June 13, 2012

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1462

12 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

Amir accepts Al-Rujaib’s resignation

Communications Minister to serve in an acting capacity Staff Writers

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Ahmad Al-Rujaib and asked the Minister of Communications Salem Al-Othaina to serve in his stead in an acting capacity.

This coincides with a decision by the Parliamentary Legislative Committee to approve the amendments proposed to the Parliament’s Internal Charter.

Prominent among these amendments is a clause that the Cabinet’s presence is not a prerequisite for the validity of the parliamentary sessions. The move has been described as a new strike against the government.

Meanwhile, an official source has played down reports of a looming political crisis in the country in the wake of the resignation of Al-Rujaib. The source also ruled out the prospect of a mass Cabinet resignation at the current time, noting that if a Cabinet reshuffle is decided, it will is very likely take place after the

Parliament’s summer recess unless the executive and legislative authorities reach a deadlock.

Further, the source maintained that the political leadership is currently weighing the options on hand to deal with the current state of affairs, Al-Rujaib’s resignation and the proper mechanism for handling the motion filed by MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel to question the First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah. Additionally, the source indicated that there is no tendency toward appointing a large number of members of the Majority to the Cabinet, considering the political consequences and previous unsuccessful items. The Majority Bloc has recently proposed the inclusion of nine of its members to the Cabinet to stabilize the political atmosphere.

In the same vein, a parliamentary source affirmed that the Bloc is awaiting the government’s decision toward Al-Rujaib’s resignation amid reports of a broad Cabinet reshuffle.

For his part, opposition MP Musallam

Employment opportunities for citizens announced: Civil Bureau Khalifa Al-Rabia

Al-Barrak pledged that the Majority Bloc will be answerable to the people of Kuwait regarding the government’s performance in the event that nine of its members are included in the Cabinet. “Any number less than this will be pointless,” the veteran lawmaker declared.

The spokesperson for the Development and Reform Bloc Dr. Faisal Al-Mislem asserted that constitutional amendment is the only thing that can offer a fundamental solution to the current impasse.

“We sense political stagnation and lament the inability of our constitutional institutions to properly function,” the MP was quoted as saying.

Underscoring the need for bolstering the State of institutions, Al-Mislem expected that constitutional amendments will be put forth at the beginning of the forthcoming legislative term. “This activism is social, political and logical,” the MP stressed.

In the meantime, Salafist member Dr. Mohammad Al-Kandari stressed that the inclusion of members of parliamentary

Major victory as Yemen army retakes two cities

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Director of the Department of Citizen and Public Relations in the Civil Service Bureau Jassem Al-Ruwais announced that the Bureau has managed successfully to arrange all preparations for Kuwaiti nationals who wish to apply for jobs within the state departments.

Al-Ruwais explained that the launch of the 39th Employment Opportunity which will start next Friday June 15 will provide the opportunity for people to apply for jobs. The Employment Opportunity will last till midnight June 29.

“There is an obvious need to stick to the timetable here which will be specified by the automated registration system. The applicants need to visit the Civil Service Bureau during the morning official hours from Sunday to Thursday between 8 A.M. and 1:30 in the afternoon. All applicants must bring along the necessary documents for registration purposes which are the original civil ID as well as one photocopy of it and the original degree along with a photocopy,” he explained. As for those applicants who had been given an appointment by the automated system, Al-Ruwais said that they need to visit the Civil Bureau to complete the registration procedure and that for that purpose they need to More on 2 contact the hotline 1333 to confirm details.

blocs offers the best solution to address the political crisis between the executive and legislative authorities.

“Cabinet resignation is just a matter of time, and the prime minister has an opportunity to reshuffle his Cabinet in tandem with the Parliament’s makeup,” Al-Kandari pointed out.

In another development, it has been gathered that members of the Minority Bloc are considering a meeting with His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to discuss the latest political developments, the interpellations and the resignation of ministers.

MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaie, meanwhile, lamented that the prime minister is in a precarious situation amid reports of possible resignation of six ministers, adding that it is second to impossible for any government in the world to function without a parliamentary cover.

Al-Tabtabaie, who chairs the parliamentary Legislative Committee, on the other hand, announced that the committee has decided that the absence of Cabinet ministers does not disrupt sessions.

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UN says Syria now in civil war

CAPITALS: UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said Tuesday that Syria is now in a full-scale civil war.

Asked whether he believed Syria is in a civil war, Ladsous told a small group of reporters: “Yes I think we can say that.

Clearly what is happening is that the government of Syria lost some large chunks of territory, several cities to the opposition, and wants to retake control.”

Meanwhile, Rebels in Syria’s besieged town of Haffeh said they were trying to smuggle out trapped civilians after the United States warned of a potential massacre in the opposition stronghold.

Speaking by phone from the Sunni Muslim town, two fighters said hundreds of rebels were facing a tank and helicop-

ter-backed assault by forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad.

The rebels had sent civilians to the outskirts of Haffeh when the 8-day siege began, but now those areas were also under fire, they said, adding the army and militia men loyal to Al-Assad had surrounded the area.

“Every few days we manage to open a route to get the wounded out, so some families were able to escape yesterday,” said one rebel who called himself Abdulwudud. Elsewhere in Syria, violence persisted overnight in the eastern city of Deir El-Zor, where activists said troops fired mortar bombs at an antiAssad demonstration, killing at least 10 More on 3 protesters.

Internet ‘trolls’ face tough new UK laws

Opposition activists rally in Moscow, on June 12, 2012. Tens of thousands of protesters chanting “Russia Will be Free” rallied today in Moscow against President Vladimir Putin’s third term despite a police crackdown on their leaders a day earlier. (AFP)

Gone With the Wind actress Ann Rutherford dies

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China ready to impound EU planes in CO2 dispute

BEIJING: China will take swift counter-measures that could include impounding European aircraft if the EU punishes Chinese airlines for not complying with its scheme to curb carbon emissions, the China Air Transport Association said on Tuesday.

The warning came as the UN’s aviation body expressed concern about the growing threat of bilateral reprisals. Chinese airlines, which have been told by Beijing not to comply with the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme, refused to meet a March 31 deadline for submitting carbon emissions data.

A new stand-off looms after EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the carriers would have until the end of this week to submit their data or face enforcement action.

“Chinese airlines are unanimous on this. We won’t provide the data,” Wei Zhenzhong, secretary

general of the China Air Transport Association, said on the sidelines of an International Air Transport Association (IATA) meeting in Beijing. EU member states can fine airlines for non-compliance or carry out other reprisals including impounding aircraft.

“We would not like to see a situation of ‘you hold up my planes and I hold yours’,” Wei said.

The Chinese airline group’s members include the big three state-controlled carriers - Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. “The government will take at least the same kind of measures, and these anti-sanction moves will be lasting,” Wei said. He added, however, “We would try to avoid any trade war.” China is among a raft of countries including India, Russia and the United States that have protested against the inclusion of all flights using EU airports into the emissions scheme. -Reuters

LONDON: Website operators may soon be forced under planned new British laws to reveal the identity of those who post defamatory comments on their forums, a move that aims to protect victims by speeding up what is often a lengthy and expensive legal process.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said the proposed approach would give greater protection to operators who complied with the procedure, ahead of Tuesday’s second reading in Parliament of the Defamation Bill.

“As the law stands, individuals can be the subject of scurrilous rumour and allegation on the web with little meaningful remedy against the person responsible,” said Clarke in a statement. “The government wants a libel regime for the Internet that makes it possible for people to protect their reputations effectively but also ensures that information online can’t be easily censored by casual threats of litigation against website operators.”

Both members of the public and companies have made angry threats to take legal action against Internet ‘trolls’, who circulate false rumors about them online.

Last month, London-listed oil explorer Gulf Keystone became the latest in a string of firms to say it would not tolerate what it said were attempts to damage its reputation and share price. However, litigation is currently difficult and expensive in Britain, in part because victims often need to achieve a court order to force the website owner to hand over subscriber contact details. -Reuters

Greece 1

VS

Czech 2

Poland 1

VS

Russia 1

MORE ON 12

Today’s Matches:

Denmark vs Portugal & Netherlands vs Germany

Areva ‘finds 20,000 tons of uranium in Jordan’

AMMAN: French nuclear giant Areva said on Tuesday it has discovered more than 20,000 tons of uranium in Jordan, which is trying to develop atomic energy to meet its growing needs. “Last year, Areva discovered reserves of 12,300 tons of uranium in central Jordan. Further exploration proved that the same area contained more than 20,000 tons of uranium,” state-run Petra news agency quoted the company as saying in a statement.

“At this important stage, we will start conducting feasibility and technical studies about uranium mining,” the statement said.

“These reserves are strategic, helping Jordan produce nuclear fuel for the nuclear energy plants that it seeks to build.”

Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs, is currently struggling to find alternatives to unstable Egyptian gas supplies, which normally cover 80 percent of the kingdom’s power production. Since 2011, the pipeline supplying gas from Egypt to both Israel and Jordan has been attacked 14 times.

With desert covering 92 percent of its territory, Jordan is one of the world’s 10 driest countries and wants to use atomic energy to fire desalination plants to overcome its dire water shortage.

A consortium formed by Areva and Japan’s Mitsubishi is competing with Russia’s Atomstroyexport to build Jordan first nuclear plant. -AFP

Children born to older fathers may live longer: Study

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US pulls negotiators from Pakistan with no supply deal

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday it was withdrawing its team of negotiators from Pakistan without securing a long-sought deal on supply routes for the war in Afghanistan, publicly exposing a diplomatic stalemate and deeply strained relations that appear at risk of deteriorating further.

Pakistan banned trucks from carrying supplies to the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan last year to protest a crossborder NATO air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, a measure U.S. officials initially hoped would be short term.

That strike fanned national anger over everything from covert CIA drone strikes to the US incursion into Pakistan last year to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and the supply routes evolved into a lightning-rod issue between the

two countries. After six weeks of negotiations that at least once appeared close to a deal, the Pentagon acknowledged that the team had failed to clinch an accord and was coming home.

“I believe that some of the team left over the weekend and the remainder of the team will leave shortly,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.

They could return to Pakistan at any time, if warranted, he added.

With the Pakistan routes unavailable, NATO has turned to countries to the north of Afghanistan for more expensive, longer land routes. Resupplying troops in Afghanistan through the northern route is about 2-1/2 times more expensive than shipping items through Pakistan, a US defense official told Reuters, speaking on More on 5 condition of anonymity.

Big Bang particle discovery closer: Scientists

GENEVA: Physicists investigating the make-up of the universe are closing in on the Higgs boson, an elusive particle thought to have been key to turning debris from the Big Bang into stars, planets and finally life, scientists said on Tuesday.

Researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) are using their large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s biggest particle accelerator, to try to prove that the mystery particle really exists. Poring over huge volumes of data, CERN physicists are confident they are now closer to achieving that aim, outside scientists with links to two key research teams at the Switzerland-based facility said.

“They are getting quite fired up,” one scientist outside CERN but with links to the experiment who declined to be named told Reuters. Strong signs of the Higgs were being seen in the same energy range where it was tentatively spotted last year, the scientists added, even though the particle is so short-lived that it can More on 8 only be detected by the traces it leaves.

Anti-riot policemen use their shields to push back protesters near the US embassy in Manila, June 12, 2012. The protesters were composed of student activists who were demanding the eviction of visiting US forces in the Philippines, a local media reported. (Reuters)

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ALWATAN DAILY

local

wednesday, JUNE 13, 2012

Employment opportunities for citizens announced: Civil Bureau Khalifa Al-Rabia Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Director of the Department of Citizen and Public Relations in the Civil Service Bureau Jassem Al-Ruwais announced that the Bureau has managed successfully to arrange all preparations for Kuwaiti nationals who wish to apply for jobs within the state departments.

Al-Ruwais explained that the launch of

the 39th Employment Opportunity which will start next Friday June 15 will provide the opportunity for people to apply for jobs. The Employment Opportunity will last till midnight June 29.

“There is an obvious need to stick to the timetable here which will be specified by the automated registration system. The applicants need to visit the Civil Service Bureau during the morning official hours from Sunday to Thursday between 8 A.M. and 1:30 in the af-

ternoon. All applicants must bring along the necessary documents for registration purposes which are the original civil ID as well as one photocopy of it and the original degree along with a photocopy,” he explained.

As for those applicants who had been given an appointment by the automated system, Al-Ruwais said that they need to visit the Civil Bureau to complete the registration procedure and that for that purpose they need to contact the hotline 1333 to confirm details.

In order to quickly complete the process of all applications in an efficient manners, Al-Ruwais said that a link had already been established with Kuwait University, the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), the Public Authority for Civil Information, Public Authority for Social Securities as well as the Ministry of Education. Al-Ruwais explained that the reason for setting up such link is to make the job opportunity more accessible and at the same time to ensure bet-

ter quality service and a more effective way for the processing of applications.

As for the exact address, Al-Ruwais said it would be the First Floor in the new building in Shuwaikh Administrative Area (B), Airport Street, near Zain Telecommunications Company.

Al-Ruwais pointed out however that people with disability need to refer to the Department of Selection to complete their register ion procedure with the Civil Service Bureau.

MPs visit strengthens ties Amir meets with Belgian parliament: Ambassador Iraqi victims treated by Kuwait KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah met two Iraqis, who received costcovered treatment from Kuwait for severe injuries and burns, at Sief Palace on Tuesday. The two Iraqis, Ali Abbas and Ahmad Hamza, were accompanied by the Iraqi Ambassador to Kuwait Mohammad Hussein Bahr Aloloum, who expressed delight at meeting the Amir, commending the Kuwaiti leader for his “historic” humanitarian gesture directed at the two victims.

“The Iraqi people have suffered from these crimes, which have travelled to our dear neighbors, Kuwait. We will remember them with pain, and they will be a lesson for the future that societies should live in peace and have good relations,” he said. He also described the initiative as a bridge and a symbol for warm relations between both countries. Later, the two victims spoke of their or-

deals, and how valuable the treatment was to them.

“My state of health was critical and people around me didn’t expect me to live.When I came to Kuwait they were very gracious with me and the doctors did an excellent job. We thank his highness the Amir for the support and treatment he has given us. Iraqis and Kuwaitis are brothers and we will always be this way,” Abbas said.

Hamza said, “I thank His Highness the Amir for providing the costs for my treatment in Britain. I had given up on my condition but am now treated. I can move my artificial leg and this has improved my condition.” Abbas and Hamza sustained the injuries during the Iraq War in 2003.

The encounter was held in the attendance of Kuwait’s Minister of Health Ali Al-Obaidi and Deputy Minister for Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Al-Sabah. -KUNA

Kuwaiti delegation in Brazil for Rio 20+ preparations BRASILIA: A Kuwaiti delegation is to take part in preparatory meetings for the Rio 20+ meetings in Brazil, with focus on progress on sustainability dossiers and realization of greener policies and practices worldwide. The preparatory committee meets June 13-15, and the activities and initiatives of NGOs are to be discussed June 16-19, while the heads of state or their representatives are to finally meet June 2022 for the summit.

The Kuwaiti delegation is presided over by Chairperson of the Volunteer Work Center Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and the members represent ministries, state institutions, the

Higher Planning Council, the Environment Public Authority (EPA), and Public Authority for Industry (PAI). The discussions would cover themes such as shift to greener economies, eradication of poverty, promoting use of renewable energy sources, along with promotion of social equality, women empowerment, and establishing and restoring peace and security across the world.

The Ambassador expressed hope the meetings would yield fruitful resolutions that would help along realization of sustainable development, noting there are many successful examples in this field over the last two decades. -KUNA

JPPI announces its new strategy, programs Mervat Abduldayem Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Undersecretary of Ministry of Information Sheikh Salman Al-Homoud announced that Kuwait will host the board meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Joint Program Production Institution (JPPI) next week. The meeting will be headed by Information Minister and the Chairman of institution Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

The meeting will focus on discussing several issues such as developmental projects, developing the role of institution to keep pace with the rapid media development and discussing the future strategies of the institution in addition to preparing modern media means to deal well with the ambitions of the young generation, showing the Gulf identity and the joint Gulf media work. This was stated during a press conference held yesterday on the occasion of passing 35 years since es-

tablishing the institution. “However, the meeting will be followed by holding another meeting by Gulf undersecretaries of information ministries to talk about relevant issues including the new strategies and programs of the institution, adding that the wisdom behind establishing such institution is activating the joint Gulf media work in order to increase the culture and awareness of the Gulf citizen,” Said Sheikh Salman.

He added that the institution has contributed effectively in strengthening the Arabian identity as well as enhancing the use of Arabic language through different programs. On his part, the Executive Director of the institution Abdulmehsen Al-Banaie said the institution aims at unifying the Gulf media efforts, extolling the positive role of the directors who administrated the institution within the last three decades. He affirmed that the institution has been focusing on awareness and culture since three decades besides to observing the development process on the different aspects of life.

Philippines’ community in Kuwait celebrates 114th Independence Day Ricky Laxa Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Philippines Ambassador to Kuwait Shulan Primavera, diplomats and officers joined by Filipino community leaders raised its flag significantly to mark the 114th Independence Day of the Philippines Tuesday morning. Ambassador Primavera delivered a speech that covered a brief history of the country and the foreign occupations that colonized, invaded and freed the Filipino people.

In his speech, Ambassador Primavera traced the momentous and significant events that led to the independence of the country, he also highlighted the status of the Philippines as the leading and fast developing Asian country during early years and its slip into losing its inherited culture and succumbing to the influences of the East and West. Ambassador Primavera added

that the occasion being celebrated with the community leaders befits the occasion as they are representations of what constitute the Filipino idealism. He congratulated everyone and invited those present to celebrate and mark the occasion in memory of those who fought to achieve the independence Filipinos now enjoy.

The occasion commenced with the raising of the flag and followed by Ambassador Preimavera’s speech.

Longest serving staff in the Philippine Embassy read the message of Philippine President Noynoy Aquino, followed by Rea Oreta reading the message of Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Binay. Vice Consul Sheila Monedero also read the message of the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario and concluded with Philippine Labor Attaché David Des Dicang reading the message of The Philippines’ Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. The event concluded with a breakfast.

BRUSSELS: Kuwait’s Ambassador to Belgium, Nabeela Al-Mulla, hosted a dinner Monday night at her residence in honor of a group of Kuwaiti parliamentarians currently visiting Belgium.

Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Al-Mulla expressed her pleasure to see the members of Kuwait’s National Assembly who are on their first visit to Belgium since the new parliament was elected in Kuwait in February.

“I found them very well versed in terms of the issues that are common between Europe in general and the Middle East, Arab Spring, the position on Syria, stability in the Gulf,” she said.

“It was a very interesting conversation and very open whereby each MP had his own special area of interest. It was a pleasure to have an informal exchange of views with them over dinner along with the members of the embassy staff,” noted Al-Mulla.

She stated that the visit of the Kuwaiti deputies will contribute to the strengthening of parliamentary ties between Belgium and Kuwait and noted that the Kuwaiti MPs have extended an invitation to their Belgian counterparts to visit Kuwait.

Kuwait’s Ambassador to Belgium, Nabeela Al-Mulla with group of Kuwaiti parliamentarians currently visiting Belgium Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (KUNA)

The six member Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation is led by MPs Dr Jamaan Al-Harbash and includes Abdullah AlBarghash, Nayef Abdulaziz Al-Ajmi, Salem Al-Azmi, Mohammed Al-Khalifah

and Munawer Al-Azmi.

Earlier Monday they had a meeting with Belgians MPs at the Belgian parliament and discussed bilateral relations and regional and international issues. -KUNA

Jordanian-Kuwaiti ties extolled: PM Tarawneh AMMAN: Jordanian Prime Minister Dr. Fayez Tarawneh, underscored on Tuesday the strong relations between his country and Kuwait, saying that both countries have a common perception towards the current regional developments.

In an exclusive interview with Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Tarawneh stressed the communication between the two countries’ officials is very important, especially as there are high expectations based on their bilateral meetings.

He said that “our duty as responsible officials is to promote ambitions of our peoples to a practical reality in order to foster integration in all areas of mutual interest, especially as there is a real desire with the leaderships of both countries to strengthen cooperation in all areas with the availability of investment opportunities.” Asked about his country’s delegation with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Tarawneh said “we have received the GCC’s decision with pleasure and gratitude regarding granting

Jordan and Morocco a sum of five billion US dollars to be spent on development projects over a five-year term agreed bilaterally with the Gulf countries concerned.” He stressed that there is much to be done between the two sides that can be translated into practical reality in the public and private sector.

He added that the door to investments for the private sector is also open and supported laws are very encouraging, urging GCC investors to invest in Jordan. -KUNA

PAAET delegation meets Consul General in Milano ROME: The visiting delegation from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) met with Kuwaiti Consul General in Milano Sami Abdelaziz Al-Hamad, who stressed the importance of securing Kuwait good repute through higher education and qualification for its nationals.

The student delegation is on a tour of several universities, institutes, educational institutions, and cultural and industrial institutions in Italy.

The consulate statement in this regard pointed out that the students are of different majors and the delegation is headed by Dean of Student Care and Activities Dr. Khalifah Bahbahani. The consul general received the delegation at the Consulate building in Milano, it added.

The aim of the tour, it said, is for the students to experience some of the cultural and scientific landmarks of Italy, which has a rich history and enjoys a leading standing among peer countries in Europe. The consul general also briefed the students on aspects of the work of diplomatic missions in general, and work at the consulate in Milano in particular. The delegation came to Rome May 29 as part of the PAAET student

Kuwaiti Consul General in Milano Sami Abdelaziz Al-Hamad with Dean of Student Care and Activities Dr. Khalifah Bahbahani Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (KUN)

activities program and the 10 students are from five faculties and specialized institutes. Italy had been chosen as the destination of the visit for its wealth

of both advanced scientific and industrial institutions and prestigious and time-honored educational and cultural institutions. -KUNA

GCC electricity, water committee meeting concludes

Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Shulan Primavera with embassy officials and Philippine community leaders cutting the ceremonial cake Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (Al Watan Daily)

RIYADH: Minister of Electricity and Water of Kuwait Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim said on Tuesday that the Extraordinary Meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) electricity and water cooperation committee, which concluded Tuesday, discussed water linkage and water security between the GCC states.

Al-Ibrahim told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) before leaving here that the meeting came in implementation of directives of GCC leaders at their consultative summit, which was held in Riyadh last May, on the need to pay more attention to the water sector and look for ways to provide sustainable water sources.

He pointed out that the meeting discussed the topic of water linkage between the GCC countries in light of decisions of the GCC Supreme Council relating to this matter besides previous studies conducted in this regard as well as a long-term comprehensive research

strategy on the water issue.

He revealed that the GCC Electricity and Water Undersecretaries have been entrusted to hold a meeting in the coming days to review the previous studies pertinent to water linking, in addition to the modification in light of the developments that have taken place in coordination with the Consultancy Group in charge of preparing the study.

He added that the Undersecretaries would discuss in their meeting the benchmarks for the previous study prepared in 2007 and the criteria according to which the cost of the project would be distributed, in addition to the water reserves available in each country separately and negotiate with the consultant on cost and the period of termination of the study.

The Extraordinary meeting kicked off here earlier in the day. -KUNA

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

wednesdAY, June 13, 2012

The Eratosthenes scandal

By Hossam Fathi

This story contains all tragic elements of excitement and thrill and sums up the size of treason and corruption which spread in Egypt when it was ruled by a gang, of which some wish the continuation despite the sacrifice of martyrs.

The story is about the US-Egyptian scientist Dr. Nael Al-Shafei, the author of the Encyclopedia of Knowledge, owner of a telecommunication company in the US, Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology and adviser of a number of international bodies, such as the US Federal Communication Commission and UN Development Program.

In an interview with the US Sky TV, Al-Shafei analyzed the directions of the Egyptian revolution.

Then Al-Hayat Newspaper in London published a scientific research in a full page under the theme “Eratosthenes... a sunken Scottish mountain linking gas wells in Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey and Greece�.

This study unveils another crime committed by the ousted president of Egypt and his gang. Al-Shafei said that Egypt gave up the right for gas and oil exploration for Israel estimated at 200 billion US dollars, that Israeli submarines reached the Egyptian coasts and that the Zionist entity committed an organized theft for our oil in the Mediterranean Sea. hossam@alwatan.com.kw Twitter:@hossamfathy66

Mubarak in ‘stable’ condition after health fears

CAIRO: Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak was in a stable condition on Tuesday, a prison official said, after sources reported a day before that the jailed 84-year-old’s health had deteriorated and that he had received treatment to restart his heart.

Speculation about Mubarak’s health has swirled since he was jailed for life on June 2 for failing to halt the killing of protesters who toppled him. Hundreds were killed in the 18-day uprising that ended his 30-year rule on February 11, 2011.

Mubarak’s lawyer told Reuters on Monday that Mubarak’s status was “very critical� and that he should be moved to a better equipped facility outside of the prison.

Critics say his illness is being exaggerated to win public sympathy and to prepare for any move out of jail to another medical facility.

The prison official, who asked not to be named, described his state on Tuesday as “stable� but did not give details.

A second source said he was due to receive visitors on Tuesday.

On Monday, a state newspaper had reported he had been taken outside to receive some sun and was eating light foods regularly, such as jelly.

The daily Al-Masry Al-Youm on its Facebook page, citing what it called a high-level source in the Interior Ministry, also reported that Mubarak was stable.

Egypt’s prison authority approved on Monday a request to let Mubarak’s eldest son Alaa, who is being held at the jail pending trial, stay close to him in the prison hospital because of his deteriorating health, security sources said.

His youngest son, Gamal, once viewed as heir-apparent to the presidency and who is also detained pending trial, was moved closer to him earlier.

Egypt’s official news agency on Monday denied that Mubarak had slipped into a coma as some reports suggested. A security official, however, said Mubarak’s heart had briefly stopped on Monday and had to be restarted by a medical team.

Mubarak was visited by his wife and the wives of his two sons on Sunday. -Reuters

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UN says Syria now in civil war CAPITALS: UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said Tuesday that Syria is now in a fullscale civil war.

Asked whether he believed Syria is in a civil war, Ladsous told a small group of reporters: “Yes I think we can say that. Clearly what is happening is that the government of Syria lost some large chunks of territory, several cities to the opposition, and wants to retake control.�

Meanwhile, Rebels in Syria’s besieged town of Haffeh said they were trying to smuggle out trapped civilians after the United States warned of a potential massacre in the opposition stronghold.

Speaking by phone from the Sunni Muslim town, two fighters said hundreds of rebels were facing a tank and helicopter-backed assault by forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad.

The rebels had sent civilians to the outskirts of Haffeh when the 8-day siege began, but now those areas were also under fire, they said, adding the army and militia men loyal to Al-Assad had surrounded the area. “Every few days we manage to open a route to get the wounded out, so some families were able to escape yesterday,� said one rebel who called himself Abdulwudud.

Elsewhere in Syria, violence persisted overnight in the eastern city of Deir El-Zor, where activists said troops fired mortar bombs at an anti-Assad demonstration, killing at least 10 protesters.

Many hundreds of people, including civilians, rebels and members of Al-Assad’s army and security forces, have been killed since a ceasefire deal brokered by international mediator Kofi Annan exactly two months ago was supposed to halt the bloodshed.

Annan’s spokesman said on Tuesday he hoped to convene a meeting of an international contact group on Syria soon, saying he was encouraged by broad support for the idea.

But he gave no date for the meeting and said no venue or list of participants has yet been set.

The United States and some Western allies have resisted proposals for Iran to take part, accusing Tehran of “stage-managing� Al-Assad’s crackdown on the 15-month-old uprising.

On Tuesday, state television channel Syria

A handout image released by the Syrian opposition’s Shaam News Network shows smoke and flames rising from a building in the Khalidiyah neighborhood of the restive city of Homs on June 8, 2012. (AFP)

TV reported that “terrorist groups� had seized two buses in Homs province and kidnapped all the passengers. It gave no other details.

The fighting in Haffeh started last Tuesday when rebels clashed with security forces setting up checkpoints to tighten their grip on the town, which lies close to the Mediterranean port city of Latakia as well as the Turkish border. “The situation is dire. Forget the weapons, people need medicine and food. As you know, we’re in a state of war in Syria. The army could enter Haffeh in minutes if it wanted but it is trying to crush it instead,� a rebel commander speaking from Turkey said.

State television said security forces were

Major victory as Yemen army retakes two cities

ADEN: TheYemeni army droveAl-Qaedalinked fighters from two of their main strongholds on Tuesday after weeks of fighting, the Defense Ministry said, a major breakthrough for a US-backed offensive meant to secure stability in the wider oil-rich Gulf region.

Jubilant residents took to the streets of the provincial capital of Zinjibar and the strategic city of Jaar in spontaneous celebrations after militants from Ansar Al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), who had held the two southern cities for more than a year, fled advancing Yemeni troops. “I am now speaking from the local government headquarters in Zinjibar,� Major General Salem Qatan, commander of the southern region, told Reuters by telephone. “The cities of Zinjibar and Jaar have been completely cleansed,� he said.

The recapture of the two cities is the army’s biggest victory against the militants in more than a year of political turmoil that has taken the country to the brink of civil war, raised questions about its territorial integrity, and fuelled fears about Al-Qaeda’s presence in a country that is next door to Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter. Ali Saeed Obeid, a military spokesman, told Reuters the fall of Jaar was “an astounding defeat for Al-

Qaeda�. The Defense Ministry said the army, backed by local fighters from popular committees, had entered Jaar on Tuesday morning after heavy fighting that killed at least 20 militants, four soldiers and two civilians. At least 20 Yemeni soldiers were also wounded in the fighting, it said.

A spokesman for Ansar Al-Sharia, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, confirmed that the army had taken control of the town of more than 100,000 people and said a statement would be issued later. Jamal Al-Aqel, Abyan’s governor, told a Defense Ministry website that about 200-300 militants, including senior leaders and foreign fighters, had fled Jaar and Zinjibar and that the army was pursuing them. In the town of Shaqra - which is further along the coast to the east - the official said troops had cornered the Islamist militants in two locations, adding that warplanes were taking part in the fighting. “They’ve put themselves in a small circle because all roads and supply lines to them were cut off,� the official said. The Defense Ministry said on its websites that the Yemeni navy had sunk 10 boats in which the militants had been planning to flee Shaqra if needed. It gave no figures on casualties. -Reuters

continuing “their pursuit of remnants of the terrorists who attacked residents�.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria, said 29 civilians, 23 rebels and 68 soldiers were killed in the fighting since June 5.

Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said the planned contact group on Syria would “give teeth� to a peace plan, which aims to stop the violence and start a process of political transition.

Fawzi also elaborated on Monday’s reports

by UN monitors that helicopters had fired on the rebel strongholds of Rastan and Talbiseh,

ICC team to meet colleagues detained in Libya TRIPOLI: A delegation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) will on Tuesday visit two of their colleagues detained in a Libyan town on allegations they handed suspicious documents to Muammar Gadhafi’s incarcerated son, a Libyan legal source said. Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor and Lebanese-born interpreter Helene Assaf were detained in the town of Zintan at the weekend after they met Seif Al-Islam Gadhafi, subject of a tussle between the ICC and Libya over where he will face trial.

Human rights groups, the court in The Hague, and the Australian government have all demanded that the pair be released immediately, but Libyan prosecutors say they will be held for at least 45 days while they are investigated. “Yesterday they (the visiting ICC delegation) held meetings at the prosecutor general’s office and with the deputy foreign minister, these were positive meetings,’ the source said.

Jalili told Ashton he “will explicitly talk about Iran’s five-point proposals� in Moscow and that “an appropriate response by the P5+1 to the (Iranian) proposals can help advance the talks.�

On Monday, Ashton said she had reached an agreement with Jalili on the content of the Moscow meeting after the hour-long phone conversation.

The two “agreed on the need for Iran to engage on the E3+3 (P5+1) proposals, which address its concerns on the exclusively peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program,�

Ashton’s office said in a statement.

She also conveyed the group was ready to respond to the “issues� raised by the Iranians in the Baghdad meeting, the statement said,

without elaborating.

The announcement was preceded by a meeting in Strasbourg of the political directors of the P5+1.

The Western nations in the P5+1, and the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, suspect Iran has conducted research towards developing nuclear weapons.

Iran denies that accusation and claims it is being unfairly treated by the West under the terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

It says its activities are solely for peaceful purposes. The Moscow round follows two earlier unproductive meetings since early April, in Istanbul and in Baghdad which failed to yield results in efforts to curb Tehran’s nuclear activities. -AFP

“Today they will go to Zintan.�

The source said the ICC delegation was scheduled to meet senior Libyan officials back in the capital, Tripoli, later on Tuesday to discuss their next steps.

Seif Al-Islam is wanted by the ICC for crimes during the uprising that ended his father’s 42-year rule last year.

Libya’s new rulers insist he should be tried in his home country.

Seif Al-Islam is being held in Zintan by a local militia that captured him in November.

An ICC team, including Taylor and Assaf, was meeting him under an arrangement with the Libyan authorities for him to have access to ICC-appointed defense lawyers.

Officials in Zintan said that during the meeting the pair were caught passing documents to Seif Al-Islam from his fugitive righthand man Mohammed Ismail, and that afterwards they were found to be carrying “spying and recording� equipment. -Reuters

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Iran confirms agreement on nuclear talks content TEHRAN: Iran’s top nuclear negotiator on Tuesday confirmed an agreement had been struck with the EU official representing world powers negotiating with Tehran on the content of upcoming talks in Moscow.

Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had a telephone conversation late on Monday, Jalili’s office said in a statement reported by Iranian state media.

According to the statement, the talks in Moscow on June 18 and 19 will focus on points made by Iran and by the P5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany) in a previous round in Baghdad late May.

north of the city of Homs. Syria’s government is the only force in the conflict equipped with helicopters. “Our observers have videotaped helicopters in the skies with fire coming out of them.

So whether they are helicopters with machine guns on them or helicopter gunships, we have not been able to make that distinction yet, but yes they are being used and we have observed them being used,� Fawzi said.

A United Nations report into children in armed conflict said on Tuesday that children as young as nine had been victims of killing, maiming, arbitrary arrest, torture, sexual violence and use as human shields. -Agencies

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Sudan frees opposition politicians

KHARTOUM: Sudan has freed two members of the opposition Popular Congress Party detained for more than five months on suspicion of communicating with armed rebel groups, state media said on Tuesday.

Opposition leaders have complained of mounting pressure since the secession of the oil-producing South Sudan a year ago.

Sudan is facing multiple armed insurgencies in its regions and an economic crisis worsened by the loss of the South’s oil production, previously its main source of state revenues.

Sudanese authorities arrested Ibrahim

Al-Sannousi, an assistant to the Popular Congress Party’s leader Hassan Al-Turabi, in December after he returned from a trip that included Kenya and South Sudan, the party said at the time.

He was released along with Ali Shamar, another party official, on Monday, after responding to questioning from the prosecutor, the state-linked Sudanese Media Centre reported.

Security services had accused the two of maintaining a “direct relationship� with rebel groups, including the Sudanese Revolutionary Front, an alliance of insurgents in Darfur and the southern border states of

Blue Nile and South Kordofan, it said.

Kamal Omer, a PCP official, said: “I think the release goes back to the weak information before them and the pressure which the government is living under.�

Veteran Islamist politician Turabi was a close ally of Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, and exercised major influence over Sudanese politics for much of the 1990s.

The two fell out and Turabi has since become one of the government’s most outspoken critics, predicting Sudan would see an Arab Spring style revolt. -Reuters

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4

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION / VIEWS

wednesdAY, June 13, 2012

The accidental empire

The current situation is due not to a deliberate plan, but to the lack of one. It is a tragedy of policy errors.

George Soros

Project Syndicate

I

t is now clear that the main cause of the euro crisis is the member states’ surrender of their right to print money to the European Central Bank.

They did not understand just what that surrender entailed - and neither did the European authorities.

When the euro was introduced, regulators allowed banks to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds without setting aside any equity capital, and the ECB discounted all eurozone government bonds on equal terms. Commercial banks found it advantageous to accumulate weaker countries’ bonds to earn a few extra basis points, which caused interest rates to converge across the eurozone.

Germany, struggling with the burdens of reunification, undertook structural reforms and became more competitive. Other countries enjoyed housing and consumption booms on the back of cheap credit, making them less competitive. Then came the crash of 2008. Governments had to bail out their banks. Some of them found themselves in the position of a developing country that had become heavily indebted in a currency that it did not control. Reflecting the divergence in economic performance, Europe became divided into creditor and debtor countries.

When financial markets discovered that supposedly riskless government bonds might be forced into default, they raised risk premiums dramatically. This rendered potentially insolvent commercial banks, whose balance sheets were loaded with such bonds, giving rise to Europe’s twin sovereign-debt and banking crisis. The eurozone is now replicating how the global financial system dealt with such crises in 1982 and again in 1997. In both cases, the international authorities inflicted hardship on the periphery in order to protect the center; now Germany is unknowingly playing the same role.

The details differ, but the idea is the same: creditors are shifting the entire burden of adjustment onto debtors, while the “center” avoids its own responsibility for the imbalances. Interestingly, the terms “center” and “periphery” have crept into usage almost unnoticed. Yet, in the euro crisis, the center’s responsibility is even greater than it was in 1982 or 1997: it designed a flawed currency system and failed to correct the defects. In the 1980s, Latin America suffered a lost decade; a similar fate now awaits Europe. At the onset of the crisis, a breakup of the euro was inconceivable: the assets and liabilities denominated in a common currency were so intermingled that a breakup would have led to an uncontrollable meltdown. But, as the crisis has progressed, the financial system has become increasingly reordered along national lines. This trend has gathered momentum in recent months. The ECB’s long-term refinancing operation enabled Spanish and Italian banks to buy their own countries’ bonds and earn a large spread.

Simultaneously, banks gave preference to shedding assets outside their national borders, and risk managers try to match assets and liabilities at home, rather than within the eurozone as a whole.

If this continued for a few years, a euro breakup would become possible without a meltdown, but it would leave the creditor countries with large claims against debtor countries, which would be difficult to collect. In addition to intergovernmental transfers and guarantees, the Bundesbank’s claims against peripheral countries’ central banks within the Target2 clearing system totaled 644 billion euros (804 billion US dollars) on April 30, and the amount is

growing exponentially, owing to capital flight.

So the crisis keeps growing. Tensions in financial markets have hit new highs. Most telling is that Britain, which retained control of its currency, enjoys the lowest yields in its history, while the risk premium on Spanish bonds is at a new high. The real economy of the eurozone is declining, while Germany is booming. This means that the divergence is widening. The political and social dynamics are also working toward disintegration. Public opinion, as expressed in recent election results, is increasingly opposed to austerity, and this trend is likely to continue until the policy is reversed.

Something has to give.

In my judgment, the authorities have a threemonth window during which they could still correct their mistakes and reverse current trends. That would require some extraordinary policy measures to return conditions closer to normal, and they must conform to existing treaties, which could then be revised in a calmer atmosphere to prevent recurrence of imbalances. It is difficult, but not impossible, to identify some extraordinary measures that would meet these tough requirements. They would have to tackle the banking and the sovereign-debt problems simultaneously, without neglecting to reduce divergences in competitiveness.

The eurozone needs a banking union: a European deposit-insurance scheme in order to stem capital flight, a European source for financing bank recapitalization, and eurozone-wide supervision and regulation. The heavily indebted countries need relief on their financing costs. There are various ways to provide it, but they all require Germany’s active support. That is where the blockage is.

German authorities are working feverishly to come up with a set of proposals in time for the European Union summit at the end of June, but all signs suggest that they will offer only the minimum on which the various parties can agree - implying, once again, only temporary relief.

But we are at an inflection point. The Greek crisis is liable to come to a climax in the fall, even if the election produces a government that is willing to abide by Greece’s current agreement with its creditors. By that time, the German economy will also be weakening, so that Chancellor Angela Merkel will find it even more difficult than today to persuade the German public to accept additional European responsibilities. Barring an accident like the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, Germany is likely to do enough to hold the euro together, but the EU will become something very different from the open society that once fired people’s imagination.

The division between debtor and creditor countries will become permanent, with Germany dominating and the periphery becoming a depressed hinterland. This will inevitably arouse suspicion about Germany’s role in Europe - but any comparison with Germany’s past is quite inappropriate. The current situation is due not to a deliberate plan, but to the lack of one. It is a tragedy of policy errors.

Germany is a well-functioning democracy with an overwhelming majority for an open society. When the German people become aware of the consequences - one hopes not too late - they will want to correct the defects in the euro’s design.

It is clear what is needed: a European fiscal authority that is able and willing to reduce the debt burden of the periphery, as well as a banking union.

Debt relief could take various forms other than Eurobonds, and would be conditional on debtors abiding by the fiscal compact. Withdrawing all or part of the relief in case of nonperformance would be a powerful protection against moral hazard. It is up to Germany to live up to the leadership responsibilities thrust upon it by its own success.

The reemergence of Dubai as a flourishing regional hub

This stupendous revival has also affected banks positively as is evident in the fact that their profits have soared immensely as compared to previous years.

Shamlan Yousef Al-Eisa

D

uring a recent brief yet significant visit to Dubai that lasted for a couple days as part of my tour of the United Arab Emirates, I had this distinct sentiment that this glorious and stupendous city has not only revived and recovered, it is pulsating with life. If you take one look at the bustling activities and the frenetic pace of construction surely proves without a shadow of doubt that its economy is back on track causing the emirate flourish and diversify. It is also heartening to know that the charismatic and honorable ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum has not only successfully managed to reschedule all pending debts, he is now witnessed taking the emirate of Dubai to greater heights.

He is now witnessed exerting relentless efforts to revive the emirate and boost its economy through concentrating his efforts on boosting the tourism sector, which is one of Dubai’s main income sectors. Tourists are now witnessed arriving at Dubai International Airport in droves even during the hot and humid summer months, prompting hotels to enjoy almost full occupancy; thus increasing their sales targets and boosting their revenues which had witnessed a sharp decline over the past several years. GCC citizens and foreigners alike are thronging to the emirate especially after countries in the region like Egypt, Lebanon and Syria witnessed a wave of political unrest.

Dubai has taken timely advantage of the unrest witnessed in those countries by launching a host of promotion campaigns to encourage families to participate in the sights and sounds and visit the various breathtaking locales that it has to offer.

There cannot be a shadow of doubt in one’s mind that Sheikh Maktoum is concentrating all his efforts on extending and overhauling the transportation sector as is evident in the fact that he is revamping the metro network to not only cover even the most remote areas across the United Arab Emirates but to also extend it to other neighboring countries in the region. I have personally travelled on the metro during my visits to the Dubai and found it to not only be a cheap and convenient mode of transportation but also clean, fast and reliable.

Official statistics indicate that over 300,000 people use the metro on a daily basis; most of whom are expatriates and foreigners, while it is indeed unfortunate that citizens still prefer to commute in the luxurious confines of their private limousines. It is also important to note here that the metro service has successfully managed to ease the traffic congestion to a very great extent. On the other hand, who is not aware of the fact that under the guidance and instructions of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum the President of the Department of Civil Aviation, CEO Chairman of Dubai World and Emirates Group (Dubai’s national carrier) is one of the most sought-after and award winning aviation company not only in the Middle East but across the world as well?

Ever since its inception in the year 1985, Emirates has expanded to become the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 2,500 flights per week, from its hub at Ter-

minal III in Dubai, to 121 cities in 71 countries across six continents.

The company also operates four of the world’s ten longest non-stop commercial flights from Dubai to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Houston. It is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which has over 50,000 employees, and is wholly owned by the government of Dubai directly under the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Cargo activities are undertaken by the Emirates Group’s Emirates SkyCargo division; not to mention the fact that it is the only country in the region that is linked to all six continents.

This company has turned Dubai into an international transit center, which is evident in the fact that the number of passengers transiting through Dubai has crossed over 50 million passengers. As a result, it has actually boosted sales in other sectors related to tourism throughout year. It is also worth noting here that Dubai alone has over 100 five star hotels.

This stupendous revival has also affected banks positively as is evident in the fact that their profits have soared immensely as compared to previous years; not to mention the other fact that the trade sector too has showed a marked increased by 40 percent compared to last year. Foreign investments have also skyrocketed in Dubai, while the government is working relentlessly towards attracting more foreign investors to invest in various projects.

Ali Farzat

National Assembly

Government

George Soros is Chairman of Soros Fund Management and of the Open Society Institute.

Monnet’s ghost Ian Buruma

Project Syndicate

S

ome fine ideas are rather like a beautiful object with a time bomb inside. The ideal of a unified Europe, though not designed to explode, could well disintegrate nonetheless. To understand why, it helps to revisit the intellectual origins of the European Union. One of the EU’s main architects, Jean Monnet, a French diplomat and economist, spent much of World War II in Washington, DC, as a negotiator for the European allies. After Germany’s defeat, he was convinced that only a united Europe could prevent another devastating war in the West. “There will be no peace in Europe,” he wrote in his memoir, “if states are reconstituted on the basis of national sovereignty.” Almost everyone on the European continent, exhausted by war, and faced with the shattered institutions of their ravaged nation-states, agreed.

Only the victorious British, with their old institutions more or less intact, voiced skepticism, not so much about continental unity as about their own participation in Europe’s ambitious project. Of course, the ideal of a united Europe is much older than Monnet’s scheme. If not as old as ancient Rome, it certainly goes as far back as the tenth-century Holy Roman Empire. Since then, the European ideal has gone through many changes, but two themes remained constant.

One ideal was that of a unified Christendom, with Europe at its center. The Duke of Sully (1559-1641) conceived of a Christian European republic, which the Turks could join only if they converted to Christianity. The other ideal was eternal peace. In 1713, another Catholic Frenchman, Charles-Irne Castel, abb de Saint-Pierre, published his Project for Perpetual Peace in Europe. There would be a European senate, a European army, and the larger member states would have equal voting rights. In fact, the ideals of eternal peace and Christian unity were identical in the minds of the early panEuropean thinkers. Peaceful unification was a religious notion, a Christian utopia. Never meant to be confined to the European continent, it was, like Christianity itself, a universalist aspiration. National borders ought to be abolished in Almighty God’s earthly kingdom. After the Enlightenment,

the rationalists easily adopted religious universalism. The French nineteenth-century statesman Alphonse de Lamartine wrote an ode to European unity along rationalist lines, entitled the Marseillaise of Peace: “In the course of enlightenment, the world rises to unity/I am the fellow citizen of every thinking person/Truth is my country.”

As France’s foreign minister in the revolutionary year of 1848, Lamartine published his Manifesto for Europe, promoting not just European unity, but that of mankind. The European ideal has parallels in other parts of the world. Chinese rulers, to this day, have been obsessed with central control, continental unity, and social harmony - that is, a society without political conflict. The idea that people’s interests can and do naturally conflict is not readily admissible. Mao’s idea of permanent revolution was an aberration in the history of Chinese political thought. It is not difficult to imagine why the notion of a borderless, peaceful world in which political divisions and conflicts were overcome was deeply appealing after WWII. Many blamed nationalism as the ultimate evil that had almost destroyed Europe. A world without political strife seemed like a recipe for bliss. Monnet was a born technocrat, who hated political conflict and almost made a fetish of unity. (In 1940, when Hitler seemed indomitable, Monnet

suggested to Winston Churchill that France and Britain might be rolled into one country.) Like all technocrats, Monnet was also a born planner. In this, too, he was a man of his time.

The problem with technocrats, however, is that they tend to be oblivious to the political consequences of their own plans. They proceed as if politics did not exist or did not really matter. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, is a case in point. Her recent statement that she feels no sympathy for the suffering Greeks, because they should have paid their taxes, has been widely criticized for being not just unfeeling, but hypocritical (as a diplomat she pays no taxes herself). In fact, it is the typical sentiment of a technocrat who lacks political sense.

Technocracy, it seems, can work well as long as most people feel that they are benefiting materially, as was true in Europe for almost 50 years, and might still be true in China.

But its legitimacy cracks as soon as a crisis erupts. Europe is feeling the consequences today.Who knows what might happen in China tomorrow.

Ian Buruma is Professor of Democracy and Human Rights at Bard College, and the author of Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents.

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ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012

Four dead in Taiwan mudslides

A handout photograph from the Taiwan Military News Agency shows a soldier sifting through debris caused by Typhoon Morakot in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung county.

(AFP)

TAIPEI: At least four people died and one was injured when mudslides triggered by torrential rains hit two areas in central Taiwan, rescue officials said on Tuesday.

Schools were suspended in several large cities, as Taiwan faced the most serious flooding since Typhoon Morakot lashed the island in 2009, triggering massive mudslides that killed more than 600 people.

Two were killed and one was wounded when a makeshift shelter in a mountainous area of Nantou county was buried by mudslides, said the national fire agency, adding downpours also damaged roads and disrupted electricity.

Two men who worked for the forestry bureau in Tai-

chung city were rushed to a clinic Monday with severe injuries caused when a mudslide crushed their office, but despite efforts to save them they died later in the day, the agency said.

In northern Taoyuan county, 20,000 chickens were drowned when a farm was submerged by a flash flood, officials said. Massive flooding was reported across the island since late Monday, with more than 700 millimeters of rain (27 inches) in some areas while Taiwan’s central weather bureau warned of more heavy rains this week.

As of mid-morning Tuesday, Taipei and three other large cities had suspended classes and work in government offices. -AFP

US pulls negotiators from Pakistan with no supply deal WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday it was withdrawing its team of negotiators from Pakistan without securing a long-sought deal on supply routes for the war in Afghanistan, publicly exposing a diplomatic stalemate and deeply strained relations that appear at risk of deteriorating further.

Pakistan banned trucks from carrying supplies to the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan last year to protest a cross-border NATO air attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, a measure US officials initially hoped would be short term.

That strike fanned national anger over everything from covert CIA drone strikes to the US incursion into Pakistan last year to kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and the supply routes evolved into a lightningrod issue between the two countries.

After six weeks of negotiations that at least once appeared close to a deal, the Pentagon acknowledged that the team had failed to clinch an accord and was coming home. “I believe that some of the team left over the weekend and the remainder of the team will leave shortly,�

Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters. They could return to Pakistan at any time, if warranted, he added. With the Pakistan routes unavailable, NATO has turned to countries to the north of Afghanistan for more expensive, longer land routes. Resupplying troops in Afghanistan through the northern route is about 2-1/2 times more expensive than shipping items through Pakistan, a US defense official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The announcement about the negotiators came just days after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the United States was reaching the limits of its patience because of safe havens Pakistan offered to Islamist insurgents, who are attacking US forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s envoy to the United States had warned that Panetta’s comments last Thursday in Kabul were unhelpful to efforts to narrow the differences between the two countries and came at a critical moment in negotiations. With US negotiators returning home, White House spokesman Jay Carney suggested it was now up to Pakistan to break the deadlock. “We are ready to send officials back to Islamabad when the Pakistani government is ready to conclude the agreement,� Carney told reporters. “And it certainly remains our goal to complete an agreement as soon as possible.�

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland echoed those remarks and said “we’ve had some agreement in some areas.� “I think both sides are going to take some counsel

and then we’ll see when we can get back to it,� she said.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman, said she did not view the decision to withdraw the negotiators as an “institutional pullout� by the United States.

The United States has rebuffed Pakistan’s demands for an apology over the NATO air strike and both sides failed to agree on tariffs for supplies passing through Pakistan.

The Pentagon acknowledged on Monday that Pakistan’s powerful army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, declined a meeting last week with a top Pentagon official, Peter Lavoy. “He (Lavoy) was hoping to be able to meet with General Kayani to work through this issue,�

Little said.

Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, the No. 2 US commander in Afghanistan, predicted the United States could carry out its planned withdrawal of most of its troops by the end of 2014, even without a deal with Pakistan on ground supply routes. “It’s not really affected us, and I don’t expect it to be a problem here in the future,� Scaparrotti, in Afghanistan, told Pentagon reporters in a video briefing.

But beyond the cost, the split with Pakistan is a worrisome sign that even seemingly straight-forward commercial agreements between the two countries are elusive. That bodes ill for agreement on other efforts, like tackling militant safe havens, that US officials feel are fundamental for Afghanistan’s long-term stability.

Panetta last week urged Pakistan to go after the Haqqani militant network, one of the United States’ most feared enemies in Afghanistan, and said Washington would exert diplomatic pressure and take any other steps needed to protect its forces - remarks that sounded alarms in Islamabad.

The United States blames the group for a June attack on a US base in the east in which several insurgents, including some wearing suicide vests, used rocket-propelled grenades.

The attack was foiled, but it underlined the challenge facing Western and Afghan forces in the east where insurgents take advantage of the steep, forested terrain and the Pakistani border to launch attacks and then slip back, commanders say.

Scaparrotti said the United States could still reach its objective of handing over security responsibility to Afghan forces even if Pakistan fails to go after Haqqani safe havens. “I think we can still attain our withdrawal goals.

And I also believe, while very difficult, we can attain our objectives of (an Afghanistan) secured by Afghans in 2014,� he said. -Reuters

Opposition rally in Moscow draws tens of thousands MOSCOW: Tens of thousands of Russians flocked Tuesday to the first massive protest against President Vladimir Putin’s rule since his inauguration, as investigators summoned several key opposition figures for questioning in an apparent bid to defuse the rally just hours before its start.

The interrogation session would make it hard, if not impossible, for activist leaders to appear at the rally, and it follows searches of their apartments Monday widely described as a crude attempt by the government to derail the protest.

Leftist politician Sergei Udaltsov snubbed the summons, saying on Twitter that he considers it his duty to lead the protest as one of its organizers. He may now be arrested. Also called for interrogation were anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navaly, liberal activist Ilya Yashin and TV host Ksenia Sobchak. Braving a brief thunderstorm, protesters showed up on the iconic Pushkin Square ahead of the planned march and their number grew as they began marching down a tree-lined boulevard to an avenue where the rally is to be held. Udaltsov put the number of protesters at 50,000, while police estimated that about 10,000 showed up. “Those in power should feel this pressure. We will protest by any means, whether peacefully or not,� said Anton Maryasov, a 25-year-old postgraduate student. “If they ignore us, that would mean that bloodshed is inevitable.�

Another protester, 20-year-old statistics student Anatoly Ivanyukov, said that attempts by authorities to disrupt the

Participants march with ags and placards during an anti-government protest in Moscow June 12 (Reuters)

rally would only fuel more protest. “It’s like when you forbid children to do something, it makes them even more willing to do that,� he said.

The investigators’ action follows the quick passage last week of a new bill that will raise fines 150-fold on those who take part in unauthorized protests, to nearly the average annual salary in Russia. “I can’t predict whether I’ll leave here freely or in handcuffs,� Yashin told reporters before entering the Investigative Committee headquarters for an interrogation. “The government is doing everything possible so that I don’t end up there

“We don’t think we will be able to take out the other bodies,� Governor Abdul Majid said.

A rescue team only had one bulldozer to try to clear the rubble, he said. “We will hold a prayer for the victims.�

The United Nations said it was working with authorities in the area to determine what aid was needed.

Afghanistan’s north is prone to earthquakes. A 2002 quake in the same province killed more than 2,000 people. -AP

(at their protest).�

The top Twitter hashtag in Russia on Monday was “Welcome to the Year ‘37,� a reference to the height of the purges under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Tuesday’s protest has city approval, but any shift from the agreed upon location and timeframe could give police a pretext for a crackdown. The previous big opposition rally a day before Putin’s inauguration in May ended in fierce clashes between police and protesters. The raids of the opposition leaders’ homes and their questioning were connected to the May 6 protest. -Reuters

UN chief wins South Korea peace prize SEOUL: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was named on Tuesday as the winner of this year’s Seoul Peace Prize, the prize foundation said.

Ban was chosen for promoting the rights of women and children, efforts to eliminate poverty in developing nations, and contributing to the democratization of Middle Eastern countries, the foundation said. He is the first South Korean to receive the prize - awarded every two years - which was established in 1990 to

commemorate the success of the 1988 Seoul summer Olympics.

Ban, who was elected to a second five-year term as UN chief in 2011, is the 11th recipient of the award, which recognizes people who devote themselves to transcending race and ideology to build world peace.

Previous winners include the then-International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, the then-UN secretary general Kofi Annan and Nobel

Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

The winner receives a diploma, a plaque and a $200,000 payment.

Ban said in a statement he was deeply honored by the award, which he “humbly accepts� on behalf of the United Nations as a whole.

The former South Korean foreign minister said he would keep striving “to respond to the need for peace, human rights and development of the world’s people�. -Reuters

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Afghans fear 80 dead after quake triggers landslide KUNDUZ: An earthquake in Afghanistan triggered a landslide which buried mud homes in a mountain village and rescuers feared at least 80 people had been killed, provincial officials said on Tuesday, Two quakes with magnitudes of 5.4 and 5.7 struck mountainous northern Afghanistan on Monday, bringing a slide of mud and rocks down on the remote settlement. The governor of Baghlan province said 22 homes were buried but the bodies of only two women had been recovered. Twenty people were in hospital with injuries.

5

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BUSINESS

m ar ket watc h

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012

OIL MARKETS

KUWAIT

DUBAI

QATAR

OMAN

ABU DHABI

BAHRAIN

0.92% 6017

0.96% 1469

0.42% 8281

0.51% 5714

0.64% 2448

0.04% 1135

EGYPT 1.26% 4450

SAUDI 0.93% 6728

CURRENCIES

US Crude $82.48 $0.22 London Brent

$97.57 $0.63 Kuwait Crude

$96.57 $2.01 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

Indian Rupee

Buy 0.07707 Sell 0.07691

Buy 0.005028 Sell 0.00502 Buy 0.006545 Sell 0.006525

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Buy 0.3507 Sell 0.3512

Buy 0.003522 Sell 0.003527

Buy 0.07628 Sell 0.0764

Buy 0.7432 Sell 0.74429

Philippine Peso

KSE rises 55.66 points at close of trade KUWAIT: The three main indices of the national bourse were red upon closing Tuesday’s session.

Price index increased 55.66 points a down to the level of 6,016.7 points, weighted index down 3.66 points losing to 396.44 and the KSX index put on 11.36 points reaching 952.32 points. Number of trades amounted to 3,693, value of traded stocks 14,234,306 Kuwaiti dinars.

729 and volume of exchanged shares stood at 176,837,326. -KUNA

A vendor smiles while standing at his roadside vegetable stall during monsoon rains in the southern Indian city of Kochi June 12, 2012. India’s monsoon rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth as about 55 percent of the south Asian nation’s arable land is rain-fed, and the farm sector makes up about 15 percent of a nearly $2-trillion economy that is Asia’s third-biggest. (Reuters)

(PPI). The report by the British company, specialized in oil affairs, ruled out re-play of the 1997 scenario when the prices of oil tumbled below $30 per barrel as a result of the major Asian economicfinancial crisis.

Recent fall of the oil price by 27 dollars per barrel was not a drastic drop, the report said.

Predictions about continuous growth of the global economy, at 3.5 percent in 2012, would be coupled with continuing demand for oil. Economic growth in developing nations and incentives granted by industrial nations are factors expected to contribute in preserving the prices of oil, the report said, noting that demand for oil from the industrial sector rose last April - particularly in Asian nations.

Financial problems in Asia did not result in

major effect on the prices of oil, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast hike in demand from 29.2 million bpd in the second quarter of this year to 30.8 million bpd in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, OPEC is seeking to maintain balance between supplies and demand for sake of keeping the price in the range of $100 pb, and experts rule out prospects that it would drop below this level in the third quarter of 2012.

The report indicated that the USD oil production has recently increased and its demand for crude from the Middle East had dropped.

Nevertheless, this will not affect the crucial role of the oil-producing Gulf countries, which have the largest proven reserves of crude in the world.

-Agencies

chase of securities, continued to be a key driver of credit growth, rising a decent KD 56 million month-on-month in April.

It was a less significant increase than last month’s growth of KD 86 million month-onmonth. Other gainers included real estate (KD 26 million) and other business credit (KD 44 million).

These sectors offset drops observed in credit extended to the trade (KD 31 million), industry (KD 16 million), and oil and gas (KD 19 million) sectors. Credit extended to non-bank financial institutions remained a drain on growth in credit, it fell

by KD 48 million month-on-month in April. Credit to this sector has shrunk year-to-date by KD 210 million or 8.8 percent year to date.

Private sector deposits fell KD 117 million

in April following a large increase the previous month. The drop came mostly from foreign currency account withdrawals. In local currency deposits, time deposits declined KD 241 million while sight deposits were up KD 157 million.

The average rates offered on private KD deposits remained unchanged across maturities in April averaging 0.80 percent, 1.04 percent, 1.30 percent and 1.54 percent, for the one, three, six and 12month maturities, respectively. Bank reserves rose KD 104 million month-on-month, mainly due to increases in sight deposits (KD 86 million) with the Central Bank of Kuwait. Total bank assets dropped

by KD 231 million driven largely by contractions in foreign assets (KD 190mn) and interbank placements (KD 130 million). -KUNA

Sinopec turns down cut-price Iran crude

CAPITALS: Chinese refiner Sinopec has turned down offers of bargain Iranian crude and will cut imports by up to a fifth this year, a senior Chinese oil executive said, insisting ties with the United States were more important than cut-price oil as the West squeezes Tehran over its nuclear program.

On Monday the US government, which aims to choke off Tehran’s oil revenue and force a halt to nuclear development it believes is aimed at making weapons, added India and South Korea, but not China, to a list of countries exempt from sanctions that begin on June 28 - cutting companies off from the US financial system - noting their significant cuts in oil imports from Iran. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

Major Iranian oil consumers India, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan were the latest countries added to the exemption list, according to the resolution, made public late on Monday.

With just 20 days to go until European Union sanctions against Iran’s oil trade - effectively cutting off tanker insurance - major Asian buyers of Iranian crude were still scrambling on Tuesday for a solution to keep the oil flowing.

Qatari Riyal

Buy 0.0747 Sell 0.0748

KUWAIT: Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) announced realizing profit of 24.7 million Kuwaiti dinars for the year ending April 30, 2012, which compares to a sum of KD 22.8 for the previous fiscal year. Share dividend reached 51.1 Kuwaiti fils, compared to last year’s 47.2 fils.

In its statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) website, BPC said the board recommended cash dividend at 40 percent for the said year, for shareholders registered at the time of the General Assembly, which took place yesterday.

Shareholders equity came to KD 278.4 million compared to last year’s 258.4 million. Assets meanwhile came to KD 428.3 whereas liabilities came to KD 148.5 million by the end of April. Liabilities last year were KD 170 million.

The company was founded in 1995, listed with KSE in 1997 with paid capital of KD 48.5 million. It is licensed to invest in industrial ventures in general, and specifically in the fields of chemicals and petrochemicals. The company’s main investments are stakes in EQUATE, and the two fully owned off-shoots Boubyan Plastic Industries and National Waste Management Company. -KUNA

Credit flat in April following two months of strong gains, reports NBK

US exempts 7 more countries from sanctions

Saudi Riyal

Buy 0.4359 Sell 0.4365

Boubyan Petrochemical realizes KD 24.7 million in profit

Oil down on global impact of eurozone crisis

KUWAIT: Money supply (M1) was up 1.9 percent (134 million Kuwaiti dinars) in April while the broader measure of money (M2) contracted by -0.5 percent (-KD 140 million) following a strong seasonal jump in March, according to a report released by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) on Tuesday.

There was an outflow of money from time deposits into shorter term accounts. Growth in outstanding credit slowed in April. Loans rose a mere KD two million following stronger gains of KD 400 million the previous two months. Yet with a three percent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase, credit growth showed some signs of improvement compared to 2011.

Personal facilities, excluding loans for the pur-

British Pound

Prices in Kuwaiti fils. As of June 12, 2012. Courtesy: KAMCO

Kuwaiti crude up to $96.57 per barrel with $2.01 rise CAPITALS: The price of Kuwaiti crude oil went up 2.01 US dollars to trade for $96.57 per barrel (pb) compared to Monday’s $94.57 pb, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Tuesday.

The increase of prices is due to EU decision to loan Spain $125 billion to salvage their banks.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures fell below $98 a barrel on Tuesday, extending losses due to fears that the euro zone debt crisis will worsen and hurt the global economy, threatening growth in oil demand.

Optimism over a bailout for Spain’s troubled banks faded because of concerns about the package’s impact on public debt, while uncertainty surrounding elections in Greece on Sunday compounded worries the financial crisis in Europe will deepen.

European shares turned negative on Tuesday and the euro was flat, little changed at $1.2504.

Brent crude futures slipped 76 US cents to $97.33 by 0954 GMT. Earlier in the session, prices fell as low as $96.62 a barrel, close to this year’s low of $95.63 struck on June 4.

US oil was down 52 cents at $82.18 a barrel after hitting a one-year low at $81.07.

Crude futures had rallied more than two dollars on Monday on the news that euro zone finance ministers agreed to lend Spain up to $125 billion to tackle the problems of debt-stricken banks. But doubts about the deal emerged overnight, rekindling concerns that Madrid’s financial woes would worsen.

The EU has already begun discussing contingency plans for a Greek exit, including withdrawal limits at bank automated teller machines.

Cyprus, which is heavily exposed to Greece, said on Monday that before the end of this month it may become the fifth member of the currency bloc to apply for an international bailout.

In more news, oil prices are forecast to maintain high levels and recent drop of these prices constituted a shift for correction, according to a report broadcast by Petroleum Policy Intelligence

US Dollar

Buy 0.2802 Sell 0.2806

EU companies will be banned from insuring tankers carrying Iranian crude from July 1 and, as European insurers cover most of the world’s tankers, Asian importers in China, India, Japan and South Korea have struggled to find alternative insurance.

The Chinese official said the insurance ban would not be a problem for China, which alone buys as much as a fifth of Iran’s crude exports.

“So long as China wants to solve this problem, there must be a way. It won’t be a difficult issue.

We are fully capable of sorting it out,” he said, without going into how importers would continue bringing in Iranian oil.

India’s state-owned refiners will halt planned imports of 173,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Iran when the EU sanctions take effect unless the government allows them to use insurance and freight arranged by Tehran, sources said, and Japan’s government made the first move towards sovereign insurance, submitting a special bill to parliament to allow it to insure Iranian crude imports.

Government sources in South Korea have said Seoul will simply stop buying Iranian crude from July, and a foreign ministry spokesman told a briefing on Tuesday that they had given no consideration to providing state guarantees on oil imports.

On Tuesday Turkey, which a source at the

country’s only refiner has said steeply cut Iranian oil imports in May and June, said it had started talks with Saudi Arabia on long-term crude purchases.

Turkey, the world’s fifth-largest buyer of Iranian oil in 2011, taking seven percent of Iran’s crude exports, pledged in March to cut such imports by 20 percent and was among the seven countries added to Washington’s list of those granted a waiver from sanctions on Monday.

The four big Asian buyers have cut Iranian imports by about a fifth from the 1.45 million barrels per day they bought a year ago. The cuts and threat of sanctions have helped drain Iran’s oil revenues by an estimated $10 billion so far this year.

China opposes any unilateral sanctions on another country and says it has to buy Iranian crude to meet its energy needs. “We believe the crude oil trade between Iran and China is completely legal and fair. We have already made clear our position to the US side on this,” foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular briefing on Tuesday.

Discounts rebuffed

While China made big cuts in first-quarter imports from Iran, the United States is wary that Beijing might find it difficult to resist a bargain if Tehran tries to sell crude it can no longer export

UAE amends stock ownership rules in transparency move DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) market regulator unveiled a major overhaul of stock ownership rules in the Gulf Arab state, in a bid to force more disclosure in takeover deals and boost transparency.

But it was not clear when the guidelines would come into effect nor what penalties would apply to infractions.

The new regulations drafted by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) requires buyers to inform the stock market if they intend to buy 30 percent or more of a listed company in the UAE. “The board agreed during the meeting to make adjustments to the disclosure and transparency system in order to develop the legislation governing the functioning of financial markets,” the SCA said in a statement posted on the state news agency WAM. The regulator can reject proposed transactions if it deems them to be against the interests of shareholders or the economy.

The move comes a month after Abu Dhabi’s state-owned firm Aabar Investments accumulated a 20.8 percent-stake in Dubai contractor Arabtec Holding from the market through different subsidiaries.

Aabar’s chairman - who is also now Arabtec chairman - was quoted by a local newspaper at the time as saying the fund had a 53 percent position. A stock market source told Reuters Aabar owned 53 percent of Arabtec.

The new rules also require an inves-

to other buyers later this year. Sinopec has already resisted such offers, said the Beijing-based official who has knowledge of the refiner’s trading operations.

“The Iranians have made some offers, but we have turned them down,” the official said, declining to elaborate. “The economic benefits of filling some discounted Iranian oil into the national oil reserves would be too small a consideration for the state. The key concern for the Chinese government would be China-US relations.”

China is the only one of Iran’s four major Asian oil buyers - the others are India, Japan and South Korea - that could still face penalties from the United States once sanctions kick in.

Singapore, not a big oil consumer but a major blender of fuel, including some from Iran, said it imported no Iranian crude in May and was in talks with the United States about getting an exemption from sanctions. The government, which normally has a hands-off approach to the oil trade, has stepped in to make sure its banks and finance houses are not locked out of the US system, sources said.

Strategic storage

China is Iran’s top trade partner, and Beijing has publicly criticized sanctions against Tehran outside the framework of the United Nations.

Still, China’s state-owned energy giants have

tor pool together all holdings in a specific company - whether held by family members, companies and affiliates - and inform the regulator if the ownership is above the five percent mark.

The UAE, classified as a frontier market by index complier Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), lacks a proper takeover code which makes mergers of publicly listed companies difficult. Gauging ownership levels in some listed companies is complicated by cross holdings through affiliates and separate vehicles which can belong to the same entity.

Calls for more governance and transparency heightened after the Aabar/Arabtec moves with the construction firm’s shares more than doubling this year.

Aabar, which tried to buy Arabtec for 1.7 billion US dollars in a failed 2010 takeover, has not disclosed what its intentions are with regard to the stock build up and minority investors have been concerned their interests would be overlooked.

Aabar itself delisted abruptly from the Abu Dhabi stock market in 2010, causing an uproar among minority investors.

Several regulations have been enacted in the UAE previously to boost local financial markets but enforcing these laws has been a challenge for the regulator. Last year, the UAE postponed draft regulations on its nascent asset management industry, which were seen as a key step for investor protection and boosting market confidence, after market players voiced concerned that some of the proposals lacked clarity, sources said. -Reuters

made big investments in the United States, perhaps making them more mindful of sanctions.

China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer and is building up strategic storage across the country to deal with any surprise supply outages. Expectation in the oil market has been that sooner or later, Beijing would become Iran’s buyer of last resort and take the crude into its tanks.

But Sinopec has set its 2012 import target for Iranian crude at 400,000-420,000 barrels per day (bpd), 16-20 percent below last year’s 500,000 bpd, said the official, asking not to be named.

Sinopec more than halved its Iranian crude imports in the first quarter as it tussled with Tehran over the terms of its annual oil purchasing contract, industry sources have told Reuters. The 16-20 percent cut detailed by the official for the full year was a little more than the 14 percent annualized cut Reuters estimated after those contract disputes ended and Sinopec imports started to recover in April.

China bought a total of 27.76 million tons, or 555,000 bpd of Iranian oil last year, according to Chinese customs data.

The 500,000 bpd bought by Sinopec is covered by two separate contracts with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) - one through Unipec, Sinopec’s trading arm, and a second via Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp, a state oil trader now on Washington’s sanction list. -Agencies

ALWATAN DAILY

BUSINESS

7

WEDNESdAY, June 13, 2012

OPEC price hawks call on Saudi to cut oil output Tuesday 12 June, 2012 Index Price index Weighted Index KSX 15

Change ź ź ź

-55.66 -3 66 -3.66 -11.36

Volume

Trades Value (KD)

Trades

URC

106

104

272 120 272,120

28 350 28,350

14

104

ŷ

00 0.0

NRE

124

116

21,367

2,643

5

124

ź

-2.0

SRE

275

255

591,000

158,930

10

270

Ÿ

15.0

PEARL

29

27

220,021

6,200

16

28

ź

-1.5

0.0

TAM

228

222

6,000

1,338

2

228

ŷ

0.0

ź

-2.0

AREEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0 942.80

ŷ ź

0.0 -2.65

MASSALEH ARABREC

91 35

91 34

1,000 330,612

91 11,311

2 12

91 35

ź ź

-4.0 -0.5

UREC

93

93

5,000

465

1

93

Ÿ

2.0

14

104

ŷ

0.0

ERESCO

92

90

32,000

2,904

5

92

Ÿ

1.0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MABANEE

990

980

160,099

157,938

20

980

ź

-20.0

803 140 803,140

482 374 482,374

21

610

ź

-10.0

-2.0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

196

297,629 1,291,142

58,908 560,702

24 59

198 950.49

ź ź

-2.0 -4.27

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

REFRI

162

162

47,571

7,707

5

162

ź

CABLE

1,160

1,140

12,800

14,798

6

1,160

SHIP

188

184

968,485

179,340

47

188

PCEM

880

880

41,720

36,714

9

880

ŷ

0.0

ADNC

PAPER

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

THEMAR

Last

MARIN

154

152

80000

12 260 12,260

8

154

Ÿ

60 6.0

IKARUS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

IPG

325

320

3,000

965

2

320

ź

-10.0

NAPESCO

325

325

2,821

917

1

325

ŷ

0.0

AREFENRGY

130

130

26,500

3,445

3

130

ŷ

GPI

57

53

630,494

34,303

20

56

ABAR

0

0

0 742,815

0 51,889

0 34

104

102

190,373

19,421

0

0

0

610

600

0

0

200

KCEM

While any move that would negatively impact the subsidization of electricity produced from oil is expected to face a potential social backlash, a gradual increase in the price of oil to more fairly reflect market values seems to be an inevitable step. A decrease in oil input price subsidies would serve to simultaneously reduce the opportunity costs of lost oil revenues (i.e. oil not already sold to foreign markets), while also reducing the local demand for oil and its derivative products, the Deloitte whitepaper predicts.

Consideration of feed-in tariffs and/ or tax benefits to encourage renewable energy production

The introduction of feed-in tariffs to provide a guaranteed stream of income for electricity generated by the private sector would serve to stimulate the private sector into considering renewable energy adoption.

Opportunities for companies adapting technology to better suit the desert environment By developing technology that is able to better withstand the dust, sand, wind, high temperatures and low water levels that characterize the desert environment in most of the Middle East, companies may realize a first mover’s advantage to mass adoption.

Market forces and a changing competitive landscape are providing compelling reasons to consider alternative sources of energy. As such, many short term and medium term opportunities will continue to surface and impact the GCC region.

Change

Security

Last

Change

INJAZZAT

62

60

431 116 431,116

26 068 26,068

15

61

ź

INVESTORS

19

19

6,027,761

112,022

83

19

ŷ

0.0

IRC ALTIJARIA

49 83

47 83

1,191,600 114,434

56,554 9,498

55 4

48 83

ź ŷ

-1.5 0.0

SANAM

60

60

160,000

9,600

3

60

ź

-1.0

AAYANRE

82

80

1,678,800

134,953

54

80

ź

-1.0

-6.0

AQAR

92

85

30,000

2,611

6

92

Ÿ

2.0

ŷ

0.0

ALAQARIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

Ÿ

2.0

MAZAYA

74

71

100,150

7,211

6

74

ŷ

0.0

33

29

3,798,962

114,232

110

29

ź

-2.5

85

85

4,336

369

1

85

ź

-1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

GRAND

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ACICO

236

228

2,010

458

2

236

ź

-2.0

TIJARA

41

39

272,000

10,683

10

41

Ÿ

0.5

GGMC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

TAAMEER

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

HCC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ARKAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KPAK

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ARGAN

158

158

14,999

2,370

2

158

Ÿ

2.0

KBMMC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ABYAAR

43

41

3,929,603

165,117

46

42

ź

-1.5

MRC

NICBM

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MUNSHAAT

34

32

6,205,359

199,656

116

33

ź

-1.0

EQUIPMENT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

FIRSTDUBAI

40

40

70,000

2,800

4

40

ź

-0.5

NCCI

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KBT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

200

180

22,501

4,500

7

200

Ÿ

10.0

REAM

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0 -1.0

GYPSUM SALBOOKH

36

34

336,863

11,757

7

35

ź

-1.0

MENA

39

35

80,400

2,800

5

36

ź

AGLTY

375

370

547,210

202,719

37

370

ź

-5.0

ALMUDON

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MARAKEZ

44

44

85,000

3,698

4

44

ź

-2.5

CLEANING CITYGROUP

116 0

112 0

1,625,700 0

183,128 0

76 0

114 0

ź ŷ

-6.0 0.0

REMAL Real Estate

370

360

3,779,850 31,736,570

1,379,928 2,717,138

46 689

365 943.34

ź ź

-10.0 -8.77

KGL

0.0

EDU

104

99

1,609,100

161,732

65

102

ŷ

KCPC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KINV

102

98

65,200

6,390

9

102

ŷ

0.0

HUMANSOFT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

FACIL

275

275

25,121

6,908

3

275

ź

-5.0 -1.0

106

99

550

56

2

106

Ÿ

8.0

IFA

39

38

3,168,412

120,166

76

38

ź

SAFWAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

NINV

112

106

3,822,099

415,367

115

108

ŷ

0.0

GFC

27

27

10,390

275

2

27

ź

-2.0

KPROJ

320

315

30,488

9,642

9

320

ź

-5.0

NAFAIS

COAST

45

43

950,950

41,712

37

44

ź

-1.5

TII

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0.0

SECH

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0.0

IIC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ŷ

0.0

SGC

114

114

4,000

456

1

114

ź

-2.0

ź

-2.0

IFC

94

92

128,550

11,894

21

92

ź

-4.0

230

ź

-2.0

MARKAZ

112

108

383,001

41,790

14

112

ŷ

0.0

1

79

ź

-1.0

KMEFIC

55

51

1,050

54

2

55

ź

-1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

1,260

1,220

116,715

144,807

25

1,240

ź

-40.0

MTCC

87

86

225,800

19,635

9

87

ŷ

UPAC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

ALAFCO

295

290

431,716

125,698

13

295

MUBARRAD

57

53

630,000

33,717

32

54

LOGISTICS

236

228

1,395,234

322,776

92

SCEM

79

79

7,000

553

MAYADEEN CGC

GCEM

96

94

2,276,000

215,876

29

94

ź

-1.0

AIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

QCEM

63

62

1,360,000

84,780

22

62

ź

-1.0

ALAMAN

31

29

1,534,900

44,866

64

29

ź

-2.5

FCEM RKWC Industrials KSH

Gradual removal of oil subsidies in favor of a free market mechanism

176,939,025 14 244 179 14,244,179 3,705

Low

Trades

ALQURAIN Basic Materials

push towards green energy production.

The Deloitte whitepaper finds that given sufficient projects, the additional burst of activity in the Middle East will serve as good incentive for large multinational renewable energy companies and component manufacturers alike to consider establishing presence and production centers in the region.

Over the medium term, the Deloitte whitepaper outlines several key themes which are expected to emerge:

Volume Value (KWD) Number of Trades

High

Trades Value (KD)

ALKOUT

CAPITALS: ‘Renewable Energy: Seeds of Change’, a whitepaper by Deloitte Middle East, finds that the recent changes in regional policies towards renewable energy will create an abundance of opportunities for private sector companies in the Gulf Cooperation council (GCC), in the near and long term. This was stated in a press release on Tuesday.

As an oil producing region, the Middle East has long been considered a net emitter of carbon. However, the Deloitte Whitepaper indicates that this perception now appears to be changing as the region takes steps to embrace renewable energy.

Many GCC governments have already announced plans to capitalize on renewable energy. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman have each stated plans to produce at least 10 percent of their energy from sustainable sources by 2020. Whereas Dubai and Abu Dhabi each set targets of producing five percent and seven percent respectively of their energy from solar and renewable sources by 2030.

While energy independence is one reason for the shift to renewables, the opportunity costs of burning oil is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore, Energy experts at Deloitte say. They cite that Saudi Arabia alone is estimated to be diverting 800,000 barrels of its daily oil production to oil burning power plants. At current market prices of 120 US dollars per barrel, this amounts to up to $35 billion in lost oil revenue per annum as a result of not selling oil to foreign markets.

“In the near term, we expect to see several policy announcements and a push towards green energy production being stimulated at the national and governmental levels,” said Declan Hayes, Managing Director, Renewable Energy & Cleantech, Deloitte Middle East. “This is because it is the Governments and National companies themselves who are currently bearing the impact of the costs and who see the financial incentive to initiate change,” he added.

In light of the ongoing changes in the renewable energy sector, the Deloitte whitepaper outlines several near and medium term topics to appear, over and above policy announcements and a

5,976.71 394 36 394.36 947.71

Volume

BPCC

GCC renewable energy industry generating opportunities for private sector: Deloitte

Low

6,072.36 400 10 400.10 963.68

Low

KFOUC

ropean sanctions, Iran has grown increasingly irritated as its regional Middle East rival Saudi Arabia lifts supply at its expense.

Iranian output is at a two-year low just above three million bpd.

Riyadh on Monday risked inflaming relations with Tehran by suggesting OPEC might need to lift its output target to match demand in the second half of the year.

But it appeared to back away from that position on Tuesday, making it most likely the group will leave supply policy unchanged.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi told reporters he was “happy with the way things are.”

OPEC’s in-house experts say demand for fuel is cooling. “Signs appear to be showing that the global economy is slowing further,” the group’s Vienna-based secretariat said in a monthly report.

“The second half of the year could see a further easing in fundamentals, despite seasonally higher demand.”

The report said demand would average 30.74 million barrels per day in the second half of the year.

That would imply OPEC needs to slice about a million barrels daily from existing output levels if it wants to prevent inventories building further in the second half of the year. -Reuters

High

6,072.36 400 10 400.10 963.68

High

PIPE

VIENNA: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) price hawks on Tuesday called on Saudi Arabia to rein in excess production to stem a slide in oil prices that has knocked 30 US dollars a barrel off crude since March.

“We are going to make a very strong call in the meeting that the countries that are over-producing cut,” said Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez.

Saudi Arabia has lifted output to 10 million barrels daily, its highest in decades, to help nurse sickly global economic growth in what Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi has called a “type of stimulus” for the economy.

That has taken supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to 31.6 million barrels a day (bpd) in May, an OPEC report estimated on Tuesday, well above the official 30-million-bpd target it set in December.

Oil has fallen from near $128 a barrel for Brent crude in March to trade at less than $98 on Tuesday.

“We think we need to keep the ceiling on production of 30 million that was agreed at our last meeting in December,” said Ramirez.

“The first and most important issue is we agree to stick to the 30 million,” agreed Iran’s OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi.

Its oil output curbed by US and Eu-

Last Closing

6,016.70 396 44 396.44 952.32

Security

Oil & Gas

FILE- OPEC Secretary General Adullah Al-Badri talks with journalists after an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Dec. 14, 2011. (Reuters)

Closing

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ALOLA

142

140

1,282,677

181,940

28

142

ź

-2.0

104

104

91,380 11,758,745

9,504 1,760,528

3 491

104 937.02

ź ź

-4.0 -3.93 3.93

ALMAL GIH

41 32

39 29

1,836,869 7,929,160

72,360 239,278

77 113

39 30

ź ź

-2.5 -1.5 1.5

AAYAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

BAYANINV

37

34

257,005

8,780

16

35

ź

-2.0

NSH

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

GLOBAL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

PAPCO

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

OSOUL

62

62

21,145

1,311

3

62

Ÿ

2.0

CATTL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KFIC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

DANAH

81

81

160,000

12,960

9

81

ź

-2.0

KAMCO

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

POULT FOOD Consumer Goods MHC

126

126

1

0

1

126

ź

-2.0

NIH

49

49

1,000

49

1

49

ź

-3.5

1,280

1,280

39,000 199,001

49,920 62,880

3 13

1,280 925.84

ŷ ź

0.0 -5.11

ISKAN MADAR

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

ŷ ŷ

0.0 0.0

ALDEERA

36

33

580,643

19,633

33

36

Ÿ

0.5

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

ALSAFAT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

ALSALAM

230

224

336,379

75,681

43

228

ź

-4.0

YIACO Health Care

445

440

36,050 36,050

15,862 15,862

5 5

445 1188.48

Ÿ Ÿ

5 4.12

EKTTITAB QURAINHLD

83 0

81 0

373,000 0

30,501 0

18 0

81 0

ź ŷ

-4.0 0.0

ALMADINA

57

53

1,993,350

109,858

57

55

ź

-3.0

KCIN

900

900

4,500

4,050

3

900

ź

-10

NOOR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KHOT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

162

162

50 0

8

1

162

ŷ

0 0.0 0

SULTAN

99

97

1,637,020

161,615

56

99

ź

-1

EXCH

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

CABLETV

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

TAIBA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ATC

EYAS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

IFAHR

270

255

13,250

3,380

3

270

ź

-10

MASHAER

260

248

1,518,619

378,935

44

248

ź

-22 22

OULAFUEL

300

285

64,586

19,217

17

300

Ÿ

5

MUNTAZAHAT

49

48

20,000

965

2

48

ź

JAZEERA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

SOOR

0

0

0

0

0

0

FUTUREKID

0

0

0

0

0

0

ALNAWADI

97

96

21,000 21 000

2,019 2 019

5

ALRAI

0

0

0

0

0

ZIMAH UFIG KOUTFOOD Consumer Services ZAIN NMTC

TAMINV

KSHC

27

22

46,350

1,246

11

27

Ÿ

2.0

STRATEGIA

76

76

50

4

1

76

Ÿ

5.0

KCIC

64

63

46,865

2,953

6

64

ŷ

0.0

MANAFAE

58

56

907,100

52,388

7

56

ź

-4.0

-3

GNAHC

44

43

757,050

32,570

17

43

ź

-1.5

0

AMWAL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ŷ

0

MASAR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ŷ

0

ALIMTIAZ

93

93

457,000

42,501

24

93

ź

-5.0

97

ź

-3 3

MANAZEL

31

29

8,341,781 8 341 781

245 121 245,121

162

30

ź

-1.5 15

0

ŷ

0

NIND

212

206

2,531,229

527,092

65

208

ź

-4.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

UIC

88

86

1,384,175

119,786

36

87

ŷ

0.0

248

248

1,000

248

1

248

Ÿ

4

BIIHC

65

65

1,000

65

1

65

Ÿ

4.0

0

0

0 3,279,975

0 570,429

0 131

0 921.73

ŷ ź

0 10.76 -10.76

SHOP SENERGY

0 68

0 65

0 209,608

0 13,827

0 9

0 68

ŷ ź

0.0 1.0 -1.0

AGHC

-2.0

700

680

664,185

458,346

67

690

ź

-10

2,060

2,060

28,953

59,643

8

2,060

ŷ

0

73

1,559,920 2,253,058

115,249 633,239

46 121

73 869.17

ź ź

-4 -19.16

HITSTELEC 76 Telecommunications

138

136

389,201

53,170

14

138

ź

ALSAFWA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KPPC

73

70

733,249

52,565

14

73

ź

-1.0

TAHSSILAT JEERANH

41 0

41 0

5,249 0

213 0

2 0

41 0

ź ŷ

-2.5 0.0

EKHOLDING

290

290

24,550 24 550

7,120 7 120

2

290

ŷ

0.0 0 0

NBK

1,020

1,020

606,565

618,696

15

1,020

ź

-20

GFH

37

35

58,245,200

2,083,949

518

36

ź

-1.0

GBK CBK

405 740

395 740

341,616 100

136,651 74

16 1

405 740

ŷ ź

0 -20

INOVEST Financial Services

53

52

1,740,000 100,544,706

91,627 4,764,839

41 1,671

53 882.68

ź ź

-2.0 -12.05

ABK

560

550

22,000

12,120

3

560

Ÿ

10

ALMUTAHED KIB

870 260

860 250

75,296 1,648,010

65,313 420,238

5 42

870 260

ź ŷ

-10 10 0

MAREF 0 Investment Instruments

0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0.00

ŷ ŷ

0.0 0.00

BURG

430

425

692,645

295,178

26

430

ŷ

0

KFIN

710

700

760,605

538,752

52

710

ź

-10

ASC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

BOUBYAN

600

590

447,925

264,277

18

600

Ÿ

10

SAFTEC

72

69

20,100

1,387

3

72

ź

-2.0

UGB

160

146

1,134

176

4

160

Ÿ

4

FUTURE

232

232

100

23

1

232

Ÿ

10.0

AUB ITHMR

0 37

0 36

0 20,297,608

0 732,729

0 282

0 36

ŷ ź

0 -3

HAYATCOMM Technology

116

102

74,000 74 000 94,200

8 8,144 144 9,554

8 12

116 1162.32

Ÿ Ÿ

8 8.0 0 20.52

24,893,504

3,084,204

464

944.46

ź

-4.82

Banks

BAREEQ

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

AFAQ

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0.0

ALSHAMEL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0.0

SAFRE

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ŷ

0.0

AJWAN

37

33

20,580

671

7

37

Ÿ

1.5

0

ŷ

0.0

SPEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

ŷ

0.0

MASAKEN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KINS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

GINS

510

510

5,512

2,811

1

510

ŷ

AINS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

WINS

0

0

0

0

0

0

KUWAITRE

0

0

0

0

0

FTI

0

0

0

0

0

WETHAQ

59

59

48

3

1

59

ź

-5.0

DALQAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ARIG

114

114

2,000 2 000

228

1

114

ź

-20.0 20 0

ALEID

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

00 0.0

BKIKWT Insurance

0

0

0 7,560

0 3,042

0 3

0 994.43

ŷ ź

0.0 -33.21

MIDAN FLEX

0 47

0 42

0 1,119

0 51

0 2

0 47

ŷ Ÿ

0.0 2.5

THURAYA

-9.0

AINV

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

SOKOUK KRE

0 51

0 50

0 2,122,981

0 106,800

0 32

0 51

ŷ ŷ

0.0 0.0

118

99

80,000

9,150

3

99

ź

KCLINIC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

AMAR Parallel Market

0

0

0 101,699

0 9,873

0 12

0 951.91

ŷ Ÿ

0.0 1.19

For more information, call 1 80 42 42, www.globalinv.net

LIFE

WEDNESdAY, June 13, 2012

NASA rover on target for August landing on Mars LOS ANGELES: Two months before NASA is set to land its most sophisticated rover on Mars, engineers on Earth are busy troubleshooting a nagging concern with the rover’s drill that could contaminate rock samples gathered for study.

Project managers said Monday they were confident the rover nicknamed Curiosity will still be able to achieve its goals despite the hurdle.

For the past month, a team has been studying ways to get around the contamination problem, in which flakes of Teflon from the drill can break off and get mixed in with the rock samples. The effort so far has drained $2 million from the mission’s reserve budget.

“It’s not a serious problem because we see so many potential ways to work around this,” said chief scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology.

Curiosity is on target to land at Gale Crater near the Martian equator in early August. Instead of relying on airbags to land like previous Mars surface missions, Curiosity will be lowered to the surface on a tether and fire its thrusters to touch down. This never-before-tried landing technique has allowed scientists to zero in on the landing site.

Curiosity is now slated to land closer to a

mountain in the center of the crater, which will cut down on the amount of driving it will initially need to do.

Project manager Pete Theisinger of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory estimated this will save about four months of driving, allowing more time to study Martian rocks and soil.

The two-year, $2.5 billion mission seeks to determine whether the environment could have been suitable for microbial life. One of the main goals is to search for the organic building blocks of life using the most advanced toolkit sent to Mars.

Curiosity is a mobile science lab. The drill is located at the end of its robotic arm along with a scoop. It’s designed to bore into bedrock and scoop up powdered grains that are then transferred to Curiosity’s deck to analyze.

Tests before launch revealed Teflon from the drill can rub off and taint the samples. Some workarounds being considered include baking the samples so that the contaminant is separated out. The team is also pondering switching to a different, gentler drilling mode in certain cases.

In the worst case scenario, scientists may have to rely on the scoop to collect soil and Curiosity’s wheels to crush rocks into bits. -AP

Big Bang particle discovery closer: Scientists

GENEVA: Physicists investigating the make-up of the universe are closing in on the Higgs boson, an elusive particle thought to have been key to turning debris from the Big Bang into stars, planets and finally life, scientists said on Tuesday.

Researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) are using their large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s biggest particle accelerator, to try to prove that the mystery particle really exists.

Poring over huge volumes of data, CERN physicists are confident they are now closer to achieving that aim, outside scientists with links to two key research teams at the Switzerland-based facility said.

“They are getting quite fired up,” one scientist outside CERN but with links to the experiment who declined to be named told Reuters.

Strong signs of the Higgs were being seen in the same energy range where it was tentatively spotted last year, the scientists added, even though the particle is so short-lived that it can only be detected by the traces it leaves.

The quest for the obscure but scientifically crucial Higgs boson is being conducted by harnessing the LHC’s high energy accelerator, which is located on the edge of Geneva, to replicate the Big Bang, the process scientists believe brought the known universe into being.

The Higgs is named after Briton Peter Higgs who in 1964 first came up with a detailed idea of what it might be and is the last major missing piece in the socalled Standard Model of how the universe works at the elementary particle level.

Its formal discovery, once it is endorsed by the world scientific community, would almost certainly ensure a Nobel prize for Higgs, now 83 and retired, and perhaps for at least one other European physicist and one American. -Reuters

Children born to older fathers may live longer: Study

PARIS: The children and grandchildren of men who reproduced later in life could enjoy life-extending genetic benefits, including being able to father children at an older age, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Northwestern University believe the process represents an unusually rapid evolutionary adaptation in which telomeres -- DNA found at the ends of chromosomes -- lengthen, which is thought to promote healthy aging.

“If your father and grandfather were able to live and reproduce at a later age, this might predict that you yourself live in an environment that is somewhat similar -- an environment with less accidental deaths or in which men are only able to find a partner at later ages,” said Dan Eisenberg, lead author of the study.

“In such an environment, investing more in a body capable of reaching these late ages could be an adaptive strategy from an evolutionary perspective.”

After analyzing the DNA of 1,779 young adults and their mothers in the Philippines, researchers found that children of older fathers not only inherit longer telomeres, but that the effect is cumulative across generations.

The researchers do not advise men to reproduce at later ages, as other research has shown that doing so raises the risk of passing on genetic mutations that can cause miscarriages or other health problems.

Co-author Christopher Kuzawa said more research would be necessary to see if the longer telomeres inherited from older fathers and grandfathers reduce the health problems and ailments that come with age.

“Based upon our findings, we predict that this will be the case, but this is a question to be addressed in future studies,” he said. -AFP

FILE - In this 2011 artist’s rendering provided

by NASA/JPLCaltech, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover examines a rock on Mars with a set of tools at the end of its arm, which extends about 2 meters (7 feet).

(AP)

Green light for world’s biggest optical telescope LONDON: A 1.1 billion-euro project to build the world’s largest optical telescope will go ahead after the European organization overseeing it said it won backing from most of its members.

The European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will directly image planets outside the solar system and those orbiting other suns in so-called “habitable zones” to perhaps answer the question of whether there is life elsewhere in the universe.

It will use a mirror 39 meters in diameter that will give a more detailed and deeper view of the universe than ever before. Most large ground-based telescopes currently

have mirrors eight to 10 meters across.

The large mirror on the ELT, made up from nearly 800 hexagonal segments, will gather 12 times more light than the largest optical telescopes operating today. It will be able to see objects that are much more distant and faint. “Its unique combination of sharp imaging and huge light collecting area will allow us to observe some of the most exciting phenomena in the universe in much better detail,” said Isobel Hook, a scientist at Oxford University who is working on the project.

“For example we’ll be able to observe distant galaxies in the process of forma-

tion, see the effects of massive black holes on their environment and even search for planets in ‘habitable zones’ beyond our solar system, where life could exist.” The European Southern Observatory’s Council met at its headquarters in Garching, Germany, on Monday where 10 countries gave the project full or conditional support.

Representatives from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland voted to start the program while Belgium, Finland, Italy, and the United Kingdom backed the project pending confirmation from their governments.

The remaining four - Denmark, France, Por-

tugal and Spain - said they continue to work towards approval.

Brazil plans to join the ESO Council this year and Chile, which will play host to the telescope on top of the 3,060-metre Cerro Armazones mountain in the Atacama Desert, is also involved.

“Today’s announcement is an important step towards construction, though the final go-ahead depends of course on obtaining approval by a number of governments ... to such a long-term financial commitment,” said John Womersley, chief executive of the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council. -Reuters

Hawaii telescope sees what could be oldest galaxy

HONOLULU: A team of Japanese astronomers using telescopes on Hawaii say they’ve seen the oldest galaxy, a discovery that’s competing with other “earliest galaxy” claims.

The Japanese team calculates its galaxy was formed 12.91 billion light-years ago, and their research will be published in the Astrophysical Journal. The scientists with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan used the Subaru and Keck telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea. A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles. Seeing distant galaxies is akin to looking back into time.

Richard Ellis of the California Institute of Technology, an influential expert in cosmology and galaxy formation, said the latest work as more convincing than some other galaxy discoveries. He said the Japanese claim is more “watertight,” using methods that everyone can agree on. But he said it’s not much of a change from a similar finding by the same team last year.

Still, “it’s the most distant bullet-proof one that everybody believes,” Ellis said.

In 2010, a French team using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope claimed to have discovered a galaxy from 13.1 billion light-years ago and last year a California team using

Hubble said they saw a galaxy from 13.2 billion light-years ago. Both Hubble teams published findings in the journal Nature. However, the two Hubble teams have yet to confirm their findings with other methods, said Ellis. Also, a team of Arizona State University astronomers this month claimed to have found a galaxy from 13 billion light-years away. They used a telescope in Chile.

Current theory holds that the universe was born of an explosion, called the Big Bang, about 13.7 billion years ago.

So astronomers using the most powerful telescopes available are peering deeper and deeper into that dawn of the universe. -AP

245 rhinos poached in S. Africa since January PARIS: The slaughter of rhinos driven by the soaring illegal trade in their horns continues at a record pace with 245 killed in South Africa since January, authorities said on Tuesday. The country’s northeast and largest of game reserves, the Kruger National Park has been the hardest hit, losing 60 percent of the national toll, or 147 rhinos, to poachers, the Department of Environmental Affairs said in a statement.

With roughly 20,000 animals South Africa is home to between 70 and 80 percent of the world’s rhino population, increasingly being targeted by poachers despite heightened security.

Last year poachers killed 448 animals

compared to 333 in 2010. In 2007 only 13 animals fell prey to illegal hunters.

The animals’ distinctive horns are hacked off to be smuggled to the lucrative Asian black market, where the fingernail-like substance is falsely believed to have powerful healing properties. On the black market, the horns fetch almost 50,000 euros ($62,700), or the same price as an ounce of gold, according to several experts.

Efforts to curb the killings include the deployment of soldiers in the Kruger Park and specialist investigators.

Police have arrested 161 suspects, including 138 poachers, since the start of the year, the ministry said. -AFP

Morning people are actually happier than night owls NEW YORK: Night owls often wake up for work or school with a scowl on their faces and wishing for an IV drip of coffee, while morning people come skipping in 15 minutes early.

However, morning people aren’t chipper just as the sun is coming up; they are happier and more satisfied with life overall, a new study suggests according to LiveScience. Teenagers’ night owl tendencies fade as they age, and the study says this switch to a morning-focused schedule could be why older adults are happier than younger ones.

“Past research has suggested that morning-type people report feeling happier than evening-type people, and this research was only on young adults,” study researcher Renee Biss, a graduate student at the University of Toronto, told LiveScience.

The new study looked across the lifespan to see if the morning habits of older individuals contributed to their overall life outlook.

The researchers studied two populations: a group of 435 adults ages

17 to 38, and a group of 297 older adults, ages 59 to 79. Both groups filled out questionnaires about their emotional state, how healthy they feel and their preferred “time of day.”

By age 60, most people are morning types, the researchers found.

Only about 7 percent of young adults are morning larks, but as the population ages, this switches - in the older years only about 7 percent of the population are still night owls. “We found that older adults reported greater positive emotion than younger adults, and older adults were more likely to be morning-type people than younger adults,” Biss said. “The ‘morningness’ was associated with greater happiness emotions in both age groups.”

Morning-type people also tended to say they felt healthier than did night owls. The researchers said this could be because they are getting better sleep since they are naturally morning people. It could not only make them feel more alert, but actually impact their immune system.

FILE - Two white rhinoceroses pictured in Limpopo, South Africa, in March. (AFP)

Climate, habitat, humans ‘in cahoots to kill mammoths’ PARIS: Rising temperatures, changing vegetation and the spread of humans all contributed to the extinction of the woolly mammoth, according to a new study that said no single factor was to blame. The tusked mammal’s demise was gradual, not sudden, said the authors, disputing earlier assertions that the giants were wiped out quickly -- either by disease, humans or a catastrophic weather event. “It wasn’t just one thing that took them out everywhere all at once,” author Glen MacDonald of the University of California’s department of evolutionary biology told AFP. “With the mammoths, it was just a story of this almost continuous litany of challenges that they faced in terms of changing climate, huge changes in habitat and then the spread of humans and potentially human predation to new areas.” The cause of the woolly beasts’ disappearance has generated fierce debate among experts. Some hold that the giants that once strode across Eurasia and north America were hunted to extinction by humans, while others blame global warming for decimating a species adapted for colder climes. A colony of woolly mammoths is believed to have survived up to about 4,000 years ago on what is today Russia’s Wrangel Island, north of Siberia in the Arctic Ocean.

In a paper published Tuesday in Nature Communications, a team of researchers in the United States and Russia said their own analysis of radiocarbon-dated evidence has revealed a pattern of slow demise caused by several factors. “This is an extinction that took a long time. It extended over

thousands of years,” said MacDonald. The team asserts that woolly mammoths were abundant up to 45,000 to 30,000 years ago in continental Beringia, a land bridge that linked present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia before it was submerged by the sea thousands of years ago. In the last Ice Age, about 25,000 to 20,000 years ago, northern populations declined while those in the south increased, they said. “Coming out of that, though, you had smaller populations that were just beginning to grow -- and they were then faced with large habitat changes that made the south no longer an amenable area for them and started threatening their ability to utilize the north,” said MacDonald.

The problem lay in the spread of peat- and wetland areas which offered poor mammoth nutrition, he explained.

The giants ate grasses and the soft shoots of woody plants like willows, and this food became increasingly scarce.

“At the same time, for the first time in Alaska and North America they had human predators there as well,” pointed out MacDonald.

This type of coalescence of factors may be seen again in the near future, he warned.

“If you look at the magnitude of changes we anticipate with climate change in this upcoming century and land use changes with human population growth and land cover changes, we are kind of subjecting species to a lot of the same pressures but we are compressing the timescale,” said the scientist.

“That is frightening in some ways.” -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

9

wednesday, JUNE 13, 2012

Tunisian Islamists riot over ‘insulting’ art show TUNIS: Hundreds of Salafi Islamists, angered by an art exhibition they say insults Muslims, clashed with police in Tunis on Tuesday, raising religious tensions in the home of the Arab Spring and piling pressure on the moderate Islamist government.

Protesters hurled petrol bombs at officers in some of the worst confrontations since last year’s revolt ousted President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali and launched uprisings across the Arab world.

Salafis, who follow a puritanical interpretation of Islam, blocked streets and set tyres alight in the working class Ettadamen and Sidi Hussein districts of the capital overnight.

By morning, protests had spread to a number of residential districts. Stone-throwing youths stopped trams from passing through the capital’s Intilaqa district where demonstrators entered mosques and used the loudspeakers to call on Tunisians to defend Islam.

An interior ministry official on Tunisian state TV said 97 people had been detained during the unrest, including dozens of Salafis and some “criminals”.

Tuesday’s clashes came a day after a group of Salafis forced their way into an art exhibition in the upscale La Marsa suburb and defaced works they deemed offensive.

The work that appears to have caused the most fury and polarized Tunisians, spelt out the name of God using insects. “These artists are attacking Islam and this is not new. Islam is targeted,” said a youth, who gave his name as Ali and had removed his shirt and was preparing to confront police in Ettadamen.

In a statement released before the protests, Ennahda, the moderate Islamist party that now leads the government, condemned what it described as provocations and insults against religion but urged its own supporters to respond peacefully.

Difficult Position

The violence puts Ennahda in a difficult position.

While Islamists did not play a major role in the revolution, the struggle over the role of Islam in government and society has since emerged as the most divisive issue in Tunisian politics and several clashes have erupted in recent months.

Salafis, some of whom are loyal to AlQaeda, want a broader role for religion in the new Tunisia, alarming secular elites who fear they will seek to impose their views and ultimately undermine the nascent democracy.

A Tunisian official told Reuters seven members of the security forces were wounded as they tried to quell the riots by using teargas and firing into the air.

State television reported the offices of Tunisia’s main labor union in the northwestern city of Jendouba had been set alight by Salafis overnight while the offices of secular parties were attacked.

The powerful union is considered a bastion of Tunisian secularism in a country that was seen as one of the most secular in the Arab region under the rule of Ben Ali and his predecessor, independence leader Habib Bourguiba.

A group of youths cut off the main road linking the capital to Bizerte, about 60 km to the north.

A day before the clashes, the leader of Al-Qaeda called on Tunisians to defend Islamic law from Ennahda, which won the first post-revolutionary election in North Africa in October and has said it would not seek to impose sharia (Islamic law) in the new constitution that is being drawn up.

The audio recording, attributed to Ayman Al-Zawahri and released on Islamist

Pearl ‘culture’ returns to Gulf waters

Riot police chase after protesters in the Ettadhamen district of the capital Tunis June 12, 2012. (Reuters)

websites, said Ennahda, which leads Tunisia’s government in coalition with two secular groups, had betrayed the religion.

While pushing for a greater role for Islam, Tunisian Salafi leaders have said they would

do so peacefully and did not intend to clash with Ennahda. However, Salafis say they draw the line at actions they believe humiliate Muslims or Islam Secularists have defended the offending

art, criticizing the Islamists they say are bent on curbing freedom of expression. They say Ennahda has been too lenient with Salafis, giving them the confidence to step up their demands. -Reuters

H&M confirms new collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela PARIS: High street retailer H&M has confirmed that it will launch a collaboration with avant-garde label Maison Martin Margiela for a fall rollout. The news that the Paris-based avant-garde fashion label of Belgian origin will be collaborating with H&M was first reported by WWD on June 11 and was confirmed by the high street store the following day after rumors began circulating on Twitter.

In a statement on H&M’s website, Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M, said “Mai-

son Martin Margiela is one of the most important and influential fashion houses of the past three decades.

I am so excited by this collaboration which will give fashion lovers around the world the chance to wear special pieces by Maison Martin Margiela.This collaboration will be a great and memorable fashion moment.” The founder and namesake of the cult label, who was remarkable in the fashion industry for his lack of public appearances, left the brand

in 2009. The brand, known for its white label, has continued to produce conceptual fashion with deconstructed garments and the teaser image for the H&M collaboration stays true to this spirit.

The collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela is the latest in a long line of collections produced by big name designers for the high street store. Previous examples of which include Karl Lagerfeld and Marni. The Maison Martin Margiela collection for H&M will hit stores on November 15. -AFP

Christie’s puts $500 million art bonanza on display

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 4, 2012 photo, Mohamed Al-Suwaidi from RAK Pearls Holding holds a cultured pearl inside an oyster shell after they have collected it from the sea farm in Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. (AP)

RAS AL-KHAIMAH, United Arab Emirates: Long before the discovery of oil transformed the Gulf, pearls were the region’s source of wealth, and pearl divers were a mainstay of the economy.

Their way of life, however, was changed forever after Japanese researchers learned how to grow cultured pearls in 1930s.

Now a collaboration between pearl traders in Japan and the United Arab Emirates had brought oyster farming and cultured pearl harvests to the UAE for the first time. The joint venture of RAK Pearl Holding of Abdulla Al-Suwaidi and Japanese pearl merchant Dai-

ji Imura currently has 200,000 oysters and plans for further expansion.

The waters around Ras Al-Khaimah, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Dubai, have an ideal temperature, salinity and nutrients for cultured pearls. Imura said the Gulf cultured pearls are generally thicker than those in Japan.

In the wild, pearls are formed when an irritant gets into an oyster’s shell, and the animal excretes layers of a substance known as nacre around it. To produce a cultured pearl, farmers introduce an artificial irritant to stimulate development. -AP

LONDON: Christie’s will showcase highlights of its summer season in London with a public exhibition of some of the most valuable lots from an art auction series expected to raise more than 300 million pounds ($470 million).

Leading works by British landscape painter John Constable, 20th century titans Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Yves Klein and 17th century Dutch master Rembrandt will go on display from Tuesday until Thursday this week.

While brief, Christie’s, the world’s largest auctioneer, hopes the exhibition of “museum quality” works at its headquarters in King’s Street, London, will add to the buzz surrounding the upcoming sales.

“Such an initiative allows us to show the public works of art that have often rarely, if ever, been seen in public,” said Jussi Pylkkanen, president and chairman of Christie’s Europe, Middle East, Russia and India. “In showing great art together, independent of age or category, the exhibition also presents a showcase of the collecting tastes and habits of many buyers in today’s market.”

Combined with Christie’s arch-rival Sotheby’s and smaller auction houses, London sales of art in late June and early July could approach $1 billion if the recent trend for record-breaking prices continues.

A handful of super-wealthy collectors is all that is needed to drive the value of a painting or sculpture to eight or even nine figures, and it was only in May that Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” sold at Sotheby’s for $120 million, an auction record. As prices rise and the stress is increasingly on rarity and quality, owners of some of the best works of art still in private hands have been encouraged to sell, creating a “virtuous cycle” that has lasted for three years so far.

Analysts caution, however, that sluggish Chinese growth, a slowdown in buying from the Middle East and global economic uncertainty could weigh heavily on the buoyant sector. Christie’s is eyeing a number of artist records in its June-July sales. Among the most prized lots on display is Constable’s “The Lock”, the last of six celebrated large canvases by the artist still in private hands, which is expected to fetch 20-25 million pounds when it goes under the hammer on July 3.When it was auctioned in 1990 it raised 10.8 million pounds, making it the most valuable British painting sold at the time - a record it held for 16 years. Another artist whose auction record could fall is Jean-Michel Basquiat,

FILE - A woman walks between Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies for a Self Portrait” (L) and Lucian Freud’s “Naked Portrait with Reflection” at Christies Auction house in London May 19, 2008. (Reuters)

whose “Untitled” from 1981 is set to sell for 10-15 million pounds, in range of the $16.3 million benchmark. The painting will form part of the post-war and contemporary art evening auction on June 27 where Bacon’s “Study For Self-Portrait” (1964) is on course to raise 15-20 million pounds and Klein’s “Le Rose du Bleu” another 17-20 million. “A Bust of a Man in a Gorget and Cap” by Rembrandt and dated 1626/7 is set to sell for 8-12 million pounds. Pylkkanen said the upcoming summer season was “set to become one of the richest and most valuable series of auctions in company history.” The low estimate of all the works on offer at Christie’s is 310 million pounds, meaning that 2011’s bonanza at the equivalent sales raising some 350 million pounds was beatable. -Reuters

Unique Chinese art trove boosts Hong Kong art hub dream

HONG KONG: One of the world’s pre-eminent collections of Chinese contemporary art was bequeathed to Hong Kong on Tuesday by a Swiss collector, a move that could transform the city’s troubled bid to realise a new, world class cultural and arts hub. No ordinary collection and amassed over three decades by visionary Swiss businessman, Uli Sigg, 66, this definitive assemblage of some 1500 works spans China’s watershed and tumultuous recent decades of modernization, and is conservatively estimated to be worth $167 million.

In a surprise move after years of hard negotiations with several cities around the world, Sigg chose to donate the bulk of his unique collection to an as-yet-unbuilt Hong Kong visual culture museum, Museum Plus (M+).

Emotional Hong Kong art administrators and leaders praised Sigg’s “historically” significant art bequest, that would catalyze what has been a long-delayed and troubled dream to realise a leafy, 40-hectare cluster of modernist buildings, museums and theatres on the edge of Victoria harbor.

“It will enable us to strengthen our position as the cultural hub in Asia,” said Stephen Lam, Hong Kong’s chief secretary and number two official. Long known as one of the world’s most capitalist financial hubs on the south China coast, the former British colony has struggled to evolve a more vibrant and diversified arts scene to match its self-proclaimed stature as Asia’s world city. But as other major regions in Asia compete fiercely for higher-end cultural and arts based tourism including China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, Sigg’s endowment could help galvanize Hong Kong’s current strengths which include a major art fair, as well as its boom-

ing art and wine auction markets, buoyed by a wave of mainland Chinese millionaires.

One major problem for Hong Kong, before Sigg’s gift, had been a struggle to find quality artwork to fill the proposed cluster of museums, exhibitions and performance venues, particularly given the rapidly rising cost of Chinese artwork.

“It would be impossible to now build a collection similar in depth, scope and quality,” said Lars Nittve, a former Tate Modern director now spearheading the M+ project who sees it becoming the next Guggenheim Bilbao or Tate Modern; a “game-changing” art space with global appeal. Sigg said his decision was motivated by a desire to freely showcase what has been called an “encyclopedic” collection of sometimes edgy and subversive artworks from 350 of China’s leading contemporary artists including activist Ai Weiwei, in a city where freedom of expression is more fully enshrined than on mainland China where sensitive art is still heavily censored.

“My expectation is that these limitations (in China) do not exist in this way in Hong Kong,” said Sigg, who was also considering donating his works to other Chinese cities and those in Europe. “To me it’s very important that a Chinese public can ultimately get access to these works. (There are) still limitations that exist in mainland China for that.”

Under the deal, Sigg, a former Swiss ambassador in Beijing, will donate most of his collection, while 47 pieces will be acquired by the M+ for HK$177 million.

His works include those from China’s stable of increasingly prominent art luminaries Zhang Xiaogang,Wang Guangyi.

On display at the announcement was a brusque wood carving

byWang Keping of a head with a chained and muzzled mouth from the 70s. An architectural design competition for M+ is slated later this year with the artspace expected to open in 2017. Hong Kong authorities have approved HK$21.6 billion

($2.78 billion) in endowments for the West Kowloon Cultural District with a vision of making Hong Kong “an integrated arts and cultural district with world-class arts and cultural facilities”. -Reuters

Dr Uli Sigg of Switzerland poses in front of an art piece by Chinese artist Wang Keping created in 1979, of a wooden sculpture titled “Chain”, in Hong Kong June 12, 2012. (Reuters)

10

ALWATAN DAILY

ENTERTAINMENT

Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: When Our Tune Is Played Artist: Silje Nergaard Album: Unclouded Genre: Jazz/Folk In short: The aptly titled Unclouded sees Silje Nergaard relieving herself of her worries track by track over mellow strings; “When Our Tune Is Played” is a melancholic number powered by Nergaard’s dreamy voice and earnest delivery.

To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz Czech supermodel Nemcova named envoy for Haiti Supermodel Petra Nemcova has been named ambassador at large for Haiti because of the charity work she’s done through her nonprofit group the Happy Hearts Fund. The Czech Republic citizen received the honor at a private ceremony at Haiti’s National Palace on Friday with President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe. Her appointment was announced Monday by the Happy Hearts Fund. Nemcova joins Hollywood actor Sean Penn and hiphop musician Wyclef Jean, who carry the same title to promote Haiti to the outside world. The Happy Hearts Fund was created several months after Nemcova barely survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. -AP

Live! With Kelly launches co-host search For those of you who think you’re up to filling Regis Philbin’s big, big shoes as co-host of “Live!” you may soon have your chance to find out if you’re up to snuff. Syndicated morning staple “Live! With Kelly” launched a nationwide search for a co-host on the talk show, albeit just for one day. Beginning Monday, those with an eye toward capturing Philbin’s throne can submit video entries showcasing their hosting skills either by mail, or online. The deadline to enter is June 29, with the top 10 semi-finalists being announced on July 9.

Of those, the “Live!” audience will choose the top 5 finalists, which will be announced on July 11. The five finalists will travel to New York during the week of June 16 to try out for the gig, with the final victor taking the stage to co-host with Kelly Ripa on July 24. Philbin stepped down from “Live!” in January 2011, ending a decades-long run on the show.

-Reuters

Showtime picks up Liev Schreiber, Michael Sheen dramas Liev Schreiber and Michael Sheen will be hanging out at Showtime for a while. The network has given series orders to Schreiber’s “Ray Donovan” and Sheen’s “Masters of Sex,” the network said Monday. Both series have been given the greenlight for 12 one-hour episodes and will film in Los Angeles for a 2013 premiere. “’Ray Donovan’ and ‘Masters of Sex,’ each in their own distinctive ways, represent the caliber of programming we want to bring to our subscribers,” Showtime Networks’ president of entertainment David Nevins said. “Both series are ambitious and expansive, and feature great writing and great acting.” “Ray Donovan” stars Schreiber in the title role as Los Angeles’ top “trouble shooter,” who solves sticky problems for the city’s elite, but can’t seem to make the problems of his own damaged, Bostonbred family disappear. Jon Voight and Elliot Gould also star.

“Masters of Sex” stars Sheen as pioneering sex researcher William Masters, who set the ground for the sexual revolution and gained celebrity with his study of human sexuality.

Based on the Thomas Maier’s book “Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, The Couple Who Taught America How To Love,” the series also stars Lizzy Caplan as Masters’ wife and research partner, Virginia Johnson. -Reuters

Joy Behar joining Current TV with a new talk show Joy Behar is joining Current TV as the host of a prime-time talk show. Behar’s nightly program on cable channel HLN ended in December. Current TV announced Monday that Behar’s new talk show will begin in September and will air Monday through Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern time. Next week she will guest anchor former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s show while he is on vacation. Behar remains on “The View,” the daytime ABC show where she has been a fixture since its debut 15 years ago. The left-leaning Current cable network is co-founded by Al Gore. -AP

Usher, 2 Chainz, Big Sean to perform at BET Awards If video-of-the-year nominee Usher wins at the BET Awards this summer, he won’t be far away: He’s agreed to perform at the show. Rappers 2 Chainz and Big Sean also will take the stage at The Shrine Auditorium on July 1 in Los Angeles. They join previously announced performers Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown. Comedians Kevin Hart and Cedric the Entertainer will present awards. Samuel L. Jackson will host. Kanye West has the most nominations with seven. Beyonce follows with six, and her husband Jay-Z, is up for five. Usher’s competition for the top award includes two collaborative songs by Jay-Z and West, and two songs by Beyonce. Lil Wayne, Drake and J. Cole also have multiple nominations. The show airs at 8 p.m. EST on BET. -AP

WEDNESday, JUNE 13, 2012

Gone With the Wind actress Ann Rutherford dies

LOS ANGELES: Ann Rutherford, the demure brunette actress who played the sweetheart in the long-running Andy Hardy series and Scarlett O’Hara’s youngest sister in “Gone With the Wind,” has died. She was 94.

A close friend, actress Anne Jeffreys, tells the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/MEPubi) that Rutherford died Monday night at her home in Beverly Hills. She had heart problems and was in declining health.

The Andy Hardy series, a hugely popular string of comical, sentimental films, starred Lewis Stone as a small-town judge and Mickey Rooney as his spirited teenage son.

Rutherford first appeared in the second film of the series, “You’re Only Young Once,” in 1938, and she went on 11 more.

She played Polly Benedict, the ever-faithful girlfriend that Andy always returned to, no matter what other, more glamorous girl had temporarily caught his eye. (Among the other girls: Judy Garland and Lana Turner.)

It was said she won the part of Carreen - the youngest of the three O’Hara sisters in “Gone With the Wind” - because Judy Garland was filming “The Wizard of Oz.” Rutherford told the Times in 2010 that MGM head Louis B. Mayer was going to refuse her the role, calling it “a nothing part.” But Rutherford, who was a fan of the novel, uncharacteristically burst into tears and he relented.

Rutherford plays the sister who, early in the film, begs to be allowed to go to the ball at Ashley Wilkes’ plantation. “Oh, Mother, can’t I stay up for the ball tomorrow? ... I’m 13 now,” she says in a sweet voice.

In 1989, she was one of 10 surviving “GWTW” cast members who gathered in Atlanta for the celebration of the film’s 50th anniversary.

“Anyone who had read the book sensed they were into something that would belong to the ages, and everyone was in a frenzy to read the book,” she said.

“The specialness of this is with each generation of young people who are touched by `Gone With the Wind,’” she said.

“As long as there are little children, there will always be a Mickey Mouse. ... On an adult version, `Gone With the Wind’ does that.”

Rutherford concurred with other cast members that no matter what else they had done, “Our obituary will say we were in `Gone With the Wind’ and we’ll be proud of it.”

FILE - This Nov. 5, 1971 file photo shows actress Ann Rutherford in New York. (AP)

Rutherford was born in 1917, according to the voter records reviewed by The Associated Press. Some sources give other dates. The daughter of an opera tenor and an actress, she began performing on the stage as a child.

She launched her movie career in Westerns while still in her teens, often appearing with singing cowboy hero Gene Autry and sometimes with John Wayne.

She joined MGM in 1937, playing a variety of roles for several years before leaving the studio to freelance.

Among her other films: “Whistling in the Dark,” with Red Skelton, 1941, and its two sequels, “Whistling in Dixie” and “Whistling in Brooklyn”; “Orchestra Wives,” with bandleader Glenn Miller, 1942; and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” with Danny Kaye, 1947.

She largely retired from the screen in 1950, but appeared in a couple of films in the 1970s, “They Only Kill Their Masters,” 1972, and “Won Ton Ton - The Dog Who Saved Hollywood,” 1976. -AP

Used celebrity to market oil cleaners: Baldwin

NEW ORLEANS: Stephen Baldwin testified Monday that no one asked him to invest any capital or join Kevin Costner in lobbying BP to use oil cleanup devices that the two actors were touting in the aftermath of the 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

But Baldwin said he used his celebrity to market and promote the oil-separating centrifuges while he also worked on a documentary about the nation’s worst offshore oil spill. “When you’re famous, it opens doors and things like that,” said Baldwin, the youngest brother of fellow actor Alec Baldwin.

Baldwin and friend Spyridon Contogouris sued Costner and business partner Patrick Smith, claiming they were duped into selling their shares of the company that marketed the devices to BP and were cheated out of millions of dollars.

Baldwin, who received $500,000 for his shares, said he would have held out for much more if he had known the company had agreed to make an $18 million deposit on a $52 million order for 32 centrifuges.

Baldwin said he could have drummed

up money to invest in their company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, if his partners had asked him, even though he was mired in bankruptcy proceedings at the time.

“I could have asked my big brother,” Baldwin said.

On Friday, Costner said he never saw Baldwin contribute anything to the company and wondered what Baldwin was doing to help. Costner also recalled that Ocean Therapy Solutions CEO John Houghtaling had begged Baldwin and Contogouris not to sell their shares shortly before BP committed to buying the devices.

Baldwin described himself as a “door opener” for Houghtaling who gave radio and television interviews about the centrifuge technology in the weeks after the spill. Baldwin also recalled meeting with Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser to discuss the machines.

“My job was to market and promote,” Baldwin said. “I had no responsibilities relevant to getting the devices in the water.”

Like Costner, Baldwin said his primary interest in the deal was helping protect the coast from the spill.

“I wanted the machines to work,” he said. “Make some money? Great. Not my first motivation.”

Baldwin, whose testimony resumes Tuesday, said he had offered to give up 5 percent of his ownership stake in Ocean Therapy Solutions to appease Costner when the business partners first negotiated their ownership interests in the fledgling company. Costner had felt “undervalued” and appeared to be in a bad mood when the terms were first discussed, Baldwin recalled.

Baldwin and Contogouris claim they were deliberately excluded from a June 2010 dinner meeting at which BP executive Doug Suttles committed to ordering the centrifuges. Baldwin said he relied on Contogouris’ advice when they sold their shares in the aftermath of that meeting. “I trusted him unequivocally,” he said, insisting he had no reason to believe a deal was imminent.

A lawyer for Smith asked Baldwin why he believed $500,000 was a fair return on his shares. “Spyro told me it was,” Baldwin said. -AP

The Band Perry builds global fan base at CMA Fest

NASHVILLE: The Band Perry is working to build an international fan base.

They’ve played shows overseas and have more coming up. But at CMA Music Festival last week, roles were reversed as fans from around the world flocked to their hometown of Nashville.

“We’ve seen people from Germany, Scandinavia, the UK,” said Reid Perry, before signing autographs at Fan Fair Hall.

“So it’s like Nashville is the center of the world for a week.”

CMA Fest set a new attendance record this year, with 71,000 fans showing up each day. Attendees came from all 50 states and two dozen countries, including Australia, Chile, China, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, South Africa and several places in Europe.

“It’s a big goal of ours to try and win the international heart this year,” lead singer Kimberly Perry said. “We’ve been over to the UK now twice this year and are headed back over to Europe two more times, once with (Brad) Paisley and once to do a string of our own shows. So it’s really exciting to know that country music has footprints across an ocean.”

The sibling trio is working on a follow up to the band’s self-titled, platinum album, featuring the No. 1 hit “If I Die Young.” They are also promoting their single, “Postcard From Paris.” This year marked their third CMA Fest as artists and the second time they were asked to play the big stage at LP Field.

With most major country stars in town for CMA Fest, The Band Perry also got to see some of their own favorite artists. “We are like the biggest fans,” said Kimberly.

“We are fans first and foremost. I got Blake Shelton’s autograph.”

FILE - In this June 6, 2012 file photo, from left, Neil Perry, Kimberly Perry and Reid Perry of The Band Perry perform at the 2012 CMT Music Awards, in Nashville, Tenn.

(AP)

“I took a picture with Glen Campbell,” added Neil Perry. “So, we would love to wait in those signing lines, too,” said Kimberly with a smile.

If only they had the time.

The group is on Brad Paisley’s Virtual Reality tour and also has other gigs planned this summer. -AP

Green Acres actor Frank Cady dies at 96

LOS ANGELES: Frank Cady, who played rural merchant Sam Drucker on the ‘60s series “Green Acres,” has moved on to the great general store in the sky.

Cady’s daughter, Catherine Turk, told the Los Angeles Times that Cady died at his Wilsonville, Ore. home on Friday at the age of 96.

Turk did not offer a cause of death.

Cady, who had played Drucker throughout “Green Acres”’ 1965 to 1971 run on CBS, as well as on “Petticoat Junction” and “The Beverly Hillbillies,” reprised the role once more in the 1990 made-for-television movie “Return to Green Acres.”

Born in Susanville, Calif., Cady studied journalism and drama at Stanford University before serving an apprenticeship at London’s Westminster Theater, where he appeared in four plays. It was in England that Cady made an early television appearance, on the BBC in 1938.

After returning to Stanford to pursue graduate studies, Cady abandoned the academic life to become an announcer and news broadcaster at several radio stations in California. However, he set aside his show-business career to join the US Air Force, serving overseas during World War II. In addition to his portrayal of Sam Drucker, Cady also had a recurring role on “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” as Doc Williams, and appeared in numerous television shows and movies throughout his career, including “Maverick,” “Rear Window” and “Eight Is Enough.” -Reuters

Tracie Bennett unaffected by Garland fan criticism NEW YORK: Playing Judy Garland doesn’t come without the occasional criticism, but Tracie Bennett seems to take it all in stride. The actress portrays the legendary singer on Broadway in “End of the Rainbow.”

The Tony Award-nominated Bennett, who on Sunday lost out on the trophy for best lead actress in a play to Nina Arianda, said she understands the protectiveness that Garland fans have. “It’s fabulous,” she said.

Last week, the New York Post reported that a fan accused the actress of lip-syncing during the performance. But that doesn’t affect Bennett, who said she knew what she was getting herself into when she accepted the part. “I’ve approached the piece not thinking if they loved it or hated,” Bennett said on the red carpet before the show. Sunday marked what would have been Garland’s 90th birthday. Overall, she said, the Broadway audience has embraced the show like the ones did in London: “They stand up. They cheer.

They move.” Her co-star, and fellow Tony nominee, Michael Cumpsty, said the show leaves most people cheering, but is not surprised by a little controversy. “Judy Garland pulls out these amazingly subjective visceral responses from people. And we have people coming who are in love with what we’re doing and think that Tracie is Judy Garland,” he said. “And we have people that think Tracie is not Judy Garland. It’s very bizarre and very subjective.” Bennett said her friends have sent her some of the nasty comments on Twitter. “I will take criticism quite well,” she says. -AP

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, june 13, 2012

11

Basketball

LeBron vs Durant, Heat vs Thunder, in NBA finals OKLAHOMA CITY: LeBron James versus Kevin Durant. It is the story of these NBA finals. Except to the guys who share the top billing. One of them will emerge with his first championship and probably the title of best player in the game. It could be James, the three-time MVP. Or it might be Durant, the league’s scoring champion the last three years. All they know is whoever it is won’t have done it alone. “Everybody is going to make the most out of the matchup of me versus LeBron, but it’s the Thunder versus the Heat,” Durant said Monday. “One guy versus another guy, it’s not going to be a 1-on-1 matchup to win the series, it’s going to be all about the team.”

Maybe, but it’s easy to get caught up in their individual brilliance. It’s the first time the MVP and scoring champ have met in the finals since 1997, when Michael Jordan’s Bulls knocked off MVP Karl Malone and Utah.

They are friends and workout partners, play the same small forward position and are blessed with unlimited basketball talent. After years of waiting on a James-Kobe Bryant finals matchup that never materialized, the league gets one starting Tuesday that’s perhaps even better, if not quite as sexy, to wrap up a successful season after the lockout.

“It’s great for the NBA,” Miami’s Shane Battier said. “I anticipate record ratings, which is great, so maybe we can get some of the escrow check back from the owners. First and foremost, that’s why I’m excited to see Kevin Durant versus LeBron James. But selfish reasons aside, it’s just a great matchup.

“There’s so many young, great players in this league and established players and All-Stars. If you’re a basketball fan, you’re missing out if you’re not watching this series.”

Both have sworn off Twitter, at least for the time being, James posted his last message on April 27 and Durant on May 1. For now, KingJames and KDTrey5 will stick to making their statements on the court.

“Kevin is locked in on what he needs to do to help the

team win,” Thunder All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook said. “It’s going to be a great series for both teams and hopefully we can come out with the win.”

James is back for a third crack at his first championship, his Cleveland Cavaliers swept aside by San Antonio in 2007 just a couple of weeks before Durant was drafted by the then-Seattle SuperSonics with the No. 2 pick in the draft.

James fell short again last year in his first season with Miami, then carried the Heat to another chance with victories in the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics, starting with a sensational, 45-point, 15rebound Game 6 performance in Boston.

“You know, third time in the finals in nine years, there’s a lot of guys who don’t get there once,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. “Of course, that right there in itself is an honor.

But you want to win one. You want to get there and win one.

Obviously, LeBron wants to win a championship. I can’t say that he wants to win more than the next man, than anybody on OKC. I can’t say that. But obviously he wants to win and get another opportunity. I’m sure he will try to seize it a little bit better than he did the first two times.”

A disappointment last year in the Heat’s six-game loss to Dallas, James has said he’s been in a better frame of mind this season and is looking forward making up for his previous failure.

“I didn’t play well. I didn’t make enough game-changing plays that I know I’m capable of making and I felt like I let my teammates down,” he said. “I’m happy and I’m humbled that I can actually be back in this position less than 12 months later to do a better job of making more plays, more game-changing plays out on the floor on a bigger stage. So we’ll see what happens.” Though their core of Durant, Westbrook, sixth man of the year James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all 23 or younger, the Thunder enter as the favorites in their first finals appearance since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008. -AP

Tennis

Miami Heat small forward LeBron James warms up during practice, Monday, June 11, 2012. (AP)

Cricket

Granollers beats Zverev to advance at Halle Knee problems rule Herath out of rest of ODI series HALLE, Germany: Sixth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain defeated Mischa Zverev of Germany 6-4, 6-2 Tuesday to reach the second round of the Gerry Weber Open. The 26-year-old Granollers overcame resistance from the Russian-born Zverev, who is ranked 190.

Zverev held his serve and saved six break points before Granollers finally broke him in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead to take the first set. The 22nd-ranked Spaniard broke the German twice in the second to wrap up the match.

Seventh-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy will play-

ing Radek Stepanekof the Czech Republic in the first round of the grass court tournament later Tuesday.

Germany’s Florian Mayer beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek to advance to the second round and play against Roger Federer on Wednesday.

The same day, Rafael Nadal will open against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, who beat Konstantin Kravchuk of Russia 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the first round.

Nadal won a record seventh French Open championship on Monday after defeating top-ranked Novak Djokovic at Rolland Garros. -AP

Hewitt and Razzano given wild cards for Wimbledon

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has been ruled out of the remainder of the five-match one-day cricket series against Pakistan because of continuing problems with his knees.

Herath had keyhole surgery on his knees after the home series against England in February and was fit enough to play in the first two ODIs against Pakistan in Pallakele.

However during the second ODI, which Sri Lanka won by 76 runs to level the series one-all, Herath struggled with his fielding although he bowled his full quota of 10 overs and conceded only 37 runs. “Bowling was no problem but he was struggling a little bit while fielding,” said captain Mahela Jayawardene. “After speaking to the selectors and the medical guys we felt that it’s best that he gets some rest before the test series because playing three tests is going to be a long series for him.” Herath will be replaced by another left-arm spinner, Sajeewa Weerakoon, who will make his ODI debut at the age of 34.

“Sajeewa’s been around for quite some time in our domestic cricket and he’s got a lot of experience,” said Jayawar-

dene.

“He’s one of those guys who never gives up, a brilliant fighter with lots of experience in local club and league cricket in England, a lot of tours under his belt

with the Sri Lanka A team. He’s a brilliant guy to have in the squad and he deserves his break.”

The third ODI is in Colombo on Wednesday. -Reuters

Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath bowls during a practice session ahead of their first One Day International (ODI) cricket match against Pakistan, in Pallekle June 6, 2012.

(Reuters)

Former test opener Katich quits Australian cricket

FILE- US Lleyton Hewitt hits a return to Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic during their Men’s Singles 1st Round tennis match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, on May 28, 2012. (AFP)

SYDNEY: Simon Katich is retiring from Australian first class cricket to spend more time with his family, the former test opener announced on Tuesday. The 36year-old, who scored 4,188 runs in 56 test at an average of 45.03, was at the centre of a major row last June when he was dumped by Cricket Australia from the list of centrally contracted players.

Katich, who scored 10 test centuries for his country, in part blamed bad blood emanating from a 2009 dressing room confrontation with Michael Clarke, who was made captain last March, for his omission. The gritty lefthander was reprimanded for those comments in De-

cember and played no part in Australia’s drawn series against New Zealand and whitewash of India in the domestic summer. Katich, who also played 45 one-day matches for Australia, conceded last year that his international career was over and in October gave up the captaincy of New South Wales.

“Simon Katich wishes to advise that he has decided to retire from first class cricket in Australia,” read a statement from England where Katich is playing country cricket with Hampshire.

“With a young family and a desire for an extended time at home, Simon has decided it is time to reassess his priorities.”

Katich scored 5,309 runs at an average of 61.73 in 10 seasons with New South Wales after moving to Sydney from his native Western Australia.

“Simon’s contribution to New South Wales cricket was quite simply outstanding,” said Cricket New South Wales chief Harry Harinath.

“In his 10 years with our state he brought a passion, dedication and commitment that was admired by everybody.

“Not only was he a superb batsman, with a state and international record to rival the best, but he was a brilliant leader who was respected by all that played with him.” -Reuters

Olympics

Portugal sprinter Obikwelu in doubt for Olympics LISBON: Portuguese sprinter Francis Obikwelu injured a muscle in his right leg and will be out of action for between four and six weeks, putting him in doubt for the London Olympic Games, his club said on Tuesday.

“Obikwelu’s participation in the London Games is dependent on the way and on how fast he recovers from the injury,”

FILE- France’s Virginie Razzano hits a return to Netherlands’ Arantxa Rus during their Women’s Singles 2nd Round tennis match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, on May 31, 2012.

(AFP)

LONDON: Former champion Lleyton Hewitt and Belgium’s David Goffin, the lucky loser who took a set off Roger Federer at the French Open, have been given wild cards for this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships. Virginie Razzano, the Frenchwoman who beat Serena Williams in the first round in Paris, received one of the women’s eight wild cards as did Kazakhstan

qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova who reached the French quarter-finals after ousting champion Li Na. Australian Hewitt, now 31, won the men’s title at Wimbledon in 2002.

Four low-ranked Britons received automatic entries to the men’s and women’s singles draws for the grasscourt tournament which starts on June 25. -Reuters

FILE- Dwain Chambers of Britain (2nd left) competes against Marlon Devonish of Britain (right), Wallace Spearmon of the USA (2nd right) and Francis Obikwelu of Portugal (left) during the mens 150m during the Great City games in Manchester, northwest England on May 20, 2012. (AFP)

Sporting said in a statement.

Nigeria-born Obikwelu, 33, holds the European 100 meters record and clocked 9.86 seconds when he took the silver behind Justin Gatlin at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

The sprinter’s woes come after a series of injuries affecting Portugal’s highprofile athletes which have generated

concerns about the chances of the country’s Olympic team winning medals in July and August.

Portugal will be without both its Beijing medalists after 2008 Olympic triathlon silver medalist Vanessa Fernandes ruled herself out and triple jump champion Nelson Evora suffered a leg injury.

-Reuters

SPORTS

Football Poland 1

VS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012

Greece 1

Russia 1

Poland hold Russia to stay in Euro hunt

VS

Czech 2

Czech Republic beats Greece 2-1 at Euro 2012 WROCLAW, Poland: The Czech Republic kept alive their hopes of reaching the Euro 2012 quarter-finals as they beat Greece 2-1 in their Group A clash here on Tuesday.

Victory not only took the Czechs onto three points with a game to come against co-hosts Poland but was also revenge for their defeat by the Greeks in the Euro 2004 semi-finals.

The Greeks - who went on to win the Euro 2004 title are stuck on just a point with Russia, who beat the Czechs 4-1 in their opener, to come. The Czechs made a dream start scoring twice in the opening six minutes with Jiri Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar scoring. Greece threatened to get back into the match seven minutes into the second-half when Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech spilled the ball straight to Fanis Gekas and he tucked the ball away.

The Czechs made a dream start as they took advantage of the out of sorts second choice Greek center back pairing of Kostas Katsouranis and Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who had replaced the injured Avraam Padadopoulos and the suspended Socratis Papastathopoulos.

First Jiracek was picked out in the third minute by Thomas Hubschman with a superb ball over the top which the

Wolfsburg dynamo ran on to and fired in a shot that gave Greek ‘keeper Costas Chalkias no chance.

Chalkias was at fault for the second goal three minutes later as he failed to cut out Theo Gebre Selassie’s ball from the byline and with the two Greek central defenders slow to react Pilar slid in to put the ball in the net for his second goal of the tournament.

Chalkias’s unhappy afternoon ended prematurely when he had to go off injured in the 22nd minute and was replaced

by Michalis Sapikis.

Sapikis proved himself, though, as he made two fine stops in the first-half from Rosicky and Jiracek.

However, the second-half got off in the worst possible manner with Rosicky failing to appear as he was found to be suffering from an apparent Achilles tendon injury.

The Greeks heartened by the loss of the Czechs most influential player pressed for a goal.

They were rewarded when there was a rare error by Cech as he collided with Tomas Sivok going for a cross spilled the ball and Fanis Gekas was on hand to gratefully tuck the ball into the net.

Polish midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski (left) vies with Russian defender Sergey Ignashevich during the Euro 2012 championships football match Poland vs Russia on June 12, 2012. (AFP)

WARSAW: Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland kept their chances of a quarter-finals berth alive on Tuesday after drawing 1-1 with Russia, putting on ice their opponents’ hopes of clinching the first slot in the knock-out phase. The Poles, needing to take at least a point from the Group A match in the wake of their 1-1 tournament opener against Greece on Friday, were keenly aware of Russia’s high-octane 4-1 performance against the Czech Republic the same night.

In what may be the most politically-charged fixture of the tournament, Poland looked the hungrier team in the first half, launching a series of convincing attacks on the Russian goal.

But they failed to capitalize on earlier chances including a slicing free kick in the seventh minute

by Ludovic Obraniak, newly positioned as a left-side midfielder, with Sebastian Boenisch’s attempt saved by Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Hard work appeared to have paid off when Eugen Polanski moved onto a through ball from lone striker Robert Lewandowski, who scored against the Greeks, and fired past Malafeev. But fans and the Polish bench swung from ecstasy to misery when his 18thminute shot was ruled offside.

A resurgent Russia picked up the pace, with captain Andrey Arshavin crossing in the 25th minute to fellow member of their striking triumvirate Aleksandr Kerzhakov, only for him to miss the target.

Polish keeper Przeymslaw Tyton - whose penaltysaving heroics after he came on as a substitute for redcarded first choice Wojciech Szczesny helped avoid a Polish defeat to Greece - saved a free kick from Ar-

shavin a minute later.

Russia’s efforts bore fruit in the 37th minute when rising star Alan Dzagoev, who notched up a double against the Czechs, latched onto an in-swinging Arshavin free kick to open the scoring.

Poland, who were criticized for losing pace against Greece in the second half and throwing away their lead, returned from the dressing room keen to harry the Russians.

While they appeared tired, they battled hard, and finally equalized in the 57th minute when captain Kuba Blaszczykowski picked up a cross from Obraniak and fired home a left-footed pile-driver. There were nervous moments for both sides in the remainder of the half, with the noise levels rising in Warsaw’s brand-new National Stadium. Blaszczykowski, who along with Lewandowski and defender Lukasz Piszczek has enjoyed a stellar season at German double winners Borussia Dortmund, was named man of the match.

Sporting encounters between Poland and Russia are often high pressure, as they feed into centuries of antipathy between the two nations, and the rivalry in the stadium’s terraces was palpable from the start of the match. Tensions had risen in Warsaw beforehand, as police made dozens of arrests and used water canons to halt brawls between fans from both camps.

With the Czech Republic having beaten Greece 2-1 earlier on Tuesday, Russia top Group A on four points after two rounds of action with the Czechs second on three points, Poland third on two and Greece fourth on one. Russia wrap up their group matches against Greece on Saturday, when Poland face the Czechs. – AFP

Americans take on Guatemala in qualifier

Greek forward Giorgios Samaras (left) fights for the ball with Czech defender Tomas Sivok during the Euro 2012 championships football match Greece vs Czech Republic on June 12, 2012. (AFP)

Nasri keeps low profile at France training KIRCHA: Man of the moment Samir Nasri kept a low profile as he arrived for France training at their Kircha training base here on Tuesday.

The Manchester City midfielder claimed a fine equalizer to earn France a 1-1 draw with England in their Euro 2012 opener on Monday.

However, he sparked controversy by celebrating with a provocative ‘shushing’ gesture and mouthing the words ‘shut your face’ at a L’Equipe journalist because he said his sick mother had been hurt reading criticism of him in the paper.

He was at the back of the group of players who made their way to the pitches at France’s well-appointed base, which is the training centre for reigning Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

Beneath hazy early evening sunshine and amid stifling temperatures, Nasri and the other members of the team that started the match against England set off for a jog around the complex before returning to complete a set of sprints.

The remaining squad members, clad in red and yellow fluorescent bibs, took part in a series of possession exercises and fitness drills before a small-sided game on a reduced pitch.

All 23 squad members participated in the session, including former injury victims Yann M’Vila and Blaise Matuidi. France’s next match is on Friday against co-hosts Ukraine, who asserted control of Group D on Monday by beating Sweden 2-1 in their opening match in Kiev. -AFP

French midfielder Samir Nasri shoots to score during the Euro 2012 championships football match France vs England on June 11, 2012. (AFP)

Australia, Japan draw 1-1 in World Cup qualifier United States players jog during training session in Guatemala City Monday June 11, 2012. (AP)

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala: Central America or Europe, it doesn’t matter. World Cup qualifiers are tough. Ask Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the US team that plays Guatemala in its second CONCACAF group qualifying match Tuesday night. “It’s a global game.

Wherever in the world you want to qualify for the World Cup, you go through different stages and different places,” said Klinsmann, who starred as a player for Germany, winning a world championship, and also coaching his nation to third place in the 2006 tournament. “I’m very happy to be in Guatemala and have that opportunity tomorrow with our team to play here and experience the atmosphere here.

“The players are aware of the difficulties playing in a game like this, but they are also very, very focused and confident to get the points we need in order to get to the next round and to Brazil in 2014.”

The Americans come off a 3-1 home victory over Antigua and Barbuda, probably the weakest team in the group. Guatemala lost 2-1 at Jamaica. The top two teams from each of three divisions will advance to the CONCACAF finals, with the top three from that round advancing to Brazil 2014.

While the United States was peppering its opponent with shots in Saturday’s opener, its marksmanship was a bit off. That might be a problem against Guatemala, mainly because this is a road game. “So far I’ve really enjoyed what happens here in CONCACAF, playing all the different teams I hadn’t experienced yet as a coach,” Klinsmann said Monday night. “It’s normal that you adjust and you adapt to where you go.”

Central American opponents traditionally test the United States, particularly Costa Rica and Honduras.

But Guatemala has not been so imposing. Since losing the first four matches of their series, which began in 1977, the Americans are 12-0-5, including 6-0-4 in World Cup qualifiers. In nine matches in Guatemala, the US is 2-4-3 overall, but take away those first four losses, all on the road, and the Americans have done extremely well.

In their past eight matches with Guatemala, the Americans are 6-0-2 and have not allowed a goal while scoring 11. Their most recent meeting was a 2-0 US victory in 2008 in Commerce City, Colo. Since beating Antigua and Barbuda, Klinsmann and his players have studied the Guatemalans. “We certainly watched Guatemala’s last game with Jamaica and other games they’ve played before and we are aware of their strengths, their team and their players and the way they play,” Klinsmann said. “They were a little bit unlucky in Jamaica conceding that first goal. “At the end of the day, tomorrow night is a completely different game. It’s a new game that starts 0-0.”

Injuries have forced the Americans to adjust their defense, with midfielder Jose Torres moving to the backline in the opener. The main adjustment on offense must be more precise finishing, and the United States should have the players to do so in Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley and Herculez Gomez.

“We are here to get a positive result and we’re here to win,” Klinsmann said. “We have a lot of respect for Guatemala and we know they’re a very passionate team. They will give everything they have. It will be a fight, which is normal. It’s for World Cup qualifying points and we’re prepared for it.” -AP

BRISBANE, Australia: Luke Wilkshire’s 70th-minute penalty allowed 10-man Australia to salvage a 1-1 draw against Japan on Tuesday in a battle of the Asian heavyweights in World Cup qualifying. Australia played a man down after substitute Mark Milligan was ejected in

the 55th minute, and Japan capitalized 10 minutes later when Keisuke Honda dribbled along the byline and crossed perfectly for Yuzo Kurihara to tap in.

Wilkshire equalized five minutes later after Saudi referee Khalil Al Ghamdi awarded a contentious penalty against

Atsuto Uchida for pulling back Alex Brosque on the goal line as Australia took a corner.

Japan, which also had a man sent off in the 89th minute, leads group B with seven points from three matches. Australia has drawn its opening two matches. -AP

Australia’s Lucas Neill (left) heads the ball during their 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer match against Japan in Brisbane June 12, 2012.

(Reuters)