March 14, 2012

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1373

20 PAGES

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MPs’ black flags cause ruckus in Parliament Lawmakers’ opposition to altering storming of Parliament complaint adjourns session

Mohammed Al-Salman, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, Osama Al-Qatari, and Mubarak Al-Bagili

Staff Writers

KUWAIT: As predicted by Al Watan, the Parliament has seen a tumultuous session on Tuesday, which ultimately led to the adjournment of the proceedings. The development came as the parliamentary minority strongly protested against a decision by the Parliament Office to alter the complaint filed over the storming of Parliament. They expressed this protest through placing black flags on their desks in the Chamber, while describing the ma-

jority’s decision as “provocative.”

The crisis was triggered by MP Abdulhameed Dashti who brought a quantity of black flags and placed them against the desks of the members from the majority.

As a result, MP Falah Al-Sawagh urged the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun to have the flags removed, saying that there is no justification for their presence.

MP Abdultatiff Al-Omairi equally asked the speaker to restore order and to disallow the flags.

At this juncture, Al-Saadoun asked for a vote on the removal of the flags, but MPs Saleh Ashour, Faisal Al-Duwaisan

Black flags placed by MPs’ seats at Parliament to show opposition of altering National Assembly storming complaint, on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (Al-Watan)

and Adnan Al-Mutawa protested against his decision. This led to rowdy scenes, with MPs engaged in bitter exchanges.

Accordingly, the speaker decided to adjourn the proceedings for five minutes in order to restore order and have the flags removed.

The session was however adjourned for about an hour rather than five minutes.

Al-Saadoun refused to enter the Chamber unless the flags were removed. Later, reports emerged that the speaker had left the National Assembly building, which has upset MPs. The Deputy Speaker Khaled Al-Sultan took over but was equally adamant that the session would not proceed unless the flags were removed. When the session was adjourned voices were raised with the MPs exchanging accusations for the adjournment.

The minority MPs held a meeting at the office of MP Hussein Al-Qallaf during which they decided to hold on to their decision of raising black flags during the session unless the Parliament Office rescinds its decision of altering the parliament storming complaint.

MP Dashti explained that the minority has put forward a proposal to open discussions in the controversial decision, adding that the concerned MPs will continue to raise black flags, visit diwaniyas, hold public meetings and gather at the Determination Square to highlight the “crime” committed by the majority against the country, referring to the day the Parliament was stormed.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Violence continues to rage across Syria

Legislative elections set to take place May 7

BEIRUT: Syrian forces killed dozens of people near a mosque in the city of Idlib, opposition activists said on Tuesday, and rebels killed at least 10 troops in an ambush in the same area, focus of the latest government crackdown.

Video footage showed the bloodied bodies of several unidentified men strewn on the floor of the mosque. An unseen voice said it was impossible to move them due to heavy shelling.

Army defectors ambushed a checkpoint in Idlib region in the northwest, killing the 10 soldiers and possibly more, while rebels also killed 12 members of forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad in the southern town of Deraa, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Fighting was reported, too, in the eastern city of Deir El-Zor and in Syria’s third largest city Homs, as a year-long uprising against Al-Assad’s authoritarian rule increasingly resembles a full-blown civil war. Speaking after meeting opponents of Al-Assad in Turkey, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi

Annan said he was expecting to hear later on Tuesday the response from Syria to “concrete proposals” he had made to end the escalating violence.

The Syrian parliament said Al-Assad, who has promised reforms short of his resignation, had ordered a legislative election for May 7. It would be held under a new constitution, approved by a referendum last month which the opposition and their Western and Arab backers dismissed as a sham.

As growing numbers of refugees seek to flee the fighting, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Syrian forces were laying landmines near the borders with Lebanon and Turkey, along routes used by the civilians to escape the mayhem.

Idlib province borders Turkey and has become a hiding place for rebels, drawing regular army reprisals. An activist in the city of Idlib, speaking by telephone, said security forces had killed 11 people trying to leave the area two days ago and dumped them in Al-Bilal mosque.

More bodies were brought to the mosque on Monday, but when locals went to inspect the corpses, they too came under fire, pushing the death toll above 50, he said. Another activist contacted by Reuters confirmed the killings.

More on 4

Amir underscores importance of dialogue between energy consuming, producing nations

Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in a group photo at the 13th International Energy Forum opening ceremony at Bayan Palace in Kuwait on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: Kuwait has actively endeavored to bring constructive dialogue between energy producing and consuming nations ever since its inception in Paris in 1991, said His Highness Kuwait’s Amir during the opening of the 13th ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) here on Tuesday.

Welcoming attendants of the forum, being held under the title “Effective Dialogue, Best Means for Energy Security,” His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said in a speech that Kuwait has been taking part in this dialogue ever since 1991, becoming eventually a member of the forum’s executive council, while keeping in mind the importance of the forum as a viable vehicle for purposeful dialogue between energy producing and consuming nations. The forum takes paramount significance as it embraces under one umbrella organizations that look after the interests of energy consuming nations, which include the International Energy Agency,

and those that address the concerns of the producing nations, such as OPEC, with both these organizations being active participants with the IEF, indicated the Amir.

He further emphasized that Kuwait has always paid heed to forums such as the IEF, which brings together consuming and producing nations, national and local energy companies, international oil firms, in addition to world organizations that focus on oil and energy issues, he said, adding that for that reason and others Kuwait believed strongly in exchanging expertise and viewpoints on energy issues. Kuwait’s dedication to dialogue on energy issues is manifested in its visible role in OPEC, which pursues a policy of stabilizing oil prices and supplying energy to international oil markets at manageable prices, enabling the producing countries thus to employ oil revenues in their economic growth and future development plans, said the Amir.

More on 2

Afghan Taliban threaten to behead US soldiers, government team attacked

KABUL: Suspected insurgents fired on an Afghan government delegation on Tuesday investigating the massacre of 16 civilians by a US soldier, officials said, hours after the Taliban threatened to behead American troops to avenge the killings.

Two of President Hamid Karzai’s brothers, Shah Wali Karzai and Addul Qayum Karzai, were with senior defense, intelligence and interior ministry officials travelling to the scene of the massacre in Najiban and Alekozai villages, in Kandahar’s Panjwai district, when insurgents opened fire.

High flying Qadsia take cup with 1-0 win over Kazma

Karzai’s brothers were unharmed in the brief gunbattle during meetings at a village mosque, but a soldier and a civilian were wounded. The area is a Taliban stronghold and a supply route.

“The Islamic Emirate once again warns the American animals that the Mujahideen will avenge them, and with the help of Allah will kill and behead your sadistic murderous soldiers,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the term with which the Islamist group describes itself.

As the first protest broke out in Jalalabad city over the weekend shootings,

the Taliban said Afghan government demands for an open trial of the US Army staff sergeant being held for the slayings would not blunt civilian hostility towards Western combat troops.

The unnamed US soldier - said to have only recently arrived in the country - is accused of walking off his base in Kandahar province in the middle of the night and gunning down at least 16 villagers, mostly women and children.

A US official said the accused soldier had suffered a traumatic brain injury while on a previous deployment in Iraq.

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Doctors urge against metal hip joints

LONDON: British experts at the world’s biggest artificial joint registry said doctors should stop using metal-on-metal hip replacements, citing an analysis showing they have to be fixed or replaced more often than other implants.

All metal hip joints were already under scrutiny over questions about how long they last, and one major manufacturer recalled its product over a year ago. Last year, regulators in the US asked makers to conduct safety studies on them. Most artificial hip joints are plastic or ceramic. Earlier this month, the British agency that regulates medical devices warned that patients with these joints should have yearly blood tests to make sure no dangerous metals are seeping into their bodies. It also advised patients with symptoms such as pain, swelling or reduced movement to get MRI scans to check for muscle damage in case the joints need to be removed.

In the new study, experts analyzed data for more than 400,000 hip replacements from the National Joint Registry of England and Wales between 2003 and 2011. More than 31,000 of those were metalon-metal devices. After five years, about 6 percent of people with the metal-on-metal variety needed Unemployed Indians stand in a queue to register at the Employment Exchange Office in Allahabad, India, Tuesday, March 13, 2012. Employment offices in the state have been flooded with applicants after the Samajwadi Party, that won the recently concluded state elections, promised allowance to registered educated unemployed in the state. (AP)

surgery to fix or replace them. That compares with just 1.7 to 2.3 percent of people who had ceramic or plastic joints. Doctors usually expect hip joints to last at least a decade. The study was published online Tuesday in the journal, Lancet. It was paid for by the National Joint Registry. Ashley Blom, head of orthopedic research at the University of Bristol and one of the study authors, emphasized most people with a metal hip haven’t needed a replacement. But with so many alternatives, he said there was no reason to take that risk. “If I were a patient, I would not choose a metal-on-metal hip,” he said.

He said the rates of failing metal hips were likely an underestimate since not all patients report their symptoms or have surgery to fix the problem.

In 2010, DePuy, part of Johnson & Johnson, recalled a metal hip implant after it was linked to high failure rates. Blom said the new analysis suggests the problem applies to all metal-on-metal hips, not just one brand. Doctors began using metal-on-metal implants after laboratory tests suggested the devices would be more resistant to wear and reduced the chances of dislocation. They aren’t sure why that isn’t the case once they are used in patients. -AP

Researchers say long-lost Leonardo may have been found

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Relatives of victims of a ferry accident wail on the banks of the Meghna River in Munshiganj district, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Dhaka, Tuesday, March 13, 2012.

A ferry packed with about 200 people capsized in a river in southern Bangladesh on Tuesday, killing 31 people and leaving dozens more missing, authorities said. (AP) More on 5

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ALWATAN DAILY

kuwait

wednesDAY, march 14, 2012

Amir underscores importance of dialogue between energy consuming, producing nations KUWAIT: Kuwait has actively endeavored to bring constructive dialogue between energy producing and consuming nations ever since its inception in Paris in 1991, said His Highness Kuwait’s Amir during the opening of the 13th ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) here on Tuesday.

Welcoming attendants of the forum, being held under the title “Effective Dialogue, Best Means for Energy Security,” His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said in a speech that Kuwait has been taking part in this dialogue ever since 1991, becoming eventually a member of the forum’s executive council, while keeping in mind the importance of the forum as a viable vehicle for purposeful dialogue between energy producing and consuming nations.

The forum takes paramount significance as it embraces under one umbrella organizations that look after the interests of energy consuming nations, which include the International Energy Agency, and those that address the concerns of the producing nations, such as OPEC, with both these organizations being active participants with the IEF, indicated the Amir.

He further emphasized that Kuwait has always paid heed to forums such as the IEF, which brings together consuming and producing nations, national and local energy companies, international oil firms, in addition to world organizations that focus on oil and energy issues, he said, adding that for that reason and others Kuwait believed strongly in exchanging expertise and viewpoints on energy issues.

Kuwait’s dedication to dialogue on energy issues is manifested in its visible role in OPEC, which pursues a policy of stabilizing oil prices and supplying energy to international oil markets at manageable prices, enabling the producing countries thus to employ oil revenues in their economic growth and future development plans, said the Amir.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the oil industry worldwide faces great challenges in the near future that might be instigated by gyrations in oil prices, economic downturns, ensuring safe open- sea navigation, fighting piracy, illegal immigration, seaport and airport safety, and the need for enormous investment in the energy sector to counter increasing demand for energy.

Sheikh Sabah noted that Kuwait envisioned for the future using oil wealth to realize objectives of sustainable development and growth, with the emphasis on nurturing human resources, while at the same time protecting the environment through the judicious use of oil in an environmentally-friendly manner and working toward the production of alternative energy sources.

He concluded his speech to the forum by urging its participants to seek workable solutions that induce stability to world oil markets and further cooperation among energy

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah giving the opening speech at the 13th ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) here on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (KUNA)

consuming and producing nations and oil companies and energy research centers.

On his part, Minister of Oil Hani Hussein stressed the importance of consolidating efforts of energy producing and consuming countries in order to guarantee saving and providing clean and secure energy to people around the world.

During his opening speech at the Energy Forum, Minister Hussein said, “We are proud of the fact that Kuwait is hosting this distinctive event which culminates 20 years of dialogue, and is considered the first since signing the forum’s charter. We are pleased by this great participation of 600 figures that represent 76 countries, 15 international organizations, and 32 oil companies.” “The last 20 years have witnessed a remarkable development of dialogue between producers and consumers, in which the international energy forum had a prominent role in bringing points of

Customs employees on strike, Ministry of Finance employees sit-in at minister’s office Fahad Al-Loban Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Despite the approval in salary increases of customs employees, some workers began another strike this morning to object not granting them the allowance they had agreed on with the government. It is worth noting that those employees had held a strike earlier which ended after the government vowed to meet their demands, however, another strike was staged this morning since the workers believe that the increases were not sufficient. In addition, the union of Kuwait Airways employees announced that it will begin a strike within the coming few months.

Head of Land Customs Mohammed Al-Seleiti asserted that all employees in the department in Sulaibiya are on strike, and that every employee has the right to hold a strike. However, he revealed that some cases are not included in the strike, such as travelers, and medical and humanitarian aid. He hoped that the rights of the employees will be granted.

Meanwhile, MP Obaid Al-Wasmi said that the strike of custom employees is hindering progress and that the government has taken sufficient time. He added he has informed the Head of Civil Service Commission Abdul Aziz Al-Zeben that all salaries and allowances in Kuwait are dissatisfying as they violate the standards and reports set by the World Bank.

He criticized the fact that some selected employees only received significant increases and asserted that all workers must be included in the salary and allowances raise. He explained that such differences in granting allowances has created social imbalances, such as some legal practitioners who received 4,000 Kuwaiti dinars while their counterparts received KD 1,000. He also criticized the government for not providing a degree scale or any criteria that determines the salaries and allowances.

He stated that the demands of the customs employees are not new as they were submitted years ago to the top management and Cabinet. He wondered on which bases the government decided to increase the salaries of employees by 25 percent; especially that university students plan their major in accordance with their financial benefits received when they are appointed as employees. He revealed that he will meet the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali to ask him to reconsider the issue, in order to avoid further escalation, such as beginning strikes in other state apparatuses.

Moreover, MP Abdullah Al-Barghash announced that he supports the strike, adding that they were promised by Al-Shamali that there problem will be solved. He stated that they deserve increases in their allowances and salaries, particularly after the formation of a new government. He criticized Al-Shamali for not fulfilling his pledge to grant them their rights.

In another development, the employees working at the Ministry of Finance called for a sit-in this morning at 9 am for one hour at the minister’s office in order to object to the 25 percent increase granted to them by the Civil Service Commission. They stressed that they demand a provident fund, an indemnity, and a five percent increase in allowances every two years. They noted that the minister had approved the financial benefits of his assistant undersecretaries and the employees working in his office. It is worth noting that the employees demand a 100 percent increase on the basic salary for every year the employee receives an excellent evaluation.

view closer and creating a climate of joint understanding between producers and consumers on various energy issues,” pointed out Hussein.

He added, “Those efforts were culminated by signing the forum’s charter in Riyadh a year ago. Therefore, holding the 13th forum in Kuwait, which is the first since signing the forum’s charter, is without any doubt an important step in the path of further documentation and consolidating of this dialogue.” “The importance of this forum is highlighted by its coinciding with essential political and economic developments that influenced the stability pace of energy markets, oil prices, and global economy recovery,” stressed the Minister of oil.

Minister Hussein explained, “Our interest in dialogue stems from the vital role of energy in all aspects of our daily life, as well as it is being the main engine for global economy. However, unfortunately there are still more than

billions of people around the world who are deprived of energy.

Also, it has become more difficult after what has been mentioned in the UN’s report which said that population around the world will surpass nine billions in 2050 compared with seven billions in 2012, which would affect energy consumption.” “It is our responsibility to work on saving clean and secure energy, which requires consolidating efforts of consuming and producing countries to find appropriate economic resolutions in order to guarantee the well-being of humans wherever they were,” he added.

Also, the minister of oil pointed out that “Under the framework of supporting energy and environment issues, His Highness the Amir has announced, during OPEC summit in Riyadh, Kuwait’s donation of 150 million US dollars as a support to the program of financing scientific researches relative to energy, environment, and climate change.” He said, “In Kuwait, as one of the main producers and exporters of oil, we are keen on insuring our supplies regularly to international markets with fair prices that are non-harmful to global economy.

Undoubtedly, we are all in front of a reality that requires us to engage in joint cooperation in order to guarantee a better future for our generations through investing in all types of energy and its sources on economic basis and without differentiation in light of increasing of global demand on energy.” In addition, Minister Hussein stressed that “Our vision in using oil wealth is through attaining sustainable development, which some of its main goals are guaranteeing a promising future for our people, attaining human and economic development, building humans and improve their professional and educational capabilities, at the same time, working on protecting environment and reducing of climate changes.” Furthermore, he noted that “Kuwait believes cooperation that is based on joint interests is the right way to create real partnerships that are not only between producing and consuming countries, but also between national and international oil companies, which has the knowledge and techniques in developing oil and gas industry.

From this point, we affirm importance of strengthen dialogue between these companies, which would contribute in saving new and clean energy sources to meet with the world’s growing needs for this energy.” “We are facing big challenges; resolutions could be difficult, but not impossible.

Therefore, since this forum includes elite of international experienced decision makers, we wish to take this opportunity to propose resolutions and mechanisms that would contribute in stabilizing energy markets and distribute an environment of trust that would boost cooperation between producing and consuming countries, as well as oil companies and scientific research centers for the good of all human-beings,” he continued. -KUNA

MPs’ black flags cause ruckus in Parliament CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl mentioned that the idea of raising black flags was proposed by him and not the Shiite MPs. According to him, the move is a protest idea that the majority had done when they were calling for the transformation of electoral constituencies to five.

Al-Fadhl added that the distortion of facts came to rescue certain individuals serving the Parliament Office, adding the office allegedly resorted to MP Obeid Al-Wasmi in its attempt to misrepresent facts.

The lawmaker lashed out at the speaker’s decision to walk out and his insistence that the session would not proceed until the flags were removed, adding that the move was dictatorial and imposition of his personal opinion.

MP Al-Qallaf, for his part, justified the raising of black flags as an expression of protest against the decision of Parliament’s Office. He argued that there is no provision that prevents an MP from expressing their opinion on a flagrant violation against the Parliament.

Ashour called on his fellows to respect all views, calling this as the basic democratic rule. “The speaker or parliament has no right to remove the flag on my desk by force and there is no provision that prevents anyone from expressing their views or can take away their personal property,” the MP was quoted as saying. An MP within the minority, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, affirmed that a memo will be prepared challenging the Parliament Office’s decision unless the latter backtracks. He lamented that the minority will have to take such a measure due to the majority’s numeric strength.

In the meantime, the Deputy Speaker Al-Sultan

Lawmakers Adnan Mutawwa, Nabeel Al-Fadhl, Abdulhameed Dashti, and Hussein Al-Qallaf are seen during a press conference held at the National Assembly on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 after the session has been adjourned over the black flags issue. (Al Watan)

argued that the decision to “correct” the complaint has helped remove a lot of flaws that marred it. He added that the prosecution needs to have a detailed account in order to make a judgment.

In November, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said that the attack on the National Assembly that was led by some MPs and citizens was a crime against Kuwait and is a dark day in the na-

Al-Mohammad: I forgave those who spoke inappropriately about me Mohammad Khalid Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad asked everyone to rise above the pettiness during a dinner party established by the group of Proud to Be Kuwaiti (P2BK).

“Many spoke inappropriately about me in the recent period, but I forgave all of them because tolerance is one of Islam’s characteristics and it is a feature of the Kuwaiti culture.

I am also the son of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad and I was one of the learners of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad,” said Al-Mohammad.

He added “I was honored by working with the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad and our father Amir Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, in addition to working with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, where I learned great lessons from them such as being honest with others and concentrating on the objective in order to achieve it and ignore gossips, as well as learning how to solve problems, and rising above the political bickering.

tion’s history. He stressed that the law will be enforced upon those who took part in it and they will not be pardoned. He said that so far 40 people have been referred to the Public Prosecution, adding that offensive slurs and insults have reached unprecedented levels.

However, His Highness asserted that breaking into the Parliament is an even graver act than swearing and cursing.

KFAED signs bridge construction agreement with Bangladesh

KUWAIT: Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) announced on Tuesday signing an agreement of a loan to Bangladesh valued at 14 million Kuwaiti dinars to finance a bridge construction.

KFAED said in press release that this projects aim at supporting the economic and social development in the southern province of Bangladesh. It would facilitate traffic movement and transport of passengers and goods through direct connection between Dhaka and southern province of the country. The project consists of construction of a bridge across a river on a road connecting between two provinces. Construction work is due to finish by 2016, involves drainage, electrical installations, safety and environmental facilities.

The agreement was signed by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh with KFAED Deputy Director General Hisham Al-Wgayyan With this project, loans granted by KFAED to Bangladesh totaled 22, while it has already provided 21 loans valued around KD 139 million.

KFAED also provided three loans valued at KD 423,000, to fund studies of projects in the sector of transport.

KFAED also supervises Kuwait’s grant of KD 2.8 million from Decent Life Resources Department devoted to helping Muslim countries in their efforts to achieve food security. -KUNA

ALWATAN DAILY

KUWAIT

WEDNesDAY, march 14, 2012

3

Kuwait hikes state wages, to act verses inflation Expatriates working in the public sector will receive a raise worth 50 Kuwaiti dinars, which will be paid starting April

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s government, under pressure from labor unions, has announced significant raise in the public sector wages while ordering measures to head off inflation in the prices of basic goods. Civil Service Commission (CSC) announced late Monday new salary raise to cover 104 jobs at both public and the private sectors, in addition to raising the pension of retired employees and those who receive social aids.

Authorities said late on Monday that government work-

ers would get a 25 percent rise in their basic salaries, while pensioners would receive 12.5 percent more. Any increase in private sector wages will be announced at a later date, the government said.

The wage hike follows a series of strikes last year that put pressure on state companies to increase pay packets, as well a snap election last month that saw the Islamist-led opposition win control of parliament.The Cabinet is appointed by a prime minister hand-picked by the ruling family.

Meanwhile, CSC called the different labor unions that have already threatened to stage strikes to abandon such escalation, especially that the new raise are noteworthy.

On his part, the Head of CSC Abdulaziz Al-Zaben affirmed that such increases can be considered as a temporary solution to resolve the problems of some employees who did not receive a salary raise in the last period, adding that the new raise will not include teachers, engineers, military individuals and the employees of the oil sector as they have

already obtained a raise in the past few years.

Furthermore, a source disclosed that expatriates working in the public sector will receive a raise worth 50 Kuwaiti dinars in which will be paid starting April. The cost of such raise is estimated to be KD 700 million wherein 600,000 employees will benefit from it, including 30,000 citizens who receive social aids, 130,000 retired employees, 230,000 civil servants and the others who work for the private sector.

In the wake of this week’s wage increases, the Ministry of Commerce has told economic officials to prevent any rises in the price of basic goods such as food, a top official said.

The ministry has “instructed trade controllers to handle decisively any attempt to raise the prices of basic commodities”, commerce ministry undersecretary Abdelaziz Al-Khaldi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). He did not elaborate on how prices would be controlled.

The upward pressure on wages in Kuwait, partly due to increased union activity since last year’s Arab Spring social

unrest in the region, has become a major issue for economic policymakers. The finance minister said last year that public sector wages had risen to about 85 percent of the country’s oil revenues, which he called “a real danger”.

Last month Kuwait’s central bank governor Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz Al-Sabah resigned after 25 years in the post, complaining about the rapid rise in government spending.

However, state finances appear able to cope with the latest public sector wage hike, at least for now; thanks to high global oil prices, the government posted a budget surplus of 47 billion US dollars in the first nine months of 2011, nearly double the surplus in 2010. Analysts expect economic growth to stay comfortable this year at around 3.5 percent.

And although the average inflation rate climbed to a three-year high of 4.8 percent in 2011, it remains far below levels hit in 2008, when it soared above 10 percent. Consumer prices rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier in January this year. -Agencies

Kuwait abides by GCC, Arab Libya hails Kuwaiti League resolutions on Syria: Delegate support in HRC 19th session

Permanent delegate of Kuwait to the United Nations ambassador Mansour AlOtaibi giving a speech on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (KUNA)

CAPITALS: Permanent delegate of Kuwait to the United Nations ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi has said the Kuwaiti government abides by resolutions of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League regarding the Syrian issue.

He expressed hope Syria would implement these resolutions for sake of preserving its security, stability, territorial sanctity and for sake of sparing the nation possible civil war, consequences of which may be dire.

In remarks to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) following a ministerial meeting held, called by the Security Council, late on Monday, Al-Otaibi said “Kuwait was closely following up on these developments, and we are deeply concerned at deterioration of humanitarian and security conditions (in Syria) and fall of a large number of dead and injured.”

“Our stance is explicit, and we are committed to the resolutions of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League and the United Nations in this regard, and we call for their implementation, out of our keenness on preserving Syria’s stability and political independence.” The Kuwaiti envoy expressed hope violence and killing of civilians would cease immediately, that the Damascus government accept the five-point Arab initiative, “because we fear deterioration of conditions may lead to civil warfare.”

In his statement in the human rights Council, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Dhirar Rezouqi, said “the situation in Syria reached limits that obliges us all to move responsibly and rapidly to stop the violence and to address the problem through a dialogue involving all parties to reach a solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people”.

“Kuwait fully supports the efforts of the International Envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, on the basis of the terms of reference accepted by the League of Arab States and the United Nations to resolve the conflict

in Syria. We hope that the Syrian authorities would positively cooperate with the good-will efforts of Annan”, he added.

“The whole world heard what was said by the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs after her visit to the neighborhood of Bab Amr in the city of Homs, which suffered heavy shelling for three weeks. She said and I quote: “The devastation there is significant, that part of Homs is completely destroyed and I am concerned to know what has happened to the people who live in that part of the city.” ended the quote”, ambassador Rezouqi said. He explained that Kuwait sensed that a humanitarian disaster would soon to be looming on the horizon if no concerted international efforts were exerted to resolve it.

He explained that Kuwait provided an emergency assistance to those who have taken refuge in some neighboring countries. And under the auspices of His Highness the Amir, a fund-raising campaign was launched, in which He offered a donation of five million US dollars. The outcome of this one day campaign was $12 million.

Kuwait has confirmed over and over again its strong commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. It also called for the use of every possible means to stop the fighting immediately and to offer assistance to resolve the humanitarian disaster and to improve the humanitarian situation of the Syrian people, ambassador Rezouqi said.

Elaborating, Al-Otaibi said he sensed general consent to the initiative however he noted need to put its contents in the form of a draft resolution.

On arming the opposition, Al-Otaibi expressed hope that a cease-fire would be enforced so that such an option would not be necessary. He also noted that the panel of the human rights council declared acquiring a list of persons charged with committing genocides in Syria. -KUNA

Kuwait, Jordan discuss boosting military cooperation

GENEVA: Libyan Ministry of Justice Undersecretary Wael Abdul-Hameed Najim praised support of Kuwait to his country during presentation of the Fact Finding Commission report on Libya during the 19th session of United Nations’ (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC).

In remarks to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Najim said strong brotherly ties are bonding the two nations, and Libya highly praises the Kuwaiti position. He expressed thanks to the leadership and people of Kuwait.

Questions presented in the report about murder of former Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and one of his sons neglected the fact that late Gadhafi was on top of the defunct regime and two of his sons were high ranking military officials and led military operations against

the defenseless people of Libya, he said.

The killing of Gadhafi and his son followed a military confrontation, thus there was no clear justification for questioning circumstances of his death, he affirmed.

However, investigations over his murder are still proceeding, and in case someone is accused for violating human rights, he (she) will be brought to fair trial, he said.

Libya examined the HRC report regarding the death of Gadhafi, he said, criticizing it for failing to address criminal actions of Gadhafi who tortured and killed his people, committing atrocities during the last four decades.

Equality in treating the executioner and his victim is illogical, while any violation of human rights is strongly condemned, and all criminals should be brought to justice trial, Najim said.

Ministry of Information opens cultural forum

Al-Humoud calls for greater pan-Arab security cooperation

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah AlMubarak Al-Sabah said Monday evening “His country works to promote culture as a way for addressing the current challenges.” “Among these challenges is the ability to communicate with peoples with different cultures. The State of Kuwait prioritizes the efforts to promote the interculture dialogue and understanding,” he pointed out.

Sheikh Mohammad made the remarks in his inaugural speech for the 11th forum of Al-Arabi magazine themed “The Arab Culture in Diaspora.” He said the State of Kuwait, out of keenness on promotion of culture, offers regularly prestigious awards for creative literary and scientific works on the local and regional levels.

As the ambassadors of Arab culture, Sheikh Mohammed commended on the Arab innovators in foreign countries who build bridges of communication with other nations. He also spoke highly of the Arab cultural institutions, urging them to maintain closer contacts with the overseas innovators.

On his part, Dr. Suleiman Al-Askari, the magazine’s chief editor, said this year’s edition of the forum will trace the efforts, made by translators, orient lists and others who are interested in the Arab culture, relating to the impacts of the 9/11 incidents on the Arab-West relationships.

Dr. Al-Asker, the founder of this annual event, highlighted the need to reach out to the foreign audience and ensure them an easy access to the contemporary Arabic literary content.

He added that the three day gathering will help shed light on the contributions of the Arab intellectuals and innovative literary people in Diaspora to the promotion of our culture and building bridges of communication with their respective communities. -KUNA

Minister Safar signs KD 3.6 million for maintenance contracts

KUWAIT: Kuwait Army Chief-of-Staff, Lieutenant-General Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah (right) discussed Tuesday, with Jordan’s chief of staff for personnel Brigadier General Mohammad Suleiman Farghal (left), on enhancing military cooperation.

The meeting also discussed vital issues and military aspects of common interest, and ways of boosting relations between the two countries. The meeting was attended by director of officers’ affairs at the Kuwaiti Army Brigadier Saleh Al-Najim. -KUNA

KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs Dr. Fadhel Safar Ali Safar signed on Tuesday three contracts worth 3.6 million Kuwaiti dinars for maintaining roads and upgrading power relay stations.

One of the deals stipulates urgent renovation of roads and alleys in the governorate of AlFarwaniyah, at a cost of KD 1.48 million. The other accord concerns maintenance of streets in Al-Ahmadi, at a cost of KD 1.540 million. The third deal stipulates updating works for relay power stations that feed Al-Suleibieh, at a cost of KD 619,000. -KUNA

Feb. 17 revolution in Libya did not erupt for bread but for freedom, and it is illogical that seeker of freedom would violate it, he added.

This revolution was considered a war, and in each battle we have victims and prisoners, he affirmed. Gadhafi neglected the judicial system for the last 40 year in Libya, and people were put in jail with no legal grounds, he said.

“We believe that the rebels are offering a favor for Libya by detaining the regime’s criminals, and guarding them till this moment,” the official stated.

The Libyan authorities are negotiating with a number of countries which it believes harboring some of the ousted regime’s criminals, to hand them to Libya after guarantying a just trial for them.

-KUNA

First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud AlJaber Al-Sabah (left) on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: Critical conditions currently prevailing across the Arab world warrant greater cooperation among Arab states, said First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad AlHumoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Tuesday.

The minister, in a statement he made upon his departure to Tunisia to take part in the scheduled 29th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council, said agenda of the meeting included several items, concerning means of bolstering pan-Arab security cooperation, namely in the realms

of combating terrorism, violence, combating drugs, money-laundering, cyber crimes, illegal humans’ trade and moralistic offenses.

The ministers, during the meeting, will review results of past meetings and listen to reports about the Arab Police Sports Union, Naid Abul Aziz University for Security Sciences in addition to various other reports. Sheikh Al-Humoud, who was accompanied by a delegation of senior officials, was seen off at the airport by officials of the ministry. -KUNA

US ambassador underscores growing cooperation with Kuwait in health

WASHINGTON: Kuwait has launched partnerships with US hospitals to improve its health care industry and is strengthening its information technology and telecommunications sectors and infrastructure, offering “a wealth of opportunities” for private firms, said the US ambassador to the Gulf state.

Matthew Tueller told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) in an exclusive interview that Kuwait has given investment opportunities for private American companies, indicating at hike of US enterprises in the country, particularly in the health care and education sectors.

However, the diplomat indicated at some bureaucratic obstacles and snags facing the American entrepreneurs in Kuwait “There have been cases when companies have proceeded all the way through a tendering process and at the last minute political intervention will cause a project to be cancelled,” Tueller noted, following a panel discussion at the Ambassadors’ Forum event hosted by the National USArab Chamber of Commerce (NUACC).

In spite of this, there has been an uptick over the last few years in American private sector investment in Kuwait, especially in health care and education sectors.

Recently Johns Hopkins University Hospital, one of the nation’s leading health care firms, signed a USD 250 million contract with the Kuwait’s Health Ministry to oversee four specialist hospitals. “Kuwaitis know what US companies can bring, they know how they think,” Tueller said, crediting this advantage to the large number of Kuwaitis educated in the United States. He affirmed “the educational tie, the cultural tie brings a great advantage for US companies coming in to do business with Kuwait.” “US companies have to be patient, they have to understand how the process works. But at the end of the day there are a lot of opportunities there,” he advised. Tueller joined 11 other American ambassadors, members of the international diplomatic corp. and U.S. business leaders at annual forum aimed at promoting business opportunities in the Arab World. -KUNA

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ALWATAN DAILY

regional

Ousted president’s memoirs

By Hossam Fathi

KUWAIT: Although I am not a legal practitioner, I wish the Egyptian law included a provision that would bar former presidents and their families from publishing their memoirs before they are reviewed by a committee comprised of representatives of the National Security Service and Parliament.

I know that a lot of people will not be pleased with these comments, but whoever places the interest of Egypt above any other consideration would think twice about it.

As a matter of fact, I was taken aback upon realizing that the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak, has sold his memoirs to Canon Gate, a British publishing house, for 10 million US dollars as first payment. The publishing house has already started to leak excerpts of some of the secrets contained in said memoirs in order to catch the attention of readers and distributors.

Although the legal responsibility of the content of the memoirs will be shouldered by the writer and the publishing house, nobody will be responsible for the “ethical implications” that might have a toll on Egypt’s image and its figures.

I am not concerned at all by the ousted Mubarak’s image, but I am particular about the image of Egypt which I don’t think they will preserve or respect. hossam@alwatan.com.kw Twitter:@hossamfathy66

Iran rejects claims of cleaning up nuclear works TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday rejected allegations it attempted to clean up radioactive traces possibly left by secret nuclear work at a key military site before granting UN inspectors permission to visit the facility.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in Tehran that the allegations were misleading and false, and insisted that such traces could not be cleaned up.

Satellite images of Iran’s Parchin military facility that circulated last week appeared to show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the location. That set off assertions by diplomats, all nuclear experts accredited to the UN nuclear agency in Vienna, Austria, about a cleanup operation. The diplomats said the crews at Parchin may be trying to erase evidence of a test of a small nuclear-weapon trigger. The diplomats spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information on the record.

The assertions added to tensions surrounding Iran’s controversial nuclear program, which the West fears is geared toward nuclear weapons-making but Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes. Mehmanparast dismissed the diplomats’ assertions. “Those who are familiar with nuclear physics know that these comments are not remarkable in any way,” he said. “This is mainly public speculation and not based on logic.”

“Basically, nuclear military activities are not cleanable, at all,” Mehmanparast said. He did not directly address the satellite photos but stressed that Parchin has been continuing its “conventional military” activities and operations. Inspecting Parchin, southeast of the capital Tehran, was a key request made by senior IAEA teams that visited Tehran in January and February. Iran rebuffed those demands at the time, as well as attempts by the nuclear agency’s team to question Iranian officials and secure other information linked to the allegations of secret weapons work.

But last week, a statement by Iran’s permanent envoy to the IAEA said the visit will now be allowed in a gesture of good will. The Parchin complex has been often mentioned in the West as a suspected base for secret nuclear experiments - a claim Iran consistently denies. IAEA inspectors visited the site in 2005, but only one of four areas on the grounds and reported no unusual activities.

An IAEA report last year said there were indications Tehran has conducted high-explosives testing to set off a nuclear charge at Parchin. Iran denied the atomic activity and insisted that any decision to open the site rests with the armed forces since it was a military, not nuclear, facility. -AP

Turkey court releases journalists in conspiracy case ISTANBUL: A Turkish court released four journalists on Monday pending trial on accusations they were part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government, in a case that has become a focus for criticism of Turkey’s record on media freedom. Among the four released were Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik, two well-known investigative reporters held for just over a year in a top-security prison outside Istanbul. Six other defendants, mostly journalists, were still in custody.

Relatives, friends and colleagues of the freed journalists shouted for joy outside the court and some cried and hugged each other on hearing the news. “Ahmet and Nedim are free”, people shouted, shocked at the decision. “At last.”

Sik’s brother Bulent Sik told Reuters: “Today’s decision was a surprise for Ahmet and Nedim. They didn’t expect it either”. The defendants are accused of belonging to ‘Ergenekon’, an alleged ultra-nationalist group accused by prosecutors of being behind multiple conspiracies against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party government. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc welcomed the decision.

“One can only be glad at their release. It is saddening that they spent 375 days inside,” Arinc told a news conference following a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

The United States, the European Union and rights groups have criticized Ankara’s prosecution of journalists which they say taints Turkey’s image as a role model for democracy in the Middle East.

Ilhan Cihaner, a deputy from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a former top prosecutor, told Reuters outside the court that foreign pressure had played a role in the decision. “The gradually increasing pressure from the EU and foreign media had a great effect on today’s decision,” Cihaner said. -Reuters

WEDNESDAY, march 14, 2012

Violence continues to rage across Syria

BEIRUT: Syrian forces killed dozens of people near a mosque in the city of Idlib, opposition activists said on Tuesday, and rebels killed at least 10 troops in an ambush in the same area, focus of the latest government crackdown.

Video footage showed the bloodied bodies of several unidentified men strewn on the floor of the mosque. An unseen voice said it was impossible to move them due to heavy shelling.

Army defectors ambushed a checkpoint in Idlib region in the northwest, killing the 10 soldiers and possibly more, while rebels also killed 12 members of forces loyal to President Bashar AlAssad in the southern town of Deraa, according to the Britishbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Fighting was reported, too, in the eastern city of Deir El-Zor and in Syria’s third largest city Homs, as a year-long uprising against Al-Assad’s authoritarian rule increasingly resembles a full-blown civil war.

Speaking after meeting opponents of Al-Assad in Turkey, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said he was expecting to hear later on Tuesday the response from Syria to “concrete proposals” he had made to end the escalating violence.

The Syrian parliament said Al-Assad, who has promised reforms short of his resignation, had ordered a legislative election for May 7. It would be held under a new constitution, approved by a referendum last month which the opposition and their Western and Arab backers dismissed as a sham.

As growing numbers of refugees seek to flee the fighting, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Syrian forces were laying landmines near the borders with Lebanon and Turkey, along routes used by the civilians to escape the mayhem.

Idlib province borders Turkey and has become a hiding place for rebels, drawing regular army reprisals.

An activist in the city of Idlib, speaking by telephone, said security forces had killed 11 people trying to leave the area two days ago and dumped them in Al-Bilal mosque.

More bodies were brought to the mosque on Monday, but when locals went to inspect the corpses, they too came under fire, pushing the death toll above 50, he said. Another activist contacted by Reuters confirmed the killings.

“When people came from the neighborhood early this morning, the security forces also started firing at them. In total, about 45 people were massacred,” said the man, who like many in Syria gave only his first name, Mohammed, for fear of reprisals.

Activists said the bodies of six other people were found in the nearby village of Maarat Shureen.

Reports from Syria cannot be independently verified as the authorities deny access to rights groups and journalists.

SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun said the aim remained to secure a political and diplomatic solution, otherwise foreign governments would deliver on promises to supply weapons to rebel forces.

Syrian refugees hold Syrian opposition flags as they protest against Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad outside the French Embassy in Amman March 13, 2012. (Reuters)

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Qatar have called for arms to be sent to help in the fight against Al-Assad, who is a member of the minority Alawite sect and is allied to Shiite Iran.

Syria lies in a pivotal position, bordering Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Iraq and Lebanon. Its 23-million-strong population comprises a mix of faiths, sects and ethnic groups, and analysts say the gathering conflict could destabilize the entire region.

While the rebels have only light weapons, the army has repeatedly used tanks, mortars and artillery, and has regularly shelled built-up areas, apparently indiscriminately.

“I have heard shelling in the Old City since 8 this morning,” one activist in the city of Homs told Reuters. “There is gunfire everywhere,” he added, asking to be referred to only as Sami for fear of arrest.

More than 8,000 people have died in the Syrian uprising, in-

Israel-Gaza violence ebbs as truce takes effect

JERUSALEM: Israel halted its airstrikes against Gaza Strip militants early Tuesday and rocket fire from the Palestinian territory ebbed as a cease-fire ending four days of clashes appeared to be taking effect.

Both sides had indicated they have no interest in seeing the fighting spiral into all-out war, and an Egyptian security official reported that Egyptian intelligence officials had brokered a truce.

There was no official truce announcement from Israel or Gaza’s Hamas rulers, but Israeli Cabinet Minister Matan Vilnai told Israel Radio the latest outbreak of violence “appears to be behind us.”

And Daoud Shihab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad group responsible for much of the rocket fire, said that “the Egyptian efforts succeeded this morning and a deal was reached.”

Months of quiet along the Gaza-Israel border were shattered on Friday with Israel’s killing of a militant commander in

Gaza whom it accused of plotting to attack Israelis.

At least 24 Palestinians, including at least four civilians, died in the cross-border fighting that followed, with the cause of another civilian’s death in dispute.

There were no Israeli fatalities, but frequent sirens warned citizens to take cover from incoming rockets.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said more than 200 rockets were fired at Israel between Friday and early Tuesday, when the truce went into effect. Israel’s new short-range rocket interceptor, the Iron Dome, destroyed dozens of rockets headed for southern Israel.

Although the fighting on the ground subsided, verbal sparring over the terms of the cease-fire persisted.

The Egyptian security official, speaking early Tuesday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said Israel had agreed to stop targeting militants as a condition of the

truce. Islamic Jihad leader Khaled Batch said the same.

“They gave the Egyptians a pledge they would stop the assassinations,” Batch said. “This was a surprise not only to Egypt but a surprise to all parties.”

But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak brushed away that assertion.

“The Israeli military remains committed to acting against anyone who plots or plans attacks on Israeli citizens or Israeli soldiers operating along the border,” Barak said.

And senior defense official Amos Gilad, who was involved in the truce talks, said no such commitments were given.

“Quiet will be met with quiet,” Gilad told Army Radio. But “if Israel has to defend its citizens, it will do so without hesitation.”

Because the two sides shun each other, the truce is not formal and there is no signed document that can serve as a reference. -AP

Death sentence in absentia for Al-Qaeda north Africa chief

ALGIERS: An Algerian court sentenced the head of Al-Qaeda’s north African offshoot to death in his absence Tuesday for a string of 2007 attacks, including a deadly bombing at the prime minister’s office.

Abdelmalek Droukdel, leader of AlQaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM), and eight co-defendants were sentenced to death for premeditated murder, membership of a terrorist group and attacks using

explosives, said judge Tayeb Hillali of the court in Algiers.

They were among 18 people, nine of whom were absent, put on trial for three bomb attacks in Algiers in April 2007 that killed 20 people and wounded 222.

The first attack saw a bomber drive an explosives-laden car into a guard post outside the government headquarters housing the prime minister’s office in central Algiers, killing 12 people and injuring

FILE - An undated handout photo apparently shows Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abou Moussab (Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel) speaking at an unknown location. (AFP)

135.

Minutes later, bombers driving two cars triggered explosions in the eastern suburb of Bab Ezzouar, on the road to the international airport and not far from one of Algeria’s largest universities.

A fourth attack was thwarted when security officers defused a car bomb, according to court documents in the trial that opened on March 14.

Droukdel, a 42-year-old engineer by training whose alias is Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud, is said to consider as his mentor Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq killed by the US military in 2006.

He arrived at the head of what was then called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat in 2004, muscling his way in by brutally eliminating rivals. The group has since changed its name.

He is seen by experts as a ruthless chief who introduced suicide bombings in Algeria.

Having learned about explosives during his military service, Droukdel has put together “suicide commandos” whose members are completely committed to him, experts say.

Their bedside reading is believed to include a military text written by their leader.

The other eight people sentenced are Abdessalam Samir, Ait Said Salem, Ait Said Meziane, Ziani Said, Ghiatou Rabah, Chemini Toufic, Niche Djamel and Bou Djalki Abderrahmane.

Lawyers for the other nine accused have sought a adjournment of their trial.

-AFP

cluding many women and children, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, president of the UN General Assembly, said on Monday.

The Syrian government says more than 2,000 police and regular army soldiers have been killed by “armed terrorist groups”, blaming foreign interference for the unrest. It has not given any figures for civilian deaths.

Human Rights Watch said anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines of Russian origin had been found near Syria’s borders, with indications they had been planted by the army this year.

Syria, like Russia, the United States and over 30 other states, has not signed up to a global ban on landmines.

“Any use of anti-personnel landmines is unconscionable,” said Steve Goose, Arms Division director at HRW. “There is absolutely no justification for the use of these indiscriminate weapons by any country, anywhere, for any purpose.” -Reuters

Japan follows allies, adds Iran bank to sanctions list TOKYO: Japan on Tuesday placed Iran’s third-largest bank on a blacklist for allegedly having helped Tehran develop its nuclear program, following up on similar moves by the United States and the European Union announced in January. The addition of state-owned Bank Tejarat takes to 21 the number of Iranian banks with which Japan has suspended its correspondent banking ties, the government said in a statement.

Tokyo’s sanctions do not include the central bank of Iran, although Japan, Iran’s third biggest crude oil customer after China and India, is looking to cut its dependence on the OPEC member under pressure from the EU and the United States. Western sanctions are hampering Iran’s ability to sell its crude oil, which generates most of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Iran is the world’s 5th largest oil exporter and the second-biggest OPEC producer after Saudi Arabia.

South Korea, Japan and other US allies have been scrambling to voluntarily reduce Iranian oil imports in hopes of winning waivers from penalties imposed by a new US law on Iran sanctions that takes effect this year.

The law, signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 31 in his latest effort to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program, targets foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran’s central bank or other blacklisted Iranian financial entities. Obama has until March 30 to decide whether the price and supply levels of non-Iranian oil and fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in global markets are sufficient for countries to “significantly” reduce their Iranian purchases. -Reuters

Suicide bomber kills four Yemeni soldiers SANAA: Four Yemeni soldiers were killed on Tuesday when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle laden with explosives near a checkpoint in the south of the country, a police source said, the latest in a spate of attacks by Islamist militants.

At least four soldiers were wounded in the attack outside the southern city of Al-Bayda, the police source told Reuters. The governor of Al-Bayda province said clashes between the army and “terrorists” erupted in the wake of the explosion.

“The attacker who drove the car made it explode when it stopped at a checkpoint,” the source said.

“It scattered into tiny pieces, killing four soldiers instantly.

Four others were taken to the hospital with critical wounds.”

Islamist militants have escalated their operations in the south of the country since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office last month vowing to fight Al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based arm.

Air strikes attributed to both Yemen and the United States have killed more than 60 militants over the past week, tribal sources and local officials say. Washington has repeatedly used drones to target militants in Yemen.

No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack but a security source blamed militants linked to Al-Qaeda.

Anti-government protests that paralyzed the impoverished nation for most of 2011 have severely weakened central government control over the country, particularly in the south, where militants have seized several towns.

In their deadliest attack, militants earlier this month killed at least 110 soldiers in attacks on government forces outside Zinjibar, capital of Abyan province, in a bleak reminder of the challenges Hadi faces as president.

Wary of Al-Qaeda’s presence in Yemen, Washington backed Hadi’s election last month under an Arab Gulf-brokered deal to ease his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh from power after a year of political upheaval.

The United States equipped and trained Yemeni military units - notably ones led by Saleh’s son and nephew - for “counter-terrorism”, though both sides say military cooperation fell off during turmoil surrounding mass anti-Saleh protests. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

wednesdAY, march 14, 2012

Obama and Cameron to focus on global security LONDON: United States President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron will step up their support for Syrian opposition groups this week and seek to map out the next phase for military operations in Afghanistan.

Cameron will fly to Washington on Tuesday eager to dispel concerns in Britain that its treasured “special relationship” with the United States has dimmed in recent years as Obama pivots US foreign policy towards Asia.

In a joint editorial for Tuesday’s Washington Post, the two leaders condemn “horrific violence against innocent civilians” by the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and say they are seeking to prepare the ground for a change of power.

“With our international partners, we’ll continue to tighten the noose around Assad and his cohorts, and we’ll work with the opposition and United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to plan for the transition that will follow Assad’s departure from power,” they say.

However, officials say there is unlikely to be much talk of arming rebel groups in Syria, with both leaders eager to stick to economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure.

The opposition Syrian National Council called on Monday for military intervention by Arab and Western governments, including a nofly zone across Syria where the United Nations says government forces have bombed civilian areas as punishment for harboring rebels.

Obama and Cameron will also use this week’s meetings to send a strong message to

There is increasing anxiety within the Obama administration over the foreign policy of Cameron, a man the US President dismissed as all “sizzle” and no substance. (Reuters)

Iran to “meet its international obligations or face the consequences”. The West believes Iran wants to build nuclear weapons, a charge denied by Tehran.

“We believe that there is time and space to pursue a diplomatic solution,” they write.

On Afghanistan, the two leaders will prepare for the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago “to determine the next phase of transition”,

with officials saying the meeting will be crucial in ensuring the US and Britain are in harmony on the timing of troop withdrawals.

“This includes shifting to a support role in advance of Afghans taking full responsibility for security in 2014 and ensuring that NATO maintains an enduring commitment,” the editorial says.

Officials say their meetings are unlikely to

France’s President and candidate for the upcoming re-election, Nicolas Sarkozy is cheered by supporters as he arrives for a meeting in Villepinte, north of Paris, France, as part of his electoral campaign, March 11. (AP)

who promises tighter immigration controls, structural economic reforms and policy referendums, and Hollande, who is running on a taxand-spend program while also promising to cut the budget deficit.

The poll was taken after Sarkozy told his

NEWS IN BRIEF

result in a big shift in policy and will instead flesh out a plan to gradually withdraw troops over the next few years and to start a handover to Afghan forces.

The decade-long war in Afghanistan has grown increasingly unpopular in both the United States and Britain with the Taliban remaining a stubborn enemy, while the massacre of 16 villagers by a US soldier on Sunday has fanned growing Afghan anger at the foreign presence.

Meanwhile British forces suffered their worst loss of life since 2006 last week when six soldiers were killed, taking the overall death toll over 400.

An opinion poll for Comres/ITV News on Monday showed nearly three quarters of Britons now think the Afghan war is unwinnable, up from 60 percent last year. More than half of Britons think UK troops should be withdrawn immediately.

Cameron’s visit, designed to stress unity between the two leaders, is his second since coming to power in 2010. It includes a state dinner and a trip on Air Force One to attend a basketball game.

“The alliance between the United States and Great Britain is a partnership of the heart, bound by the history, traditions and values we share,” they say in the Washington Post.

“But what makes our relationship special - a unique and essential asset, for our nations and the world - is that we join hands across so many endeavors. Put simply, we count on each other and the world counts on our alliance.” -Reuters

US drone strike kills six militants in Pakistan A US drone strike killed six militants on Tuesday, targeting a vehicle travelling through Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt on the Afghan border, local officials said.

Pakistanis said the attack took place in the remote Drey Nishtar area of South Waziristan, part of Pakistan’s semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt that Washington considers a global hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. “A US drone fired two missiles into a vehicle.

Five militants have been killed,” one Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. -AFP

Six arrested in UK tabloid phone-hacking probe LONDON: Detectives investigating phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World arrested six people on Tuesday on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, London police said. Five men aged between 38 and 49 and one 43-year-old woman were arrested in dawn raids in London and other areas in southern England. The coordinated arrests were made by officers from Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes, a police statement said.

“All six - five men and one woman - were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.” -AFP

Three climbers missing on frigid Pakistan mountain

Sarkozy takes first poll lead after EU-bashing PARIS: President Nicolas Sarkozy overtook Socialist challenger Francois Hollande for the first time on Tuesday in an opinion poll on the first round of France’s April-May election after attacking the European Union’s trade and immigration policies.

The conservative incumbent was still shown losing to Hollande in a second-round runoff, but by a narrower margin.

Sarkozy’s poll boost came as far-right leader Marine Le Pen, ranked third in polls, said she had secured the 500 official sponsors needed to enter the presidential contest.

Candidates have until Friday to obtain the requisite backing of 500 elected officials to compete in the April 22 first round, after which the two frontrunners face off in a May 6 runoff.

A failure by Le Pen to gather enough signatures could have rocked expectations, given her 16 percent support level.

In a morale boost for Sarkozy, who has trailed Hollande in polls for months, an Ifop/ Fiducial survey put his first-round score at 28.5 percent, up from 27 percent at the end of February and overtaking Hollande, whose score slipped to 27 percent from 28.5 percent previously.

The poll gave Hollande 54.5 percent of the second-round vote to Sarkozy’s 45.5 percent, a narrower lead as Hollande lost two percentage points and Sarkozy gained two.

“I hope the swallow we saw this morning will make the spring,” Alain Minc, a longtime advisor to Sarkozy, told Europe 1 radio, citing an ancient Greek proverb popular in France.

The election is a duel between Sarkozy,

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biggest rally yet on Sunday that he would erect unilateral barriers to trade and immigration unless the European Union takes tougher stands.

Seeking to breathe new life into his campaign, Sarkozy said Europe should have a law, modeled on the Buy American Act, requiring

governments to buy European-made products. He also threatened to pull France out of Europe’s Schengen open-borders zone unless progress is made on controlling immigration flows.

Hollande said Sarkozy’s move was a sign the incumbent was running out of inspiration.

“He will try anything,” the Socialist said in a France 3 television interview on Monday.

The president, seeking to shed an image of being over-friendly to the rich, said he would crack down on tax exiles by making them declare taxes paid abroad and pay to France the difference with what they would have contributed if still resident.

The proposal followed earlier pledges of curbs on corporate executive pay and a minimum tax on profits at multinationals.

Sarkozy is hampered by the fact he is one of France’s least popular presidents ever, with many frustrated at economic gloom and tired of his showy style. An Opinion way survey on Monday put Sarkozy’s approval rating down one point at 31 percent, although his disapproval rating dropped two points to 62 percent.

Fifty percent of respondents thought Hollande was running a stronger campaign and 38 percent rated firebrand leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon’s most highly. Only 27 percent thought Sarkozy’s campaign was best.

Le Pen removed one major uncertainty by disclosing early on Tuesday she had the necessary backing to run.

“I have my 500 signatures and therefore I will be a candidate in the presidential election,” she told Reuters. -Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Feelings of triumph over the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum-1 by a Polish team were marred by growing concern Tuesday over the fate of three other climbers last seen high on the Pakistani mountain five days ago, battling temperatures of 70 below zero and ferocious winds. The three - an Austrian, a Swiss and a Pakistani - were just short of the summit in the Karakoram range when they were spotted Friday by a Polish team that was descending after it had reached the top of the 8,611 meter (28,251 feet)high peak. Pakistan Alpine Club president Manzoor Hussain said he hoped weather might allow a helicopter to circle the peak later Tuesday to try and locate the missing men. Cloud and high winds had prevented any aircraft getting near the mountain since Friday. Hussain said he feared the men were dead. -Reuters

No missile deal at NATO summit, says Russian official MOSCOW: A senior Russian government official says there is very little chance of Russia and the United States reaching a compromise on missile defense at the NATO summit in Chicago in May. Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told reporters Tuesday that Russia and the US have failed to narrow their differences over plans for a US-led NATO missile shield in Europe. Antonov says the US has proceeded with its missile defense plans without considering Russian concerns. He says Russia and NATO have failed to come anywhere close to a deal on missile defense. He says, “it would be very difficult to achieve any success at the summit.” -AP

Thirty-two Afghan Taliban threaten to behead US soldiers, government team attacked dead, 150 missing as Bangladesh ferry sinks KABUL: Suspected insurgents fired on an Afghan government delegation on Tuesday investigating the massacre of 16 civilians by a US soldier, officials said, hours after the Taliban threatened to behead American troops to avenge the killings. Two of President Hamid Karzai’s brothers, Shah Wali Karzai and Addul Qayum Karzai, were with senior defense, intelligence and interior ministry officials travelling to the scene of the massacre in Najiban and Alekozai villages, in Kandahar’s Panjwai district, when insurgents opened fire.

Karzai’s brothers were unharmed in the brief gunbattle during meetings at a village mosque, but a soldier and a civilian were wounded. The area is a Taliban stronghold and a supply route.

“The Islamic Emirate once again warns the American animals that the Mujahideen will avenge them, and with the help of Allah will kill and behead your sadistic murderous soldiers,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the term with which the Islamist group describes itself.

As the first protest broke out in Jalalabad city over the weekend shootings, the Taliban said Afghan government demands for an open trial of the US Army staff sergeant being held for the slayings would not blunt civilian hostility towards Western combat troops.

The unnamed US soldier - said to have only recently arrived in the country - is accused of walking off his base in Kandahar province in the middle of the night and gunning down at least 16 villagers, mostly women and children.

A US official said the accused soldier had suffered a traumatic brain injury while on a previous deployment in Iraq.

The shootings, which came just weeks after deadly protests across the country

DHAKA: At least 32 people died and about 150 people were missing after a ferry sank in Bangladesh in the early hours of Tuesday morning, officials said, adding that 35 survivors had been found.

Rescue workers began recovering bodies from the double-decker Shariatpur 1 ferry, which was hit by another vessel in the middle of the Meghna river just southeast of the capital Dhaka.

“The divers have brought seven dead bodies from the sunken vessel,” Azizul Islam, the district administrator, told AFP by telephone, warning that the death toll was likely to rise as about 150 people were still unaccounted for.

Local police chief Shahidul Islam added that 35 passengers had been rescued by another ferry soon after the accident at about 2:30 am (2030 GMT Monday).

Afghan protesters shout anti-US slogans during a demonstration in Jalalabad province, against Sunday’s shooting of at least 16 villagers by a US Army staff sergeant in the volatile Afghan province of Kandahar, March 13. (Reuters)

over the inadvertent burning of Korans by US soldiers, triggered a protest by around 2,000 students in the eastern city of Jalalabad. The demonstrators chanted “Death to America” and demanded Afghan President Hamid Karzai reject plans to sign a strategic pact with Washington that would allow US advisers and possibly special forces to remain in the country beyond the planned withdrawal in 2014. US President Barack Obama, speaking after a phone call with Karzai - who is said to be furious over the latest deaths - said the shootings had only increased his determination to get American troops out of Afghanistan.

However, Obama cautioned there should not be a “rush to the exits” for US forces who have been fighting in Afghanistan since late 2001 and that the drawdown set for the end of 2014 should be done in a responsible way.

The soldier, from a conventional unit, was based at a joint US-Afghan base used by elite US troops under a so-called village support program hailed by NATO as a possible model for US involvement in the country after the 2014 drawdown.

Such bases provide support to local Afghan security units and provide a source of security advice and training, as well as anti-insurgent backup and intelligence. A spokesman for Kandahar governor Tooryalai Wisa said that tribal elders in the area of the massacre would urge against protests and work to dampen public anger if the investigation process was transparent.

“They are supporting the government and will accept any conclusion by the investigators. Today we have meetings with people in the area and all will become clear,” spokesman Ahmad Jawid Faisal said. -Reuters

Coastguards, fire brigade and police rescue workers were also rushed to the scene. The captain of the MV Mitali ferry, which picked up survivors from the river, told the ATN Bangla TV channel that “we stopped our vessel after hearing the cry of ‘save us, save us’.”

One rescued passenger, named as Dulal, told local media that eight of his relatives were missing. He said most people were asleep when the accident took place.

Other rescued passengers reported that the boat was overcrowded and was also carrying dozens of sacks of chillies. Boats are the main form of travel in Bangladesh’s remote rural areas and accidents are common due to lax safety standards and overloading. The exact number of passengers on any ferry is often uncertain as passenger lists are not maintained properly and many people buy their tickets when they board. -Reuters

Manila’s anti-graft court orders arrest of Arroyo, three others MANILA: The Philippines’ anti-graft court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of former leader Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her husband and two former officials in a case which President Benigno Aquino sees as a key to cleaning up the government and attracting investors.

Arroyo, already under hospital arrest since late November on charges of electoral fraud in a lower court, is this time accused of using her position to push for the approval of a 329 million US dollars broadband deal with China’s ZTE Corp in 2007.

Arroyo, a 64-year-old who was president from 2001 to 2010, was forced to scrap the contract in 2008 after a congressional inquiry showed some of her officials allegedly received kickbacks for the deal. Her trial is central to Aquino’s pledge to tackle endemic graft that threatens to take shine off an economic revival and investment rebound in the Philippines.

Investors seem confident the economy will

strengthen - the stock market is up 14 percent in 2012, and up by more than a third from Sep. 26, when it posted its lowest close for 2011.

Aquino is also pushing the impeachment of the country’s Supreme Court chief, Renato Corona, who was installed by Arroyo and is accused of protecting her from investigation.The former president and her allies accuse Aquino of pursuing a political vendetta against her.

Analysts say Aquino risks losing support if he is seen to be far tougher on Arroyo appointees than on his own picks, said security consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments (PS&A).

“If President Aquino continues this selective approach to fighting corruption, he jeopardizes legitimate prosecution of major Arroyo administration wrongdoing and being labeled by a growing percentage of the Philippines populace as simply vindictive,” it said in a recent report.

Arroyo denies all the charges. -AP

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ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

wednesDAY, march 14, 2012

When shameful acts are interpreted as heroic Fuad Al-Hashem

T

he last batch of the list of names of the newly-recruited applicants for the National Petroleum Company (NPC) has been leaked. One look at the list and one cannot miss the fact that it was done and arranged with the famous phrase in mind “Charity begins at home”.

The list includes the son of the Managing Director for the Administrative and Financial Affairs; the son of the Managing Director for Global Marketing; the daughter of the Financial Advisor; daughter of Member of the Administrative and Financial Affairs; daughter of the Member of the Safety and Security Affairs; son of the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Electricity and Water; two children of a former minister; daughter of a senior official in one of the telecommunications company; three people were directly appointed by an MP who happens to also be a member in the Popular Bloc representing the Fourth Constituency; 17 were also directly appointed by a former “tribal” MP; four were appointed by a former minister; whereas seven were appointed by a newly-elected minister; five were appointed by an Islamist MP; three were appointed through the office of a senior officer in the Ministry of Communications; furthermore, two were additionally appointed through another senior officer in the Ministry of Electricity and Water; on the other hand a well known liberal

The extraterrestrial philosophy of MP Al-Barghash reminds us of two previous anecdotes which I feel I must relate them to you as they tally with our story here.

MP appointed seven people whereas six were appointed by a former MP who has strong ties with the NPC; and 13 were appointed through a member of the Popular Bloc representing the Fifth Constituency. Still, another list of names which Minister Mohammad Al-Busairi approved as they are members of his own tribe.

On top of the long list, at least 50 new recruits were also appointed and they happen to be relatives of current employees of the NPC the aim of which is to appease them on one hand and to stop them from carrying out further strikes against the government on the other.

Moving on to another issue, MP Abdullah Al-Barghash discussing the issue of breaking and entering the Parliament said that those who committed the crime “did not have wrong or criminal intentions when they committed the act”.

I say that you are absolutely right that there were no ill intentions behind the illegal act of breaking and entering the Parliament. I suppose their illegal entry to the Parliament was

We reject any arbitrary actions by the Majority Bloc

only intended for reasons of entrainment as if they were gate-crashing a party. That’s all!!

Remarkably, the same MP enunciated, and I certainly hope that he would care to make no more enunciations in the future, that the National Assembly has changed its former complaint of breaking and entering the parliament but “opened its doors wide for the benefit of the MPs and citizens”.

The extraterrestrial philosophy of MP AlBarghash reminds us of two previous anecdotes which I feel I must relate them to you as they tally with our story here. The first incident is related to an Arab citizen who went to a ballot box to vote against a president who had decided to renew his presidential term in office. The courageous man decided to mark “X” next to the president’s name instead of ticking off his name.The man went back home proudly telling his wife about his sole achievement against the ruler. To his surprise, the wife began shouting at him saying that the security and intelligence apparatus would most certainly pinpoint his mark and punish him for such an outrageously

BU QUTADA & BU NABIL Kazma is the best ... support Kazma .... raise its orange flags

The majority has to understand that they will never succeed in achieving its goals except by effective and constructive cooperation with the government as well as the parliamentary minority.

Dr. Shamlan Yousef Al-Esa

S

ome citizens question why the policy of crises and chaos returned back to the local arena just after five months of the start of the new legislative term. Chaos and arbitrary practices have started after MPs encouraged civil servants to stage strikes and calling for further cadres and salary raise.

Some MPs asked for a salary raise which ranges from 20 to 25 percent while others asked for higher raises from 50 and 70 percent of the basic salary of civil servants.

The MPs also encouraged students to stage demonstrations in order to impose pressure on the Ministry of Education to raise their marks and make them pass exams!!

However, anybody who follows up the political developments in the country will discover that the Majority Bloc take arbitrary actions and it seizes the rights of others but the very MPs in the mean time failed to determine their priorities since five months ago. The majority bloc became very arrogant, therefore it did not discuss priorities with the government or the other MPs who represent the minority. After that the bloc determined some priorities although they did not harmonize with the Amiri speech which was delivered at the opening session.

The very bloc did not abide to its pledges which were released while the last parliamentary election such as focusing on national unity, regulating media missions, supporting positive laws and fighting administrative and financial corruption.

During yesterday’s session- Tuesday- the government wanted to discuss its priorities especially the law of national unity and anticorruption but the bloc was already planning

daring move. The man thought about the odds here and came to the conclusion that the intelligence would probably identify him as his wife informed him.

He quickly returned to the ballot box and there he was immediately approached by the security officers who questioned his rapid return. The gullible man answered them by saying that he came back because he realized that he committed a serious mistake as he marked the box which says that he is against the renewal of another presidential term in office.

The security officers on their part reassured the man that the error was rectified immediately after he had left the ballot box.

The other story is related to adultery of a cheating wife and her lover. It is said that one day the husband decided to come home earlier than expected to surprise his wife but then he saw her enjoying her time on his bed with her lover. The husband took the man to the local police station charging him among other things of illegally entering his house. The lover who ended up in court was faced with the charges

but to the surprise of the husband he managed to find answers to all charges and when he was confronted with the charge of entering premises illegally, the lover replied on the contrary because it was the wife who invited him and even opened the door for him. So, the charges of breaking and entering the house illegally were dropped.

It is highly likely that we would get another MP pontificating that the breaking and entering into the National Assembly was actually a heroic act and those who were involved in the crime should be honored at all levels with the recommendation that their names should be written in history books and perhaps name some of the country’s streets and roads after them.

Finally, the newly-elected MP Dr.Al-Wasmi yesterday said that the government is so corrupt, the society is so corrupt, the authority is so corrupt and that most of the parliamentary interpellation made during the last parliament were written and made by him. This is a very intriguing statement and the new MP needs to identify those who had sought his legal advice and writing.

The statement made by MP Al-Wasmi who incidentally described the Kuwaiti people as dogs, needs to be verified and investigated to find out why this particular person was sought after by some MPs who intended to grill various ministers in the last parliament. Questions need to be addressed.

to discuss the case of storming national assembly through the Bureau of National Assembly in order to find a convenient solution for the case or a legal procedure to save those who stormed the parliament from accountability. The bloc exerts real efforts to put an end to this case although some other MPs reserve such an idea. It is not reasonable that the Speaker of the House himself, the Deputy Speaker and the Secretary of the National Assembly participate preparing a new statement which aims at undermining the former report which was already referred to the Public Prosecution by the former parliament!!

So, if the MPs reject any attempt for applying laws upon them then we will respect those MPs who do their best to free themselves from laws that they made!! The secret behind the success of democracy in the urban countries and India which is protecting the rights of people wherein all people have equal rights and all of them are accountable to the authority of law.

The question that we have is “why democracy failed in Kuwait?” the answer is very clear. It is because of the weak political culture in the country. The success of democracy can`t be achieved by arbitrary actions and tyranny that might be practiced by the majority against minority. Democracy gets stronger by spreading the democratic culture in addition to the open liberal minds and a successful educational system to help citizens to build a civil society beside a democratic system to protect the independence of society as well. The majority has to understand that they will never succeed in achieving its goals except by effective and constructive cooperation with the government as well as the parliamentary minority.

We have to support the Yellow Royal team .... Go yellow!

Yeah, we will raise the white flags ..... we give up to the government ... we just want to complete our transactions ... we are submissive figures

Raise the black flags .... For black Wednesday

Mohmmed Thallab

mthallab@alwatan.com.kw

On establishing a memorial edifice Aziza Al-Mufarej

I

t was a very hard time, unclean like the water of moors, dark like night, heavy as the sins of infidels and difficult like waiting for carrying out the sentence of execution but there were a number of sincere figures who insisted to face such hard times.

They fought sincerely to overcome the hard times and to save our country endorsing the slogan “fighting until reaching either freedom or martyrdom”. At the end they obtained both freedom and martyrdom.

Those figures that were sincere to their country, the

Amir and interested in serving their country had passed away. They left us and the whole world and they do not need us yet they endorsed great missions during their lives focusing on defending all the rights of people and the country. They have got the great award of God. They preceded us to receive the award of God but we were not the victims of the regime of the sisterly state in the time of the invasion. Our lives also did end according to God`s destiny in the period which extends from invading Kuwait until liberating it, therefore we had witnessed Kuwait as a free state later and then enjoyed restoring our dear country.

However, we failed to serve our country like our ancestors who exerted all possible efforts to protect Kuwait and sacrificed for its sake.

We also failed to do something to express our gratitude for the hard efforts of our ancestors. We did not deal with our martyrs like the other civilized states which built sizable edifices in memory of the martyrs and persons who sacrificed for their countries. We did not build an edifice for our martyrs or offer it as a touristic site that tourists can visit.

We could not do that although more than 20 years have passed after liberating Kuwait. The edifice which was

expected to be established since a long time ago still faces obstacles as if there were certain personalities who oppose memorizing the sacrifice of our ancestors. Many schools are built but the schools were named by the names of historic figures in addition to many streets which are named of other personalities but the names of our martyrs are not used in either the schools or the streets in order to be memorized!!

The relevant authorities established just a poor edifice inside a Citizen Service Center and then the very authorities established a poor celebration to open the new achievement!!

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views

wednesDAY, march 14, 2012

Europe’s trust deficit

Evidently, attitudes are passed down through the generations. They are embedded in societies in the form of culture.

Barry Eichengreen Project Syndicate

T

here is no shortage of talk nowadays about Europe’s deficits and the need to correct them. Critics point to governments’ gaping budget deficits. They cite the southern European countries’ chronic external deficits. They highlight the eurozone’s institutional deficits - a single currency and a central bank but none of the other elements of a well-functioning monetary union.

Of course, in all of these areas, the critics have a point.

But none of these is the deficit that really matters. The deficit that prevents Europe from drawing a line under its crisis is a deficit of trust.

First, there is deficient trust between national leaders and their publics. We saw this most visibly in the person of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who fortunately has been kicked to the sidelines of the political scene. But even the most stalwart European leaders have lost their followers’ trust by baldly saying one thing today and the opposite tomorrow.

At the end of February, for example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a spectacle insisting that no bigger financial firewall was needed to protect other eurozone countries from a disorderly Greek default. Not

one more euro of German taxpayer money, she vowed, would be contributed for this purpose. Yet everyone knew that once the Bundestag voted for the latest Greek rescue and enough time passed to acknowledge reality gracefully, Merkel would reverse course and argue that the eurozone needed a bigger firewall after all.

In fact, there is nothing at all graceful about this. For politicians to say one thing now when everyone knows they will soon say the opposite is guaranteed to erode trust in Europe’s leaders.

Second, there is a lack of trust among European Union member states. The real reason why the northern Europeans have been unwilling to provide a “big bazooka” - that is, extend more financial assistance to Southern Europe - is that they don’t trust the beneficiaries to use it wisely.

They fear, for example, that additional securities purchases by the European Central Bank, aimed at bringing down Spain’s borrowing costs, would only lead the Spanish government to relax its reform effort. As a result, Germany and its allies are prepared to provide just enough assis-

Kickstarter’s mission creep Felix Salmon Reuters

I

had a fascinating conversation last night with a chap from Kickstarter, a site designed to help creative professionals realize projects. And it’s still doing that, pretty well. But there’s clearly a degree of mission creep at Kickstarter, too - especially with regard to some of the most successful and highest-profile projects on the site.

“A project is not open-ended,” says Kickstarter: “Starting a business, for example, does not qualify as a project.” Yet that’s exactly what Matter is doing with Kickstarter.

What’s more, Kickstarter can only be used to fund projects “from the creative fields of Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater”. Which one of those fields is a bar of soap supposed to fall into? Design, I guess. But if the fields of Design and Technology can be so broadly construed as to mean anything, they ultimately mean nothing. And the bar of soap - just like Matter or the famous 1.5 million US dollars iPhone dock - is at heart an attempt to start a business, much more than it is an attempt to fund a creative project.

The bar of soap and the iPhone dock are glossy and sophisticated sales pitches: one of the questions yesterday was whether they were closer to SkyMall or to QVC. But there’s a huge difference: SkyMall and QVC sell products which exist. On Kickstarter, you’re buying a hypothetical future product. And I worry that this is going to end in high-profile tears and recriminations at some point, the first time a big funded project fails to produce what it promised.

Getting a product to market is hard.

Even companies with business plans and executives and millions of dollars in funding - and a fully-functioning product - can fall down on that front. Look for instance at the Switch light bulb: in July 2011, Farhad Manjoo of Slate said it would go on sale in October 2011 for 20 US dollars.

In August 2011, Dan Koeppel of Wired magazine ran an article saying that the bulb would go on sale in October for $30. But here we are in March 2012, there’s still no sign of the thing, and the company’s Facebook page is filling up with comments saying things like “I’m going to start my own company making a product that no one can buy. What should I not sell? So hard to decide.”

There are two big hidden risks which I think that Kickstarter should emphasize much more than it’s presently doing.

The first is on the side of the person with the project. It’s easy, when you’re trying to raise funds, to promise lots of things to lots of people, in that glorious utopian future where you’ve raised the cash that you need and you can actually finish your project.

So then you finish the project, and you’re still incredibly busy and stressed, but now you have hundreds or even thousands of things to send out. Which can be a decidedly unpleasant chore.

Kickstarter buries its page warning about how shipping “may end up being a bigger part of your budget than you thought”, and doesn’t really talk at all about the massive time commitment involved. For rewards which are individually handmade, the result can be something much sloppier than the project owner originally intended. Which isn’t really good for anybody.

The bigger risk, however, is on the side of the funder - and that’s the risk that the project will get funded, you will spend your money, and you will end

tance to keep the ship from capsizing, but not enough to set it on an even keel.

Third, there is lack of trust among the social groups called on to make sacrifices. Italian taxi drivers would be prepared to allow more competition if they were sure that Italian pharmacy owners were willing to do likewise. But if issuing more taxi medallions reduces cab drivers’ earnings, while pharmacists succeed in vetoing pro-competition measures to lower the cost of their services, the taxi drivers will end up worse off and the pharmacists will be enriched, which hardly seems fair.

In other words, lack of social trust blocks structural reform. The Greek version of this dilemma, in which no one pays taxes because no one else pays taxes, is particularly stark.

Survey research has revealed that societies vary greatly in their levels of trust. Economists, for their part, have shown that these different attitudes have deep historical roots.

In European regions where minority groups were per-

7

secuted 500 years ago, ethnic and religious conflicts have been more pervasive in recent times. In parts of the Balkans long ruled by the Ottoman Empire, trust in government is lower than in nearby regions that just happened to have been ruled by the more efficient Habsburgs. In regions where earlier inhabitants engaged in farming rather than herding, forcing them to cooperate more extensively, their descendants are more likely to form bonds of trust today.

Evidently, attitudes are passed down through the generations. They are embedded in societies in the form of culture. Simply put, when it comes to trust, history casts a long shadow.

Historians have long emphasized the importance of such “path dependence” - that events in the distant past continue to shape outcomes in the present. Yet they also point to exceptional windows in time when it is possible for societies to shift away from their established paths. A crisis, when the viability of established arrangements is called into question, is just such a window.

The euro crisis thus offers Europe an opportunity to reestablish trust. Its national leaders need to reestablish the trust of their constituents by offering them straight talk.

EU member states need to rebuild their trust in one another. And European countries facing the need for wrenching structural reforms need to restore social trust at home.

If this opportunity to rebuild trust is squandered, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for Europe to address its fiscal, economic, and institutional deficits.

Barry Eichengreen is Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

NATO’s Libyan lessons

The bar of soap and the iPhone dock are glossy and sophisticated sales pitches: one of the questions yesterday was whether they were closer to SkyMall or to QVC. up getting nothing in return. For original-concept Kickstarter projects, that’s probably OK: you supported the arts by funding an artist, and you hoped to get a memento of that funding, but the reward was just a reward, and not necessarily the main reason you funded the project.

For things like bars of soap and iPhone docks, however, the great majority of the funders are thinking of themselves as buying a thing. And they’re not properly discounting the very real risk that they will end up with nothing at all.

Even the most well-intentioned projects can run into unanticipated obstacles, some of which could be fatal to the project. And of course there’s the risk too of outright merchant fraud. You put together a glossy Kickstarter video, raise a few hundred thousand dollars, and then just pocket the money while telling everybody that the project is taking longer than expected.

In either situation, your funders have very little recourse. They may or may not, at some point, be able to get a refund from their credit-card company, if they paid with a credit card. But it’s extremely unlikely that they’ll be able to get a refund from the project owner.

Kickstarter doesn’t keep statistics on the number of projects which get funded but not completed, or the number of projects where funders fail to receive what they were promised. It’s hard to know how such statistics could possibly be generated, since projects don’t come with deadlines by which the rewards are deliverable.

I, for one, have a number of Kickstarter receivables coming to me; I don’t have them listed anywhere, however, and if they don’t arrive, I’m not going to be particularly upset. There are 12,521 people expecting an iPhone dock, however, and 21 of them have paid upwards of 5,000 US dollars to receive 100 docks or more. If I was expecting a shipment of 100 iPhone docks, I’d consider that a real business contract, rather than a much fuzzier form of support for some creative project.

The JOBS act which recently passed in the House would allow Kickstarter to allow project backers to receive equity, rather than specific rewards, in return for their money. The regulatory and compliance costs for Kickstarter would surely be enormous, but might well be worth it, given that SecondMarket is now valued at 200 million US dollars.

But before Kickstarter moves into the realm of equity stakes, it should probably start thinking much harder about the way in which it’s becoming a shopping site. Because if it doesn’t have a good way of regulating the people on its platform who are fundamentally just selling things, then it’s going to have a really hard time becoming a platform for people selling ownership stakes in companies.

Felix Salmon is the finance blogger at Reuters. The opinions expressed are his own.

Members of the United Nations Security Council (UN) vote to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Libya at UN Headquarters in New York March 12, 2012. (Reuters) John D. Podesta and Ken Gude Project Syndicate

N

ATO’s intervention in Libya one year ago helped to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and created the conditions for Libya’s citizens to end Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s dictatorship. The military operation highlighted important improvements in European leadership since the Bosnian debacle in the 1990’s, but the conditions underlying the Libya mission’s success cannot be counted upon to exist again in the future. Indeed, NATO’s accomplishment in Libya risks obscuring persistent weaknesses in Europe’s military capabilities.

Europe’s unity of purpose in Libya contrasts sharply with its divisions and indecisiveness as Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 1990’s.

The United States had to coax many Western European countries into helping to stop the slaughter of innocents in Bosnia. And, though the transatlantic alliance was more unified and responsive during the subsequent Kosovo crisis, the US was still firmly in the driver’s seat.

In Libya, the roles were reversed: Western Europeans had to push the US to take action.

The manner in which President Barack Obama brought the US into the effort to protect Libyan civilians mollified European concerns about American hubris that had grown out of the Iraq War. It also made possible a broad coalition of countries, as well as the first-ever call for intervention from the Arab League. Obama’s decision that the US should play a supporting role, with other NATO partners - particularly France and the United Kingdom - taking the lead, reinforced the global perception of the mission’s legitimacy.

Today, the growing debate about a Syrian intervention raises legitimate questions concerning whether Libya was a unique situation.

Libya’s proximity to Europe both lowered barriers to participation and stimulated Europe’s sense of responsibility, while Qaddafi was a reviled figure with few friends. Moreover, many European countries have direct interests in Libya, and thus had a clear stake in the outcome.

Libyans’ opposition to Qaddafi was relatively well organized, was recognized by the international community, and had explicitly called for outside intervention.

While the conditions in Libya were certainly optimal, the situation in Syria is better described as uniquely complicated for any intervention. For starters, Syria’s location in the

Europe’s unity of purpose in Libya contrasts sharply with its divisions and indecisiveness as Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 1990’s. eastern Mediterranean is not as advantageous as is Libya’s position in North Africa. Syria’s borders with Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Israel also present unique challenges to regional security, given the potential not only for international conflict, but also for destabilizing cross-border flows of refugees. Syria also has allies - most importantly Russia, with its vetowielding seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The significant obstacles to intervention, and the genuine risk of making an already terrible situation worse, makes direct military intervention in Syria a remote possibility at this time. That is tragic in many ways, but it does not mean that the positive post-Libya momentum towards the protection of civilians is entirely lost. Even though it ended in failure, the Arab League agreement with the Assad regime to allow observers into Syria to facilitate an end to the conflict was brokered, as Oman’s foreign minister said, “to save the Arab world from Western intervention.” That League’s mission did not stop the killing, but it represented an escalation of pressure to end the slaughter and it was based on leverage gained in Libya.

For NATO, that leverage depends upon its members’ ability to marshal the will and resources to intervene if necessary. In Libya, Europe finally had the will to lead, but it lacked the means, and still relied heavily on the US. Even though the US was not the first to call for military action, its participation in the mission was essential and confirmed its status as the one indispensable nation in the Western alliance.

With very small exceptions, the Libya campaign was exclusively an air war. True, the majority of strike sorties were carried out by non-US aircraft, with particular credit going to Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, which flew a disproportionate share of the missions. But European policymakers should not fool themselves into thinking that these numbers mean

that their air-combat capabilities are sufficient to operate independently of America.

In addition to its air-strike deficiencies, Europe demonstrated serious shortfalls across all of the areas required to sustain any air campaign. As General Mark Welsh, Commander of US Air Forces in Europe, told top officers and industry executives at a gathering last summer, “We need more intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability, and we need it now.”

Unfortunately, the ongoing economic crisis is exerting downward pressure on defense budgets across NATO, exposing the need for greater cooperation among the alliance’s European members. The harm caused by budget cuts is likely to multiply if all European governments slash spending in the same areas. German Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik warns that this would create “even bigger gaps and shortfalls.” European governments must now work to ensure that they invest their limited resources in the right areas.

The transatlantic alliance has reached a fork in the road. Down the path less traveled lies greater coordination on both strategic objectives and development of military capacity, particularly within Europe, where governments must better allocate resources among themselves in order to overcome the key deficiencies revealed by the Libya mission. The more familiar road leads to wasteful overlap and lower investment in key technologies, leaving wider gaps than ever in Europe’s defense capability. If Europe is to build on its success in Libya, it needs to take the road less traveled. It will make all the difference.

John D. Podesta, Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001, is Chairman of the Center for American Progress. Ken Gude is Chief of Staff and Vice President of the Center for American Progress.

classifieds@alwatandaily.com

WEDENSday, march 14, 2012

Tuition available in Hawalli

Western Expat teacher certified, offering English lessons to adults or children. Preparation for exams, or Immigration, also available. Please call: 6556 7494 Convert your VIDEO CASSETTES (OLD COLLECTIONS) into DVD or in SD Card or in USB or any other formats.

Call after 3 pm (66025668)

27-02/27-03

Boston whalev super sport 150 boat.Tel:65880918 Required licensee for a tax business.Tel:66689802

Call: 97292083

27-02/27-03

Garmin GPS Tel:99226042

for

sale.

Selling the numbers (90008944-5500503).

Tel:69644449 Selling the number (60601313) KD800. Tel:50250500 Used furniture’s for sale with air conditioner.

Tel:99739700 Kitchen Tel:24762688

appliances.

Pictures and Information of all items available upon request…!!!

Contact: 67009278

Birthdays and weddings

SLR

Professional gardening services.

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Carpenter.

Tel: 66291129 Westener teacher available to tutor English American and British Curriculums in English, Math and Science or Art.

For rates, please call

FOR SALE

Following exercise equipment are for sale: Weight lifting set of dumbbells total 50 kg - KD 30/Exercise bench for lifting and legs - KD 25/AB King Pro W/C - KD 15/All the above equipt are sparingly used.

Also one big dinning table without chairs - KD 5/-

Fitness Personal Trainer available

Call Greg at 69931734

30-01/30-02

Laptop repairs, Formats, anti-virus program and games.

Tel:97601745

Apartment in Hawalli, 2 master rooms, kitchen, balcony and living room.

Tel:60001848

SLR

Call: 97932925

14-02/14-03

Learn Arabic For foreigners to learn Arabic easily.

Private English Lessons Experienced teacher All levels and age groups KD 10 per hour

Contact: 66972388

Contact 69931734

For Sale

B.C. Rich Electric Guitar. Warlock Style Platinum-Pro. 7-String, Free Coffin Case 15-02/15-03

Arabic Teacher

Apartment in Manqaf, private entrance, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room and kitchen along a maid room.

Tel: 90958689-99925977 Super deluxe furniture apartment in Salmiya, 2 rooms, 2 baths, living room, kitchen and laundry room, KD500.Tel:25352200

I am an MBA holder with more then 23 years experience in Accounting, Analysis, and Business development. Responsibilities in India & Kuwait, now I am looking part time job after 6 pm from Sunday to Thursday, Friday & Saturdays full day free, if any suitable vacancies for me please contact 55710397.

Tel:65599091 Tel: 66644270

Fridge medium size (great condition) KD 50 Fridge small size KD 15 Cloth hanger KD 5 Stove KD 90 Washer & Dryer KD 120 Gym KD 20 Microwave KD 5

Arabic Teacher for non-native speakers Beginners and advanced - All levels of the Arabic language - IGCSE & GCSE. Only 10 KD for an hour and free books

WDLR

Required Sales person for men’s textiles shop with sales experience (speaks Arabic). Salary KD 160 + commission.

Tel: 66970789 Seeking qualified female Nail Technicians of Filipino Nationality. If interested please contact 99030565 or 25319812.

Cars

Chevrolet Lumina V6 2008 model done 80000 km in good condition for KD 2800, single used. Tel: 99962456

Volkswagen Touareg 2005, navy exterior in a very good condition, KD 2500.Tel: 94404405

Toyota mini buss KD2900.Tel:24747418

2005.

Ford Lincoln, grey exterior.

Tel: 99288558

2005,

Mercury Grand Marquis 2005, hardly used in great condition with valid insurance.Tel:97175533

30-01/30-02

Lexus IS400 1998, navy full option, KD 1900.Tel: 97803380 Hyundai 2000, green exterior, KD 500.Tel:99628345 BMW 2000, White exterior, beige interior, KD 1250 Tel: 97878183 25/12 - 25-02

Toyota Camry 2000, in great condition.Tel:99734995

03-01/03-02

GMC Yukon 1999, spacious and clean. KD 1700, price is negotiable. Tel:66694310 Nissan Maxima 2008, 6VS, KD 3200. Tel: 99997494 Nissan Maxima KD1500. Tel: 66565511

Egyptian babysitter, baby sit kids from 1 years old to 4.

Tel:94996159

Required chef for Lebanese restaurant. Tel: 6509292697686366

SLR

23-01/23-02

Cars

Nissan Altima Tel:94915050

SLR

Beauty salon for sale (Maidan Hawally) with all items more information plz co. 99915802

06-03/06-04

Required sales person with knowledge of using the computer. Tel:66292269

Items for sale

SLR

Laptops rent,

24-01/24-02

Apartment in Jabriya, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living and kictehen.Tel: 66256814

Please contact 965-6610-8174 Email: naznaz.fawzi@yahoo.com

SLR

Packing and moving services.

16-01/16-02

WDLR

SLR

Paints and wallpapers, professional work.

Tel:99795097

Work/Employment

Deluxe villa for rent in Egila, strategic location located around 3 streets, 2 floors, 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, 4 living rooms + 2 kitchens and 2 gardens. Tel: 55969322

Apartment in Mahboula, 4 master bedrooms with baths, living room, kitchen, maids room, laundry and storage room ,swimming pool, parking.

Tel: 65563683 Studio in Hawalli with private parking.Tel:66387779

28-02/28-03

25/12 - 25-01

FOR RENT

Apartment in Hawalli, duplex furnished, great location, 2 master rooms, kitchen, living.

Tel: 97720081

Investors looking to take advantage of EB-5 Investor Program to obtain US Citizenship, Investing US$ 500,000 in Approved Regional Center, investors receives “Green Card” within 4 months allowing permanent residency. Fund is placed on real estate investment for 5 years with up to 6% income per year. For appointment call: (965) 66834599, Email: nkoni@ konikonsultants.com / website: www.KoniKonsultants .com

25-01/25-02

FOR RENT

20-02/20-03

SLR

6068 5554

1. Showcase – from Home Centre (three piece – TV unit, book case and glass case)

Price: KD. 15 each

(All three pieces for KD. 35) 2. Wooden coffee table with 4 drawers (Home Centre) Price: KD. 15 3. Side table with wooden drawers (3 shelves) Price: KD. 6 4. Dark brown three door cupboard with two full length mirrors Price: KD. 30 5. Full length light brown cupboard with mirror Price: KD. 30 6. Wooden shelves Price: 500 fills each 7. Book stand Price: KD. 5 8. Ikea Wooden crib Price: KD. 15 9. Ikea changing table Price KD 8 10. Playpen Price: KD. 5 11. Baby Pram Price: KD. 8 12. Sony Trinitron TV, 29 inches Price: KD. 25 13. Queen size bed (includes mattress) Price: KD. 30 14. Wooden Master bed (King size) Price: KD. 40

(includes mattres)

Serious buyers please contact 67002524

Tel:67058331

contact Mr. Khaled Ph: 99619998 & 55619998

1/02-02/03

Items for sale

Tel: 9769364

Call: 94441209

KD 50 KD 25 KD 60 KD 35 KD 10

Brand New Items…!!!

5) MOTHERCARE 2 position Baby Carrier – KD 5 (sold in MC for KD 10) 6) AVENT’s Award Winning ISIS Breast Pump Set (with 2 Bottles & Accessories)

KD 20 (sold in MC for KD 30)

Events planner

TREADMILL excellent condition, high-tech screen, KD 35.

Tel:90989840 Billiard table for sale in great condiditon.Tel:66666168

1) GRACO Baby Stroller (designed by Laura Ashley) 2) GRACO Baby Car Seat (designed by Laura Ashley) As a Set – both Stroller & Car Seat for 3) JUNIORS Car Seat (from Birth upto 18kgs) 4) JUNIORS Baby Tub + Stand

Kitchen Equipment repairs 24hours.

Abu Mahmud: SLR

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Baby Items in “Excellent Condition” For Sale

SLR

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miscellaneous

Mudarrib Nafais : Contact: 65553012

Tel: 93399180

Satellite

Tel: 60091481

- Flexible Timing - Reasonable Price - For all languages

Tuitions available with a qualified /experienced teacher in Hawalli for students from Class 1 to Class 7 in all subjects except Arabic.

27-02/27-03

EB-5 Investor Program

Driving Instructors available for learners

2004,

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Carpool service, female driver covers all Kuwait areas.

Website designer and management

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Tel:66238890

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Paints and wallpapers.

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Baraka: Tel: 99881053

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Oil flat near $125 ahead of Fed meeting

BUSINESS

wednesdAY, march 14, 2012

m ar ket watc h KUWAIT 0.03% 6149

DUBAI 0.9% 1682

QATAR 0.1% 8630

LONDON: Crude oil traded sideways at around 125 US dollars a barrel onTuesday after positive US consumer spending data stoked a dollar rally and reduced the likelihood of further monetary stimulus from the US central bank, which meets later in the day. Brent crude was down four US cents at $125.30 by 1346 GMT, giving up earlier gains after a 1.1 percent rise in U.S. retail sales for February reinforced the view the economy was on the right track. US April crude fell 39 cents to $105.95.

OIL MARKETS

OMAN

ABU DHABI

BAHRAIN

0.9% 5957

0.3% 2623

0.2% 1152

EGYPT

SAUDI

2.9% 5074

0.2% 7522

US Crude $105.82 $0.52 London Brent $125.10 $0.04 Kuwait Crude $123.05 $0.11 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

CURRENCIES US Dollar

British Pound

Saudi Riyal

Qatari Riyal

Indian Rupee

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Philippine Peso

Buy 0.2786 Sell 0.279 Buy 0.3649 Sell 0.3653

KPC, Total sign MoU targeting China refinery project 13th International Energy Forum kicks off in Kuwait Hind Francis Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Total signed on Tuesday, at the 13th International Energy Forum (IEF) held in Kuwait, a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) and Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC), two subsidiaries of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). The MoU relates to a targeted participation in the Zhanjiang project in China.

This project consists of a planned development of a large size (300,000 barrels per day (bpd)), full-conversion refinery integrated with petrochemicals and marketing, in partnership with Sinopec.

The proposed refining and petrochemicals platform will be designed to process Kuwaiti crude as feedstock and to produce high-quality refined and petrochemicals products.

“Total is proud to have been selected by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as its preferred partner to participate in the project of a top-performing refining and petrochemicals platform with Sinopec in China. This agreement will be the keystone of a long-term relationship with KPC,” declared Christophe de Margerie, Total Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The project is in line with our strategy of expanding in growth markets, based on a few highly competitive and integrated platforms,” he added.

“KPC is pleased to expand its cooperation with Total,” said Farouk Al-Zanki, KPC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), after the signing of the MoU. “Total, with its long experience in the Downstream business in China coupled with know how in Refining and Petrochemicals operations, will add value to the China project. Moreover Total and KPC’s strategic objectives in Guangdong are highly aligned,” he added.

Al Watan Daily spoke to Christophe de Margerie, Total Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after the signing of the contract. Commenting on the division of the funding of the refinery project, de Margerie said,

See page 10

Buy 0.4358 Sell 0.4363

Buy 0.003367 Sell 0.003371

Buy 0.0742 Sell 0.0743

Buy 0.07579 Sell 0.07588

Buy 0.07656 Sell 0.07645 Buy 0.7384 Sell 0.73932

Buy 0.005583 Sell 0.005576 Buy 0.006536 Sell 0.006524

Prices in Kuwaiti fils As of March 13, 2012 Courtesy: KAMCO

Kuwaiti oil prices falls to $123.05 per barrel KUWAIT: Price of Kuwaiti crude fell 11 US cents to 123.05 US dollars per barrel (pb) on Monday, in comparison to $123.16 pb on Friday, the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said Saturday.

The Kuwaiti crude price dropped amid prevailing jitters on international markets over the global economy due to negative figures of China’s exports, the world’s second largest economy and the second consumer of energy after the US. Prices of oil are forecast to drop, during this week, as a result of Iranian-western negotiations. The rates of the crude have been unstable due to various geopolitical factors, the Iranian question and speculations on the international energy markets. -KUNA

Kuwait bourse mixed upon closing (from left) - Farouk Al-Zanki, KPC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Christophe de Margerie, Total Chairman and Chief Executive Officer signing the MoU. (Photo by Hind Francis)

“The funding will be split between Sinopec, which will cover 50 percent, and KPC and Total covering the other 50 percent.”

Furthermore, a press statement mentioned that KPI, PIC and Total have agreed to form a consortium, which will potentially hold interests in two JVs together with Sinopec. The MoU sets forth the agreement among KPI, PIC and Total regarding the development of the project.

The International Energy Forum (IEF) aims to foster greater mutual understanding and awareness of common energy interests among its members.

Covering all six continents and accounting for around 90 percent of global supply and demand for oil and gas, the IEF is unique in that it comprises not only consuming and producing countries of the IEA and OPEC, but also Transit States and major players outside of their memberships, including Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Oman, Russia and South Africa. Sitting alongside other important developed and developing economies on the

Zakat House supports Kuwait charity organizations with KD 1.03 million in 2011 KUWAIT: Director of local projects and organizations department in Zakat House Mohammed Abdul-Aziz Al-Omran said that the House gives a special attention to eligible and modest families in Kuwait by providing them with financial and in-kind assistance that provide a decent living. This was stated in a press release on Tuesday. Al-Omran also said that additionally, Zakat House provides financial aid to many governmental and non-governmental organizations and charity foundations in Kuwait to cooperate with them and to help them fulfill their constructive role in community service by supporting common funds created by the House in agreement with the concerned authorities. These funds number ten including, The Public Authority for Applied Education & Training Students Fund, Kuwait University Students Fund and Ministry of Education Fund so as to provide the appropriate support to eligible students.

Al-Omran mentioned that Zakat House supports the Charity Fund of Social Welfare Homes in cooperation with Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to serve disabled people, the elderly and others. The House also supports Care of Prisoners Fund in cooperation with Solidarity Association for the Care of Prisoners to pay for people who have debts by the rule of law and to pay fines of deportees. Zakat House also supports Medical Aid Fund in cooperation with Patients Helping Fund Society to provide medical supplies and treatment services for patients who are prevented by their material conditions from getting that.

He added that Zakat House also supports Repentant Welfare Fund in cooperation with Bashaeer Al-Khair Commission to raise awareness and warnings of drugs dangers and to treat those who wish to repent and rehabilitate them. It also supports Fund of those whose Hearts are to be Conciliated in cooperation with Islam Presentation Committee to develop the religious and ethical side of non-Muslim communities and new rightly guided.

Zakat House also cooperates with Abdullah Al-Nouri Charitable Organization to support the various charitable activities of the organization. The total financial assistance that has been spent on common funds in 2011 is 1.030 million Kuwaiti dinars.

Al-Omran indicate that there are periodic meeting held between Zakat House and beneficiaries to make sure that the cases deserving aid, in addition to studying the periodic reports of the funds in these bodies. Al-Omran concluded that the House’s support of common funds is to achieve its objectives in the work of spreading the good in community, advancement of the country and providing factors of stability for all needy groups, benefiting from the funds of Zakat and charities collected.

Furthermore he gave his thanks to the generous benefactors for their permanent support of the House to enable it to continue its work and to perform its message.

31 strong IEF Executive Board these key nations are active supporters of the global energy dialogue through the IEF. The 13th IEF is being held in Kuwait this year with the participation of more than 80 countries and the presence of more than 45 international oil ministers.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is the state-owned entity responsible for Kuwait’s hydrocarbon interests throughout the world. As part of the global energy industry, KPC helps to supply the world with its vital oil and gas needs by exploring for, producing, refining, transporting and marketing these precious natural resources both in Kuwait and internationally.

Total is one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies in the world, with activities in more than 130 countries. The Group is also a first rank player in chemicals. Its 96,000 employees put their expertise to work in every part of the industry - exploration and production of oil and natural gas, refining and marketing, new energies, trading, and chemicals.

Egypt’s OT Q4 net loss narrows to $83 million CAIRO: Orascom Telecom Holding SAE (OT), the Egyptian company bought last year

by Russia’s Vimpelcom Ltd, said on Monday it narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter to 83 million US dollars compared with a year earlier when it was hit by impairment charges. Orascom was expected to report net income of $70 million, according to the average analyst forecast in a Reuters poll. The company reported a decline in average revenue per user (ARPU) in its Algerian unit, Djezzy - its most profitable business - and continued negative effects after the Bank of Algeria instructed banks not to process any overseas foreign currency transfers by Orascom Telecom Algeria (OTA). “(This) is having devastating effects on OTA’s network and reputation,” the company said in a statement. “It is preventing the importation of goods which are necessary for maintenance purposes and for network capacity expansion.”

Net income in the quarter was also impacted by an increase in unrealized foreign exchange losses in OT’s Bangladesh business and in OT Holding, driven by currency

devaluations versus the US dollar in relation to certain loans and payables in foreign currencies.

Revenues for the quarter, down two percent year-on-year to $896 million, were also hit by the depreciation of local currencies in its main operating markets, including Algeria and Pakistan, which impacted the company’s US dollar revenues.

OT posted a loss of $170 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, hit by an impairment in its assets in Namibia.

OT’s subscriber base exceeded 78 million at the end of December 2011, a rise of 13 percent over the same period last year, after the exclusion of its Alfa, Mobinil and Koryolink subscribers for comparative purposes, it said.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $346 million, down four percent from the same period a year earlier, due to an “increase in corporate contingent liability provisions at the OT Holding level, in addition to unfavorable currency movements,” it said. OT closed 3.9 percent down on Monday. The main index closed 1.5 percent down. -Reuters

UAE’s Etisalat eyes $700 million from sale of XL Axiata stake

CAPITALS: United Arab Emirates (UAE) telecom operator Etisalat plans to sell its entire 13.29 percent stake in Indonesia’s No.3 phone firm PT XL Axiata, to raise between 600 to 700 million US dollars this year, sources said on Tuesday.

Etisalat has been considering the sale for months after failing to expand its partnership with XL Axiata’s major shareholder, Malaysia’s Axiata Group, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

“Etisalat thinks it hasn’t been treated well in this deal... the reality is that the relationship soured a bit with the new management of Axiata,” said one of the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

“They have never been able to find a way to work together in four years.”

Etisalat has hired JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to handle the sale, which may launch via an equity placement, the sources said.

Etisalat, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and XL Axiata declined to comment.

Etisalat bought its XL Axiata stake in 2007 for $440 million as part of a strategy to expand in east Asia. -Reuters

KUWAIT: Main indexes of the national stock market, Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), were mixed upon closing Tuesday’s session.

Price index lost 1.6 points, dropping to the level of 6,148.6.

However, the weighted index gained 0.21 points, settling at 415.3 points. Number of trades has amounted to 6,297, value of exchanged stocks reached 45,153,760 Kuwaiti dinars and volume of the dealtin stocks stood at 569,152,500.

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) price index dropped 1.9 points, reaching 6,148.3 points at 9:19 a.m. on Tuesday, while the weighted index gained 0.1 points to read 415.19 points.As many as 75,807,500 shares, worth KD 5,553,260, changed hands in 835 deals. -KUNA

Dubai contractor Drake wins $230 million Algeria contract DUBAI: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull, which has shifted its focus to other regional markets after a slowdown in the United Arab Emirates’ property sector, has won a 845 million UAE dirham (230 million US dollar) contract in Algeria, it said on Tuesday.

The contract was awarded to the civil contracting arm of Drake, the firm said in a statement to the Dubai bourse. No further details were given.

The company, which specializes in mechanical, engineering and plumbing operations, reported a higher fourth quarter net profit and said it was awarded projects worth 4.4 billion dirhams in 2011 compared to 3.4 billion dirhams in 2010.

Drake attributed top line growth to increased momentum in project execution and more contracts in the region.

It signed a $96-million deal in December to build a commercial development project in Riyadh. It also won a $39-million contract in Egypt for work on an ammonium nitrate plant in Ain Sukhna. -Reuters

Abu Dhabi bourse denies Aldar, Sorouh share trade inquiry DUBAI: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange has denied reports it started an investigation into suspicious trading pattern linked to the announcement of a state-backed merger between Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate, it said on Tuesday.

“The exchange does not perform any investigations unless it was highly confident that trading laws have been violated, which did not happen in the case of Aldar and Sorouh share trading,” the bourse’s chief executive Rashed Al Baloushi said in a statement.

The National newspaper earlier on Tuesday quoted Abdullah Salem Al-Naimi, manager of market surveillance and market operations at the ADX, saying the exchange began investigating after both companies showed identical share movements on the day before and after the merger announcement.

The two stocks rose eight percent to 1.24 UAE dirhams (0.34 US dollars) each on Sunday ahead of an announcement they were in merger talks to create a company with $15 billion in assets.

Both jumped again on Monday by 9.8 percent to 1.34 dirhams.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ratings and outlook on Abu Dhabi-based Aldar Properties PJSC (B/Stable/B) are unaffected following its announcement that it is in talks regarding a possible merger with Abu Dhabi-based Sorouh Real Estate PJSC. “This is because we understand that discussions are in the very early stages and there is no certainty that the link-up will take place. We will, however, continue to monitor the discussions,” stated the agency. -Agencies

10

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY wednesDAY, march 14, 2012

Oil flat near $125 ahead of Fed meeting LONDON: Crude oil traded sideways at around 125 US dollars a barrel on Tuesday after positive US consumer spending data stoked a dollar rally and reduced the likelihood of further monetary stimulus from the US central bank, which meets later in the day.

Brent crude was down four US cents at $125.30 by 1346 GMT, giving up earlier gains after a 1.1 percent rise in U.S. retail sales for February reinforced the view the economy was on the right track. US April crude fell 39 cents to $105.95.

US retail sales for February recorded their largest gain in five months, leading to some profit-taking in oil futures as the chances of a third round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve dwindled.

The market had been keen to see whether high oil prices were hitting the pocket of the U.S. consumer, but Americans snapped up motor vehicles and bought a range of other goods even as they paid more for gasoline.

A US Federal Reserve meeting tonight is being closely eyed for clues as to how well the US economy is recovering, and whether this will mean a third round of quantitative easing is off the cards.

The dollar is currently trading sideways against a basket of currencies, although remains near a sevenweek high on expectations that the improvement in the US economy will prevent fresh stimulus.

A stronger dollar weighs on commodities priced in dollars as it makes them more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

A Reuters poll of analysts sees US commercial crude stocks up 2.2 million barrels in the week to March 9.

Industry group American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly report on Tuesday at 2030 GMT while the Energy Information Administration data will follow on Wednesday.

Elevated levels

Oil prices are currently at elevated levels, supported by geopolitical tensions with Iran and an agreement on the Greek bail-out package, as well as the improving economic picture in the United States.

“From a psychological point of view, all these factors are very supportive for the market and the demand outlook,” said Andy Sommer, energy market analyst at EGL. However, he does not see much upside for Brent from these levels: “Underlying oil demand, especially in the US, is still relatively weak. It also looks like the strong Chinese imports are going more into inventories, not actual consumption.”

On the supply side, Libyan volumes are coming back into the market along with incremental Iraqi volumes, he said. “So we see a cap at the front end of the curve. All this keeps Brent trading in a relatively narrow range.”

Escalating tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program and supply disruption from Syria, South Sudan and Yemen have underpinned oil prices this year.

A special UN Security Council meeting on the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings on Monday showed the five permanent members were no closer to breaking their impasse over Syria, with Russia and China continuing to back a defiant Assad. -Reuters

Azeri Socar Trading opens oil terminal in UAE

LONDON: Socar Trading, a unit of Azerbaijan’s state run oil firm Socar, said its oil terminal in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has started operating.

“Socar Trading ... has started using its newly constructed terminal at Fujairah for its trading activity,” Christian von Langermann, head of Socar Trading Dubai, said in an emailed statement that authorized publication on Tuesday. “The first cargo of fuel oil destined to the newly constructed terminal in Fujairah is on its way.”

Phase one of the terminal has been completed, with a capacity of 114,000 cubic meters.

It will eventually have 20 tanks with total capacity of 641,000 cubic meters to handle fuel oil, gasoline, naphtha, middle distillates and blending components, when all construction has been completed. The statement did not specify the timing of the final completion. -Reuter

US asks Saudi to lift oil output from July KUWAIT: The United States is pressing Saudi Arabia to boost oil output to fill a likely supply gap arising from sanctions on Iran, Gulf oil officials said, adding that an increase in production is unlikely to be needed before July.

Saudi Arabia is the only producer with spare capacity and oil importers will rely on Riyadh to fill the gap should Iranian output drop.

Saudi Arabia has made clear it will only raise output if it sees additional demand for crude and does not want its oil policy implicated in efforts to disrupt Iran’s atomic program which the West says aims to develop a nuclear weapon.

“There were talks held between Saudi and the US and the US asked if Saudi could be accommodating once the sanctions take effect in July.

And the Saudi response was that it was ready to meet demand in the market if required, but would not like to take part in the politics,” one Gulf official said.

The official was speaking at a gathering of energy ministers from producer and consumer nations at the International Energy Forum (IEF) in Kuwait.

Attending the conference, Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi gave reassurances on

Tuesday to importing nations on Riyadh’s willingness to supply more oil if the need arises.

A European Union embargo on Iranian crude takes effect on July 1. US and European financial sanctions have made it more difficult for other importing nations to process payments for Iranian crude.

Oil prices have risen sharply this year to $125 a barrel for Brent crude. Oil traders are keen to know the likely timing of any Saudi supply increase to counter the expected decline from Iran.

“There will not be any surprises in Saudi production over the coming few months, we are yet to see what demand in April will be.

But generally production will stay up or down 200,000 barrels per day from the current 9.8 (million bpd),” the Gulf official said.

“The situation is still not clear, by July there will be a clearer picture,” another Gulf source said.

Already running close to record highs of about 10 million bpd, Saudi says it has the capacity to reach 11.4-11.8 million very quickly and could bring on another 700,000 bpd in 90 days to reach full capacity of 12.5 million bpd. -Reuters

A price board is pictured at a petrol station in downtown Rome March 13, 2012. Oil prices traded up near 126 US dollars on Tuesday as investors awaited comments from the US central bank that may confirm an improving outlook for the US economy. (Reuters)

Oula Fuel Al Dajeej Station provides 24-hour services KUWAIT: Oula Fuel Marketing Company announced in a press release on Tuesday the change of its working periods of Station 103, located in Al Dajeej. It will open its doors 24-hours daily, seven days of the week, as a commitment from the company to facilitate customer service which is an integral part of the company’s priorities and strategy as well as to improve the quality of the service.

Al Dajeej gas station started its new working hours on Sunday March 11, which makes it the 36th station for Oula Fuel Marketing Company that operates full-day in order to provide various services that suit all customers during any period of the day, and in any place in Kuwait.

It is also worthy to mention that Oula Fuel

Marketing Company is seeking to implement an ambitious plan to make all its stations in Kuwait offer their services during the whole day in order to satisfy customers and reduce overcrowding in some stations.

Commenting on this innovative step, Managing Director of Oula Fuel Marketing Company Hamza Bakhash, claimed, “Through our belief in the need to continuously improve our services and develop our products on an ongoing basis, Oula recently started the implementation of an ambitious plan to develop its quality of services, through extending the station’s working hours to operate full-day instead of only a couple of hours a day. This is to satisfy Oula’s valued customers and to facilitate their daily activities. Moreover,

Oula’s strategy for the renewal of all its stations is ongoing in full power.”

Bakhash added, “Oula Fuel Marketing Company benefits from a track record of achievements on its development of services and maintaining safety and the environment. From its notable achievements is what was recently accomplished, introducing retractable hoses to ease traffic flow in high-traffic stations. Also, other remarkable achievements were: allowing payments through the Oula Fuel Cards; the installation of the automatic tank gauge system; and operating mobile laboratories for air quality tests in stations. We still look forward to more initiatives that would enrich the experience of our customers in order to take advantage of our various services.”

Siemens Energy wins 26 million euro contract to build DEWA’s high voltage substation CAPITALS: Siemens announced in a press release on Tuesday that it has been awarded a contract by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to build a turnkey 132 kV/33 kV high voltage substation in Mushrif, Dubai that will replace existing DEWA infrastructure and provide electricity to strategic customers including the Dubai Royal Air Wing terminal and major shopping malls in the area.

“We have the necessary know-how and

project experience for creating turnkey highvoltage installations.

Depending on the project specifications we take on responsibility for the whole project; from planning, erection to commissioning and handover to the customer,” said Wolfgang Braun, Head of Power Transmission Middle East at Siemens LLC. Siemens is looking back at more than 20 years of successful collaboration with DEWA, with the first gas insulated

switchgear delivered in 1991.

The turnkey project will include a132 kV gas insulated switchgear, the 8DN8 Enhanced, which is one of the most compact solutions currently available in the high voltage range.

The project, which will be completed over a year and a half, also includes a 132/33 kV 75 MVA power transformer, four 40 MVAr shunt reactors, complete balance of plant equipment, civil design and construction works.

OPEC to warn of oil price spike on Iran KUWAIT: Top exporter Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers say surging oil markets are beyond their control and prices could spike higher unless tensions between the West and Iran subside.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi and Organization of Petroleum exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri are expected to focus on high oil prices in their addresses to the International Energy Forum gathering of oil ministers and executives on Wednesday, several OPEC sources said. “Volatility is a concern for us and it can only be resolved if the issue with Iran can be resolved,” said a Gulf oil industry source.

Gulf OPEC oil ministers said they would prefer

to see oil trading at around $100 a barrel, rather than current levels of $124 that they fear could hurt the global economy and lead to a repeat of a spike and subsequent collapse in oil prices in late 2008. Oil prices climbed to 10-month highs and hit an all-time record in euros last month on concern over potential disruption to supplies of Iranian oil. “Oil prices are on the high side but they are really reacting to what is happening in the Middle East,” United Arab Emirates (UAE) Oil Minister Mohammed bin Dhaen Al-Hamli told reporters. High oil prices have become a major headache for Western politicians heading for reelection this year, including United States President Barack Obama, due to fears they could

hamper a fragile global economic recovery. “It’s starting to hurt, we’re seeing signs,” said chief executive of oil major Total Christophe de Margerie. OPEC’s lead producer Saudi Arabia holds most of the world’s spare production capacity but oil markets are increasingly worried it would not be enough to fill a supply gap created if Iranian oil exports are disrupted or if Iran reacts to western pressure over its disputed nuclear program by trying to close the vital Strait of Hormuz.

“The geopolitical tensions around the Gulf are much more real than before. I hope we will pass 2012-2013 without some kind of a flash point,” Shihab Eldin, OPEC’s former head of research, said. -Reuters

MENA oil in troubled waters, says Fitch

CAPITALS: In a new presentation, Fitch Ratings’ Middle East sovereign team discusses the outlook for the region, covering the following key themes, as part of a statement released by the ratings agency.

Fitch regards prolonged closure of the Straits of Hormuz as a low probability event.

Iran would likely attempt such an act only as a last resort, in retaliation to an attack on itself and even then only if most of its oil exports, which have to pass through the straits, were jeopardized. Even if EU sanctions are completely effective and other countries also reduce their imports from Iran, at most half of Iran’s oil exports seem likely to be affected. Closure of the straits is also technically difficult and would swiftly be countered by international naval action.

A worse-case scenario would involve temporary closure for a few weeks at most.

Oil prices would spike, allowing the major oil exporters - Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait - to weather the situation quite comfortably, with price effects outweighing possible temporary volume reductions. Abu Dhabi will be in the strongest position, once its new pipeline is operational in the second

half (H2), allowing about three-quarters of its oil exports to bypass the straits. Saudi Arabia can also bypass the straits to some extent, but even if existing pipeline capacity was available immediately, the kingdom would still rely on the straits to export almost half its oil.

Kuwait and Qatar have no alternative outlets. Fitch considers that oil importers would be most impacted by temporary closure of the straits, through higher oil import bills and subsidy costs.

The risk of an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is a bigger risk while the stand-off over its nuclear ambitions is unresolved. New negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 agreed last week has eased near-term tensions. Outright hostilities are unlikely to break out until the twin track sanctions and talks strategy have had a chance of success. However, a worsecase outcome, while by no means inevitable, is a non-negligible risk, given the history of unsuccessful engagement with Iran and the declarations by both Israel and the US that a nuclear capable Iran is not acceptable. The longer the situation remains unresolved, the greater the risk of outright hostilities.

The rise in oil prices following any attack

on Iran would have ramifications beyond the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A prolonged price spike could significantly slow the global economy and raise inflation, complicating the fiscal and external financing outlook for both advanced and emerging economies. From a narrower regional perspective, among rated sovereigns, Israel and Lebanon would be most directly impacted. Countries that host US military facilities, notably Bahrain, Qatar and to a lesser extent Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), could also be drawn in. The regional business environment would suffer, with Dubai perhaps most seriously exposed given its greater regional and global links and reliance on trade and services. For the region’s oil exporters, there would be benefits from higher oil prices, as well as costs, but any prolonged oil price spike would eventually damage oil demand.

Political risk is already embodied in Fitch’s sovereign ratings in the region and can reduce ratings by up to four notches. It is currently highest in Lebanon and Egypt and lowest in Abu Dhabi. Higher ratings have less tolerance for increased risk. Any rating

action in response to hostilities in the gulf would depend on Fitch’s assessment of the political and economic costs for each country and how much risk was already incorporated in the rating. However, the difficulty of predicting outcomes in such a scenario means that ratings across the region could come under pressure.

Fitch’s six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ratings have been stable since 2008, with the exception of Bahrain. This reflects the strong balance sheets and substantial fiscal flexibility of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, strong growth and lack of contagion from the ‘Arab Spring’. Recently, oil production has risen to compensate for supply shocks elsewhere. Breakeven oil prices have risen, to over 70 US dollars per barrel for Saudi Arabia and somewhat less for Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, but remain well below current prices. This allows all these countries to support growth with ambitious physical and social infrastructure programs aimed at diversification and job creation.

North Africa has seen significant rating pressure over the past year. The Outlook on Egypt and Tunisia remains Negative, re-

flecting uncertainties over their political transitions and the implications for policy, and increased fiscal and external financing challenges, especially for Egypt. In contrast, Morocco’s ratings remain unchanged with a Stable Outlook, reflecting Fitch’s view that Morocco will avoid the upheavals of its neighbors. The agency recently affirmed Morocco and Tunisia’s ratings.

North Africa is most exposed to Europe due to strong links through trade, tourism, remittances, FDI and bank flows. This will hold back recovery in Tunisia and Egypt this year and subdue growth in Morocco. External and fiscal pressures have increased over the past year. New governments, overwhelmingly Islamist, have so far been pragmatic, with no lurch to populism or policies that would threaten macro stability.

However, all are untested and the demographic challenge - to create jobs for a rapidly growing, young and increasingly educated work force - has increased, with growth falling and unemployment rising. One of the biggest risks to democratic transitions is disappointed expectations of newly empowered electorates. -Agencies

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY

11

WEDNesDAY, march 14, 2012

Slowdown in India to reverse this year Dubai, Bahrain debt insurance costs converge Why is this graph important?

Company

ź

High

Low

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

1,060

1,040 480 880 250 445 860 550

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

290 60 170 345 14.5 62 24.0 110 118 32.0 134 60 32 39.0 38.0 99

485 880 255 445 870 560

Global Index - Banking

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

30.5 68.0 190 27.0 53 138

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

450 -

450 -

Taiba Kuwaiti Holding

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

242 128 425 -

236 128 425 1,440 890 112 380

890 116 390

ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ź

58 108 140 220 238 41.5 100 920 73 15.0 62.0 88 60 65 79 20.0 44.5 118 48.5 32.5 32.0 22.0 61 310

1,440

ŷ ŷ Ÿ ź ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ź ŷ Ÿ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ź ź ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ź Ÿ Ÿ ŷ Ÿ Ÿ ŷ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ Ÿ Ÿ

60 110 142 222 246 43.0 100 930 73 16.0 67.0 91 61 67 83 21.0 47.0 118 51.0 34.0 33.0 23.5 65 320

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

Ÿ ŷ Ÿ

280 54 168 340 14.0 62 23.5 104 116 32.0 132 57 30 37.5 36.0 93 214.0 100.0 29.5 63.0 182 27.0 52 132

226.0 106.0

ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ Ÿ Ÿ

ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ Ÿ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ź ź Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ź ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ź Ÿ ź ź ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ Ÿ Ÿ ŷ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ Ÿ ŷ

1060 485 700 640 880 255 445 870 560 324.68

108 280 58 170 340 14.5 62 25.0 130 23.5 230 110 116 50 52 32.0 134 57 30 71 38.5 48.5 64 26.0 242 51 38.5 51 38.0 93 226.0 106.0 23.5 30.5 66.0 29.0 190 255 114 27.00 65 72 55 52 64 42.50 138 84.59

290 610 450 148 220 122 40.50 43.88

59 110 140 222 32.5 244 118 100 43.0 120 100 930 73 15.5 67.0 91 61 67 79 36.0 83 20.0 87 17.5 44.5 57 75 118 50.0 32.5 32.5 25.5 22.0 134 134 220 61 310 55.36

240 128 425 132 1,440 325 150 890 200 114 380

1060 485 700 640 870 250 480 860 560 323.69

Previous Close Change 183.52 0.09 -1.60 6,150.20 Trading Activity Tran. Value(KD) Chng Volume

Last Ask

1,060 475 700 580 870 250 440 860 550

1,080 485 730 630 890 255 445 870 560

3.8% 0.0% 2.1% 3.1% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3% 0.0% 2.0%

1,220 510 790 680 920 260 480 900 590 326.42

1,060 475 700 640 790 236 445 820 550 317.17

15.34 33.26 80.57 17.34 30.73 24.25 12.46 24.78 106.53 18.92

2 -2 -

830,000 51,600,000 1,440,000 350,000 15,520,000 1,080,000 320,000 5,720,000 2,100,000 80,000 4,700,000 2,280,000 4,320,000 240,000 6,240,000 2,960,000 12,060,000 12,760,000 4,480,000 25,000,000 1,020,000 160,000 400,000 8,700,000 164,360,000

33 464 35 19 77 23 4 76 15 1 50 40 48 3 60 48 265 243 41 332 33 1 9 155

108 280 57 168 335 14.0 61 23.5 106 116 31.5 132 57 30 38.0 64.0 37.0 92 224.0 104.0 21.5 29.5 65.0 190 28 70 71 51 51 136.0

110 285 58 170 340 14.5 62 24.5 230 110 118 33.0 134 58 31 39.0 69.0 244 56 38.0 93 226.0 106.0 24.0 30.5 66.0 31 72 54 53 138.0

0.0% 7.9% 0.0% 0.0% 5.9% 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% 3.2% 5 1% 5.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 9.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3%

112 280 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 41.0 102 226.0 130.0 25.0 33.5 96.0 29.0 190 255 114 32 70 73 60 55 64 42.5 138.0 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 13.02

2,075

235,400 2,964,800 243,760 119,050 222,200 66,960 7,640 611,320 243,680 2,560 625,760 132,440 130,640 9,200 232,600 284,560 2,651,720 1,311,680 135,720 1,652,160 193,040 4,320 20,840 1,187,640 13,289,690

10,000 10,000

1 1

4,500 4,500

290 445 112 -

300 640 470 146 -

6.9% 4.1% 5.6% 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 9.19 23.37 296.83

13,520,000 440,000 -6 380,000 140,000 180,000 6.0 0.5 960,000 320,000 10 70,000 40,000 -2 0.516,160,000 5.0 51,880,000 2 7,920,000 1 360,000 1 3,320,000 3 1,400,000 1.52,720,000 0.56,640,000 20,000 -2 2 72,760,000 1.51,120,000 0.5960,000 2,640,000 1.0840,000 -2 2,170,000 0.22 186,960,000

132 4 14 4 8 10 5 8 1 99 310 82 9 59 21 27 58 1 379 14 12 24 20 116

59 108 140 220 240 96 42.5 99 920 73 15.5 67.0 90 60 66 82 20.0 87 44.0 75 114 49.5 32.0 32.0 24.0 22.0 32 59 310

60 110 142 224 30.0 244 100 43.0 130 102 930 76 16.0 91 61 67 83 20.5 45.0 54 80 122 50.0 33.5 33.0 27.0 22.5 134 33 62 315

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 9.0% 0.0% 4.1% 0.0% 5.0% 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 37.5 244 130 100 52.0 120 104 940 80 20.0 67.0 92 75 67 90 38.0 85 23.0 91 17.5 45.0 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 31 220 49 270 49.06

45.72 14.11 25.08 19.79

1,417

804,760 48,200 53,920 30,840 43,480 40,520 32,000 64,500 2,920 252,680 3,347,720 712,560 21,760 219,320 114,520 56,200 303,720 2,360 3,608,680 37,080 31,480 59,840 53,800 683,800 10,626,660

5,140,000 280,000 10,000 50,000 45,000 60,000 110,000

85 12 1 5 7 3 11

1,232,120 35,840 4,250 72,000 40,050 6,840 42,050

238 128 425 130 1,440 320 146 870 190 112 375

240 130 430 1,460 330 154 890 194 120 380

0.0% 0.0% 2.4% 3.8% 4.5% 3.1% 3.3% 11.2% 5.0% 0.0% 5.3%

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

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

73.01

290 610 455 148 220 122 40.50 44.00

-5 Ex-D 0.13-

238 128 420 132 1,440 325 150 900 200 110 380

Last Bid

MTD YTD 1.46% 2.40% 5.75% 0.35% Div. Annual Close High Low P/E Yield

1,391,150 264,050 8,800 790,300 267,000 610,400 35,800 3,367,500

1.5 -4 10.0 4.0 0.5 3.0 10.0 -2.0 -1 6 0.51

59 110 146 222 32.5 238 118 100 42.5 120 100 920 75 16.0 62.0 89 60 66 79 36.0 80 21.5 87 17.5 45.0 57 75 120 48.0 34.0 33.0 25.5 23.0 134 134 220 63 310 55.14

DTD 0.05% -0.03%

63 16 1 54 10 40 5 189

-

-

-

-1 -3 4 4 4 -2 -1 -2

2 5 -10 4 -

YoY growth

AAugͲ11

FFebͲ11

NNovͲ10

Imports

NNovͲ11

Exports

MayͲ11 M

Investments

Source: KCIC Research on Central Statistical Organization, India, 2012. www.kcicͲasia.com/research

the services-driven country, making it much more domestic than the rest of Asia.

proposal for FY 2012-2013 will be presented on March 16, at which point a clearer view of the role of fiscal policy in growth - on tax cuts, subsidy plans, and the budget target - will be depicted. With fewer market restrictions, some asset privatization should improve the fiscal position of the government, leaving more room for maneuvering. The current account deficit will continue to act as a drag on the economy, but lower interest rates should improve the profits of capital-intensive firms and lead an economic rebound in the second half of the year.

What are the economic and financial implications?

India has been plagued by high inflation throughout 2011, reducing the disposable income of the private sector. However 2012 could be a good year if inflation is tamed. If prices moderate earlier than expected, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will benefit from more space to ease monetary policy, either by lowering the cash reserve ratio of banks (as seen last month) and/or by cutting the policy repo interest rate, a more powerful tool. Inflation has already started to come down, reaching its lowest level in more than two years, mostly on food items and core inflation coming down. Nonetheless, it is too early to discount the long-term inflation problem: food prices are expected to rise again from the earlier base effect dip, and energy inflation is expected to remain high on a weak Indian rupee and high oil prices (already rose 15 percent this year alone). As such, a policy rate cut is likelier in the second half of Q2 2012. If the RBI remains patient, and inflation expectations do wear out, a more growth-centric monetary policy could drive India forward from H2 2012. We could see India moving into an early expansionary cycle, with below-potential accelerating growth. By then, barring any major euro collapse, investment growth should be more robust, accompanied by industrial growth. Government expenditure will be crucial to the process. The budget

Date of Closing Prices:

1,312,500 550,000 10,000 3,100,000 600,000 705,000 65,000 6,342,500

-

Government

Prepared by Camille Accad - For more information please visit: www.kcic-asia.com or email: research@kcicasia.com. KCIC is an Asia-focused investment company. Licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait, it facilitates capital flows between the Middle East and emerging Asia by providing financial and advisory services, and managing third party capital.

Important Disclaimer: The information contained in this report is prepared by the Research Department of the Kuwait China Investment Company (KCIC) and is believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not warranted. Research recommendations do not constitute financial advice nor extend offers to participate in any specific investment on any particular terms. Investors should consider this material as only a single factor in making their decisions.

05 / 01 / 2012

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

10 5 Ex-D 10 0.99

108 280 56 172 340 14.5 63 25.0 130 26.0 230 106 116 50 52 32.0 130 59 31 71 40.0 48.5 64 26.0 242 51 38.5 51 36.5 97 216.0 102.0 23.5 30.0 63.0 29.0 180.0 255 114 29.00 65 72 55 53 64 42.50 132 84.08

Consumption

Trading Prices of Kuwait Stock Exchange Date of Closig Prices: 13/03/2012

For more Information please contact "Global" at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net Last Close 183.61 6,148.60 Last Prev.

Close Close

Ͳ5

What does the indicator tell us?

Date of Closing Prices: 13 / 03 / 2012 For more information please contact “Global” at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net Ÿ

0

Real GDP is a measure of the economic output or of the size of the economy adjusted for inflation or deflation. It is the sum of the values of all final goods and services produced by that country or region over a given time period. Real GDP is a measure that holds prices constant by using a given year’s value (the base date) for all items and services. GDP can be measured in several ways. The Central Statistical Organization of India, the government body responsible for national accounts data, publishes GDP by expenditure and sector output. The following graph illustrates the expenditure breakdown of GDP, and shows how much growth came from private consumption, government expenditure, fixed capital investments, exports and imports.

Investment has been the engine behind India’s robust growth since 2003, and is essential given the vast amount of infrastructure needed. Also, private consumption is a major component of

Trading Prices of Kuwait Exchange Trading Prices of Kuwait StockStock Exchange

Global General Index KSE Price Index

Since 2010

AAugͲ10

Analysts note that the regional CDS market is not very liquid, so cash prices on sovereign bonds may be more accurate indicators of perceived risk.

There has been less convergence between outstanding sovereign bond maturities of Dubai and Bahrain. Dubai’s $750 million, 7.75 percent bond maturing in October 2020 is yielding 6.47 percent while Bahrain’s $1.25 billion, 5.5 percent bond also maturing in 2020 is at 5.81 percent.

Yields on both bonds have plunged since October, when the market started to believe the euro zone might avoid a systemic crisis, but the tightening in Dubai - about 200 bps has been greater than Bahrain’s roughly 135 bps.

Both Dubai and Bahrain are believed to have strong backing from a cash-rich ally in the event of a crisis. Abu Dhabi stepped in to bail out Dubai in 2009 and could be expected to do so again if that was absolutely necessary, given its deep pockets and desire to avoid any default that could shake confidence in the United Arab Emirates as a whole.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia intervened militarily to stabilize Bahrain last year and was behind a pledge to Bahrain of $10 billion of aid from rich Gulf countries over coming years to help it cope with the unrest. Many analysts also expect Saudi Arabia to step in with additional aid for Bahrain if that is necessary to solve budget problems, given the importance of the island’s stability to the region. Investors will not focus exclusively on these implicit guarantees, which could be tricky to implement, however; the market will also look at the strength of the two economies and the attractiveness of their growth strategies.

In this respect Dubai, which is aggressively diversifying its economy into trade, tourism and financial services, may have the edge - especially since Dubai authorities appear to be stepping up efforts to communicate with investors. Since December, government officials and government-linked enterprises have made a string of positive statements about Dubai’s ability to tackle its debt obligations. -Reuters

Contribution to Indian Growth

%pt, YoY

MayͲ10 M

DUBAI: Investors’ perceptions of the sovereign debt of Dubai and Bahrain may mark a significant shift in coming days or weeks: the cost of insuring Dubai’s debt against default may drop below the cost for Bahrain for the first time in over three years.

Dubai’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) have narrowed dramatically since the emirate was hit by a corporate debt crisis at the end of 2009. The catalyst for the crisis weakness in the real estate market - has not been resolved, but progress in restructuring debt and economic growth in Dubai have convinced most investors that disaster will be avoided.

Dubai’s CDS are now quoted at 372 basis points (bps), a far cry from levels around 650 bps hit days after Dubai World announced it needed to restructure some 25 billion US dollars in debt in late 2009. CDS hit lows of around 320 bps last year; they then soared back above 500 bps briefly as the euro zone debt crisis worsened, but have since mostly been in a downtrend.

“Dubai has seen lot of positive news in 2012, both in terms of improving economic fundamentals and refinancing/repayment of dues,” said Biswajit Dasgupta, head of treasury and trading at Invest AD. “The lack of huge new supply and the increased risk appetite globally has turned attention towards Dubai and has helped drive cash and CDS spreads tighter from the 450475 range to the 375 mark in the last four months.”

By contrast, Bahrain’s CDS have been kept high by concern that continuing antigovernment protests there could hurt its economy and status as a regional financial hub. Although the economy has resumed growing, the growth has been based on high oil prices and government spending; much private sector activity has stayed weak.

Bahrain CDS are also at 372 bps, having mostly moved sideways since the start of the fourth quarter of last year; they are close to their highest levels since mid-2009. Before the political crisis erupted early last year, they traded in the 175-200 bp area.

Throughout last year, Indian growth has been coming down. In the last quarter of 2011, gross domestic product (GDP) grew at its slowest pace in three years: a 6.1 percent growth from the same period last year, a steep slowdown from the previous quarter’s 6.9 percent.

For the 2012 fiscal year, which ends in March in India, the government has constantly downgraded its estimate for GDP growth, from an initial nine percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to a much lower 6.9 percent y-o-y. That would mean the government expects a rebound of at least 6.8 percent y-o-y in the final quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2011-2012.

The latest slowdown was mostly due to a deep widening of the trade deficit, caused by both slowing exports and increasing imports.

The major reasons were (a) a weaker currency, coupled with (b) high energy prices, and (c) weaker global demand. The depreciation of the Rupee has made imported goods more expensive for Indian companies, raising the value of imports. Given that India imports 80 percent of its fuel needs, high energy prices amplified the depreciating currency’s effect on import valuation. The trade deficit widened further on India’s exports easing due to weaker external demand.

Domestically, high interest rates continued to affect investments, which are still contracting and having an impact on industrial growth.

However, private consumption, less affected by policy rate hikes, actually accelerated.

88.93 13.75 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 9.96 22 77 22.77 11.92 41.10

0.00 5.60 12.93

12.71

17.65 6.45 16.98 40.87 23.46 0.00 16.99 32.65

5.93 27.90 12.18 5.12 50.54

23.07 18.82 0.00 0.00 18.23

17.36 6.58 7.78 137.15 118.86 12.12 25.37 22.12

ACICO

216

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 325 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 218 Qurain Bank Boubyan 590 Salbookh Trading 47 Global Index - Banking 200 IKARUS Kw Investment Boubyan Int'L Ind. 78

208 93 600 Low 1,120 490 770 325 640 63 800 248 455 880 214 580 47 188 77

Ÿ źź źŷ ŷ ŷ

ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ Ÿ ź Ÿ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ź ź ŷ Ÿ ź Ÿ ŷ ŷ 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 300 415 ŷŷ Agility 420 12.5 Ahlia Holding 13.5 Coast Invest.

53 52 64 61 źź Market Complexes -850 -840 ŷź Int'L Investor ZAIN Securities House - ŷź 79.0 76.0 Safat Energy Ind. & Fin. Inv.Group Educational - ŷŷ -Securities Group - - ŷŷ Indep. Petroleum Int'L Finance National Cleaning 142 138 ŷź 110 MARKAZ 108 124 Sultan Center 122 ŷź KMIFIC - - ŷŷ Arabi Group Int'L Inv. Group City Group - ŷŷ Aref Inv. Group - ŷ 2,220 2,220 ź Wataniya Tele.

Investment Dar - ŷ 114 Kw Gulf Link 108 ź Al AMAN Inv. ŷ Kw Cable ALOLA Inv.Vision 110 108 - ŷŷ Automated 280 280 ALMAL Inv. System 50 49 źŸ NAPESCO 345 345 Gulf Inv. House - ŷź KCPC Leasing 275 275 - ŷŷ A'ayan K.S.HInv. 32.5 - 31.0 - ŷŷ Bayan Eyas - ŷŷ GLOBAL Inv. Hits Telecom - 85 - 82 ŷŸ Osoul Inv. Al Safwa Holding 18.5 -18.0 ŷź GULFINVEST KFIC Human Soft - ŷŷ KAMCO - ŷŷ Privatization Holding 74 77 Int'l Leasing & Inv. -- - ŷŷ Nafaaes Holding - - ŷŷ Nat. Int'l Holding -National Slaughter - ŷź Housing Finance 114 Aref energy 112 MADAR - ŷŷ 560 Safwan 560 26.5 Al Deera Holding 26.5 67.0 Gulf Petroleum 64.0 ŷŷ Al Safat Inv. - ŷź Gulf Franchising 25.0 23.0 122.0 Al Salam Credit & Group Collection - 114.0 - Ÿŷ 39.0 ź 41.0 Ekttitab Holding 18.0 ŷ 18.5 National Ranges Al Qurain Holding ŷ - ŷ Burgan Well Drilling 16.5 Sokouk Holding 16.5 ŷ - 38.5 - ŷ IFA H&R Al-Madina Finance 40.0 ź 1,560 1,540 Combinted Group ŷ NOOR ŷ Jeeran Holding Tamdeen Inv. 160 158 - źŷ Palms KW BH Agro Int'l Exch.

-- - ŷŷ 71.0 71.0 SafatKuwaiti TEC Holding Taiba - ŷŸ 93 93 Mushrif Trading Kuwait Syrian - ŷŷ U it d P j t United Projects 330 315 Strategia - ŷŷ 310 ALAFCO 305 53 53 ŷŸ Kuwait China Inv. Al-Muwasat -- - ŷŷ Manafae Inv. Gulf NorthHolding Africa - ŷŸ 242 Mashaer 236 Amwal - ŷŸ 285 Oula Fuel 270 Al MasarComm.

- ŷŷ Future 124 Al-Imtiaz 132 84 źŸ Hayat Comm.

87 Global Index - Investment 65 62 źź Mubarrad Transport -KuwaitInsurance Resorts - - ŷŷ Kuwait Advanced Technolgy - - ŷŷ Gulf Insurance -Yiaco Medical -- - ŷŷ Ahlia Insurance Al Jazeera Airways 465 445 źŸ 112 108 Warba Insurance Al Soor Fuel 240 238 Ÿ Kuwait Re-Ins. First Takaful -- - ŷŷ Future Kid Ins. Wethaq -280 -270 ŷź K G L Insurance 86 Al Nawadi 84 źŸ Global Index - Insurance Alrai Media 116 124 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 186 184 -100 Pearl -104 DanaR.E. Al-Safat 224 224 Tamdeen R.E. United Poultry Ajial R.E. 1,440 1,440 Kw FoodStuff Massaleh R.E. United Food 365 415 Arab R.E. 30.0 30.0 Kout Food Union R.E. Global Index - Food 98 96 ERESCO 860 840 Mabani Sharjah Cement 75 74 INJAZZAT RE 98 Gulf Cement 94 Inv. 73 11.5 71 UmHolding QuwainGrp Cement 12.0 Int'L Resorts 97 Fujaira Cement 102 78 77 Commercial R.E 122 Ras AlKheimah 122 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 63.0 14.0 56.0 Al DarFin. National R.E 14.0 50 Inovest Int'L Holding 50 Themar -190 Grand R.E Projects -196 Ahli United Bank -21.0 Tijara & R.E Invest Ithmaar Bank 21.5 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 20.0 15.5 20.0 Manazel 30 26 Ajwan Real Estate REAM Specialities Group 280 255 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.

65 65 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

Ÿź źŷ ŷ ź ź ŷ ŷ Ÿ ŷ ź ź ŷ ŷ źŸ Ÿŷ Ÿź źŷ ŷ ź Ÿ ź ź ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź źź Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ź ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ź ŷ ź ŷ ź ź Ÿ ŷ Ÿ 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 8 120,000 4 Change 25,120 216 208 4.6% 224 196 24.91 210 216 -0.40% -1.55% 177.24 -0.7089,320 -1.55% -1 960,000 16 93 176.5394 0.0% 102 93 33.80 93 94 610 40,000 4 -27.3024,100 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 2.9% Last Prev.

Trading Activity Div. Annual Close Last Last 216 216 216 206 11.21 206 226 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 - 3.6% 1,120 14.74 275 - 1,120 275 300 1,100 275 13.23 7.3% 20 495 495 830,000 407,950 490 495 - 0.0% 510 490 33.95 Ex-D 224 224 228 224 27.09 0.0% 770 770 10,000 16 7,700 -5 770 780 790 770 88.62 190,000 320 61,750 325 325 260 20.86 320 325 1.9% 2.5% 640 -20 3 25 6,400 660 10,000 64068 66069 3.1% 66073 64051 17.34 15,960 66 69 240,000 33.07 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% 460 465 -5 500,000 10 229,750 460 465 0.0% 475 460 12.26 128 128 Ex-D 128 128 17.06 9.4% 890 -10 880 1,280,000 66 1,127,050 880 2.3% 900 880 25.07 870 216 1,360,000 214 293,920 222 210 112.24 8.63 216 0.0% 0.0% 214 590 590 607,850 --2 1,035,000 3329 590 580 590 590 11,240 47 46 3 1 240,000 51 41 45 47 0.0% 319.37 319.54 8,092,500 6,639,050 2.0% 319.54 318.41 18.61 0.17240 89,280 190 460,000 16 10 200 200 162 11.74 200 0.0% 106 106 -4 - 10275 10679 0.0% 10688 10670 40.56 12,400 78 160,000 78 0.0% 260 265 -5 250,000 14 65,750 260 265 8.5% 265 260 12.09 171.35 163.04 10.93 1.08 2,056,240 9,465,000 211 170.28 2.7% 171.35 40 1,020 170 280 300 420 12.5 52 63 25.0 840 130 77.0 31.0 110 230 310 102 140 108 122 50 97 44.0 550 52 2,220 74 110 28.5 63 108 280 49 345 23 275 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 85 68 18.0 20.5 26.0 270 244 75 94 97 51 154 36 112 51 560 26.5 65.0 75 24.5 120.0 120 39.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 420 38.5 1,560 29.0 73 158 86 255 71.0 114 93 26.00 325 68 310 53 130 60 46.5 242 64 285 42.50 290 128 87 75.90 62

54.0 325 640 560 370 485 465 110 240 220 114 98 40.50 270 86 43.43

124 48 102 100 772.23 124 200 186 37.5 104 224 130 120 1,440 82 365 30.0 530 108 351.12 97 860 84 75 95 11.5 72 38.0 97 78 122 65 132 54 230 90 325 38.0 455 59 57.0 14.0 91 50 17.5 192 31.0 21.0 59 46.26 70 122 48.5 124 28.0 144 23.5 106 25.5 250 27.0 20.0 15.5 30 134 280 134 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 Ÿ 104 ź 460 Ÿ

41 1,020 172 280 295 420 12.5 53 64 25.0 850 130 79.0 31.0 110 230 310 102 142 112 126 50 97 44.0 550 52 2,260 74 112 28.5 63 108 255 49.5 350 23 275 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 80 68 18.5 20.5 26.0 270 244 75 94 97 51 154 36 114 51 560 26.5 65.0 75 25.5 112.0 120 41.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 420 39.0 1,540 29.0 73 160 86 255 70.0 114 93 26.00 325 68 305 53 130 60 46.5 238 64 270 42.50 290 130 86 76.02 64

54.0 325 640 560 370 485 460 118 236 220 114 98 40.50 280 85 43.63

126 49 102 99 777.89 120 204 186 37.5 106 234 130 120 1,420 82 390 30.5 530 108 347.89 98 850 84 73 99 12.0 72 38.0 104 77 124 70 132 55 230 90 325 38.0 455 63 61.0 14.5 91 48 17.5 192 31.021.5 59 46.56 74 122 48.5 124 28.5 144 24.5 106 26.0 250 27.0 22.5 16.5 28 134 255 134 51 220 345 58 106 290 1,860 49.75 36.0

1,680,000 1,040,000 110,000 540,000 7,040,000 1,280,000 -1-1 8,360,000 - -10 1,910,000 2.03,720,000 - -- -2.0780,000 --4 680,000 120,000 - - -40 7,500 -2 5,020,000 - 500,000 25 30,000 -1 320,000 10,000 --5 10,000 - 1,840,000 - - 5 17,280,000 12,480,000 - -1 - - 12,200,000 - - - - --2 840,000 - 25,000 - 240,000 6,480,000 720,000 1.08.0 - 11,180,000 2.01,920,000 11,520,000 480,000 0.510,640,000 12,500 2.0- 80,000 - 1.0 40,000 -160,000 50 000 50,000 - 600,000 -5 200,000 - - -4 1,300,000 15 180,000 - - -1.0 2 1,240,000 200,000 0.12-2 40,720,000 2,600,000 -1 -2 5 -

---

- -8 5 Ex-D 4 - -10 0.19-1

- - - 600,000 120,000 100,000 - 1,360,000 160,000 120,000

13 20 5 4627 22 136 59 39 - - 28 18 6 - 3 133 14 43 -1 -1 22 - 167 90 - 135 - - 29 -4 2 111 -7 212 24 59 5 93 -3 4 - -1 -4 -5 221 - 41 10 - 38 5 55848 - - - 24 6 -5 - 67 64

400,000 119 -1-2 80,000 9 1 920,000 1,295 5.6589,815,000 105 4 3,100,000 12 -4 520,000 11 380,000 --2 61 3,200,000 3 10.0100,000 20 40,000 5 -25 20,000 2 1 80,000 0.53,640,000 3.23 -1 320,000 879 10 1,935,000 57 219 120,000 2-4 920,000 1542 0.5- 2,000,000 2,360,000 -34 - -7 1,900,000 3 1 240,000 -2 20,000 1 17 1,000,000 -5 4 -1 200,000 40,000 3 Ex-D 11 440,000 -4 92,160,000 770 -4 1 80,000 0.5-5 3 560,000 5,560,000 109 - -1 -47 5,040,000 1,030 108,560,000 0.30-4 320,000 2 - - - - 12 0.5- 2,720,000 1.080,000 1 0.5240,000 3 Ex-D 35,040,000 4 2.580,000 1 1,200,000 8 1.01,040,000 2 13 1,590,000 61 - 25 - - - -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 2 480,000 65 150 - -1 3,190,000 1,460 -40 2,500 176 335 6,297 212 - 569,152,500720 Close 230,000 19 Prev. Close 180 192.90 192.73 106 -2 80,000 3 190.29 460 189.98 -

575.07

569.91

67,160 40 177,720 168 33,000 295 224,350 90,920 415 12.5 67,280 524,440 5162 - 840 1,607,300 287,400 76.0 - - 285 108,920 138 73,920 106 14,760 122 - -92 16,650 2,220 557,880 110 27.0 54,920 108 8,400 250 15,840 49 3,450 330 21 2,750 275 58,760 31.0 - 1,449,600 64.085 226,120 -18.0 - -75 920,200 - - - - 95,240 110 14,000 550 6,360 26.0 424,280 64.0 17,320 24.0 1,305,280 - 118.0 77,080 208,400 17.5 18.0 7,920 16.0 400 419,440 38.5 19,300 1,540 12,680 15672 - -81 2,840 65.0 14,880 -91 16 150 16,150 320 63 183,650 305 10,600 52 - - 309,880 240 49,900 275 - - 265 157,920 17,080 124.085 2,702,550 164,520 62 - - - 271,350 13,200 23,920 - 370,800 13,640 13,200

48,200 3,840 92,000 8,217,570 383,920 104,680 70,640 324,240 22,400 57,600 7,800 2,400 460,280 31,160 1,656,950 8,960 87,480 23,960 170,480 186,720 18,520 2,440 67,400 10,720 13,000 26,160 5,462,640 1,120 28,000 1,074,200 106,360 7,131,320 22,400 - - 76,880 1,880 6,160 946,080 1,600 19,240 29,400 422,250 - 13,520 610,850 4,151,200 -

52.0 300 510 365 460 445 108 236 - - 270 83 120 48 99 -

122 200 184 - 102 126 110 1,460 112 95 86081 7181 11.5 35.572 77 120 53 320 13.5 9056 - 50 30.0 190.0 70 116 28.0 23.5 25.0 24.5 15.5 29 275 29 218 55 29084

2,060 -

3,111,120 -17,800 122 22,550 455 31,200 150 484,450 3,550 1,420 310 45,153,760 165,600 Change 710 178 0.18 8,480 104 -0.32 435

5.16

40

0.0%

3.9% 1,020 172 0.0% 275 6.7% 0.0% 300 420 0.0% 9.5% 13.0 5263 0.0% 0.0% - 850 0.0% 23.8% 0.0% 0.0% 77.0 33.5 - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 330 9.7% 0.0% 140 0.0% 110 124 9.3% 0.0% -98 0.0% 0.0% 570 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2,240 2.3% 0.0% 112 0.0% 29.5 0.0% 0.0% 11067 0.0% 280 0.0% 8.9% 50 5.8% 24 - 0.0% 1.8% 280 0.0% 6.0% 32.5 - 0.0% - 0.0% 3.8% - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% -18.5 0.0% - 295 0.0% 0.0% 23876 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 102 0.0% 54 - 0.0% 5.2% 0.0% 112 0.0% 0.0% 560 3.9% 0.0% 27.0 65.0 0.0% 0.0% 25.0 0.0% 120.0 130 0.0% 0.0% 39.0 0.0% 18.0 0.0% 20.0 0.0% 250 0.0% 16.5 0.0% 0.0% 415 0.0% 39.0 4.5% 1,560 0.0% % 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 47 242 10.8% 0.0% 69 285 0.0% 0.0% - 285 0.0% 8.6% 128.087 0.0% 11.5% 63 2.4% 0.0% 55.0 6.2% 0.0% 325 0.0% 610 4.5% 2.7% 375 5.2% 500 465 9.1% 0.0% 114 242 0.0% 2.7% 110 0.0% 104 0.0% 43.0 275 0.0% 1.9% 86 4.7% 5.8% 124 0.0% 49 0.0% 112 0.0% 0.0% 100 11.7% 126 0.0% 202 186 10.0% 0.0% 37.5 4.8% 104 0.0% 224 - 4.5% 0.0% 0.0% 130 1,500 4.5% 6.1% 85 365 1.4% 0.0% 31.5 3.8% 570 6.5% 118 4.0% 0.0% 98 87084 0.0% 6.0% 7684 0.0% 10.5% 12.094 0.0% 0.0% 37.073 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 79 97 8.2% 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% 9457 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% 20.0 0.0% 16.0 0.0% 30 3.7% 130 280 0.0% 2.5% 32 56 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 57 - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 295 - 1.1% 0.0%

48.5

232 93.0 130 70 465 -70 1,440 340 216 720 DTD 190 0.09% 108 -0.17% -

0.91%

0.0%

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% 7.7% 3.3% 0.8% 4.6% 3.0% 4.64% 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 2,260 74 74 95 126 28.5 28.5 11268 10863 230 280 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 40.5 280 218 44.80 92 43.43 80

116 156 49 48 102 110 100 99 777.89 744.62 120 128 200 208 182 222 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 1.59% 180 104 116 1.89% 460 460

2.26%

17.46 88.93 12.13 13.98 1.33 0.00 12.86

23.89 0.00 18.85 0.00 23.97 0.00 55.09 0.00 14.37 0.00 0.00 0.00

13.98 6.56 9.57 0.00 11.97 9.19 313.83 32.31 0.00 13.80

12.31

0.00 116.80 9.60 0.00 0.00 13.91

5.99

0.00

0.00 71.64 91.62 17.06 0.00 3.02 8.28 7.35 22.77 11.92

10.50

60 55 60.55 43.00

5.17 7.80 7.99 24.16 0.00 17.69

5.19 10.01

3.78 16.97 25.05 12.90 11.90 9.91 8.29 17.37 16.76 296.83 10.92 7.13

6.18 12.60

11.07 37.20 12.83 12.34 22.21 17.83 16.20

5.72 11.40 23.77 9.84 15.28 11.15 39.65 5.29

21.70

0.00 14.56

9.76

26.32

35.93 7.39 8.10 37.95 4.15 10.28

19.44 66.01

10.68

11.37 0.00 5.38 27.28

20.67 9.93 23.07

9.61

18.82 63.06 0.00 11.03 0.00 16.27

14.44

70.58 18.38

10.34 6.49 8.02 14.72 193.84 96.15 YTD 10.91 1.77% 23.15 -0.06% 26.77

2.33%

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

12

ALWATAN DAILY wednesday, march 14, 2012

April 21, 2009 March 13, 2012

1% 6%

2% 6%

Qatar

2% 0%

95

-2%

-4%

-3%

Saudi

90

-6%

GCC Best Performers

Saudi

95 13-Dec-11 85

13-Jan-12

13-Feb-12

MENA Best Performers

-1%

13-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 7,522 Level

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

2,623 5,250

0.3% -4.0%

QaUAUAE Qatar (DSM Index) (ADSM Index)

8,630 2,695

-0.1% 0.6%

Ku Kuwait (KSE Weighted Index)

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

OmOman UAE(MSM (DFMIndex) Index)

415

1,682 406

5,957 1,745

BaQa Bahrain Qatar (BSE (DSMIndex) Index)

1,152 5,590

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

1,996

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

5,074

5,478

1,681

11,260

463

1,211

2,825 484

10,621

4,756

1,094 546

Tu TunisiaClosed (Tunis SE Index)* * Market

3,282

52 Wk High

%-0.2% Chg.

0.1%

2.4%

5.1% 0.4%

-0.2%

-

2.2%

0.0%

-0.3%

-

-

0.9% -

Mkt.394,531 Cap. USD million

161

123,890 69,783

5 196

17,268 65,352

0.8% -18.8%

40.1%

0.7%

-6.8%

1,921

3.0%

5,044

2,551

513

1,164 465

-3.3%

14,635 4,785

4,091

23.6%

739

407

-0.1%

-7.2%

2,119

13.6%

3,418

-

9,406

-

1,043

-

2,837

-

9.31 8.85

4

63,640

7.67

18,727

0 3

9,516

1.29

3.60

1.56

6.45

0.89

12.71

2,534

2.15

9.47

59,990

1.18

18.36

3.95

14.83

8,507

2

1.64

16.37

10,530

33,782

1

1.68

8.07

61,149

67

1.36

9.50

14.30

1.69

6.47

2,079

0.86

8.67

6,576

MENA Worst Performers

2.50

13.85

1.92

SAUDI ARABIA *Market Closed

1.06 SARAED 22.95

225 Saudi Industrial Inv. Grp.

101 Riyad Bank

120

SAR 24.70

-6.4%

115

207,118,203

131,492,091

703 Zain - Saudi Arabia (KSA)

343,553,085 128,772,192 119,955,261 119,370,407

115 (KSA) 422Alinma EmaarBank the Economic City (KSA)

97,126,838

NBKNational Bank of Kuwait (KUW)

110

1,479,689,032

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

112

88,742,222

1080.SSE Arab National Bank

70Zain - Saudi Arabia

13-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

482,960,105

23Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co.

13-Mar-12

25.10

% Chg.

5.0%

10.75

2.4%

13.40

2.3%

32.80

7030.SSE Zain - Saudi Arabia

1.2%

9.80

Turnover (SAR) 1,056,598,314 3050.SSE Southern Province Cement Co. 776,796,820 2290.SSE Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. 493,161,087 2380.SSE Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

43Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

13-Jan-12

Close

1.0%

Worst Performers

1 Alinma Bank

100

64,280,166

4300.SSE Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

Highest Turnover

105

-6.8%

Turnover (USD)

201 Industries Corp. (KSA) 235Saudi SaudiBasic Kayan Petrochemical Co. (KSA)

13,743,199

-3.6% -8.9%

281,721,987

430 Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co. (KSA)

7,540 / 5,916 1150.SSE Alinma Bank

Tadawul Index 52 week High / Low

Turnover (SAR '000)

-7.5%

Turnover (USD)

MENA Highest Turnover

0.65

Advance/Decline Ratio

% Chg.

-3.2% -8.6%

115 Alinma Bank (KSA)

95% 2250.SSE Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

122

4.4%

8.0%

KWD 0.122 SAR 48.00

SAR 13.70

GCC Highest Turnover

7,522 (-0.2%)

Tadawul Index (% Chg.)

125

5.0% 8.6%

KWD 0.140 -13.1% -4.1% KWD 0.265

EMAEmaar Properties (UAE) Best Performers

Summary

5.3% 8.8%

KWD 0.445% Chg. -7.3% Close

KFI Kuwait Finance House (KUW)

Rebased Performance

95 13-Dec-11

AED 1.84

BURBurgan Bank

5.6% 9.8%

8.0%

Close

NBQNational Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain

0.88 201 SULSultan Center Food Products 1.74 Saudi Basic Industries Corp. Co.

10.08

27,424

OMR 0.720

GCC Worst Performers

1.88 FAC NRCommercial National Real EstateCo. Co. 1.37 Facilities 1.64 ARK Arkan Building Materials Co. 0.88 238 Rabigh Petrochem.

11.01 6.87

15,024

1

1.10 1.77

11.62 7.29

59,789

46

328

8.93 10.24

18,615 37,413

18

1,572

10,785

1,425

2.4%

4,224

12,752

1,033

1.5%

91

2,246

2,903

8.5%

3,587

1,129 4,230

12,109

1.3%

8 305

1,433 12,627 5,628

0.2%

5,419 1,433

2.04

0.80 1.52

50 122

6,406 5,860

13.28

QAR 21.60

BKMBankMuscat

PB

10.45 9.99

8,071 2,137

73 718

Trailing

AED 0.47

QGTQatar Gas Transport Co.

35,443 98,547

8,892 5,148

1,301 316

Trailing

SAR 25.10 QAR 6.35

UPPUnion Properties

PB1.44

-1.6% 12.8%

KWD 0.200 OMR 0.703

225 Saudi Industrial Investment Grp. KCB Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

PE 14.02

69,303 264,263

1,754 787

PE

KWD5.60 0.285 SAR

IKAGalfar IkarusEngineering Petroleum Industries Co. GEC & Contracting

101,471

77 2,183

4.6% 6.6%

0.0%

Turnover 3,664 USD million

2,293 4,130

0.9% 1.9%

0.2% 3.9%

396

Mkt. Cap. USD million

2,775 10,090

24.3% -0.2%

-2.9%

467

525,916 Wk Low

Turnover USD million

9.1% 9.3%

0.9% 1.8%

-0.4%

52 Wk 7,540 High

17.2% YTD

52 Wk Low

% Chg.

OMR 0.597% Chg. 9.9% Close

OUKingdom Oula Fuel Marketing Co. 3 428 Hldg.

Co.

Period's Liquidity Ratio (PLR x)*

MENA Indices Highlights

Close

4 BKDBank Dhofar

Abu Dhabi

Qatar Bahrain

0%

-2%

Kuwait

Abu Dhabi

Tunisia Abu Dhabi

100

-1%

Dubai Palestine

105

0%

Kuwait

Bahrain

Saudi Dubai

Return DailyDaily Return (%)(%)

Dubai

Saudi Qatar

Abu Dhabi

Qatar Oman

111

105

100

4% 1%

Lebanon

111

110

Oman

Oman Morocco

110

Oman

Dubai

113

111

Kuwait Kuwait

113

DailyIndex Index Performance Snapshot Daily Performance Snapshot

Egypt Jordan

115115

Bull/Bear Indicator Bull/Bear Indicator

Bahrain Bahrain

Rebased RebasedPerformance Performance

447,698,710

42Emaar the Economic City

1090.SSE Samba Financial Grp.

1211.SSE Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

Close

99.00

% Chg.

51.50

25.50

50.50

34.80

-2.7%

-1.9% -1.5% -1.5% -1.4%

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 77.50

13.40

109.50 32.80

26.70

26.00

% Chg.

-0.6%

2.3%

0.0%

1.2%

0.8%

0.0%

Daily High

78.75

13.60

110.50 33.00

26.70

26.30

Low

77.00

Turnover (SAR '000) 190,585

13.15

1,056,598

32.40

2,543

109.00

27,185

26.40

37,818

Volume ('000) 2,443

78,887 248 78

1,423

1,926

45.10

203,674

11,908

12.05

90,202

7,267

25.30

97,037

50.50

17,514

34.50

62,921

4 Kingdom Holding Co.

2 National Industrialization Co.

154.25 12.20

44.60

156.00

153.00

0.5%

45.10

44.40

86,378

2 Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

25.50

-1.5%

1 Samba Financial Grp.

50.50

-1.5%

1 Riyad Bank

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

26.40

186.00

26.30

15,314

-0.5%

186.75

186.00

16,368

90.75

-1.4%

33.00

-0.3%

25.10

24.00

20.00

18.85 40.20

35.10

26.00

26.70

-1.4%

15.50

12.85

0.4%

34.80

104.75

5,019

0.8%

0.4%

51.75

35.30

0.0%

105.75

104.50

395,066

-1.3%

15.90

15.40

181,902

93.00

33.20

90.25

32.70

63,676

4,734

5.0%

25.30

23.85

85,957

0.0%

21.00

19.95

26,627

0.0% -1.3%

-0.5%

-0.9%

24.15

19.25

40.30

35.40

23.95

40,168

18.80

482,960

34.90

11,227

45.50

9,232

40.10

20,539

99.00

-2.7%

102.00

99.00

4,517

52.00

-1.0%

52.75

51.50

13,850

9.70

493,161

45.50

51.50 9.80

-0.2%

-1.9%

1.0%

46.10

52.50 9.95

0.6%

87.50

16.85

4 Jarir Marketing Co.

11.10

153.00

0.6%

17.35

-0.8%

32

17.00

4 Jabal Omar Development Co.

6.20

46.60

447,699

63.75

11.85

64.50

11.65

-0.4%

-8.0%

992

12.25

51.00

58,123

37,268

0.0%

-6.8%

37.50

62,533

-0.8%

1.9%

50.00

62.50

11.75

-4.0%

-1.8%

10.50

122

on high

17.20

72,159

5,632

4 Emaar the Economic City

63.00

27.20

83.75

26.60

776,797

45.80

7 Etihad Etisalat Co.

35.18

10.40

46.40

11.00

109.50

9.05

1,174

0.0%

2.4%

13.15

67.25

30,552

46.00

10.75

80.75

Low

25.70

1 Banque Saudi Fransi

4 Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

52-Week

High

26.00

16.90 12.15

15.75 6.05

7.05

30.91

25.4%

0.8%

0.4%

-1.1%

42.40

-11.0%

22.30

3,754

112.50

11,585

15.70

699

144

35.30

165.00 87.75

37.9% 9.6%

1.4

27.7%

68.3% 31.2%

42.2% 1.5%

10.2

24,861,310

10.2

2.3

39,600,000

12.6

15.55

-18.7%

1.8

nmf

2.8

10.6

1.6

1.3

15.2%

64,582,204

29.1

1.2

12.6%

24.60

nmf

2.3

10.7%

15.50

18.0

10.7

-0.3%

19.15

9,255,000

45,211,764

314,250,000

25.70

1,301

1.7

3.2%

33.10

32.1%

2.4

5.7

72.0%

-7.7%

nmf

11.3

26.0%

18.55

8.7

0.8

46,500,000

-7.4%

17.75

15,799,800

10.7

2.3%

51.50

24.00

44,100,000

50.6%

11.5%

2.3

1.6

nmf

37.5%

-1.3%

3.7

1.7

9,987,500

-1.4%

8.8%

24.5

28.8

1.3

80.8%

45,450,000

-6.9%

22.1

12.8

3.5

1.7

-8.6%

5.7%

46.6

PB

11.4

11,610,000

8.4%

-3.5%

15.8

33,267,858

22,338,000

13.3%

Trailing

PE

2.0%

98.00

12.85

8,010,000

12.1%

27.20

25,369

10.8%

25,185,000

9.7%

-0.4%

3,510 1,670

39.9%

20,100,000

7,800,000

47.9%

20.0%

59.9%

116,250,000

27,880,000

-2.3%

9.3%

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

0.2%

25.7%

56.75

192.75

34.5%

16.2%

48.3%

343 88

10.6%

19.3%

38.1%

2.4%

-14.4%

1,805

43.3%

-0.6%

45.7%

21.20

23.10

11.5%

12 mths

53.4%

29.80

26.50

YTD

0.0%

3,772 577

% Change

32,190,000

13,884,750

10,914,750

nmf

16.7

10.8

4.2

1.5

16.5%

11,295,000

23.8%

-12.3%

11,000,000

7.2%

80,400,000

10.5

1.7

0.0%

21.8%

-1.6%

8.3%

15.3%

5.6%

21.4

1.9

1.9

8,800,000

12.5

1.6

28,275,000

nmf

1.9

15.5

1.3

511

40.40

33.00

-0.5%

18.9%

45

106.75

59.50

-7.3%

15.1%

63.6%

13,860,000

15.5

5.2

266

83.25

49.90

-37.5%

-25.7%

2.5%

10,530,000

14.3

3.1

5.25

1.0%

76.6%

13,720,000

nmf

320 202

1,121

50,090

35.40 46.50

54.00 9.70

23.70 37.00

41.60

-0.8% -2.2%

-4.6%

22.3% 11.8%

17.0%

31.0% 9.4%

11.5%

37.1%

17,550,000 34,125,000

28,968,750

14.7 11.8 9.1

2.3 2.0

2.8

3.2

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

13

ALWATAN DAILY wednesday, march 14, 2012

KUWAIT Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 6,149 (0.0%)

KSE General Index (% Chg.)

115

415 (0.1%)

KSE Weighted Index (% Chg.)

54%

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

112

1.67

Advance/Decline Ratio

110

Turnover (KWD) 1,607,300 1,391,150

N National Bank of Kuwait

1,232,120

N National Industries Grp. Holding 13-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

790,300

K Kuwait International Bank

13-Mar-12

3.8%

0.244

2.5%

0.091

2.3%

Worst Performers

Zain Kuwait ZA

13-Jan-12

5.3%

0.110

Tamdeen Real Estate Co.

Highest Turnover

101

5.6%

28,290,178

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

95 13-Dec-11

International Finance Co.

44,863

Turnover (KWD '000)

100

IFC.KSE

% Chg.

0.200

467 / 396 ALTIJARIA The Commercial Real Estate Co.

KSE Weighted Index 52 week High / Low 105

0.285

IKARUS.KSIkarus Petroleum Industries Co.

6,523 / 5,694 TAM.KSE

KSE General Index 52 week High / Low

Close

OULAFUELOula Fuel Marketing Co.

712,560

A The Commercial Real Estate Co.

Close

BURG.KSE Burgan Bank NRE.KSE

0.445

National Real Estate Co.

% Chg.

-7.3%

0.140

-4.1%

SULTAN.KSSultan Center Food Products Co.

0.122

-3.2%

AREFENRGAREF Energy Holding Co.

0.112

-1.8%

NMTC.KSE Wataniya

2.220

-1.8%

KSE Weighted Index

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Agility

0.420

T Al Themar Intl. Holding Co.

0.087

A AREF Energy Holding Co.

0.112

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

0.415

-

-

-

-

0.550

36

0.445

-7.3%

0.445

0.445

267

1.560

1.3%

1.560

1.540

0.280

0.0%

0.290

0.280

0.485

0.0%

0.485

0.480

0.420

-

-

-

0.610

0.0% -

-

0.600

-

-

-

-

-

IK Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co.

0.200

5.3%

0.200

0.188

JAJazeera Airways

0.465

1.1%

0.465

0.445

K Kuwait Cement Co.

0.110 0.242

0.110

0.104

-

-

1.2%

0.425

0.425

1.440

1.4%

1.440

1.440

0.870

K Kuwait International Bank

0.255

K Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding)

0.340

P Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

-

1.440

0.425

K Kuwait Finance House F Kuwait Food Co.

3.8%

1.440

1.2%

0.870

N National Real Estate Co.

0.140

-4.1%

0.214

-0.9%

0.122

-3.2%

0.091

2.3%

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

-1.2%

0.130

Z Zain Kuwait

-27.1%

-11.4%

830

0.395

0.255

-29.1%

264

550

0.580

0.470

-

-

0.500

0.285

0.960

-

0.700

0.055

50

0.019

1.700

460

1.380

0.200

0.134

-

-4.9%

-6.7%

1,216,236

39.7

2.8

-16.0%

-11.6%

-15.2%

190,630

nmf

7.8%

-10.9% -15.3% 0.0%

-3.1%

0.142

380

0.168

0.056

-16.7%

0.214

294

0.122

15

0.088

713

2.220

17

2.5%

0.246

0.238

-

-

-

0.840

1,607

-1.2%

0.124

0.091 2.220

0.850

190

0.260

0.320

0.158

-45.0% -7.4%

264,518

24.4

11.5%

-17.1%

432,795

11.5

31.9

1.3

0.8

-2.8%

4,614,707

15.2

2.1

-7.7%

-14.3%

310,824

nmf

9.4%

18.6%

0.0%

4.1%

-46.9%

-1.2%

140

0.240

0.200

-7.5%

6.7%

180

0.270

0.216

-9.6%

6.1%

-16.4%

2.0

1.3

3.5

16.1%

0.093

1.3

12.1

24.9

-5.0%

0.146

80,905

1.9

516,732

-20.8%

120

-40.3%

0.8

40.1%

-4.4%

-5.3%

578,883

0.8

19.7

-17.7%

0.265

0.174

271,004

4.0

nmf

0.0%

0.360

0.226

63,719

38.9

180

1,360

43

0.033

0.340

1,440

31

-23.2%

1.7

nmf

2,339,465

8.1%

54

0.060

88,317

8.3

-20.4%

-1.1%

0.140

0.220

4.2

25.4%

-15.8%

0.222

9.0

-43.7%

0.192

0.0%

102,300

-57.7%

-7.7%

0.285

0.270

0.218

307.9%

-2.7%

5,140

50

2.2%

-11.1%

1,232 244

1.1

1.420

0.236

0.168

15.6

1.620

0.909

62

150,000

40

1.145

-

3.1

40.8%

-28.0%

1,313

nmf

17.6%

-3.3%

302,301

1.7

-14.3%

-7.6%

1,391

64,309

nmf

1.4%

-32.5% -20.9%

890,416

6.5%

0.415

0.627

-

0.0%

0.630

0.940

0.325

0.170

65

1.5

-16.4%

-24.7%

10

0.660

1.0

0.9

-0.8%

1.580

26.2

13.8

-21.9%

45

53,454

150,294

70

-

0.325

40

1.3

12.9

-26.3%

0.236

0.820

12.0

7.7%

0.310

1.100

295,911

4.1

-

705

1.2

18.9

-57.7%

0.114

nmf

150,744

0.096

0.480

84,000

1.0

-12.5%

0.260

600

1.9

nmf

-1.3%

5,720

4

0.285

-1.8%

0.840

-45.7%

235

5.6%

-

2.220

20.3%

-20.0%

1.6%

0.244

-39.3%

0.295

0.242

T Tamdeen Real Estate Co.

0.198

0.425

0.8%

S Sultan Center Food Products Co.

0.420

350

0.240

0.222

654,772

13.0%

119

N National Industries Grp. Holding

S Salhia Real Estate Co.

-8.4%

0.0%

8.9%

0.340

-

0.285

-6.3%

-1.6%

0.345

1.040

A Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co.

-19.1%

0.0%

1.060

O Oula Fuel Marketing Co.

0.440

0.495

-27.1%

0.0%

0.170

0.550

0.620

0.236

1.060

N National Investments Company

600

0.350

0.890

4.2

979,012

3,100

0.890

nmf

-6.7%

5.7%

0.5

1.6

-5.1%

-21.1%

PB

6.1

-9.7%

0.085

nmf

18.3

0.550

0.142

-19.8%

58

88,088

PE

923,076

0.620

1.300

-

-11.2%

-1.5%

65

1.945

271

439,671

241,729

-

611

-4.4%

7.7%

-13.9%

-

89

-3.0%

Trailing

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

-1.6%

40

72

12.0%

12 mths

-18.4%

840

-

YTD

0.280

790

0.920

0.325

-16.3%

0.250

0.930

N National Industries Co.

0.079

0.255

1.1%

0.033

0.104

-7.2%

2.0%

0.930

N National Bank of Kuwait

0.581

13

610

-1.1%

M Mena Holding

0.657

-3.4%

% Change

0.380

19

0.860

0.890

M Mabanee Co.

0.248

on high

600

24

-

Low

0.435

-

95

-

1.440

K KIPCO Asset Management Co.

0.0%

0.610

C Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

IF International Finance Co.

-

0.112

High

-

0.560

0.114

540

-

0.0%

-1.8%

0.560

52-Week

Volume ('000)

224

184

0.049

IF IFA Hotels & Resorts

Turnover (KWD '000)

0.305

0.700

G Gulf Bank

0.420

Low

0.310

C Commercial Bank of Kuwait G Global Investment House

-

High

1.6%

0.255

F Commercial Facilities Co.

-

0.310

A Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

C Combined Grp Contracting Co.

Daily

% Chg.

-49.2%

21,780

-3.0%

112,496

-46.9%

2.3

39.2

1.4

nmf

0.8

148,956 -

-9.2%

0.1

0.8

nmf

0.6

93,964

25.8

2.2

-5.9%

113,825

22.0

0.9

-2.4%

91,041

18.4

0.9

0.0%

13.8%

1.7%

-16.4%

235,400 70,617

13.0

1.1

nmf

1.1

7,920

0.092

0.067

-1.1%

18.2%

21.3%

166,968

15.9

0.7

8

2.260

1.640

-1.8%

14.4%

30.6%

1,118,953

3.1

1.4

-

-

1,910

-

1.420

0.840

0.0%

-40.8%

0.0%

-6.7%

0.0%

88,400

-40.8%

3,618,329

nmf

7.0

12.7

1.7

UAE Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,682 (0.9%)

DFM Index (% Chg.)

130

2,623 (0.3%)

ADSM Index (% Chg.)

Advance/Decline Ratio

121

DFM Index 52 week High / Low

2,775 / 2,293 DFM.DFM

ADSM Index 52 week High / Low

553,962

Turnover (AED '000)

112

110

Highest Turnover

100

E Emaar Properties

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

13-Feb-12 Abu Dhabi SE

44,128,316

D Dubai Financial Market

13-Mar-12

4.4%

0.42

3.8%

11.95

2.6%

1.30

Dubai Financial Market

3.2%

1.23

Turnover (AED) 129,542,687 NBQ.ADSM National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain 103,556,273 ARKAN.AD Arkan Building Materials Co. 49,567,918 DANA.ADS Dana Gas

S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

13-Jan-12

% Chg.

2.5%

Worst Performers

A ALDAR Properties

90 13-Dec-11

0.47

413,705,918

Market Cap. (AED '000)

107

Close

Union Properties

86% DEYAAR.D Deyaar Development Co. 1.30 GCEM.ADS Gulf Cement Co. 1,754 / 1,301 NBAD.ADS National Bank of Abu Dhabi

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

120

UPP.DFM

21,561,738

TATamweel

Close

1.84

% Chg.

-3.6%

1.90

-1.0%

0.49

ARMX.DFM Aramex

AIRARABIA Air Arabia

-7.5%

1.06

0.72

-2.0% -0.6%

Dubai FM

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

3.19

T Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

1.26

A Air Arabia

0.72

A Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

A Abu Dhabi National Hotels A ALDAR Properties A Amlak Finance

A Arabtec Holding A Aramex

Daily

% Chg.

1.3%

3.47

-0.3%

2.19

0.5%

1.36 1.02 3.00

1.90

0.0%

-0.6%

High

3.25

3.50

682

1,488

2.18

492

0.72

0.71

2.20

Turnover (AED '000)

3.46

1.25

2,250 4,214

1.91

1.85

594

2.17

-0.5%

E Emirates NBD

3.19

-0.3%

F First Gulf Bank

10.25

0.5%

M Mashreq

91.45

E Emaar Properties E Etisalat

G Gulf Cement Co. N National Bank of Abu Dhabi N National Bank of Fujairah

N National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain S Sharjah Islamic Bank

S Sorouh Real Estate Co. T Tamweel

3.05

9.29

1.30

3.10

3.05

2.21

2.17

3.19

3.15

9.34

-

0.40

1.16

0.0%

3.2%

-

1.23

3.05

-

9,613 3,934

44,128 5,423

1.80

181

1.37

2.2%

1.47

1.26

103,556

3.11

1,817

U United Arab Bank

3.70

-

0.47

4.4%

1.27

3.21

0.47 -

nmf

-2.2%

14,080,000

12.8

1,277

36,728 2,487

3.30

1.46

2.31

2.80

0.68

1.88

-6.7%

-15.8% -6.1%

6.6%

1.00

1,081

1.19

21,562

0.44

6,160

-

-

179

471 -

236 -

98

1,080

4.63

10.75

2.65

6.98

0.67

-31.1%

-6.1%

11.9%

-0.9%

12.6

83.1%

-6.5%

1,067,426

nmf

22.4% -5.7%

4.70

2.91

-12.8%

-9.9%

0.80

-2.0%

19.0%

2.39

1.02

1.63

-23.0%

0.67

-11.0%

569

3.90

2.82

-18.2%

-

73,448,041

1.49

0.50 5.30

0.53

0.24

3.28

-1.5%

-9.9%

1.54

13,542

-18.5%

-10.3%

75,312 17,371

1.8%

8.5%

32.7%

0.0%

9.1%

1.7%

22.8%

17,729,301

30,750,000 -

21.0%

34,297,017

-6.1%

2,944,000

7.5%

0.9

0.5 2.3 1.3

0.9

0.6

7.0

0.5

8.3

1.2

18.8

1.9

0.9

1.3

9.3

1.3

9.2

0.9

4,510,000

16.1

2,425,500

9.7

2.2 0.6

61.2%

25.7%

3,596,250

10.7

0.6

10.4%

8.0%

7,961,044

5.3

0.7

-14.8%

110.6%

-5.1%

82.2%

-30.2%

8.2

10.4

74.70 9.42

8,239,607

nmf

18,578,277

-4.7%

-16.7%

9,840,000

7.2

3.4%

102.00 11.95

-21.0%

46.4%

1.56

1.88

2.4%

2,397,870

50

-7.5%

-0.3%

82.0%

65

1.84

1.27

94.8%

1.30

-

0.4

-8.8%

-18.5%

-

7.7

0.20

8.9%

8.64

-

3,234,981

0.46

-31.0%

1.5

1.5

1.2

23,328

0.34

1.1

48.2

5,940,340

0.71

0.6

1,855,000

-11.3%

11.40

-

13.1

5.5%

1,354

-

-15.9%

2,781,790

nmf

17.6

-11.3%

12,573

567

1.1%

1,530,000

12.4

2.90

9.25

4,824

1.01

5.0%

0.0%

3,341,357

3.45

18.7%

2,826

0.0%

5.6%

-12.6%

11.90

1.00

4,485,000

-10.8%

-

10,694

1.1

155.1%

0.0%

2.41

10.10

-

-40.1%

1.2

0.8

3.49

12.00

-

0.71

-3.1%

5.0

0.8

8.6

16,497

2.6%

4.10

1.77

1.69

0.0%

7.1

5,555,776

49,568

10.40 1.30

413

1.96

-

7,843,500

8,205,529

PB

0.0%

22.2%

2.96

11.95

3.19

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

0.43

2.0%

U Union National Bank U Union Properties

-

313

-

-12.5%

14.5%

5.9

0.3

88.7%

-

17,849,956

13.2

-17.4%

5,255

D Dubai Islamic Bank

-14.5%

37.5%

PE

2,190,000

1.07

0.48

2.5%

0.57

Trailing

Market Cap. (AED '000)

-25.8%

3.63

0.50

-0.3%

0.84

12 mths

-0.5%

7,030

-

-2.0%

3.08

-25.5%

20,692

-

0.49

1.23

2.02

5.0%

2.83

-

D Dana Gas

D Dubai Financial Market

2.94

9.8%

3.00

437

D du

-22.7%

14.7%

47.8%

1.03

3.8%

5,880

1.14

-2.3%

YTD

-19.0%

1.08

0.42

225

1.63

2.92

-3.9%

% Change

0.76

-3.6%

D Deyaar Development Co.

1,785

3.55

2.32

on high

1.68

2.0%

-

428

3.32

Low

95,250

1.06 3.06

214

52-Week

High

129,543

A Arkan Building Materials Co. C Commercial Bank of Dubai

Volume ('000)

1.25

1.47

-1.0%

3.12

1.26

1.5% -

Low

1.6%

28.3% 74.7%

-34.5%

1,270,000

1,582,423

3,686,685

12.5 nmf

11.2

0.6 0.7

1.8

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

14

ALWATAN DAILY wednesday, march 14, 2012

QATAR Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 8,630 (-0.1%)

DSM Index (% Chg.)

115

Advance/Decline Ratio

112

73.30

Turnover (QAR '000)

451,146,636

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

% Chg.

0.7%

26.50

8,892 / 8,071 QIBK.DSM Qatar Islamic Bank 181,458 QNBK.DSMQatar National Bank

DSM 52 week High / Low

110

Close

39% QNNS.DSMQatar Navigation 0.40 MARK.DSMMasraf Al Rayan

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

0.2%

76.90

0.1%

60.00

0.0%

135.10

DHBK.DSMDoha Bank

0.1%

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (QAR) 14,987,416 ERES.DSMEzdan Real Estate Co. 14,287,035 CBQK.DSMThe Commercial Bank of Qatar 12,277,499 AHCS.DSMAamal Co.

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

98

Q Qatar National Bank IQIndustries Qatar

95 13-Dec-11

13-Jan-12

13-Feb-12

13-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

9,521,759

D Doha Bank

8,883,760

Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

Close

18.60

% Chg.

-1.5%

73.00

-1.0%

15.57

QTEL.DSM Qatar Telecom

-0.8%

165.60

QEWS.DSMQatar Electricity & Water Co.

-0.5%

137.50

-0.4%

Doha SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Aamal Co.

15.57

Daily

% Chg.

-0.8%

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank

16.06

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

73.00

-1.0%

E Ezdan Real Estate Co.

18.60

-1.5%

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

28.50

D Doha Bank

60.00

-0.3%

-0.2% 0.0%

High

Low

15.65

Turnover (QAR '000) 289

15.55

16.05

1,309

74.50

73.00

6,091

18.61

18.60

37

16.20

28.55

60.30

28.40

4,247

59.50

9,522

IQIndustries Qatar

143.40

-0.4%

144.90

143.10

12,277

Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

137.50

-0.4%

138.00

137.50

8,884

49.95

-0.1%

50.50

49.90

1,815

M Masraf Al Rayan

26.50

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

17.57

Q Qatar International Islamic Bank Q Qatar Islamic Bank

76.90

Q Qatar National Bank

135.10

Q Qatar Telecom

165.60

Q Qatar Navigation

73.30

V Vodafone Qatar

7.28

0.2%

0.0% 0.1%

26.55

17.65 77.10

26.35

3,916

17.51

14,987

76.50

1,001

0.1%

135.30

134.80

14,287

-0.5%

167.00

165.60

5,763

0.7%

-0.1%

73.30 7.31

19

24.09

Low

15.40

19.15

149

16.06

35.90

28.10

on high

-35.4%

-16.1%

-20.6%

% Change YTD

-2.1%

68.00

-14.6%

-13.1%

2

24.97

18.60

-25.5%

50.00

86

148.50

118.80

65

153.50

126.20

36

56.20

44.90

148 852 13

28.10

21.13

19.58

85.30

-4.8%

20.1%

0.3%

-5.8%

-1.5%

-11.1%

-7.5%

69.90

-20.8%

7.24

-10.3%

131.33

-0.8%

12.2%

7.8%

-8.8%

167.00 8.12

49,336,439

-9.8%

35

11,090,052

-22.9%

-6.4%

-10.4%

-4.7%

-15.6%

5,781,600

-16.2%

76.30

112.05

122

-5.7%

7,707,150

18,063,585

-10.3%

141.73 92.60

-3.4%

-13.1%

-5.9%

16.59

106 0

-10.4%

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

-11.4%

-4.8%

85.50

67.00

12 mths

-6.5%

83

159

887

7.27

High

81

35

73.00

52-Week

Volume ('000)

3.2%

Trailing

PE

14.3

PB

1.4

11.9

1.1

9.2

0.9

9.6

1.3

12,401,868

10.0

78,870,000

9.9

3.0

10.6

4.5

19,875,000

4.6%

13,750,000

6.1%

7,560,869

1.8

nmf

1.8

14.1

2.3

9,731,039

12.4

8.0

-8.7%

18,170,947

13.3

1.6

-4.2%

-20.3%

8,394,697

15.6

0.8

-3.6%

-4.8%

6,154,512

nmf

0.9

-2.2%

11.7%

17.6%

94,533,447

22.7%

29,145,600

11.6

1.5

12.6

2.2

11.3

1.4

OMAN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 5,957 (0.9%)

MSM Index (% Chg.)

115

63% BKDB.MSMBank Dhofar

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

0.75

Advance/Decline Ratio

112

0.60

RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

Turnover (OMR '000)

7,166,816

Market Cap (OMR '000)

% Chg.

9.9%

0.93

6,406 / 5,419 NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman 3,244 BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

MSM 52 week High / Low

110

Close

0.9%

0.32

0.3%

0.74

OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

-0.1%

0.52

-0.2%

105

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (OMR) 489,926 RNSS.MSMRenaissance Services 255,648 OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co.

B Bank Muscat

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

142,060

B Bank Dhofar

95 13-Dec-11

13-Jan-12

13-Feb-12

13-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

92,085

O Oman Cement Co.

66,317

N National Bank of Oman

Close

0.60

% Chg.

-1.2%

1.41

OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

-0.2%

0.52

BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

-0.2%

0.74

NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

-0.1%

0.32

0.3%

Muscat SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

B Bank Dhofar

0.597

N National Bank of Oman

0.316

O Oman Telecommunications Co. R Renaissance Services

B Bank Muscat

0.740

O Oman Cement Co.

% Chg.

9.9%

-0.1%

High

Low

0.597 0.745

Turnover (OMR '000)

52-Week

Volume ('000)

0.597

142

238

490

0.737

High

0.680

662

Low

0.509

0.781

0.658

0.3%

0.318

0.315

66

210

0.332

0.302

1.407

-0.2%

1.408

1.405

256

182

1.410

1.041

0.601

-1.2%

0.600

7

0.515

R Raysut Cement Co.

Daily

0.933

-0.2%

0.9%

0.516

92

0.514

0.935

33

0.930

0.602

179

0.608

36

1.190

11

1.197

on high

-12.2% -5.3%

-4.8%

% Change YTD

9.1%

12 mths

-10.9%

-3.4%

13.6

PB

2.4

9.7

1.3

1.2

19.2%

1,055,250

9.5

2.1

-48.1%

169,539

0.711

-21.6%

22.8%

-19.1%

10.3%

PE

10.0

-12.9%

7.5%

Trailing

341,596

19.2%

-49.8%

1,145,801

1.9%

-15.3%

0.458

546,397

2.5%

-1.3%

0.416

-0.2%

Market Cap. (OMR '000)

170,399

186,600

13.3

1.1

12.5

1.8

nmf

1.0

BAHRAIN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,152 (0.2%)

BSE Index (% Chg.)

115

Advance/Decline Ratio

112

BSE 52 week High / Low

110

Close

32% AUB.BSE Ahli United Bank 1.00 BARKA.BS Albaraka Banking Grp. 1,433 / 1,129 #N/A #N/A

% of stocks trading above 1 yr avg. price

1,763

Turnover (BHD '000)

6,510,052

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

#N/A

BBK.BSE

0.68

% Chg.

1.5%

1.06

0.0%

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

BBK

#N/A

0.41

-0.5%

105

Highest Turnover 100

99

Worst Performers Turnover (BHD) 625,119 BBK.BSE 221,756 #N/A

B BBK

A Ahli United Bank

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

95 13-Dec-11

13-Jan-12

13-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

B Albaraka Banking Grp.

Bahrain SE

#N/A

2,004

AUB.BSE

2,875

N National Bank of Bahrain

13-Mar-12

4,100

Close

BBK

0.41

#N/A

% Chg.

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

BARKA.BS Albaraka Banking Grp.

1.06

Ahli United Bank

0.68

-0.5%

#N/A #N/A

0.0%

1.5%

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Ahli United Bank*

0.680

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

0.410

Daily

% Chg.

1.5% 0.0% -

0.0%

0.412

-0.5%

0.090

-

797

0.575

0.304

-

0.0% -

High

0.685 1.060 -

Low

0.680 1.060 -

0.410

0.410

-

-

0.412 -

0.575 -

0.412

Turnover (BHD '000) 588

860

-

-

-

5

4

625 -

-

-

-

-

0.575

52-Week

Volume ('000)

-

5

10

1,517 -

3

-

5

High

0.770

1.280

0.570 0.116

0.492

0.436

1,139

Low

0.660 1.000

-11.7%

797

0.065

0.424

0.270

0.560

3,389,350

0.0%

-26.3%

1,306,200

4.6%

-1.0%

590,400

-8.9%

-5.5%

-0.5%

-21.7%

38.5%

-28.3%

1.3%

-16.7%

-30.0%

-12.2%

12 mths

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

-11.1%

-29.3%

0.380 0.390

2.3%

-2.8%

-26.3%

0.082

YTD

-17.2%

0.420

0.115

0.655

on high

% Change

0.0%

0.0%

-8.2%

-29.3%

921,723

Trailing

PE

10.9 7.8

7.4

1.2

350,759

11.0

-21.7%

240,999

nmf

-25.9%

253,707

-12.2%

637,560

491,832

0.8

0.4

nmf

-37.0%

1.3

6.4

77,053

-8.4%

PB

0.8

1.5

4.5

0.6

10.8

1.8

nmf

0.4 1.2

LIFE

Caring for baby after circumcision

Circumcision is a procedure sometimes performed on newborn boys to remove the foreskin of the penis. After the procedure, it’s important for new parents to take proper care to prevent infection and speed healing. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists lists these suggestions to help care for your baby after circumcision: •Make sure that baby’s diaper area stays very clean. •Change diapers frequently throughout the day. •Carefully and thoroughly wash the penis each day with gentle soap and water. The penis should be healed within about a week to 10 days.

wednESDAY, march 14, 2012

Eating red meat raises ‘substantially’ risk of cancer, heart disease Data collected over 28 years reveal striking link - and show that consuming fish or poultry instead contributes to a longer life

LONDON: Regularly eating red meat increases significantly risk of death from heart disease and cancer, according to a study of more than 120,000 people carried out over 28 years reports The Guardian.

The findings show that each extra daily serving of processed red meat - equivalent to one hot dog or two rashers of bacon - raised mortality rate by a fifth.

Conversely, replacing red meat with fish, poultry, or plant-based protein foods contributed to a longer life.

Nuts were said to reduce mortality rate by 20%, making a case for swapping roast beef for nut roast.

Data from 121,342 men and women taking part in two large US health and lifestyle investigations were analyzed to produce the findings, published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. The studies monitored the progress of their participants for more than 20 years and gathered information about diet.

Scientists documented 23,926 deaths, including 5,910 from heart disease and 9,364 from cancer, and there was a striking association in the data between consumption of red meat and premature death.

Each additional daily serving of unprocessed red meat, equivalent to a helping of beef, lamb or pork about the size of a deck of cards, raised the mortality rate by 13%, while processed meat increased it by 20%.

When deaths were broken down into specific causes, eating any kind of red meat increased the chances of dying from heart disease by 16% and from cancer by 10%.

Processed red meat raised the risk of heart disease death by 21% and cancer death by 16%.

Senior author Professor Frank Hu, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, US, said: “This study provides clear evidence that regular consumption of red meat, especially processed meat, contributes substantially to premature death.

“On the other hand, choosing more healthful sources of protein in place of red meat can confer significant health benefits by reducing chronic disease morbidity [illness] and mortality.” Previous research has linked red meat consumption to cancer risk.

The study found that cutting red meat out of the diet

WASHINGTON: The mud and clays ideal for preserving fossil records are less common around Martian lakes than on Earth according to SPACE. A new survey of 226 ancient lakebeds on the Red Planet reveals that only a third show evidence of such deposits on the surface today.

A team of scientists from Brown University pored over surface images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Odyssey Spacecraft, and the Mars Express spacecraft in search of lakes that once boasted water rushing out as well as in. They then analyzed the reflected light from each lake to determine their chemical composition, hoping to identify the muds and clays found in such systems on Earth.

They found that only 79 of the beds contained deposits of minerals that hint at clays on the surface. This scarcity could be a result of the chemistry of mixing Martian water and the surrounding land, or it could be another sign that water on the Red Planet only stuck around for a brief period of time, scientists say.

Capturing fossil records

FILE - Eating any kind of red meat was found to increase the chances of dying from heart disease by 16% and from cancer by 10%. (Agencies)

entirely led to significant benefits. Halving red meat consumption could have prevented 9.3% of deaths of men and 7.6% of women taking part in the study.

The researchers came to their conclusions after taking account of known chronic disease risk factors such as age, body weight, physical activity and family history.

The World Cancer Research Fund recommends that people avoid processed meat entirely and limit their consumption of red meat to 500g a week. Dr Rachel Thompson, the charity’s deputy head of science, said: “This study strengthens the body of evidence which shows a link between red meat and chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

“The study calculates that lives would be saved if people replaced red meat with healthy protein sources such as fish, poultry, nuts and legumes. We would like to see more people replacing red meat with these type of foods.”

The findings were challenged by Dr Carrie Ruxton, of the Meat Advisory Panel, an expert body funded by the meat industry.

She said: “This US study looked at associations between high intakes of red meat and risk of mortality, finding a positive association between the two. However, the study was observational, not controlled, and so cannot be used to determine cause and effect.”

Dr Ruxton pointed out that meat and meat products were significant sources of essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, selenium, B vitamins and vitamin D. In the UK, red meat was “critically important” to zinc intake, contributing 32% of the total for men and 27% for women. Red meat also contributed about 17% of total dietary iron intake in the UK. Victoria Taylor, a dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study links red meat to deaths from CVD [cardiovascular disease] and cancer.

“Red meat can still be eaten as part of a balanced diet, but go for the leaner cuts and use healthier cooking methods such as grilling. If you eat processed meats like bacon, ham, sausages or burgers several times a week, add variation to your diet by substituting these for other protein sources such as fish, poultry, beans or lentils.”

Russia sets Eye problems common sights on Moon, Mars and beyond in astronauts, study says PARIS: Russia’s crisis-hit space agency intends to send its first manned mission to the Moon and deploy research stations on Mars under an ambitious plan presented to the government this month.

The Kommersant daily said the mission statement from the Roscosmos space agency through 2030 reveals no financial details but includes plans to find outside sources of funding that do not put additional pressures on the budget.

It also sees Russia purchasing a large chunk of its rocket technology from foreign countries in order to catch up with its eternal US rival NASA by 2020.

“Notably, the target characteristics of Russian spacecraft will be brought to world levels primarily using foreign elements,” the business daily wrote.

Roscosmos has been recently beset by problems that saw its satellites fail to reach orbit and a high-profile Mars mission crash back down to Earth last year.

Experts point to a continuing brain drain from the underfunded agency and

Mars clays could preserve signs of life

a reliance on a vast but ultimately inefficient string of state subcontractors as two factors behind Russia’s growing lag behind NASA. Russia’s new space plan appears to acknowledge these problems by assigning the highest priority to technological development and modernization.

Roscosmos then hopes to develop a reusable space vehicle similar to the retired US shuttle and eventually one that could take people to Mars and back.

Russia by 2030 should be able “to conduct a manned circum-lunar test flight with the subsequent landing of cosmonauts on its surface and their return to Earth,” Kommersant quotes the Roscosmos plan as saying.

The agency says it also hopes to join other nations in deploying a network of long-term research stations on Mars that would be used a stepping stone for the Red Planet’s eventual colonization.

Roscosmos officials offered no immediate comment on their program’s publication in Kommersant. -AFP

Cassini spacecraft glimpses new views of moon Rhea

The pockmarked surface of Saturn’s second-largest moon has come into sharper focus in new images released by NASA. The space agency on Monday released the new views of the moon Rhea, which were captured by the international Cassini spacecraft during a recent flyby. One of its cameras spied two huge impact basins and other geologic features on Rhea’s icy surface from 26,000 miles away last week. Cassini, funded by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, was launched in 1997. It reached Saturn in 2004 and has been studying the ringed planet and its numerous moons. (AP)

If life evolved on Mars, deposits of clay and sediment could contain evidence of its existence.

When Curiosity, the rover for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, lands on Mars this summer, it will search clays and sediments in the Gale Crater for indications of past environments that could have supported microbial life. [Photos: The Search for Water on Mars] “Clay minerals on Earth are a very well known preserver of the signatures of life,” primary investigator Timothy Goudge told SPACE. Because these deposits formed in large bodies of water, they are particularly promising.

“On Earth, pretty much all of the lakes we see have some form of life living within the sediment, or in the lake itself. Of the possible candidates, lakes are a very good one.”

Water rushing over mineral grains stirs and mixes them, chemically altering their structure as it moves along.

But if the water only flowed briefly for a given lake, there may not have been time for the creation of large quantities of clay.

“Presently on Mars, there’s a lot of water-ice, but not really a lot of flowing surface water like we think it was like in the ancient past,” Goudge said. “If the lakes themselves had short lifetimes, it makes sense that the flowing surface water was not long-lived.

According to the team, all of the examined lakes have undergone some form of resurfacing since they became inactive more than 3.7 billion years ago. Lava flowing from volcanoes covered some of the beds, and icy glaciers crept down from the poles to hide others. In some cases, weathering eroded these new layers, exposing the clay sediments.

This is particularly apparent in the Nili Fossae region, where exposed sediments in lakes are particularly dense. The area has undergone substantial erosion, revealing crusts as old as 4.1 billion years, which leads the team to favor such a process as a driving cause for peeling away layers and exhuming clay deposits from the past. This hypothesis is only tentative, but it could mean more deposits are hidden beneath the surface on other parts of Mars, waiting to be unveiled.

Like their exposed counterparts, the buried clays could contain records of the planet’s past. And they aren’t limited by size.

“The great thing about clay minerals is that they can preserve the signature of life for a variety of different scales,” Goudge said.

Vitamins, supplements may lead to earlier death

FILE - This photo, released by NASA in 2009, shows a cosmonaut performing a maintenance task outside the International Space Station. (AFP)

PARIS: Brain and eye problems have surfaced in astronauts who spent more than a month in space, marking a potential setback to plans for longer deep space missions, according to a US study.

The research in the journal Radiology analyzed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 27 astronauts with an average of 108 days in space, either on space shuttle missions or aboard the International Space Station.

Shuttle missions typically lasted a couple of weeks, while ISS stints can last more than six months. A Mars mission to bring astronauts to the red planet in the coming decades could last a year and a half.

Among the astronauts who spent more than a month in space over their lifetimes, researchers found a variety of complications that appear similar to a syndrome caused by unexplained pressure on the brain.

These symptoms included excess cerebral-spinal fluid around the optic nerve in 33 percent of the astronauts studied and flattening of the back of the eyeball in 22 percent of them.

Fifteen percent had a bulging optic nerve and 11 percent showed changes to the pituitary gland -- which is located between the optic nerves, secreting sex hormones and regulating the thyroid -- and its connection to the brain.

Similar effects, which can lead to problems with vision, have been observed in non-space travelers who suf-

fer from unexplained pressure buildup in the brain, a condition known as intracranial hypertension.

“Microgravity-induced intracranial hypertension represents a hypothetical risk factor and a potential limitation to long-duration space travel,” said lead author Larry Kramer, professor of diagnostic and interventional imaging at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

“The MRI findings revealed various combinations of abnormalities following both short- and long-term cumulative exposure to microgravity also seen with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.”

While bone loss and temporary muscular aches and nerve abnormalities have been known to afflict astronauts in the past, the new data on eye problems has many at NASA concerned about the health of its spaceflight corps.

“NASA has placed this problem high on its list of human risks, has initiated a comprehensive program to study its mechanisms and implications, and will continue to closely monitor the situation,” said William Tarver, chief of the flight medicine clinic at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

He said the findings are suspicious but not conclusive of intracranial hypertension, and said no astronauts have been rendered ineligible for future spaceflight as a result of the findings. -AFP

NEW YORK: People taking vitamins or supplements are more likely to die over a given period than people not taking them, a new study from Finland says, adding weight to recent findings from the US along those lines according to LiveScience.

In the new study, researchers gathered data on nearly 1,800 people between the ages of 62 and 74 who were participating in a prospective, population health study of the residents of one town in Finland.

Over a 10-year period, 59 of the 221 people (26.6 percent) taking a vitamin or supplement died, whereas 281 of the 1,553 people (18.1 percent) of the nonusers died.

After the researchers took into account other factors that can affect a person’s risk of dying - such as age, gender and smoking - they found that people taking vitamins or supplements were 50 to 70 percent more likely to die over the course of the study than those not taking them, said study researcher Dr. Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, of the University of Eastern Finland. The findings are in line with a recent study from University of Minnesota researchers, who looked at 38,000 women who were around age 62 at the study’s start, and found a slight increase in mortality among those taking vitamins or supplements. They found, for example, that 40.8 percent of 13,000 women taking a daily multivitamin died over the 19-year study, whereas 39.8 percent of the 10,000 women who hadn’t taken a daily multivitamin had died.

Both studies showed an association, not a cause-and-effect link. The Minnesota study had prompted ideas that supplement users were a “self -selected” group, Tuomainen told MyHealthNewsDaily. It could be that people who take supplements tend to have more health problems than nonusers to start with, or are more likely than nonusers to have close relatives with health problems (which could mean they are at greater risk for developing later problems themselves).

But the new study suggests that those hypotheses may not explain the increased death risk,Tuomainen said. He and his co-authors adjusted their analysis to account for people who reported pre-existing diseases and a family history of the “major killer” diseases, he said.

The adjustment brought down the increased risk of dying seen among the supplement users, but did not make it disappear, he said.

Part of the reason behind the link may be that taking vitamins or supplements that include more iron or copper than the body needs are harmful for health, Tuomainen said.

These metals are pro-oxidants, and may trigger the type of stress in the body (oxidative stress) that is associated with chronic diseases, though more work is needed to show this.

16

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

wednesDAY, MARCH 14, 2012

Researchers say long-lost Leonardo may have been found FLORENCE: Art researchers and scientists said on Monday that a high-tech project using tiny video probes has uncovered evidence that a fresco by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci lost for five centuries may still exist behind a wall of Florence’s city hall.

“Together with art historians and scientists combining historical evidence and technology, this research team has unlocked a mystery that has been with us for more than 500 years,” said Terry Garcia, an executive vice president of the US National Geographic Society, which sponsored the research.

The project to find what has come to be known as the “Lost Leonardo” has been controversial, in part because researchers had to drill several holes into an existing work and because not all agree that the Leonardo fresco is still there.

At the start of the 16th century, Florence’s leaders commissioned Leonardo, then at the height of his career, to paint a massive fresco celebrating the Florentine Republic’s victory over the Milanese in a battle on the plains of Anghiari that took place on June 29, 1440.

Leonardo, who loathed war as “a most beastly madness,” depicted a group of horses and riders furiously fighting.

He abandoned the project a year after he started, probably because a new experimental technique for frescoes failed. But some of his preparatory studies remain, as well as other artists’ copies of the original fresco.

All traces of the original were lost more than 50 years later when Giorgio Vasari renovated the great Sala dei Cinquecento in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio and was ordered to paint a new fresco, “The Battle of Marciano,” to accommodate the higher walls.

Some believe that Vasari was loath to destroy Leonardo’s work, so he built a new wall with an air gap of several centimeters in front of the Leonardo in order to preserve what was left.

Medical-Style Probe

Researchers used tiny, medical-style endoscopic probes and other high-tech tools in-

Mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi speaks during a news conference on the search of the lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco “Battle of Anghiari” in Florence March 12, 2012. (Reuters)

A researcher works on the “Battle of Angiari” project, a search for the lost Leonardo da Vinci fresco, in Florence in this handout picture released on March 12, 2012. (Reuters)

serted through existing cracks in the outer wall holding the Vasari fresco and took samples of substances.

“We found traces of pigments that appear to be those known to have been used exclusively by Leonardo,” said Maurizio Seracini, an engineer and expert in art diagnostics who has been on the trail of the “Lost Leonardo” for three decades.

“These data are very encouraging,” he said, adding that one black pigment found was believed to be of the same type used by Leonardo on the Mona Lisa.

The research work was carried out by the US National Geographic Society, the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology at the University of California at San Diego and Italian art officials.

“I am quite convinced that something has been found and I think this is a historic day,” Garcia said in an interview with Reuters at the presentation of the results.

But some art historians are skeptical, saying the fresco of the Battle of Anghiari was most likely destroyed before Vasari painted his new fresco.

Some art historians working on the project withdrew their support and Italia Nostra, Italy’s leading nature and arts conservation group, asked Florentine authorities to halt it because they said it risked harming the Vasari fresco and because they believed it was unlikely that the original Leonardo was there.

Garcia dismissed the criticism. “I think we have demonstrated that those who said the Leonardo was not behind the wall are wrong,” he said.

“All of the holes that were put into the mural were either in areas that had been previously restored or in fissures, so the original Vasari was not touched,” he said.

But even some of the participants at the presentation urged caution.

“We need further certainties and maxi-

“There is overwhelming historic documentation that indicates that the Leonardo was painted, that it was behind the wall and that it was in existence at the time that Vasari painted his fresco,” he said.

“Then through a series of scientific analyses using state-of-the-art imaging technology we were able to determine that there was a wall in front of the original wall and we confirmed it visually with the endoscope that showed that there is a gap ... and the sample from the wall clearly indicates that there are pigments behind this,” he said.

Next Steps Uncertain

He said it was now up to Italy’s culture ministry to decide the next steps and whether to explore other parts of the wall.

“We can’t tell you today the condition of the Leonardo. That is for subsequent research and exploration,” Garcia said. “Whatever remains of the Leonardo is behind that wall.”

Nixon love letters to his ‘dearest heart’ on display LONDON: Old-school love letters between a young Richard Nixon and the woman he would later marry have been unveiled at the former president’s library in California, showing the poetic side of a man who addressed his future wife as “dearest heart.”

The letters, written by hand from 1938 to 1940, include professions of love in which Nixon tells Pat Ryan, as she was then known, that “nothing so fine ever happened” to him as falling in love with her.

“Every day and every night I want to see you and be with you. Yet I have no feeling of selfish ownership or jealousy. In fact I should always want you to live just as you wanted - because if you didn’t then you would change and wouldn’t be you,” Nixon wrote in one of the letters, part of a rotating display at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.

“Let’s go for a long ride Sundays; let’s go to the

mountains weekends; let’s read books in front of fires; most of all let’s really grow together and find the happiness we know is ours,” he continued.

Nixon, who was US president from 1969 to 1974, stepped down in the face of almost certain impeachment due to the involvement of his aides and campaign in an attempt to bug his political opponents’ offices at the Watergate complex and the subsequent cover-up.

He was pardoned a month after he left office by his successor, President Gerald Ford. Nixon, whose wife stood by him throughout a scandal that damaged national trust in the White House and government, died in 1994. The letters illustrate the couple’s courtship between the time they met during tryouts for a community play in Whittier, California, in 1938 and when they were later married in 1940, nearly three decades before becoming president and first lady.

“What’s so charming about these letters is that they are really from another time, because I think the writing of love letters has really become a lost art with technology,” said exhibit curator Bob Bostock.

He said that while Nixon’s letters showed a romantic side, Pat Ryan’s letters tended to be “a bit lighter, humorous.”

In one, she writes: “Hi-ho, Hi-ho! How does it go?

It would be good to see and hear -. Night school is over about 9 so if you are through with club meeting perhaps I’ll see you?”

In another letter, she offers to “burn a hamburger” for him. Six of the letters will be on rotating display in the Nixon library in Yorba Linda, California, through September 3 as part of an exhibit to mark what would have been Pat’s 100th birthday. She died in 1993.

-Reuters

Japan maestro Ozawa vows return after break ‘Batman’

brings order to southern Slovak town

FILE - Maestro Seiji Ozawa conducts the Seiji Ozawa Ongaku-juku orchestra during a rehearsal at the National Theatre in Beijing April 15, 2009. (Reuters)

TOKYO: Seiji Ozawa, Japan’s most famous conductor, on Tuesday pledged to return to performing next year, a week after saying he would take time off to recover from a recent spell of bad health that has included bouts of pneumonia.

The former Vienna State Opera musical director, 76, who before that was conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in January 2010 and completed treatment later that year.

“Up until now I had too much faith in my own physical strength and ended up making trouble for everybody,” Ozawa was quoted as telling the daily Yomiuri Shimbun in an interview.

“I will take a different path to rehabilitation and from next spring on, little by little resume my activities.”

His doctor said in a statement last week that Ozawa had been diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia in February, and while it had cleared up after a week in hospital, Ozawa’s lack of strength meant he should take a break from performing.

Ozawa, who said last week that the decision to rest had been “extremely difficult”, told the newspaper that he had reluctantly concluded this was true.

“Even if I didn’t feel anything during performances, once they ended I was always terribly exhausted. A full schedule in that state would be impossible,” he said.

Ozawa, who underwent endoscopic lower back surgery in January 2011, took a six month break from conducting at that time and was forced to cancel a number of performances later that year as well, including taking part in a Chinese music festival.

“I was much more tense than I used to be before each performance, and I think part of my exhaustion afterwards was due to this psychological stress,” he was quoted as saying, noting that he himself was aware he hadn’t yet fully recovered Ozawa was one of the first Asian classical musicians widely recognized abroad and has strived to revitalize the classical music scene in his native country by founding the Saito Kinen orchestra, named after his former music teacher. -Reuters

DUNAJSKA STREDA, Slovakia: His utility belt might not be as well-equipped as the TV version and he hasn’t had to fight Penguin’s henchmen yet, but Zoltan Kohari has nailed the superhero look and grit needed to fight evil in the southern Slovak town of Dunajska Streda.

Dressed in his home-made, all-leather Batman costume with the bat symbol proudly displayed on his chest and pointy ears on his cowl, Kohari, 26, cleans the streets, helps old people out and calls the police when he sees something suspicious.

“I have decided to do good for the people.

I take care of order and help clean up the environment so we can keep living on this planet,” Kohari told Reuters.

There are some slight differences in the storylines of the real-life Kohari and fictional millionaire Bruce Wayne, the man behind the mask in Batman comic books, TV shows and films.

For one, Kohari is a real-life person, whose path to the side of truth, justice and a tidy neighborhood once strayed to the wrong side of the law.

The trained house painter spent eight months in jail last year and attempted suicide after he was released, before realizing he had a mission to make life in his com-

munity better.

Lacking a full-time job, he moved into a dilapidated concrete apartment block on the edge of town where he turned an empty apartment - with no electricity or running water -- into his very own Batcave from where he launches his street patrols.

Kohari’s Batman impersonation follows the emergence of a trend in the United States, where ordinary citizens began donning superhero costumes and performing public services in the wake of Hollywood films such as “Kick Ass” and Woody Harrelson’s “Defendor”, which tell the tale of “real-life” superheroes.

Kohari says he never resorts to physical violence and some people in his town think he is a bit batty, but his neighbors said he is an honest and good man.

“He’s had a tough life but he is very dependable and we like him. He helps us out, keeps an eye on public order, and he is a hero for my son and his schoolmates,” said Jana Kocisova, a mother of two who lives in a neighboring apartment block.

So what’s next for the Slovak superhero? After tidying up and helping the elderly, Batman’s next mission will be making sure bouncers at the local disco do not rough up visitors. -Reuters

Zoltan Kohari, known as the Slovak Batman, poses in his home in the town of Dunajska Streda, some 34 miles (55 km) south of Bratislava March 8, 2012.

(Reuters)

mum protection for the Vasari fresco,” said Cristina Acidini, arts superintendent for Florence, in response to a question about what the next step would be.

“There are pros and cons about every art project,” said Marco Chatti, head of the Opificio Delle Pietre Dure, Florence’s most prestigious arts restoration laboratory.

Florence mayor Matteo Renzi said more work needed to be done on the project to reveal the condition of the Leonardo, which he believes is behind the wall.

“I ask the government to authorize us to find out how much (of the Leonardo) is left, in what condition it is in, and to evaluate if we can bring this work of Leonardo back into the light for the whole world,” Renzi said.

The mayor said he believed that modern technology should allow the public to appreciate both the Leonardo and Vasari.

“But if I had to choose, I would choose Leonardo,” Renzi said. -Reuters

Addressing inequality is key 21st Century challenge: Expert

BUENOS AIRES: Argentinean economic analyst Bernardo Kliksberg maintains that redressing inequity on a world scale is the main challenge humanity faces in the 21st century.

“Just like in the 19th century the fight was against slavery and the 20th century a human rights were a big issue, in the 21st century the central theme is social inequality,” Kliksberg told the German Press Agency, dpa, in an interview.

Klikspberg says that it seems incredible that 43 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product is held by one per cent of the world’s population. He’s also upset that the chasm between the rich and the poor continues to increase in regions experiencing economic growth.

An expert on development policies Kliksberg has worked as advisor to bodies such as the United Nations, the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) and the Organization of American States. Late last year, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), issued a report saying that the gap between the poor and the rich in member countries had reached the highest rates in the last three decades.

Currently, the average income of the wealthiest 10 per cent of the population in those countries is nine times greater than the poorest 10 per cent. In Mexico the ratio is 25 to one. Kliksberg said that inequity not only has a “nefarious” effect on the quality of life of individuals - for example suicide rates in Greece increased by 40 per cent among professionals and displaced small savers - but also prevents a country from creating national savings and leads to the concentration of economic power and therefore also of mass media ownership.

A pioneer in the so-called Ethics for Development movement, Kliksberg is certain that it will be citizens’ action that will forge future societies. Kliksberg believes that in the Europe crisis, the focus should be elsewhere. “Regardless of the debt problem, the real underlying issue is inequality and what must be analyzed is whether the measures being promoted contribute something in favour or against those practices,” he said.

Together with 1998 winner of the Noble prize in Economics, Indian Amartya Sen, Kliksberg co-authored a book called “People First.” The book, which has recently been translated in China, posits that greater attention must be paid to the stability achieved by countries such as Norway, with such fully egalitarian societies.

In line with other Nobel laureates in Economics such as Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, Kliksberg feels that austerity plans applied in Europe are “economic suicide” as they will in the short run deepen recession and social injustice.”Why is it being done like this?

At the behest of the large financial groups, which demand their dues regardless of who might get hurt. Those large groups showed what they are capable of in the 2008-2009 Wall Street crisis. They sank the US economy, the most powerful on the planet, that today has 50 million poor,” Kliksberg said.

He described the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in the United States, and parallel protests in Spain by “the indignant ones”, as one of “the most clearheaded episodes in recent history.” This, Kliksberg said was because activists were not demanding jobs, but rather that policy makers apply an ethical approach in economics. In fact, the occupy Wall Street movement slogan, “We are the 99 per cent”, refers to the fact that in the United States one per cent of the population holds 40 per cent of wealth, Kliksberg pointed out.

“The only way to revert this, is to recover ethics in economics,” Kliksberg said, quoting Adam Smith who e warned about how markets can turn into “monsters”. Kliksberg believes that the path to change is to be found in each community. He points encouragingly to new policies being followed in South America: Brazil with its anti-poverty program that managed to pull 40 million people into the middle class; Argentina with a similar program based on aid for children and the Ceibal plan in Uruguay that allowed Uruguayan schoolchildren to enter the digital world.

Progress in redressing social ills in those countries, proves that “inequality is not invincible.”

“If the model is rectified, the situation changes,” Kliksberg said.

He is a firm believer in the power of citizens to choose leaders who offer egalitarian policies and stick to them. “The population is vigilant that they (elected officials) apply what they promised. And they do not accept resignations.” -dpa

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: I Would Do Anything For You Artist: Foster the People Album: Torches Genre: Alternative In short: Foster the People’s breakthrough came with the release of “Pumped Up Kicks” and quickly died afterwards; the band’ s debut album,Torches, featured some more-of-thesame numbers, and others different in sound. The album’s true highlight is the sublime “I Would Do Anything For You,” which, despite sounding a little too similar to “Pumped Up Kicks,” manages to stand on its own and could very well be the second hit they need to maintain their status.

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

The Buzz Desperate Housewives series finale date announced “Desperate Housewives” fans said goodbye to character Mike Delfino on Sunday night -- and now they know when they’ll be saying goodbye to the series altogether. The ABC nighttime soap will end its eight-season run on May 13, the network announced Monday. “Desperate Housewives” will draw to a conclusion with a two-hour “finale event” that the network promises will be “splashy.” (Could it possibly be any other way?) -Reuters

wednesDAY, march 14, 2012

Murdoch exec Brooks re-arrested in hacking probe: Report LONDON: Police arrested Rebekah Brooks, the former News of the World editor and close confidante of Rupert Murdoch, for a second time on Tuesday in the latest round of detentions in Britain’s phone-hacking scandal, Sky News reported.

British police confirmed they had held five men and one woman in dawn raids across the country on suspicion of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, with the woman described as 43 years old and living in Oxfordshire.

Brooks, a central figure in the phone hacking scandal, is 43 years old and lives in Oxfordshire. Sky News, which is part owned

by Murdoch’s media group, said her husband, racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, had also been detained.

“The coordinated arrests were made between approximately 0500 and 0700 this morning by officers from Operation Weeting, the Metropolitan Police Service inquiry into the phone-hacking of voicemail boxes,” the police said in a statement.

“A number of addresses connected to the arrests are being searched.”

One of the descriptions of those arrested on Tuesday also fitted the description of James Murdoch, but two sources close to Murdoch said he was currently in the United States. The police did not name those it had arrested.

News Corp, Murdoch’s media empire which owns the now-defunct News of the World Sunday tabloid at the centre of the investigations, declined to comment on the latest arrests.

The long-running saga has shaken News Corp and damaged the police and politicians from all major political parties, revealing ex-

FILE - In this Sunday, July 10, 2011 file photo Chairman of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch, left, and then chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks leave his residence in central London. (AP)

tremely close ties between the media and the upper elements of the establishment.

The 168-year-old News of the World was shut down in July at the height of the hacking scandal, while two of Britain’s most senior police officers quit their posts after being accused of failing to properly investigate the allegations.

Horsegate

The latest arrests could also bring further embarrassment to Prime Minister David

Cameron, who finally admitted earlier this month that he had ridden a horse given to the high-profile Brooks couple by the police, in an episode dubbed “horsegate” by rival press.

Cameron, who has sought to distance himself from a wealthy background seen as an electoral weakness, said that he had been friends with Charlie Brooks for over 30 years.

Asked on Tuesday how concerned the prime minister was at the arrest of his “close friend” Charlie Brooks, a spokeswoman for

Streep as Clinton?

Tribute gets people talking

Houston daughter TV interview a hit for OWN Oprah Winfrey’s interview with the teenaged daughter of late singer Whitney Houston was watched by some 3.5 million US viewers on Sunday, the largest audience ever for Winfrey’s fledgling OWN TV channel. OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, said on Monday that the emotional, first public interview with Bobbi Kristina Brown, 19, and the singer’s manager and sister-in-law Patricia Houston, more than doubled the previous best audience for the network.

Bobbi Kristina, the only child of Houston and singer Bobby Brown, told Winfrey that she could hear the spirit of her mother constantly, encouraging her to keep going, and that the lights in the Atlanta home they shared kept going on and off in what she felt was a sign of Whitney Houston’s presence. -Reuters

Homeland, Dexter get return dates What will Dexter’s sister do after catching him in the middle of a murder? And will “Homeland” agent Carrie remember the evidence that Brody has terrorist ties after her shock treatments? You’ll get the answers to both questions on Sunday, September 30. Showtime announced Monday that both “Dexter” and “Homeland” will return then, when they’ll again share a night. “Dexter” returns for its seventh season and “Homeland” for its second. It’s a good thing for fans of both shows, since they ended on serious cliffhangers. Dexter’s (Michael C. Hall) sister, Deborah (Jennifer Carpenter), realized she’s in love with her adopted brother -- and then caught him dispatching the Doomsday Killer. The first season of “Homeland,” meanwhile, ended with Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) refusing to carry out a terrorist plot, and disgraced and deactivated CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) undergoing shock treatments to treat her mental illness. But she had an important realization about Brody just as the procedure began. -Reuters

Sutherland hopes new show will Touch the world Kiefer Sutherland thinks his new TV show “Touch” will break down cultural barriers. The star of the action-packed “24” says the new science fiction drama series by writer Tim Kring focuses on the similarities between different cultures and faiths. Sutherland says that’s unique for a US show, approaching “something from the perspective of ‘What are the things that we have in common?’” “Touch” features Sutherland as Martin Bohm, the father of a super-intelligent mute son with a unique ability to connect with the world and find patterns in it. The show’s international outlook means “Touch” will launch simultaneously in many countries around the world.

It premieres March 22 in the US on Fox and in the UK on Sky1 HD. -AP

America’s Got Talent champ to try politics again The one-time winner of the NBC show “America’s Got Talent” has decided to make another stab at politics. The Southeast Missourian reports that Neal Boyd of Sikeston will seek election as a Republican in the newly drawn 149th Missouri House District. Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder made the announcement Saturday at a Cape Girardeau County Lincoln Day event. Boyd is the first GOP candidate to announce his intention to seek that seat. Democratic state Rep. Steve Hodges also plans to run. Hodges’ current district is split into parts of three districts under the new map. Boyd won the network TV show and its $1 million prize in 2008. He announced a run for a state House seat last fall but later pulled out. -AP

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to the media during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, March 9, 2012. (AP)

Actress Meryl Streep smiles during a press conference to promote her movie “The Iron Lady” in Tokyo, Japan, March 7, 2012. (AP)

NEW YORK: Meryl Streep is fresh off her Oscar win for playing Margaret Thatcher. But she had an entire theater at Lincoln Center wondering if an even better role for her would be a political icon closer to home: Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The question arose as Streep paid a glowing and affectionate tribute to the secretary of state at the Women in the World summit, an annual gathering of prominent women leaders and unsung heroines from across the globe that closed over the weekend.

“This is what you get when you play a world leader,” Streep said Saturday, hoisting up her best-actress Oscar for “The Iron Lady.”

“But if you want a real world leader,” Streep continued, “THIS is what you get!” Clinton strolled onstage at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ David H. Koch Theater, and Streep enveloped her in a hug.

The three-day summit, now in its third year, is organized

by Tina Brown, editor in chief of Newsweek and The Daily Beast. Besides Streep and Clinton, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, Brown harnessed the star power of Angelina Jolie, who came to read the words of Dr. Hawa Abdi, a Somali humanitarian facing danger from Islamist rebels there.

Many global problems were addressed by the dozens of panels attended by some 2,000 delegates each day. But a constant undercurrent was an issue at home: the debate in Washington over women’s reproductive health care.

Clinton and other speakers referred, obliquely and not,

to conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh’s insulting remarks about law student Sandra Fluke, who came under attack after she testified to congressional Democrats in support of their national health care policy that would compel her Catholic college’s health insurance plan to cover birth control.

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee, of Liberia, was the most blunt, saying women had been too passive: “Where are the angry American women?” she asked.

From Liberia to Egypt: Panelists discussed whether the Arab Spring risked becoming an Arab Winter for women, who were central to the popular uprising but now fear being marginalized. “Tell people there is no spring without flowers and there is no Arab Spring without women,” said Dalia Ziada, Egypt director of the American Islamic Congress.

The conference came to a more lighthearted end with Streep, who spoke humorously of the similarities she shared with Clinton. They’re roughly the same age, she said. They both have two brothers. They both had spirited, big-hearted mothers. They both went to women’s colleges and then to graduate school at Yale. “But there our two paths diverged in the wood,” Streep noted, concluding that “I’m an actress, and she’s the real deal.”

Clinton arrived to deliver a call to arms for women around the world to get involved in effecting change. But not before expressing relief that there was one movie Streep had never made. “I’m just glad she didn’t do a movie called ‘The Devil Wears Pantsuits,’” quipped Clinton, mixing the title of a Streep film with her favored style of clothing. -AP

Stephen Hawking to guest star on Big Bang Theory LOS ANGELES: “The Big Bang Theory” is getting a visit from Stephen Hawking.

The renowned theoretical physicist will guest-star on the April 5 episode of the CBS comedy, the network said Monday. In the cameo, Hawking visits uber-geek Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) at work “to share his beautiful mind with his most ardent admirer,” according to CBS. Executive producer Bill Prady said that having Hawking on the show had long been a goal, though it seemed unattainable.

When people would ask us who a ‘dream guest star’ for

the show would be, we would always joke and say Stephen Hawking - knowing that it was a long shot of astronomical proportions,” Prady said. “In fact, we’re not exactly sure how we got him. It’s the kind of mystery that could only be understood by, say, a Stephen Hawking.”

Hawking, known for his book “A Brief History of Time,” has appeared on television comedies before, albeit in voice work. Hawking has done a guest spot on “Futurama” and appeared as himself on several episodes of “The Simpsons.” -Reuters

Cameron said: “It’s an operational matter for the police,” and declined further comment.

Charlie and his wife Rebekah Brooks, who was arrested last year by police investigating phone hacking and corruption at the paper, live close to Cameron in one of England’s most expensive regions and have been labeled in the media as part of a wealthy “Chipping Norton set”.

Conspiring to pervert the course of justice, which so far in this investigation has meant the destruction of email evidence, could result in a more lengthy jail sentence than for phone-hacking itself.

Charlie Brooks was himself dragged into the hacking scandal in July last year when police seized a bag containing a laptop computer and personal documents from close to the couple’s London apartment.

Brooks, who attempted to reclaim the bag, said at the time that the items had nothing to do with his wife and had simply been misplaced following a mix-up with a friend.

Police working on Operation Weeting - which until Tuesday had seen 17 people arrested so far - said the five men and one woman were held at addresses in Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and East and West London.

Operation Weeting was set up to investigate the allegation that journalists and investigators working for the News of the World tabloid repeatedly hacked into mobile phones to generate stories.

As part of that investigation, current and former News International journalists have been held on suspicion of making illegal payments to police and public officials, while others have been questioned over computer hacking. -Reuters

Mystery witness emerges in Housewives trial LOS ANGELES: The trial over Nicollette Sheridan’s firing from “Desperate Housewives” featured one last twist Monday with the disclosure of a mystery witness who has indicated show officials tried to cover up correspondence related to the actress.

A judge ordered the man to appear in court Tuesday morning to determine whether he will become one of the final witnesses that jurors considering the case will hear from. The man, who was identified as Michael Reinhart, left a message for Sheridan’s attorney on Sunday afternoon stating that he mistakenly got an email that suggested that messages related to Sheridan’s departure would be purged. The man on the message said he didn’t want to become involved in the case, but by day’s end had becoming the latest intriguing thread in a trial that has featured a behind-the-scenes look at “Desperate Housewives” and conflicting testimony on whether Sheridan was struck by show creator Marc Cherry during a September 2008 dispute.

“There was a definite conspiracy to cover up the correspondence on email-wise in regards to Nicollette,” the caller is heard saying on the call, which was played in court outside the presence of the jury.

Adam Levin, an attorney for Cherry and the ABC television network, dismissed the claims. He noted in court that he had not spoken with Reinhart.

“Today’s antics by the plaintiff, conjuring up mysterious emails, appears to be a last ditch effort to save her case,” Levin said after Monday’s proceedings.

Closing arguments are likely to begin on Tuesday as both sides call their final witnesses. Sheridan’s attorney Mark Baute, who received the message Sunday, said he would like to call Reinhart as a witness. Sheridan, 48, is suing Cherry and ABC for wrongful termination and battery and is seeking $6 million in damages. -AP

Bollywood actress to sue paper over matchfixing story MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has dismissed a Sunday Times report that it will investigate a 2011 World Cup semi-final for match-fixing while a Bollywood actress said she would sue the newspaper for using what she said was her picture with the story.

The British newspaper said on Sunday that Indian bookmakers, with the help of a Bollywood actress, had been fixing the results of English County Championship matches and international games. It said it had evidence that tens of thousands of pounds was being offered to players to throw part or all of international matches, including last year’s World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan. “The story carried by the newspaper, in which it has claimed that the ICC is investigating the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final between India and Pakistan, is baseless and misleading,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement. One of the bookmakers cited in the report said at least two New Zealand cricketers were also involved in fixing matches.

Nupur Mehta, a Bollywood actress who has appeared in two films, said a picture used for the story, of a skimpilyclad woman with her face blurred, was of her.

“All I can say is that the journalist from the Sunday Times must be completely in love with me to make me famous in India and New Zealand, and even in London itself,” Mehta told Reuters by telephone on Tuesday.

Mehta, who said she had modelled in Paris and Milan before moving to Bollywood, said she was consulting a lawyer and would send a legal notice to the newspaper in the next day or two. “I have no linkage with these kind of people,” she said. -Reuters

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012

If you have an event you wish to include, please email: aroundtown@alwatandaily.com

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

Bossini Spring Summer’12 Collection

KUWAIT: Bossini Spring Summer’12 Collection is geared up for all the excitement it has to offer young kids, ladies and men.

Aspire to the lavish bright colors this summer and explore the tribal patterns and intense embroidery with the dash of lace for a real change. Bright blue, rose pink, sunny orange and capturing gold are all in this season; reach over for the all over printed slip, knitted dresses and beautiful floral blouses if you aim for a striking feminine look.

For a fab style on the beach, Bossini’s white denim capris, hot pants, and check tanks are perfectly tailored to your fashion trend this season.

Ladies summer fashion by Bossini this year is all about great taste inspired with Leisure - French Sailor theme consisting of bold stripes, polka dot, graphic of sea-shore, boat wheel & navy’s ropes with all over print

Month a t

tunic shirt, dip dye print tee and ankle length cargo pant. The season’s floral theme happened in a garden with natural greens and flowery bright colors all over floral printed tunic blouse in crepe fabric lace, tee light weight, poplin pant in loose fit & wooden button.

Men’s summer fashion by Bossini this year is all about great taste inspired from retro naval style. Key garments include Sailor & pier.

Key Items: Marine Stripe is the key word of this season, we offer up a diverse selection of stripe style including stripe sweatshirt with toggle detail, special print tee & polo which work best with naval jacket.

Emphasize seafearing style by pairing with double cloth shirt and rolled up chino.

Visit Bossini at Hawally, Fahaheel, Farwaniya, Khaldiya Co-op and Qortuba Co-op to experience a whole lot of summer fun!

Sudoku

Elementary

Advanced

Intermediate

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

Be careful of getting into fights today, Aries. However, if a squabble or altercation of some sort seems inevitable, don’t shrink away and hide. It’s important that you face the source of the attack and stand up to whomever or whatever is getting in your path. Conjure up the warrior inside you and you might surprise yourself with the incredible power you have within.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Issues regarding freedom are apt to come up today in more ways than one, Taurus. These issues could be connected with opportunities for adventure and travel. Although you initially want to dive into this promised freedom, take time to reflect on what you need in your current situation before making any final decision. Don’t forget the other people in your life.

Gemini: May 21- June 21

There is a great deal of startup energy working for you today, Gemini. You may feel as if you’re walking on hot coals. This isn’t a good day to sit on the couch watching TV. The coals will burn you for sure. It’s important that you keep moving. Engage in activities that exercise your mind as well as body.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

Your energy will light up any room you enter today, Cancer. Feel free to take advantage of this incredible magnetism by initiating and encouraging others to join you in creative activities and bold adventures. However, be careful that your head doesn’t get too big. You can be proud without becoming egotistical; otherwise you’ll end up losing your followers before you even get started.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Put an extra spring in your step, Leo. The slow, steady pace may be something that you’re comfortable with, but note that the situations of the day call for something much more dynamic and brave.

Pull out your leadership hat and put it on proudly. Today is the day for you to call the shots, instead of compromising in order to get along with others.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Be prepared for all-out combat with people today, Virgo, even though this is pretty much the opposite of your normal style. In fact, “opposite” is the name of the game for you today. Don’t be surprised if you walk into an ice cream shop wanting vanilla and all they have is chocolate.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Control is apt to be a big theme for you and the people around you today, Libra. You’ll find such a brutal dispute over who is holding the reins that once someone finally gets a firm hold of them, he or she is apt to take the situation to the extreme. There’s an aggressive tone to things that can’t easily be ignored. Keep an eye on your associates on a day like this.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

In general, things should be going extremely well for you today, Scorpio, so don’t miss this opportunity to pursue your dreams in every sense of the word. Do things with passion and don’t hold back.

Remember that your mind and will are the only things stopping you from getting where you want to be. There’s a great deal of magnetism at your disposal today, so enlist others to help you.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

You may feel anxious today, even more so than usual.

Your nerves may be quite jittery, and there’s a feeling that you may not be on exactly the right track.

More than likely, what you need to do is simply calm down and relax. Let your brain slow down and think clearly without the distraction of many people telling you what to do.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Other people are the most important aspect of your day today, Capricorn. You’ll find that things might get a bit difficult and unruly alone, but if you connect with others, even the most challenging task becomes almost effortless. One toothpick is easily broken, but 50 toothpicks together are as strong as steel. Conjure up this power created by a force of people who all share a common goal.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Don’t be a pushover today, Aquarius. This is your time to lead. At least get your opinion out in the open and let it be known to the people around you. Put some passion in your day in order to liven things up and get the energy moving. A powerful transformation may take place within you as you start to wield your power instead of give it blindly away to others.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

You have a great deal of power at your disposal today, Pisces. You should keep in mind that just about anything you wish for will come true. Don’t waste words or actions. Concentrate your energy and focus it on one or two important things instead of dispersing it and thereby diluting your overall power.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

WEDNesDAY, march 14, 2012

19

Basketball

Celtics slow road woes with win over Clippers

Rose scores 32 to lead Bulls past Knicks 104-99 CHICAGO: Derrick Rose scored 32 points and the Chicago Bulls beat New York 104-99 on Monday night, handing the Knicks their sixth straight loss.

Rose shot 12 of 29 from the floor and had six rebounds and seven assists as the Bulls got their 10th win in 11 games.

Taj Gibson had 15 points and a teamhigh 13 boards for Chicago, which outrebounded New ork 56-38. The Bulls entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin. Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and Amare Stoudemire added 20 for the Knicks, but the two combined for just seven points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls pulled away.

Jeremy Lin had 15 points and eight assists for New York, but shot just 4 of 11 from the floor and had little luck stopping Rose.

The Knicks have lost six straight for

the second time this season and, combined with Milwaukee’s win at New Jersey, are now tied with the Bucks for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York has lost eight of 10 since Anthony returned to the lineup from an injury on Feb. 20.

Carlos Boozer scored 15 points and Joakim Noah had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls. Rookie Jimmy Butler played a key role with eight points in 29 minutes, making several big energy plays to excite the sellout crowd.

The Bulls’ dominance on the boards led to the key basket of the game midway through the fourth quarter. With the shot clock expiring, Rose flipped up a long shot that bounced off the back of the rim, but Gibson chased down the rebound, bringing the United Center crowd to its feet.

Then Rose cut behind Lin, who had

turned his head, took a bounce pass from Noah and threw down a thunderous, onehanded dunk to put the Bulls ahead 9184 with 6:01 to play. A couple of minutes later, Butler put an exclamation point on his performance by roaring in from the baseline to dunk Boozer’s missed shot.

Anthony hit a 3 to cut the lead to four with 49.8 seconds remaining but that was as close as the Knicks got.

The Knicks led 50-48 after a hotlycontested first half that featured 32 free throw attempts and a pair of technical fouls, one on each coach.

New York got the final point of the first half on a technical free throw by Anthony, who had eight points and a team-high six rebounds at the half. Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau was hit with the technical after arguing a charging call against Brian Scalabrine. -AP

Parker returns, leads Spurs past Wizards 112-97

Boston Celtics Paul Pierce (center) goes up to score against the Los Angeles Clippers during their NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, California March 12, 2012. (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES: Before halftime, Boston and the Clippers already had combined for five technical fouls, plenty of rough contact, a few icy staredowns and a running dialogue of trash talk. The Celtics feel right at home in such ugly situations, and they rallied for a win that slowed their road woes. Paul Pierce scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Kevin Garnett added 21 points and eight rebounds, and the Celtics made an impressive late rally for a 94-85 victory over Los Angeles on Monday night.

Ray Allen scored 15 points and Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 10 assists for the Celtics, who won on the road for just the second time in nine games, but only after blowing a 10-point lead in the final minutes.

Although the game was the clubs’ only meeting of the season, both came out with a noticeable physical edge to their games. The Celtics were still fuming after blowing a late lead against the Lakers one night earlier, and they took it out on Staples Center’s other tenants.

The game also featured wild momentum swings and one-sided rallies. The Celtics led 71-61 with 81/2 minutes to play, but the Clippers responded with a 17-3 run, taking the lead on Griffin’s free throws with 4:57 left when Brandon Bass fouled out.

Boston scored the next nine points, capped by Pierce’s 3-pointer with 2:47 left, and finished a 13-2 run with Mickael Pietrus’ layup for a seven-point lead.

Los Angeles got to 87-84 on Griffin’s putback dunk with 59 seconds left, but the Celtics hung on to split

the first two games of an eight-game trip, their longest of the season.

Blake Griffin had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost four of five while falling behind the Lakers atop the Pacific Division. Chris Paul had 14 points on 3-for-12 shooting in his second game wearing a clear protective mask over his broken nose.

Griffin didn’t speak to reporters after the game, while Paul was still steaming.

Griffin and Boston’s Greg Stiemsma got matching technical fouls for jostling in the first quarter, while Garnett and DeAndre Jordan traded trash talk and angry posturing before getting their own matching T’s in the second quarter. Rivers got yet another for a furious reaction to a non-call, and the Clippers took their first lead of the game moments later on Williams’ 3-pointer.

Paul, whose nose was broken three days ago in San Antonio, combined with Caron Butler and Jordan for 9-for-35 shooting for the Clippers, who outrebounded the NBA’s worst rebounding team 45-31.

The Clippers still are off to an outstanding start to the season, but they’ll be hard-pressed to keep it up with a brutal schedule on the horizon.

They lost their second home game in two days during a stretch in which they’ll play six games at Staples Center in eight days. The Clippers will become the first NBA team to play 20 games in a month since the Cincinnati Royals did it in February 1967. -AP

Cricket

India hold off sri Lanka to start Asia Cup on a high

Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir (left) plays a shot as Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara reacts during the one day international (ODI) Asia Cup match between India and Sri Lanka, March 13, 2012.

(AFP)

DHAKA: India’s Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir both cracked their 10th one-day centuries to set up a comfortable 50-run victory over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Man-of-the-match Kohli (108) and left-handed opener Gambhir (100) added 205 runs for the second wicket as India posted a challenging 304-3 before bowling Sri Lanka out for 254 in the day-night match.

Seamer Irfan Pathan was the pick of India’s bowlers with four wickets, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and paceman Vinay Kumar took three apiece.

Sri Lanka raced to 122 in the opening 18 overs, thanks to skipper Mahela Jayawardene, who kept alive his team’s hopes of hunting down a stiff target with a brisk 59-ball 78.

But they suffered a setback when Jayawardene was caught behind off Irfan in the 19th over after smashing two sixes and 10 fours. He added 93 for the second wicket with Kumar Sangakkara (65). Sri Lanka’s chances receded sharply after the dismissal of Sangakkara, caught at deep mid-wicket off Ashwin, who also trapped Lahiru Thirimanne (29) in the same over.

Vinay removed Nuwan Kulasekara and Chamara Kapugedera off successive deliveries as Sri Lanka were

reduced to 216-7, losing four wickets for 20 runs.

Kohli earlier top-scored for India with his second successive hundred against Sri Lanka, having made an unbeaten 133 at Hobart in the recent triangular oneday series in Australia. India plundered 78 runs off the last 7.1 overs, with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashing a 26-ball 46 not out and Suresh Raina an unbeaten 30 off just 17 balls.

India lost Sachin Tendulkar early in the innings before Gambhir and Kohli bolstered their team with their impressive knocks. Tendulkar, chasing an elusive 100th international century, could make only six runs before pushing a Suranga Lakmal full-toss straight to Jayawardene in the covers.

Sri Lanka then had to wait for 37 overs to get their next wicket as Gambhir and Kohli continued to gather runs comfortably against both pace and spin.

The pair reached their centuries in the 42nd over before both falling in the next over off seamer Farveez Maharoof as they attempted to step up the run-rate.

Gambhir, dropped on 36, made the most of the chance and hit seven fours in his 118-ball knock, while Kohli also struck the same number of boundaries in his 120-ball innings. -AFP

SAN ANTONIO: After learning before the game that his primary backup was retiring, Tony Parker made sure the San Antonio Spurs got plenty of production from the point guard position in the NBA late Monday. Parker scored 31 points in his return from a one-game absence to lead the Spurs to a 112-97 victory over the Washington Wizards. Parker, who missed Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with a strained right quadriceps, hit 13 of 18 shots and had seven assists.

The Spurs went 8-1 on a road trip before the All-Star break, but they have been able to beat only struggling Eastern Conference teams on their current seven-game homestand. The Spurs lost to Chicago, Denver and the Clippers but have now beaten Charlotte, New York and the Wizards.

Before the game, veteran Spurs point guard T.J. Ford abruptly retired following the latest scare to his surgically repaired spine, which sidelined him for the entire 2004-05 season.

While the Spurs could miss Ford as the season progresses, the team has often played without him as various injuries limited him to only 14 games. Parker has had no trouble picking up the slack, as he showed on Monday in a game in which Manu Ginobili played just 20 minutes.

San Antonio, in fact, had assists on 23 of its 28 field goals in the first half and scored 44 points in the paint. After trailing by as many as 18 points in the second quarter, Washington cut it to nine in the fourth but could get no closer. Parker repeatedly exploited the defense in the first half and, with the Wizards closing, had 10 points in the fourth quarter. “With Parker, we had our hands full,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. “He’s playing as well as anybody in the league. He’s a tough cover, I understand that. But, in the first half, we just allowed him to get to the rim time after time after time after time.” -AP

San Antonio Spurs’ Gary Neal (14) shoots over Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul during an NBA basketball game, Friday, March 9, 2012. (AP)

Tennis

Djokovic fends off Anderson, Fish goes out INDIAN WELLS, California: Novak Djokovic blunted the power serving of South African Kevin Anderson to reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Monday, while Mardy Fish was upset by Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden.

World number one Djokovic, who beat Spaniard Rafa Nadal in last year’s final at Indian Wells, broke the towering Anderson twice in a marathon opening set and once in the second to triumph 6-2, 6-3 in one hour, 37 minutes.

Djokovic lost to Anderson when they first met at the 2008 Masters Series event in Miami and, despite winning their next three encounters without losing a set, he had expected a tough challenge on Monday. Djokovic, who won his fifth grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January, fired down five aces while the sixfoot eight-inch (2.03 metres) Anderson delivered seven, but the South African won only 41 percent of his second serves.

Djokovic will next meet Pablo Andujar, who advanced with a 7-6, 6-4 win against fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos.

Fish, runner-up here in 2008, lost to South Africa-born Ebden in a match where the American was slapped with a hindrance call in the second set after he shouted “Come on” during a rally.

“First off, it was totally my fault,” said Fish, who was penalized in the ninth game before being broken to trail 4-5. “I made a mistake, and I would have been totally fine with playing a let on it. I was just trying to fire myself up, to be honest with you,” he added of his yell after hitting an attempted volley winner. “For him to get that on one bounce was an amazing get.”

Ebden, a speedy player across the court, did not hit the return as the chair umpire intervened with the hindrance call.

“I think umpire made the right call,” the Australian said. “Unfortunately Fish did say ‘Come on’ before I hit the ball. I did get there in reasonable time to hit the ball. I still had a decent play on it.”

Ebden, who broke Fish once in the opening set and three times in the second, was delighted with his victory over the world number eight.

“To beat the top US player here is an

incredible feeling,” said the Australian, who will next meet big-serving American John Isner. “It’s a very big win. I’m pleased with my progress and I’ve got another big American next round.”

Isner powered past Argentina’s Juan Monaco 7-5, 7-5 earlier in the day while Frenchman Gilles Simon beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4.

Seventh-seeded CzechTomas Berdych unleashed seven aces on the way to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory over American Andy Roddick in the final men’s match of the day on the showpiece stadium court. -Reuters

Novak Djokovic of Serbia, returns a shot to Kevin Anderson, of South Africa, during a match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Monday, March 12, 2012.

(AP)

Stosur exits, Sharapova and Wozniacki advance INDIANWELLS, California: US Open champion Sam Stosur made a premature exit at the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Monday while Maria Sharapova and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki both advanced.

Sixth-seeded Stosur lost a see-sawing third round encounter with Russian Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-7, 7-6 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, before Sharapova finally wrapped up a 6-3 6-4 win against Romania’s Simona Halep on the fifth match point.

In the final match of the day, Denmark’s Wozniacki recovered from a shaky opening set to battle past Swede Sofia Arvidsson 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 after a fluctuating tussle lasting two hours and 37 minutes.

Australian Stosur was broken by Petrova when serving for the match at 6-5 in the third set and the Russian capitalised by holding her serve and sealing a victory 7-5 in the tiebreak.

Stosur had been swept aside by her big-serving opponent in the opening set and then saved one match point in the second set tiebreak before clawing her way back to level the match.

Petrova, beaten 7-6, 6-7, 7-5 by Stosur at last year’s US Open in the tournament’s longest women’s match of the tiebreak era, squealed with delight after the Australian pushed a forehand wide to end an encounter lasting close to three hours.

Petrova, who raised both arms skywards to celebrate her fifth successive appearance in the fourth round at Indian Wells, was delighted to gain a measure of revenge for her defeat at last year’s US Open.

The Russian, once ranked as high as third in the world but has now slipped to 33rd, will next meet compatriot Maria Kirilenko, who beat Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.Sharapova, the 2006 champion, led Halep 6-3 and 5-0

before inexplicably losing her way. The Romanian held for 1-5 and the Russian then squandered three match points on serve before being broken in the seventh and ninth games. After several protracted baseline rallies punctuated by squeals and grunts by both players, second seed Sharapova finally sealed victory on her fifth match point when Halep netted a backhand.

In other matches, seventh-seed Marion Bartoli of France pummeled South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-2 6-0 and Czech Lucie Safarova advanced when former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone became the latest victim of the widespread viral infection at Indian Wells.

The 10th-seeded Schiavone, who won her only grand slam singles title at Roland Garros in 2010, withdrew because of a stomach virus when trailing Safarova 2-6.

-Reuters

wednesdAY, MARCH 14, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editors Highlight

ZURICH: Friedhelm “Timo” Konietzka, who scored the first goal in the newly formed Bundesliga in 1963 and went on to win the German championship with 1860 Munich before emigrating to Switzerland, has died. He was 73. Konietzka played for his hometown club VfB 08 Luenen before joining Borussia Dortmund, winning the western regional league in 1963.That year, Dortmund became one of 16 teams picked to form West Germany’s first top-level league since World War II. On the first day of play on Aug. 24, 1963, Konietzka scored against Werder Bremen in the first minute of the match.The goal happened so quickly that photographers and cameramen failed to capture it.

“Until this day no film or photo record of this historic moment has surfaced,” the German Football Association said in a tribute to Konietzka on its website. -AP

Football

Madrid on verge of quarter-finals against CSKA

Mesut Ozil (right) of Real Madrid fights for the ball against Sergei Ignashevich (left) of CSKA Moscow during their round of 16, first leg UEFA Champions League match in Moscow, Feb. 21, 2012. (AFP)

MADRID: On the cusp of a second straight Champions League quarter-finals appearance, Real Madrid must not relapse into its recent history of slipping up at the last-16 stage come Wednesday’s return leg against CSKA Moscow.

Madrid holds the away-goal advantage following a 1-1 first-leg draw, and it has won all 17 games at the Santiago Bernabeu apart from two losses to Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho’s team has outscored all other opponents 74-17 at home and the Portuguese coach has helped erase a run of underachieving that saw Madrid fail to emerge from the last 16 in every season since 2005 until a semifinal appearance last year.

The Portuguese coach was clear his future at the club doesn’t depend on the result of this match with Madrid chasing a 10th European Cup. CSKA scored a stoppage-time equalizer to deny Madrid a win in Moscow, and the Russian side caused another of Spain’s powerhouses problems before, eliminating defending champion Barcelona from the second round 19 years ago with a victory at the Camp Nou after a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

Madrid has lost once in nine fixtures against Russian opponents with Spartak Moscow’s victory in the return leg of a 1990-91 two-legged series the last time the Spanish giant exited from Europe after securing a first-leg draw away.

“They are always strong teams, with tall players.

It’s always difficult to beat them,” Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo said on Tuesday. “A Russian team to win the Champs League, why not? I think it’s possible. But

not this year because I want to win.”

Madrid remains without injured forward Angel di Maria, while France striker Karim Benzema returned from the injury picked up in the first leg to play some minutes in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Real Betis. Hamit Altintop will miss the match while Fabio Coentrao has missed two straight games to injury.

Mourinho might play with three forwards, with Ronaldo lining up with Gonzalo Higuain and Benzema.

While Lionel Messi is scoring goals at a recorddefying rate, Ronaldo is not far behind. His Spanish league-leading 32 goals make up the bulk of his 40 this season.

Ronaldo has scored in six straight games-a total of eight goals-to steer Madrid’s offense on course to set a new record for league goals in a season.

“I only worry about myself and my team,” Ronaldo said. “Goals don’t mean anything to me. To score or not doesn’t mean anything to me.”

CSKA is winless in five league matches after salvaging a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Moscow over the weekend.

Midfielder Pavel Mamaev and defender Kirill Nababkin return from bans while midfielder Alan Dzagoev is suspended. Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda is expected to be available despite a thigh injury while Igor Akinfeev and Mark Gonzalez remain sidelined.

CSKA has lost just two of its last 23 road games in all competitions, winning 10 of those. A draw will suffice if it scores more than two goals. -AP

Arsenal strike late to turn up heat on Spurs LONDON: Arsenal narrowed the gap on thirdplaced Tottenham Hotspur to one point when Thomas Vermaelen struck deep in stoppage time to seal a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in a dramatic Premier League match on Monday.

It was the fourth successive league game that Arsene Wenger’s side have come from behind to win as Arsenal have made the most of a slump in form by bitter north London rivals to challenge their grip on third spot.

Visitors Newcastle went ahead in the 14th minute through Hatem Ben Arfa’s low drive but their celebrations were extremely short-lived as Arsenal’s man of the moment Robin van Persie struck to level the scores less than a minute later. Arsenal were in danger of failing to turn their dominance into more goals before Vermaelen prodded home in the fifth minute of stoppage time after Newcastle failed to clear. Despite a series of misses by the likes of Gervinho, Van Persie and Tomas Rosicky, Wenger said he had never doubted that yet another comeback was on the cards.

The result left Arsenal in fourth with 52 points from 28 games, one behind arch-rivals Spurs whose stranglehold on third spot has loosened after three successive defeats. Newcastle stayed sixth on 44 points, five behind fifth-placed Chelsea. Manchester United jumped above Manchester City at the top of the table after beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Sunday as their title rivals lost 1-0 at Swansea City.A few weeks ago Spurs had looked to have sewn up third spot and automatic Champions League qualification, leaving Arsenal and Chelsea battling it out for fourth spot, but a top-three finish for Wenger’s side is now a distinct possibility.

Wenger’s men were 12 points behind their north London rivals at the start of last month but thanks to the Van Persie goal machine and a resurgence in the form of Rosicky, who signed a contract extension earlier in the day, Arsenal are on song. Much of Arsenal’s threat against Newcastle came up the right wing where Bacary Sagna combined well with speedy Walcott, who peppered the area with tantalizing crosses. -Reuters

Chelsea fired up for Napoli salvage job ENGLAND: Chelsea will attack from the first minute as they seek to put behind them the rocky Andre Villas-Boas era by overhauling a 3-1 deficit in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at home to Napoli on Wednesday. The London club have sacked their young Portuguese manager since last month’s first leg and face the Italians under interim boss Roberto Di Matteo, whose first taste of European action could be his last unless his players stage a stunning comeback.

If Chelsea needed any encouragement that their bid to book a quarter-final berth was not an impossible task, they only have look to fellow Premier League side Arsenal who fell just short when faced with a much bigger challenge last week.

Arsenal trailed 4-0 from their first leg at AC Milan but scored three goals at home to lose 4-3 on aggregate.

Chelsea’s job is easier than that even if Napoli are on a run of six successive wins in all competitions.

“From the first minute we have to try to create chances to score.We know they have very good strikers and we have to be careful with them, but we will press from the first minute,” winger Juan Mata said on the club’s website (www.chelseafc.com).

Mata’s goal in Napoli could prove valuable as a 2-0 win in London would put England’s only remaining

representatives through on away goals.

“In football nothing is impossible and at Stamford Bridge we have had good results in the Champions League, so I think we can do it,” the Spaniard added.

“All the supporters will be cheering us, it’s a final for us, and we can do it.” The return of captain John Terry to the starting line-up for Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League win over Stoke City should provides a boost to their central defense for the return leg.

However, for all the hope Chelsea might have after back-to-back wins and clean sheets since Di Matteo took charge, they come up against a team on an even better run.

The only one of five debutants still in the competition, Napoli warmed up for their trip to London with a 6-3 victory over Cagliari in Serie A with all the goals coming from different players.

While they have never won in England, they did manage a 1-1 draw at Manchester City in the group stage this season which should give them confidence even if they are wary of Chelsea charging out of the blocks like Arsenal did against Milan.

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri will be serving the second of a two-match touchline ban during Wednesday’s game. -AFP

Qadsia wins Amir Cup with 1-0 victory over Kazma KUWAIT: Al Qadsia’s brilliant run of form continued when they clinched clinched the 50th Amir Cup, their 14th title in this tournament, after defeating Kazma on Tuesday 1-0.

The match, which was held at the AlKuwait football stadium, witnessed some great football as Kuwaiti giants Qadsia and the players capitalized on their opponents weaknesses and manage to stay one step ahead during the last few minutes of the first half. thanks to a header by Professional player Omar Al-Soma.

In the first 15 minutes of the first half, Kazma player Talal Sulaiman was issued a red card and the team was had to play ten men down till the end of the match.

The second half also witnessed great runs by both teams, but no changes occurred until the end of original time.While Qadsia won the cup for 14 times, Kazma won it seven timesa, and Arabi is the title holder with 15 times.

Qadisa had eased into the final with a 5-1 aggregate victory while Emir’s Cup holders Kazma had a much tougher time in their defense of the title they won by defeating Kuwait Sports Club 1-0 in last

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah presents the Amir cup to Al Qadsia

year’s final, with Milan Macala’s side advancing with a 6-5 penalty shootout triumph after the two teams were locked at 1-1 following extra-time.

Qadsia Club is one of the most popular

clubs in Kuwait and were voted the best team in Kuwait of 2007-2008. Al Qadsia currently play in the Kuwaiti Premier League and have won this league thirteen times. - KUNA

No Euro cruise for Spain, promises Croatia’s Bilic LONDON: Spain are the hardest team to play against but the easiest to prepare for because you know exactly to expect, says Slaven Bilic, whose Croatia side face the world and European soccer champions in the group stage of Euro 2012.

With Italy and Ireland also in group C, Croatia face a daunting challenge if they are to match their achievement of four years ago when they topped their qualifying group with three wins including one over eventual runners-up Germany.

It is a challenge Bilic is relishing, however, as one of the brightest young manag-

ers on the international scene pits his wits against the tournament favorites.

Croatia’s three opponents will certainly be expecting a stiff examination from a team who, in their short existence, have become a consistent tournament presence with enough technical ability and mental resilience to beat the best. Bilic was a member of the team that finished third in the 1998 World Cup six years after joining FIFA as an independent nation and took over as coach in 2006 when he was still only 37. He began well by topping a tough Euro 2008 qualifying group ahead of Rus-

sia and England and continued the good work once the tournament began.

They failed to make the 2010 World Cup but gained a measure of revenge on the Turks by beating them convincingly in the playoffs for Euro 2012. The bulk of the 2008 side are still in place and Bilic says the experience gained four years ago will be invaluable this June. Bilic will hope that, as usual, tournament play brings out the best in his side who have looked shaky in recent matches and were outplayed by Sweden in a 3-1 home friendly defeat two weeks ago. -Reuters