June 20, 2012 by Al Watan Daily

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1467

12 PAGES

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US plans significant military presence in Kuwait

WASHINGTON: The United States is planning a significant military presence of 13,500 troops in Kuwait to give it the flexibility to respond to sudden conflicts in the region as Iraq adjusts to the withdrawal of American combat forces and the world nervously eyes Iran, according to a congressional report. The study by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee examined the US relationship with the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – against a fast-moving backdrop. In just the last two days, Saudi Arabia’s ruler named Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz as the country’s new crown prince after last week’s death of Prince Nayef, and Kuwait’s government suspended parliament meetings for a month over an internal political feud. The latest developments inject even more uncertainty as the Middle East deals with the demands of the Arab Spring, the end to US combat operations in Iraq at the end of 2011, fears of Iran’s nuclear program and the counterterrorism campaign. “Home to more than half of the world’s oil reserves and over a third of its natural gas, the stability of the

Arabian Gulf is critical to the global economy,” the report said. “However, the region faces a myriad of political and security challenges, from the Iranian nuclear program to the threat of terrorism to the political crisis in Bahrain.” The report, obtained by The Associated Press in advance of Tuesday’s release, provided precise numbers on US forces in Kuwait, a presence that Pentagon officials have only acknowledged on condition of anonymity. Currently, there are about 15,000 US forces in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Buehring, giving the United States staging hubs, training ranges and locations to provide logistical support. The report said the number of troops is likely to drop to 13,500. As it recalibrates its national security strategy, the United States is drawing down forces in Europe while focusing on other regions, such as the Middle East and Asia. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said he envisions about 40,000 troops stationed in the Middle East region after the withdrawal from Iraq. By comparison, a cut of two Army combat brigades and the withdrawal of

Egyptian ex-president Mubarak on life support

Government extend olive branch to Parliament

Staff Writers & Agencies

KUWAIT: The executive and legislative authorities held informal talks on Tuesday, as His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah paid a courtesy call on the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadun. It has been gathered that the meeting witnessed candid discussions where members of the Majority Bloc were blamed for causing the escalation and the deviation of the relationship between the executive and legislative authorities. Reports have emerged that the premier called on members of the majority, during the meeting, to desist from vengeance and escalation against ministers as well as imposing their tendencies on the government and other political persuasions within the Parliament. According to sources, the approach being pursued by the Majority Bloc had a adverse impact on the performance of ministers and the government’s overall functioning. The prime minister is said to have expressed readiness to lend a hand of cooperation with the Parliament where no authority encroaches on another, in accordance with Article 50 of the Constitution stipulating the separation of powers. It has been informed that the premier

two other smaller units will leave about 68,000 troops in Europe. During the 1990 Gulf War, some half a million US forces were in the Middle East region. The United States maintained about 5,000 troops in Kuwait from the end of the Gulf War to March 2003, when US and coalition forces invaded Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. The US-led invasion was in response to reports, later discredited, that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. The report also recommended that the United States promote the development of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League while strengthening bilateral links to the six countries; seek opportunities for burden-sharing on operations such as missile defense, combat air patrol and maritime security; and push for the integration of Iraq into the Arab fold. The report emphasized that the region is critical as a counterbalance to Iran, whose conventional military includes 350,000 ground forces, 1,800 tanks and more than 300 fighter aircraft. It also has ballistic missiles with the range to target regional allies, including Israel. -AP

stressed that the government does not shy away from interpellations, considering the fact that it is a constitutionally preserved right for MPs. He, however, reportedly stated that the government rejects turning the interpellation into a tool for vengeance. Sources have reported that His Highness the Prime Minister welcomed the idea of including members of the Majority or whom they deem fit in Cabinet, while urging them not to inflate the number of nominees. According to the sources, the premier asked the bloc to identify about four potential candidates for ministerial posts in order to strike a balance between the executive and the legislature. The Majority Bloc has been recently demanding the inclusion of nine of its members in Cabinet as a means of defusing political tension. In addition, the prime minister is reported to have called on all parties to turn the page on the past whereby the relationship between the government and Parliament is reviewed in order to temper the political atmosphere. Reportedly, he emphasized the need to place the interest of Kuwait above any consideration and to put an end to sensation and setting scores. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

CAIRO: Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for three decades until overthrown by last year, was on life support in hospital, military officials said on Tuesday, but they denied a report he was clinically dead. Earlier the state news agency, amid high tension over the election of a new president, quoted medical sources as saying the former head of state, aged 84, was “clinically dead”. That description was used also to Reuters by a hospital source. But three sources in the military and security services, which retain control following the revolt, said Mubarak was being kept alive and said they would not use the expression “clinically dead” to describe his condition. General Said Abbas, a member of the ruling military council, told Reuters, that Mubarak had suffered a stroke but added: “Any talk of him being clinically dead is nonsense.” Another military source said: “He is completely unconscious. He is using artificial respiration.” A security source also gave the same account and said: “It is still early to say that he is clinically dead.” The confusion over the state of health of the former leader came as his long-time opponents in the Muslim Brotherhood claimed victory over a candidate drawn from military elite in a presidential election held at the weekend. Results have not been published, and supporters of Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak’s former prime minister who was running against the Islamist Mohamed Morsy, said it was he who had won. State news agency MENA had earlier cited medical sources to say that Mubarak was clinically dead. His heart had stopped beating and could not be revived. Later, however, the agency, citing medical sources, said a medical team was still trying treat a blood clot on the brain, adding that he had not left the intensive care unit at Tora prison, where he had been held since being sentenced to life imprisonment on June 2 for his role in the deaths of protesters. -Reuters

Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies prime minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s increasingly assertive Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for office, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil during a crisis in relations with the United States. In April, it found Gilani guilty of contempt of court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against the president. “Since no appeal was filed (against the April 26 conviction) ... therefore Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani stands disqualified as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament)...,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in a packed courtroom. “He has also ceased to be the prime minister of Pakistan ... the office of the prime minister stands vacant.” But Fawad Chaudhry, a senior Gilani aide, said only parliament could dismiss the prime minister. While the decision is a big blow to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), More on 5 it is unlikely to lead to the fall of the unpopular government. Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, arrives at Oxford University in Oxford, England, Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Suu Kyi, who is on her ﬁrst overseas trip since 1988, has a long association with Britain, where she studied and lived for many years in Oxford with her late husband, Michael Aris, and their two sons, but she has not visited for 24 years. Many of those years were spent under house arrest in Myanmar. On Wednesday, Oxford University will present her with an honorary degree that it awarded in 1993 but that she was not free to collect. (AP)

19,817 run the risk of following the dodo, they said. At threat are 41 percent of amphibian species, 33 percent of reef-building corals, 25 percent of mammals, 20 percent of plants and 13 percent of birds, the update of the prestigious “Red List” said. Many are essential for humans, providing food and work and a gene pool for better crops and new medicines, it More on 8 said.

Shadowy Al-Qaeda-linked group claims Israel attack

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: A shadowy group claiming ties to Al-Qaeda said Tuesday that it carried out a deadly crossborder attack in Israel, the strongest evidence to date to back Israeli claims that the global terror network is operating on its doorstep. While the claim of responsibility, made in a video obtained by The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip, could not be independently verified, it was accompanied by a separate statement with additional details on the attack posted on a website affiliated with Al-Qaeda. In Monday’s attack, two gunmen infiltrated Israel from Egypt’s Sinai desert, killing a civilian worker who was part of a team building a border fence to prevent such attacks. The two gunmen were later killed by Israeli forces. The short video said the attack was carried out by the Mujahedeen Shura Council of Jerusalem, a murky group

that was formed in April. It identifies two men, one Egyptian and one Saudi, as the perpetrators of Monday’s attack. “Soon we will carry out a double suicide mission against the enemy troops on the Egyptian border with occupy Palestine today, Monday, June 18,” said the Saudi man. Later Tuesday, the group issued a statement on an Al-Qaeda-linked website saying the men targeted an Israeli patrol with a bomb, anti-tank rockets and gunfire. It said the attack was dedicated to “Sheik Mujhahid Osama bin Laden,” the Al-Qaeda founder who was assassinated by US troops last year. The Israeli military declined comment on the latest claims. Military officials have been warning for more than a year that Al-Qaeda is operating in the area. -AP

England 1

Ukraine 0

Sweden 2

France 0

MORE ON 12

Egypt’s Islamists to lead anti-military protest

Protesters are seen at a gate as police stand guard during a protest against military council outside Egypt’s parliament in Cairo June 19, 2012. (Reuters)

CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood is stepping up its campaign against an interim constitution declared by Egypt’s ruling military that curtails the powers of the next president, calling for protests Tuesday in Cairo and other cities. The protests mark the opening of the possible next chapter in Egypt’s turmoil - a power struggle between the Muslim Brotherhood, which claims its candidate won this weekend’s presidential runoff, and the generals, who have carved out for themselves a status as the ultimate rulers even after they nominally hand over authorities to the new president on by July 1. Brotherhood supporters are also protesting a court ruling last week that dissolved parliament, where the group was the largest bloc with just under half the seats. On Tuesday, a handful of lawmakers made symbolic attempts to enter parliament, but were met by a locked gate and a line of anti-riot soldiers on the other side. The court ruling has been endorsed by the military, whose leader, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, issued a decree dissolving the legislature. The Brotherhood and its Islamist allies dismissed the decree on the ground that the military ruler had no right to issue it less than two weeks before the scheduled transfer of power to civilians. Spokesmen for the campaign of Mohammed Morsi, the Brotherhood presidential candidate, said other political groups were expected to join Tuesday’s planned anti-military protests. Much others participate will be a key measure of whether the Islamist group can rally secular and leftist movements to its side. -AP

Asia, not North America, now has most millionaires

NEW YORK: Weakening economies that roiled markets last year also took their toll on the world’s rich, though faster-growing Asia for the first time had more millionaires than North America, according to a study released on Tuesday. A new report said the global personal wealth of people with $1 million and more to invest fell in 2011 for the second time in four years, reflecting the euro zone crisis and economic sluggishness in developed markets. But several emerging markets also felt pain, as the number of millionaires in India and Hong Kong fell by almost one-fifth.

And with Europe’s debt crisis still in full throttle, the outlook for wealth creation in 2012 remains dim, according to Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management’s latest world wealth report. The world’s population of millionaires grew by 0.8 percent to a record 11 million, according to the report, yet their collective wealth fell by 1.7 percent to $42 trillion. Every region except the Middle East saw declines in wealth. It was the first global drop in millionaire wealth since the 2008 financial crisis, when the ranks of the wealthy fell by 15 percent and their wealth contracted by 20 percent. -Reuters

A woman begs outside a bakery shop in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, Greece, on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. European leaders are locked in a ﬁerce debate over how to solve the debt crisis that is killing off growth on the continent, including whether to ease up on the terms of Greece’s bailout deal. (AP)

ALWATAN DAILY

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wednesday, JUNE 20, 2012

MPs head to Saudi Arabia for Prince Nayef funeral

Operations in Shuwaikh seaport on halt due to weather KUWAIT: Operation at the Shuwaikh seaport was put on a halt due to the dusty weather in Kuwait, said Kuwait Ports Authority (KPA) here Tuesday.

Head of Marine operations at KPA’s office in Shuwaikh port Sulaiman AlYahya told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the decrease in horizontal vision to

less than a nautical mile prompted the decision. Meanwhile, operations in Al-Shuaibah seaport are continuing as scheduled, according to an official statement. -KUNA

Ambassador examines Kuwait’s charity in Australia KUALA LUMPUR: Kuwaiti ambassador to Australia and New Zealand Khaled Al-Shibani has held talks with Chairman of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Hafez Kassem on issues related to Kuwait’s philanthropic activities. Al-Shibani told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) by telephone on Tuesday that the

discussions dealt with Kuwaiti charitable activities, support for Islamic associations in Australia within the framework of the approach to renounce fanaticism and extremism and back peaceful co-existence among diverse communities. The chairman of the council praised the paramount role of Kuwait in support of charities in

Australia and other nations. The ambassador also hailed efforts of the Muslim scholars in the nation, despite divergence of thoughts and doctrines. Australian government has recognized the Islamic federation, which builds schools for Muslim children, publishes magazines and releases. -KUNA

A number of MPs seen at Kuwait Airport heading to Saudi Arabia Tuesday, June 19, 2012. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: National Assembly members of Parliament (MPs) headed by Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun and deputy Khaled Al-Sultan travelled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to attend the funeral for Crown Prince Nayef bin Adbulaziz Al-Saud. Seeing off the delegation was State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and State Minister for Housing Shuaib Al-Muwaizri. Furthermore, National Security Chief Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah paid his respects at the Saudi Embassy Tuesday for the passing of the crown prince and deputy premier and interior minister Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Greeted by the Saudi Ambassador Dr. Abdulaziz

Al-Fayez, the official expressed his empathy with and condolences to the Saud family and Saudi people over this loss, and stressed the Kuwaiti people are just as grieved over this loss. He recalled the late prince’s support of Kuwaiti right during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait as well as his great contributions on all Arab and Islamic arenas and causes. “In his passing, we have lost a seasoned leader, politician, and strategist, and a main player in the Gulf security and anti-terrorism scene.” Charity work also lost a great champion, he added, and the prince shall long be remembered for his great generosity and humane stances and initiatives, the official remarked. -KUNA Kuwaiti Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand Khaled AlShibani with Chairman of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Hafez Kassem in a group photo Tuesday June 19, 2012. (KUNA)

First day of Ramadan July 21: Meteorologist KUWAIT: The lunar month of Ramadan is to begin on Saturday, July 21, Meteorologist Adel AlSaadoun, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Tuesday. The moon and the sun will link up at 7:24 a.m.

on Thursday, July 19, and both will not be visible at the same time. It will be impossible to sight the moon crescent on that day, thus the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan will fall on Saturday, July 21, Al-Saadoun said.

Kuwait’s supportive stance of Palestinian people extolled

Municipality to crack down on illegal land use KUWAIT: The Municipality is increasing inspections to crack down on illegal land use where there are expired permits or no permits at all, and the effort is gaining momentum ahead of the holy month of Ramadan and with people starting their summer vacations. Municipality chief Ahmad Al-Subih told reporters, Tuesday, inspectors are actively reporting illegal land uses and seizing goods that are not fit for consumption as well as tightening monitoring of establishments’ compliance with safety and hygiene regulations. Acting director of the Jahraa municipality

branch Sami Al-Seaidan said the inspectors are actively monitoring and reporting on conditions in the industrial area. The monitoring includes mobile canteens and regular cafes, and any violations such as polluting the surrounding area by discarding used fat and other substances is punishable by fine or even closure of the establishment involved. Head of the monitoring team for use of areas along highways Jamal Al-Fadhli meanwhile said the inspectors reported and filed 19 violations, took out 12 pledges of resolving violations, and posted 11 final notices on several establishments.” -KUNA

Public works ministry to apply new messaging system: Undersecretary

Mervat Abduldayem Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Undersecretary of Ministry of Public Works Engineer Abdulaziz Al-Kulaib affirmed that the ministry is keen to apply electronic messaging amongst the different state authorities as such step contributes in reducing the paperwork. The paperwork also increases bureaucracy and sometimes interrupts executing projects. He told Al-Watan that electronic messaging at the present time cannot be considered as a luxurious procedure because government authorities need to apply electronic systems including messaging. Furthermore, ministries can depend on this system to receive approvals for certain projects instead of wasting long time through sending and receiving the required approvals according

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

KUWAIT: President of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, Dr. Mustafa AlBarghouthi has praised Kuwait’s supportive stance to his people at all levels and throughout all international spectrums. This came during his meeting with President of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) Barjas Humoud Al-Barjas on Tuesday. Al-Barghouthi praised in a statement the great role played by the KRCS to provide assistance to the Palestinian people, adding that the society is proactive in these efforts. He stressed that the Kuwaiti aid is

among the “most important” and comes “at the right time” and that the KRCS has always been keen to assist Palestinians everywhere. The KRCS has undertaken various projects in Jerusalem, the West Bank, Qalqilya, Jenin, Tubas, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Gaza and other Palestinian cities, he said. Al-Barghouthi added that his visit is aimed at exchanging views and ideas with Al-Barjas, especially as the society is one of the pioneering ones on the international level and has a great role in response and assistance.

Kuwait, Vatican discuss boosting ties

to the conventional ways. Al-Kulaib said that the ministry also aims at endorsing this system amongst its departments and institutions to reduce depending on paperwork, adding that the electronic system enables officials to follow up electronic transactions easily. He noted that he was hoping to apply this system in the different ministries and departments as soon as possible as they are in dire need for them. He unveiled that the ministry of public works is ready to apply this system now especially that the new system can achieve transactions fast without committing errors. It also represents a step forward in protecting the environment by reducing the use of paper. Moreover, the new system is provided with distinguished security programs to keep all used information and documents safe.

VATICAN: Kuwait’s non-resident Ambassador to the Vatican Dr. Suhail Shuhaibar has met with Vatican’s Foreign Minister Dominique Mamberti, and discussed enhancing and expanding ties between both countries. Minister Mamberti affirmed during the meeting that the Vatican valued the 40-year-old relation with Kuwait, which was the first Gulf country that established diplomatic relations with the Vatican, ambassador Shuhaibar told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) in a statement, on Tuesday. The Vatican is keen on cementing further the strong relationship that culminated in the recent visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah to the Vatican and his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, the ambassador quoted the minister as saying during the meeting. Ambassador Shuhaibar stressed on significance of exchanging visits between top officials of both countries. He also listened to the view of minister Mamberti on regional developments, especially Syria’s crisis. Minister Mamberti asserted that the international community should stop the unacceptable bloodshed in Syria. -KUNA

Kuwait’s non-resident Ambassador to the Vatican Dr. Suhail Shuhaibar (left) with Vatican’s Foreign Minister Dominique Mamberti (right) Tuesday, June 19, 2012. (KUNA)

Government extend olive branch to Parliament

Sheikh Jaber is also known to have asked the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad AlSaadoun to set up a team comprised of MPs to liaise with the government, which will also form a taskforce. The two teams will hold regular meetings to coordinate on setting priorities. For his part, Minister of Information

Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said, Tuesday, the cabinet and the members of the National Assembly reached an agreement on bases to resolve crises in the relationship of the executive and legislative authorities and would increase meetings in the coming days. The minister also noted that the atmosphere was one that warrants much optimism and confidence in joint action in the future.

He stressed that the Palestinian Medical Relief Society was keen to cooperate with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society in the areas of humanitarian and medical expertise, praising its long-time experience in this area. For his part, Al-Barjas underscored the continued support of the Kuwaiti leadership and people to the Palestinian people at all levels and in all international forums. He added that Kuwait’s assistance to the Palestinian people confirm it is the first in helping the stricken Palestinians in the occupied territories. -KUNA

He said there is agreement to hold another meeting on the weekend, followed by meetings with ministers specifically involved in the matters being discussed. “Such direct discussion is a good sign, but there is still a need for a professional and practical framework,” he said, which is the focus of the next meeting. To a question whether it was agreed to postpone the interpellation of the minister of

interior, he said the issue was not discussed. The minister stressed all parties are partners and responsible for the welfare of the homeland, which is what inspired our constitution. This is also the spirit of the speech given by His Highness the Amir at the inauguration of the current legislative term, and God Willing, we shall prove up to the task. The premier was accompanied by the

Minister of Housing and the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, the Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah, the Minister of Education and the Acting Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf, the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Jamal Al-Shehab and the Minister of Communications Salem Al-Othaina. At least 11 members of the Majority Bloc also attended the meeting.

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UN to weigh mission in Syria, civilians trapped

Smoke rises from the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs June 19, 2012. After months of fierce military assaults and rebel ambushes in Homs, the centre of Syria’s 15-month-old revolt against President Bashar AlAssad has effectively become two cities. (Reuters)

Iran, world powers deadlocked at nuclear talks

MOSCOW: Iran and six world powers blamed each other for deadlock at talks on Tehran’s nuclear program on Tuesday as negotiators struggled for a breakthrough to reduce the risk of a new Middle East war. Late on the second and final day of talks in Moscow, diplomats said negotiators were still far from agreement on Iranian work which the United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain fear may be aimed at building nuclear arms. The six powers want Tehran to stop enriching uranium to levels that bring it close to acquiring weapons-grade material, but Iran has demanded relief from economic sanctions and an acknowledgement that it has the right to enrich uranium. If talks collapse, anxiety could grow on financial markets over the danger of higher oil prices and conflict in the Middle East because Israel has threatened to attack Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy

fails to stop Tehran getting the bomb. “We did not come to Moscow only for discussions. We came to Moscow for a resolution. But we believe the opposite side is not ready to reach a resolution,” an Iranian diplomat said. Iran says its program has only nonmilitary purposes but the so-called P5+1, grouping the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany say Tehran must do more to prove this and permit United Nations inspections of its work. “Our key requirements are: stop, shut and ship,” said a Western diplomat who was present at the talks. He was referring to demands for Iran to stop producing higher-grade uranium, ship any stockpile out of the country and close down an underground enrichment facility, Fordo. Diplomats said efforts were being made to find enough common ground to press on with talks in Moscow, and to en-

sure negotiations continue elsewhere in the future. The P5+1 are wary of making concessions that would let Tehran draw out the talks and gain the time needed to develop nuclear weapons capability. Iran’s negotiators want a deal that they can sell at home as a triumph. “No diplomatic deal to solve the Iranian nuclear standoff will be possible if it does not allow Tehran’s leadership to proclaim some measure of victory, most probably a recognition of Iran’s right to enrich uranium for civilian reactors,” said George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a thinktank. An EU embargo on Iranian oil takes full effect on July 1 and new US financial sanctions some days before that. Iran’s crude oil exports have fallen by some 40 percent this year, according to the International Energy Agency. -Reuters

Iraq court hears testimony linking VP to killings DAMASCUS: The UN Security Council was to examine the future of its observer mission in violencewracked Syria on Tuesday as civilians remained pinned down by regime shelling of rebel strongholds. The mission’s leader Major General Robert Mood, whose 300 unarmed monitors suspended operations on Saturday because of escalating bloodshed, was to brief the Security Council. More than 3,300 people have been killed in violence across Syria since the observers were deployed in the strife-torn country in mid-April. Their 90-day initial mandate runs out on July 20. With civilians trapped by regime shelling of rebel bastions such as the central city of Homs, Mood has urged the government and opposition to let “women, children, the elderly and the injured to leave conflict zones.” And UN rights chief Navi Pillay has demanded a halt to government bombardment of populated areas. “Such actions amount to crimes against humanity and possible war crimes,” Pillay told the UN Human Rights Council. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 1,000 families are stranded in Homs, while the opposition Syrian National Council says Homs is under siege by thousands of soldiers and pro-regime militiamen. The authorities on Tuesday said they had been working for the past week in coordination with the UN observers to arrange an evacuation but charged that “armed terrorist groups” were keeping civilians hostage. They also urged “all those who can press the armed groups not to target innocent civilians” accusing the gunmen of using the civilians as “human shields.”

Latest fighting between rebels and soldiers was centered on the Homs district of Baba Amr, which the regime captured in March, the Observatory said, adding that columns of black smoke were seen above the area and a pipeline blasted. It said one soldier was killed and reported “intermittent shelling” of several neighborhoods of the flashpoint city, while a civilian was shot dead overnight in the northern city of Aleppo during an anti-regime demonstration. The Britain-based watchdog also reported similar clashes in the Idlib region near the border with Turkey where the army was using tank fire. Government troops shelled the northern Damascus suburb of Douma, killing five people, and pounded the Qalamun district of the province, the watchdog said, as at least 14 people were killed across Syria on Tuesday. In another development, a Russian ship carrying attack helicopters and missiles destined for Syria was halted off the Scottish coast after its British insurer withdrew cover for the vessel. Insurer Standard Club said it had cancelled insurance for the MV Alaed, owned by Femco, a Russian cargo line. “We were made aware of the allegations that the Alaed was carrying munitions destined for Syria,” Femco said in a statement provided to AFP. The MV Alaed picked up its cargo of Mi-25 helicopter gunships from Russia’s Baltic sea port of Kaliningrad, where they had been sent for servicing and repairs, according to Britain’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper.-AFP

Settlers suspected in West Bank mosque arson GAZA: Unknown attackers set fire to a West Bank mosque and sprayed it with Hebrew graffiti early on Tuesday, in an incident that bore the hallmarks of an attack by extremist Jewish settlers. The incident took place in Jaba village between Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah, police said. “In the middle of the night ... somebody entered the mosque, broke the window and threw a match causing a fire,” local resident Sheikh Datoun told Israel’s army radio. “They wrote in Hebrew: ‘The war has begun,’ and ‘Pay the price’,” he said, indicating that the villagers had seen the fire and rushed to put it out. Israel police said they had yet to carry out a forensic investigation but said there were signs pointing to settler activists. Police were examining the possibility it was a “price tag incident,” spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. “That’s one of the main directions that we’ll be looking into,” he told AFP. “Price tag” is a euphemism for revenge hate crimes by Israeli extremists carried out in protest at Israeli government moves against the settlements. They normally target Palestinians and Arabs but

have also been directed at leftwing Israeli activists and the army. Incidents have included multiple arson attacks on cars and mosques. The perpetrators are rarely caught, although in recent months the security forces have increased efforts to clamp down on the phenomenon after an attack on an army base last year. Israeli leaders were quick to condemn the latest incident. “This was the work of intolerant, irresponsible lawbreakers,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will act quickly in order to bring them to justice.” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said it was a “grave and criminal incident meant to harm the fabric of life in the area and divert the army and security forces from their mission, including protecting Israeli citizens in the area.” “I have instructed the army and security officials to use all means to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” he said in a statement. It was the third such attack since June 6, when MPs voted down a settler-backed bill aimed at circumventing a court order to demolish homes in the Ulpana neighborhood, an outpost built on the outskirts of Beit El settlement near Ramallah. -AFP

Clashes in southeast Turkey kill at least 18 ANKARA: Fighting between soldiers and Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey claimed 18 lives Tuesday, threatening to torpedo a rare opening for negotiations to resolve a decades-old separatist conflict. Eight Turkish soldiers were killed and 16 wounded when the rebels attacked an army post near the border with Iraq, local officials said in a statement, adding that 10 rebels were killed and operations were continuing. The bloodshed comes amid signs of a softening of the government’s hard line against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) after a prominent Kurdish lawmaker extended an olive branch to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Leyla Zana, in an interview with the prominent daily Hurriyet, praised Erdogan as the head of the strongest government in Turkey’s history, saying that with the political will, he had the power to solve the Kurdish problem. “The strongest one can halt all this if he wants. Who’s that strongest one? It’s the current government and its head Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” she told Hurriyet. Zana, among the most outspoken advocates of Kurdish rights who won the European Parliament’s

Sakharov human rights award in 1995, was imprisoned from 1994 to 2004 for alleged links with the separatist PKK, which took up arms in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives. But her latest comments won plaudits from government officials and Erdogan said he was ready to meet her. The headline-grabbing interview however drew a harsh response from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which secured 29 seats in the 550-member Turkish parliament in the 2011 elections last year. The party’s co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas accused Zana of being “naive” to pin her hopes on Erdogan. Meanwhile the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) drew up a blueprint that would see a parliamentary commission work together with an outside panel of “wise men” to resolve the Kurdish problem. The plan has won backing from both the Erdogan government and Kurdish MPs, seen by political analysts as a “watershed” in Turkish politics. In another sign of softening, Erdogan told parliament last week that the Kurdish language would be taught as an elective course in public schools for the first time ever. -AFP

BAGHDAD: The trial of Iraq’s fugitive Sunni Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi resumed on Tuesday, with the court hearing testimony that silencers were found in raids on his house and that of his son-in-law. Lawyers for Hashemi, who has been accused of running a death squad and is being tried in absentia, also officially returned to the trial after withdrawing in May. Five police testified before the Central Criminal Court of Iraq that they found silencers in Al-Hashemi’s home in Al-Yarmuk in west Baghdad, and in the home of Ahmed Qahtan, his son-in-law and personal secretary, in Zayouna in the capital’s east. Silenced weapons are a favourite of gunmen who have assassinated officials in Baghdad. And an intelligence officer testified that the number of assassinations with silenced weapons had decreased significantly since the arrest of

“the network linked to Hashemi.” Al-Hashemi’s lawyers, who had walked out of a May 20 session of the trial after a judge refused to accept their evidence, were back in court on Tuesday. “We consulted with him and he approved our return to the sessions,” the head of the defense team, Muayad alIzzi, told AFP. “The regular attendance of the trial sessions and presenting requests may affect the case,” Izzi said. During the previous session on May 31, the lawyers sat with spectators, but continued to speak directly to the judge and present requests. On Tuesday, AlHashemi’s lawyers again sought to have high-ranking Iraqi officials testify, a request that was rejected for a second time by the three-judge panel hearing the case. Last month they requested that Iraqi President JalalTalabani, former vice pres-

ident Adel Abdel Mahdi, Talabani’s chiefof-staff Nasser al-Ani and four MPs from the Iraqiya bloc testify. Izzi told AFP at the time that they intended to use the officials as character witnesses. The trial was adjourned until July 8. Previous hearings have seen AlHashemi’s bodyguards and other officials testify they were offered money, or were coerced, into carrying out attacks on the vice president’s orders. Al-Hashemi, one of Iraq’s top Sunni Arab officials, was accused in December of running a death squad and, along with his staff and bodyguards, faces around 150 charges. He insists the accusations are politically motivated. After the initial charges were filed, he fled to Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, before embarking on a regional tour that has taken him to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and now Turkey. Ankara has said it will not extradite him to Iraq. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION / VIEWS

WEDNESdAY, June 20, 2012

Close families, closed labor markets

Realizing the Brotherhood’s long-nurtured dreams

Extended family networks, which appear to be stronger near the Mediterranean, provide a fundamental source of insurance against unemployment in southern Europe.

Chrystia Freeland

Reuters

lose families and flexible labor markets don’t go together. That’s the conclusion of a fascinating paper by a quartet of transatlantic economists. Their work should be required reading for all European politicians and for the economists and pundits around the world who seek to advise them. One truth universally acknowledged in Europe today is that the countries of the south need to overhaul their labor markets: Rigid rules on hiring and firing and on the minimum wage are blamed for the high unemployment and subpar economic growth in these states. Economists are right to point out that inflexible labor markets exact a high economic toll. So why has there been such resistance in countries like Spain and Italy to changes that would create more jobs and stronger growth? One classic answer is the ability of vested interests - workers who do have protected jobs - to defend their own cushy deal at the expense of everyone else. Another is political dysfunction. Alberto F. Alesina, Yann Algan, Pierre Cahuc and Paola Giuliano - the four authors of “Family Values and the Regulation of Labor” - wondered whether deeper, cultural factors might also be at play. In their cross-country comparison, the researchers found a correlation between close family ties and a preference for more regulated labor markets. In countries with weaker family ties, there was more support for more open labor markets. That doesn’t mean the people in countries with close family ties are acting irrationally. Instead, rigid labor markets - notwithstanding their economic costs - might actually be a better choice for societies with close family ties. Here is how Giuliano, an assistant professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, Anderson School of Management, explained the trade-offs: “Suppose you live in a strong family tie society. You don’t want to go far away from home, so you are tied to a certain geographical location. The company that dominates a specific area knows you don’t want to leave to search for a better job, so it offers you a low wage. For that reason, people in those societies may prefer more regulated labor markets.” The work by Giuliano and her colleagues is a timely rebuke to the onesize-fits-all school of economics. “It could be that those regulations that economists consider effective actually work in some societies and not others,” Giuliano told me by phone from Rome. “If you make the labor market more flexible, in some countries this reform will work. But if the cultural beliefs are different, the reforms can produce unexpected results.” This cultural lens also offers a possible explanation for the remarkable tolerance of some countries, like those of southern Europe, for high unemployment. A study by the economists Samuel Bentolila and Andrea Ichino argues that close family

Aziza Al-Mufarrej

ties are the key to this mystery as well. “In some sense, unemployment is less painful near the Mediterranean,” they write. That is because extended family networks cushion the blow: “The evidence supports the hypothesis that extended family networks, which appear to be stronger near the Mediterranean, provide a fundamental source of insurance against unemployment in southern Europe.” If you can count on your family to support you, being unemployed isn’t as hard; but staying close to that same family may lead you to favor the rigid labor markets that contribute to your own unemployment. Giuliano is no flat-earther. She left her native Sicily, first to study in Milan and now to work in the United States, and she took pains to insist that, like the overwhelming majority of the economic fraternity, she believes southern Europe needs to reform its labor markets. Her point is that those reforms will work best if economists take the time to understand the cultural conditions that prompted societies to choose highly regulated systems in the first place. “Economists should understand that when they introduce reforms, they need to take into account cultural conditions,” she said. One reason culture matters so much is because it is remarkably persistent. For a civilian, one of the most striking findings in the paper by Giuliano and her colleagues is the correlation between family patterns in the Middle Ages and current desires for labor market regulation. Your country’s family structure centuries ago now influences how you feel about the minimum wage and severance rules. And the power of culture persists even in immigration. Giuliano and her colleagues found that the attitudes and the economic circumstances of second-generation immigrants to the United States were shaped by the nature of family relations in their countries of origin - “today as well as 70 years ago, immigrants coming from strong family ties societies tended to have lower mobility rates, lower wages and a higher level of unemployment.” These findings are most relevant to Europe and its raging debate about labor rules. But they also make interesting reading in the United States, where the most ardent advocates of liberal labor markets are also the most vocal defenders of family values. Led most recently by the scholar Charles Murray, the American right has been lamenting the decline of those family values within the white working class. Perhaps the unregulated labor markets that conservatives also champion are partly to blame. One question Giuliano and her colleagues don’t ask is how technology might change the trade-offs between flexible labor markets and close families. Jane Austen’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet observes that distance between family members is a function of wealth. It is also a function of technology. In the age of Skype, Facebook and cheap air travel, 300 miles today may be closer than 30 miles was a century ago. This could be yet another quandary that we assume to be the province of economists and legislators, but turns out to be solved by technologists.

fter all the deceptive masks have been yanked off the faces of all those dictatorial regimes and their even more over-imposing dictatorial leaders, their evil intentions and scheming plots are now out in the open for all to see, behold and judge. And in the midst of all these volatile scenarios, most of the regimes in the Arab world now find themselves in precarious situations wherein they are faced with a battalion of problems, shortcomings; not to mention the underlying fact that they stand to be ousted unceremoniously by their own people. Those series of explosive events that were witnessed and condemned by leaders and citizens alike in countries across the world; have now actually accorded an opportunity for all those avaricious and scheming and opportunists to crawl out of their hiding holes and come clean. They should abide by their conscience, confess all their crimes and relinquish their powers and authorities into the rightful hands of the citizens of their respective countries. This will surely enable all those citizens to usher in a new era of democratic governance through electing their representatives in parliament. Here in Kuwait most, if not all of us, must have surely heard the testimony of Tareq AlSuwaidan (a Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood veteran) at the Determination Square that all corrupt regimes would surely relinquish their power and authority much sooner than later and despite his futile attempts to explain his pronouncement in minute detail, we have all understood that explicit message. Abdullah Al-Nafisi, on the other hand,

also stressed on the importance and the urgency of bringing an abrupt end to the reigns of all ruling families in the Gulf Cooperation Council; explaining that their supremacy and overall sovereignty over the people is not only inappropriate, but obsolete in the current era. In Egypt, on the other hand, another Muslim Brotherhood strongman namely Safwat Hejazi; was witnessed addressing his followers enthusiastically - while encouraging them to strive hard towards the creation of an Islamic state that will be aptly called the ‘United Arab States’ and whose capital will be Jerusalem. I am certain that this dream of the Muslim Brotherhood that it has been nurturing over decades can now surely be realized taking into consideration the underlying fact that the once-formidable Arab regimes in Egypt, Libya and Iraq have been ousted. In fact, it should not come as a surprise to any of us if this dream will one day receive financial support and political backing by the leaders of oil-rich countries in the GCC. Now consider the following statistics: Out of a population of 85 million Egyptians, a mere five million voted for Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate Mohammed Mursi. It is also important to mention here that most of those five million that cast their precious votes for the Brotherhood are friends, relatives, or kith and kin of the Brotherhood while the rest are simply those that sympathize with the organization since they just hate the former regime. However, whichever way you tend to view the situation, there can be no doubt in one’s mind that those five million nurse the firm belief that most, if not all, Egyptians want the Mus-

Ali Farzat

Chrystia Freeland is a Reuters correspondent. The views expressed here are her own.

lim Brotherhood to not only manage their own lives; but the lives of citizens of other Arab nations too. The Muslim Brotherhood has been striving real hard to impose not only its views but its influence over countries across the world as well. In fact, its members have even laid the foundations among members of their society by arranging marriages within their own community in desperate attempts to discourage their members from marrying those that do not share or promulgate their rigid ideologies. It will only be a matter of time when the Muslim Brotherhood will expand and flourish to such a magnitude that it will begin to control various pockets in Egypt before exercising its complete dominion over the entire country. That done, they will lose no precious time in gradually but steadily spreading their influence over countries in the Arab world, other Islamic countries outside the region and then - across the entire globe. In Kuwait, the situation is no different as is evident in the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood actually encourages appointing its members in pivotal positions - positions that can guarantee them overall authority and financial security. And once they are firmly entrenched in those authoritative positions, it is near impossible to evict them from their lofty pedestals. To cite a case in point, it is common knowledge that members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been fiercely dominating the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs over the past several years, not to mention the other fact that they also exercise a strong hold over the enormously generous budget that is allocated to the ministry.

“Necessary Luggage”

Don’t fear Target2. Fear its opponents Felix Salmon

Reuters

anis Varoufakis is hosting what he calls “a debate between Felix Salmon and Marshall Auerback” by asking Auerback to respond to my post on Target2. But here’s the thing: it’s not really a debate if the two sides agree on nearly everything. There’s very little to take issue with in Auerback’s post, and he doesn’t seem to disagree with me on the substance of Target2. Instead, he takes a step back and gives a bit of big-picture context for Target2, asks why the Target2 imbalances have grown so big, and speculates that it could be German attempts to kill Target2, rather than Target2 itself, which would cause chaos in the eurozone. Basically, the EU treaty allows for complete capital mobility within the eurozone, something which caused no real problems until we hit the financial crisis. When money left one country and arrived in another - moved from Spain to Germany, say - the Spanish bank would cover the resulting hole in its balance sheet by turning to the interbank market, where there were no shortage of German banks willing to lend to their Spanish brethren. With the interbank market providing an efficient and effective mechanism for keeping

money flowing around the eurozone, the ECB just needed to work at the margins, running a daily auction for banks in need of a bit extra overnight liquidity. But then in the summer of 2007 the European interbank market started seizing up; once Lehman Brothers collapsed, it was to all intents and purposes nonexistent. And so the ECB, faced with an imminent liquidity crisis, changed the rules: for the past few years, any solvent European bank has been able to borrow unlimited sums directly from its national central bank, at low ECB-set rates. And it’s those borrowings which ultimately resulted in today’s large Target2 imbalances. Once Europe’s interbank market died, it stayed dead, and we’ve had a liquidity crisis ever since. As Daniel Davies put it in a report I blogged in November, “if we think of wholesale funding as commodity input, it is much more like the supply of limestone to a kiln than the supply of flour to a bakery not only can the banking sector not produce loans without new financing, it cannot shut down for a short period of time either, it needs constant supply.” Basically, if there hadn’t been a serious liquidity problem in the European banking system since 2007, the Target2 problem wouldn’t exist. The reason that there’s any worry at all about Target2 is entirely a function of the fact that the European interbank market still doesn’t exist, and the eurozone’s banks seem to be no more willing to lend to each other today than they were in the worst days of the crisis in 2009. At least that’s certainly the case when it comes to cross-border loans to PIIGS. So while Target2 isn’t a huge problem in and of itself, it be-

Germans are the people complaining the loudest about Target2 - and those complaints, if they’re based on German constitutional law, can be dangerous. speaks the lack of a eurozone interbank market and that is a problem. Worse, the Germans are unhappy. Germans are the people complaining the loudest about Target2 - and those complaints, if they’re based on German constitutional law, can be dangerous. As Auerback said on Wednesday, and as notorious Target2 alarmist Hans-Werner Sinn has been saying repeatedly, it’s arguable that the Target2 system, because it saddles the Bundesbank with potentially unlimited liabilities, violates recent German Constitutional Court rulings which say that aid from Germany to the rest of the EU must be limited and ratified by the German parliament. If Target2 were to be found unconstitutional in Germany, that really would be devastating for the eurozone: the ECB’s liquidity operations are the only place, pretty much, that European banks can fund themselves on a day-to-day basis. Rather than having an efficient web of interbank relationships, Europe has been reduced to a hub-and-spoke system where everybody just faces the central bank instead. If the biggest and most important of those spokes - the German one - is found unconstitutional, then that’s the end of the euro right there. People like Sober Look, in response to my post, have been saying

that the big problem with Target2 is that if the eurozone falls apart, then Germany would be forced to write off a large chunk of its national wealth - a number which is literally incalculable. As with companies, the important wealth of a country lies in its ability to generate money going forwards, rather than in its ability to hold on to money it has generated in the past. I don’t think that arguments about hypothetical wealth figures are particularly compelling, and the amount of money that the Bundesbank earns each year is so small - less than a billion euros, last year, which is less than one tenth of one percent of German GDP - that if the Bundesbank stops remitting profits to the German fisc, no one will really notice. The real thing to worry about Target2 in Germany, then, is not that the euro will fall apart and the Bundesbank will have to write off lots of paper assets. Rather, it’s the fear that someone will challenge the whole system in Germany’s Constitutional Court, that it will be found unconstitutional, and that the entire financial sector of Europe might fall apart as a result. Felix Salmon is a Reuters correspondent. The views expressed here are his own.

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ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

wednesdAY, June 20, 2012

Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies prime minister ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s increasingly assertive Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for office, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil during a crisis in relations with the United States. In April, it found Gilani guilty of contempt of court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against the president. “Since no appeal was filed (against the April 26 conviction) ... therefore Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani stands disqualified as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament)...,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in a packed courtroom. “He has also ceased to be the prime minister of Pakistan ... the office of the prime minister stands vacant.” But Fawad Chaudhry, a senior Gilani aide, said only parliament could dismiss the prime minister. While the decision is a big blow to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), it is unlikely to lead to the fall of the unpopular government. The PPP and its coalition partners have the numbers in parliament to elect a new prime minister until the government’s term ends early next year. “I don’t see this as a major constitutional breakdown unless the PPP ignores this decision,” said legal expert Salman Raja. “I think sanity will prevail and they should be able to do that fairly easily given that they just passed the budget - they clearly have a majority (in parliament).” The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to issue a notification declaring Gilani ineligible for office. He is the first serving prime minister in Pakistan’s history

Activists of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) shout slogans against the Supreme Court Chief Justice while anti-government lawyers (rear) are seen gathered following the verdict against Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad on June 19, 2012. (AFP)

to be convicted by a court. The political instability is likely to further distract Pakistan’s leaders from tackling a dizzying array of problems fueling public anger, from crippling power cuts to rampant corruption to a struggling economy. The United States, which pours billions of dollars of aid into Pakistan, will likely view the

latest political saga with unease as it struggles to persuade Islamabad to re-open the supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan is seen as critical to US efforts pacify Afghanistan after more than a decade of war against the Taliban but it is often described as an unreliable ally. The decision puts Chaudhry back at the

centre of Pakistan’s political turbulent stage. Chaudhry became a household name in Pakistan and gained international recognition in 2007 when he stood up to then President Pervez Musharraf over his legally questionable bid to hold on to power. Since then Chaudhry has emerged as a major force in Pakistan, taking on the unpopular government over allegations of corruption, and more significantly the military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 64-year history. Chaudhry took up cases involving kidnappings and torture of suspected Islamist militants allegedly carried out by the military and intelligence agencies. They deny the charges. “The Supreme Court has expanded its domain once again,” said analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi. “The Supreme Court does not have the power to dismiss the prime minister, only the parliament does. It’s the first time in Pakistan’s history that the Supreme Court has removed a prime minister and it has created a precedent.” The move comes during a difficult time for the chief justice. A Pakistani real estate tycoon on Tuesday accused Chaudhry of turning a blind eye to his son’s alleged corrupt financial practices. Malik Riaz, who fashions himself as a billionaire philanthropist, said he had given almost $3.6 million in bribes to Chaudhry’s son Arsalan Iftikhar. Riaz, who has been accused of fraud, suggested that Chaudhry knew about the matter in advance of the Supreme Court’s hearings on the issue this week. Arsalan Iftikhar has denied all allegations. -Reuters

Cambodia arrests Frenchman linked to China scandal PHNOM PENH: A French architect with ties to disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has been arrested in Cambodia, the French embassy said Tuesday, in a new twist to China’s biggest political scandal in decades. Cambodian police said the arrest of Patrick Devillers was carried out with the cooperation of Beijing, which is seeking his extradition. “We’ve been informed by the Cambodian authorities of the arrest of our compatriot Mr. Devillers,” a French embassy spokeswoman told AFP. Officials were seeking “clarification” about the reason for the arrest, she said. Devillers is understood to have been a close business associate and friend of Bo and his wife Gu Kailai. Bo, the former leader of the southwestern Chinese megacity of Chongqing, is being probed for corruption while Gu has been detained for suspected involvement in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood last year. Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth confirmed that a French national was arrested “about two weeks ago” but declined to give details, saying only the arrest was made “with the cooperation of China”. “We are considering whether to send him to China or

France. China has demanded he be sent to China because he committed offences there,” he told AFP. Devillers’ connection to the Bo family drama remains unclear but in an interview with French daily Le Monde last month he denied allegations of any wrongdoing. Devillers, 52, who is believed to have left China in 2005, also told the newspaper that his old acquaintance Heywood, who was found dead in a hotel room in Chongqing in November, was “a noble soul”. According to the New York Times, Devillers was hired by Bo, mayor of the Chinese city of Dalian in the 1990s, to carry out architectural work. And in 2000, Devillers and Gu set up an architectural firm together, the US daily reported in May, noting that the pair put down the same residential address in Bournemouth, southeast England, in their paperwork. The scandal surrounding Bo and Gu, which first came to light in February and made worldwide headlines, has exposed deep divisions within the Communist Party ahead of a crucial, once-in-a-decade leadership transition, analysts say. Bo was a member of the powerful Politburo and had been tipped for promotion to the nine-member Politburo Standing

Committee, China’s most powerful political body, during the leadership transition. But his hopes of winning a spot on the body were ended by his fall from grace, which began when his former right-hand man and police chief Wang Lijun fled to a nearby US consulate to seek asylum, after reportedly confronting Bo with information related to the murder of Heywood. News of Devillers’ arrest comes just a week after He Guoqiang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, paid a visit to Phnom Penh during which multi-million dollar infrastructure deals were signed. It is unclear whether there is any link between the “goodwill” visit and Devillers’ arrest. Phnom Penh is a close ally of China and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen regularly praises Bejiing’s no-strings-attached aid. China is Cambodia’s largest bilateral creditor and its biggest foreign investor, with hundreds of Chinese companies pumping billions of dollars into the impoverished country in recent years. In 2009, Cambodia was widely criticized for deporting 20 Uighur asylum seekers to China, a move that was quickly followed by a 1.2-billion-dollar aid and loan package from Beijing. China rejected accusations of a link between the two. -AFP

Kabul accuses Pakistan over Shiite attack KABUL: Afghan authorities on Tuesday said “regional spy agencies” were behind a rare suicide attack targeting Shiite Muslims that killed more than 80 people in a veiled reference to Pakistani intelligence. Attorney General Eshaq Aloko said two men had been arrested over the December attack, which struck a crowd of worshippers on Ashura, the holiest day of the Shiite calendar, in Kabul. President Hamid Karzai blamed Pakistani sectarian extremist outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for the atrocity, which was unprecedented on such a holy day, and urged Islamabad to act. Aloko said the attack was planned in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, by “regional spy agencies” aimed at “provoking sectarian violence”. “Although the Jhangvi group claimed responsibility, it was masterminded by some spy agencies in our neighboring countries,” Aloko said. Afghans blame Pakistan for fuelling much of the violence in their country, where the Taliban are leading a 10-year insurgency against the government and 130,000 Western troops.

The prosecutor said one of those arrested came from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan’s militant-infested tribal belt, and was paid 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($100) to bring two suicide attackers to Kabul. “One attacker blew himself up, the second fled the area,” Aloko said. He said the two arrested men both confessed over the plot and the case was now closed. The explosion happened at the entrance to a riverside shrine, where hundreds of Shiites had gathered with men whipping their bare backs as part of the traditional mourning ritual. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital in three years. When the Sunni Taliban ruled from 1996 to the 2001 US-led invasion, minority Shiites suffered brutal persecution, but in recent years sectarian violence has been rare. Sectarian attacks are nonetheless common in neighboring Pakistan. “The case is closed for us now.We have completed our investigation, and the case will be sent to the court,” Aloko said. -AFP

Nigeria imposes a curfew in violence-hit town ABUJA: Nigerian authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew in the northeastern city of Damaturu on Tuesday, after clashes between suspected Islamist sect members and the military raged overnight. Local residents said sporadic gunfire, which began around 1:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, could still be heard in Damaturu on Tuesday but the authorities did not say where the clashes were taking place or whether there were any casualties. “In view of the prevailing security situation in the State Capital, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has approved the immediate imposition of a 24-hour curfew within Damaturu metropolis,” a government statement said on Tuesday.

“Residents are hereby directed to remain in their homes while officers and men of the Joint Task force and other security agencies continue with their effort to ensure peace and security and the protection of life and property.” In November, 65 people were killed in coordinated attacks claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram on churches, mosques and police stations in Damaturu. The group is waging an insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan’s government, and clashes between it and the military have become an almost daily occurrence in northeast Nigeria. It was not clear if the violence in Damaturu was related to religious killings in

other parts of northern Nigeria on Sunday. At least 52 people were killed on Sunday in religious rioting in north central Kaduna sparked by three suicide bombings against churches that killed 16. Boko Haram has claimed deadly attacks on churches in the past. The violence has stoked fears of a wider sectarian conflict in Nigeria, an OPEC member and Africa’s top oil producer that is home to the world’s largest equal mix of Christians and Muslims. The Islamists’ leader, Abubakar Shekau, has said the attacks on Christians were in revenge for the killings of Muslims. -Reuters

Tymoshenko faces murder charge: Ukraine prosecutor KIEV: The legal problems of Ukraine’s jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko mounted on Tuesday after a top prosecutor said he was planning to charge her over the murder of a deputy in 1996. Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin said in a newspaper interview the only obstacle in the way of charging was Tymoshenko’s current hospitalization for severe back pains but expressed confidence the case would come to court. Ukrainian MP Yevgen Shcherban was gunned down along with his wife at Donetsk airport in 1996 in a contract killing the Ukrainian legal authorities have also linked to exprime minister and former Tymoshenko ally Pavlo Lazarenko. “We have enough proof confirming Tymoshenko’s implication in this mur-

der and we are intending to present her with charges,” Kuzmin told the Ukrainian edition of Kommersant in comments published on Monday. “We have enough information confirming her interest in the removal of Shcherban, there is information confirming the transfer of money from accounts that she controls, there is direct testimony from witnesses who say she was the organizer and financier of the murder,” he added. However Tymoshenko’s Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party on Tuesday dismissed his comments as “hysteria”. “They show that the repressive system is focusing on executing the orders of President Viktor Yanukovych, however absurd they are,” spokeswoman Natalya Lysova told AFP. Ty-

moshenko is already serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of power while in office, which she says was ordered by Yanukovych and has led to a drastic deterioration in Kiev’s ties with the European Union. Kuzmin said her ill health was impeding the authorities from presenting the murder charges and investigators could not carry out the necessary interrogation while she was in this condition. “When this political show ends, when this endless hysteria is halted, then comes the time for fruitful work by investigators,” he said. He alleged that the notorious Kushnir criminal gang that operated in Ukraine in the 1990s “carried out the orders of Lazarenko in the interests of Tymoshenko.” -AFP

NEWS IN BRIEF Serb ex-police officers jailed over Croat killings BELGRADE: Serbia’s war crimes court convicted four former police officers Tuesday of crimes committed against civilians during the 1991-95 war in Croatia and sentenced them to up to 20 years in prison. The four men, all Serbian nationals, were convicted for having “assassinated at least six Croat civilians in October 1991 in the region of Beli Manastir in eastern Croatia, the court said in a statement. Three of the men got sentences of between 18 months and 10 years, while a fourth police officer got 20 years. Prosecutors announced that they would appeal the three lowest sentences. “A war crime should not be treated like a run-of-themill robbery,” prosecution spokesman Bruno Vekaric told the Beta news agency. “There is not a trace of humanity in the crimes of the accused, they meticulously and mercilessly assassinated an entire family.” -AFP

Melbourne rattled by rare quake MELBOURNE: The Australian city of Melbourne was hit by a rare earthquake Tuesday with residents reporting their houses shook and windows rattled, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The US Geological Survey said the 5.2 magnitude quake struck around 120 kilometers (74 miles) southeast of the Victorian state capital near the town of Moe, at a depth of nine kilometers. Ron Smith, who lives in the Melbourne suburb of Kew, said his whole house shook. “We heard a roar and thought it was the wind,” he told reporters. “The floor and the walls shook, the whole house shook.” Moe police constable Chris Hand said: “It was a decent-size rumble, the biggest I’ve ever felt. We’ve had a lot of calls but no one is reporting any damage or injuries at this stage.” -AFP

UN says Afghan quakes killed 75 KABUL: The United Nations disaster response agency said Tuesday that 75 people had been killed by shallow earthquakes that hit Afghanistan’s mountainous Hindu Kush region last week. Two shallow tremors of magnitude 5.2 and 5.7 struck less than half an hour apart on June 11, followed by a weaker tremor around an hour later, destroying more than 100 houses in four districts of Baghlan province. In the worst-affected village, Mullah Jan, a landslide triggered by the quakes sent a deluge of rock and earth crashing into houses, killing 71 people. Search operations were called off on Saturday and the village declared a mass grave. Overall, 13 people were injured and a total of 114 houses destroyed in the disaster, OCHA said, with 580 houses damaged. -AFP

France expects UN to quickly back Mali intervention PARIS: France on Tuesday said it expects the UN Security Council to quickly endorse a West African intervention force in Mali, which a coup and a rebel offensive have plunged into chaos. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc says it has 3,300 troops ready to enter Mali, where Tuareg rebels and their Islamist allies have wrested control of the vast desert north. ECOWAS and the African Union have twice asked for the Security Council to pass a resolution giving a UN mandate to the military operation. But the council has asked for more details about logistics and the aim of the mission. “I think things will move very fast once the Security Council backs a military operation of the African Union and ECOWAS,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told journalists.” After a phase of stalling during the weekend, things are set to clear up very fast”, he said, adding that the Council had been “very clear” about its intentions. The council said late Monday it was ready to “further examine the request of ECOWAS once additional information has been provided regarding the objectives, means and modalities of the envisaged deployment and other possible measures.” -AFP

BUSINESS

m ar ket watc h KUWAIT

DUBAI

QATAR

0.06% 5945

0.38% 1479

0.45% 8314

OMAN

ABU DHABI

0.15% 5700

0.32% 2467

OIL MARKETS

BAHRAIN

EGYPT

0.14% 1128

4.23% 4097

SAUDI 0.14% 6817

US Crude $83.52 $0.25 London Brent $95.82 $0.03 Kuwait Crude $94.30 $0.75 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

Kuwaiti crude oil down $0.75 to $94.30

A cleaner rides his tricycle down a side-road as cars sit in a traffic jam along a main road in central Beijing June 19, 2012. Car sales in China rose 22.6 percent in May from a year earlier, extending the double-digit gain in the previous month as new models premiered at the Beijing autoshow started to hit the showrooms. (Reuters)

Investors also will watch out for fresh trading cues from the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and the China flash manufacturing PMI from HSBC this week. Iran

Six world powers and Iran resume talks in Moscow for a final day on Tuesday after making no breakthrough on their first day of talks on Monday on how to end a decade-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program which risks sparking a new Middle East war. Even though an EU ban on Iranian crude imports will take effect on July 1, the oil market has shown some signs of over supply. The August Brent crude contract price fell below the September contract, suggesting ample supply in the immediate market. That is despite the planned maintenance work at the UK’s Buzzard oilfield in the third quarter and OPEC’s comment last week. OPEC will reduce output to adhere to its 30 million barrel per day production ceiling and the effects should be seen in July, OPEC Secretary-

CURRENCIES US Dollar

British Pound

Saudi Riyal

Qatari Riyal

Indian Rupee

Buy 0.2741 Sell 0.2744

Buy 0.4495 Sell 0.4502

Buy 0.0731 Sell 0.0732

Buy 0.07537 Sell 0.07526

Buy 0.006133 Sell 0.006124 Buy 0.006346 Sell 0.006336

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Buy 0.396 Sell 0.3965

Buy 0.003416 Sell 0.003421

Buy 0.07462 Sell 0.07471

Buy 0.727 Sell 0.72794

Philippine Peso

Prices in Kuwaiti fils. As of June 18, 2012: Courtesy: KAMCO

UAE feels no pressure to issue bonds

Brent off 17 month low, euro concerns linger

KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti crude oil went down by 0.75 US dollars in Monday’s oil markets to settle at $94.30 per barrel, compared to $93.87 Friday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Tuesday. The decline in oil price came after failed attempts by parties supporting the Greece bailout plan to lessen the fears over the eurozone debt crisis. Also the increase of loan expenses in Italy and Spain led to the retreat. Oil price increased slightly on Friday after the OPEC meeting in Vienna decided to keep production at 30 million barrels per day. In more news, Brent crude fell to a near 17 month low below $95 a barrel on Tuesday, hit by the latest twist in the euro zone crisis, but steadied because Spain managed to sell debt, even though its costs soared to their highest since 1997. Oil fell along with the single currency and equities after a comment from a German constitutional court that said that Angela Merkel’s government had not consulted parliament sufficiently about the configuration of Europe’s permanent bailout scheme, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The subsequent bounce in oil prices, however, was capped by more signs that the eurozone economy was likely to remain subdued, keeping oil demand weak in the region. Brent crude futures briefly slipped to $94.44 a barrel, the lowest since January 2011. It trimmed the earlier losses and trading 63 cents lower at $95.43 by 1000 GMT. US crude was 19 cents lower at $83.08 a barrel. Brokers said a further fall in Brent prices might be likely now that the important $95 mark has been broken. “Stop loss liquidation of some long positions was triggered when Brent broke $95.00, compounded by pervading gloominess towards the eurozone,” said Mark Thomas, head of Energy Europe at brokerage Marex Spectron. Spain’s short-term borrowing costs soared as investors worried the country, the euro zone’s fourth largest economy, will soon be forced to ask for international aid. The euro and European shares slipped after the German ZEW economic sentiment index dropped sharply on concerns about Spanish bank woes and Greek political instability.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2012

General Abdullah Al-Badri said last week. The Buzzard oilfield feeds into Forties crude, which is one of the four North Sea crude oil streams used to price about two thirds of world’s oil. OPEC basket down

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported a 99 cent drop in its price for a barrel of oil to $95.03 per barrel (pb) on Monday, down from Friday’s $96.02 pb. OPEC said April average price came to $118.18 pb, which means average price of OPEC’s basket of crudes since start of the year till end of last week is $96.34 pb. Last year’s average price for the OPEC reference basket was $107.46 pb. The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB), introduced on June 16, 2005, is currently made up of Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE), and Merey (Venezuela). -Agencies

ABU DHABI: The government of the United Arab Emirates will further discuss its plan to introduce a law allowing public debt issues at the federal level, and it feels no pressure to issue bonds despite a budget deficit, Obaid Humaid Al-Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said on Tuesday. “The law is still under discussion within the government. We are not under pressure to issue any bonds,” Al-Tayer told Reuters in a brief interview. “We are in no need to finance anything. We will be able to bridge the (budget) gap with our own resources.” Tayer did not say when he expected the long-awaited debt law to be signed, but added that discussions were likely to resume after the summer period. The UAE’s top advisory council passed the public debt bill in December 2010, aiming to establish a local debt market in the world’s number 3 oil exporter. The legislation is still awaiting cabinet approval and the presidential signature which it needs to become law. A senior finance ministry official said in February that he expected the UAE’s first-ever federal sovereign bond issue to be around $1 billion, and that it would take place after the public debt bill was approved. Federal government bonds would be issued at intervals to help finance infrastructure projects. The ministry has gradually shifted expectations for the timing of its bond issuance. In June 2011, Tayer told Reuters the UAE might issue its first federal bond toward the end of 2012, with the debt bill then expected to be signed in the summer of 2011. The UAE’s central bank governor said in the same month that the UAE, rated Aa2 by Moody’s, needed to double efforts to create a local market for government and corporate bonds as it lacked sufficient government debt instruments. Some of the UAE’s seven individual emirates have already sold government debt, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, whose state-linked firms also borrow. The federal budget, which makes up 11 percent of overall government spending in the UAE, ended in an estimated deficit of 2.9 billion dirhams ($790 million) in 2011, the first gap in seven years, a report by the International Monetary Fund, based on government data, showed earlier in June. Last October, the UAE government approved a draft 2012 federal budget of 41.8 billion dirhams with a small projected shortfall of 400 million dirhams. -Reuters

US dollar rate settles against Kuwaiti dinar to KD 0.279

KUWAIT: The exchange rate of the US dollar against the Kuwaiti dinar stood at KD 0.279, whereas the euro went down to KD 0.352 compared to Monday’s figures, said the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the exchange rate of the Sterling pound stood at KD 0.438 and the Japanese yen also remained unchanged at KD 0.003, the Swiss franc decreased to KD 0.293. -KUNA

KSE ends Tuesday’s session in mixed indices

Dollar shortage, tax hikes hurt Sudan telcos DUBAI: Sudan’s foreign currency shortage and a huge variation in official and de facto exchange rates are delaying equipment purchases and payments by telecoms operators, hitting a key industry for the struggling economy, executives told Reuters. Higher taxes and mounting competition are also posing challenges for the African country’s three major telecoms players as they battle to tap the potential of a relatively underpenetrated market. Sudan lost three-quarters of its oil output when South Sudan became independent in July, ending its main source of state revenue and foreign currency. That made the telecoms sector even more critical to the wider economy and it now accounts for about 12 percent of gross domestic product, according to number one operator Zain Sudan, a unit of Kuwait’s Zain. Yet operators are struggling to buy hard currency from the government. “The availability of foreign currency is a big issue for telecoms companies because we depend on imported services and equipment,” Zain Sudan chief executive Elfatih Erwa told Reuters. He said Zain had sometimes delayed payments

to foreign suppliers, but these were still delivering on schedule. Ericsson and Huawei are Zain’s main suppliers. State-owned Sudatel has faced similar problems. “It (the equipment) is mainly from Asia,” said Mohamed Nasir, Sudatel director for corporate sales. “There are limitations in the use and transfer of US dollars. We are talking about Chinese companies like Huawei mainly. It (deliveries) can be delayed - if something took one month (before), it may take two months now.” Mounting pressure

The dollar shortage is an indicator of the mounting pressure on the Sudanese pound. Last month, the government allowed licensed dealers to trade the pound at a devalued rate of about 5 to the dollar. This compares with the official rate of 2.7, while there are two other exchange rates - the black market rate of around 5.4 and the commercial bank rate, which is about 4.9. “We don’t work in the black market, we deal with banks and they charge us a premium,” said Erwa. “It’s a little bit lower than the parallel (black) market price. The official price is still the same as before.”

Zain Sudan’s 2011 local currency earnings rose 9 percent, but these fell 5 percent in dollar terms and its parent firm has been blocked by Sudanese law from repatriating earnings to Kuwait for several years. These woes, along with mounting competition between Zain Sudan, Sudatel and MTN Sudan, a unit of South Africa’s MTN , have taken away some of the sector’s lustre, with Zain Sudan’s average revenue per user (ARPU) falling by half between 2008 and 2011 to $8. Higher taxes are adding to the burden. In December, Sudan raised sales taxes on telecoms companies to 30 percent from 20 percent and a profit tax to 30 percent from 15 percent. Yet the market retains huge potential should Sudan and South Sudan’s economic woes ease. Mobile penetration in Sudan is 67 percent, according to analysts Wireless Intelligence. This compares Northern Africa’s 96 percent, while South Sudan penetration is just 18 percent, one of the lowest globally. ARPU is also higher than the Northern Africa mean of $6.47 - Sudan’s is $6.90 and South Sudan’s is $10.49. South Sudan has five mobile operators - Zain, Sudatel and MTN, plus two local firms. -Reuters

Malaysia revises Islamic equity standards SYDNEY: Malaysia’s securities commission is revising its guidelines for equities which qualify for Islamic investment, in a move that could increase the appeal of the country’s Sharia-compliant funds industry to Gulf investors. Under the previous standards, investment was banned or restricted in companies that were involved in industries deemed to be unethical, such as gambling, alcohol and tobacco. These restrictions are now being made more stringent, so that a lower level of exposure to those industries is unacceptable for Islamic investment, according to a statement by the securities commission on Monday. The revised guidelines also include two new financial standards which filter out excessively cash-rich and debt-ridden companies, in order to limit exposure to interest payments and pure monetary speculation, which are unacceptable in Islam. Enhancing the “robustness” and “competi-

tiveness” of Malaysia’s fund management industry at the domestic and international levels was a motive behind the revisions, the commission said in a statement. The new guidelines will come into effect in November, and Islamic fund managers will then have six months to comply with them. The attractiveness of Malaysia’s Sharia-compliant funds to investors from the Gulf has been limited by the fact that Malaysian standards have been less strict than those advocated by many Islamic scholars in centers such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The new Malaysian guidelines should help solve this problem, fund managers said. “This is a step in the right direction,” Monem Salam, president of investment firm Saturna Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, told Reuters, adding that the move would help harmonize industry practices across the globe. Malaysia’s methodology is still less strict than the Gulf’s, but the inclusion of too many stan-

dards could hurt equity portfolios, so the regulator opted for a moderate approach, he said. In practice, Islamic fund managers have additional standards of their own on top of the ones dictated by the securities commission, which will cushion the impact of the revision. Salam said it was now up to regulators in the Gulf to respond to Malaysia’s initiative in a way that would encourage cross-border investment. “The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries should take note and meet them half-way.” As of April 30 there were 165 Islamic mutual funds with assets of 29.9 billion ringgit ($9.5 billion) in Malaysia, out of a total of 595 mutual funds of all descriptions, according to securities commission data. The securities commission’s move follows the launch last month of an Islamic interbank facility by the Malaysian central bank, an innovation seen as making the country’s money markets more appealing to Gulf-based Islamic banks. -Reuters

FILE - A Kuwaiti man sits on a bench outside the Kuwait Stock Exchange, Oct. 2, 2011. (Reuters)

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange’s KSX 15 index ended Tuesday’s trading session with a gain of 12.78 points to read 966.72 points. The price index shed 3.54 points to 5,945.08 points. The weighted index gained 3.78 points to 399.47 points. Trades came to 4,527 transactions, worth KD 18,704,182.178 and volume reached 250,220,230 shares. Top share for the day was that of Kuwait Syrian Holding Company. The biggest loser was Kuwait And Middle East Financial Investment Company, and top volume share was that of Gulf Finance House.

The 14 sector indices were mixed upon closing. The trading session on Tuesday started at Kuwait Stock Exchange and indices took on green hues in early trading with the pice index reading 5,966.84 points on an up of 18.22 points, the weighted index reading 398.93 points on an up of 3.24 points, and the KSX 15 index showing 965.59 points on a gain of 11.65 points. Trades came to 1,270 transactions at the time with value reaching KD 4,753, 376.185 and 91,152,501 shares involved. The majority of sector indices were also green at the time. -KUNA

Islamic Development Bank prices $800 million 5-year Sukuk DUBAI: Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) priced an $800 million five-year Sharia-compliant bond, or Sukuk, on Tuesday, lead arrangers said, in its first public debt issuance in over a year. The size of the Sukuk was increased to $800 million from $750 million at launch, indicating string demand for the sale, and the issue carries a profit rate of 1.357 percent. The Sukuk priced at a spread of 40 basis points over midswaps. Qatar’s Barwa Bank, BNP Paribas, CIMB, HSBC, NCB Capital and Standard Chartered are joint lead arrangers and bookrunners on the deal. Abu Dhabi-based lender Al Hilal joined the deal as co-lead manager. IDB, rated AAA, last tapped debt markets in May 2011, when it priced a $750 million five-year Sukuk at a spread of 35 basis points over midswaps to yield 2.35 percent. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

BUSINESS

WEDNESdAY, June 20, 2012

Gold extends rally; fed in sharp focus Tuesday 19 June, 2012 Index Price index Weighted Index KSX 15

Change ź Ÿ Ÿ

-3.54 3 78 3.78 12.78

NEW DELHI: India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp has made its first payment for Iranian oil in rupees, two industry sources said on Tuesday, becoming the first refiner to use a payment channel that skirts tightening Western sanctions on Iran’s trade. India is Iran’s second-largest oil buyer, but has struggled to find ways to pay for the oil as Western sanctions curb international financial payments destined for Tehran’s coffers. Since December 2010, refiners in India have been using Turkey’s Halkbank to pay their annual oil import bill of more than $10 billion, after a previous payment channel was blocked. Tehran and New Delhi agreed in January to settle 45 percent of the oil trade in rupees to ensure payments continue should any problem arise with the Halkbank agreement, and also as a way to encourage more exports from India to Iran that could be settled in rupees. “BPCL made (its) first payment on Friday and the second on Saturday. It has settled a backlog of 27 billion rupees for last fiscal year’s imports,” said one of the source familiar with the development.The figure is equivalent to $482.19 million. BPCL, unlike other refiners, could not open an account with Halkbank to pay for oil imports to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC). BPCL last received oil from Iran in January. Not freely traded

The rupee is not freely traded so Iran’s ability to use the currency to buy anything other than Indian products is limited. India last week lifted a hefty tax on the rupee payments, a move refiners had awaited before starting to make payments into the account. A second source confirmed the payment in rupees but R.K. Singh, chairman of the refiner, and its fi-

nance head, S. Vardrajan, did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. Other Indian refiners are expected to start using the new payment facility either later this week or early next week. Indian refiners are expected to cut volumes under the term deals by more than 20 percent in the year that began in April, according to Reuters’ calculations, while the government says imports could drop by 11 percent from 2011/12 figures to about 310,000 bpd. India’s oil ministry has requested the finance ministry to allow state-run refiners to lift crude from Iran on a CIF, or cost, insurance and freight basis. India has already won a waiver from tough US new sanctions in lieu of cutting imports from Iran. Iran plans to use the rupees received by Indian refiners to pay for imports from India. With BPCL paying Iran in rupees, Indian exporters hope to boost their sales to Tehran, which has cut imports from the West due to the sanctions. India is also keen to prop up sales to Iran of an array of products, from food and engineering goods, as its exports to the Islamic nation are worth only about $2.7 billion, while its oil imports from Tehran are more than $10 billion a year. One official of an Indian engineering goods manufacturer said officials of an Iranian bank had notified him the rupee mechanism for trade with the Middle Eastern country was working. “Parsian Bank has informed us that rupee mechanism is working fine and we have got a confirmation that we will get payment against one of our letters of credit on the 20th or 21st of June,” said Pankaj Bansal, a partner in TMA International. -Reuters

5,926.89 394 79 394.79 953.29

Trades Value (KD)

MARIN

IKARUS

325

16,250

5,281

Trades

Last

00 0.0

0.0

325

5.0

Change

Security

Volume Value (KWD) Number of Trades

Volume

250,230,430 18 704 515 18,704,515 4,530

Trades Value (KD)

Trades

Last

Change

High

Low

URC

108

106

232 000 232,000

24 732 24,732

108

NRE

126

122

476,000

59,035

126

4.0

SRE

265

260

65,000

17,200

265

0.0

20 2.0

NAPESCO

335

325

100

325

0.0

PEARL

777,777

23,969

2.5

AREFENRGY

130

76,700

9,971

130

0.0

TAM

0.0

GPI

877,001

44,051

-5.0

AREEC

0.0

ABAR

178

158

196,807 1,166,858

32,551 91,887

38 77

166 929.60

ź ź

-2.0 -9.24

MASSALEH ARABREC

0 35

0 304,500

0 10,531

0 9

0 35

ŷ ŷ

0.0 0.0

UREC

0.0

110

108

160,000

17,562

110

2.0

ERESCO

160,589

14,419

2.0 20.0

PIPE

India’s BPCL starts rupee payments for Iran oil

Low

5,972.80 399 47 399.47 966.72

Volume

Oil & Gas

in Singapore. “A failure to confirm more asset purchase or the like could see gold dropping again. For the moment, we expect policy decisions from the Fed to influence gold price more than risk appetite linked to the euro crisis.” The Fed appears increasingly likely to offer more monetary stimulus despite political opposition, internal reticence and concerns about whether it will be effective, economists say. Previous rounds of asset purchases by the Fed to drive down interest rates and stimulate the economy had weakened the US dollar, boosted global stock markets and polished gold’s appeal as a hedge against inflation. Gold jumped to its highest level in 2012 around $1,790 in February after the Fed at the time said it would keep interest rates near zero until at least the end of 2014. But prices have shed about 9 percent since then on no signs of further easing. Europe agreed on Monday to move towards a more integrated banking system to stem a debt crisis that threatens the survival of the euro. At a Group of 20 summit of the world’s leading industrialized and developing economies in Mexico, Germany and its big euro zone partners took the unusual step of spelling out in detail measures to complete the economic and monetary union they launched to great fanfare 13 years ago. Trading was subdued on physical markets due to spot price volatility, but there was some gold scrap selling from Thailand, dealers said. “The price keeps changing, so that has discouraged customers from coming into the market. One moment it’s down, and then it’s up again,” a dealer in Singapore said. Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York’s SPDR Gold Trust climbed by 0.33 percent on Monday from Friday, while that of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York’s iShares Silver Trust rose by 0.62 percent for the same period. -Reuters

High

5,948.62 395 69 395.69 953.94

Low

IPG

LONDON: Gold prices rallied for their eighth consecutive session on Tuesday, as investors cautiously dipped their toes back into the market with the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting in sharp focus for hints on sentiment towards extra policy stimulus. The market seemed to garnering belated safe-haven support from the euro zone crisis despite a positive outcome from Greece’s election. Spanish government bond yields fell after a sale of shortdated bills generated decent demand but borrowing costs soared with investors still jumpy ahead of another auction on Thursday. Gold stood at $1,630.55 by 1003 GMT, just off an intraday high of 1,632.90. The market is still a long way off the record seen last year at $1,920.30. US benchmark August gold futures gained $4.20 to $1,631.20, while the euro cut gains versus the dollar after Germany’s ZEW business sentiment index felt the drag of Spanish and Greek concerns. Traders and analysts said gold was starting to display safe-haven characteristics, after sliding in tandem with other markets when the euro zone’s debt problems spiraled, with investors having sought US dollars and Treasuries instead. “Gold has hardly been leading from the front as it’s been seen as a source of cash rather than a currency in its own right - but there are some signs that with ETF inventories on the rise again...that maybe, just maybe there is some fresh money coming in,” said Simon Weeks, director, precious metals sales at ScotiaMocatta in London. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) releases a policy statement at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The Fed’s current “Operation Twist” program, which involves buying long-term debt and funding the purchase by selling short-term notes, is scheduled to expire at the end of June. “Ahead of the FOMC meeting, gold bugs will watch for signs of more quantitative easing or an extension of Operation Twist when it ends this month,” said Lynette Tan, an analyst with Phillip Futures

Last Closing

5,945.08 399 47 399.47 966.72

High

Security

FILE - Nine kilograms (20 pounds) of gold are seen before being reprocessed in a non-ferrous foundry of the Safina company in the village of Vestec near Prague Aug. 29, 2011. (Reuters)

Closing

KFOUC

285

90,000

25,650

285

0.0

MABANEE

1,000

990

76,421

76,033

1,000

BPCC

600

590

738 498 738,498

441 074 441,074

600

-10.0

INJAZZAT

140 000 140,000

8 414 8,414

-3.0

0.0

INVESTORS

13,553,000

259,551

155

-0.5

ALQURAIN Basic Materials

192

188

397,055 1,385,553

75,617 559,903

16 59

192 934.28

Ÿ Ÿ

2.0 1.93

IRC ALTIJARIA

43 82

42 80

3,251,100 231,345

136,985 18,806

67 9

42 82

ź Ÿ

-0.5 1.0

SANAM

20,000

1,200

-1.0

KCEM

395

385

8,272

3,266

395

0.0

AAYANRE

52,300

4,315

0.0

REFRI

0.0

AQAR

1,000

2.0

CABLE

ALKOUT

1,140

1,120

65,145

73,564

1,120

-20.0

ALAQARIA

0.0

SHIP

198

190

1,458,387

282,173

190

-4.0

MAZAYA

20,500

1,456

0.0

PCEM

870

860

48,745

42,372

870

-10.0

ADNC

8,739,006

263,855

136

2.0

PAPER

0.0

THEMAR

0.0

130

128

75,193

9,775

128

-2.0

GRAND

0.0

ACICO

0.0

TIJARA

157,500

6,233

-0.5

GGMC

0.0

TAAMEER

10,010

430

-1.5

HCC

0.0

ARKAN

0.0

KPAK

0.0

ARGAN

0.0

KBMMC

0.0

ABYAAR

10,886,699

466,637

142

0.5

NICBM

290

23,308

6,759

290

5.0

MUNSHAAT

6,087,750

196,901

124

0.0

EQUIPMENT

0.0

FIRSTDUBAI

210,000

8,420

1.0

NCCI

0.0

KBT

0.0

GYPSUM

0.0

REAM

0.0

MRC

SALBOOKH

118,100

4,134

0.0

MENA

0.0

AGLTY

380

370

650,124

245,236

380

10.0

ALMUDON

0.0

MARAKEZ

9,050

376

-2.5

CLEANING CITYGROUP

116 500

112 485

1,624,600 7,006

183,024 3,402

85 5

114 485

Ÿ Ÿ

2.0 5.0

REMAL Real Estate

375

370

2,458,401 49,973,554

910,733 2,611,624

45 889

375 942.73

ŷ Ÿ

0.0 3.09

EDU

KGL

514,190

47,869

0.0

KCPC

0.0

KINV

0.0

HUMANSOFT

0.0

FACIL

280

50,500

14,140

280

0.0

NAFAIS

0.0

IFA

3,106,581

117,148

0.5

SAFWAN

0.0

NINV

108

104

3,044,996

321,662

104

0.0

GFC

131,000

3,190

-2.0

KPROJ

325

320

571,683

183,294

325

5.0

22,350,800

473,511

136

-0.5

COAST

856,405

36,591

0.5

1,220

1,200

26,150

31,421

1,220

-20.0

TII

0.0

MTCC

147,600

12,753

-1.0

SECH

0.0

UPAC

0.0

IIC

0.0

ALAFCO

290

280

1,255,392

355,515

285

-5.0

SGC

114

3,010

343

114

0.0

MUBARRAD

974,290

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

LIFE

wednesdAY, June 20, 2012

Threat to ‘web of life’ imperils humans, UN summit told PARIS: A feared mass extinction of wildlife also endangers billions of humans who depend on them for food and livelihood, according to a new assessment of species loss issued Tuesday at the Rio+20 conference. Experts presented a grim tableau of the planet’s biodiversity as world leaders were to arrive for a three-day summit on Earth’s environmental problems and enduring poverty. Out of 63,837 species assessed, 19,817 run the risk of following the dodo, they said. At threat are 41 percent of amphibian species, 33 percent of reef-building corals, 25 percent of mammals, 20 percent of plants and 13 percent of birds, the update of the prestigious “Red List” said. Many are essential for humans, providing food and work and a gene pool for better crops and new medicines, it said. The findings are “a clarion call to world leaders gathering in Rio to secure the web of life on this planet,” said Julia Marton-Lefevre, head of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the benchmark. “Eighty percent of our calorie intake comes from 12 plant species,” said Professor Stephen Hopper, head of Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London. “If we care about the food we eat, and the medicines we use, we must act to conserve our medicinal plants and our crop wild relatives.” Around 100 heads of state and government are expected to attend the summit-level part of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, starting in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. Widely respected, the Red List looks in detail at a small fraction of the world’s known species in order to get a benchmark of biodiversity health. UN members pledged under the Millennium Development Goals to brake the rate of loss in species by 2010, but fell badly short of the mark.After this failure, they set a “strategic plan for biodiversity” under which they vowed to prevent the extinction of “most known species.” The Red List assigns surveyed species to one of eight categories. Out of 63,837 species it assessed for its update, 27,937 were in the “of least concern” category or were “near threat-

ened,” and 255 were considered at “lower risk.” Another 3,947 were critically endangered, 5,766 were endangered and 10,104 were vulnerable, making a total of 19,817 species at threat. Sixty-three species have become extinct in the wild and 801 have become completely wiped out. The remaining 10,497 species in the survey lacked data to make a judgment. An American river mollusk called the ovate club shell is among four species that have sadly joined the list of the extinct, according to the Red List experts. The good news, though, is that two species, including an amphibian called the hula painted frog (Discoglossus nigriventer), which is only found in Israel’s Lake Hula marshes, have been rediscovered. Species loss is often the result of habitat destruction. But invasive species and, increasingly, the suspected impact of climate change, are also factors. The report placed the spotlight on reckless exploitation of oceans, lakes and rivers.“In some parts of the world up to 90 percent of coastal populations obtain much of their food and earn their primary income through fishing; yet overfishing has reduced some commercial fish stocks by over 90 percent,” the IUCN warned. It said that 55 percent of the world’s coral reefs, on which 275 million people depend for food, coastal protection and livelihood, are overfished. In Africa, 27 percent of freshwater fish are now listed as threatened, while in Asia, the important commercial species known as the Mekong herring (Tenualosa thibaudeaui) is vulnerable. Insects, bats and birds that pollinate crops provide an “ecosystem service” to humans worth more than $200 billion per year. But 16 percent of Europe’s endemic butterflies and, worldwide, 18 percent of of bats are at threat. The Red List is updated each year or more. The 2012 count of threatened species is unchanged from 201, except for birds, where the proportion is 0.5 percent higher, the IUCN told AFP. -AFP

FILE - A fish farmer swims around a fishing net containing sea bass at the Frioul fish farm near the southern French city of Marseille. (AFP)

Oldest natural pearl found in Arabia NEW YORK: French researchers have unearthed the oldest natural pearl ever found at a Neolithic site in Arabia, suggesting that pearl oyster fishing first occurred in this region of the world according to LiveScience. Discovered in the Emirate of Umm al Quwain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the pearl was believed to have originated between 5547 and 5235 BC. “Gemmologists and jewellers have popularised the idea that the oldest pearl in the world is the 5000-year-old Jomon pearl from Japan. Discoveries made on the shores of south-eastern Arabia show this to be untrue,” Vincent Charpentier, Sophie Méry and colleagues at the French Foreign Ministry’s archeological mission in the UAE, wrote in the journal Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. Some 7,500 years old and 0.07 inches in diameter, the newly discovered pearl is just the last of a series of findings at archeological sites in the Arabian Peninsula. Over the years, researchers unearthed a total of 101 Neolithic pearls, coming from the large pearl

Smoking might raise your odds for skin cancer

CONNECTICUT: Smoking has long been tied to a number of cancers, and now another tumor type, skin cancer, may join that list according to HealthDay News. A new review of data finds that lighting up may boost the risk of a common type of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Researchers sifted through the results of 25 studies conducted in 11 countries worldwide. Most of the studies included middle-aged to elderly people. This “meta-analysis” revealed that smoking was associated with a 52 percent increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma skin cancer, according to Jo Leonardi-Bee, of the U.K. Center for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Nottingham in England, and colleagues. Squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas -- collectively known as nonmelanoma skin cancer -- account for about 97 percent of all skin cancers. The incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer is rising worldwide, with about two million to three million new cases each year. The authors said they found no clear association between smoking and basal cell carcinomas. The findings were published online June 18 in the journal Archives of Dermatology, “This study highlights the importance for clinicians to actively survey high-risk patients, including current smokers, to identify early skin cancers, since early diagnosis can improve prognosis because early lesions are simpler to treat compared with larger or neglected lesions,” the researchers concluded.This isn’t the first time smoking has been link to skin cancer. In December, researchers reporting in the journal Cancer Causes Control said that women diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma were twice as likely to have been smokers than those who were free of the disease. The study, led by Dana Rollison, an associate member in the Moffitt Cancer Center department of cancer epidemiology, in Tampa, Fla., also found that men who were long-term smokers were at slightly higher risk for basal cell carcinomas. Speaking at the time, Dr. Jeffrey Dover, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University Medical School, said the findings weren’t surprising because “we know cigarette smoke contains carcinogens” and smokers are “blowing the smoke and ash around their faces all day.” Squamous cell cancer occurs in the epidermis, the top layer of skin, and can spread to other organs. Basal cell skin cancer occurs in the dermis, the skin layer beneath the epidermis. While it does not spread to other organs, it is far more common than squamous cell cancer.

“The discovery of archaeological pearls demonstrates an ancient fishing tradition that no longer exists today,” wrote the researchers. Although diving for pearls was difficult and dangerous, mother-of-pearl was an important resource in the economy of local Neolithic societies, said the researchers. The large valves of P. margaritifera’s were used to make fish hooks for the capture of fish aslarge as tuna and sharks, while spherically shaped pearls were collected for their esthetic value and for funeral rites. Indeed, the Umm al Quwain pearl, which was not drilled, had been recovered from a grave. According to the researchers, findings at local necropolis reveal that pearls were often placed on the deceased’s face, often above the upper lip. In the fifth millennium BC, half-drilled natural pearls were associated with men, and full-drilled pearls with women. “In this region, pearls still hold an important place. Indeed, today they remain a central, identifying “element,” the researchers wrote.

FILE - The oldest pearl in the world. (Agencies)

oyster Pinctada margaritifera and from Pinctada radiata, a much smaller, easier to collect species, which provides higher quality pearls.

Palm oil for India ‘destroying Indonesian forests’

PARIS: Surging demand for palm oil in India for cooking and everyday grocery items is driving tropical forest destruction in Indonesia, Greenpeace said Tuesday. In its report “Frying the Forest” the group called on Indians to boycott products by brands Britannia, ITC, Parle and Godrej, such as biscuits and soap, until the companies commit to sustainable palm oil supply chains. “Palm oil plantations in Indonesia are expanding rapidly every year to meet India’s demands,” Greenpeace forest campaigner Mohammed Iqbal Abisaputra said in Jakarta. “We are asking Indian consumers now to stop buying products made from unsustainable Indonesian palm oil.” Booming India is the world’s hungriest nation for palm oil, consuming almost 7.4 million tons last year, or 15 percent of global production, almost all of it imported, US Foreign Agricultural Service data show. Of that amount, 5.8 million tons is imported from Indonesian companies, many of which Greenpeace claims are illegally clearing carbon-rich peatland. One company targeted by the group is Duta Palma, which owns 155,000 hectares of palm oil plantations in Indonesia, the report says. The company is deforesting peatland up to eight meters deep on

the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, the report says, despite a law banning the clearance of peatland more than three meters deep. Greenpeace also claims fires continue to burn on peatland within the company’s concession, even though the slash-and-burn technique for forest clearance is illegal. The report comes after a string of successful consumer-targeted Greenpeace campaigns, in which brands like Barbie-maker Mattel and food-maker Kraft dropped paper packaging contracts with Asia Pulp & Paper, who were accused of logging outside their concession area.The focus on India marks a shift in Greenpeace’s strategy to consumers in developing countries. “Asian countries will be among the first to feel the effects of climate change, so we can no longer act as if it’s Europe or America’s problem,” Abisaputra said. Indonesia has implemented a two-year moratorium on issuing new logging concessions on peatland and other high-conservation forest. But unsustainable logging continues within companies’ existing concessions. Before the moratorium, 80 percent of Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions came from deforestation, UN data show, making it the world’s third-biggest emitter. -AFP

Natural gas discoveries put E.Africa on world energy map PARIS: Massive offshore gas discoveries in East Africa are catapulting the region into a major player in the global energy arena, bringing billions in investment that could transform entire economies. Off the pristine beaches of Africa’s Indian Ocean coast, multinationals have struck gas -- well upon well upon well. Planned investments worth tens of billions exceed the gross domestic products of some host countries, which range from regional power Kenya to impoverished Mozambique. East Africa’s coastal region, stretching out to Seychelles holds 441.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the US Geological Survey. That’s about 50 percent more than in Saudi Arabia. “The gas discoveries offshore in Mozambique and Tanzania are large and world-class, with potential for more to come, including prospects for an oil leg,” said Duncan Clarke, CEO of oil consulting company Global Pacific. “These finds will lead to LNG (liquefied natural gas) plants ... and will make the zone akin to the Northwest Shelf in Australia,” which can produce 23 billion cubic meters a year, he told AFP. Houston-based Anadarko in June announced new finds in northern Mozambique which brought its estimated recoverable resources to up to 60 trillion cubic feet. The company has proposed $15 billion in investments to set up LNG facilities. Mozambique’s GDP last year was $12 billion. Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production in May announced a $1.9billion deal to buy Cove Energy, whose 8.5-percent stake in the Mozambican fields is currently up for sale. Two weeks earlier Italy’s ENI, the other large operator in the country’s Rovuma basin, said recent discoveries boosted its recoverable resources up to 52 trillion cubic feet. “It will bring a huge flow of foreign direct investment in the region that would contribute to rapid economic growth in the region,” said Silas Olang, east African coordinator from resources watchdog Revenue Watch Institute. Mozambique expects that within

five years, the new industry will account for 13 percent of the economy, already one of the fastest-growing in the world at seven percent last year. A number of hurdles stand between producers and their potential gas wealth. “There’s very limited infrastructure in place,” said Tim Dodson, vice president for exploration at Norway’s Statoil on the company website. Statoil and Britain’s BG together have discovered around 16 trillion cubic feet in Tanzania. Mozambique’s Pemba is a good example. The closest city for offshore drillers, it’s 3,000 kilometers north of the capital Maputo, with dirt roads and little housing. Elsewhere new ports and airports are needed. Completely caught off-guard by its mineral wealth, the country also lacks the skilled workforce to set up industries, with only 50 mining graduates a year. Both Mozambique and Tanzania have had to scurry to update petroleum legislation with the new industries. Governments have also come under fire for signing opaque contracts for capital-intensive mega-projects that don’t create many local jobs. Producers from their side are nervous over taxes as governments claim increasing cuts of the spoils. Mozambique announced it would tax the Cove sale at 12.8 percent. New producers may also jostle for energy buyers “on the western edge of the Asian LNG import market and in competition with older supply centers in Southeast Asia and Australasia”, said Clarke. Questions remain how locals will benefit from the multi-billion-dollar industries. While Mozambique is booming, last year its economy created only $400 per person. Corruption is a “big challenge”, said Olang. With production only planned for five years from now, the effect may also take longer than people think, he said. “There could be the expectation that natural gas will be exploited tomorrow and we’ll benefit immediately.” -AFP

Baby robot learns first words NEWYORK: From the age of 6 months to 14 months, most children experience one of the most important transformations they’ll ever make: the transition from babbling in gibberish to speaking their first words. Curious to see if they could teach a “baby” robot to speak in a similar process, a group of researchers from University of Hertfordshire programmed their humanoid iCub robot with nearly all of the syllables that exist in the English language (around 40,000) according to LiveScience. Led by computer scientist Caroline Lyon, the team named their three-foot robot DeeChee, and had it participate in eight-minute dialogues with 34 people who acted as teachers. DeeChee was programmed to take turns listening and

speaking, but also to detect positive feedback when it repeated syllables and words the teacher had used. DeeChee used its own database to essentially repeat syllables that it heard. When DeeChee successfully repeated syllables, it recognized teacher’s encouraging words and gave extra attention to the syllables that preceded the teacher’s praise. Eventually, by the end of the eight minute sessions, DeeChee began to utter real words more often than random syllables. Researchers focused on teaching DeeChee shapes and colors. “This work shows the potential of human-robot interaction systems in studies of the dynamics of early language acquisition,” Lyon wrote in her team’s findings, published in PLoS ONE.

FILE - A group of researchers from University of Hertfordshire programmed their humanoid iCub robot with nearly all of the syllables that exist in the English language. (Agencies)

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

wednesday, JUNE 20, 2012

800,000 new refugees in 2011, highest this century : Report GENEVA: A report released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees shows 2011 to have been a record year for forced displacement across borders, with more people becoming refugees than at any time since 2000. UNHCR’s “Global Trends 2011” report details for the first time the extent of forced displacement from a string of major humanitarian crises that began in late 2010 in C™te d’Ivoire, and was quickly followed by others in Libya, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. In all, 4.3 million people were newly displaced, with a full 800,000 of these fleeing their countries and becoming refugees. “2011 saw suffering on an epic scale. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant—nio Guterres. “We can be grateful only that the international system for protecting such people held firm for the most part and that borders stayed open. These are testing times.” Worldwide, 42.5 million people ended 2011 either as refugees (15.2 million), internally displaced (26.4 million) or in the process of seeking asylum (895,000). Despite the high number of new refugees, the overall figure was lower than the 2010 total of 43.7 million people, due mainly to the offsetting effect of large numbers of internally displaced people (IDPs) returning home: 3.2 million, the highest rate of returns of IDPs in more than a decade. Among refugees, and notwithstanding an increase in voluntary repatriation over 2010 levels, 2011 was the third lowest year for returns (532,000) in a decade. Viewed on a 10-year basis, the report shows several worrying trends: One is that forced displacement is affecting larger numbers of people globally, with the annual level exceeding 42 million people for each of the last five years. Another is that a person who becomes a refugee is likely

Music, bouncy castle to launch Olympic art festival

LONDON: The London 2012 Festival, a cultural celebration across Britain to coincide with the Olympics, opens on Thursday with the spectacular - a fireworks display by Lake Windermere - and the bizarre - a life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge. The festival, which runs from June 21-September 9, is the culmination of the four-year Cultural Olympiad, and organizers said on Tuesday there would be 10 million free tickets for people to experience dance, theatre, art, music and more. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he hoped to raise public awareness about thousands of events happening up and down the country as excitement ahead of the July 27-August 12 Games built. “This is a really huge moment,” he said on Tuesday. “I don’t think the penny has yet dropped with the public. “I think they’re beginning to appreciate the scale and excitement of the Games, but the scale and excitement of the biggest cultural festival in our history is something ... I think people have yet to appreciate.” He said the festival, which cost around 55 million pounds to organize, was a chance to showcase Britain’s cultural heritage. “Not just in 2012 but every year we have the best culture in the world in this country and this is our big opportunity to bang the drum.” Some events officially counted as part of the Cultural Olympiad would have happened anyway, but many have also been put on especially for the program. To mark the opening of the festival, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel will lead the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in an open-air concert set against the backdrop of Scotland’s Stirling Castle. Also on Thursday, French pyrotechnic company Les Commandos Percu will stage a spectacular outdoor firework show on the shores of Lake Windermere in northwest England to coincide with the Olympic Torch Relay. Among the more bizarre events launching the festival will be artist Jeremy Deller’s life-sized replica of Stonehenge called “Sacrilege”. Part artwork, part bouncy castle, it will “pop up” at the National Botanical Gardens at Carmarthen in Wales and then go on a tour of the United Kingdom. Peace One Day, an organization dedicated to the idea of one day a year free of conflict, is staging a concert in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and Yoko Ono’s “Imagine Peace” art installation will be unveiled on London 2012 screens. One of the biggest events of the opening week will be Hackney Weekend, sponsored by the publicly funded BBC Radio 1, a free live music event across six stages with over 100 artists appearing including Jay-Z, Rihanna and Jessie J. Around 100,000 people are expected at the free London gig. Ruth Mackenzie, director of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival, said she hoped the budget would be justified by the level of public interest. The Olympiad has been criticized for being unfocused - a poll earlier this year showed most Britons did not know exactly what it was - and some of the projects have been derided as pretentious and costly. “The festival funding is an investment ... rather than a fund and it’s an investment of 55 million pounds. “Some of you might think it’s a lot, but I assure you, for a 12-week festival over the entire United Kingdom ... (it) is a pretty small investment and I hope that when we do the final figures after the festival we are able to demonstrate pretty good value for money.”-Reuters

to remain as one for many years - often stuck in a camp or living precariously in an urban location. Of the 10.4 million refugees under UNHCR’s mandate, almost three quarters (7.1 million) have been in exile for at least five years awaiting a solution. Overall, Afghanistan remains the biggest producer of refugees (2.7 million) followed by Iraq (1.4 million), Somalia (1.1 million), Sudan (500,000) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (491,000). Around four-fifths of the world’s refugees flee to their neighboring countries, reflected in the large refugee populations seen, for example, in Pakistan (1.7 million people), Iran (886,500), Kenya (566,500) and Chad (366,500). Among industrialized countries, Germany ranks as the largest hosting country with 571,700 refugees. South Africa, meanwhile, was the largest recipient of individual asylum applications (107,000), a status it has held for the past four years. UNHCR’s original mandate was to help refugees, but in the six decades since the agency was established in 1950 its work has grown to include helping many of the world’s internally displaced people and those who are stateless. Of the 42.5 million people who were in a state of forced displacement as of the end of last year, not all fall under UNHCR’s care: Some 4.8 million refugees, for example, are registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. Among the 26.4 million internally displaced, 15.5 million receive UNHCR assistance and protection. Overall, UNHCR’s refugee and IDP caseload of 25.9 million people grew by 700,000 people in 2011. The Global Trends report is UNHCR’s main annual report on the state of forced displacement. Additional data is published annually in the agency’s Statistical Yearbooks, and in twice-yearly reports on asylum applications in industrialized nations.

Angolan refugees having recently returned from Namibia wait in line to be served food at an arrival camp on June 14, 2012, during repatriation operations organized by Angolan government, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, in Namacunde, Cunene province, in the south of Angola. (AFP)

Korean calligraphy at the fourth Korean Cultural Diwaniya

Participants at the 4th Korean Cultural Diwaniya held Wednesday. (Al Watan Daily) Ricky Laxa Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Embassy of the Republic of Korea hosted the fourth Korean Cultural Diwaniya highlighting the topic of Korean language (Hangeul), and Korean calligraphy on Wednesday. The event commenced with a video display describing the Korean language, “Hangeul”.

The participants were informed of the styles of Korean calligraphy and were able to try them using “Hanji” (traditional Korean paper). With the help of some members of the Korean community in Kuwait, the participants were introduced to the Korean alphabets called “Hangul” and were assisted on how to spell and write their names and words by using handbrushes, Hanji paper, inks, water and ink sticks.

A participant writes her name in Korean calligraphy. (Al Watan Daily)

The participants had the opportunity write their names using the alphabets given earlier, and to add to it, participants showed the Koreans how to write their names using the Arabic calligraphy, which added more excitement and fun to the evening. All those who attended also enjoyed a blend of traditional Korean and Arabic food. The Embassy of the Republic of Ko-

rea plans to organize the next Diwaniya after the end of the summer vacation in September. However, during summer, special events such as “Girgian” for Korean community will be hosted by the Kuwaiti members. The Embassy staff hopes that the event serves as an opportunity to promote the Korean culture among the Kuwaiti society and strengthen the diplomatic bilateral ties between both countries.

Issa Samb: Senegalese artist offers Africa’s cure for West’s ills Kassel, Germany: Senegalese artist Issa Samb is looking through the park in front of a German palace for debris which he might use in his performance at the Documenta exhibition, but there is not much waste lying around. The gardeners and cleaners have raked and swept clean the vast Karlsaue Park. Among the dozens of other installations arranged as part of the Documenta 13 art show in the former royal garden in Kassel, Germany, Issa Samb’s is not the only one that utilizes found objects. Here, garbage is not only scarce, but eagerly sought after. Issa Samb, a tall, thin man in a pied-piper, patchwork overcoat, ignores all questions as he flits in and out of the rhododendrons picking up the few sticks and a couple of half-bricks he can find. His assistants urge the audience of one - a dpa reporter to lend a hand, carrying the debris back to the performance site, a grove of half a dozen tall trees in the lawn which are already hung with rich red vestments, flags and white ropes. Documenta, the world’s premier non-commercial contemporary-art show, is held every five years and registers the trends in art in an exhibition that takes over many of Kassel’s public spaces. Fewer than 300 artists were invited to exhibit their work this year. The assistants do all the talking for white-bearded Issa Samb, who merely listens attentively and sucks on his tobacco pipe as he silently directs construction of a kind of sacred grove in the park. The assistants unpack bundles of dusty-covered, tattered books. In the foreground is a market hawker’s tray of what appear to be brightly wrapped sweets. There are also chairs and clothes pegs. Issa Samb’s assemblages look like gatherings of objects that might well be charms left to appeal to the spirits of the trees. Some of the material comes from Dakar. Other items, like the sticks from the bushes, are German. Composing found objects into thought-provoking installations like this is one of the main methods of contemporary art. The Senegalese intellectual’s art is partly inspired by the practices of traditional African animistic religions. Up close, one almost overlooks the most important element in the Kassel installation: a towering Christian cross wrapped in white tape which reaches eight meters up into the branches of a poplar tree. The assistants explain that the conceptual artwork is a

Senegales artist Issa Samb wears a pied-piper coat as he directs construction of his performance-installation in a grove of the Karlsaue Park in Kassel, Germany at the start of the Documenta 13 art exhibition. (dpa)

rebuke to sectarianism and an admonition to a “world out of balance.” The animistic grove of trees embraces Christianity, Judaism and Islam indifferently.

“This is a discourse about peace and against religious and cultural intolerance,” explains the leading assistant. “It is asking you to consider why the world is so sick.” When an artist from Senegal, which is 90-per-cent Muslim, raises a cross in this way, it demonstrates tolerance towards Christianity. “We are willing to put up this cross and are not fretting about it,” said the assistant, suggesting that the West African nation could be a model for nations divided by religious hatred. “In our country, we celebrate all the festivals, even Easter and Christmas.” The viewer might want to consider whether Christianity showed tolerance towards Islam when Swiss voters adopted a constitutional amendment in a 2009 referendum banning the construction of minarets on mosques, the assistant said. “We are looking for a solution,” he added, as Issa Samb scanned the trees overhead for another bough to attach a white rope to. “After all, these trees here live on the earth without destroying the earth.” Issa Samb, who wears an artist’s beret, silk scarf and rimless spectacles, listens but remains silent as his assistants speak. On Documenta’s website he appears equally wordless in the 3-minute video clip presenting him to the European public. He breathes heavily and utters dog-like howls, but says nothing at all. Born in 1945, Issa Samb has been active for decades in the arts world of Dakar, a city that traditionally sees itself as the Paris of West Africa. Documenta’s catalogue notes that a retrospective show of his work was held in 2010 in the Senegalese National Art Gallery. Documenta, which continues until September 16, selected this year a range of artists conscious of “differing perspectives” and what the show’s leftist artistic director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev calls scepticism about “the persisting belief in economic growth.” The show, which is subsidized by the German government, is also publishing 100 books by its leading artists and theorists. For the 100 days of the exhibition, art fans from all over Europe will be touring Documenta, which is spread through city museums and parks. Art suitable for the open air is concentrated in the park, which has expanded over a flat island in a river since 1586 and is now dominated by the Orangerie, the summer palace of the former rulers of the old principality of Kassel. -dpa

ALWATAN DAILY

ENTERTAINMENT

Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Ready for the World Artist: How to Dress Well Album: Love Remains Genre: Alternative/Experimental In short: How to Dress Well is the stage name of experiment pop/R&B producer and artist Tom Krell, whose debut album, Love Remains, made a big impact critically. Pitchfork Media, Spin, and Stereogum, among others, have recognized his work and placed his album among 2010’s best of, year-end lists. The ethereal “Ready for the World” takes listeners on an unforgettable journey as it progresses from one sound to another. A must-listen. To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz NYPD Blue writer facing animal cruelty charges Former “NYPD Blue” writer Ted Shuttleworth has found himself in a real-life legal entanglement, after allegedly killing his poodle by punching it in the face. Shuttleworth, who was arrested over the weekend, faces up to a year in prison for the death, the New York Post reports. According to the paper, the 51-year-old Shuttleworth punched the 4 1/2 pound poodle, named Lola after becoming annoyed with it on May 29. New York resident Shuttleworth brought the dog to a veterinarian, who contacted the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) after becoming suspicious about the circumstances behind the dog’s death. The organization then performed a necropsy on the animal and determined that it perished as a result of the punch. -Reuters

Boy in Darth Vader car ad released from hospital The 7-year-old actor who plays a pint-sized Darth Vader in a popular car commercial is out of the hospital after openheart surgery. A spokesman for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said Max Page was released Monday, four days after his pulmonary valve was replaced in a two-hour operation. Max headed home with his parents and younger brother. Max, who plays Reed on the CBS soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” was born with a congenital heart defect and has undergone multiple surgeries. He rallied quickly after last week’s operation, giving a thumbs-up the next day and telling his parents, “I am happy” the day after that, said his mother, Jennifer Page. The valve used for Max will last about 15 years and won’t require invasive surgery to replace it, according to the hospital. He faces six to eight weeks of recovery. Maria Arena Bell, executive producer for “The Young and the Restless,” said she and others with the show were “thrilled” Max was doing well, and look forward to his return when he recovers. -AP

Arsenio Hall returning to late-night TV Arsenio Hall is returning to TV’s late-night scene, where he flourished with a talk show two decades ago. CBS Television Distribution says it is developing a syndicated nightly talk show with the 57-year-old actor and comedian. The company said Monday that the show is set to premiere in fall 2013. Hall is best known for hosting the Emmy Award-winning “Arsenio Hall Show,” which ran from 1989 to 1994. That show’s place in pop-culture history was clinched in 1992 when then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton appeared and played “Heartbreak Hotel” on the saxophone. Recently, he won the latest edition of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” -AP

Christian Borle sets a date for leaving Peter The time is ticking on catching Christian Borle in his Tony Award-winning pirate ways. The actor will be leaving “Peter and the Starcatcher” on June 30 to begin work on the new season of NBC’s show “Smash.” He won the best featured actor in a play Tony last week. Producers said Monday that Matt Saldivar will take over Borle’s part of Black Stash, the precursor of Captain Hook in the inventive play that is a prequel to Peter Pan. Saldivar, who has a role in Oliver Stone’s new film “Savages,” was on Broadway this season in “A Steetcar Names Desire.” -AP

Flying Pickets singer Brian Hibbard dies aged 65 Welsh actor and singer Brian Hibbard, who as lead singer of the 1980s a cappella band The Flying Pickets enjoyed a Christmas No. 1 with cover song “Only You”, has died after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 65. According to his agent, he passed away on Sunday evening and is survived by his wife and three children. Hibbard formed the Flying Pickets in 1982 with a group of fellow fringe theatre actors, choosing the name because several band members had been involved in Britain’s miners strikes in the 1970s. The Flying Pickets could not maintain that success, however, reaching No. 7 in 1984 with “When You’re Young and in Love” and only 71st place with “Who’s That Girl?” later the same year. Hibbard left the band in 1986 and took up acting, appearing in popular soap operas “Coronation Street” and “Emmerdale” and several other English- and Welsh-language dramas. -Reuters

WEDNESday, JUNE 20, 2012

Homeland, Community take top Critics Choice honors LOS ANGELES: Psychological thriller “Homeland” won the top prize at the Critics Choice Television awards on Monday, edging out the much-admired “Mad Men,” while “Community” was voted best comedy. Cable channel Showtime’s “Homeland” was declared best TV drama series and its star Claire Danes won the best dramatic actress award for her performance as a bipolar CIA agent on the hunt for a home-grown terrorist. AMC’s “Breaking Bad” brought home the best actor and supporting actor trophies for Bryan Cranston’s chemistry teacher-turned drug king, and Giancarlo Esposito for his turn as the evil head of a New Mexico methamphetamine ring. Flame-haired Christina Hendricks was the only winner on Monday for the multiple Emmy-winning AMC advertising drama “Mad Men”, taking the supporting actress award for her role as curvaceous office manager Joan Holloway. The little-seen but critically admired NBC show “Community” won for best comedy, while “Modern Family” stars Julie Bowen and her screen husband Ty Burrell were honored in the supporting acting categories. Louis C.K was voted best comedy actor for his FX show “Louie,” while Zooey Deschanel’s ditzy “New Girl” and “Parks and Recreation” mockumentary star Amy Poehler shared the award for best comedy actress. Britain’s updated Sherlock Holmes detective show “Sherlock” won the best miniseries and its quirky star Benedict

List of the winners of the 2012 Critics Choice Awards:

Joel McHale, left, and the cast and crew of “Community” accept the award for best comedy onstage at the 2nd Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday June 18, 2012 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)

Cumberbatch was awarded best miniseries actor. Julianne Moore took the prize for best TV movie actress for her portrayal of Sarah Palin in HBO’s “Game Change,” which charted the backstage story of Palin’s 2008 Republican US vice-presidential run. A reality series victory for singing contest “The Voice” helped struggling TV network NBC to lead the tally of winners on Monday with five awards. ABC and

AMC shows picked up three awards each, Fox had two and CBS - the nation’s mostwatched TV network - went home emptyhanded. The Critics Choice Television awards were chosen by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association and handed out a gala dinner in Los Angeles. The winners were announced a month before nominations for the primetime Emmy Awards, the highest honors in the television industry. -Reuters

Best Drama Series: “Homeland” Best Actor in a (Drama): Bryan Cranston “Breaking Bad” Best Actress in a (Drama): Claire Danes - “Homeland” Best Supporting Actor in a (Drama): Giancarlo Esposito - “Breaking Bad” Best Supporting Actress in a (Drama): Christina Hendricks - “Mad Men” Best Guest Performer in a (Drama): Lucy Liu “Southland” Best Reality Series: “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” Best Reality Series (Competition): “The Voice” Best Reality Show Host: Tom Bergeron - “Dancing with the Stars”, Cat Deeley - “So You Think You Can Dance” (Tie) Best Talk Show: “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” Best Comedy Series: “Community” Best Actor in a (Comedy): Louis C.K. - “Louie” Best Actress in a (Comedy): Zooey Deschanel - “New Girl”, Amy Poehler - “Parks and Recreation” (Tie) Best Supporting Actor in a (Comedy): Ty Burrell - “Modern Family” Best Supporting Actress in a (Comedy): Julie Bowen - “Modern Family” Best Guest Performer in a (Comedy): Paul Rudd - “Parks and Recreation” Best Animated Series: “Archer” Best Movie/Miniseries: “Sherlock” Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries: Benedict Cumberbatch - “Sherlock” Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries: Julianne Moore - “Game Change”

Beatles film actor Victor Spinetti dies LONDON: British actor Victor Spinetti, who befriended the Beatles while working on three of their biggest films in the 1960s, has died of cancer at the age of 82, his agent said on Tuesday. The Welsh-born entertainer was caught up in the frenzy of Beatlemania after appearing with the Fab Four in “Help!”, “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Magical Mystery Tour”. It was his Tony Award-winning performance in the World War One musical satire “Oh! What a Lovely War” on Broadway that prompted the band to ask him to work with them. A great story-teller, Spinetti used to joke that George Harrison had told him he had to be in all their films, otherwise “me mum won’t come and see them, because she fancies you”. “He was a wonderful actor and a wonderful raconteur,” his agent Barry Burnett told Reuters. “Everyone looked forward to having an evening with him because they were going to be entertained. He would start talking and he would never stop.” Young Beatles fans would scream and chase Spinetti down the street because of his links with the band, he added. “He loved them - they became great friends,” Burnett said. “One of his stories was that when he flew over to New York there were big crowds at the airport. So he said ‘who’s on the plane?’ and they said ‘well, they’re waiting for you’. His association with the Beatles made him the next best thing to them.” In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spinetti starred with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and entertained thousands with a mix of songs and stories at his one-man show. He worked alongside Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in a 1972 version of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood”, as well as more than 30 other feature films. Born in a coal-mining village in a tough part of south Wales in 1929 to an Italian father and a Welsh mother, Spinetti

FILE - In this undated photo Victor Spinetti appeared in London’s West End, with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in more than 30 films, including the first three by the Beatles. (Agencies)

grew up above the family’s fish and chip shop. He thought of becoming a teacher before going to drama school in Cardiff, the Welsh capital. In a newspaper interview in 2008, Spinetti said he was baffled by actors who turned down work or refused to tour,

Bieber’s hot show melts down Apollo power NEW YORK: Justin Bieber had an unplugged performance at the Apollo Theater on Monday, but it wasn’t intentional - a problem caused a power outage during the singing sensation’s big concert. The singer was nearing the end of a private show in front of a packed house when the power for most of the stage instruments suddenly went out, said his manager, Scooter Braun. “Then we hear the fire alarm,” Braun said by phone Monday evening. “Literally, the boy blew up the Apollo - he heated up the Apollo.” But Bieber still managed to finish his show, with the help of fans singing along with him. “What it turned into was an Apollo moment, like one of those impromptu things,” said Nina Flowers, the Apollo’s rep. “It was one of the most special nights I have ever been a part of,” said Braun. The power outage, which only affected the stage instruments and some lighting, occurred toward the end of the show. Braun said they were told the problem was supposed to be only a few minutes, but it stretched to more than 40 minutes. At first, Bieber took the outage in stride. “He was joking, he said it was all the hot girls in here,” said Flowers. He then got on the drums, which were working, for a solo, and had the crowd serenade Braun for his birthday. But then Bieber got upset at the disruption of the show, which was being taped as part of an NBC special to air

later this week. However, instead of getting mad, Bieber decided to put his energy into performing for his fans, who stayed in the audience during the delay. “He walks out, he literally quiets the crowd, and he says, ‘I’m sorry the power is out. . (But) you guys have always had my back. I’m going to sing ‘Boyfriend’ and you’re going to sing it back to me.’” He then launched into his hit song from his new album “Believe” as the crowd of mainly teen girls sang along as he danced, Braun said. Flowers couldn’t say what caused the power outage, but she praised the 18-yearold entertainer for finishing the show. “He could have stopped; he could have not gone on and said, I did everything . but he came back on,” said Flowers. She added that Bieber showed reverence throughout the night for the famed theater, a hallowed hall where the likes of James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Bieber’s idol, Michael Jackson, have performed. “It was really like a special moment,” she added. Bieber’s concert was part of a series of promotional appearances to push his album “Believe,” out Tuesday. It has garnered strong reviews. Braun said he’s hopeful the album will prove that Bieber has more to him than just hype. “Every step of the way he’s been doubted,” Braun said. “’’He is a great artist and entertainer and tonight he showed that.” -AP

telling drama students to learn “the three Rs: redundancy, rejection and resting”. “If you can handle those, do it. Don’t do it because you want something, but because you have something to give,” he said. -Reuters

Amy Winehouse’s dad details cycle of addiction NEW YORK: Amy Winehouse’s father says he has a hard time enjoying her breakthrough “Back to Black” album because the songs are about her ex-husband. Mitch Winehouse blames Blake FielderCivil for leading her into drug abuse, and he details her long decline in a new memoir, “Amy, My Daughter.” His views on the British singer’s ex-husband have been stated before and are well known. Amy Winehouse, whose “Back to Black” disc sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and won a Grammy Award for album of the year in 2008, died of accidental alcohol poisoning in July. The British singer was 27. Mitch Winehouse, a former taxi driver and aspiring singer, writes in the memoir that it recently occurred to him that one of the biggest-selling albums of the 21st century is all about Fielder-Civil, whom he disparages. He prefers his daughter’s jazzy first album, “Frank,” which wasn’t released outside England until after her later success. His memoir is scheduled to come out June 26. The Associated Press bought a copy on Monday. Winehouse recalls his daughter as a girl writing into a notebook phrases that later turned up in songs and his pride as her singing talent became evident. But most of the book is about a seemingly endless cycle of attempted recoveries and relapses as she battled drugs and alcohol. Winehouse also says that his daughter

suffered from stage fright throughout her career. She had breast enlargement surgery more than a year before her death and considered plastic surgery on her nose. Amy Winehouse’s strong will may have helped her during her career, but it didn’t help with substance abuse, her father writes. “Long before Amy was an addict, no one could tell her what to do,” he writes. “Once she became an addict, her stubbornness just got worse. There were times when she wanted to be clean, but the times when she didn’t outnumbered them.” He writes that he could never understand why she was so in love with Fielder-Civil, a music industry hanger-on. The book details his numerous run-ins with Fielder-Civil and his family. “It wasn’t as if he brought much good into her life, or so it seemed to me,” he writes. Some friends believed that Winehouse grew to dislike singing the songs on “Back to Black” because they reminded her of her exhusband and that was one reason she drank so much before she performed. Tape of a drunken Winehouse stumbling through a set months before she died became a great embarrassment to her after it spread widely on the Internet. Alcohol was trouble because it was freely available and she could drink wherever she liked, mostly without public criticism, writes her father, who worried “her illness might end up killing us both.” -AP

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, june 20, 2012

Cricket

Bravo hits 77 as W. Indies set England 239 to win

West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo jumps as he makes his ground during the second one-day international against England at the Kia Oval in London June 19, 2012. (Reuters)

LONDON: England, 1-0 up in the three-match series of one-day internationals, produced a good performance in the field to restrict West Indies to 238 for nine in the second game at The Oval on Tuesday. Playing his first match for West Indies in 14 months, big-hitting opener Chris Gayle bludgeoned a quick-fire 53 in 51 balls after England won the toss and put the visitors in to bat. Gayle took a particular liking to Tim Bresnan as he smashed the seamer for three huge sixes. The opener was eventually given out lbw to Graeme Swann in contentious fashion. Gayle reviewed his dismissal to the television umpire who upheld the original decision even though replays were inconclusive as to whether the ball took an

inside edge before or after it struck his pad. The wicket triggered a collapse as West Indies slumped from 63 for nought to 79 for four, captain Alastair Cook helping England’s cause by running out opener Lendl Simmons for 12 with a direct hit at the bowler’s end. Dwayne Bravo then combined with Kieron Pollard (41) to put on 100 for the fifth wicket as the sunshine started to emerge from behind the clouds in London. The pair produced some controlled hitting and Bravo top-scored with 77 from 82 deliveries before holing out to Ravi Bopara who took a steepling catch off the bowling of James Anderson. Anderson and Stuart Broad took two wickets apiece for the home team. -Reuters

Olympics

India’s govt declines SOS from India tennis over picks

Perera rewarded for ODI displays with Sri Lanka test call COLOMBO: All-rounders Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis and fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara were included in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad on Tuesday for this week’s first test against Pakistan in Galle. Perera was named man of the series in the five-match one-day encounter against Pakistan that was won 3-1 by Sri Lanka on Monday. Leg-spinner Mendis is the only uncapped test player in the squad. “We brought in Kulasekara and Perera because of injuries to our fast bowlers,” said chairman of selectors Ashantha de Mel. Among the pacemen nursing knocks is Dilhara Fernando who hurt his shoulder during practice. “We have brought Mendis into the squad because he looks a wicket-taking bowler as he showed during the fifth onedayer on Monday,” said De Mel. Mendis, who took two for 30 in the final one-dayer, is unlikely to play in the first test as he is behind left-armer Rangana Herath and off-break bowler Suraj Randiv in the pecking order and Sri Lanka may only play one spinner. “With the weather looking uncertain there is a likelihood we may go with an additional seamer because Tillakarane Dilshan can also bowl off-breaks,” added De Mel. Tharanga Paranavitana returns to open the batting with Dilshan at the expense of Lahiru Thirimanne. The test starting on Friday is the first in a three-match series. -Reuters

FILE- Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera plays a shot during their second One Day International (ODI) cricket match against Pakistan, in Pallekele June 9, 2012. (Reuters)

Boxing

Mayweather, Pacquiao top athlete income list NEW YORK: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the boxers that fight fans worldwide want to see in the ring together, top the list of the 100 highest-paid athletes released by Forbes magazine. Mayweather, who ranks No. 1 for making 85 million US dollars off two fights last year, is serving a three-month jail sentence for domestic battery in Las Vegas, having failed in a bid to serve the remainder of his time under house arrest. While his doctors and co-manager warned that staying behind bars might cause irreparable damage to his fitness and risk his boxing career, the undefeated US fighter is expected to climb back into the ring, likely later this year. But Mayweather will not be fighting Filipino icon Pacquiao in the mega-bout that boxing fans have sought for years. Pacquiao, second on the list at 62 million US dollars from earnings and endorsements, lost to unbeaten US fighter Tim Bradley on July ninth and they are set to fight a rematch in November. Tiger Woods, who had topped the Forbes list since 2001, fell to third this time with 59.4 US dollars million, his earnings off 16 million US dollars from the previous year and by half since his peak in 2009, mostly due to lost endorsement deals. It was in 2009 that Woods, a 14-time major champion chasing the 18 major ti-

tles won by Jack Nicklaus, saw a sex scandal erupt that caused him to start his 2010 season late and 2011 saw Woods nagged by injuries. Woods went on a 17-month win drought until he won last March at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He followed up with a victory earlier this month at the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial but has not won a major since the 2008 US Open. Miami Heat star LeBron James ranks fourth at 53 million US dollars, the highest of 13 basketball players and on the list. The Heat are playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals as James seeks his first league crown. While a lockout last year trimmed 20 percent off his salary, endorsement deals boosted his total and a marketing partnership made him a stakeholder in English Premier League football side Liverpool. Swiss tennis star Roger Federer was fifth at 52.7 million US dollars followed by NBA star Kobe Bryant at 52.3 million US dollars, US golfer Phil Mickelson at 47.8 million US dollars, English football star David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy at $46 million and Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo at $42.5 million, with the top annual salary of any athlete in any league at $20 million. American football boasts 30 players on the list, topped by No. 10 Peyton Man-

ning, the former Indianapolis Colts star who was cut in March and signed with the Denver Broncos for $96 million over six years. Manning’s 42.4 US dollars million ranks 10th overall and he continues to be the top endorsement pitchman among gridiron stars. In total, the top 100 made 2.6 billion US dollars. Only two women, both tennis players, cracked the list -- Russian star Maria Sharapova, the newest career Grand Slam winner after her French Open final triumph earlier this month, and China’s Li Na, the 2011 French Open champion. Sharapova was 26th at 27.9 million US dollars, thanks in great measure to huge global endorsement totals as well as 5.9 million US dollars in prize money over the past year. Li was 81st overall at 18.4 million US dollars, with seven new endorsement deals after becoming the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles crown. Cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni ranked No. 31 and India batsman Sachin Tendulkar was No. 78. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the reigning 100- and 200-meter Olympic champion and world record-holder who figures to be a top attraction at the London Olympics, was 63rd with 20.3 million US dollars. -AFP

Tennis Mahesh Bhupathi (right) high 5’s with team-mate Rohan Bopanna of India during their mens doubles second round match against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus and Jamie Murray of Great Britain on day four of the AEGON Championships at Queens Club on June 14, 2012. (AFP)

NEW DELHI: The India government has turned down the national tennis body’s unexpected call for help to sort out the muddled men’s doubles team pick for the London Olympics. National sports bodies don’t usually like interference from the government but the All India Tennis Association made the surprise move after being asked by the sports ministry to explain the selection of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi as the sole men’s pair for London. The selection became controversial as Bhupathi and compatriot Rohan Bopanna are a team on the ATP Tour, and they refused to pair up with Paes, the highest-ranked player in the world among the trio at No. 7 in doubles. The sports ministry was quick to decline the offer of cleaning up the mess, saying it only wanted an explanation since eminent players were involved. “The sports ministry advised the AITA to exercise the option which is in the best of national interest,” it said in a statement on Tuesday. Sports minister Ajay Maken asked for an explanation since the government was funding Olympic preparations, and two doubles teams qualified for the Olympics - Paes along with another partner by virtue of his top-10 ranking, and Bhupathi and Bopanna because of their combined ranking of 26. “What is the justification of denying two players, who have qualified as a team on merit, by sending just one Indian team when India can send two teams?” Maken wrote to the AITA on Monday. AITA replied that it selected Paes because he was

the only one to receive an Olympic entry due to his world ranking and deserved to be part of a strong team. “We may kindly explain that if Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna are entered as a team, then Leander Paes will have to partner some other player and since Somdev Devvarman is injured, it will have to be the next best player who is either Yuki Bhambri, who is ranked 306 in the world, or Vishnu Vardhan, who is ranked 207 in the world,” AITA said. “AITA had noted that Mahesh and Rohan were playing together, but at no stage had stated that they will necessarily be sent as a pair, irrespective of the standing of other players.” AITA added “there is no need to send a team which has no medal-winning prospects.” The controversy drew comments from Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, who has not been actively involved in the national body’s affairs since spending nine months in jail last year on corruption charges relating to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “As two teams have qualified in tennis for the London Olympics, I think in the national interest both teams should be sent,” Kalmadi said in a statement. “I support the sports minister’s stand and I hope AITA would change its stand with a view to get more medals.” It is not immediately clear whether Bhupathi will partner Sania Mirza in mixed doubles, despite the pair having won the French Open this month. The deadline for sending in entries is Thursday. -AP

Kvitova suffers Wimbledon setback at Eastbourne LONDON: Petra Kvitova’s preparations for the defence of her Wimbledon title suffered a setback when she was beaten by Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in the first round of the Eastbourne International on Tuesday. The number two seed, who beat Maria Sharapova in the final of last year’s Wimbledon, lost 7-5 6-4 to Makarova who is ranked 48th in the world.

Kvitova had looked in good shape heading into the grasscourt season, having lost in the semi-finals of the French Open to eventual champion Sharapova. Makarova is joined in the second round by number five seed Angelique Kerber of Germany who beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina 3-6 6-0 7-5. Wimbledon starts on Monday. -Reuters

Ekaterina Makarova of Russia returns against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during their first round women’s singles match on the fourth day of the AEGON International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, southern England, on June 19, 2012. (AFP)

SPORTS

Football Sweden 2

England 1

France 0

France reaches Euro 2012 quarters despite 2-0 loss

France’s Gael Clichy (left) fights for the ball with Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic during their Group D Euro 2012 soccer match at the Olympic stadium in Kiev, June 19, 2012. (Reuters)

KIEV, Ukraine: France backed into the quarterfinals of the European Championship on Tuesday, losing 2-0 to Sweden but going through thanks to England’s win over Ukraine. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one of the best goals of the tournament with an acrobatic volley in the 54th minute and Sebastian Larsson added an injury-time goal to give already eliminated Sweden its first points of the tournament. The margin of victory could have been bigger as France was outplayed for much of the game despite only needing a draw to guarantee a spot in the next round and facing a team with nothing to play for but pride. The loss ended France’s 23-game unbeaten streak but it still finished second in Group D after England beat Ukraine 1-0 in Donetsk. France will face Spain in the quarterfinals but will need a much better performance to give the defending champions much of a challenge. England finished with seven points, while France had four and Ukraine and Sweden bowed out with three each. France looked lackluster throughout much of the game and couldn’t finish when it did threaten the

WEDNESDAY, june 20, 2012

Swedish goal. Substitute Jeremy Menez had France’s best chance to tie it when he broke into the area in the 81st minute but his low shot was stopped by goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson’s leg. From the resulting corner, Olivier Giroud headed just wide. Karim Benzema was largely ineffective again and remained scoreless at the tournament. Instead, it was Ibrahimovic who stole the show with another spectacular goal to add to his resume. The tall AC Milan striker met Sebastian Larsson’s cross from the left and put himself nearly sideways in the air before striking the ball perfectly past a helpless Hugo Lloris in the France goal. Lloris then single-handedly kept France in the game over the next few minutes as Sweden kept pressing, making point-blank saves to deny Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg. Larsson finally added the second by emphatically volleying a rebound into an empty net and finally giving the large contingent of Swedish fans a reason to celebrate. For France, though, it’s back to the drawing board after a performance that would probably not go far against Spain. - AP

Polish FA chief refuses to resign after Euro exit

Ukraine 0

Lucky England win to enter quarter-finals DONETSK, Ukraine: England scraped into the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 here Tuesday after a goal-line refereeing blunder helped them to a 1-0 win over Ukraine which sent the co-hosts crashing out. A 48th-minute header from returning talisman Wayne Rooney was enough to see England finish top of Group D and send them into a quarter-final in Kiev on Sunday against Italy. However Ukraine, missing injured captain Andrei Shevchenko -- were desperately unlucky not to have earned at least a draw after Marko Devic had a clear goal wrongly disallowed on 62 minutes. Devic had powered into the box and his looping shot had flown over keeper Joe Hart towards goal. John Terry launched himself into an acrobatic clearance to hook the ball away but despite furious Ukrainian appeals no goal was given. Television replays, however, showed the ball had crossed the line by several inches but had incredibly been missed by the additional assistant referee stationed behind the goal. It was a goal-line controversy that echoed Frank Lampard’s disallowed effort for England against Germany at the 2010 World Cup and is almost certain to hasten the introduction of goal-line technology. FIFA is expected to approve the introduction of two systems which are currently being tested at a meeting after the European Championships. England will head to their quarter-final meeting with Italy chastened by the knowledge that on another night they could have been heading home after being outplayed for much of the match. England had ridden their luck in a one-sided first-half which Ukraine dominated, carving out a string of promising openings only to be denied by either desperate defending or the goalkeeping of Joe Hart. Rooney’s long-awaited return to the starting line-up failed to galvanise the England attack as manager Roy Hodgson had hoped for, and the Manchester United striker looked hopelessly short of match-sharpness.

All too often Rooney’s first touch or timing let him down, a sure sign of the England talisman’s anxiety and general ring-rustiness. That was best illustrated by the striker’s failure to convert a golden English chance on 28 minutes, with an unmarked Rooney mistiming his jump to glance a header from an Ashley Young cross wide. Otherwise it was all Ukraine, who had started brightly with Denys Garmash letting fly as early as the sixth minute. Terry then had to be alert shortly afterwards, snuffing out the danger after Andrei Yarmolenko threatened to dart clear into the box. Scott Parker then hurled himself into the path of a Devic shot on 12 minutes as England continued to struggle to get in the game. Terry was pressed into action once again on 18 minutes when he blocked a shot from Yevgeny Konoplyanka with his shoulder as the Ukrainian onslaught continued. A Young mistake then let in Oleg Gusev, who cut in from the right and shot over the bar. A goal seemed to certain to come in the 30th minute when Artem Milevskiy released Yarmolenko into the area only for Hart to save well from close range. Yarmolenko then had the Ukrainian fans roaring in delight with a mazy dribble into the box that Lescott scrambled clear. But somehow England had managed to stay level at the break and then three minutes after the restart they got a goal that stunned the hosts. Steven Gerrard beat Yarmolenko down the right and sent a dangerous cross into the six-yard box. The ball took touches off two Ukrainian defenders before skidding through goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov to Rooney for the simplest of headers. Yet Ukraine fought back brilliantly, with Milevskiy heading just over the bar on the hour mark before the flashpoint involving Devic and Terry that ensured the headlines would be dominated by the goal-line technology debate. Shevchenko’s arrival from the substitutes bench on 70 minutes threatened a revival but there was to be no fairytale ending for the veteran striker as England hung on desperately. -AFP

English forward Wayne Rooney (right) watches the ball hit the post of Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov during the Euro 2012 football championships match England vs Ukraine on June 19, 2012. (AFP)

FIFA extends match-fixing bans in South Korea, Croatia ZURICH: FIFA has imposed global bans from soccer on 13 players and coaches found guilty of match-fixing in South Korea and Croatia. FIFA says its disciplinary committee ordered binding verdicts to extend national suspensions. Former South Korea international Kim Dong-hyun was banned for life, and Choi Sung-kuk got a five-year ban.

The South Korean investigation involved fixed matches in the K-League and League Cup. In Croatia, coach Vinko Saka, former NK Medimurje players Mario Darmopil, and goalkeeper Danijel Madaric were banned for life. They helped fix top division matches in the 2009-10 season. The FIFA bans prohibit playing or working in world soccer. -AP

Bayern in talks with ex-Barca boss Guardiola: Bild

President of the Polish Football Federation Grzegorz Lato (left) talks with Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski (right) during the Group A Euro 2012 soccer match between Poland and Czech Republic at the City Stadium in Wroclaw, June 16, 2012. (Reuters)

WARSAW: The head of the Polish FA refused to bow to growing pressure to resign after the Euro 2012 co-hosts failed to reach the knockout stage, saying on Tuesday he did everything possible to help the team prepare for the tournament. On Monday, Sports Minister Joanna Mucha called on Grzegorz Lato to step down after Poland were knocked out after finishing bottom of Group A, failing to win any of their three Group A matches despite playing in front of enthusiastic home crowds. “I don’t see any reason for me to resign because the team did not advance out of the group,” Lato told a news conference. “I and the association did everything for our team to prepare them for the Euros.” Lato, Poland’s leading scorer at the 1974 World Cup, had vowed to “take a manly decision” and resign from his post at the Polish FA (PZPN) if Poland did

not qualify for the quarter-finals. Lato has fended off charges he has mismanaged the Polish FA and denied unproven accusations of corruption. The domestic ruling soccer body has been under fire from politicians in recent years. Before Lato took over, a court appointed two temporary commissioners to run the organization, but Poland backed down after protests from FIFA and UEFA. Lato said he had already begun to look for a replacement for Franciszek Smuda as Poland’s coach. “After the loss with Czech Republic in Poland’s final group game, we started receiving proposals from Europe and even Brazil to take over as coach after Smuda,” Lato said. “We have a board meeting on June 27 and this question will be discussed there. It’s not like I will think up a coach and serve him up on a platter.” -Reuters

BERLIN: German giants Bayern Munich are in talks to sign former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola when current boss Jupp Heynckes steps down in 2013, mass circulation Bild reported on Tuesday. Bayern’s director of football Christian Nerlinger held talks in May with Guardiola’s brother Pere, who is also his advisor, on the sidelines of the Spanish Cup Final, which Barcelona won 3-0, Bild said. “The world-class manager is said to have signalled his interest,” the paper wrote. Guardiola, 41, delivered three Spanish league trophies, two Champions Leagues, two FIFA World Club Cups, two UEFA Supercups, three Spanish Supercups and two Spanish Cup victories in four years as coach at the Nou Camp. Heynckes has a contract running until 2013. Bild said this was “perfect timing.” “Guardiola wants to take a year out to recharge his batteries and study. It’s perfect timing ... he can then learn German at his leisure,” said the paper, usually well informed on comings and goings at Bayern’s Allianz Arena. Bayern defender Holger Badstuber, who is with the Germany team at Euro 2012 and is set to face Greece in Friday’s quarter-final, said Heynckes’ boots will be hard to fill. “It’s news to me, but we have a legendary coach in Jupp Heynckes who has wealth of experience and whoever comes after him is for the board to decide,” said Badstuber. -AFP

FILE- Pep Guardiola, taking part in a training session at Stamford Bridge in London, on the eve of the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg football match between Barcelona and Chelsea, April 17, 2012. (AFP)