physics-defying ferrari 458 speciale - the peninsula qatar · 8/10/2016 · it’s a turn-based...

WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741

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• DPS-MIS teams sweep debate championship

• Sumer and Dilmun: Reign of King Sargon I and King Sargon II

• Godzilla sequel likely after major box office triumph

• Researchers to study whether mobile phones affect teenage brains

• Cloud competition heats up; providers seek to differentiate themselves

inside

Learn Arabic • Learn commonly

used Arabic wordsand their meanings

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Physics-defying Ferrari 458 Speciale zips past excess

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APPS WORTH APPS WORTH PAYING FORPAYING FOR

If you are fed up If you are fed up

with free-to-play with free-to-play

mobile games, check mobile games, check

out these excellent out these excellent

in-app purchase-free in-app purchase-free

titles for both iOS and titles for both iOS and

Android platforms.Android platforms.

2 COVER STORYPLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014

By Stuart Dredge

Let’s get one thing clear from the start: I’m not a hater of free-to-play mobile games. Yes, there are some bad exam-

ples: over-aggressive under-crafted monetisation systems that pull every psychological lever they can to make you buy virtual items.

There are also lots of good ones, which are being played and enjoyed by a huge number of gamers of all stripes. Blame the bad game, not the financial model that it chooses to use.

What I do worry about, though, is the pressure that many developers feel to adopt the free-to-play model: the concern that if they don’t ditch the idea of charging up front, their games will sink like stones on the app stores, and they’ll go out of business.

Actually, paid games can make money still, even if – Minecraft aside – you usually won’t find them in the upper reaches of the app store Top Grossing charts. They need support though: reviews and personal recom-mendations to help people get over that hump of having to pay before you play.

With that in mind, then... Here are 20 of the best paid mobile games in recent times: the kind I bang on about to friends who are reluctant to pay up front to play on their smartphones and/or tablets.

There are a couple of self-imposed restrictions. First, all these games are available for both iOS and Android, which leaves out some excellent iOS-only titles — recent stars like Kiwanuka, FTL: Faster Than Light and Leo’s Fortune, for example, as well as the bewitching Year Walk and Device 6.

Second, no in-app purchases allowed, which chucks out some “paymium” (yes, ugh at that word!) games like Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition, Football Manager Handheld 2014

and many more. Oh, and everything’s recent, which is why there’s no space for Minecraft: Pocket Edition.

And one last reminder: NOT a free-to-play hater! I could (and likely will) happily compile a list of 20 freemium favourites that won’t leave you feeling cheated.

MONUMENT VALLEYThe word “beautiful” is hugely over-

used in connection with apps: usually it means “has nice menus”. Monument Valley really is beautiful though, almost as much an artwork as it is a game. It’s a really good game, mind: inspired by the art of M C Escher, it’s a collec-tion of impossible-architecture puzzles, which you twist to explore.

Android: £2.49 / iOS: £2.49

THREES!Threes! is another mobile game

guaranteed to make you go deep down the rabbit-hole of just-one-more-go addiction. It involves swiping number

tiles to make matches: adding 1s and 2s together, then 3s and upwards. It’s bru-tally simple, yet once you’re in, you’ll find it hard to put your phone down.

Android: £1.20 / iOS: £1.49

THE ROOM TWOThe original The Room was one of

the best puzzlers on mobile devices, and its sequel continues the qual-ity. “A physical puzzler, wrapped in a mystery game, inside a beautifully tactile 3D world,” as its developer puts it, this is carefully-crafted 3D puzzling posing a considerable chal-lenge to your logic skills.

Android: £1.99 / iOS: £1.99

XCOM: Enemy UnknownOne of the bargains on the app

stores in terms of entertainment-per-quid, as this classic sci-fi strat-egy game makes its way to mobile. Your job is to fend off an alien inva-sion with a squad of tooled-up sol-diers, with an emphasis on tension

and careful tactics rather than simply blundering around shooting anything that moves.

Android: £7.14 / iOS: £6.99

BROKEN SWORD 5: The Serpent’s Curse

The Broken Sword games are mar-vellous: engrossing adventures that have navigated the path from PC to mobile with aplomb. This latest game continues developer Revolution Software’s run, sending you on the hunt for a stolen painting with puz-zles and a well-worked storyline to hold your attention.

Android: £4.99 / iOS: £4.99

SUPER HEXAGONSuper Hexagon may just be one

of the most hardcore mobile games ever: a “minimal action” arcade game with a punishing difficulty level – yet intensely rewarding once you got to grips with it. Its pulsating chiptune music is also a standout mobile-game soundtrack.

Android: £1.99 / iOS: £1.99

RIDICULOUS FISHINGRidiculous Fishing is, yes, ridicu-

lous: you lower your bait down as far as possible while avoiding a variety of creatures, then haul it back up again catching as many as possible along the way, hurl them into the air, and blast them to bits with a shotgun. Bad in real life, but fun virtually.

Android: £1.99 / iOS: £1.99

HUNDREDSCircular puzzle game Hundreds

sees you tapping on circles in each level to make them (and the num-bers inside them) bigger – adding at least 100 points overall without them touching. Which sounds slightly tor-tuous written down, but the game’s genius is its stripped-down simplicity.

Android: £3.25 / iOS: £2.99

20Paid iOS and Android

games worth supporting

3PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014

FROZEN SYNAPSEIf you like a real challenge with your

mobile games, then Frozen Synapse is an essential purchase. It’s a turn-based strategy game originally released for computers, as you guide your squad through a succession of levels. 55 mis-sions to play by yourself plus five multi-player modes. That Android price may be a short-term promotion, by the way: it’s excellent value for under a couple of quid.

Android: £1.80 / iOS: £6.99

BRAVELANDBraveland is great fun: a turn-based

strategy game in a fantasy setting, as you work your way up from “humble warrior’s son” to an army chief. The gameplay includes building your force and developing your character, with neat graphics and simple controls add-ing to the appeal.

Android: £1.49 / iOS: £1.99

CARD CITY NIGHTSThis is unusual: a game in a genre

(card battling) that’s almost always freemium, but which uses no in-app purchases at all. More importantly, it’s really good: a mix of adventure-style storytelling and card battles, with 180 cards to collect as you play. The combo system, where you connect cards up, is a nice twist on similar games too.

Android: £1.49 / iOS: £1.49

RYMDKAPSELAn addictive, accessible game that

offers a sci-fi twist on the real-time strategy genre. The emphasis is on building a space-base through Tetris-like block-placement, while fending off waves of enemies. It’s simple in all the best ways, yet soon gets incred-ibly challenging: but not to the point of frustration.

Android: £3.29 / iOS: £2.49

BAD HOTELDeveloper Lucky Frame has been

bagging awards and critical acclaim all over the world for this game, and justifiably so. It sees you run-ning your own hotel, defending it from rats, yetis and other invading critters in a tower defence style, but with the music (brilliantly) synchro-nising with your actions. An indie classic.

Android: £1.49 / iOS: £1.49

MINES OF MARS“Procedural atmospheric min-

ing” is a new genre to me, but Mines of Mars makes it very appealing. Claiming inspiration from Metroid and Motherload, it sees you exploring an underground world (well, planet: Mars) picking up weapons and items as you go. It’s got lots of depth (sorry).

Android: £2.98 / iOS: £2.99

IMPOSSIBLE ROADMinimalist racing game Impossible

Road sees you zooming down an undu-lating track, with a pitch-perfect con-trol system giving you plenty of latitude to find the best path (or, more likely, to mess up and crash embarrassingly). It’s hypnotic, and challenging in the best possible ways.

Android: £1.49 / iOS: £1.49

HAZUMINOHazumino is a great idea: part end-

less-runner game and part Tetris-style block puzzler, where you have to run, jump AND build. Cutesy graphics and

a nagging chiptune soundtrack make it memorable, with simple gameplay but a big just-one-more-go factor to keep you playing.

Android: £0.55 / iOS: £0.69

NINJA VILLAGEJapanese developer Kairosoft’s Ninja

Village sees you building a ninja clan and sending them into battle, while also building their village into a pros-perous settlement. If you’ve loved other Kairosoft games, you’ll love this. If not, it may make the perfect introduction to their charms.

Android: £2.99 / iOS: £2.99

TRANSPORT TYCOONI was the world’s worst transport

mogul in the original Transport Tycoon game on PC, with a prodigious talent for messing up buses, trains and ships alike. I’m just as bad on mobile, but there’s no doubt that Transport Tycoon is impressively faithful to the original game, as you build routes, buy vehicles and stations, and try to master

49 scenarios.Android: £4.99 / iOS: £4.99

TIPPING POINTThe trivia genre is another area

where in-app purchases are common, but ITV’s Tipping Point is a paid app. Up to four people can play on a single device. It includes rounds like On The Buzzer, Against The Clock, Head To Head and Jackpot Push from the show, with more than 1,000 trivia questions to answer. Fun for fans.

Android: £1.49 / iOS: £1.49

GRAND THEFT AUTO:SAN ANDREAS

The latest GTA game to be re-released for smartphones and tablets is San Andreas, which came out in 2013. Developer Rockstar promises 70 hours of gameplay – if my memory’s correct from the original console version, that’s about right – with the usual gangster high-jinks in store.

Android: £4.99 / iOS: £4.99The Guardian

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 20144 CAMPUS

QLA holds annual project fair

Qatar Leadership Academy (QLA) hosted its 2nd annual Project Fair recently. Every QLA cadet presented a project they worked on throughout the year. Cadets

explained their projects to the staff and administration, who served as judges, as well as faculty and student visitors from Abdullah Al Mesaned Independent School in Al Khor.

The judges ranked the top 3 projects for each house. For the 7/8 House, the top rated projects were Alternative Resources, Cultural Heritage of Qatar, and Interlocking Toys. In the 9/10 House the winners were Conflicts and Societies, Bird Boxes, and Characterization. Finally, in the USDP-IB House, the winning projects were Water: Source of Life, Nuclear Power Generation and Modelling of a Can.

Beyond the projects, the judges chose one cadet from each house who did an exemplary job of presenting the projects. Ali Al Buanian was the top presenter for the 7/8 House for his description of Nets of Solids. The judges deemed Ali Abdulla’s presentation of Conflicts and Societies the best for the 9/10 House. Mamun Moalen’s presentation of Properties of Water was considered the best for the USDP/IB House.

The Peninsula

PEC runners-up at QSL Junior Football TournamentQSL Junior Football Tournament was organised by Goals and Qatar Star League recently at Al Arabi Sports Club and Pakistan Education Center (PEC), repre-senting Um Salal, won the runners-up trophy. Twelve schools participated in this tournament after completion of six weeks’ training programme in schools for the Juniors (4 to 6) organised by Goals and Qatar Star League, Schools were representing all football clubs of Qatar. Tariq Hameed was the Manager of the PEC football team

A total of 26 teams participated in the Qatar Preparatory School Debate

Championship tournament, representing 13 different schools at the Ibn Khalood Prepatory School.

DPS Modern Indian School (DPS-MIS) bagged all three team positions — 1st, 2nd and 3rd — at the tournament. The team comprising of Sarthak Modi, Rohit Chari and Siddhant Singh was declared champi-ons. Prathamesh Mehra, Varghese George and Sarvann Balasundaram were runners up. Aryan Jithin, Navneeth Shridhar and Johaan Jose came third.

Six participants from the school were among the top 10 speakers. Siddhant Singh came first, followed by Rohit Chari at second place and Sarthak Modi, Sarvann Balasundaram and Johann Jose shared the fourth place, while Varghese George was ranked the seventh best speaker. The Peninsula

DPS-MIS teams sweep DPS-MIS teams sweep debate championshipdebate championship

Students from the marketing pro-motion class in Qatar University’s

College of Business and Economics (QU-CBE) recently competed in a marketing communication challenge organised by Agency 222 in its annual competition.

Six teams totaling 39 women stu-dents from CBE took part in the competition which was held in coordi-nation with the College’s Department of Marketing and Management.

The competition involved the teams working on creating an integrated marketing communication campaign on two projects proposed by the Supreme Council of Health – refut-ing myths on cancer in Qatar, and promoting healthy lifestyles.

Team 6 comprising Alam aha Al Naimi, Lulwa Al Malki, Alanood Al Hitmi, Maryam Al Hitmi, Noora Al Baker, Fatma Al Naimi, and Dana Al Nasr won the best integrated mar-keting campaign award and the best

presentation award for their submis-sion on cancer myths.

Two students from the winning team will have the opportunity to intern at Agency 222 and be involved with other projects. Almaha Al Naimi, from the winning team, thanked QU and Agency 222 for the invaluable opportunity to participate in the competition which she called ”a phenomenal learning experi-ence that introduced us to the real world of marketing”. “We worked for a real client and had the opportunity to apply what we learned in the classroom,” she said.

Department Chair Dr Rana Sobh said: “This challenge was an excellent opportunity to provide our students with applied learning and prepare them for the job market. Working with a real client and with a promi-nent communications agency in Qatar such as Agency 222 provided them with exposure and helped to build their confidence.” The Peninsula

QU-CBE students compete in marketing communication challenge

5COMMUNITY / MARKETPLACE PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014

Bharathi, an Indian social and cul-tural organisation in the Al Khor housing complex, organised a visit to Aqua Park recently. More than 230 adults and kids enjoyed various rides and wave pools. “This picnic was planned to provide the members and their kids a break from their busy daily routine,” said Bharathi President Vishal J Mehta. The Al Khor community management supported the event by providing bus transportation to all attendees. The logistics and arrangements were taken care of by M Srinivasan, Milind Athavale, Harish Somani and Anto.

The president of Dukhan Toastmasters Club, Koka Prasad, will represent Toastmasters

International (TMI) District 20 of Region 11 at the World Public Speaking contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The annual global contest will be held in the last week of August.

Prasad qualified for the big event after winning the regional public speaking contest held over three days at Hotel Al Bustan in Oman. Over 600 Toastmasters across the region gathered for their annual District competition.

Speaking to The Peninsula on the theme of his speech, Koka said: “Inspiring other people and receiv-ing acknowledgement is a wonderful experience. I spoke about the innate goodness in people. It is vital to bring this out and have a positive attitude, which can help meet expectations of other people.”

Koka expressed gratitude for the role of his family and the Division lead-ership in honing his public-speaking skills and working on how to develop content and present it in a well-mod-ulated voice.

Prasad works as a senior planning engineer with Qatar Petroleum in Dukhan. His victory at the District level and qualification for the global event is significant since he will be representing over 16,100 Toastmasters from around 320 clubs in six regional countries.

Prasad has thrice represented the region at the world competition. He finished third in the Inter-District competition held in Calgary, Canada in 2008.

Regarding his prospects in Kuala Lumpur, Prasad said: “It is indeed a challenge. Fingers crossed, I hope to speak convincingly and confidently at

the world-class event. It would be a great achievement to win this contest and bring honour to Qatar and Dukhan Toastmasters Club.”

This is for the first time in 90 years that the world event is moving outside North America, to Malaysia.

The Peninsula

Dukhan Toastmasters Club official wins regional contest in Muscat

Koka Prasad (third from right) with the winner’s trophy and certificate.

ExxonMobil holds Tamayoz training programmes

ExxonMobil Qatar’s Tamayoz training programme contin-ued through the month of

April, delivering a variety of train-ing and development opportunities for partners of ExxonMobil in Qatar. Four Tamayoz courses were offered to Qatar Petroleum, RasGas, Qatargas and Tasweeq, among others, bring-ing the total number of learners who enrolled in Tamayoz classes to almost 200 since January 2014.

“During April, ExxonMobil Qatar helped transfer knowledge to approximately 60 members of our joint venture partners through Tamayoz,” said Bart Cahir, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar.

The five-day Drilling Completions and Workovers Overview course was

held in Doha from April 13 to 17. This course is specifically designed to give a technical overview of drilling opera-tions, completion practices and post-completion wellbore enhancement or remedial workover techniques.

From April 20 to 22, ExxonMobil Qatar was host to 25 participants in the Project Engineering training class. The challenging course requires four instructors with different

backgrounds — three of them with more than 30 years of experience in the industry — to be able to cover all the subject material.

The Power Basics course, which aims to develop high-level under-standing of the power business, ran on April 23 for 12 participants from Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas and RasGas at St Regis Hotel, Doha.

The Collaboration and Positive

Influence training programme was held on April 28 and 29 and encour-aged participants to build stronger, mutually beneficial partnerships, emphasising the need for active engagement and ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, including govern-ments, communities, NGOs, sup-pliers, customers, shareholders and employees.

The Peninsula

Cardinal George Alenchery, head and Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church, is vis-iting Doha today. He will be the chief guest and main celebrant of the St Thomas Syro Malabar Church’s fifth consecration anniversary cel-ebrations, which will be held on May 22 and 23. Bishop Camillo Ballin, Bishop of the Vicariate of Northern Arabia, is also participating in the celebrations.

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 20146 ARCHAEOLOGY

Gilgamesh’s grandfather’s wife asked her husband to have mercy on Gilgamesh for his long journey, and so told him

of a plant that grows at the seabed that will make him young again.

Hero Gilgamesh griped the plant from the seabed by binding stones to his feet. Gilgamesh planned to use the sea plant to rejuvenate all old men of the city of Uruk and then to use it himself.

During his journey back to the city of Uruk, Gilgamesh placed the plant on the shore of a lake. While he was bathing, a serpent stole the plant and it loses its old skin and is reborn. Gilgamesh wept, and wept at having failed the opportunity to obtain immortality.

Akkadian royal records also inform us that Sargons offspring’s continued to rule Sumer and Dilmun lands. For example, King Manishusu, son of king Sargon, was mentioned in royal annals that he “Crossed the lower sea (Arabian Gulf) overthrowing the entire country as far as the silver mountain”. While his son King Naram Sin, records mention, that he received booty of stone vases from the land of Magan (Oman).

After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire in 2145 BC, Sumer and Dilmun lands entered era of decline. However, by the rise of the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur in 2112 BC, Sumer and Dilmun lands revived their trades’ cultural and spiritual activities again.

However, many significant cir-cumstances occurred in the relations between Mesopotamia and Dilmun after the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur in the year 2006 BC... Chief among them were the absence of the Sumerians in Mesopotamian texts,

Dr Munir Taha

and the shifting of overland and sea routes between Mesopotamia and Dilmun to the north and northwestern parts. Thereafter, the Sumerian became extinct, but their cuneiform writings contin-ued to be used for several centu-ries to come.

Forty centuries after the disap-pearance of the Sumerians in the pages of Mesopotamian history in specific, and the near eastern history in general, Sumeriologist Samuel Noah Kramer considered the Sumerians as “no people have contributed more to the culture of mankind than them.”

After the fall of the city of Ur, the name of Dilmun gradually began to fade. Until the rise of the New Assyrian Empire began to emerge in 911 BC. Annals of the later Assyrian kings, for example frequently mentioned the land of Dilmun specifically the annals of the Assyrian King Sargon II (722-705 BC).

For instance, in one of his royal text it is mentioned: “Uperi king of Dilmun who had his abode a journey of 30 beru (double hours) in the midst of the sea of the ris-ing sun (Arabian Gulf) like fish.

Heard (about it) and sent his gift, the sagacious king full of kindness who gave his thought to the resto-ration of (town) that fallen to the winds, to bring field under cultiva-tion, to planting of orchards.”

In an another royal text for the Assyrian King Sargon (II) the land of Dilmun mentioned as the following: “The subjugation of Uperi king of Dilmun, whose abode is situated in the midst of the sea,… in the midst of his land distress… his ambassador, offering submission and bringing tribute and gifts.”

Assyrian texts referring to Dilmun continued to occur in Assyrian royal records after Sargon the II. The most impor-tant text seem to belong to his son king Sennacherib (705-681 BC)in which he mentioned “he attacked northeast Arabia and subdued Dilmun land. “

The last mention of Dilmun land in the Mesopotamian texts, however, came to us in one of the Neo-Babylonian texts dated to the year 565 BC, stated that Dilmun was controlled by the king of Babylonia Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC). The Peninsula

Sumer and Dilmun: Reign of King Sargon I and King Sargon II

WHEELS 7PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014

By Jason H Harper

The speed limit on New York’s Palisades Interstate Parkway is 50 miles (80km) per hour, but traffic usually sweeps along much faster.

My Ferrari’s speedometer stays firmly pegged at 48 mph.

A minivan rockets by, passing on the left. A small boy puts his nose to the window, opens his mouth wide and waves. Perhaps this is the first real-life Ferrari he’s ever seen — or maybe just the first one driving so slowly.

The 458 Speciale I’m testing is painted a vigorous red. It’s also got racing stripes, basically doubling down on the attention factor. I’m quite sure, for instance, the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police will take notice. After all, would you pull over a Honda Civic or this $288,000 supercar?

Hence, two miles under the speed limit. No prob-lem. I’ve been looking forward to the Speciale since it was announced last year at the Frankfurt motor show. Better, I’m headed to the racetrack, the speed-appropriate place to let its 597 horses roam free.

Exotic-car manufacturers love to say their models are race cars for the street, but this Speciale from Maranello, Italy-based Ferrari SpA comes perilously close. It’s a faster, leaner and more focused model of an already fast and lean supercar, the 458 Italia. In other words, how about an extra dose of extreme with your excess?

Ferrari historically has made two types of cars: those with 12-cylinder engines placed under the front hood, and those with V-8s in the centre, behind the driver.

The former are generally grand-touring cars, ideal for zinging across Italy on the Autostrada, while the latter are best on the racetrack, where agility and low weight matter most.

The mid-engine placement affords ideal balance, allowing deft changes in direction. It also sounds fabulous keening at 8,000 revolutions per minute just behind your head.

Since the early 2000s, the Fiat SpA unit has pro-duced hard-core versions of these mid-engine V-8 models, including the Challenge Stradale based on the 360 Modena and the 430 Scuderia from the F430. Still, after first driving the “conventional” Italia sev-eral years ago, I couldn’t imagine how Ferrari was going to one-up itself.

Then, hubris, they called it the Speciale. Way to point out where you’re going to hit a home run before you’re even at bat, Ferrari. Best bring the goods.

So, yes, I’ll be needing a racetrack to squeeze all the juice from this car.

A couple of hours later, observed but unmolested by the local constabulary, I arrive at the Monticello Motor Club in upstate New York. There is a small commotion among members. The Speciale is like a special-grade weapon out here, and this is the first time anyone has seen it. Look, multimillionaires are taking mobile-phone pictures of my car.

Owners won’t race the Speciale. Ferrari has a 458 model for that, the Challenge, and its own race series. Instead, many will drive it up to a private racetrack like Monticello, spend the afternoon slinging it around at phenomenal speeds, then amble slowly back home. It’s like a day of golf, only with helmets, spiking adrenaline and paramedics always on call.

The Speciale’s $288,000 starting price is before gas guzzler taxes or destination charges. My test model comes to $336,210. The obvious question is, what makes it that much more special than the $234,000 Italia?

More power, clearly, as sure an ingredient as cream and butter in any French dish. The Speciale gets 597 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque from its 4.5-litre V-8, which is truly significant for an engine without the aid of turbochargers or superchargers.

It also looks more intense than the Italia, with a big scoop in the lovely hood, dartlike fins hanging

off the side that help channel air, and a flipped-up trunk/spoiler. Ferrari is knee-deep in aerodynamic R&D, and like an airplane, the Speciale employs a series of flaps that variously open, close or deploy to keep the car better planted on the asphalt at high velocity or make it easier to turn at lower speeds.

Very cool and trick and all, but the stuff you’ll actually notice is that the car has no carpeting, no radio and no navigation system. There’s no leather, bolt heads are exposed, and most things you touch are made of carbon fiber. Your feet rest on a sheath of aluminum.

Ferrari was relentless in pursuit of weight savings, so the Speciale is almost 200 pounds (90kg) lighter than the Italia thanks to criteria like the minimalist interior. (Asking owners to lose a few pounds would be rude, one supposes.) Yet, unlike its predecessor, the track-oriented 430 Scuderia, the Speciale still feels luxurious and precious.

But ultimately, this isn’t a car to gawk at or brag about. It’s a car to drive hard, to pummel, to fall in love with at 150 mph.

I strap on a helmet, switch the steering-wheel-mounted control to “race,” and roll out. The V-8’s song is already tickling my limbic system. Much of

the joy of driving a Ferrari comes from the sound alone.

Yes, it’s fast. Yes, the carbon-ceramic brakes are great. But it’s a technical uphill corner when the Speciale suddenly comes alive underneath me. I’ve taken this turn in real race cars and in McLarens and Porsches and Corvettes. You always have to let off the gas here and be patient.

In the Ferrari I’m still on the accelerator, left wheels riding the curbing, gaining speed instead of shedding it. What manner of physics is this?

Call it Maranello magic. The brains of cars are becoming ever more like artificial intelligence, using electronic stability and traction control to keep driv-ers out of trouble. This usually means cutting power at key moments.

Yet Ferrari has specifically tuned the electronics to allow the car to slide, to wag its tail out, to let the driver have more fun, while still keeping the car in check — and from spinning off the track.

They know there are limits to buyers’ driving skills, and the might of a car like the Speciale would put most of us well over those limits. So the system basically intuits what a driver wants to do, and then arm-wrestles with physics to make it happen.

Ferrari dubs this “Side Slip Angle Control.” Most owners will simply call it fun. It lets you get away with things you might not think possible, or that are less than prudent in a car this expensive.

After I’ve done a number of efficient, fast laps, I start to play — a little extra gas at the exit of a cor-ner here, a quick waggle of the steering wheel there. The car gets a little sideways, drifts through corners.

It’s not the fastest way around, but it’s earning me all kinds of imaginary style points.

I expected the car to be fast and hard-core. I just didn’t expect it to be so playful, so much silly fun. So, well, joyous. Plenty special enough to earn its name.

WP-Bloomberg

Nuts & BoltsEngine: 4.5-liter V-8 with 597 horsepower and 398 pound- feet of torque.Transmission: Seven-speed double-clutch auto-mated manual.Mileage per gallon: 13 city, 17 highway.Price as tested: $336,210.Best feature: Massive fun to drive on the track.Worst features: Trying to find a legal road worthy of its potential.

Ferrari’s physics-defying 458 Speciale zips past excess

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014 ENTERTAINMENT8 9

HOLLYWOOD NEWS BOLLYWOOD NEWS

Michael is, always will be a genius: Janet

Singer Janet Jackson, who was impressed by the way technology brought her late

brother Michael Jackson ‘alive’ in a convinc-ing way at the recently held Billboard Music Awards, remembered the King of Pop as a “genius”.

Michael had died of acute Propofol intoxi-cation in June 2009.

Following the performance of Michael’s hologram version to “Slave to the rhythm” Sunday, Janet took to Twitter to post: “My brother, Michael, was, is and always will be a genius. I love you, Mike. Janet.”

It was originally rumoured that Janet was set to join the hologram version of her brother on stage for the performance of the song, which Michael originally recorded with L A Reid and Babyface during sessions for his “Dangerous” album in 1991. But she couldn’t make it.

The album released on the posthumous “XSCAPE” record May 13.

Idris Elba happy about directorial debutBritish actor-rapper Idris Elba, who co-

produced a track on rapper Jay-Z’s album American Gangster, is excited about his directorial debut towards the end of the year.

Elba said he is working hard in the prepa-ration to make that transition and is passion-ate about getting the chance to develop his own creative ideas, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“I’m directing something at the end of this year so (I’m) in preparation for doing that. My production company is busy at the moment and it’s a new existence for me because it’s not about me being in front of the camera,” said Elba.

“It’s about me creating opportunities to develop ideas with other people, which is great. I’m loving that,” added the 41-year-old.

This is not the first time that Elba has been in the director’s chair. He helmed an episode of “Playhouse Presents” in 2013.

This will be Elba’s feature film directorial debut.

Mick Jagger becomes great grandfatherSinger Mick Jagger has become a great

grandfather as his granddaughter Assisi, 21, has given birth to a girl.

The Rolling Stones frontman’s granddaugh-ter Assisi delivered her first child with boy-friend Alex Key, reports contactmusic.com.

Assisi is the 21-year-old daughter of Jade Jagger, Mick’s 42-year-old offspring, who is also expecting a baby boy next month.

“The women in our family just tend to have children young, it runs in the genes,” said Assisi.

“I grew up quite quickly and wouldn’t have considered having a child if I was doing what

my friends are doing at this stage, messing around. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I’m very settled,” she added.

By Anousha Sakoui

Legendary Entertainment is likely to make a sequel to Godzillaafter the film’s successful debut

in theatres, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The movie’s almost $200m in world-wide ticket sales this past weekend makes a follow-up probable, said the person, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be identi-fied. Godzilla opened with US and Canadian sales of $93.2m to lead cin-emas, researcher Rentrak Corp. said in an e-mailed statement.

Godzilla marks Legendary’s sec-ond original big-budget production following the release last summer of Pacific Rim. It now has the potential to become a recurring revenue source for the closely held production com-pany led by founder and chief executive officer Thomas Tull.

“It was a monster opening for Godzilla with the numbers coming in well over expectations,” said Paul Sweeney, a Bloomberg Industries ana-lyst. “Hollywood has learned that these tentpole films have to play well at home and globally, and Godzilla is the type of film that is embraced around the world.”

Godzilla, featuring Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston in a new take on the 1950s Japanese monster classic, easily beat the $76m estimate of BoxOffice.com. Box Office Guru, another researcher, forecast $68m. The film,

which opened globally over the week-end, has collected $197m worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

Legendary conceived, developed and produced the movie, and paid for 75 percent of the budget, while distributor Warner Bros, provided the remainder.

A total of $260m from US and Canadian theatres “seems like a safe bet,” Phil Contrino, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, said after seeing the domestic weekend tally. He had previ-ously estimated $240m.

The film cost about $160m to make, according to Box Office Mojo. Studios typically split ticket sales with exhibitors.

Pacific Rim, by comparison, was made for about $190m and gener-ated $101.8m domestically, according to Box Office Mojo. The film scored in overseas markets — the take in China alone surpassed the US — and it ended up with $411m in worldwide ticket sales.

While that movie, which also fea-tured lizard-like invaders from the sea, performed better overseas, Godzilla is shaping up as a hit in the US as well, increasing the chances Legendary will commission a sequel.

“If this comes out and works well, we’ll figure it out,” Tull told reporters at a May 1 screening of the film at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Godzilla is the latest in a long line of TV shows and films that have tried to recapture the allure of the 1954 Japanese film, originally titled Gojira,

which focused on the postwar angst of nuclear Armageddon in its portrayal of a gigantic radioactive monster rampag-ing through Japan.

The 1998 Sony movie of the same name, starring Matthew Broderick, took in $136m domestically and $379m worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

“It’s the ultimate monster movie,” director Gareth Edwards told report-ers at the May 1 event. Edwards’s pre-vious effort was the low-budget 2010 sci-fi movie Monsters.

Unlike many big action movies, Godzilla registered well with critics. It garnered a 72 percent positive rat-ing at Rottentomatoes.com, a review aggregator.

“The filmmaker makes good on his

ability to conjure enormous scope and

scale via clever staging and visual

effects,” said Peter DeBruge, interna-

tional film critic at Variety.

The film is Legendary’s second No. 1

debut of the year. The sequel 300: Rise of an Empire collected $45m in its debut in

March. That movie, also produced with

Warner Bros, had a budget of $110m,

according to Box Office Mojo.

Legendary made its name work-

ing with Warner Bros. on films based

on comic-book heroes, including the

Christopher Nolan Dark Knight films

about Batman. In July, it announced a

five-year agreement to make movies and

TV shows with Comcast Corp’s Universal

Pictures, a deal that took effect after

a pact with Warner ended last year.

300: The Rise of an Empire and Godzilla

were already in production before the

Universal deal was announced.

In the movie, Godzilla is pitted against

two huge cockroach-like beasts that stir,

bent on destruction, 15 years after trou-

bling events at a Japanese nuclear plant.

Cranston plays a scientist who worked at

the plant with his wife, Juliette Binoche,

and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is their son

Ford, a naval officer and a bomb-defusing

expert.

Global anxiety has shifted from

nuclear annihilation to climate change

and other issues in the 60 years since

the original movie. That may weaken the

new film’s message, wrote A O Scott in

the New York Times.“You can detect a trace of wistful

worry in his rampages, as if he had begun

to doubt his own relevance,” Scott wrote.

Godzilla faced only one other film

opening in wide release: Walt Disney

Co’s Million Dollar Arm. The picture,

starring Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame,

tells the story of a sports agent’s unu-

sual recruitment strategy to get talented

Indian cricket players to play major

league baseball.

The picture, projected to take in $15m,

generated $10.5m to place fourth in its

debut. It received a 58 percent positive

rating on Rottentomatoes.com.

Domestic sales for Godzilla were more

than triple those of second-place film,

Neighbors, the returning movie from

Universal Pictures, which took in $25.1m

this past weekend.

WP-Bloomberg

It’s Entertainment is fun: Sonu Sood

Actor Sonu Sood, who has mostly been part of action films, will soon be seen in comedy film It’s Entertainment. The actor found the genre

challenging, but says the film’s makers eased out the experience for him.“’It’s Entertainment is a fun film and I enjoyed doing it,” Sonu told

reporters at the trailer launch of the film.“I have not delved into this genre much, so as an actor, it was challeng-

ing for me. But when you have a producer like Ramesh (Taurani) and director like Sajid-Farhad, everything becomes easy,” he added.

The 41-year-old, who has been part of action thrillers like Dabangg, Shootout at Wadala and R...Rajkummar, also said: “I enjoyed a lot doing this film. I think the USP of doing comedy films is that you enjoy a lot.”

Jointly produced by Ramesh Taurani and Jayantilal Gada, It’s Entertainment has been directed by writer duo Sajid-Farhad.

Besides Sonu Sood, it also features Akshay Kumar, Krushna Abhishek, Johnny Lever, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mithun Chakraborty and Prakash Raj.

It’s Entertainment, releasing August 8, is about a dog called Entertainment.

Ranbir gets muscular for Bombay Velvet

Ranbir Kapoor has worked out hard to sport a muscular body in Anurag

Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet. If a source is to be believed, a trainer from Kenya had come down to train the talented actor.

“Ranbir got a trainer from Kenya to train with him for almost four months. He will be sporting a lean, muscular built in ‘Bombay Velvet’. In the film, he plays a character who is into street fighting,” said the source close to the film’s pro-duction team.

Bombay Velvet also features Anushka Sharma.

It’s publicity: Shroff about Tiger jokes

Actor Tiger Shroff, whose name was made fun of on social

media, doesn’t mind it at all. In fact, he believes it adds to a person’s “publicity”.

The jokes on him became so popu-lar that his name was trending on micro-blogging site Twitter recently. But he takes it in his stride.

“It is a good thing that people are talking about me. Besides me, there are Rajinikanth-ji, Alok Nath-ji, Alia Bhatt and now Yo Yo Honey Singh (on whom jokes have been popular online),” Tiger said at an event where he staged Parkour live.

“Many youngsters these days are using internet. I think it is a good thing if you are talked about online. After all it is publicity, be it positive or negative,” said the son of veteran actor Jackie Shroff.

As of now, Tiger is gearing up for the release of his debut film Heropanti. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sabbir Khan, the film is slated to release on Friday.

The film also marks the acting debut of Kriti Sanon.

GodzillaGodzilla sequel sequel likely after major likely after major box office triumphbox office triumph

PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014

HEALTHPLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 201410

Dengue fever risk at World Cup in BrazilThe risk of dengue fever outbreaks during the World Cup is serious

enough to warrant a high alert in three of the 12 host cities, according toscientists who have developed an early warning system for the disease

DENGUE FACTFILE

Viral infection transmitted by speciesof mosquito called Aedes aegypti

Ranges from flu-like illness tolife-threatening haemorrhagic fever,developing in around 5% of patients

No licensed vaccines or effectivetreatments available

A m a z o R i v e rA m a z o R i v e r

B R A Z I LB R A Z I L

PROBABILITY OF OUTBREAKPer 100,000 inhabitants, June 2014

Brazil microregionsProbability of high risk

Probability of low riskHigh Risk (Higher than 300)

Medium (100-300)Low risk (100 cases)

World Cup venues

310 miles

500km

ManausManaus

Fortaleza

BeloHorizonteBrasiliaBrasilia

Salvador

Rio deJaneiro

SaoPaulo

CuritibaCuritiba

Porto Alegre

CuiabaCuiaba

NatalRecife

0

100

200

300

400

500

Averagenumber of denguecases in most highlyendemic countries(Thousands, 2004-10)

Brazil: 447,000cases per year

Indonesia: 129,000Vietnam: 91,000Mexico: 75,000

Venezuela:61,000

Thailand:60,000

Philippines: 54,000

Brazil hasreported morethan 7 million

cases of denguefever since

2000

The risk of dengue fever outbreaks during the World Cup is seriousenough to warrant a high alert in three of the 12 host cities, according toscientists who have developed an early warning system for the disease

DENGUE FACTFILE

Viral infection transmitted by speciesof mosquito called Aedes aegypti

Ranges from flu-like illness tolife-threatening haemorrhagic fever,developing in around 5% of patients

No licensed vaccines or effectivetreatments available

A m a z o n R i v e rA m a z o n R i v e r

B R A Z I LB R A Z I L

PROBABILITY OF OUTBREAKPer 100,000 inhabitants, June 2014

Brazil microregionsProbability of high risk

Probability of low riskHigh Risk (Higher than 300)

Medium (100-300)Low risk (100 cases)

World Cup venues

310 miles

500km

ManausManaus

Fortaleza

BeloHorizonteBrasiliaBrasilia

Salvador

Rio deJaneiro

SaoPaulo

CuritibaCuritiba

Porto Alegre

CuiabaCuiaba

NatalRecife

0

100

200

300

400

500

Averagenumber of denguecases in most highlyendemic countries(Thousands, 2004-10)

Brazil: 447,000cases per year

Indonesia: 129,000Vietnam: 91,000Mexico: 75,000

Venezuela:61,000

Thailand:60,000

Philippines: 54,000

Brazil hasreported morethan 7 million

cases of denguefever since

2000

HEALTH / FITNESS 11

Walking may help prolong life of kidney patients

Suffering from kidney diseases? Take up walk-ing at the earliest as researchers have found

that walking may help patients with kidney dis-ease prolong life and reduce the risk of needing dialysis or a kidney transplant.

“A minimal amount of walking — just once a week for less than 30 minutes — appears to be beneficial, but more frequent and longer walking may provide a more beneficial effect,” explained Che-Yi Chou from China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan.

Physical inactivity is common among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

During the study, the researchers studied 6,363 patients. Just over 21 percent of patients reported walking as their most common form of exercise.

During follow-up, the researchers found that those who walked were 33 percent less likely to die and 21 percent less likely to need dialysis or a kidney transplant.

The more patients walked, the more they ben-efited, the study, appeared in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, noted.

Gene behind multiple heart disease risks identifiedIn a major breakthrough, researchers have

identified a key gene, mutation of which could lead to a cluster of disorders such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes — together know as metabolic syndrome.

Having any or combinations of these factors could significantly increase risks of heart dis-eases and strokes.

The mutation was in the gene ‘Dyrk1B’ - an enzyme that in normal conditions regulates the balance of muscle to fat as well as stable glucose levels by controlling the signaling pathways.

When mutated, ‘Dyrk1B’ inhibited pathways that keep glucose levels stable, and become hyperactive to promote the production of fat on the body, the researchers found.

“The entire pathway of this gene seems to be linked with glucose and fat metabolism, through the differentiation of stem cells into muscle, bone, cartilage, and fat tissue,” said Arya Mani, an associate professor of cardiology and genetics at Yale School of medicine.

“Our findings suggest that mutation in genes that regulate the fate of these cells can result in more fat instead of muscle,” Mani added.

The study involved three large families with familial, or inherited central obesity, early-onset coronary artery disease, hypertension, and diabetes.

Using whole-exome sequencing, they identi-fied the so-called “founder mutation” - a genetic abnormality that begins in one ancestor and repeats through successive generations of a family.

The researchers found that mutation of Dyrk1B was present in all family members affected by metabolic syndrome, and absent in those who were unaffected.

Researchers hope that it would be possible to develop therapies that can eliminate the impact of Dyrk1B mutation.

“The advantage of Dyrk1B as an obesity gene is that its inhibition may not only reduce body weight, but favourably affect other risk factors,” said Ali Keramati, resident in internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

The study appeared in New England Journal of Medicine.

IANS


By Kate Kelland

British researchers are launching the largest study in the world to investigate whether using

mobile phones and other wireless gadgets might affect children’s brain development.

The Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones, or SCAMP, project will focus on cog-nitive functions such as memory and attention, which continue to develop into adolescence — just the age when teenagers start to own and use personal phones.

While there is no convincing evidence that radio waves from mobile phones affect health, to date most scientific research has focused on adults and the potential risk of brain cancers.

Because of that, scientists are uncertain as to whether children’s developing brains may be more vulnerable than adults’ brains — partly because their nervous systems are still developing, and partly because they are likely to have a higher cumulative exposure over their lifetimes.

“Scientific evidence available to date is reassuring and shows no association between exposure to radiofrequency waves from mobile phone use and brain can-cer in adults in the short term - ie less than 10 years of use,” said Paul Elliott, director of the Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College London, who will co-lead the research.

“But the evidence available regarding long term heavy use and children’s use is limited and less clear.”

Mobile phone use is

ubiquitous, with the World Health Organisation estimating 4.6 billion subscriptions globally. In Britain, some 70 percent of 11 to 12 year-olds now own a mobile phone, and that figure rises to 90 percent by age 14.

Cognitive AbilitiesElliott and the study’s princi-

pal investigator, Mireille Toledano, aim to recruit around 2,500 11 to 12 year-old school children and fol-low their cognitive development over two years whilst collecting data on how often, for what, and for how long they use mobile or smart phones and other wireless devices.

Parents and pupils who agree to take part in the study will answer questions about the children’s use of mobile devices and wireless technologies, well-being and life-style. Pupils will also undertake classroom-based computerised tests of the cognitive abilities behind functions like memory and

attention.“Cognition is essentially how

we think, how we make decisions, and how we process and recall information,” said Toledano, who is also at Imperial College’s centre for Environment and Health.

“It is linked to intelligence and educational achievement and forms the building blocks of the innovative and creative potential of every individual and therefore society as a whole.”

The World Health Organisation says a large number of studies have been performed over the past two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk, and to date, no adverse health effects have been established.

Still, the electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, and the global health agency has said more research into the issue is vital.

Current British health policy guidelines say children under 16 should be encouraged to use mobile phones for essential pur-poses only, and where possible use a hands-free kit or text.

But Toledano said this advice was “given in the absence of avail-able evidence - and not because we have evidence of any harmful effects”.

“As mobile phones are a new and widespread technology central to our lives, ... the SCAMP study is important ... to provide the evi-dence base ... through which par-ents and their children can make informed life choices,” she said.

Reuters

The World Health Organisation says a large number of studies have been performed over the past two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk, and to date, no adverse health effects have been established.

Researchers to study whether mobile phones affect teenage brains

TECHNOLOGYPLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 201412

By Mohana Ravindranath

Earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard announced it was investing $1bn in a new set of Internet cloud-based

products, including an open-source software project called OpenStack. In January, IBM committed $1.2bn to its own cloud division.

As investments and competition among Internet cloud providers heat up, tech giants are finding new ways to distinguish their offerings. Amazon, Google and Microsoft recently engaged in a pricing war that drove down the fee for their public cloud services. HP is trying a different tack — emphasising its open-source approach and encour-aging businesses, its main customers, to use its product to create their own cloud services instead of relying on others.

Cloud services allow people and companies to store their information in such a way that it is accessible by the Internet, instead of marooned on one machine.

Competition is likely tightening in response to increased demand for cloud services from business custom-ers. Spending on cloud services and technology is projected to grow by 25 percent in 2014 to reach more than $100bn, according to a recent report from the research firm IDC.

Toward the end of March, Google senior vice president Urs Holzle announced the company’s plan to reduce its cloud services prices by 30 to 85 percent. “[O]ver the past five years, hardware costs improved by 20-30 per-cent annually but public cloud prices fell at just 8 percent per year,” Holzle wrote in a blog post for Google. “The cost of virtualised hardware should fall in line with the cost of the underlying real hardware.”

A day later, Amazon announced it was slashing prices for Amazon Web

Services, cutting many of its offerings by 36 to 65 percent, its 42nd drop in price since 2008. The following week, Microsoft said it was slashing prices for its cloud service, Azure, by 35 to 65 percent.

“We recognise that economics are a primary driver for some custom-ers adopting cloud, and stand by our commitment to match prices and be best-in-class on price performance,” Steven Martin, general manager at Azure, wrote in a blog post in March.

For these cloud giants, “it becomes the race to scale — how many custom-ers can you sign up, and how much are your hardware [costs] going down, that can allow you to scale out,” said Morningstar analyst Peter Wahlstrom. “And the idea is initially, you’re basi-cally in land-grab mode.

“The way [other] companies are try-ing to differentiate themselves [is] by layering services . . . or they’re trying to offer consulting engagements,” he said.

If they can’t compete by slashing prices to gain market share, cloud service providers might start focus-ing on niche markets, tailoring their software to particular industries, he said. HP, for instance, is focusing on private clouds — cloud networks that businesses use to store their own data and applications, instead of applica-tions that would be used by the public.

In early May, HP said it would dedi-cate $1bn over the next two years to cloud products and engineering prod-ucts, renaming all its cloud offerings “Helion.” HP Helion includes products based on OpenStack, a version of which it is offering free to customers to test pilots, develop proofs of concept and perform basic production tasks. HP will also help others resell OpenStack-based cloud services.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company plans to provide these services in 20 data centres globally over the next 18 months; it also pledged it will protect customers using OpenStack code from

patent and copyright infringement claims related to the code.

As part of its most recent invest-ment, HP said it was creating a new practice made up of HP’s consultants, engineers and technologists to help customers implement and maintain cloud services.

HP’s recent announcement, which regrouped its existing and new cloud offerings under Helion, was “something that [competitors] are already doing, so it’s kind of a catch-up and it’s what needs to happen,” Wahlstrom said.

For HP, “cost is just one part of [the] equation” for business customers, said Bill Hilf, vice president of product management for HP cloud. (Hilf joined HP from Microsoft’s Azure division last year.)

“What we hear as critical require-ments are security, reliability [and] openness in a hybrid setting that allows enterprises to build the right clouds for their business.”

WP-Bloomberg

By Gabriel Debenedetti

When Americans voted to renew President Barack Obama’s lease on the White House in November 2012, more than 9

million citizens took to Facebook to click the “I’m a Voter” button, showing their online friends that they had cast a ballot.

The social media site plans to offer versions of the feature around the world for a slate of national elections this year, the company said.

The feature was available for voters in India as the world’s largest democracy chose a new prime minister, Narendra Modi, in voting over recent weeks. Over 4 million Indian voters used the “I’m a Voter” button during the country’s parliamentary elections, Facebook said.

For Facebook, this is another effort to integrate its services into the everyday life of people around

the globe as it seeks to increase its number of users, particularly in emerging markets.

The button will appear for voters in next week’s European Parliament and Colombian elections, and

for citizens in South Korea, Indonesia, Sweden, Scotland, New Zealand, and Brazil later this year. It will also appear again for Americans, during November’s midterm congressional elections.

By clicking the button, users broadcast their sta-tus as a voter to their network of friends, but do not reveal how their vote was cast.

Previewing the feature’s worldwide roll-out, Facebook said it estimates nearly 400 million peo-ple will see the message in their news feeds this year - more than one third of its roughly 1.1 billion active users.

A 2012 study in scientific journal Nature found that in the United States’ 2010 midterm elections, 340,000 additional citizens voted after seeing that their friends had clicked the button to indicate they had cast a ballot.

That election heralded the rise of the conservative Tea Party movement for smaller government, as Republicans swept into office and claimed the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats.

“There is a real social multiplier effect,” said Andy Stone, a spokesman in Facebook’s Washington office. “When people see on Facebook that their friends have voted, they themselves are motivated to vote.”

Reuters

Facebook to roll out ‘I’m aVoter’ feature worldwide

Cloud competition heats Cloud competition heats up; providers seek to up; providers seek to

differentiate themselvesdifferentiate themselves

COMICS & MORE 13

Hoy en la HistoriaMay 21, 2010

1804: Pere Lachaise cemetery, final resting place of Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and Edith Piaf, opened in Paris1904: FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, was set up in Paris1989: Egypt resumed its Arab League membership after a 10-year absence2010: The IKAROS spacecraft, the first to use solar-sail technology as its main propulsion, was launched by Japan’s space agency, JAXA, aboard an H-IIA rocket

Fears of an environmental catastrophe grew as oil coated Louisiana’s delicate marshlands after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico

Picture: Associated Press © GRAPHIC NEWS

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

AGES, ATTOSECOND, CALENDAR, CENTURY, CLOCK, DATE,DAYS, DECADE, EONS, EPHEMERA, ERAS, ETERNITY,FEMTOSECOND, FOREVER, FORTNIGHT, FUTURE, HOUR,HOURGLASS, INFINITY, INSTANT, LEAP YEAR, MICROSECOND, MILLENNIUM, MILLISECOND, MINUTE, MOMENT, MONTH, NANOSECOND, OLYMPIAD, PAST, PERIOD, PICOSECOND, PRESENT, SECOND, SUNDIAL, TIME, WATCH, WEEK, YEAR, YORE.

LEARN ARABIC

Baby Blue by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman

Zits by Dennis Young and Denis Lebrun

Hagar The Horrible by Chris Browne


To hire a room

I want to rent a room Oureedou an asta'jira �ourfa

I want a room in the �rst �oor Oureedou �ourfa fee al��abiqi alawwal

I want a furnished room Oureedou �ourfa mafroo�a

What is the rent? Kami aleejar?

I want it for a month only Oureedou al�ourfa li�ahrin faqa�

I want a room with two beds Oureedou �ourfa bisareerayn

Send me the chambermaid Arsil lee al�adim

Put the things here �aç ala�ra houna

I want another blanket Oureedou bataniya ora

Please wake me up at seven Ayqi�nee alssaça alsabiça min falik

ç = ‘a’ in ‘agh’ when surprised

HYPER SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

CROSSWORDS

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku

Puzzle is solved

by filling the

numbers from 1

to 9 into the blank

cells. A Hyper

Sudoku has

unlike Sudoku

13 regions

(four regions

overlap with the

nine standard

regions). In all

regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear

only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is

solved like a normal Sudoku.

ACROSS 1 Gabs, gabs, gabs

5 One jumping to conclusions, say

11 Piece of gig gear

14 Eve’s mate

15 Like Swiss mountains

16 “___ whillikers!”

17 Prefix with potent

18 Tiny bagel flavorers

20 Fairy tale bullies

22 Pasture

23 Delete with a cross

24 Two in craps

26 Cycle after wash

27 Christmas tree

28 Laudatory poem

29 Makeshift bookmark

30 Spanish bears

32 Put bubbles in

35 Ones getting all A’s

40 Keynote address presenter

41 Adjust, as sails

43 Like stencils and missing persons

46 Happy ___ clam

49 Org. on a toothpaste box

50 12-inch sandwiches

51 Room decoration with a pattern

54 Subj. concerned with booms, crashes and panics

55 Sack

56 Music devices with earbuds

57 Obsolescent Kodak product

60 See 62-Across

62 With 60-Across, doing great … or where to find 18-, 24-, 35-, 51- and 57-Across?

63 Ultimatum words

64 “There’s nothing ___!”

65 12 oz. and others

66 Special Forces caps

67 Some Dadaist pieces

DOWN 1 Eight-time N.B.A. All-

Star ___ Ming

2 Upbraid

3 Old TV’s Captain ___

4 Smile that’s not a warm smile

5 Fell off the wagon, say

6 “Don’t Bring Me Down” grp.

7 Fruit to bob for

8 Plumbing, largely

9 “Orinoco Flow” singer

10 Hi-___ image

11 Early toddlerhood

12 Gorgon with venomous locks

13 Keep bothering

19 Demanding immediate attention

21 Help-wanted letters

24 Calif. air hub

25 It makes bread rise

26 Learning by recitation

29 Mom’s mate

31 Shaved ice treat

33 W.W. II command area: Abbr.

34 Opposite of urban

36 Magnetite and others

37 “Totally awesome!”

38 Hidden exit

39 Lose forward traction

42 Spoil

43 Moon jumper, in “Hey Diddle Diddle”

44 Take back, as testimony

45 Scents

47 Smears with gunk

48 Purchase from the iTunes Store

51 Cracker

52 Nimble

53 Important blood line

55 Unadorned

58 ___ blind

59 W.W. II vessel

61 Sgts.’ superiors

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

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22 23

24 25 26

27 28 29

30 31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38 39

40 41 42

43 44 45 46 47 48 49

50 51 52 53

54 55 56

57 58 59 60 61

62 63 64

65 66 67

A B L E M S N B C A B R AN A A N I L I E D M E A NT Y P E W R I T E R S T A N DF A D H O T S P O T R D AA R E N A S M E C C A NR E S E T A N N P O U L TM A K E M I N E A D O U B L E

D E L I C I O U SS I D E W A L K A R T I S T SO T E R O L S D S N A R EM E S S R S M I S L E DE M E R A D I O A D T V AS O R R Y F O R T H E W A I TA N T I E L A T E E I N EY E S M S E N O R T R O D

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

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

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

14

EASY SUDOKUCartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

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


CINEMA / TV LISTINGS 15

TEL: 444933989 444517001SHOWING AT VILLAGGIO & CITY CENTER

08:30 Golfging World

09:30 Omni Sprot

10:00 F1 Spain

12:00 Motorsport

Blancpain

Championship

Race

14:00 Omni Sport

14:30 90 In 30

15:00 90 In 30

15:30 Cycling Giro

D'italai

18:15 Rugby Aviva

Premiership

Saracens V

Harlequins

20:00 La Liga World

20:30 French

League Psg V

Montpellier

20:30 Serie A Show

23:00 Futbol Mundial

23:30 Cycling Giro

D'italia

08:00 News

09:00 Sudan: Fight

For The Heart

of The South

10:30 Inside Story

11:30 The Stream

12:00 News

12:30 Fault Lines

13:00 NEWSHOUR

14:30 Inside Story

15:00 Al Jazeera

World

16:00 NEWSHOUR

17:00 News

17:30 The Stream

18:00 NEWSHOUR

19:00 News

19:30 Witness

20:00 News

20:30 Inside Story

21:00 NEWSHOUR

22:00 News

22:30 The Stream

23:00 Witness

15:00 Spanish League

Real Madrid Vs

Espanyol

17:00 Premier League

Reviews

18:15 Toulon Tourna-

ment Mexico

Vs Portugal

17:15 Toulon

Tournament

France Vs Chile

22:30 UEFA Champi-

ons League

Magazine

23:00 Epl Classic

Match Liverpool

Vs Newcastle

13:00 Engineering

Connections

15:00 Lords of War

15:30 Mystery Files

16:00 Chasing UFOs

17:00 Science of

Stupid

18:00 Human Ape

19:00 Situation Critical

20:30 Indestructibles

21:00 Naked Science

22:00 Megastructures

23:00 80s Greatest

13:15 Wild Life Of

Tim Faulkner

15:30 Tanked

17:50 Steve Irwin's

Wildlife Warriors

18:20 Preposterous

Pets

22:00 Natural World

22:55 Wildest

Indochina

23:50 Animal Cops

South Africa

12:00 King Ralph

14:00 Muppets From

Space

16:00 Problem Child

18:00 Overboard

20:00 The Hot Potato-

PG15

22:00 Slap Shot

13:15 Dual Survival

15:20 Finding Bigfoot

16:10 Fast N' Loud

17:00 Flying Wild

Alaska

18:40 You Have Been

Warned

19:30 Survive That!

20:20 How It's Made

20:45 How Stuff's

Made

21:10 Baggage Battles

21:35 Lost And Sold

22:00 Treehouse

Masters

23:15 Mind Control

Freaks

13:50 Caught In Act

16:35 Animals Gone

Wild

17:30 Bear Nomad

18:25 Mudcats

19:20 Ultimate Animal

Countdown

21:00 Croc

Ganglands

21:50 Africa's Blood

River

22:40 Animals Gone

Wild

13:00 Camp Nowhere

14:45 Jelly T

16:15 Eleanor's

Secret

18:00 Luke And Lucy:

The Texas

Rangers

20:00 Ben 10: Alien

Swarm

22:00 Jelly T

23:30 Eleanor's

Secret

13:40 Hot Millions-

FAM

16:00 A Star Is Born

19:00 Pat And Mike

20:35 Seven Women

22:00 Straight Time

23:55 Pat Garrett And

Billy The Kid

MALL

1

Fish N Chips:Best Enemies Forever (2D/Animation) – 2.30 & 6.30pm

Rio 2 (3D/Animation) – 4.30pm

Seventh Day (Malayalam) – 8.30pm

Grace Of Monaco (Drama) – 11.00pm

2The Factory (V) (2D/Crime) – 2.30 & 4.30pm

Godzilla (3D/Action) – 6.30, 8.45 & 11.00pm

3

Godzilla (3D/Action) – 2.30pm

The Face Of Love (2D/Drama) – 5.00pm


The Amazing Spider-Man-2 (3D/Action) – 9.00pm

Naked Soldier (2D/Action) – 11.30pm

LANDMARK

1

The Factory (V) (2D/Crime) – 2.30pm


Fish N Chips:Best Enemies Forever (2D/Animation) – 6.30pm

Seventh Day (Malayalam) – 8.30pm


2



Godzilla (3D/Action) – 6.15, 8.30 & 11.00pm

3

Godzilla (3D/Action) – 2.30pm





ROYAL

PLAZA

1

Godzilla (3D/Action) – 2.30, 6.45, 9.00 & 11.15pm


2






3






13:00 Do Dil Bandhe Ek

Dori Se

13:30 Ek Mutthi Aasmaan

14:00 Doli Armaano Ki

14:30 Jodha Akbar

15:00 Kumkum Bhagya

15:30 Pavitra Rishta

16:00 Aur Pyaar Hogaya

16:30 Qubool Hai

17:00 Word Match

17:30 Bollywood

Business

18:00 Sapne Suhane

Ladakpan Ke

18:30 Ek Mutthi Aasmaan

19:00 Do Dil Bandhe Ek

Dori Se

19:30 Jodha Akbar

20:00 Pavitra Rishta

20:30 Kumkum Bhagya

21:00 Qubool Hai

22:00 Doli Armaano Ki

22:30 Sapne Suhane

Ladakpan Ke

13:10 Eastenders

13:40 Doctors

14:10 The Weakest Link

14:55 Shark Therapy -

Big Sharks

15:20 Shark Therapy -

Scary Sharks

15:50 Absolutely

Fabulous

16:20 Lark Rise To

Candleford

17:10 Eastenders

17:40 Doctors


19:00 Twenty Twelve

19:30 The Job Lot

20:00 Mistresses

20:50 Alan Carr: Chatty

Man

21:35 My Hero

22:05 The Children


23:40 Eastenders

13:00 My Boys

13:30 Friends

14:00 Raising Hope

14:30 About A Boy

15:30 The Daily Show

With Jon Stewart

17:00 Late Night With

Seth Meyers

18:00 The Simpsons

18:30 Back In The

Game

19:00 The Mindy Project

19:30 Modern Family

20:00 The Tonight Show

Starring Jimmy

Fallon

21:00 The Daily Show

With Jon Stewart

22:00 Sean Saves The

World

22:30 Getting On

23:00 Wilfred

23:30 Late Night With

Seth Meyers


PLUS | WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2014 POTPOURRI16

Editor-In-Chief Khalid Al Sayed Acting Managing Editor Hussain Ahmad Editorial Office The Peninsula Tel: 4455 7741, E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]

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

• Many nationals have complained that

the conditions for allotment of shops

in Al Furjan markets favour companies

over individuals as they ask for bank

guarantees of QR50,000, and the

applicant must own a company or

have a stake of at least 51 percent in

a company.

• There is talk about the Supreme

Education Council asking Independent

schools to change their timings in view

of the rise in temperatures, so that

classes end at 12 noon from June 1.

• The authorities have been urged

to reconsider the designs of the

Furjan markets and build them like

commercial complexes, not like

traditional shops in residential areas. If

there are separate shops, people have

to move from one shop to another in

the heat of summer.

• Several nationals and expatriates

have urged the authorities to stop rent

hikes. They say rents are going beyond

the capacity of the majority of the

population, and landlords are violating

the law, which does not allow a rent

increase of more than 10 percent in a

year.

• The authorities have been urged to

monitor brokers who rent buildings at

low prices and lease them at higher

prices to subtenants after making

illegal partitions in the building.

• Some people are wondering why water

and power connections and sewerage

are not provided before start of

construction on new plots, as that can

cut costs by half.

• There are demands for hotlines

in various institutions to receive

complaints, similar to the hotline for

complaints against restaurants and

commercial complexes.

IN FOCUS

A view from the Museum of Islamic Art.

by Rana Nadeem

Send your photos to [email protected]. Mention where the photo was taken.

Yousef Jeham Al Kuwari, Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, Muntajat

Al Kuwari has more than 22 years of experience in the chemicals industry in Qatar,

where he played a leading role in the growth of Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) as Chief Marketing Officer, before joining Muntajat. Graduating from Denver, Colorado (USA) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, he is a board member of Qatar Melamine Company, International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), committee member of the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association.

Who’s who

If you want your events featured here, mail details to [email protected]

An Evening with Romantic MasterWhen: May 21; 8pm-10pm Where: Katara Opera House – Building 16 What: Korean Pianist SunYoung presents a concert titled “Evening with Romance Greats” which will take place at the Opera House with a selection of distinguished classic and romantic composers. The audience shall be enchanted by Mozart and Beethoven’s tunes, in addition to the king of romanticism Chopin, who all together shall spread scent of melodies, chords’ blues and the lightness of white and black keys. Free entry

The Square (film screening) When: May 15 -21, 7:00 PM Where: Katara Drama Theater Building 16

What: The square is a film by Jehane Noujaim about a group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.Tickets available at DFI ticket outlet at Katara building 26(www.dohafilminstitute.com)

Richard Serra: Concurrent ExhibitionsWhen: Till July 6, 8:30am- 5:30pmWhere: QMA Gallery Building 10, KataraWhat: Richard Serra is among the most important contemporary sculptors. The exhibition organised by the QMA in Doha is one of Serra’s most ambitious ever in that it brings together sculptures and drawings from different periods, ranging from the seminal One Ton Prop (House of Cards) of 1969 (on rare loan from the Museum of Modern Art in New York) to a new large-scale work, Passage of Time, especially created for this occasion.Free entry

Kings and Pawns When: Till June 21Where: Museum of Islamic Arts What: This exhibition uncovers the history of board games in the Islamic world, from India to Spain between 7th and 20th century.Free Entry

Bus 174 (film screening) When: May 29 – 30, 7pm Where: Museum of Islamic Art

What: ‘Bus 174’ is an intimate and shocking documentary one of the most infamous and tragic crimes in Brazil’s recent history, when 21-year-old Sandro do Nascimento took several bus passengers hostage in broad daylight as the entire nation watched the events unfold on live television. Directed by Jose Padilha and Felipe Lacerda.Tickets available at DFI ticket outlet in the Museum of Islamic Art ( www.dohafilminstitute.com)

Events in Qatar

physics-defying ferrari 458 speciale - the peninsula qatar · 8/10/2016 · it’s a turn-based...

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