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� Vol-20 � Issue-12 � December-2011 � 510-677-4488� www.fijisun-usa.com

18

USA

80% of my fans are femaleSonam Kapoor

The Fiji Sun will continue to hand out AIM–AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MAN-

AGEMENT awards to qualified profession-als who could not make to the FIJIAWARDS NIGHT in the interest of justice.Many members of the Fiji American com-munity were nominated and in effect quali-fied for a number of awards and they werenot able to attend. In addition to its own pro-motion in hosting THE FIJI AWARDSNIGHT, the Fiji Sun USA included AIM pro-fessional membership awards for whichnominees needed meet the set manage-ment criteria developed in keeping withAustralian and NZ management institutes.Next AIM ACADEMY AWARDS is plannedto be held at the Blackhawk Museum.

(Please see page for more AIM news)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesdayreleased video footage to substantiate thatthe Nato ( North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)air strikes at two military checkposts in thecountry's north-western tribal region onSaturday were not an accident. The attackhad left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead and 13injured. Foreign minister Hina Rabbani onWednesday told the senate's standing com-mittee on foreign relations that the attack onthe checkposts was not an accident and onlyan apology was not enough. "Pakistan cannotsee its soldiers being killed by allied forcesanymore. There is an established mechanism

between Pakistan and allied forces working inAfghanistan regarding movement on the bor-der but Nato authorities didn't inform us abouttheir activity before the incident," Khar said.She said that Pakistan's role in Afghan peaceefforts had been accepted by all but notappreciated. She added that the coalitionforces had crossed red lines several times.Sharing details of the incident with defenceanalysts and local TV anchorpersons, thedirector general of military operations, MajorGeneral Ishfaq Nadeem, said that all coordi-nation procedures were violated for carryingout the attacks.

FIJI COMMUNITY'S TOP CAR SALESMAN JOINS HAYWARD HONDA

Pravin Chand Rogger( seen with coworker Dell Ilyas) See Story on page-5

Pakistan releases video of Nato airstrikes, says apology not enough

You are not left out if you did not make it to Fiji Awards NightSenior Superintend of Police S K Mishra and Sergeant M. Kadir receive their AIM Fellowship certificates.

(From L to R) Mr Saiyed Khaiyum (Senior), PM Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and FBC CEO Riyaz Saiyed Khaiyum at the recent FBC TV launch.

(Above editor presents Aim Fellowship certificate to S K Mishra) (M. Kadir shows off his AIM Fellowship Certificate)

TV for families in remote areasIT was an evening of beautiful dresses

for ladies, coat and tie for men with the redcarpet rolled out to welcome guests whenthe Fiji Broadcasting Corporation launchedtheir new television station. The milestoneachievement will see viewers around Fijihave more options to TV entertainment pro-grams, news and current affairs from aroundthe world. At the launching broadcasted liveon FBC TV, Prime Minister CommodoreVoreqe Bainimarama said the new televi-

sion station would ensure connectivity withrural and remote areas. "I know that as Ispeak people are watching free-to-air TV forthe first time in Kadavu, Ovalau, the interiorof Naitasiri, the Vaturu Dam area, Yasawas/Mamanucas and Bua," he said. "I ampleased to welcome you here this eveningalong with everyone tuning in from theirhomes to celebrate the launch of FBC tele-vision, along with the opening of FBC'srefurbished broadcasting house, and new

TV and radio studios". CommodoreBainimarama said FBC was a householdname and the oldest broadcaster in thecountry bringing news, information andentertainment to every corner of Fiji by AMand FM radio. The event, he said markedthe rebirth of FBC. "Through one of thelargest investments in media technology inFiji's history, we are reaffirming FBC's placein Fijian society, making it relevant for a new

Cont. on page 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANISHA

MANISHA CELEBRATE HER 8BIRTHDAY IN ARIZONA

See Page-5

No deadline on Afzal Guru'smercy plea: GovtNEW DELHI: Government onWednesday said mercy petitions of 20death row convicts, including AfzalGuru, are under various stages of con-sideration and that the Constitutiondoes not specify any time limit withinwhich a decision should be taken. "Thecases of the mercy petitions wereexamined and submitted/resubmitted tothe President's secretariat expeditious-ly. 13 mercy petition cases have been

Cont. on page 5

BUSSINESS Pravin Chand Rogger JoinsHayward Honda

30 »GALLERYKadirs hostNaath atFoster City

LOCAL NEWS» Radio Fiji Sun

pulled out of 1550AM» KOYA MEMORIAL NIGHT

28 »

2 �� December 2011

MM HH KKooyyaa ((PPhhDD)) EEddiittoorr--PPuubblliisshheerr

FIJI SUN.ORG, PO BOX 56491, HAYWARD, CA 94544 Email: [email protected] : 510-677-4488 FAX : 510-781-4884

3�� December 2011


Open Daily from : 11 AM to 1- PMMost affordable rates and prompt service!

FIJIANS have been encouragedto buy locally manufactured prod-ucts as it will not only boost oureconomy but will also mean jobs fortheir fellow citizens.Acting Prime Minister and

Minister for Industry and Trade,Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum imparted those wordswhen he officially launched the “BuyFijian Made” campaign this morn-ing.He said the 2012 National

Budget announcement thatmachineries used for manufactur-ing will enjoy duty free status wasnot only because Governmentwanted them to produce more butthat there would be a spill on effectfor this concession.“In order for that equipment to

work they (the manufacturers) haveto employ people to make it workand this is how we create jobs andthis is how we grow the industry inFiji,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.“People really need to under-

stand that if you buy Fiji made prod-ucts you are in fact securing peo-

ple’s jobs and that’s what we arealso concerned about.”Another misconception Mr

Sayed-Khaiyum addressed was thefeeling some had that Fijian prod-ucts were more expensive.“They are not always expensive

but if, for example, I buy a flip flop

for 99 cents and it breaks in 3 daysbut if I buy something for $2 andlasts me for 6 months I am better offbuying the $2 product,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.Beginning with a march starting

from the Suva Flea Market and cul-minating at the Suva Civic car park

at the foreshore, the campaign sawlarge businesses houses includinglocally owned companies such asPunjas, Flour Mills of Fiji, TappooGroup, Tuckers, Foods PacificLimited and many small and microenterprises as well as Governmentministries and departments actively

involved in this initiative. The BuyFiji Made initiative is a yearlong pro-gramme and will concentrate onone type of Fijian product everymonth. December will be the monthfor buying locally produced fooditems, as it is also the festive sea-son hence highly relevant.

The various incentives offeredby government to business housesin the country should stimulategrowth in the economy and at thesame time encourage competition.Highlighting the success of

exporters at increasing Fiji's shareof the global marketplace at thisyear’s TFL Prime Minister Exporterof the Year Awards, Prime MinisterCommodore Voreqe Bainimaramasaid that the continued growth ofFiji's export economy is a criticalcomponent of Fiji's presence as thehub of trade in the region."The Fijian Government and the

private sector work together in thequest for opportunities to broadenthe export market including our

niche products, which take advan-tage of our pristine environment,"he said. Reiterating Governmentincentives for the resource basedsector and exporters such as taxbreaks, zero rated tarrifs and accel-erated depreciation, the PrimeMinister added that these incen-tives will allow Fijian companies tobetter compete at the regional andglobal levels.

"Our focus is to grow the econ-omy and create jobs," he said. Thisyear's TFL Prime Minister'sExporter of the Year Award saw 19awards awarded to Fiji's topexporters. The Winner of the TFLPrime Minister's Exporter of theyear awards was thed Biscuit

Company of Fiji Limited. GroupChief Executive Officer for the com-pany, Ram Bajekal said that theaward meant recognition of theeffort that the biscuit companygroup has put into strengtheningthe company and the nation haveborne fruit."We want to continue to grow

our exports as we believe that is theonly way that we can strengthen Fijiand once Fiji is strengthened itmeans that more people buy ourproducts and there is progress foreveryone," he said. The biscuitcompany caters a vast variety ofbiscuits to a wide range of cus-tomers within Fiji and across thePacific, New Zealand and Australia.

Boosting further confidence inthe economy, the Reserve Bank ofFiji today announced that it has fur-ther relaxed exchange controls.The bank’s Governor Barry

Whiteside highlighted at the post-budget press conference that theincreased delegated limits meansthat’s there is confidence about theoutlook on the level of foreignreserves, which is currently around$1.5 billion. “The measuresannounced would result in improvedefficiency for businesses as they willno longer be required to lodge theirapplications with the RBF,” he said.He said apart from increased dele-gated limits on a range of transac-tions, the RBF has also allowed

commercial banks to write more for-ward contracts for importers as wellas re-introduce offshore investmentsfor individuals up to $10,000 perfamily per annum. When pressedon his thoughts on today’s budgetaddress, Governor Whiteside saidthat the budget presents an opportu-nity for the private sector to growand inject revenue into the economy.The Prime Minister also confirmedtoday that the Reserve Bank hasapproved the license application fora European bank to establish opera-tions in the country. Mr Whiteside,while not revealing the details of thebank, said that they are finalisingother details before the bank com-mences operation.

BUSINESS NEWS 5�� December 2011

Buy Fijian made products campaign launched

Incentives to stimulate growth

RBF relaxes exchange controls

generation as the national broadcaster". Commodore Bainimaramasaid FBC would now have radio and television service, and featurenational broadcasters throughout the world such as the BBC and ABC.He said that through hard work FBC's Chairman, CEO, and the FBC teamhave made it possible, not just from a logistical standpoint, but also interms of finances. "The sheer hard work, enthusiasm and energy theyhave brought to make FBC profitable, whereas previously it was not, andto maintain transparent operations has established a high level of confi-dence within and outside the organisation," he said. "They have alsoproven that FBC is commercially viable". This has allowed government toextend to it the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB), contract for the provi-sion of television and radio services. PSB, he said allows for the airing ofprograms that are not necessarily commercially viable to run. "I also

understand more people up in the north will be able to access free-to-airTV for the first time. This is important for bringing all of us together as anation," he said. decided by the President since November 2009," min-ister of state for home Mullappally Ramachandran informed RajyaSabha. "The power under Article 72 of the Constitution does not containany limitation of time in which power shall be exercised," he said in awritten reply. The 20 cases include that of Afzal Guru, who was givendeath sentence for the 2001 Parliament attack case. Two cases wereunder examination of the home ministry. While in one case some addi-tional information has been sought from Bihar government, in anothercase, comments from Delhi government have been sought.

TV for families...

No deadline on Afzal Guru's ...

CONT. FROM PAGE 1

MANISHA CELEBRATE HER 8 BIRTHDAY IN ARIZONA

Pravin Chand Rogger( seen with coworker Dell Ilyas)is very excited to have joined Hayward Honda corner ofMission Blvd and Orchard Rd. Rogger hails fromSigatoka Fiji where he first started his Sales career withNiranjan's Auto Division. He won several sales awardwhile with them. " I feel very excited at Hayward Hondaboth for the top products and people are very friendly,supportive and professional, said Rogger. Rogger looksforward to making a rewarding a career at HaywardHonda capitalization on the in-house training all the salesstaff receive to achieve their gaols. He also won an AIMaward last month and waits to collect his AIM certificate.

Fiji community's top car salesman joins Hayward Honda

First grand daughterof Annie Koya,Manisha is asecond grade

student at LakeView

Elementary,Phoenix

Arizona. Abright and

talkative youngkids, Manishais daughter ofMr And Mrs

MichaelCavalier.Pravin Chand Rogger( seen with coworker Dell Ilyas)

FFIIJJII NNEEWWSS6 �� December 2011

Fiji phases outCFC fromproducts

FIJI has been recognisedfor its efforts in phasing outchlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)from its products sales.The director of the

Department of Environment,Jope Davetanivalu was aproud man on Friday night ashe related the good news tothe Minister for LocalGovernment, UrbanDevelopment, Housing andEnvironment, ColonelSamuela Saumatua.Mr Davetanivalu said two

of his officers returned fromKathmandu, Nepal, last monthwhere the Fiji delegation waspresented with the MontrealProtocol Certificate ofRecognition."The protocol was present-

ed to us by the United NationsEnvironment Program afterwe successfully phased outCFCs last year," the environ-ment director said.Mr Davetanivalu said the

efforts against CFCs began in2003 with environment offi-cers working with the govern-ment in trying to curb the salesof products with CFC content."I am proud of the fact that

such a small country like ourshas international recognitionfor such an important issuethat affects countries all overthe world," he said.He said existing legisla-

tions such as the OzoneDepletion Substances Act alsocontributed to their workagainst the harmful CFC.Fiji was also honoured by

the United StatesEnvironmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) two years agowith its 2008 Ozone LayerProtection Award.

Investment and bilateral supportfrom China has been a pillar ofstrength to Fiji, says Prime MinisterCommodore Voreqe Bainimarama.Commodore Bainimarama and his

senior officers had a closed door bilat-eral discussion at Nawailevu onTuesday with a Chinese delegationduring the opening of the NawailevuBauxite Mine. He said mining invest-ment by Xinfa China in Bua wasanother level in strengthening the

relationship between Fiji and China.Commodore Bainimarama saidGovernment appreciated the assis-tance received from China.The assistance, he said, contribut-

ed enormously to the country’s eco-nomic development.“Allow me at this point to extend

the Government of Fiji’s deep grati-tude to the Government of thePeople’s Republic of China. “Theirsupport of Fiji has been a pillar of

strength and speaks to a yet untappednet of international investment inter-ests,” Commodore Bainimarama said.He said Fiji would continue to exploreadditional opportunities with Chinaand other nations in moving the coun-try forward through a number of inter-nal development projects. In openingthe Nawailevu Bauxite Mine,Commodore Bainimarama said, “I ampleased to note that benefits tolandowners are being progressively

met with the partial release of leasepayments, the construction of infras-tructure like roads and mobiletelecommunications, and ongoing dis-cussions with Aurum Explorations(Fiji) Limited to provide employmentand contracts for local trucking andcatering businesses.” Chinese Ambassador to Fiji,

Huang Yong said China was a goodfriend to Fiji and they would continueto keep the relationship.

Taxi Unionunder fire

Taxi Union under pressure11th November 2011 Taxidrivers in the North are startingto criticise the Fiji Taxi Unionsaying the increase in fares iskilling business. FBC Newsreporter Apisalome Coka is inLabasa and spoke to some taxidrivers: "The increase in taxifares has seen a fifty percentdrop in business in Labasa.This was revealed to FBC Newsby Narend Krishna who hasspent 25 years in the business.Krishna is based at the MarketTaxi Stand and says taxis werea means of transport, but theincrease in fares has made itoptional. Krishna says the FijiTaxi Union was wrong inincreasing the fare to 10centsper every 100 metres. He saysit would have been best toincrease the distance drop from10 cents to 15 cents every 200metres. Another taxi driverRavin Mudaliar says theincrease has really affectedpeople. Mudaliar says he onlymanages four to six passengersa day.

PFF, Rarotonga, COOKISLANDS: The arrest and deten-tion of Fiji’s trade union movementleaders Daniel Urai and FelixAnthony continues the harassmentand intimidation of citizens by themilitary regime, regional mediafreedom monitoring network thePacific Freedom Forum, PFF. FijiTrades Union Congress (FTUC)president Daniel Urai was arrestedon October 29, 2011 at NadiInternational Airport after returningfrom the Commonwealth Heads ofGovernment events in Australia, amove condemned as politicallymotivated by Australia’s ForeignAffairs Minister Kevin Rudd. Uraiwas held incommunicado at anundisclosed location for eight daysuntil he appeared in the SuvaMagistrates’ Court on Monday,November 7, 2011. He has beencharged with “urging political vio-lence” under the regime’s CrimesDecree. Bail was initially refusedand he was granted release on bailwith curfew and other conditionson Wednesday afternoon Fiji time.“It took more than a week of

being held without charge, with nocontact from family members,friends, colleagues, and legal sup-port, for the regime to decide whatto do with Urai. This deplorable sit-uation raises obvious questionsover charges being concocted outof politically motivated harassment.There just isn’t enough informationto suggest a timely process of evi-dence and investigation has takenplace prior to his arrest,” says PFFchair Titi Gabi of Papua NewGuinea.“Pacific communities outside of

Fiji continue to freely express ideasand opinions which may be criticalof their governments, free from thefear of being ‘disappeared’ fromtheir loved ones at a moment’snotice. We urge the regime tocease the arbitrary detention ofselected citizens on sham charges,and repeat our call for lifting of thePublic Emergency Regulations ofApril 2009 and the Media Decreewhich should have replaced thePER when it was introduced lastNovember.” says Gabi. “We arealso concerned at news that FTUC

general secretary Felix Anthonyhas also been made incommunica-do and has yet to face chargessince being ‘detained’ by the mili-tary at his office in Lautoka onFriday, November 4 and taken toSuva under heavy guard the fol-lowing morning.”“The right to meet in public

places, to organise, to share opin-ions, ideas and express them nomatter how critical or unpopularthey may be, is the most obvioussign that our Pacific leaders havecome of age and accept criticismas an essential part of public life,”says PFF co-chair Monica Miller ofAmerican Samoa. “As the regimeleaders continue to target citizenswho express ideas and opinionsthat do not support their views, aculture of compliance and silenceis being manipulated and misrep-resented to future generations asthe ‘Fijian’ way. The ‘disappearing’of citizens held without charge orcourt appearance, renderedincommunicado by the military, is amadness that Pacific leaders muststrongly condemn.”

THERE has been a majorbreakthrough for papaya produc-ers and exporters following anagreement yesterday that allowsFiji red papaya to be transportedas loose cargo on Boeing 737 air-craft.The deal brokered between

Biosecurity Fiji and Australia wasachieved after a BilateralQuarantine Meeting at the Novotelon Monday.Representatives from the

Biosecurity Authority of Fiji,Biosecurity Australia and theDepartment of Agriculture andPacific Horticultural andAgricultural Market Access(PHAMA) met and discussed theissue at length, with the Fiji contin-gent highlighting the success of thecountry's control methods in pre-venting pests from enteringAustralia over the last seven yearsas proof that papaya could beexported as loose cargo without

risk.BAF chief executive officer Elvis

Silvestrini said the agreement wasgood news for the booming papayaindustry. He said the industry wasconcerned about how it wouldexport papaya to Australia in 737aircraft as these aircraft did nothave provisions for LD containerswhich was one of the importrequirements under our BilateralQuarantine Agreement (BQA) forpapaya exports - to ensure pestsare not able to enter containers intransit."I am pleased to say that

Biosecurity Australia agreed to ourrequest to have the papayashipped to Australia as loosecargo, provided we have soundtrace back integrity for each con-signment and appropriate mea-sures are taken to prevent re-infes-tation and we'll work with the indus-try on that," he said.Mr Silvestrini said the break-

through with his Australian coun-terparts come as papaya exportsfor 2011 reached 644 tonnes with85 per cent going to the Australianmarket alone. "This is a major

achievement for Fiji's trade inpapaya with Australia market.Currently our papaya export toAustralia is increasing significantlywith total exports to date for 2011at 644 tonnes with 85 per cent ofexports going to the Australianmarket. This is a marked differenceto 2010 when exports to Australiamade up only 30 per cent of totalexports. There is potential to export2000 tonnes per year as the popu-larity of red papaya grows."Mr Silvestrini said BAF would

like to see the papaya exports toAustralia sustained and furtherincreased and as such would doeverything possible to help theindustry.Biosecurity Australia has also

agreed to allow papaya to beshipped into Australia in newspa-per packaging.Fiji is exporting papaya to New

Zealand under these conditionsand this provides a further option to

exporters to protect the fruit.Mr Silvestrini said the use of

recycled newspaper would reducethe cost of packaging compared tofoam packing. This is a saving forexporters and has the addedadvantage of being a more envi-ronmentally friendly option.Agriculture permanent secre-

tary Colonel Mason Smith said themeeting was crucial given theimportance of biosecurity in facili-tating agricultural trade betweencountries.He said Fiji regarded Australia

as a primary market for agriculturalproduce. And added that with addi-tional meetings, more of Fiji's agri-cultural products could gain andmaintain access to markets inAustralia,PHAMA's efforts in helping

developing countries like Fijiaddress market access issues wasalso acknowledged by the perma-nent secretary.

China strengthens Fiji: PM

Fiji: PFF Condemns UnionistArrests and Detentions

Papaya boost for Fiji

FFIIJJII NNEEWWSS 7�� December 2011

I WAS taken back in time lastweek to World War Two and told ofhow the guns at Bilo lent a degree ofcomfort to the people in a time ofuncertainty and fear as news of theJapanese invasion flashed across thePacific. The guns once pointed outfrom the side of Bilo peninsula liketwin fingers of death, down to the Bayof Islands in Lami and across Suvaharbour to the capital. They wereplaced there to guard the passage inthe reef leading into Suva harbour.There are no guns at Bilo now but thestory reminded me of the epic war filmThe guns of Navarone.The guns at Bilo did not see action

as the guns of Navarone did but theywere ready for the enemy.They were the biggest guns in the

southern hemisphere, they told me,and they played a part in the defenceplans of Fiji during World War Two.The Bilo battery had two six-inch can-nons supported by two 4.7 inch guns.After the war, the guns were takenaway by the Fiji military. There was atime when the Bilo gun site was full ofactivity, packed with army trucks, sol-diers, offices and living quarters. Now,only two gun turrets, lookout post,tunnels, underground cellars andammunition storage place remainwith stories and memories of a placewhich was once a hive of activity dur-ing the war. After the war, the gun sitebecame a drinking spot, lovers' laneand scenic lookout. It was the locationfor a film shoot but now, it is a touristattraction.Uraia Naicori related stories of

how Bilo was under the command ofNew Zealand and American soldiers.Uraia is the turaga ni mataqaliNakaubeqa who own the land wherethe gun site is. From the site, youhave a splendid view of the Bay ofIslands, Suva city, the passage in thereef, sea and horizon. It is a vantagepoint. "Down by the beach they hadtwo lighthouses and a giant lookouttower where they had a huge tele-scope," said Uraia. "At night, the light-house and telescope were the sec-ond eyes of the guns on the hill."Their purpose was to shoot light atany incoming vessel so the peopleoperating the guns could see whatthey were firing at. "I am just tellingyou what I know." he added.Passages were cut through soap-stone which joined the gun encamp-ment, ammunition and concrete stor-age rooms. The cellars are damp,dark and dreary but remain a physicalreminder of the war.Members of the mataqali

Nakaubeqa, in conjunction with FijiMuseum are responsible for keepingthe site clean through a project fund-ed by the American Embassy in Maylast year. History says that the Bilobattery was built in January, 1941 bythe New Zealand army which hadreplaced the Fiji Defence Force. TheUS army came in later and built theirbase in and around Suva and pulledout in 1944 to head for the Solomonsand Papua New Guinea as the battlecontinued against the Japanese forthe Pacific. Excerpts from FijiMuseum records says the Bilo battery

withstood a deadly and powerful hur-ricane in February, 1941 which dev-astated infrastructure in Suva andsurrounding areas but any damage tothe Bilo battery was quickly fixed andmilitary training and planning contin-ued as if nothing happened.The Bilo battery was a key part of

Fiji's defence because it was one ofseveral gun positions guardingentrances in the reef. There wereguns at Nasonini and Flagstaff whichlooked out to Nukulau Island, therewas a lookout at Yaqaga Island in Buaand there were the guns at Momi inNadi which guarded Nacula Passagebut the two biggest guns were at Bilo.Uraia said at Bilo the Americans

installed a generator which generatedpower that enabled them to pumpwater up to a storage well and fromthere water was distributed all overthe gun site. The gun site has alsobeen a haven for Bilo villagers - theysought refuge in the undergroundrooms during a hurricane. Localsused to refer to it as rai ki Beqa, matega because the guns could sink aship as far as Beqa. "Before they firedthe guns, warning would come for thevillagers to stay away from the beachor sea." "When the guns fired, ourhouses and the ground would shake.""My father lived during that time." TheBilo gun site is about eight kilometresout of Suva city on the Queens Roadtoward Veisari.There is a sign by the road, as you

take the turn, travel two kilometres ona gravel road to the gun site.Uraia said the road used by the

soldiers during the war ran down tothe beach where the lighthousesstood but it s now overgrown. Theammunition storage room is lit by twosolar-powered lanterns hanging fromthe wall. It is cool inside the under-ground rooms. Inside one of therooms are posters with articles fromthe war and in a glass case are relicsfrom the war including a small emptyglass Coke bottle from 1942. "I did notknow there was a red light district inSuva during that time," said Uraia ashe read the history of the war in theunderground room. It said that life inthe rural areas and for the majority ofFiji continued essentially unchangedduring the height of World War II inthe Pacific. Suva and Nadi however,experienced dramatic upheavals. Theinflux of 50,000 troops severelystrained local resources.Many basic items were rationed.The economy ran out of paper

money because of the surge indemand. Two leading departmentstores issued script and the govern-ment began printing its markings onNew Zealand currency. For over ayear, a nightly curfew was imposedfrom 8pm and there was a mandatoryblackout as precaution against aJapanese invasion. The situation wasnot all dreary, however, because thepresence of foreign troops andmobilised Fijians enlivened life in thecapital. Dances were organised at theGrand Pacific Hotel for army officersand the Old Town Hall for the enlisted.European and Part-European womenliving in Suva were avidly courted and

many became war brides. Red lightdistricts emerged at Naiqaqi which isnow Carnavon Street andToorak.There were few restaurants inthose days and entrepreneurs begancatering to American and NewZealand tastes, for example, sellingice cream and building a roller skatingrink. Beer flowed in the drinkingestablishments which were alwaysfilled to capacity but there were notenough mugs, so one had to pay adeposit for a mug to drink beer.Uraia said members of his

mataqali clean and maintain the Bilogun site and act as tour guides for vis-itors. Tourists who want to visit pay $5at the gate, locals $3 and children $1."People who want to have a party canmake arrangements or kids who wantto have a fun day out, can come outto the gun site and have a good timebut the parents pay $5 when theybring their kids. "What we are doing isto help our mataqali." Uraia said forsome time after the war, the gun sitewas under the Fiji Military Forces butthe land has been returned to themand he does not want to lease it. Ifyou look across Suva harbour fromthe seawall, you can see a house atBilo among the greenery. It is Uraia'shouse. Although all you will see fromthe city is a blur of green, if you focusyou can see a clearing among thegreen - that is the gun site. It is a van-tage point with a history - it played apart in the defensive plans of Fiji dur-ing World War Two and now it is aplace to go to and see the sights byday and lights by night.

THE GUNS OF BILO

FREE Admission. Breakfast & Lunch Provided. Contact: Carmelita Miller (415) 404-9436 | [email protected] RSVP at http://tinyurl.com/LegallyAsian2012 Walk-ins welcome. Event Sponsored By: Asian American Bar Association Filipino Bar Association of Northern California Korean American Bar Association of Northern California South Asian American Bar Association UC Hastings Asian Pacific American Law Students Association UC Hastings Pilipino American Law Society UC Hastings South Asian Law Students Association UC Hastings Vietnamese American Law Society UC Berkeley South Asian Law Students Association

February 25, 2012, 9am-3pm UC Hastings College of the Law

Legally Asian 2012 exposes college and high school students to: the legal profession and career options available with a law degree

current issues that affect the Asian Pacific Islander & South Asian community

Learn from panelists who work in the public and private sector, and discover career paths outside the traditional practice of law.

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198 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

3rd Annual Program Legally Asian

Empowering youth to pursue higher education and make a difference in our community

IINNDDIIAA NNEEWWSS 8 �� December 2011

Govt mulls freemedicine for all

NEW DELHI: The governmentis considering rolling out a " free-medicine-to-all" scheme throughpublic hospital and health facilitiesacross the country in a bid to arrestpoverty and indebtedness mainly inrural areas. The strategy aims tofacilitate state governments to setup autonomous medical suppliescorporation, a public sector body, tosupply free, quality generic essen-tial medicines to indoor and out-door patients, who seek healthcarein government hospitals and healthfacilities. The PlanningCommission's working group onhealth for the 12th Five Year Plan(2012-2017), headed by Unionhealth secretary K Chandramouli,suggested that all state govern-ments should follow the modeladopted by Tamil Nadu. In thesouthern state, the bulk procure-ment of drugs by medical supplycorporation directly from manufac-turers through a transparent bid-ding process substantially reducesthe cost of medicines. In manycases, they cost 1/10th to 1/15thless than retail outlets. Medicinesaccount for about 50%-80% ofhealthcare costs, which often leadto rural indebtedness, the workinggroup has found. The scheme willensure free government healthcareto the poor and vulnerable.

CHICAGO: Fatal snake biteshave become a major public healthconcern in India. What's worse, it isvastly under-reported, according toa study presented on Monday.

The American Society of TropicalMedicine and Hygiene said in India46,000 people are dying every yearfrom snakebites against the officialfigure of only 2,000.

More than 2.5 lakh cases ofsnake bites are reported every year.Those who survive the bite on thespot, subsequently die due to delay,unable to reach a hospital within thecrucial golden hour or due to lack oftreatment, resulting in overdose ofanti-venom. The statistics areshocking, considering India is nei-

ther home to the largest numbersnakes in the world nor is there ashortage of anti-venom in the coun-try. India had finalized a nationalpolicy that would ensure fast andeffective use of anti-venom, besidesmaking it available to healthcarecentres in backward villages. Thepolicy was to help train doctors whohad inadequate knowledge on howto deal with the neuro-toxic shockthat the patient experiences follow-ing a snake bite besides providingguidelines for hospitals conductingresearch on the subject.

However, the Union health min-istry is yet to aggressively push itsimplementation. Ulrich Kuch fromBiodiversity and Climate Research

Centre in Frankfurt said snake bitevictims often do not go to hospitalsbecause they have to travel too far,anti-venom is scarce in manyregions, or the treatment can be tooexpensive. "People are dying intheir villages without bothering thehealth system. They simply don'tshow up in the statistics," Dr Kuchsaid. "In the 21st century, snakebiteis the most neglected of all theneglected tropical diseases," saidDavid Warrell from University ofOxford. "The deaths and sufferingfrom venomous snakebites remainlargely invisible to the global healthcommunity," he added. In theabsence of significant global initia-tives, scientists and research institu-

tions are taking it upon themselvesto develop solutions in Asia.Scientists presented promising dataon rapid diagnostic tests beingdeveloped to allow physicians tomake fast decisions on whether togive anti-venom and which type touse. Now, standard practice is towait until symptoms of envenoma-tion appear before giving anti-venom because it can have seriousside-effects and the supply isscarce. However, the venom of cer-tain species irreversibly destroysparts of the nervous system beforeenvenomation becomes clinicallyapparent, making the resulting life-threatening paralysis resistant toanti-venom treatment.

AMRITSAR:Notwithstanding thedecision on most favourednation(MFN) status, Pak business-men w ant their Indian counterpartsto trade their products in thePakistani market for mutual benefit.

Pakistani traders who are hereto participate in trade fest are of theview that free trade will not onlyallow businessmen of both coun-tries to explore untapped markets,but will also pave way for perma-nent peace in the region.

Pakistani trader Amrudeen ofNadeem Enterprise said there mustbe direct and liberal trade betweenboth the countries.

"As in India, there is craze aboutPakistani products among people,similarly people in Pakistan areenthusiastic about Indian products,"he said. Another trader Ahmed

Khan from Amber Collection saidthe shared trade relation betweenboth the countries will flourish themutual understanding too. "We thecommon people want the liberalexchange between the two coun-tries; all grudges are between thegovernments of both nations only,"he said. Bagam Aiyashaa of"Shehnaz Fashion" said their hand-made designer suits of Shiffon andPashmina was being highly appre-ciated by the people here. She saidthough both nations were sharingthe same nation, but governmentpolicies were creating hindrance insmooth trading. "We get the visajust for 10-15 days and it is also ofjust one city which is very unfairthat we can't go to other cities fortrade or for just visiting the place,"she lamented.

Bhanwari Devi case: Rs 5lakh reward for info oncriminal who disposed ofBhanwari's body

NEW DELHI: While the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI) is plan-ning to move court seeking polygraphtest on sacked Rajasthan ministerMahipal Maderna, agency sourcesclaim that they have identified the gangand its members, who were assignedto get rid of auxiliary nurse-cum- mid-wife Bhanwari Devi's body. The agencyon Monday announced a reward of Rs5 lakh for the whereabouts of Jodhpur-based dreaded criminal Bishna RamBishnoi, who allegedly disposed of herbody. A source told TOI that "Bishnoiwas handed over the body of BhanwariDevi as disclosed by accusedShahabuddin".

NEW DELHI: While many ofMaharashtra's parochial politicianshave made a living out of bashingnorth Indian immigrants, Mumbai isnot the city with the highest influx ofmigrants. A recent report shows thatDelhi receives the largest flow ofmigrants anywhere in urban India.Delhi as a city, excluding the rest ofthe NCR, had more migrants thanany other state in the country.

According to a recent report bythe Indian Institute of HumanSettlement (IIHS), the two largeststreams of migration to urban Indiaare from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi andfrom Bihar to Delhi. Each of thesestreams consists of over 3 lakh peo-ple.

IIHS studied the 2001 census,the National Sample Survey (2007-08), and preliminary data from the2011 census (migration data forcensus 2011 has not yet beenreleased).

Ironically, Delhi is still not as cos-mopolitan as metros such asMumbai, where less than 50% ofthe population speaks Marathi andBangalore, where less than halfspeak Kannada.

IIHS director Aromar Reviattributes the high flow of migrantsinto Delhi to the fact that it has thehighest per capita income andincome growth among Indian met-

ros; a huge concentration of wealth,resources, infrastructure and a rela-tively high quality of urban services."There are a large number of ser-vice sector jobs on offer in Delhi,increasingly in the informal sector"says Revi. Education is a big draw,as also health services when com-pared with many north Indianstates.

That a large number of poor, so-called lower-caste migrants head toDelhi in search of a livelihood isobvious. But Mohammad Tarique,assistant professor at the TataInstitute of Social Sciences, putsforth a compelling argument for why

many "upper-caste" folk migrate toDelhi. "The same caste system thatinhibits lower castes from rising upthe economic ladder prevents theupper castes from performingmenial jobs to earn a living. Theanonymity of cities like Delhi allowsa Brahmin to work as a rickshaw-puller, whereas the caste hierarchywould make it hard for him to do soin his hometown, even if his familyis starving," says Tarique.

Tarique believes that Delhi,though far from ideal for migrants, ismore accommodating than othercities. "In addition to providing alarge number of night shelters for

the working homeless, Delhi ismore accepting of migrants thancities like Mumbai, which areincreasingly intolerant of them."

Contrary to perception, migra-tion does not contribute to theincrease in India's urban populationas much as natural growth (peoplehaving children) does, says theIIHS report. While the report saysthat the net rural to urban migrationhas marginally increased from21.2% in 1991-2001 to 24.1% in2001-11, and there has, simultane-ously been a marginal decrease innatural growth over the last decadewith people having less children,natural growth continues to con-tribute the most to the growth inurban population. The elite oftenview migrants as a burden on thecity's overstretched resources. ButUnna Govindarajan of Janaagraha-a Bangalore-based organizationthat works towards improving thequality of life in India's cities-pointsout that the middle-class and elitedepend heavily on poor migrantswho provide them with the servicesneeded to maintain their lifestyle."While the elite need them(migrants) during the day, in theevening, they draw their curtainsand forget about the inhuman livingconditions of these very same peo-ple," she says.

Record number oftourists visit Kashmirin 2011: J&K govt

SRINAGAR: The number of touristsvisiting Kashmir Valley so far this year hassurpassed the nearly seven lakh mark setbefore the eruption of militancy in the statein 1990. "In the history of Kashmir, we havenot witnessed so many tourists. Even dur-ing the pre-militancy years we wouldreceive a maximum of seven lakh tourists.This year we have received a record num-ber of tourists," Tourism minister NawangRigzin Jora said at a function to celebratethe birth anniversary of NC founder ShiekhMohammad Abdullah here. Although Joradid not reveal the exact number of thetourists, according to officials the numberhad crossed a million. "Tourism is the back-bone of our economy.

We aim to make this state a prominenttourist destination as it was before the mili-tancy era," the minister said. The tourismindustry in the state has suffered a hugesetback after eruption of militancy in thestate in 1990s.

NEW DELHI: The governmenthas decided to hold back FDI in retailtill a consensus is reached amongpolitical parties. This decision nowends the stand-off between the gov-ernment and the opposition, whichcaused a paralysis of Parliament.According to sources, finance minis-ter Pranab Mukherjee has told oppo-sition leaders, including SushmaSwaraj and Sitaram Yechury, that thedecision on allowing FDI in retail wasbeing put on hold and a final deci-sion will be taken only after consult-ing all opposition parties. Meanwhile,Pranab Mukherjee has soughtOpposition leader Sushma Swaraj'shelp to end the Parliament logjam.Sushma Swaraj, however, hasasked the government that it shouldissue a statement in the floor of the

house today. "The government iswilling to keep the decision in sus-pension. It will take a final decisiononly after consultations with all oppo-sition parties and the stakeholders,"sources said after Mukherjee spoketo Swaraj, Leader of the Oppositionin Lok Sabha, and CPI(M) MPYechury this morning. Swaraj isbelieved to have told Mukherjee thatthe government should come outwith a statement on the issue, whichhas created a logjam inParliamentary for several days now.Yechury is understood to have toldthe Pranab Mukherjee that an all-party meeting be convened beforethe next sitting of Parliament onWednesday during which the partiescould be informed about the decision.

Flow of migrants highest to Delhi, not Maharashtra

Pak traders want Indian counterparts tosell their products for mutual benefit

FDI reform: Holdback confirmed;Pranab phones Sushma

Snake bites kill 46K in India yearly

PPAAKKIISSTTAANN NNEEWWSS 9�� December 2011

US officials say Pakistanleaving liaison centres

ISLAMABAD: U.S. military offi-cials say Islamabad is pulling itstroops out of at least two of thethree centres meant to coordinatemilitary activity across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The movecomes a little over a week afterNATO airstrikes killed 24 Pakistanisoldiers at two army posts along theborder. The deadly incident seemsto have been caused in part bycommunication breakdowns. U.S.military officials said late Mondaythat losing Pakistani liaisons at theborder centers is a problembecause the whole purpose of theposts is to exchange informationabout ongoing operations.

Two children enjoy their holiday with roller skating at a road in Karachi .

ISLAMABAD: Believe it or not butauthorities in Pakistan's Punjab provincehave "arrested" a monkey after it crossedthe border with India, according to amedia report today. The monkey was cap-tured by wildlife officials in Bahawalpur,Express News channel reported. Localresidents initially tried to capture the mon-key after it entered Cholistan area ofBahawalpur district. After the monkeyevaded them, the people informed wildlifeofficials, who captured the animal after astruggle. The monkey was taken toBahawalpur Zoo, where officials namedhim Bobby. In May last year, Indian policedetained a pigeon and kept it under armedguard after it was caught on an allegedspying mission for Pakistan.

I S L A M A B A D :Pakistan will review allits agreements withthe US and NATO inthe aftermath of theNovember 26 airstrikethat left two dozenPakistan Army sol-diers dead, PrimeMinister Yousuf RazaGilani has said.Gilani said in

Lahore on Sundaythat the governmenthad decided to review the agree-ments made by then presidentPervez Musharraf's governmentwith the US, NATO, UN and theInternational Security AssistanceForce (ISAF), reported Dawn. TheNATO airstrike on two checkpostsin Mohmad Agency late last monthleft 24 Pakistan Army soldiers dead,

sparking outrage in thecountry. Islamabadpromptly stoppedNATO supply throughthe country. Gilani said:"Soon after the NATOattack... we took up thisissue very seriously byinvolving all stakehold-ers, including militaryand political leader-ship."He said the political

and military leadership,along with the Defence Committeeof the Cabinet (DCC), see the Nov26 incident as a reason to revisethe entire terms of business (ToBs)on all national and internationalissues such as war on terror andsecurity of the region, made by theMusharraf government with the US,NATO, ISAF and the UN.

ISLAMABAD: The US onSunday started pulling out itsnationals from Shamsi airbase,reportedly used by CIA- operateddrones, on the orders of Pakistangovernment after a deadly NATOcross-border airsrike killed 24 of itssoldiers. An American aircraftarrived in Pakistan to fly out USnationals. After the aircraft landed,the US nationals boarded it amidststrict security, TV news channelsreported. Officials from the FederalInvestigation Agency were presentat the airbase, the reports said.Residents living around Shamsi

airbase were told not to leave theirhomes while the American nation-

als were being taken to the aircraft.There was no official word on thedevelopment from Pakistani orAmerican officials.Pakistan asked the US to vacate

the remote airbase in Balochistanwithin 15 days and blocked routesused to transport supplies to USand allied forces in Afghanistanafter a cross-border NATO air strikeon two military posts killed 24Pakistani soldiers on November 26.Reports have said the Shamsi

airbase, located about 300 km fromBalochistan capital Quetta, hasbeen used by US drone to targetmilitants in Pakistan's restive tribalbelt. Pakistan reportedly leased the

base to the United Arab Emirates in1992, and the US was given accessto the facility after the 9/11 terrorattacks. This is the third timePakistan has asked the US tovacate Shamsi airbase. Similardemands were made after CIA con-tractor Raymond Davis gunneddown two men in Lahore in Januaryand after the US military raid thatkilled Osama bin Laden in May. TheExpress Tribune quoted a US gov-ernment source as saying that theAmericans had spent monthspreparing for a possible evictionfrom Shamsi by building up otherdrone launching and staging capa-bilities.

ISLAMABAD: A week afterPakistan-US ties plunged to a newlow after a NATO attack that killed24 Pakistani soldiers, secretary ofstate Hillary Clinton on Saturdayoffered her personal condolences toPrime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilanibut was unable to get Islamabad toreconsider its decision to boycott acrucial meeting on Afghanistan.Clinton telephoned Gilani onSaturday evening and "conveyedher personal condolences on thedeaths of Pakistani soldiers", said a

statement issued by the PrimeMinister's House. Clinton said the"attack was not intentional" andasked Pakistan to "wait for the out-come of the investigation" into theincident. In a bid to address con-cerns raised by Islamabad overwhat Pakistani military officials havedescribed as an "unprovoked act ofblatant aggression", Clinton said theUS has the "highest regard forPakistan's sovereignty". She said:"This incident should not be allowedto jeopardise the bilateral relation-

ship. Pakistan and US have com-mon interests". Clinton raised withGilani the issue of Pakistan's partic-ipation in the Bonn Conference onAfghanistan to be held onDecember 5. Gilani told her that theParliamentary Committee onNational Security had supported thecabinet's decision not to participatein the Bonn Conference. Pakistanhad played a positive role for peaceand stability in the region and mademany sacrifices in fighting terrorism,he said.

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistaniactress who posed in the nude foran Indian magazine with the initialsof Pakistan's feared and powerfulintelligence agency on her arm hastriggered fury across this conserva-tive nation.Veena Malik's photo on the web-

site of FHM India, in advance of itspublication in the magazine'sDecember issue, has been lightingup social network websiteFacebook and Twitter since earlierthis week.Many here anticipate a back-

lash, as nationalists and Islamistsregularly stage rallies against any-thing they deem an insult to Islamor to the national honor. India andPakistan have fought three wars,and the Inter-Services Intelligenceagency or ISI has been accused ofsponsoring terrorist attacks insideIndia. Malik has broken Pakistanireligious and national taboos in thepast. She is a target for conserva-tive ire and a heroine to somePakistani liberals.Conservative cleric Maulana

Abdul Qawi declared on Aaj TV on

Saturday that her latest venture intocontroversy was a "shame for allMuslims." Farzana Naz, inter-viewed by the same channel on thestreets of Lahore, said that theactress had "bowed all us women inshame." Twitter commentator UmairJaved however called on Pakistanisto "make copies of the picture andbury it in your backyard. This way,our grandkids will know there weresome amongst us who lived free!"Asked by reporters whether

Pakistan would "pursue the matter"legally, the country's Interior

Minister Rehman Malik saidSaturday, "First, let us see whetherit is real or fake."Malik for her part says that the

photo at the root of the currentuproar was published in violation ofher agreement with FHM India. Inan interview with Pakistani Geotelevision broadcast Saturday,Malik acknowledged having beenphotographed for a "bold but notnude shot." She said the editor ofthe magazine had promised that hewould cover most of the photo withthe ISI initials.

LAHORE: A Pakistani court hasasked authorities to inform it aboutthe current status of an Indian prison-er being held in a jail in Lahore eventhough he completed his sentencelast year. The Lahore high court onThursday directed the foreign secre-tary to inform it of the status of SurjeetSingh, who was convicted for spyingin 1985 and initially sentenced todeath under the Pakistan Army Act.Subsequently, Singh's death sen-tence was commuted to life imprison-

ment in 1988. After going through theLahore Central Jail superintendent'sreport on Singh, Justice ManzoorAhmad Malik directed the foreignsecretary to submit a report on theprisoner by December 20. The jailsuperintendent submitted a writtenreply to the court in response to apetition seeking Singh's release andthe inclusion of his name in a list offoreign prisoners languishing inPakistani jails despite having com-pleted their terms.

Pakistan to review all accordswith US, Nato, UN: Yousuf Gilani

Monkey 'arrested' in Pakfor crossing India borderUS starts vacating Shamsi airbase in Pakistan

Veena Malik's nude photo causes fury in Pakistan

Pakistan court seeks informationon status of Indian prisoner Hillary Clinton talks to Gilani but Pak firm on Bonn boycott decision

PACIFIC NEWS10 �� December 2011

SUVA (Fiji Times /Wansolwara/Pacific Media Watch): Outstandingstudent journalists of the Universityof the South Pacific have beenrewarded for their hard work at theirannual media awards.

“This is an event that is a priorityfor the school and we’re sure tohave a crop of really good journal-ists graduating through our pro-gramme,” said Professor SudeshMishra, head of the School ofLanguage, Arts and Media (SLAM).

The dean of the Faculty of Artsand Law, Dr Akanisi Kedrayate,said the event was dedicated tojournalism students and the pro-gramme for their efforts throughoutthe year.

She said the faculty had plans todevelop the programme.

“We’re proud to announce that

we’re finishing touch-ups beforereopening the Radio Pasifika sta-tion with $90,000 spent by the fac-ulty,” Dr Kedrayate said.

She also revealed plans to pushfor the programme to receive inter-national accreditation.

Journalism discipline coordina-tor Dr Marc Edge is also consider-ing plans for broader mediaawards.

A total of 13 students receivedawards ranging from editor’s certifi-cates for the award-winning pro-gramme newspaper Wansolwara tothe $1000 Vodafone Prize for theJournalism Student of the Yearwhich was awarded to Jasvin Lala.

Followed her dream“This award and cash incentive

acts as a motivator that hard workdoes pay off and stimulates the

mindset of the upcoming graduatingstudents that their effort will not bewasted but appreciated,” she wasquoted on the Vodafone website assaying.

Born and raised in Suva, JasvinLala is a young mother and liveswith her husband in Tamavua.

Her interest in journalism beganin high school and she was inspiredby her teachers to pursue a mediacareer.

Being the eldest in the family,Lala took on a leading role to helpher parents look after her fiveyounger siblings.

After leaving high school, her cir-cumstances changed. She got mar-ried and a few years later gave birthto her son, yet she never gave upher dream to further her studies atUSP and become a journalist.

PORTLAND - A series ofstrong winter-type storms expect-ed this week along Oregon's coasthas prompted the Oregon Parksand Recreation Department(OPRD) to issue a pre-holidayseason safety alert for coast visi-tors.

"The mix of high winds andheavy rains will bring storm watch-ers and beachcombers to thecoast this week and throughoutthe holiday season," said OPRDBeach Safety EducationCoordinator Robert Smith. "Wewant to remind them of a few tipsto stay safe. "Sneaker waves,which are always dangerous, aremagnified by winter storm surges,"Smith said. "Also, our beachesbecome narrower when sand iseroded away leaving little room toescape at some points. Even the

most experienced beachcomberscan be caught unaware unlessthey stay alert." Logs and otherbeach debris in the wake of astorm are always hazards to watchfor, he added. "Some logs thatwere well above the surf line andappeared safe in the summer maybe unstable after being moved byhigh waves. It's especially impor-tant now to stay clear of logs."

Coastal cliffs also can be haz-ardous. "The power of the oceancan have a long reach," Smithsaid. "The rain and wind we'rehaving can cause unstable condi-tions on cliffs overlooking theocean. Wandering off trails for acloser look can be a bad idea."

"When you visit the beach,respect the ocean and be aware ofyour surroundings," Smith empha-sized.

Kenneth strengthensinto Category 4 hurri-

cane in eastern Pacific;No threat to land

MIAMI — Forecasters sayHurricane Kenneth hasstrengthened even more intoa Category 4 storm in theeastern Pacific, althoughthere is no current threat toland. It is the strongest late-season hurricane in that areaon record. The U.S. NationalHurricane Center in Miamisaid Tuesday that Kennethhas maximum sustainedwinds near 145 mph (230kph). The storm was centeredabout 750 miles (1,210 kilo-meters) south-southwest ofthe southern tip of BajaCalifornia, Mexico, but wasmoving away from the coast.It is moving west at 13 mph(20 kph). Kenneth is expect-ed to start weakening onWednesday. There are nocoastal watches or warningsin effect.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario-- ValeantPharmaceuticals International, Inc. (NYSE:VRX and TSX: VRX) announced today that ithas signed an agreement to acquire iNova, aprivate pharmaceutical group which sells anddistributes a range of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) products in Australia, NewZealand, Southeast Asia and South Africafrom Archer Capital, Ironbridge and otherminority management shareholders.

iNova owns, develops and markets adiversified portfolio of well established andinnovative prescription and OTC pharmaceu-tical products in the Asia Pacific region andSouth Africa, including leading therapeuticweight management brands such asDuromine, as well as leading OTC brands inthe cold and cough area, such as Difflam andDuro Tuss.

Valeant will pay iNova shareholders A$625million upfront and up to an additional A$75million in potential milestones based on thesuccess of pipeline activities, product regis-trations and overall revenue. iNova's total2011 revenues are expected to be approxi-

mately A$200 million and has an operatingmargin of approximately 40%. Revenueshave grown at a rate of approximately 10%per annum over the last four years. Thetransaction is subject to certain closing condi-tions and post-closing adjustments, and isexpected to be immediately accretive.

"This transaction not only transforms ouroperations in the Australian market, but pro-vides us with a beachhead in both SoutheastAsia and South Africa," stated J. MichaelPearson, chairman and chief executive offi-cer. "iNova has a talented management teamthat has created a strong business operationahead of an intended initial public offeringand with the current market softness, Valeanthas a unique opportunity to acquire iNovaand integrate our Australian operations intothe broader iNova Asia Pacific business."

AABBOOUUTT VVAALLEEAANN TTPPHHAARRMMAACCEEUUTTIICCAALLSSIINNTTEERRNNAATTIIOONNAALL,, IINNCC..

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International,Inc. (NYSE/TSX: VRX) is a multinational spe-

cialty pharmaceutical company that develops,manufactures and markets a broad range ofpharmaceutical products primarily in theareas of neurology, dermatology and brandedgenerics. More information about ValeantPharmaceuticals International, Inc. can befound at www.valeant.com.

CCAAUUTTIIOONN RREEGGAARRDDIINNGG FFOORRWWAARRDD--LLOOOOKKIINNGG IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN

To the extent any statements made in thisdocument contain information that is not his-torical, these statements are forward-lookingstatements within the meaning of Section 27Aof the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,and Section 21E of the Securities ExchangeAct of 1934, as amended, and may be for-ward-looking information as defined underapplicable Canadian securities legislation(collectively, "forward-looking statements").

These forward-looking statements relateto, among other things, the closing of theacquisition of iNova by Valeant, Valeant'sexpansion into other territories and growth ini-

tiatives, the expected revenue and growthrate of iNova and the expected timing of theacquisition to be accretive. Forward-lookingstatements can generally be identified by theuse of words such as "believe", "anticipate","expect", "estimate", "intend", "continue","plan", "project", "will", "may", "should","could", "would", "target", "potential" andother similar expressions.

In addition, any statements that refer toexpectations, projections or other characteri-zations of future events or circumstances areforward-looking statements. Actual resultsmay differ materially from those expressed orimplied in such statements. Important factorsthat could cause actual results to differ mate-rially from these expectations include, amongother things, the closing of the acquisition ofiNova by Valeant, factors affecting the operat-ing results and growth initiatives of the iNovabusiness, and the risk factors as detailed fromtime to time in Valeant's reports filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission("SEC") and the Canadian SecuritiesAdministrators ("CSA").

New Zealand's Mana Partywants workers from SouthPacific nations to have thesame access and workingrights as Australians.

Party candidate, JohnMinto says New Zealand istreating its Pacific neighboursas a cheap source of unskilledlabour to be used and abused.

As campaigning comes toan end ahead of Saturday'selection, the Mana Party hasalso called for all NewZealand defence personnel inAfghanistan to be broughtback immediately.

EELLEECCTTIIOONN CCLLAASSHH

National leader, John Key sayshe plans to dedicate his last weekof campaigning to warning peopleagainst voting for what he calls theinstability of New Zealand First.

TVNZ says the First party, led byWinston Peters, is currently enjoy-

ing growing support in polls Somepolls have had New Zealand Firstgaining as many as six seats in thenext Parliament. But Mr Peterssays he will back away from sup-porting any Government, promisingtoll hold any party in power toaccount budget by budget if he issuccessful on Saturday. TheNational party has also ruled outworking with Mr Peters.

New Zealand's National Party leader, John Keyhas held government power since 2008.

Fans of Survivor: South Pacificwill be watching a recap episodethis Wednesday, November 23(airing on CBS, channel 5 inScottsdale). However, viewers arealready anxious for Survivor spoil-ers for the following week,Episode 12 airing on November30. Dawn, Whitney and Ozzy areat Redemption Island, and Upoluwill have to start voting off its own.While Maxx Fisher at TV Fun Spothas all of the details, he is teasingreaders a bit by sharing only someof the spoilers in his most recentpost from Friday.

Some Survivor: South Pacificspoilers from other forums hadteased that Dawn Meehan wouldwin at Redemption Island whenher turn came. According to Maxx,however, that is not the case. TVFun Spot shares that in the nextnew episode of Survivor: SouthPacific, airing November 30, OzzyLusth again reigns supreme. Ozzy

sends Dawn and Whitney packing,and keeps his winning streak alive.

Who gets voted out at TribalCouncil? This is one detail thatMaxx is holding back for now. Hehas teased fans that he’ll sharethe information on Wednesday, sostay tuned for updates. Of coursemany viewers think that Cochranis the obvious choice to cut next,but Maxx has previously teasedthat there will be a “bros beforehos” mentality with the group atthe next vote. If that is true, itappears Sophie or Edna may beon the chopping block.

Which castaways will make it tothe finale this season? Will theplayer returning from RedemptionIsland have any better luck stick-ing around than Matt did last sea-son? Tune in Wednesday night at7 p.m. for this week’s recapepisode, then the followingWednesday for a brand-newepisode.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Agrees to Acquire iNova

Young Fiji Mother TopsUsp Journalism Awards

Coastal flooding and high surfadvisories prompts warning

'Survivor: South Pacific' spoilers, Episode12: Who wins at Redemption Island?

NZ elections raise questionson foreign labour treatment

Yoga represents aprocess throughwhich one can learn

how to live in the mostintegrated way. Therefore,it involves the process ofidentification and thenelimination of all thatwould contribute to disinte-gration.The term yoga is

derived from yugil(Sanskrit), which meansunite or integrate. It's acombination of scienceand arts and a highly

enjoyable journey towardsperfection. One can tracethe origin of yoga wayback to the Indus ValleyCivilisation, ie, at least3,000 years BC. And forthe past 5,000 years, ithas remained as one ofthe most important facetsof our culture.With the goal of

restructuring the societyon spiritual values,through revival of ancientyogic discipline, SwamiKuvalayananda estab-lished the KaivalyadhamaYoga institute in 1924, atLonavla, near Pune. It isone of the oldest yogainstitutes in the countryand recently played hostto the 6th InternationalConference on YogaResearch & CulturalSynthesis, where over1,200 delegates partici-pated from the world,including the US, France,Brazil, China, Germany,Canada, Greece,Argentina, Korea andJapan.Yoga represents a pro-

cess through which onecan learn how to live inthe most integrated way.Therefore, it involves theprocess of identificationand then elimination of allthat would contribute todisintegration. Hence, itbecomes a continuousprocess, requiring con-stant vigilance, involvingall the aspects of life.According to O P

Tiwari, one of the mostrecognised and accom-plished masters of yogaand chief administrativeofficer of Kaivalyadhama,"Yoga, which is a scienceof personal growth forspiritual experiences, hassimultaneously become ascience of health andhealing. All its techniquesand methods are gearedfor bringing the healingtouch to the body andmind, which suffer from ill-health."

For this purpose, it hasthree main components.First is the practical

discipline (asanas,pranayama and dhyana).Asanas involve theincreased awareness ofvarious physical andphysiological processesinfluenced by controlledstretching contraction andrelaxation of various mus-cles, their co-ordinationin balancing and dur-ing maintenanceof posture.

Pranayama sim-ilarly involves themanipulation ofbreathing mechanismalong with the awarenessof the pressure changesinside the chest cavityand abdomen. Dhyanaincreases the awarenessof one's mental process-es, including the thoughts,emotions and memory. Itcan make one aware howthe constant restlessnessat the level of mind con-tributes to the feeling ofemotional stress, constantfear and insecurity. This

increased awareness,combined with the tech-niques of dhyana,restores the psycho-physi-ological functions back toits healthy and balancedstate.Second component is

the regulation of diet aswell as

daily habits involving thepattern of sleep, recre-ational activities and work-ing habits. This helpsremove all those irritants,which are responsible forthe imbalance in the func-tioning of body-mind com-plex.

Third arethe

changes in one's attitude,behaviour and lifestyle,which help induce thefeeling of sharing, warmthin friendship and concern,love and respect for thewhole world. This acts asan antidote for the feelingof hopelessness, andloneliness. "If you do yogakeeping this spirit in mindand comply with all theinstructions given to you,you would find that yoganot only gives yourelief from yourproblems butalso opens upa new wayof enjoyingyour life,"addsTiwari.An enjoyable journey

called yoga

Is there abest time toexercise?

Not really, sayexperts. For most

people the best timeto do exercise is the

best convenienttime. If you are doingexercise at a particu-lar time daily thenyou are more likely

to see results.It is often found

that those who doexercise in the morn-ing are more disci-

plined and areunlikely to skip exer-

cise at any costunlike those who doexercise in the late

evening.Though there are

researches on exer-cise they are still lim-ited. So it is difficult

to fix the right time toexercise. "Some

people can wake upearly in the morningand can easily do

exercise without fail.But others are lazyto get up early. So

for them it is alwaysbetter to do it

according to theirconvenience," saysBindu S, a fitness

expert.But some

research shows thatyou have more

endurance in the lateafternoon as the

body temperature isat its highest and so

strength andendurance are

greater. "Not manycan afford to workoutwhen they feel like

due to various familyand work commit-ments. So even ifyou are doing yourworkouts at a timeyou despair, don'tfeel sorry for yourbody can easily

adapt to any circum-stance," says

George Joseph, apersonal trainer.

George says morethan the physical

aspect missing theexercise routine canhave psychologicalimpacts. "The guiltfeeling that youcould not do the

exercise can bringforth many negativeemotions. This wouldaffect your productiv-

ity the whole day.So, the good

news is, whether it ismorning or late

evening what mat-ters is you do theexercise regularly.

HHEEAALLTTHH 11�� December 2011

R egarded as one of the bestamong the Fiji Ahmadis,

Yakub Khan, formerly of SeersAutomative has been recentlyelected as what is known as localZoam of Ansarullah (40 plus malemembers) of the Oakland Chapterof the Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity. Khan has previouslyheld other positions in the soundlyorganized AMC – AhmadiyyaMuslim Community. The AMC’sorganizational structure consists ofthree major auxilliaries, theAnsarullah (40 plus male mem-bers), the Lajna Imullah andNasraat (ladies) and KhuddamulAhamdiyya (below 40 male mem-bers). Each auxilliary has its ownleader who are also part of thelocal Aamila (shoorah). As far asthe auxilliaries are concerned theyare associated with a nationalbody and meet periodically for theirshooras and tarbiyyat program.Based on that concept, the localAnsarullah, in the case of the 40plus male members, create ashadow strcuture from membersslecetd by the Zoam to assist incarrying out many duties entrustedto them by the national orgnization.This approach adoped by the NewZealand AMC Anasrullah hasproven very successful.Ansar and AnsarullahThe word Ansar is in reference

to Medinite Muslims who firstearned the distinction when theHoly Prophet immigrated fromMeeca to Medina for stafety underthe ditection of God. On theiraccount of the welcome attitudeand readiness to help, the HolyProphet lovingly referred to themAnsar and those who immigratedfrom Median were referred to asMuhajareen (immigrants).Ansarullah is helper of Allah whichto a reference in the Holy Quranwhere Allah asks, " Who amongwould like to be My helpers ?’ Thesecond Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya

Muslim Jamaat, Hazrat MirzaBashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, inhis wisdom refrenced the 40 plusAhmadis as Ansarullah in remem-berance of the Anasrs of Medinaand called upon the group to stepup to standard set by them. A sig-nificantly high standard, theAnasrullah Ahmadiyya world overcompete every year to outstrip oneanother financial sacrifices andpersonal efforts in spreading themessage of Islam to others in apeaceful way. New local leaderYakub Khan is renonw for his cha-rasmetic leadership and manygreat traits, his charming and ami-cable approcah and widerangingcontacts among the Fiji AmericanMuslims in the Northern California.Khan strikes as very honest and

hardworking, gets along witheveryone very well, shows enor-mous respect to others, is overlyhelpful, abstains from Fijian socialdrink called Yagona and observesdaily paryers. An elequent recitorof the Holy Quran, Khan oftenleads Jumah prayers and is a fre-quent presentor in the local events.New Ansar leaderRegarded as one of the best

among the Fiji Ahmadis, YakubKhan, formerly of SeersAutomative has been recentlyelected as what is known as localZoam of Ansarullah (40 plus malemembers) of the Oakland Chapterof the Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity. Khan has previouslyheld other positions in the soundlyorganized AMC – AhmadiyyaMuslim Community. The AMC’sorganizational structure consists ofthree major auxilliaries, theAnsarullah (40 plus male mem-bers), the Lajna Imullah andNasraat (ladies) and KhuddamulAhamdiyya (below 40 male mem-bers).Each auxilliary has its own lead-

er who are also part of the localAamila (shoorah). As far as the

auxilliaries are concerned they areassociated with a national bodyand meet periodically for theirshooras and tarbiyyat program.Based on that concept, the localAnsarullah, in the case of the 40plus male members, create ashadow strcuture from membersslecetd by the Zoam to assist incarrying out many duties entrustedto them by the national orgnization.This approach adoped by the NewZealand AMC Anasrullah hasproven very successful.Ansar and AnsarullahThe word Ansar is in reference

to Medinite Muslims who firstearned the distinction when theHoly Prophet immigrated fromMeeca to Medina for stafety underthe ditection of God. On theiraccount of the welcome attitudeand readiness to help, the HolyProphet lovingly referred to themAnsar and those who immigratedfrom Median were referred to asMuhajareen (immigrants).Ansarullah is helper of Allah whichto a reference in the Holy Quranwhere Allah asks, " Who amongwould like to be My helpers ?’ Thesecond Khalifa of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Jamaat, Hazrat MirzaBashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, inhis wisdom refrenced the 40 plusAhmadis as Ansarullah in remem-berance of the Anasrs of Medinaand called upon the group to stepup to standard set by them.A significantly high standard,

the Anasrullah Ahmadiyya worldover compete every year to out-strip one another financial sacri-

fices and personal efforts inspreading the message of Islam toothers in a peaceful way. New localleader Yakub Khan is renonw forhis charasmetic leadership andmany great traits, his charmingand amicable approcah andwideranging contacts among theFiji American Muslims in theNorthern California.Khan strikes as very honest and

hardworking, gets along witheveryone very well, shows enor-mous respect to others, is overlyhelpful, abstains from Fijian socialdrink called Yagona and observesdaily paryers. An elequent recitorof the Holy Quran, Khan oftenleads Jumah prayers and is a fre-quent presentor in the local events.New Ansar leaderRegarded as one of the best

among the Fiji Ahmadis, YakubKhan, formerly of SeersAutomative has been recentlyelected as what is known as localZoam of Ansarullah (40 plus malemembers) of the Oakland Chapterof the Ahmadiyya MuslimCommunity. Khan has previouslyheld other positions in the soundlyorganized AMC – AhmadiyyaMuslim Community. The AMC’sorganizational structure consistsof three major auxilliaries, theAnsarullah (40 plus male mem-bers), the Lajna Imullah andNasraat (ladies) and KhuddamulAhamdiyya (below 40 male mem-bers). Each auxilliary has its ownleader who are also part of thelocal Aamila (shoorah).As far as the auxilliaries are

concerned they are associatedwith a national body and meetperiodically for their shooras andtarbiyyat program. Based on thatconcept, the local Ansarullah, inthe case of the 40 plus male mem-bers, create a shadow strcuturefrom members slecetd by theZoam to assist in carrying outmany duties entrusted to them by

the national orgnization. Thisapproach adoped by the NewZealand AMC Anasrullah hasproven very successful.Ansar and AnsarullahThe word Ansar is in reference

to Medinite Muslims who firstearned the distinction when theHoly Prophet immigrated fromMeeca to Medina for stafety underthe ditection of God. On theiraccount of the welcome attitudeand readiness to help, the HolyProphet lovingly referred to themAnsar and those who immigratedfrom Median were referred to asMuhajareen (immigrants).Ansarullah is helper of Allah whichto a reference in the Holy Quranwhere Allah asks, " Who amongwould like to be My helpers ?’ Thesecond Khalifa of the AhmadiyyaMuslim Jamaat, Hazrat MirzaBashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, inhis wisdom refrenced the 40 plusAhmadis as Ansarullah in remem-berance of the Anasrs of Medinaand called upon the group to stepup to standard set by them. A sig-nificantly high standard, theAnasrullah Ahmadiyya world overcompete every year to outstripone another financial sacrificesand personal efforts in spreadingthe message of Islam to others ina peaceful way.New local leader Yakub Khan

is renonw for his charasmeticleadership and many great traits,his charming and amicable app-rocah and wideranging contactsamong the Fiji American Muslimsin the Northern California. Khanstrikes as very honest and hard-working, gets along with everyonevery well, shows enormousrespect to others, is overly helpful,abstains from Fijian social drinkcalled Yagona and observes dailyparyers. An elequent recitor of theHoly Quran, Khan often leadsJumah prayers and is a frequentpresentor in the local events.

INTERFAITH12 �� December 2011

Mohammad Abdus Salam(1926-1996) was his full name,which may add to the knowledge ofthose who wish he was either notAhmadi or Pakistani. The manproudly lived and died as both, andmuch more, as Pakistan disownedhim, in life and in death. The gov-ernment denied him the honour of astate funeral; the media remainedabsent from the burial ceremony atRabwah, which has since beenrenamed not after Abdus Salam butas Chenab Nagar, just to spite itsAhmadi residents.The restyled epitaph at his grave

near his native Jhang awkwardlyreads: “First —— Nobel Laureate”,from which the word “Muslim” hasbeen deleted under court orders;the court, even in its narrow mind-edness could have ordered thereplacement of “Muslim” with“Pakistani” but that was not to be.This son of Jhang is less known inhis own country today than the ter-rorist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, even

though he had founded and led anabler lashkar (brigade) of some 500Pakistani physicists and mathe-maticians over the years whom hearranged to send to UK and US uni-versities on scholarship for higherstudies. He was the guiding spiritand founder of Pakistan’s nuclearprogramme as well as PakistanAtomic Energy Commission andSpace and Upper AtmosphereResearch Commission (Suparco).The pygmies who after him headedthe two institutes he was allowed toset up in Pakistan in his pre-non-Muslim years have since beencredited with laurels, and honouredmore, even in their dishonourableconduct, as father of this and that,while the Godfather remains con-spicuous by his absence in officialrecords. Dr Salam became the vic-tim of rigid social attitudes and state

discrimination against his commu-nity when Z.A. Bhutto through anact of parliament declared the

Ahmadis non-Muslim in 1974.Heartbroken at the humiliation, heleft Pakistan in protest to live inEurope where in 1979 he wasawarded the Nobel for his ground-breaking research in theoreticalphysics; soon roads were namedafter him in Geneva and Trieste, ifnot in Islamabad or Jhang. Thesame year, as it happened, Bhuttowas hanged by Gen Zia’s kangaroocourt, but the Ahmadis’ predica-ment was Bhutto’s only legacy thatZia embraced wholeheartedly andbuilt on even further. Despite beinggiven the roughshod, Dr Salamfrom his institute in Italy, continuedto patronise bright Pakistani scien-tists and students through a schol-arship programme. His alma materGovernment College, Lahore,which has named its mathematicsand physics departments after Dr

Salam, and Pakistan Post, whichissued a two-rupee stamp to hon-our him, remain the only state insti-tutions to have acknowledged him.The nascent rock band aptly

named as Beghairat Brigade, ofAalu Anday fame, has hit the nailon the spot with their lyrics of thepopular song which rightly laments:aithe Abdus Salm noon puchhdaikoi nai (nobody values AbdusSalam here) as they point out thatmurderers Qadri and Qasab havebecome our heroes. His birth anniversary, January

29, remains a long shot from beingcelebrated as Dr Abdus Salam Day,even though we invent anomalieslike the Yaum-i-Takbir (atomic deto-nation day) and Sindhi Culture Day,amongst the myriad others, that areofficially marked on our calendar.How truly unworthy is Pakistan ofits only Nobel laureate. Rest inpeace, Dr Salam. The writer is amember of the staff at DawnNewspaper.

SSaallaaaamm AAbbdduuss SSaallaamm

NEW ANSAR LEADER

16 �� December 2011 17�� December 2011

BOLLYWOOD18 �� December 2011

S he loves to stackher novels fromfloor to ceiling,

wants to be with a manwho is politically, sociallyand culturally aware, andyet, mostly, 26-year-oldSonam Kapoor is first spo-ken about for herwardrobe, and then for herchoice of roles. But afterbeing in the industry fortwo-and-a-half years, theactress says that sheenjoys the tag of being asartorial icon.PPEEOOPPLLEE SSTTAARRTTEEDD NNOOTTIICC--IINNGG MMYY CCLLOOTTHHEESS OONNLLYY AAYYEEAARR AAGGOO

Says Sonam, "I've been inthe industry for two-and-a-half years. When"Saawariya" and "Delhi 6"came, people only spokeabout how Indian I looked.The memory of the audi-ence is very short. Theyforgot about these twoyears, when all they spoke

about was how Indian mylooks were and how I wasdoing those 'Smita Patil'kind of roles. But sudden-ly, with "Aisha" and "I HateLuv Storys", they startedidentifying me with thosecharacters. But that's alsonice as it means I did myjob well."II''MM GGLLAADD TTHHAATT 8800%% OOFF MMYY FFAANNSS AARREE FFEEMMAALLEEDespite the 'fashion icon'classification, Sonamclaims she has no specificpublic image. Says she, "Idon't think I have animage in the public space.What I really like aboutmyself in this space is thatmost of my fans arefemale. In fact, 80% of myfans are female and I likethat because they like thefact that I'm a real girl.They like that I dress up,and that I dress up for realgirls. My dressing is aspi-rational, but I don't wearthe 'tight-tight sort of

clothes' that make me looklike I'll steal your husbandor boyfriend. I like the factthat they like that I read, orthat I speak in a certainway or that I'm not scaredof people judging me. Ispeak my mind. And Ihave women fans becauseof that. And that is onething I will never changeabout myself."II OONNLLYY GGEETT FFLLAAKK FFRROOMM TTHHEE MMEENN IINN TTHHEE IINNDDUUSSTTRRYYWhile Sonam says thatwomen appreciate her forwhat she is, it is usuallythe men who give her flakfor speaking her mind.She tells us, "My fatherhas always brought me uplike a son and he's moreambitious for me and mysister than he is for hisson. So I think giving usthat freedom, giving usthat strength... I have somuch self respect formyself because of the waymy dad has brought usup... I always speak mymind and I have an opin-ion and I feel girls getinspired by it, they like it."But Sonam denies that it issomething she has culti-vated after coming to theindustry, and tells us, "It isthe way we have beenbrought up. Yes, it gets meflaks from men (anduncles), but being so

plainspoken hasnever worked againstme because I'venever done it with abad intention... Whenyou don't mean anyharm, things don'tcome and bite youback. So I'm notdoing anything tomar someone'simage or put some-one down when I saysomething. I am justplainspoken. I say itas it is. For exam-ple, I don't have abad reputation,people don't talkabout my affairs,or catfightsbecause I havenever had anyfights with peopleand I never hadaffairs with my heroes.So, there is no reason forpeople to talk about any-thing. Even though thereare girls who are quitediplomatic about stuff likethat, their image is farmore tarnished than minecould be. I am plainspokenand I say things in a cer-tain way, but I also leadmy life in a way that peo-ple can't question what Ido or who I am. I feel like Ihave a responsibilitybecause there are a lot ofgirls who do look up to meand who see me in thepublic eye and I am aspi-rational to them and Ihave a responsibility tobehave in a certainway, to conduct my lifein a certain way."

OOFF MMYY ffaannss aarree ffeemmaalleeSSOONNAAMM KKAAPPOOOORR

II SSUUPPPPOORRTT AANNYYMMOOVVEEMMEENNTT FFOORR TTHHEEBBEETTTTEERRMMEENNTT OOFF OOUURRCCOOUUNNTTRRYYAs someone who people look upto, Sonam says she realises howimportant it is for known faces tosupport public campaigns. And theactress is certainly supporting thewave against corruption. Talkingabout Anna Hazare and the entirecampaign, she says, "I do supportany movement that is for the better-ment of our country or one thatcauses a lot of people in the countryto come together. A lot of people aresaying that had become a catfightbetween various political parties.But people shouldn't just get on withtheir lives like earlier. There shouldbe some change that happens... Iam for every movement that is posi-tive... who does it, who is part of itor who instigating, it is inspiring.Any person who causes thatchange becomes a symbol." Butas far as getting out on the streetis concerned, Sonam says thatthat becomes particularly diffi-cult, adding, "That is somethingthat I don't think I will do. Iwould love to, but a lot ofattention is diverted from thecause when a celebrity comesto the ground. People wereasking that " Mausam" wassupposed to have its musicallaunch in London but we can-celled it because of the riots.

SSOONNAAMM KKAAPPOOOORRJune 9, 1985

Height: 5' 9 1/2

HobbiesReading, writing,painting

Father: Anil Kapoor

Mother: Sunita Kapoor

Sister: Rhea

Brother: Harshvardhan

CareerWorked as anAssistant of SanjayLeela Bhansali duringthe making of the filmBlack in 2005

Debut film: Saawariya (2007)

Awards & Nominations

Filmfare Best FemaleDebut Award; Saawariya (2008)

Sony Head NShoulders Fresh Faceof the Year Award;Saawariya (2008)

WORLD NEWS 21�� December 2011

BONN: The West used anAfghanistan meeting on Monday tosignal enduring support for Kabul asallied troops go home, but economicdownturn in Europe and crises withPakistan and Iran could stir doubtsabout Western resolve.

The goal is to leave behind anAfghan government strong enoughto escape the fate of its Soviet-erapredecessor, which collapsed in1992 in a civil war. The country'sallies are preparing increasingly fora scenario in which there is nopeace settlement with the Talibanbefore most foreign combat troopsleave in 2014.

"The United States intends tostay the course with our friends inAfghanistan," US secretary of stateHillary Clinton told the conference."We will be there with you as youmake the hard decisions that arenecessary for your future."

Hosts Germany sought to signalWestern staying power as the gath-ering of dozens of foreign ministersopened in the German city of Bonn.

"We send a clear message to thepeople of Afghanistan: We will notleave you on your own. We will notleave you in the lurch," said GermanForeign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Ten years after a similar confer-ence held to rebuild Afghanistan fol-lowing the Sept. 11 attacks, Westerncountries are under pressure to

spend money reviving flaggingeconomies at home rather thanpropping up a government in Kabulwidely criticised for being corruptand ineffective. Brewing confronta-tions pitting Washington againstPakistan and Iran, two ofAfghanistan's most influential neigh-bours, have added to despondencyover the outlook for the war.Pakistan boycotted the meeting afterNato aircraft killed 24 of its soldierson the border with Afghanistan in aNov. 26 attack the alliance called a"tragic" accident. Some in the Westare still hoping Pakistan will use itsinfluence to deliver the Afghan

Taliban, whose leadershipWashington says is based inPakistan, to peace talks.

But foreign governments, whileregretting Pakistan's absence, madeclear they would press ahead inbuilding up the Kabul government'sability to survive after 2014 even ifIslamabad fails to bring insurgentsinto a political settlement.

"It may take a longer time to bringabout our objectives but we shouldnot be deterred at all by Talibanreluctance to come to the table,"British Foreign Secretary WilliamHague told the BBC.

Embryonic contacts with the

Taliban have so far yielded little, andwith the government in Kabul unableto provide security and economicdevelopment, the risk is that thewithdrawal of foreign troops willplunge Afghanistan back into civilwar. Renewed strife might also stirmore violence over the border inPakistan, fighting its own Islamistinsurgency. Iran's growing con-frontation with the West over itsnuclear programme could also bleedinto the war in Afghanistan.

Tehran said on Sunday it shotdown a US spy drone in its airspaceand threatened to respond.International forces in Kabul said thedrone may have been one lost lastweek while flying over westernAfghanistan.

Iran has been accused in thepast of providing low-level backingto the Taliban insurgency, and diplo-mats and analysts have suggestedTehran could ratchet up this supportif it wanted to put serious pressureon US forces in Afghanistan.

Foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehion Monday reiterated Iran's opposi-tion to the United States keepingsome forces in Afghanistan after2014. "Certain Western countriesseek to extend their military pres-ence in Afghanistan beyond 2014 bymaintaining their military basesthere. We deem such an approachto be contradictory to efforts to sus-

tain stability and security inAfghanistan," he told the confer-ence. Foreign governments howev-er were determined to try to dispel atleast some of the pessimism seep-ing into the Afghan project.

Indian Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna, whose country became thefirst to sign a strategic partnershipagreement with Afghanistan - muchto the irritation of Pakistan - pledgedIndia would keep up its heavy invest-ment in a country whose mineralwealth and trade routes made it "aland of opportunity".

In a rare positive development,Clinton said the United States wouldresume paying into a World Bank-administered trust fund forAfghanistan, a decision that US offi-cials said would allow for the dis-bursement of roughly $650 million to$700 million in suspended US aid.The United States and other bigdonors stopped paying into theAfghan Reconstruction Trust Fund inJune, when the InternationalMonetary Fund suspended its pro-gramme with Afghanistan becauseof concerns about Afghanistan'stroubled Kabul Bank.

The conference is not expectedto produce new aid pledges; instead,U.S. officials say they hope it willmark a start to a process outliningfuture support to be pledged bymid-2012.

WASHINGTON: In another steptoward finding Earth-like planets thatmay hold life, NASA said on Mondaythe Kepler space telescope has con-firmed its first-ever planet in a habit-able zone outside our solar system.

French astronomers earlier thisyear confirmed the first rocky exo-planet to meet key requirements forsustaining life. But Kepler-22b, ini-tially glimpsed in 2009, is the first theUS space agency has been able toconfirm. Confirmation means thatastronomers have seen it crossing infront of its star three times. But itdoesn't mean that astronomersknow whether life actually existsthere, simply that the conditions areright. Such planets have the rightdistance from their star to supportwater, plus a suitable temperature

and atmosphere to support life."We have now got good planet

confirmation with Kepler-22b," saidBill Borucki, Kepler principal investi-gator at NASA Ames ResearchCenter.

"We are certain that it is in thehabitable zone and if it has a sur-face, it ought to have a nice temper-ature," he told reporters. Spinningaround its star some 600 light yearsaway, Kepler-22b is 2.4 times thesize of the Earth, putting it in classknown as "super-Earths," and orbitsits Sun-like star every 290 days. Itsnear-surface temperature is pre-sumed to be about 72 degreesFahrenheit (22 Celsius). Scientistsdo not know, however, whether theplanet is rocky, gaseous or liquid.The planet's first "transit," or star

crossover, was captured shortly afterNASA launched its Kepler spacecraftin March 2009.

NASA also announced thatKepler has uncovered 1,094 morepotential planets, twice the number itpreviously had been tracking,according to research being present-ed at a conference in California thisweek. Kepler is NASA's first missionin search of Earth-like planets orbit-ing suns similar to ours, and cost theUS space agency about $600 mil-lion. It is equipped with the largestcamera ever sent into space -- a 95-megapixel array of charge-coupleddevices -- and is expected to contin-ue sending information back to Earthuntil at least November 2012.

Kepler is searching for planets assmall as Earth, including those orbit-

ing stars in a warm, habitable zonewhere liquid water could exist on thesurface of the planet.

The latest confirmed exoplanetthat could support life brings to threethe total number confirmed by globalastronomers. In addition to Frenchastronomers' confirmed finding ofGliese 581d in May, Swissastronomers reported in August thatanother planet, HD 85512 b, about36 light years away seemed to be inthe habitable zone of its star.

However, those two planets are"orbiting stars smaller and coolerthan our Sun," NASA said in a state-ment, noting that Kepler-22b "is thesmallest yet found to orbit in the mid-dle of the habitable zone of a starsimilar to our Sun." "The Europeanshave also been very active, actively

working on confirming our candi-dates," said Natalie Batalha, Keplerdeputy science team lead at SanJose State University. "They havealready confirmed two that are pub-lished and they have got anotherbatch that are on the preprint serversso those will be, I'm sure, in the pub-lished literature soon," she added."So we are just thrilled about this.We need all telescopes observingthese candidates so we can confirmas many as possible." A total of 48exoplanets and exomoons arepotential habitable candidates,among a total of 2,326 possibilitiesthat Kepler has identified so far. Thetop rankers are listed in an onlinecatalog that indexes bodies outsideour solar system, available online athttp://phl.upr.edu.

MELBOURNE: Strongly favour-ing Labor Party decision to exporturanium to India despite it being anon signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, AustralianDefence Minister Stephen Smith hassaid that he did not support the simi-lar treatment towards Pakistan.

Smith, who is set to leave for Indiatoday, said he did not support urani-um exports to Pakistan.

Smith said he was a strong sup-porter of uranium export to India,calling it an exceptional case. "Indiabrought itself under the governanceof the international nuclear regula-tors, the International Atomic EnergyAgency and the Nuclear SuppliersGroup," Smith said. "That has not

occurred with Pakistan. There hasnever been a suggestion of (nuclear)proliferation from India," he saidadding, "Regrettably, over precedingyears, there have been serious con-cerns about proliferation fromPakistan." He expressed hope thatPakistan would understand the deci-sion and that it would not affect mili-tary ties between the two nations."Pakistan would understand thedecision and that it would not affectmilitary ties between the two nations,especially in their cooperation in thewar in Afghanistan," he said adding,"I don't see this decision as havingan adverse outcome, so far as theAustralia-Pakistan relationship isconcerned."

Moscow: Russian strongmanVladimir Putin on Monday sufferedthe worst election setback of hiscareer as the majority of his rulingparty was scythed back in pollsmarred by claims of violations .Despite failure of ruling UnitedRussia to win even half the vote,monitors said polls had been slant-ed in its favour and US secretary ofstate Hillary Clinton said there were"serious concerns" .

While United Russia has man-aged to keep a much-reducedabsolute majority, it appears Putin'sonce invincible popularity is on thewane ahead of his planned returnto the Kremlin in 2012.

United Russia obtained 238

seats in the 450-seat State Duma inSunday's polls, down sharply fromthe 315 seats it won in the last pollsin 2007, election commission chiefVladimir Churov told reporters ."The word 'Putin' has lost its magicforce," concluded analyst YuryKorgunyuk of the INDEM researchinstitute . "These elections broughthim nothing good."

This was the first time that Putinor his party had endured a declinein support in an election. UnitedRussia has also lost the majority oftwothirds required to pass anychanges to the constitution. Theparty only managed to win 49.35%of the vote, down sharply from over64% in 2007.

Olympics 2012 tohave first ever Saudifemale athlete

JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia): ForthcomingOlympics is supposed to have SaudiArabia's female athlete, first ever in the his-tory, Saudi media reported. The InternationalOlympic Committee's Women and SportsCommission has requested all membercountries to send a female representative.Saudi The kingdom is likely to send 18-yearold equestrienne Dalma Rushdi Malhas,who won a bronze medal in the 2010Singapore Youth Olympics, marking the firstever Saudi women in an international com-petition Saudi Arabia is against marginaliz-ing women, as its ruler declared in lastSeptember, when he granted women theright to vote and contest for the first time."Women have the right to submit their candi-dacy for municipal council membership andhave the right to take part in submitting can-didates in accordance with Sharia" the rulerKing Abdullah had stated.

India, US pledge to stay for long-haul in Afghanistan

Kepler 22b: NASA confirms 'super-Earth' that could hold life

Blow for Putin: Poll fraudclaims add to party jolt

Australia minister supportsuranium sales to India

SPORTS22 �� December 2011

NEW DELHI: Last year's run-ner-up, Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisawon the Airtel Delhi Half Marathonin a sizzling 59 minutes and 30seconds on Sunday. He betteredlast year's winning time of 59.38.Desisa was followed by Kenya'sGeoffrey Kipsang with 59.31 whilehis compatriot, Mike Kigen tookthe third place with 59.58.

It was Milton Rotich who ledthousands of runners at the 10-kmmark in just 28.28. He led thecourse till Dr Zakir Hussain Margbefore a group of 20 similar-look-ing Kenyans and Ethiopiansincreased the pace and Rotich fellbehind. At India Gate, the tightlyknit group began to split. After apoint, the group was reduced tosix athletes including Desisa, racefavourite and fastest man on thelist Sammy Kitwara, PhilemonLimo, Geofrrey Kipsang and DinoSefir. While coming towards thefinish line, Limo and Sefir couldn'tkeep up the pace. Kitwara toostarted to trail with 3 kms to go."The competition was good, I ranmy best time. But I am not very

happy with the time, I had cold,and could have easily run in 58minutes," Desisa told TOI. Lastyear, Desisa had clocked 59minand 39sec. Kipsang, who lost byjust one second, said: "After 15k Ipushed hard, and was at par withothers. But Desisa sprinted in last200m; I chased but couldn't catchhim." Race favourite Kitwara wascertainly not a happy man finish-ing fifth with one hour and 9 sec-onds.Among women, Luch Kabuuof Kenya kept her pre-racepromise of winning but missedbreaking the meet record by 10seconds. Kabuu clocked 1:07.04.The record stands at 1:06.54 inthe name of Kenya's Mary Keitanywhich was created in 2009.

Toronto Maple Leafs Jay Rosehill (R) controls the puck in front of Anaheim Ducks' Cam Fowler (L) during the first period of theirNHL hockey game in Anaheim, California.

LONDON: Roger Federer won arecord sixth ATP World Tour Finalstitle with a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 victoryover France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga onSunday.

Federer came to London's O2Arena determined to end a frustrat-ing year on a high and he fulfilledthat ambition by moving ahead ofPete Sampras and Ivan Lendl onthe list of Tour Finals champions inthe 100th final of his majestic career.

The 30-year-old, who retains thetitle he won 12 months ago, hasnow won 70 trophies in his careerand has also equalled Lendl'srecord of 39 match wins in the end-of-season event.

While rivals Novak Djokovic,Rafael Nadal and Andy Murrayhave all faded in the final weeks of agruelling season, Federer is stillgoing strong and this triumph --which followed back to back titles inBasel and Paris -- will be a majorboost to his confidence heading into2012. Although Federer, who takeshome the winners' cheque worth$770,000, ends the season withouta Grand Slam title for the first timesince 2002, talk of his demiseseems greatly exaggerated.

The 16-time Grand Slam winnerhas reeled off a 17-match winningstreak since the US Open and hewill rise back above Murray to thirdin the world rankings as a result.Tsonga had hoped to become thefirst Frenchman to win this event inits 41-year history. But the 26-year-old was unable to emulate hisfamous Wimbledon quarter-final winin June when he became the firstplayer to beat the Swiss star fromtwo sets down in a Grand Slam.Tsonga has served more aces thananyone on the ATP Tour this season

and bashed down his 815th of theyear to open his first service gamein front an 18,000 crowd includingthe Duchess of Cambridge andCristiano Ronaldo.

It was an emphatic statement ofintent and Tsonga -- who lost justone point in his first three servicegames -- was able to keep Federerat bay in the early stages of athrilling encounter. Federer so oftenproduces a piece of inspiration thatturns the course of a tight matchand that was the case again at 0-30on Tsonga's serve in the seventhgame. When Tsonga forcedFederer into a lunging return thattook his opponent wide of the tram-lines it seemed the point was over,but the Swiss star somehow recov-ered his balance and swept backacross court in time to flick a fore-hand winner down the line.

As Tsonga shook his head in dis-belief, Federer pressed home hisadvantage, converting his first breakpoint and then taking the set on histhird set point.

BANGALORE: RajyavardhanSingh Rathore, who gave a silverlining to Indian shooting sevenyears back at the Athens Olympics,revisited his glory days on Sundayby equalling the world record to wingold in the double trap event at thefirst Asian Shotgun ShootingChampionships in Kuala Lumpur.With the championship offering noberths to the London Olympics, the"dream score" of 148 will give allthe Army officer immense confi-dence as he attempts to win aquota place at the Asian Shootingchampionship scheduled in Dohain January. Rathore's effortequalled Russian Vitaly Fokeev's

mark set at the World Cup held inConcepcion, Chile in March.Earlier, Ronjan Sodhi, who hasalready won a quota place forLondon, equalled the world andAsian record in the qualificationround with a score of 147. Rathore

missed just two shots in the prelim-inary round (50, 48, 50). He thenshot a 46 in the title round for a finalscore of 194/200. In the teamevent, Rathore (148), Yoginder Pal(133) and Mohammed Asab (131)bagged the bronze medal for India."It is god's gift. I'm really happy thatI've achieved this. It's a hugescore, a dream one. After the first10 targets in the last round mymind said that I'm heading for aworld record and that was addedpressure. So I told my mind to shutup. Having coming so close, youdon't want to let go of such achance," an elated Rathore toldTOI from Kuala Lumpur.

SAO PAULO: Mark Webberwon his first race of the year onSunday when he took advantageof Red Bull teammate and dou-ble world champion SebastianVettel's gearbox problems to winthe season-ending BrazilianGrand Prix.

Driving with great speed, pre-cision and a near-flawless senseof judgement, the 35-year-oldAustralian came home 16.9 sec-onds ahead of his team-mateVettel to give Red Bull a thirdone-two of the 2011 season. Itwas an excellent drive byWebber who delivered his sev-enth career win to make sure hefinished third in the champi-onship behind Vettel and JensonButton, who came home third forMcLaren.

Vettel, who had alreadywrapped up his second title, fin-ished with a final total of 392points ahead of Button on 270and Webber on 258. Ferrari'sFernando Alonso was fourth on257. Alonso finished fourth in therace just ahead of team-mate

Felipe Massa, with Adrian Sutil ofForce India and Nico Rosberg ofMercedes sixth and seventhrespectively.

Rookie Paul Di Resta camehome eighth for Force India, cap-ping an impressive first seasonwith another good result, aheadof Kamui Kobayashi of Sauberand Vitaly Petrov of Renault.Webber took the lead after 30laps of the 71-lap contest whenVettel, struggling with gearboxproblems from lap five onwards,accepted the team's advice toease off and nurse his car hometo second. "I felt good all week-end. Seb did a great lap for pole.

Today I had the rub of the green.It would have been nice to havea race with Seb all the waythrough but he had a problem,"said Webber. "It's a win you'lltake for sure because I've hadbad luck or whatever you want tocall it. It's an important win for meand the team to finish on a high."

The race started in hot condi-tions with an air temperature of26 degrees Celsius and a tracktemperature of 44 degrees.Vettel, from his record 15th poleof the year, made a now-custom-ary smooth departure and estab-lished a lead of more than a sec-ond on the opening lap ahead ofWebber and Button.

Behind that trio, LewisHamilton was unable to resist thesurge from Alonso's Ferrari as hefought past him to take fourth.Massa also progressed a placeto sixth. By lap three, Vettel was2.2 seconds clear but RubensBarrichello, dreaming of a glori-ous race in what may have beenhis final Grand Prix, fell from 12thto 19th off the grid.

Federer wins record sixthATP World Tour Finals title

Rajyavardhan Rathore equals world record in Asian Shotgun Shooting

Desisa goes one better inDelhi Half Marathon Webber wins season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix

TRAVEL 23�� December 2011

W e have always beentaught that honesty isthe best policy, and

that to lie is a bad thing to do.As we grow older, we realise thatin many situations, it is a goodidea to keep quiet or better still,be diplomatic and tactfully han-dle sensitive issues. The divid-ing line between being honestand being diplomatic is a thinone. We have to be careful indeciding when to be honestand when to be at our diplo-matic best. We also have todecide whether we should beabsolutely candid, or use thetruth as a matter of conve-nience?Our relationships demand com-plete honesty, or else, we get

into trouble. In a household, forinstance, the husband wasquite diplomatic in commentingon his wife's unpalatable cook-ing. Whatever his wife wouldcook, he would always say thefood was 'not bad.' He wouldavoid criticising his wife's cook-ing skills. The situation wors-ened to a point when the wifecooked food that was almostinedible. The husband could

not take it anymore andscreamed at his wife for servingsuch bad-tasting food. The wifewas taken aback. From thatday onwards, everything thehusband had diplomaticallycovered up started to breakdown. Daily fights and argu-ments became the order of theday between the husband andwife. One day, both of themdecided they could not live

together anymore.This might be a worst case sce-nario, but it serves as a goodexample for us to know whereour diplomacy or lack of hon-esty can lead to in our relation-ships. Before you decide to betotally frank, you must carefullyanalyse all consequences ofyour actions. While life needs agood mix of honesty and diplo-macy, when to be honest and

when tobe diplomatic is a

tough individualchoice. Whatever we domust make us comfortable,peaceful and happy. Anhonest person will feelfrustrated and restlesswhen forced to be diplo-

matic against his will, while adiplomatic one will get highlystressed at the thought ofspeaking the truth. How toreact in a situation alsodepends on what is at stake. Ifyou want to be honest andspeak your mind against yourboss, you better be prepared tolose your job. If you tell yourfriend what you hate about him,it might end your friendship.

Once you are ready to acceptthe consequences, withoutregret or remorse, then you canbe honest.Why do we become diplomaticwhen we know the obvioustruth? Diplomacy is always anescapist trait, which we use toavoid hurting others and our-selves. When the wife asks thehusband: "Am I looking fat?"and the husband answershonestly, "Yes, you haveput on too much weight,"one can well imagine thewife's reactions and thehusband's plight. But if thehusband speaks his mindand faces his wife's wrathout of genuine affection forher, it is likely that she will

enrol herself in some fitnessprogramme and actually loseweight! Diplomacy protects usin the short term, but it is hon-esty that brings long-term ben-efits and permanent gains.To be completely honest, youmust ask yourself, "Why am Iafraid of speaking the truth"?You will find that the answer isobvious. Our Diplomacy is onlyfor our self-protection; it is aself-preservation device. Ouregos are too fragile to acceptinsult and criticism. In our dailylives, few of us want to rock theboat by speaking the truth atwork or in our homes. We liketo avoid confrontations. The dif-ference between living a super-ficial life and a rich and mean-ingful one is eventually deter-mined by whether we are beingdiplomatic or brutally honest.

New Zealand's first tourist attrac-tion, dubbed the "eighth wonder ofthe world" by international travellersin the late 19th century, has beenrediscovered 125 years after it wasburied by one of the biggest-evervolcanic eruptions.New Zealand and US scientists

said they found the Pink and WhiteTerraces, 60 metres below LakeRotomahana, 30 km from Rotoruain the heart of the North Island'sgeothermal region.The terraces, described at the

time as a delicately-coloured fan-like staircase of rock covered withshades of pink and white silica ris-ing like a giant wedding cake fromthe shores of the lake, disappearedwhen nearby Mount Tarawera blewup June 10, 1886.The five-hour eruption split the

1,111-metre-high mountain in two,sending ash and lava over thou-sands of square kilometres of coun-tryside, completely burying threevillages and killing an estimated153 people. Hundreds fled for theirlives as smoke rose 10 km into theair.Lake Rotomahana ("warm lake"

in the Maori tongue) was emptiedby the blast, only to be enlargedmany times when it refilled, with hotsprings bubbling up from up itsshoreline and steam issuing from itsbanks, but with no sign of thelargest silica terraces in the world.Scientists from the state GNS

Science organisation and America's

Woods Hole OceanographicInstitution on Cape Cod,Massachusetts, said they found thepart of the terraces while mappingthe floor of the eight-square kilome-tre lake and investigating itsgeothermal system.Sonar images taken by two

autonomous underwater vehicles(AUVs) showed a pink-coloured,crescent-shaped, grimy staircaserising 1-2 metres from the lake floor

for about 70 metres.Project leader Cornel de Ronde,

of GNS Science, said: "The firstsonar image gave a hint of a ter-raced structure so we scanned thearea twice more and we are now 95per cent certain we are seeing thebottom two tiers of the PinkTerraces."He said there was no sign of the

larger White Terraces, which wereeither destroyed during the erup-

tion, or are still concealed underthick sediment that the side-scansonar signal could not penetrate."This discovery puts to rest more

than a century of speculation as towhether any part of the Pink andWhite Terraces survived the erup-tion," de Ronde said. "Somethingthat's meant to be gone and thatnobody's seen in 125 years.Highlights in a science career don'tcome any better than this."

Historian Margaret McClure toldthe New Zealand Herald that theterraces and their cascading hotpools were the spark for tourism inthe country, which now gets 2.5 mil-lion foreign visitors a year."Back then it was the tourism

high point," she said, attractingtourists from all over the world."People said it was like fairyland, orAladdin's Cave."News of the find stunned local

Maoris, whose ancestors lived nearthe terraces and died in the erup-tion.Anaru Rangiheuea, an elder of

Te Arawa tribe, told Wellington'sDominion Post newspaper: "Forme, it brings back a few tears and afew feelings of my people who wereall buried and killed in the aftermathof that eruption."De Ronde said the investigation

had revealed a "very, very big"geothermal system under the lakefloor, giving rise to speculation thatit could be developed for powergeneration like a nearby field atWairakei.But to the Maori people, areas

where their ancestors died are"tapu" (taboo) and should not bedisturbed. "Before we start movinginto any economic consideration,we need to get the spiritual aspectof this properly addressed," saidToby Curtis, chairman of Te ArawaLakes Trust, which owns the lakefloor under an agreement with thegovernment.

'Eighth wonder of the world' found!

Should we be HHOONNEESSTT OORR DDIIPPLLOOMMAATTIICC??

To be completelyhonest, you must askyourself, "Why am Iafraid of speakingthe truth"? You willfind that the answeris obvious. OurDiplomacy is only forour self-protection;it is a self-preserva-tion device. Our egosare too fragile toaccept insult andcriticism.

US Updates24 �� December 2011

VILNIUS: US secretary of state Hillary Clinton will meet Syriandissidents in Switzerland on Tuesday, officials said, as Washingtonsees Damascus increasingly isolated over its crushing of pro-democracy protests. A State Department official told reporters oncondition of anonymity yesterday that Clinton will meet with sevenpolitical opponents of President Bashar al-Assad when she visitsGeneva following a stop in Vilnius, Lithuania. The official did notidentify the group or disclose the agenda of the talks at a time whenWashington seeks ways to support the opposition in its bid to oustAssad, whose family has ruled Syria with an iron fist for decades.Clinton met for the first time with members of Syria's disparateopposition in Washington on August 2. The United States, whichhas called for Assad to step down, welcomes what it sees as thegrowing isolation of Assad's regime, particularly after the 22-mem-ber Arab League and non-Arab Turkey imposed sanctions againstit. But, with an increase in armed opposition attacks, the UnitedStates and others are concerned that Assad is driving the countryto sectarian strife and even civil war because of his deadly sup-pression of protests. More than 4,000 have died in the Syrianregime's continuing crackdown on dissent and protests whicherupted in mid-March, according to the United Nations.

Washington: President BarackObama on Sunday calledPakistan's president to offer condo-lences over a Nato air strike thatkilled 24 Pakistani troops and pro-voked a crisis in relations betweenthe two countries. Obama told AsifAli Zardari that the soldiers' deathswere "regrettable" and accidental,according to a White House state-ment.

The comments stopped short ofa formal apology but were aimed atsoothing Pakistani fury over theNovember 26 incident.

"Earlier on Monday the president

placed a phone call to Pakistanipresident Asif Ali Zardari to person-ally express his condolences on thetragic loss of twenty-four Pakistanisoldiers this past week along theborder of Afghanistan andPakistan," the White House state-ment said.

"The president made clear thatthis regrettable incident was not adeliberate attack on Pakistan andreiterated the US' strong commit-ment to a full investigation." TheNato air strike has added to strainsin relations with Islamabad, whosecooperation Washington views as

crucial to helping to stabilize theregion before foreign combat troopsleave Afghanistan in 2014.

US-Pakistani relations werealready frayed after the secret raidin May that killed al-Qaida chiefOsama bin Laden . Obama's phonecall came on the eve of an interna-tional conference in Germany onthe future of Afghanistan.

Pakistan is boycotting the con-ference because of Nato air strikes.On Saturday, secretary of stateHillary Clinton spoke by phone withPakistani prime minister YusafRaza Gilani to offer condolences.

NEW YORK: An 84-year-oldNew York grandmother has saidshe was injured and humiliatedwhen she was strip searched at anairport after she asked to be patteddown instead of going through abody scanner.

Lenore Zimmerman said shewas taken to a private room andmade to take off her pants andother clothes after she asked toforgo the screening because sheworried it would interfere with herdefibrillator. She missed her flightand had to take one two-and-a-halfhours later, she said.

"I'm hunched over. I'm in awheelchair. I weigh under 110pounds (50 kilograms) and I'mgoing to be 85 in February. Do I

look like a terrorist?" she said fromher winter home at a seniors com-munity in Coconut Creek, Florida."This was the worst experience."

Zimmerman went to KennedyAirport for a 1 pm flight on Tuesdayto Fort Lauderdale, Florida, onJetBlue. She arrived to the ticketcounter around 12:20 pm and head-ed for security in a wheelchair, hersmall, metal walker in her lap.

In the process of the stripsearch, as Zimmerman lifted alightweight walker off her lap, themetal bars banged against her leggiving her a bloody bruise.

"My sock was soaked withblood," she said. "I was bleedinglike a pig." She said the TSA agentsshowed no sympathy and instead

pulled down her pants, asking herto raise her arms.

"Why are you doing this?" shesaid she asked the agents, who didnot respond. While Zimmermanwas given treatment for her injury,the process took so long that shemissed her flight and had to catch alater one. Zimmerman's son saidhis mother was put through "a hellof a day," saying he did not under-stand why the agents treated her insuch a manner. "She looks like asweet, little old lady," BruceZimmerman, 53, said. "She's not adisruptive person or uncoopera-tive." But the TransportationSecurity Administration said in astatement on late Saturday said nostrip search was conducted.

"While we regret that the pas-senger feels she had an unpleasantscreening experience, TSA doesnot include strip searches as part ofour security protocols and one wasnot conducted in this case," thestatement read. A review of closed-circuit television at the airportshowed proper procedures werefollowed, Jonathan Allen, a TSAspokesman, said in a statement.

"Private screening was request-ed by the passenger, it was grantedand lasted approximately 11 min-utes," the statement read. "TSAscreening procedures are conduct-ed in a manner designed to treat allpassengers with dignity, respectand courtesy and that occurred inthis instance."

A defiant Herman Cain suspend-ed his faltering bid for theRepublican presidential nominationon Saturday amid a drumbeat ofsexual misconduct allegationsagainst him, throwing his staunchlyconservative supporters up forgrabs with just one month to gobefore the lead-off caucuses inIowa. The Georgia businessmancondemned the accusations as"false and unproven" but said theyhad been hurtful to his family, par-ticularly his wife, Gloria, and weredrowning out his ability to deliverhis message. His wife stood behind

him on the stage, smiling and wav-ing as the crowd chanted her name.

"So as of today, with a lot ofprayer and soul-searching, I amsuspending my presidential cam-paign because of the continued dis-tractions and the continued hurtcaused on me and my family," atired-looking Cain told about 400supporters. Cain's announcementprovides a new twist in what hasalready been a volatile Republicanrace. Former House Speaker NewtGingrich has, so far, been thebiggest beneficiary of Cain's precip-itous slide. Polls show Gingrich and

former Massachusetts Gov. MittRomney atop the field in what isshaping up as a two-man raceheading into the first nominatingcontests next month to choose acandidate to challenge PresidentBarack Obama.

But others, such as Texas Gov.Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep.Michele Bachmann, will likely makea strong play for Cain's anti-estab-lishment tea party backing as theylook to rise as a viable alternative toRomney, whose conservative cre-dentials are suspect in someRepublican circles.

WASHINGTON: The US unemploy-ment rate tumbled to a 2-1 /2 year low inNovember , even though the pace of hiringremained too slow to suggest a significantacceleration in the labor market recovery.Nonfarm payrolls increased by 120,000jobs, the labor department said on Friday,and the jobless rate dropped to 8.6%, thelowest since March 2009, from 9% inOctober. It was the biggest monthly declinesince the month of January. While part ofthe decrease was due to people leavingthe labor force, the household survey fromwhich the department calculates the unem-ployment rate also showed solid gains inemployment.

‘US also has rightto self-defence’

WASHINGTON: With Pakistanvowing to respond with "full force" toany future aggression in the wake ofthe deadly Nato strike, the Pentagonhas said that Islamabad has right toself-defence and so does the US. Italso admitted that the last Saturdayair strike has had a "chilling effect"on USPak military relations. "I'veseen the comments attributed toGeneral Kayani. I'm certainly notgoing to speak for him or for the gov-ernment of Pakistan. But everysovereign nation has the right of self-defence and the right to order theirtroops to defend themselves .

ikh man stabbed atUS airport, policerules out hate crime

WASHINGTON: A Sikh man travel-ing to India has been stabbed at an air-port in California. The police, who sub-sequently arrested the assailant, haveruled out hate crime. The middle-agedman, whose name has not beenreleased by the police, was treated for aquarter-inch stab wound in the uppertorso at Fresno Yosemite InternationalAirport, and chose to continue the firstleg of his flight to India, a local newspa-per reported yesterday. The assailant, a26-year-old white man has been takeninto custody, said Fresno City PoliceDepartment's Lt Don Gross. The victimwas standing near the TransportationSecurity Administration (TSA) terminalwith his translator at the time of attackon Sunday.

US jobless rateslips to 2.5-yr low

WASHINGTON: The US unem-ployment rate tumbled to a 2-1 /2year low in November , eventhough the pace of hiring remainedtoo slow to suggest a significantacceleration in the labor marketrecovery.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by120,000 jobs, the labor departmentsaid on Friday, and the jobless ratedropped to 8.6%, the lowest sinceMarch 2009, from 9% in October.

It was the biggest monthlydecline since the month of January.While part of the decrease was dueto people leaving the labor force,the household survey from whichthe department calculates theunemployment rate also showedsolid gains in employment.

SAN FRANCISCO: Technologybloggers are asking if our cell-phones are spying on us after asecurity researcher said a piece ofsoftware hidden on millions ofphones was recording almosteverything people do with them.

Amid a broad outcry, Senator AlFranken is calling for an investiga-tion. A class-action lawsuit hasbeen filed against the software'smaker, Carrier IQ Inc of MountainView, California . The software,

which Carrier IQ says is used onsome 150 million mobile devices,appears relatively innocuous . Itdoes watch what owners of SprintNextel Corp and AT&T Inc. smart-phones do with them, includingwhat people type and the numbersthey dial. But it doesn't seem totransmit every key stroke to thecompany. Instead, it kicks intoaction when there's a problem, likea call that doesn't go through, and itlets the phone company know.

U.S. President Barack Obama plays table tennis against students with British Prime Minister DavidCameron at the Globe Academy in London .

Hillary Clinton to meet Syrian op-position in Switzerland: Officials

84-year-old woman strip searched at JFK

US jobless rateslips to 2.5-yr low Obama regrets killings, but no apology

Cain suspends campaign shifting presidential race Spy in the mobile? Lawsuitagainst software maker

25�� December 2011STAR AGEARIES

March-21to

April-20

TAURUS

April-21to

May-20

This is a helpful month. There will befull support form superiors and under-standing from family members. Yourdesire to enjoy life will keep you fitand in a positive frame of mind in thefirst half of the month. No doubt somewill go at it too hard in an effort tomake the most of time available.Major travel can best be undertakenin the second half of the month.

GEMINI

May-21to

June-21

CANCER

June-22to

July-23

This is a happy month for many of you.Going on a pilgrimage with parents orkids to a place that you have chosen ison the cards. During the first half of themonth, you will start with a good deal ofdetermination and optimism. You will bedetermined to sort out problems at home.The second half of the month is good fortaking long journeys for the sake ofchange and a break from routine.

LEO

July-24to

August-23

This is a buoyant month for many of you.Professionally, this is a good time to enjoythe fruits of your labor. During the first halfof the month you need to go for true loverelationship instead of physical pleasure.As far as the career is concerned duringthe second half of the month you will beable to develop a trustworthy relationshipwith your business partner. Discuss all thepros & cons to expand your business.

VIRGO

August-24to

September-23

LIBRA

September-24to

October-22

This is an exciting month for you. New opportuni-ties will open up and you will volunteer to acceptnew roles and responsibilities. During the first halfof the month you will be raring to go and want tocome to the grips with the kind of jobs that canbring you in a lot of extra money. Cataract patientsshould avoid visiting a polluted environment assmoke could cause further damage to your eyes.In the mid month your hurried action would putyour love life in jeopardy.

SCORPIO

October-23to

November-22

This month starts with much excite-ment at home and you can expectthe best of times. There will be someslight improvement in your affairs dur-ing the first half of the month. Therewill be opportunities at your place ofemployment to move forward. Thiscan be a lucky month in many waysfor many of you.

SAGITTARIUS

November-23to

December-22

CAPRICON

December-23to

Januar-20

Emotions and relationships come intofocus this month. In the first half of themonth you will be very enthusiastic inyour place of work. Sharing experi-ences with colleagues may motivatethem and enhance your knowledge.The second half of the month will bemarked with mixed emotions thatcould make you tensed.

AQUARIES

January-21to

February-19

You enjoy love, companionship andwarmth of happy relationship as youshare time with friends and family thismonth. During the first half of themonth, if you do have choice, take themore adventurous path in businessfront. Do not hesitate to ask influentialpeople for their support or financialbacking for practical schemes.

PISCES

February-20to

March-20

This is an encouraging month for you, inwhich you will get all – around success.Persons who have been doing a lot ofgadding about over the festive seasonshould try now to spend more time inthe company of other embers of thefamily. During the second half of themonth be careful in whom you put yourtrust. You must be guided by your ownintuition while taking final decisions.

This is a general month for you. At thesame time, you may experience dis-agreement with someone either atwork or domestically. During the firsthalf of the month you would feel likeenjoying all golden moments. Thereare many plans that you would like toput into action now. Influential peoplewill assist you in the mid-month.

This is a happy month for you. Overall, youwill enjoy good all-round success and yoursocial circle will increase. During the firsthalf of the month an upsurge in confidenceis indicated. You will be feeling a good dealhappier and more contented about yourfuture career and work prospects. The sec-ond half of the month is demanding all theimportant work should be tackled as earlyin the third week as possible.

This is a normal month for you. Hardwork will ultimately pay off and bring richdividends. During the first half of themonth you should be careful about yourhealth. Go for a checkup to. Strictly fol-lowing the dietary restrictions would bevery essential to prevent it from relaps-ing. During the second half of the monthmake some serious efforts to keep yourlove fresh like precious things.

This is a changeable month for you.Balance is the key word of you.During the first half of the monthyour passions will work miraculous-as you are successful in getting theircooperation. As far as your health isconcerned blind imitation to westernlifestyle would bring misery and putyou in a state of depression.

Vaastu tip for successfulprofessional life

Vaastu Shastra is not just a set of norms for your home butits tips also help you enhance your professional life.According to Vaastu Shastra, you should place a picture ofgalloping horses on your computer desktop. It is believed thatthe keeping galloping horses’ picture as your wallpaper helpsyou attain perfection in whatever you do. Horses representenergy, hence they help you stay energetic and stay focused.According to scriptures, a horse never gets tired, it keepsworking till it is healthy and fit. Hence, even the place that hasa picture of galloping horses also stays energetic. This picturemantains the flow of energy in that region. You can also placea big picture of galloping horses in your office.

FFIIJJII SSPPOORRTTSS26 �� December 2011

DUBAI: Jeddah Rugby FootballClub (JRFC) made it through to thesemifinals of the Gulf Men's Openchampionships in Dubai late Fridayevening. In a close match that wouldeliminate one team from the compe-tition levels of commitment werehigh. Their spirits lifted by their 48-0win over Damascus Zenobians earli-er in the day, Jeddah dug deep andran out 12-5 winners over FugroWanderers, a converted try the mar-gin.Possession is vital in any match

and Jeddah grabbed it after turnoverearly in the first half and retained itfor most of the match. Waleed"Gearbox" Yousef played a hugegame attacking Fugro's defense andintercepting attacks regularly andsolidly. Riyadh Warriors 17-21 DubaiHurricanes. Friday lunchtime sawthem up against the Barrel HouseYobs a club tournament regular.Within a few seconds of the startAlan Monkhouse had grabbed theball and bolted over the line to scorethe first of two tries. It remainedunconverted and three minutes laterhe literally jogged over the line for asecond.It was Barnawi who settled any

possible fight back that Barrel Housemight have mounted with a chargingsolo effort that he concluded with atouchdown between the posts.Monkhouse converted and Jeddahleft the field 17-0 victors.Jeddah ran out into a final for the

first time anyone in the team remem-bered. They encountered MultiplesMarauders who had defeated BeirutSelect to Be there. It was Beirut thatdefeated Jeddah 47-0 on Thursdayso the prospects did not look healthy.In the event, Jeddah lost 29-0 to a

physically bigger, stronger and moreexperienced team. Jeddah teammanager Ahmed Al Bader comment-ed; "All credit to the guys - we gothere." He added that Jeddah hadplayed with their hearts and had doeextremely well. "All credit to them forthat," he said. Club Captain Matt Jaysaid that he was ecstatic with whatthe team had achieved. "They cametogether as a scratch team with theSaracen players and in a day or twohave clicked as a team and broughtgreat credit on themselves, thecountry and the sport." He comment-ed that the team was bigger than justthose on the field. Their strengthderives from the community thatsupports them and Southwind tele-com who sponsored the side. It's allsimply brilliant!" Marauders showedtheir experience with carefully con-trolled moves that on more than oneoccasion sold Jeddah dummies atcritical moments and disrupted theirdefense. Captain Sou Miyake and

forward Yousef tackled everythingthat moved and tried to open up acounter attack, literally throwing theirbodies on the line. At the final whis-tle however it was Marauders that tri-umphed and were magnanimous invictory, immediately embracingmembers of the Jeddah squad.The other Saudi representative

Riyadh Warriors lost out in the semi-finals to Dubai Hurricanes III whohad been the recipients of Jeddah's45-5 mauling on Thursday. The finalresult stood at Riyadh Warriors 17-21 Dubai Hurricanes III - a close runthing and a fair comment of a muchimproved and focused Riyadh side,which at this tournament has shownits potential. TheDubai Seven's tra-ditionally producesa few surprisesand few weregreater in the tour-nament thanCanada's upset of

the Samoans. Just over a minuteand a half into the game andCanada's Sean white slammed overthe Samoan line for an unconvertedtry. Under three minutes later,Nathan Hirayama followed with asecond try, which he converted. Adozen up at half time, Canada con-tinued their attack and 16 secondsafter the restart White scored anoth-er try to be converted by Hirayama.Samoa finally woke up to the

impending defeat after the next tryfrom Canada and bundled in for aconverted try half way through thesecond half. After a quick restart theywent in for a second try half a minutelater. In the minute after the finalwhistle but still in play they manageda third but came out 26-17 downagainst Canada. The surprisescame in thick and fast with Englanddefeating New Zealand 10-7 andSouth Africa being roundly bouncedby France 19 to 5. New Zealandseems almost to have given up, thespark and aggression a shadow offormer days and never clearer thanwhen later in the day they lost to oldrivals Australia 26-12.To cap the list of upsets, World

Series Champions Wales lost out toSouth Africa 22 points to 7. The shortroad from this point to the finals setup some interesting matches, notleast of which was the formidable Fijiagainst England's emerging talent.On that road yet another surprise

was in store as England right fromthe whistle took the game to theFijians. However, the Fijians took theball from England and EmosiVucago ran in an unconverted tryjust 46 seconds into the game. A col-lective sigh whispered round thepacked ground as the game grew inintensity. Fiji attempted to dominatewith physical play but England's for-ward and centers countered with amasterly display of their own form oftough play and just over four minutesinto the half Iso Damu scored anunconverted try. To compound the indignity on Fiji,

Damu slammed in another andMarcus Watson converted. Fijiracked up the pressure in the sec-ond half but England were truly onthe rampage. One and a half min-utes into the second half, MattTurner barged over the Fiji line andMarcus Watson converted. Justbefore the six-minute mark, Fiji'sOsea Kolinisau stormed through theEnglish defense to touch down.Vucago converted l and from a rapidrestart attempted to score in thedying seconds of the game.Ferocious defense and a footballstyle tackle on a loose ball that sentit to the touchline after the final hoot-er sealed the game leaving Englandwith a 19 point to a Fiji 12 final score.England faced France, who over-turned a popular Argentina 24-5,made the task look relatively easy.

Jeddah Club overcomes Wanderers in keen clash

The Fiji RugbyUnion today began itssearch for a new FlyingFijian head coach andcoaching director. Thesuccessful applicant isexpected to guide thenational side into the2015 Rugby WorldCup in the UnitedKingdom. Applicantsare expected to have an IRB Level 2 Coaching Certificatebut a Level 3 would be preferred. He is to have experi-ence of coaching and leading a recognised professionalsenior national or provincial team as well as have aproven record of creating, implementing and sustainingshort, medium and long term strategic plans for teampreparation, and playing strategies within the context of aprofessional team environment FRU believes the suc-cessful applicant should also have thorough knowledgeof rugby in Fiji and its inherent culture Other criteria's forthe post includes, the ability to demonstrate an excellentrugby knowledge and understanding of how the moderngame is evolving, possess strong personal discipline andthe ability to work in challenging environments and with-in tight budget parameters and possess excellent com-munication skills and the ability to provide strong leader-ship and management skills within a team environment.The term of the contract will be four years with an attrac-tive and competitive remuneration package to commen-surate with qualifications promised. Applications for theFlying Fijians head coach and coaching director’s posi-tion ends on December 16th.

Fiji Rugby beginssearch for XVS coach

Rewa on songto retain NZ FijiFACT title

Defending champions Rewa start-ed their campaign on a high note dur-ing the New Zealand Fiji Associationof Football Club Inc. (NZ Fiji AFC)organised Fiji FACT 2011 at theMangere Centre Park Sports Stadiumat the weekend. Rewa with the ser-vices of former reps WaisakeSabutu,Tabrez Khan, Sameer Ali,Mohammed Nazim (Commando) andNasinu rep Jalindar Singh defeatedlast year’s finalist Rakiraki 2-1.Former Ba, Navua and national mid-fielder Salesh Kumar who featuredfor the Rakiraki side could not helphis side gain the three points in theirPool A match. In the other Pool A fix-ture Ba defeated a 9-men NZ Navuaoutfit 8-0.The newly formed NZNavua team suffered a major setbackin the early stages of the match whentwo of their players were sent off.Nasinu trashed Vatukoula 6-1 in theirPool B fixture to be in contention forthe finals. Underdogs Nadogo com-prising mostly of Vuci Strikers’ reps inthe form of Ashneet Lal, Zaid Azeem,Kartik Kumar, Shaneel Singh, AkashChandra, Akshay Singh and IonaLupena upset George Samut andAfroz Kutti’s Savusavu team 2-1.Nadi after defeating Suva 3-0 in theirPool C match lost their points afterfielding an unregistered player.

FOOD 27�� December 2011

Office lunchestend to get bor-ing with similar

food making its wayinto our lunch boxesevery day. Take abreak from the dals,rotis, burgers andsandwiches and try thisprotein-rich vegetablepulao instead.

Not only will yougain crucial protein toreplenish and rejuve-nate your muscles'wear and tear, but youwill also enjoy the lightbrown rice flavouredwith delicious, lightlysauteed vegetablesand soya chunks.Portion controlbecomes important,since this is rice based,even though it is brownrice we're talkingabout. Try this simple,protein-rich vegetablepulao this weekend,and pack it along for ahealthy and differentlunch.

IINNGGRREEDDIIEENNTTSS

� 1 cup brown rice -washed andsoaked

� 2 cups chopped,mixed vegetables(carrots, peas,cauliflower, broc-coli)

� 1 medium oniondiced

� 1/2 cup sprouts� 1/2 cup soya

chunks - soakedand ready to cook

� 1'' cinnamon stick� 1 tsp cloves� 1/2 tsp black pep-

percorns� 2 black car-

damoms� 1 tsp red chill

powder� Salt to taste� 2 cups water� 1 tbs Olive oil

MMEETTHHOODD� Add the oil to a

non-stick fryingpan over mediumheat. After a fewseconds, add theonions and stir tillthe onionsbecome light pink.

� Add all the wholespices, along withthe vegetables(not sprouts andsoya). Stir well,and cook (cov-ered, with 1/4 cupwater) until thehardest vegetable(in this case car-rots) is slightlytender. If you'reshort on time, skipthe carrots. Thisshould take about5-8 minutes.

� Add sprouts andsoya and stir for 2-3 minutes.

� Now, add thedrained brownrice, with salt andchilli powder. Youcan also add anyother favouritemasalas at thispoint. Stir till therice starts formingclumps.

� Then, add the 2cups of water andbring the wholepot to a boil. Afterthe boil, simmerand cook covered,till the rice iscooked - usuallyanother 8 minutes.

You can serve thissimple protein-rich veg-etable pulao with someskimmed yogurt, a sidesalad or some grilledfish. Remember topractise portion control.A good serving sizewould be approximate-ly 80gms, which isessentially the size of aquarter plate. Enjoy!

The most deliciousaspect about a sim-ple chocolate cookie

is its taste and appear-ance. As it bakes, cracksform in the top of the cook-ie exposing dark chocolatecracks across the surfaceof the cookie. Soundsyum?

IINNGGRREEDDIIEENNTTSS::

� 2 cups white tablesugar

� 4 eggs, scrambled� Melt these two ingre-

dients gently on verylow heat so that theydon't scald

� ¼ cup butter� 4 ounces (4 squares)

baking chocolate� 2 cups sifted flour� 2 teaspoons baking

powder� ½ teaspoon salt� ½ cup chopped nuts

(you can usealmonds)

� ½ cup confectionsugar for the decora-tion.

PPRROOCCEEDDUURREE::� Mix the eggs and the

white sugar and mix

them well.� Then add the melted

butter and chocolateafter they cool down alittle. Later add theflour, baking powder,nuts and salt and stirto combine.

� Chill the batter for afew hours orovernight, so that itwill be easy to handlefor the next step.

� Roll the dough intosmall balls of 1 to 2tablespoons of batter each. Then rolleach ball of batteracross a plate dustedwith the confectionsugar to cover theentire ball.

� Place each ball on agreased cookie sheetand bake in a slowoven (300 degrees)for 18-20 minutes.

� You need to be care-ful about discoloura-tion of the confectionsugar coating. Checkout how the cookiesexpand and crack togive that pretty choco-late design! Servewarm.

When you'recraving aTiramisu, no

chopped fruit will do.But wait there's hopeyet. Diet-friendlydesserts help usbridge the gapbetween what ourtaste-buds want, andwhat our bodies canaccommodate.

So buckle up withyour pots and pans,and ovens and grills.Today we're givingyou five of our mostmouth-watering diet-friendly desserts that'lllet you forget thatyou're even eatinghealthy.

AAFFFFOOGGAATTOO

Ingredients: Asmall cup frozenvanilla yogurt, 2 tbspcoffee liqueur (option-al), a small shot ofespresso, a pinchnutmeg powder(optional).

Method: Pour inthe espresso and cof-fee liqueur to the bowlof frozen vanillayogurt and sprinklesome nutmeg powderon it. Enjoy your easy,low-cal Affogato!

FFIIGGSS OORR PPEEAARRSS IINNHHOONNEEYY AANNDDCCIINNNNAAMMOONN

Ingredients: 500gms fresh figs, 500 mldessert wine, 3 tbsphoney, 2 cinnamon

sticks, vanillaessence.

Method: Lightlytoss the figs in a non-stick pan. Add the cin-namon sticks, honeyand vanilla essence.Let the mixture coolso that it is just warm,pour the wine andserve with low-calvanilla ice cream if

desired. You canreplace the figs withpears too.

FFRREESSHH FFRRUUIITT KKEEBBAABBSSWWIITTHH TTAANNGGYY LLEEMMOONNYY DDIIPP

Take a small bowland whisk together 4ounces of sugar-free,low fat lemon yogurt

with 1 tbs of lime zestand fresh lime juice.Now take any in-sea-son produce fruitsthat are readily avail-able. We went forpineapple chunks,kiwi dried and peeled,red grapes andbananas sliced intohalf inch chunks andthreaded them ontothe skewer. Servewith fresh lemony dip!In order to prevent

food from browning,dip the fruits in yourfavourite fruit juice.

CCAARRAAMMAALLIIZZEEDDBBAANNAANNAASS

Peel and cut 2medium small-sizedbananas into halflengthwise. Meltaround half table-spoon of low fat but-

ter in a non-stick panover low-mediumheat. Add 2 table-spoon of light brownsugar on the top ofbanana slices. Cookthe bananas and addhalf cup orange juiceor dark rum (whateveris available). Add apinch of cinnamon toit and cook for 1minute more turningthe side of thebananas. Serve rightaway with a side por-tion of frozen yogurt.

DDOOUUBBLLEE AAPPPPLLEECCRRUUMMBBLLEE

Preheat oven at375 degrees. Take alarge bowl and add 3large cups of finelysliced apples with 1tablespoon of applebutter. Arrange themixture in a bakingtray coated with 1/4thtablespoon of oliveoil. Now combine1/4th cup of all-pur-pose flour, 2 table-spoon of honey, 1tablespoon of groundcinnamon and 1/8thtablespoon of salt in amedium bowl.

Now take 1 table-spoon of chilled butterand brown sugar mix-ture and add it to themixture.

Pour this mixtureover the apple mix-ture. Bake it at 375degrees for 45 min-utes or until light gold-en brown.

Protein-richvegetable

pulao

hocolate CCookies

Quick

We love: Diet-friendly desserts

SSoo bbuucckkllee uupp wwiitthhyyoouurr ppoottss aanndd

ppaannss,, aanndd oovveennssaanndd ggrriillllss.. TTooddaayywwee''rree ggiivviinngg yyoouuffiivvee ooff oouurr mmoossttmmoouutthh--wwaatteerriinngg

ddiieett--ffrriieennddllyyddeesssseerrttss tthhaatt''llll lleett yyoouu ffoorrggeett

tthhaatt yyoouu''rree eevveenneeaattiinngg hheeaalltthhyy..

LOCAL NEWS28 �� December 2011

Producer discusses scenes with his team at theMoon Restaurant.

There’s no money or return onthe air time wasted on it Nowwe are on the internet live tak-

ing live calls as we do the show. Ifyou extra money or some sort fundor grants then it is Ok to launch yourshow and it anything you like andfun. Being a new ethnic communitychannel and in direct competitionwith KLOK 1170 AM, the listenerbase is too small.

From a few regular callers(some just waiting to jump in assoon as the lines are opened), youcannot judge how big is your listen-er base. But for us not getting onecall for our own business and forthe FIJI AWARDS NIGHT, was thebiggest wakeup call that the 1550AM does not have a wide enough

listener-base to generate us anybusiness. Except for one caller, thepeople who called during our shortstay were extremely pleased bothfor the name of the program theRADION FIJI SUN and its contentand Urdu language.

LLAACCKK OOFF AA WWRRIITTTTEENN CCOONNTTRRAACCTTAlthough the two owners talked

much about the 1150 AM contract,they did not produce one for ourbenefit. Verbally, though, we weretold that it will be unlike its competi-tion KLOK 1170 AM and no possi-bility of migrating any of their failedhosts. “Koya Ji, you don’t have toworry about anything. We will nottake any of them. You are securedas Fiji market is yours. We will not

touch it, if you bring the client wewill give your commission that willpay off for your show”, assured theCEO. We were at comfort level thenand we decided to launch our pro-gram alive on Saturday morningsfirst 9AM to 10AM then from 10 AMto 11 AM. But we were shocked when right

after our lunching Din Mani jumpedon board as a marketing guy andcut in our market soliciting my FIJISUN sponsors for his show.Elusively, the CEO said, “He is justhelping us only. He is working withsome big Bollywood company for a5-hour show later.”

FFAAIILLEEDD PPRRAAVVAASS VVAANNII SSHHOOWWSoon many of the failed PRASA

VANI SHOW hosts lined up oneafter another for” a piece of pie” inthe new radio program. Same voic-es, same stuff and most of it just“jokes” we realized was clearly anew home for the PRAVAS VANIpeople just the different channel.We did not want to be part of the“failed” PRASVANI group.

IINNDDUULLGGEENNCCEE DDUUIIRRNNGG TTHHEELLIIVVEE BBRROOAADDCCAASSTT

It was the most uncomfortableand most annoying feeling whenthe CEO who does not speak theUrdu language stood over myshoulders and started giving direc-tions as to how I should run theshow. It was very unprofessional.

Plus, he advised that I should alsohave female announcer to boost myshow. Give me a break! I t’s myshow and I decide how I run it. Thatwas the end of the story.

BBLLOOGG TTAALLKK RRAADDIIOO AANNDD BBLLOOGG TTVV

Fortunately, internet has wideopened the door for those of us whohave the passion for the talk shows.Radio Fiji Sun can now be heard

on BLOG TALK RADIO where playyour favorite tunes and also takeour live calls. See you there. Tuneinto BLOG TALK RADIO. If youwant to interact with us live TVshows then log onto BLOG TV seeus on Fiji Sun TV.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to allClosing scene on new Punjabimovie shot at Moon Indian Cuisine

HAYWARD, CA - In abrief interview a beauti-ful Ms. Sonia (leadfemale artist) gave us apeak into this newPunjabi movie. Soniawho sat quietly on theside seats at the smallMoon Restaurant mid-day Sunday Nov 5 asmore than 20 peoplemilled around andbrowsed the touchscreen on her smart-phone said he met theproducer Attorney duringher husband’s petitionmatter. Attorney talkedher into doing the role. Given the religious

aim of the movie Soniaagreed to do the role butwas not clear of her

script and what actuallyshe was expected to sayor do. She waitedpatiently for the directionas clock ticked away andshe got nervous about

missing a 2.30 PM den-tal appointment she toldthe FIJI SUN TV. Anarticulate and forthrightyoung woman, Sonia gotmarried a Canadian

Punjabi boy just twomonths ago and laughedwhen asked about futurefilms. “I am not sure Iwant to go this route,”she said.

Radio Fiji Sun pulled out of 1550AM

FIJI AMERICAN IDOL SHOWA unique, exciting and professional FIJI

AMERICAN IDOL SHOW is in the planning pro-cess and due to be launched early next year.

TO LOCATE AND PROMOTE NEWAND BUDDING TALENTS FROM THEFIJI AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

THERE WILL BE AN EARLY AUDITIONWITH $10 DINNER CHARGES.

MISSION

Call: 1-800-757-6619FIJI AMERICAN IDOL SHOW

AUDITIONWILL BY A PANELOF SUPERSTARS !JUDGING

NO PUBLIC JUDGING AT ALL.

This night dedicated to thememory of the late Hon. SM KOYA is slated for earlynext year. Everyone is wel-come share their thoughts,comments and memories.If you stories and picturesetc., you want to share youare most wel come do so.The man who fulfilled the

journey crafted by one of the most learnedand seasoned politicians of Fiji the late Hon.Mr. A D Patel. THE KOYA MEMORIAL NIGHTwill be dedicated to celebrate the memoriesof tails of former leader of opposition theLate Hon. S M KOYA

Hayward resident Sonia in lead role at the closing scene of the movie

KOYA MEMORIAL NIGHT

PHOTO GALLERY30 �� December 2011

The KADIR BROTHERS of Al MADINAH ACADEMY led byMarkar (Mark) Kadir, former police sergeant of Central PoliceStation, Suva, Fiji, held a wonderful NAATH sAT nOV 19, 2011in Foster City. The event was attended by more than 50 guestsmost of whom read the NAATH. The Fiji Sun editor was alsoinvited to give a shot presentation by the master of ceremoniesHajji Mohammed Aiyub. The editor read a few couplets from hisNAATH in praise of the Holy Prophet of Islam and urged theaudience to recite DAROOD event outside such gatherings ontheir own in abundance. He also urged the audience to invite(as commanded by Allah) others to Islam with wisdom.

KADIRS HOST NAATH AT FOSTER CITY

31�� December 2011PHOTO GALLERY

FIJI DAY 2011


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in up to 6 roomsINSTALLATIONDVR is leased.

($6/mo DVR Service fee applies)HD DVR For 3 Months

Thousands of On DemandMovies and Shows andOver 20 Channels

UNLIMITED ACCESS TOFor 3 Months

Call today to find out how you can watch live TV !

MAXIMUM CHOICESMINIMUM PRICES

Premium Movie Package offer ends 9/30/11. Offer value is up to $126; after 3 months then-current price applies unless you downgrade. HBO®, Cinemax® and related channels and service marks are the property of Home Box Office, Inc. Starz® and related channels and service marks are the property of Starz Entertainment, LLC. SHOWTIME and related marks are registered trademarks of Showtime Networks Inc., a CBS Company. Digital Home Advantage plan requires 24-month agreement and credit qualification. Cancellation fee of $17.50/month remaining applies if service is terminated before end of agreement. After 12 months of programming credits, then-current price will apply. $10/mo HD add-on fee waived for life of current account; requires 24-month agreement, continuous enrollment in AutoPay with Paperless Billing. DISH Platinum offer requires qualifying HD programming, AutoPay with Paperless Billing; after 3 months you must opt to continue subscription. All equipment is leased and must be returned to DISH Network upon cancellation or unreturned equipment fees apply. Limit 6 leased tuners per account; upfront and monthly fees may apply based on type and number of receivers. HD programming requires HD television. Prices, packages and programming subject to change without notice. Offer available for new and qualified former customers, and subject to terms of applicable Promotional and Residential Customer agreements. Additional restrictions may apply. Offer ends 1/31/12.

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