March 12, 2012

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1371

20 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

Cabinet leaves decision for PM to face, delay interpellation

Pay raise issue deferred, Parliament office to ‘correct’ storming complaint Mohammed Al-Salman Mohammed Al-Khaldi

Staff Writers

KUWAIT: The Cabinet on Sunday agreed that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah should be left to decide during Parliament’s session tomorrow (Tuesday) on whether to face the interpellation filed against

him by MP Saleh Ashour or request to postpone for two weeks. Meanwhile, a ministerial team is due to contact MPs in order to gauge their stances concerning the motion. The team will accordingly inform the prime minister about those positions.

An informed source asserted that a meeting will be held by the Cabinet tomorrow morning at the National Assembly ahead of the planned session to decide on the right approach for handling the interpellation.

The source indicated that the Cabinet will assign the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah to maintain order during deliberations, and will be assisted by the Minister of State for National As-

sembly Affairs Shuaib Al-Muwaizri.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet adjourned decision on the report compiled by the Civil Service Commission regarding the proposed wage increase for further examination.

This comes at a time when sources close to MP Saleh Ashour affirmed the lawmaker’s readiness to question the premier if the latter agreed on discussing the interpellation.

It has been gathered that MP Ashour will conduct a rehearsal today on how to handle the interpellation along with supporting documents.

For his part, MP Abdulatiff Al-Omairi has described the idea of signing a no-cooperation motion against the premier as a prejudiced political

Lawmakers call for supporting UAE against Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood statements

Muslim Brotherhood’s statement is irresponsible: GCC spokesman

KUWAIT: Lawmaker Faisal Al-Duwaisan said that he will question the reasons behind the attack made by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt against the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this week, Qaradawi criticized the UAE’s decision to revoke the visas of anti-regime Syrians as “forbidden” under the Islamic Shariah law, reminding the UAE rulers that the protesters were only “human.”

“I believe that the Muslim Brotherhood has exaggerated the whole issue and thus meddling into the affairs of the UAE is against the spirit of Arab unity, not to mention that it has blown out of proportion the number of Syrian nationals deported from the country,” he said.

The MP demanded that the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait publicly express its support to the UAE and its measures, while at the same time condemning Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi’s statement

against the Gulf country. The MP said that it is time that the GCC comes out a strong single unity against an attack on one of its members, adding that the Muslim brotherhood is trying “to terrorize the UAE”. The Dubai Police Chief, Lt Gen Dahi Al-Khalfan, criticized the Kuwaiti Islamic scholar Tareq Al-Suwaidan for commenting on his hint for a possible arrest warrant against Al-Qardhawi.

Khalfan had threatened to arrest Shiekh Qaradawi for criticizing the UAE for reportedly revoking the visas of Syrians who demonstrated against the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad outside of the Syrian consulate in Dubai. Khalfan, last week vowed to arrest Qaradawi, who often appears on Al-Jazeera television and is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, if he renewed his criticism. “We are going to issue an arrest warrant against Sheikh Qaradawi” Khalfan wrote on his Twitter account.

“If he insults the UAE will we leave him?...Whoever insults the state or the government of the UAE, I will pursue him,” the police chief added.

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stance. He stressed that the no-cooperation motion should be signed after listening to the discussion of the interpellation.

Speaking to Al Watan, the MP suggested that the interpellation will expose those who are bent on destroying the National Assembly with the aim of obstructing work therein and creating a wrong impression among the citizens that the Chamber is there only to create tension.

Al-Omairi further questioned the timing of the interpellation, as it came soon after the new Cabinet was formed, and urged his fellow MPs to give government time to perform. The lawmaker went as far as accusing some of the losers of the recent parliamentary elections of undermining the Na-

tional Assembly. In the same vein, MP Dr. Khaled Al-Shakhyer reiterated his support for any interpellation against corruption, noting that MP Ashour has used his constitutional right. “We noted that the prime minister has shown cooperation by announcing that he will step up to the podium in a public session and that he will not defer or refer the motion,” the MP was quoted as saying.

Moreover, parliamentary sources have revealed that the National Action Bloc is facing an embarrassing situation regarding its stance toward the interpellation. It has been informed that the Bloc is likely to support the motion and to talk about the issue of Bedouns during the deliberations.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Annan ends Syria trip with no deal DAMASCUS: UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said he was optimistic after a second round of talks with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday, but acknowledged it would be difficult to reach a deal to halt the bloodshed.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be difficult but we have to have hope,” he told reporters in Damascus. “I am optimistic for several reasons,” he said, citing a general desire for peace in Syria.

Annan told reporters he had left “concrete proposals” with Al-Assad, and called for an immediate halt to the killings in Syria, where the United Nations says Assad’s forces have killed 7,500 people in a year-long crackdown on protests. Authorities say 2,000 soldiers have been killed by insurgents. “I have urged the president to heed the African proverb which says you cannot turn the wind, so turn the sail,” Annan said. Syria needed to embrace change and reform, he said. “You have to start by stopping the killings and the misery and the abuses that (are) going on today and then give time (for a) political settlement,” he said. Diplomats at the United Nations in New York expressed pessimism about the prospects for Annan’s mission after troops poured into the northwestern city of Idlib late on Saturday just hours after his first meeting with Al-Assad.

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Japan marks anniversary of tsunami, quake disaster

A girl lights candles in front of a temporary shopping complex in the earthquake and tsunami-devastated city of Kesennuma, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, Sunday, March 11 2012, to mark the first anniversary of the massive disaster that devastated Japan’s northeast one year ago. (AP)

OFUNATO: With a moment of silence, prayers and anti-nuclear rallies, Japan marked on Sunday one year since an earthquake and tsunami killed thousands and set off a radiation crisis that shattered public trust in atomic power and the nation’s leaders. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake unleashed a wall of water that hit Japan’s northeast coast, killing nearly 16,000 and leaving nearly 3,300 unaccounted for. The country is still grappling with the human, economic and political costs. The prevailing mood in tsunami-hit communities was one of solemn reflection and resolve to move on despite frustration with the confused official response and slow pace of rebuilding. In contrast, those who felt betrayed by Japan’s “nuclear village” - the powerful nexus of utilities, politicians and bureaucrats that promoted nuclear power as clean and safe - were less forgiving. The Japanese people earned the world’s admiration for their composure, discipline and resilience in the face of the disaster, while its companies impressed with the speed with which they bounced back. As a result, the $5 trillion economy looks set to return to pre-disaster levels in coming months with the help of about $230 billion earmarked for a decade-long rebuilding effort agreed in rare cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties.

German idea for new EU constitution gets mixed response COPENHAGEN: A German suggestion to debate once more the creation of an EU constitution won mixed responses on Sunday, with France’s foreign minister welcoming the idea but only nine countries planning to attend a seminar in Berlin.

Germany’s foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said on Friday the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, drafted after Dutch and French voters rejected a proposed constitution in 2005, was not enough to keep European decision-making structures effective.

In particular, Germany wants to strengthen the bloc’s ability to fight off financial troubles and counterbalance the rising influence of emerging economies.

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US soldier kills up to 16 Afghan civilians in shooting spree

KABUL: A US soldier has killed more than a dozen Afghan civilians, many of them women and children, in a night-time shooting spree in southern Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the shootings as “intentional murders” and demanded an explanation from the US. The victims of the shooting spree, which left up to 16 civilians dead, included nine children and three women, Karzai’s office said in a statement.

The White House said it was deeply concerned by initial reports of the incident and was monitoring the situation closely. Eleven members of one family who lived just a few hundred meters from the soldier’s base in Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province were killed when he broke into their compound after 3:00 a.m. and sprayed it with bullets, villager Ustad Abdul Halim said.

The father of the family, Wazir, and one child survived only because they were away from their homes.

The attacks took place in the villages of Balandi and Alkozai, and the US soldier went into three different houses and

opened fire, the Associated Press reported. The area is a former Taliban stronghold that has seen years of heavy fighting between insurgents and coalition forces.

The soldier, who the Nato-led coalition said was arrested after the assault, appears to have made no attempt to cover up the shootings. The coalition’s deputy commander, Adrian Bradshaw, acknowledged there had been deaths, although he did not give a number. Photographers at the burials saw the bodies of at least 15 bodies riddled with bullets. Halim put the death toll at 16, with others who were injured receiving treatment in a Nato military hospital. Halim and another man from the village, Haji Satar Khan, said four people from the family of Fahed Jan, and one child from another family died in addition to the 11 members of Wazir’s family. The Afghan Taliban would take revenge for the deaths, the group said in an e-mailed statement to media. The killings sparked a demonstration in the district, prompting the US embassy to warn residents and travelers in Kandahar to exercise caution. -AP

Greece eyes elections after debt deal

Egypt parliament to consider cutting off US aid

CAIRO: Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament called on Sunday for a vote on stopping US aid, but it is unlikely that such a move would oblige the nation’s military rulers to ask Washington to halt $1.5 billion in American aid this year. The move by the People’s Assembly was sparked by the March 1 departure of six American defendants in a case of 43 employees of nonprofit groups accused of using illegal foreign funds to foment unrest in Egypt. The 43 include 16 Americans, nine of whom were already outside the country when the case was referred to trial. One opted to stay behind and face the trial. The rest of the 43 are mostly Egyptians, Jordanians, Palestinians and Germans.

The US threatened to cut off aid to Egypt over the issue, but the departure of the six partially eased the crisis, the worst between the two allies in 30 years.

Even if the 508-seat chamber voted to reject US aid, such a move could amount to a symbolic gesture given the wide powers enjoyed by the generals, who collectively act as the presidency, and the

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likelihood of them approving it in the name of national interest. The exit of the American defendants, however, kicked off a storm in Egypt, prompting many to accuse the ruling generals of bowing to US pressure and intervening in the work of the judiciary.

In Sunday’s session, lawmakers complained the US had no respect for Egypt’s sovereignty and called for a vote on a noconfidence motion in the military-backed government.

The move against the government came after four Cabinet ministers briefed the chamber on the case. Lawmakers constantly interrupted their testimonies.

Several lawmakers later said it was the generals and not the government that must be questioned about the nation’s “humiliation” by the United States over the case. The generals have said they had nothing to do with the Americans’ departure and that the entire affair was in the hands of the judiciary. However, the judge who presided over the trial’s opening hearing on Feb. 26 excused himself late last month, citing uneasiness. -AP

An aerial view shows the pack on its way during the annual Engadin cross country skiing marathon somewhere between Maloja and S-Chanf in southeastern Switzerland, Sunday, March 11, 2012. Around 12,000 sportsmen and -women participated in the event. (AP)

Ahmad Assad says was brutally run over by Qatari citizen

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Iran tells West to drop ‘bullying’ tone

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that the West should drop its “bullying” stance against his country and insisted that sanctions imposed over its nuclear program were having no more than a “psychological” effect.

“As God is my witness, the Iranian nation will not give a damn for (your) bombs, warships and planes,” he said in a televised speech in the city of Karaj west of Tehran.

“They say all (options) are on the table. Well, let them rot there. You yourself will rot,” he railed, in characteristically fiery language.

Ahmadinejad said the United States and its EU allies “should talk politely, and recognize the rights of (other) nations, and cooperate instead of showing teeth, and weapons and bombs.”

His words came as Iran and major world powers - the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany - are poised to revive stalled talks amid high tensions over Tehran’s nuclear activities. The United States in particular has repeated that “all options are on the table” when it comes to Iran, raising the specter of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

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Thousands of people take part in an anti-austerity demonstration in Madrid on March 11, 2012. This is a test of support for a general strike called for March 29. (AFP)

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ALWATAN DAILY

kuwait

MONDAY, march 12, 2012

Lawmakers call for supporting UAE against Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood statements Muslim Brotherhood’s statement is irresponsible: GCC spokesman Compiled by Al Watan Daily

KUWAIT: Lawmaker Faisal Al-Duwaisan said that he will question the reasons behind the attack made by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt against the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this week, Qaradawi criticized the UAE’s decision to revoke the visas of anti-regime Syrians as “forbidden” under the Islamic Shariah law, reminding the UAE rulers that the protesters were only “human.”

“I believe that the Muslim Brotherhood has exaggerated the whole issue and thus meddling into the affairs of the UAE is against the spirit of Arab unity, not to mention that it has blown out of proportion the number of Syrian nationals deported from the country,” he said.

The MP demanded that the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait publicly express its support to the UAE and its measures, while at the same time condemning Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi’s statement against the Gulf country.

The MP said that it is time that the GCC comes out a strong single unity against an attack on one of its members, adding that the Muslim brotherhood is trying “to terrorize the UAE”. The Dubai Police Chief, Lt Gen Dahi AlKhalfan, criticized the Kuwaiti Islamic scholar Tareq Al-Suwaidan for commenting on his hint for a possible arrest warrant against Al-Qardhawi.

Khalfan had threatened to arrest Shiekh Qaradawi for criticizing the UAE for reportedly revoking the visas of Syrians who demonstrated against the regime of President Bashar

FILE - Photo obtained from online shows Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, Mahmoud Ghozlan. Ghozlan warned that his movement and “Islamic work as whole” will take action to defend Shiekh Qaradawi if the cleric is arrested by the UAE.

Al-Assad outside of the Syrian consulate in Dubai.

Khalfan, last week vowed to arrest Qaradawi, who often appears on Al-Jazeera television and is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, if he renewed his criticism.

“We are going to issue an arrest warrant against Sheikh Qaradawi” Khalfan wrote on his Twitter account. “If he insults the UAE will we leave him?...Whoever insults the state or the government of the UAE, I will pursue him,” the police chief added.

Al-Suwaidan, was quoted as saying on a satellite TV channel, that security forces should be polite with senior religious scholars, adding

strong reactions will emerge if an arrest warrant is issued against Qaradawi. He explained that Qaradawi criticized the role of certain security forces that are running the affairs of their countries.

Al-Suwaidan also lashed out at the decision to strip some UAE nationals of their citizenships and described it as unjust.

Accordingly, Al-Khalfan hinted at his intention to pursue Al-Suwaidan for his sharp criticisms. “Who is Al-Suwaidan to ask me to be polite? What did I do against him? I will take a legal action against Al-Suwaidan to deter him,” the police chief was quoted as saying.

On his part, MP Osama Al-Shaheen said

that the MPs are fully in support of the UAE. Asked about the statement released by the GCC Secretary General, the MP said that the issue was discussed in Parliament, pointing out at the same time that few tried to cause problems over “a simple topic published on Twitter by one of the UAE officials”.

The lawmaker added: “Our position here is natural and uncompromising in all the UAE’s problems, including its islands which are occupied by Iran. This begs the question of whether those trying now to have a question time slotted purposefully during the Parliament session for this issue. Would they have done the same over the occupation of the three islands?” he wondered, adding that it would be most fitting on the part of those who are keen to showcase their support to the UAE to equally focus and to concentrate on the national issues, particularly the issues of development and growth.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Saturday condemned a statement by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood spokesman, Mahmoud Ghozlan, in which he threatened action against the United Arab Emirates if the Gulf country attempts to capture and prosecute prominent Muslim scholar.

Brotherhood spokesman Ghozlan warned that his movement and “Islamic work as whole” will take action to defend Shiekh Qaradawi if the cleric is arrested by the UAE. In his statement, Spokesman Ghozlan said: “Dubai’s statement to arrest Sheikh Al-Qaradawi is indeed a crime against Muslims and their scholars. It’s a shame that they released statements of this kind. Not only will the Muslim Brotherhood move against the UAE, but also the entire Muslim world”.

GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif Zayani stood firmly against a deliberate escalation against the United Arab Emirates by the Mus-

lim Brotherhood of Egypt. He condemned Ghozlan’s statements, saying they were “irresponsible and lack wisdom.”

In response, Secretary General Zayani said: “Ghozlan’s statements are irresponsible and lack astuteness and certainly contradict the very principle behind the ties which cement relations between Arab and Muslim countries.

It further works against the aims and objectives of the GCC and Egypt who have enjoyed good and healthy relations for years”.

Al-Zayani stressed that any attack on the United Arab Emirates is seen as an attack on the Gulf Cooperation Council itself adding that the threats made against the UAE is utterly rejected and split the Arabs’ attempt to showcase a united front. Meanwhile, Emirati authorities have demanded an “explanation” from Egypt over Muslim Brotherhood support for criticism of the United Arab Emirates by an influential cleric.

The foreign affairs minister of state, Anwar Mohammad Gargash, “met Egypt’s Foreign Minister (Mohammed Amr) and demanded an explanation on comments” by Spokesman Ghozlan, an Emirati spokesman told AFP. In a statement received by AFP on Sunday, the opposition Syrian National Council said it had not asked Qaradawi to “intervene” in the case of the expelled Syrians.

“We do not need a mediator between us and the UAE, with which we have strong ties,” it said.

The UAE cancelled the residencies of dozens of Syrians who demonstrated outside the Syrian consulate in Dubai on Feb 10.

The Brotherhood is a major player in Egyptian politics, with its Freedom and Justice Party having won the majority of seats in parliament following last year’s uprising which toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

Amir’s visit to Cabinet discuses action plan for the 14th legislative term Philippines’ vital for ties: Academic KUALA LUMPUR: Philippine’s University of Santo Tomas professor in political science, Zenia M. Rodriguez, assured that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s upcoming visit at the end of March would strengthen the ties between both countries.

Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Rodriguez said “The bilateral relationship between Kuwait and the

Philippines is more focused in the fields of trade and investment.”

“The Philippines government under the leadership of President Aquino is focused more on strengthening its efforts on economic diplomacy and trade relations with Middle East countries, especially Kuwait.”

She pointed out that Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del

Rosario had confirmed Kuwait’s plans to expand its financial process by investing in Philippines.

Rodriguez added that Kuwait has looked into the possibility of investing in the Philippines’ downstream oil industry during the joint projects. The upcoming visit comes as an opportunity for dialogue about investing in oil refining industry. -KUNA

MoI inspects farms for absconding workers Nafel Al-humaidan Staff Writer

Room View of Cabinet’s Sunday session, March 11, 2012. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: The Cabinet held its weekly session Sunday afternoon in the Sief Palace under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

Following the session, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, at the beginning of the session, on behalf of all ministers, welcomed His Highness the Prime Minister who returned home after undergoing regular medical checkups in the United Kingdom.

His Highness the Prime Minister thanked God for his health and thanked His Highness the Amir and His Highness the Crown Prince for their care, he also thanked all citizens who contacted him.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah briefed the Cabinet on the results of his participation in the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting of which was held Saturday in Cairo, as Head of the current session of the Arab League. He said that

the Russian Foreign Minister delivered a speech and discussed the latest developments in Syria with the Arab League. He pointed out that it has been agreed to stop violence, creating a neutral oversight mechanism, rejecting foreign intervention, providing humanitarian aid to all Syrians and providing full support to the UNArab League envoy Kofi Annan to Syria.

He also briefed the Cabinet on his meeting with Annan before his visit to Damascus, where they stressed the need to commit to Arab League resolutions on Syria.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet discussed a proposal by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Planning and Development on the government’s action plan for the 14th legislative term (2012/20132015/2016), which came in accordance with the speech of His Highness the Amir and His Highness the Prime Minister during the opening session of Parliament. The action plan will abide by all instructions and politics and projects included in the mid-term development plan for 2011/2012-2013/2014, and long-term annual and strategic vision of the State of Kuwait (2035), and the long-term strategies until 2035. -KUNA

Cabinet leaves decision for PM to face, delay interpellation continued from page 1

The Bloc will also touch on the government’s failure to submit a plan of action, with MP Musallam Al-Barrak expected to dwell on allegations that the government has channeled public funds through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On the other hand, the official spokesperson for the National Action Bloc MP Musallam Al-Barrak called for the loans interests incurred by citizens to be written off. The interests reached at 1.5 billion Kuwaiti dinars in Dec. 31, 2011.

In another development, the National Assembly Office has decided to issue a statement pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the storming of the Parliament.

The Parliament Secretary confirmed that the statement will be formally issued today. He also revealed that the Office has asked the Deputy speaker Khaled Al-Sultan to keep track of the new Parliament building

project with the Experts Department.

Parliamentary sources have disclosed that the Parliament Office overwhelmingly voted in favor of correcting the complaint filed by the previous Parliament Office concerning the storming of Parliament rather than withdrawing the complaint. Reportedly, the Parliament’s Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee MP Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaie walked out of the meeting, while MP Marzouq Al-Ghanem protested against the decision.

In other news, MP Osama Al-Shaheen has criticized the government for not being ready to address the issue of pay increases. The lawmaker said this issue was one of the most important issues that contributed to the popular movement against the previous government. Speaking to Al Watan, MP Al-Shaheen expressed hope that the current government does not repeat the mistakes of its predecessor, while stressing that strike is a legitimate right for syndicate to press for wage increments.

KUWAIT: The Head of Kuwait Farmers Union Barrak Al-Sabeeh confirmed that the board submitted a request to Ministry of Interior concerning recruiting laborers from Bangladesh to work in the farms and prohibiting them from transferring their residencies to any other private sector institutions, but the ministry of interior rejected this request.

Al-Sabeeh said in a press statement

that the officials of ministry of interior have promised to prepare a comprehensive security plan to inspect farms in order to discover any workers who may abscond their sponsors. As for those who set aside shelters for absconding workers, they will be forced to pay the fees of deporting workers to their countries.

Al-Sabeeh disclosed that the union has asked the ministry to assign some representatives for different branches of Immigration Department that will be received by the union in order to complete

the transactions of farmers. Furthermore, the two sides agreed on coordinating with each other to facilitate the procedures that farmers need for running their farms.

He added that the meeting was held according to a previous request that was sent to the ministry by the union. Ministry of Interior has also promised to solve all problems that farmers face, particularly the absconding cases were the ministry of interior will end such issue by endorsing new procedures in coordination with Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. -KUNA

Al-Shamali may be questioned by Popular Bloc: MP Al-Barrak

Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali (center) during Sunday’s Parliament session, March 11, 2012. (Al Watan) Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Popular Action Bloc Spokesperson and Member of Parliament (MP) Musallam Al-Barrak said that the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali is one of three ministers who may be questioned very soon.

Meanwhile, Al-Barrak said that some considered the support of MPs to the constitutional right of MP Saleh Ashour as a no-cooperation act against the government. He said that the claim was “inaccurate” and explained that supporting the interpellation doesn’t mean taking a stance against the government, but rather it is a support to a constitutional tool. He noted that questioning the Prime Minister doesn’t indicate that the MPs are unwilling to cooperate with

the government.

Al-Barrak said that some ministers are not eligible to hold their posts. He added that the Popular Action Bloc is closely watching three ministers, including Al-Shamali. He pointed out that Al-Shamali failed to address any of the issues addressed to him including the issue of allowances, as well as to providing protection to violators in the bodies affiliated to his ministry.

Al-Barrak said that the investigatory committee will hold a meeting next Monday, during which he will invite the Minister of Finance and the Fact Finding Committee, in the presence of StateAudit Bureau (SAB) and Dr. Bader Al-Subaei.

He said that the Fact Finding Committee was formed by the former minister in order to clear the people involved, as

proven by SAB. Meanwhile, Al-Barrak called for writing off the interests of loans taken by citizens, which reached 1.5 billion dinars in Dec. 31, 2011. He argued that article No. 20 of the Constitution states that “The national economy shall be based on social justice” and “Its aim shall be economic development, increase of productivity, and improvement of the standard of living”.

Al-Barrak held the Board of Directors of Central bank responsible for the escalation of the loans as it failed to play its supervisory role. He said the board’s decision No. (2/220/1995) which wrote off the regulations required to setting a ceiling on loans taken by banks from clients against banking services urged banks to increase fees.

ALWATAN DAILY

KUWAIT

monDAY, march 12, 2012

MP Fadhl says Ashour’s questioning is ‘unnecessary’ Abbas Dashti Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Member of Parliament (MP) Nabeel Al-Fadhl assured that the interpellation motion that was submitted against the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak by the MP Saleh Ashour is not necessary at this point, however, pointing out that the MP has the right to submit such motion due to the several accusations he faced recently related to the multi-million heist.

The lawmaker released his statement during a press conference held in the Diwaniya of Academic Writers in Rumaithiya area, which was attended by a number of

academic figures, politicians and activists.

In a similar field, he emphasized that the government has the right to hold a secret session to discuss the motion.

On a different note, Al-Fadhl agreed that he is against the killing of Syrian women and children, however he questioned if the current Kuwaiti government has supported the Syrian people against the regime. Al-Fadhl wondered how both countries will have ties in the future, assuming that the regime did not fall. He added that the government has to deal with this issue according its convictions and must not accept any political pressure. He pointed out that the current premier has showed success of leadership for

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MP Al-Omairi criticizes PM questioning

rejecting the request of the Majority Bloc to appoint nine ministers that support the bloc’s plans.

The MP said that he is against the idea of writing off loan interests because there are many people who were not offered to take any loans, describing the current Parliament as a dysfunctional because it is led by the Majority Bloc.

He added that laws of money laundry need to be amended, due to the specific selection regarding the MPs who were loyal to His Highness Sheikh Nassir Mohammad Al-Sabah.

He indicated that foreign transactions date back to the Iraqi Invasion and that they are not something recent.

Mubarak Al-Begheili Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Member of Parliament (MP) Abdulateef Al-Omairi asserted that signing the no-cooperation document by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak before facing the interpellation is considered to be a predetermined political stance. He explained that this document should be signed after listening to the interpellation.

He stressed that the interpellation will unmask those who are willing to sabotage the National Assembly and will deliver an image to the citizens which portrays the MPs are trouble makers. He added that filing interpellations is a

right for every MP, asserting that he also has the right to form an opinion after listening to the interpellation and the reasons of both parties.

Al-Omairi criticized those who plan to file an interpellation against Sheikh Jaber, since the government has been recently formed. He called for granting the government some time before judging its performance.

He added that this interpellation will hinder the efforts of the National Assembly and the required achievements.

He revealed that those who failed to become MPs will seek to sabotage the efforts of the National Assembly.

He also criticized the MPs who announced that they will file successive interpellations.

Residents react differently to removal of fences around public parks Public parks fences removal will encourage residents around the area to take responsibility over the property Ricky Laxa Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Residents dwelling around public parks reacted differently to the removal of protective fences surrounding such parks. Many objected to the idea for reasons of security and others nodded for reasons of visibility that further prevent illegal acts committed during wee hours of the morning. In recent interviews with selected residents in Salmiya area, where park fences have been removed if not modified, some expressed mixed reactions. Al Watan Daily spoke to a representative who requested anonymity from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries who is apparently in charge of parks’ maintenance in Kuwait.

Residents around Salmiya Park Garden voiced their concern over security and safety for their children as well as for some women who often take time to walk or jog around its pathways. Accountant in a private firm Ayeesha Karim expressed her disappointment as the fences around the park were torn down. She commented strongly that the government sector in charge of implementing the move committed a huge mistake and that study and investigation prior to carrying out should have been conducted. “When we asked as to why the fences have been torn down, no one could provide clear answers even the media provided brief and unclear responses to queries.

News published earlier that reported illegal and immoral

Most of the parks are located adjacent, if not linked to main roads, which can trigger fatal accidents to children that may stray from parents’ attention. (Al Watan Daily)

acts committed within the parks triggered the move to tear down the fences. Questions still remain then, should the rest of the parks suffer similar fates? Instead of directing on such baseless recounts, why not focus on maintaining these parks’ facilities such as the plants, benches, and public toilets attached to them. If the concern is about security then why not install cameras or provide more guards to ensure closure of the parks towards late hours?” questioned Karim.

Public servant Nour Al-Khaleed shared similar sentiment with Karim. She added that although not all parks’ fences have been taken down, yet she worries about security for children, since most of the parks are located

adjacent if not linked to main roads that can trigger fatal accidents to children that may stray from parents’ attention. “If the problem is all about illegal or immoral acts then why not assign police authorities during busy hours, their presence will create secured impression around park.

Fences are protection and without them, people can simply come from different directions and surely more crimes if not delinquency and misbehavior among the youth will prevail. Fences can control flow of visitors and guests coming in the parks and without them will create fear, uncertainty, doubt and eventually refusal to use its facilities. Parks have been built for people to use for reasons of fitness, family bonding, relaxation and brief time-out from

stressful day, but without those fences, all these are hardly achievable and defeated the purpose of the word “Public Use”, concluded Al-Khaleed.

Not everyone shared similar sentiments with Al-Khaleed and Karim, Businesswoman Souad Hajja claimed that tearing the fences down of parks will have repercussions, but eventually provide equal use of the parks for everyone regardless of gender or nationalities. Parks are essential for those who love outdoors and passionate about their fitness regimen.

“Why go through such difficulties of installing cameras, police presence and other measures to stop unsolicited acts? Personally we are responsible of our children’s safety and ourselves and learning to act and dress appropriately in public definitely will not welcome such unwanted people and incidences. We take risks in everything we do in public and we cannot put in the hands of police authorities what should be our own responsibilities”, commented Hajja. She added that should police authorities claimed that illegal and immoral acts occur in these places, then breaking the fences will not only give the park users better protection but will definitely prevent and stop these incidences.

Police officer Hamad Sultan disclosed that parks have been for sometime nests of criminal and immoral acts. The fences used to be built around them were low, making the parks easily accessed by runaway thieves and other law offenders. Sultan added that several immoral cases have been reported and some have been caught in uncompromising situations by authorities. “The move to break down fences of parks located on busy areas is a wise decision. It will increase visibility and access for residents around the area. Some of the parks have been havens for sexual abusers and isolated cases of suicide have been committed.

Police authorities can never be everywhere when we need them and reporting such crimes will lessen, if not prevent them from occurring. Public parks fences removal will encourage residents around the area to take responsibility over the property and care for it can be a community service that will involve everyone,” commented Sultan.

Ahmad Assad says was brutally run over by Qatari citizen Kuwait’s participation in Arab bazaar draws interests Youssef Al-Youssef Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti citizen Ahmad Assad, who was purposely hit by a car driven by a Qatari man, regained his consciousness and revealed that the Qatari suspect ran him over brutally with his car.

The judge ordered to renew the detention of the suspect to March 25, while the court session witnessed heated bickering.

The suspect confessed that he had verbally offended the victim and his friends.

Al Watan rushed to Al-Razi Hospital to interview Assad who is still suffering severe pain and struggles while talking. Due to his incomplete recovery, Assad

was unable to elaborate on the incident. Al Watan then decided to end the interview in order not to cause any relapses.

The judge decided to renew the detention of the suspect who will stand before the court again. The judge then will either renew his detention, or will release him on bail.

The court listened to the statements made by the suspect who said that the victim and his friend threw a solid object at his head, which prompted him to verbally offend them.

The suspect also claimed that the victim and his friends attacked him using knives, which forced him to get into his car. He added that another car collided with his, which caused the police to arrest him.

MADRID: Arab women diplomats have held a philanthropic bazaar for promoting Arab culture and heritage of the nation, and Kuwaiti participation with national products has drawn interest of a large number of visitors. Jawaher Al-Sabah, second secretary of the Kuwaiti embassy in Madrid, said Kuwait has always taken part in such bazaars and gatherings, with support from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince and the Foreign Minister, praising enormous efforts that have been exerted by the Kuwaiti ambassador to Spain, Adel AlAyyar, for holding the event.

Kuwaiti press delegation concludes mission to Turkey KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti delegation grouping eminent and senior journalists along with media figures have ended their seven days visit to Turkey, where they held talks with ranking officials and representatives of academic and information establishments Adnan Al-Rashed, the coordinator of the mission and Director of Kuwait Journalists Association, told KUNA that the delegation is being closely examined and information are being gathered about the progress that has been achieved by this nation in different sectors.

The Kuwaiti media associates were briefed by the Turkish leaders on Ankara’s stances and the discussions of different regional issues, in addition to build a bounding relationship with the Gulf region.

He said that this successful mission would help in “Filling some gaps in the bilateral ties in the media field,” pointing out that he and his colleagues visited a number of official, media and academic institutions in Ankara.

Al-Rashed thanked the Kuwaiti authorities, namely the foreign ministry, the diplo-

Recent Photo of Kuwaiti delegation and senior journalists with Turkish media figures at a meeting on their last day of the week’s visit to Turkey. (KUNA)

matic staff in London namely the dean of the diplomatic corporations, ambassador Abdullah Al-Thuwaikh, and Chairman of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Sheikh Mubarak Al-Duwaij Al-Sabah for their help and contributions in supporting the mission. He also expressed gratitude to the staff of the news agency in Ankara for their supportive role. The Kuwaiti ambassador has confirmed that this mission would certainly give the developing of Kuwaiti-Turkish relations, particularly in the media field.

The Kuwaiti delegation group has met with President Abdullah Gul, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Ali Babajan, and Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Boland Arnich, for discussing various issues regarding the common concerns and the relations between Ankara and Kuwait.

The Kuwaiti media figures had also met with officials of the state media and information with the national authority for launching investments and the faculties of information and political sciences. In Istanbul, it was hosted by the national Arabic language television channel and they were interviewed on Thursday to discuss the ties of both countries and their impressions towards the mission.

The Kuwaiti delegation includes officials of daily local newspapers, the Chairman of Kuwaiti Journalists Association (KJA) and KUNA’s Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ahmad Yusuf Behbehani as well as KUNA’s Editor-in-Chief Rashed Al-Rwaished.

The delegation also includes Editors-in-Chief of Al-Anbaa, Al-Rai, Al-Nahar, Kuwait Times domestic newspapers, as well as Editor-inChief of Al-Yaqaza magazine and other officials. -KUNA

Kuwait took part in the Arab Philanthropic Bazaar, held late on Saturday, with two pavilions, displaying in one national products, and only food items in the other.

The event was co-organized by the Society of Arab Women Diplomats, the Spanish government and the Madrid Municipality.

Proceeds will be granted to a society specialized in researches on cancer and another for treating patients.

Mashael Al-Kanderi, spouse the second secretary of the Kuwaiti embassy, Meshari Al-Naibari, affirmed significance of such workshops to promote the Arab culture, traditional products, and praised high turnout

at the Kuwaiti sections. Hoda Al-Medlej, member of the society, said the association, that has been holding the bazaar regularly since 2007, has established the department of translated books and documents. She thanked the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information and identical authorities in the other Arab states for contribution with various books. Moreover, she noted high demand for the Kuwaiti magazines, Al-Arabi and Alam Al-Maarefah. Kholoud Al-Muawad, spouse of the diplomatic attaché, Nasser AlAteeq, affirmed that the participation in the event was intended to promote the name of Kuwait. -KUNA

4

ALWATAN DAILY

regional

Slippers and ‘the motorcycle’

By Hossam Fathi

KUWAIT: I would not be surprised if the news agencies announced the names of Egyptians who did not run for presidential elections. What is going on? Is what we saw in front of the doors of the Presidential Elections Committee a “queue of freedom”? Anyone who meets the conditions can get the documents, although it is known that he will not be able to collect signatures of 30 thousand people or 30 MPs. I really wonder if those people were legitimate seekers or fame seekers, or perhaps they want to acquire the file for the sake of nostalgia, maybe they’re just crazy. Is it something more serious? Is there an attempt to distort the process of candidacy to the highest post in Egypt, and making it a joke?

The circus which we saw can never express the true mettle of Egypt and the Egyptians. The scene of people carrying the files should never continue. It must be controlled.

I say to the dear brothers who want to join the queue to get the file “The situation in beloved Egypt doesn’t lack in confusion”. A candidate came from Sharqiya riding a “Chinese” motorcycle. Another one was wearing slippers. Is it appropriate to wear a slipper when receiving the candidacy papers? Please put an end to this farce. hossam@alwatan.com.kw Twitter:@hossamfathy66

NEWS IN BRIEF Iraqi bodyguard, family killed in house raid BAGHDAD: Authorities say gunmen broke into a house north of the Iraqi capital and killed the sleeping family inside before blowing up the property.Police said Sunday’s early morning strike appeared to target a bodyguard of the mayor of Tarmiyah, 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Baghdad. The pre-dawn attack happened a few miles (kilometers) away, in the Sunni Muslim-dominated village of Mishahda. Police said the bodyguard, and his wife, sister and two young daughters were killed. A medic at a military hospital in Tarmiyah confirmed the casualties. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Al-Qaeda in Iraq frequently targets government and security officials. -AP

Tunisia, Egypt reject calls for Libya federalism TRIPOLI: Tunisia and Egypt want a united Libya and reject calls for federalism for their neighbor, the Tunisian foreign minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. “Tunisia and Egypt share the goal of preserving national unity, security and stability in Libya,” the official LANA new agency quoted Rafik Abdessalem as saying. At a meeting in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi last Tuesday attended by thousands, tribal and political leaders unilaterally declared the region of Cyrenaica autonomous, raising fears the country might split up.

Thousands of people demonstrated across Libya on Friday against the proposed secession of the oil-rich region, a move that was sharply condemned by the interim government in Tripoli. -Reuters

Clashes erupt after funeral in Bahrain MANAMA: Police in Bahrain fired tear gas at protesters following the funeral for a 22-year-old man whose family claims he was fatally injured during clashes earlier this month in the Gulf kingdom. Hundreds of people marched Saturday toward a police station after the burial of Fadhel Mirza, who died early Saturday after suffering head injuries March 1.

His family said he was hit at close range by a tear gas canister while walking near street battles between Shiite-led protesters and security forces for Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy. In the clashes after his funeral, some protesters threw firebombs at police. There were no reports of injuries. -AP

MONDAY, march 12, 2012

Annan ‘optimistic’ despite lack of Syria deal DAMASCUS: UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said he was optimistic after a second round of talks with Syrian President Bashar AlAssad on Sunday, but acknowledged it would be difficult to reach a deal to halt the bloodshed.

“It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be difficult but we have to have hope,” he told reporters in Damascus. “I am optimistic for several reasons,” he said, citing a general desire for peace in Syria.

Annan told reporters he had left “concrete proposals” with Al-Assad, and called for an immediate halt to the killings in Syria, where the United Nations says Assad’s forces have killed 7,500 people in a year-long crackdown on protests. Authorities say 2,000 soldiers have been killed by insurgents.

“I have urged the president to heed the African proverb which says you cannot turn the wind, so turn the sail,” Annan said. Syria needed to embrace change and reform, he said.

“You have to start by stopping the killings and the misery and the abuses that (are) going on today and then give time (for a) political settlement,” he said.

Diplomats at the United Nations in New York expressed pessimism about the prospects for Annan’s mission after troops poured into the northwestern city of Idlib late on Saturday just hours after his first meeting with Al-Assad.

Activists had expressed concern that the city would suffer a similar fate to the Homs neighborhood of Baba Amro, which was stormed by

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar AlAssad (right) meets with Kofi Annan, the United Nations special envoy to Syria, in Damascus, Syria, March 10, 2012. (AP)

government troops on March 1 after a monthlong bombardment in which hundreds of people died.

Al-Assad said on Saturday he would back any “honest” bid to end the violence that

monitors say has claimed more than 8,500 lives since March last year but warned dialogue would fail if “terrorist groups” remained, state media said.

On Sunday, at least four soldiers and three

Iran tells West to drop ‘bullying’ tone TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that the West should drop its “bullying” stance against his country and insisted that sanctions imposed over its nuclear program were having no more than a “psychological” effect.

“As God is my witness, the Iranian nation will not give a damn for (your) bombs, warships and planes,” he said in a televised speech in the city of Karaj west of Tehran.

“They say all (options) are on the table. Well, let them rot there. You yourself will rot,” he railed, in characteristically fiery language.

Ahmadinejad said the United States and its EU allies “should talk politely, and recognize the rights of (other) nations, and cooperate instead of showing teeth, and weapons and bombs.”

His words came as Iran and major world powers - the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany - are poised to revive stalled talks amid high tensions over Tehran’s nuclear activities.

The United States in particular has repeated that “all options are on the table” when it comes to Iran, raising the specter of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

US President Barack Obama, though, has cautioned against “bluster” in talking about possible war with Iran, saying there still exists a window of diplomacy.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, welcomed Obama’s “good talk” but called US determination to continue with sanctions an “illusion”.

The United States and other Western governments suspect Iran is working towards a nuclear weapon capability, although US intelligence services say Tehran has made no decision yet on whether to produce an actual bomb.

Iran, for its part, denies it is even researching nuclear weapons.

Ahmadinejad said: “They should know they will never prevail. There are no acute problems in the country and its economic pillars are strong. It is a psychological war.”

The Iranian president also dismissed Israel, which has been leading the bellicose rhetoric, as “a dead entity”.

“Do not think that just because idiot leaders of regional countries support you, you will cement your basis in the region,” he said.

Ahmadinejad also lashed out at Arab governments backing the Western pressure against his country - implicitly including Saudi Arabia, which is pumping extra oil to make up for curbed Iranian exports. “The (Arab leaders) have no support among their people. If they give only one day of freedom to their nation, their people in the one day will topple them all,” he said. -AFP

Israel says Gaza strikes to go on ‘as long as necessary’

Second Gulf Forum on Human Rights kicks off in Oman MUSCAT: The Second Gulf Forum of National Institutions for Human Rights kicked off in Oman on Sunday, organized by the National Human Rights Commission, under the auspices of the Chairman of Oman State Council Dr. Yahya Bin Mahfouth AlMonthiri. The two-day forum themed “the role of national institutions in promotion and protection of human rights: national experiences” aims at enhancing the protection of human rights.

It focuses on the performance of the civil society institutions in spreading awareness concerning basic human rights supported by the universal declaration of human rights, and the Paris principles, as well as relative local laws. The ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation also contributes in supporting the establishment of human rights national committees through evaluating their performance.

The forum also works to strengthen ties and exchange of expertise between human rights national committees in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, civil society institutions, regional, and international human rights organizations.

The Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Oman Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Riyami said in press remarks that the forum will discuss a number of issues including international standards and principles of the establishment and work of national committees for human rights.

The forum will review the considerable expertise of human rights institutions in Oman and GCC countries, in addition to re-training members and staff of such bodies. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Coordinating Committee, International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as a number of governmental and public bodies in the field are taking part in the event.

The First Gulf Forum of National Institutions for Human Rights that was held in April 2010 in Qatar recommended having the meetings as regular events to be hosted by member states in rotation. -KUNA

An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket near the southern city of Ashdod, Israel, March 11, 2012. (Reuters)

JERUSALEM: Israel will continue air strikes against Gaza “as long as necessary,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, giving no indication that a ground operation was likely for now.

“We extracted a high price from them and will continue to do so,” he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “We will act as long as necessary.”

His comments came as Israeli war planes carried out four air strikes on Gaza on Sunday morning, bringing the death toll in three days of clashes to 18.

Violence between Israel and Gaza militants erupted on Friday afternoon when an Israeli strike killed the leader of the ultra-hard-line Popular Resistance Committees, sparking a bloody cross-border exchange.

Militants have fired more than 100 rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel in the past three days, wounding four people. Some of them were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.

In remarks to public radio, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman justified the initial attack against PRC leader Zohair Al-Qaisi, calling him “a ticking bomb.”

But he said a ground operation in Gaza was “not desirable,” unless it had the clear goal of overthrowing the territory’s Hamas rulers.

Speaking before the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz warned that “sooner or later, we will probably have to put an end to the Hamas regime, the terror regime, in Gaza.”

But Education Minister Gideon Saar cautioned that “there is no need to rush into a wide-scale campaign,” like Israel’s December 2008-January 2009 Operation Cast Lead.

And Environment Minister Gilad Erdan argued that a ground operation would be a dangerous diversion from Israel’s current priority - preventing a nuclear Iran.

“Our defense systems are working well, particularly Iron Dome, and the army has inflicted heavy losses on the terrorists, so for the time being, there is no need for a ground operation,” he said.

“The Israeli interest is for the world to focus on sanctions on Iran, not on an Israeli military campaign.” -AFP

civilians died in a string of incidents in Idlib province, monitors said. State news agency SANA said “terrorists” shot dead a boxing champion, Ghiath Tayfour, in the northern city of Aleppo.

After seizing Idlib town, troops fanned out into rural areas of the province on Sunday, notably the Jisr Al-Shughur district, Abdel Rahman said.

“Fierce fighting between deserters and the army has been raging since early this morning in the Al-Janudieh area,” he said.

“Three soldiers were killed in the fighting.

One civilian was also killed when the security forces opened fire indiscriminately.”

“The army is also preparing to launch an offensive against the rebel district of Jabal AlZawiya,” a range of hills close to the Turkish border, where fighters of the Free Syrian Army have been particularly active, he added.

Ahead of a meeting on Monday that will bring together foreign ministers of the main Security Council member states, diplomats at the United Nations in New York expressed pessimism about the prospects for Annan’s peace mission.

“Kofi Annan’s meeting in Damascus seems to have gone nowhere,” said one senior envoy from a Security Council member.

“Assad is determined not to give in and the divide is growing between Russia and the Western countries,” the envoy said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. -Agencies

Egypt acquits ‘virginity test’ military doctor CAIRO: An Egyptian military tribunal on Sunday acquitted an army doctor of an accusation of public obscenity filed by a protester who claimed she was forced to undergo a virginity test while in detention. The country’s revolutionary youth movement sees the claims of humiliating tests imposed on detained female protesters as one of the first indications that the generals who took over from Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 would continue the human rights abuses of the ousted president.

Samira Ibrahim, one of seven women who said they had been forced to undergo examinations to determine if they were virgins while detained by the military a year ago, won a civilian court ruling last year that affirmed the tests were taking place at military jails and ordered they be halted. But military prosecutors investigating her accusations brought only one individual - the doctor - to trial.

Ahmed Adel was acquitted. The court, whose verdict cannot be appealed, denied that such tests are carried out. The military has been in power since Mubarak stepped down last year in the face of a popular uprising.The Mubarak-era generals who succeeded their former patron

face accusations by rights activists of killing protesters, torturing detainees and trying at least 10,000 civilians in military tribunals. Egypt’s official news agency said that Adel was acquitted because the testimonies of the witnesses for the plaintiff conflicted. But the court’s insistence that no tests were ever conducted at all has raised doubts about the verdict. “The court’s denial of the tests being conducted went against written testimonies of several public figures who discussed the issue with several of the ruling generals,” rights lawyer Adel Ramadan said.

Amnesty International said in June that Egypt’s generals have acknowledged carrying the tests on female protesters.

It said Maj. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, a member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, justified the tests as a way to protect the army from rape allegations. The rights group said al-Sisi vowed the military would not again conduct such tests. The “virginity test” allegations first surfaced after a March 9 rally in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, epicenter of last year’s uprising, that turned violent when men in plainclothes attacked protesters and the army intervened forcefully to clear the square. -AP

Two killed in Yemen bomb plot, Somali militants caught ADEN: Two men were killed in southern Yemen when a bomb they planned to use in an attack on government forces exploded accidentally late on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

“The bodies of the two were ripped apart in the explosion, which happened before they were able to execute their attack,” the ministry said in the statement posted on its website.

Yemeni security forces, fighting a growing Islamist insurgency, said they had also detained four Somali men suspected of belonging to the Al-Shabaab militant group near the site of the explosion. There was no indication that they were linked to the bomb plot, the statement said.

The Al-Qaeda-allied Somali group had sent 300 armed men to fight alongside the Yemen-based wing of the militant network, it said. The four Somalis were captured on the road between the southern provinces of Lahej and Abyan.

The two dead men were identified by the ministry as Yasser and Muneef al-

Hawi. The statement said they were killed in Abyan province’s Mudiyah district.

It gave no further details on whether the men were associated with Al-Qaeda.

US drone attacks killed at least 25 Al-Qaeda-linked fighters on Saturday in southern Yemen, where militants have expanded their operations during a year of unrest that ousted former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saturday’s operation was the biggest since Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office last month vowing to fight Al-Qaeda.

Thirty-four Al-Qaeda militants were also killed in a Yemeni air force raid on Friday in al-Bayda, the governor of the southern province was cited as saying by the defense ministry on Sunday.The death toll had previously been put at 20 militants. The governor said two Pakistanis, two Saudi nationals, and one Syrian and one Iraqi were among the dead. Four of the men killed were senior militant commanders, he said, without giving further details of their identity. -Reuters

Libya PM urges regional cooperation to end cross-border crime TRIPOLI: Libyan interim Prime Minister Abdel Rahim Al-Keib on Sunday said that increased regional cooperation was required to tackle the escalation of cross-border criminal activities. “The border regions have witnessed a noticeable escalation of drugs and weapons contraband,” Al-Keib said in Tripoli at the opening of a two-day ministerial regional conference on border security.

He said illegal immigration was on the rise and that smugglers were taking advantage of lax border controls to traffic an array of products, including expired foodstuff, medicine, and liquor into Libya. “Terrorist groups will always find in border regions an auspicious environment to conduct incursions and destabilize security,” Al-Keib said, urging the region to intensify efforts to stop these actors.

“We have to boost regional cooperation in order to eradicate these develop-

ment and activities,” Al-Keib said. The two-day conference brings together ministers and representatives from Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia, with the aim of enhancing cooperation. Diplomats and delegates from the African Union, the Arab League, the European Union and the United Nations are also attending the conference. Al-Keib also accused former regime members of trying to harm Libyan ties with its neighbors.

“Remnants of the collapsed regime who fled to neighboring countries are spending Libyan money, which they stole, to harm the people of Libya and the country’s relations with its neighbors,” he said. Algerian Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia said there were “clear indicators” that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb had exploited tensions in Tunisia and Libya to acquire and proliferate weapons. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

mondAY, march 12, 2012

Slovak leftist Fico sweeps to election victory BRATISLAVA: Slovakia’s leftist leader Robert Fico on Sunday assured Brussels he was a partner to rely on after a landslide election victory that will oust a government that collapsed over whether to back euro zone bailouts.

A triumphant Fico said his centre-left Smer had won an outright majority in parliament, in line with near complete results, but said he was ready to take on a coalition partner if any of the other parties were ready to support his agenda.

A government led by the pro-European, 47year-old lawyer would please Slovakia’s euro zone partners, who were upset by the outgoing centre-right coalition’s refusal to contribute to the first bailout of Greece and the delaying of the rescue fund.

“The European Union can lean on Smer because we realize that Slovakia, as a small country living in Europe and wanting to live in Europe ... desires to maintain the euro zone and the euro as a strong European currency,” Fico said at his party headquarters, to the cheers and applause of supporters.

Results from 97.9 percent of districts showed Smer took 44.8 percent of the vote on Saturday, which would give it 84 seats in the 150-seat parliament.

Fico’s sweeping victory knocked his reformist rival Mikulas Dzurinda’s centre-right SDKU out of power after the SDKU-led coalition fell apart in October after less than two years.

Damaged by allegations of graft, Dzurinda’s party won just 5.9 percent, according to the partial results, just over a third of what it won in the last election in 2010. But it seemed set to avoid being knocked out of parliament altogether.

Fico’s landslide is an unprecedented victory

Leader of the left-wing party Smer, Robert Fico is tossed by his colleagues as they celebrate their party’s victory at the campaign office in Bratislava, Slovakia March 11. (Reuters)

for any single party in Slovakia’s 19-year independent history, and reminds of a sweeping win by the centre-right Fidesz party of Viktor Orban against discredited left in neighboring Hungary in 2010.

Final results were expected to be released later on Sunday.

The unrivalled leader of his centre-left party, Fico says he plans to use tax hikes to maintain welfare and cut the budget deficit, and

continue the outgoing cabinet’s effort to protect the country’s sovereign credit ratings.

The country of 5.4 million people, which has maintained more investor confidence than other periphery euro zone states, has budget deficit targets of 4.6 percent of gross domestic product this year and 3 percent in 2013.

“We are accepting this commitment, we realize how important it is to have healthy public finances,” Fico said, as he claimed victory af-

Over 2,000 march in New York to mark Tibet uprising

Tibetans and supporters of a “Free Tibet” hold placards while marching through downtown Los Angeles on March 10, in California.

(AFP)

LOS ANGELES: A 2,000-person strong demonstration marched on UN headquarters in New York to mark the anniversary of Tibet’s failed revolt against Chinese rule.

The demonstration denouncing the treatment of Tibetans began at the Brooklyn Bridge before heading uptown to the United Nations headquarters.

Lhamo Tso, wife of the detained Tibetan documentary maker Dhondup Wangchen, addressed the crowd, as she blamed Chinese rule for a wave of selfimmolations by protesters in her homeland.

Then the march wrapped up with a candlelight vigil at Union Square.

“We want the freedom of Tibet and the return of Dalai Lama,” said Sonam Gyatso, vice president of

Bomb explosion hits church in Nigeria’s Jos JOS: A bomb blast struck a Catholic church in the volatile central Nigerian city of Jos on Sunday, causing numerous casualties, witnesses and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.

“NEMA officials are on the scene of a suspected suicide explosion at Finber’s Catholic Church, Rayfield, Jos. They are about to evacuate victims to hospital,” NEMA spokesman Yushau Shuaib said. A Reuters reporter on the scene was unable to gain access, as the police had cordoned off the area around the church.

Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings against churches, raising fears they are trying to ignite sectarian conflict in Africa’s most populous country, split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims.

Jos has been plagued by ethnic and sectarian conflict in the past decade, although several church bombings there since Christmas have not provoked a marked increase in more general violence.

On February 26 a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a church in Jos, killing two people and wounding 38. Christian youths beat two Muslims to death in revenge. Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden” wants sharia law more widely applied across Nigeria.

Styled on the Taliban, it has become increasingly sophisticated and deadly in its methods in the past six months and widened its targets beyond attacks on police and other authority figures to include Christians. -AFP

the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey.

Tibet’s government-in-exile in India earlier Saturday blamed China’s “hardline” leaders for a string of Tibetan self-immolations as it marked the anniversary.

In the past year, more than 20 Tibetans, most of them monks, have set themselves ablaze to protest Beijing’s rule, sparking international condemnation of what critics call religious and cultural repression.

Gyatso slammed China over the self-immolations, saying: “They cannot tolerate Chinese repression.”

China blames the Dalai Lama of inciting the selfimmolations in a bid to split Tibet from the rest of the nation. -AFP

Nairobi bus station blast toll rises to five

NAIROBI: A grenade attack at a bus station in central Nairobi killed five people and wounded 69, the Kenya Red Cross said on Sunday.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The attack was similar to two strikes at a nearby bus station and a bar that killed one person and wounded more than 20 in October, soon after Kenya sent troops into Somalia to fight Islamist rebels.

Police blamed Al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group allied to al Qaeda that has pledged to carry out more reprisal attacks in Kenya until the east African country pulls its soldiers out of Somalia.

Witnesses say a grenade was tossed from a passing vehicle into the Machakos bus terminal near the central business district of Kenya’s capital early on Saturday evening. The Kenya Red Cross said on Sunday morning that 59 men and 10 women had been admitted to hospital, two of them were in intensive care, and five people were confirmed dead.

After the attack a fire blazed in a small crater at the bus station and police cordoned off the area where the body of a man lay facing upwards and dressed in a blue jacket and white trousers. Bystanders helped carry the wounded to ambulances. Witnesses said they believed there were multiple blasts. A Kenyan man who admitted to carrying out the October grenade attack on a Nairobi bus station admitted to being a member of Al-Shabaab. He was jailed for life.

The October attacks spooked Kenyans and security was beefed up in the capital at hotels, government buildings, restaurants, bars and shopping malls.

On Saturday morning, Kenyan police at a regular weekly briefing had again urged people to remain vigilant as the threat of attack from Somali militants remained. -Reuters

ter singing Slovakian folk songs earlier in the night.

Fico, who served one term as the central European country’s prime minister in 20062010 has pledged to dump Dzurinda’s flagship reform - a 19 percent flat income tax - and reel in more from the rich, banks and other firms.

His plans involve almost doubling a special tax on bank deposits to 0.7 percent, raising corporate tax to 22 percent, from 19 percent now, and raising income tax for people earning over 33,000 euros per year.

“We are against privatizations, we are for better legal protection for employees, we are for large public investments. This is our program and we will strive to achieve it,” Fico told reporters after the vote.

He has criticized labor reforms by the previous government that have made it easier to hire and fire workers, striking a chord among voters afraid of job insecurity in the euro zone’s second-poorest country, where 13.7 percent are out of a job.

The minimum Slovak monthly salary is just 327 euros ($430), half of the minimum pay in crisis-hit Greece.

When last in power, Fico softened but did not dismantle the main parts of Dzurinda’s reforms, and is not expected to adopt unorthodox economic policies such as those that angered foreign investors in Hungary after Orban took over.

Fico, a former Communist Party member under Soviet-era Czechoslovakia in the 1980s who has praised socialist-era welfare policies, employed mildly nationalistic rhetoric against Hungary when in power and pushed through a media law that human rights groups said infringed press freedom. -Reuters

German idea for new EU constitution gets mixed response COPENHAGEN: A German suggestion to debate once more the creation of an EU constitution won mixed responses on Sunday, with France’s foreign minister welcoming the idea but only nine countries planning to attend a seminar in Berlin.

Germany’s foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said on Friday the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, drafted after Dutch and French voters rejected a proposed constitution in 2005, was not enough to keep European decision-making structures effective.

In particular, Germany wants to strengthen the bloc’s ability to fight off financial troubles and counterbalance the rising influence of emerging economies.

“I think it’s time to reflect on, if not a new constitution, than on an improvement in the procedures of functioning of the euro zone, a better governance of the euro zone,” France’s foreign minister Alain Juppe told a news conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen.

“I am convinced that once we have got out of this crisis - because we are going to get out of it - we will have to go further in European integration,” he said.

The seminar is scheduled for March 20 in Berlin, according to one EU diplomat, and hopes to attract the foreign ministers of nine countries: Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands,

Poland, Portugal, Spain and Denmark. Juppe said he would attend if he could fit it into his schedule.

However, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said the EU had already been through enough constitutional discussions, and that common policies were a more effective way to unite the bloc. “I don’t think the priority in the European Union at the moment is to start a new constitutional debate,” he told reporters.

“We have had roughly 10 years of treaty discussions and I would be happy to concentrate more on policy issues than on treaty provisions. The alternative is to get more united. To try to initiate a new treaty discussion I think risks going in the opposite direction,” he said.

Driven by public frustration over financial bailouts for debt-stricken states, Germany has fought hard over the last year to amend the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, a watered-down version of the 2005 constitution proposal. Germany argues that change is needed to enshrine tougher fiscal discipline and safeguard the bloc from further financial troubles.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had said in November that his country wanted to see changes to the Lisbon Treaty by the end of 2012 in order to lay the foundation for a common fiscal policy in the bloc. Britain vetoed the plan in December in a row over safeguards for its financial sector. -Reuters

Blast at funeral in Pakistan kills 15 PESHAWAR: A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded 31 in an attack on a funeral on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar on Sunday, a police official said.

The deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, Khushdil Khan, was at the funeral, but he was unharmed.

“It seemed to be a suicide attack,” the police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “And the target is believed to be Khushdil Khan.”

Khushdil is a leader in the Awami National Party (ANP), the dominant political party in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and has raised a tribal militia to battle militants in his area.

The blast occurred as people gathered around the grave of a local woman.

“It was a suicide attack,” said victim Rahim Gul from his bed at the trauma centre of the Lady Reading Hospital, where many of the injured were taken. “There were pieces of human bodies and people were crying (because) of injuries.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but government officials quickly blamed the Pakistan Taliban, who have long targeted the ANP. “How is attacking a funeral Islamic in any way?” Asfanyar Wali Khan, head of the ANP, told reporters in Islamabad.

“I say that these people aren’t Islam’s followers,” he added. “I don’t even consider them human.” -Reuters

Rescue workers, police and residents gather at the site of suspected suicide bomb attack in the outskirts of Peshawar March 11. (Reuters)

5

NEWS IN BRIEF US soldier kills up to 16 Afghan civilians KANDAHAR: A US soldier went on a shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, bursting into the homes of civilians in villages near his base in the middle of the night and killing up to 16 people, an Afghan minister told Reuters.

Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs Asadullah Khalid, who is investigating the incident, said the soldier entered three homes, killing 11 people in the first one.

The incident came just weeks after US soldiers burned copies of large numbers of Korans at a NATO base, triggering widespread anti-Western protests, and plunging already strained ties between Kabul and Washington to a new low. -Reuters

China frees 24,000 abducted women, kids in 2011 BEIJING: Chinese police rescued more than 24,000 abducted children and women last year, some of whom had been sold for adoption or forced into prostitution as far away as Angola, officials said Sunday.

Trafficking of women and children is a serious problem in China - blamed in part on the strict “one-child” policy, which has put a premium on baby boys - and activists say the cases uncovered by police are just the tip of the iceberg. The Ministry of Public Security said in a report posted on its website that police across the country had rescued 8,660 children and 15,458 women in 2011 - all victims of trafficking. -AFP

Ex-guerrillas face El Salvador poll test SAN SALVADOR: Voters in El Salvador go to the polls Sunday to choose lawmakers for the legislature in a big test for the first leftist government since the end of the civil war 20 years ago. At stake are how President Mauricio Funes’ remaining two years in office will play out. He took power in 2009 in the densely populated Central American nation. The fairly moderate Funes remains popular but his approval ratings do not necessarily transfer into potential votes for his party, the ex-leftist rebel Farbundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). -AP

Greece eyes elections after debt deal

ATHENS: Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos formally submitted his candidacy to lead the Socialist PASOK party on Sunday, as the focus in Athens shifted to elections expected once an international bailout deal is cleared.

Greece averted the immediate threat of an uncontrolled default on Thursday when it successfully concluded a bond swap deal under which private sector creditors agreed to accept deep cuts in the value of their holdings.

“There is now more than just recession, budget cuts and tax increases ... there’s the hope to turn the wheel of growth,” he told a party conference.

In a sharp reminder of the deep unpopularity of the austerity measures he has overseen, a pensioner on crutches hurled yoghurt at the burly Venizelos just before his speech, forcing him to delay his appearance to change clothes.

Venizelos, the dominant figure in the party since his appointment to the finance portfolio by former Prime Minister George Papandreou last year, is expected to win PASOK’s leadership comfortably in an internal vote on March 18.

However opinion polls show the Socialists far behind the conservative New Democracy party ahead of elections expected by mid-May at the latest.

Both PASOK and New Democracy are in the coalition government headed by former central banker Lucas Papademos but have been openly jockeying for position in the run-up to the elections, which may not produce a clear winner.

Formed in November, Papademos’ emergency coalition government had a narrow mandate to complete bailout and debt cut talks and then hold elections as soon as possible.

A government official said Greeks may go to the polls as early as the end of April once the final details of the bond restructuring are in place.

The so-called Private Sector Involvement (PSI) is a key component of the 130 billion-euro (170.55 billion US dollars) rescue package agreed last month with the European Union and International Monetary Fund and is expected to be approved following Thursday’s bond swap.

Once the debt swap operation is finally completed on April 12, when a smaller tranche of bonds worth at least 20 billion euros will be exchanged, Greece can go ahead with new elections, an official said.

“I imagine it (the elections) will be somewhere then,” government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis told Skai television when asked if the polls would take place on April 29 or on one of the following Sundays.

Whoever wins the poll, Greece will have to stick to the reforms it has promised, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned. -Reuters

6

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

monDAY, march 12, 2012

The seriousness of car accidents Fuad Al-Hashem

T

he Minister of Commerce and Industry Mr. Al-Saleh has launched a statement which reminded me of the days of Worker Magazine, which was issued by the Union of Workers and supervised by my dear colleague Ahmed Al-Deein, and the Al-Taliah Magazine in the seventies and earlier, when the editorials and articles published were like the following one: “There should be a coalition of labor forces and the middle class in order to achieve the priorities of national action based on the visions and the condition of clear approach and the path leading to triumph of nationalist elements against those who use the workers and benefit from their work, etc....”. What did the Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry say in his statement last Saturday, in the twelfth year of the third millennium?! Let’s read his important words.

He said “The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working to restore stability to the capital market and the observatory body and to shorten the documentary cycle in order to kill the red tape and bureaucracy. The ministry seeks cooperation with the National Assembly in order to pass legislation in order to create an active business environment which can promote the private sector to play its national role”.

End quote from the minister, who was expected to go on to say “for a strong alliance of workers and peasants against the control of

I advise my readers to be cautious and to do the best they can to raise the awareness of their children and workers from every country about the seriousness of traffic accidents. the feudal, and capital and its tentacle symbols that seek to seize the capabilities of the unique Kuwaiti people.. Etc.”. I appeal to the new minister to speak less and work more, and then his work will speak louder than his statements.

At the time when the world is marking the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, the number of deaths caused by traffic accidents in the world reaches more than one million and three hundred thousand people a year.

The cost of traffic accidents in the world is five hundred and eighteen billion US dollars a year, equivalent to 150 billion Kuwaiti dinars.

The number of disabilities caused by these accidents in all countries is 15 thousand new cases a day, while 137 people are killed every minute, including 45 young people under the age of 25 and 20 there are also cases under the age of 12 years.

Traffic accidents are considered the “tenth cause” of death in the world after hunger, smoking, cancer.. etc, and it will rise to become the “third cause” in 2020. This statistic

The bride of popular revolutions completes its first year Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaie

W

ithin the last 12 months the bride of the popular revolution- the Syrian Revolutionhas proven great determination of the Syrian people to reach their goal of freedom. The Syrian people also showed unparalleled durability and it was more significant than the popular revolutions during the Arab Spring. The Syrian people exerted great efforts to maintain their peaceful revolution but the ruling gang in Syria which used to shed blood could not stand the ambitions and the promising calls and requests of the Syrian people. Therefore, the brutal Ba`ath regime started shedding blood since the very beginning of the peaceful protests and following that the Free Syrian Army was established. This army will be the core of the coming Muslim Syrian army after eradicating the current sectarian brutal regime.

The Syrian revolution deserves the name “the Pride of the Arab Revolutions” because the previous revolutions were local ones wherein the people wanted to overthrow the dictatorships but the Syrian revolution is conducted for all Arabs. The Syrian people do their best to overthrow the regime which has been exploiting the Palestinian cause for decades and the very regime cooperates with Jews by under table agreements.

The Syrian regime also had the Lebanese people suffer for a long time through stirring sedition in Lebanon.

The Syrian people are struggling to overthrow the regime that destroyed regional security through enabling Iran to extend its influence in the Arab region.

It threatened the Gulf’s security by supporting the wicked Iranian plans and as a result Tehran exerts all possible efforts to save the dying regime and it asked its agents in Iraq, Lebanon and some Gulf Countries to support the Syrian regime.

Syrians still face the regime by means of peaceful demonstrations but some of

Rashed Al-Radaan

W

hen economists and financial experts discuss a possible deficit due to granting more cadres to civil service they also have to discuss wasting huge sums worth millions of dinars through some suspected tenders. They have to discuss corruption that the country has been suffering from since many years in addition to discussing other tenders which are usually granted to some failing companies just to save them from bankruptcy!!

The case of cadres or salary raise has become a must at the present time especially after many Gulf States raised the salary of their civil servants. The question is why we hear such fears of cadres just in Kuwait while the other

I’m afraid that the MP would repeat the scenario of the past on dealing with interpellations by pretending to stand with the interpellations but when he speaks, he turns to be against them and then he will vote with his bloc, with the absolute support of the Development and Reform Bloc.

The majority in the previous parliament used to support any interpellation motions against former Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad. Will the “35” bloc support His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak?! If this happened, what would be the difference between the supporters of Nasser Al-Mohammad in the previous parliament and the supporters of the current Prime Minister?

Dear Chairman and members of the Salwa Cooperative Society, The Board of Directors has thankfully built sunshades on the walkway of Anjafah Coast on the Al-Bedaa Road, where the people who walk there can sit beneath. Unfortunately, the sunshades, which are made of iron, are almost becoming a disaster. They have been

Breaking News:

Washington allowed Iran a three months grace period to halt nuclear enrichment and conversion reactors from military to peaceful ones”. As I recall, this is the three hundredth time Washington allows a grace period to Tehran over the last ten years.

The US administration seems to be saying to the mullahs of Iran the following: “You should quickly complete your nuclear bomb.

We have gotten bored of giving you grace periods, one after another”.

From Al-Aujeri’s calendar

Reliable astronomical calculations indicate that Prophet Mohammad, Peace be upon Him and his Family, was born on Monday, Rabei Al-Awal ninth, B.H. 53 (before migration), which coincided with April 20, 571 AD. But the Fatimids in Egypt celebrated the Prophet’s (PBUH) birthday on Rabei Al-Awal 12 and Muslims altogether followed them.

BU QUTADA & BU NABIL

them were forced to use arms just to defend their families against such a brutal regime which killed women and kids and slaughtered a big number of people by cutting their throats. However, the Syrian revolution scandalized all those who were exploiting the Palestinian cause in order to get certain advantages especially the Syrian and the Iranian regime.

The Syrian revolution also disclosed the real loyalty of some Gulf people after Iran ordered them to support the Syrian regime.

Twelve months have passed and we could not provide anything significant for the Syrian people as the Arab countries keep stepping back from supporting the Syrian people who face barbaric crimes which are committed everyday by the worst regime in the world.

The volume of aids that were sent to Syria is not enough due to the vast devastation by the tanks of the regime. The number of injured and wounded people also increased rapidly, so we call the Arabian governments to assign big budgets worth hundreds of millions of dollars to help the Syrian people to face the current disasters.

We have to remember that the Gulf governments had paid the price of the current weapons that the Syrian regime uses against civilians for supporting the Durability against Israel!!

We appeal to the Kuwaiti government to recall all the Kuwaiti diplomats in Syria as well as to warn Kuwaiti citizens against the dangers that they might face if they travel to Lebanon which is still subject to the influence of the Syrian regime and Hezbollah. In Kuwait, we have about 140,000 Syrian expatriates.

Therefore, the Kuwaiti government has to enable a mission for the Syrian National Council to exist in Kuwait to follow up the requirements of the expats and to close the spy dens at the Syrian embassy. We have to be with the people who will achieve victory very soon, God willing.

Class influence

has been received from Lieutenant Colonel Saad Al-Rujaib at General Administration of Traffic. I’d like to thank Lieutenant Colonel Al-Rujaib for the useful information. I advise my readers to be cautious and to do the best they can to raise the awareness of their children and workers from every country about the seriousness of traffic accidents.

Some years ago, former MP Abdullah AlNibari filed an interpellation motion against the then Minister of Justice, and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Shirar Al-Mutairi.

This news sounds normal but the strange thing was that “the conscience of the nation” MP Musallam Al-Barrak supported the interpellation filed by Al-Nibari against his cousin Shirar. We rejoiced and applauded the move taken by the MP, whose speech turned to be against the interpellation motion, as if Al-Nibari was the minister and Shirar was the MP who questioned him. The speech of Al-Barrak focused on the work of another minister. You can refer to the minutes of the meetings of the Parliament to read, MP Al-Barrak said.

destroyed by rust and could collapse over the heads of the people who would sit underneath them.

I appeal to the board members to begin maintenance before it gets too late. I also appeal to them to consider replacing them by sunshades made of wood, which can be better because of the climate in Kuwait. With my sincere thanks and appreciation to all of you for the services you have provided to the citizens and residents.

Congratulations on the pay raise

Oh, he neglected me...

Oh, wow!

He neglected me... as well.

He neglected me as well... and didn’t say hi

Who are you congratulating???

I am congratulating those who are working on the pay raise.

Price increase

Mohmmed Thallab

mthallab@alwatan.com.kw

We support raising the salary of all employees as Kuwait enjoys a successful financial surplus every year.

Gulf States submitted very high salary raises.

We support raising the salary of all employees as Kuwait enjoys a successful financial surplus every year. Since a long time ago citizens hear that the government donates big sums to other countries and organizations, gives the big tenders to certain families or companies, pays bribery to some MPs and wastes the public fund but the government did not establish convenient hospitals for people

and it did not even establish distinguished schools for students although Kuwait is one of the richest states in the world.

The general circumstances in the country are very low and the class influence still exists in the state wherein the upper class or the influential figures don`t want to solve such problems to remain higher than normal citizens.

Therefore they oppose naturalizing Bedoun, salary raises

and cadres. They also hope to freeze the role of National Assembly in order control everything. They still consider citizens who belong to Bedouin origin as Bedoun people even if they obtain very high educational degrees and become academic professors or MPs. They in the mean time consider persons who show urban tendencies as civilized ones although they depend on queer criteria for such assessment. Furthermore they wish to keep civil servants as submissive citizens to remain the sole figures who can have influence in the country. Such figures have to know that life is changing and they have to get out of the ivory towers that they live in to support the popular requests and the people will feel that such figures are respected people and deserve respect.

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views

monDAY, march 12, 2012

How to tackle the child marriage crisis Gordon Brown Reuters

B

y the end of today another 25,000 young children will have been robbed of their childhoods, cheated of their right to an education, exposed to life-threatening health risks, and set on a path that often leads to a life of servitude and poverty. Their plight is the result of widespread and systematic human rights violations.

Yet the source of the injustice they suffer is hidden in the shadows of debates on international development: They are child brides.

Each year, 1.5 million girls - many just starting their adolescent years - become child brides. It was shocking for us to discover the sheer scale of the problem and to understand its impact on human rights and the life cycle of opportunities, and most tragically of all, on maternal and infant death rates.

Early marriage is a hidden crisis. Because the victims are overwhelmingly young, poor and female, their voices are seldom heard by governments. Their concerns do not register on the agendas of global summits. But early marriage is destroying human potential and reinforcing gender inequalities on a global scale. It is subjecting young girls to the elevated health risks that come with early pregnancy and childbirth. It is reinforcing the subordination of women. And it is holding back progress toward the United Nation’s 2015 goal of universal primary education. Without educating girls who are not in school today and preventing

them from marrying, we cannot ever hope to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

The full extent of child marriage is not widely recognized. A new report just published by my office identified 16 countries in which over half of the young women were married by the age of 18. On a regional basis, West Africa has the highest incidence of child marriage, with Mali, Chad and Niger recording rates in excess of 70 percent.

The practice is also widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, and in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, where many children marry at a far younger age than 18.

Yet one of the gravest injustices suffered by child brides is the denial of education. Marriage and premature pregnancies keep millions of girls out of school, imprisoned in a world of diminished opportunity. Once married or pregnant, few child brides make it back into school. For example, our research shows that only two percent of married girls between the ages of 15 and 19 in Nigeria attend school, compared with 69 percent of unmarried girls. Denied the chance to realize their potential through education, many of these girls will be condemned to lives blighted by poverty, illiteracy and powerlessness.

A casualty of child marriage, education is also a fundamental solution to the problem. Women who are educated marry later, especially if they reach secondary school.

Compared with women who have either no education or just primary schooling, the median age of marriage among girls with a secondary education is more than two years higher in Bangladesh and Nigeria, three years higher in Ethiopia and Mali, and four years higher in Chad.

Keeping girls in school and out of child marriages will also save lives. If, through a combination of education and other policies, half of the world’s teenagers delayed birth until after the age of 20, the associated decline in infant mortality rates would save 166,000 young lives a year - or

Obama’s Iran dilemma could be a game changer

7

To tackle the child marriage crisis, we need an integrated global campaign that brings the issue of child marriage in from the sidelines to the center of the international development agenda. over half a million lives in the three and a half years until the 2015 Millennium Development Goal on child mortality. And not only would children’s lives be saved, but mothers’ as well. Over 70,000 teenage mothers die in pregnancy or childbirth every year, a number that has remained static while it appears that for older women the figures have been coming down.

Getting girls into school and keeping them there would of course make child marriage less likely and accelerate progress toward the 2015 goal of Education for All. Experience across many countries has demonstrated what works. Financial incentives in the form of conditional cash transfers for parents who keep their daughters in school, together with mentoring, engagement with communities and persuasion all have a role to play. The problem is that current efforts are fragmented and operating at an insufficient level of ambition.

To tackle the child marriage crisis, we need an integrated global campaign that brings the issue of child marriage in from the sidelines to the center of the international development agenda. All governments in countries where child marriage is prevalent should prepare a national strategy for halving, over the next decade, the level of marriage before the age of 18. UN agencies and the World Bank, along with bilateral donors and regional develop-

ment agencies in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, must become more actively engaged and better coordinated in their response to early marriage. And the European Union should host a global summit on child marriage in 2013 to prepare the way for a concerted strategy for international cooperation.

Finally, we must take action through existing Education for All partnerships. As the primary multilateral financing vehicle in education, the Global Partnership for Education should mobilize finance aimed at supporting governments and non-governmental organizations that seek to keep young girls out of early marriage. It should establish a financing window directed toward supporting conditional cash transfers and other policies targeting young girls at risk of early marriage.

To be sure, there are certainly no easy solutions to the crisis of child marriage. It will take leadership, perseverance and global cooperation to turn the tide. In a week when the world’s attention is focused on the contribution of women and girls, what better moment at which to begin the work?

Gordon Brown was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010. He is currently an adviser to the World Economic Forum.

What’s Wrong with Transformational Leadership?

Ian Bremmer Reuters

Even if Obama manages to contain the financial and housing crises, not to mention stop the bleeding on unemployment, he can’t replace them with an energy crisis and expect to avoid pushback in the voting booth.

C

ould it be that the international sanctions against Iran are hurting the Obama administration more than Iran itself? The argument over whether sanctions ever work is an age-old and neverending debate, and to be clear, that’s not the one I’m trying to have in this column. But I do think it’s worth examining the negatives of Obama’s Iran policy, especially because it is likely to play out during this election season. Let’s start with the background: Iran’s recent parliamentary elections went off without a hitch. No major protests (see: Russia), no violence, barely a blip in the Western media. Turnout on voting day was surprisingly high, even for the Islamist republic.

That has a little to do with the fact that government is actually quite factionalized in Iran - Khamenei versus Ahmadinejad, yes, but also all sorts of high and midlevel bureaucrats - and each faction worked hard to drive turnout, to be able to pass the hot potato of blame should the election have gone poorly.

Well, the election didn’t go poorly at all, and suddenly Iran’s government looks more legitimate, internally and externally, than it has in years. Reformists in Iran also picked up a large number of seats, and Iran has everything it did before the election - real economic wealth, a social safety net and huge oil resources that it can sell to every country that doesn’t adhere to the sanctions, of which there are plenty.

That’s the country Barack Obama has to keep in a box to win the election, which is to say one that doesn’t exactly look deplorable to large parts of the global community - like Russia, China, nearly all of Africa and even much of the Middle East. The Iranians won’t be easy to demonize, and to get the sanctions lifted, they are even making concessions to the Europeans, suggesting in talks they’d be amenable to restarting inspections.

They’ll play the razor’s edge, even as the uncertainty in the oil market and fear of a shock - like an attack by the US or Israel - steadily drives up the price of oil around the globe.

And that’s the downside for Obama - not only does he have to keep the hawks on their heels to stay true to campaign promises of avoiding unnecessary conflict, but he’ll have to do it as the threat in Iran appears to mount and the price of oil continues, most likely, to climb from its already-high perch of about 107 US dollars a barrel.

Can Obama really squeeze Iran economically? Given the facts on the ground and Iran’s willingness to play at good behavior, I just don’t buy it. With an improving economy here and a self-defeating Republican field, this is one area that can go bad for the incumbent administration in a hurry, much more so than Europe’s shaky economy or the Greek debt crisis boiling over.

Yet the president is managing the situation as well as anyone could.

In meetings with the hawkish Israeli prime minister, Obama kept Bibi Netanyahu talking in abstracts rather than concrete plans for Iran.

He promised the country he wouldn’t telegraph his plans, arguing it’s foolish to tell a potential enemy what’s going to happen. That’s a striking about-face for a country that so recently had a doctrine of preemptive war.

Obama probably got a good performance from Netanyahu because the US has covertly provided Israel with much support on the Iran situation.

But make no mistake: Behind the scenes, Bibi has surely drawn a line beyond which Israel won’t placidly follow US policy. Even though the energy-consuming behaviors of Americans are surprisingly elastic, as illustrated in a new study showing we’re driving far less than we used to, citizens and voters do fear the idea of five US dollars per-gallon gas and they’ll punish the politicians who allow it to happen.

Even if Obama manages to contain the financial and housing crises, not to mention stop the bleeding on unemployment, he can’t replace them with an energy crisis and expect to avoid pushback in the voting booth. And that’s what, heading toward November, he’ll have to fear in the standoff with Iran and the US’s relationship with Israel.

Ian Bremmer is the president of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm.

FILE- US President George W. Bush signs the Flight 93 Memorial Act in the Oval Office of the White House in this Sept. 24, 2002. (Reuters) Joseph S. Nye Project Syndicate

T

his year’s presidential campaign in the United States has been marked by calls from Barack Obama’s would-be Republican challengers for a radical transformation of American foreign policy. Campaigns are always more extreme than the eventual reality, but countries should be wary of calls for transformational change. Things do not always work out as intended.

Foreign policy played almost no role in the 2000 US presidential election. In 2001, George W. Bush started his first term with little interest in foreign policy, but adopted transformational objectives after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman before him, Bush turned to the rhetoric of democracy to rally his followers in a time of crisis.

Bill Clinton had also talked about enlarging the role of human rights and democracy in US foreign policy, but most Americans in the 1990s sought normality and a post-Cold War peace dividend rather than change. By contrast, Bush’s 2002 National Security Strategy, which came to be called the Bush Doctrine, proclaimed that the US would “identify and eliminate terrorists wherever they are, together with the regimes that sustain them.”

The solution to the terrorist problem was to spread democracy everywhere.

Bush invaded Iraq ostensibly to remove Saddam Hussein’s capacity to use weapons of mass destruction and, in the process, to change the regime.

Bush cannot be blamed for the intelligence failures that attributed such weapons to Saddam, given that many other countries shared such estimates. But inadequate understanding of the Iraqi and regional context, together with poor planning and management, undercut Bush’s transformational objectives.

Although some of Bush’s defenders try to credit him with the “Arab Spring” revolutions, the primary Arab participants reject such arguments.

Bush was described by The Economist as “obsessed by the idea of being a transformational president; not just a status-quo operator like Bill Clinton.” Then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised the virtues of “transformational diplomacy.”

But, while leadership theorists and editorial writers tend to think that transformational foreignpolicy officials are better in either ethics or effectiveness, the evidence does not support this view.

We live in a world of diverse cultures, and we know very little about social engineering and how to ‘build nations’.

Other leadership skills are more important than the usual distinction between transformational and “transactional” leaders. Consider President George H.W. Bush, who did not do “the vision thing,” but whose sound management and execution underpinned one of the most successful US foreign-policy agendas of the past half-century.

Perhaps genetic engineers will one day be able to produce leaders equally endowed with both vision and management skills; comparing the two Bushes (who shared half their genes), it is clear that nature has not yet solved the problem.

This is not an argument against transformational leaders. Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr., played crucial roles in transforming people’s identity and aspirations. Nor is this an argument against transformational leaders in US foreign policy. Franklin Roosevelt and Truman made crucial contributions. But, in judging leaders, we need to pay attention to acts of both omission and commission, to what happened and to what was avoided, to the dogs that barked and to those that did not.

A big problem in foreign policy is the complexity of the context. We live in a world of diverse cultures, and we know very little about social engineering and how to “build nations.” When we cannot be sure how to improve the world, prudence becomes an important virtue, and grandiose visions can pose grave dangers.

In foreign policy, as in medicine, it is important to remember the Hippocratic Oath: first, do no harm. For these reasons, the virtues of transactional leaders with good contextual intelligence are very important. Someone like George H. W. Bush, unable to articulate a vision but able to steer successfully through crises, turns out to be a better leader than someone like his son, possessed of a powerful vision but with little contextual intelligence or management skill.

Former Secretary of State George Shultz, who served under Ronald Reagan, once compared his role to gardening -”the constant nurturing of a complex array of actors, interests, and goals.” But

Shultz’s Stanford colleague, Condoleezza Rice, wanted a more transformational diplomacy that did not accept the world as it was, but tried to change it. As one observer put it, “Rice’s ambition is not just to be a gardener - she wants to be a landscape architect.” There is a role for both, depending on the context, but we should avoid the common mistake of automatically thinking that the transformational landscape architect is a better leader than the careful gardener.

We should keep this in mind as we assess the current US presidential debates, with their constant reference to American decline. Decline is a misleading metaphor.

America is not in absolute decline, and, in relative terms, there is a reasonable probability that it will remain more powerful than any other country in the coming decades. We do not live in a “postAmerican world,” but we also do not live in the American era of the late twentieth century.

The US will be faced with a rise in the power resources of many others - both states and nonstate actors. It will also confront a growing number of issues that require power with others as much as power over others in order to obtain the country’s preferred outcomes. America’s capacity to maintain alliances and create cooperative networks will be an important dimension of its hard and soft power.

The problem of America’s role in the twentyfirst century is not one of (poorly specified) “decline,” but rather of developing the contextual intelligence to understand that even the largest country cannot achieve what it wants without others’ help. Educating the public to understand this complex globalized information age, and what is required to operate successfully in it, will be the real transformational leadership task. Thus far, we are not hearing much about it from the Republican candidates.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a former US assistant secretary of defense, is a professor at Harvard and the author of The Future of Power.

classifieds@alwatandaily.com

MONday, march 12, 2012

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China sacrifices growth to satiate inflation dragon

BUSINESS

mondAY, march 12, 2012

mar ket watc h KUWAIT 0.37% 6154

BEIJING: If inflation is a dragon that must be slain, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has shown he is willing to sacrifice a part of the country’s most vital asset to do so - growth.

Cutting China’s 2012 economic growth target to 7.5 percent at the start of the annual meeting of parliament last week says clearly that too rapid an expansion makes inflation too tough to contain, given the reforms needed to create widespread wealth.

DUBAI

QATAR

OMAN

ABU DHABI

4.7% 1687

0.5% 8637

0.5% 5885

1.0% 2587

OIL M A RKE TS BAHRAIN

EGYPT

1.0% 1150

1.7% 5305

SAUDI 0.6% 7527

US Crude $107.42 $0.02 London Brent $125.98 $0.54 Kuwait Crude $120.58 $0.54 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

CURRE NCIE S US Dollar

British Pound

Saudi Riyal

Qatari Riyal

Indian Rupee

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Philippine Peso

Buy 0.2786 Sell 0.2787 Buy 0.3655 Sell 0.3658

KIA wins $300 million quota in China’s stock market BEIJING: Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has obtained an initial 300 million US dollars quota to buy yuandenominated stocks and bonds, the Chinese authorities announced, a major step for Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund to diversify its investment options through its Beijing office. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) allows KIA to initially invest up to $300 million in mainland China’s securities market as a qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII), according to SAFE’s official announcement over the weekend.

KIA has applied for the full one billion dollars investment quota, the maximum amount that a single QFII can obtain from the SAFE. Subject to SAFE’s approval, KIA will be able to increase the quota every month until it reaches the one billion dollar ceiling. The approval of the initial investment quota came two months after KIA received the QFII status from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the nation’s top securities regulator, to become the second qualified Middle Eastern fund after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Since approval of QFII license on Dec. 21, KIA had been waiting for quota allocation from the SAFE under the scheme to start making securities investments in the Chinese mainland. QFII investors are usually required to wait months to receive investment quota from the SAFE, which regulates China’s foreign currency. China’s domestically listed yuan-denominated A-graded shares and bonds are generally only available to mainland investors and the limited number of QFII license holders. China launched the QFII program in 2002 on a trial basis to allow qualified overseas funds to investment in the world’s third-largest stock market within the SAFE-set quota.

As of March 9, the authorities had granted QFII status to 129 foreign institutions with a combined investment quota of $24.55 billion. The SAFE has already secured approval of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, to raise the combined limit for QFII operations, paving the way for KIA to win extra quota in the near future.

Kuwait Investment Beijing Representative Office (KIRO) was inaugurated last October as KIA’s first overseas office since the establishment of Kuwait Investment Office in London in 1953.

KIRO closely works with its head office and mainly

KUWAIT: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) held its annual General Assembly meeting at the bank’s headquarters Sunday, March 11, 2012, stated a press release on Sunday. Nasser Al-Sayer, NBK Deputy Chairman, stated that NBK Group delivered success at every level despite a difficult year.

“NBK Group achieved a strong performance thanks to the bank’s resilience, clear strategy, conservative culture, and high professional standards, all of which have limited the bank’s exposure to lower quality assets in and outside of Kuwait.”

The General Assembly endorsed the recommendation of NBK’s Board of Directors to distribute a cash dividend equivalent to 40 percent of the nominal value of the share (40 Kuwaiti fils per share) and bonus shares

Buy 0.003377 Sell 0.003381

Buy 0.0743 Sell 0.0743

Buy 0.07584 Sell 0.07587

Buy 0.07654 Sell 0.07649 Buy 0.7386 Sell 0.73924

Buy 0.005601 Sell 0.005597 Buy 0.006554 Sell 0.006539

Prices in Kuwaiti fils As of March 11, 2012 Courtesy: KAMCO

BUSINESS MATTERS

Help customers pay you more money

Exclusive to Al Watan Daily

KUWAIT: My client understood there were three options for maximizing the value of his business, and they are the same three options available to you. If you’re just joining us, you can catch up with this story by clicking into the archives at alwatandaily.com. First option: Reduce customer acquisition costs from 100 US dollars per customer to zero!

Keep in mind that zero was the goal.Anything less than $100 was going to be an improvement. However, unless he could acquire a customer for less than nine dollars, the amount he normally collected from a first-time customer, he would continue losing money.

Ask the customer to pay more

French loaves are offered for sale at a street market in Paris March 11, 2012. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s food index showed global food prices were up one percent in February driven by gains in cereals, vegetable oils and sugar. (Reuters)

serves as a platform for exploring lucrative investment opportunities, with an initial focus in China, but also in the Far East. In addition, the Beijing office is heavily tasked with strengthening fund’s ties with the Chinese government and companies in order to be among the first to grab any new opportunities.

KIA, which manages Kuwait’s oil generated-assets, has so far participated as cornerstone investors in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of Chi-

na, and most recently in CITIC Securities.

Cornerstone investors are a handful of elite institutional investors who are guaranteed shares early in initial public offerings (IPOs) in exchange for a pledge to hold the stocks for a period. The fund’s investments in Greater China including Hong Kong have grown nearly five times to $10 billion from 10 years ago.

As for mainland China alone, the figure has jumped to $5.6 billion from zero in the past five years. -KUNA

by 10 percent (10 shares for every 100 shares) to shareholders on record at the time of the General Assembly meeting.

Strong financial performance

Al-Sayer stated that NBK has succeeded in achieving a net profit of 302.4 million Kuwaiti dinars (1,086 million US dollars) during 2011, compared with KD 301.7 million ($1,083 million) in 2010. “NBK continued crossing the threshold of one billion dollar profits in 2011, which confirms NBK’s strength and ability to deliver strong results despite the crisis,” he noted.

NBK’s earnings reached 77 fils per share in 2011.

NBK’s total assets increased 5.6 percent, reaching KD 13.6 billion and shareholders’ equity rose 4.5 percent to KD 2.2 billion by the end of 2011. Other profitability indicators remained strong by regional and international standards: Return on Assets (ROA) reached 2.25 percent while Return on Equity (ROE) recorded 14.6 percent for the year. NBK Group’s net operating income grew by 8.4 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) reaching $1,939 million (KD 540 million). Despite the ongoing turmoil in regional markets and the stagnant operating environ-

ment in Kuwait, NBK continued to maintain exceptionally strong asset quality indicators with non-performing loans (NPLs)/Gross loans ratio dropping to 1.55 percent as of year-end 2011 compared to 1.65 percent in 2010 and coverage ratio mounting to 243 percent in 2011 up from 209 percent in 2010.

Islamic banking

In 2011, NBK began reaping the results of the strategic acquisition of a 47.3 percent stake in Boubyan Bank.

“Boubyan Bank showed significant improvement in profitability and marketshare following NBK’s strategic stake acquisition,” Al-Sayer said. “NBK will continue supporting Boubyan Bank by providing world class talent and expertise though we remain committed to operating as two separate entities.”

Highest rated in the Middle East

Ibrahim Dabdoub, NBK’s Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) noted that NBK continues to hold the highest credit ratings among banks in the Middle East, with international rating agencies confirming the bank’s leading franchise, strong financial position, robust earnings capabilities and above peers asset quality. “We have over the years maintained the highest asset quality indicators by regional and international standards, despite the ongoing economic challenges,” Dabdoub added.

NBK is currently rated ‘Aa3’ by Moody’s, ‘AA-’ by Fitch Ratings and carries an ‘A+’ rating from Standard and Poor’s. All NBK ratings have a stable outlook.

Added to this, NBK has been recognized as the ‘Best Bank in the Middle East’ for the second consecutive year by the leading financial publications: Global Finance, EuroMoney and The Banker.

Human resources and CSR

NBK officials at the General Assembly held Sunday, March 11, 2012

NBK has a long tradition of supporting social and community-oriented activities in the country, spending more than KD 30 million on a Corporate Social Responsibility program covering a range of initiatives. “We believe that our people are our most valuable resource and to that end we’ve implemented numerous professional development and training programs while focusing recruiting efforts on hiring and training the country’s best and brightest minds. NBK Group hired more than 1000 nationals of both genders during the past three years.”

Al-Sayer noted.

KSE ends trading in mixed zones

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) price index was red at the end of Thursday’s session; slipping to 6,154.4 points, a loss of 22.7 points. The weighted index meanwhile read 414.01 points, a rise of 0.15 points.

The trading session saw 5,359 transactions worth 39,126,120 Kuwaiti dinars with 419,337, 500 shares changing hands.

Four of the sector indices were red.

The biggest loser of the day, with a down of 26.6 points, was the investment index.

Buy 0.4364 Sell 0.4367

Dr. John P. Hayes

NBK achieves KD 302.4 million net profit in 2011 General Assembly endorses cash dividend distribution of 40%

See page 11

The top gainer share was that Ajwan Gulf Real Estate Company, while the top loser was Al-Safat Company.

Indexes of Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) were mixed in early trading on Monday with the price index putting on 6.6 points reaching 6,183.7 points and weighted index falling 0.15 points dropping to the level of 413.71 points.

Number of trades amounted to 812, value of the traded shares 5,833,580 and volume of exchanged stocks 73,652,500.

Summing up the past week operations, an economic report released on Thursday said the price index went up by 0.71 percent to 6,177.1 points, while the weighted index settled at 413.8 points, up by 0.8 percent from the previous week.

The market witnessed slight improvement with the turnover for this week growing by one percent, and average daily turnover hitting KD 49.9 million, compared to KD 49.5 in the previous week.

Meanwhile, 3.175 billion shares were

traded, valued at KD 277 million, said Kuwait Financial Center SAK (Markaz) in its weekly market report.

The services and investment sectors mostly attracted financial liquidity this week with 27.9 percent and 23.5 percent consecutively, the report said, adding that Abyar Real Estate Development Company acquired 4.8 percent of daily value this week, amounts for KD 13.3 million, followed by 4.1 percent, which amounts to KD 11.3 million, acquired by Zain telecom. -KUNA

Second option: Convince the customer to pay more per visit! Instead of nine dollars, what if the customer paid 12 or 25 or even 100?

“Come on,” said my client, “a hundred bucks when he’s only paying me nine? I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” I said. “It’s your business. If you don’t think you can do it then I know you can’t. I may as well go home,” and I got up from my chair.

“No, no, no,” he interrupted. “Sit down. I can’t get a hundred bucks each time a customer visits me, but maybe I can get 12 or 15.”

“It’s a start,” I said. “But I think you can get closer to a hundred.” “What I don’t understand,” he continued, “is why someone would pay me more.”

You’ve got to help the customer

“Because you help him to pay you more! Ever eat at McDonald’s?” He nodded yes. “Then you’ve seen how it works. How often do you go into McDonald’s and spend more money than you thought you would?”

Most of the time!

Why? Because McDonald’s asks you to. No matter what you order, McDonald’s can get more of your money. It’s no accident. They spend millions training their employees to do that. “Would you like an order of fries? . . . Would you like that supersized? . . . Would you like a fresh, hot apple pie?”

It might add only another half dollar per order, but multiply that by several thousand orders per day per location and it’s a wad of money.

Don’t forget salesmanship

My client didn’t sell hamburgers, and he couldn’t offer to supersize orders, but he could up-sell and cross-sell, two basic techniques that he had either forgotten or never learned.

Until now. Most of his customers didn’t know that he sold a couple of dozen different products and services. He never thought to tell them. “I’ve got signs all over the store,” he said. “Can’t they see?”

“No, because they’re not looking to spend more money.

Who wants to do that? Only people who see a solution. Unfortunately, you’re not creating solutions. If you do, you’ll collect more money per customer - guaranteed.”

Next week my client discovers he acquired the wrong customers and he nearly throws me out of his office.

Learn how to franchise your business or acquire a franchise from abroad when you join Dr. John Hayes in Study Franchising Abroad, sponsored by Gulf University for Science & Technology. Dr. Hayes has worked with franchisors, franchisees and small business owners internationally. He is a professor in the College of Business at GUST. Contact him with questions at questions@hayesworldwide.com, or via Twitter @drjohnhayes.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions presented in the column are the authors own and do not necessarily represent those of Al Watan Daily and its staff.

UAE economy grows 3.3% in 2011, below forecasts DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) economy grew an estimated 3.3 percent in 2011, the economy minister was quoted as saying on Sunday, slower than analysts had expected but still more than double the pace seen in the previous year. Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri said the UAE, one of the world’s top five oil exporters, had faced unprecedented regional and global challenges last year. But he added that it was helped by the rising contribution of nonoil sectors, the ministry’s website reported. Analysts polled by Reuters in December had forecast the economy would grow 3.9 percent in real terms in 2011, after 1.4 percent expansion in 2010.

The economy has been recovering steadily from Dubai’s 20092010 corporate debt crisis because of high oil prices and strong trade with Asia, though bank lending has remained sluggish and the oncebooming real estate sector weak. The UAE statistics office has yet to release official gross domestic product data for 2011.

Last November, Al-Mansouri said Europe’s debt crisis and weakness in the US economy might slow the UAE’s growth to around three percent in 2012. “We expect growth to slow to 2.5 percent this year mainly as a result of weaker external conditions - the euro zone crisis and slower global growth generally - but also because we do not see oil production increasing from the 2011 high base,” said Khatija Haque, senior economist at Emirates National Bank of Dubai (NBD) in Dubai. “We think the growth this year will be underpinned by public sector spending.” -Reuters

10

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY monDAY, march 12, 2012

Gold rises after two-weeks of decline KUWAIT: Price of gold came up after two weeks of decline to trade for 1,711 US dollars per ounce compared to last Tuesday’s $1,663 per ounce, said AlZummorroda company’s latest report.

The report attributed the rise to anticipation over euro zone and Asia financial data, particularly in view of the weakness of the euro against the US dollar and anticipation of a drop in Chinese domestic product for the year. With the start of release of positive data in Europe, and agreement among Greece’s creditors, price went up again and quickly crossed the $1,690 mark per ounce.

Despite the drops, the market was dominated by demand which continued to sustain price against too sharp a drop, and last hour demanded gave the price the final push towards Sunday’s price, the report pointed out.

The report forecast further gains next week amid continues unease and low appetite for risk in the market, and said prices could reach $1,760 and $1,800 per ounce soon after.

The report also pointed out the current price situation is not the norm, when it comes to the relationship between price of gold and rate of the US dollar. This is because a whole set of other factors are influencing the gold market.

As for silver, the report noted its price changes were even sharper than those of other precious metals, dropping to $32.5 before climbing to $34.2. Demand for silver is expected to continue to push price up and the report forecasts the range of $37 per ounce within a few days.

Platinum came up $12 to 1,683 per ounce, while palladium came to $707 per ounce.

The local gold market saw a revival

Saudi inflation at 14-month high on food, housing

StanChart seeks nod for Saudi license

FILE - An employee of Japan’s Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewellery looks at a pure gold dragon statue in Tokyo on Sept. 30, 2011. Price of gold came up after two weeks of decline to trade for $1,711 per ounce compared to last week’s $1,663 per ounce. (AFP)

with the drop in price with 24 carat reaching KD 14.9 per ounce for the first time since February and demand increased

for small bullions and liras. Drop in price of silver brought on a similar increase in sales.

UAE developers Aldar, Sorouh eye state-backed merger DUBAI: Abu Dhabi developer Aldar Properties, which has twice been rescued by the Abu Dhabi government with bailouts totaling 10 billion US dollar, may merge with local rival Sorouh Real Estate in a state-backed tie-up, the two firms said on Sunday.

Any merger decision will be made in the next three months after a joint committee assesses the matter. No further details were provided.

“Aldar and Sorouh are discussing ways to merge with the blessing of the Abu Dhabi government,” said the joint statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse.

Aldar, which is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi and built the Yas Marina Formula One circuit, has relied heavily on the government over the past 18 months.

State investment fund Mubadala has also played a key role in Aldar’s bailout by subscribing to a $2.8 billion bond issued by the developer in March 2011. It currently owns 49percent of the developer.

Sources told Reuters in January that Abu Dhabi had held talks to offload all or part of the Aldar stake in an attempt to stop its falling asset value from dragging down Mubadala.

The indebted developer, the biggest in Abu

Dhabi by market value, has been hit by slumping property prices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), forcing it to sell key projects to the government including its Ferrari World theme park.

The two are the No. 1 and 2 developers in the emirate, with the smaller Sorouh faring better than its bigger rival amid a property slump dating back to 2008.

Abu Dhabi’s property market fared better than neighboring emirate Dubai, which saw a collapse and the restructuring of its flagship firm Dubai World.

However, Abu Dhabi is also facing challenges with a huge supply of high-end homes expected to enter the market. Property prices in the emirate are expected to fall another 11 percent from here, a Reuters poll showed.

“Merging the two companies won’t turn around the dynamics of the Abu Dhabi property market,” said Robert McKinnon, ASAS Capital chief investment officer. “The problem is that both companies have fairly weak balance sheets and so merging them isn’t going to solve that problem.”

Shares in both companies ended up eight percent on the Abu Dhabi exchange on Sunday. The statement came after markets closed. -Reuters

ACK to support labor market with scientifically, practically qualified human resources Al-Kazmi: ACK to sponsor Education Exhibition for its role in introducing ACK Services and Programs

KUWAIT: Australian College in Kuwait (ACK) announced in a press release on Sunday sponsorship of Education Exhibition 2012, to be held under the auspices of the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, at the International Fair Grounds Mishref, during the period March 12-15.

On this occasion, Dr. Raghd Al-Kazmi, Director of Students Affairs at ACK, stated, “The College is keenly desirous to sponsor the Education Exhibition 2012, for its positive reflections on high school students, allowing them proper opportunity to familiarize with the disciplines and programs provided by ACK to its affiliates.”

“The mission of ACK is to enable individuals by maximizing their capacity in a sponsoring environment. This mission is based on academic principles to empower a new generation of young manpower with knowledge and personal skills,” she said.

“Accordingly, ACK provides academic disciplines and system to global standards, in collaboration with a selected partnerships with universities and colleges, whereby the graduates can attain the opportunity to study for diploma or bachelor degree in the various disciplines, such as mechanical and civil engineering, electronics, communication, oil and gas, aircraft mechanics engineering (1.1B), as well as Management,

Pure gold reached 14,900 Kuwaiti dinars per kilo while pure silver is now selling for KD 300 per kilo. -KUNA

Dow advances tomorrow’s technology at Middle East Coatings Show 2012

DUBAI: The Dow Chemical Company, a global leader in science and technology, will be showcasing its range of leading products and services at the Middle East’s premier coatings exhibition and conference, the Middle East Coatings Show (MECS) 2012. The show will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on March 12-14, 2012. This was mentioned in a press release on Sunday.

Dow’s robust portfolio delivers the most comprehensive range of technologies and services currently available for formulators of architectural and industrial coatings formulations, and building and construction products. Among the many products that will be on display at stand #C5 are leading-edge technologies that improve durability, cut costs, increase efficiency, reduce environmental impact and improve overall handling and performance.

“MECS is an ideal venue for Dow to showcase our extensive capabilities as a total solutions provider for formulators in the coatings, building and construction industry, helping them to meet the infrastructure needs of the Middle East and Africa region. It is also a great platform for us to interact with key customers in the region, highlighting the sustainable solutions with advanced performance and cost advantages that Dow Coating Materials, Dow Construction Chemicals, Dow Microbial Control and Dow Performance Additives have to offer,” said Dr. Ilham Kadri, General Manager, Dow Advanced Materials Division, Middle East and Africa (ME&A).

Two papers will be presented by Dow technical experts at the MECS Technical and Business Conferences: • “Using EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology to lower TiO content while also improving film properties and ecoprofile” - Monday, March 12, 2:30PM. Speaker: Dr. Andrew Trapani, Technical Director, Dow Coating Materials, EMEA • “Advanced waterborne binders for paints with improved appearance and durability: Easy-clean, dirt-resistant, alkyd replacement” - Tuesday, March 13, 2:30 PM. Speaker: Khaled Abou Ghoneim, Technical Service Manager, Dow Coating Materials, ME&A Technical, marketing and commercial representatives from the businesses will be present to share the latest product developments specifically designed to meet customer needs and the application demands typical of the ME&A markets: Dow Coating Materials is the most innovative coatings raw material supplier in the world, driving fundamental shifts in the coatings industry and moving the market as the expert’s expert in coatings solutions.

Through its mission of collaboration, inspiration, innovation and growth, the business provides material products, science, technology, and manufacturing solutions to the architectural and industrial coatings industry worldwide. Dow Coating Materials operates 43 manufacturing plants worldwide and 12 dedicated R&D facilities across all major geographic markets where Dow does business.

Dow Construction Chemicals

Dr. Raghd Al-Kazmi, Director of Students Affairs at ACK

marketing and human resources. Graduates obtain a degree from ACK and partner universities.” She elaborated.

Dr. Al-Kazmi stressed that ACK supports the local labor market with human resources that are provided with scientific and practical qualifications in the areas of engineering and management at diploma and bachelor levels through a global system. In this process, ACK established the “Project-based Education” concept, which enhances the students’ applied and professional skis and their capability to work in several fields.

“The scientific side is one of the most significant areas focused by the education system in ACK,” she concluded.

Under the banner: ‘Better building starts here’, Dow Construction Chemicals continues to support manufacturers in their effort to innovate building and construction materials and provide solutions that are designed to improve productivity on job sites as well as the quality of living.

Dow Construction Chemicals uses its extensive application know-how in acrylic, redispersible latex powder and cellulosic chemistries, and features technologies enabling durable highquality building structures, such as high-performance cement renders.

Dow microbial control

Dow Microbial Control innovates with science and technology to help manufacturers protect and enhance the value of their paints and coatings with sustainable microbial control solutions.

In addition, our experts at our Customer Application Center in Dubai, provide advanced in region-specific technical, regulatory and market support as well as plant hygiene audits.

Dow performance additives

With more than 70 years expertise in nitroalkane-based chemistries, Dow Performance Additives is able to help customers reduce formulation work and provide more options in creating multifunctional coating systems with lower VOC/odour, without sacrificing performance through its industry-standard ANGUS multifunctional neutralizer technology.

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s annual inflation rate edged up to a 14-month high of 5.4 percent in February, mainly because of higher food and housing costs, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday.

Quoting data from the Central Department of Statistics, the agency said consumer prices increased 0.3 percent from the previous month in February after a 0.1 percent rise in January. Food prices climbed 0.5 percent and housing 0.7 percent.

The rise in the annual inflation rate was minor, from 5.3 percent in January, and it is not expected to prompt any tightening of Saudi monetary policy. Inflation is far below a record high of 11.1 percent hit during an oil boom in July 2008.

The central bank said last month that it expected relative price stability or even a slight decline in inflationary pressures in the near term.

Nevertheless, the latest data underlined how strong economic growth in the country, on the back of high oil prices and heavy government spending, was creating conditions for inflation.

“The concern with the new numbers is the big jump in rent again...in year-on-year we are at the highest since May 2010,” said Paul Gamble, head of research at Jadwa Investment.

“That is something to watch out for. It suggests that new property promised by the government is not going on stream and also that demand is rising.”

Saudi Arabia’s growing population of 27 million, most of whom are under the age of 30, faces a housing shortage; last year the government announced plans to spend 67 billion US dollars to build 500,000 new homes over several years.

“Now we expect to see some increase in housing costs as economic activity recovers...Probably we can expect rentals to contribute more to inflation with the overall economic recovery and because demand/supply is still very tight,” said Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economist at NCB Capital.

In other signs of inflationary pressure, bank lending to the private sector rose 11.7 percent in January, its fastest rate since May 2009; it accelerated from 10.6 percent in December 2011.The stock market has jumped 17 percent so far this year with trading volumes running at two or three times last year’s levels.

The largest Arab economy expanded by an officially estimated 6.8 percent in 2011; it is forecast by a Reuters poll of analysts to grow 4.0 percent this year, but that estimate could be exceeded if oil prices stay high and Saudi Arabia produces more oil to offset part of the supply lost because of international sanctions against Iran.

In more news, Standard Chartered has sought a full commercial banking license from the Saudi central bank as the UK lender aims to plug the biggest gap in its growing Gulf Arab business, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday. With multi-billion dollar spending plans to beef up infrastructure, housing and education, Saudi Arabia tops the list of global institutions seeking to tap growth in the oil-rich Gulf Arab region.

The kingdom is also on the verge of opening up its stock markets to foreign direct investors.

StanChart received a capital markets license in the kingdom last year and has set up a team on the ground, but a full banking license would enable the bank to offer a variety of services to the growing Saudi population.

The bank applied for a license from the central bank more than a year ago but has yet to hear back, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the matter has not been made public yet. A spokesman for the lender in Dubai declined to comment.

The London-headquartered bank, which makes more than three-quarters of its profit in Asia, posted its ninth consecutive year of record earnings in 2011 on the back of buoyant growth in Hong Kong and Singapore, although rising competition for staff pushed up its wage bill.

The Saudi banking sector is expected to post higher revenue in 2012, fuelled by higher loan growth and fee income and falling provisions for bad loans, NCB Capital said in a report in December. StanChart was reportedly considering bids for Royal Bank of Scotland’s 40-percent stake in Saudi Hollandi Bank in 2008.

Foreign banks conducting commercial banking in the kingdom are required to partner with local institutions.

HSBC conducts business there mainly through its affiliate Saudi British Bank, while France’s Credit Agricole partly owns Banque Saudi Fransi StanChart’s private equity arm bought a minority stake in a Saudi Binladin Group unit for $75 million last year. -Agencies

Lufthansa slashes 62% on fares to Europe

CAPITALS: Lufthansa German Airlines just made business trips, travel holidays for Easter, summer and Eid Al-Fitr more attractive as the airline announces special price offers for over 20 European destinations with as much as 62 percent discount on fares. This was mentioned in a press release on Sunday.

Passengers planning their holidays to Europe from Kuwait via Frankfurt can take advantage of the low fares starting from 158 Kuwaiti dinars all inclusive. The new prices on offer can be booked and purchased from now until April 8, 2012 and valid for travel anytime from March 13, 2012 until Aug. 30, 2012.

“We trust that our new offer will be welcomed by both business and leisure travelers alike, who will now have more affordable flights and even more efficient access to Lufthansa’s Frankfurt gateway connecting to over 200 destinations. Onboard, passengers also get to enjoy our products, latest of which is ‘FlyNet’, the most advanced onboard broadband internet hotspot worldwide,” said Peter Pollak, Lufthansa General Manager UAE and Director Gulf, Afghanistan & Iraq.

Some of the destinations included in the offer are: Bucharest from KD 158, London from KD 210, Barcelona from KD 169 and Paris from KD 186, among others, inclusive of taxes and fees.

Passengers can look forward to enjoying the benefits of Lufthansa’s new European cabin currently being installed in more than 180 aircraft in its short and medium-haul fleet. Thanks to the new, ergonomically shaped seat with its slim backrest, passengers will now have almost two inches of extra legroom.

Lufthansa flies daily between the Kuwait and Germany.

ALWATAN DAILY

MARKETS

China sacrifices growth to satiate inflation dragon BEIJING: If inflation is a dragon that must be slain, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has shown he is willing to sacrifice a part of the country’s most vital asset to do so - growth. Cutting China’s 2012 economic growth target to 7.5 percent at the start of the annual meeting of parliament last week says clearly that too rapid an expansion makes inflation too tough to contain, given the reforms needed to create widespread wealth.

That he did so in the week it was revealed that the annual rate of inflation in February receded to a 20-month low of 3.2 percent, barely seven months after being twice that at a three-year peak of 6.5 percent, speaks volumes about the gravity of price risks.

“The fact that we’re talking about the question recognizes the fact that it’s not a slam-dunk that the inflation beast has been tamed,” said Jeremy Stevens, China economist at Standard Bank in Beijing.

“The average January-February inflation rate is 3.9 percent and only a fraction below the government’s target for the full year,” Stevens told Reuters. “Most people believe that in the second half of the year the inflation rate picks up again.” The growth and inflation trade-off is particularly pointed for Wen and the Communist Party leadership which justifies its one-party grip on power with the promise of stability and prosperity for the country’s 1.3 billion people, of whom most are poor and an estimated 10 percent live on less than one US dollar per day.

The country’s economic ascent has increasingly concentrated riches in the hands of an urban elite in the last decade, during which China has become the world’s second biggest economy and accumulated $3.2 trillion of official reserves - the largest store of foreign wealth on the planet.

Wen needs wages for the country’s 800 million mainly low paid workers to rise quickly enough to help bridge the chasm between rich and poor, while pursuing painful structural reforms to increase domestic demand and cut dependence on volatile exports and foreign capital inflows. And, because inflation is the surest way to ignite the social unrest that most worries the Party - given that the poor spend almost every penny of their income on basic essentials - he must do it while keeping a lid on costs.

The consensus in the latest Reuters poll is that inflation will be within the government’s four percent forecast for the year. But with a dip down to 3.1 percent by the third quarter (Q3), the implication is for a rebound in the last quarter, a worry for policymakers as most of the anticipated fall in the rate of inflation in the first half will come from the base effects of last year’s surge.

Societe Generale economists calculate that fully 1.2 percentage points of the 1.3 point fall in the January to February inflation rate came from base effects.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), the bank which confidently declared that the “inflation story is over” in a note to clients after data on Fri-

day showed February year on year consumer price inflation at 3.2 percent, seems to be hedging its bets. Its China economics team expects at least 100 basis points (bps) of cuts in reserve ratio requirements (RRR) from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for the rest of 2012 after cuts of 50 bps last month and in November 2011.

That compares with the market consensus of 150 bps more and arch-rival Standard Chartered’s 200 bps call to keep the economy gliding as growth slows. “The point is to make sure there are smooth liquidity conditions that are supportive to growth, but not necessarily a very aggressive easing that would invite future inflation risks,” HSBC China economist, Sun Junwei, told Reuters. In other words, a decision to ease monetary policy is not necessarily about having snuffed out inflation risks at all.

Inflation constraints

Indeed, those risks start to loom larger barely six months from now, and grow even more intense when inflation is viewed as an expression of economic constraint - too little supply relative to demand - rather than expansion. China has a shrinking labor force, mandated double

Company

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High

Low

National Bank Gulf Bank Commercial Bank Ahli Bank Ahli United Bank International Bank Burgan Bank Kw Finance House Boubyan Bank

1,200

1,180 475 700 250 465 850 540

Kw Investment Commercial Facilit.

Int'L Financial Adv. National Invest.

Kw Projects Ahlia Holding Coast Invest.

Int'L Investor Securities House Ind. & Fin. Inv. Securities Group Int'L Finance MARKAZ KMIFIC Aref Inv. Group Al AMAN Inv. ALOLA Inv. ALMAL Inv. Gulf Inv. House A'ayan Leasing Bayan Inv. GLOBAL Inv. Osoul Inv. KFIC KAMCO Nat. Int'l Holding Housing Finance MADAR Al Deera Holding Al Safat Inv. Al Salam Group Ekttitab Holding Al Qurain Holding Sokouk Holding Al-Madina Finance NOOR Tamdeen Inv. Int'll Exch.

Exch KW BH Int

108 270 59 176 340 14.5 65 112 116 33.0 130 62 33 40.0 51 38.0 102

485 700 255 470 870 560

Global Index - Banking

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Kuwait Syrian Strategia Kuwait China Inv. Manafae Inv. Gulf North Africa Amwal Al Masar Al-Imtiaz

23.5 31.0 62.0 178 29.5 72 55 132

108 270 57 170 335 13.5 64 104 116 32.5 130 59 32 39.0 51 37.0 95 204.0 95.0 23.0 29.5 57.0 174 29.0 71 53 130

Kuwait Insurance Gulf Insurance Ahlia Insurance Warba Insurance Kuwait Re-Ins. First Takaful Ins. Wethaq Insurance

455 -

455 -

Taiba Kuwaiti Holding

212.0 102.0

Global Index - Investment

Global Index - Insurance

Kuwait R.E. United R.E. National R.E. Salhia R.E. Pearl R.E. Tamdeen R.E. Ajial R.E. Massaleh R.E. Arab R.E. Union R.E. ERESCO Mabani INJAZZAT RE Inv. Holding Grp Int'L Resorts Commercial R.E Sanam R.E. Aa'yan R.E Aqar Kuwait R.E Holding AL Mazaya Al Dar National R.E Themar Int'L Holding Grand R.E Projects Tijara & R.E Invest Al Tameer Arkan Al-Kuwait R.E Al Argan Int'L Abyaar Munshaat First Dubai KBT Manazel REAM Mena Real Estate Al Moudon Intl. R.E Markaz Real Estate Kuwait Remal R.E

238 130 425 -

236 128 420 1,460 325 144 880 110 370

330 150 900 110 370

ŷ ŷ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ Ÿ

58 108 144 222 238 95 41.0 99 910 16.0 58.0 88 61 62 79 81 20.5 40.0 75 122 45.0 35.5 32.5 22.0 55 300

1,460

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60 110 146 226 238 96 42.5 102 910 16.5 60.0 89 62 63 79 85 22.0 43.0 75 124 47.0 36.5 34.0 23.5 59 305

Global Index - Real Estate

Nationl Ind. Group Pipes Ind. & Oil Kuwait Cement Refrigeration Ind. Gulf Cables & Elec.

Heavy eng. & Ship.

Marine Services Portland Cement Shuaiba Industrial Metal Collecting Kuwait Foundry

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1200 485 700 640 870 255 465 860 560 322.69

108 270 58 174 335 14.5 64 25.0 130 28.5 230 108 116 50 52 33.0 130 59 32.5 71 40.0 48.5 64 26.0 242 51 38.5 51 37.0 95 210.0 99.0 23.5 31.0 58.0 29.0 178 255 114 29.00 70 71 55 53 64 42.50 132 83.75

290 610 455 148 220 122 40.50 44.00

59 110 146 224 32.5 238 118 96 42.5 120 100 910 75 16.5 59.0 89 62 63 79 36.0 82 21.0 87 17.5 42.5 57 75 122 45.5 35.5 33.0 25.5 22.5 134 134 220 59 305 54.86

238 128 420 132 1,460 325 150 890 200 110 370

1200 485 700 640 870 255 470 860 560 322.87 110 275 58 176 340 14.0 65 25.0 130 28.5 230 110 118 50 52 34.0 130 61 32.5 71 39.5 48.5 64 26.0 242 51 38.5 51 37.5 100 210.0 98.0 23.0 30.0 61.0 29.0 176.0 255 114 31.50 70 73 55 55 64 42.50 132 84.57 290 610 450 148 220 122 40.50 43.88

Previous Close Change 183.04 0.01 -22.70 6,177.10 Trading Activity Tran. Value(KD) Chng Volume

DTD 0.01% -0.37%

Last Bid

Last Ask

MTD YTD 1.15% 2.09% 5.85% 0.45% Div. Annual Close High Low P/E Yield

3,000,000 530,000 15,000 2,170,000 1,160,000 3,560,000 630,000 11,065,000

64 13 2 28 16 99 28 250

3,588,850 253,950 10,500 552,950 539,700 3,044,150 344,700 8,334,800

1,180 475 710 580 870 250 460 850 550

1,200 485 740 630 880 255 465 860 560

3.3% 0.0% 2.1% 3.1% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3% 0.0% 2.0%

1,220 510 790 680 920 260 475 900 590 326.42

1,100 475 700 640 790 236 450 820 550 317.17

15.79 33.26 80.57 17.34 30.38 24.25 12.40 24.50 106.53 19.08

-2 -5 -2 -5 0.5 -1 -2 -2 1.0-2 1 0.5-5 1.0 0.5 1.0 3.02.0 -2.5 -2 -2 0.82-

40,000 10,000 9,040,000 1,580,000 610,000 22,880,000 1,320,000 2,760,000 40,000 320,000 2,000,000 1,400,000 2,880,000 480,000 80,000 1,840,000 7,360,000 3,900,000 7,240,000 160,000 9,920,000 14,440,000 60,000 320,000 960,000 360,000 1,000,000 93,000,000

2 1 114 43 21 140 24 77 2 4 34 26 24 6 2 18 104 104 139 2 80 246 3 4 5 7 26

106 265 57 172 335 14.0 64 26.0 106 118 32.5 130 59 32 39.5 64.0 51 36.5 208.0 98.0 23.5 30.5 58.0 176 65 71 52 53 130.0

110 275 58 174 340 14.5 65 30.5 238 108 120 33.5 132 60 33 40.0 69.0 244 56 37.5 95 210.0 100.0 24.0 31.0 59.0 180 32 75 72 54 54 132.0

0.0% 8.1% 0.0% 0.0% 6.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.4% 5 1% 5.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 9.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3%

112 275 67 182 345 18.5 69 25.0 130 36.0 230 122 120 50 52 35.5 136 65 35 71 44.0 48.5 70.0 26.0 244 54 39 51 41.0 102 212.0 130.0 25.0 33.5 96.0 29.0 186 255 114 32 70 73 60 55 64 42.5 134.0 85.62

104 255 40 158 295 11.5 50 25.0 130 21.0 230 102 102 50 52 24.0 106 47 21 71 28.5 48.5 64.0 26.0 242 51 36 51 26.0 61 99.0 19.5 19.0 16.0 38.0 29.0 154 255 114 26 58 50 51 47 64 42.5 112.0 74.96

41.33 12.56

1,258

4,320 2,700 519,480 273,080 206,600 323,920 85,080 296,080 4,640 10,520 260,000 84,560 93,520 19,080 4,080 68,800 708,680 812,640 717,400 3,720 302,400 857,560 10,560 9,320 68,640 19,240 130,440 5,897,060

10,000 10,000

1 1

4,550 4,550

290 450 28.0

300 570 465 146 43.0

6.9% 4.1% 5.5% 6.8% 2.7% 0.0% 0.0% 4.7%

325 610 520 148 220 134 40.5 44.80

280 550 450 102 220 102 40.5 42.22

15.14 14.06 9.29 23.37 296.83

6,880,000 220,000 820,000 1,380,000 20,000 80,000 960,000 440,000 205,000 7,120,000 3,320,000 5,480,000 560,000 680,000 80,000 2,360,000 4,160,000 4,880,000 80,000 60,000 48,480,000 720,000 2,560,000 7,120,000 200,000 690,000 99,555,000

52 4 22 43 1 2 12 12 8 67 47 55 11 12 1 40 43 40 1 3 254 9 27 59 4 24 853

405,200 24,000 118,680 309,840 4,760 7,640 39,880 44,200 186,550 116,080 195,680 482,920 34,400 42,200 6,320 197,280 88,600 207,200 6,000 7,400 2,214,120 26,040 85,600 162,400 11,320 207,050 5,231,360

58 108 142 224 232 95 42.0 99 900 74 16.5 58.0 88 61 61 76 81 20.5 87 42.0 75 120 45.5 32.5 25.5 22.5 31 56 300

59 110 146 226 35.0 238 128 42.5 130 100 910 77 17.0 59.0 89 62 63 82 21.0 43.0 58 124 46.0 36.5 33.0 27.0 23.0 134 34 59 305

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.9% 0.0% 4.2% 0.0% 5.2% 0.0% 5.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0%

63 118 152 224 37.5 238 130 96 52.0 120 104 940 80 20.0 64.0 92 75 64 90 38.0 85 23.0 91 17.5 42.5 59 80 144 52.0 39.5 35.0 28.5 25.5 134 34 220 70 480 55.66

47 97 108 200 32.5 224 114 77 27.0 108 94 840 62 11.0 35.0 77 56 52 79 33.0 59 13.5 87 17.5 31.0 57 64 116 27.5 22.0 25.0 25.5 15.0 134 32 220 49 270 49.06

45.72 14.11 26.15 19.97

6,280,000 1,300,000 40,000 2,500 110,000 100,000 135,000 20,000 10,000

86 36 4 1 6 5 13 1 1

1,488,200 167,160 16,900 3,650 35,850 14,840 120,650 2,200 3,700

236 126 420 130 1,440 320 146 880 190 106 360

238 130 435 132 1,460 325 152 890 196 114 370

0.0% 0.0% 2.4% 3.8% 4.5% 3.1% 3.3% 11.2% 5.0% 0.0% 5.4%

260 136 470 158 1,480 345 222 920 200 120 495

214 120 415 132 1,380 315 146 660 180 102 370

72.40

59 108 144 222 32.5 234 118 91 42.0 120 99 920 75 16.5 60.0 89 61 62 80 36.0 83 21.0 87 17.5 40.5 57 75 122 45.0 38.0 33.5 25.5 22.5 134 134 220 57 305 54.78

2 2 2 4.0 5 0.5 1 -10 1.01 1 -1 -1 2.0 1 2.50.52 0.07

238 128 430 132 1,440 325 146 900 200 110 370

-10 20 4 -10 -

Global Markets review

World markets had another positive month due to continued positive economic signs, as both equities and commodities saw gains. Crude oil jumped 10.52 percent to $122.66 per barrel as US tension with Iran increased. CBOE Vix shed five percent while the Ted Spread was down 14 percent.

The World broad index gained 4.7 percent in February mainly on strength from Japan and Europe. The Nikkei 225 surged 10.5 percent while Europe was up six percent. The lowest performance was in Frontier Markets which were up just 2.3 percent.

Date of Closing Prices:

-5 0.18-

5 Ex-D 0.13

digit wage hikes, an export sector losing its competitive cost advantage and an insatiable thirst for raw material imports. “With China’s working-age population set to decline steadily from 2012 onward due to retirement, the notion that a minimum of eight percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth is necessary to sustain full employment and preserve social stability is now outdated,” analysts at Nomura said in a note to clients.

It also means that inflation pressure will build at a much lower rate of growth going forward, a fact unlikely to be lost on China’s leadership, which has seen periods of high inflation often coincide with protests and social unrest. The government is already raising the energy prices it controls, using the leeway of slackening demand created by the economic slowdown it partly engineered, and analysts expect further reforms in electricity, natural gas, water and more.

Such reforms inevitably lift prices, increasing the urgency of planned social security, health and tax reforms to boost disposable income in households that in 2011 was just 6,977 Chinese yuan ($1,107) in rural areas and 21,810 yuan in urban areas. -Reuters

05 / 01 / 2012

For more Information please contact "Global" at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net

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Close Close

KUWAIT: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets rallied in February, up 7.4 percent and pushing the year-to-date (YTD) gain to nine percent. Gains were led, for the second consecutive month, by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Tadawul was up 9.75 percent for the month while Dubai surged 20.5 percent due to strength in its Services, Real Estate and Construction sectors. Bahrain and Kuwait’s Weighted Index were laggards with gains of about one percent each.This was stated in a report prepared by Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz).

News in the region included: • Debt markets in the GCC have risen exponentially, with January 2012 seeing six bonds where a combined 7.2 billion US dollars was raised versus $858 million in the same month of the previous year.

• According to Moody’s, the implementation of the regulation requiring the lowering of roaming rates for voice calls across the GCC will have a negative impact on all telecom operators, citing incumbent telecoms as being particularly vulnerable.

• The Tadawul broke the 7,000 level for the first time since the global financial crisis began in late-2008 on optimism concerning economic growth in addition to recent regulations concerning opening the exchange to foreign investors.

• The UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) is expected to finalize new regulations concerning investment funds, including issues pertaining to short-selling, by mid-2012.

• The Kuwait CMA de-listed nine companies, most of which were investment firms, from the bourse due to financial problems and has ordered nine other firms to begin making concrete efforts to amend financial woes by a March 2012 deadline.

Volume was up 80 percent in the GCC while Value Traded expanded 40 percent to $62 billion; liquidity was led by the UAE where monthly value traded tripled to $937 million. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait saw liquidity up 35 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

Risk in the GCC (as measured by the Markaz Volatility Index - MVX) was up 21 percent in February after surging 67 percent in January. Risk was led by Kuwait where MVX doubled while MVX Qatar and Abu Dhabi declined.

Trading Prices of Kuwait Stock Exchange Date of Closig Prices: 11/03/2012

Date of Closing Prices: 11 / 03 / 2012 For more information please contact “Global” at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net Ÿ

GCC outperforms led by Saudi Arabia, UAE, reports Markaz

People practice traditional dancing at a park in Beijing on March 11, 2012. China’s inflation rate slowed sharply in February and factory output eased in the first two months of the year, as the export-driven economy faces headwinds over Europe’s debt crisis and sluggish growth in the United States. (AFP)

Trading Prices of Kuwait Exchange Trading Prices of Kuwait StockStock Exchange

Global General Index KSE Price Index

11

monDAY, march 12, 2012

91.02 13.55 1.55 0.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 30.41 0.00 116.80 0.00 0.00 0.00

0.00 9.33 22 77 22.77 11.92 44.26

0.00 5.36 12.62

12.75

17.22 6.19 16.98 40.87 22.96 0.00 16.62 30.70

6.22 26.65 12.18 5.30 45.99

23.07 18.82 0.00 0.00 18.01

17.16 6.67 7.78 137.15 118.86 12.12 24.48 21.53

-

ACICO

Global General Index 94 United Industries Boubyan Petroch.

610 KSE Price Index

Gulf Glass HilalCompany Cement High Al Kout Ind. Project 1,140 National K-PAK Bank Gulf BankMaterial 495 Building Commercial 770 Nat. Ind.Co.Bank 320 Ahli Bank 640 Equipment Holding 69 Ahli United Bank 850 Mena Holding International Bank 248 Consumer Industries 460 Burgan Bank Kuwait Gypsum 890 Kw Finance House 222 Qurain Bank Boubyan 590 Salbookh Trading 47 Global Index - Banking IKARUS 184 Kw Investment Boubyan Int'L Ind. 76

94 600 Low 1,120 490 770 320 640 68 800 248 455 880 218 580 46 180 74

ŷ źŷ źŷ ŷ ŷ

ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ź ŷ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ź Ÿ ŷ ź ź Ÿ ŷ ź 265 260 źŸ Commercial Facilit.

Global Index Industrial 41 40 ź Int'L Financial Adv. NationalInvest.

Cinema 174 National 170 - źŷ KwProjects Hotels 300 - Ÿŷ Kw 300 420 ŷŷ Agility 425 12.5 Ahlia Holding 13.5 Coast Invest.

53 52 66 58 źŸ Market Complexes -850 -840 ŷŷ Int'L Investor ZAIN Securities House - ŷź 79.0 74.0 Safat Energy Ind. & Fin. Inv.Group Educational - ŷŷ -Securities Group - - ŷŷ Indep. Petroleum Int'L Finance National Cleaning 140 138 ŷź 110 MARKAZ 108 132 Sultan Center 128 ŷź KMIFIC - ŷź 97 Arabi Group 97 Int'L Inv. Group 550 City Group 550 ŷŸ Aref Inv. Group - ŷ 2,180 2,060 Ÿ Wataniya Tele.

Investment Dar - ŷ 116 Kw Gulf Link 114 ŷ Al AMAN Inv. ŷ Kw Cable ALOLA Inv.Vision 110 108 - ŷŷ Automated System ALMAL Inv. 50 49 - źŷ NAPESCO -Gulf Inv. House - - ŷŷ KCPC Leasing 275 275 - ŷŷ A'ayan K.S.HInv. 32.5 - 31.0 - ŷŷ Bayan Eyas - ŷŷ GLOBAL Inv. Hits Telecom - 81 - 74 ŷź Osoul Inv. Al Safwa Holding 21.0 -19.0 ŷź GULFINVEST - ŷŷ KFIC Human Soft KAMCO - ŷź 74 Privatization Holding 76 Int'l Leasing & Inv. -- - ŷŷ Nafaaes Holding - - ŷŷ Nat. Int'l Holding -National Slaughter - ŷź Housing Finance 116 118 Aref energy MADAR - ŷź 610 680 Safwan 26.5 Al Deera Holding 26.5 60.0 ŷŸ 62.0 Gulf Petroleum Al Safat Inv. - ŷź 25.5 Gulf Franchising 25.5 122.0 Al Salam Credit & Group Collection - 114.0 - Ÿŷ 39.0 ź 41.0 Ekttitab Holding 17.5 ŷ 19.0 National Ranges Al Qurain Holding ŷ - ŷ Burgan Well Drilling 16.5 Sokouk Holding 16.5 ŷ 420 38.5 400 ź IFA H&R Al-Madina Finance 40.0 ź 1,560 1,560 Combinted Group ź NOOR ŷ 73 73 źź Jeeran Holding Tamdeen Inv. 160 158 Palms KW BH Agro Int'l Exch.

-- - ŷŷ - - ŷŷ -SafatKuwaiti TEC Holding Taiba 93 91 Mushrif Trading Kuwait Syrian - ŷź U it d P j t United Projects -Strategia - - ŷŷ 315 ALAFCO 310 53 53 ŷź Kuwait China Inv. Al-Muwasat -- - ŷŷ Manafae Inv. Gulf NorthHolding Africa - ŷź 236 Mashaer 232 Amwal - ŷŷ 270 Oula Fuel 265 Al MasarComm.

- ŷŷ Future 124 Al-Imtiaz 132 85 źŷ Hayat Comm.

89 Global Index - Investment 65 63 źŸ Mubarrad Transport 55.0 KuwaitInsurance Resorts 55.0 Kuwait - ŷŷ Advanced Technolgy - - ŷŷ Gulf Insurance -Yiaco Medical -- - ŷŷ Ahlia Insurance Al Jazeera Airways 465 455 źź 112 108 Warba Insurance Al Soor Fuel 236 236 ŷ Kuwait Re-Ins. First Takaful - ŷź 98 98 Future Kid Ins. Wethaq -275 -260 ŷź K G L Insurance 90 Al Nawadi 85 źź Global Index - Insurance Alrai Media 130 136 48 źź Kuwait R.E. 48 Zima Holding 100 - Ÿŷ United R.E. 100 -

Global R.E. Index - Services 118 National 126 200 Salhia R.E. Trans.

204 LiveStock 188 186 - 99 Pearl -104 DanaR.E. Al-Safat 224 224 Tamdeen R.E. United Poultry Ajial R.E. Kw FoodStuff Massaleh R.E. United Food Arab R.E. 30.0 30.0 Kout Food Union R.E. Global Index - Food 98 96 ERESCO 860 840 Mabani Sharjah Cement 86 86 75 74 INJAZZAT RE 100 Gulf Cement 98 Inv. 74 11.5 72 UmHolding QuwainGrp Cement 12.0 -100 -120 Int'L Resorts Fujaira Cement 78 77 Commercial R.E 122 Ras AlKheimah 124 70 65 Sanam R.E. ARIG 54 53 Aa'yan R.E United Gulf Bank Aqar Egypt Kw Holding 325 325 Kuwait R.E Holding Bahrain Kw Ins. 59 AL Mazaya 60 Gulf House 66.0 14.0 63.0 Al DarFin. National R.E 14.0 43 Inovest Int'L Holding 45 Themar -190 Grand R.E Projects -194 Ahli United Bank -21.0 Tijara & R.E Invest Ithmaar Bank 22.5 Al Tameer Global Index - Non-Kuwaiti Arkan Al-Kuwait R.E 70 70 Markaz Real Estate Safat Global Al Argan Int'L Funds Investment 28.5 28.0 Abyaar Al-Bareeq Holding 23.5 23.5 Munshaat AFAQ 25.5 First Dubai 26.0 Al-Shamel KBT 27.0 27.0 Al-Safat Real Estate 16.5 25.0 15.5 24.5 Manazel 30 26 Ajwan Real Estate REAM Specialities Group 255 255 Mena Real Estate Masaken Al Moudon Inter.

Intl. R.E --Dulaqan R.EEstate Markaz Real 57 56 Eid Food Kuwait Remal R.E 295 285 Maidan Index Clinic - Real Estate Global Flex

-

-

-

Nationl Ind. Group 232 Dar Al-Thuraya Real E 242 Pipes Ind. & Oil 128 126 Kw Medical Services Kuwait Cement 455 450 Amar For Fin. & Leas.

-Refrigeration Ind. 1,420 1,420 Total Parallel Market Gulf Cables & Elec.

Heavy eng. & Ship.

Total Services Market Marine 720 Portland 720 Global Cement Special Indices Shuaiba Industrial Global Index - Kuwaiti Co.'s 104 Metal Collecting 110 Global Index - 10 Large- Cap. Kuwait Foundry

Global Index - Islamic

ŸŸ źŸ ŷ Ÿ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ źŸ ŸŸ Ÿŷ źŸ ŷ ź Ÿ Ÿ ź ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź źŸ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ŷ Ÿ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ź ŷ ź ŷ ź ź Ÿ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ źŷ Ÿŷ źŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ź

ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ

Last Close Previous Close DTD MTD YTD 206 - Change 206 4.9% 224 196 23.76 200 208 -0.40% -1.55% 177.24 -0.70 -1.55% 94 176.5394 1,080,000 18 101,520 0.0% 102 94 34.16 93 94 610 895,000 27 -27.30 537,100 6105,726.90 - 5,754.20 5.7% 610 550 86.98 600 -1.50% -0.47% 610 -1.50% 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,220 21.05 1,500 2.9% Last Prev.

Trading Activity Div. Annual Close Last Last 216 216 216 206 11.21 222 4.6% Close Close Volume Tran. Value(KD) Bid Ask Yield High Low P/E Chng 350 350 Ex-D 350 350 7.76 5.7% 380 3,796,050 1120 1120 69 3,377,500 1,140 1,120 14.74 275 275 - 1,120 300 1,100 275 13.23 300 3.6% 7.3% 255 20 495 495 830,000 407,950 490 495 - 0.0% 510 490 33.95 224 Ex-D 224 228 224 27.09 0.0% 770 770 10,000 13 7,700 --5 770 780 790 770 88.62 320 50,000 325 16,000 325 260 20.53 315 325 1.9% 2.5% 640 -20 24 6,400 660 10,000 64067 66068 3.1% 66073 64051 17.34 10,920 68 68 160,000 32.59 0.0% 800 50 850 350,000 23 282,700 840 850 1.6% 850 790 29.68 33 33 33 33 0.00 0.0% 16 248 248 700,000 173,600 246 248 0.0% 255 248 23.59 102 102 102 93 0.0% 112 460 465 -5 500,000 10 229,750 460 465 0.0% 475 460 12.26 128 128 128 128 17.06 9.4% 890 -10 880 1,280,000 66 1,127,050 880 2.3% 900 880 25.07 870 218 2,480,000 222 547,200 222 210 112.24 8.95 222 0.0% 0.0% 220 590 590 607,850 -4 1,035,000 3347 590 580 590 590 18,520 47 49 5 -2 400,000 51 41 48 46 0.0% 319.37 319.54 8,092,500 6,639,050 2.0% 319.54 318.41 18.61 0.17240 184 79,840 180 440,000 11 4 184 162 10.81 184 182 0.0% 106 106 -5 --4 10274 10675 0.0% 10688 10670 40.56 74 14,960 78 200,000 0.0% 260 265 -5 250,000 14 65,750 260 265 8.5% 265 260 12.09 170.49 170.35 0.14 170.49 163.04 10.88 3,179,210 13,702,500 273 2.7% 40 1,020 170 280 300 425 12.5 52 65 25.0 850 130 77.0 31.0 110 230 310 102 140 108 130 50 97 44.0 550 52 2,160 74 116 28.5 63 108 255 49 360 23 275 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 75 68 19.5 20.5 270 26.0 244 75 94 97 51 154 36 118 51 610 26.5 62.0 75 25.5 120.0 120 39.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 420 38.5 1,560 29.0 73 158 86 255 72.0 114 92 26.00 325 68 310 53 130 60 46.5 236 64 265 42.50 265 128 89 75.90 65

55.0 325 640 560 370 485 465 110 236 220 114 98 40.50 265 85 43.43

130 48 102 100 773.86 124 200 188 37.5 104 224 130 120 1,460 82 390 30.0 530 108 355.70 97 860 86 75 98 11.5 73 38.0 100 78 124 65 132 54 230 90 325 38.0 455 59 66.0 14.0 91 45 17.5 192 31.0 21.5 59 46.65 70 122 48.5 124 28.0 144 23.5 106 25.5 250 27.0 24.5 15.5 30 134 255 134 51 220 345 57 106 295 1,860 49.73 36.0

232 93.0 128 65 450 65 150 1,420 335 212 720 180 ź 104 Ÿ 460 ź

41 1,020 172 280 295 425 12.5 53 61 25.0 850 130 78.0 31.0 110 230 310 102 142 112 132 50 104 44.0 530 52 2,080 74 116 28.5 63 108 255 49.5 360 23 275 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 79 68 21.0 20.5 270 26.0 244 76 94 97 51 154 36 120 51 660 26.5 61.0 75 26.0 112.0 120 41.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 425 39.0 1,540 29.0 74 160 86 255 72.0 114 94 26.00 325 68 315 53 130 60 46.5 240 64 265 42.50 265 130 89 76.02 64

55.0 325 640 560 370 485 470 118 236 220 114 104 40.50 275 90 43.63

140 49 102 99 771.72 120 204 186 37.5 102 234 130 120 1,460 82 390 30.5 530 108 355.21 98 850 85 73 98 12.0 71 38.0 110 77 120 70 132 55 230 90 325 38.0 455 63 63.0 14.5 91 43 17.5 192 31.021.0 59 46.52 74 122 48.5 124 28.5 144 24.5 106 26.0 250 27.0 27.0 16.5 28 134 260 134 51 220 345 58 106 290 1,860 49.75 36.0

-1 -2 5 -

1,680,000 1,040,000 110,000 1,970,000 7,040,000 1,280,000 19,240,000 1,105,000 12,160,000 - - 900,000 680,000 1,320,000 80,000 100,000 457,500 1,880,000 500,000 320,000 - 80,000 1,840,000 - 20,440,000 17,520,000 - 6,160,000 - - 240,000 30,000 240,000 3,960,000 80,000 11,180,000 1,920,000 13,920,000 480,000 40,000 10,640,000 2,500 40,000 80,000 - - 1,040,000 - 710,000 200,000 - 1,060,000 30,000 - 1,240,000 160,000 40,720,000 760,000

13 20 5 4635 22 286 34 92 - - 34 1837 -2 2 71 49 14 4 - -5 22 - 251 120 - 88 - - 12 -6 261 -1 212 24 75 5 4 93 -1 41 - - 23 - 223 - 36 -3 - 38 4 55815

-1 4 1.0--2.0--2 --7 20 80 - -1 - - - - -4 - -2 --1 - - --2 -50 - 1.0 0.58.0 2.0-5 0.5- -5 -1 2.0-2.0- --5 - --4 - - --2 0.12-1 -40,000 -1 -- - - - - 110,000 5 -8 120,000 69 40,000 Ex-D -2 --6 -1 40,000 157 -10 3,480,000 -5 360,000 0.19120,000 69 17 10 380,000 1 -1 80,000 9 1 920,000 1,567 2.14 109,935,000 4 105 3,100,000 12 -4 2 520,000 2 40,000 -2 59 2,720,000 3 10.0100,000 1 80,000 0.52,760,000 0.50 -1 320,000 861 -

10 1 1,935,000 57 7 320,000 210 120,000 2 640,000 15 0.5-2 2,000,000 21,600,000 199 - -10 10,020,000 291 3 1 240,000 4 260,000 7 17 1,000,000 -5 4 -1 200,000 10,000 1 Ex-D 11 440,000 -4 37,320,000 385 1 80,000 0.5-3 3 82 8,480,000 1,940,000 33 -81 1 8,720,000 1,096 89,310,000 0.13 -4 320,000 2 - - - - 12 0.5- 2,720,000 1.080,000 1 0.5240,000 3 Ex-D 35,040,000 4 2.5160,000 2 1,200,000 8 1.01,840,000 23 3 40 1,180,000 - -5 - - - -1 240,000 6 47 5 2,110,000 0.02- - 53,085,000 - 332 -

Ex-D

-

-

242 -10 13,220,000 93.0 - 154 128 140,000 6 65 470 -20 50,000 2 65 150 - - - 3,180,000 1,460 -40 2,500 165 335 5,359 212 - 419,337,500720 Close 230,000 19 Prev. Close 180 192.18 192.19 106 -2 80,000 3 188.89 460 189.25 -

570.54

571.63

67,160 40 177,720 168 33,000 295 835,550 90,920 420 12.5 67,280 1,207,120 5164 - 840 937,800 925,280 76.0 - - - 124,680 138 73,920 106 170,320 128 - 7,760 55,000 978,400 2,140 216,040 112 27.0 54,920 108 260 15,840 49 350 - 21 22,000 270 58,760 31.0 - 1,549,280 64.074 340,720 -19.0 - -74 464,560 - -92 - - 28,200 118 - 19,300 6,360 26.0 241,520 61.0 2,040 24.0 1,305,280 - 118.0 77,080 252,000 18.0 18.0 7,920 16.0 16,400 400 419,440 38.5 3,900 1,540 2,920 12,680 15672 - -85 69.0 96,080 -91 330 - 63 220,250 305 10,600 52 - - 248,120 234 8,000 265 - - 246 157,920 13,760 124.086 2,702,550 48,200 64

2,200 - - 50,600 13,200 9,440 3,920 938,050 31,000 13,200 50,160 3,840 92,000 10,120,570 383,920

104,680 7,480 274,400 22,400 2,400 281,880 31,160 1,656,950 27,520 8,960 63,040 23,960 1,581,600 1,047,080 18,520 32,080 67,400 10,720 3,250 26,160 2,394,320 1,120 368,920 370,040 188,840 6,076,690 22,400 - - 76,880 1,880 6,160 946,080 3,960 19,240 54,240 300,900 - 13,520 610,850 4,151,200 -

-

52.0 300 510 365 460 455 108 232 - - 265

48 99 -

122 200 184 - 100 128 110 1,460 510 112 95 86086 7186 11.597 35.572 77 100 120 53 325 13.5 9065 - 45 30.0 190.0 70 116 28.0 23.5 25.0 24.5 15.5 29 250 29 218 55 29084

-

-

3,111,120 -17,800 122 22,550 455 - 150 359,100 3,550 1,420 310 39,126,120 165,600 Change 710 178 -0.02 8,480 104 0.36 435

-1.09

40

0.0%

3.9% 1,020 172 0.0% 0.0% 300 - 6.7% 425 0.0% 9.4% 13.0 5266 0.0% 0.0% - 850 0.0% 23.5% 0.0% 0.0% 77.0 33.5 - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 330 9.7% 0.0% 0.0% 140 110 130 9.3% 0.0% 0.0% 102 0.0% 540 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2,160 2.3% 0.0% 116 0.0% 29.5 0.0% 0.0% 11067 0.0% 280 0.0% 9.8% 50 5.6% 365 0.0% 24 1.8% 275 0.0% 6.0% 32.5 - 0.0% - 0.0% 3.8% 0.0% - 75 0.0% 0.0% -19.5 0.0% - 280 0.0% 0.0% 23875 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 102 0.0% 54 - 0.0% 5.2% 0.0% 120 0.0% 0.0% 620 3.6% 0.0% 27.0 62.0 0.0% 0.0% 26.5 0.0% 120.0 130 0.0% 0.0% 39.0 0.0% 18.5 0.0% 20.0 0.0% 250 0.0% 16.5 0.0% 0.0% 420 0.0% 39.0 4.5% 1,560 0.0% % 79 0.0% 3.8% 160 9.3% 27091 5.1% 0.0% 71.0 0.0% 0.0% 2793 0.0% 9 2% 335 0.0% 9.2% 73 3.2% 310 0.0% 53 160 0.0% 5.4% 61 47 236 10.8% 0.0% 69 270 0.0% 0.0% - 290 0.0% 9.4% 128.089 0.0% 11.2% 65 2.4% 0.0% 55.0 6.2% 0.0% 325 0.0% 610 4.5% 375 5.2% 2.7% 500 465 9.1% 0.0% 114 238 0.0% 2.7% 110 104 0.0% 0.0% 43.0 270 0.0% 1.9% 87 4.7% 5.9% 130 0.0% 49 0.0% 112 0.0% 0.0% 100 11.7% 126 0.0% 202 190 10.0% 0.0% 37.5 4.8% 104 0.0% 224 - 4.5% 0.0% 0.0% 130 1,480 4.5% 6.1% 85 400 1.3% 0.0% 31.5 3.8% 580 6.5% 118 3.9% 0.0% 98 87087 0.0% 5.8% 7687 0.0% 10.2% 12.099 0.0% 0.0% 37.073 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 79 102 8.1% 0.0% 65 124 5.7% 0.0% 54 0.0% 0.0% 91 230 9.2% 0.0% 40.5 330 0.0% 7.7% 60 0.0% 14.5 0.0% 0.0% 9466 5.5% - 0.0% 5.2% 33.5 192.0 0.0% 0.0% 57 0.0% 3.9% 74 0.0% - 0.0% 126 0.0% 28.5 - 0.0% 0.0% 25.0 0.0% 0.0% 25.5 0.0% 255 3.2% 28.0 0.0% 0.0% 25.0 0.0% 16.0 0.0% 30 3.7% 130 255 0.0% 2.7% 32 54 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 57 - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 295 1,960 1.1% 0.0%

48.5

232 94.0 130 70 465 -70 1,440 340 216 720 DTD 190 -0.01% 108 0.19% -

-0.19%

0.0%

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% 7.7% 3.3% 0.8% 4.6% 3.0% 4.63% 2.4% 13.9% 5.6% 0.0% 4.3%

42 40 990 1,120 174 170 280 280 305 295 430 340 13.5 12.5 5465 5241 25.0 25.0 900 840 130 130 79.0 45.0 36.0 31.0 110 110 230 230 295 345 102 102 146 110 116 108 108 136 50 5084 104 44.0 44.0 530 550 52 52 1,920 2,160 74 74 95 126 28.5 28.5 11268 10863 230 255 51 49 340 395 23 22 260 305 71 71 260 260 31.5 31.0 260 260 48.5 48.5 132 68.0 68.054 14.0 23.5 20.5 20.5 26.0 26.0 270 280 24481 24461 94 9490 104 51 51 154 154 36 3691 120 51 51 520 710 26.5 27.5 30.0 74.0 75 75 16.0 28.5 99.0 120.0 120 140 19.5 41.5 19.5 12.0 19.0 19.0 275 198 17.0 16.5 490 420 39.0 38.0 1,580 1,500 29.0 29.0 89 15673 162 25586 25591 74.0 57.0 114 114 104 2680 28 335 270 68 68 280 315 53 55 130 130 60 60 47 47 172 242 64 64 265 305 42.5 42.5 300 265 132.089 128.070 76.32 72 75.90 51

44.0 56.0 325 325 640 640 560 560 345 390 520 485 410 480 118 110 270 236 220 220 134 11498 114 40.5 40.5 275 218 44.80 92 43.43 80

116 156 49 48 102 110 100 99 777.86 744.62 120 128 200 208 182 222 37.5 37.590 114 234 224 126 130 130 120 1,420 1,500 82 82 340 390 30.5 30.0 500 570 108 108 365.22 345.74 100 96 86095 84044 76 7355 108 12.573 11.543 38.0 38.0 122 46 78 77 126 118 75 65 132 132 54 55 232 188 90 90 330 250 38.0 38.0 455 455 63 59 74.0 40.5 14.5 14.0 91 91 17.5 17.5 31.0 31.0 59 59 47.16 40.74 78 70 1,220 1,220 48.5 48.5 144 124 29.0 28.0 24.5 23.5 26.0 25.5 28.5 27.0 16.5 15.5 134 134 32 32 220 220 57 60 295 270 49.8649.73-

-

232 260 130 128 470 450 158 150 1,460 1,420 340 335 212 222 710 740 MTD 180 1.21% 180 104 116 1.50% 460 460

1.45%

17.46 88.93 12.13 14.15 1.33 0.00 13.02

23.89 0.00 18.85 0.00 23.97 0.00 55.09 0.00 13.98 0.00 0.00 0.00

12.74 6.85 9.57 0.00 11.97 9.19 276.91 32.31 0.00 13.80

12.31

0.00 116.80 9.60 0.00 0.00 15.16

5.71

0.00

0.00 71.64 91.62 17.06 0.00 3.02 8.28 7.35 22.77 11.92

10.38

60 55 60.55 43.00

5.17 7.80 7.79 22.46 0.00 16.17

5.19 10.01

3.85 16.97 25.05 12.90 11.90 9.91 8.29 17.37 16.48 296.83 10.92 6.99

6.11 12.60

11.61 37.20 12.83 12.36 22.21 17.83 16.20

5.72 11.56 25.40 9.84 15.28 11.31 39.65 5.29

21.70

0.00 14.56

9.92

26.32

35.93 7.39 8.10 43.94 4.15 10.28

19.44 67.58

10.75

11.37 0.00 5.38 27.28

20.67 9.93 23.07

8.75

18.82 63.06 0.00 11.03 0.00 16.27

14.44

70.58 18.38

9.81 6.49 8.02 14.77 193.84 96.15 YTD 10.91 1.39% 23.15 -0.44% 26.77

1.52%

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

12

ALWATAN DAILY monday, march 12, 2012

April 21, 2009 March 11, 2012 Bull/Bear Indicator Bull/Bear Indicator

0%

95

0% -2%

Kuwait

Bahrain

-1%

-4%

Bahrain

90

-2%

-6%

GCC Best Performers

Saudi

95 11-Dec-11 85

11-Jan-12

11-Feb-12

MENA Best Performers

-5%

11-Mar-12

-6% -2

S&P Pan 3-Feb-09 Arab Large/ 18-Feb-09 Mid Composite S&P 20-Mar-09 GCC Large/ Mid Composite 19-Jan-09 5-Mar-09 4-Apr-09 19-Apr-0

1 Period's Liquidity 1 Ratio (PLR x)*

-1

MENA Indices Highlights Country (Index)

Index Level

% Chg.

YTD

Sa Saudi Arabia (Tadawul All Share Index) Country (Index)

Index 7,527 Level

UASa UAE (ADX Index) Saudi Arabia (Tadawul All Share Index)

2,587 5,250

1.0% -4.0%

QaUAUAE Qatar (DSM Index) (ADSM Index)

8,637 2,695

0.5% 0.6%

Ku Kuwait (KSE Weighted Index)

UAE (DFM(KSE Index) Ku Kuwait Weighted Index)

OmOman UAE(MSM (DFMIndex) Index)

414

1,687 406

5,885 1,745

BaQa Bahrain Qatar (BSE (DSMIndex) Index)

1,150 5,590

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

1,995

Eg Egypt (EGX 30 Index)

OmOman (MSM Index)

Ba Bahrain (BSE Index)

M Morocco (Casa All Shares Index)*

Eg Egypt (Hermes Egypt Index (HFI))*

Le Lebanon (Beirut SE Index)*

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

Pa Palestine (Al-Quds Index)

M Morocco (Casa All Shares Index)*

Tu Tunisia (Tunis SE Index)*

Le Lebanon (Beirut SE Index)* *Market Closed

Pa Palestine (Al-Quds Index) * Market Closed

5,305

5,478

1,681

11,355

463

1,212

2,825 483

10,621

4,769

1,094 546

Tu TunisiaClosed (Tunis SE Index)* * Market

3,282

52 Wk High

0.6% % Chg.

0.0%

2.1%

5.1% 0.4% -

-

2.2%

-0.3% -

-

-

0.9% -

Mkt.394,602 Cap. USD million

141

68,346 264,263

-1.6% 12.8%

8,892 5,148

8,071 2,137

70 122

124,415 69,783

5 196

17,236 65,352

1,754 787

6,416 5,860

0.6% -18.8%

1,433 12,627

46.5%

5,628

0.7%

12,109

0.1%

2,246

-6.8%

2,903

2.1%

8.5%

21 305

3,587

77

1,129 4,230

4,224

1,572

5,044

2,551

513

4,785

4,091

23.6%

739

407

2,119

13.6%

3,418

-

465

14,635

-7.2%

-

1,164

-3.3%

0.2%

-

328

9,406

-

-

1,043

-

2,837

-

4

63,640

7.67

1.41

1.68

1.62

8.07

1.29

3.62

1.56

6.43

0.89

12.71

2.15

9.44

59,990

1.18

18.36

9,603

3.95

14.89

8,507

1.70

6.47

2,079

0.86

8.67

6,576

MENA Worst Performers

2.50

13.85

1.92

SAUDI ARABIA *Market Closed

120

KWD 0.118 SAR 22.95

225 Saudi Industrial Inv. Grp.

101 Riyad Bank

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

115

SAR 24.70

-6.4%

111

110

181,892,453 119,672,216

235 Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. (KSA)

343,553,085 77,506,579 119,955,261 75,137,255

115 430Alinma Dar AlBank Arkan(KSA) Real Estate Dev. Co. (KSA)

97,126,838

NBKNational Bank of Kuwait (KUW)

1,479,834,967

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

88,742,222

23Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co.

11-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

290,665,174

70Zain - Saudi Arabia

11-Mar-12

12.20

% Chg.

9.4%

25.30

2380.SSE Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

5110.SSE Saudi Electricity Co.

Turnover (SAR) 1,217,999,820 2350.SSE Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. 682,133,077 1040.SSE Saudi Hollandi Bank 448,794,746 3030.SSE Saudi Cement Co.

20Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

11-Jan-12

Close

4.1%

13.15

3.1%

25.90

2.8%

15.00

2.4%

Worst Performers

1 Alinma Bank

100

64,280,166

1020.SSE Bank Al Jazira

Highest Turnover

105

-6.8%

Turnover (USD)

201 Corp. (KSA) 703Saudi Zain -Basic SaudiIndustries Arabia (KSA)

12,117,654

-1.7% -8.9%

324,782,630

201 Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (KSA)

7,481 / 5,916 1150.SSE Alinma Bank

Tadawul Index 52 week High / Low

Turnover (SAR '000)

-2.3%

Turnover (USD)

MENA Highest Turnover

2.33

% Chg.

-1.6% -8.6%

115 Alinma Bank (KSA)

95% 4280.SSE Kingdom Holding Co.

Advance/Decline Ratio

9.4%

8.0%

KWD 0.310 SAR 48.00

SAR 13.70

GCC Highest Turnover

7,527 (0.6%)

Tadawul Index (% Chg.)

119

9.7% 8.6%

KWD 0.270 -13.1% -1.8% KWD 0.265

EMAEmaar Properties (UAE) Best Performers

Summary

9.7% 8.8%

KWD 0.108% Chg. -1.8% Close

KFI Kuwait Finance House (KUW)

Rebased Performance

95 11-Dec-11

KWD 0.420

IFC International Finance Co.

9.9% 9.8%

8.0%

Close

KCEKuwait Cement Co.

0.88 201 ALAAlafco Aviation LeaseCorp. and Fin. Co. 1.74 Saudi Basic Industries

16.45

2,529

OMR 0.720

GCC Worst Performers

1.89 FAC FAC CommercialFacilities FacilitiesCo. Co. 1.37 Commercial 1.62 ARE AREF Energy Holding Co. 0.88 238 Rabigh Petrochem.

9.50

10,533

2

0.80 1.52

9.28 8.85

33,782

1

10.47 9.99

1.08 1.77

10.49

61,681

67

2.05

10.89 6.87

18,727

QAR 21.60

BKMBankMuscat

PB

PB1.45

13.94

SAR 12.20

QGTQatar Gas Transport Co.

PE 14.12

27,193

AED 1.24 QAR 6.35

428 Kingdom Holding Co.

11.67 7.29

15,024

13

Trailing

8.80 10.24

61,985

2.93 OMRAED 0.703

DFMDubai Financial Market KCB Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

13.31

18,438 37,413

AED 1.99 SAR 5.60

ART Arabtec Holding & Contracting GEC Galfar Engineering

Trailing

35,524 98,547

46

1,921

10,785

1,425

2.4%

1.3%

164 718

5,419 1,433

12,752

1,033

3.0%

1,301 316

PE

102,082

43 2,183

3.3% 6.6%

0.1%

Turnover 3,231 USD million

2,293 4,130

0.5% 1.9%

-1.7%

396

Mkt. Cap. USD million

2,775 10,090

24.6% -0.2%

-1.0% 3.9%

467

525,916 Wk Low

Turnover USD million

7.6% 9.3%

4.7% 1.8%

-

52 Wk 7,481 High

17.3% YTD

52 Wk Low

% Chg.

AED 0.42% Chg. 14.9% Close

NBQ NationalHldg.

BankCo. of Umm Al Qaiwain 3 428 Kingdom

Period's Liquidity Ratio (PLR x)*

MENA Indices Highlights

Close

4 DEYDeyaar Development Co.

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi

0%

100

Saudi Oman

Palestine

Abu Dhabi

0% 1%

Kuwait

Dubai

Abu Dhabi Qatar

Return DailyDaily Return (%)(%)

105

2%

Palestine

Dubai

2%

Saudi Dubai

105

100

3%

Qatar

111

Qatar Saudi

111

4%

Oman Qatar

110

4%

Oman

113

111

110

5% 6%

Dubai

Kuwait Oman

5% 6%

Jordan Kuwait

113

Jordan Egypt

115115

DailyIndex Index Performance Snapshot Daily Performance Snapshot

Bahrain Bahrain

Rebased RebasedPerformance Performance

281,779,734

43Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

2290.SSE Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. 3020.SSE Yamama Saudi Cement Co.

Close

18.75

% Chg.

32.50

95.00

53.00

54.00

-1.1%

-0.6% -0.5% -0.5% -0.5%

Saudi SE

Quotes Company Name 1 Al Rajhi Bank

1 Alinma Bank 2 Almarai Co.

1 Arab National Bank

1 Bank AlBilad

1 Bank Al Jazira

Close 77.75

% Chg.

0.0%

13.15

3.1%

32.40

0.6%

107.00 26.50

25.30

0.5%

1.2%

4.1%

Daily High

78.25

13.30

107.25 32.40

26.90

25.70

Low

77.75

Turnover (SAR '000) 103,201

12.70

1,218,000

32.20

2,148

106.25

28,587

26.10

29,560

87.50

1.1%

1,820

45.10

11.15

117,393

25.10

96,661

50.75

22,849

4 Jarir Marketing Co.

4 Kingdom Holding Co.

2 National Industrialization Co.

2 Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

1 Riyad Bank

1 Samba Financial Grp.

2 Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co.

1 Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

2 Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

3 Saudi Cement Co.

5 Saudi Electricity Co.

1 Saudi Hollandi Bank

22 Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

2 Saudi International Petrochemical Co. 1 Saudi Investment Bank 2 Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. 7 Saudi Telecom Co. 2 Savola Group Co. 0 3 Southern Province Cement Co. 0 1 SABB 3 Yamama Saudi Cement Co.

2 Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. 7 Zain - Saudi Arabia

13,027

154.75

1.1%

157.00

152.25

43.90

0.2%

44.20

43.60

80,036

26.00

15,284

187.50

27,548

12.20

25.90

26.30 51.00

188.50 33.90

105.50

9.4%

2.8%

1.2%

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

18.75 40.30

34.90

33.60

71,142

104.00

2.4%

15.15

14.75

246,164

-0.6%

19.25

34.20

106.25

32.50 23.45

51.75

189.25

0.7%

-0.5%

23.75

26.00

26.30

682,133

95.00

15.00

12.25

96.25

32.80

94.75

32.30

19,657

6,798

1.9%

24.00

23.35

41,031

1.3%

19.25

18.95

13,758

1.7% -1.1%

-0.3%

-0.3%

23.50

18.95

40.60

35.10

23.00

68,697

18.60

448,795

34.80

6,067

45.50

13,157

53.00

32,090

40.20

34,957 5,669

105.75

-0.2%

107.00

104.75

54.00

-0.5%

54.50

53.75

28,398

9.55

290,665

45.60

53.00 9.75

0.2%

-0.5%

0.5%

45.90

53.75 9.75

6,016

9,776 3,781 585

446

16.55

11.40

29.80

26.50

56.75

146

192.75

6,463

112.50

16,433

14.75

2,097 206

209

32.5%

48.3%

153.00

100,147

22.4%

0.9%

84

16.45

0.9%

28.7%

6.20

-0.4%

16.85

16.70

39.3%

10.80

46.60

16,247

34.00

11.10 7.05

30.91

nmf

22.30

81.0%

42.4%

11.4%

20.7%

9.4%

-5.6%

-0.3%

34.0%

51.3%

-2.2%

-6.2%

12.9% 7.1%

9.6%

5.8%

44,975,000 9,285,000

18.1

10.2

24,471,110

10.0

2.2

39,450,000

12.5

22,688,400 45,900,000

1.2

14,535,000

10,749,375

-12.7%

25.0%

25.3%

10,687,500

719

24.60

15.55

-21.7%

19.2%

-15.8%

10,587,500

-0.2%

19.2%

9.5%

80,600,000

40.40

33.00

53

106.00

59.50

525

83.25

49.90

-35.1%

-22.9%

5.25

0.5%

75.7%

173

288 602

30,139

35.00

46.50

54.00 9.70

23.70

37.00

41.60

-0.3%

-0.2%

-1.9%

-1.9%

21.6%

23.0%

1.6

28.1

31,357,500

18.55

866

10.7

2.8

1.3

62,498,907

13.2%

7.8%

nmf

1.8

14.9%

9.1%

-2.1%

nmf

1.7

2.3

-0.6%

15.50

nmf

10.8

25.70

19.15

1.3

2.4

27.20

23,870

0.7

316,500,000

32.70

19.0%

1.7

3.9%

87.2%

1.1%

2.3

1.6

5.7

31.9%

17.75

3.7

1.7

11.5

-3.1%

23.20

1.2

8.8

1,723 2,949

3.6

47,125,000

51.50

7.9%

10.0

PB

5.3%

98.00

1.7%

24.3

28.0

9,265,000

45,211,764

-0.8%

21.6

12.7

83.2%

53.5%

7.9%

45.7

11.6

10,908,000

37.9%

-2.7%

15.8

33,774,108

7.0%

11.1%

Trailing

PE

3.1%

15,520,980

-10.1%

12.85

7,950,000

32.5%

42.40

87.75

50.1%

37.4%

-13.1%

165.00

33.5%

0.9%

21.20

23.10

24,610,000

7,590,000

10.9%

-0.5%

13.8%

19,725,000

44.2%

-6.6%

6.05

3.1%

42.9%

116,625,000

49.3%

37.50

15.75

3.0%

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

27,540,000

50.00

24.55

12 mths

0.9%

-2.6%

64.50

175,927

8.1%

17.20

1,103

10.70

4 Jabal Omar Development Co.

17.8%

0.5%

70,953

10.95

76

11.9%

-7.9%

64.00

0.9%

64.75

27.20

83.75

26.60

10.15

10.90

-0.4%

35.18

YTD

40.6%

28,034

3,542

4 Emaar the Economic City

64.25

1,119

106.50

% Change

1.9%

281,780

46.50

7 Etihad Etisalat Co.

66

9.05

-3.7%

9.95

46.90

10.15

268

12.90

67.25

on high

1,591

0.2%

0.0%

93,560

80.75

Low

39,565

46.70

10.10

1,323

52-Week

High

24.30

1 Banque Saudi Fransi

4 Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

Volume ('000)

18.9% 11.9%

36.9%

70.6%

12.0%

14.0%

20.5%

19.1%

nmf

17.5

10.6

20.2

1.8

4.4

1.5

1.8

8,598,333

12.2

1.5

28,125,000

nmf

1.8

17,450,000

14,805,000

34,200,000

15.0 10.6

14.6

16.5

11.8

1.2

1.7

2.3

5.6

2.0

6.4%

10,935,000

14.9

3.2

61.2%

13,650,000

nmf

3.2

29,812,500

9.4

2.8

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

13

ALWATAN DAILY monday, march 12, 2012

KUWAIT Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 6,154 (-0.4%)

KSE General Index (% Chg.)

115

414 (0.0%)

KSE Weighted Index (% Chg.)

54%

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

KSE General Index 52 week High / Low

IKARUS.KSIkarus Petroleum Industries Co.

467 / 396 CABLE.KSEGulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

KSE Weighted Index 52 week High / Low

39,218

Turnover (KWD '000)

Highest Turnover 100

100

Turnover (KWD) 3,588,850

N National Bank of Kuwait

3,044,150 1,488,200

N National Industries Grp. Holding 11-Jan-12

11-Feb-12

978,400

N Wataniya

11-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

3.9%

0.184

2.2%

0.222

1.8%

0.238

1.7%

1.460

1.4%

Worst Performers

K Kuwait Finance House 95 11-Dec-11

% Chg.

28,388,875

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

105

2.160

0.57 ALQURAIN Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co. 6,523 / 5,694 TAM.KSE Tamdeen Real Estate Co.

Advance/Decline Ratio

111

110

Close

NMTC.KSE Wataniya

937,800

ZA Zain Kuwait

Close

KCEM.KSE Kuwait Cement Co. IFC.KSE

0.420

International Finance Co.

% Chg.

-2.3%

0.108

FACIL.KSE Commercial Facilities Co.

-1.8%

0.270

AREFENRGAREF Energy Holding Co.

-1.8%

0.118

ALAFCO.KSAlafco Aviation Lease and Fin. Co.

-1.7%

0.310

-1.6%

KSE Weighted Index

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Agility

0.425

T Al Themar Intl. Holding Co.

0.087

A AREF Energy Holding Co.

0.118

A Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

0.0%

0.610

A Alafco Aviation Lease and Fin. Co. B Boubyan Bank

B Boubyan Petrochemical Co. B Burgan Bank

0.470

0.465

540

1,160

0.550

0.440

-15.5%

1.560

1.3%

1.560

4

3

1.945

1.300

-19.8%

0.395

0.255

-31.6%

0.0% -

0.0%

A The Commercial Real Estate Co. S The Securities House N Wataniya

0.630

0.415

-33.3%

1.0

-6.7%

1,216,236

39.7

2.8

-17.6%

190,630

nmf

0.0%

-24.7%

890,416

11.4%

64,309

1.7

nmf

3.1

2.8%

-13.1%

8.2%

33.3%

138,000

14.3

1.0

307.9%

102,300

9.0

4.2

2.2%

-0.8%

-8.7%

306,500

nmf

-59.2%

86,711

-23.2%

8.4

267,815

4.0

nmf

63,719

-25.3%

1.8

0.8

nmf

0.8

19.4

1.9

1.100

0.820

-21.8%

-4.4%

-21.3%

2,312,575

38.4

1.3

0.0%

0.255

0.250

553

2,170

0.350

0.236

-27.1%

0.0%

-16.4%

264,518

22.4

1.3

-1.5%

0.340

0.335

207

610

0.425

0.295

-21.2%

9.8%

-19.1%

426,431

11.3

-

1.620

1.420

-9.9%

187

205

0.940

0.627

0.0%

1.200

1.180

3,589

3,000

1.260

1.000

0.0%

0.238

0.236

1,488

6,280

0.285

0.192

-16.5%

1.4%

0.146

0.144

119

820

0.168

0.056

-13.1%

0.218

547

2,480

0.226

0.174

-1.8%

0.128

170

0.088

483

2.060

978

-1.1%

0.0%

1.8%

0.900

-

-

0.320

0.320

0.176

0.170

0.270

0.265

0.222

310

1.7%

0.238

0.238

5

-

-

0.089

0.0% -

3.9%

0.0%

0.132

0.089 2.180

0.850

0.840

0.158

0.360

0.265

1,380

0.240

0.200

20

0.270

0.216

1,320

0.146

-3.2%

5.8%

-45.0% -4.8%

0.0%

7.1%

-5.9%

14.3%

-45.6%

1.2%

-8.5%

14.1%

-39.6%

47.2%

15.7

2.2

-8.5%

308,234

nmf

0.8

21,780

-4.5%

110,766

-41.0%

35.2%

7.7%

-11.9%

3.5%

0.8

nmf

0.6

-5.1%

114,850

22.2

0.9

-0.8%

88,803

17.9

0.9

88,400

nmf

1,088,711

-5.6%

nmf

24.0

244,200

27.1%

-40.1%

1.4

87,370

23.3%

11.3%

0.840

0.1

38.6

-

0.0%

1.640

2.3

152,461

163,298

2.160

0.8

4,749,270

15.6%

458

1.3

0.0%

-49.2%

-6.7%

0.0%

13.7

3.5

-13.1%

0.0%

2.0

25.8

-11.7%

8.3%

12.2

505,620

-26.4%

3.7%

80,905

15.6%

-

1.420

25.4%

586,923

-3.3%

0.067

1,105

-43.7%

0.0%

-11.0%

0.092 -

-1.4%

0.093

5,480 -

938

0.260

0.320

30

-

0.033

0.340

1,580

8

0.660

0.060

50

273

0.222

1.580

-

16

0.226

-1.5%

135

-

0.9%

0.130

0.850

-

0.910

0.174

0.130

-

0.910

-1.5%

0.222

-

121

0.320

0.265

-

0.880

-

2.160

Z Zain Kuwait

40

1.5

3,560

1.200

0.238

17

-3.1%

26.2

3,044

-1.1%

0.224

0.310

0.0%

53,454

1.3

13.5

0.850

0.910

0.146

-

-14.1%

12.0

0.870

-1.1%

N National Real Estate Co.

0.420

-

684,200

295,911

0.0%

0.890

0.238

-

-0.4%

1.2

0.9

-21.9%

-

0.114

0.260

110

4.2

nmf

13.3

0.236

0.242

0.480

2,760

nmf

88,500

144,926

5.9%

51

979,012

-28.0%

-58.5%

0.455

0.134

-5.1%

1.0

3.8%

0.096

0.465

0.184

1.6

-11.4%

296

-1.1%

440

6.1

4.1

0.104

-1.8%

80

241,729

18.9

-11.6%

1.380

-12.7%

9.3%

1.9

nmf

150,744

-16.0%

1.700

0.5

18.3

-27.1%

-10.9%

PB

-13.3%

0.285

3

0.019

nmf

-1.3%

0.500

4

0.055

88,088

PE

923,076

-45.7%

40

-

0.700

-11.2%

-4.4%

20.3%

16

-

10

444,906

-39.3%

0.400

3

Trailing

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

16.4%

19.6%

-4.9%

0.108

N National Industries Grp. Holding

0.198

12 mths

8.9%

-2.1%

-16.4%

0.180

0.425

0.420

-1.6%

0.470

0.184

-

0.495

0.580

2.2%

-2.3%

11

1.460

0.112

-

0.620

-5.1%

530

-

1.460

895

-9.7%

-1.6%

254

0.270

-

0.142

-18.4%

0.960

0.420

1.4%

-

0.280

15

-1.2%

-

0.270

240

537

0.700

0.420

0.033

T Tamdeen Real Estate Co.

0.700

0.475

0.335

S Sultan Center Food Products Co.

1.560

0.485

K Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding)

S Salhia Real Estate Co.

-

0.0%

1.460

A Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co.

-

0.485

0.255

O Oula Fuel Marketing Co.

0.600

-1.8%

K Kuwait International Bank

N National Investments Company

0.610

0.270

0.420

N National Industries Co.

11.3%

-1.1%

0.860

N National Bank of Kuwait

-16.9%

0.465

0.610

28

-3.0%

0.085

0.550

0.116

13.3% -4.4%

0.620

0.118

YTD

-16.3%

630

-1.7%

% Change

0.079

345

K Kuwait Finance House

M Mena Holding

0.104

-7.2%

0.540

0.465

M Mabanee Co.

-

0.581

0.560

JAJazeera Airways

P Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

-

0.657

-2.3%

0.0%

0.184

F Kuwait Food Co.

-

0.248

0.560

IK Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co.

K Kuwait Cement Co.

-

-

0.435

on high

0.380

1.460

K KIPCO Asset Management Co.

-

1,970

Low

710

C Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

IF International Finance Co.

-

836

High

220

0.049

IF IFA Hotels & Resorts

-

52-Week

Volume ('000)

0.310

0.700

G Gulf Bank

0.420

Turnover (KWD '000)

0.315

C Commercial Bank of Kuwait G Global Investment House

-

0.425

Low

-1.6%

0.255

F Commercial Facilities Co.

-

High

0.310

A Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

C Combined Grp Contracting Co.

Daily

% Chg.

-7.1%

75,248

0.0%

-37.5%

3,661,404

2.1

13.5

1.2

nmf

1.1

19.0

0.7

7.0

3.0

1.4

12.9

1.8

UAE Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,687 (4.7%)

DFM Index (% Chg.)

130

2,587 (1.0%)

ADSM Index (% Chg.)

Advance/Decline Ratio

DFM Index 52 week High / Low

110

Highest Turnover

100

TATamweel

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

11-Feb-12 Abu Dhabi SE

45,109,116

A ALDAR Properties

11-Mar-12

9.7%

1.22

Turnover (AED) 121,153,551 SIB.ADSM Sharjah Islamic Bank 83,488,225 FGB.ADSM First Gulf Bank 60,709,040 ETISALAT.AEtisalat

E Emaar Properties

11-Jan-12

9.7%

1.24

8.0%

Worst Performers

D Dubai Financial Market

90 11-Dec-11

9.9%

410,301,560

Market Cap. (AED '000)

105

14.9%

2.93

762,423

Turnover (AED '000)

111

% Chg.

1.99

2,775 / 2,293 ALDAR.AD ALDAR Properties

ADSM Index 52 week High / Low

115

0.42

86% NBQ.ADSM National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain 7.00 ARTC.DFM Arabtec Holding 1,754 / 1,301 DFM.DFM Dubai Financial Market

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

120

Close

DEYAAR.D Deyaar Development Co.

39,222,967

A Arabtec Holding

Close

0.98

% Chg.

9.91 9.26

TAQA.ADS Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

1.27

ADCB.ADS Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

3.14

-1.0%

-0.2%

-0.1%

0.8%

1.0%

Dubai FM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily

% Chg.

A Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

3.14

T Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

1.27

0.8%

A Air Arabia

0.73

2.7%

1.02

-

A Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

A Abu Dhabi National Hotels A ALDAR Properties A Amlak Finance

A Arabtec Holding A Aramex

A Arkan Building Materials Co. C Commercial Bank of Dubai D Dana Gas

D Deyaar Development Co. D du

3.48

2.10

1.22

1.0%

1.5% -

8.0%

High

Low

3.11

2,056

1.28

1.24

30

0.73

0.71

3.15

3.50 -

1.24 -

3.45 -

-

1.68

0.76

-27.4%

-

-

7,905,750

32.6%

-6.2%

4,983,857

7.8

0.7

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

1,416

1,335

1.77

0.71

-40.1%

5.0%

-12.4%

8.9%

-18.3%

3.06

0.49

0.42

3.12

-

4.3%

14.9% 2.0%

-

0.49

0.42

3.13

-

0.48

0.38

3.06

3.20

3.13

3.00

4.5%

9.26

-0.1%

1.26

-

9.91

91.45

-0.2% -

3.01

9.35

9.92 -

-

712 -

7,439

17,347 6,328

121,154 7,183

U United Arab Bank

3.70

-

0.45 -

3,296

3.30

1.46

2.31

2.80

0.68

1.88

-5.5%

-15.1% -5.2%

8.0%

47.6% 12.9%

1.3%

0.8%

2.8%

0.5

14,262,857

13.0

9,920,000

8,315,548

7.7

nmf

8.2

-18.1%

73,210,856

12.5

77.5%

-7.4%

1,034,582

nmf

9.90

2,832

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.98

-

156

1.25

60,709

0.42

8,714

-

-

286

4.63

10.75 1.56

2.65

6.98

0.67

-31.1%

-7.8%

-19.2%

28.3%

-

102.00

74.70

-

4.70

2.91

-12.8%

-9.9%

0.80

-3.9%

16.7%

1,212 30

159

11.90 2.39

1.02

9.42

1.63

-10.3%

8.5%

-3.4%

-16.7%

23,345

1.54

0.67

-20.8%

650

3.90

2.82

-18.7%

46,849 20,032 -

1.49

0.50 5.30

0.53

0.24

3.28

-9.9%

22.7% 22.4%

17,729,301

29,730,000 -

5.0%

20.0%

33,005,498

9.9%

1.5%

3,184,000

-5.7%

1.6%

0.9

0.6

7.0

0.5

8.0

1.1

18.8 8.9

1.9

0.8

1.3

1.3

2,376,990

9.5

0.5

31.3%

1,300,000

12.8

0.6

1,515,086

nmf

8.3%

74.4%

1.3

7.7%

9.7%

-9.1%

2.3

16.1

15.1%

115.6%

0.4

4,510,000

43.5%

-12.8%

-30.2%

-0.3%

1.2

nmf

3,234,981

1.4%

194

1.5

2,403,648

-18.8%

2,058

6.9%

2,035

99,932

83.3%

8.64

3.14

0.45

95.3%

-31.0%

11.40

28,499

3.19

-8.6%

0.34

1.1

1.5

0.9

1,217

617

1.17

3.9%

0.20

0.71

0.6

7.2

11,267

1.24

3.17

0.46

15,281

5,940,340

9.22

8.0%

U Union National Bank

43,402

2.0%

10.2

60

1.35

5.5%

18,273,716

1.99

6.6%

-11.3%

11.9%

1.99

1.30

2.90

48.2

13.3

16.7%

9.9%

1.22

3.45

1,855,000

2,811,072

-14.0%

1.99

0.99

-

6.7%

17.2

2.41

13,959

-1.0%

6.7%

4,380,350

3.49

11.25

0.98

-2.0%

nmf

28,096

12.15 -

1.69

1,530,000

12.6

83,488

2.2% -

1.96

3,397,358

2.92

11.50 4.10

371

1.3

1.1

0.3

1.00

1.88

5.1

0.8

12.7

1.10

1.92

7.1

PB

2,100,000

-7.8%

1.9%

1.1%

5.8

-28.8%

24.2%

1.06

1.92

8,229,176

PE

-4.5%

-13.0%

167.3%

2.9%

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

-28.6%

0.57

-9.3%

14.5%

84.3%

3.19

U Union Properties

2.02

5.8%

17,570,176

-19.3%

E Emirates NBD

T Tamweel

2.94

0.84

10.1%

Trailing

Market Cap. (AED '000)

37.7%

1.07

2.16

S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

-

-22.1%

13.0%

12 mths

3.63

2.20

S Sharjah Islamic Bank

37,000

1.14

-2.0%

YTD

13,853

2.8%

N National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain

10,676

1.63

2.92

-5.4%

% Change

39,223

2.19

N National Bank of Fujairah

-

23

3.55

2.32

on high

2.69

D Dubai Islamic Bank

N National Bank of Abu Dhabi

657

3.32

Low

2.94

1.18

M Mashreq

656

52-Week

High

9.7%

1.25

G Gulf Cement Co.

-

Volume ('000)

2.93

9.7%

F First Gulf Bank

-

7,707

45,109

1.24

E Etisalat

2,288

1.16

D Dubai Financial Market

E Emaar Properties

Turnover (AED '000)

73.1%

-34.5%

3,202,500 7,911,131

3,686,685

9.9

9.6

5.2

11.2

2.2 1.0

0.5 0.7

0.6

1.8

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

14

ALWATAN DAILY monday, march 12, 2012

QATAR Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 8,637 (0.5%)

DSM Index (% Chg.)

115

DSM 52 week High / Low

39% DHBK.DSMDoha Bank 2.75 QGTS.DSMQatar Gas Transport Co. 8,892 / 8,071 QEWS.DSMQatar Electricity & Water Co.

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

453,081,196

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price Advance/Decline Ratio

111

110

253,290

Turnover (QAR '000)

Close

60.00

% Chg.

1.2%

17.55

1.1%

144.80

1.0%

139.50

IQCD.DSM Industries Qatar

ERES.DSMEzdan Real Estate Co.

1.0%

18.88

1.0%

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (QAR) 29,037,866 KCBK.DSMAl Khalij Commercial Bank 28,894,703 QIIK.DSM Qatar International Islamic Bank

IQIndustries Qatar

98

MMasraf Al Rayan

22,318,930

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

95 11-Dec-11

11-Jan-12

11-Feb-12

11-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

15,458,495

Q Qatar National Bank

15,355,430

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

BRES.DSMBarwa Real Estate Co.

AHCS.DSMAamal Co.

VFQS.DSM Vodafone Qatar

Close

16.16

% Chg.

-1.2%

50.30

-0.4%

15.60

-0.1%

28.45

-0.2%

7.26

0.0%

Doha SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Aamal Co.

15.60

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank

16.16

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

74.90

E Ezdan Real Estate Co.

18.88

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

28.45

D Doha Bank

60.00

Daily

% Chg.

-0.1%

-1.2%

-0.2%

High

15.60

Turnover (QAR '000)

Low

157

15.56

16.50

28.80

28.35

15,355

59.40

3,644

0.5%

75.80

74.90

13,579

1.0%

18.88

18.88

91

1.2%

60.60

IQIndustries Qatar

144.80

1.0%

145.30

143.80

29,038

Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

139.50

1.0%

139.50

139.00

2,069

M Masraf Al Rayan

26.65

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

17.55

Q Qatar International Islamic Bank

50.30

Q Qatar Islamic Bank

76.90

Q Qatar National Bank

134.00

Q Qatar Telecom

164.80

Q Qatar Navigation V Vodafone Qatar

0.8%

1.1%

-0.4%

0.1%

26.95

17.60

51.00

77.50

166.00

164.00

14,516

0.0%

7.32

-24.4%

21.13

0.9

24.4%

19,987,500

14.2

16.59

-10.4%

0.2%

-4.4%

9,719,962

12.3

8.0

76.30

-9.8%

-8.8%

-8.7%

18,170,947

13.3

1.6

69.90

-20.8%

-4.2%

-21.9%

8,394,697

15.6

0.8

7.24

-10.6%

-3.8%

-4.5%

6,137,604

nmf

0.9

-10.4% -2.5%

-9.1%

44.90

115

141.73

112.05

88

167.00

131.33

8.12

1.1

9.2

-4.3%

126.20

262

1.4

11.9

-5.2%

153.50

92.60

PB

50,079,138

15

43

11,070,596

14.3

-19.5%

118.80

56.20

-11.0%

5,817,600

PE

-15.0%

148.50

85.30

7,722,000

18,533,733

201

19.58

-12.0%

Trailing

-0.1%

50.00

28.10

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

-10.2%

-5.0%

18.60

67.00

39

1,908

7.26

-20.8%

24.97

1,081

3,156

28.10

12 mths

-5.9%

5

61

81

0.7%

7.26

35.90

-15.6%

-1.9%

-10.8%

6,251

73.00

16.16

YTD

-12.4%

76.80

133.70

73.90

19.15

-35.2%

68.00

1,280

134.10

on high

15.40

85.50

22,319

0.2%

0.7%

Low

% Change

181

17.36

1,954

24.09

538

28,895

50.30

High

126

26.50

15,458

73.30

10

2,057

16.10

52-Week

Volume ('000)

-10.5% -5.5%

-1.3%

-6.4%

18.8%

8.9%

9.0%

-0.1%

7.6%

-6.9%

-3.0%

17.0%

1.8

79,640,000

10.0

93,763,745

30.3%

nmf

10.0

7,613,848

14.4%

1.3

12,401,868

13,950,000

8.6%

9.8

29,004,800

1.8 3.0 2.4

10.7

4.6

11.7

1.6

12.5

2.2

11.2

1.4

OMAN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 5,885 (0.5%)

MSM Index (% Chg.)

115

42% BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

110

2.00

Advance/Decline Ratio

111

Close

0.73

OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

Turnover (OMR '000)

7,098,647

Market Cap (OMR '000)

1.3%

0.52

6,416 / 5,419 RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co. 8,210 NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

MSM 52 week High / Low

% Chg.

0.4%

0.93

0.3%

0.31

BKDB.MSMBank Dhofar

0.3%

0.54

0.0%

105

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (OMR) 936,130 RNSS.MSMRenaissance Services 437,363 OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co.

B Bank Muscat

R Renaissance Services

415,174

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

95 11-Dec-11

11-Jan-12

11-Feb-12

11-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

33,061

O Oman Cement Co.

16,117

N National Bank of Oman

Close

0.60

% Chg.

-0.2%

1.40

BKDB.MSMBank Dhofar

-0.1%

0.54

NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

0.0%

0.31

RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

0.3%

0.93

0.3%

Muscat SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily

% Chg.

B Bank Dhofar

0.543

N National Bank of Oman

0.311

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

1.404

-0.1%

R Renaissance Services

0.602

-0.2%

B Bank Muscat

0.731

O Oman Cement Co.

0.521

R Raysut Cement Co.

0.925

0.0%

High

0.543

Low

0.736

0.723

0.4%

0.525

0.519

0.3%

0.312

1.409

0.925

13

936

High

0.680

Low

0.781

0.658

64

0.608

16

1.403

415

296

0.600

437

727

52

33 5

0.332

-20.1%

1.197

YTD

-0.7%

12 mths

0.416

-14.3%

20.6%

-10.8%

0.711

-22.3%

21.7%

-20.1%

-0.2%

0.458

-49.7%

Market Cap. (OMR '000)

-19.0%

-4.6%

-6.3%

1.041

1.190

% Change

-6.4%

0.302

1.407

6

on high

0.509

1,281

0.310

0.925

0.606

52-Week

Volume ('000)

7

0.543

1.3% 0.3%

Turnover (OMR '000)

496,974

4.1%

-2.8%

1,131,866

2.3%

7.3%

10.5%

Trailing

PE

12.9

PB

2.3

9.6

1.3

172,385

13.5

1.2

185,000

12.4

336,191

20.7%

1,053,000

-45.2%

169,821

9.8

1.2

9.4

2.1

1.8

nmf

1.0

BAHRAIN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,150 (-1.0%)

BSE Index (% Chg.)

115

37% BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co. - BBK.BSE BBK

% of stocks trading above 1 yr avg. price

Advance/Decline Ratio

111

110

1,433 / 1,129 AUB.BSE 1,887 #N/A

BSE 52 week High / Low Turnover (BHD '000)

6,497,989

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

#N/A

Ahli United Bank #N/A

Close

0.41

% Chg.

0.5%

0.41

0.5%

0.67

0.0%

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

105

Highest Turnover 100

100

Worst Performers Turnover (BHD) 628,154 AUB.BSE 408,406 BBK.BSE

B BBK

A Ahli United Bank

25,196

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

95 11-Dec-11

11-Jan-12

11-Feb-12

B Albaraka Banking Grp.

11-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

#

#N/A

#N/A

-

Close

Ahli United Bank

0.67

BBK

BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co.

BARKA.BS Albaraka Banking Grp. #N/A

#N/A

% Chg.

0.41

0.41

1.06 #N/A

0.0%

0.5%

0.5% #N/A

Bahrain SE

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Ahli United Bank*

0.670

A Arab Banking Corp.*

0.420

B Albaraka Banking Grp.* B Bahrain Islamic Bank

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co. B BBK

IN Investcorp Bank* IT Ithmaar Bank*

N National Bank of Bahrain U United Gulf Bank

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

1.060 0.082

Daily

% Chg.

0.0% -

0.406

0.5%

797

-

0.414 0.090

0.585

0.304

0.5% -

-

High

0.680 -

Low

Turnover (BHD '000)

0.670

1,083

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.406

0.404

-

-

-

-

-

0.414 -

-

0.414

-

-

-

1,611 -

25

628

-

Volume ('000)

-

52-Week

High

0.770

1.280 0.570

62

1,517

0.116

0.492

1.000 0.420 0.082 0.380

0.390

0.115

0.065

0.424

0.270

1,139

-

0.655

-

0.660

0.436

-

-

Low

on high

-13.0%

% Change YTD

0.8%

-10.7%

3,339,507

0.0%

-26.3%

1,306,200

3.6%

-1.9%

584,640

-17.2%

-2.8%

-29.3%

-8.9%

-5.0%

0.0%

-26.3% -17.5%

797

-30.0%

0.560

-10.7%

12 mths

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

-8.2%

-29.3%

1.3

0.8

6.4

0.4

7.3

1.2

352,461

11.1

1.5

-21.7%

240,999

nmf

0.4

-25.9%

253,707

-10.7%

1.3%

7.8

PB

-8.0%

1.7%

-28.3%

10.8

nmf

-37.0%

38.5%

PE

77,053

0.0%

-21.7%

921,723

Trailing

637,560 500,386

4.5

11.0 nmf

0.8

0.6

1.8

1.2

LIFE

Coping with diabetes

You’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes. Accepting the diagnosis is difficult for many people, but it’s an important first step. The American Diabetes Association offers these suggestions: •Relax and take a deep breath. •Acknowledge any anger, guilt, fear and denial. •Maintain a positive attitude. •Focus on being strong and telling yourself that you can do this, and that you’re not alone. •Don’t let diabetes define who you are.

monDAY, march 12, 2012

Progress, no big breakthrough, in hunt for HIV cure LONDON: Scientists, stymied for decades by the complexity of the human immunodeficiency virus, are making progress on several fronts in the search for a cure for HIV infections, a leading medical research conference was told this week in Seattle.

Promising tactics range from flushing hidden HIV from cells to changing out a person’s own immune system cells, making them resistant to HIV and then putting them back into the patient’s body.

A major stumbling block is the fact that HIV lies low in pools or reservoirs of latent infection that even powerful drugs cannot reach, scientists told the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, one of the world’s largest scientific meetings on HIV/AIDS. “We need to get the virus to come out of the latent state, then rely on the immune system or some other treatment to kill the virus,” said Dr. Kevin De Cock, director of the Center for Global Health at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

HIV, which surfaced more than 30 years ago, infects more than 33 million people worldwide. Thanks to prevention measures, tests that detect HIV early and new antiretroviral drugs that can control the virus for decades, infection with the virus that causes AIDS is no longer a death sentence.

Still, questions of cost, side effects, drug resistance and ultimate lifespan, make lifelong use of antiviral drugs a less-than-ideal solution.

The International AIDS Society last year formally added the aim of finding a cure to its HIV strategy of prevention, treatment and care.

Early human trials of vaccines designed to prevent or treat infection with the difficult to target virus have proved disappointing. HIV is a “provirus” that is integrated into the DNA of a host cell, where it can remain latent or eventually reactivate.

“It has proven to be an incredibly formidable challenge to develop a vaccine,” said John Coffin, professor of molecular biology at Tufts University in Boston. “In recent years the pendulum is swinging back.”

Scientific advances in molecular engineering are allowing researchers to delve more deeply into the mechanism of HIV. “Vaccines work by recognizing the surface of the virus and eliminating it,” said Dr. Dennis Burton, professor of immunology and microbial science at the Scripps Research

Ask the Doctor Dr. Atorina Benjamin Clinical Psychologist

Dear Dr. Atorina,

FILE - Volunteers form a red ribbon during a HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in front of historic Taj Mahal on World AIDS Day in the northern Indian city of Agra Dec. 1, 2011. (Reuters)

Institute in La Jolla, California. “HIV is a highly evolved virus that has developed a surface incorporating features to avoid antibody responses,” including instability.

He presented research showing that “broadly neutralizing antibodies” can be designed to recognize and penetrate HIV, giving researchers new vaccine targets.

Phillip Gregory, chief scientific officer at Sangamo BioSciences, said he was not “fanatically optimistic about priming the immune system to fight HIV” with a preventive vaccine.

He explained that because HIV is a “reverse transcriptase” virus it is constantly mutating, making it very difficult for the body’s immune system to keep up. Vaccines induce the production of antibodies that recognize and bind to very specific viral surface molecules, but the HIV molecules end up with a variety of subtle molecular differences on their surface.

“Eradication is a very tough theoretical sell,” he said.

“What’s going to work is getting to the point that we could

Fruits, veggies can be beauty tools, study says

CONNECTICUT: The key to a rosy, healthy-looking complexion may be as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables, researchers say according to HealthDay News. “We found that within a six-week period, fluctuation in fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with skin-color changes,” said lead researcher Ross Whitehead, from the School of Psychology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Not only did skin look healthier at the end of the study period, it was judged more attractive as well, he said. “Eat more fruits and veggies to improve your appearance,” he added. Practically, this may be a useful motivational tool for dieters, Whitehead said.

“We are currently running randomized controlled trials to investigate whether seeing the potential appearance gains on images of one’s own face are sufficient to motivate dietary change. Pilot trials have been encouraging so far,” he added. For the study, Whitehead’s group looked at the fruits and vegetables 35 people ate over a six-week period. They found that redness and yellowness in skin increased as more fruits and vegetables were consumed.

This is due to the impact of carotenoids, Whitehead said. “These are red/yellow plant pigments, which are distributed to the skin surface when we eat fruits and veggies,” he said. The changes in skin color that were associated with eating more fruits and vegetables were linked in a second experiment with increased attractiveness. This suggests that skin color reflects better health, the researchers said.

“Our study suggests that an increase in fruit and veggie consumption of around three portions over a six-week period is sufficient to convey perceptible improvements in the apparent healthiness and attractiveness of facial skin,” Whitehead said.

“Conversely, those that worsened their diet became paler,” he said. The carotenoids studied included beta-carotene and lycopene.

Foods rich in beta-carotene include carrots, yams, spinach, peaches, pumpkin and apricots. Lycopene is present in apricots, watermelons, tomatoes and pink grapefruits.

Nearly all of the study participants were white, so more work is needed to see how diet affects other groups, the researchers noted.

Also, the study was small, and the results merely show an association not cause and effect.

Still, other experts supported the findings. “This is something I have been saying for a very long time,” said Dr. Doris Day, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

“We are really what we eat, and it shows in your skin – and there are no shortcuts,” she added. There are studies that show a highantioxidant diet – one with olive oil, nuts, more fruits and vegetables and less dairy and red meat – helps skin resist aging changes and skin cancer, Day said.

“You want to look for different colors of fruits and vegetables, because each color has its own special benefit,” Day added.

Also, opt for the fruit itself, including skin and pulp, rather than juice. “If you eat the whole plant, then you have the best chance of getting the whole benefit from the plant,” she added.

“Your skin is a reflection of your overall general health,” Day said. “The healthier your skin is, the better it functions, the more it can help the rest of your body function; the healthier the rest of your body is, the healthier your skin is as well.”

Samantha Heller, a dietitian and nutritionist at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., agreed. “Fruits and vegetables are loaded with healthy plant compounds that keep skin healthy, structurally strong and protect it from the damaging rays of the sun,” she said. It has long been known that many plant substances, such as the carotenoids beta-carotene and lycopene, contribute to the skin color, she said.

“These compounds are also potent disease fighters,” she added.

Only 25 percent to 30 percent of Americans eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, and efforts to increase consumption have not been too successful, Heller noted.

reasonably expect the immune system to get it totally under control.”

Sangamo is conducting two mid-stage trials of its gene therapy in which infection-fighting white blood cells known as CD4 cells are removed, manipulated to knock out the CCR5 gene used by HIV to infect cells and then replaced.

“The change is permanent. Those cells and their progeny will go on to carry that genetic change,” said Geoffrey Nichol, head of research and development at Sangamo.

An earlier study of a single infusion of the gene therapy in six HIV-infected patients showed mixed results, eliminating the virus in one patient with a naturally occurring gene mutation. In the newer trials, according to Sangamo, patients will first be treated with an agent that reduces the number of lymphocytes in the bone marrow. The aim is to prime the immune system to take up more of the genetically modified CD4 cells when they are returned to the patient. -Reuters

Spanish farmers struggle with lack of rain PARIS: When Manuel Montesa takes sheep out to forage in mountains in northern Spain, he must bring water for them because streams near his town have run dry.

Like the rest of Spain, his home region of Aragon is suffering its worst drought in decades. It has left crops struggling to grow, caused pastures to dry up and forced farmers to leave land untilled. “If there is no pasture, we don’t know where we are going to get grass or some other type of feed, and at what price,” said the 27-year-old farmer who usually takes his sheep to graze in lands near the town of Sarinena.

Farmers in Aragon – which includes the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza – will lose around 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) this season due to the lack of rain, according to farmers’ association ASAJA. The drought has also caused habitual summer forest fires to come early: they have already ravaged hundreds of hectares in the north.

The commission that regulates water used for irrigation in Aragon warned in December that the region’s reservoirs had only one quarter of the water needed for a “normal” growing season.

The Sotonera reservoir, one of the biggest in the region, has dropped to 40 percent of its capacity.

Local authorities have already limited irrigation.

“I am 50 and I have never seen anything like

this. It has not rained since October,” said Fernando Regano, a farmer who is also from Sarinena in the province of Huesca, as he stood in his field under a clear blue sky. He points to small, yellowing sprouts of barley and green peas which should be standing tall by this time but which have been stunted by the lack of rain. The average consumption of water per hectare of land should be between 7,500 and 8,000 cubic meters but this year it has been just 2,100 cubic meters per hectare, he said.

“In this plot, if we had the 8,000 cubic meters of water I would for sure be able to raise 20 tons of barley and corn but I am going to have just four or five tons in the entire 70 hectare field,” he said.

Regano said he left 30 hectares of land uncultivated this year because of the lack of rain. He estimates farmers in the region will see drops in production this season of around 80 percent.

The lack of rain has also pushed up production costs for farmers, which have outpaced any gains in prices for their crops and livestock.

Production costs for livestock growers have risen by 20 percent because the lack of grazing has forced them to buy expensive feed for their animals, according to Spain’s Union of Small Farmers (UPA).

The number of livestock breeders in his region has dropped to five from 40 in recent years and the number of livestock has fallen to 4,000 from 12,000, said Montesa. -AFP

Birdlike dinos wore basic black with glossy touch WASHINGTON: Even dinosaurs can look sharp in basic black, and downright iridescent.

An unusual crowlike dinosaur - which really doesn’t look like a dinosaur at all - had glossy black feathers that were probably used to call attention to itself and find a mate, scientists say in Thursday’s journal Science.

Think nightlife at New York clubs, but 130 million years ago and in rural China, said study co-author Mark Norell of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

He calls the look an “Anna Wintour special” after the Vogue editor. It’s the oldest example of the shimmering look on animals, said study co-author Julia Clarke at the University of Texas. And in other animals, especially birds, that shine is often how males attract females to mate.

“It’s like shimmery clothes and garments you would wear out to big social gatherings,” said Matthew Shawkey, another co-author from the University of Akron.

He said they figure it was glossy from the shape of sacs that contain pigment in a fossil found in rural China.

It’s definitely not drab T-rex duds. Nothing about these dinosaurs, called microraptors because they didn’t get much more than 30 inches

long, evokes the fearsome look that has made dinosaurs the stuff of nightmares and scary movies.

Microraptors look like black birds, except with fearsome teeth, claws and a strange set of secondary wings attached to their legs - something birds don’t have.

They also have long ornamental tail feathers extending far from their bodies. In fact, some paleontologists think they are birds. “To me a bird is an animal with an avian hand and wrist with primary flight feathers,” said Larry Martin, a professor at the University of Kansas who was not involved in the research. “By that definition microraptor is definitely a bird.”

Not so, say the three study authors. First, microraptor couldn’t fly based on its skeleton and muscle formation, Norell said. At best it would glide or parachute from trees.

Looking at the way the animal’s skeleton is laid out, it is far more related to velociraptor than modern birds, Norell said. “Crows don’t have teeth.

Crows don’t have claws on its hands,” Norell said. “The hands are identical to things we think of as mean vicious animals, like velociraptor.” -AP

Two years ago I was involved in a car wreck that resulted in me getting paralyzed from the waist down and suffering a traumatic brain injury. Two of my friends who were in the car with me passed away, including the driver of the car.

I am the sole survivor of the crash. Since then I have been having such a hard time coming to terms with my life. I am so depressed. I am trying to rebuild my life but it is so hard. I have bad nightmares about the crash and I get so anxious every time I need to get into a car. Before the crash I was just an ordinary college student who was so carefree. Now I don’t do much, except stay at home and go to physical therapy.

I don’t even want to see my friends or family because I could tell from their eyes what they are thinking. I don’t know what to do, do you have any suggestions for me? I am feeling so desperate.

Thanks, KR Dear KR,

Thank you for writing in. First of all, I am so sorry for the loss of your friends. Being the sole survivor of what sounds like a horrific car accident brings about a lot of guilt. I am sure you ask yourself why you were meant to survive this crash. Often times those people that survive a traumatic situation, where there was a loss of life, experience a condition known as “survivor’s guilt.” They may blame themselves for surviving while others did not. The self-blame may trigger feelings of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms. Based on what you are describing it sounds like you may be suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I encourage you to seek mental health treatment from a qualified mental health professional to manage your symptoms and to develop appropriate coping strategies. Your life will never be the same as it was before the accident.

However, you can work to establish a new normal atmosphere in your life. As you try to redefine your life, the people around you will also work to adjust to your situation. They struggle because they see you struggling. Reach out to your support system during this time. You do not need to go through all of this on your own. Allow your loved ones to support you in the ways that you feel that you need them. I wish you lots of peace and strength on your journey.

Best Wishes, Dr. Atorina Dear Dr. Atorina, I am a 34 year-old female who is currently working at a job that provides me with a consistent salary but no professional development. I feel like I will not grow anymore within this company. However, since I have been here for the past 7 years, my salary has increased each year that I have been here. I know that if I leave here I will not find a job that pays me as much as this job does. I am feeling stuck between continuing at this “dead-end job” or taking a risk and quitting my job and looking for something new.

What do you think I should do?

Thanks, Bored Dear Bored,

Thanks for submitting your question to the column. I think many people can relate with your situation. You have the comfort and peace of mind of having a reliable paycheck, but no professional advancement. Have you tried speaking to your current employer about your feelings? Have you told them that you desire more professional challenges and growth? Perhaps they are unaware of your feelings and they believe that you are content with your current job and responsibilities? Regardless, before you can decide what you need to do, I encourage you to consider the other factors in your life at this point.

Are you married? Do you have children? Do you have major payments that rely on your current salary? Are there major life events occurring in the near future that would require your attention? If so, you may want to delay a job change to avoid adding additional stress to your life. If you feel that other factors in your life will not suffer with your job change, then I encourage you to first look for another job before you quit your current one. I suggest that you take it one step at a time by first starting at your current employer and taking it from there.

Good Luck, Dr. Atorina

Dr. Atorina Benjamin is a Clinical Psychologist at Al Seef Hospital.

Please note that the responses given

by Dr. Atorina are based only on the limited information provided with each question submitted. This should not serve as a substitution for a consultation with a mental health professional.

Send your enquiries and concerns directly and confidentially to Dr. Atorina Benjamin for her weekly column to DrAtorina@AlWatanDaily.com.

16

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

monDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

Lowell delivers lecture on ‘Early literacy skill development’ at CCET Onilda Fernandes, Jameel W. Karaki Staff Writers

KUWAIT: The Center for Child Evaluation & Teaching (CCET) organized a lecture on March 7 by American expert Susan Lowell on the topic “Early literacy skill development” at its premises in Al-Surra. A member of the Board of Directors of The International Dyslexia Association (IDA), Lowell serves as an advisor to the Office of Overseas Schools, US Department of State, where she is a reading consultant for the international schools. “It’s great to be in Kuwait,” said Lowell to Al Watan Daily, “I was given a tour of the Center earlier today and from what I see, it’s simply wonderful.”

Oral language development in young child

Lowell began the talk by stressing on the fact that learning to speak and learning to read are two very different aspects, when it comes to a child. Wherever humans exist, language exists. “A child will learn to speak irrespective, because of the environment he/she is brought up in. Speaking is natural. Reading however, will not come as naturally. It won’t take place without instruction, it’s difficult for the human brain to comprehend and children in general, struggle to read.”

Giving examples, Lowell suggested to the audience that they pick up some great books in Russian, sit in a comfortable environment and try and read them, if Russian is not a language they are familiar with. “It’s going to be impossible right? No matter how much of motivation you have, you will not be able to decode what is said in the book. This is the same effect kids with reading problems face.”

Lowell insisted that unless instruction, vocabulary, sound and meaning are decoded, children will not be able to read naturally. “One in five-seven children struggle to read. It’s a relatively common issue.”

Vocabulary instruction

Vocabulary is the stock of words or signs available to a person or a language community. “Startling differences between young children’s vocabulary development were found in a Kansas study, which revealed that children in poverty had smaller vocabularies than middle and upper class children,” said Lowell, who suggested that children be immersed in vocabulary right from their pre-school days.

According to the results of the National Reading Panel in 2000, which researched a number of studies and analyzed data, components of effective reading instruction include phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, with rates of vocabulary growth associated with rates of cognitive growth. “To enhance comprehension, vocabulary instruction needs to provide mul-

Susan Lowell delivering a lecture on “Early literacy skill development” at CCET on March 7, 2012.

tiple exposures of the word being taught, involve a breadth of information and engage active or deep processing skills so students think about words and interact with them.”

Lowell suggested that a mundane trip to the grocery store can help increase vocabulary. “Keep picking up items and explain them; like this is a red apple which is round, that is a yellow banana, out there is an orange carrot. Or say something over and over again, no matter how annoying it is. Like, ‘the cow is in the field, the cow is eating grass, the cow gives us milk, etc. These kinds of statements stimulate vocabulary and cognitive development increases.”

National Early Literacy Panel (NELP)

The National Early Literacy Panel (NELP) came up with questions that are important for teachers and parents to know, such as, what environments, child characteristics, and settings have contributed to or inhibited gains in children’s skills and abilities that are linked to later outcomes in reading, writing and spelling?

“High poverty or second language could contribute to this problem. Like in Kuwait, for children to master both Arabic and English can be a struggle,” explains Lowell. “But it is a problem that has to be addressed at an early age.”

Next introduces colors and prints collection for Spring-Summer season

Male models pose for the media during the launch of the Spring Summer collection of “Next, held at Avenues Mall. (Al Watan Daily).

Prints and bold colors dominate “Next” collection for women and girls. (Al Watan Daily)

Ricky Laxa Staff Writer

KUWAIT: UK High Street fashion brand retails “Next” launched its spring summer collection at the Avenues Mall Thursday morning. At a special in-store fashion preview, “Next” launched the brand’s exciting new looks and designs for the Spring-Summer season, showcasing varied ranges for women, men and children.

“Next’s” collection presents fashion season articulated in bold and beautiful glorious hues and engaging patterns. For women; “Fired Earth” channels tribal motifs in a desert-inspired palette spiced up with paprika. The stream-lined silhouettes of “Ethnic Ego” juxtapose sharp, acid yellow notes with monochromes, while “Deauville” offers a new take on laid-back luxe in strong shapes with a soft edge.

Think close-fitting tunics with the season’s all important peplum, or perfect blazers paired with fluid, wide-legged trousers. In addition, the “Amelie” and “Match Set” theme embrace feminine charm in lace mixed with subtle stripes and pretty floral. By contrast, “Mondrian” captures all the high-octane glam-

Stylish and colorful collection for young boys and girls. (Al Watan Daily)

our of Palm Beach or Bel Air, while “Sandstorm” provides the ultimate holiday wardrobe of wear-anywhere fashion essentials.

For the males, think slim-legged jeans and shorts in an array of bold bright, mixed with “Colors of Cool” boldly color-blocked polo-shirts and contrast-pocket Tshirts. Alternatively, consider shirts in chambray effects and vibrant checks worn with chinos. “Next’s” latest junior fashion ranges are also alive with bright ideas.

From the bold “color clash” story to the kooky kitsch of “That 70’s Show” girls are sure to be on trend. Nautical traditions are referenced as practical fashion looks for boys in “Dockyard” and “Ahoy Mate” themes, and older boys will love the multi-colored, surf dude cool of “East Shore”.

“Next” was launched in the UK in 1982, the next retail chain has had a major influence on the UK High Street, shaping the future of fashion retailing. With stores spread across the Middle East, “Next” offers a co-ordinate collection of stylish clothes, shoes and accessories for women, men and children, as well as accessories for the home, offering inspirational style, quality and value for money with a contemporary fashion edge.

A view of the audience attending the lecture.

The NELP found six variables that had medium to large predictive relationships with later measures of literacy skill development-alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming of letters of digits, rapid automatic naming of objects and colors, writing or name writing and phonological memory, that is ability to remember spoken information for a short period of time. “In other words, you got to take the word apart and help children to understand the different sounds like ‘house’ versus ‘mouse’. Some of them even have trouble recognizing their own name along with colors, letters, objects and numbers. They have to learn to understand that squiggly lines represent words which are found in books and these books tell stories,” explained Lowell.

Additional findings by NELP

NELP also found five skills that had some correlation with later literacy development-concepts about print, print knowledge (combination of alphabet knowledge, concepts about print and early decoding), reading readiness, oral language and visual processing. The total of 11 variables consistently predicted later literacy achievement for both preschoolers and kindergarteners. “78 studies focused on

teaching children to crack the alphabetic code. They didn’t teach the word but phonics. Also, keep reading to a child.

Even if it’s the same favorite story over and over. If your child wants to stop and talk about it, even better. Maybe there is something they still have to figure out from that story or there is something comforting with the repetition or language,” suggested Lowell.

The talk ended by Lowell insisting that children have only a 5-10 minutes attention span and unless minute instruction is given to the child, it will be very difficult for them to grasp much. “These children are as smart as anyone, with average intelligence or more. All they have is a reading disability and they need good teachers. Don’t punish them or yell at them with ‘you have to try harder, you knew this only yesterday, just keep practicing, etc.’ I know a man who had two masters’ degrees and was studying for his PhD, but he couldn’t read.

He was just memorizing what the words looked like. Any word bigger than five letters and he had a problem. He still works so hard to overcome this difficulty.”

Lowell insisted that children having trouble reading should get a very good evaluation and thereafter seek professional help. “They can approach CCET; it’s a remarkable center, and earlier the better.”

Convenient cupcakes are dangerous for dieters BEVERLY HILLS: Sprinkles, the Beverly Hills bakery that helped inspire the craze for sweet frosting in snack-size portions, will launch a cupcake dispensing machine at its flagship store.

Founder and owner Candace Nelson said her company is rolling out the first high-tech vending machine on Tuesday, with three more in the works for New York City by the summer.

The ATM-like machine features a touch screen and a robotic arm that pulls the right flavored cupcake from a wall of single-serving boxes inside the store.

Nelson said the custom-built gadget is in response to demand for increased hours at the popular store.

“After dinner people want a cupcake.

But we can’t be open all night long because of our poor employees. So we’ll just stock it fresh before they leave for the evening and it’ll be good to go,” she said.

The machines will be restocked constantly throughout the day so the goods stay fresh.

Nelson said she was inspired to make the sugary treats available 24-7 when she realized that she couldn’t satisfy her own late-night cravings.

“I was pregnant with my second child and I thought, I’m the owner of a cupcake bakery and even I can’t get a cupcake in the middle of the night,” she said.

Customers think the vending machines are a sweet idea.

“You can never have too much access to your cupcakes,” said Patrick Swope of Rogers, Ark., who was visiting the Sprinkles New York City shop with his family.

Nelson, who is a featured judge on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars,” started this bakery with her husband 10

years ago. Since then, cupcakes have become big business with bakeries popping up in neighborhoods across the country.

The vending machines will give Sprinkles an edge over the competition, she said.

The machines will charge $4 for a boxed cupcake. The same sugary sweet sells for $3.25 in the store, with no box. -AP

In this photo taken Monday, March 5, 2012, a new 24-Hour Cupcake “ATM,” an automatic machine that will be continuously restocked to dispense fresh cupcakes is tested at Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)

Iraqi ‘emos’ victims of brutal killings FRANCE: Iraqi teenagers widely perceived to be gay are being brutally killed in Baghdad with Shiite militias distributing lists of targets warning of further assaults, officials and human rights groups say.

At least 15 teenagers, described as “emos” for their tight-fitting black clothes and alternative hairstyles, have been stoned, beaten to death or shot dead in the past month, medics say.

Reports have also said some of them had their heads smashed with concrete blocks.

Human rights groups say the death toll is far higher amid accusations of a cover-up by security forces.

Witnesses in the conservative Shiite Muslim bastion of Sadr City in north Baghdad say a militia group calling itself the “Brigades of Anger” has posted leaflets naming 22 youths to be “punished”.

Medical officials said at least 15 have already been killed in the past month, including seven who were stoned to death, five who were shot and one who was beaten to death. At least two of the victims were girls.

“Police generally take care of all these incidents,” said one of the officials, who declined to be named. “They don’t like medics or ambulances to take them. Two days ago, the body of a teenager was found in Bayaa -- he was evacuated by police.”

In Western youth culture, the term emo refers only to appearance and musical preference and carries no connotation about a person’s sexual orientation.

In Iraq, however, the term is widely conflated with being gay, which remains taboo in the conservative Muslim country.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, based in New York, said a “new surge of anti-gay violence” since February in Iraq had seen nearly 40 people

kidnapped, tortured and murdered.

“There are no excuses for such heinous human rights violations,” said Cary Alan Johnson, the organization’s executive director.

“We demand that the Iraqi government put a stop to the wanton persecution and killing of gay people, and that the perpetrators be punished.”

Iraq’s interior ministry said in a March 8 statement that it had not recorded any anti-gay or anti-emo killings. It said the recent murders in the capital had been for “revenge, or social, criminal, political or cultural reasons.”

In a Feb. 13 statement that remains on its website, however, it described emos as “devil-worshippers” and added that the ministry “has official approval to eliminate them as soon as possible.”

In the statement, police Colonel Mustaq Talib Mohammedawi, described as chief of Baghdad’s “social police”, said his forces would enter the capital’s schools as part of its efforts to target the “phenomenon”.

Human Rights Watch warned in August 2009 of Iraqi militias torturing and executing men they suspected of homosexuality, and accused authorities of turning a blind eye to the violence.

The New-York based group said hundreds of men were kidnapped, tortured and killed that year in a wave of violence that began in the Sadr City stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr.

London-based Amnesty International wrote a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in April 2009 urging government protection for homosexuals.

Homosexuality is forbidden in Islam, frowned upon in Arab society and illegal in many Middle Eastern countries.

Iraq has no law against homosexuality but prominent religious authorities have harshly condemned it. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Please Forgive My Heart Artist: Bobby Womack Album: Please Forgive My Heart - Single Genre: Soul In short: After a 12 year hiatus, Bobby Womack is back in great shape and sound; “Please Forgive My Heart,” the lead single off his upcoming album, The Bravest Man In The Universe, drips of soul excellence and should rightfully cement Womack atop soul music’s greatest legends.

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

The Buzz Schwarzenegger’s son injured in US ski accident The 18-year-old son of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver says he has been treated for injuries after getting in “a little ski accident” in Idaho. Patrick Schwarzenegger tweeted Saturday that he received stitches after the accident, and he thanked doctors who he said cared for him in Sun Valley. He provided a link to a photo he posted to the social networking application Instagram, showing a deep cut on his lower back. He did not provide details on how he got injured.

A request for further details late Saturday from Shriver’s spokesman was not immediately returned. In 2006, Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his leg in a ski accident at Sun Valley while he was governor of California. -AP

Jay-Z concert to stream live from SXSW Among the more than 2,000 acts performing at the SXSW Music Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas, March 1318, will be several major artists including Bruce Springsteen, the keynote speaker, while Jay-Z kicks things off the night of March 12. On Monday, the rap superstar will perform the Amex Sync Show Presenting Jay-Z, which is to be a livestreamed concert to be shown on YouTube at 8 pm EST. Fans can request songs for the concert on Amex’s Twitter page (tweet with the hashtags #JAYZSyncShow and #Song). In addition, The show will be available on-demand, March 1319, on the American Express Twitter page, its YouTube channel, XBOX Live and VEVO mobile and tablet platforms. In Austin, the concert will be live-streamed from a digital billboard on 6th Street and Red River in Austin. -AFP

Susan Lucci back at ABC in new pilot for Marc Cherry Susan Lucci fans, take heart -- the woman who made Erica Kane a household name is returning to her old network, and to the genre that made her a beloved visitor in America’s living rooms. The former “All My Children” star has signed on for a co-starring role in Marc Cherry’s upcoming pilot “Devious Maids”. The pilot, executive-produced and written by “Desperate Housewives” honcho Cherry, follows “four maids with ambition and dreams of their own while they work for the rich and famous in Beverly Hills.” Lucci will play Genevieve Delacourt, one of the maids’ employers, who’s as nuts as she is wealthy. The one-hour drama, which is based on a Mexican format, also stars Dania Ramirez, Ana Ortiz, Angelique Cabral, Rebecca Wisocky, Roselyn Sanchez and Judy Reyes. -Reuters

Rapper Coolio arrested in unpaid Vegas ticket case Rapper Coolio was arrested on a warrant charging him with failure to appear in court on a traffic ticket almost two years ago. Coolio, 48, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was a passenger in a vehicle officers stopped about 2:20 a.m. several blocks east of the Las Vegas Strip, Officer Laura Meltzer said. No one else in the car was arrested. It was not immediately clear if Ivey had a lawyer. His manager Susan Haber said she had not heard about the incident and had no comment. Ivey was sought on a warrant charging him with failure to appear on an illegal stop and driving without a license summons issued in June 2010. He was freed later in the day. A court date wasn’t immediately known. Coolio is a musician, actor and record producer best known for the song “Gangsta’s Paradise.” -AP

Gingrich says new ABC show GCB is anti-Christian Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich says a new ABC television series is evidence that the entertainment industry harbors anti-Christian bias. Gingrich is criticizing the comedy-drama “GCB,” which has also been called “Good Christian Belles.” But Gingrich is referring to the series by the name of the 2009 novel that inspired it, “Good Christian Bitches.” The series began airing last Sunday. ABC’s website describes the series as a “funny, sassy and heartwarming drama.” The former House speaker says no network would run a show with such a title if the word “Muslim” were used in place of “Christian.” Gingrich says anti-Christian bigotry is considered acceptable by the entertainment industry but Islam is protected. Gingrich made the comments Friday at a rally in Gulfport, Miss. -AP

FX renews Justified for fourth season “Justified” has been renewed for a 13-episode fourth season, FX announced Tuesday; according to TV Guide. The drama, based on the Elmore Leonard short story Fire in the Hole, has been averaging 4.3 million viewers - an 8 percent increase from last year - for its third season, which will wrap on April 10.

monDAY, march 12, 2012

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Brad Pitt stages ‘mini-Grammys’ show to help New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS: Every time he crosses the Claiborne Avenue bridge heading east across the New Orleans Industrial Canal, actor Brad Pitt gets a lump in his throat.

From that vantage point, he can look down on a section of the city’s Lower Ninth Ward that is ground zero for “Make It Right,” a home rebuilding initiative Pitt launched to help people whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed 1,500 people and devastated the historic Southern city.

“Each time I come back to New Orleans and drive over that bridge, I get this swell of joy,” Pitt told Reuters, his eyes going watery. “It’s means a lot to me to watch that neighborhood take shape.”

Pitt and his movie star partner,Angelina Jolie, own a house in the city’s French Quarter, and they visit the city regularly with their six children.

The actor shares his feelings about the city and its recovery with a few thousand people on Saturday evening, as he and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, a New Orleans native, host the Make It Right Foundation’s biggest fundraiser at a New Orleans hotel.

Billed as “A Night to Make It Right,” the star-studded, sold-out gala is expected to draw 1,200 guests who paid between $1,000 and $2,500 to attend a dinner prepared by New Orleans celebrity chefs John Besh and Emeril Lagasse, and a concert featuring musical stars Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Seal and Dr. John.

In addition, some 2,000 people have anted up $150 for an “after party” hosted by actor-comedian Aziz Ansari, with musical performances by Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and the Soul Rebels.

Asked if it was difficult to get the big names to journey to New Orleans for the event, Pitt joked, “Even though these people don’t like me that much, it really was simple.” Noting that the celebrities traveled from as far away as Paris for the event, Pitt said the turnout was a mark of their regard for New Orleans. “They carved this time out of their schedule strictly for this event, and came on their own dime,” he said. “We have so much incredible talent that wanted to come and support the city - it’s going to be like a mini-Grammys show.”

Pitt estimated the events and sponsorships would raise $4 million for Make it Right, which aims to build 150 homes in the Lower Ninth Ward and has pulled in about $30 million since its founding four years ago.

New And Improved

Since 2007, 75 homes have sprouted in a 16-block area that was at the epicenter of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.

Built to the specifications of architects selected through an international design competition held by Make It Right, all of the homes stand 5 to 8 feet off the ground, on pilings designed

In this photo released by Warner Bros., talk show host Ellen DeGeneres walks with Brad Pitt in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, during the taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” on Friday, March 9, 2012. (AP)

to keep the homes dry in the event of another flood.

Multi-angled steel roofs, windows of ultra-strong glass and tough siding materials are designed to withstand hurricaneforce winds. Solar panels, rainwater collection systems and maximum air-circulation designs created homes with low utility bills.

The new houses are a sharp contrast to the modest, mostly one-story homes that characterized the neighborhood before Katrina. Many of them stand just yards (meters) away from the spot where an Industrial Canal floodwall ruptured after the storm, putting the neighborhood under several feet of water.

Tom Darden, executive director of the Make It Right Foundation, said Pitt made the goal of rebuilding according to stan-

dards of sustainable construction clear from the beginning, but equally important was finding ways to reduce construction costs.

Darden emphasized that while Make It Right was formed to help low-income residents remain in the neighborhood where generations of their families have lived, the initiative was not about handouts.

Applicants for the Make It Right homes must pass an approvals process that requires showing proof of income and the ability to make payments on a mortgage, along with insurance and maintenance costs.

“Brad is our visionary,” he said. “I think for him it’s largely a social justice issue and he wants to help as many people as he can.” -Reuters

Oprah and Jaycee Dugard honored at the DVF Awards NEW YORK: Oprah Winfrey was embraced in a hug by longtime friend Diane von Furstenberg as she took to the stage to accept a “Lifetime Leadership” honor at the third annual DVF awards.

“She is the most formidable person I have ever met in my life,” the designer and humanitarian said of Winfrey at the event, held Friday night at the United Nations. “What is extraordinary about Oprah is that she has done so much and yet she is still a little girl. She is still very pure and you can make her cry and laugh so quickly.” Upon accepting the award, Winfrey was expected to talk about her career, but instead used the majority of her time to praise another honoree, Jaycee Dugard, who was abducted when she was 11 years old and held in captivity for 18 years by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

She was raped and gave birth to two children before she was eventually rescued.

Her captors were convicted.

“I wanted to have the opportunity to meet her and to tell her how much her story and her life meant to me,” she explained. “I said to Diane, ‘I know Diane Sawyer should be the one to introduce her, but would you please let me do it.’”

Winfrey went on to thank Sawyer, who was also in attendance, and praised the television special she did with Dugard.

“Jaycee Dugard, I am so proud of you, your courage, your ability to press onward toward the future and toward a more victorious life for yourself and for using your courage your strength and your power to show the world that you care,” Winfrey said.

Following Winfrey’s introduction, Du-

Oprah Winfrey presents Jaycee Dugard with a DVF Award at The Third Annual DVF Awards held at the United Nations in New York, March 9, 2012. (AP)

gard took to the stage, getting emotional as she thanked her mother for never giving up hope of finding her. She also spoke about her JAYC Foundation, which aims to give support to families dealing with abduction and other tragedies.

“My hope is to be remembered for what I do and not for what happened to me,” Dugard told the audience.

Earlier in the evening, presenter Jessica Alba showed off an acorn necklace she was given by Dugard. The necklace represents Dugard’s charity.

The DVF awards honor women who are courageous and fight for justice. Artist Panmela Castro, who battles against domestic violence; Chouchou Namegabe, who fights for women’s issues in her native Congo; and Layli Miller-Muro who founded the Tahirih Justice Center, which protects women from human rights abuses, were also honored.

Each honoree receives a $50,000 award from the foundation. The awards were part of the festivities surrounding the Women In the World conference. -AP

Former ABC executive: Sheridan’s firing decided before incident LOS ANGELES: Nicollette Sheridan’s firing from “Desperate Housewives” was approved

by ABC months before Marc Cherry allegedly slapped the actress, former ABC president Steve McPherson testified on Friday. Taking the stand at the $6 million wrongful termination trial between Sheridan and her former bosses, Marc Cherry and ABC, McPherson recalled a May 22, 2008 meeting at which Cherry “let us know he wanted to end (Sheridan’s character) Edie’s arc and kill the character off.” McPherson added that he gave his blessing to Cherry’s plan. “I was running the network and I’d have to sign off on that, and I gave them my approval,” McPherson told the court. Asked why there was no physical documentation of the meeting, McPherson said that it was an effort to keep the meeting “confidential.”

In her suit against Cherry and ABC, Sheridan maintains that she was fired in retaliation for reporting a fall 2008 incident on the set during which Cherry struck her. During the trial, Sheridan characterized the strike as a “nice wallop,” while Cherry said he was merely trying to give her stage direction. On cross-examination, Sheridan attorney Mark Baute barraged McPherson with questions about his abrupt departure from ABC, and his severance package -- seeming references to rumors that McPherson had left ABC amid a sexual-harassment claim. The questions were shot down on objection. During Friday’s proceedings, Lynne Volk, a human resources employee at Touchstone, told the court that, during a harassment seminar on October 1, 2008 -- shortly after the incident occurred -- Sheridan failed to bring up the incident to her. Volk also said that, after a series of interviews about the incident with “Housewives” staff, she considered the case “closed” because the story was consistent among the people she’d spoken to, and Volk had “received no further complaints.” -Reuters

Springsteen brings customary energy to NYC show NEW YORK: The power and the glory were unleashed in the heart of Harlem on Friday night as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band took to the stage of the storied Apollo Theater.

Springsteen, self-introduced in a deadpan delivery as “the hardest-working white man in show business,” was intent on proving it with music and physical antics that whipped the packed house into a frenzy. In a nod to Apollo legend James Brown, the “hardest-working man in show business,” Springsteen milked his own Godfather of Soul routine, staggering dramatically around the stage wearing a black towel “cape” that was ceremoniously draped onto his shoulders by guitarist StevenVan Zandt.The show aired live on SiriusXM Radio’s E Street Channel as part of the satellite company’s 10th anniversary celebration. It was a prelude to a world tour that launches March 18 in Atlanta in support of the “Wrecking Ball” album, whose liner notes include a touching homage to E Street saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who died in June. There were some familiar, ever-popular moves - sauntering up the aisles, cavorting on the audience’s seats, perching on the piano, languishing on the drum risers. Springsteen also stretched, Gumby-like, to grasp the hand of a man who leaned precariously out of a box seat. Even band members exhibited wide-eyed amusement when Springsteen bounded around the balconies

and lowered himself back onstage on metal pipes attached to the walls. E Street’s last tour ended in 2009. “We’ve missed you,” Springsteen told the audience. Springsteen, who recently noted that it “takes a village” to replace Clemons, assembled a heavenly horn section punctuated with Jersey Shore panache. Clemons’ nephew, Jake, blasted out numerous full-throttle sax solos to a great crowd response; Springsteen beamed at his new team member. The new album expresses outrage on behalf of America’s increasingly downtrodden masses. The Boss and the band contrasted that by filling the drop-dead-gorgeous, neo-classical surroundings - ornate gilding, crystal chandeliers - with a joyful noise. His trademark intensity was there throughout: face furrowed with emotion; frame taut as a cobra.

The musical blend featured favorites and the stylistically wideranging new material. Other highlights included the Smokey Robinson/Temptations hit, “The Way You Do the Things You Do” and selections from Wilson Pickett as well as Sam and Dave. Springsteen and the audience together paid tribute to Clemons during the song “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out,” an old favorite about the band coming together. References to the “Big Man,” Clemons’ nickname, drew loud cheers, as it did again when Springsteen did a roll call of the band during another song. -AP

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Apollo Theater on March 9, 2011 in New York.

(AP)

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012

If you have an event you wish to include, please email: aroundtown@alwatandaily.com

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

Extended hours for Amricani Cultural Centre KUWAIT: Effective immediately, the Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah (DAI) is extending the opening hours at the Amricani Cultural Centre.

Located on the Gulf Road next to the National Assembly buildings, the centre will now be open longer hours, six days a week. The new hours are Monday - Thursday and Saturday 10 - 7; Friday 2 - 7.

“Since the Amricani Cultural Centre opened late last year, the response has been exciting - visitor numbers are ahead of our projections.

In fact, we’ve extended the hours because so many of our visitors have asked for it - especially on the weekends,” said DAI director Abdulkareem Al-Ghadban.

The Amricani Cultural Centre is home to two exhibitions, with additional space for visiting/temporary exhibitions. The two permanent exhibitions are Treasury of the World: Jeweled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, which presents hundreds of objects created for Mughal rulers and others in Mughal society, including exquisite jewelry, daggers, and swords; Story of Amricani, the second exhibition, is a multi-media presentation that shows the history of healthcare in Kuwait, from the early 1900s to today.

Month a t

Sudoku

Intermediate

“The DAI created the Amricani to be a fun learning destination and, so far we seem to have accomplished that,” concluded AlGhadban.

“Of course, we’re delighted to see everyone enjoying the exhibitions and leaving such positive feedback. For me personally though, I love seeing the families

Advanced

Elementary

visit and hearing the chatter as they leave. That’s when I know we got it right - when the conversation continues as people leave the centre.”

For more information on DAI activities or the Amricani Cultural Centre, please visit our website (www.darmuseum.org.kw) or email info@darmuseum.org.kw.

General A n n o u n c e m e n t s

a glance

Quiz night for ladies March 14/ 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. / TIES Center: Ties Center Ladies Club invites all ladies to the educative and entertaining session. You can come with your family and enjoy the quiz night together. Refreshments will be provided. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6 or 97228860/97793440.

New Toastmasters Club Second and fourth Tuesday/ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. / Jabriya: A new Toastmasters Club is being formed and encouraging new members to join. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development.

It is a non-profit international organization dedicated to improve member’s communication and leadership skills by attending and participating toastmasters meetings. For more information, please contact Khaled Al-Hashem at 65588824.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Lana is a very affectionate and sweet female puppy of mixed breed. She was born in October 2011. Lana is a happy girl who loves to play and go for long walks. She will be a great addition to a family with children over 10 years of age.

Waist Watchers

Kuwaiti cuisine March 15-April 5/6 p.m. - 8 p.m./TIES Center: TIES Ladies Club invites you to our Kuwaiti cuisine classes which will start soon. Join us for a one month cooking program where you will learn to cook real Kuwaiti food. All ladies are invited to join our classes and let your family enjoy the mouth watering Kuwaiti cuisine. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6.

Fiona is a beautiful female SemiLong Haired cat born in May 2008.

She loves being cuddled and a good belly rub! She enjoys being held and likes to play. Fiona would be a lovely new family member in a household with children over 5 years of age. To adopt, call (+965) 6700 1622.

Every Tuesday/ 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. / British Ladies Society: Meetings are based on the world’s most successful healthy eating plan. Weekly meetings include private weigh in, motivational talks, recipes to try, and cooking demonstrations.

Fee of KD 2.500 is required to cover for the cost of course material. For more info contact; Danielle desertdanny@hotmail.com.

Hip Hop at BAIA

Art exhibition March 5-15/ 7 p.m. / Dar Al Funoon: Mohammed Abou El Naga is a multidisciplinary visual artist, art professor, curator and developer. Throughout his colorful career, he created award winning art projects, fulfilled his responsibility towards his community and brought up new generation of young artists with his teaching, workshop and his multitude of practices.

Arabic course March 11-April 19/ TIES Center: TIES Center is glad to announce the start of Arabic courses. We offer classes for all levels, from beginners to advance and also introduced new classes called Kuwait dialect. TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expatriates who wish to learn Arabic for whatever purposebusiness, basic communication, as a second language or simply as a hobby. For more information/registration, contact 97228860/97793440.

Every week/ Salmiya: BAIA offers weekly Hip Hop classes for students aged five and up. These “just for fun” classes are a great work-out. For more information visit www.thebaia.com or contact: info@thebaia.com. Telephone: 2562 3604 ext.154, 2562 0706 ext.154. Mobile: 6005 2087.

Brainbang session October 7-April/ 11:45 a.m. -1:45 p.m. /Salmiya: BRAINBANG, the creative arm of Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) invites all students aged 11 and above, to join us fortnightly on Fridays.

The areas of development are: Creativity in learning, tools and techniques to empower your mind, profile based learning, activity, fun, games and worksheet based assignments, practical experiments, mind gymnastics and application of learning techniques to conventional study. E-mail: brainbang@focckwt.org or call 25660835/25618471/97677820.

Dilbert

Royal Thai Embassy The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait wishes to invite Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 -25317531, Ext: 14.

EducationUSA Do you have questions regarding studying at a university in the US? AMIDEAST can help.

Please visit our EducationUSA Advising Center in Sharq, and attend one of our weekly free group advising sessions, held every Monday, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. For further information, visit: www.amideast.org, telephone us at 2247-0091, ext. 6819, or E-mail us at: kuwait@ amideast.org.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

Your energy is likely to operate in extreme bursts, Aries. One minute you may be lethargic and the next you’re ready to run a marathon. Engage in activities that nurture your fluctuating moods.

There’s no need to figure out why you feel this way. The key is to identify these feelings and act accordingly. Plan how you want to use your energy when it does come.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

You might want to put on your suit of armor as soon as you wake up, Taurus. An all-out battle is raging out there, and it could seem like everyone has picked you as the main target. Be careful about escalating an issue even more by becoming defensive without first understanding the full scope of the matter. It could be that everything is coming to a head simply because of one slight misunderstanding.

Gemini: May 21- June 21

Debates over philosophy, religion, and education are likely to turn into all-out war. Feel free to add your two cents, Gemini. This is one time in which it’s crucial to stand up for what you believe or else the loudest people will have their way. If there is a protest going on, join it.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

There is a tremendous amount of physical energy building within you, Cancer. Be careful that you don’t let this incredible force come out in the form of a heated argument against someone you really care about. Perhaps you suddenly feel as if everything is caving in and you desperately need some means of escape. Go for a good long run. Find a way to release this tension.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

You’re sailing along and suddenly see a big ramp in front of you, Leo. Your choice: avoid the ramp, stay on the ground where you know it’s safe, and be content with a limited worldview, or hit that ramp head on and soar over the trees and beyond. Who knows where you might land? There is an incredible adventure waiting for you when you take that leap into the unknown.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

A great sense of duty toward your fellow humans is likely to drive your actions, Virgo. Think of yourself as an important role model for young people. They may look up to you without you even knowing it.

Make sure you stand up straight and proudly whether or not you consider your job menial.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

There is a negative intensity about the day that is only going to get worse if you continue this stubbornness about every issue that comes your way, Libra. Much of today’s activity will focus on ways in which people can break out of their ruts and see things from an entirely different perspective. If you insist on remaining fixed in your ways, you’ll only meet resistance.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Whether or not you willingly participate, you’ll certainly play a key role in the action, Scorpio. At times you’ll feel like the pivotal player whose actions decide the fate of the game. Now you must close your eyes, take a deep breath, and find the answer from your heart. Don’t look to others for support, because they’ll have their own agendas and ideas about what you should do.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

The time for planning and calculating is over, Sagittarius. The time for taking aggressive action has arrived. If you don’t have your armor ready, too bad.

You’ll be thrust onto the battlefield with the rest of the troops even if you’re in your underwear. The more you try to delay the inevitable, the more difficult it will be.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

A large force is gathering now to make a bold statement and important pledge. This kind of movement brings together generations and unites people in a revolution. Put away the petty issues and think globally. Educate yourself about what’s going on in the world and take a more aggressive stand to fight for what you believe.A small group of intelligent individuals can make a tremendous impact.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

There is a burning restlessness inside you that is activated because you don’t feel as if you’re fulfilling your life’s destiny, Aquarius. You could have a sudden insight that you have a much greater purpose in this life than what you’re doing now. Explore this idea and see how you can move toward this desire that comes from deep within.This is the perfect time to put large, long-term plans into action.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

There is a strong wave of power coming your way, so be careful how you handle it, Pisces. You’re extra prone to injuries and accidents of an explosive nature. Try not to make any hasty moves while driving, and be careful operating things like gas pumps or propane tanks.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

MONDAY, march 12, 2012

Tennis

Djokovic breezes through, Murray exits

Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a shot to Andrey Golubev, of Kazakhstan, during a match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, March 10, 2012. (AP)

INDIAN WELLS, California: World number one Novak Djokovic eased into the third round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Saturday while fourthseeded Andy Murray made a premature exit.

Djokovic, champion here in 2008 and last year, handed out a 6-3 6-2 thrashing to Kazakhstan qualifier Andrey Golubev, breaking his opponent’s serve twice in each set to triumph in one hour 20 minutes.

“It was a good start,” the top-seeded Serb said in a courtside interview after sealing the win with a powerful first serve that forced a wild backhand error by his 145th-ranked opponent.

“We didn’t play a beautiful match and there were a lot of unforced errors but look, it’s the opening match of the tournament for me and I am still getting used to the conditions and adjusting to the court. Hopefully the next match will be better,” added the Serb, who won his fifth grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January.

Djokovic, who beat Spaniard Rafa Nadal in last year’s final, will next face South African Kevin Anderson, who benefited from a walkover when Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew due to an unspecified illness.

World number four Murray, runner-up at Indian Wells in 2009, was upset 6-4 6-2 by 92nd-ranked Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the second year in a row the Briton was eliminated in his opening match at In-

dian Wells.

“My return let me down and he hardly missed the ball,” Murray said after being broken once in the opening set and twice in the second. “I hit my backhand poorly tonight, no question. With the level of tennis nowadays you get no easy first round matches and you play a poor match, that’s what happens.”

Earlier, Czech Tomas Berdych advanced with a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky while American Andy Roddick clawed his way back to beat Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 4-6, 7-6, 6-3.

Roddick, a break down and trailing 4-5 in the second set, was in danger of losing the match when he suddenly found form with his service returns to take control.

“That was all the difference,” said Roddick, whose world ranking of 31st is his worst since August 2001.

“I had to have hit 10 winner returns from that point from being down in the second set. I started putting pressure on every service game he had and broke like four times from then from not breaking at all for the first hour and 45 (minutes) I was out there. It was like a line in the sand. It went from terrible to good, for whatever reason. In the first two sets I couldn’t have hit a return into the ocean from the beach, much less on a tennis court.”

Former world number one Roddick will take on Berdych in the third round. -Reuters

Football

FA demands technology after ghost goal row

19

Wozniacki and Sharapova in cruise control

INDIAN WELLS, California: Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and former winner Maria Sharapova cruised into the third round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with 6-2, 6-0 victories on Saturday.

Denmark’s Wozniacki launched her title defense by demolishing Russian Ekaterina Makarova and Sharapova, the 2006 champion, crushed Argentina’s Gisela Dulko at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Former world number one Wozniacki took advantage of an error-strewn display by her left-handed opponent, cruising to victory in just over an hour on the showpiece stadium court.

Makarova, who reached her first grand slam quarter-final at the Australian Open in January, never once held serve as her match ended when she netted a backhand.

“I played pretty good out there,” fourth seed Wozniacki told reporters after ending the day session with her win. “It’s always pretty tough playing in your first match, and I actually felt comfortable. I don’t like to be out there for too long if I don’t have to. I like to play tennis and I love grinding it out, but if I have the op-

portunity to finish it off fast, I like that opportunity, as well.”

The 21-year-old said she was excited to be back at Indian Wells. “This is one of my favorite tournaments and I always feel at home here,” she added. Wozniacki, who beat Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in last year’s final, will next face Swede Sofia Arvidsson, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Romanian Monica Niculescu.

Sharapova, one of six former champions in the field, broke Dulko three times in each set before ending the first match of the evening session with a crunching forehand down the line. “I haven’t played a tournament in a few weeks and I was pretty eager to get out there tonight,” the 24-year-old Russian said after pumping her right fist in delight to celebrate the one-sided victory.

“Gisela is always tricky, because we’ve played a few times before and she’s beaten me at a major before. As a first round opponent, I just had to be really ready from the beginning against her.”

Second seed Sharapova, who has reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells four times, will take on Romania’s Simona Halep in the next round.

US Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia also eased into the third round, needing only 49 minutes with her attacking style to hammer American wild card Irina Falconi 6-0, 6-3.

Sixth-seeded Stosur will next play Russian Nadia Petrova, who beat American wild card Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-2.

Former champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia gained a measure of revenge for her early exit from last year’s French Open, pounding Swede Johanna Larsson 6-1 6-2.

Ivanovic, who lost to the Swede in three sets in the opening round at Roland Garros, delivered a ruthless display with her crisp ground strokes to wrap up victory in just over an hour.

In dazzling desert sunshine, the elegant Serb broke Larsson three times in the opening set and twice in the second to reach the third round of an event she won in 2008.

In other matches, 10th seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy swept past Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-4 and 11th-seeded German Sabine Lisicki was upset 6-1, 6-4

by Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

-Reuters

Cricket

Sodden draw in Dunedin but NZ show promise

South Africa’s Jacques Rudolph plays a shot watched by New Zealand’s Ross Taylor (left) and Kruger van Wyk during their international cricket test match, March 10, 2012. (Reuters)

DUNEDIN: Heavy rain ended any chance of a result in the first test between South Africa and New Zealand but Ross Taylor’s team may have come away with a hint more confidence than when they first set foot on University Oval in Dunedin.

The hosts were soundly beaten in the one-day series and few people expected them to fare much better in the tests, despite having won three of their previous four matches, though two of those were against Zimbabwe.

However, the bowling of Chris Martin and Doug Bracewell in the first innings, coupled with the manner in which Taylor and Brendon McCullum curbed their attacking instincts with the bat to resurrect their second, showed the hosts could be competitive in the three-match series.

If New Zealand’s batsmen had become the slightest bit complacent after facing Zimbabwe’s attack, the South African pace bowlers soon knocked that out of them. Vernon Philander’s pace and

bounce off a length, and late movement away from off stump, consistently tested the batsmen and the home side only established a 35-run lead after Trent Boult’s cameo role, which included belting Philander for three sixes and a four in one over. After Martin had ripped the heart out of the South African batting with three wickets in four balls in the first inning, Bracewell proved instrumental in the second, taking two wickets in an over to leave tourists with an overall lead of 12 runs with eight wickets in hand.

South Africa, who could have taken top spot in the test rankings with a 3-0 series win, turned the match their way when captain Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis both scored centuries and combined for a 200-run partnership that virtually batted the home side out of the match by the end of the third day.

New Zealand slumped to 55 for two in their second innings and were in danger of losing the match inside four days

before McCullum (58 not out) and Taylor (48 not out) steadied the ship.

The naturally aggressive duo had thrown away their wickets with rash strokes in the first innings but tempered their all-out attacking instincts to keep the hosts in the match.

The duo were still scoring at more than four runs an over before they took an even more conservative approach shortly before stumps on the fourth day.

New Zealand were looking to become just the fifth side to chase down a target in excess of 400 but the weather had the final say. The hosts are expected to name their squad for the second test in Hamilton on Monday. Tim Southee may be in danger of losing his place after the 23-year-old finished with figures of 0-140 from 36 overs.

Local media have suggested that leg spinner Tarun Nethula, who played in the oneday series, could be brought into the side for the match at Seddon Park if the wicket is dry. -Reuters

Basketball

Wade lifts Heat past Pacers in OT

Shaun Derry of QPR celebrates during the Barclays Premier League match between Queens Park Rangers and Everton at Loftus Road, March 3, 2012.

(AFP)

LONDON: Queens Park Rangers manager Mark Hughes was fuming on Saturday after the FA repeated its call for goal-line technology when his side became the latest to suffer from a clear case of human error.

The west London team were denied a goal in the 20th minute of their relegation showdown at Bolton Wanderers when Clint Hill’s close-range header was well over the line before being clawed out by home keeper Adam Bogdan.

Referee Martin Atkinson and assistant Bob Pollock failed to award a goal to QPR whose sense of grievance would have been heightened by a look at the TV replays which showed the ball had travelled half a meter over the line. To make matters worse QPR lost 2-1 - a result that plunged them into the drop zone. The FA issued a statement before the game had even finished calling for soccer’s governing body FIFA to bring in technology to prevent so-called “ghost goals”. “Laughably the FA have come out almost immediately and said they’re in favor (of technology,” Hughes told the BBC. “That’s absolutely ludicrous, trying to protect the poor performances of the officials they supply us. It’s a joke. The officials should do their jobs, looking down their line. The linesman’s job is to check for that. No excuse because it wasn’t a close decision,” Hughes added.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has always been against

technology but recently relaxed his stance and it could now be used for the first time at the Club World Cup finals in Japan at the end of the year.

The FA has long campaigned for help for officials, a subject that gained momentum after England’s Frank Lampard had a goal denied against Germany in the 2010 World Cup finals after his shot hit the bar and bounced over the line. “Following last week’s meeting of IFAB (International Football Association Board) the FA would like to reiterate our strong desire to see goalline technology introduced as soon as possible,” Saturday’s FA statement said.

“The FA has been a leading proponent of goal-line technology for many years. We will continue to press for its introduction once further independent testing is complete later this year so that anyone wishing to introduce the technology is able to do so at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Bolton manager Owen Coyle sympathized with Hughes despite his side benefiting from a clear error.

“Nobody is a bigger advocate of goal-line technology than myself. We had one this year against Chelsea when Kevin Davies scored a goal that wasn’t given,” Coyle told Sky Sports. “We saw what happened with England in the World Cup. I can totally understand how Mark will be feeling.” -Reuters

FLORIDA, Miami: Dwyane Wade scored 28 points including the game-winning basket with .01 of a second remaining in over-time to lift the Miami Heat over Indiana 93-91. LeBron James, who sank a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in regulation that pushed the game into the extra period, scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Heat, whose home win streak of 12 games is the longest since 2007, improved to 31-9 while the Pacers, led by 19 points from Danny Granger and 15 by David West, fell to 23-15.

Layups by West and Granger gave Indiana an 89-85 lead 1:34 into over-time.

Wade hit 1-of-2 free throws to pull the Heat within three points but a Granger hook shot put the Pacers ahead 91-86 with 2:03 remaining.

James answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and Chris Bosh followed with a jumper to equalize, setting the stage for Wade’s dramatic game winner.

Wade dribbled just inside the 3-point arc and made an off-balance shot over a defender that went into the cylinder just before the final buzzer, touching off a chest-bump celebration between James and Wade.

When Granger’s inbounds pass toward the Miami hoop was batted away by James, the victory was complete.

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (right) drives the ball past Indiana Pacers’ Paul George during their NBA basketball game in Miami, Florida, March 10, 2012. (Reuters)

Darren Collison sank a 20-foot jumper to give Indiana an 81-77 lead with 1:31 to play in the fourth quarter but James answered with a dunk and a three-point play to put the Heat ahead 82-81 with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.

Indiana surged ahead again as West made two free throws and Granger added two more after stealing the ball fromWade and being fouled by Udonis Haslem, giv-

ing the Pacers an 85-82 edge with 21 seconds remaining in the fourth period.

James responded with his 3-pointer from the right corner to force over-time.

Wade netted 22 points in the first half, which ended with Indiana leading 43-39, but went scoreless in the third period, when James scored seven points and the Heat pulled within 61-60 entering the fourth quarter. -AFP

moNdAY, MARCH 12, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editors Highlight BUCHAREST: Steaua Bucharest plans to offload every foreign player on the Romanian club’s books after the end of the season and build a squad made up entirely of locals. “I want to see a team built entirely of Romanians; that’s my intention,” flamboyant Steaua owner Gigi Becali told local media on Sunday. “(Argentinean) Pablo Brandan has already left to join a Chinese club, the contracts of (Portuguese) Geraldo Alves and (Bulgarian) Valentin Iliev will not be extended after the end of the season and (Montenegrin) Stefan Nikolic will also leave.” Steaua famously won the European Cup in 1986, beating Barcelona, with coach Emerich Jenei not using a single foreigner in the tournament.

“There were only Romanians in the team in 1986 and they won the European Cup, so why we should pay high salaries to foreign players and not win anything?” said Becali. -Reuters

Football

Ronaldo double gives Real comeback win at Betis BARCELONA, Spain: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace to give Real Madrid a hard-fought 3-2 win at Real Betis on Saturday, setting a club record 10th straight away victory in Jose Mourinho’s 100th game at the helm of the runaway Spanish league leader.

The win kept Madrid on course for its first league title in four seasons as it extended its advantage to 13 points over Barcelona ahead of the defending champions’ game at slumping Racing Santander on Sunday.

After Jorge Molina had opened the scoring for Betis, Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain leveled and Ronaldo put the visitors in front just after halftime.

Betis forward Jefferson Montero quickly scored to make it 2-2, but Ronaldo fired in a rebound for the 73rdminute winner to secure Madrid its 11th consecutive win in league play.

Earlier on Saturday, Malaga took hold of Spain’s last Champions League spot through a 1-0 win over Levante thanks to Jose Rondon’s second-half header.

Ronaldo, who reached 40 goals in all competitions, also stayed on pace to break his own league record of 40 goals from last season by taking his tally to 32 goals with 12 games to play.

Higuain got another nod in strike with Karim Benzema just back from injury resting on the bench with Madrid set to play CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday.

After goalkeeper Fabricio Agosto had parried Ronaldo’s early attempt, Betis grabbed a surprising lead after 10 minutes.

Molina charged through the area to volley strike partner Ruben Castro’s pass into the upper left corner of the net and finish off a lightening counterattack that caught Madrid off balance.

But Mourinho urged his side to remain calm from the sideline, and sure enough Higuain leveled for Madrid with a brilliant individual effort in the 25th to silence the crowd in Seville.

The Argentina striker ran onto Mesut Oezil’s long pass and held off his marker before firing a right-footed blast beyond Agosto to take his league scoring tally to 17, a distant third best behind Ronaldo and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi 28.

Betis midfielder Salva Sevilla drew a diving onehanded save from Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas to tip his dipping free kick off the crossbar moments in the 41st before Fabricio denied Ronaldo one-on-one inside his area.

The hosts came out of halftime looking to carry the

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid (right) heads the ball towards goal during the La Liga match between Real Betis Balompie and Real Madrid, March 10, 2012. (AFP)

weight of the attack, but Ronaldo instead netted for Madrid in the 52nd.

Marcelo tapped on Kaka’s deflected cross for the unmarked Ronaldo to knock home and extend his scoring run to six straight games.

Betis responded just three minutes later when Montero blasted in a poor clearance by Alvaro Arbeloa off a corner to quickly even the score at 2-2.

Casillas saved Madrid from falling behind again shortly after with back-to-back blocks, and Ronaldo was in the right place at the right time to fire in a rebound of a Sergio Ramos header that Fabricio had saved but failed to punch out of his area.

Benzema came on for the final minutes after missing the last two games and international duty due to injury.

Lille title hopes all but over after defeat PARIS: Lille’s slim hopes of retaining the Ligue 1 title received another jolt on Saturday when they lost 2-1 at Olympique Lyon who revived their chances of playing in next season’s Champions League.

The result left champions Lille third with 47 points from 27 games, eight behind leaders Paris St Germain who travel to Dijon on Sunday. Lyon moved up to sixth on 43 points.

Lille, who occupy the Champions League playoff spot, are one point in front of St Etienne after Les Verts climbed to fourth with a 2-1 win at Valenciennes.

Lyon, knocked out of the Champions League by APOEL Nicosia this week, had defender Dejan Lovren sent off with 19 minutes left but first-half goals by Alexandre Lacazette and Lisandro Lopez proved enough to get all three points. Aurelien Chedjou reduced the arrears for Lille with a downward header from a corner on the stroke of halftime.

Lyon went ahead in the 12th minute when Lacazette headed in a Mouhamadou Dabo cross. Lopez made it 2-0 in the 38th with a superb curling shot from the edge of the box.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was spotted in the stand at Gerland stadium, perhaps casting an eye over Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard who has said he may leave Lille at the end of the season.

St Etienne, who host arch-rivals Lyon in the next round of matches, also improved their chances of playing in next season’s Champions League by snatching a 2-1 win in an ill-tempered game at Valenciennes.

Both teams finished with 10 men after Valenciennes midfielder Carlos Sanchez was sent off after four minutes for a rough tackle and St Etienne’s Jean-Pascal Mignot was shown a straight red card in the 33rd.

The hosts took the lead in the 69th minute through Vincent Aboubakar who scored from close range following a Foued Kadir cross.

St Etienne equalized four minutes later as Albin Ebondo perfectly set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

In the 77th minute Bakary Sako put the visitors ahead when he poked the ball home after Laurent Battles struck the post. Sako then hit the bar twice for St Etienne. Toulouse are fifth on 44 points after they drew 1-1 at home to Lorient. -Reuters

Chelsea ‘happy to win ugly’: Di Matteo ENGLAND: Roberto Di Matteo signaled a break with Chelsea’s recent past by insisting his team must adopt a stronger winning mentality.

Di Matteo oversaw a 1-0 victory over 10-man Stoke in his first Premier League game since being placed in caretaker control following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas.

Villas-Boas maintained the importance of playing with style during his eight-month stay at the club.

But Di Matteo conceded the victory over Stoke, that came courtesy of Didier Drogba’s 100th Premier League had been hard-fought.

And he insists Chelsea must maintain that approach during the final games of the season as they attempt to force their way into the top four.

“Today was a step in the right direction and sometimes you have to win like this to get three points,” he said. “It’s not easy and sometimes you have to win

scrappy. There are 10 league games to go and Tottenham could be drawn back into the fight for fourth.”

Asked whether this approach marked a change in direction from that set in place by Villas-Boas, Di Matteo added: “I’m looking forward and getting the team in the right frame of mind.”

Drogba proved to be his side’s savior after Ricardo Fuller was sent off in the 25th minute for a stamp on Branislav Ivanovic. The Ivory Coast striker is out of contract in the summer and Di Matteo refused to be drawn on whether the club should offer the forward a new deal. “It was a big goal for him and a winning goal for the team. His contract is a matter for the club.

It’s not for me to discuss. He has been a great player here.” Chelsea’s focus now switches to the midweek Champions League tie with Napoli at Stamford Bridge when Di Matteo’s side will attempt to overcome a 3-1 first leg deficit. -AFP

Defiant Dalglish won’t give up on top-four bid LONDON: Kenny Dalglish refused to give up on Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League despite missing out on an opportunity to close the gap on the Premier League’s top four.

Danish international Nicklas Bendtner’s fortuitous 56th minute winner at the Stadium of Light was enough to lift Sunderland up to eighth and within two points of Liverpool, who lost a third consecutive league game for the first time in eight-and-a-half years. Dalglish’s side are 10 points from fourth place and the gap will become 13 if Arsenal overcome Newcastle at the Emirates on Monday. Liverpool, who play Everton on Tuesday, have just 11 matches remaining to bridge the

gap, but a defiant Dalglish is not prepared to write off the Champions League just yet.

“It’s up to us to keep going, and keep our mouths shut,” said Dalglish. “As I’ve said all season, we see how many points we have collected by the end of the campaign, and see where that takes us. We’ll play all our matches and see where we are. We’d prefer to have taken more points at home. If we were to get into the top four, it would be fantastic, just as it was winning the League Cup and being in the sixth round of the FA Cup.” Dalglish could count himself unlucky that Liverpool lost a lackluster clash featuring just a few half chances at either end. -AFP

Betis clamored for a penalty in vain when it appeared that Ramos blocked a goal-bound strike with his arm in the dying moments.

At La Rosaleda stadium, Malaga dominated possession through the first half before Rondon flicked Joaquin Sanchez’s free kick beyond Levante goalkeeper Gustavo Munua in the 51st minute for the Venezuela striker’s seventh goal of the season.

Malaga’s third straight victory lifted the Costa del Sol side into fourth place, two points clear of Levante.

Elsewhere, relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon broke a seven-game winless streak with a 1-0 home victory over Sevilla, while Imanol Agirretxe scored a double to help Real Sociedad beat last-place Zaragoza 3-0 at Anoeta stadium. -AP

Heynckes hails ‘classy’ seven-goal Bayern MUNICH, Germany: Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes hailed his team’s ‘classy’ display as they hammered Hoffenheim 7-1 to trim Borussia Dortmund’s lead at the top of the German league to five points.

Germany striker Mario Gomez, the league’s top-scorer with 21 goals in 24 games, scored a hat-trick while Dutch winger Arjen Robben netted twice as Hoffenheim were humiliated at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

With Bayern licking their wounds from last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Leverkusen, midweek reports had suggested Heynckes will quit at the end of the season although he later insisted he will see out the 15 months on his contract.

Bayern responded to the pressure by blitzing Hoffenheim with five goals in 30 minutes during a devastating firsthalf performance and the victory cut Dortmund’s lead after the champions were held 0-0 at Augsburg. “Overall, it was a classy performance,” said Heynckes, whose team now need to over-turn a 1-0 deficit in Tuesday’s last 16 second-leg tie against FC Basel in the Champions League.

“The way we made our goals was straight out of the textbook, it was a joy to watch. We built up a real head of steam. By contrast with the match in Leverkusen, we made the most of our chances. We were totally focused and we closed down the space, fought for possession and played really good football too.”

Heynckes was boosted by the return from injury of Bastian Schweinsteiger after a month-long absence with torn ankle ligaments. Robben said victory gave the Bavarians a much-needed shot of confidence. “We really enjoyed ourselves,” he said. “That’s how it always has to be and that’s how we should carry on. We should never be playing any differently from that. A win like that boosts your confidence, but in terms of the title, we’ll have to wait and see. All we can do is win our matches. We can’t do any more than that.”

While Bayern were blasting Hoffenheim, Dortmund were denied a ninth straight win, but the draw in Augsburg was their 19th match without defeat to equal their best record for 20 years. Dortmund came up against an Augsburg team battling relegation and the valuable point moved the hosts up to 15th and out of the relegation places. “We had to put in a lot of work, but with some luck we could have even taken it,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp after seeing midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz hit the post with a header.

“Nevertheless, we have earned only a point and Augsburg fought passionately.” -AFP