22 Jan 2010

Kuwait Times

January 22, 2010

INSIDE

One planet: Motorcyclists diaries PAGE 10&11

NO: 14617

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Freedom at stake KJA forms a lawyers’ team to prepare press bill

By Khaled Abdullah KUWAIT: In a bid to defuse recent government moves to curb media freedoms in Kuwait, the Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA) yesterday formed a team of attorneys to come up with a rational press bill that complies with the Constitution.

“The team of lawyers will review both the existing Press and Publication L aw and the Audio-Visual Law and prepare a draft legislation that will be referred to the National Assembly on behalf of the KJA, and in the name of editors-

existing law, against publishing without an official license.

The proposed government amendments stipulate a twoyear jail term against broadcasting without a television license, instead of the fines stipulated under current laws.

The state-backed bill should be approved by the Cabinet before they go to Parliament for debate.

KJA’s Secretary-General Faisal Al-Qenaie, who attended the meeting that was held at the association’s headquarters yesterday, stressed that the meeting with the KJA’s legal advisors was fruitful. He added that asso-

Al-Hamaidi Al-Subai. He added that the team of advisors will compile draft amendments to existing laws during the next week.

A survey being conducted by the Kuwait Times website shows that 67 percent of surfers are against the government amendments while 32 percent support them. The question posted on the newspaper’s site is ‘Do you agree with the government-proposed amendments to the Press and Publication L aw and the Audio-Visual Law?’ Media in Kuwait enjoys considerable freedom and have been aggressive in criticizing top government officials, including the prime minister. But any criticism of the ruler is strictly forbidden by law. Under the current law, no journalist can be jailed or a newspaper closed down without a final court ruling.

Also yesterday, the

offences.

They urged Parliament to reject amendments to existing laws. Newspaper and television editors agreed to boycott lawmakers who back the proposed amendments, said a statement from the KJA. “We urged MPs to reject the government plan to amend the press law,” the statement said. KJA, editors-in-chief and directors of satellite channels emphasized their commitment to the articles of the Constitution that guarantee freedom of opinion and expression. They rejected any attempts to curb liberties

ing journalism freedom at the global and Middle East level.

Al-Qenaie said the government move was an attempt to restrict media freedoms.

Infor mation Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah told newspaper editors earlier this week of plans to amend the Press and Publication Law, and the socalled Audio-Visual Law that

ciation members and advisors who were at the meeting expressed their views on the bill that was presented by the Ministry of Information.

He said that the meeting was also attended by KJA Chairman Ahmad Yousef AlBehbahani, some board members, in addition to the association advisor Dr. Ayed AlMana’ and Deputy Chairman of Kuwait’s Bar Association

Gulf Association of Press and Freedom of Media (GAPFM) denounced the proposed amendments on Kuwait’s media laws. “Freedom of expression is guaranteed by the Constitution and the amendments would kill it,” said GAPFM in a statement.

Kuwaiti jour nalists had previously blasted the state plan to enforce tougher punishments against press

and the practice of journalism and various media. “Imposing harsh punishments on the media represents a negative and influential restrictive aspect over the freedom of the press which would adversely reflect on media’s role,” the KJA statement said, adding that journalism is a tool of democratic practice and Kuwait has a prestigious status in the field of observ-

controls private television stations. Sheikh Ahmad said the amendments would stipulate penalties between one and two years for offenders who insult God. Kuwaiti officials have in the past few weeks accused some local media of fueling political and social tensions and called on imposing for tougher penalties to curb violators.

Iraq leader seeks ruling on committee behind ban PAGE 12

Clooney to host Haiti telethon Page 55

Sevilla crush Deportivo 3-0 PAGE 63

in-chief and directors of satellite channels,” the association said in a statement, affirming that the intended bill will fully abide by the principles of the Constitution and public liberties.

Earlier this month, the government announced proposed amendments to the law that introduces a fine of up to $175,000, instead of the $3,500 penalty under the

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Page 2 FRIDAY SPOTLIGHT

By Muna Al-Fuzai

IN MY VIEW

By Ruth Riegler

T

he news that Tony Blair is set to become a consultant for Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) shouldn’t really come as any surprise. The former UK premier who was capable of selling a dodgy dossier — two wars and even of subsequently and unbelievably selling himself as a plausible candidate for the post of Middle East peace envoy — should, after all, have no difficulties with flogging overpriced handbags to airheads - sorry, marketing beautifully crafted exclusive accessories to discerning arbiters of taste.

‘Fashionistas’ will be relieved to learn that Mr. Blair won’t actually be involved in the design side of things, with a source close to him revealing that his position, which comes with an undisclosed six-figure salary, “is likely to involve attracting new clients,” according to the UK’s Daily Telegraph.

My curiosity has been more than a little piqued by the “attracting new clients” part there. I realize, of course, that as the consummate snake oil salesman, Blair could sell snow to the Eskimos and charge them Bond Street

Friday, January 22, 2010

When Tony met Louis prices for it. And I appreciate that his speed dial contains a marginally more select range of contacts than his Pizza Hut delivery free phone line; let’s face it, LVMH, like the other firms Blair performs equally well-remunerated consultancy services for, JP Morgan Chase and Zurich Financial Services, didn’t hire him for his grin or pert abs. But then they’re not selling handbags, sunglasses or even exclusive monogrammed pochettes (don’t ask, I don’t know either) as far as I’m aware, so the reasons behind their seeking this association don’t stretch the imagination quite as far as the new one.

Certainly, the question of how LVMH’s latest client magnet will set about luring potential customers throws up a dizzying array of mental images and accompanying questions. For instance, will Mr. Blair’s future meetings with the JP Morgan Chase directors be prefaced by a 20-minute runway show displaying the latest in belts, wallets and oh-sochic branded accessories for the style-conscious executive? Will he offer LV-branded goodie bags to Zurich Financial’s management board, with a short PowerPoint presentation beforehand on what Milan’s finest will be modeling in the way of haute couture shoes,

SATIRE WIRE

This column has been removed in compliance with the proposed ‘amendments’ to the Press and Publication Law.

I understand that smokers love smoking and need to have their nicotine fix constantly but it should not be at the expense of others.

This is part of Kuwait Times’ campaign against the proposed amendments

Marching towards a brighter future

By Sawsan Kazak

K

tion smokers decide to light up in.

Non-smokers should not have to go home with their clothes, hair and even their pores reeking of cigarette smoke. I understand that smokers love smoking and need to have their nicotine fix constantly but it should not be at the expense of others.

I love to eat and cook but I don’t disturb others with my pastime. How would people feel if I walked around with blue cheese and began to eat it at the mall or in the airport?

I’m sure the odor would repulse many people standing in my vicinity. Or maybe I could walk around with a portable fryer and deep fry my favorite foods while I’m in the elevator. This way anyone who gets close to me will automatically smell bad the whole day. My behavior would be seen inappropriate and disturbing to others; why then isn’t smoking seen in the same light if it has the same results?

I am not trying to advocate a healthy lifestyle, nor do I think anybody should stop smoking to please others. All I am trying to say is that there should be some consideration for those who have not chosen this lifestyle; they should not be obliged to endure health risks and unpleasant situations due to other’s addictions. sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

ruth@kuwaittimes.net

CONNECT THE DOTS

It’s a smoker’s world uwait is a paradise for smokers; you can light up wherever and whenever. At the mall, in public buildings, at the airport and even in the hospitals. People in Kuwait smoke in their cars, at work and in elevators.

Living in Kuwait is heaven for a nicotine junky as he/she never have to worry about being deprived of their little addictive habit. But what about us nonsmokers?

What about the people who have made a conscious decision not to smoke? Why do we have to stand by and tolerate this invasive practice? I’m not even going to mention the secondhand smoke we inhale and how dangerous it is. I also will not refer to the mess made by smokers when they use the whole country as their public ashtray. What I will speak of is the intolerable odor that encompasses any loca-

ties and man bags this winter?

Will he be bringing glossy catalogues along with him while performing his peace envoy duties - which should be hard to fit in alongside all his other shameless and rapacious profiteering, sorry, enterprising consultancy work - so that Mahmoud Abbas and Bibi Netanyahu can flick through the SpringSummer collection in the intervals between discussions? (A tip for the voguish political analyst; indigo tone blouson jackets and cargo shorts are where it’s at for the premier around town attending fruitless peace talks this year.) And will Israel get a discount on ready-to-wear Summer 2010 collection merchandise if they agree to stop building settlements, launching invasions, etc?

Whatever his sales technique, though, we need have no doubt whatsoever that Mr. Blair will be as fabulously successful as a salesman of designer baubles as he has been of wars, finance houses and his own low-cost and seasonally expendable principles. And anyway, as every fashion conscious contemporary plutocrat worth their Paul Smith monogrammed cufflinks knows, integrity’s just sooo last year.

By Fouad Al-Obaid

I

was delighted to read that the Ministry of Public Works is taking serious steps to proceed with plans that will, keep in view, the expected increase in population in the decade to come. They will integrate this knowledge in their plan to construct six new cities. It is also pleasing to see that, perhaps after much fuss, our nation will finally move forward at a greater pace. It will, hopefully, cast a clear shadow on regional peers as we slowly achieve and exceed their achievements in all fields. As a regional pioneer from the early 1960s, I believe we should be eager to regain the position.

The major news about the ‘secret talks’ being held to undermine and perhaps replace the dollar as the world primary reserve currency, thereby undermining it in the long run, will ensure greater stability for oil producing countries. This will create concerns for the planners in Washington. I believe such talks were indicated by most senior officials from the given countries as being incorrect. This notion is perhaps something that can be considered over the long haul, especially if it could achieve price stability.

From that we move on to my favorite subject - Education.

It is clear that any nation willing to progress needs to focus on education, and it is only in an open, unregulated educational environments that novel ideas and experiments can be carried out safely with the aim of developing new techniques, modes, and tools. It is with this idea and proof of religion allowing the mixing of sexes that even the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, home to an austere version of Islam, has opened an international co-ed university. When will liberal, progressive Kuwait be able to do such a thing and be proud of it?

Certainly, there is also the case of a fellow journalist who was brutally attacked a few days ago for voicing his opinions and concerns in a civilized society. Such a barbaric act should not be and will not be tolerated. The perpetrators of such acts should be prosecuted to the fullest degree as an example and deterrence to those that may harbor similar ideas.

In all, one is to be positive in outlook despite the many challenges that we are faced with on a daily basis. Despite the bleak visions that some may have, believing in a bright future is assuring enough that such a future will materialize soon. I believe that, fundamentally, we could all profit from a general development of infrastructure. However, if such development does not go hand in hand with a sound social one, then tall buildings as beautiful as they may appear, will remain nothing more than mere concrete and glass!

One step at a time, we march till the day we shine. fouad@kuwaittimes.net

LOCAL

Friday, January 22, 2010 IN MY VIEW

Limiting freedoms is a slippery slope

By Abdulla Alnouri

P

eople forget that freedoms are not granted to us by our government.

Our rights are only recognized by the State, and some are guaranteed to be protected in such documents as a constitution. In reality, I have the ability to say what I want, when I want to. It is the presence of the government that regulates and stifles my ability to do so freely. I agree that certain limitations should exist to maintain civility, but the recently proposed ‘improvements’ to our freedom of press are nothing short of poorly disguised attempts to gut Kuwait’s constitution and further cripple its democracy.

For those of you who may not have noticed, several newspapers are currently campaigning against a government-sponsored bill to add several amendments to the 2006 Press and Publication Law. This audio-visual law features such ‘improvements’ as twoyear prison sentences and fines as high as KD 50,000 for those found insulting or criticizing a Member of Parliament or the Cabinet. Also, publishing any material determined to be sectarian, threatening to the country’s unity or damaging to Kuwait’s relations with any friendly state would be punishable as well.

Justification for this new law lies behind the belief that these regulations will cut down on sectarianism and therefore unite the country. Are we to accept punishment as a way to bring people together? This flawed proposal either demonstrates lawmakers’ inability to address sectarianism in this country properly or it reveals their intentions to wound this country’s freedom.

Either way, it reflects a lack of imagination.

These laws will not curb sectarianism. It will only change where the con-

versation is going to take place. It may, in fact, make things even worse. At least, if it is in the newspaper or on TV we can see who is making these statements and addressing them. What this law actually does do is limit the freedom of the average individual while giving more power to a select few.

Who would determine what an insult is to a minister or an MP? Who will draw the line on what can be said about a country that Kuwait has friendly relations with? Who would define ‘friendly

The proposed legislation seems to me an attack on everyone in Kuwait’s (citizen or not) intelligence and common sense, not to mention a monumental waste of time. relations?’ This is certainly a slippery slope and very confusing. The last thing we need in our government is more bureaucratic confusion and red tape.

The proposed legislation seems to me an attack on everyone in Kuwait’s (citizen or not) intelligence and common sense, not to mention a monumental waste of time.

If government officials want to promote national unity then I would suggest what several other columnists have already pointed out: Justice. We need to abandon current policies of favoritism and need to simply start putting people in authority who know what they are doing and do not overstep the limita-

tions of their elected positions. Much more damage has been done by clumsy MPs eager to ‘protect the integrity’ of our country by banning Abu Zaid, or Uraifi, or calling for the arrests of people who celebrate the wrong traditions, or even New Year’s Eve. I would argue that many of these zealous MPs have done more to separate the country than just about any media outlet in the country. The most upsetting part of it all is that many of these actions were obvious intentional attempts to rally populist support on touchy subjects and impress constituents by flexing political muscles.

I hope that it is not just my optimistic nature that keeps me from believing that this bill will not pass. While it may not, I do acknowledge that it does not have to in order to cause damage.

Already another wedge has been driven into this society, this time dividing the Press from citizens and officials concerned about national unity. On the heels of the Al-Juwaihel scandal, we have citizens more willing than ever before to scale down the Kuwaiti Constitution, and their freedom, in order to defend their nationality.

Even if the law does pass, I doubt it would be used too harshly against citizens, but again it wouldn’t need to be.

Not many people would be willing to criticize an MP with a KD 50,000 axe hanging over their head. Not many would spend their time developing media sources or companies if they knew their license could be revoked at the whim of an Information Minister.

What caliber of art would be created if an artist knew that they could be heavily fined for painting something too controversial? What kind of society would you live in if your very means of expression, your media outlets, existed under the threat of a prison sentence? abdullaalnouri@kuwaittimes.net

Page 3 FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

This column has been removed in compliance with the proposed ‘amendments’ to the Press and Publication Law.

HalluciNations

A shameful bill!

By Ahmad Saeid

J

ust when everyone in Kuwait has begun believing that the government is being victimized in the power struggle with the National Assembly, the proposed amendments to the Press and Publication Law have ruined the picture. The government appears to be one of those sad characters from movies who are incapable of having friends.

Think Jim Carey in ‘The Cable Guy.’ Anyway, for old times’ sake, I will try to explain why the proposed amendments to the law are wrong.

First of all, how can we be guaranteed that the new law will be implemented properly? I mean, the whole crisis occurred because the authorities did not use the legal procedures, that were already stipulated, to resolve the situation. Instead of the Ministry of Information bravely accepting the blame for failing to perform its duties properly, the suggested amendments imply that there are loopholes within the existing laws, not in the way they were implemented!

Secondly, the very fact that violations

occur, do not necessarily mean there is a need to increase punishment. It will be like saying “it appears as if the death penalty is not enough to stop drug smuggling into the country, so we are going to increase punishment to - death penalty plus flogging the dead body 100 times!”

Thirdly, even if the law is passed, people will still find other ways to express what they want to say. In practice, it will only be one more way to embarrass Kuwait internationally, especially if international organizations will start demanding the release of imprisoned journalists. It might also create a wave of Kuwaiti political asylum-seekers in the world, because they can’t voice out their opinions in their homeland. Some of them may even launch media outlets in those countries, where the Kuwaiti government cannot reach or gag them.

So, the government better have other reasons to propose these amendments, because from what is apparent, they simply don’t make any sense at all.

As for the Parliament, it’s an entirely different story. MPs need to consider few facts before voting on these amendments. First of all, they need to remember the oath they took when they started their duties. It reads “I swear ... to protect freedoms, interests, and the

wealth of the nation.” They should ask themselves why ‘freedoms’ comes first in the word order.

After doing so, MPs would probably want to look into the possibility of the entire crisis over the controversial TV show being ‘staged.’ Some ‘hidden forces’ could’ve used the man to say these offensive things and generate such angry reactions in order to use this momentum to impose censorship. If I know what your reaction will be like, then I can fool you into demanding what I really wanted to do in the first place. It will probably be much better for all of us if MPs stop being so predictable.

If these concepts are beyond our respected parliamentarians, then there will be a price for that. If they okay the amendments and then decide to practice their freedom (which is a hobby for some MPs) of criticizing the government, then no one will dare deliver their messages to the public. Journalists who do that will be risking a jail term.

Finally, if all this is completely meaningless to everyone and if the law is passed, then we will be the first, and probably the only country in the world, that managed to democratically suppress freedoms. We will be the one and only democratically-practiced dictatorship! saeid@kuwaittimes.net

This is part of Kuwait Times’ campaign against the proposed amendments

Let me know what you think: email me at myopinion@kuwaittimes.net

Abd Al-Rahman Alyan Editor-in-Chief

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Stuck in traffic?

Tune in 88.8 Marina FM Popular radio show Al-Diwaniya earns large fan base

KUWAIT: Radio hosts are seen during the Al-Diwaniya radio show broadcasted on 88.8 Marina FM.

By Nawara Fattahova ave you been stuck in a traffic jam and wondered what would you do if your favorite CD suddenly stops? The answer is only one: You can turn to the AlDiwaniya radio show that is broadcast on 88.8 Marina FM from Sunday to Thursday. Being aired in the peak traffic time (1 to 3pm) the popular show has its own fan base.

Listeners tune in the show to hear discussions about different social issues and various topics of interest

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to the general public. The show also touches upon current events and news headlines which are often featured on the show in the form of competitions. A favorite part for the listeners, fans of Al-Diwaniya say, are dedications of Arabic and English music.

Two hosts make the two-hour show a reality: Talal Al-Yaqout, General Manager of Marina FM, and Khalid Al-Ansari. They are the perfect duet who prepares an array of funny sound effects to punctuate each situation. Zahra Abbas assists the

two, receiving phone calls and prompting the two hosts.

The show usually hosts several guests from various backgrounds. On Wednesdays, lawyer Abdulaziz AlAfeisan is featured on the show and Thursdays are highlighted by Kuwaiti comedian actor Tariq Al-Ali. On Mondays or Tuesdays a special guest is Kuwaiti actress Mona Shadad.

Sponsor, sportsmen and people from different walks of life are often hosted in the show.

There is a whole team and long hours of preparation for the show. “It takes us more than three hours to prepare for the show before it starts,” Al-Yaqout said. “We receive thousands of SMS texts daily and may reach more than 3,000 listeners and callers during the show time,” AlYaqout said elaborating that sometimes more people call in and contribute tot he show if “the topic it hot.... It takes us a long time to read each of them.”

Al-Diwaniya became popular because people fell in love with the promos they play to support the show.

One fan even renamed his business after a particularly funny clip. “We just found out that someone named his cafÈ ‘Sit Taallaf 6,000.’ We called him and he admitted to being inspired

by one of our catchphrases. Other people write our phrases on their vehicles or repeat them among friends,” said Al-Ansari.

Visit the set Having a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the show was quite an exciting experience.

It was interesting to see how the radio personalities handled different situations live. The responses of some listeners during one of the competitions on the show was particularly funny. One woman didn’t

know how many countries there were in the GCC and some participants unknowingly repeated wrong answers. I was allowed to witness how hosts handle difficult situations when receiving impolite calls and how they prepare music during commercial breaks.

Marina FM started broadcasting in June 2005 on just one frequency, 88.8 Marina FM, but has since expanded to 98.4 Mix FM. On Marina FM all the programs are broadcasted in Arabic while the Mix FM has Arabic and English programs.

Friday, January 22, 2010

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Dissatisfied at work Who’s to blame

By Ahmad Saeid n old proverb says “Happy is the one who is happy at home.” The modern lifestyle, however, is increasing the importance and influence of being happy at work, for a number of reasons. People now spend more time at work than they do at home.

Work has been redefined from a simple practice to put bread on the family’s table, and keep the roof upon their heads, to the way in which every individual expresses himself and achieves goals that are important to him personally.

Eventually, happiness at work affects people’s psyche in dealing with their day to day lives, therefore, the above proverb can also be correct in the modified form, “Happy at home is that who is happy at work.”

In reality, many people find themselves compelled to struggle in a job that doesn’t give them any personal satisfaction simply for the salary at the end of the month.

According to a recent online poll carried by the Kuwait Times, more than half of Kuwaiti workers are not satisfied with their current jobs. Almost 56 percent of respondents said they are unsatisfied with their current jobs, with only 43 percent claiming to be satisfied.

The 13 percent gap might not seem significant, but considering the numerous studies concluding that happy employee is more productive than one who perceives their job as a burden, we can see that this 56 percent of dissatisfied employees are being less productive than they could be. This kind of dissatisfaction at work is reflected in a deterioration of the services received by all the country’s residents, in addition to its affects on the employees’ personal lives and on society as a whole.

The Kuwait Times questioned a number of individuals working in various jobs about their views on this subject. Abdulmajid Khalaf, a 29-year-old dump truck driver from Egypt, said he is unhappy with his job but has to do it to support his family, “The pay is low, and the work is exhausting, but I have to do it,” he said, adding that even if he found a job where he would be more happy, but had to take less pay he wouldn’t take it, “Forty KD is too much to sacrifice if your [monthly] pay is only 200 dinars,” he said.

Ragheb Humoud, a 30-year-old salesman from Syria, told the Kuwait Times that he is dissatisfied with his current job because “the pay is low and the working hours are long.”

Humoud said that he had to take this job because he couldn’t find a

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better one. Despite this, however, he said, “Even though I’m not happy doing this job, I still feel much better than if I were unemployed; you have to keep the money coming in, plus, having a job can help you in finding another job that you love - it will be easier than searching for a good job while you are unemployed.”

happy.

“My job involves providing services to people with special needs, and that gives me a kind of satisfaction, that I’m helping people, and also that I’m pleasing Allah with what I do,” he told the Kuwait Times.

Al-Enizi explained that he didn’t chose his job by himself, instead

isn’t much work involved, and then it became convenient to stay in the job” he said. Muhammad insisted that no ambitious person should be completely satisfied with their current job, stating, “People should always look up, and try to find something better.”

All those surveyed by the Kuwait Times said that the

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Higher up the salary scale, things can be dramatically different.

Thirty-three-year-old Kuwaiti dentist Saud Al-Mutairy says that his job gives him pleasure and selffulfillment.

“I chose to be a dentist because I love medicine, and it is also a prestigious thing to do, but now as I do it, it gives me a tremendous amount of happiness when I see that I was able to alleviate the pain of a person, and see that in his eyes,” he said.

Al-Mutairy added that if he had to look for another job, he would seek one that would give him the same feeling of satisfaction, even if it meant making less money.

Ahmad Al-Enizi, a Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor employee, said that his job providing services to disabled individuals makes him

being appointed to the position by the Civil Service Commission. He asserted that many dedicated people who want to do something just for the love of it become disillusioned when they see that people with connections get the positions that suit them the most with no consideration of their actual abilities.

“Ultimately, these people search for a job for a living and forget about dedication,” he concluded.

A good salary is not always the royal road to job satisfaction, however. Muhammad (not his real name), a 37-year-old Kuwaiti army sergeant said he is dissatisfied in his current job, “I chose this job because it was accessible for me, you can join the army without connections or anything; the pay’s good, and there

majority of people in Kuwait chose jobs based on two factors, the salary they will get and the convenience factor of the job, primarily the hours and nature of the work itself.

Lubna Al-Kazi, a professor of sociology at Kuwait University, explained that this is part of Kuwaiti socialization: “We want jobs where we have friends, without much risk and, of course, with job security; the answer is always the government sector,” she said. Professor Al-Kazi added that this phenomenon is only witnessed in Gulf nations as other Arab countries don’t have an expanding public sector like the GCC. The prominent academic said that dissatisfaction with work leads numerous people to take early retirement and causes depression

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ork has been redefined from a simple practice to put bread on the family’s table, and keep the roof upon their heads, to the way in which every individual expresses himself and achieves goals that are important to him personally

for many.

“I think society pays a high price in losing its human capital in return for the investment in their education. Society will not progress unless its people are productive,” she insisted.

Perhaps then, if you belong to the 56 percent of unsatisfied employees, it will be wise to add ‘Finding a better job’ to your list of New Year’s resolutions. If you decide to do so, bear in mind this proverb: “Find a way to make money doing what you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”

saeid@kuwaittimes.net

Friday, January 22, 2010

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Kuwaiti-US soldiers hold joint exercises KUWAIT: Kuwaiti commandos from the 68th platoon participated in a two-week training exercise to improve marksmanship skills with the assistance of United States Army 2-300 Field Artillery, 115th Fires Brigade. “The training is one of the extra modules of

the 68th platoon, which is comparable to the one that US Special Forces undergoes,” said First Lt. Fahad Al- Ouwish, the Sniper Squad Leader of the 68th platoon. Al-Ouwish explained that most of his men go through rigorous training at the Kuwait Ranger

Al-Roudhan honors retired firefighters KUWAIT: The Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan asserted yesterday the important role played by the General Fire Department in protecting and serving the society. He was speaking during a ceremony held under his patronage to honor retired fire fighters, with the attendance of the Director General of the General Fire Department, Major General Jassem Al-Mansouri and Fire Department officials.

Al-Roudhan added that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber

Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah continuously praise the efforts of fire fighters in dealing with all crises, and their loyalty to the country and people.

He added that fire fighters around the world play an honorable role in saving people, therefore in Kuwait a special club will be established as an entertainment center for fire fighters and their families.

Meanwhile, Major General Al-

Mansouri said in his speech that the General Fire Department highly appreciates the efforts of Al-Roudhan in supporting this important sector. He then addressed the retired officers, thanking them for their hard work and taking up the responsibility of an important department, especially as they worked through difficult times when technology and tools were limited. Some 189 officers of the fire department were honored during the ceremony and were presented with memorial shields. — KUNA

crimes Visa trafficker arrested KUWAIT: Detectives from the General Immigration Department recently arrested a Bahraini national in connection with visa trafficking. After noticing a significant increase in the number of marginal laborers, police detained and interrogated one of them. He admitted to paying KD 1,500 to an individual who owns five companies. He reportedly issued a visa to the laborer and assigned him to other companies. The owner was arrested and confessed to issuing 90 visas for expatriates from varied backgrounds. A case was filed and further investigations are in progress.

Police raids Police recently raided a number of brothels and illegal long distance phone booths. A number of illegal residents were also arrested.

Runaway maid A citizen filed a complaint stating that his domestic helper had run away while he, his wife and child were asleep. She reportedly took her passport and locked the external door. Opening the door proved to be an arduous task for the family, the man stated in his complaint.

Citizens arrested Three drunk citizens, including a minor, were arrested by the police night patrol in Farwaniya. A case was filed and the suspects were referred to relevant authorities.

Inebriated man When police received a tip-off from campers in Bneider about finding a corpse in an abandoned vehicle, they reached the scene and inspected the vehicle. They learnt that the man at the helm was in a drunken stupor and had fallen asleep. He was arrested.

Four-member gang nabbed Police arrested a four member gang (three bedoons and a Saudi national) while trying to decamp with the booty they had stolen from a camp in Subbiya.

Case papers indicate that a night patrol force took notice of a vehicle that was parked outside the camp, on to which electronic devices and a power generator were being manually loaded.

Police accosted the vehicle and questioned the men. They appeared confused and eventually admitted to committing the crime. A case was filed and the suspects were referred to relevant authorities.

Domestic helper arrested A runaway domestic helper was arrested seconds before boarding a flight back to her native place, said security sources. Case papers state that a citizen had filed a complaint against his domestic helper who had escaped from the household in Sulaibikhat after stealing jewelry worth KD 7,250. After conducting a thorough

investigation, police learnt that she had already purchased a ticket to return home.

However, they prevented her from entering the plane with the jewelry in her possession.

A case was filed and she was referred to relevant authorities.

Theft cases A citizen filed a complaint stating that thieves had broken into his house in Doha. They reportedly stole a laptop, some personal photographs and miscellaneous items. A case was filed and further investigations are in progress. In another case, a member from the ruling family lodged a complaint stating that thieves had made away with KD 20,000 from a company he owned and smashed its furniture. Preliminary investigations revealed that no physical evidence was available to confirm forced entry into the premises. Detectives deduced that the external door was opened with the help of a duplicate key. All employees who had access to the keys were interrogated. Further investigations are in progress.

Attempted sexual abuse Police arrested a citizen, a resident of Bayan, in connection with threatening a young man with a firearm in an attempt to sexually abuse him in Salmiya. Case papers state that the young man reported the incident to police and gave a detailed description of his vehicle and its license plate number. Police then located his residence in Bayan and placed him under arrest.

School before joining the Brigade. They are then selected for the 68th platoon. “Most of the officers and enlisted personnel have tried to go to the 68th (platoon) because it’s top notch. But it’s hard to get in because you have to undergo tests,” Al-Ouwish said.

Several car injuries

By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A 43-year-old Indian woman sustained head and arm injuries in a traffic accident that occurred along Abdali highway. The woman was admitted to Jahra hospital.

Also, a 31-year-old Indian sustained an injury to her arm and suffered multiple bruises in another traffic accident that took place in Jahra. In a third accident that occurred in Fahaheel, a 25-year-old Egyptian suffered chest pain and a 46-year-old compatriot

sustained multiple bruises and a fracture to his shoulder. They were both admitted to Adan hospital for treatment. In a hit and run case, a 27-year-old Egyptian sustained head injuries after being run over by a speeding car along Al-Ghouss street, opposite Jaber Al-Ali. In another incident, a 23year-old bedoon was fatally wounded after being run over by a speeding car along the Sixth Ring Road. He was admitted to Farwaniya hospital.

Larijani’s visit to strengthen ties TEHRAN: The upcoming visit of Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council Ali Larijani to Kuwait will be an opportunity to emphasize on and strengthen relations between the two countries, said an Iranian parliament member.

Head of the Council’s security and foreign policy committee MP Aladdin Borujerdi said that the visit comes as part of the friendly relations that the two neighboring Islamic countries share. He said the visit will be a good opportunity to exchange views and discuss strengthening relationships in all fields. He emphasized that Larijani will hold significant talks with Kuwaiti officials.

He praised the role played by the Kuwaiti National Assembly (NA) and said it was special and unique

among Arab parliaments.

Larijani will arrive in Kuwait next Monday as head of a parliamentarian delegation in response to an invitation from NA Speaker Jassim AlKhorafi. — KUNA.

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Friday, January 22, 2010

in the news 100 laborers demonstrate in Mahboula KUWAIT: At least a hundred laborers employed with a company headquartered in Mahboula recently staged a strike in protest over their salaries being withheld for the past five months. The laborers also complained against disconnecting power supply to the building that accommodates them. Ahmadi Security Director Brigadier, Abdul Fattah Al-Ali and the company’s officials negotiated with laborers and managed to rectify the situation by promising to restoring power supply and pay backdated salaries soon.

Heritage sites to be protected The Chairman of the committee entrusted with eliminating encroachments on state property, Lt. Mohammed Al-Bader, recently assessed the damage inflicted on historical structures situated at Jahra farms.

Some of these are part of Kuwait’s cultural heritage and need to be preserved. He was accompanied by the Chairman of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR), Jassim Al-Tenaib and poet Khalifa Al-Weqayyan. Al-Bader said that all the heritage sites in Jahra would be fenced.

Meanwhile, the Ahmadi Municipality will continue to remove illegal

sign and billboards erected along various expressways within the governorate’s jurisdiction. The Ahmadi Municipality’s Manager, Fahad Al-Fahad made the announcement to the press. He added that the 94 billboards were removed in October and November last year.

Health Minister leaves for Canada, US Kuwaiti Health Minister Dr. Helal AlSayer and delegation accompanying him left here yesterday on a nine-day official visit to Canada and the United States to enhance medical relations between Kuwait and the two countries as well as sign agreements with some universities.

Al-Sayer’s visit to Canada is aimed to improve bilateral relations in the medical sphere and reserve seats for Kuwaiti students in the medical field. His visit to the US is to improve investments concerning health issues. Al-Sayer is accompanied by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for allied medical services Dr. Qais Al-Dowairi, Director of Hussain Maki Juma Center for cancer treatment Dr. Ahmad Al Awadhi as well as Head of Anesthesia department Doctor Mohammed Shamsa and Public Relations Manager Faisal Al-Dosiri.

‘Regulations to ensure e-commerce safety are vital’ KUWAIT: The Kuwait Information Technology Society (KITS) urged officials to adopt the recommendations issued during the 2nd Gulf Internet Week held last month on the safety of e-commerce. It is important to come up with laws and regulations directed towards organizing and developing a secure infrastructure for ecommerce, KITS Chairman Khalid Al-Asousi said Wednesday night on the sidelines of a celebration to honor corporations and individuals who participated in the internet week.

Collective efforts ensure the success of organizations

and corporations, he said, adding that Education Ministry, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah Informatics Award, Sheikh Ali Al-Jaber IT website, Kuwait Diabetes Team, Himmatna Lidiratna volunteering group, Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Bahrain Internet Society participated in the event.

Meanwhile, member at KITS Bassam Al-Shamiri said that it was important to raise awareness on safety issues concerned with the use of the internet and to put into effect laws that force private and public institutions into implementing international criteria on special needs’ utilization of the internet.

He noted that Kuwait Diabetes Team was using hitech gadgets that facilitated internet utilization for special needs. Chief of Himmatna Lidiratna group Ibrahim AlMushoti said that his group would cooperate with diabetes team to train special needs on the use of the internet.

Around 100 handicapped people participated in the second internet week, he said, adding that it is important for special needs to mingle with the society. The celebration was held under the patronage of Sheikha Sheikha AlAbdulah Al-Sabah and Sheikha Intisar Al-Mohammad AlSabah. —KUNA

‘Positive, negative changes affect KSE’ KUWAIT: Despite the swinging performance of trades at Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) this week, a number of positive and negative changes affected the performance and made traders optimistic of the future.

The Vice Chairman of International Financial Advisors (IFA) Saleh Al-Selmi said that traders were optimistic at the beginning of the week because of the development of insurance situations and its positive effect on listed companies. However, shortage in fluidity was the main reason for the decrease of the bourse’s major indexes, pressuring economy officials, he said. He said that although the law on the market’s authority was approved, it did not necessarily contribute to the increase in transactions. AlSelmi added that the law as a turning point and stressed on the importance of more cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Al-Zomorodah company Mahmoud Haidar said that one of this week’s major events witnessed was the transfer of some shared investment portfolios to other portfolios, which resulted in the activation of trade of companies in several sectors.

Moreover, the initial approval of the law on the market’s authority by the National Assembly spread optimism among traders who look forward to development projects announced by the government, he pointed out. He said he expects that activity of main shares to go up next week, as shares are transferred between portfolios.

The director of investment portfolios at Global Investment House Maitham Al-Shakhs said that the main events this week were the hike of value of trades shares to KD 100 million, stability of major shares, and the increase of the price index to 7,000 points. —KUNA

Page 9

Government boycotts special session for the disabled

By B Izzak KUWAIT: The scheduled special session that was due to approve a law for people with special needs was not held yesterday because the government boycotted the meeting without providing explanations.

Disgruntled MPs immediately filed a new request to discuss the law, which was earlier passed in the first reading, in the regular session on February 2. This move will be seen as the one that forces the government to debate the law. Under Kuwaiti law, at least one cabinet minister must be present for a national assembly session to be considered legal.

Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi adjourned the session after informing MPs that the government would not attend and expressed regret over the government action. He said that the session was previously agreed upon between the government and the Assembly. The law calls for more benefits for people with special needs including employment benefits and others.

Khorafi said that the session had been arranged between the government and the Assembly after the law was earlier passed in the first reading and after it was agreed to introduce a number of amendments before making the second and final vote.

The speaker said that he was unaware of the reason why the government boycotted the session, adding that if differences between the committee and the government were present, the final decision is always taken in the Assembly.

A government source had said late Wednesday night that the government was not happy that the parliamentary committee did not take into consideration the amendments it had submitted. The source also said that the committee did not coordinate with the government which was also not invited to the committee meetings.

After adjourning the session, 10 MPs filed a request to discuss the second reading on the law during the February 2 regular assembly session.

Head of the parliamentary committee on people with special needs MP Mussallam Al-Barrak condemned the government for boycotting the session, saying the government should have attended the session and explained its reasons for rejecting the law. He also expected that the main reason for the government rejection appears to be financial.

Other MPs criticized the government saying its decision is indicative of its lack of concern for people with special needs.

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Friday, January 22, 2010

One planet: Motorcyclists diaries

By Hussain Al-Qatari

M

uhannad’s obsession with bikes began at the early age of eight. He rode a threewheel ATV then, and at the age of ten he upgraded to a two-wheel bike. It was when he was fifteen, however, that he bought his first actual motorbike, a Honda 185CC. Muhannad Al-Sultan is now 40-years-old, and

“It took me three years from then to convince my friend Hussein Ashkanani to come with me on the trip,” he jokes.

After his marriage, Muhannad put his biking fervor on hiatus for eight years. “It was rather difficult to balance my familial obligations and my passion for biking; it is a dangerous sport, let’s not kid ourselves and say it’s not,” he says.

In 2005, he gave up; he was unable to tame this passion for adventure, and started to bike once again. “I noticed that the biking culture in Kuwait has grown notably. A lot of people who used to bike before were biking again, and there was a big biking culture forming in Kuwait. There were groups and clubs dedicated for that purpose,” he says.

The two other usual suspects have also been long-time bikers. In 1977, when Hussein Ashkanani was only 22, a graduate from a university in Scotland, he traveled from there to Kuwait with a friend on motorbikes. Thirty years later in 2007,

with his two friends Hussein Ashkanani and Ali Al-Bairami (aged respectively 54 and 50) he went on a 105-day trip around the world on his motorbike. I met the trio in Muhannad’s house, the meeting point in which they planned the trip three years ago. Muhannad told me, “It was in 2006 that I decided to go around the world on a motorbike. I spoke to my father and wife, and they insisted that I don’t do this alone.”

Hussein convinced his childhood friend Ali (the third of the trio) to join him on an anniversary run from Scotland to Kuwait again, proving that it is not something one can give up with time or age. “It runs in the blood,” says Muhannad.

And so the trip began

Ali Al-Bairami, 50, and the only grandfather of the trio, tells me that after the Scotland trip he began to think about a new destination: Alaska. “I started telling Hussein about it, and he said ‘Sure! Let’s do it!’. He got very excited - perhaps more excited than me - and he began coming over to my house and my office to plan the Alaska trip. Later, I realized that he’s also been planning with Muhannad on the world tour trip! Then we realized that Alaska could be included in the itinerary of the big trip, so we agreed and set a date,” he says.

Not everything in the plan went accordingly, says Hussein. While they wanted

‘W

hen we get vacation time next year, we’ll have to spend it in Kuwait with our families to make up for the long time that we spent on this tour.

Three and a half months is really a lot of time to spend away from your family!’

to travel to Pakistan through the Iranian borders, that was not possible due to security issues. “We traveled from Kuwait through Saudi to the United Arab Emirates, and shipped our bikes to Pakistan via Dubai.

From there, we went to India and then to Bhutan. It was the best part of our trip,” he says. “Initially we wanted to spend three days in Bhutan, but we ended up staying there for six days. We had to cut from the days we were going to spend in Nepal. It was a gorgeous country, very scenic and beautiful!”

They ended the Asia trip by going to China, spending some time among the picturesque, mountainous Tibet.

Driving stories

Muhannad says that the most unique experience on the road to them was in India.

“Every time you’re on the road, you’re on an adventure. There is no traffic law; the only law is that you keep driving. What’s amazing

is that everything is on the road, and I mean everything. Pedestrians, bicycles, toktoks, big trucks, small trucks, elephants, cows, everything that moves is on the road and it is moving on every direction at the same time!” laughs Muhannad.

“What’s amazing is that the law - or the nonexistence of the law — is totally understandable in the region: a one-way road can be turned into a two-way road, and it is totally understandable. People just move out of the road, let each other pass, and everything is just fine. Life is good!” he says.

Driving on the mountain peaks was exhausting, he added. “There are no asphalt road on these high areas, there are just dirt roads, sometimes short gravel roads and that’s it,” says Muhannad. In these high areas breathing was difficult for the low level of oxygen, which made the trip more difficult.

Aside from physical exhaustion, the voyagers say that they faced no problems.

“People were very helpful; they gave us tips

LOCAL

Friday, January 22, 2010

on where to go, where to stay, and were really friendly in all the countries that we’ve been to,” said Hussein.

The end and the future

The bikes were shipped from Beijing to Alaska, and from there the trio toured North America’s different cities. “We went to LA, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, and a few other destinations in North America. We shipped from Toronto to London, and our plan to go to North Africa did not materialize.

“We had problems issuing our visas, so we had to go through Europe to Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and then Kuwait,” says Muhannad.

Hussein says that this has cut the trip by two weeks. “We initially wanted the tour to last for 120 days, but we ended up with 105 days. But our time frame did not allow us to explore these countries; we had only a limited time to take off from work. There are many destinations in which we just passed through and did not explore,” he explains.

The trio will travel in 2012 to South America, what is according to Muhannad, a long-waited plan. “We wanted to do this a long time ago, but we decided to wait for 2012. We have just come back from our trip this August. When we get vacation time next year, we’ll have to spend it in Kuwait with our families to make up for the long time that we spent on this tour. Three and a half months is really a lot of time to spend away

from your family!”

Hussein jokingly added, “OK we can make it shorter. Three months only.”

‘Our shared planet’

The group’s tour was titled ‘Our Shared Planet,’ and Muhannad says that it was not randomly picked. “We want to reassert that in our planet we are all neighbors. We must promote understanding and acceptance of our many differences. We believe that things will be much better if we can have just a bit of tolerance of understanding,” he says.

Hussein added, “ We also want to say that although Kuwait is a small country, its people can do big achievements.”

A more specific message that the group wants to deliver to Kuwait and Kuwaiti people in specific is that nothing is impossible. “If something is worth doing, then it is probably difficult. We want people to understand that nothing should put us down,” says Muhannad.

The trio thanked the Public Authority for Youth and Sports (PAYS) for sponsoring their trip, and in specific Dr. Rashed Al-Shattim, Head of the Kuwait Bikers Group who believed in them and their cause.

**** The group’s activity, photos and videos can be tracked on www.ospkw.blogspot.com

The photos show Muhannnad Al-Sultan, Ali Al-Bairami and Hussein Ashkanani in different stops around the world.

Page 11

INTERNATIONAL

Page 12

Friday, January 22, 2010

Iran denies rejecting UN nuclear swap offer TEHRAN: Iran has not rejected an UN-brokered offer to exchange enriched nuclear fuel but it wants a staged swap rather than a wholesale handover of most of its stockpile, foreign ministry officials said in comments published yesterday. “Iran did not reject the principle of the exchange (of nuclear fuel),” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency. His denial followed charges by Western diplomats that Iran had effectively rejected a proposal put forward by six major powers in talks in Vienna brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

“Our position has not changed from what we already expressed in the past-we are ready for a gradual exchange of fuel,” Mehr quoted foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, as saying.

But his comments suggested that Iran remains at odds over the proposals with the six powers-Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

The IAEA plan calls on Iran to hand over most of

its stocks of low-enriched uranium in return for the phased supply by France and Russia of nuclear fuel enriched to the higher level required for a Tehran research reactor. Iran insists it will only hand over its stocks gradually as it receives the fuel. Western diplomats in Vienna said on Wednesday that Iran’s insistence on a phased exchange effectively amounted to a rejection of the IAEA offer.

Western governments regard Iran’s prior handover of most of its stocks of low-enriched uranium as a central plank of the deal as it will provide reassurance that the stockpiles will not be covertly enriched further to the much higher level required for a nuclear weapon. Iran has always denied any such ambition, insisting that its nuclear program is for civilian program only.

But the IAEA said talks on its plan were still continuing, and that the offer to Iran remained on the table. The proposal, made last October, “which was supported by France, Russia and the United States,

continues to be on the table,” said the watchdog’s spokeswoman, Gill Tudor. “The IAEA is not in a position to discuss the views of the parties involved, but it is aware that they are considering the best solution,” Tudor added.

A Western diplomat in Vienna told AFP that Iran had effectively given a formal response at a meeting between its ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh and the IAEA’s new new chief Yukiya Amano earlier this month. According to the diplomat, Soltanieh had verbally reiterated the Islamic republic’s earlier position, including the insistence on a gradual swap.

The IAEA refused to say whether the meeting took place or discuss its possible content.

Another diplomat said it was unclear whether Iran had actually delivered a written response. But “certainly there was no agreement to the TRR (Tehran research reactor) proposal,” the diplomat said. After the proposal was delivered to Iran in October, the powers gave it until the turn of the year to accept the

deal but the deadline was ignored, prompting talk of fresh sanctions. In Washington on Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said: “I am not sure that they have delivered a formal response, but it is clearly an inadequate response.”

On January 5, Iran repeated its counter-proposal for a phased fuel swap, but left the “details” open to discussion. Mottaki has insisted that Tehran in fact has until the end of January to reach a uranium swap deal, stressing it will press on with plans to enrich nuclear fuel to a higher level itself if there is no agreement.

Mottaki gave the West a one-month “ultimatum” to accept the Iranian counter-proposal.

Iran is already under three sets of sanctions over its refusal to heed repeated UN Security Council ultimatums to suspend enrichment. The sensitive process lies at the heart of Western fears over Iran’s nuclear program as it can produce the fuel for nuclear reactors or in highly extended form the fissile core of an atomic bomb. — AFP

Iraq leader seeks ruling on committee behind ban BAGHDAD: Iraq’s president said yesterday he has asked the country’s highest lega l body to determine the legitimacy of a committee that banned candidates w ith suspected ties to Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime from running in parliamentary elections due March 7. President J alal Talabani said the three-member presidential council he leads has sent a letter to the head of the Higher J udicial Council requesting a ruling after the committee banned 511

candidates in a move that has dealt a setback to national reconciliation efforts and threatens to cast a shadow over the vote. “I myself am not satisfied w ith the banning decision,” said Talabani, a Kurd w ho has strongly backed reconcilia tion betw een Ira q’s ma in Shiite, Sunni a nd Kurdish groups. He told reporters he w as seeking a ruling on “w hether this committee that issued the decision is legitimate or not.”

BASRA: Iraqi demonstrators burn a poster of Iraqi lawmaker Dhafir Al-Ani yesterday. — AP

Earthquake aftershocks cause panic in Iran town TEHRAN: Panicked residents of a town in Tehran province fled their homes early yesterday when awoken by an aftershock from a 4.2-magnitude earthquake, the ILNA news agency reported yesterday. It said the tremor struck Firouzkouh at 5:47 am (0217 GMT), less than 24 hours after the original quake, and was one of more than 40 aftershocks measuring up to 3.3 magnitude. Many people were already sleeping on the streets or in tents pitched in school yards and sports halls, the agency said, while others had chosen to leave the town.

Witnesses said the original

earthquake shattered windows and caused other property damage in the town east of the capital which has a population of more than 40,000. The Red Crescent was on standby, the local head of the aid organization Ali Mohammad Ali Tabar told ILNA, after 10 people were injured on Wednesday.

Iran sits on several major seismic fault lines and is prone to frequent quakes, some of which have been devastating.

The worst in recent times hit the southern city of Bam in December 2003, killing 31,000 people-about a quarter of the city’s population-and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel. — AFP

The government-sanctioned body behind the ban - the Accountability and Justice Committee - is tasked with weeding out from the government and security forces hardcore supporters of Saddam’s outlawed Baath party. Like the government, it is dominated by Shiite Muslims and its decisions are seen as biased against the once-dominant Sunni Arab minority that prospered under Saddam. The committee’s forerunner - the de-Baathification Commission - was created by US occupation authorities following the American-led, 2003 invasion of Iraq. That body faced Sunni charges that it acted with excessive zeal in purging Baathists, many of whom had joined the party to promote their careers or protect themselves from the regime.

Critics say the purges have robbed the civil service, academic institutions and the armed forces of some of their best and more experienced employees and are blamed for the chaos afflicting government departments to this day. The current committee has not escaped criticism either. It is led by Ali Al-Lami, a Shiite once detained by the US military over a 2008 attack in a Shiite district of Baghdad. The attack targeted US forces and was blamed on Shiite militiamen.

Al-Lami himself is running in the March election, a fact that has raised questions about the motive behind the ban. US Vice President Joe Biden is expected to visit Baghdad to try to ease tensions over the ban. Washington hopes the March election will be a significant step toward reconciliation between the majority Shiites and the once-dominant Sunni minority, and will help cement substantial but still tenuous security gains. American troops are expected to accelerate their withdrawal from Iraq soon after the election.

Meanwhile in Baghdad, a British security contractor accused of shooting two colleagues to death appeared briefly in court, where the judge accepted a defense request to have him examined by a medical and psychological committee, his lawyer said. The contractor, Danny Fitzsimons, is accused of shooting two colleagues, a Briton and an Australian, during a fight in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone in the summer. All three men were working for the British security firm ArmorGroup Iraq.

Fitzsimons’ defense team argue he is suffering from mental anguish caused by his military service in Iraq. Fitzsimons would be the first Westerner to face an Iraqi trial since a US-Iraqi security pact that took effect just over a year ago lifted immunity for foreign contractors. The trial has been adjourned until Feb 18, according to Fitzsimons’ attorney, Tariq Harb. — AP

PARIS: France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon (right) exchanges bilateral documents with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri, during a signing ceremony yesterday. — AP

US envoy in Israel to relaunch peace talks JERUSALEM: US Middle East envoy George Mitchell yesterday started a day of talks with top Israeli officials in his latest bid to restart the stalled Middle East peace process. Mitchell and Defense Minister Ehud Barak “talked of the measures that are needed to move forward the political process with the Palestinians,” the ministry said in a statement. The US envoy was scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman later in the day and with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

Already slow-moving negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians came to a complete standstill over a year ago. Abbas has repeatedly said he would not return to the negotiating table until Israel imposes a complete halt to settlement construction in the occupied West Bank but recently appeared open to a freeze for a fixed period of time.

Netanyahu’s claim on Wednesday that Israel would maintain a security presence along the eastern border of a future Palestinian state cast a further shadow on US-led

efforts to move the peace process forward.

In his first public comment since coming to power last year on the issue of borders of a future Palestinian state, Netanyahu said such a presence, along what would be the Palestinian state’s border with Jordan, was crucial to prevent weapons smuggling.

The Palestinians categorically rejected the suggestion. “We will not accept anything less than a completely sovereign Palestinian state on all the territories with its own borders, resources and airspace, and we will not accept any Israeli presence, either military or civilian, on our land,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. Netanyahu’s remarks “place more obstacles in the way of restarting negotiations... These remarks reveal the solution that Netanyahu wants and the kind of state he would be satisfied with,” Rudeina said. Before travelling to Israel, Mitchell held talks in Lebanon and Syria, where he stressed that both countries had a key role to play in a comprehensive Middle East peace. — AFP

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, January 22, 2010

Page 13

Relatives of Americans missing in Haiti angry

MUNICH: Defendant John Demjanjuk is seen in a courtroom yesterday. —AP

Survivor describes Nazi camp at Demjanjuk trial Demjanjuk claims to be a victim of mistaken identity MUNICH: Jewish prisoners had to unload decomposed corpses from a train arriving at the Nazi death camp at Sobibor and were forbidden to warn new prisoners that they would be gassed within the hour, a survivor testified yesterday at the trial of John Demjanjuk. The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk, an 89-year-old retired Ohio autoworker, is accused of serving as a low-level guard at the Nazi camp in occupied Poland and is charged with accessory to murder in 27,900 deaths. Demjanjuk rejects the charges, saying he never served in Sobibor or any other Nazi camp.

Sobibor survivor Philip Bialowitz told the Munich state court that Jews being brought from Western Europe largely believed the Nazi ruse that they were being resettled and arrived at the camp relieved that their long journey was over. The 84year-old testified that he and other Jewish prisoners helped unload the trains, under the watch of German SS and Ukrainian guards. Music was played over loudspeakers to keep the atmosphere calm. “When I helped the Jewish passengers with their bags, some of them offered me a tip,” said Bialowitz, who was born in Poland and now lives in New York.

“My heart was bleeding because I knew that they would be dead in less than an hour and I couldn’t warn them.” Bialowitz was the second Sobibor survivor to testify this week. Though neither he nor the other witness remember Demjanjuk from the camp, their testimony aims to give the court a general idea about how the camp operated.

Bialowitz, who was in Sobibor for six months before escaping amid a prisoner revolt in October 1943, told the court that one train arrived with most aboard dead or deranged with hunger.

He testified that German

officers and Ukrainian guards shot some of those prisoners who were barely alive after they came off the train, while he and other Jewish prisoners had to unload partially decomposed corpses. “I tried to pull a dead woman from the train but her skin came away in my hands,” Bialowitz testified.

He then saw another dead woman on the train, clutching a dead child, and testified that he collapsed to the ground, unable to take any more.

Immediately an SS man started whipping him and told him to get back up and work, then saw the dead woman and child himself.

“He said ‘what beautiful scenery,’ and snapped a photo before walking away,” Bialowitz testified.

As in previous sessions, Demjanjuk showed no reaction to the testimony, lying on a bed with a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Demjanjuk - who suffers from several medical problems has been declared fit to face trial, so long as court sessions are limited to two 90-minute sessions per day.

Demjanjuk claims to be a victim of mistaken identity - a Red Army draftee from Ukraine captured in 1942. He maintains he was himself held prisoner until joining the so-called Vlasov Army of anti-communist Soviet POWs and others, formed to fight with the Germans against the encroaching Soviets in the final months of the war. His trial in Germany comes after 30 years of legal action against Demjanjuk on three continents. Demjanjuk had his US citizenship revoked in 1981 after the Justice Department alleged he hid his past as the notorious Treblinka guard “Ivan the Terrible.” He was extradited to Israel, where he was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1988, only to have the conviction overturned five years later as a case of mistaken identity. If convicted, Demjanjuk faces a possible 15-year sentence. —AP

DEERFIELD BEACH: Family and friends of missing Americans have searched the ruins themselves. They’ve hired private rescue teams. They’ve pleaded with the US government to do more to help bring home loved ones who disappeared amid the rubble of earthquake-ravaged Haiti. More than a week after the quake rocked the country, the grief of not knowing has become unbearable.

Frustration and hopelessness has boiled into anger against the US government. “We know our daughter was there and we want them to find her!” yelled Leonard Gengel, hammering his fist on a table.

Gengel’s 19-year-old daughter Brittany is one of four Florida college students still missing. Two of their teachers are also believed buried at the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince. It remains unclear exactly how many Americans are missing. The US Embassy in Port-au-Prince had so far accounted for at least 9,400 of up to 45,000 Americans who were in Haiti before the quake. But some Americans may not have been affected by the devastation, and others may be OK but haven’t contacted officials.

At least 35 Americans have been confirmed dead, with US officials investigating reports of an additional 21 potential US fatalities. Friends and relatives want the Americans brought home - dead or alive. “I think everyone has accepted the fact that they’re not going to find everyone alive, but we at least want to bury our loved ones on PORT-AU-PRINCE: This photo provided by the American Red Cross American soil and not under the shows American Red Cross president and CEO Gail McGovern and rubble,” said Forrest Masters, American Red Cross worker Matt Marek checking up on an injured who is in Haiti helping search for a family friend.

Haitian who came to a First Aid Post set up in front of the destroyed Haitian Confusion has added to the Red Cross headquarters. —AP frustration. At one point, Gengel was told by the university his daughter had been found, but the news turned out to be “bad intelligence” from a rescue crew in Haiti. The school, Lynn University in Boca Raton, has hired private rescue teams to help search for the missing faculty and students, who were there to THE HAGUE: A mercy flight carrying 106 54 orphans arrived in the US city of Pittsburgh in a distribute food and visit schools adopted children from quake-ravaged Haiti to new mission that involved officials in the White House, and orphanages. Eight of their lives and families in the Netherlands and the State Department and the Department of classmates escaped and have Luxembourg has left the Caribbean nation’s Homeland Security. returned home safe.

The orphans will be given medical care and capital, organizers said yesterday. The charter “These kids went down there placed in group homes until adoptions are finalized. flight took off from the airport in Port-au-Prince on a journey of hope, that’s what it and was making a stop on the Netherlands Antilles Rene Hoksbergen, a Dutch academic who studies was called, and it’s turned into a island of Curacao before landing yesterday adoption at Utrecht University, warned this week journey of hell,” said Gengel, of afternoon at a military airfield in the southern that the Dutch airlift could lead would-be parents Rutland, Massachusetts. Sally Dutch city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands to believe it is easy to adopt from a country in Baldwin, of Fort Worth, Texas, is Adoption Foundation said. “The mission is going chaos and said formal procedures should always be praying for any word about her followed. UNICEF said it was working to prevent to succeed!” the group said on its Web site. son, Brendan Beck, 35. He also is believed lost in the rubble of the The children will be introduced to their new children being abused and exploited in the Montana. Beck, an engineer doing parents at Eindhoven, some of them for the first aftermath and to reunite them with family consulting work in Haiti, checked time. Most of the children had already been members. —AP into the hotel for a night to catch a matched with new Dutch parents and were in the flight to another part of the process of being adopted when last week’s country the next day. His mother magnitude-7 quake reduced large swaths of Haiti is angry that she’s not getting to rubble. Nine have no new family waiting for information from the government; them, and will be placed in foster care until parents US officials say they’re doing what can be found. The waiting parents were excited to they can under difficult meet the children Thursday, but also anxious about conditions.

TOLEDO: EU interior ministers met their health following the quake, said Netherlands “Given that most Americans yesterday with the US homeland security chief Adoption Foundation spokeswoman Letje do not register with the to discuss boosting airport security with fullVermunt.

The agency was one of two organizing embassy ... it is often impossible body scanners after the failed plot to bomb a the adoptions. to say in these situations how US airliner on Christmas Day. Janet “It’s a double feeling,” she said. “Laughter and many are missing,” State Napolitano was expected to press European tears are very close together.” The children were Department spokesman Gordon countries to follow the Obama administration’s accompanied on yesterday’s flight by a team of Duguid said. lead in ramping up aviation security. The EU is medics including some with experience dealing “As for sharing information, divided on the scanner issue amid concerns with post traumatic stress. At least some of the we can always do a better job ... I over whether the devices invade travelers’ think we have been sharing the children speak a little Dutch after undergoing daily privacy and pose health risks. information we have, but many language lessons in a Dutch-run orphanage in The ministers gathered in Toledo, just times it is just not enough to be of south of Madrid, for the informal session to Haiti. Fourteen of the 106 were going to help to families in anguish.” gauge European sentiment. Spain, which holds Luxembourg in the care of the country’s adoption According to the White House the rotating EU presidency, said no decision authorities, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said. there were 43 international was expected at the meeting. Spain and The quake - which killed up to 200,000 people search-and-rescue groups in Haiti Germany are among countries which have and orphaned thousands of children - has triggered with more than 1,700 personnel, expressed reservations about scanners, while a rush of inquiries around the world about adopting including more than 500 from the Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and France have a child from the impoverished country, which US. Altogether, they had rescued said they will either start installing them, add before the quake already had an estimated 380,000 more than 120 people from the more or use them on a trial basis. —AP orphans in need of new homes. Earlier this week, rubble as of Wednesday. —AP

Dutch adoption airlift on track for Haitian children

EU, US discuss airport security

Page 14

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, January 22, 2010

White House gatecrashers refuse to talk in Congress Tareq Salahi invokes constitutional rights against self-incrimination

WASHINGTON: Tareq Salahi (left) and Michaele Salahi listen to their attorney Stephen Best, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010. — AP

Obama pitches scaled down health care bill WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and congressional allies signaled Wednesday they may try to scale back his sweeping health care overhaul to keep parts of it alive in the wake of a stinging rebuke in the Senate race in Massachusetts. A simpler, less ambitious bill emerged as an alternative only hours after the loss of the party’s crucial 60th Senate seat forced the Democrats to slow their all-out drive to pass Obama’s top domestic priority and reconsider all options.

The 60-vote Senate Democratic majority is needed to overcome Republican procedural obstacles aimed at defeating the legislation. No decisions have been made, lawmakers said, but they laid out a new approach that could still include these provisions: limiting the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to people with medical problems, allowing young adults to stay on their parents’ policies, helping small businesses and low-income people pay insurance premiums and changing government health care for the elderly to encourage payment for quality care instead of sheer volume of services.

Obama said the election results wouldn’t sour his interest in passing a health care bill. “Now, I could have said, ‘Well, we’ll just do what’s safe, we’ll just take on those things that are completely non-controversial,”‘ Obama said in an interview with ABC News. “The problem is: the things that are non-controversial end up being the things that don’t solve the problem.” Yet, the goal of trying to cover nearly all Americans would be put off further into the future. Obama urged lawmakers not to try to jam a bill through, but scale the proposal down to what he called “those elements of the package that

people agree on.” Another option, which called for the House to try to quickly pass the Senate version of the broader bill bypassing the Senate problem created by the loss of the Massachusetts seat to Republican Scott Brown - appeared to be losing favor.

“That’s a bitter pill for the House to swallow,” said the No 2 Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin. Nevertheless, the option remained on the table and administration officials were working behind the scenes on the approach that would be the fastest and cleanest route to getting a bill to Obama, said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe private talks. In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders were gauging support for the idea among liberals and moderates. The initial reaction was not encouraging. It takes 218 votes to pass legislation.

A majority of House Democrats oppose a tax on high-cost insurance plans in the Senate bill that labor unions, a core Democratic party constituency, see as a direct hit on their members. Stupak and other abortion opponents, backed by US Roman Catholic bishops, say the Senate bill falls short in restricting taxpayer dollars for abortion. A week ago, House and Senate Democrats were working out the differences in their respective bills, and a quick resolution seemed likely. But after Brown’s upset victory secured the seat held by the late Sen Edward M Kennedy for the Republicans, feuding broke out. Some Democratic senators suggested it was up to the House to save the day by passing the Senate bill. Republicans said that would make their day. Trying to push through the Senate bill through would be a desperate ploy seen as such by voters, said Sen John

WASHINGTON: A US couple who crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner, leaving the White House red-faced, refused on Wednesday to answer a Congressional committee’s questions about the incident.

“On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully assert my right to remain silent and decline to answer your question,” Tareq Salahi repeatedly told the committee, invoking his constitutional rights against self-incrimination.

His wife Michaele did the same in the hearing before the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. The couple refused to take questions from reporters. The Salahis made headlines after they attended the early portion of the November 24 dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite apparently lacking either an invitation or proper Secret Service clearance.

The Salahis boasted of turning up at the A-list event on their joint Facebook page with the message “honored to be at the White House for the state dinner in honor of India with President Obama and our First Lady!” The two, reportedly aspiring reality TV stars, were even photographed with President Barack Obama. In his opening statement to the committee, Tareq Salahi said the couple had offered to let their lawyers testify to the committee on their behalf but that the committee had refused.

Salahi said he and wife had respect for the presidency and the Secret Service and were “strong supporters of the men and women in uniform both here and abroad.” When asked if he attended the dinner as part of a reality TV stunt, Salahi initially told the committee he was “under a nondisclosure agreement and should not discuss matters related to the television matter.”

But the pair then stonewalled a barrage of questions about their actions from lawmakers, together invoking their rights under the fifth amendment to the US constitution more than 30 times.

The exchanges descended into farce when frustrated Democrat congressman Bill Pascrell asked Tareq Salahi-to no avail-other questions including whether he had worn a tuxedo on the night. “Are you here today, Mr Salahi? Are you here right now? You’ve got to get an answer from your attorney on that?,” Pascrell mocked. —AFP

KISUMU, Kenya: US Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Rannerberger (right) is welcomed by Mama Sarah Obama (second right) step grandmother of the US President Barrack Obama, Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010, in Nyangoma Kogelo Primary School during the Kogelo Community Cultural Festival. The festival is of great significance as it was initiated after the inauguration of the 44th President of America Barrack Obama. — AP

US gets Gitmo ready for Haitian migrants GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE: The US has begun preparing tents at Guantanamo Bay for Haitians migrants in case of a mass migration spurred by the earthquake, a senior official at the base said Wednesday.

About 100 tents, each capable of holding 10 people, have been erected and authorities have more than 1,000 more on hand in case waves of Haitians leave their homeland and are captured at sea, said Navy Rear Adm Thomas Copeman. Authorities have also has tested the latrine facilities and gathered cots and other supplies, said Copeman, the commander of the task force that runs the detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo, where the US holds nearly 200 men.

The Haitian migrants would be held on the opposite side of the base as the detention center, separated by some 21/2 miles of water across Guantanamo Bay, and would have no contact with the prisoners. US immigration officials have said they will fast-track applications for a federal designation that will allow illegal Haitian immigrants to live and work temporarily in this country, but only if they were in the US on the day of the Jan 12 earthquake. The US base in southeastern Cuba is also being used to transport supplies and personnel to the aid effort in Haiti, about 200 miles away. In the early 1990s, it housed tens of thousands of Haitian boat people were held at Guantanamo until they could be sent home. — AP

American scientist wins geoscience prize STOCKHOLM: Sweden’s Royal Academy of Sciences has awarded American scientist Walter Munk the 2010 Crafoord Prize in Geosciences for his research on ocean circulation. The 92-year-old will receive the 4 million kronor ($560,000) prize at a ceremony in Stockholm on May 11 in the presence of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf. The academy said yesterday that Munk received the award “for his pioneering and fundamental contributions to our understanding of ocean circulation, tides and waves, and their role in the Earth’s dynamics.”

Munk was born in Austria but moved to the US in 1932.

He became professor of Geophysics at the University of California, San Diego in 1954. The Crafoord award has been given annually since 1982 for scientific research in areas not covered by the Nobel Prizes. — AP

INTERNATIONAL

Friday, January 22, 2010

Page 15

Gates warns of dangers in Pakistan militant havens Washington anxious to see Islamabad target Afghan Taleban

KASHMIR: A Kashmiri woman speaks on a cell phone in Srinagar yesterday. India revoked a ban on pre-paid mobile telephones in Kashmir after authorities earlier accused Muslim militants of using them to co-ordinate attacks and trigger bombs. Mobile phones were launched in Kashmir only in 2003 when security agencies gave the goahead, but separatist militants were soon suspected of relying on pre-paid versions that are harder to trace. —AFP

Lanka opposition fears post-election coup plan COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main opposition said yesterday it feared President Mahinda Rajapakse would use the military to remain in power if he was defeated in next week’s elections. Opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka accused the government of pushing senior army commanders to appear on state-run television to express their public support for Rajapakse. “By getting very senior officers to side with the president, the government is preparing the ground to hold on to power by using the army to suppress the people’s will,” Fonseka’s spokesman Anura Kumara Dissanayake told

reporters.

Rajapakse called Tuesday’s vote two years ahead of schedule to benefit from the government’s defeat of the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels after decades of ethnic warfare on the island. But he faces a surprise rival to power in Fonseka, the former general who led the troops to victory in May. The two fell out over who deserved credit for crushing the rebels, and allegations that Fonseka was himself planning a coup after being sidelined.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara denied that senior officers were being dragged into the election battle. —AFP

Pakistan army won’t attack for 6-12 months ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani army said yesterday during a visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it can’t launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year to give it time to stabilize existing gains. The announcement likely comes as a disappointment to the US, which has pushed Pakistan to expand its military operations to target militants staging cross-border attacks against coalition troops in Afghanistan. Washington believes such action is critical to success in Afghanistan as it prepares to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country this year.

But the comments by army spokesman Gen Athar Abbas clearly indicate Pakistan will not be pressured in the nearterm to expand its fight beyond militants waging war against the Pakistani state. Whether it can be convinced in the longterm is still an open question. “We are not talking years,” Abbas told reporters traveling with Gates. “Six months to a year” would be needed before Pakistan could stabilize existing gains and expand any operations, he said. The Pakistani army launched a major ground offensive against the Pakistani Taleban’s main stronghold near the Afghan border in mid-October, triggering a wave of retaliatory violence across the country that has killed more than 600 people.

Gates said Thursday that he wouldn’t directly press Pakistan to expand its military campaign but would instead ask his hosts what their plans are. He also said his talks with Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders were intended to explain the US war strategy in Afghanistan. —AP

ISLAMABAD: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned arrived in Islamabad from India for a two-day visit, yesterday that Taleban safe havens along the Pakistan- stressed Washington’s commitment to Pakistan and praised Afghanistan border must be tackled or both nations would offensives launched against the Pakistani Taleban across suffer “more lethal and more brazen” attacks. Gates, who the lawless northwest tribal belt in recent months.

But US officials have made clear that Washington is anxious to see Islamabad also target the Afghan Taleban within its borders and AlQaeda-linked militants using the tribal region to plot and launch attacks into Afghanistan.

In New Delhi on Wednesday, Gates warned that South Asian militant groups including AlQaeda were seeking to destabilize the entire region and could trigger a war between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.

Gates said Thursday he planned to ask Pakistani leaders about plans to broaden their campaign to North Waziristan, a bastion of Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network, known for attacking US and NATO troops fighting the Taleban in Afghanistan. “I think the way I will approach it is to simply ask them what their plans are,” he told reporters on his flight from New Delhi, adding that he RAWALPINDI: This handout picture released by Pakistan Defense Ministry heard about plans to move into the North Waziristan area “later yesterday shows Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar (right) this year.” speaking with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a meeting. —AFP In an editorial in Englishlanguage daily The News, Gates wrote that making distinctions between the different extremist groups-as Pakistan is often accused of doing-was “counterproductive”. “It is important to remember that the Pakistani Taleban operates in collusion with both the Taleban in Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda, so it KABUL: NATO said joint force engaged But the precise death toll is impossible to separate those yesterday that four insurgents while clearing a often matters less than the groups,” Gates wrote. “If insurgents were killed compound and killed them,” Afghan public’s perception. history is any indication, safe during a raid southwest of the international force said in Provincial police chief Khial havens for either Taleban, on Kabul, but villagers insisted a statement.

Baz Shirzai also said the four either side of the border, will in the dead were civilians.

One of those killed was a killed in Wednesday’s raid the long run lead to more lethal About 500 angry young man estimated to be were insurgents.

Jalali, and more brazen attacks in both demonstrators collected the about 15 years old who had however, said the slain father nations,” he added. wooden coffins holding the grabbed the weapons of a worked for a cell phone “Only by pressuring all of bodies from the hospital and service member, it said, company and everybody these groups on both sides of bore them atop vehicles in a adding one insurgent was knew him to be a good man. the border will Afghanistan and procession toward the detained during the He said he believed a tipster Pakistan be able to rid themselves of this scourge for provincial capital of Ghazni. operation. The conflicting had lied to NATO to provoke good-to destroy those who Witnesses said foreign claims reflect growing the raid against the man, a promote the use of terror here troops descended the Qara impatience among Afghans common complaint among and abroad.” The Pentagon Bagh district of Ghazni over the presence of NATO- Afghans who believe people chief’s visit comes at a time of province in helicopters and led forces even though a use foreign forces to carry diplomatic tension as a volley of stormed two houses at about recent UN report showed the out grudges. “Nobody cares US drone missile strikes hit 10 pm Wednesday. They number of civilian deaths about us, even the governor militants in the northwest, killed a father and his two attributed to allied troops had can’t help,” he said. “We are fuelling anti-American sons along with a neighbor dropped sharply over the finally raising our voices.” sentiment and drawing public even though they weren’t past year. The report blamed He and other protesters condemnation from the armed, according to Musa most civilian casualties on dressed in traditional Afghan government.

Jalali and other residents of Taleban suicide bombings clothing raised their fists and Officials in his delegation said Gates hoped to reassure a the Baram village. and other attacks. A decline chanted anti-US and wary Pakistan public and NATO denied any in NATO killings of civilians government slogans as they leadership that the United civilians were harmed in has become a key US goal for marched. More people joined States was not going “turn its Wednesday’s action. It said winning over the Afghan the procession as it reached back” on them as in the past. the raid was a joint operation people. Public outrage over Ghazni. “Please we are not Gates has lamented that with Afghan forces targeting rising death tolls prompted Talib. But one day maybe we Washington lost interest in the a high-level Taleban the top commander Gen. will join with the Taleban region after the Soviets commander who has Stanley McChrystal last year because this is the third time withdrew from Afghanistan, and organized attacks against to tighten the rules on the this has happened and lost the trust of Pakistani armed Afghan and NATO troops and use of airstrikes and other nobody is listening to us,” forces after a US ban on military helped smuggle foreign weaponry if civilians are at said another protester, aid over Islamabad’s nuclear fighters in the area. “The risk.

Habibulah Azizi. —AP program in the 1990s. —AFP

Afghan villagers say civilians killed in raid

INTERNATIONAL

Page 16

Friday, January 22, 2010

Gates warns of dangers in Pakistan militant havens Washington anxious to see Islamabad target Afghan Taleban

KASHMIR: A Kashmiri woman speaks on a cell phone in Srinagar yesterday. India revoked a ban on pre-paid mobile telephones in Kashmir after authorities earlier accused Muslim militants of using them to co-ordinate attacks and trigger bombs. Mobile phones were launched in Kashmir only in 2003 when security agencies gave the goahead, but separatist militants were soon suspected of relying on pre-paid versions that are harder to trace. —AFP

Lanka opposition fears post-election coup plan COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s main opposition said yesterday it feared President Mahinda Rajapakse would use the military to remain in power if he was defeated in next week’s elections. Opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka accused the government of pushing senior army commanders to appear on state-run television to express their public support for Rajapakse. “By getting very senior officers to side with the president, the government is preparing the ground to hold on to power by using the army to suppress the people’s will,” Fonseka’s spokesman Anura Kumara Dissanayake told

reporters.

Rajapakse called Tuesday’s vote two years ahead of schedule to benefit from the government’s defeat of the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels after decades of ethnic warfare on the island. But he faces a surprise rival to power in Fonseka, the former general who led the troops to victory in May. The two fell out over who deserved credit for crushing the rebels, and allegations that Fonseka was himself planning a coup after being sidelined.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara denied that senior officers were being dragged into the election battle. —AFP

Pakistan army won’t attack for 6-12 months ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani army said yesterday during a visit by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it can’t launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year to give it time to stabilize existing gains. The announcement likely comes as a disappointment to the US, which has pushed Pakistan to expand its military operations to target militants staging cross-border attacks against coalition troops in Afghanistan. Washington believes such action is critical to success in Afghanistan as it prepares to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country this year.

But the comments by army spokesman Gen Athar Abbas clearly indicate Pakistan will not be pressured in the nearterm to expand its fight beyond militants waging war against the Pakistani state. Whether it can be convinced in the longterm is still an open question. “We are not talking years,” Abbas told reporters traveling with Gates. “Six months to a year” would be needed before Pakistan could stabilize existing gains and expand any operations, he said. The Pakistani army launched a major ground offensive against the Pakistani Taleban’s main stronghold near the Afghan border in mid-October, triggering a wave of retaliatory violence across the country that has killed more than 600 people.

Gates said yesterday that he wouldn’t directly press Pakistan to expand its military campaign but would instead ask his hosts what their plans are. He also said his talks with Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders were intended to explain the US war strategy in Afghanistan. —AP

ISLAMABAD: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned arrived in Islamabad from India for a two-day visit, yesterday that Taleban safe havens along the Pakistan- stressed Washington’s commitment to Pakistan and praised Afghanistan border must be tackled or both nations would offensives launched against the Pakistani Taleban across suffer “more lethal and more brazen” attacks. Gates, who the lawless northwest tribal belt in recent months.

But US officials have made clear that Washington is anxious to see Islamabad also target the Afghan Taleban within its borders and AlQaeda-linked militants using the tribal region to plot and launch attacks into Afghanistan.

In New Delhi on Wednesday, Gates warned that South Asian militant groups including AlQaeda were seeking to destabilize the entire region and could trigger a war between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.

Gates said Thursday he planned to ask Pakistani leaders about plans to broaden their campaign to North Waziristan, a bastion of Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network, known for attacking US and NATO troops fighting the Taleban in Afghanistan. “I think the way I will approach it is to simply ask them what their plans are,” he told reporters on his flight from New Delhi, adding that he RAWALPINDI: This handout picture released by Pakistan Defense Ministry heard about plans to move into the North Waziristan area “later yesterday shows Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar (right) this year.” speaking with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a meeting. —AFP In an editorial in Englishlanguage daily The News, Gates wrote that making distinctions between the different extremist groups-as Pakistan is often accused of doing-was “counterproductive”. “It is important to remember that the Pakistani Taleban operates in collusion with both the Taleban in Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda, so it KABUL: NATO said joint force engaged But the precise death toll is impossible to separate those yesterday that four insurgents while clearing a often matters less than the groups,” Gates wrote. “If insurgents were killed compound and killed them,” Afghan public’s perception. history is any indication, safe during a raid southwest of the international force said in Provincial police chief Khial havens for either Taleban, on Kabul, but villagers insisted a statement.

Baz Shirzai also said the four either side of the border, will in the dead were civilians.

One of those killed was a killed in Wednesday’s raid the long run lead to more lethal About 500 angry young man estimated to be were insurgents.

Jalali, and more brazen attacks in both demonstrators collected the about 15 years old who had however, said the slain father nations,” he added. wooden coffins holding the grabbed the weapons of a worked for a cell phone “Only by pressuring all of bodies from the hospital and service member, it said, company and everybody these groups on both sides of bore them atop vehicles in a adding one insurgent was knew him to be a good man. the border will Afghanistan and procession toward the detained during the He said he believed a tipster Pakistan be able to rid themselves of this scourge for provincial capital of Ghazni. operation. The conflicting had lied to NATO to provoke good-to destroy those who Witnesses said foreign claims reflect growing the raid against the man, a promote the use of terror here troops descended the Qara impatience among Afghans common complaint among and abroad.” The Pentagon Bagh district of Ghazni over the presence of NATO- Afghans who believe people chief’s visit comes at a time of province in helicopters and led forces even though a use foreign forces to carry diplomatic tension as a volley of stormed two houses at about recent UN report showed the out grudges. “Nobody cares US drone missile strikes hit 10 pm Wednesday. They number of civilian deaths about us, even the governor militants in the northwest, killed a father and his two attributed to allied troops had can’t help,” he said. “We are fuelling anti-American sons along with a neighbor dropped sharply over the finally raising our voices.” sentiment and drawing public even though they weren’t past year. The report blamed He and other protesters condemnation from the armed, according to Musa most civilian casualties on dressed in traditional Afghan government.

Jalali and other residents of Taleban suicide bombings clothing raised their fists and Officials in his delegation said Gates hoped to reassure a the Baram village. and other attacks. A decline chanted anti-US and wary Pakistan public and NATO denied any in NATO killings of civilians government slogans as they leadership that the United civilians were harmed in has become a key US goal for marched. More people joined States was not going “turn its Wednesday’s action. It said winning over the Afghan the procession as it reached back” on them as in the past. the raid was a joint operation people. Public outrage over Ghazni. “Please we are not Gates has lamented that with Afghan forces targeting rising death tolls prompted Talib. But one day maybe we Washington lost interest in the a high-level Taleban the top commander Gen. will join with the Taleban region after the Soviets commander who has Stanley McChrystal last year because this is the third time withdrew from Afghanistan, and organized attacks against to tighten the rules on the this has happened and lost the trust of Pakistani armed Afghan and NATO troops and use of airstrikes and other nobody is listening to us,” forces after a US ban on military helped smuggle foreign weaponry if civilians are at said another protester, aid over Islamabad’s nuclear fighters in the area. “The risk.

Habibulah Azizi. —AP program in the 1990s. —AFP

Afghan villagers say civilians killed in raid

BUSINESS

Friday, January 22, 2010

Page 17

Obama plans to cut big banks to size President ramping up war on Wall Street WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama, eager to harness and redirect voter anger over bank bailouts, is ramping up his war on Wall Street.

Building on his own proposals and the work of the House of Representatives, the president wants new federal government powers to limit the size and complexity of large financial institutions and to limit their ability to engage in highrisk trades.

Obama will make the announcement yesterday, a senior administration official said, in a bipartisan display aimed at capitalizing on the one issue in his agenda still standing after a devastating Democratic electoral loss in Massachusetts. The president will be flanked by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and William Donaldson, appointed by President George W Bush as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both men have advocated tighter banking restrictions. Volcker heads the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Obama’s announcement comes as the White House renewed Obama’s demand that any overhaul of banking regulations contain an independent consumer financial protection agency. The proposed agency is one of the major sticking points in the Senate and the central focus of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee.

“The president is not going to compromise because lobbyists tell somebody that we shouldn’t have an agency that protects consumers,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

“That’s something the president’s not willing to give up.” The tougher measures to be announced Thursday aim

Signs on a US Bank branch in Omaha are shown. US Bancorp said yesterday, its fourthquarter profit more than doubled from a year ago, as mortgage banking revenue grew. —AP to limit speculation by commercial banks and to keep financial institutions from becoming so big that they pose a risk to the overall economic system.

In focusing attention on Wall Street, however, the administration is also seeking to halt a wave of public anxiety that is benefiting Republicans and undermining Obama’s agenda.

Obama last year proposed a series of measures to tighten the reins on financial

institutions in hopes of preventing a recurrence of the crisis that struck both Wall Street and Washington in the fall of 2008. The House passed a bill last month.

But his announcement yesterday will broaden those measures, particularly by endorsing Volcker’s proposal to restrict proprietary trading by commercial banks.

Such a limit would separate commercial banks from investment banks, a line that was blurred a decade ago by the repeal of

the 1930s Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act law. That restriction would affect some of the nation’s biggest banks, including banking giants Bank of America Corp, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc. The senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the plan had not yet been made public, said Obama has been planning for months to toughen proposed legislation to reduce risk-taking and limit the size

and scope of financial institutions. “The White House will work closely with the House and Senate to work this into legislation moving on the hill,” the official said.

News of the announcement came shortly after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had a private dinner Wednesday night with chief executives from some of the top Wall Street banks.

There was also a new urgency in the Senate to move on the legislation — an attempt to respond to voter anger at Wall Street and bank bailouts that helped propel Republican Scott Brown to victory in a contest for the seat formerly held by the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Brown’s victory gave Republicans 41 votes in the Senate, enough to mount successful filibusters and prevent Democratic legislation on health care or climate change from getting final votes.

But financial regulations could survive. “I don’t want to see us have to go through what we’ve been through here where we’ve been relying on one party to get something,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said Wednesday. Moreover, Geithner met with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Tuesday. Administration officials now believe that while Republicans may seek to block other aspects of the president’s agenda, McConnell is considering making financial regulations an exception. To that end, Dodd has been negotiating with the Banking Committee’s top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby. “We’re talking, and obviously my hope is that in the next few weeks we’ll have a markup and move forward,” Dodd added, referring to official committee action on the bill. —AP

Kuwait to start term talks amid firm market SINGAPORE: Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) will start talks early next month with Asian customers to renew contracts for full-range naphtha lifting during April 2010 to March 2011, coming at a time of positive petrochemical margins, traders said yesterday.

KPC may even include for the first time light naphtha grade streaming out of its new aromatics plant into its term talks, traders added. Some traders are expecting the heavyweight supplier to ask for high premiums due to the strong outlook seen for this year.

“They will ask for at least $20.00 a ton premium (to Middle East quotes, free-on-board),” said a trader. Even when sentiment was markedly weaker last October, KPC managed to command $13.00 a ton premium to Middle East quotes, FOB, for supplies lifting December 2009November 2011.

The market has since reversed, with petrochemical makers across Asia having ditched plans to cut processing runs, as confidence was restored because of the recovering global economy. With crackers running mostly at full-tilt, buyers are prowling for cargoes, pushing crack spreads to their highest in

more than 20 months on Jan. 15 at around $178.00 a ton.

Although cracks spreadspremiums/losses obtained from refining Brent crude into naphtha-hit a snag on Tuesday and fell to a two-week low at $158.40 ton, the current level is still more than double last October’s levels when KPC had its December-November negotiations.

“They will fetch a higher premium this time, but don’t expect it to be more than $20.00 a ton as Indian semi-term prices are already below that level,” said a KPC buyer. India’s Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) had on Jan. 14 sold 60,000 tons of naphtha for AprilMay lifting at premiums below $20.00 a ton to Middle East quotes, FOB. Some traders see $18.00 a ton premium as a likely compromise between the seller and its customers, which include oil major Shell, Japanese trader Marubeni, South Korea’s Hanwha and YNCC, India’s Haldia Petrochemicals, and Taiwan’s CPC. KPC, which used to export about 7.0 million tons a year of full-range naphtha, has been slashing volumes since last year.

Its target is to export 5.0-5.5

million tons of the full-range grade a year, as it diverts 1.5-2.0 million tons a year of the feedstock to its new aromatics plant, Kuwait Aromatics.

In return, Kuwait Aromatics will produce up to 1 million tons of light naphtha a year.

But traders said it is unlikely that KPC would cut volumes in the upcoming talks. “They have been cutting since last August, and contracts have been cancelled last year. So maybe that’s enough?” said a third trader.

KPC terminated its December-November contracts with all its Japanese customers, citing tight supplies after a month-long tussle over premiums.

“They have to consider their long-term customers’ needs. KPC may even include its light grade in this term talk,” said another trader.

However, unstable operations at its new aromatics plant, which was commissioned last November, could limit the light grade volumes for now. The plant, which was operating at an average of 65 percent of capacity, pushed out its first 24,000-tonne light grade parcel in January, and then sold another 50,000 tons for February lifting. — Reuters

Kuwait lenders mull $7bn ‘stability’ fund: Report

ATHENS: Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou speaks during a conference about the future of banking in Greece, in central Athens yesterday. —AP

Greece not seeking aid to plug debt hole ATHENS: Greece is not seeking aid to pull its debtridden economy out of its worst fiscal crisis in decades, the finance minister said yesterday.

The European Union has been pressing its indebted member state to implement a strict austerity plan and plug its debilitating budget deficit, which stands at more than four times the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP. Greece’s debt stood at 113 percent of annual output for 2009, and is expected to reach 120.4 percent of gross domestic product this year. There have been fears that the country would be unable to deal with the crisis and would seek help from abroad or a bailout —

which would be a first for the decade-old euro-zone, of which Greece is a member.

But Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou stressed that the country was capable of dealing with the crisis. “We’re not expecting anyone to come to our aid,” he said during a conference in Athens. “Greece has neither asked for, nor is it expecting, anything of the sort.” Earlier this week, some EU leaders expressed confidence that Greece would pull itself out of the crisis after Athens submitted a plan to cut public expenditure and tighten its notoriously leaky tax system. —AP

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti lenders have discussed a proposal to set up a “financial stability” fund with capital of up to 2 billion dinars ($6.97 billion) to buy stakes in firms, a Kuwaiti daily said yesterday.

“It is designed first to buy stakes in big operational firms in the market, besides buying assets in firms,” Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas said in an unsourced report.

The fund, which would be set up through banks and government investment, will be worth between KD1 billion and KD2 billion, Qabas said.

Troubles at several prominent investment firms in the OPEC member, including Global Investment House and Investment Dar, prompted the government to approve a $5 billion stimulus package in April to help weather the global economic downturn. —Reuters

BUSINESS

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Friday, January 22, 2010

UAE stocks hit 6-week lows, Kuwait flat DUBAI: The Dubai and Abu Dhabi benchmarks slumped to six-week lows yesterday on subdued volumes, while other Middle East indexes also fell as declines on US markets and a lack of regional catalysts sparked selling.

Dubai’s index lost 1.5 percent and Abu Dhabi dropped 0.6 percent, both ending at their lowest close since midDecember. Combined volumes were less than a third of the 12month daily average in what is usually a peak trading month.

“There are no real drivers in the market to move stocks,” said Marwan Shurrab, vicepresident and chief trader at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.

“All this could change with an increase in turnover, but for the time being we’re not seeing any particular stock movement with respect to news or expectations for Q4.”

Dubai’s Arabtec fell 2.1 percent, with investors unmoved by the builder winning contracts worth $202 million. Emaar Properties lost 2.7 percent.

“Unfortunately, volatility is still high and turnover is still low-the interest is just not there,” said Shurrab. “The market is dependent on regional and international performance-if we see a sell off elsewhere it affects performance locally due to the low turnover.”

Banks also struggled, with Emirates NBD falling 1.5 percent and Dubai Islamic Bank losing 1.8 percent, while in Abu Dhabi property stocks bore the brunt of selling. Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate fell 3.7 and 3.6 percent respectively.

“It’s about getting the bad

loans out of the system, reducing NPLs (nonperforming loans) and seeing property prices rise,” said Richard Frost, head of research sales at Al-Futtaim HC Securities.

“If these happen and are coupled with a global economic recovery, which would support higher oil prices, the market will go up, but nobody is willing to price that into stocks yet.”

Qatar’s benchmark fell for a second day as volumes slumped to a two-week low.

Doha Bank dropped 0.2 percent after reporting a 10 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit. Other lenders also declined, with Masraf AlRayan sliding 0.8 percent.

“There’s very little liquidity in the market. Banks have reported good numbers, but the main problem is the lack of liquidity-institutions hesitate when volumes are low,” said Hani Girgis, assistant chief dealer at Dlala brokerage.

Kuwait Finance House fell 1.8 percent, with bank stocks under renewed selling pressure since National Bank of Kuwait, the country’s largest by market value, announced plans for a capital hike.

Essa Al-Hasawi, a dealer at Noor Financial Investment Co, said investors anticipate KFH will be the next Kuwaiti bank to announce a capital increase as lenders respond to rising provisions.

“The expectation is for this to be much bigger than NBK’s because KFH has more exposure to the real estate and investment sectors,” said Hasawi. “NBK is a more conservative bank.” NBK was

Gulf Air leases two Embraer 170 aircraft MANAMA: Bahrain’s stateowned airline Gulf Air has leased two Embraer 170 planes from the Brazilian manufacturer, as it shifts its focus to shorter routes, and said it could order more.

The airline said in a statement it had signed a lease with Embraer for three years, with an option to extend this by another five years. “If our customers like it, and we think they will, we will order more,” Gulf Air Chief Executive Samer Majali said during a press conference.

He said the carrier needed around 10 regional jets for its fleet in the long run, and would consider regional jets of other suppliers such as Airbus and Bombardier. At the same press conference, Jose Luis Molina, a vice president at Embraer, said the company sees the potential to sell around 50 regional jets in the Middle East over the next three to five years.

Gulf Air’s Majali also said

discussions with Airbus and Boeing on the current order book were ongoing. Gulf Air has up to 20 Boeing 787s on order, as well as 15 Airbus A320s and 20 Airbus A330s, a wide-body aircraft.

The loss-making airline plans to shift its order book from wide-body to narrowbody planes and regional jets as it changes its route network.

It was previously owned by several Gulf states but had to realign its network after Oman, Abu Dhabi and Qatar gave up their stakes, partly in order to establish their own airlines. It plans to cancel 15 routes and open 20 new ones as part of a strategy to increase traffic in the Middle East as it seeks a niche between regional low-cost airlines such as Air Arabia and Bahrain Air, and state-owned airlines of rich oil producers with large fleet expansion programs.— Reuters

MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS flat. The Dow Jones industrial average suffered its largest decline of 2010 on Wednesday, weighing on sentiment in the Middle East.

HIGHLIGHTS EGYPT The index fell 0.4 percent to 6,864 points.

DUBAI The index fell 1.5 percent to 1,652 points.

ABU DHABI The benchmark fell 0.6 percent to 2,637 points.

OMAN The index dropped 0.5 percent to 6,405 points.

KUWAIT The index was unchanged at 7,062 points.

QATAR The measure fell 0.3 percent to 6,772 points.

BAHRAIN The index rose 1 percent to 1,477 points. — Reuters

Friday, January 22, 2010

BUSINESS

Page 19

GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT

Kuwait stocks lackluster KUWAIT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) and Global General Index (GGI) ended the last trading session of the week almost flat. The GGI posted a marginal decrease, while the KSE Price Index

closed at its previous level without change. GGI shed 0.25 points (-0.13 percent) during yesterday’s session to reach 185.63 points. On a weekly basis, the index is up 0.51 percent. However, the

KSE Price Index was unchanged and closed at 7,061.90 points. Market capitalization was down KD40.18mn to reach KD30.15bn.

During the session, 131 companies were traded.

Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 61 equities retreated versus 38 that advanced. A total of 106 stocks remained unchanged during trading session.

Trading activities ended on a negative note yesterday as volume of shares traded on the exchange decreased by 12.25 percent to reach 769.93mn shares.

Furthermore, value of shares traded dropped by 22.72 percent to stand at KD76.94mn.

The Real Estate Sector was the volume leader for the day, accounting for 36.75 percent of total shares traded. The same sector was also the value leader, accounting for 27.31 percent of total market value.

Jeezan Holding Company saw 84.68mn shares changing hands, making it the volume leader. The scrip was also the value leader, with a total traded value of KD6.28mn.

In terms of top gainers, Equipment Holding Company was the top gainer in the market, adding 7.69 percent and closed at KD0.070. On the other hand, Al-Abraj Holding Co. was the biggest decliner for the day, dropping by 6.90 percent and closed at KD0.027.

Regarding Global’s sectoral indices, they ended on a mixed note, with Global Banking Index being the top decliner. The index ended the day down 1.14 percent backed by six banks ending in the red, with the remaining three being unchanged. Among them, heavyweight Kuwait Finance House ended the day down 1.82 percent and close at KD1.080.

In addition, Commercial Bank of Kuwait shed 3.06 percent from its value, making it the biggest

decliner in the sector.

Global Investment Index took second place with a 0.60 percent decline. Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), the largest company in the sector, ended the day down 1.04 percent and closed at KD0.475. The Securities House also contributed to the index’s decline by posting a 3.13 percent loss and closed at KD0.124.

Global Non-Kuwaiti Index was the top gainer today with a 1.28 percent increase in value. Ahli United Bank, the top gainer in the sector, was the main reason for the index’s gain. The scrip ended the day up 7.14 percent and closed at KD0.150.

Global’s special indices also ended on a positive note today except for Global Islamic Index being the only decliner. The index ended the day down 0.81 percent backed by Boubyan Bank shedding 3.85 percent.

Global Small Cap Index was the top gainer, up 1.86 percent backed by Palms Agro Production Company ending the day up 5.10 percent.

Oil news The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $75.30 a barrel on Wednesday 20/1/2010, compared with $75.53 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East reported that Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank (AUB) had offered to buy available-for-sale shares of AUB-Egypt. Thus, BKME submitted a request to sell its stake in the Egyptian lender, which amounts to 8.75mn shares, at EGP37 each. BKME indicated that it had received the sale proceeds amounting to KD17mn, recording a net profit of KD0.65mn.

Kuwait Hotels board recommends 10 percent cash dividend, 5 percent bonus share distribution for FY 2009.

Oman’s Al-Khalili Group to sell 40% DUBAI/MUSCAT: Oman’s Al Khalili Group, a family-owned diversified industrial group, is planning to sell a 40 percent stake in an initial public offering, the lead manager of the issue said. Pricing for the offering was expected to be completed in a few weeks, said Deputy General Manager Loay Bataineh of Oman Arab Bank, the lead manager of the issue.

Bataineh did not say what the issue price of the offer could be or how much the company was planning to raise. The company has a paid-up capital of 15 million Omani Riyals and has 150 million shares outstanding, the banker told Reuters.

On that basis, a 40 percent sale could bring in about 60 million shares to the open market.

Al Khalili Group has interests in construction, electrical equipment, hardware and information technology, according to its website. —Reuters

BUSINESS

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Deal unlikely to skew market in Europe

EU okays Oracle’s bid for Sun Microsystems BRUSSELS: Brussels regula tors yesterda y a pproved US business softw a re gia nt Ora cle’s bid for ha rdw a re a nd softw a re vendor Sun Microsystem s, sa ying the dea l w ould not skew the m a rket in Europe. A m a jor concern

for EU com p etition w a tchdogs w a s the effect the ta keover w ould ha ve on the open source da ta ba se m a r ket -w h ic h m ea n s freely -a c c essed sof t w a re for m illions of business users.

The Oracle Corp and Sun Microsystems Inc logos are shown on a server, in New York. — AP

Booming China economy snaps at Japan’s heels TOKYO: China appears to be on the brink of overtaking beleaguered Japan as the world’s second-biggest economy after another blistering performance in 2009, analysts said yesterday.

Asia’s two biggest economies look to have ended 2009 in a tight race but China, which grew 8.7 percent last year, is soon expected to unseat its neighbor from the position it has held for more than 40 years.

“It may have already overtaken Japan in 2009 and, if not, is likely to do so this year,” said Brian Jackson, a senior strategist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.

China on Thursday reported nominal-unadjusted for inflation gross domestic product (GDP) for 2009 of 33.5 trillion yuan, or 4.9 trillion dollars at today’s exchange rates.

Japan posted nominal GDP of about 505.1 trillion yen, or $5.5 trillion, in 2008 and its economy is expected to have shrunk by roughly six percent last year, reducing the figure to about $5.2 trillion.

SHANGHAI: A heavy traffic is seen going toward downtown in Shanghai yesterday. China’s red-hot economy expanded by 8.7 percent in 2009 but inflation surged towards the end of the year, new data showed as authorities intervened to avert the risk of overheating. — AFP “If you look at nominal figures, the Japanese and Chinese economies are now very close to each other in size,” said Yoshikiyo Shimamine, chief economist at Daiichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo.

Japan is scheduled to release

its 2009 GDP figures on February 15. With China expected to post another year of strong growth in 2010, Japan seems likely to end this year in third place worldwide as it struggles to cope with renewed deflation and a shrinking population, experts said. —AFP

The European Commission had been investigating since September last year whether Oracle would continue to push a Sun software option that is free despite it potentially affecting Oracle’s paid-for alternatives.

However, it accepted proposals made by Oracle in the wake of the probe and a spokesman said on Thursday that “Oracle has already taken steps to implement some of its pledges.”

Oracle promised to continue to support, develop and provide MySQL technology.

The 5.17-billion-euro ($7.57-billion) deal for Sun, a one-time Silicon Valley star and developer of the popular Java programming language, was approved by Sun shareholders in July and the US Department of Justice in August.

“I am now satisfied that competition and innovation will be preserved on all the markets concerned,” EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.

“Oracle’s acquisition of Sun has the potential to revitalize important assets and create new and innovative products.”

Concessions by Oracle included the company’s extension for up to five years of the terms and conditions of existing commercial licenses.

Sun were responsible for the world’s leading open source database MySQL, whereas Oracle is the world’s leading proprietary database vendor.

Oracle, IBM and Microsoft control about 85 percent of the market in terms of revenue. Sun’s revenue share was low given users download and use the database software for free.

Nevertheless, MySQL is a data management system used in millions of business networks worldwide.

Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said the commission was concerned whether Oracle would have an “incentive” to “degrade” MySQL’s “potential to constrain” Oracle’s business.

But the investigation found that in the high end of the market, competition primarily came from other proprietary database solutions. — AFP

ANTWERP, Belgium: Employees of German car maker Opel at their plant in Antwerp assemble for a special meeting in Antwerp yesterday. German car company Opel will close its plant in Antwerp, Belgium this year, GM Europe announced. — AFP

GM Europe to shut Belgian Opel plant, in jobs blow BRUSSELS: General Motors Europe announced to unions yesterday that it is to close its Opel auto production plant in Antwerp, in a blow that Belgian industry said would cost 5,000 jobs all told. The site will be closed over “the course of 2010,” an Opel statement said. A union representative immediately announced a blockade, saying no finished cars would be allowed out of the plant.

“They have announced to us their intention to proceed towards collective redundancy and the closure of the business,” said Walter Cnop, of the CSC union’s metalworkers’ branch.

In Germany, Opel directors said the factory directly employs just over 2,600 people. Previously, it was thought that certain senior management figures on-site would be retained and re-assigned.

Cnop said no production was planned on Friday or Monday anyway, but that from Tuesday, “the factory will remain blocked until such time as we decide to let finished cars out.” He underlined: “We’re not stopping anyone going in, individual parts can get in.” Workers began blocking access to the northern Belgian factory on Wednesday, fearing the axe would finally fall at the planned meeting.

“It’s an absolute catastrophe for Belgian workers and manufacturing,” Cnop added, slamming management “arrogance” and a decision he said was “based on political considerations in no way assessed on economic grounds.”

“We are seen as antiquated objects,” sighed Joeri, who has worked for Opel for 22 years.

An emergency meeting with the office of Belgium’s devolved Flemish government leader Kris Peeters late on Thursday afternoon will precede redundancy and resettlement talks with the company over the coming weeks and months.

Belgian technological industry federation Agoria said at least 5,000 jobs in the region could be lost amid the longterm knock-on effects of the closure. Spokesman Rene Konings said sub-contractors would be spared immediate hardship through contracts with other plants within the group’s European division.

“The decision to announce this today was not taken lightly... We must make this announcement now so that we can secure a viable future for the entire Opel and Vauxhall operations,” said Opel chief executive Nick Reilly.

“To ensure long-term sustainability for the company, Opel needs to reduce capacity by approximately 20 percent,” the statement added.

A broad restructuring plan is expected to include the elimination of 8,300 jobs from a total of almost 50,000 in Europe. — AFP

BUSINESS

Friday, January 22, 2010

Page 21

Feds invest wisely with housing project Projects to create jobs and revitalize local economies The public-private venture also should drive investment in the city’s core. The complex will offer housing for the poor, working class, young professionals, the wealthy and the elderly.

It will include offices, shops, a school, hotel and museum.

T

he $38 million housing grant awarded to Tampa last week is an example of how federal stimulus dollars should be used-on projects that create jobs and revitalize local economies.

If all federal dollars were so effectively spent, Washington’s finances and the nation’s economy would be in far better shape.

The US housing authority will use the federal dollars on infrastructure improvements-roads, sidewalks, drainage systems and such. —AFP file photo Most of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development grant — $28 million-will go toward building a mixed-use complex on the site of the former Central Park Village public housing project.

Jerome Ryans, director of the Tampa Housing Authority, which will oversee the grant, predicts the “Encore” development

will create 4,000 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs.

The public-private venture also should drive investment in the city’s core. The complex will offer housing for the poor, working class, young professionals, the wealthy and the elderly. It will include offices, shops, a school, hotel and museum.

The Tampa Housing Authority is partnering with Banc of America Community Development Corp., which will provide the bulk of funding for what ultimately will be a $425 million project.

The housing authority will use the federal dollars on infrastructure improvements-roads, sidewalks, drainage systems

The crowd waves as President Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting on February 10, 2009, in Fort Myers, Florida, as he campaigns for his $800-billion-plus economic stimulus plan. —MCT file photo

and such. The bank will fund the development itself.

The arrangement ensures the private sector guides the project, not Washington bureaucrats.

Ryan stresses there are strict accountability measures for spending, which is essential.

Work may begin within months on the 28 acres between downtown Tampa and Ybor City. The land has been vacant since the crime-ridden, dilapidated housing complex was demolished in 2007. Encore will be a stark contrast to Central Park, a remnant of the discredited government belief that the poor should be warehoused in sprawling projects.

The new complex will offer 667 units of affordable housing and more than 800 market-rate condos, as well as 270,000 square feet of retail. The community will be near the train station, which could bolster Florida’s case for Washington to fund a highspeed rail line from Tampa to Orlando, which would be another job-creator.

The additional $10 million of the Tampa HUD grant will be used by the city to redevelop foreclosed properties, which will create construction jobs while protecting neighborhoods from the crime and decay that often occur when dwellings are abandoned.

The entire region did

well in the latest round of HUD projects. Pasco was given $27 million and Pinellas $18 million, primarily to help rehabilitate abandoned homes and provide financing assistance to low-income homebuyers.

With the local economy excessively dependent on homebuilding, the investment in housing should have a big impact.

And it is appropriate that Florida, with its nearly 12 percent unemployment rate, received $348 million in HUD dollars, more than any other state.

But the money must be spent cautiously, especially the dollars going to home financing. The housing collapse made clear the dangers of providing financing to people who won’t be able to keep up with payments.

All those who fought long and hard for Encore, including Ryans, US Rep. Kathy Castor of Hillsborough, Mayor Pam Iorio and members of the city council and county commission deserve credit.

It’s foolish to think that Washington can spend its way out of a recession. But it’s equally foolish to think that federal dollars never help.

Encore should revive a depressed neighborhood and energize a devastated construction industry, good returns on investment. —MCT

CAREER

Page 22

Friday, January 22, 2010

Dealing with negative colleagues Office politics, bitchy colleagues, management expectations and maintaining professional standards all have a part to play in displaying office etiquette.

M

ost of the time, you don’t get a chance to choose the people you work with.

Working in a corporate setting is a package deal, and often, you just have to live with all the pros and cons, including working with negative colleagues. People in the workplace come in all shapes and sizes, persuasions and dispositions. It would be unrealistic to assume that you can get along with people all the time. So how do you deal with negative people? As long as you keep your own attitude in check, there are ways to be proactive and keep the peace at the office.

Understand the other person If someone’s attitude is affecting the work at hand or relationships with your clients or customers, it is important that you don’t ignore his attitude as “none of your business.” But before reacting to his negativity, try to see the source of such behavior. Factors can be any of the following: personal problems, stress, job insecurity, loss of loyalty, stunted personal growth and so on. It will help you respond in terms of how you can help the situation instead of feeling resentful at how the person is acting.

Just do your job Most of the time, people can be spiteful, manipulative, insecure and overly competitive that it throws you. You may be tempted to lash out or do something drastic, but make sure you just continue to perform quality work no matter what.

Sometimes you are merely being harassed into making a bungling fool of yourself for whatever selfish agenda they have in mind. In some cases, negative behavior stem from a person’s true character.

Don’t take it personally, and certainly, don’t allow it to distract you from what needs to be done.

Feed your self esteem You may be enduring a rabid boss, a vicious manager or a bitchy co-worker. But if you don’t counter such aggression, all that negativity will take its toll in the long run. Focus on the good things in your life instead of

dwelling on the badness in the office. Feed your sense of self-worth by putting meaning in everything you do, pampering yourself, or indulging in weekend activities that will make use of your talents and will benefit others. You can’t take control of other people’s attitudes, but remember that you are always in charge of your own.

Be a role model You can’t tell people how to treat you, but you can influence them by the way you treat them. Don’t empower a negative person by reacting to his weaknesses. Be a role model by treating everyone equally with respect. A co-worker who keeps gossiping about you will eventually run out of things to say if you don’t give him a reason to gossip. Be consistently transparent, work-conscious, and honest.

Don’t be a victim, just try to win the negativists by your good example.

Avoid making accusations If you do decide to talk to the negativist about his attitude towards you, don’t make any hasty accusations that will only complicate things further. Negative people are often reactive so you need to choose your words carefully. People feel defensive when they hear the word ‘’you,” because they automatically feel they are being judged. Instead of saying ‘’you misunderstood me,’’ say rather ‘’I might not have been clear.’’ And when you ask questions, do so with the intent to clarify, not to judge.

Be straightforward Don’t make underhanded retaliations by being sarcastic or making fun of the person.

A vengeful spirit will only fuel the fire, so try to control that. If you have something to say, be straightforward and firm without being spiteful.

When discussing differences, stick to the topic at hand.

Don’t dig up past issues and pick at old wounds. This attempt can only lead to confusion, impatience and resentment. Attack the root of the present problem. Once it is resolved, bury the hatchet and forget about it.

— www.trabaho.com

Friday, January 22, 2010

TECHNOLOGY

Page 23

Old computers and discarded electronic items arrive for disassembly at the e-Recycling of California processing facility in Paramount, California. — AP

Put e-waste in its right place I

f all the Consumer Electronics Show coverage last week has you scheming to buy the new Google smart phone or a 3-D home theater system, you aren’t alone. Americans have an insatiable appetite for the latest and greatest gadgets. So what if we own an average of 23 consumer electronics per household. That doesn’t stop us from wanting even more. But all those flat-screen TVs and iPhones come with an environmental cost. E-waste is the fastestgrowing waste stream in the United States growing at a faster rate than regular household garbage and other mounting problems such as spent batteries and compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Americans got rid of 27 million TVs, 205 million computer products and more than 100 million cell phones and PDAs in 2007, according to the most recent figures from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Just 16 percent of that equipment was recycled. The rest was carted out to the garage, stowed away because of consumers’ confusion about what to do or, more commonly, sent to the landfill, where the glass, plastics and metals were crushed into submission and buried with the banana peels and fast-food wrappers, never to be seen again.

“Ten years ago, electronic waste wasn’t even on our radar,” said Thea McManus, associate director of the EPA in Washington. Now, she said, “It’s an issue that needs special management.” Yet there is no federal law governing electronic trash.

Although the EPA offers e-waste guidelines to consumers, manufacturers and retailers through a program called Plug-In to eCycling, and e-waste legislation is being drafted in Congress, consumers often are confused about what to do with that cell phone when its buttons stop functioning, or that bulbous and formerly high-tech TV that is now an outdated embarrassment. Navigating the mishmash of mom-and-pop recycling centers, governmentsanctioned drop-off spots and retailers’

Americans got rid of 27 million TVs, 205 million computer products and more than 100 million cell phones and PDAs in 2007. programs can be difficult.

Because many consumer electronics are thrown away long before they die, the EPA suggests reuse and refurbishment rather than the trash can as the first course of action “to mitigate the digital divide” between the perpetually upgrading, gadget-hungry haves and lower-income have-nots. Recycling, McManus said, “would be the last approach.” Though landfills are safe and highly engineered to handle disposal of electronics, she said, “that shouldn’t be our first tier of waste management.”

Even so, California is one of just 20 states that bans electronics from landfills because of their hazardous materials, such as the lead in cathode-ray-tube TVs, and their potential to be reclaimed and reused. Recapturing raw materials such as copper saves the energy, expense and environmental cost that it would have otherwise taken to mine new. Since 2005, California has required consumers to pay a recycling fee at the point of sale for many, but not all, electronic devices with a screen, including TVs, computer monitors and portable DVD players. The $8 to $25 fee is used to offset the cost of state-approved recyclers who break down, or “de-manufacture” the device, selling component parts on the commodities market or to companies that further process the materials.

That has resulted in a bevy of recycling options, many operated by government (like the city of LA’s Bureau of Sanitation), retailers (such

as Best Buy and AT&T) and manufacturers (such as Panasonic, Toshiba and Sharp, which sponsor a program called MRM). In LA, about 3 million pounds of e-waste are recycled through the city each year. Taken in at city-run mobile collection events and its six “SAFE” centers, the electronics are then de-manufactured by two state-certified contractors, e-Recycling in Paramount and Electronic Recyclers International in Fresno.

In 2002, when Electronic Recyclers opened, it recycled 10,000 pounds of e-waste its first month. Now the company, the country’s largest e-recycler, processes 15 million pounds of ewaste each month at seven locations in six states. Among the firm’s 2,000 clients: Best Buy, which “takes back consumer electronics and appliances regardless of where you bought it, what brand it is or how old it is” said Chris Boik, senior manager of environmental affairs for the Minnesota-based chain.

If the item is too large to process through a retail location - a television with a screen larger than 32 inches or any major appliance, such as a washer/dryer or refrigerator - the company offers a free haul-away service any time a Best Buy representative visits a customer’s house.

That could be a delivery person with a new TV or a member of the Geek Squad setting up or repairing a computer.

Since the retailer kicked off its e-recycling program last February, it has taken in more than

1 million e-castoffs. “Our customers were increasingly looking to us to help them solve the problem of what to do with the old TVs,” said Leo Raudys, senior director of Best Buy’s environmental affairs. “It’s quickly morphing into a core business function.”

Raudys noted that the program is an expense for the company, but the hope is that it could break even, given increasing commodity prices and the additional foot traffic e-recycling brings to Best Buy’s 1,000-plus locations.

What happens to e-waste once it’s passed out of a consumer’s hands varies. There are essentially two receivers of e-waste: collectors and recyclers. Collectors take the recycled item from the consumer. The collector then gives the item to a recycler, who breaks it down into component pieces, separating a TV screen from its plastic case or a hard drive from a laptop computer, for example. The recycler breaks down those components into salable commodities, such as plastic, glass or metal.

In California, legitimate collectors and recyclers are certified by CalRecycle, part of the state’s Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery. At present, 630 certified collectors and 60 certified recyclers are in California, and all are subject to site visits.

Although California is at the forefront of safeguards, there are loopholes. The state’s definition of e-waste is fairly narrow; it does not include so-called “universal waste,” such as iPods, microwave ovens and other items containing electronic components or plugs.

There are also unscrupulous recyclers who may claim to handle e-waste responsibly but are sending it to developing nations that lack proper environmental and human rights oversight.

Before e-cycling, consumers should check that the handler or recycler is certified with the state or that the recycler belongs to the Basel Action Network, a global toxic-trade watchdog organization that works to prevent the shipping of e-waste overseas.— MCT

BEAUTY

Page 24

Corrective makeup tips

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basic technique for applying makeup is to emphasis the good features by highlighting and minimizing the imbalanced or not so good features, by shadowing or shading with the right combination of cosmetics colors, which is the purpose of corrective makeup.

What is highlighting?

When a lighter shade of foundation is applied on a particular area of the face, it is highlighted to focus attention.

What is shadowing or shadings?

When a darker shade of foundation is applied on a particular feature, it minimizes attention on that area shadowing detracts attention.

What is blending ?

When two shades of foundation are used they must be spread towards the required direction properly. Any demarcation line of two foundation should not be visible. Caution is the keyword while blending.

Importance of makeup color.

Different colors of cosmetics produce different effects on each individual face. Care must be taken to choose the right cosmetics colors. The following

points are to be considered before deciding on colors: • Analyze the profile and the front appearance of your face.

• Ascertain the color of your eyes, skin and hair.

• Choose makeup color that flatter the color of the eyes, skin and hair.

• Imperfect features should be toned down by choosing and applying matching dark colors.

• Select and apply makeup high lighters according to the corrective result required.

Primary Contouring of Faces.

Face contouring is done before the main general foundation. Highlighting and shadowing of the features achieved by different shades of foundation get fixed in their place and effect is softened by an overall application of one color foundation. This means that for corrective contouring, 3 shades of foundations are needed: Lighter shade of foundation for highlighting. Dark color foundation for down toning imperfect features. Overall natural skin color foundation to defuse the harshness of highlighting and shadowing. www.bestincosmetics.com

Friday, January 22, 2010

Rose Cream for Day Use 6 fl oz Almond oil 2 oz Beeswax 1 heaping tsp. anhydrous Lanolin 1 tsp Borax dissolved in 4 fl. oz. Rosewater 2 tsp Zinc Oxide rubbed into a smooth cream with 4 fl oz Almond oil 10-20 drops oil of Rose Quantity: Makes enough for about three 4 oz. cream jars.

To Make: Heat the beeswax and the lanolin gently in a water bath. Do not let the wax simmer or burn. Remove from heat and add the Almond oil slowly. Add the zinc oxide-Almond oil cream beating the mixture continuously. Add the borax-Rosewater and beat until cool. Add enough oil of Rose to scent the mixture to your liking. Beat until cold with a small wooden spoon.

Pour into three 4 oz. cram jars and let sit until solidified.

To Use: This makes an excellent everyday cream that can be used under makeup or as a moisturizer. Simply rub gently onto face, hands or throat. As a throat moisturizer the cream is excellent, especially when rubbed in with a large marble or small avocado pit. rub in gentle circular motions while looking up into the sky, thereby stretching and stimulating your neck muscles.

Why: Almond oil replaces necessary body oils; Rosewater is a gentle astringent and moisturizer replacing liquid to the cells and tightening the skin; lanolin is a potent emollient and very much like human oils; borax is a skin softener and will help to produce a very white cream while its disadvantage is that it often adds a grainy texture; zinc oxide is useful for healing reddened, sore or irritated skin.

Mascara - The right way to apply it Mascara is your most effective makeup tool. It is a great eye opener that emphasizes the lashes. Mascara is one of the most popular beauty items that defines and brings color to the lashes, and highlights and dramatizes eyes. But you have to use it right.

Here are the steps for applying mascara.

Consider the types of mascara and select one appropriate for your lashes and the occasion. You have a choice of lengthening, thickening, longwearing, conditioning and waterproof formulas, among others. For day, you might decide to add length, while a night on the town may require a long-wearing or thickening formula.

Now select the color of mascara if you have blond or red lashes, opt for brown mascara. If you have darker-lashed can select the brown for a casual look, and black or brown-black for more pronounced or dramatic lashes.

Curl your lashes with an eyelash curler, if desired then apply all other eye makeup prior to your mascara. You must ensure that the mascara covers the lashes from the root to the tip of the lash. Now begin with the underside of your upper lashes, moving the brush slowly upward toward the tips of your lashes. Always hold the wand parallel to your eyelid and the brush tip

will always stay away from the eye socket area .

Roll the brush slowly on the upward stroke to promote separation of the lashes. This first coat of mascara is a light coat.

Apply mascara 2 or 3 times throughout the makeup session, letting each coat dry before applying the another coat in the same manner.

Use an eyelash comb to separate the wet lashes and also use tissue to remove some of the excess mascara from lashes.

Hold the wand vertically when applying mascara to lower lashes, use less mascara for the lower lashes. Begin where the lashes meet the rim of the lower eyelid, and gently stroke downward.

Remove any stray and extra mascara which is around the eye with a cotton swab dipped in a small amount of eye makeup remover.

Always allow the first coat of mascara to dry before applying the second coat. www.bestincosmetics.com

BEAUTY

Friday, January 22, 2010

Page 25

8 tips for sexy lips Get your pout soft and kissable in no time

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f diamonds are a girl’s best friend, then lipstick is her soul mate. Even with flawless makeup, most women don’t feel complete until their lips are lined, glossed or otherwise coated in color. To get the sexiest lips possible, follow these eight simple steps.

1.

Exfoliate. To keep the skin on your lips smooth and make lipstick glide on more evenly, regular exfoliation is key. One easy, at-home method: Aloette Soothe n’ Smooth ($24.50; aloette.com), a two-part scruband-balm set designed to remove flakes and nourish lips with peppermint, beeswax, aloe and safflower oil. Editors’ trick: Take a clean, dry toothbrush (not the one you use to brush your teeth) and rub a bit of Vaseline onto the bristles, then gently brush your lips for several seconds to smooth

away rough spots.

2.

Condition with balm.

Without miniaturization, getting the perfect pout is virtually impossible. “You really have to be a lip-conditioner junkie,” says Gordon Espinet, global makeup artist for M.A.C Cosmetics.

That’s why you should slather on a lip balm full of moisturizing emollients like beeswax or glycerin, as well as good-for-you vitamins like the antioxidants C and E. Try Neutrogena Overnight Lip Treatment ($3.49; at drugstores) with hydrating vitamin E and glycerin. Or look for super hydrating sheer glosses that add a touch of color too. We like aveda lip shine ($13.50; aveda.com), rich in conditioning botanicals like plant lipids.

3.

Alternate lipsticks from time to time. While matte shades tend to have more pigment and

fewer moisturizing ingredients (that’s what makes them last longer), most no matte lipsticks actually help your lips retain moisture, according to Ronald Moy, M.D., president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. A better bet: Revlon Moisturous Lip-color ($7.50; at drugstores), which comes in 24 shades.

5.

Use the right liner technique. How to do it correctly: Start with a liner just slightly darker than your lipstick shade and outline the shape you desire (going outside your lip line slightly will make lips look fuller).

Next, use the side edge of the liner tip or a lip brush to feather the color inward. Then, fill in with the lighter lipstick. For easy application, choose a pencil in a nearly nude shade, such as Bliss lip liner stick in Pink Eraser ($15;

blissworld.com).

6.

Protect lips from the sun.

Because lips have a minimal amount of melanin, they have no natural defense against the sun, says Dennis Gross, MD, a New York City dermatologist and the founder of the M.D. Skincare line.

Gross’ advice: Always apply an SPF 15 lip balm under lipstick and reapply frequently during the day.

For effective coverage, try the allnatural aveda lip saver ($7.50; aveda.com) with SPF 15.

7.

Adopt good habits. Major lip mistakes can result from bad habits; smoking, for example, aside from damaging your health overall, speeds up the formation of vertical lines around your mouth. Licking your lips also can make them rough and prone to chapping (your saliva evaporates and pulls away even more moisture from your lips in the process). Also, no matter how

nervous you are, don’t bite your lips. The skin there lacks an outer layer of protection that body skin has, so it can easily be broken, making it prone to infection.

8.

Use the right shade of lipstick. Just because a particular color is the current rage doesn’t mean it will work for you. Test a new shade on your lips, not just on the back of your hand: “You might as well just be looking at it in the tube, because it’s not going to be the same on your face,” explains Jennifer Artur, a makeup artist and owner of A Beautiful Life beauty boutique in New Hope, Pa. When in doubt, go with a beige-pink color (or beige-brown color if you have darker skin). One neutral color that works well on just about everyone: Maybelline Wet Shine Diamonds lipstick in Pink Topaz ($6.75; at drugstores). (www.bnet.com)

HEALTH

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Meditation: Take a stress-reduction Meditation can wipe break wherever you are away the dayʼs f stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even just a few minutes in meditation can restore calm and inner peace.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life.

These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Anyone can practice meditation. It’s simple and inexpensive, and it doesn’t require any special equipment. And you can practice meditation wherever you are - whether you’re out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor’s office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.

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stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how you can easily learn to practice meditation whenever you need it most.

Understanding meditation Meditation, considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine, produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process results in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.

replacement for traditional medical treatment. But it can be useful in addition to your other treatment.

Benefits of meditation Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don’t end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and improve certain medical conditions.

Meditation and emotional well-being When you meditate, you clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.

The emotional benefits of meditation include: • Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations • Building skills to manage your stress • Increased selfawareness • Focusing on the present • Reducing negative emotions • Meditation and illness Many healthy people use meditation as a way to relax the body and reduce stress.

But meditation also might be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.

A growing body of

scientific research is supporting the health benefits of meditation. But many of the studies aren’t of high quality, and some researchers believe it’s not yet possible to draw conclusions about the

possible benefits of meditation.

With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help such conditions as: • Allergies • Anxiety disorders

• Asthma • Binge eating • Cancer • Depression • Fatigue • Heart disease • High blood pressure • Pain

• Sleep problems • Substance abuse Be sure to talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these or other medical conditions. Meditation isn’t a

Types of meditation There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques with meditation components. But all share the same goal of inner peace.

Ways to meditate can include: Guided meditation.

Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing. You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.

Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.

Transcendental meditation is a type of mantra meditation in which you achieve a deep state of relaxation to achieve pure awareness.

Mindfulness meditation.

This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment.

You focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.

Qi gong. This practice generally combines meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance.

Qi gong (chee-kung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.

Tai chi. This is a form of

HEALTH

Friday, January 22, 2010 gentle Chinese martial arts.

In tai chi (TIE-chee), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.

Yoga. You perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you’re encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.

Elements of meditation Different types of meditation may include different features to help you meditate. These may vary depending on whose guidance you follow or who’s teaching a class. Some of the most common features in meditation include: Focusing your attention.

Focusing your attention is generally one of the most important elements of meditation. Focusing your attention is what helps free your mind from the many distractions that cause stress and worry. You can focus your attention on such things as a specific object, an image, a mantra, or even your breathing. Don’t fret when your mind wanders. Just return to your focus of attention.

Relaxed breathing. This technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm muscle to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe more efficiently.

A quiet location. If you’re a beginner, practicing meditation may be easier if you’re in a quiet spot with few distractions - no television, radios or cell phones. As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere, especially in highstress situations where you benefit the most from meditation, such as a traffic jam, a stressful work meeting or a long line at the grocery store.

A comfortable position.

You can practice meditation whether you’re sitting, lying down, walking or in other positions or activities. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation.

Everyday ways to practice meditation Don’t let the thought of meditating the “right” way add to your stress. Sure, you can attend special meditation centers or group classes led by trained instructors. But you also can practice meditation easily on your own.

And you can make meditation as formal or informal as you like whatever suits your lifestyle

and situation. Some people build meditation into their daily routine. For example, they may start and end each day with an hour of meditation. But all you really need is a few minutes of quality time for meditation.

Tips to practice meditation on your own Here are some ways you can practice meditation on your own, whenever you

choose. Take a few minutes or as much time as you like to practice one or more of these meditation methods: Breathe deeply. This technique is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function. Focus all attention on your breathing. Concentrate on feeling and listening as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils.

Breathe deeply and slowly. When

your attention wanders, gently return your focus to your breathing.

Scan your body. When using this technique, focus attention on different parts of your body. Become aware of your body’s various sensations, whether that’s pain, tension, warmth or relaxation. Combine body scanning with breathing exercises and imagine breathing heat or relaxation

Page 27 into and out of different parts of your body.

Repeat a mantra. You can create your own mantra, whether it’s religious or secular.

Examples of religious mantras include the Jesus Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the om mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.

Walking meditation.

Combining a walk with meditation is an efficient and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere you’re walking - in a tranquil forest, on a city sidewalk or at the mall. When you use this method, slow down the pace of walking so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don’t focus on a particular destination. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind such as lifting, moving and placing as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground.

Engage in prayer. Prayer is the best known and most widely practiced example of meditation. Spoken and written prayers are found in most faith traditions. You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others. Check the self-help or 12-step-recovery section of your local bookstore for examples. Talk with your rabbi, priest, pastor or other spiritual leader about resources.

Read or listen and take time to reflect. Many people report that they benefit from reading poems or sacred texts silently or aloud, and

taking a few moments to quietly reflect on the meaning that the words bring to mind. You can listen to sacred music, spoken words or any music you find relaxing or inspiring. You may want to write your reflections in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.

Focus your love and gratitude. In this type of meditation, you focus your attention on a sacred object or being, weaving feelings of love and gratitude into your thoughts. You can also close your eyes and use your imagination or gaze at representations of the object.

Building your meditation skills Don’t judge your meditation skills, which may only increase your stress.

Meditation takes practice.

Keep in mind, for instance, that it’s common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you’ve been practicing meditation.

If you’re meditating to calm your mind and your attention wanders, slowly return to the object, sensation or movement you’re focusing on.

Experiment, and you’ll likely find out what types of meditation work best for you and what you enjoy doing.

Adapt meditation to your needs at the moment.

Remember, there’s no right way or wrong way to meditate. What matters is that meditation helps you with stress reduction and feeling better overall.

— www.mayoclinic.com

PETS

Page 28

Friday, January 22, 2010

As canine matchmakers, Boscov and Maslow scour shelters for the perfect pooches, looking for more than a pretty face and wet nose.

Liz Moslow, of Main Line Mutt Match, tests a dog’s close-range reaction. —MCT

Matchmakers of a rescue-dog kind D reamy eyes, luxuriously thick hair, a well-toned body. Matchmakers Liz Maslow and Meg Boscov thought the shapely beauty named Tasha was just who their client was looking for.

When they tried to get to know her better, however, she was a bit standoffish.

“Hi, sweetie,” said Boscov.

Tasha wouldn’t even look at her. “She’s overwhelmed,” Boscov said to Maslow. “We need 1/8a prospect3/8 not as sensitive.” So it was on to the next dog - yes, dog, as in four legs and a tail.

It was another day for Main Line Mutt Match, a sort of interspecies eHarmony aimed at finding problem-free pets for people wanting rescued dogs. As canine matchmakers, Boscov and Maslow scour shelters for the perfect pooches, looking for more than a pretty face and wet nose. Every prospective pet gets a temperament test to make sure it is well-behaved and will fit seamlessly into its new owner’s home. Like a dog version of play therapy, the trainers use props and even dress like crazed mashers to gauge the animal’s reaction.

Too timid? Snaps when food is taken away? Growls at other dogs? That kind of attitude won’t win an orphaned pup a forever family. The idea of matching dogs and humans is a

winner, said Mychelle Blake, a spokeswoman for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. There are trainers who do pre-adoption counseling, but no others she knows of who actually pick and screen adoptees.

“Having a trainer go with you to select a dog is invaluable,” she said. “That border collie may be cute, but it’s going to herd your children around, and it’s going to drive you crazy because it needs mental stimulation.”

Mutt Match has placed six dogs since it started eight months ago. Last week, Boscov and Maslow, both dog trainers, were at the Last Chance Ranch dog shelter in Quakertown, looking for a medium-tolarge Lab mix for a family from Devon, Pa. The dog would have to withstand a lot of wear and tear, since the family has three boys, ages 4, 7, and 9. “They seemed to know what type of dog would fit well with our family,” said mother Rebecca Emory. “We could have done the research, but who has the time?”

In an initial meeting, Boscov and Maslow asked the Emorys what type of dogs they liked. Some suggestions were better than others. Labs, friendly and good with kids, worked.

Overprotective German shepherds, not so much.

Though Tasha and her

lookalike sister, Tabitha, turned up her and didn’t mind being behavior tests, she did it seemed to fill the bill, both nose. She then touched - by a fake hand with more verve than Angel. were too skittish. “Very gobbled a on a stick so Boscov “She’s not as sensitive as sweet dogs,” said Maslow, plate of didn’t lose her own hand Angel. . . . I prefer her,” said “but not outgoing enough.” canned - or having the food taken Boscov, snapping pictures to The next dog, Angel, a food away. send to the Emorys. So far, mid-size Lab mix with The best thing about only a few shelters allow the yellow eyes and dark-blond the year-old dog was that trainers to temperamentfur, was more promising. she was good with test their dogs, but such When Last Chance children, according to prescreening is crucial to trainer Sonja Meyers Meyers, who said matching dog and owner, the brought her out, Angel recently, an 8-year-old women say. A few days immediately sat and visitor “flipped her over, earlier, they had come nuzzled Boscov’s pulled her tail. She loves across Jake, a beautiful 10leg. She also lifted a kids, no doubt about it.” month-old yellow Lab that forepaw, indicating “She seems to love seemed perfect for their submissiveness. everybody,” said Maslow. clients. After getting to Everyone oohed “And we love her.” But that know him better, they and aahed as if was before they met Tessa, decided he was too she had just won she of the shiny black coat demanding for the first-time the Westminster and engaging personality. pet owners.

Dog Show.

Not only did the bouncy “They would have been Then they Lab mix pass all overwhelmed,” said Boscov. showed her a the “Even though he was stuffed basset gorgeous.” Boscov and hound and a Maslow ask for a $200 baby doll, and donation for their services.

Angel just That includes a training sniffed, another session for the new pet and good sign. “You owner. They also offer a don’t want to see discount on their doglunging,” said obedience classes. Most Maslow. She also people pay the full price, passed the handling but the women say they will test with flying colors, take whatever the client can allowing Boscov to afford, as adopting a dog can check out her ears, be as expensive as buying paws, and one. Some rescue groups tail. Next, charge up to $500 per pet.

Boscov Last Chance’s fee is from offered her a $150 to $300. “It’s nice big pig’s ear, that they do the legwork,” to see Emory said of Mutt whether she Match. “I couldn’t have had food Trainer Meg Boscov, of Main Line Mutt Match, uses a doll to test taken my kids and issues, but the friendliness of a Lab mix named Angel, at the Last Chance schlepped around to all Angel these shelters.” —MCT Ranch dog shelter in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. —MCT

Friday, September 22, 2009

RELATIONSHIPS

Page 29

Sarah Joanis (top) plays with her daughter Natalie, as her husband, Kevin, looks on in background, at their home in Plainfield, Illinois. — MCT

Mom undergoes cancer treatment of pelvic region while pregnant hen Sarah Joanis found out she was pregnant, she was so thrilled - and surprised - that she took 12 home pregnancy tests in a row and photographed the positive results. Just to make sure. Three months later, however, Sarah and her husband Kevin of Plainfield, Illinois, received another shock: Her ovarian cancer had returned. She was 29 years old.

One of every 1,000 pregnant women in the US has cancer, a relatively rare but stark convergence of life and death. For these women, treatment is possible.

But it comes with a host of terrifying decisions for the family. Do you start chemotherapy, which could harm the fetus? Or do you delay treatment, potentially risking the mother’s life?

Cancer and pregnancy “throws families into the worst scenario possible,” said Dr Gideon Koren, Director of The Hospital for Sick Children’s Motherisk Program at the University of Toronto, which advises pregnant and lactating women about drug exposure. “I can’t think of many other situations in life so devastating and difficult.” Sarah desperately wanted her baby. Kevin wanted to grow old with his wife even more. Ultimately, after many heart-wrenching conversations, they agreed Sarah and their unborn baby would go through her chemotherapy and ovarian surgery together.

It was harrowing journey through uncertainty and doubt, one that is far from over. Sarah still is on constant watch for signs of cancer, but she and her husband have another, happier worry: caring for Natalie Elizabeth Joanis, their daughter, who recently celebrated her first birthday with two fistfuls of cake. “She is now my purpose in life,” Sarah said. Statistically, Sarah was an unlikely candidate for epithelial ovarian cancer. She was 26 and working as an electrical engineer for Ford Motor Co in Detroit when she was initially diagnosed with a disease that typically targets women older than 55.

She had no family history of ovarian cancer.

W

But on Super Bowl Sunday in 2006, Sarah woke up with a sharp abdominal pain that turned out to be a cancerous tumor. Doctors were able to successfully remove the growth, along with her left fallopian tube.

Because Sarah was young and wanted children - and everything else looked good - she didn’t undergo chemotherapy, which could have damaged her fertility. The cancer scare gave Sarah a new outlook on life and for the next two years she seized her moments. An ambitious and independent young woman, she finished her MBA at the University of Chicago by commuting from Michigan on weekends, married her soulmate, went skydiving, traveled to Hawaii and moved back to the Chicago area, where she had grown up.

For months the couple tried to get pregnant, but a reproductive endocrinologist told them that Sarah’s one fallopian tube was blocked and that in vitro fertilization was their only option. To their astonishment, pregnancy happened naturally, prompting Kevin to rush out and buy a dozen pregnancy tests at Costco for confirmation. Then, on April 4, 2008, during a routine pregnancy ultrasound, her doctor found more cancer. This time, it had spread across the pelvic region.

“I was supposed to be OK,” Joanis wrote on her blog, “I Want to Breathe” (sarahjoanis.blogspot.com) which chronicles her fight with ovarian cancer. “I was supposed to go on with life with one less fallopian tube. Big deal. But here I am now. Standing at the start of what is going to be the longest and hardest journey of my life.” Treatment began with a risky surgery to remove her left ovary, which had been engulfed by the tumor. Doctors worried that if the uterus was stimulated during the operation, it might contract, triggering premature labor at 28 weeks.

Sarah, who had convinced herself Natalie would be born that day, was shaking before surgery began.

Kevin was stoic and strong for his wife, but broke

down privately afterward. Even her gynecological oncologist, Sudarshan Sharma of Hinsdale Hospital, felt anxious. “Cancer surgeries are full of surprises,” said Sharma. For three days following the procedure, Sarah experienced violent contractions, but she hung on to her pregnancy. Her doctors remained concerned. “My heart was breaking during the surgery,” said Sarah’s ob-gyn, Julie Jensen of Edward Hospital in Naperville, who held the uterus - and felt Natalie kicking - throughout the operation. “We knew it was likely her only biological child.”

Then came another agonizing decision: Whether to start chemotherapy. “I leaned toward protecting Sarah first,” said Kevin, a chemical engineer. “I saw parenting as something we would do together. The thought of doing it without her was painful.” For years, the medical professional has wrestled with how to treat pregnant cancer patients, and whether women with cancer should even continue their pregnancies. The fear was that chemotherapy drugs that kill off fast-growing cells - would damage the unborn child or that pregnancy itself might be stressful and exacerbate the condition.

But research has since shown that some forms of chemotherapy are safer than others. While children exposed to the powerful drugs in utero have a higher risk of stillbirth, birth defects, low birth weight and other complications, the risks decline after the first trimester when most of the major organs have developed. Still, there’s no long term data on how chemotherapy can affect a fetus’ brain development or whether a child exposed in utero will have increased susceptibility to cardiac problems, fertility issues and secondary cancer, issues that still weigh on Sarah and Kevin.

Moreover, going through chemo while pregnant creates its own set of challenges. The fatigue was so punishing that Sarah slept 18 hours a day. When she was awake she vomited and her muscles ached, making it almost impossible to walk up the stairs.

The fear of what the drugs were doing to the baby was constant.

“Up until the day Natalie was born, I wished I wasn’t doing chemo,” she said. When Natalie was delivered early by Caesarean-section on Aug. 8, weighing just 5 pounds but otherwise healthy, “an instant calmness came over me,” Sarah said. “You’re here now,” she told her daughter. “Everything I do is for you.”

That meant aggressively treating the cancer with more surgery and chemo. After Natalie’s birth, Sarah had a hysterectomy, in case the cancer had spread to other organs. It had. The pathology results showed stage IIIC cancer - it was found in a lymph node which has a 5-year survival rate of 30 percent.

As a new mom dealing with postpartum hormonal changes, sleep deprivation and a colicky baby, Sarah weathered four more grueling rounds of chemo. This time, the side effects were so debilitating that she was unable to take care of - or even hold - her new baby. “Cancer is sucking the life out of me,” she wrote in frustration on her blog. But

by Christmas, four months after Natalie’s birth, there was no sign of cancer in her body. “We walk on eggshells with Sarah,” said Jensen, her doctor. “But there’s always someone who is the exception who will make it. Sarah is that person. Whatever you throw at her, she says, ‘I can do this.’”

These days, Sarah is eternally grateful for small moments - feeling Natalie’s small hand on her cheek - and for finding a reservoir of strength, resilience and love she never knew she had. Cancer’s threat still looms large. It’s why Kevin’s heart still jumps when Sarah calls after her regular doctor visit. It’s why, as Sarah wrote, she wonders every day whether she will be able to watch her “little angel grow up and do wonderful things in the world.” But cancer also is why the words “Miracles. Believe in them” are painted on the wall in gold letters over Natalie’s crib. — MCT

FOOD

Page 30

Friday, January 22, 2010

Everyday cooking

By Sawsan Kazak he first bite into a dense square of fudge is always the best. Its thick and moist texture fills your mouth with deliciously sumptuous flavors. It takes you a few minutes to completely dissolve all the fudge that is in your mouth. Of course, the mark of a good fudge is when your teeth marks can clearly been seen after your initial bite.

A small piece of good fudge is the perfect little dessert after a heavy meal or a snack with your cup of coffee. Whenever you decide to eat fudge, it’s always the perfect treat.

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Send your suggestions to:

Secrets to success

sawsank@kuwaittimes.net

he primary tip for good fudge is to follow the directions exactly: candymaking is the most precise of the pastry arts. Use an accurate candy thermometer and allow the mixture to reach the temperatures called for in the recipe before proceeding to the next step.

Add each ingredient in the order listed by the recipe. Don’t attempt to achieve smooth fudge with vigorous stirring after it’s reached the soft-ball stage: stirring at the wrong time can actually promote crystallization of sugar into large grains.

Small sugar crystals equal smooth fudge that melts on the tongue.

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Method Once the fudge reaches soft-ball stage 240 degrees F (115 degrees C), do not stir it or even shake the pan until it has cooled to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). When pouring the fudge from the saucepan to the serving pan, don’t scrape the sides or bottom of saucepan or you may introduce unwanted sugar crystals into your finished fudge. For first-time candy makers, look for recipes

Basic chocolate fudge 2 3/4 cups sugar 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate 3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing pan 1 cup half-and-half 1 tablespoon corn syrup 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped, roasted nuts, optional

that call for corn syrup, marshmallows or marshmallow crËme: these ingredients prevent crystallization of sugar into large granules, so the texture of the fudge will remain smooth.

Recipes using cream or evaporated milk are less likely to curdle than regular milk.

measurement to gauge doneness.

Be prepared Do all your preparation and gather all your equipment before beginning; once you start making fudge, you can’t stop in the middle without the risk of ruining the batch. So before you turn on the stove, you should butter the pans, measure the ingredients, and test the candy thermometer.

Test the candy thermometer by boiling a pan of water, inserting the thermometer, and ensuring that it reads 212 degrees F (100 degrees C). Follow the directions faithfully and use good equipment: your fudge should be a sweet success every time.

— www.allrecipes.com

Equipment For best results, use a heavy, high-sided saucepan that holds about twice the volume of your candy recipe. A heavy pan is less likely to cause scorching, and the extra room will help prevent boil-overs. You can also save yourself a lot of frustration by having an accurate candy thermometer before you attempt your first batch of fudge.

Candy making is a very precise activity.

External factors-the temperature of your stove, the type of pan, the temperature of your kitchen and the weather-affect cooking times, but the candy’s temperature is always the best

rease an 8 by 8-inch pan with butter. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted.

Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes.

Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F. Add vanilla and nuts, if desired, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte. Pour into the prepared pan. Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

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FOOD

Friday, January 22, 2010

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Creamy white fudge 2 1/4 c sugar 1/2 c dairy sour cream 1/4 c milk 1 tbsp light corn syrup

2 tbsp butter 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp vanilla

ombine sugar, sour cream and milk, corn syrup, butter, and salt.

Cook, stirring constantly, 9 to 10 minutes to a soft ball stage. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Cool to lukewarm. Beat until it loses gloss. Quickly add 1/2 cup nuts. Cut while warm.

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 14 + 1/2 ounces (or 435ml) sweetened condensed milk 1 cup walnuts, chopped 1 + 1/2 teaspoons vanilla essence dash salt n a heavy saucepan over a very low heat, melt the chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt.

Remove mixture from heat. Stir in vanilla essence and chopped nuts.

Spread mixture evenly into an aluminium foil-lined square pan (approx

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8in/ 18cm). Refrigerate to chill (approximately 2 hours). Turn fudge out onto a cutting board and remove the aluminium foil. Cut your yummy fudge into squares, and either eat the lot, or store (covered) at room temperature.

Peanut butter fudge

Dark chocolate fudge

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4 cups white sugar 1 cup milk 1/2 cup butter 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow cream 12 ounces peanut butter 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

rease a 9x13 inch baking dish, set aside. In a saucepan, combine sugar, milk, and butter. Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the marshmallow cream and peanut butter. Gradually stir in the flour. Spread into the prepared pan, and let cool.

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Maple fudge 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons vinegar 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup 1/2 cup water

lace over medium heat and boil slowly, washing down sides of pan often. Cover with lid for one minute. Cook to 228ยบF. Cool in pan. When cool (110ยบF), beat until it

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loses its gloss and becomes creamy.

Add maple flavoring to taste, if desired, and 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Pour into a buttered 8 inch square pan. Allow to cool until set.

TRAVEL

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Friday, January 22, 2010

30 fantastic new trips for 2010 January

Where to go and when. From a newly accessible ski area in Eastern Europe to a littletravelled corner of India, we have scoured the brochures for this year’s most unusual and innovative ideas.

Ski in eastern Europe European ski resorts are seeing some fantastic powder, but those on a tight budget should consider heading east, taking advantage of new flights from Danube Wings launched last month. They link Luton, Manchester and Dublin to PopradTatry in Slovakia, which is less than an hour’s drive from Jasna, the country’s largest resort and with a growing off-piste reputation.

Get spiritual in India Kumbh Mela is the biggest religious gathering on the planet, held four times every 12 years in places of spiritual significance. In 2010 it is at Haridwar, at the foot of the Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand, beginning on Thursday and running until 28 April. Millions will come to bathe in the Ganges, float lamps in the river and take part in celebrations.

It will be an incredible spectacle, but can be chaotic, so it’s best to join an organised tour.

February Take the family to the Seychelles The Seychelles have a (fairly accurate) reputation for high-end glamour - and prices. But the Ephelia Resort (epheliaresort.com), which opens this month, aims to change all

that: the four-star resort is ideal for families, with four swimming pools, two stunning beaches and a daily children’s club. The hotel also has its own Padi dive centre and is on Mahe island, so no onward internal flights are needed. Best of all are the spectacular opening offers: a week half-board costs £1,249 with flights.

Check into a snow hole Ice hotels are so last decade; this year the winter accommodation of choice is the snow hole, thanks to a new trip offered by the Torridon Hotel in the Scottish Highlands. The downside is that you have to dig it yourself before spending the night there. Heading out from the hotel in the company of mountain guide Chris Wilson, you will be shown how to tunnel into a slope, digging out a corridor and a room with sleeping platforms. The experience costs £325 half-board, including a night either side at the hotel, available on 5-7 February or 5-7 March.

See the winter Olympics The Winter Olympics kick off on 13 February, but with accommodation in Whistler, Canada (where the downhill skiing events take place) either already booked or going for stratospherically high prices, the best plan is to base yourself in Vancouver. The resort of Cypress Mountain (cypressmountain.com)

is just half an hour away from the city, so is perfect for day trips, and the freestyle skiing and snowboard half-pipe events are taking place there, so there will be plenty of atmosphere and Olympic buzz to enjoy.

March Party in the snow Forget summer festivals, these days it’s all about partying in the snow. This year sees the brand new Big Snow Festival in Arinsal, Andorra, from 14-21 March, with headliners including DJs Calvin Harris and Eddie Halliwell, and sets from Judge Jules and Micky Finn. Snowbombing, the original and biggest ski and music festival, runs from 5-10 April in Mayrhofen, Austria, and this year will be headlined by Fatboy Slim, who pulled out last year after checking into rehab.

April Learn Dualie surfing For many, April is the start of the surfing season, but if you’re unsure of your board technique, consider hiring a “Dualie” board.

The latest trend in surfing, Dualies are bodyboards for two, so you can take to the water with a partner or friend, and younger kids can surf safely with Mum or Dad. Extreme Academy in Watergate Bay hires out Dualie boards; the Watergate Bay Hotel has a family room (sleeping five)

from £245, with dinner and breakfast.

Go nuts for cocoa Hotel Chocolat is a high-street chain of chocolate shops, but this year it is making good its name and opening a real hotel. The six room Real Hotel Chocolat is on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, on the 140-acre Rabot Estate, a working cocoa plantation from which the shop sources its supplies. Guests can learn how cocoa is processed and, of course, have a tasting (or two) of the chocolate produced. Room rates are still being finalised.

Go floral in Ghent Every five years the picturesque medieval town of Ghent literally comes into bloom, with the Floralies, a 10-day celebration of flowers, with displays, exhibitions, talks and contemporary floral art around the city. The Floralies has been held for more than 200 years, and in 2010 over 300 florists, designers and landscape gardeners will contribute to the festival.

May Hunt for vampires Vampire fans and addicts of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga can discover the real backdrops to the books and film on a new tour from Trek America which has its first departure this month (27 May). Each trip coincides with the

TRAVEL

Friday, January 22, 2010 full moon and the itinerary combines walking through the vast landscapes of Oregon and Washington states with nocturnal activities including a night kayak tour of Scappoose Bay. The 11-night camping trip also includes a guided tour of Forks, the town that is central to the books, and a visit to Mount St Helens.

Michelangelo, Raphael and da Vinci.

See the World Cup live In June, all eyes (well almost all) will be on South Africa as it hosts the football World Cup. Games will be played in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, with the final taking place on 11 July in Johannesburg. Some

scenes - must have lived in the village for at least 20 years.

Centenary train ride Soaring to more than 2,100m, the Bernina Pass in Switzerland is one of the world’s most spectacular stretches of railway, and this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. The lush pastures of the Swiss

10 August sees the ships head back out to sea.

Get to know Zimbabwe The new decade may, one hopes, mean a fresh start for Zimbabwe. The country is cautiously opening up to tourism again, and South African tour company Wilderness Safaris is offering tours that start and end in Zambia, but dip into Zimbabwe’s fabulous wildlife parks - such as Mana Pools which see virtually no visitors. The Foreign Office does not currently advise against travelling to Zimbabwe, and going with an experienced guide is the safest way.

September Rhodes in style The schools are back, the Mediterranean is less manic and it’s a great time to visit the newly glamorous Greek island of Rhodes, which has a raft of glitzy new five-star hotels. Three big openings this year are the Kresten Royal Villas (thekrestenroyal.gr), the ecofriendly Marquise (lamarquise.gr) both near Rhodes Town, and Aquagrand

Do Istanbul in style If you’re thinking of heading to Istanbul for the Capital of Culture celebrations, there is a new way to reach Turkey - in serious style. The Danube Express luxury train is launching a new eight-day London-Istanbul itinerary, setting off from St Pancras and taking in Budapest, Prague, Transylvania and rural Bulgaria before reaching Istanbul on day six. You have two days to explore the city before flying home.

See Shanghai on show One of the glitziest cities on the planet, Shanghai ups the ante in May when it launches the Shanghai World Expo, running from 1 May-31 October. The theme is Better City Better Life, and there will be 12 pavilions spread over a five square kilometre site, with dozens of countries exhibiting and taking part. It is expected to attract more visitors than any previous expo.

June Live the longest day Make the most of the longest day of the year (21 June) with a trip to Gothenburg in Sweden, where at this time of year the sun never really quite sets and a three-day break can feel like a week. An added bonus is that a recently discovered painting

by Leonardo da Vinci, La Bella Principessa, will be on display for the first time as part of the city’s “And There Was Light” exhibition (andthere-was-light.com), which brings together works by

Page 35 miles) will take you past some of the most spectacular autumn colors on the planet.

October Un-trodden India The state of Gujarat in north-western India is something of a revelation even to those who think they know India well. It’s scattered with pristine marble temples, rural villages and 1,600km of coastline.

Wild Frontiers is introducing Gujarat for the first time in 2010, with a tour including the state capital, Ahmedabad, and the historic towns of Poshina and Bhuj.

Watch the Ryder Cup The eyes of the world (well, the golfing world) will be on Wales from 1-3 October, when the Ryder Cup takes place at the Celtic Manor Resort near Newport.

There is no substitute for being there, but you have to be lucky: tickets are distributed through a ballot process (rydercupwales2010.com).

Applications are accepted until 30 April, with the draw taking place in May. Montenegro on foot Tiny Montenegro is slowly coming out from beneath Croatia’s shadow, and its towering mountains and unspoilt beaches make it a great place for a walking holiday. HF Holidays includes Montenegro in its programme for the first time this year, and October is an ideal month for enjoying the Lovcen National Park, breathtaking Kotor Bay and ancient trails around Lake Skadar.

operators still have packages available, with tickets: Emirates Tours has a sixnight trip to Pretoria, including tickets to England’s first game, in Rustenburg on 12 June, from £2,319 including flights; Thomas Cook has a variety of packages, including tickets to all three of England’s firstround games.

Blumenthal’s legendarily eccentric take on classic British dishes should be relatively high.

Viva Zapata The 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution falls on 20 November, when Pancho Villa and other insurgents led the country to freedom, and Mexico is planning to celebrate the centenary in typically vivacious style. The tourist office has worked out a number of suggested itineraries following in the footsteps of key movers and shakers in the Revolution (one such is the Zapatista Route, tracing the operations of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation through the states of Morelos, Puebla and Mexico State), and on 20 November there is a parade at the central square in Mexico City. For more details see bicentenario.gob.mx/english.

December Catch the aurora Next winter is set to be one of the best times to catch the elusive Northern Lights, as solar activity is on the increase after hitting a minimum in 2008. (The more solar activity, the more the aurora may be visible.) Head to Tromso in northern Norway and you’ll miss the New Year crowds and can join in with the pre-Christmas partying - and with nights that last pretty much all day, they do love a party.

Antarctic summer Hailed as “one of the most exciting new expedition vessels to hit the water”, Le Boreal will set off on its

July A rare Spanish fiesta The Spanish love their festivals, and one that only happens every few years is inevitably going to be a pretty big deal. “Xacobeo” is a holy year that happens every time the feast of Saint James - 25 July - falls on a Sunday. The next, after this summer, will be 2021. The northern cities will be filled with pilgrims on the route to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, because in a holy year can they pass through the Puerto del Perdon - a door into the cathedral at Santiago which is bricked up at other times; all who pass through the door have their sins pardoned.

The 41st passion play It only happens once a decade and you won’t recognize the names of any of the actors, but the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Bavaria, is one of the biggest theatrical events in the world.

The production runs from 15 May until 3 October, but the long July evenings are the perfect time to see it: the play begins at 2.30pm and doesn’t finish until 10.30pm (there is a three-hour interval). All the participants - up to 900 in the crowd

mountains under clear July skies are best seen through picture windows on a leisurely train journey.

August Outback cattle drive Cattle drives across the vast landscapes of southern Australia are no small undertaking, but the Great Australian Outback Cattle Drive, from 30 July-20 August is set to be really special. The event is a recreation of oldstyle drives, and involves a 320-mile journey along the Oodnadatta Track with around 500 cattle and 120 horses.

Tall ships race Hartlepool is set to host its biggest ever party when up to 100 tall ships sail into its harbour on 7 August to bring to a close the second and final Tall Ships race for 2010. The ships will have set off from the Norwegian port of Kristiansand on 1 August and will remain docked in Hartlepool for three nights.

There will be street parties, live music and celebrations throughout the town before a spectacular Parade of Sail on

in Lindos (aquagrand.gr).

November

New England by bike Cycling holidays boomed and the trend is expanding beyond Europe. US specialist Bon Voyage has introduced cycling tours of New England for 2010, taking in Vermont and New Hampshire and staying in small historical inns. Book for September and the daily cycle ride (about 25

Eat Heston’s cooking Tired of trying (and failing) to get a reservation at the Fat Duck? The good news is that in November Heston Blumenthal opens his first restaurant in London, at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. Even better, the restaurant seats 140, so the chances of sampling

maiden voyage to Antarctica on 6 December. It has 104 ensuite cabins, Wi-Fi and a spa, but it is also the most environment-friendly ship to sail in Antarctica. Features include a waste management system (no waste will be discharged at sea), recycling facilities and a positioning system that ensures it does not drop anchor in a fragile marine reserve. —Guardian

BOOKS

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Friday, January 22, 2010

25 Best business books ever usiness Pundit sifted through numerous categories and resources to come up with this list of the 25 Best Business Books Ever. We didn’t concern ourselves with categories (management, sales, etc.) or timeliness of subject matter. Instead, we focused on the following question: Based on prominent reviews, academic use, and popularity, which business books would be considered “classics?” Of those, which are the best?

We think that really smart, successful businesspeople know that their education is lifelong and diverse. Nevertheless, while many corporate leaders will cite Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and Niccol?

Machiavelli’s The Prince as invaluable business tomes, we stuck with books written for a businessminded readership.

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25. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, 1991 First published in 1776, this broad-ranging exploration of commercial and economic first principles laid the philosophical foundations for modern capitalism and the free-market economy.

Smith’s central thesis is that capital can best be used to create both individual and national wealth in conditions of minimal government interference. He believed that freemarket competition advances both the vitality of commercial activity and the ultimate good of all a nation’s citizens.

24. The Functions of the Executive by Chester I. Barnard, 1968 This collection of Barnard’s lectures on management, though dated in its language, remains relevant, notably in his promotion of clear, short communication channels and managerial morality. A successful executive himself as well as a theorist, Barnard broadened the managerial role from one that assesses, controls, and supervises, to one that nurtures the organization’s values and goals, and translates them into action, thereby defining a purpose and moral code that pervades the organization.

23. The Principles of Scientific Management

by Frederick Winslow Taylor, 1911 In its day, this book advanced management as a discrete field requiring formal training, and systematized human work into rigorously measured, optimizable processes. Arguing that the “inefficiency in almost all of our daily acts” can be remedied by “systematic management, rather than in searching for some unusual or extraordinary man,” Taylor aimed to determine the best practices for every job. His principles influenced working methods and managerial attitudes for most of the 20th century, particularly in massproduction industries-companies that emphasize quantity over quality.

22. The Human Side of Enterprise Douglas McGregor, 1960 Psychologist McGregor revolutionized human relations management by distinguishing the

two ways managers view employees and consequently manage them, ultimately producing the accordant behavior in them. Theory X assumes that workers are inherently lazy and need to be motivated and supervised; Theory Y assumes that people are self-motivated and selfdirected. “McGregor’s fundamental principles,” says author Gary Hamel, “underlie the work of modern management thinkers from Drucker to Deming to Peters, and the employment practices of the world’s most progressive and successful companies.”

What makes a business book the ‘best’?

Best-selling?

Most influential?

Timelessness?

Categorical relevance?

21. Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the Industrial Enterprise by Alfred D. Chandler, 1962 A business historian, Chandler was one of the first scholars to systematically examine the corporate structure of large companies. Considered a theoretical masterpiece, this book-namely, its now-debated conclusion that strategy should drive structureplayed a leading role in the profitable decentralization of leading corporations in the 1960s and 1970s.

20. Organizational Culture and Leadership by Edgar H. Stein, 1992 Organizational development pioneer Schein introduced, into the management debate, culture as a constantly changing force in an organization’s life-and one that must be understood for there to be successful change. In successive editions of this book, the author draws on contemporary research to redefine culture, including the notion of subcultures, and shows how to transform this abstract concept into a practical tool for understanding and influencing organizational dynamics.

19. The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations by James Surowieki, 2004 First developed in his “Financial Page” column of The New Yorker, Surowieki’s ideas contradict the long-held distrust of masses and groupthink: “Large groups of people

are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant-better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.” The author animates his rigorous argument with pertinent anecdotes and case studies from business, social psychology, sports, and everyday life. Author Po Bronson insists, “This book should be in every thinking businessperson’s library. Without exception.”

18. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L Friedman.

2005 New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman presents this timely, indispensable update on globalization, its successes and shortcomings, with the same urgent curiosity, panache, and illumination that has earned him three Pulitzer Prizes. With his incomparable ability to elucidate complex foreign policy and economic issues, Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the beginning of the 21st century, and what globalization-both an opportunity and a threat-means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals. In his 2006 hardcover update, with 100 pages of revised and expanded material, Friedman makes specific recommendations about the technical and creative training he believes will be needed to compete in the New Middle class.

17. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar, 1990 This narrative has been called one of the most influential business books ever, as the definitive account of the largest takeover in Wall Street history at that time: the landmark leveraged buyout of the RJR Nabisco Corporation for $25 billion in 1988.

Cinematic and gripping, yet remarkably judicious, this book by two skilled journalists has sold more than 500,000 copies and inspired an HBO movie. Its graphic portrayal of how financial operations at the

highest levels are conducted is considered must-reading for those who want to know how the world really works.

16. My Years with General Motors by Alfred P. Sloan, Jr, 1963

Sloan’s “as told to” opus still stands as the most cogent expression of the managerial philosophy that dominated American business for most of the 20th century. With insightful authority, this fabled CEO chronicles General Motors’ resurrection, under his leadership, from a nearly bankrupt enterprise in the early 1900s to the world’s greatest industrial corporation when he retired in 1956.

Particularly striking is this book’s unintentional expression of a value system: a relentless commitment to the engineering worldview of efficiency as paramount. Sloan’s simultaneous decentralization of manufacturing and centralization of corporate policy and financial controls became the basis for an organizational model that dominated American industry for more than half a century.

15. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge, 1990 Based on 15 years of experience putting the ideas into practice, this bestselling classic popularized the concept of the learning organization, a holistic approach that prioritizes learning-new and expansive patterns of thinking-as both an individual and a group experience.

Senge argues that “changing individuals so that they produce results they care about [and] accomplish things that are important to them” faster than the competiton does is, in the long run, the only sustainable competitive advantage.

Because the learning organization requires managers to surrender their traditional spheres of power and control, and because it demands trust, involvement, and the allowance for experimentation and failure, it has rarely been converted into a reality. Nevertheless, Senge’s ideas have affected the rewards and remuneration strategies of many companies.

14. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What to Do about It by Michael E. Gerber, 1985 This underground bestseller dispels the commonplace assumptions surrounding starting and running a successful small business. Two of Gerber’s most incisive observations are that (1) many entrepreneurs know considerably more about producing what they sell than about operating their business, and (2) the entrepreneur must “work on your business, not in your business.”

This book intelligently and comprehensively charts an approach to systematizing a new business so that it grows beyond the capacities of its creator.

13. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell, 2000 Drawing on a fascinating array of research findings and real-world examples, Gladwell presents a concise, elegant, erudite analysis of mass behavioral change that is strikingly counterintuitive.

BOOKS

Friday, January 22, 2010 Regarded among marketing and sales professionals as one of the best books on the economics of popular culture, this entertaining read is, says author Jeffrey Toobin, “one of those rare books that changes the way you think about, well, everything.”

12. Competing for the Future by Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad, 1994 This definitive book on contemporary business strategy criticizes the narrow mechanistic view of strategy and calls for an approach that is multifaceted, emotional as well as analytical, and concerned with meaning, purpose, and passion. The authors say their work “provides would-be revolutionaries with the tools and concepts they need to challenge the protectors of the past.” They argue that too many leaders, stuck in the day-to-day details of running their businesses, fail to prepare their companies for the future, and that crafting a strategic architecture around a company’s core competencies is the solution.

11. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t by Jim Collins, 2001 Measuring sustained results over a period of 15 years, Collins identifies, from an original list of 1435, 11 well-established companies that made the leap from being “good” to being “great.”

Applicable to entrepreneurs as well as corporations, this carefully researched book singles out what Collins calls Level 5 Leadership-”a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will”-as the critical factor in those transformations. Such natural leaders “channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company,” which begins with getting the right people-those with discipline and resolve-in the right positions. Challenging the conventional notion of the outgoing, high-profile CEO, an effective leader moves with selfless determination, inspiring average performers to become great producers.

There’s been a lot of controversy about this book on Business Pundit. Is Good to Great too general, too philosophical?

Is its research flawed? Have Fannie Mae and Circuit City proven Level 5 principles wrong?

The book still found its place on this list based on our selection criteria.

When we compiled these books and scrutinized Good to Great, we realized that it’s not the only classic subject to pointed-and valid-critiques.

If we removed Good to Great from the list based on BP’s prior post, we’d have to remove a whole bunch of other books, too.

10. Out of the Crisis by W Edwards Deming, 1982 This classic on quality management reflects Deming’s experience introducing statistical methods for quality measurement and improvement to Japan in the 1960s. Aiming to transform the U.S. style of management and governmental relations with industry, the author blends statistics and common sense to challenge American business practices at almost every point, launching the quality revolution here.

Citing poor management, not lazy workers, as responsible for most quality problems, this book, in simple, direct language, offers a theory of management based on Deming’s notable 14 Points of Management, and explains how to apply them to boost quality.

9. Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution

by Michael Hammer and James Champy, 1993 Though based on the relatively dry field of operations research, this book became a prominent bestseller in its heyday, replacing much of the received wisdom of the last 200 years of industrial

management with a radical prescription for rebuilding businesses wholesale to achieve dramatic performance gains.

Unfortunately, this pioneering book garnered some controversy, largely because corporate costcutters used the concept of reengineering to justify mass layoffs. Acknowledging that reengineering can be difficult to launch and to sustain, the authors provide clear and specific guidelines, numerous examples, and indepth case studies.

8. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, 1994 Drawing on six years of innovative research, Collins and Porras identify 18 exceptional, long-lasting companies and directly compare each with one of its top competitors, over time.

With entertaining case

histories, they discredit the longstanding beliefs that a successful business is founded by a charismatic, visionary leader and begins with a great product. Rather, they argue, enduring organizations demonstrate core values and a core purpose that remain fixed, while their business strategies and practices adapt endlessly to a changing world. Organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, this book provides a master blueprint for building a great and enduring company.

7. The Practice of Management by Peter F Drucker, 1954 Considered the foremost management and business thinker of the 20th century, Drucker was the first to depict management as a distinct function, a separate responsibility in the workplace: the work of getting work done through and with other people. This still-relevant book holds that management was one of the major social innovations of the last century, and it poses three now-classic business questions: What is our business? Who is our customer? What does our customer consider valuable?

According to author Gary Hamel, “No other writer has contributed as much to the professionalization of management as Peter Drucker. ... [He] bridges the theoretical and the practical, the analytical and the emotive, the private and the social more perfectly than any other management writer.”

6.

Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors by Michael E. Porter, 1980 Now in its 63rd printing in English, with translations in 19 languages, this modern classic filled a void in management thinking, transforming the theory, practice, and teaching of business strategy. Strikingly accessible, Porter’s analysis of industries captures the complexity of industry competition in three generic strategies and five competitive forces that have been internalized and applied by managers, investment analysts, consultants, students, and scholars throughout the world.

This seminal book changed conventional thinking around strategy, offering a method whereby a company can examine not just its particular industry but its place in it, that is, its essential differentiation from its competitors that can be sold to the customer. Author Gary Hamel says, “[I]t is an unfailing guide to whether some particular strategy, once articulated, can be counted on

to produce profits.”

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5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey, 1989 Having developed the concept of this groundbreaking, long-term bestseller by studying literature going back more than 200 years, Covey bases his approach on relatively immutable personal human values. Unlike many a selfimprovement author, however, he doesn’t promise a quick fix; rather, he calls for a paradigm shift-a revolutionary change in one’s perceptions and interpretations of how the world works. And with different thinking comes different actions that will profoundly affect one’s productivity and effectiveness.

Be proactive. Begin with an end in mind. Put first things first. Think win/win.

Seek first to understand.

Synergize. Renewal. With penetrating insights and cogent anecdotes, Covey presents a highly structured, holistically integrated methodology for creating balance, and hence success, in one’s personal and professional lives.

4. The One-Minute Manager by Kenneth H.

Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, 1981 Millions of managers in Fortune 500 companies and small businesses around the globe have followed the timeless principles of this first mega-bestselling business book, presented as a parable.

Concisely elegant, this narrative reveals three practical management secrets: One-Minute Goals, One-Minute Praisings, and One-Minute Reprimands-a concept that has spawned numerous “One-Minute” titles, for endeavors from parenting to golfing.

Blanchard and Johnson ground their ideas in studies in medicine and the behavioral sciences to explain why the one-minute techniques work with so many people, in so many environments.

3. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie, 1937 Having sold more than 15 million copies, this seminal self-improvement book continues to guide managers in the universal challenge of face-to-face communication.

A master of human nature, Carnegie advises that “[w]hen dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity.” He argues that success is only 15% professional knowledge; the remaining 85% is “the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people.”

2.

The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton M. Christensen, 1997 Examining a variety of leading well-managed companies that have failed to capitalize on innovative technologies, Christensen explains, with striking clarity and style, how to manage

breakthrough products successfully when customers may not be ready for them.

His argument that overdependence on customer needs, or on the most profitable products, can damage a company’s success challenges the marketing and customer service books that put customer focus at the top of the corporate agenda.

Considered a paradigmatic marketing visionary, Christensen highlights the problems inherent in what appears to be sound decision making, and rigorously demonstrates that companies will fall behind if they fail to adapt or adopt new technologies that will meet customers’ unstated or future needs.

Illustrating his points with anecdotes of historical figures, business leaders, and ordinary folks, Carnegie instructs the reader in how to change people, how to win them over to your way of thinking, without causing offense or resentment, and without making them feel manipulated. He teaches these skills through the underlying principle that people want to feel important and appreciated. Carnegie was the first to create a flourishing, credible, longterm business out of his ideas.

1.

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr, 1982 Highly influential when global competition, largely from Japan, had brought Western business to a low, this quintessential business book describes eight enduring management principles that made the forty-three companies surveyed “excellent.” The authors focus exclusively on big companies, namely big manufacturers, but ironically condemn the excesses of modern management practice and advocate a return to simpler virtues. They have since come to feel that their ideas are better embodied in smaller companies.

Through lively case studies, this very readable classic forces a look at the fundamentals, at “first principles” that give a company its soul: Attention to customers, an abiding concern for people (productivity through people), the celebration of trial and error. A driving force in the subsequent deluge of business books, this trailblazer established customer service as a key form of differentiation and advantage, and launched the a u t h o r - a s consultant/speaker/celebrity phenomenon.

— www.businesspundit.com

CHILDREN

Page 38

Sudoku for Kids

Friday, January 22, 2010

Solution

Friday, January 22, 2010

CHILDREN

Page 39

OPINION

Page 40

Friday, January 22, 2010

Qaeda linked to rogue jets • Report detailing threat unheeded by Homeland Security • Qaeda-linked group has access to rising number of jets • African authorities say drug smugglers outgun them

By Tim Gaynor and Tiemoko Diallo

I

n early 2008, an official at the US Department of Homeland Security sent a report to his superiors detailing what he called “the most significant development in the criminal exploitation of aircraft since 9/11.” The document warned that a growing fleet of rogue jet aircraft was regularly crisscrossing the Atlantic Ocean. On one end of the air route, it said, are cocaine-producing areas in the Andes controlled by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. On the other are some of West Africa’s most unstable countries.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, was ignored, and the problem has since escalated into what security officials in several countries describe as a global security threat.

The clandestine fleet has grown to include twinengine turboprops, executive jets and retired Boeing 727s that are flying multi-ton loads of cocaine and possibly weapons to an area in Africa where factions of Al-Qaeda are believed to be facilitating the smuggling of drugs to Europe, the officials say.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been held responsible for car and suicide bombings in Algeria and Mauritania. Gunmen and bandits with links to AQIM have also stepped up kidnappings of Europeans for ransom, who are then passed on to AQIM factions seeking ransom payments. The aircraft hopscotch across South American countries, picking up tons of cocaine and jet fuel, officials say. They then soar across the Atlantic to West Africa and the Sahel, where the drugs are funneled across the Sahara Desert and into Europe.

An examination of documents and interviews with officials in the United States and three West African nations suggest that at least 10 aircraft have been discovered using this air route since 2006. Officials warn that many of these aircraft were detected purely by chance. They caution that the real number involved in the networks is likely considerably higher.

Alexandre Schmidt, regional representative for West and Central Africa for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, cautioned in Dakar this week that the aviation network has expanded in the past 12 months and now likely includes several Boeing 727 aircraft. “When you have this high capacity for transporting drugs into West Africa, this means that you have the capacity to transport as well other goods, so it is definitely a threat to security anywhere in the world,” said Schmidt. The “other goods” officials are most worried about are weapons that militant organizations can smuggle on the jet aircraft. A Boeing 727 can handle up to 10 tons of cargo.

The US official who wrote the report for the Department of Homeland Security said the AlQaeda connection was unclear at the time. The official is a counter-narcotics aviation expert who asked to remain anonymous as he is not authorized to speak on the record. He said he was dismayed by the lack of attention to the matter since he wrote the report. “You’ve got an established terrorist connection on this side of the Atlantic. Now on the Africa side you have the Al-Qaeda connection and it’s extremely

disturbing and a little bit mystifying that it’s not one of the top priorities of the government,” he said.

Since the Sept 11 attacks, the security system for passenger air traffic has been ratcheted up in the United States and throughout much of the rest of the world, with the latest measures imposed just weeks ago after a failed bomb attempt on a Detroit-bound plane on Dec 25. “The bad guys have responded with their own aviation network that is out there every day flying loads and moving contraband,” said the official, “and the government seems to be oblivious to it.” The upshot, he said, is that militant organizations - including groups like the FARC and Al-Qaeda - have the “power to move people and material and contraband anywhere around the world with a couple of fuel stops”.

The lucrative drug trade is already having a deleterious impact on West African nations.

Local authorities told Reuters they are increasingly outgunned and unable to stop the smugglers. And significantly, many experts say,

the drug trafficking is bringing in huge revenues to groups that say they are part of Al-Qaeda. It’s swelling not just their coffers but also their ranks, they say, as drug money is becoming an effective recruiting tool in some of the world’s most desperately poor regions.

US President Barack Obama has chided his intelligence officials for not pooling information “to connect those dots” to prevent threats from being realized. But these dots, scattered across two continents like flaring traces on a radar screen, remain largely unconnected and the fleets themselves are still flying.

The African Connection The deadly cocaine trade always follows the money, and its cash-flush traffickers seek out the routes that are the mostly lightly policed. Beset by corruption and poverty, weak countries across West Africa have become staging platforms for transporting between 30 tons and 100 tons of cocaine each year that ends up in Europe, according to UN estimates. Drug

trafficking, though on a much smaller scale, has existed here and elsewhere on the continent since at least the late 1990s, according to local authorities and US enforcement officials.

Earlier this decade, sea interdictions were stepped up. So smugglers developed an air fleet that is able to transport tons of cocaine from the Andes to African nations that include Mauritania, Mali, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau. What these countries have in common are numerous disused landing strips and makeshift runways - most without radar or police presence. Guinea Bissau has no aviation radar at all. As fleets grew, so, too, did the drug trade.

The DEA says all aircraft seized in West Africa had departed Venezuela. That nation’s location on the Caribbean and Atlantic seaboard of South America makes it an ideal takeoff place for drug flights bound for Africa, they say. A number of aircraft have been retrofitted with additional fuel tanks to allow in-flight refueling a technique innovated by Mexico’s drug smugglers. (Cartel pilots there have been known to stretch an aircraft’s flight range by putting a water mattress filled with aviation fuel in the cabin, then stacking cargoes of marijuana bundles on top to act as an improvised fuel pump.)

Ploys used by the cartel aviators to mask the flights include fraudulent pilot certificates, false registration documents and altered tail numbers to steer clear of law enforcement lookout lists, investigators say. Some aircraft have also been found without air-worthiness certificates or log books. When smugglers are forced to abandon them, they torch them to destroy forensic and other evidence like serial numbers.

The evidence suggests that some Africabound cocaine jets also file a regional flight plan to avoid arousing suspicion from investigators.

They then subsequently change them at the last minute, confident that their switch will go undetected. One Gulfstream II jet, waiting with its engines running to take on 2.3 tons of cocaine at Margarita Island in Venezuela, requested a last-minute flight plan change to war-ravaged Sierra Leone in West Africa. It was nabbed moments later by Venezuelan troops, the report seen by Reuters showed.

Once airborne, the planes soar to altitudes used by commercial jets. They have little fear of interdiction as there is no long-range radar coverage over the Atlantic. Current detection efforts by US authorities, using fixed radar and P3 aircraft, are limited to traditional Caribbean and north Atlantic air and marine transit corridors. The aircraft land at airports, disused runways or improvised air strips in Africa. One bearing a false Red Cross emblem touched down without authorization onto an unlit strip at Lungi International Airport in Sierra Leone in 2008, according to a UN report.

Late last year a Boeing 727 landed on an improvised runway using the hard-packed sand of a Tuareg camel caravan route in Mali, where local officials said smugglers offloaded between 2 and 10 tons of cocaine before dousing the jet with fuel and burning it after it failed to take off again. For years, traffickers in Mexico have bribed officials to allow them to land and offload cocaine flights at commercial airports.

Friday, January 22, 2010 That’s now happening in Africa as well. In July 2008, troops in coup-prone Guinea Bissau secured Bissau international airport to allow an unscheduled cocaine flight to land, according to Edmundo Mendes, a director with the Judicial Police. “When we got there, the soldiers were protecting the aircraft,” said Mendes, who tried to nab the Gulfstream II jet packed with an estimated $50 million in cocaine but was blocked by the military. “The soldiers verbally threatened us,” he said. The cocaine was never recovered.

Just recently, Reuters photographed two aircraft at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Guinea Bissau - one had been dispatched by traffickers from Senegal to try to repair the other, a Gulfstream II jet, after it developed mechanical problems. Police seized the second aircraft.

Flying Blind One of the clearest indications of how much this aviation network has advanced was the discovery, on Nov 2, of the burned out fuselage of an aging Boeing 727. Local authorities found it resting on its side in rolling sands in Mali. In several ways, the use of such an aircraft marks a significant advance for smugglers. Boeing jetliners, like the one discovered in Mali, can fly a cargo of several tons into remote areas. They also require a three-man crew - a pilot, co pilot and flight engineer, primarily to manage the complex fuel system dating from an era before automation.

Hundreds of miles to the west, in the sultry, former Portuguese colony of Guinea Bissau, national Interpol director Calvario Ahukharie said several abandoned airfields, including strips used at one time by the Portuguese military, had recently been restored by “drug mafias” for illicit flights. “In the past, the planes coming from Latin America usually landed at Bissau airport,” Ahukharie said as a generator churned the feeble air-conditioning in his office during one of the city’s frequent blackouts. “But now they land at airports in southern and eastern Bissau where the judicial police have no presence.”

Ahukharie said drug flights are landing at Cacine, in eastern Bissau, and Bubaque in the Bijagos Archipelago, a chain of more than 80 islands off the Atlantic coast. Interpol said it hears about the flights from locals, although they have been unable to seize aircraft, citing a lack of resources.

The drug trade, by both air and sea, has already had a devastating impact on Guinea Bissau. A dispute over trafficking has been linked to the assassination of the military chief of staff, General Batista Tagme Na Wai in 2009.

Hours later, the country’s president, Joao Bernardo Vieira, was hacked to death by machete in his home. Asked how serious the issue of air trafficking remained for Guinea Bissau, Ahukharie was unambiguous: “The problem is grave.”

The situation is potentially worse in the Sahel-Sahara, where cocaine is arriving by the ton. There it is fed into well-established overland trafficking routes across the Sahara where government influence is limited and where factions of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have become increasingly active. The group, previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, is raising millions of dollars from the kidnap of Europeans. Analysts say militants strike deals of convenience with Tuareg rebels and smugglers of arms, cigarettes and drugs. According to a growing pattern of evidence, the group may now be deriving hefty revenues from facilitating the smuggling of FARC-made cocaine to the shores of Europe.

Unholy Alliance In December, Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told a special session of the UN Security Council that drugs were being traded by “terrorists and anti-government forces” to fund their operations from the Andes, to Asia and the African Sahel. “In the past, trade across

OPINION the Sahara was by caravans,” he said. “Today it is larger in size, faster at delivery and more hightech, as evidenced by the debris of a Boeing 727 found on November 2nd in the Gao region of Mali - an area affected by insurgency and terrorism.”

Just days later, US Drug Enforcement Administration officials arrested three West African men following a sting operation in Ghana. The men, all from Mali, were extradited to New York on Dec 16 on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. Oumar Issa, Harouna Toure, and Idriss Abelrahman are accused of plotting to transport cocaine across Africa with the intent to support Al-Qaeda, its local affiliate AQIM and the FARC. The charges provided evidence of what the DEA’s top official in Colombia described to a Reuters reporter as “an unholy alliance between South American narcoterrorists and Islamic extremists.”

Some experts are skeptical, however, that the men are any more than criminals. They questioned whether the drug dealers oversold their Al-Qaeda connections to get their hands on the cocaine. In its criminal complaint, the DEA said Toure had led an armed group affiliated to Al-Qaeda that could move the cocaine from

Narcotic Industrial Depot The Timbuktu region covers more than a third of northern Mali, where the parched, scrubby Sahel shades into the endless, rolling dunes of the Sahara Desert. It is an area several times the size of Switzerland, much of it beyond state control. Moulaye Haidara, the customs official, said the sharp influx of cocaine by air has transformed the area into an “industrial depot” for cocaine.

Sitting in a cool, dark, mud-brick office building in the city where nomadic Tuareg mingle with Arabs and African Songhay, Fulani and Mande peoples, Haidara expresses alarm at the challenge local law enforcement faces. Using profits from the trade, the smugglers have already bought “automatic weapons, and they are very determined,” Haidara said. He added that they “call themselves Al-Qaeda,” though he believes the group had nothing to do with religion, but used it as “an ideological base”.

Local authorities say four-wheel-drive Toyota SUVs outfitted with GPS navigation equipment

Ghana through North Africa to Spain for a fee of $2,000 per kilo for transportation and protection.

Toure discussed two different overland routes with an undercover informant. One was through Algeria and Morocco; the other via Algeria to Libya. He told the informer that the group had worked with Al-Qaeda to transport between one and two tons of hashish to Tunisia, as well as smuggle Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi migrants into Spain.

In any event, AQIM has been gaining in notoriety. Security analysts warn that cash stemming from the trans-Saharan coke trade could transform the organization - a small, agile group whose southern-Sahel wing is estimated to number between 100 and 200 men - into a more potent threat in the region that stretches from Mauritania to Niger. It is an area with huge foreign investments in oil, mining and a possible trans-Sahara gas pipeline.

“These groups are going to have a lot more money than they’ve had before, and I think you are going to see them with much more sophisticated weapons,” said Douglas Farah, a

and satellite telephones are standard issue for smugglers. Residents say traffickers deflate the tires to gain better traction on the loose Saharan sands, and can travel at speeds of up to 110 kph in convoys along routes to North Africa.

Timbuktu governor, Colonel Mamadou Mangara, said he believes traffickers have air-conditioned tents that enable them to operate in areas of the Sahara where summer temperatures are so fierce that they “scorch your shoes”. He added that the army lacked such equipment.

A growing number of people in the impoverished region, where transport by donkey cart and camel are still common, are being drawn to the trade. They can earn 4 to 5 million CFA francs (roughly $9-11,000) on just one coke run.

“Smuggling can be attractive to people here who can make only $100 or $200 a month,” said Mohamed Ag Hamalek, a Tuareg tourist guide in Timbuktu, whose family until recently earned their keep hauling rock salt by camel train, using the stars to navigate the Sahara.

Haidara described northern Mali as a no-go area for the customs service. “There is now a

senior fellow at the International Assessment Strategy Center, a Washington based security think-tank.

Page 41 red line across northern Mali, nobody can go there,” he said, sketching a map of the country on a scrap of paper with a ballpoint pen. “If you go there with feeble means ... you don’t come back.”

Two-Way Trade Speaking in Dakar recently, Schmidt, the UN official, said that growing clandestine air traffic required urgent action on the part of the international community. “This should be the highest concern for governments ... For West African countries, for West European countries, for Russia and the US, this should be very high on the agenda,” he said.

Stopping the trade, as the traffickers are undoubtedly aware, is a huge challenge diplomatically, structurally and economically.

Venezuela, the takeoff or refueling point for aircraft making the trip, has a confrontational relationship with Colombia, where President Alvaro Uribe has focused on crushing the FARC’s 45-year-old insurgency. The nation’s leftist leader, Hugo Chavez, won’t allow in the DEA to work in the country.

In a measure of his hostility to Washington, he scrambled two F16 fighter jets recently to intercept an American P3 aircraft - a plane used to seek out and track drug traffickers - which he said had twice violated Venezuelan airspace. He says the United States and Colombia are using anti-drug operations as a cover for a planned invasion of his oil-rich country. Washington and Bogota dismiss the allegation.

In terms of curbing trafficking, the DEA has by far the largest overseas presence of any US federal law enforcement, with 83 offices in 62 countries. But it is spread thin in Africa where it has just four offices - in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and South Africa - though there are plans to open a fifth office in Kenya.

Law enforcement agencies from Europe as well as Interpol are also at work to curb the trade. But locally, officials are quick to point out that Africa is losing the war on drugs. The most glaring problem, as Mali’s example shows, is a lack of resources.

The only arrests made in connection with the Boeing came days after it was found in the desert - and those incarcerated turned out to be desert nomads cannibalizing the plane’s aluminum skin, probably to make cooking pots.

They were soon released.

Police in Guinea Bissau, meanwhile, told Reuters they have few guns, no money for gas for vehicles given by donor governments and no high security prison to hold criminals.

Corruption is also a problem. The army has freed several traffickers charged or detained by authorities seeking to tackle the problem, police and rights groups said. Serious questions remain about why Malian authorities took so long to report the Boeing’s discovery to the international law enforcement community.

What is particularly worrying to US interests is that the networks of aircraft are not just flying one way - hauling coke to Africa from Latin America - but are also flying back to the Americas. The internal Department of Homeland Security memorandum reviewed by Reuters cited one instance in which an aircraft from Africa landed in Mexico with passengers and unexamined cargo.

The Gulfstream II jet arrived in Cancun, by way of Margarita Island, Venezuela, en route from Africa. The aircraft, which was on an aviation watch list, carried just two passengers.

One was a US national with no luggage, the other a citizen of the Republic of Congo with a diplomatic passport and a briefcase, which was not searched.

“The obvious huge concern is that you have a transportation system that is capable of transporting tons of cocaine from west to east,” said the aviation specialist who wrote the Homeland Security report.

“But it’s reckless to assume that nothing is coming back, and when there’s terrorist organizations on either side of this pipeline, it should be a high priority to find out what is coming back on those airplanes.” — Reuters

SPOTLIGHT

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Friday, January 22, 2010

The role of their lives in Kenya Teddy Onyango, 11, one of the stars of the film “Togetherness Supreme,” right, is filmed

by Victor Onuoch in Kibera, Kenya, on December 1, 2009.

he crescent moon of the railway track divides the slum, a metal slash in the tumble of rusted tin roofs, stinking channels of sewage and narrow paths where children play with toys made of scraps of wire and rubbish.

A band of youths hangs about on the track, perhaps slum hoods and their girls.

Closer, you make out the boy among them.

He looks tense, surrounded. Closer still: He wipes his hands over his face, as if washing off anxiety. One of the bigger youths totes a grubby supermarket bag. Gently, as if lifting out a loaded gun, Victor Onuoch produces a video camera. He softly reassures the boy.

Then points the camera at him and begins.

It takes imagination to build a film school in Kibera, a crime-torn slum outside Nairobi where people routinely are beaten to death by mobs for stealing cheap TVs, radios or cell phones. Might not the camera gear and laptops be, well, taken? “My approach is just to give people access and see what happens,” says US filmmaker Nathan Collett, who’s based in Nairobi.

In 2006, Collett, then a master’s student at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, set up a nonprofit film production unit, the Hot Sun Foundation, and shot a student film called “The Kibera Kid” in the slum, using local talent. The film won awards. It was fun, but then it was over.

“People said, ‘Thank you for making this film, but now what? You are going to go back to film school? But what about us?’ “ Collett won a fellowship to make a feature film, “Togetherness Supreme,” scripted, filmed, cast and edited by Kibera slum dwellers. It’s now in its final stages of production. When filming ended midyear, Collett created the film school, funded entirely by donations (www.globalgiving.org/projects/kenya-slumfilmmaking/), to train 10 Kibera students.

That’s how Onuoch, a 22-year-old who

T

t takes imagination to build a film school in Kibera, a crimetorn slum outside Nairobi where people routinely are beaten to death by mobs for stealing cheap TVs, radios or cell phones.

I

dropped out of school because there was no money, comes to be standing on a railway line behind a camera. In front of the lens is Teddy Onyango, 11 but small for his age; he dropped out of school for the same reason.

There’s a shout of alarm as Onuoch frames the scene. A rickety train grumbles along the track. The group scatters, the girls shrieking and giggling. Onuoch tries again. But the evening light is diamond hard. It’s no good. They’ll have to come back later. Walking back along the railway track, Onuoch takes the boy’s hand. They’re alike, these two. Both motherless, struggling to rise out of the jostling heap that is Kibera. Rags-to-riches miracles rarely happen here, no matter what the TV

Elizath Awori holds baby Moses in Kibera, Kenya. The infant was rescued as a newborn by Awori’s mother after being abandoned alongside the railroad track that cuts through the slums.

SPOTLIGHT

Friday, January 22, 2010 evangelists say.

Teddy Onyango doesn’t remember his mother’s face. Victor Onuoch grew up with no parents. Onuoch’s grandmother struggled to raise him and six siblings, then sent him to an uncle, who she hoped would pay the boy’s schooling. Instead, the uncle made Onuoch clean, wash, mop and sweep all day. “All I could do was sleep, wake up, do the housework, sleep,” said Onuoch, a man with soft eyes, a ready smile and a gentle, hesitant voice. “I felt like I was locked in.” Evans Kangetha writes, the words pouring out furiously. A screenplay: his story. He hears Collett’s voice in his head, urging him to write everything he’s seen and experienced , telling him he can stay in the filmmaker’s apartment to write.

He remembers running. He hears the old man’s screams in his mind too. He writes, but it gets to be too much. He trembles, afraid of his memories: December 2007 in Kibera. Mobs are hunting members of his Kikuyu tribe, furious that the Kikuyu president, Mwai Kibaki, has claimed victory in elections.

Kangetha runs. He sees an old man attacked by a mob. They roll him up in a mattress and set it alight. Nightfall in his mud shack. He has padlocked the door from the outside, to make it appear that no one is home. The mob gets louder. Metal machetes clang on iron shack walls nearby.

They reach his door, begin smashing the lock. Kangetha escapes through a hole in the roof, leaps onto a wall and drops silently

Page 43

‘M

y approach is just to give people access and see what happens,’ says US filmmaker Nathan Collett, who’s based in Nairobi.

Evans Kangetha, 27, wrote a screenplay about the violence he witnessed after Kenya’s elections into a screenplay being produced in Kenya. He is shown in Kibera, Kenya. into a back alley. He runs, and is swallowed by the darkness.

“The voices I could hear were the voices of the people I knew. Neighbors,” says Kangetha, now 27. “There were so many evil things within just a short space of time.” The story of his experiences during the election violence inspires the screenplay for “Togetherness Supreme.” “I think people will shed tears when they see the film,” says Kangetha, who wrote the script last year in collaboration with Collett.

“People will remember what they did was wrong. “We should put aside tribal loyalties and let togetherness be supreme.”

By chance, while channel surfing, Onuoch hears that a film called “Togetherness Supreme” is being filmed in Kibera. On the morning of auditions, in January, he’s one of the first to arrive.

He anxiously waits for his chance at the front, watching as the people casting the crowd run auditions. He just wanted to be a part of the project, any part, he didn’t mind.

After some waiting, he is chosen to help cast and audition the people who want to act. It’s his foot in the door.

“I didn’t know anything about auditions.

But for two days I watched and I caught up,” he says. “On the third day I was given a chance to audition people. The director, Nathan, started trusting me and giving me things to do. I became happy.”

Onuoch is casting boys for the role of Peter, one of the leads, when he discovers Teddy. Most boys mumble, camera-shy.

Teddy quickly grasps the need to speak naturally. But he keeps forgetting his lines.

There’s another boy, who has the script down word-perfect. He’s the natural choice.

Teddy sees it. He knows he is losing his chance, like a castaway watching a magnificent sailing ship disappear. Late that night, Teddy is still awake. He has a copy of the script and reads it over and over, his face set in concentration. “We didn’t think Teddy would get that role,” Onuoch says.

“He was slow. And the other boy was fast.

But then one week before filming started, Teddy just changed. He became Peter.”

“I changed because I was afraid the other kid would get the part of Peter,” Teddy says. “I was so afraid that if he got the part of Peter, he would play many roles.

One day I borrowed the script and I went

Victor Onuoch, left, films Teddy Onyango, 11, one of the stars of the film “Togetherness Supreme” being produced in Kenya. home and read it. And when I came back the next day, I’d put many words in my brain.”

Finally, after weeks of work and about 1,000 auditions, the casting people aren’t needed anymore. Onuoch is out of a job.

“After the auditions, people like me were told to go home,” he says. “I refused to go home. I said, ‘I’ll just be sitting there. I’ll just sit and watch.’ “ He comes to watch the crew of “Togetherness Supreme” every day.

One day when Onuoch is in his usual position, watching Collett and the cast rehearsing, the cameraman isn’t around.

“Nathan said, ‘I want you to take that camera and shoot.’ It was like giving someone a (camera) and they have no idea what it was.

“I wasn’t even in the crew. I was chosen.

But Nathan just gave me that freedom.

That’s what gave me the courage.” At the daily meeting of the Hot Sun Foundation trainees, Teddy sticks close to Onuoch.

Often the young man rests his hand softly on the boy’s shoulder, touches his face lightly, puts an arm around him. They’re like brothers. He’s making a short film about Teddy for his film school project. He asks the boy about “Togetherness Supreme.”

“Being in the film changed me, because before, I wasn’t going to school,” he says.

“And now I’m going to school, because I paid my school fees with the money I got for going in the movie. “I know my talent.

Now big people will see me all over. And people in the street will know me.”

— MCT

Page 44

Friday, January 22, 2010 CROSSWORD 877

Word Sleuth Solution

Yesterday’s Solution

ACROSS 1. The longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code.

4. Large brownish-green New Zealand parrot.

7. A written proposal or reminder.

11. A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism.

12. A graphical recording of the cardiac cycle produced by an electrocardiograph.

13. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

14. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar.

16. Any plant of the genus Erica.

17. A trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group.

18. An anxiety disorder characterized by chronic freefloating anxiety and such symptoms as tension or sweating or trembling of light-headedness or irritability etc that has lasted for more than six months.

19. A theocratic republic in the Middle East in western Asia.

23. Having undesirable or negative qualities.

28. (informal) Exceptionally good.

30. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity.

32. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.

33. A member of an agricultural people of southern India.

38. A Hindu prince or king in India.

42. (Irish) Mother of the ancient Irish gods.

43. A particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography).

46. A local computer network for communication between computers.

47. Having leadership guidance.

48. An unofficial association of people or groups.

49. A sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain.

50. A group of African language in the Niger-Congo group spoken from the Ivory Coast east to Nigeria.

51. In bed.

52. An associate degree in applied science.

DOWN 1. A challenge to do something dangerous or foolhardy.

2. (botany) Of or relating to the axil.

3. A pilgrimage to Mecca.

4. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables.

5. An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

6. A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal.

7. A dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon.

8. An independent ruler or chieftain (especially in Africa or Arabia).

9. Any of various minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium etc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfect cleavage into very thin leaves.

10. A port city in northwestern Algeria and the country's 2nd largest city.

15. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).

20. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products.

21. A small cake leavened with yeast.

22. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.

24. A colorless and odorless inert gas.

25. Being one hundred more than three hundred.

26. A radioactive element of the actinide series.

27. An official prosecutor for a judicial district.

29. Aircraft landing in bad weather in which the pilot is talked down by ground control using precision approach radar.

31. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.

34. Again but in a new or different way.

35. An informal term for a father.

36. An amino acid that is found in the central nervous system.

37. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.

39. Type genus of the Alcidae comprising solely the razorbill.

Yesterday’s Solution

Page 45

Friday, January 22, 2010

COUNTRY CODES

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY A r i e s ( M a rc h 2 1 - A p r i l 1 9 ) Philosopher David Pearce is committed to the abolition of suffering. While he acknowledges that we've got a long way to go before accomplishing that goal, he believes it's possible, mostly with the help of technology. (Read further here.) More than two millennia ago, Buddha also articulated a vision for the cessation of suffering. His methods revolve around psychological and spiritual work. In light of your current astrological omens, Aries, I think it's an excellent time to contribute to this noble enterprise. Your level of suffering is rather low these days, which could give you a natural boost if you set in motion some long-term strategies for reducing the pain that you experience and the pain that you cause.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) I don't mean to sound melodramatic, and I certainly don't want to encourage you to do something foolish, but if you've been pondering the possibility of storming the castle, this would be a good time to do so. What exactly am I implying with the phrase "storming the castle"? Well, anything that involves a brave effort to fight your way into the command center of the empire . . . or a heroic attempt to take back the sanctuary you were exiled from . . . or a playful adventure in which you work your way into the heart of the king or queen.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) "Let us not underestimate the privileges of the mediocre," wrote Friedrich Nietzsche. "Life becomes harder and harder as it approaches the heights -- the coldness increases, the responsibility increases." I bring these thoughts to your attention, Gemini, because in the next two months you'll be in a prime position to renounce some of the "privileges" of your laziness.

Please hear me out. I'm not saying that your lackadaisical attitudes are any worse than mine or anyone else's. But there come times in everyone's cycle when he or she has a chance to outgrow those lackadaisical attitudes so as to reach a higher level that's both more demanding and more rewarding. This will be one of those times for you.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) According to a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, there are as many people who give credence to astrology as call themselves Catholic. Believers in reincarnation are another sizable minority; their numbers equal those who put their faith in the Pope and in the planetary omens. Based on this evidence, we can safely conclude that at least some supposedly woo-woo notions are no longer just for woo-wooers. You can't be considered a New Age weirdo or pagan infidel if you're receptive to the possibility that the world is exceedingly mysterious and a long way from being all figured out. That's good news for you Cancerians. According to my analysis, your belief system is ready to crack open and allow a surge -- maybe even a flood -- of new data to rush in.

L e o ( J u l y 2 3 - Au g u s t 2 2 ) How are your wooing skills?

Have you enhanced your seductiveness in any way during the last few months? Have you been working on boosting your ability to attract the bounty you need? I'm not just speaking about your power to corral love and sex and tenderness and thrills. I'm referring to the bigger project of enticing all the resources that would be helpful as you pursue your quest to become the best and brightest version of yourself. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to ramp up your efforts.

Vi rg o ( Au g u s t 2 3 - S e p t e m b e r 22) "We should feel excited about the problems we confront and our ability to deal with them," said philosopher Robert Anton Wilson.

"Solving problems is one of the highest and most sensual of all our brain functions." I wholeheartedly agree with him, which is why I expect that in the coming weeks you will be getting even smarter than you already are. The riddles you'll be presented with will be especially sexy; the shifts in perspective you'll be invited to initiate will give

your imagination the equivalent of a deep-tissue massage.

Libra (September 23O c t o b e r 2 2 ) "Dear Rob: I've been listening to your audio messages on my laptop in my bedroom. And I've noticed a curious thing: My cat goes NUTS trying to get to you. She never shows any interest in the other videos and music I play. But when your voice comes on, she does everything she can to try to get into my computer, to find the source of your voice.

What's going on? Libralicious." Dear Libralicious: Maybe it's because in all versions of my recent Libra horoscopes, I've been putting subliminal messages designed to draw out and energize your tribe's inner feline. It's that time in your cycle when you have a mandate to be graceful and inscrutable and sleek.

Scorpio (October 23-November 21) This would be an excellent time for you to do a lot less of everything.

You're entering a phase when you can actually help your long-term goals by being less ambitious. The point is not to give up your drive to succeed, but rather just put it to sleep for a while. Let it recharge. Allow it to draw energy from the deeper psychic sources that it tends to get cut off from when it's enmeshed in the frenzy of the daily rhythm. Do you have the courage to not work so much, not try so hard, and not push so relentlessly?

Sagittarius (November 22December 21) Cartoon character Homer Simpson is on record as saying that whenever he learns something new, it pushes some old stuff out of his brain. For example, when he took a course in home winemaking, he forgot how to drive. But I don't see this being a problem for you as you enter the High-Intensity Educational Season, a time when your capacity to find and absorb new teachings will be at a peak. If you push hard to learn new lessons, you will certainly not cause the expulsion of old lessons. On the contrary, you'll dramatically enhance the power and brightness of what you've already learned.

Capricorn (December 22J a n u a r y 1 9 ) Take what you really need, Capricorn, but don't take what you just sort of want.

That's my advice to you. Haggle with life, yes, but insist only on the specific essentials and forgo irrelevant goodies. A similar principle applies as you seek the information you crave: Formulate precise questions that will win you the exact revelations that are necessary to help your cause and that won't fill your beautiful head up with useless data.

Aquarius (January 20- February 1 8 ) One of the musical Jonas Brothers got married last month. Up until then, 22-year old Kevin Jonas was a virgin, having long ago pledged himself to abstinence until his wedding day. At Huffingtonpost.com, humorist Andy Borowitz reported that when Jonas and his bride returned from their honeymoon, he had some shocking news. "To be honest, sex was not worth the wait," Borowitz quoted Jonas as saying. "After we did it, I was kind of like, that's it?" I haven't been able to verify that Jonas actually said what Borowitz claims, but if it's true, I must protest. How could Jonas reach such a definitive conclusion based on so little experience? Wouldn't it be wise to consider the possibility that over time he might uncover secrets and plumb mysteries that are unknown to him in his unripe state? Learn from his apparent mistake, Aquarius. In the coming weeks, cultivate a humble, innocent, curious attitude not just about sex, but about everything.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) I have a Piscean friend who does modern-day cave paintings.

She hikes out to underground caverns and abandoned gold mines, where she creates murals on stony walls. Only a few friends know about her unusual hobby. She shows us photos of her work, but otherwise keeps it secret. She says it's a pleasurable spiritual practice to offer these beautiful mysteries as a gift to the earth, without any expectation of getting recognition or money. I don't normally recommend such behavior for Pisceans; in general, I believe you should err of the side of being somewhat self-promotional to compensate for your self-deprecating tendencies.

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

WHAT’S ON

Page 46

Friday, January 22, 2010

NRI Telugu Desam Party office inaugurated or the first time in history of Gulf, NRI Telugu Desam party office was inaugurated in Kuwait on Monday 18th Jan. Amid key NRI top leaders and followers, Gondhi Tamakrishna Naidu opened the party office followed by NTR memorial photo exhibition. The gathering shifted to “Max Ruvera Restaurant” to offer Shradhanjali to late NTR on his 14th death anniversary. All

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prominent Telugu members irrespective of political parties graced the event. Speakers on the dais were NRI TDP committee Daruru Balaram (Balu), Sudhakar, M Chandra, Srinivasulu, Divakar, Lakshmipathi, Parthasarathi, Subbaiah, and Netem Srinu.

Gulfwide Nanadamuri fans committee - Darla Srinivas Achari, Madamalle Srinu, Yyegi Venkatesh, Polavarapu Babu, Pouneni

Santharam, YSR and YS. Jagan Youth committee - Bhaskar Reddy, Lokesh Reddy, Pratap Reddy, Balireddy, Dharma Reddy, Prabhakar Reddy, P Subramanyam Naidu (YS) and Vasu Chowdary.

Everybody recalled late NTR’s revolutionary changes in politics such as taking the Telugu self respect sky high across the world which brought unique

recognition to the Telugu community.

Everybody unanimously agreed that legendary NTR’s political life should be a role model for current politicians. On behalf of NRI top committee and followers, Daruru Balaram expressed sincere thanks to RK Traders owner Gondhi Ramakrishna Naidu for his generosity by allowing his office to be used for party activities.

AUK holds lecture he Gulf Studies Center at the American University of Kuwait presents a lecture by David Marsh, Chairman of London and Oxford Capital Markets, on the subject of “The Araby: Prospects for a Hydrocarbon Resource based Currency”. Marsh’s lecture will be presented in English, and held Sunday, January 24, at 5:00 pm in the American Corner at the American University of Kuwait in Salmiya. Admission is free to the public.

Lecture is conducted in English. Marsh will discuss the aim of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). He will analyze the unification of the currency ‘Araby’ between the Gulf Co-operation Council countries and its implementation by 2014. Further inquiries regarding Marsh’s upcoming lecture should be directed to the program coordinator for the Gulf Studies Center, at 22248399 ext 446 or via email at: mhammoud@auk.cdu.kw.

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Abdulla Al-Zayedi starts Znware Technologies ational Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest rated in the Middle East recently hosted Abdulla AlZayedi’s Al-Shabab Student Talent submission at NBK’s Offices Arayya, where he awed all with his very own multi touch screen creatively utilizing surface technology.

“Those of us who have a modern touch screen telephone will already be familiar with this technology; however Abdulla has devised a method to build on this by way of enhanced user interface.

Instead of the usual three or four finger access his screen allows up to 20 finger access, making his submission fun and his ability to customize technology awe inspiring” commented Ebtihaj AlRoumi Executive Manager Consumer Banking adding “This young man with entrepreneurial skill has also managed to brand his invention Znware and hopes to develop it further when he graduates from the College of Technological Studies in a year’s time. We most certainly are very proud to support

N

this young man. It is worth mentioning that he completed this project in only 6 months after only three attempts to perfect. We certainly have high hopes for our very own Al-Shabab talent.”

Al-Shabab account promotes young talent by supporting customers who have a talent or business to develop, but require the support and the guidance of a corporate company to help. Al-Shabab Talent Campaign encourages young entrepreneurs to come forth with their business idea and fill out an application at our Kuwait University Branch in Shuwaikh, and we will do the rest to promote.

Al-Shabab is a youth account that caters to the various financial needs of the young generation of Kuwait. The account is for customers in the age group of 17-23 years. Al-Shabab offers custom tailored financial packages to suit the requirements of students during their college years. The account has encouraged the culture of saving and rewards customers with highest savings and some of the best prizes in the country.

AUK holds Graphic Design Exhibition he American University of Kuwait’s Graphic Design Senior Thesis Exhibition will hold its opening reception tomorrow. This exhibition is the result of GDES course titled Senior Portfolio, where students are challenged to visualize an argument based on an observation and supported by research. The course, currently taught as an Independent Study by Professor Marcella Kulchitsky teaches students how to visualize the complex intersection between personal voice,

T

conceptual understanding, and the use of research for a graphic design exhibition. The course is largely self-directed and students are expected to select and investigate a topic using design as a means to present their findings. Students are graded on the creation and presentation of their thesis proposal, research, exhibit, and process book.

The venue is Multi-Purpose room, AUK Campus, Salem Al-Mubarak Street, Salmiya and the event will begin at 7 pm.

WHAT’S ON

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday is family day at Radisson Blu Hotel he Al-Bustan restaurant welcomes you, with your family and friends for the best brunch in town. You can have the world on a plate at our famous family brunch. choose from Arabic, Asian and International fare - feast on traditional roasts, tantalizing salads and mouth watering desserts. Listen to the duo perform light classics with smooth tunes and other popular favorites at the Al-Bustan every Friday afternoons. Their music will be the perfect accompaniment to your family brunch.

T

PALPAK anniversary celebration alakkad Pravasi Association of Kuwait (PALPAK) is conducting its second annual general body meeting on Friday, 19 February at Indian Central School, Abbassiya - 9.30 am. The AGM will elect new office bearers auditor, executive committee and area coordinators & Advisory Board Members for the year 2010. Members vision on the activities that PALPAK should concentrate and your appropriate suggestions for executing the same would be much appreciated. All members of PALPAK are kindly requested to treat this as an official Invitation and should attend the said Annual General Body Meeting on time.

On the same day at the same venue at 2 pm onwards PALPAK conducts anniversary celebrations with various socio cultural programs such as classical & cinematic dances, mimics, thiruvathira, elocution, songs, Kolkkall & Oppana etc for the PALPAK Members, their families and children.

P

Since this is a program organized exclusively for promoting the gifted talents of our members & children. Your maximum participation and cooperation is a must for the success of this event.

PALPAK has elected a program committee headed by our Vice President Mohan (99781095) supported by Udaya Varrnan (97216434), Suresh Madhavan (97253235), Suresh Pulikkal (97260159), Aravindakshan (66535989), & Sankaranarayanan (66706680) to lead and organize this event in a colorful manner. You may please contact the program committee or your area cocoordinators on or before 31.01.2010 for registering your participation in the cultural programs.

Hence, please encourage your fellow Palakkadans who are yet to be a member of the PALPAK, to join hands with our team and serve the society to uphold the unity and maintain the social harmony.

Yoga classes for body and soul dynamic system of exercise that is fun and enjoyable which will make a big difference to your life style. A total transformation of mind and body. Come and be enlightened. Suitable for anyone of any age from 10 to 70.

This is a technique that works, even for people with little or no knowledge of Yoga and for those who find it difficult to perform difficult postures. Please call us anytime for more details - Tel. 99531650 / 25620488 - Salmiya, Block 12, off Amman street.

A

Announcements JANUARY 27 Lecture by Dr Muna: Ties Center presents: “Intercultural Communication Competence” a lecture by Dr Muna A. Ali PhD. Dr Muna head of the Euro-Gulf studies Center at Kuwait University as well as the Prof. of Political Science & International Relations. Her lecture will focus on avoiding communication conflicts when interacting both socially and in work related activities with other cultures. Join us for an intercultural experience and test your communication skills! Wednesday, January 27th from 7 to 8:30 pm at Ties Center Shuhada, Block 4, Street 413, Villa 67, Call 25231015 or 97798222.

JANUARY 29 Drawing contest: The Kuwait RSC (Risala Study Circle) is conducting drawing contest (“NIRAKOOT”) for children as part of its Zonal conference.

Venue On 29th January 2010 Friday at 4

pm in Abbasiya community hail. The participants have categorized as Junior and Senior (up to 7 year old as junior, in between 7 and 12 as senior) those who are interested to join the contest may call 66009656, 99118976 or Email at rsckuwait@gmai1.com before 22nd January.

MARCH 26 CRYcket 2010: the 13th annual crycket tournament is scheduled to be held on Friday, 26th March 2010 at the KOC Hockey Grounds, Ahmadi. This tournament is organized by FOCC (Friends of Cry Club). Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) is associated with CRY (Child Rights and You), India and its main objectives are to create awareness of the underprivileged Indian children, help restore their basic rights, strive to provide support in personal development of the Indian children in Kuwait and bring out the qualities of social

commitment in them. FOCC has been organizing CRY awareness programmes for children through its two annual events - CRYcket (Cricket match for children below 14 years organized annually since 1997) and CRY chess tournament (for children of all ages organized annually since 2005) - and ‘Brain Bang’ programme which is an ongoing bi-weekly Accelerated Learning activity. CRYcket will be played by 24 teams of children and about 500 spectators are expected for this special one-day event. The deadline to receive the registration forms is 18th March 2010, however registration may be close earlier if the available slots of 12 teams in each category are filled. A colourful souvenir will be released to mark the 13th year of FOCC’s activities in Kuwait.

For details how to become a sponsor and/or to advertise in the Souvenir or to volunteer as a FOCC member, pls visit www.focckwt.org or email

Page 47

Embassy information EMBASSY OF GREECE The Embassy of Greece has the pleasure to announce that with a view to promote business interaction and commercial relations between Greece and Kuwait and to present further support for the Kuwaiti importers, it requests all Kuwaiti Companies dealing with or representing Greek Companies in Kuwait to contact this Embassy as soon as possible and to provide by fax or e-mail the following information: (Name of the company, tel no, fax no, e-mail, type of business, name of the Greek companies/clients).

The Embassy’s contacts are as follows: e-mail: gremb.kuw@mfa.gr; fax: 24817103, and tel no: 24817100, 24817101, 24817102.

EMBASSY OF INDIA On the occasion of the Republic Day of India, a Flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the Embassy of India premises on Arabian Gulf Street at 9 am on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. The flag hoisting will be followed by the reading of the message of the President of India, rendition of patriotic songs by Indian school children, and an Open House Reception. All Indian nationals in Kuwait are cordially invited to attend the Flag Hoisting Ceremony.

The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week.

Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, AlAbraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.

EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES The Embassy of the Philippines wishes to inform the Filipino community in the State of Kuwait, that the recent supreme court decision to extend the registration of voter’s applies only in local registration in the Philippines under Republic Act no. 8189 and does not apply to overseas voters which is governed by Republic Act no. 9189, hence it has no impact on the plans and preparations on the conduct of overseas absentee voting. The overseas absentee voting for presidential elections will start on 10 April 2010 and will continue uninterrupted until 10 May 2010 daily at the Philippine Embassy. Registered overseas absentee voters are advised to schedule their days off in advance to avoid complications in their schedules. Qualified voters are encouraged to get out and vote.

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa’s working hours till Thursday, 31st December 2009 will be from 8 am to 10 am. Please note that the Embassy will be closed on Sunday, 3rd January 2010 on the occasion of the New Year. The Embassy will resume its normal working hours on Monday, 4th January 2010, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the working hours will be from 8 am to 16h00 & the Consular section operation hours will be from 8h30 to 12h30.

WHAT’S ON

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday is family day at Radisson Blu Hotel he Al-Bustan restaurant welcomes you, with your family and friends for the best brunch in town. You can have the world on a plate at our famous family brunch. choose from Arabic, Asian and International fare - feast on traditional roasts, tantalizing salads and mouth watering desserts. Listen to the duo perform light classics with smooth tunes and other popular favorites at the Al-Bustan every Friday afternoons. Their music will be the perfect accompaniment to your family brunch.

T

PALPAK anniversary celebration alakkad Pravasi Association of Kuwait (PALPAK) is conducting its second annual general body meeting on Friday, 19 February at Indian Central School, Abbassiya - 9.30 am. The AGM will elect new office bearers auditor, executive committee and area coordinators & Advisory Board Members for the year 2010. Members vision on the activities that PALPAK should concentrate and your appropriate suggestions for executing the same would be much appreciated. All members of PALPAK are kindly requested to treat this as an official Invitation and should attend the said Annual General Body Meeting on time.

On the same day at the same venue at 2 pm onwards PALPAK conducts anniversary celebrations with various socio cultural programs such as classical & cinematic dances, mimics, thiruvathira, elocution, songs, Kolkkall & Oppana etc for the PALPAK Members, their families and children.

P

Since this is a program organized exclusively for promoting the gifted talents of our members & children. Your maximum participation and cooperation is a must for the success of this event.

PALPAK has elected a program committee headed by our Vice President Mohan (99781095) supported by Udaya Varrnan (97216434), Suresh Madhavan (97253235), Suresh Pulikkal (97260159), Aravindakshan (66535989), & Sankaranarayanan (66706680) to lead and organize this event in a colorful manner. You may please contact the program committee or your area cocoordinators on or before 31.01.2010 for registering your participation in the cultural programs.

Hence, please encourage your fellow Palakkadans who are yet to be a member of the PALPAK, to join hands with our team and serve the society to uphold the unity and maintain the social harmony.

Yoga classes for body and soul dynamic system of exercise that is fun and enjoyable which will make a big difference to your life style. A total transformation of mind and body. Come and be enlightened. Suitable for anyone of any age from 10 to 70.

This is a technique that works, even for people with little or no knowledge of Yoga and for those who find it difficult to perform difficult postures. Please call us anytime for more details - Tel. 99531650 / 25620488 - Salmiya, Block 12, off Amman street.

A

Announcements JANUARY 27 Lecture by Dr Muna: Ties Center presents: “Intercultural Communication Competence” a lecture by Dr Muna A. Ali PhD. Dr Muna head of the Euro-Gulf studies Center at Kuwait University as well as the Prof. of Political Science & International Relations. Her lecture will focus on avoiding communication conflicts when interacting both socially and in work related activities with other cultures. Join us for an intercultural experience and test your communication skills! Wednesday, January 27th from 7 to 8:30 pm at Ties Center Shuhada, Block 4, Street 413, Villa 67, Call 25231015 or 97798222.

JANUARY 29 Drawing contest: The Kuwait RSC (Risala Study Circle) is conducting drawing contest (“NIRAKOOT”) for children as part of its Zonal conference.

Venue On 29th January 2010 Friday at 4

pm in Abbasiya community hail. The participants have categorized as Junior and Senior (up to 7 year old as junior, in between 7 and 12 as senior) those who are interested to join the contest may call 66009656, 99118976 or Email at rsckuwait@gmai1.com before 22nd January.

MARCH 26 CRYcket 2010: the 13th annual crycket tournament is scheduled to be held on Friday, 26th March 2010 at the KOC Hockey Grounds, Ahmadi. This tournament is organized by FOCC (Friends of Cry Club). Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) is associated with CRY (Child Rights and You), India and its main objectives are to create awareness of the underprivileged Indian children, help restore their basic rights, strive to provide support in personal development of the Indian children in Kuwait and bring out the qualities of social

commitment in them. FOCC has been organizing CRY awareness programmes for children through its two annual events - CRYcket (Cricket match for children below 14 years organized annually since 1997) and CRY chess tournament (for children of all ages organized annually since 2005) - and ‘Brain Bang’ programme which is an ongoing bi-weekly Accelerated Learning activity. CRYcket will be played by 24 teams of children and about 500 spectators are expected for this special one-day event. The deadline to receive the registration forms is 18th March 2010, however registration may be close earlier if the available slots of 12 teams in each category are filled. A colourful souvenir will be released to mark the 13th year of FOCC’s activities in Kuwait.

For details how to become a sponsor and/or to advertise in the Souvenir or to volunteer as a FOCC member, pls visit www.focckwt.org or email

Page 47

Embassy information EMBASSY OF GREECE The Embassy of Greece has the pleasure to announce that with a view to promote business interaction and commercial relations between Greece and Kuwait and to present further support for the Kuwaiti importers, it requests all Kuwaiti Companies dealing with or representing Greek Companies in Kuwait to contact this Embassy as soon as possible and to provide by fax or e-mail the following information: (Name of the company, tel no, fax no, e-mail, type of business, name of the Greek companies/clients).

The Embassy’s contacts are as follows: e-mail: gremb.kuw@mfa.gr; fax: 24817103, and tel no: 24817100, 24817101, 24817102.

EMBASSY OF INDIA On the occasion of the Republic Day of India, a Flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the Embassy of India premises on Arabian Gulf Street at 9 am on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. The flag hoisting will be followed by the reading of the message of the President of India, rendition of patriotic songs by Indian school children, and an Open House Reception. All Indian nationals in Kuwait are cordially invited to attend the Flag Hoisting Ceremony.

The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week.

Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, AlAbraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday.

EMBASSY OF PHILIPPINES The Embassy of the Philippines wishes to inform the Filipino community in the State of Kuwait, that the recent supreme court decision to extend the registration of voter’s applies only in local registration in the Philippines under Republic Act no. 8189 and does not apply to overseas voters which is governed by Republic Act no. 9189, hence it has no impact on the plans and preparations on the conduct of overseas absentee voting. The overseas absentee voting for presidential elections will start on 10 April 2010 and will continue uninterrupted until 10 May 2010 daily at the Philippine Embassy. Registered overseas absentee voters are advised to schedule their days off in advance to avoid complications in their schedules. Qualified voters are encouraged to get out and vote.

EMBASSY OF SOUTH AFRICA The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa’s working hours till Thursday, 31st December 2009 will be from 8 am to 10 am. Please note that the Embassy will be closed on Sunday, 3rd January 2010 on the occasion of the New Year. The Embassy will resume its normal working hours on Monday, 4th January 2010, from Sunday to Thursday. Please note that the working hours will be from 8 am to 16h00 & the Consular section operation hours will be from 8h30 to 12h30.

Page 48

Friday, January 22, 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”.

Airlines JZR TAR WAN KAC RJA WAN GFA KAC JZR THY DHX JZR UAE ETD QTR AFR JZR JZR KAC JZR BAW KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC KAC UAE KAC ABY QTR ETD GFA WAN JZR JZR JZR WAN JZR IRA MEA OMA IYE PIA MSR JZR KAC WAN JZR JZR WAN KAC KAC JZR KAC GBB KAC RJA JZR UAE GFA SVA ETD JZR ABY JZR

Arrival Flights on Friday 22/01/2010 Flt Route 0263 BEIRUT 327 TUNIS/DUBAI 2011 SHARM EL SHEIKH 1788 JEDDAH 802 AMMAN 2103 BEIRUT 211 BAHRAIN 544 CAIRO 0513 SHARM EL SHEIKH 1172 ISTANBUL 370 BAHRAIN 0241 AMMAN 853 DUBAI 0305 ABU DHABI 0138 DOHA 6770 PARIS 0503 LUXOR 0527 ALEXANDRIA 416 JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR 0529 ASSIUT 0157 LONDON 206 ISLAMABAD 352 COCHIN 0161 DUBAI 302 MUMBAI 676 DUBAI 362 COLOMBO 855 DUBAI 286 CHITTAGONG 0121 SHARJAH 0132 DOHA 0301 ABU DHABI 213 BAHRAIN 1121 BAHRAIN 0447 DOHA 0165 DUBAI 0425 BAHRAIN 1021 DUBAI 0113 ABU DHABI 619 LAR 404 BEIRUT 0645 MUSCAT 825 SANAA 239 SIALKOT 610 CAIRO 0171 DUBAI 672 DUBAI 2301 DAMASCUS 0525 ALEXANDRIA 0257 BEIRUT 2001 CAIRO 552 DAMASCUS 744 DAMMAM 0457 DAMASCUS 284 DHAKA 076 BASRAH 546 ALEXANDRIA 800 AMMAN 0173 DUBAI 857 DUBAI 215 BAHRAIN 510 RIYADH 0303 ABU DHABI 0239 AMMAN 0125 SHARJAH 0367 DEIREZZOR

Time 00:05 00:10 00:15 00:15 00:35 00:50 01:05 01:15 01:25 02:15 02:15 02:30 02:35 03:00 03:25 04:35 05:35 06:10 06:25 06:30 06:40 07:40 07:40 07:45 07:55 08:10 08:20 08:30 08:35 08:55 09:00 09:35 10:45 10:45 11:00 11:05 11:10 11:20 11:20 11:50 11:55 12:15 12:35 12:50 12:55 13:05 13:25 13:35 14:05 14:10 14:20 14:35 14:40 14:45 15:10 15:30 15:30 15:40 16:05 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:15 17:35 17:40 17:45

WAN JZR ALK UAL JZR WAN DHX WAN KAC KAC KAC JZR KAC KAC IAC KAC KAC KAC JAI WAN SVA JZR GFA KAC MEA QTR UAE KAC JZR GBB JZR JZR MSR SAI DLH WAN WAN WAN PIA

2101 0497 227 982 0427 2003 473 1025 542 674 166 0177 614 774 575 102 562 618 572 1201 506 0459 217 786 402 0136 859 502 0449 081 0117 0185 612 441 636 2201 1029 1129 215

BEIRUT RIYADH COLOMBO/DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES BAHRAIN CAIRO BAGHDAD DUBAI CAIRO DUBAI PARIS/ROME DUBAI BAHRAIN RIYADH CHENNAI/GOA NEW YORK/LONDON AMMAN DOHA MUMBAI JEDDAH JEDDAH DAMASCUS BAHRAIN JEDDAH BEIRUT DOHA DUBAI BEIRUT DOHA BAGHDAD ABU DHABI DUBAI CAIRO LAHORE/KARACHI FRANKFURT AMMAN DUBAI BAHRAIN KARACHI

17:50 18:00 18:05 18:15 18:15 18:20 18:30 18:40 18:50 18:55 19:00 19:05 19:20 19:30 19:30 19:35 19:40 20:00 20:05 20:15 20:35 20:40 21:05 21:10 21:20 21:35 22:00 22:00 22:10 22:20 22:25 22:40 22:45 23:05 23:30 23:40 23:45 23:55 23:55

Departure Flights on Friday 22-10-2010 Airlines Flt Route Time MSR 607 LUXOR 00:01 JZR 0528 ASSIUT 00:05 AXB 390 MANGALORE/KOZHIKODE 00:30 UAL 981 WASHINGTON DC DULLES 00:40 TAR 328 TUNIS 01:00 IAC 982 AHMEDABAD/CHENNAI 01:05 PIA 206 LAHORE 01:10 BBC 044 DHAKA 01:15 DLH 637 FRANKFURT 01:20 SFW 216 KABUL 02:30 KAC 283 DHAKA 02:55 THY 1173 ISTANBUL 03:15 DHX 371 BAHRAIN 03:15 UAE 854 DUBAI 03:50 ETD 0306 ABU DHABI 04:10 QTR 0139 DOHA 05:00 AFR 6770 DUBAI/HONG KONG 06:20 JZR 0164 DUBAI 07:00 RJA 803 AMMAN 07:05 JZR 0524 ALEXANDRIA 07:20 JZR 0112 ABU DHABI 07:35 JZR 0446 DOHA 07:40 GFA 212 BAHRAIN 07:45 JZR 0422 BAHRAIN 07:55 KAC 545 ALEXANDRIA 08:30 JZR 0256 BEIRUT 08:35

BAW KAC JZR KAC JZR ABY UAE QTR GBB KAC KAC ETD GFA KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR KAC IRA MEA OMA IYE PIA MSR KAC KAC JZR JZR JZR JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC RJA QTR KAC GFA ETD UAE ABY JZR SVA JZR JZR JZR ALK KAC KAC JAI KAC SVA GFA DHX KAC MEA JZR QTR KAC UAE JZR JZR MSR JZR KAC

0156 671 0170 551 0456 0122 856 0133 075 117 173 0302 214 743 541 0172 0366 0238 103 618 405 0646 825 240 611 673 561 0496 0176 0426 0458 785 501 773 613 801 0135 617 216 0304 858 0126 0262 511 0184 0116 0448 228 361 343 571 331 507 218 171 675 403 0188 0137 301 860 0636 0526 613 0502 411

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

LONDON DUBAI DUBAI DAMASCUS DAMASCUS SHARJAH DUBAI DOHA BASRAH NEW YORK FRANKFURT/GENEVA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN DAMMAM CAIRO DUBAI DEIREZZOR AMMAN LONDON LAR BEIRUT MUSCAT DOHA/SANAA SIALKOT CAIRO DUBAI AMMAN RIYADH DUBAI BAHRAIN DAMASCUS JEDDAH BEIRUT RIYADH BAHRAIN AMMAN DOHA DOHA BAHRAIN ABU DHABI DUBAI SHARJAH BEIRUT RIYADH DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI/COLOMBO COLOMBO CHENNAI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM JEDDAH BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT DUBAI DOHA MUMBAI DUBAI ALEPPO ALEXANDRIA CAIRO LUXOR BANGKOK/MANILA

08:55 09:00 09:00 09:10 09:25 09:35 09:40 10:00 10:00 10:00 10:20 10:20 11:40 11:55 12:00 12:00 12:20 12:25 12:30 12:50 12:55 13:15 13:35 13:40 13:55 14:30 14:35 14:40 15:05 15:25 15:30 15:45 16:10 16:10 16:20 16:25 16:30 16:35 17:55 18:00 18:10 18:20 18:25 18:30 18:35 18:40 18:50 19:15 20:20 20:50 21:10 21:25 21:55 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:45 23:10 23:20 23:25 23:45 23:50 23:55

CLASSIFIEDS

Friday, January 22, 2010

ACCOMMODATION

1st. Contact: 99264892.

(C 20222)

Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for Keralite couple from January 26th or February 1st onwards. Rent KD 65.

Contact: 66598187. (C 20228)

One room accommodation available for single Indian bachelor in C-A/C flat near Indian Community School Salmiya, rent KD 65.

Contact: 97237934, 25658475. (C 20223) 19-1-2010

Flat near Al Ommooma hospital, rent KD 160, with new furniture, for sale, 3 dishes and 6 LNPs, separate parking, available from 25th January. Contact: 97549378/ 94054916/ 66511549. (C 20232) 21-1-2010

Fully furnished sharing accommodation available for Keralite family at Abbassiya (only 4 months, from Feb 1st). Contact: 99962214, 66957146. (C 20215) 18-1-2010

Single room available in Bneid Al-Gar for working decent ladies, central A/C, available from this month, very near to Al-Salam hospital.

Please contact: 97879611. (C 20224) Room for rent at Al Mugera St Salmiya near Fahaheel Expressway for Filipinos only, call 99057302 any time. (C 20226) One furnished room available in C-A/C 3 bed flat in Jabriya block 8, near Hadi hospital, rent KD 80/PM for decent couple or working lady. Contact: 66706118, 99067385. (C 20225) Sharing accommodation available for a small family in a 2 bedroom, hall & kitchen central A/C flat near Emirates hotel, Abu Halifa with Keralite Christian family. Contact: 97612421.

(C 20227) 20-1-2010 Fully furnished sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for couple or for two bachelors from Feb

TRANSPORT Transportation available anytime, anywhere in Kuwait, new Toyota Hiace van, please contact: 66731349. (C 20198) 20-1-2010

SITUATION WANTED Indian male, (MBA Finance) with 2.5 years accountant experience in India, currently seeking for job, proficient in Tally 9,SAP fico, MS Office.

Holding valid transferable visa no. 18. Contact: 65547019, 25620738. (C 20214) 18-1-2010

of trial balance profit & loss A/C and balance sheet.

Please contact: 94942964.

(C 20205) 17-1-2010

CHANGE OF NAME I, Eusebio Fernandes holder Indian Passport No. E 3358259, hereby change my name to Eusebio Salvador Fernandes. (C 20231) 21-1-2010

FOR SALE Mitsubishi jeep Nativa 6 cylinder engine, alloy rim, fog launch, silver color, excellent condition, cash price KD 3,100 negotiable, installment possible.

Contact 66507741. (C 20229) Corolla 2002 (1.8), for sale, run km 180,000, registration on 6-4-2010, KD 1350 final.

Contact: 99864113.

(C 20230) 21-1-2010 ATV 50cc E-Ton run great!.

Call 67039015. (C 20220) Household goods for sale.

Call 67039015. (C 20221) 20-1-2010

Looking for a part time house maid job, experience in cooking, cleaning also new born baby massage.

Call 66367806. (C 20203)

Toyota Camry XLi, 4 cylinders, model 2006, white color, done KD 47,000, excellent condition, price cash KD 3,150. Contact: 97213518. (C 20219)

Looking for a suitable job as an accountant, qualification is M.Com, have nine years experience in Dubai, well versed in preparation

Mercedes 99 E240, silver, very good condition, full option, sunroof, wood decoration, cruise control, company original paint, lady driven, price KD 1750.

Contact: 20218)

Page 49 66321932.

(C

Mitsubishi Gallant, model 2003, silver grey color, in very good condition and insured up to October 2010, engine overhauled in November 09, from M/S auto-1 (ex Al Gannam), price fixed KD 1150. Call: 66608427. (C 20217) 19-1-2010 Mitsubishi Pajero 2000 model, (V6) very good condition, golden color, KD 1650. Phone: 99951793, 66605926. (C 20204) 17-1-2010 Sony TV, Electric oven, boiler/ Coffee maker and dishwasher for sale. Please call 97850290.

Pejot Pointer delivery van, 2008 model, KD 1,350.

Phone: 66052331.

(C 20199) Jeep Ford Escape, model 2001, color yellow, four doors, 6 cylinders, very good condition with original paint, 200,191 km, price KD 1,250 fixed. Phone: 97786744/ 66804825.

(C 20200)

MATRIMONIAL Goan Roman Catholic parents invite proposals for their daughter BE, MBA 27/5.4 employed in Goa from professionally qualified boys. Email: portuguezh@yahoo.com (20233) 21-1-2010 Syrian Catholic parents in Kuwait invite marriage proposals for their son, B.Tech,

29/177, employed in Kuwait.

Contact:jmj8002@gmail.com (C 20209) Proposals invited for Keralite Orthodox boy 27/180/BE, working MNC Banglore from professionally qualified girls. Contact email: anish_relish@rediffmail.co m (C 20211) Proposals invited for Keralite Orthodox boy financially sound, 26/180 MBA, bank employee in Kuwait, girls employed in Kuwait preferred. Email: devson555@gmail.com 17-1-2010 Proposals invited for Keralite RCSC girl, 27/158cm, B.Sc MLT, working with MoH Kuwait as lab technologist, from profes-

sionally qualified RC boys working in Kuwait. Contact email: geocee999@gmail.com (C 20196)

BABY SITTING Baby sitting available, nursery base, age up to 1 year child, home care motherly care age up to 3 months Salwa, area 6, St 2, near Alghanim school, more details 66434840.

(C 20164) 11-1-2010

SITUATION VACANT Wanted part/full time maid for Indian family in Riggae, preferably Goan. Contact: 99694619. (C 20156) 13-1-2010

PRIVATE CLINICS Ophthalmologists: Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly

5622444 5752222 5321171 5739999 5757700 5732223 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 2547272 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 2617700 Dr. Abdel Quttainah 5625030/60 Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar

3729596/3729581

Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari 2635047 Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan 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. Abidallah Behbahani 5717111 Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer 2610044 Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher 5327148 Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil Dr. Mousa Khadada Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan

2639939 2666300 5728004

Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra Dr. Mobarak Aldoub Dr Nasser Behbehani

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 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

Gastrologists Dr. Sami Aman Dr. Mohammad Al-Shamaly Dr. Foad Abidallah Al-Ali

Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman Dr. Ahmad Al-Ansari Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr

5633324 5345875

5339330 5658888 5329924

Physiotherapists & VD: Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees

5722291 2666288

Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 5330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 5722290 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

Neurologists: Dr. Sohal Najem Al-Shemeri Dr. Jasem Mola Hassan

2636464 5322030 2633135

Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555

Page 50

Friday, January 22, 2010

TV Listings Orbit /Showtime Channels 00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 17:00 17:30 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:50 01:45 02:40 03:35 04:30 05:25 06:20 06:45 07:10 07:35 08:00 08:25 08:50 09:45 10:10

AMERICA PLUS True Blood Janice Dickinson Bachelor Cold Case One Tree Hill Lost GMA Recorded GMA Health What’s the Buzz Cold Case The O.C. Ally McBeal One Tree Hill Cold Case Ally McBeal GMA Live GMA Health What’s the Buzz One Tree Hill Lost The O.C. Private Practice Grey’s Anatomy True Blood ANIMAL PLANET Animal Cops Houston Return to the Wild Untamed & Uncut Austin Stevens Adventures Animal Cops Houston Animal Cops Houston Lemur Street Monkey Business Aussie Animal Rescue Vet on the Loose Wildlife SOS Pet Rescue Animal Precinct The Planet’s Funniest Animals The Planet’s Funniest Animals

10:40 11:05 11:55 12:50 13:15 13:45 14:10 14:40 15:35 16:00 16:30 16:55 17:25 17:50 18:20 19:15 19:40 20:10 21:10 22:05 23:00 23:25 23:55 00:30 00:55 01:20 01:50 02:50 03:20 03:50 04:20 04:50 05:15 06:35 07:20 07:40 08:00 08:20 08:45 08:50

Aussie Animal Rescue Animal Cops Houston The Jeff Corwin Experience Wildlife SOS Pet Rescue The Planet’s Funniest Animals The Planet’s Funniest Animals Return to the Wild Lemur Street Monkey Business Pet Rescue Vet on the Loose Wildlife SOS Aussie Animal Rescue Animal Cops Houston Night Night Surviving the Drought Animal Cops Houston Untamed & Uncut Night Night Animal Cops Houston BBC ENTERTAINMENT No Heroics No Heroics Little Britain The Week The Women Went Mission Africa Mission Africa Massive Carrie & Barry No Heroics The Week The Women Went Bargain Hunt Balamory Tweenies Fimbles Teletubbies Yoho Ahoy Tommy Zoom

09:00 09:20 09:40 10:00 10:25 10:30 10:40 11:25 11:50 12:15 12:45 13:15 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:45 16:15 16:45 17:15 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00

Balamory Tweenies Fimbles Teletubbies Yoho Ahoy Tommy Zoom Bargain Hunt Building Wonders Building Wonders Mission Africa Mission Africa The Weakest Link Eastenders Doctors Bargain Hunt Cash In The Attic Blackadder 2 Point 4 Children The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Green Green Grass Green Green Grass Antiques Roadshow

00:05 00:30 01:00 01:20 01:45 02:10 03:00 03:30 03:55 04:25 04:55 05:35 06:00 06:25 07:15 07:40

BBC LIFESTYLE Ching’s Kitchen Masterchef Goes Large Masterchef Goes Large Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Living In The Sun Ainsley’s Gourmet Express Ching’s Kitchen Masterchef Goes Large Masterchef Goes Large Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Living In The Sun A Week Of Dressing Dangerously A Week Of Dressing Dangerously

08:00 08:50 09:15 09:35 10:00 10:45 11:30 12:20 13:10 13:35 14:00 14:45 15:35 16:05 16:30 16:50 17:10 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:45 20:15 20:40 21:10 21:40 22:05 22:50 23:40

Antiques Roadshow Cash In The Attic Usa Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Living In The Sun Antiques Roadshow A Week Of Dressing Dangerously A Week Of Dressing Dangerously Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Gary Rhodes’ Local Food Heroes Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge Cash In The Attic Usa Hidden Potential Antiques Roadshow A Week Of Dressing Dangerously A Week Of Dressing Dangerously Living In The Sun Daily Cooks Challenge Daily Cooks Challenge Masterchef Goes Large Ainsley’s Gourmet Express Ching’s Kitchen Living In The Sun What Not To Wear Ainsley’s Gourmet Express

01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00

CINEMA CITY Planet of the Apes - PG15 The Negotiator - PG15 Room *6* - 18 Diamonds - Pt. *1* - PG15 Cass - 18 Girl’s Best Friend - PG The Last Lullaby - PG15 Diamonds - Pt. *2* - PG15 Taking a Chance on Love - PG15 The Contender - PG15 High Crimes - PG15 White Lightnin’ - 18

00:00 00:30 01:00 02:00 02:55 03:50 04:45 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:55 08:50 09:45 10:10 11:05 12:00 12:30 12:55 13:25 13:50 14:15 15:10 16:05 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00 21:30 22:00 23:00

American Gangster on Show Movies 1

DISCOVERY CHANNEL Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds Miami Ink Street Customs 2008 American Chopper Chop Shop Mythbusters Factory Made Ultimate Survival Extreme Engineering Chop Shop Street Customs 2008 How Do They Do It? Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds How Do They Do It? Factory Made Fifth Gear American Chopper Miami Ink Mythbusters Ultimate Survival Destroyed in Seconds Destroyed in Seconds Street Customs 2008 How Do They Do It? Factory Made Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers American Chopper Street Customs

DISCOVERY SCIENCE 00:40 The Greatest Ever 01:30 Science of Beauty 02:20 The Future of...

03:10 Mission Implausible 04:00 Beyond Tomorrow 04:50 How Techies Changed the World with William Shatner 05:45 Cool Stuff & How it Works 06:10 Mean Green Machines 06:40 One Step Beyond 07:10 Science of Beauty 08:00 Junkyard Wars 09:00 How Techies Changed the World with William Shatner 10:00 The Future of...

10:55 Cool Stuff & How it Works 11:20 Stunt Junkies 11:50 Science of Beauty 12:45 Mean Green Machines 13:10 One Step Beyond 13:40 How Techies Changed the World with William Shatner 14:35 The Future of...

15:30 The Sun 16:25 Cool Stuff & How it Works 16:55 Junkyard Wars 17:50 Brainiac 18:45 The Greatest Ever 19:40 Sci-Fi Science 20:05 Sci-Fi Science 20:30 Weird Connections 20:55 Weird Connections 21:20 How It’s Made 21:45 How It’s Made 22:10 Mythbusters 23:00 Sci-Fi Science

23:25 23:50

Sci-Fi Science Weird Connections

00:15 00:40 01:30 02:20 03:15 05:05 06:00 07:45 08:35 09:00 09:25 09:50 10:15 11:05 12:00 12:25 12:50 13:40 15:25 15:50 16:15 17:10 17:35 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:15 19:40 20:30 21:20 21:45 22:10 22:35 23:00 23:50

E! ENTERTAINMENT Streets Of Hollywood E!es 25 Most Stylish Sexiest Young, Beautiful And Vanished Dr 90210 Ths Extreme Hollywood E! News The Daily 10 Keeping Up With The Kardashians Keeping Up With The Kardashians Ths Ths E! News The Daily 10 Perfect Catch Keeping Up With The Kardashians Behind The Scenes Behind The Scenes E!es Leave It To Lamas Leave It To Lamas E! News The Daily 10 Streets Of Hollywood Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties Ths Ths Wildest Tv Show Moments Wildest Tv Show Moments E! News The Daily 10 Dr 90210 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties

02:15 04:20 06:10 07:35 09:05 10:25 12:15 13:50 15:25 16:55 18:40 20:25 22:00 23:40

MGM The Hot Spot Crooked Hearts Hot Under The Collar Love Chronicles The Trip Queen Of Hearts Joey Master Of The World My American Cousin Juggernaut Futureworld Heart Of Dixie Cherry 2000 Pascalis Island (1988)

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NAT GEO ADVENTURE Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue First Ascent Finding Genghis Destination Extreme Madventures Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Madventures Kayaking China Bondi Rescue Bondi Rescue First Ascent Finding Genghis Destination Extreme Madventures Surfer’s Journal Bondi Rescue Destination Extreme Madventures Don’t Tell My Mother...

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Snake Wranglers Animal Autopsy The Real Serengeti Hammerhead Highway Triumph Of Life Insect Wars Hidden Worlds Snake Wranglers Animal Autopsy

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TRAVEL CHANNEL 00:00 Globe Trekker - U 01:00 Africa Trek - U 01:30 Africa Trek - U 02:00 Essential - U 02:30 Croissants In The Jungle - U 03:00 Raider Of The Lost Snow - U 03:30 Skier’s World - U 04:00 Julian And Camilla’s World Odyssey - U 05:00 Globe Trekker - U 06:00 Swiss Railway Journeys - U 07:00 Africa Trek - U 07:30 Africa Trek - U 08:00 Globe Trekker - U 09:00 Essential - U 09:30 Rudy Maxa’s World - U 10:00 Distant Shores - U 10:30 Skier’s World - U 11:00 Chef Abroad - U 11:30 Flavours Of Peru - U

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Tara Reid to tie the knot he ‘American Pie’ actress is said to be delighted after her boyfriend, German millionaire Michael Axtmann, flew into Los Angeles to propose to her on Monday . The businessman reportedly texted friends after popping the question to say: “Tara just got the ring from me and is over the moon.” According to German website Bunte Online, the couple - who have been dating since May 2009 - plan to tie the knot later this year in Mexico.

Michael

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hinted last week that he was ready to settle down with the blonde beauty. He said: “It’s getting pretty serious between Tara and me. I feel she’s the right one. If not now than never.” Tara - who denied in November she and Michael were engaged - has previously said it was love at first sight when they first met at a cafe in Monaco after the Cannes Film Festival. She said: “I believe in Karma and destiny. I believe, it’s our Karma that makes us meant for each other.”

Friday, January 22, 2010

Bettany desperate to use a machine gun

aul Bettany was desperate to use a machine gun in new film role. The actor - who plays an angel trying to save the world in action movie ‘Legion’ - said he chose the role because he wanted the chance to play a hero action character for once and act like his hero, martial arts expert Jackie Chan. He said: “I wouldn’t lie to you. I don’t like real guns, but the fake firearms are fantastic. My machine gun was huge and made a lot noise, but it didn’t hurt anybody. I did ‘Legion’ so I could shoot a big gun and channel Jackie Chan. “I’m usually the bad guy in movies like this, so I got a kick out of being the hero.” While he enjoyed getting stuck into the role, Paul was surprised at how difficult some of the action scenes were, though he loved every minute. He told Parade.com: “When I was a kid I took some martial arts classes, but on ‘Legion’ the stunt coordinators made you look like you can do the things that you can’t, which is fantastic. I had an embarrassing amount of fun. It was like playing with a bunch of 10 year olds who don’t mind if you hit them. “I had a scene where I threw a child zombie in the air who was attacking me. Actually, it was a small stunt person who was an adult.

Everybody shot him and we were all giggling, even the poor guy who was being thrown. You can’t take that stuff seriously.” After making ‘Legion’, Paul went on to play Charles Darwin in ‘Creation’ alongside wife Jennifer Connelly and says he most enjoyed piling on the pounds to transform his physique. He said: “I finished ‘Legion’ and went right to ‘Creation’ to play Charles Darwin. Ironically, I was really fit from doing all the action stuff and I had to put on about 45 pounds. It was no problem though. I just ate a lot of sandwiches.”

P Knightley is living on a houseboat he ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actress and her boyfriend Rupert Friend have been using the barge, which is moored on a canal in London’s East End, every weekend and have rented it up until the summer. The pair were spotted walking along the canal, close to the city’s trendy Hoxton area on Sunday . A source told BANG Showbiz: “I was really shocked to see an actress as huge as Keira walking about. Everyone walking past was doing a double take.

“The pair looked really happy. They were wrapped up warm, linking arms and giggling - just the two of them.” Keira, 24, is currently starring in ‘Misanthrope’ at the London Comedy Theatre, while Rupert just began a run in the ‘The Little Dog Laughed’ at the Garrick Theatre in the British capital. With many evenings taken up at the theatre, the pair are enjoying all their spare time on the canal boat. A nearby resident added: “They spend most weekends on it, brewing up pots of tea. They’re a very sweet couple.

They regard their houseboat as their sanctuary.”

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Mirren admits her tattoo was mistake ame Helen Mirren has admitted her tattoo was a drunken mistake. The 64-yearold actress claimed she got the small piece of body art on her hand as an act of rebellion when she was younger. She said: “I was very, very drunk. It was a very, very long time ago, when only sailors and Hell’s Angels were tattooed, honestly, and prisoners. “I decided to get a tattoo because it

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Ashley Greene wants a male body double he ‘Twilight’ actress - who plays Alice Cullen in the hit vampire movie franchise says her physique is quite masculine and she has often considered having a member of the opposite sex stand in for her during more challenging scenes. She said:

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“I might ask for a male body double because I have broad shoulders, but definitely not because I have two sets of sexual organs.” The 22year-old star also spoke of her admiration for Charlize Theron, and admitted she hopes her career will emulate that of the South African-

born beauty. She added to Interview magazine: “What would I like to be doing in 10 years? I’ll be 32. Maybe having a baby. “No, I think something along the lines of doing a really incredible, inspiring film with a strong female character.

I think when I’m around 32, I’ll be

Mayer isnʼt over split ohn Mayer isn’t over his split from Jennifer Aniston.

The ‘Gravity’ singer who had an on/off relationship with the former ‘Friends’ star from April 2008 until March 2009 - is still struggling to come to terms with their separation, but still believes he did the right thing in ending their romance. He said: “I’ve never really gotten over it. It was one of the worst times of my life. “I have this weird feeling, a pride thing, for the people I’ve had relationships with. What would I be saying to Jen, who I think is f**ing fantastic, if I said to her, ‘I don’t dislike you. In fact, I extremely like you. But I have to back out of this because it doesn’t arc over the horizon. This is not where I see myself for the rest of my life, this is not my ideal destiny.” Despite his reputation as a womanizer, the 32year-old musician claims he is desperate to settle down. He explained in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine: “I’ll be happy when I close out this life-partner thing.

Think of how much

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igourney Weaver is to play a stripper in her next film. The ‘Avatar’ star has revealed she is set to sign up for a top secret new project in which she will portray an exotic dancer dealing with getting older. Sigourney, 60, said: “There’s a project which sees me as an ageing stripper. But I can’t say a lot about that one. It’s going to be a surprise! I’m also playing the leading role in a film by Nicholas Roeg.” The actress - famous for her action-packed roles, including playing Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ movies - is keen to take on the part because she feels more attractive now than ever before. She added in an interview with Tele 5: “I feel sexier than ever. I used to be really insecure. I hope I’ll live up to a 100 years. I never wanted to be like James Dean - die young and be famous afterwards.” Unlike many of her contemporaries, Sigourney has never felt her advancing years have had a negative effect on the work she is offered. She said: “I don’t try to look young at all costs. Why should you cast a 55 year old looking like a 35 year old, when you can cast a 35 year old to begin with? If you look like 55 and feel comfortable with it, you will get casted. My roles have become more interesting with time.”

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Weaver to play a stripper in next film mental capacity I’m using to meet the right person so I can stop giving a f**k about it.”

However, the musician is finding it difficult to meet someone new and claims he is constantly being rejected by the girls he approaches. He said: “Blowing me off is the new s**king me off!” Instead, the singer - who has dated a host of famous beauties, including Jessica Simpson and Cameron

Diaz - wants to revisit his old flames in the hope of finding love again. He added: “All I want to do now is f**k the girls I’ve already f***ed, because I can’t fathom explaining myself to somebody who can’t believe I’d be interested in them, and they’re going, ‘But you’re John Mayer!’ So I’m going backwards to move forward. I’m too freaked out to meet anybody else.”

up for things like that. “Charlize Theron in ‘Monster’ was an inspiration. She’s one of the most incredibly beautiful people alive, and when I was watching that movie, she scared the s**t out of me. I thought she did a fantastic job.”

was the most shocking thing I could think of doing.” The ‘Queen’ star no longer likes the tattoo because everywhere she goes she sees people with inkings She told US TV show ‘Good Morning America’: “Now I’m utterly disgusted and shocked because it’s become completely mainstream, which is unacceptable to me.” Meanwhile, Helen is set to escape the mainstream with a possible role as a foulmouthed medieval monarch in Quentin Tarantino’s new film. A source said: “It will feature his trademarks bloody violence and foul language. Helen has never worked with Tarantino and is interested. If the film goes into production it’s likely she will play a part.” —Bang Showbiz

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Music Traditional Japanese musicians in Kimonos pose with the traditional instruments made of glass during their press preview in Tokyo on January 20, 2010.

—AFP

Glass gives new sheen to traditional Japanese music ncient Japanese musical instruments have taken on a new shine after one group decided to make theirs out of glass, instead of traditional wood. Drums and flutes play a major part in traditional Japanese music, with the “tsuzumi”, an hour-glass shaped drum, often in the lead role. Usually made out of leather and a hard wood such as cherry tree, the tsuzumi is famed for its high pitched beats and is the only Japanese drum that is played using bare hands. Unveiling a five instrument glass ensemble in Tokyo, the Hari Gonin Bayashi group, established to promote the use of glass in traditional Japanese instruments, played several tunes.

Kaho Tosya, the leader drummer, told

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Reuters that while she’s not completely happy with her glass instrument, it still produces amazing sounds. “If you ask me whether this has the same timbre as the original drum,” Tosya told Reuters Television. “I would say that it has still not reached a complete passing grade. I suppose because this is the first one made of glass. But, on the other hand, this can reproduce a very sharp high pitch.” The wooden frame version of the tsuzumi is said to harden over time, sometimes even centuries, to create the drum’s signature beat, she added.

The instruments were made by Tokyobased Hario, a glass maker known in Japan for its popular glass coffee pot products. It

took 13 of the firm’s artisans over 19 months and ten million yen ($109,000) to create the five instruments. The glass instruments are the brain child of shakuhachi flute player Gazan Watanabe, 48, who says glass is the perfect material for Japanese music. “One of the characteristics of the Japanese instruments is the hardness of the material they are made of. The same hardness and smoothness are the fundamental characteristics of these glass instruments,” Watanabe said. Watanabe hopes glass instruments will also be easier to mass produce than the wood ones, allowing for the greater use of traditional drums and flutes in modern music arrangements. — Reuters

Rapper Mystikal released from prison after 6 years fter serving a six-year prison term for sexual battery and extortion, New Orleans rapper Mystikal was released from jail last week. “My feet back on the ground. Man it’s been a long time,” Mystikal-famed for hits like “Shake Ya Ass” and “Danger (Been So Long)”-told New Orleans’ Q93 radio station. “I’m back. I’m still trying to feel this reality. It feels like a dream. Watch how I’m going to shake this world up now. I want reparation!” Mystikal, born Michael Tyler, was sentenced to six years in prison after being arrested along with two of his bodyguards for threatening to turn his former hairstylist in to police for cashing $80,000 worth of unauthorized checks from his bank account.

The stylist said she was forced to have sex with all three men in exchange for their silence. As part of the plea bargain, all three pleaded guilty. Mystikal has five years of probation upon his release and has to be registered as a sex offender in Louisiana. Although Mystikal pleaded guilty to forcing the female to perform sex acts, he initially denied the assault. Still, when asked if he feels rappers are targeted, he made no excuses. “I think we have to pay more attention to what we are doing to ourselves. We gotta take responsibility for what we do too,” he said. “That’s the easy excuse. We have to tighten up and not blame others. You can’t be foolish especially when you’re successful.”

Mystikal’s 2000 album, “Let’s Get Ready,” went multiplatinum and though his 2001 set, “Tarantula,” didn’t sell as well, he was planning on making a strong comeback at the time of his arrest. He said he has plenty of material written and record labels have expressed interest. He believed he owed one more album to Jive Records.—Reuters

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Singer Lady Gaga performs in concert at Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday, in New York. —AP

Cowell to produce charity single for Haiti V mogul Simon Cowell said yesterday he would produce a charity single within 10 days to benefit victims of the massive earthquake in Haiti. The “American Idol” and “The X-Factor” judge said he was asked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to help with the relief effort.

Performers have yet to be chosen, but may include British singers Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis and Cheryl Cole, Cowell said.

“I don’t know who’s available, but I will get a record out within seven to 10 days,” he said, adding that the goal was to raise as much money as possible in a short period of time. The government may forgo tax revenues on the single so that more money can be sent to Haiti. The British government and many private agencies were sending large aid shipments to the stricken Caribbean nation. — AP

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Simon Cowell

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Friday, January 22, 2010

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Movies

Clooney to host Haiti telethon benefit for Haiti that will feature dozens of stars and a collaboration by U2 singer Bono and rapper Jay-Z will be the most widely distributed telethon to reach viewers across the globe, MTV said on Wednesday.

George Clooney, the actor who organized the event, will host the two-hour “Hope for Haiti Now” show starting at 8 pm EST today (0100 GMT yesterday) to raise money for the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean country.

Showcasing performances from Los Angeles, New York and London, the telethon will be broadcast through MTV networks available in 640 million homes worldwide, including for the first time China’s MTV channel, as well as audiences through other major networks such as CNN.

George Clooney

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The event will also be streamed live on websites including YouTube, Hulu and MySpace and through mobile phone carriers, raising the size of the potential audience. MTV, the show’s co-producer, said the broad collaboration would make it the most widely distributed telethon in history. Other telethons and concert fundraisers have claimed huge audiences and brought in millions in relief money. The Live Aid concert in 1985, to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, reached an estimated 1.5 billion people at a time before widespread Internet and mobile phone use.

The London performance of the Haiti benefit will feature Coldplay plus a group performance by Bono and U2 guitarist The Edge along with Jay-Z and singer Rihanna. The Edge, Bono and Jay-Z have teamed up to record a song to benefit Haiti, MTV said.

Clooney will host the event from Los Angeles with performances by Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift and a group jam by Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow.

In New York, Haiti-born singer Wyclef Jean will be joined by Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J Blige, Shakira and Sting.

Proceeds will be split among relief organizations including the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the UN World Food Program, Oxfam America, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation. From Saturday, all of the performances will be available to buy on Apple’s iTunes. The Haiti event will be looking to top the $28 million in relief funds raised by Wednesday by mobile phone users in the United States and Canada through text messages, according to the Mobile Giving Foundation. Other big telethons that have raised millions include “A Tribute to Heroes” in 2001 after the Sept 11 attacks on the United States, “Shelter from the Storm” in 2005 for victims of Hurricane Katrina and “A Concert of Hope” in 2005 after the Asian tsunami that killed nearly 230,000 people. — Reuters

Five pictures that could surprise Sundance buyers C

ould one of these pictures become this year’s “Saw” or “Precious” at the Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off in Park City, Utah, yesterday?

The marquee at the Egyptian Theatre on Main Street promotes the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. —AP

“Animal Kingdom” Director: David Michod (World dramatic competition) A gritty revenge tale set in the Melbourne underworld, “Kingdom” could be the wellexecuted crime drama that acquisitions execs often are unable to find at Sundance.

‘Avatar’ shares nomination lead on BAFTA shortlist irector James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster fantasy film “Avatar” tied with British drama “An Education” and Iraq war movie “The Hurt Locker” with eight nominations each at the BAFTAs, Britain’s main film awards. That trio was closely followed by extraterrestrial film “District 9” with seven nominations.

Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” starring Brad Pitt and “Up in the Air” with George Clooney each received six nominations, organizers said yesterday. The awards are handed out on Feb 21. Action adventure “Avatar,” whose 3-D effects have wowed critics and fans and helped it earn $1.6 billion at global box offices, claimed best film, cinematography, editing, music, production design, sound and special visual effects. “Titanic” filmmaker Cameron was nominated for director.

Biopic “Coco Before Chanel”, “Nowhere Boy”, “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” and animated film “Up” also received four nominations apiece.

District 9, director Neill Blomkamp’s tale about extraterrestrials forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth, won Blomkamp a director nomination and others for cinematography, adapted screenplay, editing,

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nominations Best film: * Avatar * An Education * The Hurt Locker * Precious * Up in the Air Outstanding British film: * An Education * Fish Tank * In the Loop * Moon * Nowhere Boy Best director: * Avatar - James Cameron * District 9 - Neill Blomkamp * An Education - Lone Scherfig * The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow * Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino Film not in the English language: * Broken Embraces * Coco Before Chanel * Let The Right One In * A Prophet * The White Ribbon

British actors Matthew Goode, right and Romola Garai announce the nominated work at the British Academy Film Awards at Bafta’s Piccadilly headquarters in London, yesterday. —AP production design, sound and special visual effects.

Cameron and Blomkamp will contend for a director BAFTA with “Pulp Fiction” filmmaker Tarantino, Lone Scherfig (An Education), and Kathryn Bigelow, whose Iraq war movie The Hurt Locker also counts nominations for best film and leading actor.

— Reuters

Animated film: * Coraline * Fantastic Mr Fox Leading actor: * Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart * George Clooney - Up in the Air * Colin Firth - A Single Man * Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker * Andy Serkis - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Leading actress: * Carey Mulligan - An Education * Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones * Gabourey Sidibe - Precious * Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia * Audrey Tautou - Coco Before Chanel Supporting actor: * Alec Baldwin - Itís Complicated * Christian McKay - Me and Orson Welles * Alfred Molina - An Education * Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds Supporting actress: * Anne-Marie Duff - Nowhere Boy * Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air * Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air * Mo’Nique - Precious *Kristin Scott Thomas - Nowhere Boy

“Four lions” Director: Chris Morris (World dramatic competition) A Sacha Baron Cohen-esque comedy about terrorism?

British comedian Morris dares tell the story of four jihadists whose deadly plans devolve into farce. If it works, look for a progressive-minded distributor like Magnolia to take notice.

“Lucky” Director: Jeffrey Blitz (US documentary competition) Every year there are a handful of docs that tap the zeitgeist.

This look at what happens when ordinary people win the lottery could echo Americans’ ambivalent relationship with money amid a grueling recession.

And Blitz (“Spellbound”) won the dramatic directing award in 2007 for “Rocket Science.”

“Space Tourists” Director: Christian Frei (World documentary competition) Swiss-born Frei hitches a ride with Anousheh Ansari, the first female space tourist, who dropped $20 million to train with the Russian space program before booking passage to the International Space Station. With Virgin Galactic still a few years away, this may be the closest moviegoers can get to deciding whether or not they have the right stuff.

“Tucker & Dale vs Evil” Director: Eli Craig (Midnight screening) A horror send-up about two country bumpkins headed to the familiar cabin in the woods, “Evil” could lure a genre buyer looking for the next “Scream.” But the noname cast might limit appeal.—Reuters

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Fashion

Miyake brews up coffee-steeped menswear collection definition of a lazy Sunday morning. Another channeled the barista’s just-rolled-out-of-bed chic, wearing a neat black apron over wide cut trousers and a chunky grandpa sweater.

Other looks were more elaborate: Microfiber prints alive with swirling clouds in shades of gray and brown were based on the Miyake design team’s experiments in fluid dynamics: Under the expert guidance of a Tokyo barista, the team filled molds shaped like dress shirts and trousers with liters(gallons-) worth of steaming coffee, daubed it with foam and photographed its swirling surface.

“I like it when clothes tell a story,” Fujiwara said ahead of the display, held in the label’s central Paris showroom-which had been strewn with burlap bags of beans and a specially installed coffee bar. Shots of espresso, served up by harried baristas, got Paris’ four-day-long menswear shows off to a punchy, caffeinated start. —AP

he French capital’s menswear displays started with a caffeine rush on yesterday, as Japanese label Issey Miyake sent out a coffee-soaked fall-winter 2010-2011 collection.

Miyake creative director Dai Fujiwara looked to Japan’s coffee shops, drawing inspiration from their trademark gingham tablecloths, the baristas’ casual chic and even the fluid dynamics of cream mingling with a piping hot cup of joe. “After the crisis, I thought people needed a rest, a coffee break,” Fujiwara told The Associated Press in a pre-show interview. Fujiwara, who begins his weekdays with a cup of English Breakfast tea, said he sees coffee as a languorous, weekend pleasure.

“You go down to the coffee shop in comfy clothes, with a newspaper,” he said. One of the models, wearing a slouchy, bathrobe-inspired sweater with a rolled-up newspaper peeking out of the pocket, looked like Fujiwara’s

T

Models present creations by Japanese designer Issey Miyake during the Autumn Winter ready to wear fashion show yesterday in Paris.—AFP

For men next winter, macho sporty or retro classic? rom DSquared’s in-yourface ice hockey bully to Armani’s classic chic with a slightly retro feel, Italy’s top designers are cannily proposing a wide range of styles for men next winter. The DSquared twins Dean and Dan Caten did not disappoint on the final day of Milan’s men’s fashion week on Tuesday, offering a glam rock show featuring leather-clad models perched on high-heeled boots who were covered in sparkles or trailed ostrich feathers from their sleeves. And making a grand entrance, Tokyo Hotel singer Bill Kaulitz descended majestically in an elevator cage in a scene reminiscent of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

Drawing inspiration from ice hockey brawls, the Canadian twins painted black eyes and blood on the noses of bad-boy models wearing “blood-spattered” jerseys or a leather jacket over a bare torso daubed with a skull and crossbones. Sleeveless white shirts, their collars also apparently spotted with blood, came out over wide leather bermudas, accessorized with chains round the neck or waist, leather fingerless gloves, or wool rasta caps.

Italian duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana meanwhile took an alpine route, proposing

everyday living,” said the head of Italy’s fashion buyers’ association, Beppe Angiolini, confirming a notable return to simplicity since the 2007-08 financial crisis.

On Monday, Gucci offered

F

red, yellow and green ski pants as well as corduroy and even fur trousers for their D&G second line. Oversized mittens, tasseled wool caps pulled well down over the ears, chapkas or helmets sporting ski goggles atop the visor and sturdy boots completed the sporty outdoorsman look. Giorgio Armani dressed his models in more classical style, recalling the 1940s with Basque berets and trousers tucked into military boots or leather gaiters for a look suggesting wartime Resistance fighters.

The Italian icon also went for relaxed chic with warm and elegant fabrics such as cashmere, suede and velvet in fluid cuts.

“Today’s man wants fashion to suit

Models display creations as part of Dolce&Gabbana FallWinter 2010-2011 Menswear collection during the Men’s fashion week in Milan. —AFP

toned-down luxury with designer Frida Giannini going back to basics with camel-hair or velvet jackets over turtleneck sweaters and straight trousers. Opulence was suggested in details such as leather buttons and suede elbow patches. The collection was made up of items that are “easily interchangeable and made to last,” Gucci said. British designer John Richmond was on the same page, proposing comfortable simplicity in parkas with fur-lined hoods, down jackets and fuddy-duddy cardigans. The sports motif was strong with Kean Etro’s jogging pants topped with a plaid suitcoat, as well as jodphurs, oversized sweaters and floor-length scarves.—AFP (See Page 57)

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Fashion Chinese tourists splurge on French tax-free luxury hinese tourists to France increased their spending massively on tax-free luxury goods last year despite the economic crisis, overtaking cashstrapped Russians, a report found yesterday. The Chinese bought tax-free goods worth 158 million euros (222.5 million dollars) in France in 2009. That was an increase of 47 percent from the level the previous year, according to Global Refund, a company specializing in tax-free shopping for tourists.

The economic crisis caused Russians to curb their spending, which dropped by 22.7 percent to 111 million euros, according to the study, which was based on figures collected by stores partnering with Global Refund.

Chinese tourists spent on average 1,071 euros in tax-free goods last year, while Russians shelled out 1,055 euros each.

“The increase from the Chinese is not surprising.

What was unexpected was the fall in business done with the Russians,” Jean-Marc Leroy, director general of Global Refund France, told AFP. Tax-free shopping by Chinese tourists has been increasing for the last two years, rising by 39 percent in 2007 and 23.3 percent in 2008. They now represent 15 percent of sales and 13 percent of transactions. —AFP

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Member of German music band Tokio Hotel, Tom Kaulitz is flanked by designers Dean and Dan Caten.

—AFP

Models display creations by designers Dean and Dan Caten —AFP photos

Models display creations by Hong Kong designer Ameber Leung at the annual Hong Kong Fashion Week yesterday in Hong Kong. —AP

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Devils edge Panthers to close on East lead NHL

Canucks steal overtime win as Oilers fail again

NEWARK: The New Jersey Devils moved within a point of the NHL Eastern Conference lead with a 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

Martin Brodeur made 22 saves for his 108th NHL shutout and Travis Zajac scored the winning goal late in the second period as New Jersey won its first game in four. Dean McAmmond added an short-handed, empty-net goal in the final minute for the Atlantic Divisionleading Devils. Brodeur, the league’s career leader in wins and shutouts, earned his fifth shutout in 14 games.

Brodeur earned his 30th win of the season to move level with Patrick Roy with an NHL-record 13 seasons of at least 30 wins.

Blues 4, Canadiens 3, OT In Montreal, Andy McDonald scored 3:19 into overtime to lift St Louis over Montreal.

McDonald scored with a wrist shot into the top left corner after the Blues blew a 3-1 lead in the third period. Scott Gomez tied it for the Canadiens with only 33 seconds remaining in regulation.

Benoit Pouliot scored his second goal of the game midway through the third as Montreal rallied to earn a point after falling behind 2-0 just 3:35 in. David Perron and Paul Kariya scored 38 seconds apart in the first and Alex Steen added St. Louis’ third goal late in the opening period to give the Blues the 3-1 lead.

Canucks 3, Oilers 2, OT In Edmonton, Alberta, Daniel Sedin scored 1:39 into overtime and assisted on Vancouver’s two goals in regulation as the Canucks sent Edmonton to its ninth straight loss. Down by a goal late in the third period, the Canucks tied it 2-2 during a 4-on-3 power play. Sami Salo fired a shot from the point with 4:06 remaining to force overtime. Alex Burrows had the other goal for Vancouver. Sam Gagner and Sheldon Souray scored for the Oilers, who are in the midst of their worst losing streak since a 12-game skid in 2006-07. — AP

NEWARK: Andy Greene No.6 of the New Jersey Devils clears the puck against Rostislav Olesz No.85 of the Florida Panthers at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Panthers 2-0. — AFP

Brady, ‘Big Ben’ to miss Pro Bowl FOXBORO: New England quarterback Tom Brady and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play in the National Football League Pro Bowl all-star game, teams announced Wednesday. The Patriots, who typically do not give full injury details, said Brady will not play following final physical examinations after their first-round play-off loss to Baltimore. Brady played in every game for New England this season despite rib and finger injuries. Two-time

NFL Super Bowl champion quarterback Roethlisberger was the first alternate but turned down the starting job for the American Conference due to a right shoulder problem that developed late in the season.

Roethlisberger threw for a Steelersrecord 4,328 yards this season. Houston quarterback Matt Schaub will start for the American Conference against the National Conference. Also absent from the Pro Bowl will be Patriots receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Welker suffered a knee injury in the last game of the regular season against Houston. This year’s Pro Bowl will be played on January 31 at Miami at the site of the Super Bowl a week before the NFL championship game, rather than in Honolulu the week after the Super Bowl as has been the practice in recent years. — AFP

NHL results/standings Results and standings from NHL games on Wednesday. New Jersey 2, Florida 0; St. Louis 4, Montreal 3 (OT); Vancouver 3, Edmonton 2 (OT).

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L OTLGF GA PTS New Jersey 33 14 1 133 105 67 Pittsburgh 31 19 1 163 143 63 NY Rangers 24 19 7 135 133 55 NY Islanders 22 20 8 135 152 52 Philadelphia 24 21 3 148 140 51 Northeast Division Buffalo 30 12 6 138 113 66 Ottawa 26 21 4 142 151 56 Boston 23 17 8 123 121 54 Montreal 23 23 5 131 143 51 Toronto 17 25 9 137 177 43 Southeast Division Washington 31 12 6 185 138 68 Atlanta 22 20 7 153 159 51 Florida 21 21 8 141 151 50 Tampa Bay 19 20 10 127 154 48 Carolina 14 27 7 120 165 35 Western Conference Central Division Chicago 34 12 4 166 114 72 Nashville 29 17 3 140 136 61 Detroit 24 17 8 125 127 56 St Louis 22 20 7 130 139 51 Columbus 19 24 9 137 174 47 Northwest Division Colorado 28 15 6 147 135 62 Vancouver 29 18 2 158 121 60 Calgary 26 18 6 131 129 58 Minnesota 24 23 3 138 150 51 Edmonton 16 27 6 130 168 38 Pacific Division San Jose 33 10 8 171 125 74 Phoenix 28 17 5 133 129 61 Los Angeles 27 19 3 144 138 57 Dallas 21 17 11 141 157 53 Anaheim 23 20 7 143 158 53 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L).

Vikings prepare to face the noise in New Orleans MIAMI: The Minnesota Vikings know to expect a deafening atmosphere when they take on the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game at the Louisiana Superdome on Sunday, but insist they will be able to cope.

Returning to practice on Wednesday, the Vikings players trained with ear plugs and in front of speakers blasting out a loud simulation of the noise the 72,000 New Orleans fans could make.

Such is the volume inside the roofed Superdome that instructions from coach to quarterback and between the quarterback and his line are almost impossible in a traditional manner.

“We’ve practiced with noise piped in here,” said Vikings head coach Brad Childress.

“I’m not sure if I, or our players, have to sign a waiver in terms of any future hearing loss based on how we’re going to prepare today. You kind of ramp up to it, and do the communicating part.”

Childress recalled that during his time as quarterbacks coach with Philadelphia, the Eagles featured in an NFC Championship game in 2002 at the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis where there was also incredible noise. “I had to hand signal the last three plays to Donovan McNabb in a game where I couldn’t hear (head coach) Andy Reid talking in my ear. Donovan couldn’t hear me. “Communication; that’s the significant part of the challenge. None of those 70,000 people will come on the field and have anything to do with the win or the loss. It’s like the Coliseum. It will be the people in-between the lines,” he said.

BIG FACTOR Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has no doubt that the atmosphere will be a big factor in the game. “These games, they’re tough anyway, but they’re really tough on the road, because of the noise. Not only are you playing the

Saints, but you’re playing the fans, and all of those things work against you,” said the 40year-old.

“I’ll emphasize that during the week. We’ll practice as much like a game as possible with those elements, but there’s no substitute for the game itself,” he said.

Running back Adrian Peterson said the Superdome has the highest volume of noise of any stadium he has experienced. “Playing there (last year) it was definitely the loudest stadium I’ve played in,” he said. “So it’s going to be very crucial for us to be sound with our protections and communicating out there.”

The Superdome has never hosted the Saints in an NFC Championship game and the home team’s quarterback Drew Brees says the volume has been rising week by week.

“It seems like every week this year as we won one and then one more the atmosphere got crazier and crazier, and I would expect nothing less on Sunday,” he said. — Reuters

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Jazz extends dominance over Spurs SAN ANTONIO: Carlos Boozer had 31 points and 13 rebounds, leading the Utah Jazz to a fourth victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA this season, winning 105-98 on Wednesday.

The Jazz hadn’t won in San Antonio in a decade entering this season, but Utah can now claim two road wins over the Spurs. This one wasn’t easy, but Utah prevailed in a game of wild swings. Manu Ginobili scored 22 points for the Spurs, who used a 25-0 run in the first half to dig themselves out of their own 12-0 deficit. The Jazz then clawed their way back, and had the endurance to hang on.

Andrei Kirilenko scored 26 points for Utah.

Hornets 113, Grizzlies 111 In New Orleans, James Posey scored on a driving layup with 1.1seconds left to lift New Orleans over Memphis. Chris Paul scored 10 of his 21 points in the last 4:20 for New Orleans, and also had 13 assists.

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 26 points.

Bobcats 104, Heat 65 In Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte recorded its most lopsided victory in team history, routing Miami.

Stephen Jackson scored 24 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Bobcats completed a 6-0 homestand.

Miami’s Dwayne Wade scored 16 points, but shot 3 for 12 and committed four fouls in the first half while getting outplayed by Jackson. The Heat shot 29 percent. The 39-point victory topped Charlotte’s 35-point rout of Toronto in November for the largest margin of victory in franchise history. The Bobcats improved to an NBA-best 9-1 since the start of the new year.

They shot a franchise-best 82 percent in the first quarter, and led by 27 at halftime.

Pistons 92, Celtics 86 In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Rodney Stuckey scored 27 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds to help Detroit to a surprise win over Boston.

Charlie Villanueva added 19 points for Detroit. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo each scored 21 points for Boston, which has lost three straight for the second time in less than a month.

Mavericks 94, Wizards 93 In Washington, Shawn Marion blocked Caron Butler’s jump shot with 1.9 seconds to play, as Dallas edged Washington and extended its streak of victories in one-point games to nine. Tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history, the Mavericks haven’t lost a one-point game for three years. Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and Jason Terry added 21 for the Mavericks. Randy Foye led Washington with 26 points.

Hawks 108, Kings 97 In Atlanta, the hosts bounced back from a sluggish start to hand Sacramento its fifth

straight loss. Jamal Crawford scored 20 points to top the Southeast Division-leading Hawks. Tyreke Evans led Sacramento with 24 points.

Magic 109, Pacers 98 In Orlando, Florida, Orlando won its first game in four, overcoming Indiana. Dwight Howard had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Matt Barnes added 16 rebounds, 10 points and six assists to help the streaky Magic build a 29-point first half lead. The Pacers got within 8 points with 6:45 remaining, but no closer.

Granger topped Indiana with 25 points.

Trail Blazers 98, 76ers 90 In Philadelphia, guard Andre Miller scored 24 points against his old team to lead Portland over Philadelphia.

Jerryd Bayless had 14 of his 18 in the fourth quarter for Portland, which was without Bradon Roy in the second half because of a hamstring strain.

Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 23 points.

Nuggets 123, Warriors 118, OT In Oakland, California, Denver made it four straight wins by sinking Golden State in overtime. Chauncey Billups matched his career high with 37 points, including 10 in overtime. Monta Ellis had 39 points and 10 assists for Golden State.

Bucks 113, Raptors 107 In Milwaukee, Andrew Bogut had 27 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out, helping Milwaukee hold off Toronto. Chris Bosh had a career-high 44 points and added 12 rebounds for Toronto.

Clippers 104, Bulls 97 In Los Angeles, Baron Davis scored 11 of his 23 points in the final 3:52 to lift Los Angeles over Chicago. Marcus Camby had a season-high 25 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won eight of their past nine home games. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 23 points.

Thunder 94, Timberwolves 92 In Minneapolis, Oklahoma City passed last season’s wins total of 23 by edging Minnesota.

Kevin Durant had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Green added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder.

Corey Brewer had 25 points, six assists and five rebounds for Minnesota.

Suns 118, Nets 94 In Phoenix, the hosts won to drop New Jersey to 0-17 against Western Conference teams this season.

Jason Richardson scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for Phoenix.

Seven-foot twins Robin Lopez of the Suns and Brook of the Nets started against each other for the first time in their two NBA seasons. Robin set a career best for the second time in two games with 20 points.

Brook led New Jersey with 26 points and 13 rebounds. — AP

Bobcats pounce for 104-65 win over Heat

MILWAUKEE: Toronto Raptors’ Sonny Weems (24) and Milwaukee Bucks’ Charlie Bell (42) and Andrew Bogut (6) contest a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010. — AP

NBA results/standings WASHINGTON: Results and standings after Wednesday’s National Basketball Association games: Atlanta 108, Sacramento 97; Charlotte 104, Miami 65; Orlando 109, Indiana 98; Portland 98, Philadelphia 90; Dallas 94, Washington 93; Detroit 92, Boston 86; Milwaukee 113, Toronto 107; Oklahoma City 94, Minnesota 92; New Orleans 113, Memphis 111; Phoenix 118, New Jersey 94; Utah 105, San Antonio 98; Denver 123, Golden State 118 (OT); LA Clippers 104, Chicago 97.

Boston Toronto NY Knicks Philadelphia New Jersey Cleveland Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Indiana Atlanta Orlando Charlotte Miami Washington

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L PCT 27 13 .675 21 22 .488 17 24 .415 13 28 .317 3 38 .073 Central Division 32 11 .744 18 22 .450 17 23 .425 15 26 .366 14 28 .333 Southeast Division 27 14 .659 27 15 .643 21 19 .525 21 20 .512 14 27 .341

GB 7.5 10.5 14.5 24.5

Denver Portland Oklahoma City Utah Minnesota

12.5 13.5 16 17.5

LA Lakers Phoenix LA Clippers Sacramento Golden State

.5 5.5 6 13

Dallas San Antonio Houston New Orleans Memphis

Western Conference Northwest Division 27 14 .659 26 17 .605 24 18 .571 24 18 .571 9 34 .209 pacific division 32 9 .780 25 18 .581 19 22 .463 15 26 .366 12 28 .300 Southwest Division 28 14 .667 25 16 .610 23 18 .561 22 19 .537 22 19 .537

2 3.5 3.5 19 8 13 17 19.5 2.5 4.5 5.5 5.5

Pacquiao trainer ponders Mayweather gameplan NEW YORK: Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has welcomed the challenge of devising a gameplan for fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr if a showdown between the greatest pound-for-pound boxers can be arranged. The much-anticipated clash collapsed in negotiations over Mayweather’s demands for random Olympic-style blood testing. Roach was at Madison Square Garden to promote Pacquiao’s March 13 WBO welterweight title defense against former champion Joshua Clottey of Ghana, but the bespectacled trainer was happy to talk about tactics for a possible Mayweather fight. “We

watched some tapes,” Roach told reporters. “His style gives us difficulties. He doesn’t like to engage that much.” Pacquiao, 50-3-2 and the only man to hold world titles in seven

Boxing different weight classes, is a brawler in the ring, while Mayweather (40-0) is a supremely skilled boxer. “It would be a very scientific fight. The smartest guy wins that fight, not the strongest guy,” Roach said. “I don’t like him that much, but he’s a great fighter and is good at what he does. It was a big

challenge. And we wanted that big challenge. Hopefully, it will happen some day.”

Roach said getting at the slick Mayweather was the trick. “You have to really set traps for him. When you catch him in the corner or on the ropes, you’ve got to really take advantage of it. Break the body down. “Really press him and see if he really is that gym rat that trains so hard. Can he fight a fast-paced fight for 12 rounds? He fights at his own pace. You can’t let him be comfortable.

“You’ve got to force him. But you can’t go straight in, because he’s a great counter-puncher. “The game plan has to be perfect.” — Reuters

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Federer shows he’s still king of centre court MELBOURNE: Roger Federer’s straight sets demolition of Romanian Victor Hanescu yesterday served a timely reminder to the men who would be king that on centre court he still rules supreme. Federer’s patchy form in the leadup to the Australian Open had given fresh hope to his rivals while a shaky first-round victory over Igor Andreev on

Tuesday did little to silence talk of new dynasties.

But in front of Prince William and a large audience at the Rod Laver Arena, the world number one turned in a majestic performance. “He was happy he could make it,” Federer said of the prince, whose appearance in the stadium drew loud cheers from spectators. “I think he’s had a very busy

schedule the last few days.

He shook a lot of hands, and I knew mine was one more.”

The 15-times grand slam champion seemed in a hurry to dispatch the hapless Hanescu, who suffered the full brunt of his opponent’s return to form.

Federer needed only an hour and 39 minutes to advance to the third round with 52 winners. A quick

post-match chat with Prince William prompted other questions about Federer’s royal exchanges. Had he met other royal family members at Wimbledon, asked one journalist? “Well, the ones on court at the trophy ceremony,” he quipped. “Do those count for you, or not?

Chatty-wise, no, I don’t recall. English breakfast tea?

No, not yet.” Federer next

plays Albert Montanes, a man he has beaten on both previous meetings.

Rafa Nadal, the man who beat him last year for the title and dethroned him from the number one ranking for a time, may yet lie in wait in the final. “He struggled lately against the top 10 players from what I’ve heard,” said Federer “Still, he’s not the type of guy that

anyone in the top 10 wants to play against.” Federer, who worked hard to wrest the top ranking back from Nadal last year, said he wished his reign to last forever, and would not be deposed lightly.

“It’s something that you just hope it’s gonna last as long as possible,” he said. “If you lose your ranking, you hope to get it back.” — Reuters

Serena, Venus answer Belgian challenge in style American Bertsch surges 2 ahead at Hope Classic

Merciless Serena lays down the gauntlet MELBOURNE: Serena and Venus Williams answered the challenge of Belgian pair Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin in emphatic fashion yesterday as they both crushed second round opponents at the Australian Open. Serena demolished Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1 on the Hisense Arena, immediately after Venus had disposed of crafty Austrian Sybille Bammer 6-2, 7-5 on the same court.

However, former world number one Ana Ivanovic showed just how far she has fallen as she was bundled out by unseeded Argentine Gisele Dulko 67 (6/8), 7-5, 6-4.

On a good day for the seeded players, fourth ranked Dane Caroline Wozniacki crushed German Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-1, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (seeded seven) beat Swiss teenager Stefanie Voegele 6-4, 6-0 and Russia’s Vera Zvonareva (nine) smashed Czech Iveta Benesova 6-0, 6-3. But it was Serena who impressed most as she wiped out the challenge of 19-year-old Kvitova in only 67 minutes.

Kvitova matched it with Williams for five games in the first set before the world number one stepped up a gear and blitzed her way through the rest of the match.

Williams, a four-time champion here, warned she would only get better from here. “I thought today was a little bit better than my match in my first round,” Williams said. “I felt like I was moving better and I had better energy-just felt all around a lot better. “(But) I felt like I could have actually played a lot better today.” Meanwhile, Venus said she was now playing a style of attacking tennis that naturally suits her after she powered past Bammer.

Bammer’s game plan seemed to be to try and get

the ball back into play as much as possible and wait for her opponent to make a mistake, and this tactic worked on occasions as Williams hit 25 unforced errors over two sets. But the American sixth seed also blasted 32 winnersmany of them coming at the net-to Bammer’s four to underline her superiority. The seventime Grand Slam winner has never won the Australian Open and she would likely have to get past Wozniacki in the quarters and Serena in the semis to have a shot in 2010.

But the nature of her wins over Lucie Safarova in the first round and Bammer in the second indicate she has as good a chance as anyone of lifting the trophy.

She said she was playing a brand of attacking tennis this week that she enjoys.

“For the most part I’m enjoying coming in (to the net) a lot,” she said. “I mean, it feels pretty natural for me to come in, I like that. That’s good for me.” If anyone can stop the Williams juggernaut it could well be 2009 US Open runner up Wozniacki.

She was highly impressive in her win over Goerges, breaking the German once in the first set and twice in the second.

Her powerful groundstrokes were devastating, and she served far better than in her first round match. “It was a good match and I’m happy to be through,” she said. “I am definitely happy with my form, now I hope I get a day off tomorrow and relax a little bit, have a short practice and then I’ll be ready for my third round.” Thirteenth seed Samantha Stosur kept Australian hopes alive as she beat German Kristina Barrois 7-5. 6-3, while China’s Li Na joined countrywoman Zheng Jie in the third round when she beat Hungary’s Agnes Szavay 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. — AF

MELBOURNE: Serena Williams of the United States returns to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic during their Women’s singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia yesterday. — AP

Alleged Tiger details emerge NEW YORK: Tiger Woods has been photographed leaving a sex rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi, according to the National Enquirer, which on Wednesday published what it claimed was a photograph of the troubled golf star. If real, the picturewhich shows a man with a black hooded jacket over his head and shoulders-would be the first new image of Woods since a November 27 traffic accident outside his Florida home.

Woods has not been seen in public since the crash, which led the star to admit marital infidelity. More than a dozen women have claimed to have been his lovers. Woods has taken an indefinite leave from golf and, according to undisclosed sources cited by two television

stations, has checked into a Hattiesburg, Mississippi, sex rehabilitation clinic. The Enquirer reported that Woods’s wife Elin threatened to take their two children to Sweden unless the golfer went to the clinic.

The report also claimed Woods will face a “disclosure day” when he must admit to his wife every affair. A report by the HollywoodLife website purported to outline the treatment schedule patients at the facility face, according to an undisclosed inside source. A routine day consists of intense group therapy sessions, doctor evaluations and psychological analysis. A typical stay lasts six weeks and a celibacy contract upon entry bans patients from sex with others or masturbation. — AFP

LOS ANGELES: Shane Bertsch, who has bounced between the PGA Tour and its satellite circuit over the last 15 years, charged into a two-shot lead in the Bob Hope Classic first round at La Quinta, California on Wednesday. Making the most of receptive greens on a surprisingly cool day in the desert, American Bertsch fired a sizzling 10-under-par 62 on the Nicklaus Private course at PGA West, one of four venues hosting the five-round pro-am celebrity event.

Rookie Alex Prugh, making only his third appearance on the PGA Tour, and fellow American Jeff Quinney recorded matching 64s on the same Nicklaus layout.

Tour veteran JP Hayes launched his season in fine style with an eight-birdie 65 on the Palmer Private course, finishing level with fellow Americans Garrett Willis, George McNeill and Joe Ogilvie.

Willis started out on the Nicklaus layout, McNeill began at La Quinta Country Club and Ogilvie toured the Palmer course. “It was just one of those rounds where everything kind of flowed together,” Bertsch, 39, told reporters after compiling successive loops of five-under 31 in a flawless display. “I hadn’t played the course since the late ‘90s. I didn’t know really what to expect. I didn’t do anything over the top great. My game was pretty solid all the way around.” Bertsch, a highly promising tennis player as a junior, has had just five seasons on the PGA Tour since qualifying for the first time at the end of 1995.

LONG WAY Fresh from his third visit to the Tour’s qualifying school last month, he knows there is a still a long way to go before he can even contemplate a breakthrough victory. “I got a feel for it (the lead) but there are four more rounds and there’s going to be (wet) weather and three different courses,” he said. “I’m just going to go out and play.”

Prugh, who qualified for the PGA Tour by finishing 16th in the Nationwide Tour money list last year, felt he had benefited hugely from the experience gained on the US feeder circuit. “I’m going to give credit to the Nationwide Tour,” the 25-year-old American said after recording four birdies in his last five holes as the wind strengthened. “We don’t have as big a fan base and what-not, but the level of competition, I think, is just as good (as the PGA Tour).” The California coast is being battered by high winds and heavy rain this week and wet weather has been forecast for the next two rounds of the 90-hole event. Players were permitted to lift, clean and place balls in the fairway for the opening round. “It was moist, it wasn’t wet,” double PGA Tour winner Hayes said of Wednesday’s conditions.

“It’s probably more in anticipation of what might come than what was (there) today.” — Reuters

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Mishra bowls India to victory in Chittagong Bangladesh Mushfiqur hits maiden test century CHITTAGONG: Legspinner Amit Mishra grabbed four second session wickets as India completed a 113-run victory over hosts Bangladesh in the first test yesterday.

Bangladesh wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim (101) was last man out following his maiden test century, Mishra having him caught by substitute fielder Pragyan Ojha at long-off as the hosts were all out for 301.

Mushfiqur’s century, in which he struck 17 fours and a six, was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing batting performance by the hosts.

Bangladesh resumed the final day on 67-2 chasing an unlikely 415 for victory but they were reduced to 136-5 at lunch after Virender Sehwag dismissed Tamim Iqbal for 52 and Ishant Sharma claimed the wickets of Mohammad Ashraful and Raqibul Hassan. Mishra (4-92) then set to work wrapping up the bulk of the tail.

First he had Shakib Al Hasan (17) caught by Sehwag at silly point after the ball popped up off the shoulder of the bat, then

Shahadat Hossain (24) clean bowled and Shafiul Islam (8) went after he drilled a catch back to the bowler.

Zaheer Khan claimed the other wicket of Mahmudullah for 20 after he was caught by Dinesh Karthik. “They did not bat well. I think they bowled well in the first innings because the conditions were helping. But we batted well in the second innings. We put 400 runs on the board. It wasdifficult for Bangladesh to chase those runs,” said Sehwag.

Sehwag led India in the game in the absence of injured regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Bangladesh’s top-scorer Rahim said the first session on the fifth day proved decisive. “We lost the match to a great extent in the first session after the fall of wickets of Tamim and Ashraful,” he said. “If we could have got through the first session, they would have been under a lot of pressure in the next two sessions.” India, the number one ranked test team, can wrap up a series win in the second and final test which begins in Dhaka on Jan 24.—Reuters

CHITTAGONG: India’s Sachin Tendulkar holds the man of the match trophy after India won the first cricket test match of a two test series against Bangladesh in Chittagong yesterday. —AP

Scoreboard Scoreboard at the end of the first test between India and Bangladesh at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.

India beat Bangladesh by 113 runs.

India 243 (S. Tendulkar 105 not out, V. Sehwag 52; S. Al Hasan 562, S. Hossain 5-71) Bangladesh 242 all out (Mahmudullah 69) India second innings 413-8 declared (G. Gambhir 116, V. Laxman 69 not out, A. Mishra 50) Bangladesh second innings (overnight 67-2) T. Iqbal c Dravid b Sehwag 52 I. Kayes c Karthik b Zaheer 1 S. Nafees c Sehwag b Ishant 21 M. Ashraful c Dravid b Ishant 27 R. Hassan lbw b Ishant 13 S. Hasan c Sehwag b Mishra 17 M. Rahim c sub b Mishra 101 Mahmudullah c Karthik b Zaheer 20 S. Hossain b Mishra 24 S. Islam c & b Mishra 8 R. Hossain not out 4 Extras (b-4 lb-3 n-6) 13 Total (all out; 75.2 overs) 301 Fall of wickets: 1-8 2-47 3-79 4-97 5-135 6-145 7-170 8-230 9-258 10-301 Bowling: Zaheer 20-5-90-2, Sreesanth 12.2-0-53-0 (nb-3), Ishant 15-4-48-3, Mishra 22.2-3-92-4 (n-3) Sehwag 4-1-7-1, Yuvraj 1.41-4-0.

T20 leagues ‘a virus’: Pakistan’s Miandad KARACHI: Former Pakistani international batsman Javed Miandad yesterday warned lucrative Twenty20 leagues were “a virus” which threatened to kill off Test cricket. Miandad said the leagues offered such good money that playing international cricket-particularly the long form of the game-was becoming less attractive, calling on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to step in.

“Twenty20 cricket is a virus and if the ICC doesn’t restrict matches of this format it will finish Test cricket as leading players will no longer want to play for their country,” Miandad, who played 124 Tests for Pakistan said. Twenty20 cricket, the shortest form of the game, is rapidly gaining popularity among players and spectators, with huge money on offer in the recognized Indian Premier League (IPL) and the rebel Indian Cricket League. “Some of the Australian players could have represented their country longer but retired to play T20 leagues two years ago,” Miandad said.

“When Twenty20 cricket started I had smelled this format will damage cricket, now the game will not see quality players as they are now more

attuned to play the big-hitting game than the traditional and classical way. “With the introduction of Twenty20 leagues, the notion that ‘country comes first’ is also hit for six because when there is a choice between national duty and more money, players will choose money. “I sincerely pray that T20 cricket is restricted, otherwise the game will suffer badly.” Miandad’s reaction came after 11 Pakistani players were snubbed at the IPL player auction in Mumbai on Tuesday.

None of the eight Indian franchises bid for Pakistani players-apparently because they were not sure of their availability due to visa and other problems. “Pakistani players should not be bothered about IPL,” said Miandad. “They must concentrate on their national duties as country always comes first,” added Miandad, who also voiced concern that India was becoming too powerful in world cricket. “I fear a day will come when world cricket will be run by India alone, so I fear if Australia, England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies don’t realise this, world cricket will be at the mercy of India,” he said. —AFP

India, Pakistan trade barbs over cricket NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan are trading diplomatic barbs over cricket in the latest setback to efforts to improve relations between the two nuclear rivals, who have had strained ties since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. An auction of players at the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket tournament, ended with no bids for 11 Pakistanis this week amid fears Indian teams could have visa problems for the Pakistani cricketers.

Pakistan, always sensitive to any hint of a snub by its neighbour, was furious. Some of the Pakistani players who failed to get a bid from the Indian sides are considered world class, such as all-rounder Shahid Afridi. Indian TV stations aired pictures of straw effigies of IPL chief Lalit Modi burning on Pakistani streets yesterday. “I want to make it clear that whether it is India or any other country in the world, their citizens would have to face (the) same behavior as meted out to our people,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quoted by Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency as saying on Wednesday.

The Indian government dismissed Pakistan’s concerns, saying visas had been issued to 17 Pakistani players. “Pakistan should introspect on the reasons which have put a strain on relations between India and Pakistan, and have adversely impacted on peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” a foreign ministry statement said. Tensions have mounted in recent weeks following a spate of border skirmishes and a spike in separatist violence in Indian Kashmir by Pakistan-based militant groups.

The deterioration comes at a bad time for the region. India’s and Pakistan’s foreign ministers are both due to attend a meeting in London next week where leading Western powers will focus on a new plan for Afghanistan. “The IPL gives Pakistan an additional issue to prepare its ground that India is unfriendly, and such things will vitiate the atmosphere (of the London meeting),” said B G Verghese, a professor with the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research.

The United States is trying to get India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars since their independence from Britain, to reduce tensions so Islamabad can concentrate on fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on its western border.

But improvements in ties between the South Asian rivals remains limited as India refuses to resume fiveyear-long peace talks unless Islamabad reins in militants on its soil blamed for carrying out the Mumbai strikes that killed 166 people. Many Pakistanis say their country is making progress against the militants, and see India’s reluctance to engage Islamabad as unhelpful for the region.

While many Pakistanis remain obsessed with New Delhi’s every move, a section in India is simply not as bothered with their rival as in the past as the Asian giant becomes more focused on the expanding the $1.2 trillion economy and ties with China. A new war is unlikely. —Reuters

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Russians shock the world champs to win Euro gold TALLINN: Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov upset the world champions to win gold in the pairs at the European figure skating championships on Wednesday, while Yevgeny Plushenko stole the show in the men’s event. Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy had been seeking their fourth successive continental crown but a stumble on the throw triple flip and a double salchow instead of a triple ruined their chances.

The Russian pair, who were runners-up last year and trailed the Germans after the short program, were lightfooted and perfectly in time in a very technical free program that brought their rattlewaving fans to their feet. “It was very unexpected but very nice,” Smirnov said in a rinkside interview after a win that came three weeks before the Vancouver Olympics. The Russians, who made a small error on their triple toeloop, scored 213.15 points compared to the Germans’ 211.72.

Russia’s Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov took bronze for the second year in a row with 202.03.

“Of course we are little bit disappointed, but not too much; of course we came here to win and to skate clean. We did some small mistakes but the rest of the program was quite good,” Szolkowy told a news conference. Kavaguti, who gave up her up Japanese citizenship to skate for Russia, said she had enjoyed hearing her new national anthem on the podium but added: “Next time I want to sing it.”

OLYMPIC INTENT The day’s main talking point, however, was Plushenko marking his return to major competition with a record score in the short program, sending a clear message of intent before Vancouver. The Russian broke the record he set on his way to gold at the 2006 Turin Olympics-the last big event he skated in before taking a break. With a rousing program that included a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, the 27year-old scored 91.30 points, surpassing the record of 90.66 he set four years ago.

French holder Brian Joubert, who had spectators clapping and stamping along, was in second with 88.55 and compatriot Yannick Ponsero was third with 82.40 before yesterday’s free skate. Swiss former double world champion Stephane Lambiel’s comeback was not as successful as Plushenko’s. — Reuters

Plushenko sets record in short program to lead on return

TALLINN: Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti (top) and Alexander Smirnov perform their free program at the ISU European figure skating championships in Tallinn, Estonia. — AP

Russian skating champions’ dance offends Aborigines CANBERRA: Australian Aboriginal elders accused Russian world figure skating champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin yesterday of stealing an Aboriginal dance idea and causing serious cultural offence. The Russian pair, favorites to win gold at next month’s Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, unveiled an Aboriginal-themed dance at a performance in St Petersburg three weeks ago.

The performance included ceremonial dance steps and dark bodysuits adorned with indigenous painted swirls in white, red loin cloths and eucalyptus-style leaves in bunches.

“It’s very offensive. We see it as stealing Aboriginal culture, and it is yet another example of the Aboriginal people of Australia being exploited,” Sol Bellear of

the New South Wales state Aboriginal Land Council told Reuters.

“It’s been absolutely stolen without our permission and without consultation of the relevant dance groups within Aboriginal Australia.” Domnina, 25, and Shabalin, 27, were world champions in 2009 and European champions in 2008, as well as three-time Russian national champions. They recently told the iceskating website Golden Skate that they created the new dance routine as something different after watching Aboriginal dance routines over the Internet.

“We did not want to create another Slavic dance and have considered a lot of options, including Scottish folk,” Domnina said. “Eventually we settled on this one. I thought it was just crazy,

but once we tried it, we immediately fell in love with it.” Australia’s 460,000 Aborigines make up about 2 percent of the population. They suffer higher rates of unemployment, substance abuse and domestic violence, and have a life expectancy 17 years shorter than other Australians. Bellear, whose organization aims to protect the interests and aspirations of Aboriginals in Australia’s most populous state, said he would be writing to Russia’s ambassador in Canberra to protest about the dance. “It may be very offensive to an Aboriginal group. It may be that they have based this on a ceremony that is strictly for men or strictly for women, and these are important things,” he said. “It’s not just intellectual property. It’s straight-out cultural theft.” — Reuters

Figure Queen leads S Korea’s largest Winter Games squad SEOUL: South Korea is pinning hopes on figure skating sensation Kim Yu-Na to broaden its challenge beyond speed skating at next month’s Winter Olympics, the Korean Olympic Committee said yesterday. The 19-yearold world champion will lead the country’s largest ever Winter Olympics squad of 26 men and 19 women, who will compete in skating, skiing, biathlon, bobsled and skeleton at the February 12-28 games in Vancouver. “We hope Yu-na will bring the country’s first gold outside of speed skating,” said KOC spokesman Kim TaeHyung.

“We’ve been struggling to diversify our entry into the Winter Games.”

As part of the effort a bobsled team is making its debut after the four-man team qualified for the Olympics for the first time. Yu-na, dubbed the “Figure Queen” by South Korean media, has dominated her discipline for the past two seasons by combining stunning jumps and artistry.

She scored 207.71 points in the world championships in Los Angeles in March last year, the first time the 200point mark has ever been topped. South Korea ranked seventh at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, with six golds, three silvers and one bronze-all from speed skating events.

Its hopes in Vancouver are more modest. The spokesman said it expects to take home five golds-one in women’s figure skating, three in men’s speed skating and one in women’s speed skating.

“China has emerged as a strong competitor in the women’s short track speed skating, where we won three golds in the past,” he said.

“This time, we expect to win only one or two at best.”

South Korea was Asia’s strongest competitor in Turin.

A good showing in Vancouver could boost a bid by the northeastern town of Pyeongchang to host the Winter Olympics in 2018.

Pyeongchang lost out to Vancouver for the 2010 games and to Sochi in Russia for 2014.

South Korea’s bobsledders are determined to make their mark, despite difficulties that Yonhap news agency compared to the Jamaica team in the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings.” There are just four of them and they have only two sleds for international competitions, the agency reported last month. They must fly to Salt Lake City in Utah to train since there is no sledding course in South Korea. And when competing in Europe, they hurtle down the chutes on borrowed sleds because they lack the money to ship their own back and forth, it said. — AFP

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Sevilla crush Deportivo 3-0 MADRID: Sevilla were on course for a place in the King’s Cup semi-finals after crushing Deportivo Coruna 3-0 at the Riazor in their last-eight first leg match on Wednesday. Getafe also took control of their quarter-final with a 2-1 victory at Real Mallorca. The other two first legs was to be played yesterday when Atletico Madrid host second division Celta Vigo and Osasuna visit Racing Santander. The 2007 winners Sevilla, who knocked out holders Barcelona last week, took a 26th-minute lead when Alvaro Negredo raced on to a Jesus Navas chip over the top to head the opener.

Juan Rodriguez headed against the post for Depor but it was Renato who doubled the visitors’ lead, nodding in after good work from Diego Perotti in the 67th. Two minutes later, Negredo burst down the right and pulled back for Navas to stroke in the third. “We needed a game like this and I hope it will be the start of a new run of form,” Negredo told Canal Plus television. Sevilla had lost their previous three games.

At the Ono Estadi, secondhalf goals from Manu del Moral and new Venezuelan signing Nicolas Fedor, known as ‘Miku’, gave the 2007 and 2008 finalists Getafe a comfortable lead over Mallorca. But the islanders staged a late rally, pulling one back through Uruguayan striker Gonzalo Castro in stoppagetime, though it was not enough to maintain their 100 percent home record this season.

Mallorca, fourth in La Liga, are the highest-placed team left in the competition with Barca, Real Madrid and Valencia all knocked out. —Reuters

Sevilla, Getafe take control in King’s Cup

FLORENCE: Adrian Mutu scored twice and created a third Wednesday to help Fiorentina knock defending champion Lazio out of the Italian Cup with a 3-2 win. The Romanian scored both his goals in the first half and then set up Per Kroldrup for the winner in the 58th. Lazio pulled within a goal twice, as Mauro Zarate made it 2-1 in the 50th and his strike partner Tommaso Rocchi netted in the 68th. However, despite continued pressure, Lazio was unable to find an equalizer.

Italian Cup

LA CORUNA: Deportivo Coruna’s defender Piscu (left) heads the ball with Sevilla’s midfielder from Ivory Coast Christian Ndri Romaric during their Spanish King’s Cup football match at the Riazor Stadium in Coruna, northwestern Spain. —AFP

Bordeaux and Marseille save face as Lille run ends PARIS: French title rivals Bordeaux and Marseille both overcame scares against lowly opposition on Wednesday but there was a surprise defeat for high-flying Lille. Bordeaux had to come from a goal down to win 3-1 at 10-man bottom club Grenoble, while Marseille also overcame an early deficit to defeat Le Mans 2-1. Lille, who went into their game at Sochaux on a run of eight straight wins in all competitions, succumbed to a 2-0 reverse - their first since November 22 - while Lyon hit back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 at Lorient.

Bordeaux increase their lead at the summit by a point, with Montpellier climbing to second after winning 1-0 at Lens via a late Victor Montano effort. Lille fall to third, a place above Marseille, who trail

Mutu’s double lifts Fiorentina over Lazio

Bordeaux by 11 points with a game in hand and lead Lyon, fifth, Monaco, sixth, and Auxerre, seventh, on goal difference. Grenoble produced a storming first-half showing against Bordeaux and took the lead in first-half injury-time when home skipper Laurent Batlles cracked an unstoppable strike into the top-right corner

the champions were ahead.

Left-back Benoit Tremoulinas set up Yoan Gouffran for the equalizer, with Marouane Chamakh heading home Benoit Chalme’s centre in the 56th minute and Fernando Cavenaghi making sure of the points seven minutes from time.

“The score of 3-1 was a bit

French League Roundup from 22 yards.

But Bordeaux, held 1-1 at home to Marseille in their last outing, were gifted a foothold in the game when Grenoble midfielder Jimmy Juan was shown a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Jussie barely two minutes after the break. In less than 10 minutes

flattering,” conceded Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc. “And even though I’m disappointed by the manner of victory, it was a good result in terms of the table.” Third-bottom Le Mans took a shock 16th-minute lead at Marseille through Anthony Le Tallec but captain Mamadou Niang struck twice to earn

victory for Didier Deschamps’s charges. Lille fell behind in the eighth minute against Sochaux when Damien Perquis headed in from a corner and three minutes later Stephane Dalmat made it 2-0 by finishing off a one-man counter-attack with a sumptuous lob.

The visitors spurned the chance to pull one back before half-time when Yohan Cabaye saw his penalty pushed away by Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert and although Robert Vittek did reduce the arrears, Lille were unable to prevent their exhilarating streak of form coming to an end. “The end of our run is irrelevant,” said Lille manager Rudi Garcia. “We knew that it wouldn’t last until the end of the championship.

What’s more annoying is that the other teams at the top won.” —AFP

Fiorentina will now play the winner between Inter Milan and Juventus, who play on Jan 28.

Zarate had a chance to open the scoring in the second minute, but Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey made a desperate save with his feet. Fiorentina took the lead in the ninth, when Alberto Gilardino hit a low cross from the right and Mutu fired past Lazio keeper Fernando Muslera. Rocchi had a great chance in the 28th, but despite being one on one with Frey, the Frenchman made a sharp save at the near post.

Mutu doubled his tally a minute before the break, and Gilardino was again the provider. He cut the ball back from the edge of the area so that Mutu could fire in from the edge of the area. Lazio drew level five minutes into the second half.

Zarate raced into the area and hit a shot that deflected off Kroldrup and looped over Frey. Fiorentina reestablished its two-goal lead eight minutes later. Riccardo Montolivio swung across a corner, Mutu played it on and Kroldrup raced in to head home at the far post. Lazio scored its second in the 68th.

Pasquale Foggia slipped a pass into Rocchi who turned Kroldrup and shot low past Frey. —AP

China soccer boss held in matchfixing probe BEIJING: The head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has been taken in for questioning by police investigating matchfixing in the country’s troubled professional game, state media reported yesterday. Nan Yong, who took over as head of the CFA one year ago, was taken away by a police investigative group who were probing a series of matchfixing scandals, Xinhua news agency reported on its website (www.xinhuanet.com.), citing Ministry of Public Security officials. CFA vice president Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, who was formerly in charge of referee arrangements, were also taken in by police, the newspaper added. Zhang now oversees women’s soccer at the CFA. The three were questioned by police to “clarify some facts in several important cases of soccer gambling and illegal manipulating domestic soccer league games by using business bribery”, the Xinhua report said. Jia Xiuquan, former head coach of Chinese Super League (CSL) club Shanghai Shenhua, was also questioned by police, the Beijing Times said yesterday. The CFA has cancelled at least two meetings which were to be attended by Nan and Yang, while arranging other officials to take charge of their jobs, the Soccer News said. Nobody at the CFA was immediately available to comment.

At least 21 officials, players and club managers, including Xu Hongtao, the president of Chengdu Blades, owned by England’s Sheffield United, have been arrested or detained in the past two month on suspicion of matchfixing or gambling, which is illegal in China. A local court sentenced former Liaoning player Lu Dong to jail for three years for gambling, the Beijing News said on Thursday. Lu Dong was not involved in matchfixing. The probe into matchfixing followed a string of comments in recent months by top Communist Party officials on the need to clean up the men’s professional game in China, which is widely perceived as being riven with corruption. —Reuters

Draw lifts comeback kings Cameroon Zambia derail highrollers Gabon to make last eight LUBANGO: Cameroon came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Tunisia yesterday and reach the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals. Sharing the points after a Group D thriller at Tundavala Stadium was enough for the four-time champions to advance alongside Zambia, who beat overnight leaders Gabon 2-1 in Benguela.

A match that began so promisingly for the north Africans as they took a 57-second lead ended disastrously with defender Ammar Jemal sent off just before full-time for a second caution. Tunisia were seeking a first Nations Cup victory over Cameroon after a draw and two losses, including an extra-time defeat in a quarter-final thriller two years ago in Ghana. And a youthful Carthage Eagles team captained by 25-year-old ‘veteran’ central defender Karim Haggui made a perfect start with Saudi Arabiabased striker Amine Chermiti scoring less than one minute after the kickoff.

Defender Khaled Souissi, one of the local footballers in the Tunisian squad, crossed from the right and Chermiti burst between two defenders to head the ball wide of goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. It was the third consecutive game in which the ‘Indomitable Lions’ found themselves behind in the first half and after failing to level against Gabon, they hit back to edge Zambia in a five-goal thriller.

Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi was cautioned after 30 minutes for handling outside the area to block an Eto’o shot, but the resultant free kick from the Cameroon skipper posed no danger.

Cameroon did level in the opening minute of the second half as substitute Achille Webo and Mohamadou Idrissou combined to set up Eto’o, and the Inter Milan striker drilled the ball into the net off the far post. Zouhaier Dhaouadi squandered a chance for the ‘Eagles’ but the north Africans regained the lead on 63 minutes as Aurelien Chedjou sent a looping header over Kameni as he tried to avert danger with Chermiti lurking.

Chedjou from French club Lille was starting a game for the first time in this tournament after Rigobert Song paid the price for error-strewn defending in the previous two matches. Eto’o boasted before the game that he led a squad of fighters and this was proven once again as Cameroon equalized inside 60 seconds with Glasgow Celtic midfielder Landy Nguemo on target.

Webo was proving an inspired halftime substitution as he once again featured in a goal build-up, laying the ball off to Nguemo, who fired past Mathlouthi with a low shot inside his near post.

In another development, Zambia derailed highrollers Gabon 2-1 here yesterday to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years. Goals in either half from Rainford Kalaba and the

BENGUELA: Zambia’s James Chamanga (center) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during their African Cup of Nations Group D soccer match against Gabon at the Ombaka National Stadium in Benguela yesterday. — AP Chinese-based James Chamanga earned Herve Renard’s side, who went into the game footing Group D, a place in the quarters along with Cameroon, who drew 2-2 with Tunisia over in Lubango.

Zambia burst out of the blocks in Benguela as befitted a team that needed the three points to escape the clutches of Group D - whereas the Daniel Cousin-captained Gabon required just a solitary point. On 11 minutes Zambia had their first major opportunity after a neat move involving Felix Katongo and Jacob Mulenga only for the Utrecht striker to shoot high over the woodwork.

The Gabon defense was under pressure for the first real time in the tournament as Zambia maintained their energetic start. By far the more menacing of the two sides Zambia’s South Africa-based Felix Katongo, brother of skipper Chris Katonga, squandered another gilt-edged opportunity when he scuffed the ball from in front of goal. Zambia took a deserved lead in the 28th minute when defender Kampamba slid the ball upfield to Kalaba and the Uniao Leiria midfielder kept his cool to knock the ball from the left of the box past the onrushing Gabon keeper Ebang Ovono.

That was the first goal Gabon had conceded since arriving in Angola. At the break, with Tunisia leading

Cameroon 1-0 in Lubango, it was the Tunisians and Zambia who were set to march on. But with Cameroon leveling shortly after the break that put them in a three way tie with Zambia and Gabon on four points, with Gabon the ones to miss out.

Herve Renard’s Zambia, twice Africa Cup of Nations’ runners-up, emerged for the second half intent on killing off the tie.

Lax defending led to Zambia’s second goal with Mulenga fighting off Gabon defender Moise Brou to cross the ball from the near post to the waiting Chamanga with the forward tapping in to an open goal. With news filtering through that Tunisia had retaken the initiative over in Lubango as it stood it meant the Tunisians and Zambia went through with Gabon missing out on their head to head record.

Cameroon’s leveler in Lubango left them going through with Zambia. Zambia had to survive a nerve tingling final eight minutes after Gabon got back into the match when Hull City striker Cousin floated in a high ball from the left flank for substitute Fabrice do Marcolino to shoot past Ovono.

Zambia will be without the services of suspended Chintu Kampamba for the quarters after the defender picked up his secoond booking of the competition. — Agencies

Kuwait’s Mutawa moves ‘a step’ closer to Malaga

By Saw san Kazak KUWAIT: Malaga FC La Liga has offered Bader Al-Mutawa a weeklong trial period. With Al Qadisiya club’s blessing the forward has embarked on a seven day test run in Spain. The Qadisiya and Kuwait National team player took to the field on Tuesday to participate in a training session with the team.

During the seven day trial, the 25-year-old player will demonstrate his abilities.

If JR Lopez Muniz, Malaga Manager, is impressed he will be given the opportunity to play with the Spanish team. The club will organize a friendly match next week to test the hopeful Kuwaiti player, which will allow Muniz to make a final decision on the Kuwaiti forward’s future. Al-Mutawa, who has aided his local team in winning many domestic trophies as well as the Kuwait Premier League was quoted as saying “I will do everything I can to remain here.”

Emerging from Al Qadisiya’s youth team in 2002, Al-Mutawa

Bader Al-Mutawa reached the semi-finals of the 2006 Asian Champions League. If the trial period is a success, the Qadisiya player will be the second Middle Eastern to ever play in Europe. The trial period started on the 18th of January, 2010 and will go on for a week. There have been some speculations that the Malaga manager has been impressed with what he saw and has requested an extension to the trial period from 7 days to 10.