2013 Line-Ups Season Formula One

Confirmed Formula One lineups for the 2013 season starting on March 17 after Force India announced Germany's Adrian Sutil as their second driver on Thursday.

RED BULL

Sebastian Vettel (Germany)

Mark Webber (Australia)

FERRARI

Fernando Alonso (Spain)

Felipe Massa (Brazil)

MCLAREN

Jenson Button (Britain)

Sergio Perez (Mexico)

LOTUS

Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)

Romain Grosjean (France)

MERCEDES

Nico Rosberg (Germany)

Lewis Hamilton (Britain)

SAUBER

Nico Hulkenberg (Germany)

Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico)

FORCE INDIA

Paul Di Resta (Britain)

Adrian Sutil (Germany)

WILLIAMS

Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela)

Valtteri Bottas (Finland)

TORO ROSSO

Daniel Ricciardo (Australia)

Jean-Eric Vergne (France)

CATERHAM

Charles Pic (France)

Giedo Van der Garde (Netherlands)

MARUSSIA

Max Chilton (Britain)

Luiz Razia (Brazil)

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Mexican Open Nadal Eases Into Quarter-finals

ACAPULCO, Mexico: Rafael Nadal eased into the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open on Wednesday, continuing his comeback from the knee injury that sidelined the 11-time Grand Slam champion for seven months.

Nadal, playing in his third tournament in four weeks after his lengthy layoff, needed one hour and 16 minutes to get past Argentine qualifier Martin Alund 6-0, 6-4.

Nadal pocketed the first set in less than half an hour, saving all three of the break points he faced in the contest and winning 26 of his 33 first service points.

The convincing victory came a fortnight after Nadal needed three sets to get past Alund in the semi-finals of the clay court tournament in Sao Paulo, where Nadal went on to win his first title since last year's French Open.

A week before that he fell in the final at Vina del Mar, Chile, to Horacio Zeballos.

The relatively low-key clay court tournaments in Latin America were expected to serve as Nadal's preparation for prestigious Masters Series events on US hard courts at Indian Wells, California, and Miami.

Nadal has denied a Spanish media report that he has already decided to skip Indian Wells and Miami, saying he intended to go to Indian Wells and would only opt out if he feels his troublesome left knee is not up to it.

Men's main draw play begins at Indian Wells on March 7.

At both Vina del Mar and Sao Paulo, Nadal was the top seed, but in Acapulco he is seeded second behind fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

At number four in the world, Ferrer is currently ranked one spot higher than former number one Nadal and is the three-time defending champion in Acapulco.

Ferrer and defending women's champion Sara Errani also booked their quarter-final berths in this combined ATP and WTA event on Wednesday.

Thirty-year-old Ferrer defeated US qualifier Wayne Odesnik 6-2, 6-1, while Italy's Errani defeated Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

Ferrer arrived in Acapulco fresh from a victory on Sunday at Buenos Aires.

Last season he won both the Buenos Aires and Acapulco titles to kick-start a season that included an ATP tour-leading seven titles.

Ferrer next faces Italian Paolo Lorenzi, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Spain's Pablo Andujar.

Nadal, seeking a 38th career clay court title, will face Argentina's Leonardo Mayer in the quarter-finals. Mayer defeated Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 6-2.

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New Style Urban Demolition Hotel In Tokyo

TOKYO: Passers-by in Tokyo's busy Akasaka district have started to notice something odd about a 40-floor hotel - it has shrunk to about half its original height.

Slowly but surely, and with none of the explosions or dust normally associated with the demolition of skyscrapers, the hotel is being torn down.

"In this demolition scheme, the building shrinks and disappears without you noticing," said Hideki Ichihara, manager of Taisei Corp., the construction firm running the project.

The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka was built in the 1980s, a gleaming 140-metre (460 feet) symbol of a decade of extravagance when people almost had money to burn and Japan's red-hot economy powered the world.

Now it is shrinking: losing two floors, or 6.4 metres, every 10 days, said Ichihara.

The Japanese-developed Taisei Ecological Reproduction System (TECOREP) is a new process designed to contain the noise and dirt of a demolition, and recycle the energy pent up in a tall building.

Engineers reinforced the top floor with steel beams and then effectively lopped it off, keeping it in place to be used as an adjustable lid that can be lowered down the building on an external support frame.

Workers at the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka have brought in 15 hydraulic jacks on which this "lid" now sits as they remove one floor at a time, carefully breaking apart the once-luxurious guest rooms.

The materials are separated and, where possible, recycled.

"By keeping this cap on top of the building, we can contain the noise and the dust significantly," Ichihara said. "Dust pollution is cut by more than 90 percent, keeping the environmental impact very small."

The waste is lowered through a central well on a pulley system that generates the electricity used to power lighting and ventilation systems, said Ichihara, further reducing the environmental impact of the demolition.

The 30-year-old hotel - known locally as "Aka-Puri", a contraction of the Japanese pronunciation of "Akasaka Prince" - was once a symbol of Tokyo's glitzy lifestyle.

At its height it was the epitome of luxury, with well-heeled guests willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a night in one of its luxury suites, or for its special Christmas Eve packages for lovers.

However, the glitter rubbed off Japan's economy with the bursting of the stock and real estate bubbles at the start of the 1990s. Luxury hotels gradually fell out of favour and some struggled to keep their guest books full.

A spokesman for the hotel owner said the company appreciates the quieter and cleaner demolition, which is in keeping with the erstwhile image of the hotel as a landmark.

"The Aka-Puri was loved by so many people, and so many people had their weddings there," said Jugo Yasutake, of Seibu Properties, which plans to build a new hotel and business complex on the spot.

"It is good to see the building disappear in such a clean manner." The demolition is expected to finish in June.

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Malaysian Ringgit Leds In Asian Currencies

SINGAPORE: The Malaysian ringgit led gains in emerging Asian currencies on Thursday, with most regional units set to see monthly rises as risk appetite improved after a relatively smooth sale of Italy's bonds and on strong U.S. business spending.

The ringgit rose as investors rushed to cover short positions, shrugging off news that central bank was set to impose tighter rules on the currency's reference rates. The Indonesian rupiah gained on continuous capital inflows, while the South Korean won gained on stop-loss dollar selling by offshore funds.

Such gains helped most emerging Asian currencies see monthly gains.

"Sentiment improved on healthy U.S. data and Bernanke's support. So, emerging Asian currencies are expected to gain a bit further next month," said Jeong My-young, Samsung Futures' research head in Seoul, referring to comments this week from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Bernanke reaffirmed his commitment to the Fed's stimulus efforts.

"Italy and U.S. spending cuts could pose some risks. But the impact of Europe's political problems on Asia are limited. I don't think U.S. politicians will not reach an agreement," Jeong added.

The Italian election at the weekend offered no party a majority and markets had been concerned about the country's finances, as well as a revival of the euro zone's debt crisis.

But Rome on Wednesday sold all 6.5 billion euros of 5- and 10-year bonds offered to investors.

Most emerging Asian currencies reported a positive month in February on capital inflows to the region.

The won led the monthly gains with a 0.6 percent rise against the dollar, according to the Thomson Reuters data.

During the last two weeks, market players increased long positions in the won, Reuters poll showed earlier. The ringgit has gained 0.5 percent for the month and the Thai baht has advanced 0.3 percent, the data showed. The rupiah has also appreciated 0.3 percent, which would be its largest monthly percentage gain since January last year, according to the data. RINGGIT The ringgit touched 3.0865 per dollar, its strongest since Feb. 14, as improving global risk appetite intensified short-covering.

Investors largely ignored news that the central bank will tighten rules on the fixing of onshore reference rates for the ringgit and has asked the Malaysian Forex Association to increase the number of banks contributing to the ringgit reference rates to 15 from 11 previously, two sources told Reuters.

The plans are unlikely to have an impact on currency market flows, traders said.

The Malaysian currency strengthened past a 200-day moving average at 3.0940, causing expectations for more gains.

"We could see a move back towards 3.0830 if Asian strength continues," said Maybank in a note.

The local unit has been under pressure as political uncertainty builds ahead of the upcoming general election, which must be called by the end of April.

Some traders say election risks have already been well priced into the market, but domestic banks sold the ringgit on rallies, limiting its upside.

But local investors stayed cautious over the political event.

"That is a huge factor. The date of the election has not been announced yet," said a Malaysian bank trader in Kuala Lumpur.

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Asia Has The World's Most Billionaires

BEIJING (Feb 28, 2013): Asia has more billionaires than any other continent, followed by North America and Europe, according to a survey by a China-based wealth magazine released on Thursday.

There were 1,453 people around the world with a personal wealth of US$1 billion or more as of January, said the Hurun Report, a luxury magazine publisher that compiled the list.

Asia had 608 billionaires, North America 440 and Europe 324, it said in a statement.

Among individual countries, the US and China dominated with 408 and 317 citizens respectively on the list, followed by Russia, Germany and India.

Mexican telecoms czar Carlos Slim, 73, was ranked as the "Richest Man on the Planet" with a personal fortune of US$66 billion. Slim also topped the Forbes magazine annual global rich list last year.

US investor Warren Buffett and Amancio Ortega of Spain, founder of fashion brand Zara, were second and third in the Hurun Report list with net worth of US$58 billion and US$55 billion respectively.

It estimated the total wealth of the world's dollar billionaires at US$5.5 trillion, roughly the size of the Japanese economy last year.

"This past year has seen a rebound in the wealth of the private sector," it said, adding the net assets of the 10 richest people on the list rose 22% over the year, or US$250 million a day.

Real estate, telecommunications, media and technology and retail were the most common sources of wealth, it added.

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12 Taiwan Rail Officials Indicted on Corruption

TAIPEI (Feb 28, 2013): Twelve Taiwan railway officials including two deputy directors have been indicted on graft charges after allegedly accepting banquets and hostess club visits in the biggest corruption scandal to hit the state rail sector, prosecutors said.

Chung Chao-hsiung and Huang Min-jen, deputy chiefs of the Taiwan Railway Administration, were charged along with 10 employees on Wednesday for allegedly accepting gifts from businessmen.

The officials are accused of receiving treats worth more than Tw$6 million (US$207,000) to help firms secure contracts for several projects worth some Tw$1 billion.

Prosecutors recommended "heavy sentences" for the deputy directors, for "severely damaging the interests of the country and the Taiwan Railway Administration", although they did not specify how long they should be jailed for.

Five businessmen and two construction brokers were also indicted in the case that has become the biggest scandal to hit the railway sector, as it involved the most senior and highest number of officials.

Taiwan Railway Administration said in a brief statement that it respected the prosecutors' decision and that it would collaborate in the ongoing investigation of the case.

Taiwan has been rocked by a string of high-profile corruption cases involving top officials in recent years, including ex-president Chen Shui-bian who is currently serving a 20-year jail term on multiple graft convictions.

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Britain's MoD under fire for 'wasting' £1.5 Billion

LONDON (Feb 28, 2013): Lawmakers slammed Britain's Ministry of Defence on Thursday after it was revealed that between 2009 and 2011 it bought £1.5 billion worth of equipment more than it used.

A report by a cross-party committee of MPs identified £3.4 billion (US$5.1 billion, 3.9 billion euros) worth of supplies which it said could be sold.

The report accused the department of "wasting significant amounts of public money" on accruing consumable supplies such as uniforms and ammunition which have not been used.

"It is particularly galling at a time when funding is tight and when one considers that the National Audit Office has been warning about these issues for over 20 years," said committee member Richard Bacon.

The report found that the department had concentrated only on meeting demand, and had no mechanism to avoid over-ordering.

The MoD is to introducing controls which it hopes will reduce spending on inventory by £500 million a year by 2015.

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