Lorenzo, the 2010 champion, was 0.8 seconds faster than countryman Dani Pedrosa, who passed Stoner with two laps remaining in the 22-lap race at Losail International Circuit. It was Lorenzo’s 18th victory and first in Qatar.

“What an amazing race,” Lorenzo said. “I put everything I have, all my energy into the track. This victory is because I never gave up, kept pushing and trying. Casey was very strong at the beginning and opened a gap. Fortunately for us, he struggled at the end and dropped his pace where I could keep mine, so I managed to pass him.”

Stoner was 2.9 seconds back in third.

British rider Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso of Italy were next, followed by Nicky Hayden of the United States. Former multiple world champion Valentino Rossi finished 10th.

Pedrosa, who started in seventh, said he was happy to finish second.

“I’m very happy with this result because we have been able to turn around all the problems we had during the weekend,” he said. “After a good preseason, we got here and everything went wrong: I had flu and a fever. I crashed on Friday, then the qualifying practice was a disaster. So it’s very good to leave here with this podium, even if I feel little bit sad because I thought I could win this race.”

Stoner blamed mechanical problems for his failure to hold the lead down the stretch.

“It wasn’t really the way we wanted to finish the race weekend here,” he said. “I definitely had the package and the pace to lead the field, which was really positive. However, I suffered from really bad arm pump. After three or four laps I felt it but it gradually got worse, I tried to pull a little gap from Jorge and Dani and put in the minimal effort possible to retain the gap and try and win. But as the race continued it got worse and worse and eventually the muscles had nothing more to give.”

The 33-year-old Rossi started 12th in his second year for Ducati and finished 33.6 seconds behind Lorenzo.

Stoner appeared on his way to a 34th victory when he overtook Lorenzo on the third lap. The 26-year-old Australian, who won the race last year, remained in control the top three bunched up on the 19th lap.

The race was the first using the 1,000 cc engines — up from 800 cc — and marked the debut of the so-called Claiming Rule Teams. These are independent outfits with lower budgets and included nine of the 21 teams in the race.

The next race is in Jerez, Spain April 29.

The yacht, the Octopus, sailed into a drama over illegal fishing that turned deadly even before the plane vanished off the remote island nation.

A crew member of a Chinese vessel that allegedly poached giant clams from a marine reserve was shot and killed by Palau authorities in a confrontation on Saturday. The plane vanished on Sunday as it pursued a larger Chinese ship involved in the fishing operation — a vessel that apparently was set on fire by crew members after officers pursued it overnight.

Allen’s spokesman David Postman said Allen had been in the region to support his friend James Cameron, the movie director who recently explored the world’s deepest point, the Mariana Trench northeast of Palau.

Allen’s 126-metre (414-foot) yacht boasts two helicopters, a submarine and a remote-controlled underwater vessel, which took pictures of nautiluses that Allen posted on his Twitter account Sunday. That same day, the Octopus picked up radio transmissions from the plane in distress and was among several vessels that alerted the US Coast Guard of its plight, Coast Guard spokesman Lieutentant Richard Russell said.

“He’s being very modest about his participation,” Russell said. “I’m not sure if he’s still on board. But for the last few days, he’s been lending us both his helicopters in aid of the search. He’s been a huge help.”

Postman said the Octopus has not been back to port since Allen tweeted the photos, but added that he never discloses Allen’s whereabouts because of security concerns.

The events in Palau, about 500 miles east of the Philippines, began unfolding after six Chinese fishermen were spotted diving for giant clams over several days in the Ngeruangel Atoll marine reserve, said to Norbert Yano, Palau’s director of public safety.

Yano said state officials tried to intercept the boat Saturday, but the fishermen made a dangerous turn around the pursuing vessel. He said officials firing at the fleeing vessel’s engines accidentally shot a fisherman in the thigh. The wounded man died. Yano said he was taken on a 25-minute journey to a nearby island where a nurse lived, but she couldn’t stop the bleeding in time.

The other five fishermen were arrested and told authorities there was a mother ship nearby, Yano said. A patrol boat located the larger ship late Saturday afternoon, he said, and began a chase that would last all night.

At 5:30am Sunday, authorities noticed the mother ship was engulfed in flames, Yano said. He said he believes crew members deliberately set it on fire and abandoned ship to a small ancillary vessel before they were caught. Authorities enlisted Palau tourist pilot Frank Ohlinger, an American citizen, to fly two Palau officers to the scene, Yano said. Authorities wanted to get photos and other evidence from the burning ship before it sank.

Russell, the Coast Guard spokesman, said Ohlinger later radioed the airport to say his GPS navigational device had failed. The airport turned its lights on full brightness and shot off flares to try and help guide the plane back, he said.

In his final transmission, at 8:15 pm, Ohlinger said he was within minutes of running out of fuel.

“He may have become disoriented,” Russell said. “He was trying a number of different maneuvers and bearings to try and get closer to where he believed the airport was.”

Russell said authorities have yet to find any trace of the plane despite an extensive search over 6,500 square nautical miles that has involved several Coast Guard vessels as well as official Palauan vessels and privately owned craft. He added that the water is relatively warm in the area, which increases the odds of survival.

The missing Palau officers are Willy Towai and Earl Decherong.

“I ask for your prayers for the captain and these two fine young police officers,” Palau President Johnson Toribiong wrote on his Facebook page. Court records show that about 25 Chinese fishermen face a number of charges, including illegal fishing. Wednesday was an official holiday in China, and a call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went unanswered.

The American was fined at Dubai Court of Misdemeanors yesterday after he was found guilty of insulting an Emirati who worked as a Dubai Customs inspector.

Official records state that last October, the 31-year-old Emirati and his friend were driving on Al Sufouh Road when the 34-year-old defendant started beeping his horn.

“The defendant was driving behind my car,” the victim said. “I gestured to him to be patient until we passed an exit. All of a sudden he overtook me then stopped his car in front of mine. It forced me to put the brakes on. He then stepped out of his car and came near my window and insulted me using bad language.”

The Emirati’s passenger confirmed the incident in the courtroom. However, the American insisted during the investigation and in court that he did not insult the inspector.

“I was in the right lane on Al Sufouh Road when he entered it and stopped,” the defendant said. “I put on my brakes and blasted my horn but he wouldn’t move. He gestured at me asking ‘what did I want’.

I couldn’t control myself so I stepped out of my car and asked why he had stopped. I told him such behaviour was dangerous and then drove off.”

The Emirati took down the registration number and made a complaint to Dubai Police. “I received a call from police asking me to go to their station,” the American added.

ali.shouk@7days.ae

The announcement of the May 6 launch comes after more than two years of preparation for Sky News Arabia to join the increasingly crowded Arabic news market. It is also a boost for Abu Dhabi’s efforts to compete with Dubai as a regional media hub.

The channel is a joint partnership between the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation and British Sky Broadcasting, whose biggest shareholder is Murdoch’s News Corporation.

But Sky News Arabia has a staff and news managers separate from Sky’s London’s headquarters, the company said.

The channel would compete against established pan-Arab networks such as Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya in Dubai. Last year, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said he plans to start an Arabic television news channel that will be based in Bahrain.

Overturned cars left streets unnavigable and flattened trucks clogged highway shoulders. Preliminary estimates were that six to 12 twisters had touched down in North Texas, senior National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Martello said. But firm numbers would only come after survey teams checked damage on Wednesday, he said.

In suburban Dallas, Lancaster police officer Paul Beck said 10 people were injured, two of them severely. Three people were injured in Arlington, including two residents of a nursing home who were taken to a hospital with minor injuries after swirling winds clipped the building, city assistant fire chief Jim Self said.

“Of course the windows were flying out, and my sister is paralyzed, so I had to get someone to help me get her in a wheelchair to get her out of the room,” said Joy Johnston, who was visiting her 79-year-old sister at the Green Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. “It was terribly loud.”

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport canceled hundreds of flights and diverted others heading its way. Among the most stunning video was an industrial section of Dallas, where rows of empty tractor-trailers crumpled like soda cans littered a parking lot.

“The officers were watching the tornadoes form and drop,” Kennedale police Chief Tommy Williams said. “It was pretty active for a while.”

The confirmed tornadoes touched down near Royce City and Silver Springs, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Bishop.

April is the peak of the tornado season that runs from March until June. Bishop said Tuesday’s storms suggest that “we’re on pace to be above normal.” Johnston said her sister was taken to the hospital because of her delicate health. Another resident at the nursing home, Louella Curtis, 92, said workers roused her out of bed and put her in the hall.

“The hallways were all jammed,” Johnston said. “Everyone was trying to help each other to make a path for others. I’d say everybody was out of their rooms within 20 minutes.”

Most of Dallas was spared the full wrath of the storm. Yet in Lancaster, television helicopters panned over exposed homes without roofs and flattened buildings. Broken sheets of plywood blanketed lawns and covered rooftops. A pastor at one Lancaster church saw debris swirling in the wind, then herded more than 30 children, some as young as newborns, into a windowless room to ride out the storm. Nearby at the church’s school, about 60 more children hid in another windowless room near the women’s bathroom.

An entire wall of Cedar Valley Christian Academy wound up being taken out in the storm. Pastor Glenn Young said he didn’t know when the school might re-open.

“I’m a little concerned,” Young said. “This is our livelihood.”

Residents could be seen walking down the street with firefighters and peering into homes, looking at the damage after the storm passed. Devlin Norwood said he was at his Lancaster home when he heard the storm sirens. He said he made a quick trip to a nearby store when he saw the funnel-shaped tornado lower, kick up debris and head toward his neighborhood.

“I didn’t see any damage until I got back home. We had trees destroyed, fences down, boards down, boards penetrating the roof and the house, shingles damaged,” said Norwood, 50, an accountant and graduate student. The storm pushed cars into fences and toppled trees. Branches and limbs scattered across lawns and residential streets, and in one driveway, a tow-behind RV was left torn apart and crumpled.

“Obviously we’re going to have a lot of assessments to make when this is done,” Dallas County spokeswoman Maria Arita said. American Airlines canceled more than 450 arriving and departing flights at its hub airport by late Tuesday afternoon, and 37 other incoming flights had been diverted to different airports. DFW Airport spokesman David Magana said more than 110 planes were damaged by hail. It wasn’t clear how many belonged to American Airlines, but American and American Eagle had pulled 101 planes out of service for hail-damage inspections.

Flights also were canceled at Dallas Love Field, which is a big base for Southwest Airlines. That airline canceled more than 45 flights in and out of the airport by Tuesday evening.

Meteorologists said the storms were the result of a slow-moving storm system centered over northern New Mexico.

A whopping 63 per cent think they’re in line for bank-balance boosting pay increases in the next 12 months, and a quarter of them see their salary  shooting up by 15 per cent or more, according to a survey carried out by pollster YouGov and jobs website Bayt.com.

“The survey respondents’ belief that there is an increase – however small – in salaries is a positive sign for the future,” said Sundip Chahal, chief executive of YouGov. And the optimism was echoed by the responses of employees to 7DAYS in Dubai yesterday.

“Yes, of course I’ll be getting a pay rise,” said Philip Moral, who works at UAE lender Mashreq. “Every day is not Christmas. When everyone is doing their job right, you deserve a pay rise.” Mortgages man Muhammad Fahad Amir, of  Standard Chartered Bank, was honest enough to admit however that his bank-balance isn’t going to be getting too much fatter this year.

“I don’t expect one,” said Amir. “I got a pay rise in 2011 and because of the market, business is hard at the moment. If I’m not getting business, then I don’t think I deserve a rise.”

But he does he believe he’ll be one of those celebrating a 15 per cent pay boost next year. Amir added: “I’d like to think I’d get round about 15 to 20 per cent for 2013.”

Interestingly, six out of 10 surveyed in the survey stated their current compensation is lower than that offered by other companies in their industry. A worrying 44 per cent also claimed to have been either unhappy – or indeed very unhappy – with the last pay rise they received.

Some 37 per cent said they saved more than 15 per cent of 
their monthly salary – though one-in-four admitted being unable to save 
any money at all. Almost two out of five expats said the managed to repatriate more than 15 per cent of their salary.

The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi yesterday upheld a ruling of Umm Al Quwain Criminal Court that found the Arab boss guilty of causing permanent disability to the Asian victim, although she was acquitted of a charge of attempted murder.

The court heard the defendant had regularly tortured and burned the domestic worker with boiling water and had also beaten her with electrical cables at the family home in the emirate. The victim has been left permanently scarred.

The maid told how her boss would torture her whenever she was not satisfied with her work.

“She used to beat me daily. She sometimes hit me badly on the head and other parts of my body with electric wires, brooms and shoes,” the housemaid said. She said her boss had also thrown pepper in her eyes.

“One time she placed a hot flat iron on my hand, which caused me serious burns,” she said.

The maid finally got help when she was taken to hospital to be treated for some of her injuries. She confided in a medic, who informed police and her boss was arrested. Medical tests revealed the maid had suffered broken ribs and had a number of large scars and burns. During court hearings the defendant had denied charges of attempted murder and causing disability to the maid. She did admit attacking the maid three times but said the assaults were not violent.

ismail@7days.ae

According to Jack Canfield, it is.

The success coach and man behind the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ book series believes a basic formula will deliver the life you want. “I’m happy all the time,” says the American, who is also one of the featured teachers on the movie of the record-breaking book ‘The Secret’. “I do have off days, but they are very rare, and never last as long as a day.”

So what is the secret? For Canfield, it’s what he calls ‘The Daily Disciplines of Success’. They are based on the universal Law of Attraction, which states that we attract into our lives what we give our focus and energy to, whether positive or negative.

As with other universal laws, such as The Law of Gravity – what goes up must come down; The Law of Cause and Effect – every action has a reaction and The Law of Polarity – everything has an opposite, hot-cold, up-down, good-bad, it works whether you are aware of it or not.

But being aware means you can use it to your advantage. Unlike with the genie, getting your wishes fulfilled this way will take some effort. However, it’s just a matter of practice, Canfield assures.
He explains: “It takes about 30 to 60 days to create a new habit.”

The first thing to do is spend a few minutes a day visualising your ideal life and generate the feelings you would have living it. Canfield says: “Visionaries such as Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates or Martin Luther King visualised the future, they had no doubt that certain things would happen.”

Secondly, when you are visualising, notice which negative thoughts come up – it might be doubt or fear or judgement – then release them.

“If I miss a plane and am going to miss an engage­ment, for the first 30 minutes I get frustrated,” Canfield says. “But then I let it go, because there’s nothing I can do. I did everything possible to get there but for reasons beyond my control, it didn’t happen.”

Every ancient culture has techniques for releasing negative feelings. Canfield has been learning a method called ho’oponopono, which comes from Hawaii and he stresses: “It’s vital to release the negative feelings because if you stay in them, you are attracting more of the things that make you negative – angry people, things to be angry about.” The third thing is to take action towards fulfilling your dreams. It is critical to let your subconscious and the universe know you truly believe your dreams are coming true. You demonstrate belief by your actions. “If you don’t believe you can learn to ride a horse then you won’t try,” he explains. “But if you truly believe that you can, you will demonstrate that by taking riding lessons.”

As well as these three basic steps, Canfield recommends doing something daily that brings you joy.

“Doing this, whether it’s music or arts or athletics or reading or petting your cat, whatever it may be, keeps you sending out positive energy,” he says. The final ingredient for the magic mix is gratitude.
“All success and all happiness comes from appreciating and being grateful for what you already have,” explains Canfield.

“Most of us are constantly focussed on what we don’t have, what’s missing. You need to focus on what you have.”

He suggests having a daily gratitude ritual – whether it’s writing 10 things you are grateful for before you go to bed, waking up and meditating on the blessings in your life or carrying a gratitude rock in your pocket so every time you reach in to get money, you feel the rock and it causes you to pause and be grateful for the fact you have money.

Just pause long enough to give thanks, to appreciate. Canfield adds: “If you do those things daily, you’ll find life gets a lot more magical and good things occur much more quickly.”

christine@7days.ae

HEALING THE HAWAIIAN WAY
Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian healing method that allows you to ‘clean’ energies with situations and people.
The first step is to accept The Law of Attraction “whatever you give your focus and energy to, you attract in to your life, whether positive or negative” and take 100 per cent responsibility for what is in your life. Then all you need to do is say four phrases to yourself – and the universe!
They are:

>> “I’m sorry” (for whatever it is in you that attracted the situation)
>> “Please forgive me” (for attracting the situation)
>> “I love you” (because you are perfect just as you are and love is the most powerful energy in creation)
>> “Thank you” (for presenting me with the problem and to feel grateful energy, which is also of the ‘highest vibrational frequency’)

Canfield says to do this on a daily basis, particularly when negative feelings from a situation, problem or person arise.

Other Releasing Techniques include:
>> Emotional Freedom Technique is a type of psychological acupressure. It involves using affirmations while stimulating acupuncture points by tapping on them.
>> The Sedona Method is a system to recognise your feelings. It says people are adept at hiding them and this is a technique to release them.

Yet this edition could well test whether the appetite for the annual slog-fest is still there, with the national team well and truly down in the dumps. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men have suffered 4-0 defeats to England and Australia in Tests and even failed to make the final of their last two ODI tournaments. Add to this the stat that last year’s IPL final was watched on TV by less than half of those who caught the 2010 showdown and it’s not hard to see why there’s more than a trophy at stake over the next few weeks.

However, us lot at 7DAYS Towers never balk at the opportunity to dust off our famous crystal ball, so here’s who we think will be smiling come May 27…

TEAM: CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
KEY MAN: Dwayne Bravo
CHANCES: Final
The defending champions go in search of their third title in a row very much the team to beat. With MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina in the side runs are guaranteed and, with Ben Hilfenhaus in to take the new ball, the attack looks better balanced than in previous years. If all-rounder Dwanye Bravo can find form the Super Kings could once again smoke out the opposition.

TEAM: ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
KEY MAN: Zaheer Khan
CHANCES: Final four
Have made two IPL finals and one Champions League showpiece only to fail on all three occasions. Once again runs should be no problem with masterblaster Chris Gayle back and India’s man-of-the- moment Virat Kohli in the side. Much will depend on the fitness of Zaheer Khan – if he can play his part then Bangalore might do more than just challenge.

TEAM: DECCAN CHARGERS
KEY MAN: Cameron White
CHANCES: Group stage
The 2009 winners have a point to prove this year after an awful season last time around. The side still lacks the stars of old, but which team wouldn’t miss guys like Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds? Full of fresh faces, they may bowl a few shocks at more heralded opposition.

TEAM: DELHI DAREDEVILS
KEY MAN: Ross Taylor
CHANCES: Group stage
Always have a good side on paper, yet when it’s come to strutting their stuff on the pitch the best the Daredevils have done is make the last four. It could be the same story again with explosive batting sure to come from Virender Sehwag and new signings Kevin Pietersen and Ross Taylor.

TEAM: KINGS XI PUNJAB
KEY MAN: Adam Gilchrist
CHANCES: Group stage
7DAYS favourite Adam Gilchrist may be getting old but that hasn’t stopped him from taking on the duel role of coach and captain for the men from Mohali. They haven’t the stars of other sides, though, so will rely a lot on Gilly’s leadership.

TEAM: KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
KEY MAN: Gautam Gambhir
CHANCES: Winners
For such a big team the Knight Riders have a rubbish record – they’ve never reached the final three. However, with Brendon McCullum back, Jacques Kallis in the fold and Brett Lee raring to go this might be their year.

TEAM: MUMBAI INDIANS
KEY MAN: Richard Levi
CHANCES: Last four
With Sachin Tendulkar stepping down as skipper the ‘Little Master’ is now free to concentrate on scoring yet more runs. Alongside him at the top of the order will be Richard Levi, the hard-hitting South African who may well be the star of the season.

TEAM: PUNE WARRIORS
KEY MAN: Robin Uthappa
CHANCES: Group stage
Finished second from bottom last year in their first IPL season. Aging Sourav Ganguly has taken over the reins from the ill Yuvraj Singh, but for all his tactical nous it looks like it’s going to be another tough campaign.

TEAM: RAJASTHAN ROYALS
KEY MAN: Shane Watson
CHANCES: Group stage
Shane Warne may have gone but he’s been replaced by another legend. Can Rahul Dravid lead by example in the same way the Aussie spin king did in 2008? If he can then anything is possible.

The 27-year-old Sri Lankan worker lashed out at the 38-year-old father of three, slapping him and grabbing his clothes and then tried to assault his wife, who was also at the Dubai Court of First Instance hearing yesterday.

The maid, who had denied having sex outside of marriage, had to be restrained by police, who handcuffed her and took her into custody.

The court had been told the Sri Lankan boss had returned from holiday to find Dhs40,000 worth of his wife’s jewellery and gold missing. He reported the theft to police and accused his former maid of pocketing the jewels. Prosecutors said he cancelled the maid’s visa and fired her three months before the jewels went missing.

“Police said the maid denied robbing the jewellery but confessed that she had been having an illegal affair with her boss for two years,” a prosecutor said. He added: “She told police she believed he wanted to get revenge on her because she had ended the affair.”

The boss later admitted he was not certain the maid had stolen the items.

The case was adjourned.

ali.shouk@7days.ae