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• Oryx GTL donates 12,000 palm, fruit trees to Al Daayen Municipality

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insideMONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 • plus@pen.com.qa • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741

After the success of his three albums, Sami Yusuf is in Qatar for the launch of his fourth album Salaam. He is also set to perform at the Katara Amphitheatre on December 6.

Samsung takes aim at rivals with Android camera

MUSIC FOR PEACE

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2 COVER STORYPLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012

by Azmat Haroon

“An attack on one religion is

an attack on all religions,”

says Sami Yusuf, a celeb-

rity Muslim British singer

and composer, who rose to fame some 10

years ago with his first album Al Mua’llim

at the age of 23. After the success of his

three albums, Yusuf has come to Qatar

for the official launch of his fourth album

Salaam, where he is also set to perform a

live concert at the Katara Amphitheatre

on December 6.

Prior to the concert, the musician

spoke to The Peninsula to discuss his

projects and his personal outlook on

what’s happening in the world.

• Tell us about your work with Silatech as its global ambassador?

My role is mostly symbolic, in that I

transmit, relay across the messages and

I’m doing that generally through social

media and interviews. They have gather-

ings every year, I try to visit. But I would

like to see them a little bit more busy. It’s

a very beautiful initiative. I wish I could

do more. I’d like to be more involved.

• Which other organisations are you currently involved with?

I’m a global celebrity partner along

with Shania Twain and Sean Penn for the

United Nations World Food Programme;

we did a campaign with them a little while

ago called Live Feed Africa. It’s a joint

programme, to raise money for the Horn

of Africa. We did a song called Forgotten

Promises, which is very successful. All

the funds that came through it were sent

to the World Food Programme. We had

almost two and half million views on

YouTube. Everything from scratch was

voluntary, which is why it was a very

blessed project. Now we are thinking of

maybe one in Pakistan, Afghanistan.

• Have you been to Africa yourself?I was in Darfur in 2007. We saw some

‘Janjaweed’ guys, and the BBC report-

ers were with us. They were wearing

these bullet proof vests, didn’t make me

feel very comfortable. It’s a very diffi-

cult thing to see – this inequality and

imbalance in this world. It’s a serious

problem and it’s not getting any better.

The causes are much, much deeper, and

philosophical.

• Are you an avid student of philosophy?

I like to read a little bit in my spare

time. I have always been interested in

serious issues even when I was young. My

dad is like that also. We are predisposed

to spirituality, reading and philosophy.

But I’m an amateur at it.

• Earlier in the press conference, you were speaking about a blend of modernity and traditional values. Given the profession that you’re in, where do you draw the line?

One of the things about modernity is

that much of it has to do with numbers,

quantity and demand. You know capital-

ism. Where you have to draw the line is

that one has to have principles. You have

to know your limit; you do not sell your

soul. I see many young people who go to

America, with the dream of making it.

What do they mean by ‘making it’? He’s

basically becoming rich!

The reality is that when we say mod-

ern, usually it denotes rootless. It’s not

connected to the sacred, it’s profane. One

has to be grounded, not only humble, but

grounded in your tradition.

• Which reality TV Shows have you been approached by so far?

I’ve been approached by many reality

shows in the Arab world. Just ten days

ago, we were offered to perform with a

singer for a tour in America- an RnB

singer. Now, mainstream singers would

jump at the opportunity. Honestly, for

me, it gives me cringes. It makes me feel

awkward because the last thing I want

is to be in that environment.

I think many people don’t connect

with what they see on TV. And that’s

one of the reasons why Al Mua’llim was

so successful in 2003. I remember, in an

article, they had put my picture and that

of another Arab singer, and said one of

them makes--- it was a bad word, and the

other one makes ‘music with a purpose’.

• But a lot of people in the Arab world also speak against the kind of music you do, because they say apart from Daff, you use percussions, and there’s guitar etc, which they consider Haram.

One of the things about modernism

today is that young people are much

more religious but they are less tolerant

than your grandfather.

There’s westernisation and they react

to it in this way. They are only looking at

one aspect of religion. In Islamic socie-

ties, of course you have music; you have

gatherings of Ghazal, Qawalli and other

musical traditions.

But I wouldn’t say the entire Arab

world is like that- otherwise we wouldn’t

have sold 15 million albums in the region.

The reality is that when we say modern,

usually it denotes rootless. It’s not

connected to the sacred, it’s profane.

One has to be grounded, not only

humble, but grounded in your tradition.

I try not to give a religious name to my music

What: Sami Yusuf in ConcertWhen: Dec 6, 8pm-11pmWhere: Katara AmphitheaterTickets: QR75-QR125 available onlineand offline at Virgin Megastores

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 3

• What would you say to these people?

The most respectful thing to

say is thank you very much for

your advice. God bless you.

But it is a very interesting

and I think it has to do with

the breakdown or rather eclipse

of the intellectual tradition in

Islam. It needs to be revived.

Unfortunately, at the moment,

the overwhelming influence is

on the outward. Every religion

has an outward and an inward

dimension. Islamic tradition has

so much to do with the inward

dimension of faith. Shariah or

rules alone cannot create the

ambiance.

For instance, the Catholic

Church has very deep spir-

itual tradition. Some of their

saints like Saint Thomas, Saint

Aquinas, Saint Augustine,

they are like the Rumis of the

Christian world. They say these

metaphysical truths correspond

to all the religions. But where

is that today? The intellectual

tradition of Christianity was

eclipsed due to modernity.

And in the Muslim world, to a

certain degree, this is also tak-

ing place. There is some inferior-

ity (complex), and so we submit,

partly because intellectually we

are not able to respond. When

you sit with an atheist, some-

times you don’t know how to

respond, so you scream like a

child and respond sentimentally.

• Do you follow a particular teacher or Sheikh?

No I don’t have a particular

Sheikh. I’ve various teachers,

people I listen to and I read their

books.

• Some people call you the ‘biggest Rock Star’ of the Islamic world. How do you respond to that?

It’s an oxymoron. It’s weird

but they are only trying to com-

plement me. I think there is a

big demand for the kind of music

we do. The sounds of our music

have been a part of the Islamic

tradition, we only added English

to it and we added different

languages.

There is music that is inspired

by faith. For my music, I try

not to give it a religious name

because then you limit yourself.

I’m very happy if a Christian

person wants to become more

Christian through my music.

The world is not suffering

because of religion; the world

is suffering because of a lack of

religion.

• What can you tell us about your recent animated video project?

“It’s a Game” was released a

month ago. It has got 600,000

views by the grace of God. It’s

basically a response to the con-

troversial Danish caricature

of the Prophet (PBUH) back in

2007. It also happened to coin-

cide with the anti-Islam film

that came out recently. The best

thing I thought I could do was

respond to satire with satire. In

the video I’m there with mem-

bers of all other religions. I’ve

got the Jewish Rabbi, Christian

Priest, Buddhist Monk, and this

unity of religions is very impor-

tant. An attack on one religion is

an attack on all religions.

• Tell us about your new album.

The album is dedicated to

peace. I focused on different

themes, which are more or less

always connected to the Sacred.

It’s a very personal album. There

is a lot of trouble in the world

and the theme song Salaam

basically talks about coming

together.

The Peninsula

Indian expatriate singer Nadir Abdul Salam will sing with eminent singer Sami Yusuf during the Sami Yusuf Live Concert at Katara’s Amphitheatre on December 6.

Nadir was selected at an audition event held at Katara Drama Hall by a four-member judging panel, under the supervision of Sami Yusuf on Saturday. The jury was impressed by the rendition of Arabic songs by Nadir in different styles. Excited by Nadir’s performance, Sami Yusuf also offered all his support to him in the future.A class 10 student of MES Indian School, Nadir is learning Arabic music at Qatar Music Academy with scholarship.

Nadir to sing at Katara with Sami Yusuf

British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf (second left), Ahmed Al Darwish (second right), Dr Khalid Al Jaber (right), and Ahmed Salem during a press conference at Katara yesterday.

Pic: Kammutty VP

PHCC leads Women and Child Health National project

Primary Health Care Corporation, through its Department of Service Development and Health Promotion, and in collaboration with 37 specialists from different organisations

and institutions of Qatar, held a workshop to discuss and establish the basic points of Women and Child Health National Project.

Dr Amal Essa Al Muraikhi, who leads the initiative at PHCC’s Service Development and Health Promotion Department, highlighted that ‘the workshop will be the preliminary step towards setting up the foundation of the project with an appropriate representation of stakeholders that will be reflected in the National Committee for Women and Child Health.’

“The participants are experts, advocates and facilitators of Women and Child Health who represent different organizations such as Hamad Medical Corporation, Supreme Council for Health, Women’s Hospital, Al Khor Hospital, Sidra, Weill Cornell Medical College, Al Ahli Hospital, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Foundation or University of Calgary,” she added.

The workshop on National Women and Child Health Initiatives aimed to achieve common

objectives from the different program stakeholders discussing the key issues facing the National Women and Child Health Strategy Project. The three main areas of the project are: Women Health, Child Health and Baby Friendly Initiative.

Participants addressed the issues, gaps and challenges that are currently encountered and are projected to happen, that have direct or indirect

effect on the program implementation. They gathered the recommending action for each issue mentioned.

The Key Programme output from pool of experts on Women and Child Health Program is very important information for the formulation and developing a strategy to be a part of the National Health Strategy project.

The Peninsula

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 COMMUNITY4

Officials at the workshop.

Sarah Salah Elamin of Shantiniketan Indian School (SIS) brought home the championship and accolades

of the Qatar Toastmasters Speech competition organised by the Qatar Toastmasters held at College of North Atlantic (CNA-Q).

The main target of the competi-tion was to promulgate and nurture the talented speakers of the age group 13-18 in the student commu-nity among the Qatar based Indian schools and International schools.

The Preliminary Round held at MES Indian School on the topic ‘If you risk nothing, you risk every-thing’ saw 128 students represent-ing 10 schools.

A team of 11 members represented SIS in the same. Three students of SIS were qualified for the semi-final held at SIS on the topic ‘Even If you are in the right track, you may be over-taken by the others.’

Sarah Salah Elamin of SIS made her way to the final held at CNA-Q. Out of the 10 finalists, Sarah stood first and was elected the champion delivering a spectacular and capti-vating performance on the topic ‘You can make a difference’.

Management, staff and students of SIS thanked Anil Nair, a parent representative, and Donald D Costa for their rigorous training given to the SIS participants.

The Peninsula

SIS student wins speech competition

School officials with the winner.

Oryx GTL is support-ing a com-m u n i t y

project, which will soon see thousands of trees gracing gardens in a local municipality located between Doha and Ras Laffan.

Oryx GTL is donating a total of 12,000 palm and fruit trees to Al Daayen Municipality for a planting project being conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning.

The Municipality will distribute coupons to every household under its jurisdiction, entitling each one to receive six fruit trees and two palm trees. As well as distributing coupons to each house, some coupons will also be provided as gifts to the Ministries for their own distribution.

Each household will be required to take ownership of and look after the trees they are given, with the inten-tion that they become community role models. By encouraging children to nurture the trees the campaign also has an important educational dimension.

As well as being aesthetically pleasing by beautifying previ-ously barren and arid land – which

clearly has positive implications for Al Daayen’s natural environment in particular - the initiative is also closely aligned with Oryx GTL’s own corporate vision regarding sustain-ability, as well as the broader social, human and environmental aspects of Qatar National Vision 2030, the country’s developmental blueprint.

The tree planting campaign is closely aligned with Oryx GTL’s specific strategic goal to reduce its carbon footprint by reducing carbon emissions. Trees absorb greenhouse gases and other air pollutants - such as ozone, carbon monoxide, and sul-fur dioxide in return they emit oxy-gen as a by-product of photosynthesis and are therefore highly beneficial to the atmosphere.

The Peninsula

Oryx GTL donates 12,000 palm, fruit trees to Al Daayen Municipality

Officials from Oryx GTL and Al Daayen Municipality at the function.

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 5CAMPUS

Ruby House wins DMIS sports meet

Doha Modern Indian School held its Sixth Annual Sports Day recently at the school grounds. The day went on smoothly despite climate playing spoilsport. The day began

with March Past by members of the four houses vying for the coveted trophy. This was followed by torch relay, oath taking ceremony, the declaration of the opening of the Sports Day by the Principal Jai Gopal Jindal and the much awaited track events.

Principal spoke about the role played by sports in building up confidence and team spirit among the students and how it teaches us to accept failures.

Ruby house were the overall champions followed closely by Emerald house. Sapphire house stood third followed by Topaz.

Ruby House won the cup for March Past as well. Students who excelled in the track events were

honoured with Individual Championship prizes. For Grade 3-4 boy’s category – Paul V Kuriakose

of grade 4E from Sapphire house and for the girl’s category – Salwa Moideen of Grade 4F also from Sapphire house won the Individual Championship prizes.

For grade 5-6 boy’s category, Aaron D’Cunna of Grade 6F from Emerald House, and for the girl’s category, Filiza Koya of Grade 5B, also from Emerald House won the individual honours.

The Middle and High school students too dis-played immense talent and the best performers were awarded. For Grade 7- 9, boy’s category, Nadeem of grade 8D, from Emerald house and Kavya Krishnan Nair of Grade 9B from Ruby house won the prizes.

Sherry Philips of Grade 10A from Emerald House and Amina Naba of Grade 10 B from Ruby House bagged the final Individual honours.

It was indeed a day of celebration for the teachers as well as for the participants. The teachers showed

that they are still young at heart and have the stam-ina and caliber to perform. They displayed sheer sportmanship in the 4 X 100 metres relay and won accolades from the students as well as their peers.

The Peninsula

Principal Jai Gopal Jindal handing over the trophy to the winning team.

Some 350 students from 10 pri-vate schools discussed serious political, social and environ-mental issues of the world at

the first Model UN Conference 2012 hosted by the MES Indian School yesterday.

Students from seven Indian schools and three international schools took part in the event. The participants,

divided into various committees dis-cussed 16 topics at the mock assembly such as reforming the UN, post-con-flict reconstruction in Libya, Eurozone debt crisis, waste management system and bio-diversity. A number of senior diplomats and other dignitaries also attended the event. T P Sreenivasan, former Indian ambassador to the UN delivered, the key-note address.

The guests included Keejing Chung, Korean ambassador to Qatar, Lucas Kyprianou, assistant to the ambas-sador of Cyprus, EU Presidency, Lesteris, attaché, embassy of Greece, P S Sasikumar, deputy chief of mis-sion, Indian embassy, Jayant Kumaragi, attaché at Sri Lankan embassy and R Seetharaman, Group CEO, Doha Bank, among others. The Peninsula

MES Indian School hosts Model UN meetSchool officials and other guests at the Model UN meet.

Prize winningauthor at ParkHouse school

Park House English School is bring-ing Alan Gibbons, the prize winning children’s author, to run courses for

both Primary and Secondary teachers from schools across Doha on ‘Inspiring Boys to Speak, Read and Write Confidently’.

Park House is working in cooperation with Authors Abroad, to organise the high-est quality inspirational school author visits from some of the UK’s leading educators to enhance and support the quality of educa-tion provided in schools in Qatar.

Boys can often be reluctant readers and during his visit to Doha, Gibbons will focus on the key success factors and strategies to get boys reading and writing confidently. He will explore the interaction of listening and responding critically, talking clearly and confidently, reading fluently and writing, pre-senting and broadcasting their ideas. He will use examples from his long experience of teaching and intervention as an adviser in the UK and overseas to examine the ways to get youngsters writing effectively in poetry, fiction and non-fiction, spreading the burden of the teaching of reading and writing across the curriculum.

Gibbons is a full time writer and inde-pendent educational consultant presenting training courses throughout the UK. The Peninsula

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 MARKETPLACE6

Regency Travel & Tours relaunches its website

Regency Travel & Tours announced the re-launch of its new website for the Qatar Market. The website

www.regencyholidays.com offers online booking of air tickets, hotels, car rentals, Holiday packages, sightseeing options and road trips within and from Qatar.

The one stop travel website aims to shift the power of information and deci-sion making from the travel agent to the consumer.

Speaking at the launch, Tareq Abdullatif Taha, CEO of Regency Travel & Tours, said: “The timing is ideal for Regency Travel & Tours to enter the growing online booking engine market in this part of the world with a new ver-sion of its website.

“The Qatar Travel & Tourism indus-try has been ranked among one of the top in the Middle East and has shown enormous growth of online bookings in the past couple of years, Internet and e commerce sales are likely to touch quite a number. Economic development, a tech-savvy consumer base, expanding business opportunities and a culture of hospitality makes Qatar ripe for online travel market growth.”

Tareq further said understanding the opportunity to capture a greater share of the online travel which exists in Qatar and other parts of Middle East we have re-launched this website. During a recent study at the Arab Travel Market we have found – Qataris are highest spenders aboard with daily average of $4100 fol-lowed by KSA $3,360 and UAE $3280. The breakdown of spend across all GCC nationalities includes 54 percent allocated to airfares.

N M Shafiq, General Manager said there was a researched thought process which went into designing there website while ensuring that the pricing remains competitive for all services which are sold through www.regencyholidays.com.

Shafiq said Customers can log in to www.regencyholidays.com and any of the services can be booked with just a click of a mouse in five easy steps from the ease of their homes or offices. A 24/7 call center is always ready to back up and support the customers for issues, queries if any besides Regency Travel & Tours head office physically opened 24/7 x 365 days at Suhaim Bin Hamad Street in Al Sadd. He said this is the 1st phase of the B2C (Business to Customer) web-site and in the 2nd Phase there will be more products and many more options for hotels and all other services for their customers. 2nd phase to be launched by end of February 2013.

“In, Qatar we will offer fares from all airlines, online booking of rooms in over 2500 hotels, car rentals and the most exhaustive travel content,” he said. He pointed out that one of the outstanding features in www.regencyholidays.com is dynamic pricing of air fares and hotels.

The Peninsula

Abdullah Abdulghani, Godrej execute largest storage project in Qatar

Qatar’s biggest single racking project for Home Centre has successfully been executed in a

remarkable time frame by Abdullah Abdulghani and (AAB) – Heavy Equipment Division, in partnership with Godrej and Boyce.

The project, which included design, supply and installation of heavy duty multi-tier shelving system, was handed over to the Home Centre in a formal ceremony held here recently.

The new centralized facility will support the company to optimize and streamline its supply chain, minimize disruptions to inventory, and fully lev-erage distribution capacity.

Godrej is a 115 year old India-based multi-national company having its pres-ence in over 60 countries. Godrej Storage Solutions is a highly specialized division of the Godrej conglomerate. Godrej have their presence in various sectors like FMCG, Industrial Engineering, Appliances, Furniture, Security Equipment, Agri-care, Information Technology, Aero-space, Locks, Precision Tools, Material Handling Equipment, Real Estate and much more.

Abdullah Abdulghani besides

exclusively representing Toyota and Lexus in Qatar, Heavy Equipment Division (HED) offers Warehouse Storage Solutions. HED represents many world renowned brands like Toyota and BT Material Handling Equipment, Kawasaki Wheel loader, Godrej Security Solutions, FAMI Shop Floor Solutions, Exide Batteries, Sumitomo Tires to name a few.

The handing over ceremony was held at Oryx Rotana Hotel which was attended by senior management from

Landmark Group Corporate Office, UAE, General Manager Supply Chain - Prakash Rao; Landmark Group and Home Centre Qatar, COO –Santosh Pai, Suresh Sarma, Saikat Mishra, Mukhtar Hussain and Syed Aijaz;

Also present were Godrej Storage Solutions, DGM International Business–Krishna Raj; Abdullah Abdulghani and Bros. Co CEO–Karim Manssour Dahbi, Jaidev Singh and Balaji Marimuthu.

The Peninsula

Having conquered everything the Middle East’s environment can throw at it for over 50 years, Nissan is encouraging the

region’s people to create a new ‘Nissan Patrol Challenge’ for the unstoppable Hero of All Terrain. Nissan Patrol was designed specifically for the Middle East following 13,265 hours of testing in the region before its launch, and has since been confidently carrying its passengers anywhere, anytime.

Now Nissan’s online competition is encour-aging fans to design an innovative test for the Patrol and give themselves a chance of winning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan or other great prizes.

“Meticulously honed for over 60 years and with a 55 year presence in the Middle East, the Nissan Patrol enjoys a rich herit-age and passionate following,” said Samir Cherfan, Sales and Marketing Director, Nissan Middle East.

“With ‘Nissan Patrol Challenge’, we are offering the region’s peo-ple the opportunity to share their great ideas of how they’ve dreamt of using this iconic vehicle. ‘Nissan Patrol Challenge’ is the next chap-ter in the Nissan Patrol’s history in the Middle East and we look for-ward to sharing in our fans’ vision of what that might look like.”

Those wishing to participate in the ‘Nissan Patrol Challenge’ log on to the Nissan Patrol microsite at www.NissanPatrol-me.com or Nissan Middle East’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NissanME.

From here, they can access the application through which they can tailor their own personal vision of the ultimate test of the Nissan Patrol and submit a description of how it would work.

A panel of automotive, creative and marketing experts will then decide on the top ten shortlist and the ultimate winner. That lucky person will win a trip to Japan and may even see their ‘Nissan Patrol Challenge’ come to life.

The Peninsula

Nissan seeks ultimate ‘Nissan Patrol Challenge’

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012HEALTH 7

Health Tipsfrom DOCTOR

1. Mistake: Putting children to bed too late Maybe you don’t have your infant or tod-

dler on a regular sleep schedule or you don’t have much time with her after work, so you keep her up a little later to play. “Letting chil-dren go to sleep too late as babies and toddlers cre-ates overfatigue, When they become overtired, they have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep, and they get up earlier than if they were put down at an appropri-ate time.”

Good habit: Set regu-lar bedtimes and stick to them. And don’t wait until your kid is rubbing his eyes, yawning, or whining — that’s probably too late. 2. Mistake: Relying on motion

What parents haven’t breathed a sigh of relief watching their baby snooze in an infant swing or doze in the backseat of the car? Often these wonderful moments occur when you least expect it — and most need a break.

Good habit: Use motion for calming, not naps3. Mistake: Overstimulation in dreamland

Good habit: Keep it dark, and cut the action at nap time and nighttime4. Mistake: Skipping the bedtime routine

With a baby, you might assume that a rou-tine consisting of a bath, a book, and a lullaby isn’t yet necessary.

Good habit: A comforting bedtime ritual. Regardless of your child’s age, the key is to have a predictable series of steps that help him wind down from the day. 5. Mistake: Inconsistency

A couple of times a week, when he’s really whiny, you lie down with your preschooler in his bed until he falls asleep. Or maybe you put your big kid down in his room but allow him to crawl into bed with you in the middle of the night.

Good habit: Set guidelines for where to sleep.6. Mistake: Going from a crib to a big bed too early

Your child turns 2 and you want to celebrate by buying that cute toddler bed you saw on sale. But as soon as you make the switch, he starts getting up after lights out or waking up in the wee hours.

by Caroline Copley andBen Hirschler

When Swiss biotech firm Auris Medical wanted to recruit patients to test its experimental hearing

loss drug, it decided to enlist partygo-ers deafened by firecrackers on New Year’s Eve.

In the weeks leading up to December 31, 2005 it advertised in the subway and on radio stations in Munich and Berlin, urging victims of sudden firecracker-induced hearing loss to turn up at designated clinics for treatment on January 1.

“We had just one single day of enrolment, we didn’t know how many people would show up,” Thomas Meyer, managing director of Auris, said.

Luckily, his gamble paid off and the small private company is now one of the leaders in what has been an empty space for the pharmaceutical industry.

Auris managed to recruit enough people to show that its compound AM-111 posed no safety risk and has since successfully completed a mid-stage trial in acute sensorineural hear-ing loss, or sudden deafness, involving 210 patients.

While there is no guarantee that its drug, which is injected through the eardrum, will pass muster in final-stage tests, the progress by Auris and a clutch of rival biotech firms is making large pharmaceutical companies sit up and take notice.

There are currently no approved disease-modifying drugs for hear-ing loss, which affects nearly a third of people aged 65 to 74 and half of those over 75.

But the science is developing and investor interest is growing, piqued by the huge commercial success of recent new treatments for sight loss, such as Lucentis from Novartis and Roche and Eylea from Regeneron and Bayer.

British charity Action on Hearing Loss conservatively puts the poten-tial Western market for new drugs at $4.6bn a year - a figure that could grow quickly as ageing populations swell the ranks of those with hearing problems.

NEGLECTED FIELD“It’s one of the few areas that, as

yet, hasn’t really been tackled by the drugs industry,” said Kate Bingham, managing partner at SV Life Sciences Advisers, a venture capital firm with

investments in new drugs for both eyes and ears.

Bingham sits on the board of Autifony Therapeutics - a hearing loss firm spun out of GlaxoSmithKline in which the British drugmaker retains a stake.

Historically, hearing loss has received little attention from Big Pharma, given the lack of obvious targets for drug intervention, the dif-ficulties of running clinical trials and a widespread belief that most deafness could not be reversed.

Now the big companies are get-ting involved, although the work is early-stage.

“A drug that is therapeutic and priced right could be quite a block-buster. That’s why they’ve put their toe in the water,” said Jonathan Kil, chief medical officer at Seattle-based Sound Pharmaceuticals, which is enrolling young iPod users in a trial of an oral drug for noise-induced hear-ing loss.

US giant Pfizer is arguably the most advanced of the big players, with a drug in initial Phase I clinical testing trial for age-related sensorineural hearing loss that looks to enhance the function of existing hair cells.

Some of its biggest rivals are laying bets, too. Last year French drugmaker Sanofi inked a two-year research deal with privately held Dutch biotech firm Audion Therapeutics to develop small molecule drugs to improve hearing.

In October, Roche joined forces with venture capital firm Versant Ventures and biotech Inception Sciences to find molecules targeting ear hair cell protection and regeneration in the cochlea, the spiral-shaped cavity in the inner ear.

Cross-town competitor Novartis, meanwhile, struck a 2010 deal potentially worth more than $213m with US biotech GenVec to develop gene-based treatments to replace hair cells in the ear that transmit sound.

“We’re looking at restoration as our main line of work and we’re interested in whether there are chemicals that might also play this role instead of having to introduce a gene,” said Novartis research head Mark Fishman.

“This is an area that’s a bit more futuristic and ultimately restoring the hair cells will be the cure.”

EYES AND EARSUnlike new eye drugs, which work

by inhibiting an unwanted process, hearing drugs will need to restore damaged function - a more difficult

proposition.Experts say the first drugs will

target niche areas, such as damage caused by loud noise or as a result of chemotherapy.

“Hearing loss is not just one condition. It’s like cancer - there are lots of different types and there is work to be done to segment the market,” said Ralph Holme, head of biomedical research at Action on Hearing Loss.

Heading the field for noise-induced hearing loss is South Illinois University, which has launched a late-stage trial with the US military for an drug to increase protection for people exposed to very noisy environments like soldiers.

Canada’s Adherex also has a late-stage trial to test a drug that may protect against hearing loss caused by platinum-based anti-cancer agents in children.

While protective treatments could become available within the next few years, regenerative approaches - such as injecting stem cells into the ear or chemically intervening to switch on genes that control cell growth - are much further off.

Despite recent promising tests in gerbils, the potential to replicate this in humans is still uncertain, said Pascal Senn, an ear specialist at the University of Berne.

“If something grows inside the ear, you must be sure that it doesn’t grow excessively or form tumors. There are a lot of roadblocks that need to be overcome in this field. It’s highly risky, but I think it’s also the hottest area,” he said.

One intriguing possibility for the future is the convergence of future drugs and devices. Hearing aid manufacturers have certainly not been deaf to the noises from the pharma sector.

Sonova, the world’s largest maker of hearing aids, has invested in two start-up companies - one in the United States for drugs to protect hearing and another Swiss biotech working on a treatment for acute tinnitus.

It bought US cochlear implant manufacturer Advanced Bionics in 2009 in a bid to increase its focus on the inner ear and understand how drug treatments could work with implants.

“It will be interesting whether the innovation will be driven by pharma companies moving in or whether the hearing aid companies will branch out,” said Auris’ Meyer.

Reuters

Dr. Nabeel Saif Hussein Shaif GP-Paediatrics

Healthspring World Clinic

Six major sleep mistakes parents make and howto avoid them

Drugmakers step up Drugmakers step up search for hearingsearch for hearing

loss medicinesloss medicines

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ooks

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art

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reports

deadline.c

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reports

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oth

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et

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biz

spy.

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ongoria

, L

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aty

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draw

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dle

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stau

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LLY

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OD

NE

WS

by

Tro

y R

ibei

ro

Fil

m:

Tala

ash

; C

ast

: A

am

ir K

han, R

ani M

ukerji, K

areena K

apoor,

Naw

azu

ddin

Sid

diq

ui

and S

hernaz

Pate

lD

irec

tor:

Reem

a K

agti

Aam

ir K

han n

ever c

ease

s to

surpris

e v

iew

ers.

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ala

ash

, he d

oes

so

quit

e lit

erally.

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uccin

ctl

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rit

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ple

x s

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mooth

ly

inte

rla

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nvest

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on a

nd p

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oti

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f th

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rs

make T

ala

ash

a n

ail-b

itin

g t

hrille

r.T

he p

lot

about

a p

olice o

fficer S

urja

n S

ingh S

hekhaw

at

(Aam

ir K

han)

invest

igati

ng a

hig

h p

rofile

case

of

film

sta

r A

rm

aan

Kapoor’

s accid

en

-ta

l death

keeps

you r

ivete

d.

Alo

ngsi

de t

he m

ain

plo

t, o

ne g

ath

ers

that

Shekhaw

at

and h

is w

ife R

osh

ni (R

ani M

ukerji),

have lost

their

eig

ht-

year-

old

son K

aran i

n a

freak a

ccid

ent

in a

lake, fo

r w

hic

h S

hekhaw

at

bla

mes

him

self

and liv

es

in g

uilt.

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invest

igati

ons

const

antl

y lead h

im t

o K

areena K

apoor,

a p

rost

itute

w

ith a

good h

eart,

who a

cts

as

the a

ce i

nfo

rm

er f

or S

hekhaw

at.

Kareena

as

Rosy

, has

shades

of her e

arl

ier C

ha

meli, alt

hough s

he m

akes

a c

onsc

ious

eff

ort

to b

e d

iffe

rent.

She is

eff

ecti

ve a

nd c

onvin

cin

g, to

uchin

g y

our h

eart

wit

h t

he innate

goodness

of

her c

haracte

r, in s

pit

e o

f her c

ircum

stances.

The m

yst

ery s

hroudin

g t

he c

ase

, unravels

gradually in a

carefu

lly w

rit

-te

n t

ight

scrip

t, w

ith n

o loophole

s. T

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lm is

enti

rely

unpredic

table

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confo

rm

ing t

o t

he u

sual

approach t

o t

hrille

rs

in B

ollyw

ood.

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one i

s cle

arly

dif

ferent

and k

eeps

you g

uess

ing t

ill th

e v

ery e

nd.

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lim

ax b

rin

gs

you t

o t

he e

dge o

f your s

eat,

but

leaves

you s

ati

ate

d. A

s th

e c

ase

unfo

lds,

you g

et

your a

nsw

ers

from

the c

haracte

rs

on c

ellulo

id. B

ut

cle

arl

y, R

eem

a K

agti

and Z

oya A

khta

r, t

he s

crip

twrit

er d

uo, giv

e y

ou m

uch

more t

han j

ust

that.

They t

ake y

ou t

hrough a

com

ple

te s

elf

-explo

rato

ry

journey a

nd b

rin

g y

ou b

ack r

eple

te w

ith a

nsw

ers

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arhan A

khta

r’s

dia

logues

in c

olloquia

l parla

nce a

re w

itty

and u

nle

ash

several underly

ing m

ess

ages.

Ram

Sam

path

giv

es

an a

pt

background s

core, in

keepin

g w

ith t

he fl

avour

of

the fi

lm a

nd i

f anyth

ing, only

enhances

the v

iew

er’s

experie

nce. M

usi

c

in t

he fi

lm o

therw

ise is

noth

ing t

o w

rit

e h

om

e a

bout,

but

you’r

e d

efinit

ely

not

com

pla

inin

g. T

he p

lot

and p

erfo

rm

ances

leave n

o r

oom

for f

riv

oliti

es.

Rani M

ukerji in h

er d

e-g

lam

avata

r, is

true t

o h

er c

haracte

r a

s th

e d

is-

traught

moth

er.

Naw

azu

ddin

Sid

diq

ui as

Taim

ur,

the lam

e M

an F

rid

ay in

the b

roth

el doin

g o

dd jobs,

excels

in a

superbly

writ

ten r

ole

. R

ealist

ic p

er-

form

ances

and g

et

ups

of all t

he c

haracte

rs,

add t

o t

he ingenuit

y o

f th

e p

lot.

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inem

ato

graphy,

though s

imple

, captu

res

the e

ssence o

f M

um

bai.

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s of th

e c

ity a

re w

onderfu

lly d

epic

ted, m

akin

g t

hose

, a c

haracte

r

in t

he fi

lm, rath

er t

han a

mere b

ackdrop.

IAN

S

With

ersp

oon

to s

tar i

n W

ilde

10 b

est

scre

en a

dap

tati

ons

TH

E L

EO

PA

RD

(LU

CH

INO

VIS

CO

NT

I, 1

963)

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e aris

tocrati

c V

iscon

ti m

ade perh

aps th

e

perfe

ct

screen

adapta

tion

in

takin

g G

iuse

ppe d

i L

am

pedusa’s

n

ovel

an

d tr

an

sfe

rrin

g it

s exqui-

site

, m

ela

ncholy

prose

to fi

lm.

The s

tory c

entr

es

on t

he P

rin

ce o

f S

alina, a 1

9th

-centu

ry n

oble

man

dis

mayed a

s w

ar a

nd r

evolu

tion

sw

eep a

way t

he

Sic

ilia

n a

ris

tocracy,

and g

ave B

urt

Lancast

er h

is

most

unlikely

yet

adm

ired r

ole

. A

lain

Delo

n a

nd

Cla

udia

Cardin

ale

len

d p

ass

ion

an

d b

eauty

. T

he

film

won t

he P

alm

e d

’Or in 1

963. It

s ballroom

scene

rem

ain

s a b

enchm

ark

of

cin

em

ati

c o

pule

nce a

nd

choreography.

TIM

E R

EG

AIN

ED

(R

AO

UL

RU

IZ, 19

99)

Sprin

gboardin

g o

ff t

he fi

nal volu

me -

Le T

em

ps

Retr

ouve -

wit

h flashbacks to

scen

es th

rough-

out

Marcel

Proust

’s s

even-p

art

Rem

em

brance o

f T

hin

gs

Past

, R

uiz

’s s

tate

ly y

et

surreal w

ork

is

one

of

the f

ew

film

s to

captu

re t

he e

ssence o

f m

em

ory

and b

oredom

(or p

erhaps

ennui)

wit

hout

succum

b-

ing t

o b

ein

g b

orin

g. It

is

as

dense

a fi

lm a

s it

is

a

novel

but

full o

f m

agic

an

d s

ple

ndour,

not

least

in

its

consi

stentl

y s

urpris

ing c

ast

, w

hic

h i

nclu

des

Cath

erin

e D

eneuve, E

mm

anuelle B

eart,

and J

ohn

Malk

ovic

h a

s B

aron d

e C

harlu

s.

OL

IVE

R!

(CA

RO

L R

EE

D, 19

68)

Not

the fi

rst

adapta

tion o

f D

ickens’s

novel but

the

film

of L

ionel B

art’s

stage m

usi

cal (fi

rst

perfo

rm

ed

in t

he W

est

End i

n 1

960 a

nd p

erhaps

insp

ired b

y

David

Lean

’s 1

948 fi

lm a

s m

uch a

s by D

icken

s)

rem

ain

s a t

reasu

re a

nd a

definin

g, m

yth

ical sc

reen

depic

tion o

f D

ickensi

an L

ondon.

Even y

oung P

ip

in M

ike N

ew

ell’s

new

film

of

Great

Expecta

tions

resem

ble

s M

ark L

este

r’s eth

ereal

Oliver T

wis

t (w

hose sin

gin

g w

as secretl

y dubbed by K

ath

e

Green

). T

he fi

lm e

arn

ed 1

1 O

scar n

om

inati

on

s,

win

nin

g s

ix, in

clu

din

g b

est

film

.

CA

BA

RE

T (

BO

B F

OS

SE

, 19

72)

The fi

lm i

s a c

ulm

inati

on

of

adapta

tion

s, b

ut

the o

rig

in i

s C

hris

topher I

sherw

ood’s

1939 n

ovel

Goodbye to

B

erli

n,

wh

ere th

e ch

aracte

r S

ally

Bow

les

makes

her d

ebut.

Quoti

ng t

he b

ook’s

open-

ing l

ine,

John

Van

Drute

n’s

1951

stage p

lay t

ook

the t

itle

I A

m a

Cam

era,

becom

ing i

tself

a fi

lm

and t

hen,

renam

ed C

abaret,

a B

roadw

ay m

usi

cal

befo

re h

itti

ng t

he b

ig s

creen. S

ally w

as

changed t

o

an A

meric

an t

o a

ccom

modate

Liz

a M

innelli

and

several new

Kander a

nd E

bb s

ongs.

At

the O

scars,

B

ob F

oss

e w

on b

est

dir

ecto

r b

ut

the fi

lm l

ost

out

on b

est

pic

ture -

to T

he G

odfa

ther.

GR

EA

T E

XP

EC

TA

TIO

NS

(D

AV

ID L

EA

N, 19

46)

Th

e open

ing m

arsh

scen

es,

on

e of

the fi

n-

est

openin

g s

equences

in a

ll c

inem

a,

earned G

uy

Green

Brit

ain

’s fi

rst

Osc

ar f

or c

inem

ato

graphy.

Lean’s

film

certa

inly

abrid

ges

the n

ovel (w

hic

h h

e

cla

imed n

ot

to h

ave r

ead)

but

main

tain

s it

s se

nse

of

socia

l change a

nd insi

stence o

n h

onest

hard w

ork

, w

hic

h m

ade i

t a h

it. A

lec G

uin

ness

’s p

erfo

rm

ance

as

Herbert

Pocket

in a

sta

ge v

ersi

on is

said

to h

ave

brought

the i

dea t

o L

ean’s

att

enti

on, and i

t, a

long

wit

h M

arti

ta H

unt’s

Mis

s H

avis

ham

, rem

ain

mas-

terpie

ces

of

Brit

ish c

haracte

r a

cti

ng.

ST

AN

D B

Y M

E

(RO

B R

EIN

ER

, 19

86)

A S

tephen

Kin

g n

ovella T

he B

od

y, a

dapte

d h

ere b

y

Rein

er,

appeared in a

1982 c

ollecti

on,

Dif

fere

nt

Sea

son

s,

alo

ngsi

de s

torie

s th

at

becam

e T

he S

ha

wsh

an

k R

ed

em

pti

on

and A

pt

Pu

pil:

the f

ourth

sto

ry,

Th

e B

rea

thin

g M

eth

od,

is s

et

for a

2014

film

rele

ase

. S

tan

d B

y M

e i

s a p

erfe

ct

com

ing-o

f-age m

ovie

about

four k

ids

on a

n a

dventu

re

to fi

nd a

body.

Narrate

d i

n fl

ash

back b

y o

ne p

arti

ci-

pant

(Gordie

, pla

yed b

y R

ichard D

reyfu

ss a

s an a

dult

and W

il W

heato

n a

s a 1

2-y

ear-o

ld),

the fi

lm is

redole

nt

wit

h A

meric

ana -

“If

I c

ould

eat

one food m

y w

hole

lif

e?

Cherry P

ez”

- a

nd fl

avoured w

ith a

doo-w

op s

oundtr

ack.

TIN

KE

R T

AIL

OR

SO

LD

IER

SP

Y

(TO

MA

S A

LF

RE

DS

ON

, 20

11)

Base

d o

n J

ohn le C

arre’s 1

974

novel, t

he W

ork

ing T

itle

-produced a

dapta

tion a

lso h

ad t

o c

onte

nd w

ith t

he e

pic

19

79 B

BC

serie

s, w

hile a

cto

r G

ary O

ldm

an h

ad t

o liv

e u

p

to A

lec G

uin

ness

’s p

ortr

ayal of

George S

miley. S

wedis

h

dir

ecto

r A

lfredso

n r

ose

to t

he c

hallenge w

ith s

urpris

ing

em

path

y f

or t

he L

ondon l

ocati

ons

and s

tyle

s, a

llow

ing

strong c

haracte

ris

ati

on from

a fi

ne c

ast

, in

clu

din

g C

olin

Fir

th, T

om

Hardy a

nd B

enedic

t C

um

berbatc

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PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 FEATURE10

Isn’t teaching kids about balancing a checkbook at least as important as using the Pythagorean theorem?

by Tracy Grant

My sons can engage successfully in Socratic debate, argue compellingly that philosophic giant Immanuel Kant was a behaving like a “pedantic

child” when he wrote about marriage, and cre-ate multimedia presentations that look worthy of network news.

They are not exceptional and not alone. The same could be said for many high school students in the Washington area.

I have complete confidence that their educa-tion is preparing them very well for college; it’s whether they are prepared for life that worries me.

Let’s start with the fact that I’m now going through the grueling process of spending 60 hours in the car with my son Andrew as he learns to drive.

People who think that the presidency ages peo-ple and cite Barack Obama’s graying hair really should look at before-and-after pictures of the parents of teenage, would-be drivers.

In the past 20 years, public school systems have abandoned the idea of teaching high-schoolers to drive. Gone are the driving simulators, gory crash-scene movies and on-the-road instruction with the PE teacher that many of us grew up with.

There are lots of good reasons, including the high cost of driver’s ed and a need to focus on other educational initiatives, for dropping it. But the result is that a child can go through the public education system without a skill that is pretty

much required for getting around in the outside world.

It was during a recent driving session that Andrew shared that driving isn’t the only life skill he feels deficient in. “I really wish I better under-stood how things like credit cards and checkbooks work,” he said.

Next week, my twin sons will turn 17, which somehow seems like a whole lot more than just a year older than 16. That birthday gets a lot of attention, what with Sweet 16 parties and driver’s licences, but there’s something inexorable about 17: Adulthood is around the corner; there is simply no stopping it.

But as we get ready to unleash our kids on the world, don’t they need to have a basic

understanding of how that world operates? After a seemingly endless political campaign about tax rates and the cost of health care, how many kids understand that if they are lucky enough to make $50,000 a year when they get out of college, that doesn’t mean that they get $50,000 to spend as they see fit?

Isn’t teaching kids about balancing a checkbook at least as important as using the Pythagorean theorem? Christopher could probably explain to me the physics behind the internal combustion engine, but I taught him how to jump a stalled battery and check the oil in said engine.

To be fair, some school systems do have such classes as part of their curriculum. Montgomery County in Maryland offers high-schoolers an elec-tive called “Quantitative Literacy.” Yes, the name is enough to turn any kid off, which is a shame because it covers such things as saving and invest-ing, loans and credit, creating a household budget and, my favourite, “the aspects of probability and chance in everyday life.”

My problem is that it’s an elective. And kids who have schedules crammed with AP, Honors and IB classes designed to impress college admis-sions directors are unlikely to take a course that would do something so mundane as help them live in the real world.

At my sons’ school, nobody graduates without taking a computer keyboarding class (basically typing) because it’s considered an essential life skill. It seems to me that schools, both public and private, are teaching far too few of those.

WP-Bloomberg

Lamenting what schools don’t teach

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 11BOOKS

Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft,

Update & Show Your Home Some Love

by John and Sherry PetersikI have trotted off to bed every night for the past two weeks

with Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love under my arm. It is so much more than just a pretty do-it-yourself resource book. It’s filled with charming personal narrative, easy-to-understand instruc-tions for every level of project, and clever ways to improve your home and your life. In this age of tightened belt straps where it’s not always possible to buy new, John and Sherry make you feel good about using what you’ve got in a way you never knew you could.

(Holly Allen, designer)

How Children Succeed

by Paul ToughAs an education writer, Paul Tough goes deeper than any-

one I know. Some of the ideas he has brought to light — that preschool is a great government investment given the payoff later in life, that building character matters as much for suc-cess as academics — are so deeply ingrained in my own thinking that it’s hard to remember I had to learn them some-where. Reading Tough’s new book, How Children Succeed, reminded me just why he’s so good. The book is a synthesis of all the latest research on learning, told in well-packaged chapters like How to Think and How to Fail (and How Not To). I learned so much reading this book and I came away full of hope about how we can make life better for all kinds of kids.

(Emily Bazelon, senior editor)

The Man Without a Face

by Masha GessenThis portrait of the inscrutable Vladimir Putin is fascinat-

ing, illuminating and above all brave — as you read about the price countless Russians have paid for crossing Putin, you can’t help but marvel at the courage it takes to tell his story so critically. Gessen (an occasional Slate contributor) chronicles Putin’s journey from KGB agent to St. Petersburg political operative to Boris Yeltsin’s surprise choice as act-ing president, and on to 13 years (and counting) as Russia’s undisputed top dog, regardless of the title he holds at any given moment. What emerges is a man whose greatest politi-cal strength is his willingness to be seen primarily not as a statesman, but as a world class thug.

(Andy Bowers, executive producer Slate podcasts)

The Half-Blood Blues

by Esi EdugyanA different vantage point of Nazi Europe in the 1940s —

seen through the eyes of a group of African-American jazz musicians who find their rhythm just as the world is trying to snuff out their musical genius. Not only did the narrator, Sid, capture me with his internal struggles and unique voice, but it made me think about how the war impacted music and all races in ways that I don’t always associate with the Third Reich. I felt pulled into the story by their passion for music despite the threats they faced daily. But what ultimately makes this story so memorable is Sid dealing with his demons long after his musical heyday has passed.

(Tracey Coronado, director of human resources)

Lionel Asbo: State of England

by Martin AmisMartin Amis’ latest chuckle-fest “Lionel Asbo: State of

England” is a fabulous and much-needed antidote to the twee “Downton Abbey” view of England. Here is the unvar-nished truth about us Brits: We are lower and trashier than any Kardashian or Jersey Shore habitué.

(Simon Doonan, columnist)

Zona

by Geoff DyerI’ll endorse Geoff Dyer’s rambling, peculiar memoir of

watching the 1979 Soviet art film Stalker, and then rewatch-ing it again and again. The memoir’s subtitle is A book about a film about a journey to a room, but it might have been “A boring book about a dreary film about a seemingly-endless journey to a nondescript room.” I say that in praise: Both book and film scale the heights of monotony at a thrilling, break-neck pace, and once they’ve reached the summit wallow in a weirdly gripping self-indulgence. What makes these feats of tedium so fabulous? Dyer tries to figure it out.

(Daniel Engber, columnist)

The Way the World Works

by Nicholson BakerNicholson Baker writing on Wikipedia is like John Updike on

Ted Williams or James Baldwin on going to church in Harlem: such a perfect match of writer and subject, mind and matter that the no-doubt hard-won wonderfulness of the resulting essay seems predestined, inevitable. “The Pop-Tarts page

is often aflutter,” Baker writes about the Wikipedia page for Pop-Tarts. The Way the World Works, the somewhat grandly titled essay collection in which The Charms of Wikipedia appears, is itself aflutter with sentences as good and bet-ter than that one, a large number of them about life’s little details. The book makes you think that perhaps attending to little things, and writing fine, fun sentences about those little things, might help one think about the big things, and how they have been broken.

(David Haglund, Brow Beat editor)

On a Farther Shore

by William SouderYou may think you really ought to know more about the

origins of the environmental movement and the life of its patron saint. Sure, of course you ought to. You like clean air and water and birds, right? But “On a Farther Shore,” William Souder’s biography of Rachel Carson, is not a chore or a les-son. It’s a delightful, fascinating, engrossing read about some of the most important insights of modern science. You’ll find yourself thinking about Carson whenever you take a walk in the woods or get trapped in an argument about how environ-mentalists are killing kids in Africa.

(Laura Helmuth, science and health editor)

Enemies: A History of the FBI

by Tim WeinerThis is an astonishing book, jammed with revelations,

gleaned from tens of thousands of pages of newly declassified files. The focus is on the FBI as a secret foreign-intelligence service and J Edgar Hoover as an “American Machiavelli.” Weiner tells the epic tale with captivating elegance. It’s even better, I think, than “Legacy of Ashes,” his previous, award-winning book about the CIA.

(Fred Kaplan, “War Stories” columnist)

The Defining Decade

by Meg JayIn The Defining Decade, clinical psychologist Meg Jay

explains how to optimize the crucial years of your 20s, citing stories from her practice. Any recent college grad mired in a quarter-life crisis or merely dazed by the freedom of post-collegiate existence should consider it required reading.

(Chris Kirk, interactives editor)

The best of

20122012In a three part series Slate magazine’s editors, designers, and columnists choose their favourite books of 2012.

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 TECHNOLOGY12

South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co is taking aim at its Japanese rivals with an

Android-powered digital camera that allows users to swiftly and wirelessly upload pictures to social networking sites.

The Galaxy camera lets users con-nect to a mobile network or Wi-Fi to share photographs and video without having to hook up the camera to a computer.

While it’s not the first to the mar-ket, Samsung’s financial and marketing clout suggest it could be the biggest threat to Japanese domination of a dig-ital camera industry which research firm Lucintel sees growing to $46bn by 2017 and where big brands include Canon Inc, Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp, Nikon Corp and Olympus Corp.

“Samsung has a tough row to hoe against the likes of Canon and Nikon in the camera brand equity landscape,” said Liz Cutting, senior imaging analyst at research firm NPD Group. “Yet as a brand known more in the connected electronic device arena, Samsung has a unique opportunity to transfer strength from adjacent categories into the dedicated camera world.”

The Korean group, battling for mobile gadget supremacy against Apple Inc, is already a global market leader in televisions, smartphones and memory chips.

Samsung last year brought its cam-era and digital imaging business - one of its smallest - under the supervi-sion of JK Shin, who heads a mobile business that generated 70 percent of Samsung’s $7.4bn third-quarter profit.

“Our camera business is quickly evolving ... and I think it will be able to set a new landmark for Samsung,” Shin said at a launch event in Seoul. “The product will open a new chapter in communications - visual communi-cations,” he said, noting good reviews for the Samsung Galaxy camera which went on sale in Europe and the United States earlier this month.

AIMING AT ‘PRO-SUMERS’

The Galaxy camera, which sells in the United States for $499.99 through AT&T with various monthly data plans, features a 4.8-inch LCD touchscreen and a 21x optical zoom lens. Users can send photos instantly to other mobile

devices via a 4G network, access the Internet, email and social network sites, edit photos and play games.

The easy-to-use camera, and the quality of the pictures, is aimed at mid-market ‘pro-sumers’ - not quite pro-fessional photographers but those who don’t mind paying a premium for user options not yet available on a smart-phone - such as an optical, rather than digital, zoom, better flash, and image stabilization.

The appeal of high picture quality cameras with wireless connection has grown as social media services such as Facebook Inc drive a boom in rapid shoot-and-share photos.

“At a price point higher than some entry-level interchangeable-lens cam-eras, the Galaxy camera should appeal to a consumer willing to pay an initial and ongoing premium for 24/7 creative interactivity,” said Cutting.

Traditional digital camera makers are responding.

Canon, considered a leader in prof-itability in corporate Japan with its aggressive cost cutting, saw its com-pact camera sales eroded in the most recent quarter by smartphones, and has just introduced its first mirrorless camera to tap into a growing market for small, interchangeable-lens cam-eras that rival Nikon entered last year.

Nikon has also recently introduced an Android-embedded Wi-Fi only camera. Reuters

Network / Bearer and Wireless ConnectivityGSM 3G, HSPA-PLUSHSPA+21 (850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100)802.11a/b/g/n 2.4GHz / 5GHzWi-Fi Direct availableGAP, SSP, HSP, A2DP, SPP, OPP, AVRCP 1.3, HIDDLNA, HDMI 1.4 supportKIES, KIES Air supportLensF = 4.1 ~ 86.1mm (35mm film equivalent :23 ~ 483mm)2.8 (W) ~ 5.9 (T)21x Zoom LensChipsetQuad Core Application Processor1.4GHz CPU SpeedPhysical Specification70.8 x 128.7 x 19.1mm Dimension300g WeightBattery1650mAh Battery CapacityUSB ChargeableStandby Time : Up to 280 hours (3G)Shutter SpeedAuto : 1 / 8 ~ 1 / 2000sec Manual : 16 ~ 1 / 2000secWhite BalanceAuto WB, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent_H, Fluorescent_L, Tungsten, CustomServices and ApplicationsSamsung Apps availableChatON available. Instagram, Paper Artist, Dropbox, Gallery, Photo wizard, Video Editor, AllShare Play, S-Suggest, S-VoiceOSAndroid 4.1 (Jellybean)Memory3.87GB MemoryColourWhite, Cobalt BlackLocationAssisted GPS / GLONASS availableExposureProgram AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual ExposureMulti, Spot, Centre-weighted, Face Detection AE±2EV (1 / 3EV steps)Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200Still Image1. Auto 2. Smart (15 Mode) : Beauty face, Best photo, Continuous shot, Best face, Landscape, Macro, Action freeze, Rich tone, Panorama, Waterfall, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Light trace3. Expert Control (5 Mode) : P (Auto+), A (Aperture Priority), S (Speed Priority), Camcorder, M (Manual)Audio and VideoAVI, MP4 / 3GP, WMV, FLV, MKV, WEBMFull HD (1080p) Video Recording & Playback availableRecording up to 30fpsMP3, AAC, AMR, WMA, OGG, FLAC, 3GA / M4A, WAVImage SensorBSI CMOS1 / 2.3”Effective Pixel Approx. 16.3 Mega pixelsTotal Pixel Approx. 17 Mega pixelsDisplayHD Super Clear LCD (TFT)16M - 4.8”1280 x 720 (HD)SensorsAccelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Gyro-sensor,Gyro-sensor (for OIS)ConnectorsUSB v2.03.5pi 4pole, StereoMicroSD External Memory Slot (SDXC 64GB)MicroSIM - Micro USB available

Samsung takes aim at rivals with Android camera

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 COMICS 13

Hoy en la HistoriaDecember 3, 1992

1967: South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard carried out the world's first heart transplant operation 1997: The International Monetary Fund agreed a $57 billion loan to rescue South Korea's economy 2008: More than 100 countries signed a treaty banning cluster bombs at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway.2010: Nissan began selling the Leaf, one of the first mass market electric cars

The first ever SMS message was sent, over the Vodafone GSM network in the UK. Today text messaging is the most widely used mobile data service

Picture: Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS

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

ALLOSAURUS, ANKYLOSAURUS, APATOSAURUS, BRACHIOSAURUS, CAMPTOSAURUS, COMPSOGNATHUS, CORYTHOSAURUS, DEINONYCHUS, DIPLODOCUS, EORAPTOR, HADROSAUR, HETERODONTOSAURUS, IGUANODON, ORNITHOLESTES, PENTACERATOPS, PLATEOSAURUS, PTEROSAUR, SCELIDOSAURUS, STEGOSAURUS, TRICERATOPS, TYRANNOSAURUS REX, VELOCIRAPTOR.

Dennis the Menace Hank Ketcham

Sherman’s Lagoon Jim Toomey

Slylock Fox Bob Weber

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012

HYPER SUDOKU

CROSS WORD

CROSSWORDS

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

How to play Hyper Sudoku:A Hyper Sudoku

Puzzle is solved

by filling the

numbers from 1

to 9 into the blank

cells. A Hyper

Sudoku has

unlike Sudoku

13 regions

(four regions

overlap with the

nine standard

regions). In all

regions the numbers from 1 to 9 can appear

only once. Otherwise, a Hyper Sudoku is

solved like a normal Sudoku.

ACROSS 1 *Peddle 5 Prefix with “mom” in

2009 news 9 Bay State sch.14 Tommie of the Miracle

Mets15 *Christmas carol

starter16 Soil enricher17 Gorillas and others19 Manhattan’s ___

Place20 “No joke!”22 *Storied also-ran23 January 1 sound26 Intersected27 Grapefruit choice29 *Managed ___31 Coeur d’___33 Vietnam-era protest

org.34 Meriting a “Q.E.D.”37 Article in rap titles

39 Classic novel of 1,000+ pages … or a hint to the word ladder formed by the answers to the starred clues

42 Columnist Hentoff43 Earring shape46 45 ___49 Contrarian’s retort51 *Center52 Brown in the funnies54 Best Buy buys57 “___ who?”58 *Place to moor59 “Give me an

example!”62 Oscar winner Tatum64 “You’re fired!”

speaker, informally68 Slowly, on a score69 *Valentine sentiment70 “___ it my way”71 Test for quality72 River of Flanders73 *Chocolate brand

DOWN 1 Broomstick rider 2 Cabinet dept. 3 Elfin 4 New Zealand parrots 5 Midway Airport

alternative 6 Napoleonic leader? 7 Palm product 8 “Why not?!” 9 Thurman of “In Bloom”10 Overly romantic11 Places for rites12 Wrote for an orchestra13 Tatters18 Pro ___ (for now)21 Drink brewed naturally23 Angel dust24 Item in a thole25 Ship’s christening spot28 Joy of “The View”30 Olympic skating

champion Lysacek32 Resulted in35 Run out of town on

___

36 Drives home, as runs38 “Back in Black” band40 Personal bugaboo41 Bow-toting god44 Prospector’s find45 Brand of movable

collectibles46 Soda brand since

190547 7-Down and others48 Whizzes50 Without muss or fuss

53 Ranch in “Giant”55 Java or C++ whiz56 Hostess ___ Balls60 Units now called

siemens61 Queen Wheat City of

Oklahoma63 Myrna of film65 Hubbub66 Tyler of “Jersey Girl”67 Presidential

monogram

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

68 69 70

71 72 73

A P E G A G R E E S A G OD I V A D O U B L E P O XD A I L Y J U M B L E R Y EU N C L A S P S Y R I A NP O T O K T E A O I L

I P O D S H U F F L ES E S A M E U K E L O O PP L A C A T E S I D E O N EA I N T E V E G I R L I EM A D S C R A M B L E

D U H C U E T A C I TT A U P I N A V E R A G ER U N L E M O N A D E M I XA T E I S A B E L N E V AY O S S T R I D E A L E S

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

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

YESTERDAY’S ANSWER

14

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

Cartoon Arts International / The New York Times Syndicate

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 CINEMA / TV LISTINGS

SHOWING AT CITY CENTER1330 Champions

League

Magazine

1415 Rugby

International

Friendly

England V New

Zealand

1600 Spanish League

Barcelona V

Athletic

1745 Short

Programme

1800 English Sports

News

1815 Football Asia

1845 Real Nba

Magazine

1915 Dutch League

Feyenoord V

Waalwick

2100 The Serie A

Show

2130 The Football

League Show

2200 The Global

8:30 News

9:00 The Frost

Interview

10:00 News

10:30 Inside Story

11:00 News

11:30 South2North

12:00 News

12:30 People &

Power

13:00 NEWSHOUR

14:00 News

14:30 Inside Story

15:00 Empire

16:00 NEWSHOUR

17:00 News

17:30 Talk to Al

Jazeera

18:00 NEWSHOUR

19:00 News

19:30 Counting the

Cost

20:00 News

20:30 Inside Story

21:00 NEWSHOUR

22:00 News

13:15 Wheeler

Dealers

14:10 Border Security

14:35 Auction Kings

15:05 Auction Kings

16:25 Wheeler

Dealers

18:15 Mythbusters

19:10 How Stuff’s

Made

19:40 How It’s Made

20:05 Border Security

20:35 Dirty Money

21:00 Auction Kings

21:30 Outback

09:15 Mystery Gorilla

10:10 Swamp Troop

12:00 Strike Force

14:00 When Crocs

Ate Dinosaurs

16:00 I, Predator

17:00 World’s

Deadliest GPU

19:00 Desert Seas

20:00 Crocs Of

Katuma

21:00 Caught In The

Act

14:30 Young Justice

14:55 Codename:

Kids Next Door

15:45 Ben 10: Alien

Force

16:35 Powerpuff Girls

17:00 Angelo Rules

17:20 Young Justice

17:40 Hero 108

18:00 Ben 10:

Omniverse

18:25 The Amazing

12:00 Zookeeper-

14:00 Below The

Beltway-PG15

16:00 The American

President-PG15

18:00 Jumping The

Broom-PG15

20:00 Nacho Libre

22:00 The Breakfast

15

13:20 Dolphin Days

13:50 Wildlife SOS

International

14:15 E-Vets: The

Interns

14:45 Animal Cops

Philadelphia

15:40 Wild France

16:35 Going Ape

17:00 The Really Wild

Show

17:30 Must Love Cats

19:20 Cats 101

20:15 Monkey Life

20:40 Bondi Vet

13:05 Timestalkers

14:40 Submarine X -

1

16:10 Rage (1992)

17:39 Submerged

19:10 Still Of The

Night

20:40 Zelig

22:00 While Justice

Sleeps

23:30 Mgm’s Big

Screen

23:45 Women In Love

11:45 The Happy

Years-FAM

13:35 Julie-PG

15:10 Love Me Or

Leave Me-PG

17:10 Seven Brides

For Seven

Brothers-FAM

18:50 The Swan-FAM

20:35 The Dirty

Dozen

23:00 Blow-Up

17:30 Mr. Popper’s

Penguins-PG

19:30 Lemony

Snicket’s A

Series Of

Unfortunate-PG

21:45 Free Birds-FAM

23:15 Arthur And The

Revenge

GULF

CINEMA

1

Talaash (2D/Hindi) – 2.30, 8.30 & 11.15pm

Thuppakki (2D/Hindi) – 5.00pm

2

101 Weddings (2D/Malayalam) – 2.30, 8.00 & 11.00pm

Talaash (2D/Hindi) – 5.30pm

MALL

CINEMA

1

Paranorman (Comedy) – 2.30pm

101 Weddings (2D/Malayalam) – 4.30, 7.30 & 10.30pm

2

Rise Of The Guardians (3D/Animation) – 2.30 & 4.15pm

The Woman In The Fifth (3D/Thriller) – 6.00 & 7.45pm

The Collection (2D/Action) – 9.30 & 11.15pm

3

Red Dawn (2D/Action) – 2.45 & 5.00pm

Twilight Saga: Breaking 2 (2D/Adventure) – 7.15pm

Trouble With The Curve (2D/Drama) – 9.30pm

The Paperboy (2D/Thriller) – 11.30pm

ROYAL

PLAZA

1

The Paperboy (2D/Thriller) – 2.30pm

Trouble With The Curve (2D/Drama) – 4.45pm

Red Dawn (2D/Action) – 7.00pm

The Collection (2D/Action) – 9.15 & 11.30pm

2

Rise Of The Guardians (Animation) – 3.00, 5.00, 7.00 & 9.00pm

Hunger Games (Drama) – 11.00pm

3

Snow White & The Huntsman (Adventure) – 2.30 & 4.45pm

What To Expect When You’re Expecting (Comedy) – 7.00pm

The Bourne Legacy (Action) – 9.00pm

Mission Impossible (Action) – 11.15pm

LANDMARK

1

Cinderella (3D/Animation) – 2.30pm

The Man With The Iron Fist (2D/Action) – 4.30pm

The Woman In The Fifth (3D/Thriller) – 6.30 & 8.30pm

Skyfall (2D/Action) – 10.30pm

2

Rise Of The Guardians (3D/Animation) – 3.00, 5.00 & 7.00pm

The Collection (2D/Action) – 9.00 & 11.00pm

3

Red Dawn (2D/Action) – 2.30pm

Twilight Saga: Breaking 2 (2D/Adventure) – 4.45pm

Trouble With The Curve (2D/Drama) – 7.00pm

Argo (2D/Drama) – 9.15pm

The Paperboy (2D/Thriller) – 11.30pm

PLUS | MONDAY 3 DECEMBER 2012 POTPOURRI16

MEDIA SCAN

IN FOCUS

• Some citizens say the National Day cel-ebrations are used to show off wealth and social status rather than to celebrate the achievements of the nation.

• There is a discussion about why many men prefer to travel alone on holidays, leaving their families behind.

• There is talk about a female columnist’s article being stopped by a newspaper because it contained “inappropriate words and sexual allusions.’

• People are appreciating the role being played by the Doha Centre for Media Freedom in training students in journal-ism and their plan to introduce media cur-riculum to schools.

• People are talking about Dubai’s decision to ban festive marches using cars and instead people are required to march -- walking.

• Kuwait’s election results have revealed the

domination of Shias in the parliament and the presence of women.

• Organisers of many conferences held in Qatar do not invite Qatari speakers and people are wondering why this is so.

• There is news about the end of Q Media monopoly on street and road hoardings. Until now, Q Media was the sole agency which sold space on these hoardings to advertisers.

• People are requesting the Traffic Department to enforce traffic rules on National Day because many motorists tend to violate them on the day.

• Some citizens say mistakes by health professionals at Hamad Hospital and health centres are increasing. In the latest example, a lady dentist is said to have extracted the healthy tooth of a patient, leaving the infected tooth in tact.

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

The 10-seat ‘Timeline Motorcycle’ of Steve ‘Doc’ Hopkins during a presentation prior to the Essen Motor Show in Essen.

Editor-In-Chief Khalid Al Sayed Acting Managing Editor Hussain Ahmad Editorial Office The Peninsula Tel: 4455 7741, E-mail: plus@pen.com.qa / editor@pen.com.qa

1,300 Taiwanese form giant humanQR barcode

More than 1,000 Taiwan peo-ple formed a human QR code in an event designed

to promote the island to the world by cashing in on the rising use of smartphones which can read the barcodes.

QR codes are commonly used to direct users to websites, videos or social media sites.

Forming the QR code, highlighted by a blue word “Hi” in the middle, involved a total of 1,369 people car-rying umbrellas on the square of the Taipei City Hall, organisers said.

“While there may be many other different ways to promote the image of Taiwan, we chose this special way to do so,” a spokeswoman for the non-profit Sayling Wen Cultural & Educational Foundation, said.

“As long as smartphone users take a photo of the trademark code, they can easily link to our website where various colourful events of Taiwan are shown and will be continuously updated.”

Staff members from dozens of Taiwan companies such as air carrier EVA Air and bicycle maker Giant took part in the event.

AFP

by Ina Fassbender

Today in Qatar

Yan Pei-Ming“Painting the history”When: 9am-8pm, Till Jan 12, 2013Friday 3pm to 9pmWHERE: QMA Gallery, Bldg 10 WHAT: Curated by Francesco Bonami, this exhibition profiles three types of history-makers and highlights the power of painting as a medium for recording historical events. Free entry

Tea with NefertitiWhen: Till March 31, 2013; 11am-6pmWHERE: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art WHAT: Offer a critical perspective on how to perceive an artwork, particularly in and from the Arab world. Free entry

Forever NowWhen: Till March 31, 2013; 11am-6pmWHERE: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art WHAT: Forever Now proposes new readings based on the works of five artists from Mathaf’s permanent collection. This exhibition unpacks new narratives that posit a unique understanding of five diverse artists: Fahrelnissa Zeid, Jewad Selim, Saliba Douaihy, Salim Al–Dabbagh and Ahmed Cherkaoui. Free entry

Art of Travel WHEN: Till Feb 11, 2013(Sun, Mon, Wed: 10:30-5:30; Tue: closed; Thu, Sat: 12noon-8pm; Fri: 2pm-8pm)WHERE: Al Riwaq Hall next to the Museum of Islamic Art WHAT: A watercolour album dated 1590 was commissioned by Bartholomäus Schachman, mayor of Gdansk in 1604. It documents what he saw during his travels through the Ottoman Empire in 1588-89, depicting costumes and people, scenes of everyday life, festivals and ceremonies. The pages of the album are on display along with related artworks and documents providing visitors with a fascinating and vivid view back in time to the 16th century. Entry: Children Free, adults QR:25

Record of Images in Algerian Film Exhibition WHEN: 15 Dec 201210am-10pmWHERE: Katara Art Center, Bldg 5 WHAT: Posters have long been a visual tool of politics. In the world of cinema this medium is the still representation of a series of plans, plots, moving images, scripts and protagonists. This exhibition explores the relationship between selected posters of key films that made Algerian film history and stills from the films themselves, framing the aesthetics of its socio-political context that has evolved through the years to form a thriving independent cinema that has demarcated itself in the region. Entry: Free

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