod range in the United States,” he said.

“Sony’s strategy to market relatively affordable products may have also contributed to the turnaround in the ranking in market shares,” he added.

Apple on Wednesday unveiled a slick new iPod line along with a music-centered social network in iTunes, as well as Apple TV streaming gadgets in the United States.

The launch of the Walkman three decades ago revolutionized the way people around the world listened to music and helped transform Sony into a global electronics powerhouse.

But in recent years it has struggled to match the success of Apple, which sold 100 million iPods in less than six years after its 2001 launch, making it the fastest selling music player in history.

Apple’s Japanese unit said last month it has offered to replace its first-generation iPod nano music player in the event of it overheating after reports of fires led to criticism from the government in Tokyo. — AFP

SIA regulates crew’s Facebook musings SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has directed its flight attendants to avoid discussing work-related matters on Facebook and other social networking websites, company officials said yesterday.

The image-conscious airline, which is consistently ranked by passengers as one of the world’s best, took action after some cabin crew were found to have discussed confidential job issues on Facebook.

The Straits Times newspaper reported yesterday that some crew members got warning letters for grumbling about duty rosters, passengers, and their bosses and colleagues on Facebook.

“Our staff may of course have a blog or Facebook and Twitter account like any other member of the public,” an airline spokeswoman told AFP. “But our policy is clear that they must not comment on work matters about business or customers, so as to protect proprietary infor-

mation as well as the privacy of other staff and our customers.”

A posting on the SIA staff union website stated that “recently, there have been a few cases of crew being penalized for their postings on Facebook about company-related matters such as their rosters”.

“Please refrain from such postings on your Facebook wall or any public forums or blog, as you do not know who is really lurking out there and who are really your friends,” it added.

On one Facebook account checked by AFP, a woman calling herself an SIA flight attendant said she was “going to be upset” if she was called up for “lousy” flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong on Airbus A380 super-jumbos.

“No fair... roster no good again... no fair,” said another account. “So many flights... So little Off Days.. I’m going crazy...” a third Facebook user remarked. — AFP

HONG KONG: A trader works at the stock exchange in Hong Kong yesterday. Hong Kong shares rose 1.19 percent yesterday following a Wall Street rally on the back of strong US manufacturing data. — AFP

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Kuwait stocks rally, index up 25 pts KUWAIT: The price index of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended trading yesterday with a rise of 25.3 points to 6,703.2 points, while the weighted index reached 441.21 points, an increase of 4.49 points.

Trades came to 2,354 transactions, worth KD 38.3 million, and volume was at 134.8 million shares upon closing. Six out of the eight sector indices were green.

Top gainer index was the banking

11 services firms own shares worth KD 108m in KSE index, which put on 92.5 points.

Leading high share was the stock of Gulf Insurance Company with 8 percent, while biggest loss was suffered by the Mena Real estate Company with 5 percent.

Five most traded shares were those of Kuwait International Bank, Gulf Finance House, Al-Safwa

Zain Saudi income seen rising 60% KUWAIT: Chief Executive of Zain Group Nabeel Bin Salamah said yesterday that Zain Saudi Arabia made about SR 1.4 billion profits in the second quarter and that its income is expected to increase 60 percent by the end of 2010 compared to 2009.

The company’s clients in Saudi Arabia exceeded seven million, he said in a press release. He said that the company’s performance, when compared with international experiences and the entry of the third operator is great. The recent recommendation to increase the capital of Saudi Arabia aims to benefit from its success and to fund operation growth plans in the kingdom, he noted.

The company’s board had recommended increasing its capital by SR 4.383 billion. The company’s general assembly will soon call for approving the recommendation. Bin Salamah said that Zain Saudi Arabia was facing great challenges on the operational and commercial activities levels.

However, it was able to provide innovative services and products, he stressed. The company’s networks cover more than 85 percent of inhabited areas in the kingdom, he noted. —KUNA

Britain’s RBS axes 3,500 more jobs LONDON: Britain’s staterescued lender Royal Bank of Scotland said yesterday it was cutting another 3,500 jobs, sparking anger from trade union bosses.

An RBS company spokesman told AFP that “3,500 job losses have been announced in the business services division”-which comprises back-office functions such as IT and payment operations.

The lender is shutting 12 of its business services centers at locations across Britain, including Harrogate, Leeds and Liverpool in northern England and Borehamwood, Bristol and Plymouth in the south.

RBS, which is 83-percent state-owned after receiving the world’s biggest banking bailout amid the recent financial crisis, added that the jobs would go between 2011 and 2012.

About one third of the 3,500 job losses are connected to the 318 RBS branches recently sold to Spanish banking giant Santander. RBS has now axed 23,100 jobs since October 2008 when the bank was ravaged by the global financial crisis and rescued by taxpayers. The majority of the losses have been in Britain.

The group will employ about 160,000 people

worldwide after the latest cuts. “Having to cut jobs is the most difficult part of our work to rebuild RBS and repay taxpayers for their support,” the group said in a statement yesterday.

“We continue to make efficiencies across our business and adjust our plans in line with the divestments we have been required to make by the European Union.

“We will do all we can to support our staff, offer redeployment opportunities wherever possible and keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum,” RBS added.

The group last month agreed to sell 318 retail branches to Santander after an EU demand that it cut operations in exchange for the billions of pounds (dollars) of state aid it received during the financial crisis. A source close to the matter said that the group would have two million fewer customers as a result of the forced divestment.

Britain’s biggest trade union meanwhile reacted with fury to the latest jobs cull at the Edinburgh-based group.

“The news that The Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut another 3,500 staff from across the UK is a horror story,” said senior Unite official Rob MacGregor. —Reuters

Group, Burgan Bank and Kuwait Finance House.

Eleven services companies own shares worth KD108 million within 18 companies in Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), said a report by Al-Joman Center for Economic Consultancy yesterday.

The report revealed that 48

services companies did not own shares within KSE, around 81 percent of the 59 services companies enlisted in KSE. The report noted that Al-Safwa Group Company topped the list of services companies with share with KD40 million, around 37 percent within the list of the 11 companies,

revealing that Al-Safwa owned around 12.7 of shares within Al-Safat Group with the lateral company owning shares of 8.47 percent in AlSafwa.

The Educational Holding Group came in second place owning around KD20 million, around 18 percent.

Mayadeen Company came in third place with KD11.5 million while Abraj Company came in fourth with KD10.5 million. — KUNA

Friday, September 3, 2010

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US data sends Asian markets higher HONG KONG: Forecast-busting manufacturing data in the United States boosted Asian stocks yesterday, with the figures easing concerns over the state of the world’s biggest economy.

The news came a day after two surveys in China showed similar results, raising hopes that the global economy is not headed for a slowdown in the second half of the year.

Tokyo surged 1.52 percent, or 135.82 points, to 9,062.84, while Sydney rose 0.82 percent, or 37 points, to 4,532.7. Hong Kong added 1.19 percent, or 245.09 points, to end at 20,868.92 and Shanghai rose 1.25 percent, or 32.89 points, to 2,655.78, with auto shares boosting the index on the back of a huge jump in sales last month.

The US Institute of Supply Management on Wednesday said its manufacturing index rose to 56.3 points, from 55.5 percent in July, a much

larger jump than the 52.9 percent predicted by economists.

A reading above 50 percent indicates an expanding manufacturing sector while anything below 50 indicates a decline. Earlier Wednesday in China the official Purchasing Managers Index rose to 51.7 in August from 51.2 in July, the first rise in the index following three months of declines.

And the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index hit a three-month high of 51.9 in August from 49.4 in July.

The upbeat data from the world’s two biggest economies gave a much needed fillip to traders, whose confidence in the global recovery have been dented by a series of poor data in the past few months. “As markets flip from risk on to risk off almost on a daily basis the question for today

is how sustainable the rally in risk trades will prove to be against the background of so much policy and growth uncertainty,” Credit Agricole Investment and Corporate Bank said in a note, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The Dow, which suffered its worst August in nine years, surged 2.54 percent on the back of the latest data. Traders ignored a report from payrolls firm ADP showing US private sector employment dropped in August for the first time in seven months while government data revealed a bigger-than-expected drop in construction spending.

However, nervousness continued to linger ahead of key non-farm payroll figures due to be released in the US on Friday, with most forecasts for a rise in unemployment.

On currency markets the dollar succumbed

to profit-taking after a rally in New York. The greenback changed hands at 84.51 yen in Tokyo morning trade before falling back to 84.29, below its 84.42 yen overnight.

The euro held firm at $1.2798, compared with $1.2807 in New York, as stock market gains overnight in the US fuelled risk appetite.

The European single currency was flat at 108.14 yen.

Oil edged lower on profit-taking after soaring overnight. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, slid six cents to $73.85 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October fell 24 cents to $76.11. Gold closed at 1,247.50-1,248.50 dollars an ounce, down from Wednesday’s closing price of 1,249.30-1,250.30 dollars. — AP

Oil steady near $74 as investors eye US data SINGAPORE: Oil was steady near $74 yesterday as investors turned their attention to upcoming US employment reports, following gains of almost 3 percent a day earlier after positive manufacturing data lifted spirits across markets.

US crude for October delivery slipped 8 cents to $73.83 a barrel by 0704 GMT, after a jump of $1.99 yesterday.

ICE Brent dipped 33 cents to $76.02.

Manufacturing in top oil consumers the United States and China accelerated in August, reports showed yesterday, raising hopes record petroleum stockpiles would fall and reviving confidence across markets.

The focus over the next two days was set to turn to lagging US employment indicators,

including weekly jobless claims, on Thursday. The nation’s nonfarm payrolls probably fell for a third straight month in August, a Reuters survey showed, ahead of a monthly report due on Friday.

“The market was just seeking optimism and this came from strong manufacturing data,” said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ. “Some traders started the new month with new positions. It was a buying opportunity, especially for those who were bullish in the long term. However, the market will be in a wait-andsee mode especially before the payrolls report this Friday.”

US private employers unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed on Wednesday. — Reuters

Swedish Riksbank hikes interest rate STOCKHOLM: The Swedish central bank yesterday hiked its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75 percent, citing a pickup in exports and an improved labor market.

The Riksbank said the rapid increase in world trade has boosted Swedish exports and investments, and that economic growth this year would be higher than previously expected — it is now predicting GDP growth of 4.1 percent, up from July’s forecast of 3.8 percent.

“There has also been a substantial improvement in the labor market. Households are optimistic about the future, which is leading to an increase in consumption,” the Riksbank said in a statement.

Central banks typically raise interest rates as the economy grows to prevent inflation, and lower them when growth is weak to stimulate more borrowing, spending and investment.

The Riksbank’s assertions highlight the disparity among the economies in Europe, where countries in the north have recovered quickly from the global financial crisis while Spain, Portugal and Greece in

the south are still struggling with high government debt and slow growth. However, the Riksbank warned that modest growth in the euro-zone and a more protracted recovery in the US could dampen developments in Sweden too in the long run. It lowered its 2011 and 2012 growth forecasts to 3.5 percent and 2.6 percent from 3.6 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.

Nordea Chief Economist Annika Winsth said the increase was in line with expectations and only had a minor impact on markets.

She said the Riksbank’s revised outlook supports the belief it will continue increasing interest rates in October and December, but may not increase rates as much as it has forecast in the coming years. The Riksbank has said it expects rates to climb to 3.1 percent in 2012 and to 3.8 percent by 2013.

“If the Riksbank increases on their own and the ECB says it will wait a little longer, we will have a stronger Swedish krona and that also reduces the need to increase (rates) in the long term,” Winsth added. The European Central Bank is set to leave interest rates untouched at 1 percent as it meets later. — AP

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Ozawa vows bold fix for economy if PM Party powerbroker says limited room for BOJ alone to fix yen rise TOKYO: Ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa pledged bold steps yesterday to fix Japan’s flagging economy if he becomes premier, floating tax cuts and threatening to intervene in currency markets to curb the yen’s rapid rise.

Ozawa would likely become prime minister if he defeats Prime Minister Naoto Kan in a Sept. 14 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leadership vote, but the outcome is too close to call.

He heads the biggest group of DPJ lawmakers but his scandaltainted image puts off the public and could affect the vote.

The battle in the party, which swept to power a year ago, underscores a rift that could derail Kan’s efforts to curb a public debt already twice the size of the $5 trillion economy.

“I think we need to transform the economy into one that does not rely on external demand,” Ozawa said in a televised debate with Kan. Ozawa, a critic of Kan for floating a possible rise in the 5 percent sales tax before a July upper house election that cost the ruling bloc its majority in the chamber, said he had plans for big cuts in income and residential taxes and stressed the need to cut wasteful spending. He did not elaborate.

Ozawa added he was not averse to debating the sales tax, but promised-as Kan has also done-not to raise the levy before a lower house election

TOKYO: Ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa gestures as he speaks in Tokyo. — AFP

that must be held by late 2013.

“I am thinking of big cuts for income tax and residential taxes ... I think it is fine to debate the tax system in general, including the sales tax,” he said.

The sales tax is politically a highly sensitive issue in Japan.

The last hike, from 3 to 5 percent in 1997, was widely blamed by voters for derailing a nascent economic recovery.

Ozawa’s propensity for economic stimulus has been welcomed by some financial market players worried about Japan’s faltering economy, but would also exacerbate concerns about mounting debt and so steepen the yield curve for Japanese government bonds.

“He lacks a clear plan on how he will finance this,” said Yasuo Yamamoto, a senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute, adding that stimulus could help but only if interest rates do not rise.

The party race coincides with a rise in the yen that threatens Japan’s fragile recovery. A Bank of Japan decision on Monday to boost a cheap loan scheme did little to weaken the currency, hovering near a 15-year high against the dollar.

Ozawa, repeating a stance in his policy platform issued on Wednesday, said Japan must be ready to intervene in currency markets to stem the yen’s rise, even if it meant going it alone. — Reuters

Delta upbeat on Japan business amid yen rise TOKYO: Delta is upbeat about its business in Japan as new routes and the surging yen boost travel and help along the recovery in the industry, a top executive said yesterday.

Delta, the world’s biggest airline, is investing more than $1 billion in its global operations through 2013, and the robust results from its Japan business underline the soundness of such investments, Delta Air Lines President Edward Bastian told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. “Our goal in Asia is to be the carrier of choice for both Asian as well as American customers,” he said. “We have seen significant improvement in our outbound travel.” The strengthening yen, which has battered Japanese exporters, is a major blessing for Delta as it reaps the benefit of increased travel by Japanese whose spending power has jumped and are flying in droves to spots like Guam, Hawaii and Saipan.

Delta has seen its Asian revenue climb 30 percent year-on-year in the latest quarter, largely because of the yen’s rise, and Delta is seeing strong results in July and August as well, Bastian said.

“It has been an important contribution to the recovery,” he said. The

dollar recently hit a 15-year low against the yen and continues to trade near the 84 yen level. Bastian said Delta sees Japan and Asia as key parts of its global business, and Delta’s recent strong financial performance puts it in a good position to grow in the region.

Delta, the leading US carrier to Asia in departures and seats, has added 12 new nonstop trans-Pacific routes since 2008, according to the Atlanta-based carrier. Among Delta’s planned Japan routes are NaritaPalau, Nagoya-Honolulu and two flights from Haneda, to Detroit and Los Angeles.

Haneda has long served as a domestic airport but is adding international flights, starting next month.

Delta is among three US carriers that secured Haneda landing slots.

Bastian said Delta still sees Narita, the main Tokyo international airport, as the regional hub, and foresees no capacity reductions there, despite competition from Seoul and other regional airports, as well as Haneda’s potential. Bastian also said he was disappointed that Japan Airlines chose to stay with American Airlines TOKYO: Delta Air Lines President Edward and spurned Delta as its alliance Bastian speaks during a press conference in partner. — AP Tokyo yesterday. —AP

WASHINGTON: US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. — AFP

Bernanke testifying before crisis panel WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to appear before a panel investigating the financial crisis to give his take on the meltdown and his views on potential systemwide risks posed by large financial institutions.

Bernanke led the economy through the tumultuous months of the most severe recession since the 1930s, as the Federal Reserve took extraordinary measures to inject hundreds of billions into the battered financial system. And he said last week the central bank is prepared to make a major new investment in government debt or mortgage securities if the economy worsened significantly or if the Fed detected deflation — a prolonged drop in prices of wages, goods and assets like homes and stocks. Bernanke’s scheduled appearance Thursday at a hearing by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission comes as the congressionally appointed panel approaches the end of its yearlong investigation of the roots of the economic disaster. Sheila Bair, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., also is testifying before the panel. At a session yesterday the commission examined the danger of having banks deemed “too big to fail” and their potential to topple the financial system. The former chief of Lehman Brothers, Richard S. Fuld Jr., testified that the Wall Street titan could have been rescued in the fall of 2008, but federal regulators refused to help — even though they later bailed out other big banks.

Panel chairman Phil Angelides said there appeared to be “a conscious policy decision” by the regulators not to rescue Lehman.

Under the landmark financial

overhaul law enacted in July, regulators are empowered to shut down financial institutions whose collapse could threaten the system. Bernanke has said that a key lesson learned from the crisis is that the Fed can’t focus solely on the soundness of individual banks, and must cast a watchful eye on the health of the financial system as a whole.

The central bank already has moved to conduct bank examinations that take a broader-picture approach, he says.

Bernanke could be asked by panel members about the Fed’s handling of the Lehman Brothers episode and Fuld’s accusations. Thomas Baxter, general counsel of the New York Fed, insisted at Wednesday’s hearing that the Fed lacked the legal authority to provide a government guarantee of Lehman’s obligations to its trading partners or other aid the firm sought. Hundreds of billions worth of collateral would have been needed to secure a guarantee of that magnitude, and Lehman didn’t have it, Baxter said. Bair, the FDIC chief, has been one of the most vocal critics of the “too big to fail” approach that brought the government rushing in to bail out big banks in the crisis.

“Never again should taxpayers be asked to bail out a failing financial firm,” Bair told community bankers in a speech in March. “It’s time that the big players understand that they sink or swim on their own.”

Bair took on a high profile and gained popularity outside Washington early in the crisis, as she pressed for more government intervention to help struggling homeowners. That opened a rift with thenPresident George W. Bush’s treasury secretary, Henry Paulson. — AP

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Washington lures China investors Governor Chris Gregoire heading to Beijing, Shanghai in two weeks

W

ashington state is making a major push to attract Chinese investment, a sign of how the world economy has shifted from a decade ago, when the state's trade missions focused mainly on opening the door for local companies to do business in China.

Governor Chris Gregoire is heading to China in two weeks, bringing agriculture, education and tourism officials, representatives from two dozen companies and a 240-page guide in Chinese and English about how to do business in Washington.

China has overtaken Japan as the world's second-largest economy. It has more than $2 trillion in foreign reserves and, as Japan did in the 1980s, China is shopping for investment opportunities abroad. Seattle companies and technologies, including medical devices and clean energy, are among its targets.

At the same time, economic rifts between the US and China seem poised to ignite a trade war. The US trade deficit rose to $50 billion in June, and some in Congress are threatening to retaliate against China for manipulating its currency to keep its manufactured goods cheap and its exports growing.

Attracting Chinese direct investment into Washington state can boost efforts to rebalance trade and defuse some of those tensions, supporters say. But that comes with its own set of cultural and political challenges.

For one thing, most Chinese companies big enough to pursue the strategy to go abroad are partly or fully owned by the government, said Charles Duan, a Shanghai attorney who earned a law degree from the University of Washington and opened the first private law firm in China. "They basically can get unlimited support from the banks," which are governmentowned, he said.

While Chinese investments overseas have increased dramatically in the past three years, he said, here in the US most of those deals have been limited to real estate or immigration.

That's because many Americans and Europeans feel uneasy about China's stateowned companies making major investments or acquiring companies, Duan said.

In 2005, Congress rejected an attempt by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to buy Unocal in California after opponents raised national security concerns. The bitterness of that rejection lingers among Chinese investors. Gregoire wants to show that Washington state is more welcoming. During her trip to Shanghai and Beijing, she's holding meetings with Chinese investors with the goal of bringing more of them here.

She said she'll talk about Washington's long history of positive relations with China,

John L Rogers, president of the Midwest US-China Association, in Beijing, China. The association fosters investment between the American Midwest and China. — MCT

China has overtaken Japan as the world's second-largest economy. It has more than $2 trillion in foreign reserves and, as Japan did in the 1980s, China is shopping for investment opportunities abroad. Seattle companies and technologies, including medical devices and clean energy, are among its targets. and how small companies that started here with good ideas have gone on to become global leaders.

Business trips In June, the state's Commerce Department and the Washington State China Relations Council conducted a four-hour seminar in Mandarin Chinese on investment opportunities for a delegation of 200 Chinese business and government leaders stopping in Seattle on their way home from a G-20 business summit in Toronto.

That followed a visit by a Shanghai real-estate mogul, Jiang Zhaobai, who is looking for US technology companies to invest in and made a pitch for a center he built in Shanghai with office space and services for small and medium-sized American companies. Jiang said he hopes to invest as much as $500 million in companies with promising technology and help them expand their business to China.

Jiang opened an office in Seattle with his partners,

Christine O. Gregoire Governor, Washington state

Joseph Massey and Lee Sands, formerly chief trade negotiators with China for the US Trade Representative.

Over the next several weeks, they met with local companies to discuss possible investments. The exchanges led to some interesting lessons.

Local companies learned that while a device to dissolve blood clots could find strong demand in China, software to record and distribute government meetings would not. "Everything they had lined up I thought was a great way to take a product to China," said Adam Rivas, chief executive of AV Capture All, an Olympia software company.

After discussions with potential investors he realized that wasn't likely. "Unfortunately for us about the last country in the world thinking about open government would be China," he said.

Three companies from the Seattle area, including EKOS and Iverson Genetics, traveled to Shanghai to talk further with Jiang and other potential Chinese investors.

Bothell-based EKOS, which developed a device to dissolve blood clots by integrating a catheter with an ultrasound transmitter, is considering a partnership with Jiang's company, the Pengxin Group.

EKOS had no immediate plans for Asia and wasn't looking for investors, but money from China might "allow us to leapfrog or advance some of our clinical studies programs" while offering expertise in the China market, said Doug Hansmann, EKOS co-founder and chief operating officer.

Safeguarding the intellectual property is a top concern, he said, which is one reason why EKOS wanted production to stay in Bothell. "They seem pretty clear they were not seeking to bring manufacturing into China," Hansmann said. " ...

What they did want was to introduce technology into China."

Massey and Sands argue that increasing both US exports and direct foreign investment from China are the best solutions for reducing the trade deficit.

Bill Stafford, president of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, said more investment by China will only be effective against the trade deficit if jobs and manufacturing stay here. If companies invest in Washington for a name brand but move most of their operations overseas, that's not the same thing.

Philips and Siemens bought companies here and expanded them, showing cases where foreign investment can be positive and create jobs, he said.

Chinese companies don't have such a good track record of employing locals where they've invested around the world, Stafford said, because most of the money has gone to buy resources or brands.

Cultural challenges Randy Aliment, a partner at the law firm Williams Kastner who is participating in the governor's trip, said other companies such as Greater China Industries, a Bellevue company started by China native Ben Zhang, have paved the way here.

The main challenges for newcomers are cultural. "Some of the laws are very different here, such as labor laws and employment laws," Aliment said. "Things you and I take for granted are very novel to them.

But that's not necessarily different for a Chinese company than for any foreign business person."

In the next few years, as China allows its currency to be traded more freely, "Chinese companies will go to various markets to establish their local presence big time," Duan said.

As places like Washington state consider more direct investment by China and other moves to shore up the economy, people should not base decisions on ideology, Duan said. "Base it on the real economy and what is good for people's lives." — MCT

CAREERS

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Friday, July 30, 2010

Time to take a call Top six rules for using cell phones at w ork Having your cell phone at work can be useful but it can also be very disruptive. Your friends and family can reach you anytime, anywhere, which can be annoying. When you’re on your own time, the choice to turn off your cell phone is entirely yours. When it comes to using your cell phone at work, however, you have to be mindful of your co-workers and your boss, not to mention your own ability to get your job done. Here are some rules you should follow if you have your cell phone at work.

Nobody wants to hear about this here are some conversations that don’t belong in the workplace.

Topics to avoid include those that could become fodder for the office grapevine and personal information that might negatively influence the perceptions others have about your ability to do your job effectively. You should also avoid lengthy discussions about controversial subjects. Staying away from discussing the following topics will make your work life a lot easier.

T

1. Turn your cell phone ringer off If you have your cell phone at work, it shouldn’t ring. If you don’t want to turn off your cell phone completely, at least set it to vibrate.

The sounds of different ring tones going off all the time can be very annoying to others. In addition, you don’t want your boss to know how often you get calls.

1. Religion You shouldn’t discuss your religious beliefs or your thoughts about other religious beliefs at work. Religion is a very personal issue and people are very sensitive about it. They don’t want to hear that you disagree with their religious beliefs or that you believe your religion is the one in which everyone should believe.

2. Use your cell phone only for importa nt calls If you have your cell phone at work, you should only use it for important calls. What should you classify as an important call? The school nurse calling to say your child is ill, your child calling to say he’s arrived home from school safely, and family emergencies that you must deal with immediately are important. Your friend calling to chat, your child calling to say the dog had an accident, or your mom calling to tell you your cousin Tilly is engaged should not be considered important.

2. Politics This is another sensitive issue, particularly around election time. While you may feel very strongly about your political party or candidate, or have negative views about the opposition, you should not try to win your co-workers over to your point of view.

3. Problems w ith others When you discuss problems you are having with others, your co-workers and your boss may wonder if those problems are distracting you from doing your job. Talking about your problems with your family will reveal your weaknesses. You don’t want to do this, especially if you are in a position of authority.

3. Let your cell phone ca lls go to voice ma il While you are at work if you are in doubt about whether an incoming call is important, let voice mail pick it up. It will take much less time to check your messages than it will to answer the call and then tell the caller you can’t talk.

4. Find a priva te pla ce to ma ke cell phone calls While it’s okay to use your cell phone at work for private calls during breaks, don’t stay at your desk. Find somewhere else to talk, where your conversation can’t be overheard, even if what you’re discussing isn’t personal. You may be on a break but your co-workers have a job to do.

4. Your career aspirations Talking about how you want to move on to something bigger and better will certainly, for good reason, make your boss and co-workers question your loyalty to your current job. If you are interested in moving up within your current organization, your actions will speak louder than words. Do your job exceptionally well, and of course, let your boss know you want to move up, but don’t make it the topic of workplace conversations with anyone who will listen.

5. Don’t bring your cell phone into the restroom This rule should apply to using your cell phone at work or anywhere. Why? Well, if you must ask - you never know who’s in there; the person on the other end of the line will hear bathroom sounds, eg, toilets flushing; it is an invasion of your co-workers’ privacy.

6. Don’t bring your cell phone to meetings Even if you have your cell phone set to vibrate, if you receive a call you will be tempted to see who it’s from.

This is not only rude, it is a clear signal to your boss that your mind

isn’t 100 percent on your job. All calls can wait until your meeting is

over or until there is a break.

Remember, there was a time before

we had cell phones. www.careerplanning.com

5. Your health problems Don’t dwell on your health problems at work. If you do, you will give your co-workers and boss reason to wonder if an illness will keep you from doing your job. Of course, serious health issues that will cause you to take time off, must be discussed with your employer.

No one, however, needs specific details about your health.

technology

Friday,September 3, 2010

Page 23

Notebook tools for the road

or many these days, a notebook computer is an essential travel companion.

But the computer itself is usually just the first tech tool you’ll need in order to get your work done or to stay connected while you’re away.

What else is essential? Read on for some answers.

F

Adapters and chargers No matter how long your notebook’s battery lasts, you’ll have to charge it at some point. So don’t forget your power cable. Beyond that, though, you’ll need a power plug adapter if you’re traveling to a country that uses a different power plug than the one you use at home.

Skype can also be essential, especially if you find yourself unable to use your mobile or smartphone in your destination Most power bricks that come with notebook computers can automatically sense the voltage necessary to run the machine, regardless of where you are in the world. But, if you’re traveling abroad, you may still need a simple adapter to convert your plug into the one used in your destination.

If you’re also taking along your smartphone, you’ll need to charge it frequently, probably every day. You can probably charge it directly from your notebook by obtaining a simple USB cable that goes from your phone’s power jack to a USB port in your notebook. Be sure to pack the cord - it’ll save you from having to take or purchase a more expensive power adapter for the phone.

Remote control account If your notebook computer is not your main machine, chances are that you’ll leave some essential file or email message at home. That’s where a remote access service like Logmein.com can be a life-saver.

Logmein is free, and with it you can use your internet-connected notebook to access your main computer just as if you were sitting in front of it. Before you leave, use

your main machine to create a Logmein account, install the unobtrusive client software, and practice accessing your machine from your notebook.

Once logged in, you’ll be able to use your main machine’s e-mail program to send yourself a file or some other information you may have forgotten. Just remember to leave your main computer turned on. And if you live in an area that experiences power outages, buy an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) for your home machine to keep it running in case the power goes out briefly.

Communication tools Don’t forget to load your notebook up with any software you need to stay connected. For aggregating instant messaging and social networking accounts, you can’t go wrong with Digsby (http://www.digsby.com), which will keep you connected with friends or colleagues through AIM, Yahoo!

Instant Messenger, Windows Live,

Twitter, and many other social networking services - all through one interface.

Skype can also be essential, especially if you find yourself unable or, because of cost, unwilling to use your mobile or smartphone in your destination. Get a Skype account that allows you to call conventional landline or cell phones as well as other users of Skype. The cost is minimal.

To use Skype, you will need a microphone - and a webcam if you wish to perform video calls. Many notebook computers today have a microphone built in, and some have a webcam. If yours does not, you can purchase an inexpensive but adequate USB-based headset microphone from most electronics or computer stores. Or, if you wish to be able to make video calls, get a webcam with a built-in microphone.

Test Skype out before you leave.

The service will often automatically detect any microphone or webcam on your notebook, so configuration is typically a snap.

Sending photos If a digital camera is one of your travel accessories, be sure to take along any cable necessary to connect it to your notebook. With some cameras, that cable will also act as a charger, so with it you may be able to lighten up on extra batteries.

If you transfer your travel photos to your notebook, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to send them to friends or family back home? There are a few ways to do this. One is to use a free blogging service like Blogger.

Create your blog in a couple of clicks, upload photos as you create them, and simply share the link with friends and family.

Or you could create a photo gallery on a popular photo sharing site such as Flickr and, again, simply share the link to your gallery. If you’d rather share your photographs by e-mail, consider a program that automates the the job of resizing and attractively displaying your photos in the body of your message.

S e n d P h o t o s

(http://www.sendphotos.com) perfect for this.

is

External devices An external USB stick or thumb drive - or an external hard disk - can be essential for a number of reasons.

You might run out of space on your notebook, so you can use the external drive to offload files. You could - and probably should - also have an external drive to back up your computer each day. After all, on the road, your notebook is more susceptible to misfortune including theft. It’s one thing to lose your notebook but quite another to lose the data on it.

If you’re a music lover and want to use your notebook to play beautiful music as you enjoy a pleasant evening, a portable, USBbased external speaker such as Altec Lansing’s Orbit will transform your machine into a decentsounding stereo - just the thing to turn those nights away from home into something enjoyable and relaxing. — dpa

beauty

Page 24

Friday, September 3, 2010

Ann Taylor is in the midst of an extreme makeover

The transformation started last fall with an Ann Taylor runway show during New York Fashion Week, followed this spring by a glitzy Hollywood meet-and-greet at the Soho House in West Hollywood.

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he women's apparel chain is trying to shake its "Corporate Cathy" image with the help of a design overhaul, updated stores and a new celebrity spokeswoman, Naomi Watts, all in a bid to appeal to younger, more stylish shoppers.

The transformation started last fall with an Ann Taylor runway show during New York Fashion Week, followed this spring by a glitzy Hollywood meet-and-greet at the Soho House in West Hollywood. By May, a cream floral lace sheath dress worn by model Milla Jovovich in store window displays was in such demand that it sold out in a matter of days, before popping up on EBay at nearly three times the original price.

It's a far cry from the quiet Ann Taylor of yore, just a step up from Casual Corner, when it was the kind of place where your mom's cousin from Cincinnati would shop. While most chain retailers reaped the benefits of the highflying early 2000s, Ann Taylor sank into

the doldrums of dowdy. The average store lost a third of its sales volume during the last few years, according to Brian Tunick, a retail analyst at JP Morgan in New York.

Those days appear to be over. First-quarter sales for 2010 were up 16 percent from the same period last year. And the Ann Taylor wardrobe has gone from head-to-toe suit looks to more fashion-forward separates with feminine details. For fall, that means a white asymmetrical military jacket in stretch silk with couture-like brass chain trim ($228); a black knit miniskirt with tiers of pleated chiffon ($128); leopard haircalf kitten heels ($198) and a Swarovski crystal stretch cuff bracelet ($118) with an Art Deco feel.

Lisa Axelson, the woman in charge of giving Ann Taylor a fresh new look, is a 38-year-old mom-to-be with a rather full life who commutes by train from Stamford, Conn., in clothes designed to take her from desk to dusk with the addition of a single sparkling

accessory.

She is designing for a company that opened its first shop in 1954 and mirrored the evolution of American women, from modest frocks for suburban housewives to highwaisted pants and sleeveless shift dresses for a new generation of youth to the matchy-matchy suits that became a workplace uniform.

But in the late 1990s, when the casual revolution swathed the land in khaki, the brand failed to evolve.

"I never would have gone to Ann Taylor," says Axelson, who has been creative director and senior vice president of design for nearly two years. "It was too conservative."

What changed her mind? A surprisingly sexy back story.

Axelson opens a scrapbook stuffed with ads from Ann's wilder days in the 1960s and 1970s, and begins reading: "Ann Taylor announces shoes that do nice things for more than your feet." "Your love for your mother has nothing to do with the way you dress." "Look

who wears the pants now."

"I started seeing this new glimpse of Ann," the designer says. "She was cheeky, not rebellious, but she was going against society's norm. Then what happened? She went to work and she suddenly got boring?"

The early years Axelson grew up in Seattle before grunge, and is as polished and professional as you would expect the figurehead of Ann Taylor to be.

Her office is beyond organized.

Even the magazine clippings tacked to her bulletin board look tidy. But there is a hint of grit below the surface. Axelson is married to a rock musician named Rocky Reid, whom she met in "a dirty old East Village bar" when she was an art student at Parsons School of Design in New York.

"My parents were open to fashion, but I do remember a conversation, it might have been a heated debate, that stuck with me. My dad was an architect who understood the

pressure of being creative. He said, 'If you remember one thing, it's that you're working for a customer, you're working for them. And if you are a designer designing a product for someone else, you have to listen to them.'"

Which may be why Axelson has had so much success designing for shopping mall stalwarts , specialty retail chain stores that have to listen to all of America.

In 1994, she started at Banana Republic, where she helped "take the brand from Jeeps and safari to casual sportswear." Her favorite design was the Cromwell coat, a chino coat with a high military collar and four patch pockets, which she swears she still sees on women in New York.

In 2002, she joined the Gap. In just one year, she designed the pink Mackintosh that sold out of Gap stores within weeks and helped bring back the brand's popular Crazy Stripe holiday collection.

After that, Abercrombie &

Fitch recruited her to launch its now-defunct offshoot Ruehl.

When she landed back in New York in 2005, it was at Club Monaco.

Then, in 2008, Ann Taylor came calling. "We were all surprised she went to Ann Taylor because it seemed very old," says Helen Farnell, a designer for Express, who has worked with Axelson on and off for 10 years. "But she has brought in a lot of modern elements. I've never seen the stores looking so good. I've even gone in and bought things, which I never would have done before."

Axelson and her 30-person team create four collections a year, which amounts to about 400 styles in stores, as well as a bridal collection. Age-wise, the sweet spot for the brand is mid-30s and up, although more twentysomethings are starting to take notice, she says. (Ann Taylor also owns Loft, which is positioned as a younger, more casual retail destination.)

This fall's pared-down and dressed-up trend comes at an

beauty

Friday, September 3, 2010 opportune time for Ann Taylor, which still aims to fill the niche for professional dressing, but in a more modern way. "I don't know if casual is gone forever, but people are taking their attire more seriously," Axelson says. "Those who are employed are grateful."

Along those lines, Axelson introduced the "Perfect Pieces" collection last fall. It is updated seasonally with new versions of the perfect black pant, the perfect pencil skirt, the perfect pump and so on.

Accessories Not surprisingly, given the continued popularity of costume jewelry, accessories are also a new priority.

"Diamonds and pearls are staples, but we never do them in a traditional way, we mix them with ribbons and chains," Axelson says. The Flower Pearl necklace ($168) in the fall collection incorporates a piece based on a vintage brooch Axelson found at a Paris flea market.

If it all sounds a bit familiar, it's because it is. Ann Taylor, like so many other retailers, is trying to pull a J. Crew , whipping up clothes that can be dressed up or down, sprinkling in an aura of affordable luxury, and a dash of ruffles and bows, in hopes that it adds up to fashion magic.

"Everyone is using J. Crew's (design) themes. You're seeing it at Talbots and even Gap to a certain extent, because they are all trying to get business back. Soon Costco will be selling ruffles," Tunick says.

Of course, Ann Taylor has yet to achieve the status of J. Crew, which manages to be popular with both fashion insiders and outsiders. For one, the brand hasn't dressed Michelle Obama, though it's not for lack of trying. They have sent clothes to Obama's de facto stylist, Chicago retailer Ikram Goldman.

Axelson was recently accepted as a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America , a sign that you've "arrived" as a singular talent on the American fashion scene.

But she still looks wistfully out the window across Times Square's concrete canyon to the Conde Nast building, where she can see Vogue

Page 25

magazine editor in chief Anna Wintour's office. Wintour was invited to the office to meet Axelson and see the collection but sent another editor instead.

Pleasing highpowered editors is one thing, but pleasing customers is another.

The drama In May, Ann Taylor was put on the defensive after the blog Jezebel.com noticed photos of models on AnnTaylor.com were Photoshopped to proportions so slender they would make Kate Moss wince.

"We were all involved, and we briefed the company that does our retouching that it needed to look more natural, more like real women," Axelson says.

The site was called out again in late July, when a technical glitch allowed viewers to see models both before and after Photoshopping. "When we do casting, it's all about perfectly imperfect, honoring her curves and beauty from the inside out.

So this was so opposite to what we want to convey as a brand, and what we are about," says Axelson, who points to recent Ann Taylor models Heidi Klum, Jovovich and Watts as women who are "not just beautiful, but have depth."

Only time will tell if the public agrees. Axelson spends as much time as she can visiting Ann Taylor stores, and reading e-mails from district managers. (When she tried to take the lining out of pants, she heard loud and clear that she had to put it back.) "The first year was about doing, listening and correcting," she says.

"Now, we have to build on that."

Next up is summer 2011.

Outside Axelson's office, inspiration boards are pinned with hot pink fabric swatches and photos of Frida Kahlo and Mexican vacation destination Tulum. There's also a huge flat-screen TV at the ready for the designer, who will have to communicate to her team over a Skype hookup when she goes on maternity leave later this year. "We are in the incubating stages of showing women that Ann is relevant again," Axelson says. "These aren't just your mom's clothes." —MCT

It's a far cry from the quiet Ann Taylor of yore , just a step up from Casual Corner , when it was the kind of place where your mom's cousin from Cincinnati would shop.

Page 26

health

Friday, September 3, 2010

Top six benefits of pilates exercises

P

ilates is the exercise of choice for dancers, gymnasts, and a host of famous Hollywood celebrities, and now it finds itself firmly entrenched in the mainstream. So why is pilates so hot?

Pilates incredible popularity can be traced to the fact that it provides its faithful practitioners with benefits that you simply can't get through traditional aerobics/strength training format.

1.

Makes You into Muscle Man If want a long, lean look without bulky muscles, but with all the strength. Would you like to build strength and endurance without getting the muscle man look? If so, pilates may be just what you have been searching for.

There's a reason that pilates is the exercise of choice for gymnasts and professional dancers.

Most conventional workouts tend to create bulky muscle. Why is this? In most workouts, the emphasis is placed on repetition and building strong muscles.

This causes already-strong (think: big) muscles to get even strong, and thus bigger.

Pilates does not rely on frequent repetition, and thus no overgrown muscles. Pilates focuses on the whole body, not just on sections of muscles.

2.

Increases the Strength of Stabilizer Muscles There are many benefits that one can achieve through a proper use of the pilates program. One of the most significant points of the pilates program is it's ability to increase the strength of stabilizer muscles that may not commonly be worked out in a standard exercise program.

Also, since pilates stresses the use of graceful and fluid movements, it can be a great way to get a better sense of the kinesthetics of your body. The sense of body that you can achieve through pilates is quite significant, and many find that they are better able to balance themselves regardless of the position that they are in.

3.

A Mind-Body Workout That Strengthens Your Whole Body Another one of the benefits of Pilates is that it engages the mind and enhances body awareness. Like yoga, tai chi, and Asian martial arts, Pilates is not just a workout for your body.

Joseph H. Pilates studied yoga, martial arts, and other ancient mind-body activities and included a strong philosophical foundation into the practice of Pilates.

Pilates not only helps tone your body, but your mind and spirit as well. The smooth, precise and flowing movements of Pilates are designed to make you more mindful of your body.

Breath movement is also emphasized to put you in touch with how breath moves through your body. Pilates has been demonstrated to reduce stress, anxiety, and helps lift depression.

The mind-body connection is fundamental to the study and practice of pilates.

4.

Pilates Strengthens Your Core like No Other Exercise Another one of the benefits of Pilates is that the increased amount of strength that one can achieve in the 'core' of the body. The term core refers to the muscles in and around the area of the abdominal muscles and the back.

Proper breathing control is also stressed in pilates, adding to the numerous list of benefits that one can attain through regular use of the exercise program.

5.

Prevents You from Future Injuries Pilates strengthens your body and helps prevent future injuries. Pilates helps to condition the whole body, not just certain muscles. This helps balance the muscle and

strength of the body. Since no set of muscles is ever over or under trained, there is less risk for injury. The body becomes more fluid and supple, protecting against injury.

6.

Helps You Become Efficient With Your Body Last, but not the least one of the benefits of Pilates is that it teaches you how to become efficient with your body. Very few exercises can help your body become more efficient in its movement.

Why is efficiency so important? Being efficient means that your body moves in a way, that is smoother, safer, and less prone to injury.

By practicing pilates on a regular basis, you can train your body more to move in a much safer and more efficient manner.

Benefits of Pilates for Older Adults The benefits of pilates have been particularly noted in older adults. Older adults are more

likely to suffer from symptoms of arthritis, including stiff and painful joints. Pilates practice has also been lauded for its ability to help prevent injury.

Even adults undergoing serious rehabilitation therapy can use Pilates to increase their range of motion and overall muscle strength. But is Pilates safe for all adults? Who should avoid participating in a Pilates program, and who is more likely to benefit from the program?

Consult your medical professional if you have any doubts about your pilates program. If you are suffering from severe degeneration or physical pain, you should take extra care before beginning a pilates program.

You should never feel pain while practicing pilates. If you do, you know that there is something wrong. Don't be afraid to pull back if you feel overwhelmed.

Pilates was designed to progress naturally from one movement to another. If you feel stopped at one movement, don't give up. Start at

the beginning and work your way back to the areas you found most challenging.

Other Benefits of Pilates • Tone and build long, lean muscles without bulk.

• Reduce stress, relieve tension, and boost energy through deep stretching.

• Restore postural alignment.

• Create a stronger, more flexible spine.

• Increase joint range of motion.

• Improve circulation.

• Heighten neuromuscular coordination.

• Offer relief from back pain and joint stress.

• Correct over-training of muscle groups which can lead to stress and injury.

• Enhance mobility, agility and stamina.

• Compliment sports training and develop functional fitness for daily life activity.

• Improve the way your body looks and feels. (www.articlesbase.com)

health

Friday, September 3, 2010

Page 27

6 ways to keep the weight off Whether you want to stay the same weight you've always been, or to keep off weight you've lost, try these tips.

W

hether you've always been at your happy weight or you're reaping the benefits of successful weight loss, between a slowing metabolism and a lowerimpact lifestyle, staying at your current size can be a challenge as you get older. And while just a pound a year may not seem like much, even that little weight gain can translate into 20 pounds or more -- and several dress sizes -- over a couple of decades. But putting on the pounds as you age isn't mandatory. Here are 6 tips on maintaining your size as the years go by.

1. Weigh yourself daily Extra weight can sneak up on you, so to keep track of any weight gain, researchers are now recommending weighing yourself regularly, even daily. A daily weigh-in has been shown to help people maintain weight loss, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2006. But study authors note that it's not the act of weighing yourself that makes a difference; it's changing behaviour based on what you see on the scale that counts. So weigh yourself daily -- at the same time, wearing the same amount of clothing (even if it's none) is best -- and if you notice the needle creeping up, sneak in a few extra workouts or cut back on dessert and snacks until you stabilize again.

2. Change up your fitness routine Regular exercise is key to staying healthy and fit -- and to fending off weight gain. But it's easy to get bored with your exercise program, especially during the colder months, when you may not want to go outside. Change your routine regularly -- with the seasons, if possible -- and keep trying new sports and activities. Maybe this fall will be the right time to take running seriously, in time for a charity 10K, or perhaps this winter you can start a martial art. Keep exercise fun -- and social, if that's your thing -and it won't become a chore.

3. Find supportive friends Willpower is one thing, but saying no to the birthday cake your best friend baked just for you is quite another. "Ongoing support is one of the most important factors in your continuous success with weight management," notes Judith Lederman, author of Joining the Thin Club (Three Rivers Press, 2007). Enlist the support of your friends and family in your quest for a healthier lifestyle. Let them know about the choices you're making in your life, and ask them to help you out, whether that be by bringing fruit and frozen yogurt for dessert instead of rich chocolate cake or by joining you on walks and in other fitness activities.

4. Get enough sleep Adequate sleep is vital to good health. By skimping on the z's, you're not just making yourself more tired -- you're increasing your risk of weight gain, too, as well as a number of other ailments. While researchers are studying the effect sleep has on hormones -- and consequently on hunger and metabolism -- the reasoning is to a great degree just common sense. When you're tired, you're more likely to reach for quick sources of energy (think sugar and other refined carbs) and to make unhealthy eating decisions (like choosing the drive-through over a home-cooked meal), not to mention less likely to make it to the gym. Make sure to get enough sleep and you'll be helping your health in more ways than one.

5. Build muscle tone One reason metabolism slows as you age is decreased muscle mass due to inactivity. Fight back by...well, not being inactive. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn both during exercising and throughout the day, notes Lederman, adding that "research shows that resistance exercise may prevent weight gain or regain." Take advantage of this by lifting weights a few times a week, either at home or at the gym.

6. Try new foods Healthy doesn't have to mean boring when it comes to food -- and if it does for you, then don't be surprised if a supersize tub of ice cream sneaks its way into your freezer. Some suggestions: • Treat yourself to new cookbooks regularly and experiment with recipes that will make healthy eating a pleasure.

• Visit your farmer's market and buy something you've never eaten before.

• Start a potluck group with other healthminded friends and meet once or twice a month to share foods, recipes and conversation. (www.canadianliving.com)

pets

page 28

Friday, september 3, 2010

Dogs welcome at Florida dorm J

asmine Parham’s new college roommate is a dear friend from back home. The roomie responds to “Leo” and never goes to class, but can perform some neat tricks. Leonora, a frisky border collie, and her owner, Parham, are among the first residents of the first pet-friendly dorm at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. About 20 students and their pets - dogs, cats and a few caged gerbils and rats - are taking up residence at Nemec Hall, an established dorm, as the fall semester begins this week.

Stetson is not the first college to have a pet-friendly dorm, but it’s among the relatively few schools perhaps a dozen or so across the country - that have formal policies and accommodations. Stetson officials say the dorms could become a recruitment tool that helps set the school apart, just as big schools such as the University of Central Florida entice students with football stadiums, basketball arenas and trendy eateries.

The idea behind the dorm is to give students - freshmen, in particular - a familiar presence as they make the sometimes stressful transition from home to campus.

“What better way to do that than to have a family friend there to greet you when you get out of class?” said Justin Williams, the university’s director of housing and residential life. Having a pet along for the college journey makes a dorm “a home away from home,” he said.

Parham, a freshman from Palm Coast, Florida, agrees. “I love having my best friend here with me,” Parham said. Eckerd College, a private school in St Petersburg, Florida, has had pet-friendly dorms for years. So has Stephens College, a private school in Missouri that was the previous home of current Stetson President Wendy Libby.

Libby brought the pet-friendlydorm concept with her to Stetson a year ago. Stetson staff members visited Eckerd and Stephens to get ideas on how to set up similar living arrangements. Although small, independent colleges such as Stetson dominate the list of pet-

Birds, most reptiles and rabbits are not welcome with open arms

Jasmine Parham, from Palm Coast, sits with her Border Collie “Leo” in her dorm room. friendly schools, powerhouses Caltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology allow certain small pets in some campus dorms.

Many schools, especially public ones, may shy from pet-friendly dorms because of liability worries connected to animal attacks or building maintenance, Stetson officials said. Students sign an agreement that sets out terms.

Obedience training is required for dogs. Aggressive or noisy animals can be sent home. In establishing policy at Stetson, the welfare of the

animal was a priority. So inspections will be held to make sure students are caring for their pets properly.

Students pay a $400-a-year surcharge to get a pet-friendly dorm room, with $200 of that refundable if the room is kept in shape. Part of the fee goes toward pet-related costs, such as establishment of a fenced dog walk near Nemec Hall. The rooms designated for pets are singles instead of standard doubleoccupancy rooms to avoid having cats and dogs as roomies.

“Dotty” the Jack Russell Terrier plays in a fenced-in dog area outside of Nemec Hall at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. —MCT photos

Not all animals are allowed.

Dogs 30 pounds and less are OK, as are cats and caged rodents such as rats, gerbils and hamsters. Small fish and turtles that can reside comfortably in small water tanks are fine, too. Because of potential odor issues, birds, most reptiles and rabbits are not on the approved list. Depending on how things go this year, however, the list may be expanded and the dog-weight limitation could be relaxed.

It’s too soon to tell whether Stetson’s pet-friendly-dorm experiment will expand. Nemec

Hall can accommodate up to 34 students with pets. Two additional rooms for resident staff also are pet-friendly. Arthur DeFilippo, a residential-life coordinator on staff who lives in Nemec Hall with his wife, came to work at Stetson in part because of the pet-friendly living accommodations.

There was no way the couple was going to give up Elphie, their pet puggle - a canine mix of pug and beagle. “For a lot of people, pets are like members of the family,” DeFilippo said. “It’s about quality of life.” —MCT

Emily Nichols’ longhair Persian cat “Jasper” sits on her bed.

Friday, september 3, 2010

relationships

page 29

Wrapped in motherly love

t probably started with a little Tball shirt - just too precious to give away. It mushroomed from there. More athletic team T-shirts.

Scouting T-shirts. Elementary, middle and high school T-shirts.

Activity, association and awards Tshirts. Key memories from my two sons’ lives went into an ever-larger plastic storage bin. When they go off to college, I vowed, I’ll send them with personalized T-shirt quilts for their college dorm beds!

Yep. Their college bedcovers came from Walmart. Ditto their postcollege covers. But this year, I had time off with no vacation plans. I had the focus. I had the guilt. The Tshirt stash - grown larger from their college years - was about to be slashed. “Oh, real quilters hate to work on T-shirt quilts,” warned my friend Shirley Anderson, a prizewinning master quilter. “It’s just too hard to work on stretchy T-shirts.”

Forewarned, I was. Despite misgivings, Shirley met me one day in our church basement to help me get started. Armed with a borrowed cutting board and rotary cutter (don’t try this with scissors), we started the measure-twice, cutonce process essential to any quilt.

But let me back up: You can find instructions for T-shirt quilts online. I downloaded several. None was completely helpful.

Here’s the thing about T-shirt quilts: A cookie-cutter pattern probably won’t work for you. That precious little T-ball shirt? It’s big enough for a pocket-sized square.

That college football or fraternity shirt size XXL? Their logos demand a 15-inch span. You’re going to have a heap of layout decisions. And did I mention I’d saved a lot of T-shirts over the years? Way before I met Shirley for bedspread boot camp, I lassoed Ted and Ben on their visits home and (a) demanded an honest answer about whether they even still wanted quilts; (b) zeroed in on what size and use they envisioned; and (c) chose which T-shirts they absolutely wanted to include - or absolutely didn’t.

Believe me, (a) may be the most important part. I’ve talked with moms who put days of blood, sweat and tears into T-shirt quilts that are folded away in parental home closets. My sons encouraged me to proceed.

Ben, 25, asked for a queen-sized quilt for his bed on cold Kansas City winter nights. Ted, 28, asked for a smaller, lightweight sofa throw for his house in Dallas. Herein lies the first measuring challenge. Know exactly what size you intend to make.

Remember to make allowance for lots of seams. Figure out how much fabric you’ll need for a quilt back. Figure out how much fabric you’ll need to frame each T-shirt block with whatever sized cotton strips you select. Figure out how much fusible interfacing you’ll

I

The T-shirt quilt made out of athletic wear which Diane Stafford created for her son. —MCT

Diane Stafford

need. You simply cannot make a Tshirt quilt without fusible interfacing. Try it, and Shirley’s warning will haunt you. Figure out how much batting you’ll need if you’re making a padded quilt. Learn a little bit about the variations in thickness and material to decide what’s appropriate. In retrospect, Ben’s quilt filling is thicker than needed.

Don’t expect the cutters at craft stores to tell you how much fabric you’ll need. Both of my sons asked for dark-colored “masculine” fabric backing with only the barest hint of a print. After all, they might want to hide the tee side sometimes.

Ideally: Cajole them into a fabric store visit with you. In each case, after the quilt size, backing fabric and shirt selections were resolved, I used the queen-sized bed in our guest bedroom to arrange - and re arrange - the shirts in what I hoped would be a color-balanced, pleasing pattern.

Yeah, I know, it’s T-shirts. But you wouldn’t believe how many times my husband was called in for color-balance analysis. Finally, the pinning and sewing began. Pulling the larger T-shirts over the board so that I cut through only one side of the shirt and pressing down firmly on the wide, clear plastic cutting guide and the rotary cutter produced mostly error-free cuts.

Immediately ironing on the fusible interfacing made the T-shirt blocks much easier to handle.

Ironing the seams that connect the T-shirt blocks with their cotton “frames” as you go along helps immensely. Carol Dillon, who

previously made her daughter a beautiful T-shirt quilt, kindly donated an afternoon pep talk and pinning session as I sewed Ben’s quilt, the one I tackled last fall. She shared valuable advice about taking giant basting stitches to temporarily hold the batting to the quilt back until the quilt sandwich is put together.

It would take a book to detail every step, every warning, every rip as I went along. But this should suffice: Measure carefully. Pin before sewing.

Own a good quality seam ripper.

(I failed the measure-twice rule on one block and didn’t notice until I’d sewn several blocks together. That night of the great rip was not fun.)

By the time I worked on Ted’s quilt this summer, I’d bought my own cutting board, plastic cutting ruler and rotary cutter.

They’re not cheap, but watch for craft stores’ coupons. Look, I don’t pretend to be a quilter.

The best I can say is that I have a sewing machine and can (usually) sew a straight line. Do I wish I’d sent them off to college with lovingly hand-crafted memory quilts? Sure.

But the memories grew with time, making the quilts a broader snapshot of their lives. When finally done, I got some attagirls from friends at church, at work and in the neighborhood. Oh yeah, I showed off.

Now, our cat has a favorite napping spot in the bedroom corner that for two decades held a T-shirt storage bin. And I got some nice hugs from my boys. —MCT

food

Page 30

friday, September 3, 2010

By Sawsan Kazak ot only are salads refreshing to eat, but they are also quite easy to make! The key ingredient is fresh produce. Salads are also very versatile; you can add, substitute, eliminate whatever you like. Depending on the season and what you can find at the supermarket, feel free to adjust these salads however you like.

Please send suggestions to: sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

N

Tangy beetroot & bean salad Ingredients: 250g bunch beetroot * 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil * zest 1 orange * 1kg frozen soya beans * 3 thyme sprigs * 11/2 tbsp vinegar

* 1 small shallot , finely chopped Method: 1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

Wearing kitchen gloves, peel and trim the beets and cut into 2cm wedges.

Place them on a large sheet of tin foil, then toss with 1 tbsp oil, half the orange zest and seasoning.

Cook for 45 mins-1 hr until they can be easily pierced with a fork.

Leave to cool.

2. Cook soya beans for 3 mins in boiling water until softened. Drain, cool under the cold tap, then drain again. Strip leaves from the thyme and whisk with the vinegar, remaining olive oil and shallot. When you’re ready to serve, toss everything together and scatter over the remaining zest.

Indian summer salad Ingredients: * 3 carrots * bunch radishes * 2 courgettes * half a small red onion * small handful mint leaves, roughly torn * 1 tbsp white vinegar * 1 tsp Dijon mustard * 1 tbsp mayonnaise * 2 tbsp olive oil *

Method: * Grate the carrots into a large bowl.

Thinly slice the radishes and courgettes and finely chop the onion. Mix all the vegetables together in the bowl with the mint leaves. * Whisk together the vinegar, mustard and mayonnaise until smooth, then gradually whisk in the oil. Taste and add salt and pepper, then drizzle over the salad and mix well. Leftovers will keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 24 hrs.

FOOD

Friday, September 3, 2010

Tomato, cucumber and coriander salad Ingredients: * 6 ripe vine tomatoes, deseeded and chopped * 1 small cucumber, diced * 1 red onion, very finely chopped * 6 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped Top of Form

Method: Mix together the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and chopped coriander, but don’t season until just before serving

Page 31

Courgette salad Ingredients: * 2 large courgettes * 3 tbsp olive oil * 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice * 1 tbsp clear honey * 2 tsp poppy seeds * 1 small garlic clove , crushed * salt and pepper, to taste

Method: 1. Grate the courgettes on the coarse side of your grater.

2. Toss them with the olive oil, lemon or lime juice, clear honey, poppy seeds and the crushed garlic clove.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve as soon as possible (or it will get too watery), with sizzling barbecued chicken or lamb, kebabs or burgers.

Mustard potato salad Ingredients: * 11/2 kg new potatoes , halved if large * 3 tbsp olive oil * 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard * juice of 1 lemon * 3 spring onions, chopped Method: Cook the potatoes in a large pan of

salted water until just tender, about 1015 mins. Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil, mustard and lemon juice in a large bowl. Drain the potatoes and leave to cool for 5 mins, then tip into the bowl along with the spring onions. Toss everything until the potatoes are well coated. Leave to cool. The dish will keep in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Potato tuna salad Ingredients: * 650g new potatoes, halved lengthways if large * 2 tbsp pesto * 4 tbsp olive oil * 8 cherry tomatoes * 175g can tuna * 200g green beans, halved * couple of handfuls of spinach, preferably baby leaves, tear if larger Method: 1. Put the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil

and simmer for 8-10 minutes until tender.

2. Meanwhile, mix the pesto and oil to make a dressing. Halve the tomatoes, drain and flake the tuna.

Add the beans to the potatoes for the last 3 minutes of cooking time.

3. Drain the potatoes and beans and tip into a salad bowl. Stir in the spinach so that it wilts a little in the warmth from the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the tomatoes and tuna on top, drizzle with the pesto and gently toss everything together.

THEY ARE THE 99!

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!

THE FASCINATING STORY OF THE 99 Baghdad lies in ruins, destroyed by the marauding armies of Hulagu Khan. The brave librarians of the great Dar Al-Hikma rush to save the glory of the ancient world’s accumulated wisdom, little knowing that centuries later their efforts will bear strange fruit. While the Noor Stones were created to save the library, their power has transcended that task and in our own time has provided extraordinary abilities to an international group of young people, the world’s newest superheroes known as… The 99.

The 99 ® and all related characters ® and © 2010, Teshkeel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

www.the99.org

travel

Page 34

Friday, September 3, 2010

Golfers face a mountainous background as they warm up on the driving range at Sky Mountain Golf Course in Hurricane, Utah.

Red rocks ring the greens in St. George, Utah W

hen Mormon leader Brigham Young passed through a small settlement in 1861 in what is now the southwest corner of Utah; he looked at the desolate landscape and made a prophecy.

"There will yet be built between those volcanic ridges a city with spires, towers ... and homes with many inhabitants."

If Young had been able to see further into the future, he might have added "and some really fine golf courses."

As it was, Young's prediction came true. He sent some 300 families from northern Utah to settle the area and grow cotton and grapes and harvest silk for export. A town arose that Young named St. George. Historians aren't sure whether Young was honoring George A. Smith, a prominent Mormon known as "the Potato Saint" because he had discovered that eating potato peels was a defense against scurvy, or Phillip St. George Cooke, a friend of Young's who donated equipment to the early settlement.

Less than two decades later, the centerpieces of the town, complete with spires, were the St. George

Temple and, a few blocks away, the St. George Tabernacle. Both are imposing structures to this day.

By 1992, St. George was a city of about 30,000. Then the population shot upward, growing 61 percent in a five-year span, as the area became heralded as a great place in which to retire. Today, St. George is a city of more than 71,000.

As the population grew, so did the number, and quality, of the golf courses. The St. George area boasts 11 public courses in an idyllic setting between the ridges, buttes, mesas, and mountains that once caught Brigham Young's eye. While St. George previously attracted primarily snow birds, it now also lures golfers, who are drawn by the scenic beauty, favorable weather and reasonable greens fees.

"It's turned into a little golf mecca," said Colby Cowan, head professional at Sand Hollow Resort, whose 18-hole championship course is a stunning layout that opened in August 2008. Sand Hollow was No. 7 on Golf Digest's list of the nation's best new public courses for 2009.

Golfweek lists Sand Hollow as No. 1 among Utah public courses. Coral Canyon, another St. George-area

Descendants of Capt. John T. Baker placed a wreath and remembrance at the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre near St. George, Utah. Baker was one of the leaders of the wagon train of Arkansas emigrants who were murdered in 1857.

travel

Friday, September 3, 2010 course, is No. 3. I played four of the area's courses on a visit last month Sky Mountain, Sand Hollow, Sunbrook and The Ledges and Sand Hollow stood out. (I thought Sky Mountain and The Ledges tied for second, with Sunbrook fourth.)

Sand Hollow's beauty lies not just in the red-rock scenery and mountain vistas but in the course itself, with deep green fairways contrasting with red sand bunkers and light green and dark green sagebrush.

A relatively flat front nine of wide fairways and huge greens is followed by a spectacular back nine in which four holes run precariously along ridges and rock ledges.

Sand Hollow (sandhollowresort.com) has two sets of prices. Rates for peak season (Oct. 1 through May 15) range from $100 to $125, with a discount for seniors and a twilight rate of $50 to $65 after 1 p.m. Offseason rates range from $50 to $65. Considering the scenery and quality of the course, these fees are a bargain.

Head pro Cowan hopes rates do not rise when construction of Sand Hollow's new clubhouse is completed.

"I think if they keep the greens fees the same, they'll have more people here than they can imagine," he said.

Nine of the area's courses comprise the Red Rock Golf Trail, in association with 14 lodging properties within 15 minutes of St. George.

Stay-and-play packages can be arranged online at redrockgolftrail.com or by phone at 1888-345-2550.

Forty miles to the southwest, along the interstate toward Las Vegas, is Mesquite, Nev., another budding golf destination offering eight public courses. Golfers who are interested in gaming have been known to stay in Mesquite and drive to St. George for their golf.

For historical enlightenment, St. George offers a self-guided history tour and, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, a "St. George Live" tour of roughly 90 minutes in which volunteers in period dress portray historical figures, including Brigham Young. The tour starts at the opera house, which was the town's social center in the 1860s, and ends at the Brigham Young home, where he spent each winter for the last five years of his life. The tour, with van transportation between stops, is a bargain at $3 per person.

One of the area's lesser-known sites is Mountain Meadows, a 30minute drive north of St. George. It was there in 1857 that a wagon train that originated in Arkansas with a destination of California was attacked by a band of Mormons and Paiute Indians. The emigrants, known as the Fancher-Baker Party, circled their wagons during a five-day siege, then surrendered on Sept. 11 when promised safe passage.

All of the emigrants age eight and above were then executed some 120 in all. The surviving 18 children were taken in by Mormon families, although 17 of them were later returned by the U.S. Army to relatives in Arkansas.

What precipitated the violence was a high state of agitation in the Mormon community after years of persecution that drove them to the West.

Eighteen Mormons had been murdered in Missouri; church founder Joseph Smith was murdered in Illinois; and Mormon apostle

Page 35

Mormon leader Brigham Young's winter home in St. George, Utah, was built between 1869 and 1873. Young, suffering from arthritis, found southwest Utah's milder winters more tolerable than Salt Lake City's. He spent the last five winters of his life in St. George.

IF YOU GO: GETTING THERE: St. George's airport sits on a bluff overlooking the city; a new airport is scheduled to open next year. For now, flying into St. George is costlier than flying into Las Vegas, 120 miles to the west, or Salt Lake City, 300 miles to the north.

WEATHER: July is the hottest month, with an average high of 102 (but without humidity), while January and February are the coolest months, with an average high of 54. Golf and other outdoor activities are pursued year-round.

SHOPPING, EATING: With St. George's population boom less than 20 years old, everything seems new, with no shortage of art galleries, spas, boutiques, malls and restaurants.

ENTERTAINMENT: St. George nightlife is somewhat limited.

Parley Pratt was shot dead in Arkansas. Mormons' fears were elevated because of reports that the U.S. government was sending troops to Utah to deal with what it considered a rebellious, not to mention polygamous, sect.

Church leader Brigham Young was not implicated in the massacre but was said to have orchestrated a denial and cover-up. In subsequent years, the church faced up to the incident and now maintains a monument at the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

On the day that I visited last month, not another soul was there, not a ranger or attendant. The only sounds in the vast meadow were the chirping of birds and crickets, the wind whipping through prairie grass and willow trees and a rope from an American flag clanging against the flagpole. If you visit, aside from seeing the monument, be sure to make the 220-yard walk up a cement path to a lookout where information about the event is displayed and views are directed to where the assaults took place. —MCT

However, from mid-June until mid-October, the Tuacahn Amphitheatre presents Broadway-style musicals. It also offers concerts in spring and other special events (tuacahn.org). The amphitheater sits against a redrock cliff, and the 15-minute drive from downtown St. George to the Tuacahn area in Snow Canyon covers some of the best red-rock scenery in the area. Beautiful Snow Canyon State Park is in the same area.

ADVENTURES: St. George is a playground for outdoor enthusiasts, with tour operators offering excursions on bikes, ATVs, Jeeps and helicopters. Also, sky diving, powered parachuting, rock climbing, kayaking, scuba diving and more are available. I joined a group of 14 people for a four-hour ATV outing with ATV & Jeep Tours (atvadventures.com) into the scenic backcountry over a variety of terrain (dirt roads, rocky roads, smooth sand dunes). Tours run from two hours to six hours; the four-hour tour was fun but probably one hour too long for me.

A gravesite memorial honors those who died in the Mountain Meadows Massacre near St. George, Utah, in 1857. The monument is based on the original stone cairn erected at the site by the U.S. Army in 1859.

books

Page 36

Friday, september 3, 2010

Psychosis fiction The following titles will take you on a thrilling psychological rollercoaster on a crazy journey - literally crazy. In the wards of hospitals and behind the locked doors of asylums, these heroes and heroines will keep your long summer day occupied. Enjoy the ride and send your suggestions to hussain@kuwaittimes.net

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

By Ken Kesey

Girl, Interrupted

By Susanna Kaysen

A

I

I Know This Much Is True

The Secret Scripture

By Wally Lamb

By Sebastian Barry

B

A

n international bestseller and the basis for a hugely successful film, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was one of the defining works of the 1960s.

A mordant, wickedly subversive parable set in a mental ward, the novel chronicles the head-on collision between its hell-raising, lifeaffirming hero Randle Patrick McMurphy and the totalitarian rule of Big Nurse. McMurphy swaggers into the mental ward like a blast of fresh air and turns the place upside down, starting a gambling operation, smuggling in wine and women, and egging on the other patients to join him in open rebellion. But McMurphy’s revolution against Big Nurse and everything she stands for quickly turns from sport to a fierce power struggle with shattering results.

With One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey created a work without precedent in American literature, a novel at once comic and tragic that probes the nature of madness and sanity, authority and vitality. Greeted by unanimous acclaim when it was first published, the book has become and enduring favorite of readers.

oth a moving character study and a gripping story of family conflict are hidden somewhere inside the daunting bulk of this annoyingly slick second novel by Lamb. The character (and narrator) is Dominick Birdsey, a 40-yearold housepainter whose subdued life in his hometown of Three Rivers, Connecticut, is disturbed in 1990 when his identical twin brother Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic whose condition is complicated by religious mania, commits a shocking act of self-mutilation. The story is that of the embattled Birdseys, as recalled in Dominick’s elaborate memory-flashbacks and in the ‘autobiography’ (juxtaposed against the primary narrative) of the twins’ maternal grandfather, Italian immigrant (and tyrannical patriarch) Domenico Tempesta. But Lamb combines these promising materials with overattenuated accounts of Dominick’s crippled past (the torments inflicted on him and Thomas by an abusive stepfather, a luckless marriage, the crib death of his infant daughter), and with a heavy emphasis on the longconcealed identity of the twins’ real fathera mystery eventually solved, not, as Dominick and we expect, in Domenico’s selfaggrandizing story, but by a most surprising confession. This novel is derivative (of both Pat Conroy’s The Prince of Tides and the film Dominick and Eugene), it pushes all the appropriate topical buttons (child abuse, AIDS, New Age psychobabble, Native American dignity, and others), and it works a little too hard at wringing tears. But it’s by no means negligible. Lamb writes crisp, tender-tough dialogue, and his portrayal of the decent, conflicted Dominick (who is forced, and blessed, to acknowledge that ‘We were all, in a way, each other’) is convincing. The pathetic, destroyed figure of Thomas is, by virtue of its very opacity, both haunting and troubling.

n 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she’d never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital.

She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele—Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles—as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary.

Kaysen’s memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a “parallel universe” set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties.

Girl, Interrupted is a clearsighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

subtle study of psychology, religion, family and politics in Ireland. This is not, as the title might suggest, another Da Vinci Code clone. Barry (A Long Long Way, 2005, etc.) writes vigorously and passionately about his native land. The story is told antiphonally, alternating narratives between a secret journal (hidden beneath the floorboard) kept by Roseanne McNulty, a patient in a mental hospital, and the “Commonplace Book” of her psychiatrist Dr. Grene, who’s dealing with serious issues of grief after the death of his wife. Roseanne has always been something of an outsider, her father a cemetery-keeper and rat-catcher but most importantly a Protestant in a land largely hostile to this religious orientation. Although Roseanne remembers a happy childhood, in which she was the proverbial apple of her father’s eye, he becomes involved in the political and military entanglements of Irish political life. When Roseanne grows up, she becomes the wife of Tom McNulty, but through a series of misunderstandings-as well as through the machinations of the grim-faced and soul-destroying priest, Fr. Gaunt-she is as good as accused (though falsely) of adultery with the son of a political rebel. Out of malice toward Protestants as well as out of a misplaced moral absolutism, Fr. Gaunt has her marriage annulled-and, using nymphomania to explain her “condition,” has her locked up in the asylum. Dr. Grene gets interested in her story as well as her history, and in tracking down her past he finds a secret that she has kept hidden for many years, a secret that affects them both and that intertwines their families. In a final assessment of Roseanne-after she’s spent decades in the asylum-Dr. Grene determines that she is “blameless.” She responds: “ Blameless? I hardly think that is given to any mortal being.’” Indeed, blamelessness is a state no one achieves in this novel. Barry beautifully braids together the convoluted threads of his narrative.

Friday, september 3, 2010

books

Prozac Nation

By Elizabeth Wurtzel

F

ull of promise is how anyone would have described Elizabeth Wurtzel at age ten, a bright-eyed little girl who painted, wrote stories, and excelled in every way.

By twelve she was cutting her legs in the girls’ bathroom and listening to scratchy recordings of the Velvet Underground.

College was marked by a series of breakdowns, suicide attempts, and hospitalizations before she was finally given Prozac in combination with other psychoactive drugs, all of which have worked sporadically as Elizabeth’s mood swings rise and fall like the lines of a sad ballad. This memoir, both harrowing and hilarious, gives voice to the high incidence of depression - especially among America’s youth. Prozac Nation is a collective cry for help, a generational status report on today’s young people, who have come of age fully entrenched in the culture of divorce, economic instability, and AIDS. “This private world of loony bins and weird people which I always felt I occupied and hid in,” writes Elizabeth, “had suddenly turned inside out so that it seemed like this was one big Prozac Nation, one big mess of malaise. Perhaps the next time half a million people gather for a protest march on the White House green it will not be for abortion rights or gay liberation, but because we’re all so bummed out.” Writing with a vengeance (Nirvana, Joni Mitchell, and Dorothy Parker all rolled into one), Elizabeth Wurtzel will not go gentle into that good night. She wants off medication, she wants a family, and most definitely, a life worth living.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

By Joanne Greenberg nveloped in the dark inner kingdom of her schizophrenia, sixteen-year-old Deborah is haunted by private tormentors that isolate her from the outside world. With the reluctant and fearful consent of her parents, she enters a mental hospital where she will spend the next three years battling to regain her sanity with the help of a gifted psychiatrist. As Deborah struggles toward the possibility of the “normal” life she and her family hope for, the reader is inexorably drawn into her private suffering and deep determination to confront her demons. A modern classic, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden remains every bit as poignant, gripping, and relevant today as when it was first published.

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Hurry Down Sunshine

Sybil

By Michael Greenberg

By Flora Rheta Schreiber

urry Down Sunshine tells the story of the extraordinary summer when, at the age of fifteen, Michael Greenberg s daughter was struck mad. It begins with Sally s visionary crack-up on the streets of Greenwich Village, and continues, among other places, in the out-of-time world of a Manhattan psychiatric ward during the city s most sweltering months.

“I feel like I m traveling and traveling with nowhere to go back to,” Sally says in a burst of lucidity while hurtling away toward some place her father could not dream of or imagine. Hurry Down Sunshine is the chronicle of that journey, and its effect on Sally and those closest to her; her brother and grandmother, her mother and stepmother, and, not least of all, the author himself. Among Greenberg s unforgettable gallery of characters are an unconventional psychiatrist, an Orthodox Jewish patient, a manic classics professor, a movie producer, and a landlord with literary dreams. Unsentimental, nuanced, and deeply humane, Hurry Down Sunshine holds the reader in a mesmerizing state of suspension between the mundane and the transcendent.

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H

When Rabbit Howls

The Bell Jar

ere is the unbelievable yet true story of Sybil Dorsett, a survivor of terrible childhood abuse who as an adult was a victim of sudden and mysterious blackouts.

What happened during those blackouts has made Sybil’s experience one of the most famous psychological cases in the world.

By Sylvia Plath

By The Troops of Truddi Chase ruddi Chase began therapy to discover why she suffered from blackouts.

What surfaced was terrifying: she was inhabited by ‘the Troops’-92 individual personalities. This groundbreaking true story is made all the more extraordinary in that it was written by the Troops themselves. What they reveal is a spellbinding descent into a personal hell-and an ultimate deliverance for the woman they became.

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he Bell Jar chronicles the crack-up of Esther Greenwood: brilliant, beautiful, enormously talented, and successful, but slowly going under — maybe for the last time. Sylvia Plath masterfully draws the reader into Esther’s breakdown with such intensity that Esther’s insanity becomes completely real and even rational, as probable and accessible an experience as going to the movies. Such deep penetration into the dark and harrowing corners of the psyche is an extraordinary accomplishment and has made The Bell Jar a haunting American classic. www.bn.com

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children

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Sudoku for Kids

Friday, September 3, 2010

Solution

children

Friday, September 3, 2010

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Little Star L

ittle star lived in space with all the other stars and planets. Most stars were shiny and bright and made patterns in the sky, but try as she might, Little Star couldn't shine as brightly as the other stars.

One night when the other stars were dancing around the moon Little Star set off to see her friend, Twinkle. Now Twinkle was a wishing star and could make Little Stars wish come true. She wanted to be the brightest star in the universe! But Little Star couldn't find Twinkle anywhere and she started to cry. Would she ever be as bright as the other stars?

Suddenly she heard a friendly voice calling out ,"Little Star, Little Star grab hold of my tail and I'll take you for a ride!"

It was Corky the comet. Corky had a long silvery tail and was always rushing through space.

Straight away Little Star leaped onto Corky's tail. It was time for

an adventure!

"Where are we going?" Little Star asked Corky. "We're going to visit my old friend Mr. Sun, the biggest and brightest star of all." Little Star was so excited she nearly fell off Corky's tail.

As Corky sped through space Little Star could feel the warm glow from Mr. Sun getting closer." We'll fly once around Mr. Sun and then it's back home for tea" bellowed Corky. Little Star couldn't wait.

As they got nearer Corky heard Little Star shout out, "Hello Mr. Sun." Mr. Sun slowly turned around to see who was there. “Well if it isn't my old friend Corky... and who have you brought along to see me today?" he said with a warm and friendly voice. "This" said Corky, is my new friend Little Star. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Sun " said Little Star. "I wish I was big and bright like you." Mr. Sun chuckled to himself. " It will be a long time

before you're as big as me " he said, "But you'll be much brighter sooner than you think " he said, winking at Corky.

Then Mr. Sun reached out his long shimmering arm and shook hands with Little Star,

and as he let go a strange thing happened. Little Star felt all tingly inside, her eyes lit up and suddenly she started to glow brighter and brighter." Looks like Mr. Sun has cheered you up a bit", said Corky. Little Star

gave Corky a big smile then turned around to wave goodbye to Mr. Sun. "Thank you for making me bright and shiny", shouted Little Star." You always were", said Mr. Sun ,"you just had to feel it inside."

Then with a whoosh from Corky's tail they shot off through space and before Little Star knew it they were back home just in time for tea. www.bedtime.com

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Friday, September 3, 2010

A botched hostage rescue in Philippines

By Scott Stewart

O

n Aug 23, Rolando Mendoza, a former senior police inspector with the Manila police department, boarded a tourist bus in downtown Manila and took control of the vehicle, holding the 25 occupants (tourists from Hong Kong and their Philippine guides) hostage. Mendoza, who was dressed in his police inspector's uniform, was armed with an M16-type rifle and at least one handgun.

According to the police, Mendoza had been discharged from the department after being charged with extortion. Mendoza claimed the charges were fabricated and had fought a protracted administrative and legal battle in his effort to be reinstated. Apparently, Mendoza's frustration over this process led to his plan to take the hostages. The fact that Mendoza entertained hope of regaining his police job by breaking the law and taking hostages speaks volumes about his mental state at the time of the incident.

After several hours of negotiation failed to convince Mendoza to surrender, communications broke down, Mendoza began to shoot hostages and police launched a clumsy and prolonged tactical operation to storm the bus. The operation lasted for more than an hour and left Mendoza and eight of the tourists dead at the end of a very public and protracted case of violence stemming from a workplace grievance.

Hostage-rescue operations are some of the most difficult and demanding tactical operations for police and military. To be successful, they require a great deal of training and planning and must be carefully executed. Because of this, hostagerescue teams are among the most elite police and military units in the world. Since these teams are always training and learning, they pay close attention to operations like the one in Manila and study these operations carefully. They seek to adopt and incorporate tactics and techniques that work and learn from any mistakes that were made so they can avoid repeating them. Even in highly successful operations, there are always areas that can be improved upon and lessons that can be learned.

Indeed, in the Manila case, the events that unfolded provided a litany of lessons for hostage-rescue teams.

The case will almost certainly be used in law enforcement and military classrooms across the globe for years as a textbook example of what not to do.

Breakdown of the Incident Shortly after 10 am on Aug 23, Mendoza commandeered the bus and its occupants (his police inspector's uniform was likely helpful in gaining him access to the vehicle). Within minutes, he released two female hostages. Soon thereafter he released four hostages (a woman and three children). Mendoza used a cell phone to call the Manila police, inform them of the situation and make his demands: that the charges against him be dropped by the police ombudsman's office and that he be reinstated to the police force.

These early hostage releases would generally be seen as a positive sign by the authorities, showing that

Police Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza stands by the entrance of a tourist bus as negotiators talk to him during a standoff at Manila’s Rizal Park Aug 23, 2010 in Manila. – AP Mendoza had some compassion for the women and children and that even if he was reducing the number of hostages for pragmatic, tactical reasons (to allow him better control over the group), he was at least reducing the number by releasing people and not killing them.

The police maintained communications with Mendoza, who stayed aboard the bus and kept the motor running. This not only kept the vehicle cool, but allowed Mendoza to watch events unfold around the bus on the onboard television set. He had his hostages close the curtains on the bus to make it more difficult for the authorities to determine where he was in the bus.

Shortly after 1 pm, Mendoza requested more gasoline for the bus and some food. He released another hostage, an elderly man, in return for the gas and food. Two other hostages, both Philippine photographers, were released as a 3 pm deadline for action set by Mendoza came and went (one of the photographers was released before, one after). There were also reports that Mendoza had initially set a 12:30 pm deadline for action.

The fact that these deadlines passed without violence would be an encouraging sign to the authorities that the incident could be resolved without bloodshed. Food was again taken out to the bus just before 5 pm During the afternoon, Mendoza could have been engaged by snipers on at least two occasions, but since negotiations were proceeding well and Mendoza did not appear to be close to shooting, the decision was made to try and wait him out and not attempt to kill him. If the snipers

failed to incapacitate Mendoza, it could have risked the lives of the hostages.

During the ordeal, Mendoza continued to watch events unfold on the television inside the bus and reportedly even talked to journalists via cell phone. Mendoza also ordered the bus driver to park the vehicle sideways in the center of the road in an apparent attempt to make it more difficult to approach without detection.

Things took a marked turn for the worse around 6:20 pm, when negotiators, accompanied by Mendoza's brother Gregorio (who is also a police officer and who had earlier helped convince Mendoza to extend his deadline), approached the bus with a letter from the office of the ombudsman offering to reopen his case. Mendoza rejected the letter, saying he wanted his case dismissed, not reviewed.

At this point, there are conflicting reports of what happened. The police negotiators told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Mendoza's brother told Mendoza that the letter from the ombudsman's office was garbage and that he should not surrender. Other press reports indicate that the brother pleaded with Mendoza to take him hostage and release the tourists and that his pleading was seen as counterproductive to the negotiations.

Whatever the story, Mendoza's brother was then arrested and his arrest was carried live on television and seen by Mendoza in the bus.

Shortly after his brother's arrest, Mendoza fired two warning shots and demanded in a radio interview that all the Manila Police Department SWAT

officers be removed from the scene.

Shortly after 7 pm, Mendoza repeated his threats and refused to speak to his family members.

Growing increasingly agitated, Mendoza shot two of the hostages when his demand for the SWAT officers to retreat was not met. He released the Philippine bus driver, who reportedly told police that all the hostages were dead. (We are unsure why the driver said this when only two of the passengers had been killed, but the police would have been able to tell from the volume of fire that Mendoza had not truly killed all the hostages.)

At about 7:30 pm, the tires of the bus were shot out and a police tactical team approached the vehicle and began to smash its windows with a sledgehammer. The police attempted to slowly enter the back of the bus by crawling through one of the shattered windows from the top of a police truck but were forced back out of the window by gunfire. At about 8:40 pm, police deployed tear gas into the back of the bus through the missing windows. Gunfire erupted and Mendoza was finally killed in a hail of bullets. Six additional hostages also perished during the exchange of gunfire. It is unclear at this point if they were intentionally shot by Mendoza or if they were caught in the crossfire.

Hostage Situations By the time of the rescue attempt, the saga of Mendoza's firing from the police force had been going on for some time, and it is important to recognize that he did not make a spontaneous decision to seize the tourist bus. Even if the bus was

targeted shortly before the attack, Mendoza's path toward violent action would have included several significant warning signs. As in almost any case of violence that stems from issues in the workplace, once the chain of events are examined more closely, reports will emerge that warning signs were either missed or ignored. Had those warning signs been noted and acted upon, this situation might have been avoided.

Since the event was not preempted, once it happened and developed into a hostage situation, the primary objective of the authorities was to resolve the incident without violence. Skillful hostage negotiators do this by allowing the hostage-taker to vent. They also work hard to defuse any tension that has the attacker on edge and to gently wear the attacker down to the point of surrender. One of the essential principles in this effort is to isolate the hostage-taker so that he or she cannot receive outside communication, motivation, encouragement or other forms of support.

Hostage negotiators seek to control the flow of all information into or out of the crime scene. That did not occur in this case. Mendoza was able to talk to outsiders on his cell phone and even gave media interviews. He was also able to use the television in the bus to watch live media coverage of the incident, including video of the deployment of police officers. This gave him a considerable advantage and far more information than what he could have observed with his eyes from inside the curtained bus.

As shown in the November 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, it has become more difficult to isolate assailants from outside communications in the cell phone era, but there are ways that such communications can be disabled.

It is not known why the Manila police did not attempt to jam the outside communication signals going to and from the bus, but that is certainly something that will come up in the after-action review, as will their handling of the media and onlookers (one of whom was wounded) during the incident.

As negotiations are proceeding in a hostage situation, the authorities must always be busily preparing to launch an assault in case negotiations fail. When the assailant is agitated or mentally disturbed, the situation on the ground can sometimes change quite rapidly, and the rescue team needs to be prepared to act on a moment's notice. Usually the team will come in with an initial assault plan and then alter and refine their plan as more intelligence becomes available, and as they become more familiar with the site and the situation.

If the hostages are being held in a building, the rescue team will get the blueprints of the building and collect as much information as possible in an effort to plan their assault on the location where the hostages are being held. In this case, the hostages were being held on a stationary bus, which made it far easier to collect that type of intelligence - a bus is a bus. The authorities also had access to released hostages who, had they been debriefed, could have described to authorities the situation inside the bus.

In a protracted hostage situation,

oPinion

Friday, September 3, 2010 the authorities will frequently employ technical measures to gather additional intelligence on the activities of the hostage-taker. This may involve the use of overt or clandestine video equipment, parabolic microphones or microphones surreptitiously placed in or near the site. Even thermal imaging sets and technical equipment to intercept cell phone communication or radio transmissions are sometimes used. All the information gleaned from such efforts will not only go to the negotiators, to help them understand the hostage-taker's frame of mind, but will also be used to help the rescue team fine-tune their assault plan.

Meanwhile, as the assault plan is being tweaked, negotiations continue and the hostage negotiators work to wear down the hostage-taker. It appears that the negotiators in the Mendoza case were doing a fairly good job of keeping the situation calm until the situation flared up involving Mendoza's brother and the letter from the ombudsman's office. Authorities clearly erred by not sending him a letter saying they had dropped the case against him. (They did not need the extortion charges now that they could arrest him and charge him with kidnapping and a host of other crimes.)

It is hard to understand why the police department quibbled over words and refused to give him the piece of paper he expressly demanded.

The police then aggravated the situation greatly with the public arrest of Mendoza's brother.

Those two events caused the situation to deteriorate rapidly and resulted in Mendoza's decision to begin shooting. Once he shot the first two hostages, the negotiations were clearly over and it was time to implement a tactical solution to the problem.

The Use of Force In a hostage situation, the use of force is a last resort. If force is required, however, the rescue team needs to hit hard, hit fast and hit accurately. There is little time for hesitation or error: Lives hang in the balance. This is where things began to get very ugly in the Mendoza case.

Not only was there a delay between the murder of the first hostages and the launching of the first assault attempt, the assault was not hard, fast or accurate. To succeed, an assault should be dynamic, assume control of the scene by overwhelming force and use surprise and confusion to catch the hostage-taker off guard and quickly incapacitate him.

The rescue team needs to dominate the place where the entry is being made and then quickly and accurately shoot the assailant. When the police began to smash the windows of the bus with sledgehammers and then continued to beat on the windows for more than a minute, Mendoza had ample time to kill his hostages had he wished to do so. The only thing that saved the hostages who did survive was Mendoza's apparent reluctance to kill them.

It appears that the intent of the police was to smash the rear window to provide an opening and then to continue smashing windows as they moved forward in an effort to draw Mendoza's attention to the front of the bus while the assault team entered from the rear. When the police did attempt to enter the bus using the roof of the police vehicle, however, it was a slow, clumsy attempt that was quickly repelled by Mendoza once he

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Police and SWAT members assault the tourist bus to rescue hostages at Rizal Park. – AP opened fire on the team. They did not enter the bus quickly, and their tepid approach caused them to lose the element of tactical surprise, denied them the opportunity to employ overwhelming force and allowed Mendoza time to think and react and begin firing.

There was no hope of the assault team's dominating the breaching point (or the rest of the bus) when they entered in such a half-hearted manner.

Then, instead of following through with the assault by storming the front door while Mendoza was firing at the police in the rear of the bus, the police withdrew and went back to the drawing board. Again, had Mendoza wanted to kill all his remaining hostages, the withdrawal of the assault team gave him ample time to do so.

More than an hour after the first

assault, the police again approached the bus and deployed tear gas grenades through the broken windows at the back of the bus. This flushed Mendoza toward the front of the bus and, after a brief exchange of gunfire, he was killed. There were some reports that he was killed by a police sniper, but we have seen no evidence to corroborate those reports, and it appears that he was shot from a relatively short range. Eight of the hostages survived the ordeal.

Granted, a bus does offer some challenges for a takedown operation, but is also a very common form of transportation throughout the world, and there have been numerous hostage situations involving buses in many different countries. Because of this, professional rescue teams frequently practice bus takedowns in much the same way they practice

building takedowns or aircraft takedowns.

It was very apparent that the Manila SWAT unit lacked the experience, equipment and training to conduct effective hostage-rescue operations, and we have seen this problem in other local police departments in the developing world.

We have not been able to learn why the police did not seek the help of a national-level hostage-rescue unit for the tactical aspect of this situation rather than leaving it to the Manila SWAT team to resolve. Given the prolonged duration of the situation and the location in the nation's capital, higher-level assets should have had time to deploy to the scene.

Unlike many cases of workplace violence, this one did not involve a disgruntled employee charging into his former office with guns blazing.

Instead, Mendoza embarked on a course of action that would, as it turned out, cause a great deal of public humiliation for his former employer.

Indeed, the head of the Manila police district tendered his resignation Aug 24. Four leaders of the Manila SWAT team were also placed on administrative leave.

In the past, some botched rescue attempts have spurred inquiries that have resulted in countries creating or dramatically improving their hostagerescue capabilities. For example, the failed rescue attempt in Munich in 1972 led to the creation of Germany's GSG-9, one of the most competent hostage-rescue teams in the world. It will be interesting to see if the Mendoza case spurs similar developments in the Philippines, a country facing a number of security threats. — Stratfor

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Friday, september 3, 2010

Gaga’s revolution sees female stars reach for the leather he video that accompanies Te Amo, the latest song from R&B megastar Rihanna, is in many respects an unremarkable effort. It’s rammed with your standard pop shorthand for decadent, intense, dangerousyet-picturesque passion.

Scene one: a mindlessly love interest drives a vintage car up the gravelled path of a grand and ghostly house. Rihanna waits within, clad only in a leotard, lace gloves and ankle boots. She writhes around a bit in frenzied anticipation. Scene two: love interest enters the room in which Rihanna writhes and approaches the singer - slinkily and with purpose. They dance together erotically, never quite touching.

Scene three: the couple cavort in silhouette; Rihanna plays the dominatrix, sings the song’s chorus into her lover’s ear, drags a dark-painted fingernail along the length of her lover’s jaw. So far, so predictable - apart from the fact that Rihanna’s love interest is played by Laetitia Casta, a 32year-old French supermodelturned-actress.

“Then she said: ‘Te amo’/Then she put her hand around my waist... “I said: ‘Te amo, wish somebody’d tell me what she said’/Don’t it mean ‘I love you’?” run the lyrics, which Rihanna sings over a loaded and sinister beat. YouTube was registering 9,125,000 previous views by the time I got to it - and, well, you can quite imagine why.

The summer of 2010 has been monopolised by videos just like this - glossily hedonistic, controversy-embracing, arch and incorporating at least one visual reference to sadomasochism.

Furthermore, they’ve all been the work of extremely high-profile female artists. In early June, Katy Perry shot streams of whipped cream from a red sequin bra and gyrated on a candyfloss cloud for her number one song, California Gurls. A week later, Beyoncé wore a basque, flexed a whip, smoked a fag and subverted the cliched ideal of the compliant 1950s housewife in the video for Why Don’t You Love Me? In July, Christina Aguilera wore designer fetish gear and reprised the pseudo-sapphic theme with one of her dancers in the video for Not Myself Tonight. And that’s just for starters.

Of course, pop music has always been racy that’s half its point. Pop videos have always reflected this, ramping up the racy aspect of songs: that’s their entire point. But still, what we are witnessing here is a very specific set of visuals and notions, which encompass a series of recurring themes and which mark a shift in culture.

Where did it come from? Lady Gaga, obviously. That unrelenting, ubiquitous, all-singing, all-pianoplaying, unapologetic, bleachedblond spectacular of a pop

T

concept. Gaga (as she’s popularly known) only entered the public consciousness 18 months ago when she released her first single, Just Dance, but she has come to inform and alter it profoundly.

Those videos, those themes, that subversive attractiveness is very much her shtick.

Not everyone thinks her reach is a good thing, mind. “Gaga has

R&B, 99% of which is soft pornography”. “You can’t watch a Lady Gaga video with a two-yearold,” he added.

You probably can’t. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t a lot better off for her, or that her videos aren’t important. To dismiss Lady Gaga - and her visual spawn - as salaciously, gratuitously, is to miss the point.

Big names including Rihanna, Beyonce and Katy Perry seek to emulate the singer’s subversive success launched every single woman in pop music into this crazy personality crisis,” male pop star Mika announced, sniffily, on Tuesday. “I don’t think men have felt it, I think it’s a female thing.

I’m looking forward to seeing what else is out there.” This, a week after record producer Mike Stock (previously of Stock Aitken Waterman) pronounced contemporary music videos “99%

To denounce them as yet another facet of our increasingly pornobsessed, casually misogynistic culture is just plain wrong.

The full force of Lady Gaga’s new aesthetic was unleashed in March, with the video for her song Telephone. Telephone is nine minutes 32 seconds-worth of camp joy. It’s a mini film, in which Lady Gaga gets sent to prison, flirts with female inmates (while

wearing a studded leather bikini and sunglasses fashioned from lit cigarettes), gets released into the care of her co-star BeyoncÈ (“You’ve been a bad girl, Gaga”) and whizzes off on a cross-country killing spree. Telephone is funny, lush, nuanced, clever. It makes a knowing virtue of blatant product placement and of referencing everything from the 1974 film Caged Heat, to Shania Twain’s video for That Don’t Impress Me Much, to Pulp Fiction and Thelma & Louise.

But it’s the undertones of the piece, the suggestions of a relationship between the fictionalised Beyoncé and the fictionalised Gaga, that really mark Telephone out. It crackles with naughtiness. It’s genuinely shocking to see the formerly very mainstream and very heterosexual Beyoncé so complicit in Lady Gaga’s transgressive vision.

Lady Gaga built on the Telephone moment by posing for the cover of the April issue of Britain’s Q magazine, clad in studded skin-tight trousers and pointy fingered leather gloves. In June she released her single Alejandro; in the video she played further with ideas of identity and dominance, toying with the pale bodies and unknowable affections of legions of androgynous male

dancers. (She also incorporated a series of homages to Madonna’s finest visual moments within the mix.)

So no, Mike Stock, you wouldn’t necessarily want to watch Lady Gaga videos, or leaf through her media coverage, in the company of a two-year-old. I wouldn’t want to watch it with a 13-year-old, either. But I really wouldn’t mind if that 13-year-old was watching it behind my back.

Lady Gaga’s video version is extraordinary from an aesthetic perspective. She makes fashion statements out of gimp masks and gaffer tape, and orgies of vast synchronised dance segments.

She turns racy into camp theatre and the end result is challenging and alarming and powerful and exciting. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have been revisited by so many other singers.

But it’s also extraordinary from a political perspective. Lady Gaga presents an extremely empowered vision of womanhood. Hers is a million miles away from the cynical, soulless titillation of your average Britney Spears video; of ...Baby One More Time, say (in which Spears, who was 17, dressed as a schoolgirl and beseeched whoever to “Hit me, baby, one more time...”). It’s the opposite of the sexiness offered in most R&B and hip-hop videos, in which unnamed, interchangeable bikini-clad models dance for the slathering delectation of the male recording artists. Because men dance for Lady Gaga.

Gaga owns this version of sexiness and she’s not asking you to approve it. She’s a complete pop icon - but she’s no pin-up. She hasn’t bothered constructing a version of herself designed to please a straight male audience.

Lady Gaga doesn’t do pretty, or available, or submissive, or obviously glamorous. Instead she does scary, she does theatrical, she does brave. Her costume choices - though often revealing, and sometimes not entirely complete; she famously chose to go on stage at Glastonbury in 2009 without any pants - are too fiercely directional to appeal to most men. There is something Bowie, something early Madonnaesque about the way Lady Gaga wields herself. Something unapologetic, unflinching, and shameless in the very best sense.

As for Mika’s complaint that Lady Gaga is messing with the minds and the brands of female artists - oh, she’s just raising the bar, isn’t she? Furthermore, I know I’d much rather see Rihanna cavorting with Laetitia Casta than I would watch her sing the bitter chorus on Eminem’s Love The Way You Lie, an uncomfortable paean to a relationship defined by domestic abuse (number one at the time of writing). The more Lady Gagareferencing works in circulation, the better. — Guardian

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Friday, september 3, 2010

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As the son of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose, Tony Penrose grew up surrounded by famous artists.

Here, he talks about the day he bit Picasso during a game - and how he was bitten back

Tony Penrose: ‘With Picasso, the rule book was torn up’ F

arley Farm House in Sussex has an 18th-century, selfeffacing, red-brick facade - it is in no hurry to give its extraordinary history away. I arrive early and tiptoe around the side, hoping to spy unobserved. Its garden is full of surreal sculptures - for this was home to renowned American photo-journalist Lee Miller and her husband, surrealist painter Roland Penrose, and it was here that many artists - Max Ernst, Joan Mir?, Man Ray, Henry Moore and Picasso gathered. The sculptures stand out like improbable shrubs. I start towards them but - too late - I have been spotted. Antony Penrose, his daughter, Ami, and grandson, Tarik, greet me. Three generations of Penrose/Miller descendants. Antony - Tony to all - is my reason for being here. For he has written a beautiful book for children (and their parents) about his childhood friendship, in this house, with Picasso.

Filled with his mother’s photographs and Picasso’s artwork, it is a gem. It is called The Boy Who Bit Picasso - an unusual boast, but Tony is that boy and Picasso bit back.

He exclaimed: “ Pensez! C’est le premier anglais que j’ai jamais mordu! “ (“It is the first Englishman I have ever bitten.”) But it was not to be the end of their friendship. Far from it: Tony was “bitten” by Picasso in every sense.

Picasso visited Farley Farm in 1950 and would once have stood - as I do now - at the farmhouse’s back door to get his bearings. The address here is Muddles Green -and it sums up today’s family atmosphere perfectly. But I need to be clear. “What am I looking at?” I wonder. Tony replies: “So glad you

asked” and directs my gaze to the distantly discernible outline of the Long Man of Wilmington, a chalk giant standing 227 feet tall on Windover Hill, on the South Downs, and holding two walking sticks in his effete grip. He warmed the hearts of Tony’s parents when they first moved here in 1949. And he entertained Picasso, who noted the Long Man’s lack of private parts and pronounced him “prudish”.

Tony leads the way inside, to a formal dining room. I ask him straight away: how would it be were Picasso to join us for tea? “There was a radiance to Picasso - a warmth and inquisitiveness. He was tremendously active, not a spectator.

And yet he had moments of stillness.

He could exist in the moment. He was incapable of selfconsciousness.”

Lee Miller’s photos, taken at Farley Farm, show Picasso as stocky but chic, in a wonderful herringbone tweed suit and snug beret. He smelled, Tony recalls, of cologne and French tobacco. His expression was playful.

And he was happy to be a playmate a charging bull to Tony’s three-yearold matador (even when the matador’s teeth were sharp). A particularly sweet picture shows Tony sitting on the great man’s knee and staring, with composure, deep into his eyes. Picasso stares benignly back.

“What was wonderful was that, with Picasso, the normal rule book was torn up.” Tony celebrated in particular - and still does - Picasso’s love of animals. As a little boy, he found Picasso’s pet goat, Esmeralda, “seriously impressive” because (as he observed on return visits to France) she was allowed to have the

run of Picasso’s sitting room and was fed the choicest titbits. To Tony’s delight, Picasso was not bothered by Esmeralda’s lack of house training.

Miller was tickled pink by the rapport between Picasso and her only child. In a piece in the November 1951 issue of Vogue, celebrating Picasso’s 70th birthday, she wrote about Tony’s Picasso’s obsession. She explained he wore “a beret and St Tropez sandals” in homage to his “hero” and that his defence for “all odd behaviour” was: “That’s the way they do it in France - just like Picasso.” Tony’s preferred method of eating ice-cream was to stand up, dish in hand, with his back to the table: “Just like Picasso”, who, as Miller confided, had more grown-up reasons for doing the same thing - the better to see “pretty girls”.

The prettiest girl of all was Lee Miller herself. Tony believes they are likely to have met first in Paris when Miller was hanging out with Man Ray and Paul Eluard. Picasso admired her - it would have been extraordinary if he hadn’t. Her beauty was classic, unambiguous.

She was tagged, in her youth, as one of the five most beautiful women in the world. In pictures taken by surrealist photographer Man Ray her lover between 1929 and 1932 she has that look essential to the femme fatale of inwardness, otherness and melancholy. Picasso painted six portraits of her and entitled one Lee Miller ‡ l’Arlesienne.

Tony explains: “The women from Arles were femmes fatales, so Picasso’s compliment came with a sting.” As a child, he was mystified

by the painting - the peculiar green lips, like twin moustaches, and the mad eyes. But now he enthuses about Picasso’s decision to give his mother a mustard complexion: “The yellow was Picasso’s acknowledgement of her warmth as a personality and brilliant intellect.”

Lee loved it. “He has got my smile,” she said.

Lee died in 1977 but is still present in Tony’s face. It is the mildest of hauntings (the forehead, the chin), but I find it moving. Tall, lean and bespectacled, he looks relaxed in his faded blue cotton shirt.

But I don’t think I am imagining his vulnerability. I find him charming: shy - yet easy to talk to - voluble and funny once he gets going. One thing seems certain: his life is more enjoyable now as custodian of his parents’ house (art gallery, museum, home to the Lee Miller archive and intermittently open to the public) than it was during his childhood, before he was custodian of anything.

Roland knew his son was unhappy at school but, although sorry, did nothing about it. Picasso thought Tony’s unhappiness “terrible” and did the only thing he could: he dashed off a drawing of a bull, a dancer with a flute, a listening centaur and wrote “Pour Tony” at the top (in memory, maybe, of their bullish games 10 years earlier).

“The drawing has cheered me up ever since,” Tony says. What made him unhappy? “I was severely dyslexic. At school, they called me thick, stupid, unco-operative. I dug my heels in and said, ‘OK, I am thick.’” He was moved to a strict London crammer: “I disliked being in London - it was discomfiting. I am a country boy. And I was forced to

live in close proximity with my mother and that was really difficult.”

Tony is the author of The Lives of Lee Miller, a biography in which he always refers to himself, disconcertingly, in the third person.

Similarly, when Tony talks about his mother, he refers to her as “Lee” or even “Lee Miller” and this produces a chilly frisson, a sense that, even now, it is most comfortable to keep her at a distance. What was she like as a mother? “In a word - hopeless.

The more I look back, the more astonished I am she ever did it. She was a hopeless mum. She had no natural maternal instincts. ‘Give me a baby and I’ll cook it,’ she used to say.” I don’t know whether to laugh.

How much was beauty to blame?

How much did it shape her life?

“Beauty was Lee’s entree.” And at first, it had fairy-tale power. In 1927, as a young woman on a Manhattan street, Lee narrowly escaped death, stepping in front of a car. A bystander pulled her back, she fell into his arms. He was CondÈ Nast, founder of the magazine empire, and he turned his swooning pedestrian into a sensation - a Vogue cover girl.

“Lee was realistic about beauty.

Some people say she buried it, lacerated it, drank it away. But I don’t think she was troubled by the loss of it. It was her brain that worked hardest for her, with its rapid-fire, New York wit.” Yet, in later life, she suffered clinical depression and posttraumatic stress after her years as Vogue’s war correspondent (covering the London Blitz, the liberation of Paris and the concentration camps at Dachau and Buchenwald - she was one of the first to produce photographic evidence of the Holocaust). — Guardian

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yester to

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

C R O S S W O R D

7 1

Friday, September 3, 2010

ACROSS 1. A light touch or stroke.

4. United States writer of poems and plays about racial conflict (born in 1934).

10. One millionth of a gram.

13. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.

14. A port city in southwestern Iran.

15. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

16. Relating to or characteristic of or occurring in the air.

17. A long backless sofa (usually with pillows against a wall).

19. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.

21. An informal term for a father.

22. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism.

23. A member of a Turkic people of Uzbekistan and neighboring areas.

25. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

27. A silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite.

29. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.

30. Muslims collectively and their civilization.

34. Any of several plants of the genus Manihot having fleshy roots yielding a nutritious starch.

36. At a great distance in time or space or degree.

38. A bloody and prolonged operation in which American marines landed and defeated Japanese defenders (February and March 1945).

39. An expression of greeting.

40. (Babylonian) God of wisdom and agriculture and patron of scribes and schools.

42. An esoteric or occult matter that is traditionally secret.

43. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element.

44. (computer science) A coding system that incorporates extra parity bits in order to detect errors.

46. The United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation.

47. A member of a seafaring group of North American Indians who lived on the Pacific coast of British Columbia and southwestern Alaska.

52. A family of fish in the order Zeomorphi.

57. (Akkadian) Father of the gods and consort of Tiamat.

58. A bar or bars of rolled steel making a track along which vehicles can roll.

61. American prizefighter who won the world heavyweight championship three times (born in 1942).

62. A roll of photographic film holding a series of frames to be projected by a movie projector.

63. A Nilotic language.

64. Thigh of a hog (usually smoked).

65. Detected by instinct or inference rather than by recognized perceptual cues.

66. An anti-TNF compound (trade name Arava) that is given orally.

67. A benevolent aspect of Devi.

DOWN 1. No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life.

2. The capital of Western Samoa.

3. Found along western Atlantic coast.

4. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

5. Dwell (archaic).

6. (usually plural) A destructive action.

7. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.

8. Valuable fiber plant of East Indies now widespread in cultivation.

9. An associate degree in nursing.

10. A member of the Siouan people formerly living in the Missouri river valley in NE Nebraska.

11. Burrowing marine mollusk living on sand or mud.

12. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

18. By bad luck.

20. An association of nations dedicated to economic and political cooperation in southeastern Asia.

24. A state in southwestern Germany famous for its beer.

26. English theoretical physicist who applied relativity theory to quantum mechanics and predicted the existence of antimatter and the positron (1902-1984).

28. Concerning those not members of the clergy.

31. The dynasty that ruled much of Manchuria and northeastern China from 947 to 1125.

32. A pointed tool for marking surfaces or for punching small holes.

33. Extinct flightless bird of New Zealand.

35. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

37. Harsh or corrosive in tone.

41. Fiddler crabs.

43. A small cake leavened with yeast.

45. An edge tool with a flat steel blade with a cutting edge v 1.

48. (of animals) Fully developed.

49. The deep vascular inner layer of the skin.

50. A member of a formerly tribal people now living in south central India.

51. (Jungian psychology) The inner self (not the external persona) that is in touch with the unconscious.

53. A fencing sword similar to a foil but with a heavier blade.

54. A city in Tuscany.

55. The largest continent with 60% of the earth's population.

56. A demon who swallows the sun causing eclipses.

59. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

60. A room equipped with toilet facilities.

Yesterday’s Solution

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Friday, September 3, 2010

COUNTRY CODES

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY Aries (March 21-April 19) In an old comedy sketch called “One Leg Too Few,” a one-legged man comes in to a casting agent's office to audition for the part of Tarzan in an upcoming show. The agent is as diplomatic as he can be given the fact that the role would best be played by a strapping young man with exceptional running and leaping skills. “It's possible that no two-legged men will apply,” the agent tells the applicant, “in which case you could get the part.” Don't be like the one-legged man in this story, Aries. While I usually encourage you to think big and dream of accomplishing amazing feats, this is one time when you should respect your limitations.

Libra (September 23-October 22) Jack Mytton was a famous 19th-century eccentric whose wealth and privilege often shielded him from the consequences of his odd behavior.

One of his less successful adventures came on a night when he got a bad case of the hiccups.

Thinking he could scare himself into being cured, he set fire to his pajamas. In the ensuing mayhem, his hiccups disappeared but he burned himself. I bring this to your attention, Libra, in the hope it will dissuade you from attacking a small problem in a way that causes a bigger problem. For now it's better to endure a slight inconvenience. Don't seek a quick fix that causes a complicated mess.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) As I was meditating on your horoscope for this week, a song popped into my head: Marvin Gaye's “Sexual Healing.” I instantly knew it was a message from my unconscious, meant to be delivered to your unconscious -a perfect action plan for you to pursue in order to be in maximum alignment with the astrological omens.

I encourage you to come up with your own interpretation of what “sexual healing” means for you, maybe even write your own lyrics. If you'd like to listen to the original for inspiration. You don't necessarily need a partner to conjure up the cure.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) In accordance with the astrological omens, Scorpio, I will ask you to make everything wetter; to be the personification of fluidity.

Where there is drought, use your magic to bring the rain. If you're stuck in a dynamic that is parched and barren, add moisture and tenderness. Be ingenious, not rash, as you stir up dormant feelings in people you care about. Remind those who are high and dry about the river that runs through them. (A good way to do that is to reveal the river that runs through you.)

Gemini (May 21-June 20) You probably get emails that close like this: “Sent from my iPhone.”

Maybe you even deliver emails like that yourself. Keep that detail in mind while I tell you the dream I had last night. In the dream, all of my Gemini friends had sent me poignant emails. Every one of them said something like, “I've got to get back to where I started from” or “There's something really important that I've got to do, but I can't remember what it is” or “I hear a voice calling my name but I don't know who it is or where it's coming from.” And each of their emails ended like this: “Sent from my iSoul.” I suspect my dream is in perfect accordance with your astrological omens, Gemini. It's time to go home, in every sense of the word.

Sagittarius (November 22December 21) Gwyneth Paltrow is the most perfect person alive, said Gawker.com.

From a certain perspective, I suppose it's possible to award her that title. She's beautiful, rich, famous, and in good shape. She's a talented actress and published author. Without denying that Gwyneth is a gem, however, I must say that my standards of perfection are different.

Are you doing the work you love? Are you engaged in ongoing efforts to transform your darkness? Do you practice compassion with wit and style? Are you saving the world in some way?

Are you skilled at taking care of yourself? Those are my primary measures. What are yours, Sagittarius? It's an excellent time to define your ideal human.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) My name was “Robbie” from birth till seventh grade. But as my adolescent hormones began to kick in, I decided I needed a more virile stature. My name became the punchier, sleeker “Rob.” But with every year that passes, I find myself heading back in the direction of “Robbie.” The clever severity of my youth yearns to meld with the buoyant tenderness I've been cultivating the past decade. I want my paradoxes to harmonize -- my blithe feminine qualities to cooperate with my aggressive masculine side, my bright-eyed innocence to synergize with my restless probing. So you can call me “Robbie” if you like, or “Rob,” or sometimes one and sometimes the other. Isn't it time for you, too, my fellow Cancerian, to circle back and reclaim an early part of you that got lost along the way?

Leo (July 23-August 22) The Clash was a lef twing punk band that launched its career in 1976. With its dissident lyrics and experimental music, it aspired to make an impact on political attitudes. But then one of its songs, “Rock the Casbah,” got so popular that college fraternity parties were playing it as feel-good dance music. That peeved the Clash's lead singer Joe Strummer, born under the sign of Leo. He didn't want his revolutionary anthems to be used as vulgar entertainment by bourgeois kids. I sympathize with his purity, but I don't advocate that approach for you. For now, relinquish control of your offerings. Let people use them the way they want to.

Virgo (August 23-September 22) The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer; it's that there are so many answers,” said folklorist Ruth Benedict.

That's always true, of course, but it's especially apropos for you right now.

You're teeming with viable possibilities.

There are so many decent ideas eddying in your vicinity that you may be hard-pressed to pick out just a couple to give your power to. My advice: Let them all swarm and swirl for a few more days, then go with the ones that you feel will last the longest.

Capricorn (December 22January 19) In an old Star Trek episode, a 24th-century starship captain is weighed down by a knotty problem about how to deal with two of her enemies who are at war with each other. Unable to come up with a viable solution, she retreats to the holodeck, where virtual reality technology can create a convincingly real rendition of any desired scene. Where does she go for advice? She seeks out Leonardo da Vinci in his 16th-century studio. Once she has outlined her dilemma, Leonardo offers his counsel: “When one's imagination cannot provide an answer, one must turn to a greater imagination.”

This is my advice to you right now, Capricorn.

Aquarius (January 20February 18) Seth GrahameSmith rewrote Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. He kept 85 percent of her material, but also added a big dose of “ultraviolent zombie mayhem,” creating a new story, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In his version, Austen's tale is expanded and altered by the previously unrevealed activities of zombies. I urge you to follow Grahame-Smith's lead, Aquarius. Take some original creation you really like, and add a shot of your own unique approach to generate a completely new thing.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Everyone alive should see the musical comedy “I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.” At the very least, we should all meditate regularly on the play's title, using it as a self-mocking mantra that dissuades us from committing the folly it describes. How better to serve the health of our relationships than by withdrawing the projections we superimpose on people, thereby allowing them to be themselves? Right now you're in special need of honoring this wisdom, Pisces. If you feel the itch to tell friends and loved ones that they should be different from how they actually are, stop and ask yourself whether maybe you should transform yourself instead.

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antiga Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Cyprus (Northern) Czech Republic Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England (UK) Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Holland (Netherlands) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Ibiza (Spain) Iceland India Indian Ocean Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait

0093 00355 00213 00376 00244 001264 001268 0054 00374 0061 0043 001242 00973 00880 001246 00375 0032 00501 00229 001441 00975 00591 00387 00267 0055 00673 00359 00226 00257 00855 00237 001 00238 001345 00236 00235 0056 0086 0057 00269 00242 00682 00506 00385 0053 00357 0090392 00420 0045 00246 00253 001767 001809 00593 0020 00503 0044 00240 00291 00372 00251 00500 00298 00679 00358 0033 00594 00689 00241 00220 00995 0049 00233 00350 0030 00299 001473 00590 001671 00502 00224 00592 00509 0031 00504 00852 0036 0034 00354 0091 00873 0062 0098 00964 00353 0039 00225 001876 0081 00962 007 00254 00686 00965

Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Majorca Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nepal Netherlands (Holland) Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Nigar Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Ireland (UK) North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Saint Pierre Saint Vincent Samoa US Samoa West San Marino Sao Tone Saudi Arabia Scotland (UK) Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Toga Tonga Tokelau Trinidad Tunisia Turkey Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay

00996 00856 00371 00961 00231 00218 00370 00352 00853 00389 00261 0034 00265 0060 00960 00223 00356 00692 00596 00222 00230 00269 0052 00691 00373 00377 00976 001664 00212 00258 0095 00264 00977 0031 00599 00687 0064 00505 00227 00234 00683 00672 0044 00850 0047 00968 0092 00680 00507 00675 00595 0051 0063 0048 00351 001787 00974 0040 007 00250 00290 001869 001758 00508 001784 00684 00685 00378 00239 00966 0044 00221 00284 00232 0065 00421 00386 00677 00252 0027 0082 0034 0094 00249 00597 00268 0046 0041 00963 00886 00255 0066 00228 00676 00690 001868 00216 0090 00688 00256 00380 00976 0044 00598

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Friday, september 3, 2010

Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with Movenpick Hotels

A

s the holy month of Ramadan comes to an end, a colorful celebration awaits you with amazing Eid Al-Fitr offers.

Movenpick Hotel & Resort AlBida’a Kuwait invites you to celebrate this blessed occasion midst it’s welcoming rooms and facilities. Enjoy a city break at the Movenpick Hotel & Resort Al-

Free IPC course

T

ake this opportunity to learn and improve your Arabic skills. The Women Section of Islam Presentation Committee will be conducting free Arabic Language Course for non-Arab ladies commencing from October 3, 2010. Offers in basic and advance level and classes are available during weekdays and weekends.

Islamic subjects and Quran classes are also offered in different languages. Classes are offered only once a week, Register now! For more information: Rawdab-2251 225797290278; Salmiya25733263-97533263; Khaitan-24730137; 99285459; Mangaf 23723002; Jahra24558830-97533948.

Bida’a during Eid and take advantage of the special rooms offer starting from KD59 only +10 percent service charge.

This special offer is per room per night both single and double occupancy. While at the hotel you can relax in your cozy room, feast upon our delicious buffet breakfast which is included, unwind by the

pool. “This will be the ideal getaway for consumers searching for a weekend break during the Eid holidays” said Gary Moran, General Manager.

Tantalize your taste buds with our diverse sumptuous buffets ranging from the colorful freshly caught seafood buffet, the delicious cuts prepared at our live cooking

station and the rich assortment of international buffets with gourmet choices followed by mouth-watering selection of Arabic sweets and the tempting crepe corner. Your children also can enjoy the spirit and joy of Eid with our selection of exciting activities such as face painting, thrilling magic shows, to mention just few of the various

surprises awaiting them. Both lunch and dinner are priced at KD12.500 and served from 12:30 pm until 4:30 pm and from 7:00 pm until midnight respectively (prices are per person and subject to 10 percent service charge). “We are happy to offer a tantalizing Eid buffet which will cater to all tastes,” said Gary Moran, General Manager.

Announcements Sept 17 Onam Fest 2010: ‘Vanithavedi Kuwait’ a leading women’s association will be celebrating Onam on Friday, Sept 17, 2010, from 9 am - 6 pm at the Indian Community School, Khaitan Branch, the program named as ‘OnamFest 2010’ will have the public meeting followed by various cultural programs. The traditional Onasadya will be served. For the successful conduct of Onam Fest 2010, a program committee has been formed. Dr Vasanthy Nair (general convenor), Valsamma George, Dr Mary (Joint Convenors), Prasanna Ramabhadran (Arts convenor), Tolly Prakash (Food convenor), Shiny Ajith (Raffle convenor), Sumathy Babu (Souvenir convenor), Valsa Sam (Publicity convenor), Syamala Narayanan, (Reception convenor), Sharlette Albert (Volunteer captain). For more details, contact: 24342807, 66428433, 66596625, 24331598.

Theater & Music All level music classes: ‘Treasure of Talents’ (est in 1992) music education program invites all level music classes on piano, theory of music, vocal, flute. Academic Level teachers help prepare for international exams, children concerts, yearly ‘Treasure of Talents’ Festival and music competitions.

Contact Prof Cezary, Tel. 25320427, 66549009 of Ms Yasmeene - Berlitz Institute

Tel: 22542212. 22512533 or email: treasureoftalents@yahoo.com treasureoftalents@hotmail.com ✦✦✦ Call to classical music lovers: Are you a lover of music? Would you like to promote the traditional Indian classical music in Kuwait? If your answer is in the affirmative, please write ton more details to music_karnatic@yahoo.co. in (that is, music underscore karnatic) with your contact details or call 7978286.

SEPT 24 NSS Onam: Nair Service Society (NSS), Kuwait will celebrate Onam on Sept 24, at Cambridge School, Mangaf. South Indian film star and acclaimed dancer Lakshmi Gopalaswamy will perform during the function. Ajai Malhotra, Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, will be the chief guest at the Onam celebration on September 24, which will be followed by a full day variety entertainment program depicting the rich heritage and art forms of Kerala. Muraleekrishnan P, President of Nair Service Society, Kuwait (NSS Kuwait) will preside over the function.The Ona-Sadhya (Onam Feast) will be served in the traditional Kerala style on banana leaf on September 24. Nair Service

Society (NSS) Kuwait, is one of the largest Socio-Cultural Organization in Kuwait formed in year 2001 and now has more than 3000 Indians as members. For more information, contact Anish Nair, NSS Kuwait 9969-1431.

OCT 21 Rendezvous 2010: The Kuwait Chapter of the St. Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA KUWAIT) have announced that “Rendezvous” their hallmark event will be conducted on 21st October at Asia Asia Restaurant, Souk Al Watiya, Kuwait City from 8 pm onwards. This year, SACAA Kuwait celebrates five years of its existence in Kuwait. SACAA-Kuwait has been synonymous with various fund raising initiatives through which they consistently supported various needs of their Alma Mater and its students back in Mangalore, India.

Through Rendezvous-2010, SACAA-Kuwait intends to help generate funds for the Poor Students Fund of St. Aloysius institutions where numerous needy students look forward to assistance to subsidize their costs.

SACAA Kuwait calls upon all Aloysians, their families and also like minded people to join this noble cause and help make life a little better for those needy students back home.

For entry passes and further information, kindly contact - 66731828, 66746425, 66181041, 94093275, 66699857, 66091962.

Congratulations earty congratulations to Deacon Prince Varghese who will be ordained as priest of the Mar Thoma Church today at NECK, Kuwait City. Loving greetings from friends and relatives, Sam, Leelamma, Joel, and Jovina.

H

Friday, september 3, 2010

what's on

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Staff dinner at KNES

T

he chairman and the director of Kuwait National English School in Hawally, held the Annual Staff Dinner. The event has been always very popular with both new and returning staff as it offers a great opportunity to get to know one another. Before and after the dinner many members of staff entertained their colleagues with their musical talents and oratory skills.

Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr at Radisson Blu Hotel

T

he Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait has special Eid Al-Fitr offer valid from September 9 to 18, 2010. The Eid offer includes comfortable stay in a single/double room, inclusive of breakfast, choice of dining in the exclusive Radisson Blu restaurants that will feature customary Arabic delicacies as well as international flavors with live cooking station, delightful Arabic sweets accompanied by traditional drinks and free access to the Viking Club. Its exclusive sport, leisure and relaxation facilities will add extra delight to the stay.

So head towards Radisson Blu Hotel this festive season, enjoy the enticing offers in a delightful atmosphere of peace, privacy and comfort and make your family’s Eid holidays a memorable event.

To find out the special Eid rates and to make your stay in Kuwait a memorable one, please call the Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait on 25673000.

The management and staff of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait extend its warmest Eid Al-Fitr greetings.

CLASSIFIEDS

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Friday, September 3, 2010

FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

IN CASE YOU ARE NOT TRAVELLING, YOUR PROPER CANCELLATION OF BOOKINGS WILL HELP OTHER PASSENGERS TO USE SEATS. Arrival Flights on Friday 03/09/2010 Airlines Flt Route Wataniya Airways 188 Bahrain Tunis Air 327 Tunis/Dubai Kuwait 544 Cairo Gulf Air 211 Bahrain Pakistan 215 Karachi Turkish 772 Istanbul Ethiopian 620 Addis Ababa Air Arabia Egypt 551 Alexandria Egypt Air 614 Cairo DHL 370 Bahrain Emirates 853 Dubai Etihad 305 Abu Dhabi Qatari 138 Doha Jazeera 461 Damascus Air France 6770 Paris Jazeera 503 Luxor Jazeera 527 Alexandria British 157 London Kuwait 416 Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur Kuwait 206 Islamabad Kuwait 302 Mumbai Kuwait 676 Dubai Kuwait 352 Cochin Kuwait 286 Chittagong Kuwait 284 Dhaka Kuwait 362 Colombo Emirates 855 Dubai Arabia 121 Sharjah Qatari 132 Doha Etihad 301 Abu Dhabi Iran Air 619 Lar Gulf Air 213 Bahrain Middle East 404 Beirut Wataniya Airways 102 Dubai Yemenia 825 Sanaa Gulf Air 219 Bahrain Egypt Air 610 Cairo Kuwait 672 Dubai United 982 Washington DC Dulles Jordanian 800 Amman Fly Dubai 057 Dubai Jazeera 257 Beirut Kuwait 552 Damascus Kuwait 744 Dammam Qatari 134 Doha Kuwait 546 Alexandria Mihin 403 Colombo/Dubai Jazeera 173 Dubai Etihad 303 Abu Dhabi Emirates 857 Dubai Gulf Air 215 Bahrain Wataniya Airways 402 Beirut Saudia 510 Riyadh Jazeera 457 Damsacus Jazeera 239 Amman Arabia 125 Sharjah Kuwait 774 Riyadh Jazeera 367 Deirezzor SriLankan 227 Colombo/Dubai Wataniya Airways 304 Cairo

Time 00:30 00:35 00:50 01:05 01:15 01:15 01:45 02:00 02:05 02:15 02:25 02:55 03:20 05:30 04:50 05:50 06:20 06:30 06:35 07:15 07:50 08:00 08:05 08:05 08:10 08:20 08:25 08:40 09:00 09:25 10:40 10:45 10:50 11:05 12:00 12:50 12:55 13:15 13:35 13:35 13:50 14:05 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:30 16:40 16:05 16:50 16:55 17:15 17:15 17:20 17:35 17:40 17:40 17:45 17:55 18:00 18:35

Kuwait Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Indian Kuwait Oman Air Middle East Jet A/L Saudia Rovos Kuwait DHL Gulf Air Jazeera Qatari United Emirates Jazeera Lufthansa Jazeera Egypt Air Shaheen Air KLM Egypt Air

166 Paris/Rome 106 Dubai 502 Beirut 542 Cairo 618 Doha 497 Riyadh 614 Bahrain 674 Dubai 102 New Yokr/London 575 Chennai/Goa 562 Amman 647 Muscat 402 Beirut 572 Mumbai 506 Jeddah 081 Baghdad 786 Jeddah 372 Bahrain 217 Bahrain 459 Damascus 136 Doha 981 Bahrain 859 Dubai 313 Doha 636 Frankfurt 185 Dubai 612 Cairo 441 Lahore/Karachi 0447 Amsterdam/Bahrain 606 Luxor

Departure Flights on Friday 03/09/2010 Airlines Flt Route Egypt Air 607 Luxor India Express 390 Mangalore/Kozhikode Bangladesh 044 Dhaka Lufthansa 637 Frankfurt Indian 982 Ahmadabad/Hyderabad/Chennai Pakistan 206 Lahore Tunis Air 328 Tunis Turkish 773 Istanbul Pakistan 216 Karachi Ethiopian 620 Bahrain/Addis Ababa Air Arabia Egypt 552 Alexandria Egypt Air 615 Cairo DHL 371 Bahrain Emirates 854 Dubai Etihad 306 Abu Dhabi Qatari 139 Doha Wataniya Airways 101 Dubai Air France 6770 Dubai/Hong Kong Gulf Air 212 Bahrain Jazeera 256 Beirut British 156 London Kuwait 545 Alexandria Kuwait 177 Frankfurt/Geneva Kuwait 671 Dubai Kuwait 117 New York Kuwait 551 Damascus Arabia 122 Sharjah Emirates 856 Dubai Qatari 133 Doha

18:40 18:45 18:50 18:50 19:00 19:00 19:20 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:40 20:15 20:10 20:30 20:35 20:30 20:50 21:00 21:05 21:15 21:35 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:30 22:40 22:55 23:00 23:10 23:15

Time 00:15 00:25 00:15 00:50 01:05 01:10 01:25 02:15 02:30 04:15 02:40 03:05 03:15 03:45 04:00 05:00 06:50 05:15 07:45 08:05 08:25 08:35 08:55 09:00 10:00 09:10 09:20 09:40 10:00

Etihad Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Iran Air Middle East Jazeera Wataniya Airways Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Jazeera Kuwait Kuwait Yemenia Gulf Air Egypt Air Kuwait Wataniya Airways Jordanian Kuwait Fly Dubai United Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Jazeera Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Rovos Etihad Mihin Gulf Air Emirates Arabia Saudia SriLankan Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Oman Air Middle East Jet A/W Wataniya Airways Gulf Air Saudia DHL Kuwait Jazeera Qatari Kuwait Kuwait Emirates Jazeera Jazeera United Jazeera Kuwait Egypt Air

302 401 214 618 405 172 303 743 541 456 238 366 103 501 825 220 611 773 105 801 561 058 982 673 785 617 496 458 135 613 082 304 404 216 858 126 511 228 283 361 343 331 648 403 571 187 218 507 373 675 612 137 203 301 860 526 636 981 502 411 613

Abu Dhabi Beirut Bahrain Lar Beirut Dubai Cairo Dammam Cairo Damascus Amman Deirezzor London Beirut Doha/Sanaa Bahrain Cairo Riyadh Dubai Amman Amman Dubai Bahrain Dubai Jeddah Doha Riyadh Damascus Doha Bahrain Baghdad Abu Dhabi Dubai/Colombo Bahrain Dubai Sharjah Riyadh Dubai/Colombo Dhaka Colombo Chennai Trivandrum Muscat Beirut Mumbai Bahrain Bahrain Jeddah Bahrain Dubai Lahore Doha Lahore Mumbai Dubai Alexandria Aleppo Washington DC Dulles Luxor Bangkok/Manila Cairo

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

10:05 11:35 11:35 11:40 11:50 11:55 11:50 11:55 12:00 12:05 12:10 12:15 12:30 13:00 13:00 13:55 13:55 14:30 14:30 14:30 14:35 14:35 14:50 15:10 15:20 15:35 15:35 15:50 16:20 16:20 17:00 17:35 17:40 18:05 18:05 18:20 18:35 19:10 20:00 20:20 21:00 21:00 21:15 21:20 21:30 21:35 21:55 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:25 22:35 22:40 22:45 23:10 23:20 23:35 23:40 23:40 23:40 23:55

CLASSIFIEDS

Friday, September 3, 2010

ACCOMMODATION Sharing accommodation is available in a C-A/C flat for decent family or working ladies at Jabriya area 10, near Jabriya Indian school. Please contact Mob: 99300513. (C 2636) Furnished sharing accommodation available for small family, nonsmoking executive bachelor, couples to share with Keralite family in a two bed room flat near Abbassiya super market with immediate effect. Tel: 97647066. (C 2637) 2-9-2010 Khaitan - sharing room / bed space available for decent Indian bachelor in C-A/C new building, beside main road and bus stop, near police station round about. Contact: 97523316 / 24745162. (C 2635) 1-9-2010 Sharing accommodation for executive bachelor, families or ladies with 2 BH and C-A/C apartment.

(Indians Only) Ph: 66625901 / 24716975. (C 2629) 31-8-2010 Single room available for an Indian family or a bachelor at Salmiya, Amman street, opp. Al-Rashid hospital. Contact: 66332653.

(C 2621)

Sharing accommodation available for a decent working lady in Abbassiya with Keralite family. Cont: 66013882. (C 2625) Furnished sharing room available with all facilities in a D / B, Window A/C, apartment near Garden Circle (Salmiya). Rent KD 80 only. Interested please contact: 99787621. (C 2623) Sharing accommodation available for single decent bachelor, non smoking, to share with family.

Opposite to Al-Rashid hospital, Shara Amman, Salmiya. Tel: 25651678.

Mob: 66232356 / 65717906. (C 2626) 29-8-2010

Page 49

66047733. (C 2617)

MATRIMONIAL Household furniture for sale, fridge, cooking range, pressure cooker-cutlery items, big cupboard, single beds, dressing table, side tables, TV with stand, sofa set, VCR, computer with table + printer etc. all items 2yrs old sparingly used.

Contact Tel: 66764062.

(C 2615) 27-8-2010 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan dark green van for sale, run 221000 km, very good condition. Call: 99162920.

(C 2612) 2009 Toyota Corolla 1.8 color sky blue, C.D, ELE. folding mirror, wood décor and sensor, excellent condition, 44000 km, Price KD 3850.

Contact: 66211779. (C 2613)

FOR SALE

Mangalorean RC parents invite proposals for their daughter MBBS, MD working MOH, 28 yrs, 5í3” from RC bachelor doctors, CA, Engineers, Accountants, Post-graduates. Contact: dellrose6@gmail.com (C 2630) 2-9-2010 Parents from Ernakulam Dist. invite proposals for daughter 26/154, Optometrist working in MOH, Kuwait (Vacation in October) from qualified

Marthoma / Orthodox / Jacobite boys preferably working in Kuwait. Cont: Email: babu.bhavan@gmail.com (C 2631) Proposals invited for well educated (B-Tech with MBA) Nair girl 25 years, 160cm, 54kg, slim, fair and working in Kuwait, from handsome Nair boys well educated Engineers with MS/MBA, Age 27-30 preferably working in Kuwait or abroad with good family background.

Contact: cpvgdeepam@hotmail.com (C 2632) 31-8-2010

BABYSITTING Baby sitting available at Salmiya, Amman street, opposite Al-Rashid hospital. Tel: 65515717. (C 2622) 29-8-2010

No: 14840

CHANGE OF NAME

Toyota Echo 2005, golden color in excellent condition, factory painting, used by a lady. Price KD 1,600.

Please call: 60973490.

(C2633) 1-9-2010 2006 Toyota Corolla 1.8 color white, done 65,000 km, excellent condition, price KD 2,450. Cont: 94973026. (C 2628) 30-8-2010 All items in a well furnished unit A/C, flat in Farwaniya for sale with, 4 bedrooms, big hall, 2 bathrooms, kitchen. Please contact:

I, Govind Bahadur, holder of Indian passport No. G7938083 hereby change my name to Govind Bahadur Rana. (C 2634) 1-9-2010 I, Abbas Hajji Ali Shahab Shahida, daughter of Mohamed Ghouse Shahab, born 02-09-1966, in Chennai district, TN, residing at No: 3/64, North Avenue Road, Muthamizh Nagar, Kodungaiyur, Chennai 600118, Passport F8462504, change my name to “Mohamed Ghouse Shahab Shahida”. (C 2620) 29-8-2010

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor 5622444 Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea 5752222 Dr. Masoma Habeeb 5321171 Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy 5739999 Dr. Mohsen Abel 5757700 Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl 5732223 Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly 5732223 Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz

4555050 Ext 510 5644660 5646478 5311996 5731988 2620166 5651426

General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi Dr. Yousef Al-Omar Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem Dr. Kathem Maarafi Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae

4555050 Ext 123 4719312 3926920 5730465 5655528 4577781 5333501

Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 2641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 2639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 2616660

Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 5313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari Dr. Abdel Quttainah

2547272 2617700 5625030/60

Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar

3729596/3729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan

2635047 2613623/0

Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe Dr. Verginia s.Marin Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly Dr. Salem soso

3729596/3729581 572-6666 ext 8321 2655539 5343406 5739272 2618787

General Surgeons: Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 2610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 5327148

Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra Dr. Mobarak Aldoub Dr Nasser Behbehani

5728004 5355515 4726446 5654300/3

Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed Dr. Zahra Qabazard Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew

5340300 5710444 2621099 5713514 3713100 4334282

(1) Ear, Nose and Throat (2) Plastic Surgeon Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada) 5655535

2639939 2666300

Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman 5339330 Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari 5658888 Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 5329924 Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

5722291 2666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 5330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 5722290

Dentists: Dr Anil Thomas Dr. Shamah Al-Matar Dr. Anesah Al-Rasheed Dr. Abidallah Al-Amer Dr. Faysal Al-Fozan Dr. Abdallateef Al-Katrash Dr. Abidallah Al-Duweisan Dr. Bader Al-Ansari

3729596/3729581 2641071/2 2562226 2561444 2619557 2525888 5653755 5620111

Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman 2636464 Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly 5322030 Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali 2633135

Neurologists: Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri 5633324 Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan 5345875

Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 4555050 Ext 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 5339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555

Page 50

Friday, September 3, 2010

TV Listings Orbit /Showtime Channels

00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Dollhouse One Tree Hill Warehouse 13 Flash Forward Dawson’s Creek Hawthorne The Closer Dollhouse Dawson’s Creek Criminal Minds Flash Forward Hawthorne The Closer Criminal Minds Flash Forward Dawson’s Crrek One Tree Hill Warehouse 13 Dollhouse Bachelor Friday Night Lights Happy Town Kings Sons of Anarchy

00:45 Animal Cops Houston 01:40 Shark Attack Survivors 02:35 Weird Creatures with Nick Baker 03:30 Untamed & Uncut 04:25 Breed All About It 04:50 Breed All About It 05:20 Animal Battlegrounds 05:45 Monkey Life 06:10 SSPCA: On the Wildside 06:35 Night 07:00 Animal Crackers 07:25 Meerkat Manor 07:50 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 08:40 Breed All About It 09:05 Breed All About It 09:35 Animal Battlegrounds 10:00 Air Jaws 2 10:55 Monkey Life 11:20 Night 11:50 Miami Animal Police 12:45 Vet on the Loose 13:10 Pet Rescue 13:40 Animal Cops Philadelphia 14:35 Wildlife SOS 15:00 RSPCA: Have You Got What it Takes?

15:30 Ultimate Air Jaws 16:25 The Planet’s Funniest Animals 17:20 Groomer Has It 18:15 Great Ocean Adventures 19:10 Return to the Wild 20:10 Animal Cops Houston 21:05 Whale Wars 22:00 Surviving Sharks 22:55 Animal Cops Philadelphia 23:50 Untamed & Uncut

BBC ENTERTAINMENT 00:15 Suburban Shootout 00:45 The League Of Gentlemen 01:15 The League Of Gentlemen 01:45 Lab Rats 02:15 Lab Rats 02:45 Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive 03:15 The League Of Gentlemen 03:50 Last Of The Summer Wine 04:20 Gigglebiz 04:35 Teletubbies 05:00 Tellytales 05:10 Tikkabilla 05:40 Gigglebiz 05:55 Teletubbies 06:20 Tellytales 06:30 Tikkabilla 07:00 Gigglebiz 07:15 Teletubbies 07:40 Tellytales 07:50 Tikkabilla 08:20 Gigglebiz 08:35 Teletubbies 09:00 Tikkabilla 09:30 Mastermind 2006 10:00 Coast 11:00 Last Of The Summer Wine 11:30 Last Of The Summer Wine 12:00 The Weakest Link 12:45 Eastenders 13:15 Doctors 13:45 Mastermind 2006 14:15 Coast

15:15 15:45 16:15 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:55 19:45 20:00 20:45 21:15 22:00 22:45

Last Of The Summer Wine Last Of The Summer Wine The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Inspector Lynley Mysteries Inspector Lynley Mysteries Doctor Who Confidential The Weakest Link Doctors Inspector Lynley Mysteries Inspector Lynley Mysteries The Jonathan Ross Show

00:10 00:35 01:00 01:45 02:25 03:10 04:00 04:50 05:10 06:00 06:30 07:00 07:20 08:10 09:00 09:45 10:05 10:35 11:00 11:20 12:05 12:55 13:45 14:25 15:20 16:05 16:30 16:50 17:35 18:05 18:55 19:45 20:15 21:05 21:55 22:40 23:30

Indian Food Made Easy Chuck’s Day Off Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me The Restaurant Uk Hidden Potential 10 Years Younger Indian Food Made Easy Chuck’s Day Off Hidden Potential The Restaurant Uk Living In The Sun Bargain Hunt Hidden Potential Indian Food Made Easy Indian Food Made Easy Chuck’s Day Off Cash In The Attic 10 Years Younger Come Dine With Me Cash In The Attic Living In The Sun Bargain Hunt Indian Food Made Easy Chuck’s Day Off Cash In The Attic Indian Food Made Easy 10 Years Younger Come Dine With Me Indian Food Made Easy Rhodes Across China Living In The Sun Cash In The Attic Come Dine With Me The Restaurant Uk

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:15 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

Amalia-PG15 Burn After Reading-PG15 A Thousand Acres-PG15 Janis-PG Coeurs-PG Losing Isaiah-PG15 Tribute-PG15 Barton Fink-PG15 Not Easily Broken-PG15 American Violet-PG15 This Revolution-PG15 Vanilla Sky-18

00:40 Street Customs 2008 01:35 Dirty Jobs 02:30 Discovery Saved My Life 03:25 Mega Machines 04:20 Mythbusters 05:15 How Machines Work 05:40 How Does it Work?

06:05 Dirty Jobs 07:00 Mean Machines: Transatlantic Challenge 07:25 Mega Machines 08:15 Street Customs 2008 09:10 Mythbusters 10:05 Ultimate Survival 11:00 Discovery Saved My Life 11:55 Border Security 12:25 How Does it Work?

12:50 How Machines Work 13:20 Mythbusters 14:15 Miami Ink 15:10 Ultimate Survival 16:05 Dirty Jobs 17:00 Overhaulin’ 17:55 Mythbusters 18:50 Cake Boss 19:15 Border Security 19:40 The Gadget Show 20:05 How Does it Work?

20:35 How Machines Work 21:00 Swords: Life on the Line 21:55 Construction Intervention 22:50 Ultimate Car Build-Off 23:45 LA Ink

00:30 Perfect Disaster 01:20 Catch It Keep It 02:10 I, Videogame 03:00 Beyond Tomorrow 03:50 Thunder Races 04:45 How Stuff’s Made 05:10 Weird Connections 05:40 Stunt Junkies 06:10 Perfect Disaster 07:00 Thunder Races 08:00 The World’s Strangest UFO Stories 09:00 Patent Bending 14:30 Fantastic Food Factories 15:25 Fantastic Food Factories 16:20 How Stuff’s Made 16:50 Scrappy Races 2 17:45 Brainiac 18:40 The Gadget Show 19:05 The Gadget Show 19:30 FutureCar 20:20 How It’s Made 20:45 How It’s Made 21:10 Kings of Construction 22:00 The Gadget Show 22:25 The Gadget Show 22:50 FutureCar 23:40 Kings of Construction

06:00 06:25 06:50 07:15 07:40 08:05 08:30 09:00 09:25 09:50 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 Cody 14:25 Cody 14:50 15:15 15:45 16:15 16:40 17:05 17:30 17:55 18:20 18:45 19:10 19:35 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:25 21:55 Cody 22:20 22:30 KSA

K9 Adventures American Dragon Kid Vs Kat Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Kick Buttowski Pokemon Zeke And Luther Zeke And Luther I’m In The Band Phineas And Ferb Suite Life On Deck Suite Life On Deck Phil Of The Future Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Kid Vs Kat Kid Vs Kat The Suite Life Of Zack And The Suite Life Of Zack And Zeke And Luther The Super Hero Squad Show Kick Buttowski I’m In The Band Suite Life On Deck Zeke And Luther Zeke And Luther Phineas And Ferb Phineas And Ferb Kick Buttowski Pokemon American Dragon Aaron Stone Kid Vs Kat Phineas And Ferb I’m In The Band The Suite Life Of Zack And Shreducation Programmes Start At 6:00am

00:15 Leave It To Lamas 00:40 Dr 90210 01:30 Wildest TV Show Moments 01:55 Reality Hell 02:20 E!ES 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Battle of the Hollywood Hotties 05:30 Streets of Hollywood 06:00 50 Cutest Child Stars: All Grown Up 07:45 Fashion Police 08:35 E! News 09:00 The Daily 10 09:25 Denise Richards: It’s Complicated 09:50 Leave It To Lamas 10:15 THS 12:00 E! News 12:25 The Daily 10 12:50 Behind the Scenes 13:15 Pretty Wild 13:40 Fashion Police 14:30 Dr 90210 15:25 E!ES 16:15 Behind the Scenes 16:40 Behind the Scenes 17:10 Keeping Up with the

Kardashians 18:00 E! News 18:25 The Daily 10 18:50 Keeping Up with the Kardashians 19:15 Pretty Wild 19:40 E!ES 20:30 Kendra 20:55 Chelsea Lately 21:20 Kourtney & Khloé Take Miami 21:45 Kourtney & Khloé Take Miami 22:10 E! News 22:35 The Daily 10 23:00 Chelsea Lately 23:25 Kendra 23:50 Pretty Wild

00:00 Chopped 01:00 30 Minute Meals 01:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 02:00 Iron Chef America 03:00 Barefoot Contessa 03:30 Everyday Italian 04:00 Chopped 05:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 05:30 Guys Big Bite 06:00 Iron Chef America 07:00 30 Minute Meals 07:25 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 07:50 Guys Big Bite 08:15 Barefoot Contessa 08:40 Everyday Italian 09:05 30 Minute Meals 09:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 10:00 Guys Big Bite 10:30 Barefoot Contessa 11:00 Everyday Italian 11:30 Food Network Challenge 12:30 30 Minute Meals 13:00 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 13:30 Guys Big Bite 14:00 Barefoot Contessa 14:30 Everyday Italian 15:00 30 Minute Meals 15:30 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 16:00 Iron Chef America 17:00 Barefoot Contessa 17:30 Everyday Italian 18:00 30 Minute Meals 18:30 Guys Big Bite 19:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 19:30 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 20:00 Iron Chef America 21:00 Barefoot Contessa 21:30 Everyday Italian 22:00 Chopped 23:00 Throwdown With Bobby Flay 23:30 Guys Big Bite

00:00 The Golf Channel - TBA 01:00 Golf Central International 01:30 The Golf Channel - TBA 03:00 MLB: Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals 06:00 Sport Central 06:30 Big 12 Football Northern Illinois at Iowa St. 10:00 MLB: Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins 13:00 Golf Central International 13:30 Rolex Spirit of Yachting Racing Boats & Racing Cars 14:00 World Sport 2010 14:30 FIM Motocross Campo Grande, Brazil 15:30 Softball 360 16:00 Inside the PGA Tour 16:30 European Tour Omega European Masters Rd. 2 Crans sur Sierre, Switzerland 19:30 MLB: Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins 22:00 PGA Tour: Deutsch Bank Championship Rd. 1 Norton, MA

00:30 01:20 02:10 03:05 04:00 04:55 05:20 06:10 06:35 07:00 07:50

A Haunting FBI Files Autopsy: Most Shocking Cases Dr G: Medical Examiner Forensic Detectives Crime Scene Psychics Dr G: Medical Examiner Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Forensic Detectives FBI Files

Battle in Seattle on Show Movies 08:40 09:30 10:20 11:10 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 14:30 15:20 16:10 17:00 17:50 18:40 19:30 19:55 20:20 21:10 22:00 22:50 23:40

CSU Solved Forensic Detectives FBI Files Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Solved Mystery ER Forensic Detectives FBI Files CSU Solved Forensic Detectives FBI Files Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Solved Mystery ER Extreme Forensics Extreme Forensics Dr G: Medical Examiner

00:15 Fat Dog Mendoza 00:40 Rescue Heroes 01:00 Tales from the Cryptkeeper Marathon 06:00 Max and Ruby 06:25 Rupert 06:45 Rolie Polie Olie 07:15 Corduroy 07:35 Boo and Me 07:40 Babar 08:05 Babar 08:30 Ned’s Newt 08:55 Ned’s Newt 09:20 New Adventures of Madeline 09:45 Heathcliff 10:05 George Shrinks 10:35 Fat Dog Mendoza 11:00 Sonic Underground 11:20 Sonic Underground 11:45 Beverly Hills Teen Club 12:10 Sabrina The Animated Series 12:35 New Adventures of Ocean Girl 13:00 Escape From Wildcat Canyon 14:40 Birdz 15:05 Heathcliff 15:30 Fat Dog Mendoza 15:50 Boo and Me 15:55 Birdz 16:20 Sabrina The Animated Series 16:45 New Adventures of Ocean Girl 17:10 The Future is Wild 17:35 Rescue Heroes 18:00 Dino Squad 18:20 Boo and Me 18:25 Ace Lightning 19:00 The Future is Wild 19:20 New Adventures of Ocean Girl 19:50 Sabrina The Animated Series 20:15 Rescue Heroes 20:35 Ace Lightning 21:00 The Future is Wild 21:25 New Adventures of Ocean Girl 21:50 Dino Squad 22:15 Rescue Heroes

22:40 23:05 23:25 23:50

Ace Lightning Tales from the Cryptkeeper Sabrina The Animated Series Sonic Underground

00:55 02:25 03:45 05:30 Flesh 07:05 08:50 10:40 12:15 13:50 15:10 16:50 19:00 20:30 22:00

Teenage Bonnie & Klepto Clyde Galaxy Of Terror Traces Of Red Candyman II: Farewell To The Love Field Curse Of The Pink Panther Rich Kids Doc Strictly Business Loch Ness The Battle Of Britain Reckless Sleepover Witness To The Mob

00:30 01:30 02:00 02:30 03:00 03:30 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:30 07:30 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:30 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:30 16:00 17:00 17:30 18:30 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:30 22:00

Cruise Ship Diaries Bondi Rescue The Best Job In The World 4Real Don’t Tell My Mother Destination Extreme Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad Cruise Ship Diaries Bondi Rescue The Best Job In The World 4Real Don’t Tell My Mother Destination Extreme Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad Cruise Ship Diaries Cycling Home With Rob Lilwall A Childhood Promise Meet The Natives - USA Destination Extreme Long Way Down Bondi Rescue Banged Up Abroad Cruise Ship Diaries Cycling Home With Rob Lilwall A Childhood Promise Meet The Natives - USA Destination Extreme Long Way Down

00:00 Til Death 00:30 Seinfeld 01:00 The Daily Show with Jon

Page 51

Friday, September 3, 2010 Stewart 01:30 The Colbert Report 02:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Will & Grace 03:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 04:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 04:30 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 05:30 Just Shoot me!

06:00 Malcolm in the Middle 06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 07:30 Frasier 08:00 Seinfeld 08:30 Just Shoot me!

09:00 Malcolm in the Middle 09:30 The Drew Carey Show 10:00 Will & Grace 10:30 The League 11:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 11:30 Frasier 12:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 13:00 Seinfeld 13:30 Just Shoot me!

14:00 Malcolm in the Middle 14:30 Til Death 15:00 The League 15:30 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 17:30 Frasier 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 My Name is Earl 19:00 Kath & Kim 19:30 Two and a half men 20:00 Late night with Jimmy Fallon 21:00 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 My Name is Earl 22:30 The Ricky Gervais Show 23:00 Everybody Loves Raymond 23:30 Kath & Kim

00:00 01:00 Leno 02:00 03:00 04:00 Leno 05:00 07:00 07:30 08:00 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 Leno 23:00

07:00 07:25 07:50 08:15 08:40 08:50 09:00 09:25 09:50 Pooh 10:15 10:40 11:05 11:30 11:55 12:20 12:45 13:10 14:00 14:25 14:50 15:05 15:30 15:55 16:20 16:45 17:10 Pooh 17:35 17:45 18:10 18:35 19:00 Pooh 19:25 19:35 19:50

What’s Good For You The Tonight show with Jay The Ellen DeGeneres Show The Monique Show The Tonight show with Jay GMA (repeat) GMA Health What’s the Buzz Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Never Trust A skinny cook Huey’s cooking adventures What’s Good For You The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show What’s Good For You GMA Live GMA Health What’s the Buzz Never Trust A skinny cook Huey’s cooking adventures Look A Like Look A Like The View The Ellen DeGeneres Show Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Tonight show with Jay The Monique Show

Lazytown Imagination Movers Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny Jungle Junction Special Agent Oso Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Handy Manny New Adventures of Winnie the Little Einsteins Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers Lazytown My Friends Tigger and Pooh Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Little Einsteins Higglytown Heroes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Special Agent Oso My Friends Tigger and Pooh Imagination Movers Little Einsteins Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse New Adventures of Winnie the Special Agent Oso Imagination Movers Handy Manny Mickey Mouse Clubhouse New Adventures of Winnie the Handy Manny Special Agent Oso Jungle Junction

00:00 Battle In Seattle-18 02:00 Crimes Of The Past-PG15 04:00 The Secret Lives Of Second Wives-PG15 06:00 Sugar-PG15 08:00 Far North-PG 10:00 My One And Only-PG15 12:00 Man In The Chair-PG15 14:00 Stevie-PG15 16:00 Far North-PG 18:00 Rush Hour 3-PG15 20:00 The Princess And The Frog 22:00 Pride And Glory-18

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 20:45 23:00

Dark Ride-18 Thor: Hammer Of The GodsChocolate-PG15 H.i.t.-PG15 Smokey And The Bandit-PG The Watch-PG15 Death Warrant-PG15 Smokey And The Bandit-PG Boa-PG15 House Of Fallen-PG15 The Core-PG15 Timber Falls-PG15

00:00 PG15 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Deuce Bigalow: Male GigoloRun Fatboy Run-PG15 Dirty Work-PG15 Orange County-PG15 The Scout-PG15 Santa Baby 2-PG15 Mad About Mambo-PG15 A Simple Wish-FAM Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Killer Bean Forever-PG15 Women In Trouble-PG15 Fanboys-PG15

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Diaz to move in with A-Rod C

a m eron Dia z is reportedly preparing to move in with Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez.

The ‘Knight and Day’ actress - who has been rumoured to be dating the baseball star since April - has started publicly referring to the sportsman as her boyfriend and the pair are even said to be making plans to decorate a home in Florida together. A source told Life and Style magazine: “While having lunch at Morandi restaurant in New York on August 19, Cameron was calling A-Rod her boyfriend.

“They’re decorating his place in Miami together; now it can be a place the two of them think of as their home.” Cameron and Alex who has previously been linked with Kate Hudson and Madonna - have been reluctant to be pictured together in public, but have enjoyed

L

indsa y Lohan’s estranged father has denied selling her private diaries. Michael Lohan has admitted to sending two of the entries written when the troubled actress was a patient at the Cirque Lodge rehabilitation centre in Utah in 2007 - to an entertainment news outlet but insists he did not seek any payment. Explaining why he allowed the journal entries to be made public, he said: “They directly talk about how she said the doctors have her on the wrong medication and she mentioned how she wished the doctors would get the medication right.” According to Michael - who received a cease and desist letter from Lindsay’s lawyer warning him against selling her personal belongings - he received the diaries when someone sent pages of his daughter’s diary to him from a fake address in Salt Lake City, Utah. He added to

a string of private dates together at a number of top New York restaurants. The source added Alex appears to be having such a great effect on Cameron that she is “looking better than ever” and has an “in-love glow”. The 38-yearold actress has previously credited her youthful appearance is down to “lots of sex”. She said: “I don’t want to look 25 again. The fountain of youth for me, let’s see. I guess it’s exercise, healthy diet, lots of water, lots of laughter, lots of sex - yes, sex, we need that as human beings. It’s healthy, it’s natural, it’s what we are here to do!” Cameron - who has previously dated Justin Timberlake and John Mayer - has remained tightlipped about her love life, however, preferring to state she is “in love with life”.

website Hollyscoop: “I have the envelope and postmark dates to prove it.” The ‘Machete’ actress - who served 13 days in jail and 22 days in rehab last month as part of a sentence for violating the terms of probation following a 2007 driving under the influence conviction - instructed her lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley to send the legal document to her estranged father warning she will seek damages if he sells any of her personal belongings.

However Michael - who has moved to Los Angeles in a bid to repair his relationship with his famous daughter - claimed the process was unnecessary.

He insisted: “I never meant to offer those for sale.”

The ‘Machete’ actress has repeatedly insisted she wants nothing more to do with her father following his repeated insistence she is addicted to prescription drugs.

C

atherine Zeta-Jones was “furious” because doctors failed to spot her husband’s throat cancer. The 40-year-old actress has spoken out about her frustration after Michael Douglas’ repeated complaints of throat and ear pain did not lead to a walnut-sized tumour being discovered at the base of his tongue until three weeks ago. She said: “It makes me furious they didn’t detect it earlier. He sought every option and nothing was found.” However, the brunette beauty - who has 10-year-old son Dylan and seven-year-old daughter Carys with the actor - admits she was unsurprised when he was finally diagnosed with cancer. She told People magazine: “It wasn’t a huge shock. I knew

something was up. He knew something was up.”

The ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: star - who also has 31-year-old son Cameron with ex-wife Diandra - admitted earlier this week he had been having throat problems for a long time before his diagnosis. He said: “It had been bothering me for a while. I went through a litany of doctors and tests.”

However, he was understanding about the length of time doctors took to discover his condition. He said: “These things sometimes just don’t show up.”

The 65-year-old star - who is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment - has previously revealed he has an 80 per cent chance of surviving cancer.

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Page 53

P Diddy sued for age discrimination

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ra ncesca Spero - who claims she launched the hiphop mogul’s career - is suing him for $12 million, alleging she was sacked by his firm Bad Boy for being old and disabled, after she was laid up with hip surgery in 2008. According to the 51 year old’s legal claim, Diddy - real name Sean Combs - was “unsympathetic to her condition” and tried to push her out of the company. In March 2010, she was fired and replaced by a woman much younger who “lacked the skill set and experience Spero brought to the position”. Her lawyer Laurie Berke-Weiss said: “Francesca Spero opened the door for Combs’ career and, now that she’s 51, he showed her the door at Bad Boy.” Spero says she first met Diddy in 1998, but didn’t start working for him until

10 years later when she helped him sign new song writers, get music clearances for corporate endorsements, execute Bad Boy’s $38 million deal with Warner Brothers and produce the MTV reality show ‘Making the Band’.

However, according to her lawsuit, after surgery to treat a hip misalignment, he allegedly said she earned too much money for “someone who could no longer keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle” and fired her. Spero also admitted to checking herself into a substance abuse treatment facility in December 2008 after problems with prescription pain killers and alcohol. However, she insisted she had been clean and sober from 1987 until two years ago after being treated for opiate addiction. Diddy’s spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

E

S

ylvester Stallone was pulled over by police for ignoring stop sign. The ‘Expendables’ actor was noted to be “less than cordial” in a discussion with a traffic cop in Los Angeles last Monday, as he disagreed with the officer’s version of events. Sources who saw the ensuing discussion said he was not happy to have been pulled over, and was given a ticket. Stallone is not the only Hollywood star to be pulled over for the same offence - troubled actress Lindsay Lohan found herself at the end of a talking to by police when she was spotted running through a stop sign after a night out at trendy Los Angeles nightspot Chateau Marmont on Friday. However, unlike the 64-year-old action star she left the scene without a warning, but still remained unhappy at the action. Writing on twitter, she said: “Clearly Paparazzi shouldn’t be allowed to take pictures or video while someone’s driving or at a stop light.

4every1’s sake(sic)”

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icole Scherzinger thinks everyone is a Pussycat Doll. The singer is the only remaining original member of the group but insists she has no idea what the future holds for them, despite founder and manager Robin Antin recently hiring four new women to join Nicole. When asked about the rest of the group being recast, Nicole said: “I don’t know what’s going on with that. There’s always the speckles [speculations]. “There’s the Dolls from the lounge and Vegas and all that, so I’d say everyone is a Pussycat Doll actually.” Seemingly alluding to how she was purposefully being vague, Nicole then added: “Do you like how I’m answering these questions?” Robin has previously said the group are on a break and will return with a new line up consisting of Nicole alongside Vanessa Curry, Kherington Payne, Rino Nakasone Razalan and Jamie Lee Ruiz. The most famous line up of the Pussycat Dolls - which included Ashley Roberts, Melody Thornton, Kimberly Wyatt and Jessica Sutta alongside Nicole - broke up last year after Melody and Kimberley spoke of their unhappiness in the group and were critical of Robin and their management and how they perceived Nicole as receiving preferential treatment to them.

dw ard Furlong’s temporary restraining order against his estranged wife has been extended. Rachael Kneeland - who filed for divorce from the ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ actor last summer, claiming his drug addiction had caused him to attack her - told the Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday how she caught her former lover driving past her apartment, parking his car opposite and watching her in her home, RadarOnline.com reports. Describing how she saw his vehicle last Wednesday (25.08.10) parked opposite her balcony, she said: “I was shaking with fear when I saw his car.” The brunette filed a police report the next day, telling officers her boyfriend was supposed to come over the previous day, but they had to alter their plans because they were unsure how Edward would react. The former couple have had a difficult break-up, with Rachael - who has son Ethan, three, with the actor - alleging he attacked her after a heated row. He had a restraining order against her put in place last October. Last month, Rachael had another restraining order granted over Edward, which bans him from contacting her or their child, after he allegedly left several expletive-filled answer phone messages. This court order was altered yesterday, with the actor now being granted access to Ethan on Tuesday and Thursdays after school, and for three hours on either Saturday or Sunday until they return to court on September 27 to finalise their situation.

Last year, Rachael claimed Edward’s “drug use had escalated”, that he threatened her life, and was also hospitalised on “lockdown” after threatening suicide.

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Friday, September 3, 2010

As temperatures soar, Japanese turn to ghost houses W

ith Japan suffering its worst heatwave since records began in 1898, haunted houses or “obake yashiki” are doing a roaring trade as the traditional summertime venues to cool off. Ghost houses are set up especially for the summer in amusements parks in Japan with the tradition linked to Japanese Buddhism which views August as the time when ancestral spirits may return for a visit and Japanese visit

their elders’ graves.

This year ghost houses have reported dramatic increases in visitor numbers as they tap into the Japanese tradition of also telling scary stories to send shivers down people’s spines and cool them down.

With temperatures still running high, Tokyo Dome City Attractions has extended its ghost house opening by a month.

“Japanese naturally connect summer with being scared and

feeling cool thanks to that,” said the Dome’s spokesman Yoshinosuke Goto.

“We have run the summer ghost house here for last 19 years straight, but this year has been special and we have had many more customers thanks to the hot weather.” In the past six weeks over 40,000 students, couples and company workers have flocked to the ghost house. “It was frightening! We were so tense we broke out in a cold sweat,” said

Takuya Fujita and Mai Uchino, service company workers, clinging to each other after leaving the haunted house.

“We came here because it’s very hot and we wanted feel a chill!”

Other amusement parks have also reported higher customer numbers.The “obake yashiki” in Yomiuri Land amusment park in Tokyo said numbers were up 15 percent from last year with 37,000 visitors. Japan is facing its hottest

summer since the records began, with temperatures reaching 38.3 Celsius (100.9 Fahrenheit), leading to a reported 132 deaths and more than 30,000 people taken to hospital with heatstroke.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency said on Wednesday the average temperature between June and August was 1.64 degrees Celsius above average for the period.

The office did not give the actual average temperature.— Reuters

‘Eataly’ temple to Italian cuisine opens in New York

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Olive oil and pasta are displayed at “Eataly”, the 5,000 square meter (54,000 square feet) food emporium located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street on August 31, 2010 in New York. —AFP

rom mozzarella made on the premises to a cooking school, bookstore and seven restaurants, the sprawling “Eataly” food emporium opened its doors here this week to spread its basic message: “eat healthy.” Located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, at 23rd Street, the huge 5,000 square meter (54,000 square feet) Italian food and wine market is part of the international “slow food” movement, with branches all over Italy and in Japan.

First opened in Turin, Italy, in 2007, the original Eataly is now visited by hundreds of thousands of customers each year. The New York store is the brainchild of “Eataly” founder Oscar Farinetti, famous US chef Mario Batali and his partner Joseph Bastianich. It offers everything an Italian food lover could want in meat, cheese, fish sections, wines cellar, bakery, delicatessen, grill room, Neapolitan pizzeria and six other theme-inspired restaurants.

On opening day Tuesday, dozens of vendors busied themselves amid tantalizing, monumental decorations of hams, cheeses

and pyramids of sourdough bread. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city’s Roman Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan headed the ribbon-cutting ceremony as scores of customers waited outside. “I’ve come from Turin to train the teams” wine cellar chief Tiziano Gaia told AFP. “There’s 50 specialists at Eataly.”

“We’ve got 700 brands from 350 wine producers. It’s a veritable voyage across Italy’s wine landscape with an emphasis on organic wines, in the ‘slow food’ tradition,” he added. Most of the products for sale are imported directly from Italy, like its mozzarella di bufala (made from water buffalo milk), delivered by plane, canned tomato, sausages and even the mineral water. And a respect for seasonal variations are at the heart of Eataly’s gastronomic philosophy.

The bakery offers “the same bread the Romans eat, made with sourdough not brewer’s yeast,” said master baker Alessandro Alessandri. “Even in Italy, the only place they eat sourdough bread is in Naples. Nobody makes it any more.”— AFP

US art museum exhibits Whistler prints collection

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n exhibition of more than 100 prints by James McNeill Whistler at the University of Michigan Museum of Art is the largest collection of the 19th century American artist’s work to be displayed there in more than 15 years. Now best known for his iconic painting popularly known as “Whistler’s Mother,” the artist’s etchings and lithographs drew him renown during his lifetime. The three-month show spans Whistler’s career, and includes prints of scenes from port of London and the canals of Venice, as well as intimate portraits of family members and himself.

“The themes, effects that he is moving toward in painting are finding their way into print,” said Carole McNamara, the museum’s senior curator of Western Art. “His prints, of course, were popular ... before the paintings really caught on.” Stanley Weintraub, the author of 1974’s “Whistler: A Biography,” noted that the artist had a two-sided career: His prints were commercially accessible while he lived, but relatively few of his paintings were marketable. “They were among the masterpieces of the time,” Weintraub said of Whistler’s prints. “On Beauty and the Everyday: The Prints of James McNeill Whistler” opened Saturday and runs through Nov. 28. Most of the works , and most of the Ann Arbor museum’s Whistler holdings , came from Margaret Watson Parker, whose 1936 bequest to the museum included Whistler’s prints and an extensive Asian art collection.

“She was really quite astute in what she collected,” McNamara said. “A lot of what she collected hinged really around her interest in Whistler.” That interest brought her in contact with Charles Lang Freer, a Detroit industrialist and the founder of the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art, which claims the world’s greatest collection of Whistler’s work. Freer collected the work of Americans including Whistler and later expanded his collection to Asian art.

Whistler, who was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, left for Europe when he was 21 years old and spent the rest of his life there. —AFP

Thai Muslim men offer prayers during a special evening ceremony called “Taraweeh” at the central mosque in Thailand’s restive southern province of Narathiwat late on September 1, 2010. — AFP

A child looks on as Kashmiri Muslim women participate in special prayers to observe the Martyr Day of Hazrat Ali, cousin of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), on the 21st day of Ramadan at the Hazratbal Shrine in Srinagar, India, Wednesday. —AFP

Friday, September 3, 2010

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Lebanese men and women gather for a “suhur” meal just before daybreak which marks the start of the daylong fast at a restaurant in Beirut late August 17, 2010, as Muslims around the world fast from food and water between dawn and sunset during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. —AFP

Beirut’s beautiful people splash out for Ramadan Though traditionally a time of “A

more beautiful Ramadan,” promises an advertisement for one Beirut clinic offering discounts to image-conscious Lebanese during the Muslim holy month of dawn-todusk fasting. Though traditionally a time of frugality and prayer, the month of Ramadan has become an occasion for extravagant spending on everything from lavish evening meals to crystal bowls to cosmetic surgery in Lebanon, a country famed for its “see and be seen” attitude.

“You don’t keep track of your spending during Ramadan,” said Rami Shuman, manager of designer Vivienne Westwood’s signature boutique in Beirut’s chic Downtown.

“I’ve paid 120 dollars for an iftar meal,” the 27-year-old told AFP. “This is Lebanon. Even if you’re poor, you have to seem rich.”

Devout Muslims observe Ramadan by abstaining from food, drink, smoking and sex from dawn until dusk, and across the Middle East, offices in August have been opening later than usual and closing earlier to allow people to get home on time for the iftar meal after sunset. In other Middle Eastern countries, particularly in the Gulf, iftar gives the wealthy an opportunity to show hospitality on a grand scale, and Lebanon is no exception.

“Reservations have been skyrocketing since the beginning of the month and on weekends we’re always fully booked,” said Joanna Kharma, public relations officer at a five-star hotel in the capital. “Some customers have even reserved the entire restaurant for an iftar and racked up a bill of 8,000 dollars (6,300 euros).” Prominent Beirut families and socialites compete over

frugality and prayer, the month of Ramadan has become an occasion for extravagant spending on everything from lavish evening meals to crystal bowls to cosmetic surgery in Lebanon

A dancer performs the traditional sufi whirling dervishes dance as customers have their “suhur” meal just before daybreak, which marks the start of the daylong fast, at a restaurant in a Beirut hotel. —AFP imported from Italy worth at least who can host the most lavish iftars, 3,000 dollars to give as gifts at iftars and night-long feasts are not they are invited to,” said a uncommon, often landing on the saleswoman at a chocolate store in pages of glossy magazines. downtown Beirut. Sociologist In the “Ramadan tents” set up Michel Abs, of the Saint Joseph for the occasion, guests gather to University in Beirut, says the dine, smoke shisha, or water pipes, extreme consumerism is not limited and dance to oriental music or enjoy to the holy month but is part of the performances by local singers. national culture.

Another Beirut beauty centre “Ramadan or not, the Lebanese advertises reduced prices for have a tendency to overspend. permanent hair removal “for only Simplicity is a lost virtue,” Abs 300 dollars” during Ramadan or said. The surge in demand by the even “special lip injections at just rich and would-be rich spells 250 dollars.” Traditional gift-giving hardship for the majority, however, also takes on gargantuan in a country where the minimum proportions during the holy month. wage stands at little more than 330 “Some clients come in looking dollars a month. Prices for iftars for crystal bowls or candy boxes

range from 20 to 60 dollars per person but can climb to a hefty 200 dollars in some upmarket eateries.

Retail food prices surge as well and even the lower middle classes struggle to make ends meet as vegetables and meat sell for double or triple their usual prices. “If I want a real iftar, I’d have to pay double my normal budget for lunch, so 40 dollars,” said Mohammad Afif, a newly-wed 30-year-old accountant.

Many clerics lament the loss of the spiritual meaning and traditional

character of Ramadan, which is meant as a month of prayer, fasting and donations to the poor.

“The holy month of Ramadan should be a return to religion, prayer and a reminder to the observant to aid those in need,” said Sheikh Hussein Abdullah, whose Shiite community counts some of the capital’s poorest. “Iftars hosted outside the home should not be an occasion to show off or prove one’s wealth,” Sheikh Abdullah told AFP. —AFP

A waiter serves the “suhur” meal just before daybreak which marks the start of the daylong fast at a restaurant in Beirut. —AFP

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Friday, September 3, 2010

Director Lee Daniels on ‘Broadway’

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ndependent filmmaker Lee Daniels got a big push for his movie “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” when Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry signed on as executive producers after the film’s Sundance Film Festival premiere in 2009.

“Precious” went on to be nominated for several Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Lee. At the Oscars in February, it took home awards for best adapted screenplay and best supporting actress for Mo’Nique.

With some newfound notoriety, Daniels has now attached his own name to an independent film, “Prince of Broadway,” that he first saw as a juror at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2009. The film

opens in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles this Friday. It follows an illegal immigrant named Lucky who sells brand name knock-offs in New York City. His life changes when a woman hands over to him a toddler she insists is his.

Reuters talked to Daniels about the film and his career. Q: Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are big names that moved mountains for “Precious.” What can Lee Daniels do for “Prince of Broadway?” A: “I learned from Oprah and Tyler that presenting helps. They rang the bell as loud as they could for me and people came to see my film. We’re only opening in three cities with ‘Prince of Broadway,’ so I’ll ring that bell as loud as I can from those three cities. I think people

interested in the kind of work I do will be blown away by this filmmaker.”

Q: W h at was it ab ou t fil mmak er Sean Ba ker tha t made you want to attach your name to his movie?

A: “His work stands for everything that I do. Every film I have done has been independent.

Anyone who knows me and knows my work associates it with independent cinema. I’m no Oprah or Tyler Perry, but in the independent world, my name means something.”

Q: What was it about ‘Prince of Br o a d wa y ’ t h at go t yo u excited when you first saw it?

A: “Being from New York myself, watching the film I saw the

folks the way I see folks in New York City. It was a new voice.”

Q : L u c k y’ s l i f e i s t u rn e d upside down one day when a woman he barely knows hands him a baby and leaves it with him. In real-life, you adopted your niece and nephew when t h ey w e re j us t ba bi e s t h em s e l ve s .

An y p a r al l e l s there?

A: “There was definitely a connection with the way Lucky’s kid was handed off to him and how I was blessed with mine.”

Q: “Prince of Broadway” is the first movie that bears your name since “Precious.” Are you working on anythi ng right now?

A: “I’m co-writing my first

studio movie for Sony Pictures called ‘The Butler.’ It’s a true story about a butler who served six Presidents in the White House. I’m also debating wether or not to direct (the independent film) ‘Selma.”“ Q: What’s to contempl ate?

A: “Both of them are about civil rights. As a filmmaker, I can only do one civil rights story. I’m weighing my options.”

Q: Were you di sappointed that “ Pr e c i o us ” d id n ’ t wi n b e st picture or that you didn’t win best director?

A: “Yes. I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t. But I was really happy (director) Kathryn Bigelow won (for ‘The Hurt Locker.’) If I didn’t win, I wanted her to win.” —Reuters

Rapper TI, wife arrested on drug charges G

Restorer Ella Hendriks shows pictures of the various stages of restoration of Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘The Bedroom’ painting, rear left on easel, at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. —AP

6-month restoration ends of Van Gogh’s “Bedroom” V incent van Gogh must have been horrified when he returned from the hospital to his studio in Arles early in 1889 to find one of his favorite paintings damaged by moisture. He pressed newspaper to the canvas to protect it from further deterioration, and later rolled it up and sent it to his brother Theo in Paris.

Ella Hendriks could still see traces of newsprint when she looked at “The Bedroom” under a microscope, as she picked and scraped at earlier restorations of the canvas and removed yellowing varnish that had been brushed on 80 years ago.

Hendriks has completed a painstaking sixmonth restoration of the masterpiece, which returns to its place on the wall of the Van Gogh Museum today. “The idea is to create a sort of balance, a feeling of rest,” Hendriks said of her task.

The Bedroom is a familiar image. It has

been reproduced in countless hotel rooms, on calendars and coffee mugs, and in art books on the Impressionists and postimpressionist period of the late 19th century. Van Gogh liked it so much he painted two copies. One now hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. A smaller version that he made for his mother and sister is in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

“When I saw my canvases again after my illness, what seemed to me the best was the bedroom,” the Dutch artist wrote his brother in Paris after several weeks in the hospital. But he found paint was flaking from dampness following flooding in the street outside his house while he was gone.

Moisture also caused the canvas to shrink, pulling apart some paint at the edges as it dried. “It looks much fresher and brighter now,” said curator Leo Jansen. “It’s more ... as Van Gogh intended it to be. It’s more

peaceful.”

Van Gogh painted his own bedroom in what he called the Yellow House in the southern French town of Arles, where he had fled from the squabbling artist community of Paris. It was October 1888, in the midst of a critical six months that defined him as a painter, a period in which he also painted “Sunflowers.” “He felt liberated in the south,” Jansen said in an interview. It was there that he “found those wonderful colors” and extraordinary original style. At the end of 1888 Van Gogh began suffering a series of psychotic breakdowns. In 1889 he checked himself into an asylum in Saint-Remy where he stayed a year, producing 150 paintings, among them some of his most stunning works. After he left, despair continued to stalk him, and he died in 1890 from a selfinflicted gunshot wound. —AP

rammy-winning rapper TI, who is still on probation after spending time behind bars on gun charges, was arrested along with his wife on drug charges after police smelled alleged marijuana coming from their car, authorities said.

The Wednesday night arrests for possession of a controlled substance occurred in West Hollywood during a traffic stop, Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy Mark Pope told The Rapper T.I. Associated Press.

“Deputies smelled a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle,” the department said. “A narcotics investigation ensued” that resulted in the arrests. The department’s media office said it didn’t yet have details on which specific drug the possession charge concerned. The arrests reflect that last week of socialite Paris Hilton, whose is being investigated for felony cocaine possession after a motorcycle officer smelled pot wafting from her car.

The Atlanta-based TI, 29, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., and Cottle, a 36-year-old singer who sang with the 1990s group Xscape and has recently been the star of the BET reality series “The Tiny & Toya Show,” were booked at the West Hollywood sheriff’s station. Bail was set at $10,000 each. Pope said yesterday that he didn’t know if they were still being held.

TI’s publicist declined to comment.

TI, the multiplatinum hitmaker who has a key role in the current top box office movie “Takers,” served seven months in an Arkansas federal prison and three months in a Georgia halfway house on federal weapons charges and was released in March. He is on three years’ probation. Since that case, TI, who had spent time behind bars for drug offenses before, vowed to live a better life. He spoke to kids about the dangers of drugs and guns, and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young was one of his supporters. As he prepared for his most recent sentence, he starred in the MTV reality show “TI’s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go.” The father of five married Cottle in late July.

“Takers,” a shoot ‘em up about an armored truck robbery that goes bad, was released last week and topped the box-office chart.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, TI talked about living a more positive life. “Right now, it’s all about moving forward and just acknowledging the blessing that are here today. ... Just moving past the regrets of yesterday , the things that could’ve been done better,” TI said in a July interview. TI, who is known as the “King of the South,” has emerged one of music’s most profitable stars over the last few years. He is working on a new album, “King Uncaged,” which may be released this year. —AP

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Iranian filmmaker relies on ‘patience, resistance’

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rominent Iranian director Jafar Panahi is optimistic for the future of filmmaking in his country despite a “restrictive” regime that jailed him for nearly three months. “There have always been restrictions, but over the past year it was the worst,” said Panahi, who was released on May 25 awaiting trial set for late September.

Authorities have refused to return his passport, revoked nine months ago, and he will be unable to attend the Venice film festival to present his short film “The Accordion” on the opening day Wednesday.

“I cannot be pessimistic though. Limitations have always existed, and this era will eventually come to an end too,” he told AFP in an interview. “It’s important to have patience and resistance,” said Panahi, 50, a leading figure in Iran’s New Wave cinema movement. “Even when we are not making movies, the films and stories of our lives are writing themselves, recording a period where we choose not to compromise on the cinema that we believe in or make propagandist movies or easy blockbusters,” said the director, who has been unable to make a movie in five years.

“When a filmmaker does not make films it is as if he is jailed. Even when he is freed from the small jail, he finds himself wandering in a larger jail,” he said. “The main question is: why should it be a crime to make a movie? A finished film, well, it can get banned but not the director,” Panahi argued. Panahi’s 2000 film “The Circle” criticising the treatment of women in Iran won Venice’s top prize the Golden Lion.

“The Accordion” was inspired by a story Panahi read as a teenager about a young musician who wants to play in front of a mosque, but a man who works nearby considers the instrument “heretic” and breaks it. “I was unhappy with its violent ending and wanted to tell it in a way that violence is no longer needed,” Panahi said. “So you could say the theme of my movie is nonviolence and rejecting violence,

which should be our attitude in this day and age.”

Asserting that the Iranian authorities “have a problem with me personally,” Panahi said they forbade him from making a film about the IranIraq war in the 1980s. “During a war and shortly after, films tend to be either propaganda, documentaries or justifying the war, but when you take a distance from the war you should be talking about its humanitarian aspects,” he said.

The film Panahi was shooting along with young director Mohammad Rasulof shortly before his arrest-for a second time-in March was “a yet unnamed feature about a family and the post-election developments,” he said, referring to disputed June 2009 polls which were followed by a wave of mass protests that triggered a deadly crackdown.

“We were shooting inside my house. Thirty percent of the work had been shot, all interior scenes. But they seized all my rushes,” Panahi said.

His imprisonment sparked petitions from dozens of cinema figures inside and outside Iran signed by leading directors including Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Michael Moore and Oliver Stone. The Iranian filmmaker was unable to fulfill his role as a member of the jury at the Cannes film festival in May, when his chair was kept symbolically empty.

Panahi said he did not understand why he should face a travel ban. “I am in love with my country, and despite all its limitations I would never want to live elsewhere,” he said.

Panahi, who won the Berlin Silver Bear in 2006 for “Offside” about girls who disguise themselves as boys to be able to watch a football match, remains committed to his work.

“I am a socially conscious director,” he said. “I get my stories from the society. I have to bear witness to anything that goes on in my country. I could not remain indifferent, shut my eyes and not see. “So I was witnessing everything even if I was not allowed to carry a camera. I recorded everything in my mind and they will probably find their way to my work.” —AFP

US director Julian Schnabel and his wife Stella pose during the photocall of “Miral” at the 67th Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2010 at Venice Lido. “Miral” is competing for the Golden Lion in the Venezia 67 category. —AFP

In Venice, Jewish filmmaker Schnabel tells Palestinian story

J

ulian Schnabel, an American Jew born three years after the creation of Israel, views four decades of Palestinian history through Palestinian eyes in “Miral,” screened yesterday at the Venice film festival. “Obviously it’s a Palestinian story, but it’s very important that an American Jewish person tell a Palestinian story,” Schnabel, 58, said on a stop in Paris en route to Venice for the screening.

The film is based on an autobiographical novel of the same name by Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal, a book the director said provided a “pretext” for approaching a conflict that most of Western cinema usually keeps at arm’s length. Like Jebreal, Miral grew up in an orphanage in East Jerusalem set up by a Jerusalem socialite from a wealthy Palestinian family, who one morning in 1948 came across a group of children who escaped the massacre of Deir Yassin, a nearby village, committed by radical Jewish militants. Adapted in collaboration with the author, Schnabel’s film traces the lives of these two women from the establishment of the orphanage until the Oslo peace accords of 1993, a moment of great hopes later to be dashed. “The whole point is because

the French-Israeli-Italian-Indian production.

For authenticity-and perfect lightSchnabel shot in Israel and the West Bank despite especially tense circumstances. “The incursion into Gaza took place just three days before we arrived in Jerusalem and I was looking for a location in (Israelioccupied) East Jerusalem,” he said. “I wanted to shoot in the Husseini house but I couldn’t really have people with walkie-talkies looking like the army and speaking Hebrew inside this house,” he said. “But they trusted me, and the Israeli people in my crew were very respectful and they spoke English when they were working on the location,” Schnabel said. Of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said it was like a marriage: “These people live in the same house and ultimately they have to survive together. If you’re married to somebody, sometimes you have to give up some parts of yourself in order to get something that might be greater than what you had when you were alone.”

Schnabel says he still harbours hope for a resumption of direct peace talks, and dedicates the film to “people on both sides who still believe that peace is possible.” —AFP

Film based on Japanese novel debuts in Venice

V

Celebrated Iranian film director Jafar Panahi stands in front of shelves of cameras during an interview with AFP in Tehran on August 30, 2010. —AFP

I’m an American Jew, and that’s why it touched me because it’s a big part of my life,” Schnabel said. “It’s important for Muslims to hear that, it’s important for Jewish people to hear that, and for Israel and for people everywhere,” said Schnabel, whose “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” won the award for best director at Cannes in 2007 as well as several Oscar nominations.

“When I was a child, Israel was like a supreme point to my mother... The success of Israel was something very important to her and very important to me,” he said. “So in order to continue that and to achieve that we have to understand the Palestinian people and people that are in the middle.” A native New Yorker who is also a neoexpressionist artist famous for his oversized ceramic “plate paintings”, Schnabel admits he “didn’t know much about the Palestinians” when he set out to make his fifth film.

Jebreal’s book was “a perfect way to get into this,” he said. Schnabel recruited Indian actress Freida Pinto, who played Latika in “Slumdog Millionnaire,” for the role of Miral and Hiam Abass of Israel (“The Syrian Bride,” “Lemon Tree”) for the elegant orphanage director Hind Husseini in

ietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung crossed cultural and linguistic borders to direct his latest film, “Norwegian Wood,” based on the cult coming-of-age Japanese novel. The Oscarnominated director, who has taken home prizes from both Cannes and Venice, filmed the love story with an entirely Japanese cast. Tran told reporters yesterday, the day his film is premiering at the Venice Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion, that he didn’t try to make a Japanese film , and in fact sought a set design that would not be completely familiar to Japanese audiences. “I want the

Japanese viewer to have a different take and see their own decor in a different way, that it is somewhat exotic and different in their eyes,” Tran said. He called in a set designer from previous movies who would understand his aims. “Otherwise this staggered view would not have been possible with just a troupe that was completely Japanese.”

The film, like the book, is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s.

Watanabe, played by Kenichi Matsuyama, is a young university student struggling to choose between two women, one the girlfriend of his best friend who committed suicide, and the other self-confident and independent,

representing the future. The novel by Haruki Murakami has won worldwide popularity, and many directors had approached the author to adapt it to film.

More than 10 million copies of the book have been sold in Japan alone, with 2.6 million more sold in another 33 languages. Tran said he didn’t know why he was chosen, but producer Shinji Ogawa said Murakami wanted an Asian director to project the region’s aesthetic.

“Obviously we did meet with Murakami. Not just once,” Tran said. Murakami made many notes on the first screen play, which Tran called “a fairly important document,” but said they were

too numerous to elaborate.

“After this exchange of comments and notes, Murakami said, ‘Go with the film you have in your head. What you have to do is make the most beautiful film possible.”‘ “Norwegian Wood” is among 22 films, plus a still-to-be announced surprise film, competing for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded Sept.

11. Tran won the Golden Lion in 1995 for “Cyclo,” which tells the hard-life tale of a young rickshaw driver, and his first film, “The Scent of Green Papaya,” took home the Camera d’Or from Cannes and was nominated for an Academy Award. “Norwegian Wood” is his fifth film. —AP

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Capello looks to silence critics in Euro opener LONDON: Fabio Capello launches his quest for redemption today knowing only a convincing victory by a makeshift England team over Bulgaria can hush a growing band of critics clamoring for his dismissal.

After an extended honeymoon where Capello was lauded for presiding over an imperious World Cup qualifying campaign, a familiar storyline has unfolded in the wake of England’s calamitous showing in South Africa, which ended with a miserable 4-1 second round defeat to Germany. Now, just months after being favorably compared to Sir Alf Ramsey, the architect of England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, Capello finds himself subject to the sort of ridicule dished out to less

celebrated occupiers of the managerial hotseat known as international football’s “Impossible Job.” One tabloid even branded him “Jackass”-above a picture of the Italian wearing a pair of superimposed donkey ears-following his decision to drop Arsenal starlet Jack Wilshere back into England’s Under-21 squad. On Wednesday, meanwhile, the Daily Mirror called for Capello to be fired next week, regardless of the outcome of England’s opening Euro 2012 Group G qualifiers against Bulgaria at Wembley today and Switzerland in Basel next Tuesday. “It is obvious that it is over for Capello,” the Mirror wrote. “Everybody knows

he should be gone already. The FA knows it. The England fans know it.

The players know it. And most of all, Capello knows it.”

In public however, Capello has brushed off the criticism with the confidence of a man who amassed five Serie A titles, two La Liga crowns and one European Cup during a glittering career in club management. “I’ve read and heard a lot of different things but I am focused on my job,” Capello told journalists ahead of the Bulgaria match. “I’m a fighter. It’s my job, I fought for it. I am here because I enjoy my job. “We must focus on the games we play against Bulgaria and Switzerland - and the future will be to play the finals because England is

a very important country to play in the Euros.”

Capello has also dismissed suggestions that his faltering grasp of English has hindered his ability to communicate effectively with his players. “I never had a problem with the players. When everything was okay I was a fantastic manager, I spoke fantastic English,” Capello said. “After we lose against Germany it’s bad.” Against Bulgaria today, Capello will be forced to field an untested starting line-up missing injured Chelsea mainstays John Terry (hamstring) and Frank Lampard (hernia) along with longterm casualty Rio Ferdinand.

Injuries have also robbed Capello of two attacking options after Peter

Crouch (back) was forced to withdraw from the squad just days after Bobby Zamora suffered a thigh problem.

Capello acknowledged that a Bulgaria team able to call on the technical craft of England-based players Martin Petrov and Stilian Petrov will be more than capable of exploiting any possible gaps in his defense, and he was impressed by their display in a 1-0 friendly defeat against Russia last month. “It will not be an easy game because they played good football and they played very well against Russia in that game,” Capello said. “They lost 1-0 but they played good football, because technically they are really good.” —AFP

France, Italy take Euro road to redemption LONDON: France and Italy, still raw from their World Cup embarrassments, start afresh today when with new coaches they begin qualifying for the 2012 European championship against Belarus and Estonia respectively. Russia, Belgium, Greece, Turkey and Israel are also under new management as they seek to make the finals in Poland and Ukraine in the first of back-to-back qualifiers with today’s games followed by a full fixture list on Tuesday-the dates brought forward a day to please the leading leagues who wanted more rest for their players before returning to club duty. Of all the countries in action today France are most in need of a new start in Paris. The chaos of the threatened strike and subsequent suspension of players has somewhat masked what was a poverty-stricken onpitch display in South Africa where after a draw with Uruguay they were beaten by Mexico and the host nation.

French fans, embarrassed and angry after what they witnessed in June, will hope that the arrival of Laurent Blanc in place of Raymond Domenech will help. Blanc has selected nine of the World Cup squad along with 10 of the players from last month’s 2-1 friendly defeat by Norway - a game for which he ignored all the World Cup men. Franck Ribery, Nicolas Anelka and Patrice Evra are still suspended for their part in the South African revolution while Samir Nasri, Djibril Cisse and Andre-Pierre Gignac and Lassana Diarra are injured.

Uncapped Kevin Gameiro, Cedric Carrasso, Mamadou Sakho and Benoit Tremoulinas are included in the squad who follow up today’s opener with a tough trip to Bosnia on Tuesday.

“To have a young team is a good thing but it’s not enough to be competitive at the highest level,” said Blanc. “We tried to come up with a mixture of talented youngsters and more experienced players who can guide them.” Italy endured a similarly painful summer, their world champion status looking somewhat hollow after they

finished bottom of their group, and they too embark under a new managerial era with Cesare Prandelli in place of Marcello Lippi.

‘BE CAREFUL’ Prandelli’s first game in charge was a 1-0 friendly defeat

by Ivory Coast and he sounded nervous this week when looking ahead to his first competitive test in Tallinn. “It won’t be a walk in the park against Estonia, they are a proven side. We have to be careful,” he said of a team who needed two goals in stoppage time to beat Faroe Islands 2-1 in the opening game of Euro qualifying last month.

Spain, who lifted the Henri Delaunay Cup in Vienna two years ago, are seeking to become the first team to retain the trophy and should start their campaign with a win in Liechtenstein while Netherlands, beaten in a bruising World Cup final by Spain seven weeks ago, also have an easy-looking opener in San Marino. Germany, runnersup two years ago and buoyed by their World Cup exploits, have a tougher-looking start away to Belgium. The Belgians are playing under George Leekens for the second time after he replaced Dick Advocaat, whose Russia side have a soft start in Andorra.

Fabio Capello is another coach whose reputation took a hit in South Africa and the Italian begins the rebuilding job at Wembley as England take on Bulgaria before a trip to Switzerland. Capello’s options have been limited by a spate of injuries but he will be buoyed by the early season form of Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, who was the most surprising of his World Cup omissions.

Greece, surprise European champions in 2004 but who lost all three tournament games four years later, really are embarking on a new era after Fernando Santos replaced Otto Rehhagel after nine years in charge. His team, who went out in the group stages of the World Cup, start at home to Georgia. —Reuters

COVERCIANO: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi controls the ball during a training session ahead of their match against Estonia, at the Coverciano training center, near Florence yesterday. —AP

Prandelli admits to Italy worries FLORENCE: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli admitted there’s an atmosphere of apprehension surrounding the national team ahead of today’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia in Tallinn. Italy are trying to rebuild and regroup following their disastrous World Cup defense in South Africa, in which they failed to win a game and were bundled out of the group stages following a 3-2 defeat to minnows Slovakia.

Since then there have been changes afoot with Prandelli replacing Marcello Lippi and many of the old guard pushed out and replaced by younger but less experienced players.

But Italy have not won a game in this calendar year and failure to beat Estonia would mean equaling their worst ever run of eight games without a win. Prandelli admitted that this has produced nerves amongst his group. “Of course everyone’s

feeling fragile because there’s an atmosphere of uncertainty and worry, so it’s natural to feel fragile,” he said. “Some of these players only started their journey with the national team five days ago so it’s natural to be nervous. “But there’s also another aspect which is letting them know that they’re doing something important and they’re the protagonists. “That’s part of the work we do, it’s not just on the pitch but we also work on their psychology.”

On paper this should be an easy game against a team that is only just ranked inside the world’s top 100. But Prandelli stressed that they need to be taken seriously and that you cannot go into a game believing it will be easy. “It depends on how we play and what attitude we show, if we lose these games (Friday’s and Tuesday’s at home to Faroe Islands) I wouldn’t say it’s a disaster but it is what it is,” he said. “We always

have respect for our opponents, it’s not just that everyone says every game is hard, they really are. “It depends on what happens, after a match you can maybe say it was an easy game but when preparing for a match, definitely not.

“It’s a qualification game on a small pitch, they’re a good team, we’ve had a look at them, they’ve got some good players.

“The potential pitfalls are related to what attitude we show. We’re all curious, we can’t wait to get started. “I’ve asked the lads to grow together as a team and their attitude has been exceptional.” Prandelli has already selected his entire outfield team and is only undecided on his goalkeeper. Giampaolo Pazzini will play up front, flanked by Antonio Cassano on the left and Simone Pepe on the right. Captain Andrea Pirlo will be joined by Daniele De Rossi and Riccardo Montolivo in a three-man midfield. —AFP

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Hartley looking for a winning start for Scots KAUNAS: Paul Hartley hopes to get Scotland’s European Championship qualifying campaign off to a flier after targeting back-to-back wins in their opening games. The Aberdeen midfielder is part of the Scotland squad that will take on Lithuania in Kaunas today’s night before facing Liechtenstein at Hampden on Tuesday. The Scots have been handed a tough qualifying group that also includes world champions Spain and the Czech Republic.

But former Celtic star Hartley says Scotland must aim to collect maximum points from their opening double-header if they are serious about qualifying for a tournament for

the first time in 14 years. “I think if you look at the next two games that come up after this, it’s vital that we start with two wins,” Hartley said.

“Spain will come into games as the favorites and rightly so - they’re world champions. The Czech Republic we know all about because we’ve played them. “If we can get off with two wins I think it’ll lift everybody and give us confidence going into those games.”

It is the first time the 33-year-old has been called up by new Scotland manager Craig Levein, with his last cap coming nearly a year ago in the defeat to the Netherlands which ended the nation’s unsuccessful World Cup qualifying bid. Levein’s

start as Scotland manager got off to a winning start with a friendly victory over the Czech Republic but he was brought back down to earth with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat away to Sweden.

And Hartley believes the presence of himself and 40-year-old Rangers captain Davie Weir can bring much needed experience to the squad. “I think it’s between myself and Davie as the two oldest guys in the squad to take that little bit of extra responsibility,” the midfielder said. “If the team is not playing well it’s up to us to try to give that bit of experience that gets you through the game.

“I think the manager wants us to

galvanize the team and add a little bit of leadership. “That’s probably why he’s brought us back into the squad, just for that bit of experience which they maybe lacked in Sweden. “We had six or seven call-offs for that game and had a pretty inexperienced back four that night. With Davie and Steven McManus we have that experience in that part of the team.

“People talk about Davie’s age but I think if you look at his record over the last couple of years, playing in the Champions League, he’s showed he’s been in top form.” Hartley and Weir both played when Scotland secured their only win in Lithuania with a 2-1 victory under Walter Smith four

years ago.

Kenny Miller scored one of the goals that night and Weir backed his Rangers team-mate, who has scored five in three league games this season, to fire the national side to all three points again. “Kenny is very important, he is a proven goalscorer and he has done it for years for Scotland,” said Weir, who will become the oldest player ever to represent Scotland if he features against Lithuania. “He has scored a lot of goals and contributed a lot. “When you see how well he has started the season for Rangers, he is in top form and when Kenny Miller is in top form, he is a handful.” —AFP

Loew demands win as Belgians hope for upset BERLIN: Germany face Belgium today with coach Joachim Loew expecting three points from their opening Euro 2012 qualifier as the Germans look to build on the momentum from the World Cup. Loew’s young squad finished third in South Africa and having finished as runners-up at Euro 2008, when they lost in the final to Spain, they are favorites to win Group A in qualification. Germany are without captain Michael Ballack, who has been dropped for the Brussels game and next Tuesday’s qualifier against Kazhakstan in Cologne, as he works his way back from the ankle injury which kept him out of the World Cup. Philipp Lahm will captain the side in Ballack’s absence, but the team will be close to full strength at the Roi Baudouin stadium, the only exceptions being injured defenders Arne Friedrich, Jerome Boateng and Dennis Aogo. Loew says while his side earned plenty of praise for their World Cup performances, it is now time to put the experience gained in South Africa to good use. “As nice as the praise for our performances at the World Cup was, a new chapter with interesting challenges is beginning,” said Loew.

“Our goal must be to take six points from our first two games.”

Germany are currently ranked fourth in the world, while Belgium are ranked 48th, behind Burkino Faso and Venezuela, and history is against the Belgians.

No fewer than 14 matches have passed since Belgium’s last win against a side representing Germany when they beat the former Federal Republic of Germany 2-0 in a friendly in Brussels in September 1954. Under new coach Georges Leekens, who took over in May, Loew expects Belgium to give Germany a hard game at home.

Defensive midfielder

Timmy Simons will be making his first appearance in a Belgium shirt for a year as Leekens looks to toughen up his side’s midfield. “He is a young warrior, the type that does everything he can to succeed,” said Leekens of the 74-times capped, 33year-old Nuremberg midfielder. “I brought him back to bring some balance to the team.”

Germany’s all-star attack boasts names like Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil, Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Bayern Munich centre-back Daniel van Buyten will be in the heart of the Belgian defense come today and admits his side will have their work cut out. “We have a very talented young squad and really want to finally make it to a big tournament, to do this we need a good start,” said the defender. “Against Germany, it will be very tough, they are really strong.” Leekens’s squad is under pressure to pick up points against Germany, but have several talented youngsters in their squad.

Teenage striker Romelu Lukaku, who is 17-year-old, has been chased by many top European clubs and Eden Hazard, 19, from French side Lille is also considered an exceptional talent.

Brugge striker Jelle Vossen is a talented forward while Fulham’s Moussa Dembele and Everton’s Marouane Fellaini bring some Premier League experience to the squad and will be led by Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Belgium finished fourth at the 2008 Olympics, to give the country some hope, but Simons is aware of the challenge ahead.

“They will punish our mistakes hard, so it is important that we concentrate very hard, but I don’t think victory is impossible for us,” he said. —AFP

FRANKFURT: Coach of German national soccer team Joachim Loew (center) is seen next to his players during a training session in Frankfurt, central Germany. —AP

Villa senses record as Spain begin defense MADRID: World champions Spain play their first competitive match since lifting football’s ultimate prize when they face minnows Liechtenstein in Vaduz today in their first qualifying match for the 2012 European championships. Spain are bidding to become the first team to retain the European title having won the Euro 2008 edition and hope for a qualification similar to that of the World Cup finals when they won all 10 matches. Vicente del Bosque’s side, ranked number one in the world rankings, are overwhelming favorites to top Group One ahead of the Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania and Liechtenstein. The first task for Spain is a trip to Liechtenstein, a principality with a population of 35,000 that is ranked 141 in the world rankings and has never qualified for a major finals.

Spain may not be at their best with just one game gone in the domestic season but Liechtenstein are expected to be a walkover. “It would be a mistake to think that everything is going to be easy for us because we

are world champions,” said Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. “We have to start from scratch because football doesn’t have a memory.” The game could be a special one for new Barcelona striker David Villa who needs just one goal to equal Raul’s alltime national record of 44 goals.

Raul, formerly of Real Madrid and now at German side Schalke, scored his 44 goals in 102 games while Villa has a much better strike-rate scoring 43 times in just 65 internationals.

Villa, 28, is on form after five goals at the World Cup and a debut goal for new club Barcelona and minnows Liechtenstein offer him a golden opportunity to match or better Raul’s landmark. Whether Villa will play up front on his own against Liechtenstein is unclear as manager del Bosque deliberates on whether to use Liverpool forward Fernando Torres.

Liverpool coach Roy Hodgson has urged Spain not to play Torres as he continues to regain match sharpness following a knee injury that hindered him at the World Cup, however, del Bosque has so far refused to rule out

using the former Atletico Madrid forward in some capacity. Spain must do without Barcelona defender Carles Puyol who is out for three weeks with a thigh injury sustained in his team’s 3-0 win over Racing Santander on Sunday. Barcelona team-mate Xavi also picked up a knock in the Racing game forcing the midfielder to be substituted and is a doubt for the Liechtenstein match.

Del Bosque has also allowed Valencia’s Juan Mata and Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez to drop down to help the Under-21 squad claiming he wants to prevent them from suffering burnout. Spain face Liechtenstein today before a more glamorous friendly game against Argentina in Buenos Aires next Tuesday but Barcelona midfielder Sergi Busquets was quick to point out which game had the priority. “The friendly game against Argentina is something to look forward to, however, the first game is Liechtenstein and that is the important one,” said Busquets. “We want to start the qualification campaign off on the right foot.” —AFP

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Mourinho unhappy with lack of strikers ROME: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho hit out at his club for not backing him in the transfer market and leaving him short up front. Despite boasting attacking resources including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, Mourinho told yesterday's La Gazzetta dello Sport that he wanted more. "As coaches we're always unsatisfied, we always want more and for that reason I'm with those who ask for new signings," he said.

"Even if each person does it in his own way, some more introverted, others more aggressive. "At Madrid I wanted another striker, Higuain and Benzema are not enough."

But he admitted that buying players is never easy when in charge of a big team as selling clubs inflate their prices.

What he did get was German midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira, and he said he is happy with them. "Transfer dealings are not easy with Real, if you move a finger a storm breaks out. "These two are good players, young, and they were in the last year of their contracts. "We paid 25 million euros (for the pair), that's a competitive price." Despite the embarrassment of playing riches at his disposal, Mourinho's Real started the season with a 0-0 draw against Real Mallorca and immediately came in for some harsh criticism from the Madridista press.

But that's something he accepts as an occupational hazard. "This is Madrid and you can't change it. If you can't live with this pressure it's best not to accept (the job). "At this stage of my career it was the best time for such an experience. "After Chelsea and Inter Milan, after 10 years of success and big clubs, after a demanding league such as Italy, I have the right age and maturity."

And what he's already realized is that no teams are going to come out and attack his and give them space to get in behind their opponents.

"There's an elementary reality, we're playing against teams that keep things tight and try to hit us on the counter-attack.

"Even in a friendly playing Real is like a World Cup final. "This summer, to protect a 1-1 draw a coach made four substitutions between the 90th and 94th minutes. "I have to be prepared tactically for the possibility that we lose the ball and we get jeered. "And then find some solutions to open up closed defenses." The former Chelsea, Inter and Porto boss also took the opportunity to weigh into the goalline technology debate, proving in favor. But he says first and foremost, players have to stop cheating. Last year in the Champions League semi-final, secondleg away to Barcelona, and with Inter protecting a 3-1 first-leg lead, he had Thiago Motta sent-off after some blatant simulation by Sergio Busquets.

After challenging Motta for the ball, Busquets crumpled to the ground clutching his face and writhing in apparent agony, only to be caught on TV cameras taking a sneaky peak through his fingers to check if his play-acting had worked. It did, Motta was dismissed for an alleged elbow but Inter still held on to reach the final, playing an hour with 10 men.

"The most important technology is the collaboration between players and referees so we can stamp out dives such as Busquets' with Thiago Motta. "And then it's impossible not to introduce goalline technology, it's elementary, basic and avoids injustices. "As for other things such as offsides, that's a discussion for our children." — AFP

Rio set to return after Utd's reserves outing

PALMA DE MALLORCA: Real Madrid's coach Portuguese Jose Mourinho reacts during the Spanish League football match between Real Madrid and Mallorca at Iberostar Stadium in Palma de Mallorca. — AFP

Bans and injuries, hamper Blanc's France renaissance PARIS: Laurent Blanc's plans to use France's opening Euro 2012 qualifier at home to Belarus today as a launch-pad for the rebirth of the national side have been hit by bans and injuries to key players. The new coach is hoping to banish memories of France's abject World Cup campaign with some rousing attacking performances in the qualifiers, but his hands have been tied by punishments meted out to the supposed ringleaders of the training boycott in South Africa. The French Football Federation banned Jeremy Toulalan, Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra for one, three and five matches respectively, leaving Blanc bereft of likely first-team stalwarts for his first competitive games at the helm.

Blanc is thought to want to build his side around playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, with whom he worked at Bordeaux, but the 22-million-euro Lyon new boy is suspended for two matches after he was sent off in France's 2-1 defeat by South Africa at the World Cup. Gourcuff's likely replacement Samir Nasri, meanwhile, is out for a month following knee surgery, and Hatem Ben Arfa was not selected after going on strike at Marseille to force through his move to Newcastle United.

"Every player that improves your team's play and the play of the other players is

interesting and important," said Blanc.

"But I can't replace a playmaker with someone who isn't a playmaker. We'll have to compensate and set the team up differently." Blanc is likely to keep faith with the central defensive partnership of Adil Rami and Philippe Mexes, who started in the 2-1 friendly defeat against Norway last month, and he says establishing the core of the side is one of his main priorities. "A team is composed of a backbone and that includes the goalkeeper, the two sentinels' (centreback and holding midfielder), the playmaker - depending on the style of play you adopt - and the centre-forward," he said.

"To form a solid defensive base, you need a complementary centre-back pairing that is efficient and that performs just as well defensively as it does in terms of the construction of the play. It's not easy." Blanc is keen to instil a sense of pride and respect for the shirt in his players and to that end he invited his former France team-mate Zinedine Zidane to train with the squad at Clairefontaine on Wednesday. Zidane told them that the only way to regain the fans' support was by winning, and Florent Malouda says it is time to draw a line under what happened at the World Cup. "We have to stop lamenting and

talking about what happened in South Africa and start talking about our next opponents, Belarus and Bosnia (who host France next Tuesday)," said the Chelsea winger. "The best way to respond is on the pitch. It's the best therapy." Belarus have only been a FIFAaffiliated country since 1992 and have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament, but manager Bernd Stange believes his side can produce an upset at the Stade de France. "France will be clear favorites today, but I believe we will have chances to clinch a positive result in Paris," said the German coach. "We respect France but we are not afraid of them."

A former coach of Iraq, Stange has a number of selection quandaries to contend with and must choose between long-term first-choice goalkeeper Yury Zhevnov, who is short of playing time at Zenit Saint Petersburg, and in-form Anton Amelchenko of Russian side FC Rostov. The defense is likely to be an all BATE Borisov affair, with Igor Shitov, Sergei Sosnovski, Alexander Yurevich and Maksim Bordachev set to start, but there are concerns over the match fitness of key attacking midfielder Alexander Hleb, who joined Birmingham City on loan from Barcelona on Tuesday. — AFP

LONDON: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is set to return from the knee injury that wrecked his World Cup after emerging unscathed from a reserve team outing on Wednesday. United reserve team boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer declared Ferdinand ready to make a first-team return after the defender came through the second string clash with Oldham. It was the first time Ferdinand had been in action since he suffered a major knee ligament injury in a freak collision with Emile Heskey on the first day of World Cup training with England in South Africa. The injury wrecked the 31-year-old's hopes of captaining his country and also resulted in him missing the opening three games of United's Premier League challenge, plus the start of England's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

However, it seems Ferdinand is now on track to face Everton at Goodison Park on September 11 after a typically stylish performance in the low-key arena of Bower Fold in Stalybridge.

"Rio is always the same player," said Solskjaer. "It is awhile since he has played but he was still calm. "He has get through an important 45 minutes, straight after two very hard training sessions...so we are delighted with him."

Solskjaer moved quickly to dispel any fears that Ferdinand's premature departure was down to a recurrence of the injury. For a player who has struggled badly for fitness over the past two years, during which he has missed 15 England games alone, Ferdinand is desperate for an injury-free run.

And Solskjaer confirmed he is raring to go. "There was no problem whatsoever," he said. "It was always planned that he would play 45 minutes. I am not sure he needs any more games. Rio is a naturally fit lad. "Today was about distances and getting tighter to the ball.

Now he is available for selection again." Goalless when Ferdinand ended his contribution, United eventually emerged triumphant in a Manchester Senior Cup tie watched by Paul Scholes when Federico Macheda lashed home a superb left-footed strike in the latter stages to seal a 2-1 win. — AFP

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Asian golf welcomes Singapore expansion Bumper prize pot boosted to $6 million SINGAPORE: Asian golf bodies have welcomed the $6 million Singapore Open's move to expand its field and allow more golfers from the region a tilt at glory. The tournament, Asian richest national Open, will boast an increased field of 204 for the Nov 11-14 event, which will this year be headed by Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott. Sponsors Barclays have ramped the prize money up by $1 million as organizers announced that 32 positions would be allocated to players

from local tours. "Being one of the bigger tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region, I think it's great that it's opened up and become more representative of all of the different golfing organizations within the region," Max Garske, CEO of the PGA Tour of Australasia said yesterday.

"I think it's a very positive move and we're delighted that it gives some of our players a chance to go and play there."

The event will be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and The European Tour. The

expanded field will compete on both the Serapong and Tanjong courses on the resort island of Sentosa. Players will play both courses for the first two days and after the cut on the Serapong course only. The top 75 players from both the Asian and European tours will make up the bulk of the field.

The 32 position earmarked for local tours will go to players from the Mercedes-Benz Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association Tour, the Korean Golf Tour and the

Professional Golf Tour of India. The 2009 Mercedes-Benz Tour Order of Merit winner Namchok Tantipokhakul is now guaranteed a spot in Singapore.

"I am in shock! Last year was a great season for me... but this is an unexpected surprise," the Thai said in a statement. "I have played in the qualifying rounds for the Barclays Singapore Open before and just missed making it through. Now I don't have to worry about trying to qualify. I can't wait for the week to come." — Reuters

SYDNEY: Libby Trickett competes in the Women's 100m Butterfly at the Australian Swimming Championships in this file photo. — AFP

Trickett back for shot at the London Games

SYDNEY: Triple Olympic gold medalist swimmer Libby Trickett has come out of retirement for a crack at the 2012 London Games, but Australia's head coach questioned yesterday whether she could recapture her best form.

Trickett, 25, announced her comeback late Wednesday and said she wanted to be eligible in time under international drug-testing protocols to represent her country again at next year's world championships in Shanghai. The former 50m and 100m freestyle world record holder retired last December, citing a

desire to move on to the next stage of her life. But Trickett said she started to realize in recent months that she still felt the need to compete and she had already resumed light training with her coach Grant Stoelwinder.

"I think it really solidified it at Pan Pacs (Pan Pacific event in California last month) seeing the guys race," Trickett said on television. "I guess I was just ready to test myself again and really I just want to see how far I can take my swimming and see how fast I can get."

Trickett refused to wear high-tech body

suits, a stance which is held to have cost her a title at last year's World Championships in Rome. The controversial polyurethane suits have now been banned, which Stoelwinder said would benefit her as she returns to competition. But Leigh Nugent, Australia's head coach, said that while he was delighted that Trickett was back he was unsure whether she will be able to return to her best.

It could take a year until it was clear whether she could recapture the form that won her three gold medals at the

2008 Beijing Olympics in the 100m butterfly and the 100m freestyle and medley relays, he said. "I wouldn't be making any predictions about whether I was confident or not, we'll just watch her progress and maybe in 12 months' time I could say whether I'm confident or not," Nugent told reporters.

Meanwhile, Australia's triple Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice has undergone successful surgery on her right shoulder to repair a long-term injury that has threatened her build-up to the 2012 London Olympics. — AFP

NY Liberty reaches WNBA East finals NEW YORK: The New York Liberty advanced to the WNBA's Eastern Conference finals with a 7774 win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday, clinching a 2-1 series win.

Cappie Pondexter scored 30 points, including a tiebreaking jumper with 28 seconds remaining, to set a franchise record for points in a playoff game. After Pondexter made her goahead jumper, Indiana's Tamika Catchings missed a driving layup 4 seconds later and New York's Taj McWilliams-Franklin grabbed the rebound. The Liberty called timeout, but were called for a 5-second violation on the ensuing inbounds play, turning the ball over. Catchings missed another layup with 12.9 seconds to go, McWilliamsFranklin again corralled the rebound and passed to Kia Vaughn, who was fouled.

Fever coach Lin Dunn believed Catchings was fouled on both layup attempts and did not hesitate to criticize the officials.

"I'm very disappointed that Eric (Brewton), Denise (Brooks) and Lamont (Simpson) did not call a foul when Tamika drove to the rim the first time, and the second time," Dunn said. "It's unfortunate that the players did not get to finish the game on their own." Catchings, however, put the blame on herself. "Things happen and regardless of whether you get fouled or not, I didn't finish two layups," she said.

"Doesn't matter. I take the blame. You got to hit those shots." Vaughn then made 1 of 2 free throws to extend the Liberty's lead to three points, and Indiana's Briann January missed a potential tying 3 with 3.9 seconds left.

Vaughn had a season-high 13 points in extended playing time.

"She was amazing," Pondexter said of Vaughn.

"My whole career, her whole career I've never seen Kia play like that. If she didn't play like that, we definitely wouldn't be here advancing to the next round." New York reached the conference finals for the second time in three years where it will face Atlanta beginning Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Indiana's Katie Douglas scored 24 points and Catchings had 21 as the Fever fell to 0-7 in postseason series in which they didn't have home-court advantage, including last year's WNBA finals loss to Phoenix.— AP

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Oswalt steers Phillies past Dodgers Rays edge LOS ANGELES: Philadelphia's Roy Oswalt held Los Angeles hitless until two outs in the sixth inning, guiding the Phillies to a 51 win over the Dodgers in the National League on Wednesday.

Oswalt (10-13) threw 115 pitches and struck out six. He is 4-1 with a 1.90 ERA in seven starts since the Phillies acquired him from Houston. Philadelphia used leadoff homers by Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino in the first two innings to get a win that kept it within three games of the NL East lead and 1-1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the wild-card race. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (11-9) took the loss despite allowing two runs over six innings and striking out 11.

Giants 2, Rockies 1 In San Francisco, pinchrunner Darren Ford scored the go-ahead run from second base on a wild pitch and throwing error in the eighth inning, lifting San Francisco over Colorado. Giants starter Tim Lincecum (12-9) ended a career-worst five-start skid, getting the best of a classic pitchers' duel. Colorado starter Ubaldo Jimenez (17-6) was denied in his fifth attempt at a franchise-record 18th win. He lost his third straight start and fourth consecutive decision. The Giants crept within three games of NL West leader San Diego. San Francisco closer Brian Wilson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 38th save in 42 chances.

Braves 4, Mets 1 In Atlanta, Tommy Hanson finally got some run support and won for the first time in nearly two months, pitching seven shutout innings to lead Atlanta past New York. Hanson (9-10) went 0-5 in his previous 10 starts. But he was in total command against New York. A double in the fourth was the lone hit off the Atlanta starter. The Braves won their fifth straight and stayed level with Cincinnati for the overall NL lead. Atlanta started the game with three straight hits off Mets starter Mike Pelfrey (13-8), who went five innings.

Reds 6, Brewers 1 In Cincinnati, Aroldis Chapman hit 165 kph (103 mph) on the radar gun, then got his first big league win when Cincinnati rallied to beat Milwaukee.

Chapman (1-0) threw two pitches at that speed in his second straight unhittable performance.

The Reds stretched their NL Central lead to a season-high eight games over St. Louis. Cincinnati hasn't enjoyed such a big edge since 1995, the last time it reached the playoffs. Ryan Hanigan's pinchhit, three-run homer in the seventh off Todd Coffey (2-3) set up the Reds' three-game sweep.

Cincinnati has dominated the Brewers all season, winning seven of eight.

Diamondbacks 5, Padres 2 In Phoenix, Brandon Allen had an impressive 2010 debut with Arizona, hitting a grand slam and making several rangy catches in left field to help the Diamondbacks send reeling San Diego to its seventh straight loss.

Called up from the minors before

Blue Jays

SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez catches a fly ball hit by Colorado Rockies' Melvin Mora for the final out of a baseball game in San Francisco. San Francisco won 2-1. — AP the game, Allen made a running, leaping catch against the fence in the fourth inning and had an inthe-gap grab in the fifth to back Arizona starter Barry Enright (62). Allen punctuated his return to the majors in the seventh, hitting his first career grand slam to right off Luke Gregerson (3-7).

Arizona completed a three-game sweep of the NL West leaders.

The Diamondbacks have won six of seven.

Marlins 16, Nationals 10 In Miami, Washington's Nyjer Morgan charged the mound after a pitch sailed behind him, triggering a bench-clearing brawl during Florida's win over the Nationals. Morgan, recently suspended and criticized by his own manager for questionable acts on the field, left Florida catcher Brett Hayes with a separated shoulder the previous day after a home plate collision in the 10th inning. Florida pitcher Chris Volstad (9-9) hit Morgan with a pitch in the fourth inning this time. He followed it up by throwing his first pitch of the

sixth behind Morgan, setting off a frenzied scene. Morgan took a big swing that appeared to graze Volstad's face - Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez clotheslined Morgan, knocking off his batting helmet and sending him to the ground. Morgan was among four players ejected from the game, and was booed as he raised his arms as he was escorted off the field. Morgan is currently appealing a seven-game suspension for throwing a ball at a fan in the stands in Philadelphia on Aug 21. Washington reliever Doug Slaten and manager Jim Riggleman were ejected after Sanchez was hit with a pitch in the seventh. Four batters were hit overall. Washington's Scott Olsen (3-8) lasted just 1 2-3 innings while losing his sixth straight start. He allowed nine runs.

Astros 5, Cardinals 2 In Houston, Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer as Houston completed a sweep of St. Louis, handing the fading Cardinals their fifth straight defeat.

Nelson Figueroa (4-2) pitched out of two

bases-loaded jams and lasted five innings for the win. Shut out 3-0 the previous two nights, St. Louis snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak in the first for a 2-0 lead.

Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan (1-7) was activated from the disabled list before the game and allowed only one hit until the Astros rallied in the fifth.

Cubs 5, Pirates 3 In Chicago, Kosuke Fukudome had three hits, including a goahead double, during a perfect day at the plate to lead Chicago past Pittsburgh. Fukudome went 3 for 3 with two doubles and a walk. He also scored twice.

Chicago starter Tom Gorzelanny was injured in the third when Jose Tabata lined a shot off his right hand. The left-hander departed for X-rays, but five Cubs relievers combined to allow four hits the rest of the way. Thomas Diamond (1-3), who replaced Gorzelanny, gave up two hits in 1 2-3 innings for his first major league win. Pittsburgh starter James McDonald (2-5) allowed eight hits in five innings.— AP

ST PETERSBURG: Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria snapped an eighth-inning tie with an RBI single, leading the Rays to a 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League on Wednesday.

Ben Zobrist began the winning rally by drawing a one-out walk from Shawn Camp (4-3), and was driven home by Longoria. Tampa Bay starter David Price (16-6) got his club record 16th win, allowing one run over eight innings and striking out seven. Closer Rafael Soriano worked out of a jam in the ninth for his major league-leading 40th save in 42 opportunities. The victory gave Tampa Bay its 11th consecutive home series win over Toronto, and the Rays remained nine games clear in the wild-card race.

Yankees 4, Athletics 3 In New York, AJ Burnett bounced back from an awful August by pitching six effective innings to guide New York past Oakland. Burnett (10-12) went 0-4 in five starts since his previous win, and had a 7.80 ERA in August. He got September off to a stronger start, allowing three runs and striking out eight. New York notched its fifth straight win and held its one-game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East. A's starter Brett Anderson (3-6) allowed only one earned run, but Oakland still fell to 1-8 against New York this season. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 28th save. He struck out Kurt Suzuki with a runner on second to end it.

Twins 2, Tigers 1, 10 innings In Minneapolis, Danny Valencia's one-out single in the 10th inning drove in Michael Cuddyer from second base and gave Minnesota victory over Detroit. Cuddyer singled against Ryan Perry (2-5) to start the 10th and stole second base. The Twins kept their four-game lead over Chicago in the AL Central, improving to 7-1 at home against the Tigers this season. Minnesota starter Jon Rauch (3-1) pitched a perfect 10th for the win.

Rangers 4, Royals 3 In Kansas City, Texas rookie Mitch Moreland homered again as the Rangers kept pulling away in the AL West, beating Kansas City. The Rangers increased their division lead to 91/2 games over Oakland. Moreland homered for the second straight game, leading off the sixth inning with a shot that made it 4-2. He has five home runs in his first 25 big league games. Texas starter Tommy Hunter (12-2) allowed two runs in 5 2-3 innings.

Rookie reliever Neftali Feliz worked a perfect ninth for his 34th save in 37 opportunities. Nelson Cruz hit a two-run single in the first off Royals starter Bryan Bullington (1-4).

White Sox 6, Indians 4 In Cleveland, Paul Konerko hit a three-run homer in the eighth to lift Chicago to victory over Cleveland, as Manny Ramirez made his White Sox debut. Ramirez provided only a bloop a single in his debut but was on deck for Konerko's two-out hit off Justin Germano (0-1), which delivered a three-game sweep. White Sox reliever Tony Pena (4-2) pitched three innings after replacing Freddy Garcia, who left after four with a stiff back.

Red Sox 9, Orioles 6 In Baltimore, Marco Scutaro and Adrian Beltre homered in a six-run seventh inning as Boston beat Baltimore. Scutaro's two-run homer off Mark Hendrickson (1-5) tied it in the seventh. Victor Martinez added an RBI double, and Beltre followed an intentional walk to David Ortiz with a three-run shot. The Red Sox ended a three-game skid but remained seven games off wild-card leader Tampa Bay. Boston starter Jon Lester improved to 13-0 lifetime against Baltimore, but this one wasn't easy. He yielded more runs (five) in the first two innings than in any of his previous 15 outings against the Orioles, but settled down as Boston overcame a 5-2 deficit. Lester (15-8) allowed eight hits in six innings and struck out 10. Baltimore lost its first game in five.

Angels 4, Mariners 2 In Seattle, Hideki Matsui hit a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh inning as Los Angeles rallied past Seattle. Held to just two hits entering the seventh, the Angels got started with Mike Napoli's leadoff double. Two outs later, Matsui hit his 18th home run, barely avoiding the glover of Mariners outfielder and Japanese compatriot Ichiro Suzuki.

Los Angeles' Trevor Bell (2-4) picked up his first win of 2010 as a starter, throwing six innings.— AP

Friday, September 3, 2010

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A month away, New Delhi seeks Commonwealth Games miracle NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth Games are often known as the "friendly games" but New Delhi has little to smile about one month before the opening ceremony. The city has undertaken huge infrastructure improvements ahead of the October 3 opening, ranging from building new metro lines and flyovers to renovating whole urban districts. But with time ticking away, many of the civic projects are far from finished, and fears are growing that the sports venues will not be up to international competition standards.

The Commonwealth Games Federation has repeatedly warned organizers that ongoing work at stadiums has delayed the installation of electronic equipment essential for the smooth running of events. Barefoot migrant workers toil at new metro stations and at rubble-strewn venues across the city, struggling to make progress as unusually heavy monsoon rains have hit in recent weeks. Poor ticket sales, a lack of sponsors, security fears, corruption scandals and a major outbreak of dengue fever have also filled India's newspapers with tales of woe.

The organizing committee and the government are putting on a brave face, but hopes have faded that Delhi would bathe in the same type of positive light that Beijing enjoyed during the Olympic Games in 2008. On Wednesday, a Times of India poll reported that 76 percent of Delhi residents felt the estimated three-billion-dollar cost of the Games was unjustified, and 50 percent said preparations had severely disrupted their lives. "It would be an understatement to describe the situation as alarming. It is calamitous," the Telegraph newspaper quoted an unnamed senior official as saying. Many of the delays have been blamed on crooked construction deals, while safety certificates for new buildings were also alleged to have been faked.

Best-selling author Chetan Bhagat, writing recently in the Times, urged the public to boycott the Games to protest against the "most blatant exercise in corruption in independent India's history". "Cheering for the loot fest would be a mistake," he said. New Delhi's chief minister Sheila Dikshit reflected widespread official anxiety over the task ahead when she said at the weekend that "I can only pray and request the whole city and the country to pray."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inspected the main stadium on Sunday and called on organizers "to redouble their efforts" to be ready on time. The list of top-quality athletes withdrawing from the Games has grown, though few have directly blamed Delhi's troubled preparations.

Sprint champions Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, swimmer Stephanie Rice and cyclist Chris Hoy will all be missing-robbing the event of much international attention. Australian former Olympic champion Dawn Fraser reflected nervousness among some foreigners when she voiced concerns the event could be hit by an attack similar to the massacre of athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Police and paramilitary troops are expected to keep a tight rein on spectators, and may even ban people from carrying mobile phones and coins. On Wednesday, Home Minister P Chidambaram met with top officials and said the security plan would again be reviewed on September 15.

Spirit among the home nation is unlikely to be lifted by a major haul of gold medals when the Games begin. One top Indian prospect, shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore, who won an Olympic silver at Athens in 2004, has declined to take part due to what he said were unfair national selection policies. However, the immovable deadline of October 3 has slowly started to show some benefits for the city's long-suffering residents. An impressive new airport terminal opened weeks ago, and trains from the airport into the city centre should start running this week. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Indian wrestler and Olympic bronze medalist Sushil Kumar poses during the unveiling of the official 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games merchandise in New Delhi yesterday. — AFP

Pakistan trio out of one-day series Butt, Amir and Asif say they are innocent TAUNTON: Pakistan test captain Salman Butt and his two opening bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have withdrawn from the tour of Britain while investigations into alleged corruption continue. Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan told reporters in London the trio had asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw them from a seven-match one-day series against England because of the "mental torture" they had undergone.

"They said they are extremely disturbed at what has happened," Hasan said. "They mentioned that they are entirely innocent." Hasan said he believed in the players' innocence and added Pakistan could take legal action to defend them. British police confiscated the three players' mobile phones following allegations of corruption in a British newspaper. They were accused of taking bribes to fix incidents in the fourth test against England which finished at Lord's last Sunday.

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed told reporters on Thursday the three players would be replaced. "We will ask for three replacements," Saeed told reporters before a one-day warmup match against English

county Somerset. "The T20 squad for two games will remain as it is here this morning, this means 13 people. For the one-day internationals subsequently we will be asking for replacements to make up the squad of 16 again." Pakistan play two Twenty20 matches against England in Cardiff starting on Sunday followed by five 50 overs games. "The boys will focus on the cricket and we are here to play good cricket," Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi told Sky television.

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Giles Clarke said the board welcomed the decision to withdraw Butt, Amir and Asif. "As chairman of the ICC's (International Cricket Council) Pakistan task team I look forward to working with Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and everyone involved in taking forward cricket in Pakistan," Clarke said in a statement read to reporters. Clarke has called for an ICC team to visit Pakistan, which has not hosted international cricket since militant gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in March last year.— Reuters

Clamour grows for legalized betting in India NEW DELHI: The Pakistan spot-fixing scandal has once again shone the spotlight on illegal betting in the subcontinent and reopened the debate on the legalization of gambling in India. Since the Australian duo of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh admitted in 1998 to passing information to an Indian bookmaker during a 1994 tournament, cricket has seldom had a financial scandal without an Indian connection.

The latest spot-fixing scandal, in which Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are alleged to have bowled three deliberate no-balls by arrangement, continued the trend. Arrested by British police on suspicion of defrauding bookmakers, Mazhar Majeed claimed he dealt with an Indian party. Two Australian cricketers also said they were approached by an Indian bookie in England last year.

Lawyer Rahul Mehra, who has fought numerous legal battles against cricket and other sports bodies in India seeking transparency in their functions, is not surprised.

"The Indians bet on the weather, crops and even smaller and trivial things.

Cricket is a religion here and India is the financial hub. So it's hardly a surprise that an India-Pakistan ODI draws bets worth $20 million," Mehra said. "The only thing is that here betting is not legal which is why there is little government control over the industry." Legal gambling in India is confined to horseracing while casinos are allowed only in a couple of states.

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY Illegal syndicates are thriving, however, and Indian media estimates put the amount bet on last year's Indian Premier League (IPL) at $427 million. A Delhi trial court judge on Tuesday said gambling on cricket should be legalized to prevent the spoils being spent on criminal activity and to generate revenue for the government.

Former India cricket chief Inderjit Bindra has long been a supporter of legalization for similar reasons and to help the fight against match-fixing. "If betting is legalized, it will be in the interest of the government as not only will it eliminate match-fixing but also earn states revenue in crores (tens of millions)," Bindra, now an adviser at the International Cricket Council (ICC), said two years ago. "My personal view is that if you want anything to be regulated, it has to be legalized." The cost to the image of cricket from the involvement of Indian bookmakers in the manipulation of results has been huge. — Reuters

Azarenka collapse shocks US Open

NEW YORK: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus collapses on the court while playing Gisela Dulko of Argentina at the US Open tennis tournament in New York on Wednesday, Sept 1, 2010. Azarenka was taken off the court in a wheelchair. — AP

Murray on fire as US Open heats up Roddick out but US hopes still alive

NEW YORK: Britain's Andy Murray breezed into the second round of the US Open on Wednesday while ninth seed Andy Roddick and Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych made early exits from the year's last Grand Slam event. Fourth seed Murray fired eight aces and 37 winners to overwhelm Slovakia's 71st-ranked Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, in one hour and 51 minutes in the afternoon heat to book a second-round matchup against Jamaican Dustin Brown. "I feel like I'm playing well," Murray said. "But I need to try and keep that level up if I want to win the tournament."

Serbia's 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic reached the third round of the US Open for the first time in seven tries, firing 66 winners in upsetting 2003 US Open champion Roddick 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

"He played very high risk and executed for four sets," Roddick said. "I kept telling myself, 'This has to have an expiration date on it.' I think I needed another set for that.

"I did what I could. He played well. He deserved to win. Too good."

Czech seventh seed Berdych, whose Wimbledon run and a French Open semifinal appearance had him among the favorites, went 0-for-3 in break points in being humbled by France's 35th-ranked Michael Llodra 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4. "I felt confident. I felt good," Berdych said. "I just didn't get a chance to play my tennis. I don't even know if I played well or not. I didn't even see what to do differently or better.

There was no chance to get a rhythm."

Berdych's removal took out the highestranked obstacle to the semi-finals for Murray, who reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2008 US Open, losing to Roger Federer after upsetting world number one Rafael Nadal in a semi-final.

The 23-year-old Scotsman won his first title of 2010 last month at Toronto, beating top-ranked Rafael Nadal in a semi-final and 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer in the final, showing he has the skill to win a

Grand Slam title. "Toronto was a big boost for me, to win against Roger and Rafa. I feel good," Murray said. "I need to keep that up. I need to play my best." Roddick, who has struggled with mononucleosis for months, fell behind 5-2 in the tie-breaker and had no answer for Tipsarevic, who connected on 59 percent of his first serves and won 81 percent of those points (58 of 72).

"First serve was huge," Tipsarevic said.

"Big first serve percentage helped me win."

Roddick said his recent illness was not a factor. "I feel fine," Roddick said. "There's nothing there. I'm not going to talk about it because I lost it. It was frustrating but at the same time I was just trying to make him keep coming up with it. He was able to do it." Tipsarevic next faces French 17th seed Gael Monfils, who celebrated his 24th birthday by ousting 121st-rated Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. The Russian, slowed by knee and ankle injuries, had won four of five prior matches against Monfils.—AFP

NEW YORK: Sweltering conditions and gusting winds proved a handful at the US Open on Wednesday, but it was the consequences of a simple training stumble by Belarus starlet Victoria Azarenka that shocked fans. The 10th seed was 1-5 down in a second round tie against Argentina's Gisela Dulka when she suddenly collapsed in a heap behind the baseline.

She received urgent medical treatment for several minutes before being taken away in a wheelchair to hospital for tests on her condition. With temperatures at Flushing Meadows once again soaring into the 90s Fahrenheit (30s Celsius), first indications were that she had fallen victim to the extreme conditions. But Azarenka later shed light on the incident by explaining in a statement that she had fallen in the gym prior to her match while running a sprint and had stumbled forward, hitting her head and arm.

"I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring," she said. "I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell. "I was taken to the hospital for some medical tests and have been diagnosed with a mild concussion." A former top junior, Azarenka is regarded as one of the best young players in the world at the moment and had been expected to make a run at the title here.

The conditions did pose problems for third seed Venus Williams as she struggled past Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino.

The sole US seed in the women's draw won through 76 (7/3), 6-3 to set up a thirdround tie against another qualifier, Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, who upset 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. But she was made to scrap for it all the way, especially in a first set which saw Marino, who at 19 was 11 years younger than her opponent and playing in just her second WTA Tour-level event, regularly out-hit the two-time former champion in New York. Williams had trouble with her serve action as the hot morning conditions on the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court were joined by gusting winds in the afternoon.

Marino, behind a big serve and forehand, stayed with Williams to 3-3 in the tie-

breaker, before the sole US seed this year ran off four points in a row to move ahead.

The American won three games in a row to move 4-1 up in the second set and then served out to advance into the third round.

"It was challenging, not just with the conditions, but also my opponent. She served so well and mixes up her shots," Williams said. "It seemed like every time I had an opening she came up with a big serve, so I guess I know what its like now playing myself."

Defending champion Kim Clijsters avoided the heat at least, winning the opening match of the night session 6-3, 6-1 against 19-year-old Australian qualifier Sally Peers. Also through was French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who looked back to near her best in a 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Spain's Maria Elena Camerin. The 30year-old, who played the best tennis of her life to lift the French crown in Paris in June, said that although she was pleased with the way she had played, she still needed to improve.

"It was nothing special because I want to serve better.

I want to play some more aggressive shots," she said. "I want to became much more stronger, and from the baseline go pushing to the net.

I want to do this." Just as impressive was former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, who looked more like her old self in crushing China's Zheng Jie 6-3, 6-0 in the opening match on the Arthur Ashe Centre Court. The 22-year-old Serb beauty has been mired in a rut since winning the French Open in 2008 and taking the world number one spot. She failed to cope with the sudden celebrity and status and saw her world ranking plummet throughout 2009.

But after taking on Steffi Graf's former coach, Heinz Gunthardt, as her mentor in February this year, Ivanovic has been gradually working her way back. Ivanovic next goes up against French wildcard Virginie Razzano of France, who ousted 13th seeded compatriot Marion Bartoli 7-5, 6-4. "I feel like I am playing like a top-10 player again and my confidence is there, which is huge for me," she said. Dulko, who advanced on the back of Azarenka's collapse, will next play rising Russian star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who ended the hopes of Sania Mirza of India 6-2, 6-4. — AFP