March 15, 2012

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1374

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Premier’s interpellation postponed to March 28

• Assembly forms investigation committees

• MPs replace black flags with black scarves

Staff Writers and Agencies

KUWAIT: Parliament on Wednesday approved postponing the interpellation filed by MP Saleh Ashour against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to March 28 upon the Premier’s request.

The Premier said that he needed the time to prepare for the grilling, Speaker Ahmad Al Saadoun said. Under Kuwait’s laws, a minister facing interpellation from the parliament can ask for a two-week postponement.

MP Ashour had presented his interpellation motion on Tuesday, March 6, and included five topics. According to motion, the lawmaker wanted answers on government slack, inadequacy of measures taken, and abuse of power in the suspicious deposits into bank accounts.

The other issues, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) were slack, unjustifiable, and unsanctioned delay in applying the law, squandering public funds and financial violations involving offshore remittances and mishandling of the Bedoun (stateless Arabs) issue in a manner that jeopardizes the state’s higher interest and internal security. The fifth issue was failure by the government to present its working program in a blatant violation of the constitution.

The Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah filed the request to adjourn the interpellation because the prime minister was occupied with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s visit.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah speaks to Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun during National Assembly session in Kuwait, Wednesday, March 14, 2012. (Al-Watan)

Al-Maliki cuts visit short, Iraq reaches $500 million airline debt deal with Kuwait

KUWAIT/BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has concluded his visit to Kuwait which was originally planned to last for two days.

Al-Maliki was in Kuwait on an official visit to settle ongoing disputes dating back to the 1990 invasion.

Al Watan has learnt that the Kuwaiti-Iraqi negotiations have not resolved the pending issues such as loans and compensations that Iraq is bound to pay as a result of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun affirmed that there are no plans to drop loans owed by Iraq at all.

However, the two parties agreed on the loans incurred by the Iraq Airways, whereby Iraq will pay 300 million US dollars to Kuwait and invest $ 200 million for the establishment of a joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi airline.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah stated that the Kuwaiti leadership had instructed clearly that the visit should be made a success through effective and positive steps. He denied that there were hurdles hindering the points agreed on. Sheikh Jaber discussed bolstering bilateral ties and cooperation on all domains. They also tackled the latest regional and international developments.

For his part, Al-Maliki asserted that Kuwait has solid willingness to resolve all pending issues and to forge cooperation in all areas. The Iraqi Prime Minister said he felt, through the talks, Kuwaiti leadership’s honest desire to resolve all unresolved issues with Iraq, adding that they have agreed on resolving some of these issues.

Both sides will continue efforts, with this positive spirit, to resolve all pending issues, Al-Maliki said.

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Ahmadinejad grilled by hostile Iran parliament

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad answers questions in an open session in parliament in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 14, 2012. (AP)

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was summoned to parliament on Wednesday for an unprecedented grilling by lawmakers who accused him of economic mismanagement and making “illegal” appointments.

Less than two weeks after a drubbing in parliamentary elections, Ahmadinejad became the first president in the Islamic Republic’s history to be called before the legislature which has the power to impeach him if unsatisfied with his answers.

Traditionalist factions who express complete loyalty to Iran’s most powerful figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been trying to summon the president for months over what they say are repeated challenges to the supreme leader’s authority.

Emboldened by their success over Ahmadinejad supporters at parliamentary elections this month, they finally had the chance to interrogate him about the near-stagnant, high-inflation economy and concerns over his allegiance to Khamenei.

Chairing the meeting, lawmaker Ali Motahari asked why Ahmadinejad had stayed at home for several days last April after Khamenei overturned the president’s decision to sack his intelligence minister - an absence seen by some as a protest against the supreme leader’s decision.

Belying his weakened standing, Ahmadinejad responded in a confident and, at times, flippant tone that did little to calm the excitement of the hearing, broadcast live on state radio.

He denied challenging the supreme leader, saying: “This is one of those things - Ahmadinejad staying home and resting.

Some of my friends have repeatedly told me to rest. In this government, work has never been stopped for even a day.”

He played down the historic significance of the summons, saying it was parliament’s right and not out of the ordinary.

More on 4

Encyclopedia Britannica ends print, goes digital

NEWYORK: In yet another sign of the growing dominance of the digital publishing market, the oldest English-language encyclopedia still in print is moving solely into the digital age.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, which has been in continuous print since it was first published in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1768, said on Wednesday it will end publication of its printed editions and continue with digital versions available online.

The flagship, 32-volume printed edition, available every two years, was sold for $1400. An online subscription costs around $70 per year and the company recently launched a set of apps ranging between $1.99 and $4.99 per month.

The company said it will keep selling print editions until the current stock of around 4000 sets ran out.

It is the latest move Encyclopedia Britannica has made to expand its Internet reference services and move farther into educational products. It first flirted with digital publishing in the 1970s, published a version for computers in 1981 for LexisNexis subscribers and first posted to the Internet in 1994.

“The print edition became more difficult to maintain and wasn’t the best physical element to deliver the quality of our database and the quality of our editorial,” Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., told Reuters.

Yet even as publishing industry has created more digital products, it has struggled with financial losses, and Cauz admitted to a “long road to profitability” for many publishers.

Syrian refugees walk on the Syrian side of the Turkish Syrian border at Reyhanli in Antakya, on March 14, 2012 as they attempt to cross into Turkey. International mediator Kofi Annan called for an immediate halt to the killing of civilians in Syria as he arrived in Turkey for talks on the crisis. Activists said that the Syrian army launched a new assault in the restive northern province of Idlib and the city itself, where residents are suffering “indescribable” humanitarian conditions. (AFP)

Bus crash in Swiss tunnel kills at least 28 people

Japan hit by small tsunami after 6.8 quake

TOKYO: A strong earthquake shook northern Japan on Wednesday evening, causing a small tsunami but no damage or injury was reported. Several towns issued evacuation advisories to residents nearest the coast. A swelling of 10 centimeters (2.5 inches) was observed in the town of Erimo on Hokkaido island, while no major changes were reported elsewhere.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the tremor was 6.8 magnitude and forecast a tsunami of up to half-meter (12 inches) could hit Hokkaido island’s central and eastern Pacific coast, and Aomori and Iwate prefectures in the north of Japan’s main island.

Iwate prefecture, or state, was heavily damaged by last year’s earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of aftershocks have shaken the region since then, nearMore on 5 ly all of them of minor or moderate strength.

More on 16

Natural birth after C-section carries more risks: study

PARIS: Women who had a Cesarean section for their first child’s birth face more health risks if they attempt a vaginal birth with their second, Australian researchers said Tuesday.

The study included more than 2,300 women at 14 hospitals in Australia who were preparing for their second child. About half signed up for a vaginal birth after C-section, or VBAC, and the other half chose to repeat the surgery.

Women who planned a repeat C-section had a significantly lower rate of complications than women who chose to deliver vaginally the second time -- 2.4 percent risk of death or serious complication compared to 0.9 percent in the surgery group.

Similarly, the risk of complications to the mother, such as major bleeding or hemorrhage, was 2.3 percent for women who delivered vaginally compared to 0.8 percent for a planned repeat C-section.

More on 15

Protesters demonstrate against the British government’s higher education policies in central London, on March 14, 2012. The demonstration was a part of the National Union of Students’ ‘Come Clean’ campaign, calling for the government to clarify its plans for student funding and university reforms. (AFP)

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Obama warns Iran window of diplomacy ‘shrinking’

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned Iran that the window for diplomacy to solve a nuclear showdown was “shrinking,” stiffening his rhetoric ahead of looming talks on the issue. Obama sent a public message to Iran as preparations went ahead for a new round of dialogue between global powers and the Islamic Republic, amid rising fears of a military confrontation, possibly triggered by Israel.

“In the past, there has been a tendency for Iran in these negotiations to delay, to stall, to do a lot of talking but not actually move the ball forward,” Obama said at the White House.

“I think they should understand ... that the window for solving this issue diplomatically is shrinking.”

“We will do everything we can to resolve this diplomatically but ultimately we’ve got to have somebody on the other side of the table who is taking this seriously and I hope that the Iranian regime understands that,” he said.

Obama also predicted at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron that a punishing new set of sanctions on Iran would “begin to bite even harder this summer” and would further hurt Tehran’s economy.

Both Obama and Britain have signaled that they do not believe that the time is right for military action against Iran’s nuclear program yet, amid fierce speculation about the possibility of an Israeli strike in the next few months. In a letter to EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton earlier Wednesday, Iran made a formal request for a date and venue to be fixed for talks with the P5+1 group of world powers, comprising the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.

It said it was interested in talks “without preconditions and with the goal of having long-term cooperation.” In the past, Iran has refused to discuss its nuclear program at the talks, leading to skepticism among western leaders that this round of talks will be any more significant. Iran denies its nuclear program is designed to manufacture weapons. -AFP

Asia climate disasters displace 42 million: ADB

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Al-Maliki cuts his visit short, Iraq reaches $500 million airline debt deal with Kuwait

Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah (right) and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki (left) during the national anthem on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. (KUNA)

Amir to attend Arab meeting in Baghdad

KUWAIT/BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has concluded his visit to Kuwait which was originally planned to last for two days.

Al-Maliki was in Kuwait on an official visit to settle ongoing disputes dating back to the 1990 invasion.

Al Watan has learnt that the Kuwaiti-Iraqi negotiations have not resolved the pending issues such as loans and compensations that Iraq is bound to pay as a result of its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun affirmed that there are no plans to

drop loans owed by Iraq at all.

However, the two parties agreed on the loans incurred by Iraq Airways, whereby Iraq will pay 300 million US dollars to Kuwait and invest $ 200 million for the establishment of a joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi airline.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah stated that the Kuwaiti leadership had instructed clearly that the visit should be made a success through effective and positive steps. He denied that there were hurdles hindering the points agreed on. Sheikh Jaber discussed bolstering bilateral ties and cooperation on all domains.

They also tackled the latest regional and international developments.

For his part, Al-Maliki asserted that Kuwait has solid willingness to resolve all pending issues and to forge cooperation in all areas.

The Iraqi Prime Minister said he felt, through the talks, Kuwaiti leadership’s honest desire to resolve all unresolved issues with Iraq, adding that they have agreed on resolving some

Customs employees continue strike for second day Fahad Al-Loban Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Customs employees continued their strike for the second consecutive day, paralyzing all entrance checkpoints.

The head of customs employees union Ahmed Oqla asserted that the union will continue its strike until all its demands are met. He revealed that the cost of indemnity for the customs employees is 30 million Kuwaiti dinars, while the revenue of the customs for the past fiscal year was one billion US dollars.

He stressed that the previous strike did not fail, but the union preferred not to demand its rights during the past politically tense period and suspended the strike after receiving promises from the Minister of Finance, who vowed to grant the employees their rights after two months. He described the salary increase stipulated by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as ‘humiliating’ to the customs employees, and explained that they do not submit to the law of the CSC, which has no right to make changes to salaries. Moreover, Al-Sulaibiya Head of Inspection Salem Al-Mutairi asserted that the strike will continue until all demands

are met and underlined the fact that every employee has the right to hold strikes; particularly as the customs employees perform hard labor and face physical dangers. He added that their salaries are very low and have not been increased for years.

The National Union for Kuwait Employees stated that it will suspend its strike if the CSC approves the amendments concerning financial increases which have been approved by the government recently, in order to be fair to all employees. Head of union Abdul Rahman Al-Sumait said that the unions met to discuss and approve important additions that will be deliberated with the government before approving them, in order to achieve justice among all employees. In another development, head of medical lab union Wadha Al-Wardan rejected the increases that have been approved by the CSC, which is 25 percent of the employees’ salaries. She added that the increases are unjust and were not the demands sent by the union to the CSC to be approved. She criticized the CSC for rejecting the increases the union had demanded, and explained that lab technicians face great dangers while handling medical samples from patients for eight hours.

KISR signs two memos with leading Korean institutions

Mervat Abduldayem Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) signed two memorandums of understanding with the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) and Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation & Planning (KISTEP) during a workshop organized by KISR in cooperation with the two Korean institutes. The workshop was organized under the title “Applications of the Renewable Energy and Administrating Scientific Researches”.

The memorandums were signed by the General Manager of KISR Dr. Naji Al-Mutairi, the President of KIER Dr. Jooho Whang and the President of KISTEP Dr. June Seuny Lee. The ceremony of signing the memorandums was also attended by the Ambassador of South Korea Kim Kyung Sik and the Deputy General Manager of KISR Dr. Nader Al-Awadhi. Meanwhile, Al- Mutairi said that the first memorandum aims at establishing research projects in the field of renewable energy and protecting energy. He said that a smat building will be established soon and is expected to contribute effectively in saving power and protecting the environment too.

The second memorandum aims at exchanging experiences in the field of planning, assessing scientific researches and preparing scientific and technological plans in addition to conducting symposiums and training workshops.

He added that cooperation with leading Korean institutions will serve highly the strategic projects that organizes the futuristic work of KISR till 2030, which in turn requires cooperation with leading international institutions.

Kuwaiti officials and Iraq delegation are seen during a meeting where both parties discussed pending issues that haven’t been resolved since the 1990 invasion. (KUNA)

of these issues.

Both sides will continue efforts, with this positive spirit, to resolve all pending issues, AlMaliki said.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s government spokesman said His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah will attend the Arab League summit meeting in Baghdad at the end of this month, the first such visit by a Kuwaiti ruler since Saddam Hussein’s invasion of the oil-rich Gulf state.

Spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said that the Amir confirmed his attendance Wednesday during the meeting with Al-Maliki.

The Amir received at Bayan Palace Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and an accompanying delegation of ranking officials who arrived in Kuwait on an official visit.

The League summit originally was scheduled for the Iraqi capital last year, but political unrest across the Mideast, combined with concerns about Iraq’s security, delayed it to March 27-29. -Agencies

Iraq, Kuwait exchange property lists of citizens

BAGHDAD: Following an agreement and a decision by the Iraqi government, which was announced Tuesday, to allow Kuwaitis to access measures to dispose or in any way deal with their property in Iraq, government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh Wednesday added the principle of reciprocal treatment was verified by a delegation that visited Kuwait.

In virtue of the visiting team’s assurances, the two states are now to exchange lists of their citizens’ properties and acknowledge right of access and by any means disposal of said property, he said. “Kuwaiti officials provided lists detailing names of Iraqi citizens owning property in the country between January 1959 and September 2011.

“The two sides agreed on exchange of claims by citizens on either side through diplomatic channels, with the documents required as proof of ownership,” the spokesman said. The Iraqi official added the Iraqi side would make sure that no Kuwaiti property listed virtue of this agreement had been compensated for through the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), and that there is no legal or judicial constraint or seizure on any property listed. -KUNA

Premier’s interpellation postponed to March 28 Continued from 1

National Assembly on Wednesday also approved the formation of a set of panels that will investigate several salient issues that have been in the public eye recently.

The National Assembly voted with majority for forming a panel to probe the alleged millions of Kuwaiti dinars’ bank deposits scandal, in which former MPs are believed to be involved.

The panel includes the five MPs; Mussallam Al-Barrak, Mohammad Hayef, Saifi Al-Saifi, Mohammad Al-Dallal and Riyadh Al-Adasani.

The Parliament also approved the formation of a panel to investigate the smuggling operations of the subsidized diesel. It also formed a panel to probe the alleged illegal money transfers through the Foreign Ministry, Central Bank of Kuwait and General Authority for Investment.

However, the MPs have bitterly bickered over the formation of investigation committees.

The MPs in minority urged for the formation of a neutral committee and that the members should be elected. They also proposed that the committee members be increased to seven to accommodate two members of the minority. MPs Faisal AlMislem and Ali Al-Omair clashed and exchanged in altercation. Al-Omair maintained that MPs should have mutual confidence. Al-Mislem struck back saying, “How can we trust you while you are one of the accused individuals.”

Eventually, the Parliament agreed on the formation of investigation committees into a range of issues. Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak welcomed the idea of setting up investigation panels to reveal facts, stressing that reform is shared goal for both the government and Parliament. The minister however reminded the investigation committees that they need to adhere to the regulations and limitations which have been set out by the Constitutional Court. Furthermore, the MPs asked the National Assembly’s Education, Culture and Guidance Committee to make sure that the Information Ministry, firmly and honestly, enforces the audio and visual media law. The Parliament asked the Interior and Defense Committee to investigate the alleged irregularities at Criminal Investigation Department at the Ministry of Interior.

It assigned the Public Money Protection Committee to revisit the contract signed between Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and energy giant

Minority MPs during Wednesday’s Parliament session on March 14, 2012. (Al Watan)

Shell Corporation. Similarly, the Parliament assigned the Parliamentary Interior and Defense Committee to look into the practices of the Criminal Investigation officers and to probe the circumstances surrounding several deaths.

The Parliament also tasked the Public Funds Protection Committee to investigate alleged irregularities involving a 800 Kuwaiti-dinar Shell contract. In addition, National Assembly elected Kuwait’s representatives to the Interim Arab Parliament. The elected MPs are; Ali Al-Deqbasi, Marzouq Al-Ghanim, Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Khalid Al-Tahous. The first two are former members of the Interim Arab Parliament.

Additionally, Parliamentary sources have quoted unnamed officials as saying that the government is considering the prospect of raising salaries up to 25 percent of the basic salary for civil servants and 15 percent for retirees.

The sources affirmed that the Cabinet has all the authority to increase salaries and that it will take into account the recommendations made by the Civil Service Commission in this regard. It has been reported that the government has acknowledged the message relayed by MPs that the pay raise it announced was not generous enough.

The sources further added that the Cabinet is expected to consider increase rates during its upcoming meeting, and noted that the move is intended to ward off any requests by parliamentary committees for pay raise. In this context, member of the Justice Bloc Dr. Mohammad Al-Hatlani announced that the bloc will ask the Parliament to open discussions on the pay raise that was announced by the Civil Service Commission.

Expressing hope that the request would be presented before the Parliament today (Thursday), the lawmaker voiced disappointment over the commission’s decision, highlighting that the salary increments it announced are below the MPs’ expectations. Al-Hatlani revealed that the bloc is in the process of drafting a bill for “generous” pay raise for all the civil servants who did not receive special allowances.

It is worth noting that the Minority MPs that caused a ruckus at Parliament on Tuesday for placing black flags during the National Assembly session to represent unity against altering the complaint of storming Parliament, showed up in yesterday’s session wearing black scarves. However, none of the lawmakers at session objected the gesture.

Cabinet refers Jaber Bridge to Legal Committee Mervat Abdul Dayem Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works Control Sector Undersecretary Talal Al-Othaina announced that the Cabinet has referred the Jaber Bridge project to the Legal Committee to look into it after it had been approved by the Central Tenders Committee (CTC), but rejected by the Audit Bureau. He added that the documents required for the terminal 2 building at Kuwait Airport are being prepared, in addition to four

hospital projects. He pointed out that the routine and the overlapping of some jurisdictions are the main challenges facing development and the execution of projects. He added that the total value of signed contracts and agreements since January until December last year reached 81 contracts with a total value of 480 million Kuwaiti dinars.

He revealed that the contracts that are expected to be signed this year are 176 contracts with a total value of KD 3 billion and KD 288 million. He noted that the ministry will offer four new hospitals in April, and that those hospitals

include Al-Razi and Ibn Sina hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Contracts Department Manager Walid Al-Ghanem said that the department was setup in 2004 to develop performance control, in order to execute Kuwait’s developmental plans, fight corruption, and verify the terms and documents of the contracts. He explained that his department seeks to develop internal control instruments, in order to protect public funds and limit money squandering. He also called for linking the ministry and the work site through computers instead of papers.

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THURSDAY, march 15, 2012

Bahrain releases detained citizen Qatari citizens still detained under investigation Abdullah Al-Najar and Khalid Al-Osaidan

Staff Writers

KUWAIT: The Bahraini authorities released on Wednesday the Kuwaiti detainee, who is identified as A.A, after completing a sentence that was issued against him recently for participating in demonstrations against the Bahraini government.

Al-Watan published few weeks ago a report indicating that the Bahraini security authorities have informed the Kuwaiti embassy that a 17-year Kuwaiti citizen was detained due to participating in demonstrations against

the Bahraini government where he placed some objects on the roads in order to disrupt traffic. After the Bahraini authorities arrested the citizens he was referred to Judiciary and was sentenced to one month jail as well as deportation. Meanwhile, the lawyer of the Qatari citizen, who was accused of running over the Kuwaiti citizen Ahmad Assad, denied the news that was circulated by some social networking Web sites that said the Qatari citizen has been released.

The lawyer told Al-Watan that such news are groundless, adding that his client is still detained in Central prison, but hopes that he will be released very soon. He affirmed that he and lawyers Moudhi Al-Hasban are the sole official lawyers that are on the case of defending the Qatari citizen, therefore no other offices have the right to release statements concerning the detainee.

Kuwait Airways needs new fleets: MP Al-Ajmi

FILE-Photo of Kuwait Airways plane obtained online.

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Member of Parliament (MP) Ammar AlAjmi demanded that the Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) fleet should be modernized. The MP was critical of the KAC and its lack of development and expansion.

He said that all alarms should be triggered off as the situation is drastically serious, considering that the corporation is a national institution and the government should pay more attention to its well being.

The MP said that there are many means of modernizing the fleet which include renting or acquiring new planes given that the existing ones are continuously suffering from various malfunctions.

He said that the Minister of Communications Sa-

lem Al-Othaina needs to take drastic and speedy decisions to save KAC from dwindling even further.

“There is no doubt that the KAC needs a face lift to be able to keep up with the continuous changes the aviation sector is witnessing. It would be extremely illogical on the part of the government to stand idle and do nothing about this catastrophic situation,” he remarked.

As for law 6/2008, the MP said that it was not enough and that the government needs to introduce new amendments and refer them to the National Assembly as soon as possible so that they get endorsed and approved “to put KAC back to its former heydays when it was a leading airways corporation with worldwide reputation.”

Kuwait backs rights of Muslim communities in non-Muslim nations GENEVA: The State of Kuwait expressed support on Wednesday for rights of Muslim communities and minorities in non-Islamic nations.

Malek HusseinAl-Wazzan, an advisor of the permanent Kuwaiti mission at the UN in Geneva, said, while addressing a session of the UN Human Rights Council, that Kuwait affirmed necessity of respecting rights of the Muslim minorities in all nations of the globe, as well as respecting their rights to practice their religious

services, with utter freedom and no restrictions.

Citing excerpts of the Kuwaiti Constitution that ensures equal rights to all human beings without any indiscrimination, the diplomat said Kuwait has taken strides on path of religious tolerance and freedoms of belief.

Non-Muslim communities that advocate heavenly religions are allowed to practice their religious services freely in the Gulf country. -KUNA

Aid sent for 750 Syrian families in Lebanon BEIRUT: A public Kuwaiti campaign to aid Syrian families forced to flee their homes due to fierce fighting distributed aid supplies to 750 families now taking refuge in Lebanese territory.

Fatwa authority relief and aid official Riyadh Eitani told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Wednesday, that the Kuwaiti volunteers distributed the supplies themselves to families in the areas of Sahel Halba, Wadi Khalid, and Arsal.

The official praised the support of the Kuwaiti government and people and their quick initiatives in extending aid to Syrian refugees. Kuwaitis, he said, are known to stand by those in need and those in the right.

He added Zakat House of Kuwait sent one million US dollars, to be spent on relief supplies including food, blankets, shelter materials, medicines, and heating fuel in northern Lebanese areas where refugees are gathered.

The latest statistics indicate that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon exceeds 7,000 people, the ma-

jority of which concentrated in the northern Lebanese areas of Akkar, Tripoli, and Daniyyeh.

In a similar initiative, Kuwaiti Al-Rahma Society distributed on Wednesday financial and material aid to some 3,000 Syrian refugees who have fled their troubled country.

Basel Shehadeh, the head of the society office in Amman, told KUNA that the society has offered 21,000 US dollars worth of aid for the Syrian refugees who have settled on Jordanian territories.

Some members of the society took part in distribution of the relief supplies to the Syrians who have settled in areas close to the border with Syria.

Sehhadeh said the association had distributed several shipments of relief aid to the Syrians here, estimated at $700,000.

Kuwaiti grass-root, philanthropic and humanitarian associations have been granting aid for Syrian refugees in countries close to Syria.

Some 74,000 Syrians have fled the violence at home and resided in Jordan. -KUNA

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Amir’s visit strengthens ties with Japan: Ambassador TOKYO: The state visit to Japan of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah next week will give a further boost to the strong and historical relationship between the people of Kuwait and Japan, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi said Wednesday. “His visit, at the invitation of Japanese Emperor Akihito, coincides with two significant occasions. The first is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and the second is the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 last year,” Al-Otaibi said, interviewed by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

“His Highness the Amir has often expressed the sympathies of the Kuwaiti people to the Japanese victims following the twin natural disaster that left 19,000 people dead or missing, and assured desire of the Kuwaiti people to support the Japanese people even beyond this tragedy,” the ambassador said. “I think his visit will confirm these meanings and Kuwait’s determination to stand by the Japanese people in distress,” he added.

“Since the first moment of the catastrophe, Kuwait has explored every possibility to help them. Therefore, it was not strange that His Highness the Amir ordered immediately after the disaster provision of emergency assistance to the Japanese government, and made a decision on the donation of 5 million barrels of crude oil, worth more than 500 million US dollars, in order to alleviate the suffering of the victims,” Al-Otaibi went on saying.

Kuwait’s contribution was well received by the Emperor, the government, the parliament, and people, with all expressing gratitude and appreciation for this humanitarian assistance. “I believe the visit will give strong impetus to Kuwait-Japan cooperation in many areas, especially in the fields of oil trade, joint investment, technology, environment, health, culture, education, and scientific research,” he noted.

The Amir will, March 20, make his first official visit to Japan since he assumed the post in 2006. During a four-day stay, he is scheduled to hold talks with the Emperor, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, as well as other leaders. He last toured Japan in his former capacity as prime minister in July 2004.

Kuwait’s top diplomat here stressed that bilateral relations are now at their best, saying, “Japan is one of our most important and best friends in the world, not only because the country is East Asia’s most important market for Kuwaiti oil, but also because of Japan’s noble stance in support of Kuwaiti sovereignty, especially during the brutal Iraqi invasion of our country in 1990-1991.” Japan provided $13 billion for the liberation of Kuwait and made many scientific and technological contributions in post-war reconstruction, which “we still remember.” The two countries share a number of priorities, including desire for the realization of peace and prosperity, respect for each other’s culture, and continuation of dialogue towards promoting mutual understanding, he stressed. “I hope the Kuwaiti-Japanese relationship will become a role model.”

On the economic front, Al-Otaibi shed light on robust trade between the two countries with the oil sector one of the current key areas. The two-way trade be-

Photo of Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Abdulrahman Al-Otaibi on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. (KUNA)

tween the two countries reached $14.5 billion in 2011, and Kuwait ranked 27th trading partner for Japan, according to the ambassador. “Kuwait is still one of the most important countries that provide a stable supply of crude oil to Japan, and we often come among the top five crude oil exporters to the world’s third-biggest economy.”

In January, Kuwait shipped about six million barrels of crude oil to Japan, accounting for five percent of Japan’s total imports of crude. Al-Otaibi renewed Kuwait’s assurance to provide “Japanese friends” with needed oil to meet electricity demand as nearly all the 54 nuclear reactors have shut down over safety concerns following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

As for recent economic partnership, Kuwait and Japan have signed a doubletaxation avoidance agreement and witnessed the success of the third round of talks on a bilateral agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments. “The two governments also established the Joint Committee with a view to expanding trade and investment cooperation, which clearly indicates the determination of the two governments to encourage businessmen from both countries to jointly work to achieve common interests,” Al-Otaibi said.

He also voiced the keenness of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Tokyo to provide all information and data on massive business opportunities available in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf, urging Japan to speed up negotiations towards the conclusion of a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in order to help maximize the opportunities for trade and investment cooperation in the future.

The GCC groups Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman.

He also praised the longstanding Japan-Kuwait relationship, which dates back to the rule of late Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah in 1958, when Arabian Oil Company, Ltd. signed an oil exploration concession agreement with the Kuwaiti government. Japan became one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Kuwait with the Japanese cabinet issuing a ministerial decision in this regard December 8, 1961.

“Since the foundation of Arabian Oil Company in the middle of the last cen-

tury, we have supported all aspects of energy cooperation between the two nations and have strengthened mutual trust, and this has even become a model for many countries to follow,” he said.

Following the March tragedy, AlOtaibi rushed to the northeastern city of Kesennuma to express support to those affected on behalf of the Kuwaiti government and people. While in Kesennuma, having taken six hours to reach there from Tokyo, Al-Otaibi offered survivors food, daily living necessities, school supplies, and 240 soccer balls with two countries’ national flags painted. The Kuwaiti Embassy also held a charity bazaar to raise funds for the disaster-affected areas, which saw a great success. In addition, AlOtaibi was actively engaged in a series of meetings with ministers and governors of the disaster-hit prefectures to discuss reconstruction efforts.

“It is our duty to make every possible effort to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the natural disasters and radiation leakage from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant,” he said. “Kuwait is committed to standing at the forefront of countries helping the Japanese people, as a token of deep-rooted friendship with these great people who astonished everybody in the world by their solidarity, determination, and discipline in the face of crisis,” he said, pledging Kuwait’s continued support.

Meanwhile, based on his unique experiences since arrival at his post three years ago, the ambassador urged Kuwaitis to travel to Japan, saying it is one of the most peaceful countries in the world, noting that the Japanese people are kind and friendly to foreign guests. “I believe Kuwaiti tourists will enjoy exploring Japanese cities, such as famous Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka, and Hokkaido, where they can visit many attractions reflecting the nation’s long history.

They would be also stunned by Japan’s state-of-the-art science and technology and economy. In addition, there are many restaurants offering delicious Japanese cuisine, such as sushi and Tempura.” The journey will give Kuwaiti visitors unprecedented opportunities of entertainment, learning, and meetings with great people, he underscored. “Japan is completely different from other popular destinations among Kuwaiti travelers. It is well worth a trip despite the distance and high cost.”

-KUNA

Gulf Traffic Week promotes safety on roads

KUWAIT: A senior Kuwaiti officer highlighted the importance of the Gulf Traffic Week - 2012 which kicked off at The Avenues Complex on Wednesday.

The activities of the week, being held under the slogan “together to reducing traffic accidents,” will help promote the concept of safe driving and make better use of the security media programs for raising public awareness about traffic

rules, Director of the Public Relations and Moral Guidance Division of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior Col. Adel AlHashash said.

“This is the 28th session of the week. It aims to involve the civil society institutions in the campaign for safety of all,” said Col. Al-Hashash, also acting director of the security media division of the ministry. -KUNA

Kuwait, France discuss furthering economic ties KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs Dr. Fadhil Safar held talks Wednesday, with French Minister of Industry, Energy, and the Digital Economy Eric Bisson, on ways to deepen economic ties and exchanging expertise with regards to development plans between the two countries.

This comes as a part of the activities of the 13th International Energy Forum held currently in Kuwait.

Safar called for joint cooperation between Kuwait and France as well as new ways for constructive collaboration that serves the public interest, according to a joint Statement by Ministry of planning and Ministry of Information. Furthermore, Safar received in his office, among other dignitaries, Deputy Director General for Administrative Affairs in the Office of Research and Social Development Mona Al-Misbah and psychologist, Dr. Wafa’a Al-Aradi. -KUNA

FILE- Photo room view of Gulf Traffic Week - 2012 which kicked off at The Avenues Complex on Wednesday, March, 14, 2012. (KUNA)

4

ALWATAN DAILY

regional

Pay for freedom?

By Hossam Fathi

KUWAIT: Egyptian Minister of Finance Momtaz Al-Saeed announced reluctantly that negotiations are undergoing with fugitive businessman Hussein Salem to restore the money he stole, in return for his freedom.

Salem also offered to give the government some of his properties. He went on to reveal that some former governmental figures who are currently in jail after being accused of financial corruption crime have also offered to return some of their properties in return for dropping the charges against them, but the government has not agreed yet.

The question is, are such deals acceptable to the people? Do Egyptians agree to forgive those who are currently imprisoned, if they return what they had stolen? Is it acceptable for the suspects to become free and live the rest of their lives either in Egypt or overseas?

I believe the government favors that solution, since there is a budget deficit of 144 billion Egyptian pounds.

However, I am against dropping charges in crimes that led to bloodshed, and all properties must be restored, while giving the suspects their punishment. The suspects must also declare all their money and properties in Egypt and overseas, and if the information they provide is not complete or true, they must be prosecuted. hossam@alwatan.com.kw Twitter:@hossamfathy66

NEWS IN BRIEF Hundreds to run in Egypt president election CAIRO: Egyptian election officials say nearly 500 people have obtained applications to run for president, a sign of the excitement generated by the country’s first presidential elections in which the outcome is in doubt. Election officials say 472 people have by Wednesday received the papers to officially declare their candidacy for the vote, which follows last year’s ouster of Hosni Mubarak.They said that, beside known presidential hopefuls who have been seriously campaigning, the applicants included a wide range of obscure Egyptians in different professions like journalists, judges, lawyers and school teachers. The election is scheduled for May 23-24. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. -AP

Turkish warplanes hit northern Iraq, no casualties ARBIL: Turkish warplanes launched a wave of air strikes on northern Iraq late on Tuesday, where they often target bases of Kurdish separatists, but there were no reports of casualties, witnesses and border guards said on Wednesday. “After 10:00 last night, the Turkish warplanes hit some areas near the border in three locations,” said Colonel Hussein Tamr, commander of border guards in Dahuk province, part of Iraq’s northern autonomous Kurdish region. “It lasted more than an hour. We went there after the attacks finished. We found no casualties and no material damage because the attacks took place on the outskirts of these villages,” he added.

Witnesses reached by telephone in the border villages confirmed the strikes and said there were no reports of casualties. -Reuters

Palestinians say Gaza boy dies of wounds GAZA CITY: A Palestinian boy accidentally struck by a bullet when militants fired in the air during a funeral died of his injuries Wednesday, family members and witnesses said. Palestinian health official Adham Abu Salmia initially said that 8-year-old Barka Al-Mugrahbi died of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike on Monday. However, Israel’s military said it did not carry out a strike in the area at the time. The boy’s relatives and witnesses later said the boy was marching in the funeral procession for a Gaza militant Monday when he was struck in the head by an errant bullet. At the time, gunmen were firing in the air, they said. On Tuesday, Israel and Gaza militants agreed to a truce after four days of cross-border fighting, though there have been sporadic violations. Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza has persisted, and early Wednesday, Israel carried out a retaliatory airstrike -AP

Saudi crown prince test results ‘reassuring’ ALGIERS: Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz went to Algeria for a vacation after the results of medical tests he underwent in the United States were “reassuring,” the royal palace announced on Wednesday. Prince Nayef, the kingdom’s veteran internal security czar, “has finished previously scheduled medical tests in (the US city of) Cleveland with reassuring results,” said the statement carried by state news agency SPA. His brother, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz, has affirmed that the crown prince “is well and is in good health,” a separate SPA statement said. On Friday, the palace announced that Prince Nayef, who is also deputy prime minister and interior minister, arrived in Cleveland from Morocco for medical examinations, without specifying what they were for.

Prince Nayef - who has served as interior minister for nearly four decades and led the kingdom’s post-Sept. 11, 2001 crackdown on Al-Qaeda - was named crown prince in October last year at the age of 78, following the death of Prince Sultan, another of his brothers.

In recent years, he has spent an increasing proportion of his time at his palace in Morocco after handing over day-to-day security activities to his son, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also deputy interior minister. Seen as more conservative than the 87-year-old king, Prince Nayef is a staunch defender of the Saudi dynasty who has resisted any form of opposition. -AFP

THURSDAY, march 15, 2012

Annan has Syrian reply, seeking answers to halt crisis Two Syrian dissidents quit opposition council

GENEVA: UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan has received a response from Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to his mediation proposals for ending the country’s violence, but he is seeking answers to outstanding questions, Annan’s spokesman said on Wednesday.

The former United Nation secretary-general, who met Assad in Damascus at the weekend, outlined steps that needed to be taken, including a halt to fighting, humanitarian access and starting a political dialogue with the Syrian opposition, spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said.

“The Joint Special Envoy (JSE) for Syria, Kofi Annan, has now received a response from the Syrian authorities. The JSE has questions and is seeking answers,” Fawzi said in a statement issued by Annan’s office in Geneva.

“But given the grave and tragic situation on the ground, everyone must realize that time is of the essence. As he said in the region, this crisis cannot be allowed to drag on,” he added.

A spokesman for the Syrian foreign ministry said Syria had given a positive response to Annan’s proposals.

The UN says Syrian forces have killed more than 8,000 people in an uprising against Assad that has uprooted 230,000, including 30,000 who have fled abroad. The government says foreign-backed militants are responsible for the deaths of more than 2,500 members of the security forces.

Fawzi declined to comment on the exchange between Annan and Syrian authorities.

However, he told Reuters: “He (Annan) proposed detailed steps that should be tak-

to people in violence-hit areas, including Homs, Hama, Idlib, Deraa and rural Damascus, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said on Wednesday.

“In Homs and Idlib and other areas affected by the unrest there are reports of people being killed and injured every day as a result of the fighting,” Hassan told Reuters.

Dissidents quit

An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on March 13, 2012, allegedly shows shelling by regime forces in Maaret Al-Numan in the restive Idlib province, located near the Turkish border. (AFP)

en to achieve a situation on the ground that would be conducive to political dialogue and above all to stop the killing and suffering of the Syrian people. He received responses to those proposals.” Annan is setting up his small team at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva, where he is to be joined by his deputy Nasser Al-Kidwa, a Palestinian diplomat appointed last week.

Intensifying assault

Forces loyal to Al-Assad attacked rebel strongholds in various parts of Syria on Wednesday, intensifying their assault as the uprising entered its second year with a negotiated solution as far off as ever.

The world body and UN aid agencies have been shut out of Syria, where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the only international agency to deploy aid workers.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos was in Syria last week to demand unhindered access for humanitarian aid to victims, but said she won agreement only for a “limited assessment exercise” to be carried out with Syrian authorities.

Activists and the government have traded blamed for a massacre in the city of Homs, where dozens were killed in cold blood while Annan was visiting the country.

The ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent continue to provide food and other assistance

Two prominent Syrian dissidents said Wednesday they have quit the main opposition group that emerged from the year-old uprising against the regime in Damascus, predicting more would soon abandon what one of the men described as an “autocratic” organization.

The resignations from the Syrian National Council dealt another blow to the opposition, which has been hobbled by disorganization and infighting since the popular revolt against authoritarian President Bashar Assad started a year ago with protests calling for political reform. One of the dissidents who resigned, Kamal Al-Labwani, accused the leadership of the Syrian National Council of controlling the body’s work while sidelining most of its 270 members.

“There is no council, it’s an illusion,” said Al-Labwani, who worked for years against the Assad family regime before being jailed in 2005. He joined the council soon after being released in November.

He accused council chief Burhan Ghalioun and a few others of running the organization autocratically, even comparing it to Assad’s ruling Baath party.

“They are trying to build an autocratic rule inside the council,” he said. “There is no group work. Everyone is working by himself and the whole council has not met once.” -Agencies

Iraq’s Sadr bans protests during Arab League meet BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers regularly demonstrate against Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, has banned protests during this month’s Arab League summit, hoping to avoid scenes that could embarrass Gulf rulers and their Baghdad hosts.

Iraq is hosting an Arab League summit on March 27-29 for the first time in more than 20 years, an event that Prime Minister Nouri AlMaliki’s government touts as Baghdad’s diplomatic debut after the withdrawal of US forces last year. But the summit risks drawing attention to the chilly relations between Iraq - which

has a Shi’ite Muslim majority and a Shiite-led government - and the Gulf Arab states, which are all ruled by Sunni Muslim royal families.

Thousands of Sadr’s followers have staged demonstrations against the Gulf monarchies over Bahrain, where the Sunni ruling family invited in troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states last year while it crushed protests led by Shiites.

At the most recent demonstrations last Friday, Sadr’s followers burned Saudi and Bahraini flags and chanted slogans against both countries. Sadr’s website said the cleric - whose

movement is part of Iraq’s ruling coalition - had ordered his followers not to stage protests during the summit.

“The leader of the Sadr movement confirmed that the hosting of the Arab leaders by the Iraqi people requires us to uphold perfectly all the requirements of hospitality,” the website quoted Sadr movement spokesman Salah AlUbaidi as saying.

“Therefore, he (Sadr) refused those who want to demonstrate during the summit on specific issues, because the real host is the Iraqi people and not the government which carries

out the people’s will.” Just how many Arab leaders will attend the summit is still unconfirmed. Security could be an excuse for some to stay away. Iraq is sending thousands of extra troops and police to lock down Baghdad and insists the capital will be safe.

On Wednesday, the Baghdad security operations centre announced a ban on motorcycles, bicycles and pushcarts on the capital’s streets starting March 17 to prepare for the summit.

Baghdad’s airport will be shut to commercial flights for several days to make room for dignitaries’ planes. -Reuters

Ahmadinejad grilled by hostile Iran parliament TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was summoned to parliament on Wednesday for an unprecedented grilling by lawmakers who accused him of economic mismanagement and making “illegal” appointments.

Less than two weeks after a drubbing in parliamentary elections, Ahmadinejad became the first president in the Islamic Republic’s history to be called before the legislature which has the power to impeach him if unsatisfied with his answers.

Traditionalist factions who express complete loyalty to Iran’s most powerful figure, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been trying to summon the president for months over what they say are repeated challenges to the supreme leader’s authority.

Emboldened by their success over Ahmadinejad supporters at parliamentary elections this month, they finally had the chance to interrogate him about the near-stagnant, highinflation economy and concerns over his allegiance to Khamenei.

Chairing the meeting, lawmaker Ali Motahari asked why Ahmadinejad had stayed at home for several days last April after Khamenei overturned the president’s decision to sack his intelligence minister - an absence seen by some as a protest against the supreme leader’s decision.

Belying his weakened standing, Ahmadinejad responded in a confident and, at times, flippant tone that did little to calm the excitement of the hearing, broadcast live on state radio.

He denied challenging the supreme leader, saying: “This is one of those things - Ahmadinejad staying home and resting. Some of my friends have repeatedly told me to rest. In this government, work has never been stopped for even a day.”

He played down the historic significance of the summons, saying it was parliament’s right and not out of the ordinary.

“I was ready to answer questions before the election,” he said. “But I thought it might have an impact on election results and then I would be blamed for it. I am the easiest to blame.”

Suicide bomber kills 4 at Somali presidential palace

MOGADISHU: A suicide bomber killed at least four people inside the presidential palace compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, according to the police, the African Union and Al-Shabaab insurgents. While Al-Shabaab pulled out of the capital in August and African Union forces have been securing neighborhoods vacated by the Islamist rebels, the coastal city remains prone to regular attacks by suicide bombers and roadside explosions. Reports of the number killed by the blast differed. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, saying one of its suicide bombers had killed 17 people and wounded 30. “What a victory, inside the so-called presidential palace, more explosions and bombers will follow,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for Al-Shabaab’s military operations, told Reuters. Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the African Union’s AMISOM peacekeeping force in Somalia, said four people, including civilians, had been killed and that there were no AMISOM casualties. Colonel Abdullahi Barise, police spokesman, told Reuters, five had been killed and 10 wounded by a suicide bomber.

Abdirashid Mohamed Ali, national security adviser to the prime minister, and Ankunda both said the blast was near the front gate of the presidential compound near a building used by the parliament speaker. Since withdrawing from the capital, Al-Shabaab has come under increased pressure in the south and centre of the country from Kenyan and Ethiopian forces fighting alongside government soldiers and pro-government militias.

The African Union’s peacekeeping force in Somalia hopes to drive Al-Shabaab out of these regions by August, when the UN-backed government’s mandate expires, Uganda’s top army general said on Tuesday.

The hard-line Islamist group, which formally joined Al-Qaeda in February, has increasingly resorted to bomb strikes in the capital, underlining the continued insecurity in a country that has lacked strong central government since 1991. -Reuters

After an hour-long grilling that included questions on the botched financing of the Tehran metro and the veracity of government figures showing the creation of 1.6 million jobs in 2009 and 2010, many parliamentarians remained unimpressed.

“Ahmadinejad’s answers to lawmakers’ questions were illogical, illegal and an attempt to avoid answering them. With an insulting tone, Ahmadinejad made fun of lawmakers’ questions and insulted parliament,” Mohammad Taqi Rahbar was quoted as saying by parliament’s news agency.

Having made several ministerial appointments that were unpopular with parliament including a brief stint when he named himself oil minister, in charge of Iran’s biggest economic sector - Ahmadinejad was questioned about how he picked people for key posts.

Outgoing reformist lawmaker Mostafa Kavakebian said: “The president did not give any logical answers and took everything as a joke.”

“Is this a place to joke?” another parliamentarian, Mohammad Reza Khabbaz asked

the assembly.

Iran’s English-language television channel, Press TV, reported that some deputies had been riled by Ahmadinejad’s mocking language and, after the session, made threats to impeach him after the Iranian new year holiday later this month.

But analysts say that was unlikely.

“Some conservatives want to get rid of him before his term is over,” said Tehran-based Professor Sadeq Zibakalam. “But Ahmadinejad showed today that it won’t be easy to do. By being firm and not taking conservatives seriously, he’s become stronger.”

Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran said Ahmadinejad’s failure to adequately answer questions about his differences with the supreme leader showed “a weak spot” but that he remained popular among ordinary Iranians.

“I don’t think he’ll be impeached,” Marandi said. “This parliament doesn’t have the motive to do that at this stage. They are critics and want to keep him in check.” -Reuters

Detained British journalists handed over to Libyan government TRIPOLI: Two British journalists detained by a Libyan militia on suspicion of spying have been transferred to the custody of the government, deputy interior minister Omar Al-Khadrawi said on Wednesday.

Nicholas Davies-Jones and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson, who were working for Iran’s English-language Press TV, were detained on Feb. 22 by the Swehli brigade, one of the dozens of militias which last year helped force out Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi. Earlier this month, the Swehli militia said the Britons, initially detained for illegal entry into Libya, were now suspected of spying. “The British journalists are in our custody and will be released following procedural interrogation,” Al-Khadrawi told Reuters. “If no crime has been committed, they will be released soon.” On Tuesday, the militia released a video of the two Britons in which they apologized for entering the North African country illegally.

In a video message, which DaviesJones dated as March 12, the journalists said they were being treated well. While both seemed calm and appeared in good physical shape as they spoke sitting on a couch, it was not clear whether they were speaking freely. There was no reference to the spying allegations.

In a separate video obtained by Reuters, the two journalists were shown carrying luggage as they entered a white

In this picture taken on March 13, 2012 off television playback of a tape made available to Reuters, British journalists Gareth Montgomery-Johnson (left) and Nicholas Davies-Jones speak from an undisclosed location. (Reuters)

SUV, which drove out of the militia’s base, a former women’s military academy in Tripoli. Last week, commander Faraj Al-Swehli told Reuters the pair were being questioned by his own investigators and that they had regular visits from the British consul.

International rights campaigners including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders have said the two

Britons have been detained illegally, and have called on the militia to either release them immediately or transfer them to the custody of the official Libyan authorities.

The fact they have been held by a militia - which has no official status - is emblematic of the instability and weak central government control in Libya since last year’s rebellion ended Gadhafi’s rule with help from NATO air strikes. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

thursdAY, march 15, 2012

Bus crash in Swiss tunnel kills 28 people GENEVA: A bus carrying Belgian students returning from a ski holiday crashed into a wall in a Swiss tunnel, killing 22 Belgian 12-yearolds and six adults, police said Wednesday.

Another 24 students were hospitalized with injuries, Valais cantonal (state) police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet told The Associated Press.

The bus carrying 52 people, including 12year-old students from two different Belgian schools, crashed around 9 p.m. local time Tuesday inside a tunnel on the A9 highway near Sierre, Switzerland, in the southern Swiss canton (state) of Valais, an area of popular ski resorts in the Swiss Alps.

Authorities were still identifying all the victims, said Didier Reynders, the Belgian foreign minister.

“It is incomprehensible. There were three buses and only one was in (an) accident without any contact with another vehicle,” Reynders said.

Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said this is “an extremely sad day for all of Belgium.”

Di Rupo is flying together with the families of the victims to Switzerland on Wednesday, the government said.

Police said the students had spent the last

The wreckage of a bus that crashed into a motorway tunnel in Sierre in western Switzerland is pictured after it was taken outside the tunnel early March 14. (Reuters)

few days at a ski camp and were on their way back to the Belgian provinces of Brabant, Flan-

ders and Limbourg.

The bus veered and hit a curb, then rammed

NEWS IN BRIEF

into a concrete wall in the tunnel, according to police. The front of the bus was heavily damaged and blocked people from getting out. The cause of the crash has not been determined.

“The bus hit the barrier stones on the right side of the road. It then hit the tunnel wall fronton in an emergency stop space,” police said in a statement. “Because of the strong impact the bus was badly damaged and several passengers were trapped in the wreckage.”

Several had to be freed by rescuers.

The highway was closed in both directions to aid in the rescue. Some eight helicopters and a dozen ambulances took victims to hospitals.

Dozens of firefighters and police, 15 doctors and three psychologists were called to the scene.

A government spokesman said a crisis center has been set up and an emergency number provided for families.

Police said the victims were all thought to be Belgians living in Flanders. Belgian media reported that the children were from two towns, Lommel, east of Antwerp, and Heverlee, near Leuven.

The Alpine city of Sierre, capital of canton Valais, is a gateway to the Val d’Anniviers tourist region and is connected to the popular Crans-Montana ski resort by funicular railway.

-Reuters

Cameron in US to back Obama on Iran, Afghan crises WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama welcomes British Prime Minister David Cameron to the White House on Wednesday for a visit that will blend crisis talk on Iran and Afghanistan with a spectacular state dinner.

Obama will repay the warm welcome he received at a state visit hosted by Queen Elizabeth II last year, and highlight a bond US officials say he shares with Cameron as well as a “special relationship” between their nations.

Cameron had barely landed on US soil when he was whisked off to the crucial swing state of Ohio, to watch a mediocre basketball game with a thrilling climax which tipped off the annual March Madness college tournament.

He also became the first world leader hosted by Obama on his iconic Air Force One jet, in a piece of statecraft which contrasted with the rocky start to US-Britain relations under Obama and former British leader Gordon Brown.

On Wednesday, Obama and Cameron will swap the spirit of a chummy hot dog outing without their wives, for talks on deadly serious challenges unfolding in Iran, Afghanistan and Syria.

They are also expected to hold a press conference.

Cameron arrived in Washington two days after a rampage by a lone US soldier in Afghanistan which killed 16 civilians and caused outrage in the war-wracked state and triggered new questions about Washington’s war policy.

There were reports on Tuesday in both the US and British media that Cameron and Obama would look for ways to speed up the transfer of security and lead fighting role to Afghan forces

next year before a full withdrawal in 2014.

The New York Times reported that Obama, already committed to pull out 33,000 surge troops by this year was keen to bring home another 20,000 troops by 2013, amid increasing public fatigue after more than a decade of war.

The White House however denied that any specific options pegged to troop numbers were under discussion and said withdrawal timetables would be dictated by the success of Obama’s Afghan strategy, not domestic politics.

The benchmark aims of the US mission call for an effort to defeat, disarm and dismantle AlQaeda and offer Afghans the expertise to take care of their own security needs when NATOled forces finally leave.

Cameron came to Washington keen to help Obama’s bid to cool “loose talk” over war with Iran amid speculation that Israel could soon launch military action against Iran’s nuclear program.

Washington does not believe the time is ripe for such an attack, though the president has stressed Israel’s right to defend itself and warned that it could take military action to forestall an Iranian bomb at a later date.

Obama and Cameron will also discuss their failure to stop the Syrian President Bashar AlAssad’s apparent slaughter of his own people, though will have few illusions about the chances of a new UN Security Council resolution.

Socialites in Washington were meanwhile looking forward to the state dinner, with US Open golf champion Rory McIlroy, the world number one from Northern Ireland, confirming on Twitter that he was on the closely guarded guest list. -AFP

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, presents Purple Hearts to military personnel of the 172nd Infantry Brigade Task Force Blackhawks at a forward operating base in Sharana. (Reuters)

Lawsuits imperil Myanmar’s new press freedom YANGON: The media in Myanmar have gained new freedoms but also face a new threat in the form of lawsuits filed against them by the government.

The state-run Kyemon daily reported Wednesday that the Ministry of Mines plans legal action against a reporter and the publisher of private weekly The Voice for a report alleging misappropriation of funds. The Modern weekly journal has already been sued on defamation charges by an engineer from the Construction Ministry. He sued over a story alleging that truck drivers had bribed local engineers to allow them to use a bridge even though their vehicles exceeded its weight limit. -AP

Taiwan leader to make first African visit

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron walk to Marine One on the Ellipse in Washington, March 13. (AP)

forces, and the Afghan people,” he told soldiers at Camp Leatherneck, the main Marine base in the volatile southern province.

“We will be tested, we will be challenged. We’ll be challenged by our enemy, we’ll be challenged by ourselves, we’ll be challenged by the hell of war,” Panetta said.

Panetta’s trip had been scheduled before Sunday’s shootings in two villages in Kandahar province, but gained added urgency as political pressure mounted on Afghan and US officials over the unpopular war, now in its eleventh year.

American soldiers are the likely targets of any backlash over the killings of villagers, who included nine children and three women, by a lone American soldier. The Afghan Taliban threatened to retaliate by beheading US personnel. But Panetta, the most senior US official to visit Afghanistan since the shootings, said the massacre would not alter US withdrawal plans and strategy. Afghans investigating the incident had been shown video of the soldier, said to be a US Army staff sergeant, taken from a security camera mounted on a blimp above his base, an Afghan security official who could not be identified told Reuters.

The footage showed the uniformed soldier with his weapon covered by a cloth, approaching the gates of the Belandai special forces base and throwing his arms up in surrender, the official said. The video had been shown to investigators to help dispel a widely held belief among Afghans, including many members of parliament, that more than one soldier must have been involved because of the high death toll, the official said.

Panetta was to hold talks with Afghan leaders including President Hamid Karzai as tension remains high following a spate of incidents including the burning of Korans at the main NATO base in the country last month. Panetta’s arrival in Helmand - where US Marines and British soldiers are battling a resilient insurgency - came a day after the first protests over Sunday’s massacre flared in the eastern city of Jalalabad. Some 2,000 demonstrators chanted “Death to America” and demanded Karzai reject a planned strategic pact that would allow US advisers and possibly special forces to remain beyond the pullout of most NATO combat troops by the end of 2014. -Reuters

the tremor was 6.8 magnitude and forecast a tsunami of up to half-meter (12 inches) could hit Hokkaido island’s central and eastern Pacific coast, and Aomori and Iwate prefectures in the north of Japan’s main island.

Iwate prefecture, or state, was heavily damaged by last year’s earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of aftershocks have shaken the region since then, nearly all of them of minor or moderate strength.

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday political reform in the vast country was “urgent”, warning that a tragedy like the turbulent Cultural Revolution could happen again without it. “We must press ahead with both economic structural reform and political structural reform, in particular reform in the leadership system of our party and country,” Wen told reporters, adding it was an “urgent task.” “Without a successful political structural reform, it is impossible for us to fully institute economic structural reform and the gains we have made in this area may be lost,” he said. -AP

British man, wife murdered in Thai resort

Strong earthquake shakes northern Japan, no damage reported TOKYO: A strong earthquake shook northern Japan on Wednesday evening, causing a small tsunami but no damage or injury was reported.

Several towns issued evacuation advisories to residents nearest the coast. A swelling of 10 centimeters (2.5 inches) was observed in the town of Erimo on Hokkaido island, while no major changes were reported elsewhere.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said

China’s Wen says leadership reform ‘urgent’

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou is scheduled to leave for Africa on April 7 on his first trip to the region as the island’s leader, to shore up ties with allies, his office said Wednesday. Ma will meet with the heads of Burkina Faso, Gambia, Sao Tome and Swaziland during the 12-day trip while inspecting Taiwan’s agricultural, medical and educational missions, the presidential office said. The four allies are among only 23 nations that formally recognize Taipei over Beijing in a decadesold diplomatic tug-of-war between the two sides since they split in 1949 after a civil war. -AP

US defense chief in Afghanistan as bombs kill nine CAMP LEATHERNECK: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit on Wednesday, as the United States tried to contain fallout from a massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by an American soldier.

A motorcycle bomb went off in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, killing an Afghan intelligence soldier and wounding two, as well as a civilian, while a roadside bomb killed 8 civilians in neighboring Helmand province, officials said, as Panetta kicked off a two-day trip by visiting troops. Panetta told them the weekend killings by what US and Afghan officials have said was a lone rogue soldier would not undermine relations with Afghanistan. “As tragic as these acts of violence have been, they do not define the relationship between the coalition and Afghan

5

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged many Japanese northern coastal towns, leaving some 19,000 people dead or missing. Wednesday’s tremor was centered about 146 miles (235 kilometers) south of Kushiro, Japan, on Hokkaido island. It was a relatively shallow 6 miles (10 kilometers) below the sea surface. The quake was not felt in Tokyo, and there was no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami. -AFP

BANGKOK: An elderly British man and his Thai wife were robbed and beaten to death by three men, including a chef and a security guard, at a beach resort in Thailand, police said Wednesday. A worker at the resort in Thap Sakae district of Prachuap Khiri Khan province, 280 kilometers (180 miles) south of Bangkok, found the badly beaten bodies of Michael Raymond, 68, and Suchada Baokhamdee, 52, Tuesday afternoon in their beachfront bungalow. “They were beaten with a chair and other hard objects,” case officer Captain Winai Raila-aied told AFP by telephone. -AFP

Sarkozy not expecting Merkel on election rallies PARIS: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not appear at French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s election rallies, but the two are set to meet before the April-May French presidential election, Sarkozy said on Wednesday. Merkel’s Christian Democrat CDU party said in January she would make joint campaign appearances with fellow conservative Sarkozy but the party said this week none had been scheduled, raising questions about whether they would happen at all. Sarkozy’s call on Sunday for tougher controls at Europe’s borders sounded alarm bells in Germany even though the president has said he had given Merkel prior notice that he would bring it up in the campaign. Asked on Europe 1 radio whether he still expected to meet with Merkel ahead of the election, Sarkozy said “without doubt at one moment or another”.

“I don’t think at a rally because the election campaign is a French matter between ourselves, but rather to speak about Europe. It’s normal that we speak together,” he said.

Merkel endorsed Sarkozy during a joint television interview last month, shortly before the president formally announced his re-election bid. The two leaders have worked so closely to overcome the euro zone’s debt crisis that they have become known by the joint nickname “Merkozy”.

But German Foreign Minister Guido Wester-

welle, a member of the liberal Free Democratic junior partners in Merkel’s coalition, told Reuters on Tuesday that Sarkozy was on the wrong track when he called for tougher controls of Europe’s borders.

The French leader threatened to pull France out of the EU’s Schengen open-border zone unilaterally if he did not get his way.

Sarkozy has also raised eyebrows on the other side of the Rhine by saying on Sunday that Europe needed a version of the United States “Buy American Act” which would require governments to favor Europe-made products in public procurement.

Jean-François Copé, the leader of Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party, told Reuters that as far as he knew there had never been a plan for Merkel to appear at a Sarkozy rally. “This has not been discussed, at least not at my level,” he said.

Merkel has refused to meet Sarkozy’s Socialist challenger, Francois Hollande, who has been coldshouldered by most serving European leaders, partly due to a promise to renegotiate a new EU fiscal discipline treaty to include more focus on growth.

Less than six weeks from the election, Sarkozy is struggling to catch up with Hollande in opinion polls although one survey on Tuesday put him ahead of his Socialist adversary for the first time in the first round. The poll showed Hollande winning comfortably on the second round. -Reuters

Row rages over defense missiles at Shooter’s Hill LONDON: An MP has hit out at defense ministry plans to install surface-to-air missiles in his constituency during the Olympics, saying it was appalling sites like Shooter’s Hill had been selected without consultation. Britain announced in December it would consider installing missiles to protect London’s Olympic Park against airborne attack as part of security measures for this summer’s Games.

However, MP Clive Efford said he was angry there had been no discussion about the Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) plans to place these at Shooter’s Hill in the area of southeast London he represents.

“I think it’s an appalling way to have handled this issue,” he told Reuters on Tuesday. He said he understood six sites had been selected across London to provide a missile defense shield around the Olympic Park, based in Stratford in east London.

He said he had been sent a letter notifying him of the plans for Oxleas Wood near Shooter’s Hill but with-

out giving any details about the type of installation or how much disruption it would cause. The area was also a site of special scientific interest, he added.

“I’m not saying this is the wrong location, I’m a big supporter of the Olympics and I understand that security is a major concern. But there are proper ways to go about this,” Efford said, adding he had written to Defense Secretary Philip Hammond to demand answers.

The missile sites will be set up before the Olympics start on July 27 and will remain cordoned off until the end of the Paralympics on Sept. 9.

The MoD said the sites for the missiles, which have been deployed at previous Games, had been selected on military advice, and MPs had been offered full briefings. A spokesman said a final decision on whether to install the ground-based air defenses had not yet been taken. “It’s very much a last line of defense and more of a deterrent than anything they anticipate having to use,” Efford said the MoD had told him. -Reuters

6

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

thursDAY, march 15, 2012

Use and abuse of elasticized Article 110 by MPs Nabeel Al-Fadhl Staff Writer

Y

esterday’s session in the parliament witnessed the raising of black flags by some MPs. The gesture signifies their disapproval of the decision made by the National Assembly Bureau’s decision when it falsified facts and attempted to play down the enormity of the controversial act of breaking and entering the parliament by some MPs and citizens.

This emphatically confirms to us that the Article 110 in the Kuwaiti Constitution has been loosely defined and it has become so flexible that it has been defined and interpreted by some as they wish as long as it serves their own interest and purposes.

Let us take some examples to underscore the elastic reality of the so-called freedom of action and expression as safeguarded by Article 110. We have seen how one MP waved a

There is also a need to redefine the existing rules and regulations related to what is permissible and what is not in terms of behavior and acts within the boundaries of the country’s democratic institution, the National Assembly. copy of a check pointing out that it belonged to one of the leading figures in the country in an attempt to slander him. This obnoxious act was seen permissible on grounds that the MP is protected by Article 110.

Another MP wore the Palestinian scarf in the Kuwait Parliament. This means that a foreign flag was raised in the National Assembly of Kuwait. Once again this is seen as part of the constitutional Article 110.

Similarly, some MPs wore orange scarves

Against all odds, the majority rules Fuad Al-Hashem Staff Writer

T

hrough my media follow up to the sayings, behaviors and actions of the Speaker of the House Ahmad Al-Saadoun for 30 years I confirm the article that was published by the psychological analyst in Al-Seyasah Newspaper on March 12th, 2012 on the fifth page.

The article included a main title and other sub titles.

One of the titles was “sectarianism dominated the speaker when he threatened to expel Dashti; he was distracted to the extent that he even ignored the MP Musallam Al-Barrak”.

I totally agree with such ideas.

The second point is, the speaker could restore the speaker’s position but he could not restore the prestige and respect that he enjoyed before the new appointment because the current MPs who elected him as a speaker are different from the former MPs who elected him as speaker in the previous stage.

This might harm the speaker especially when he sees these MPs in the morning and when he goes to bed as well.

The third point is that colluding with certain MPs against the constitution although the MPs have already sworn to abide by the constitution. I also agree with this idea.

The fourth point, Al-Saadoun’s allies scraped the electronic voting of certain polls and penetrated secrecy which requires cancelling the result of voting.

The fifth point, psychological experts say that when persons offer you a favor then you have to offer something in return for them wherein beneficent and generous people are highly adherent to this principle.

The beneficent and generous people show great respect to those who did them a favor but we might not find this principle in our MPs. The sixth point, the speaker will always remember that the bliss that he enjoys now is due to the support of the Islamist MPs!! This is affirmed and even the blind people can see that clearly.

The seventh point, some people refuse to see the persons who did them a favor because they think it is shameful to see them again. This sentence is correct one hundred percent and such an idea can be noticed by the fresh graduates of psychological studies.

The eighth point, Omar Makram was the figure who enabled Mohammad Ali to rule Egypt but the latter seized the throne and exiled Makram. This idea is also correct and we thank the analyst for such great ideas.

The MP Al-Khalifa released a queer statement that pins our country’s main disputes and when fights sometimes occur wherein some people might be stabbed with knives but the people forgive each other later and drop the cases that they file against each other.

Therefore the lawmaker said that the report against storming the National Assembly by some citizens can be dropped.

We don’t know whether the lawmaker knows that sometimes murder cases occur in our society and people forgive each other as well. The question is why the family of Al-Maymouni- who was murdered- did not drop the cases against murderers.

We also know that there are many suspected bank deposits cases so why

such behavior would be seen by some as a crime against the Parliament and requires that the parliamentary session to be called off.

The flags in question are small flags positioned before the MPs who are disgruntled with the move to tamper and alter facts. The President of the National Assembly Ahmad Al-Saadoun spoke out and felt that it was an insult to the assembly and the people present.

Remarkably, such act of patriotism was not displayed when the parliament was broken

BU QUTADA & BU NABIL

did not the MPs who filed an interpellation motion about deposits drop the motion. If the lawmaker believes that the reports of storming the headquarters of national assembly can be dropped as well as Al-Maymouni’s case and deposits cases then why do we need courts and Judiciary!!! We also might not need judges, public prosecution, policemen and detectives.

We thank the minority MPs who represent the minority only inside the parliament and who represent the majority of the Kuwaiti people. We thank the minority for raising the black flags to express their rejection of the shamelessness of MPs whose act the Amir described after the day of storming the parliament as a black day but who themselves consider it as a day of joy and happiness. The MP Mohammad Hayef said raising the black flags expresses depression that some MPs face. The MP Al-Hatlani released queerer statements through describing such steps as an attempt to interrupt sessions and achievements!! We don’t know which achievements the MP is talking about!!

The Salafi MP Khalid Sultan AlSultan described sending a report about storming the parliament as a useless step as the citizens who broke into the parliament broke nothing except a glass of water and some simple items.

The MP might forget that the penalty of theft in Islam is cutting the hand whether the thief stole the elephant or its tusk!!

The Minister of Education and the Minister of Higher Education Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf called me after publishing a complaint about Al-Shuhada Boys School wherein students put unhealthy foodstuffs at that school. The minister said that he wants to put an end to such matters in order to protect the health of students.

However, the Director of the Educational Zone Muna Al-Salal did not exert effective efforts to find a solution to this problem under the pretext that she was receiving the complaints of unknown women called “Um Khalid, Um Abdullah and so on”. Why is the director interested in knowing the names of the women who sent complaints!! She has to follow up such complaints in order to make sure if the complaints are true or false.

I hope the minister would apply the law of the former cabinet to force all senior officials whose civil service reached 30 years to retire especially that there are many officials at the Ministry of Education who completed the required period of service.

The latest SMS message that citizens sent to each other says “my dear Undersecretary of the Civil Service Commission- Mohammad Al-Rumi. Are you sure that the digits that you mentioned recently are a salary raise or annual interests of a cooperative society”!!

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Al-Furaij for the sad demise of Ayesha Othman Al-Furaij, the wife of Fahad Khamis Hamad Al-Sabae.

May God embrace the deceased with His mercy. We all belong to God and to Him we shall return.

The last comment

for a specific demand and then MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun defended them and the gesture behind it even though the speaker of the Parliament then Jassem Al-Kharafi did not approve.

But the minute the black flags were raised which innocently expresses the utter frustration and disappointment of some against the blatant forgery of the National Assembly Bureau in an attempt to falsify facts such as the breaking and entering of the parliament, then

into in the evening after the main gate was broken, and after the contents of the offices were tampered with by some delinquents and absent minded people. Here Al-Saadoun regards the violation as a way to express political dissatisfaction rather than a mere crime.

No one can explain such double standards. This is a classic case of utter contradiction which of course in its turn is the outcome of the so-called Article 110. It is time that this article along with the 108 and 111 should be referred to the Constitutional Court so that they get the proper and appropriate definition they deserve.

There is also a need to redefine the existing rules and regulations related to what is permissible and what is not in terms of behavior and acts within the boundaries of the country’s democratic institution, the National Assembly. By doing so, people would know if they have crossed the red lines or they are still within the green zone.

The Syrian President “Bashar the Ewe” has assigned May seventh for the coming parliamentary elections!!

Apparently, this ewe is too optimistic!!!

t wa n We or m a to f m it tee a n co m open o n to ti - - - - v e s t ig a u l t i in ou t m a n k a b lio n b ts m il ep osi d

Great, we agree

to a n t the w We arge ee of ic ch m it t pu bl n a c o m c t i ng p e n o u t o e t ab p ro d s t o t i o n a n y f u n s t ig a o m p e C i nv h ell S

Protecting the public fund is the most important thing

we agree

We want to form a committee to open an investigation about overseas money transfers

W d is cu e wa n t t o p ro p s s t h e l a ert w b ef o r y of of f i c of e h ol d a n d af t ia ls i ng p er p osit olit ic a l ions

Protecting the public fund is most the important thing

We agree

No, no delay it now ..... let’s avoid scandals

Mohmmed Thallab

Protecting the public fund is the most important thing

We want to trespass on the public fund

mthallab@alwatan.com.kw

The glad tiding of imminent victory is neigh Dr. Fahad Saleh Al-Khanna Staff Writer

T

hank you Lord! The glad tiding of imminent victory is neigh. The situation and condition are undoubtedly difficult and catastrophic.

The people of Syria are patiently waiting for a breakthrough. The regime is actively and persistently killing its own people and by doing so, the regime, Bashar Al-Assad and the thugs with him, are imposing a new political situation.

China and Russia have granted the Syrian regime the needed time to achieve its targets and annihilate the revolutionaries and opposition.

Iran on her part has provided the regime with the logistics, money and war gear as well as men to facilitate its atrocious killing against the innocent people.

We need not to forget the other gangsters such as Al-Mahdi gangs, Bader gangs, the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki who are preoccupied with promoting sectarianism and hoping to control the Arab world, as well as encouraging anti-social and anti-educational measures within his own country. This is coupled with the fact that Hezbollah is also active in supporting the Syrian regime that was finally unmasked exposing the discriminatory side of the party whose main activity remains killing and torturing people. They are all there with each other making their own contribution to implement an old grand design related to re-establishing the horrible state of Safavids in

China and Russia have granted the Syrian regime the needed time to achieve its targets and annihilate the revolutionaries and opposition.

the Arabian Gulf and Syria.

Despite all of this, the Arab nation in its entirety are determined to see Bashar Al-Assad and his thugs leaving the country so that Syria gets liberated from this dreadful and wicked regime.

It is our duty that we help our Syrian brothers with all kinds of support including money and food. Our government should now arm the opposition and the Free Syrian Army whose main task is to defend the lives of the innocent citizens who to this day remain unarmed.

Syria needs to be liberated from the wicked regime and the Iranian thugs scattered all over the Arab world.

The Syrians have shown an example of an epic where Muslims are fighting and combating the Safavids who have been working all along to deface the Arab and Muslim identity.

I believe that campaigns to collect donations for the Syrian people should be conducted as soon as possible. The Mufti of the Kingdom of

Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh has issued a fatwa saying that Zakat may be paid for the people of Syria because they are in a time of desperate support is needed for the Free Syrian army.

This would be a blessed step in the right direction. All efforts should be exerted towards such a noble goal so that the Syrians would finally get rid of this wicked regime and enjoy a life of peace and tranquility.

Finally, I am utterly amazed and ashamed at the so-called liberals, atheists and pan-Arabists in the Arab countries that are totally quiet about the atrocities committed by the wicked regime of Bashar Al-Asad. They are only good for slogans which glitter to no avail. Such a disgraceful stance would soon change completely when the Syrians overcome their enemy and soon we will purify the Arab world from the germs and from the wicked Safavids and maintain and keep our true Arab and Muslim identity without any embellishment.

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views

thursDAY, march 15, 2012

Hong Kong’s electoral menagerie

Hong Kong’s citizens expect their leader to be a fair arbiter of conflicting public and private interests, not an obsequious toady to the rich.

Sin-ming Shaw Project Syndicate

P

olitical mayhem has broken out in Hong Kong, and has caught China’s government, already in the midst of a delicate political transition of its own, completely unprepared.

The 1,200 privileged delegates carefully screened by China to “elect” Hong Kong’s next Chief Executive (CE) on March 25 would normally take their cues from China’s rulers. Indeed, the original electoral script was a one-act, one-star play.

Henry Tang, unkindly nicknamed “Pig” by the Hong Kong press for his unimpressive intellect, and a heretofore supporting actor, C. Y. Leung, nicknamed “Wolf” for his perceived chilly ruthlessness, were the entire cast.

Both men have impeccable pro-China credentials, a prerequisite to becoming CE.While there is a third, pro-democracy, candidate standing somewhere in the wings, he doesn’t stand a chance, because China would never allow him to get the 601 votes needed to win.

Tang, the preferred candidate of the local business elite and the civil service he once headed, promises to preserve the status quo, which is music to the ears of Hong Kong’s “haves.” But a plot twist has complicated his shoo-in campaign, with both Tang and Leung now improvising their lines - peppered with frequent insults - and each consulting the director (China) at every turn.

At the same time, the audience, the people of Hong Kong, are howling, hissing, and throwing bottles at every-

one on stage - and sometimes at each other. So, what was supposed to be a boring bit of set-piece theater has become a sensational hit.

Tang, the mild-mannered scion of a textile magnate whose father is a confidant of China’s former leader, Jiang Zemin, committed two elementary mistakes. The first was not confessing quickly enough to his having mistresses, one of whom has a college-age offspring whose father is probably Tang. Of course, Hong Kong’s citizens are far from being puritans, and the sex lives of their leaders are not a primary concern. But they also understand that anyone running for office should have been prepared for such revelations.

Tang was not. Instead, it was left to the tabloids to reveal his mistresses, one by one, week after week, like peeling an onion in front of his wife, Hong Kong’s people, and the Chinese leadership.

The second error was even more inane. Local papers discovered that he had illegally built a large, deluxe wine cellar with a spa beneath one of his mansions. As a senior public servant, he knew that the construction was illegal, and that he should have taken remedial steps to legalize his actions or to abandon it - a matter merely of money, of which he has plenty.

To everyone’s disbelief, Tang insisted that he did not have a wine cellar, just a storage room. Then he trotted out

his already-humiliated wife, half in tears, to face the press, blaming her for building the cellar without his prior knowledge while “gallantly” assuming responsibility.

Tang’s popularity sank, and headed towards single digits. If China still insists on anointing him, more mayhem is likely to follow.

Leung, however, is also a deeply divisive figure - a man who comes across as someone waiting to settle scores, though no one really knows which ones.

Hong Kong’s tycoons, press, intelligentsia, and civil servants, who normally agree on little, find themselves in complete agreement where Leung is concerned: they do not want him as Hong Kong’s next leader, despite his favorable popularity ratings.

The tycoons fear that Leung’s deeply old-fashioned communist values would hurt their oligopolies. The press finds him evasive. The intelligentsia is wary of him as an underground Communist Party member, something that he has denied. And civil servants believe that Leung harbors resentment of Hong Kong’s British colonial legacy, of which the civil service is the most visible.

Not even senior Communist officials in charge of the Hong Kong portfolio wanted Leung, despite his being a suspected “sleeper” cadre in the territory. Locally recruited members do not enjoy seniority in the 70-million-strong

Three disturbing trends in commercial banking Christopher Papagianis Reuters

T

he recession officially ended in July 2009, and yet the speed and scope of the subsequent recovery have been disappointing. Recent economic data have been encouraging, but there are three ominous trends in the consumer banking space that signal the waters ahead may be choppy.

The Financial Times reported recently that not one new, or de novo, bank was created in 2011. The FDIC actually lists three new bank charters for 2011 - the lowest number in more than 75 years - but they all involved bank takeovers of other failed banks. What are some of the possible implications?

First, investors are clearly still gun-shy about banking. The dearth of new small banks is also a negative sign for small businesses generally, as they are particularly dependent on small banks for loans. Since most employment growth in the US comes from small businesses that use external finance to grow into large businesses, a decline in these businesses’ access to loans could limit future employment growth as well.The dominant narrative in 2011, like the 2010 version, was one of bank failures and distressed acquisitions. The FDIC reports that about a hundred banks failed and another hundred were absorbed this past year. Overall, the number of banks declined by 15 percent in the past five years, to 7,357, while revenues decreased for the fourth consecutive year, to 737 billion US dollars. Although this is partly due to the Federal Reserve’s lowto-zero interest-rate policy, which reduces interest income, non-interest income also fell in 2011 for the second consecutive year.

Today, about two-thirds of all US commercial bank assets are at five banks: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, US Bancorp and SunTrust Banks. A related and troubling trend is that much of the growth in lending in 2011 was also concentrated at the largest banks. The implication is that the “bigger are getting bigger” trajectory shows no signs of slowing down. The graph below shows the trend in assets by bank size. Since 1993, big banks’ share of assets has skyrocketed while smaller banks’ share has been in a near-terminal decline. In addition, the FDIC reports that banks with assets over one billion US dollars witnessed an increase in business lending in 2011, while firms under that threshold actually saw lending decline. David Reilly’s speculation on what may be fueling this trend is noteworthy: The difference in lending may be due in part to the fact that bigger banks tend to have a client base that itself is bigger, more credit worthy and more export oriented. Such companies are likely seeing an earlier benefit from a firming of economic conditions in the US. Meanwhile, bigger banks are going after more middlemarket clients in a bid to win market share. And while the biggest banks suffered some of the worst blows during the crisis, they seem to have worked through problems at a somewhat faster clip.

In part, that may be because the biggest banks have large creditcard portfolios where losses are quickly flushed out. Smaller banks with mostly residential or commercial real-estate loan books tend to take longer to work their way through problems. Or it could be that bigger banks capitalized on the fact that they received the most government assistance during the crisis and continue to enjoy a cost-of-funding advantage.

According to the FDIC, big banks’ average funding costs are one-third lower. The average funding costs for banks with more than 10 billion US dollars in assets is 0.66 percent, compared with about one percent for banks with less than one billion US dollars in assets. Why is that the case? Well, the largest banks have about 20 percent less core capital as a share of total assets compared with smaller banks (8.7 percent of total assets relative to about 10.5 percent for smaller banks). Less equity and lower funding costs result in a return on equity (the key measure for bank profitability)

for big banks that is almost double that of banks with less than 100 million US dollars in assets. A war is brewing between the private bank sector and the government over who exactly controls the allocation of consumer credit in this country. Consumer credit is probably too tight today. A popular refrain that often follows this observation is that if only the government would return some of the decision-making power to the private sector (i.e., let lenders decide who gets approved or denied for a loan), then there would be more lending and the economy would recover faster.

There is undoubtedly some truth to this argument, but the scary proposition is that many of the largest banks are perfectly happy to allow the government to maintain its broad guarantees on consumer loans, effectively absolving private banks from having to evaluate and manage credit risk while simultaneously ensuring that they receive a steady stream of fee income.

The consumer credit market comprises about 13 trillion US dollars in outstanding loans or debt.The mortgage market, or home loans, make up the overwhelming majority of this total (a little over 10 trillion US dollars). The other major categories are student loans, credit cards and auto loans (about 2.5 trillion US dollars).

Today, the government has outstanding guarantees on close to 60 percent of all mortgage-related debt, or almost six trillion trillion in aggregate. Moreover, practically every new home loan made today is backed by the government, so this percentage and aggregate dollar amount is only climbing. And for certain mortgages, the government is happy to offer special benefits to the banks or lenders that are responsible for the most loan volume.

The effect is that the government is determining the underwriting standards - who gets qualified for a loan and who doesn’t - and is bearing 100 percent of the credit risk on loan defaults, while private banks and lenders serve effectively as middlemen processing paperwork and helping to match consumers with the right government-guaranteed loan product.

The government has also increased its direct-lending activities over the past four years from 680 billion US dollars to nearly 1.4. trillion US dollars. Most of this growth in direct government lending has come from a quadrupling of student loans, from 98 billion US dollars to more than 425 billion US dollars. Today, the government now practically stands behind all new student lending.

With credit cards, private banks are still responsible for underwriting standards and default or credit risk, but Congress has introduced new command-and-control price caps on certain products.

Auto loans remain relatively untouched, but the Fed did establish in the heat of the crisis the Term Asset-Backed Security Loan Facility (TALF). The TALF provided government financing for banks and other financial institutions to buy billions in auto loans. Plus, it is important to recognize that the Fed’s quantitative easing programs have been the biggest government lending program of all, as the Fed’s asset purchases have amounted to over $2 trillion in loans to the government-sponsored entities, or GSEs (i.e., Fannie and Freddie), and the US Treasury. What’s particularly disturbing about these three trends is how the underlying dynamics are interrelated and actually reinforcing one another.

Small banks are being pushed to the side by big banks. The banks that are “too big to fail” are only getting larger and adding to their market share of consumer loans. But then a closer examination of who exactly is responsible for the losses when a consumer defaults on a loan (increasingly, it’s the taxpayer) reveals the true depths of the government’s influence, if not control, over consumer credit. Snapping this vicious vortex is perhaps the greatest challenge that policymakers and the U.S. economy face in the coming years. A future where the provision of consumer credit is increasingly dictated by big banks and government bureaucrats is not consistent with the image that Americans like to project across the world, namely that the US is a beacon or defender of private markets and capitalism. * Christopher Papagianis is managing director of Economics21, a nonpartisan policy-research institute, and previously was special assistant for domestic policy to President George W. Bush.

7

Chinese Communist Party. So, if Leung became Hong Kong’s CE, he would jump ahead of many of his seniors in China.

To complicate China’s predicament further, Hong Kong’s next leader will assume office tainted by retiring CE Donald Tsang’s undignified and possibly corrupt links with the city’s tycoons. The press calls him the “petty greedy CE.” Some legislators have called for his impeachment before he leaves office.

Tsang has been a beneficiary of favors by some of Hong Kong’s second-tier billionaires who run regulated businesses, such as radio stations and the cross-harbor tunnels. Sir Donald enjoys riding on their private jets and luxury yachts while on personal holidays abroad. Before he was shamed into giving it up, he rented a triplex penthouse for his retirement, leased to him at below-market rates by a wealthy businessman, who reportedly threw in a couple of million dollars worth of interior decoration.

Hong Kong’s citizens expect their leader to be a fair arbiter of conflicting public and private interests, not an obsequious toady to the rich. But the most pathetic aspect of Tsang’s behavior is his failure to understand that Hong Kong’s rich, whose company he pathologically craved to keep, respect only those who are richer, smarter, and perhaps more ruthless than they are. They despise those who lack serious money and can be seduced by breadcrumbs.

Deng Xiaoping promised “one country, two systems” as he negotiated Hong Kong’s return to China three decades ago. But, because China has never succeeded in overcoming its inner control freak, it has backed leaders who are incompetent, corruptible, or universally feared and scorned. Hong Kong’s upcoming “election” will be no different. * Sin-ming Shaw, a former fellow at Oxford University, is an investor based in Asia and Argentina.

India’s Democratic Tempest

Newly elected Samajwadi Party legislators raise hands in support for the name of Akhilesh Yadav, state party president and son of the Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav, March 10, 2012. (Reuters)

In the tourist paradise of Goa, the Congress government expected to be re-elected, but was trounced by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shashi Tharoor Project Syndicate

A

pril might be the cruelest month, but, for India’s major political parties this year, March was fairly brutal. On March sixth, following an American-style “Super Tuesday” of its own, India announced the results of five state assembly elections, which confounded pollsters, surprised pundits, and shook a complacent political establishment.

Nothing went according to script. The Congress party was expected to come to power in Punjab, where chronic “anti-incumbency” has traditionally precluded the re-election of any state government.

Instead, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal won convincingly. By contrast, in the northeastern state of Manipur, Congress was expected to yield ground to critics of its long-serving chief minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, who instead pulled off an overwhelming victory. In the tourist paradise of Goa, the Congress government expected to be re-elected, but was trounced by a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meanwhile, the two parties found themselves neck-andneck in the hill state of Uttarakhand, with neither claiming a majority, though Congress had been heavily favored in the polls.

But the greatest surprise was in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh with a population of 200 million, where 402 legislators were elected to its massive state assembly. The incumbent chief minister, Mayawati, whose Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won an absolute majority last time by forging a “rainbow coalition” composed of her Dalit (formerly “untouchable”) constituency and upper castes, was summarily ousted. Neither of the national parties, however, benefited from the BSP’s demise. Congress limped to the finish line with just 27 seats, and the BJP fared little better. Instead, a local socialist group, the Samajwadi Party, claimed a convincing 221 seats. What does all of this portend for India?

The obvious fear is that the apparent weakening of both major national parties (Congress and the BJP) will lead to political instability. But India takes electoral convulsions in its stride, and the results triggered no turmoil in financial markets. Thanks to the vagaries of the parliamentary system and the country’s sprawling size, elections seem to take place somewhere every six months, and investors and political analysts are rarely perturbed by even the most unpredictable outcomes.

In the short term, some worry that the ruling Congress will be enfeebled by the results, and that India might soon face an early general election, which is not due until 2014. Congress depends on the support of a number of coalition partners, as well as backing from non-government parties like Samajwadi that do not support the BJP-led opposition, to pass the annual budget and survive parliamentary confidence votes. But recent electoral successes for at

least two of the regional parties - the Trinamool Congress, which rules West Bengal, and now Samajwadi - have fueled speculation that they might be tempted to bring down the central government in order to emerge stronger after early polls.

But, even if an early general election cannot be ruled out completely, it seems implausible that either party will feel it has much to gain from precipitating the collapse of the national government. On the contrary, both Trinamool and Samajwadi stand to benefit from having a government in New Delhi that is dependent on their goodwill. Why, with the central government in thrall to them, should they venture into the unknown perils of an early election?

It might seem that India has too much democracy - elections in one state or another every few months, a fragmented political establishment with more than 40 parties represented in Parliament, and electoral processes that do little to strengthen a stable system built on two dominant parties. Indeed, some look with envy across the Himalayas at India’s giant neighbor, China, which, untroubled by the vagaries of democratic politics, is in the process of stage-managing a long-planned leadership change completely from above. By contrast, India strikes many as maddening, chaotic, divided, and seemingly directionless as it muddles its way through the second decade of the twenty-first century. Another view, though, is that India is a country that has found in democracy the most effective way to manage its immense contradictions. This should be exciting, not alarming.

“India,” wrote the late British historian E.P. Thompson, “is perhaps the most important country for the future of the world. All the convergent influences of the world run through this society.... There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East that is not active in some Indian mind.” India expresses itself in many ways. Its strength is that it has preserved an idea of itself as one land embracing many - a country that endures differences of caste, creed, color, culture, conviction, costume, and custom, yet still rallies around a democratic consensus.

That consensus is the simple principle that, in a democracy, it is not necessary to agree - except in terms of how to disagree.

The reason that India, despite predictions of its imminent disintegration, has survived the stresses that have beset it during more than six decades of independence, is that it has maintained a consensus on how to manage without consensus. This is the India that Mahatma Gandhi fought to free, and its turbulent politics is well worth celebrating. * Shashi Tharoor, a former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and UN Under-Secretary General, is a member of India’s parliament and the author of a dozen books, including India from Midnight to the Millennium and Nehru: the Invention of India.

8

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Abu Halifa 2371 7656 Ahmadi 2398 0304 Ardiya 2488 1273 Bayan 2538 7762 Dahar 2383 0500 Dahiya 2256 0855 Dasma 2253 1917 Fahaheel 2391 2959 Faiha 2255 2693 Farwaniya 2471 1977 Ferdous 2489 0583 Fintas 2390 4388 Hawalli 2264 1116 Jabriya 2531 5855 Jahra Ind. Area 2457 5565 / 2458 7392 Jahra North 2455 2295 Jleeb Al Shouyoukh 2431 1234 Keifan 2483 2839 Kheitan 2472 2590 Mina Abdullah 2326 1144 Nugra 2261 6662 Omariya 2474 2160

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Central Adan Amiri Hospital Da’iya Fahaheel Farwaniya Farwaniya Jahra Mubarak Al Kabir Sabah Salmiya Shuaiba

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Adan General Hospital Al-Sabah Chest Hospital Al-Sabah Maternity Hospital Amiri General Hospital As’ad Al-Hamad Dermatology Center

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I N PR I VAT E PR AC T ICE

Andrology, Male Infertility and Impotence Specialist Abdullatif A. Al Salim 2533 4438

Dermatologist & Venereologists Fahad I. Al Othman 2266 5166 Taibah M. Almonayes 2573 7477 Dr. Mohamed Bo Hamra 2266 5166

Dentists & Oral Surgeons Ahmed Al Balool 2262 2211 Badri K. Al Rayes 2574 2557 Duha Al Shaqan 2264 4614 Ebraheem Behbehani 2573 0000 Farida Al Herz 2257 3883 Maria Blanaru 2573 0000 Najat Essa-Bahman 2262 4595 Najeeb Kassim 2573 9277 Salwa A. Abdulsalam 2573 0000 Kuwait Medical Center 2575 9044 / 5 Endocrinologists Latifa Al Dowaisan Kamal Abdulaziz Al Shome

Gastroenterologist Mohamed A. Al Shimali 2532 2030 - 2263 9955 Urologist Fawzi Taher Abul Ali Yousef Mehdi

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RESTAURANT • Café Library Lounge Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel Tel: 23931000 Hang.Out Lounge Galleria 2000 Tel: 25755588 Song Bird Café Hilton Kuwait Resort Tel: 23725500 Chit Chat Café Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555 Lounge Café Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555 The English Tea Room Sheraton Hotel Tel: 1835555 Waterlemon Al-Raya Tel: 22244797 Marina Mall Tel: 22997666 Le Pain Quotidien Palms Beach Hotel Tel: 25633684 Marina Crescent Tel: 22244942 Avenues Tel: 24954632 • Casual Dining Applebee’s Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22407536 Fintas Tel: 23714559 Burgerhub Gulf road Tel: 22464818 Chili’s Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22452200 Chili’s Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253120/1 Hard Rock Café Salmiya Tel: 25710004 Ruby Tuesdays Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22444454 T.G.I. Fridays Bneid Al-Gar Tel: 22544300

• Chinese China Hut Tel: 25656226 China Express Jabriya Tel: 25342399 Salwa Tel: 25653230 China House Salmiya Tel: 25713339 / 60 China Lake Al-Blajat St. Tel: 25713072 / 3 China Town Salmiya Tel: 25652541 Greens Al-Wafra Complex Tel: 22516031

Tel: 1815050 • French Le Notre Gulf Road Tel: 25758888 • Indian Dawat Restaurant Bneid Al Gar Tel: 22411728 Abu Halifa Tel: 23724251 Al Alamia Mall, Jahra Tel: 24554642 Taal Restaurant Salmiya Beda’ Tel: 22253142 Winner’s Salmiya Tel: 25739954 Abu Halifa Tel: 23711374 / 5 Riggae Tel: 24895501 / 2 Jahra Tel: 24560088/8800

Gulf Royal Tel: 23925390-Fintas 22622556-Hawalli 25710448-Salmiya 22244795-Marina

Asha’s Tel: 22244502/3/9 Marina Crescent Tel: 24954700

Noodles Salmiya Tel: 25712233

Bukhara Sheraton Hotel Tel: 22422055

The Peacock Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25673000

Tourist Restaurant Kuwait City Tel: 22411702

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Mugal Mahal Farwaniya Tel: 24726126/7 Fintas Tel: 23915588 Salmiya Tel: 25722223/4 Sharq Tel: 22425132

• Continental Casper & Gambini’s Kuwait City Tel: 22430054 La Marina Sharq Mall Tel: 22426672 • Fast Food Burger King Tel: 22444466 Domino’s Pizza Tel: 1800800 Hardees Tel: 1888333 KFC Tel: 1888666 Little Caesar’s Tel: 1888855 Pizza Hut

Tikka Tel: 1822833 • International Al-Bustan Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25673000 Al-Hamra Sheraton Hotel Tel: 22422055 Al-Marsa Restaurant Le Meridien Tel: 22510999 Atrium Restaurant Courtyard Marriott Hotel

Tel: 22997000

L I S T I N G S

Beit 7 Kuwait City Tel: 22450871 Café Rio Al-Fanar Tel: 25732226 Dunes Ritz Hotel Tel: 22499911 Failaka Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel Tel: 23931000 La Brasserie JW Marriott Tel: 22455550 Ritz Shamiya Tel: 24820184 Shuwaikh Tel: 24844350 Square International Tel: 22437681 Test n’ Taste Villa Moda Tel: 24827010 Teatro Hilton Kuwait Resort Tel: 23725500

Kuwait City Tel: 22400737

Nino Gulf Road Tel: 22541900 Pizza Express Abdullah Al-Salem Tel: 22560273 Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253166 Airport Tel: 24342681 Tel: 23725500 Ricardo Sheraton Hotel Tel: 22422055 • Japanese Edo Shaab Tel: 22659590 Kei JW Marriott Hotel Tel: 22422650 Korea & Japan Restaurant New Park Hotel Tel: 25634200

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Shogun The Palms Hotel Tel: 27070022

Il Forno Restaurant Courtyard Marriot Hotel Tel: 22997000 Johnny Carino’s Salmiya Tel: 22667050 La Piazza Kuwait City Tel: 24246639 Lorenzo

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Fakhr Al-Din Restaurant Kuwait City Tel: 22423180

Villa Fairouz Shaab Tel: 22652030

Shrimpy Gulf Road Tel: 22563118 Totally Fish Marina Crescent Tel: 22244960/1

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Mais Al-Ghanim Kuwait City Tel: 22402590

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• Steak House Relais De L’Entrecote Al-Fanar Complex Tel: 25729600 Terrace Grill JW Marriott Hotel Tel: 22455550

Shabistan Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

The Gaucho Grill The Palms Hotel Tel: 25667370 -

• Seafood Al-Ahmadi Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

• Tex-Mex Chi Chi’s Salmiya Tel: 25625811

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Flavors Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

• Italian Ciro’s Pomodoro Kuwait City Tel: 22424004

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Te l : 1 8 3 9 0 9 0

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Brent oil dips on supply build outlook LONDON: Brent crude oil dipped slightly on Wednesday as expectations for a build in US crude inventories and a stronger dollar offset support from improving economic sentiment, though supply worries helped keep it near 11month highs.

Brent crude fell 12 US cents to 126.10 US dollars a barrel by 1138 GMT, after settling at its highest close since last April at $126.22 on Tuesday. US crude eased 10 cents to $106.61.

BUSINESS

thursdAY, march 15, 2012

m ar ket watc h KUWAIT

DUBAI

QATAR

OMAN

ABU DHABI

0.25% 6164

0.5% 1691

0.0% 8627

0.3% 5975

0.3% 2630

OIL MARKETS BAHRAIN 0.3% 1149

EGYPT

SAUDI

0.7% 5085

0.6% 7568

US Crude $106.35 $0.36 London Brent $126.16 $0.16 Kuwait Crude $123.57 $0.57 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

CURRENCIES US Dollar

British Pound

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Buy 0.2789 Sell 0.2794 Buy 0.3644 Sell 0.3651

Kuwait oil prices up 57 cent to $123.57 Says oil exports flowing despite customs strike

CAPITALS: Price of Kuwaiti crude went up 52 US cents to 123.57 US dollars per barrel (pb) on Tuesday, in comparison to $123.05 pb the day before, the staterun Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said Wednesday. Oil prices are stable at the moment after a wide spread optimism in global markets. This would lead to an increase in retail sales in the US markets.

The rates of the crude have been on the rise due to various geopolitical factors, the Iranian question and speculations on the international energy markets.

In more news, a strike by customs workers in Kuwait is not affecting oil exports, the country’s oil min-

ister said on Wednesday, a day after employees started industrial action at the Gulf state’s ports, airport and borders.

Kuwait’s customs workers last went on strike in October, in a two-day walkout that disrupted oil shipments from the OPEC member state. It was not immediately clear how many were taking part this time, but last year around 3,000 were involved.

Asked whether the strike over wages was affecting shipments, Oil Minister Hani Hussein told reporters: “No, and in any case we have a backup plan in place and our government is talking with the strikers to resolve things.”

The country produces around three million barrels of oil a day, according to the state oil company KPC. Last year’s strike halted vessel traffic in and out of Kuwaiti ports, including at least five oil tankers.

Buy 0.4379 Sell 0.4388

Buy 0.003335 Sell 0.003341

OPEC basket at $124

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) daily basket price stood at $124.59 a barrel Tuesday (March 13) compared with $123.88 pb the previous day, the cartel bulletin reported on Wednesday. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). -Agencies

A Pakistani shepherd herds his livestock along a river bank in Multan, Punjab province, on March 14, 2012. Pakistan’s economy would speed up to a 3.4 percent growth pace in fiscal 2011-2012, which runs to June 30, compared to 2.4 percent last year, the IMF said last month. The statistics was less than half the pace needed to absorb two million new workers in the market every year, it said, while unemployment and underemployment remain higher than the official 6.6 percent rate. (AFP)

KSE ends trading with 15.2 point gain KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed Wednesday on a mixed board with the price index reading 6,163.8 points at a gain of 15.2 points, while the weighted index came to 418.17 points, an up of 2.87 points.

Trades came to 5,787 transactions, worth 40,950,550 Kuwaiti dinars and volume reached 496,227,500 shares.

Top gainer sector of four was services with a gain of 104.7 points. The loser sector was meanwhile industry which was down 10.9 points, with food close on its heel at a drop of 10.8 points.

Gainer share of the day was Strategia Investment

Company, while biggest loser was the stock of AlMadina for Finance and Investment Company. Top traded share was Abyaar Real Estate Development Company.

Meanwhile, main indexes of Kuwait Stock Exchange dropped upon opening on Wednesday with the price index losing 1.7 points and falling to 6,146.9 points.

The weighted index fell 0.49 points to the level of 414.81 points. Meanwhile, number of trades reached 487 with a value of traded shares KD 3,625,180 and volume of exchanged stocks stood at 37,730,000.

-KUNA

East head of investments: “Small-caps have outperformed the blue chips of the market and some of these companies remain in very bad shape financially.

“Their business models are no longer sustainable given the change in environment in Dubai post- the real estate crisis. The rally has been exaggerated in some names.”

One major piece of news for the stock market this week was Abu Dhabi’s decision to consider a merger between builders Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate. This was taken positively by investors as a sign that authorities were committed to supporting the real estate sector.

“The current business set-up for Sorouh and Aldar is not viable in the long run,” said Ali El Adou, portfolio manager at The National Investor. “So the government is trying to create an entity which will have a stronger (footing).”

The terms of the possible merger have not been announced, however, so it is unclear if shareholders would benefit. And the merger plan can be interpreted as a recognition that the real estate market in Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates as a whole will remain depressed for some time to come.

Abu Dhabi’s stock market may be less vulnerable to any reverse than Dubai since its index has rallied at a more staid pace; it is

up nine percent so far this year.

Just as in Dubai, however, trading turnover in Abu Dhabi has risen sharply, by a factor of several times from last year’s levels. This suggests there is a lot of short-term money in Abu Dhabi that could be withdrawn quickly if a reverse in global markets spooks investors in the Gulf.

Emaar is less exposed than many other property firms to weakness in the local real estate sector, since it is benefiting from a recovery in the tourism and hospitality sectors and also has an international real estate portfolio.

Egypt

In Egypt, investors will be anxious next week for signs that the government is making progress toward securing a 3.2 billion US dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). An IMF team is expected to begin a visit to Cairo early in the week.

Egypt’s benchmark stock index soared by almost 50 percent this year, partly on hopes that the loan will help the country avoid fiscal and currency crises. But stocks began falling back at the end of last week on concern that the country’s economic and political troubles may not be resolved as quickly as hoped; an IMF loan deal is not inevitable as the Fund may find it hard to

Buy 0.07592 Sell 0.07606

Buy 0.07673 Sell 0.07658 Buy 0.7396 Sell 0.74104

Buy 0.0056 Sell 0.005587

Buy 0.006517 Sell 0.006501

Iraq reaches $500 million airline debt deal with Kuwait BAGHDAD: Iraq has reached a 500 million US dollar agreement with Kuwait to resolve a standoff over Gulf Warera debts that had prevented Iraqi Airways from flying to destinations in the West, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri AlMaliki said on Wednesday.

Under the deal, Iraq will pay Kuwait $300 million in cash and will invest another $200 million in a joint Iraqi-Kuwaiti airline venture, Al-Maliki’s media adviser Ali Al-Moussawi told Reuters by telephone from Kuwait where Al-Maliki was on a visit.

In return, Kuwait would lift legal actions against Iraqi Airways, he said. In 2010 Kuwaiti lawyers tried to seize an Iraqi Airways plane on its first flight to London.

The issue of Iraqi Airways debts is one part of a long-running dispute between Iraq and Kuwait over billions of dollars of reparations dating back to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990-1991.

Saddam’s forces seized aircraft and parts during their occupation of Kuwait, before they were driven out in the USled Gulf War. Iraqi Airways has regular flights to Beirut, Dubai, Tehran and Amman, but legal cases have made it difficult to start flights to European cities without risking its planes being confiscated.

Iraq is keen to resolve some of its disputes with Kuwait ahead of a March 27-29 Arab League summit in Baghdad, the first to be held there since before the 1990 invasion.

-Reuters

Zain to launch global Wi-Fi data roaming service

Based on iPass Open Mobile Exchange

KUWAIT: Zain Group, a pioneer of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East, announced in a press release on Wednesday it had signed an agreement with iPass Inc., a leading provider of mobility services for both enterprises and telecom service providers, by which Zain will provide its mobile customers with global Wi-Fi data roaming services.

The Zain Group offering will leverage the iPass Open Mobile Exchange (iPass OMX) to provide customers with a global Wi-Fi roaming offering and access to the iPass Mobile Network, the world’s largest commercial Wi-Fi network at local rates.

“Zain is excited to work with iPass for this ground breaking WiFi roaming service that will provide the ultimate flexibility to our customers travelling abroad,” said Hisham Akbar, Zain Group Chief Commercial Officer. “Our customers will be able to use their smartphones and tablets to affordably data roam on Wi-Fi in over 700,000 locations internationally with the convenience of being charged on their home bill - it’s a value added service that our mobile customers have desired in order to avert high data roaming charges.”

The iPass Open Mobile Exchange enables Mobile Network Operators to maximize the impact of their roaming offer with minimum effort. The service offers the largest Wi-Fi roaming footprint in the world: customers can seamlessly connect to more than 700,000 WiFi hotspots in 117 countries, in key locations such as airports, hotels, convention centers, coffee shops and many more.

UAE uptrend looks fragile, Egypt hopes for IMF loan

CAPITALS: After a sharp setback last week, stock markets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have resumed rising in high trading volumes, but some analysts say the rally remains fragile as much of it is speculative and depends on a benign global backdrop.

Dubai’s benchmark index, up about 25 percent so far this year, bounced off an eightyear low in mid-January. While many fund managers believe the market is in an overdue recovery from an excessive drop, sharp gains in small-capital stocks with limited fundamental attraction have raised doubts about the sustainability of the uptrend.Construction company Arabtec is trading at 24 times this year’s estimated earnings, compared to historic levels around 10 times, analysts said.

The stock is up 89 percent so far this year, far outperforming the benchmark.

Deyaar Development, which swung to a small profit in 2011 after being badly hit by the continuing slump in Dubai’s real estate market, is up nearly 100 percent so far in 2012, trading at about 21 times this year’s estimated earnings.

“A lot of Dubai names have more than doubled this year - that’s basically just a lot of speculators,” said Ibrahim Masood, senior investment officer at Mashreq Bank.

Added Rami Sidani, Schroders Middle

Buy 0.0744 Sell 0.0745

Prices in Kuwaiti fils As of March 14, 2012 Courtesy: KAMCO

A Kuwait-based shipping source said on Wednesday the movement of oil tankers was not being affected as in October because vessels were still being granted clearance despite the industrial action.

Credit growth eases in January with strength limited to personal lending, says NBK KUWAIT: Total credit was down slightly by 16 million Kuwaiti dinars in the first month of the year as loans to non-bank financial institutions, down KD 65 million, continue to be a drag on credit growth, stated National Bank of Kuwait’s latest Economic Brief. Meanwhile, household credit remained the key driver of new credit with its steady gains, up KD 72 million in January. Money supply expanded only slightly in January following a year of strong growth in 2011.

Broad money supply (M2) was up KD 33 million in January; the narrower measure of money supply (M1), consisting of more liquid assets, rose by KD 53 million. Year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in M1, at 21 percent, remained ahead of growth in M2 at 10 percent. M1’s faster pace of growth was generally driven by low interest rates which boosted shorter term deposits.

The report also stated that there was strong growth in Kuwait’s official net foreign assets was a primary source of money supply growth over the last year. The Central Bank of Kuwait’s (CBK) foreign assets were up 29 percent y-o-y. This trend was largely maintained in January with CBK foreign assets up KD 144 million.

Meanwhile, credit growth remained modest. Outstanding credit to residents was off KD 16 million in January with y/y growth at 1.4 percent.

Personal facilities (ex-securities) continued to do well, up a strong KD 72 million in the first month of the year. Credit to productive sectors (trade, industry and construction) saw some decent gains in January and was up KD 90 million. Meanwhile, loans to non-bank financial institutions continued to weigh down on total credit and were down KD 65 million. Credit to real estate was down a noticeable KD 48 million in January following several months of gains.

Furthermore, resident deposits were up slightly (KD 61 million), exclusively in foreign currency accounts. There was a clear shift towards shorter term deposits in January as the low rate environment continued to push depositors away from time deposits. Average rates offered on private KD deposits remained unchanged across all maturities in January. Rates on maturities of one, three, six and 12 months averaged 0.81 percent, 1.04 percent, 1.30 percent, and 1.54 percent, respectively, stated the report.

Total bank assets were down KD 91 million in January following a strong increase in December. The drop was largely in banks’ liquid assets and other assets, which declined by KD 95 million and KD 68 million, respectively. Meanwhile, banks’ net foreign assets continued to see strong growth, mirroring the strong growth in the CBK’s foreign assets.

See page 10

reach an understanding on economic policy with Cairo. By Tuesday, the index had sunk to a three-week low.

“An IMF deal may reassure investors about the short-term outlook for the Egyptian pound, reducing the risk of a disorderly devaluation - this could benefit companies that are net importers,” said Simon Kitchen, strategist for EFG-Hermes.

The IMF has been pressing Egypt’s government to narrow its budget deficit; one solution it proposed was to raise the prices which heavy industry pays for its energy. The government last week sent out higher electricity bills to heavy industries, and cement firms are among those that could be hurt, analysts said.

Mike Millar, head of research at Naeem Brokerage, said the market would also be looking to see if there was any progress on the forced, partial nationalization by the Algerian government of Vimpelcom’s Djezzy mobile phone unit. Vimpelcom acquired Djezzy as part of a six billion dollar deal to buy the assets of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom ; Algeria has said it expects a valuation of Djezzy to be completed by the end of March.

The market will be looking as well to see if Egypt’s regulators approve OTMT’s sale of most of its stake in Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil to France Telecom. -Reuters

Kuwait seeks new offers for health company stake sale DUBAI: Kuwait is seeking new offers for a stake in its 1.15 billion US dollar healthcare project Kuwait Health Assurance Co (KHAC), bidder Agility said on Wednesday.

Agility had already bid about 25.6 million Kuwait dinars ($91.7 million) to acquire a minority stake in KHAC in December, but that offer appears to have been rejected. “Company officials were informed that (Kuwait) intends to retender in the hopes of obtaining a better financial premium,” Agility said in a statement to the Dubai bourse, on which it is also listed.

KHAC is a project envisioned in Kuwait’s five-year development plan and aims to privatize expatriate health insurance and associated medical care. The project also includes plans to build and operate three new hospitals and 15 health clinics in the Gulf state.

The company is being set up with a capital of KD 318 million ($1.15 billion) and the required equity to establish the firm is 30 percent, Agility said in an earlier statement.

Strategic investors are required to bid for a quarter of the 30 percent equity capital contribution. Agility’s shares were down 2.4 percent on the Kuwait bourse at 0632 GMT. -Reuters

10

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY thursDAY, march 15, 2012

Brent oil dips on supply build outlook LONDON: Brent crude oil dipped slightly on Wednesday as expectations for a build in US crude inventories and a stronger dollar offset support from improving economic sentiment, though supply worries helped keep it near 11-month highs.

Brent crude fell 12 US cents to 126.10 US dollars a barrel by 1138 GMT, after settling at its highest close since last April at $126.22 on Tuesday. US crude eased 10 cents to $106.61.

Brent has been contained in a range between around $124 and $126 for a week, and traders said supply worries were keeping it at these elevated levels.

“The market is pinned in a sideways range,” said Christopher Bellew at Jefferies Bache. “Without Iran, Syria and maybe Sudan, we would be lower. But without more newsflow on Iran we don’t go higher either.”

Emphasizing the fact that supply worries are a major concern for market players, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said oil supply from non-members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will grow less than expected.

“I would expect a break to the upside at some point as supply worries, low stock cover and good growth in Far East outweigh Europe’s travails,” Bellew said.

Attention will turn to data from the US government’s Energy Information Administration at 1430 GMT, which is expected to report a fourth straight rise in weekly crude oil inventories.

US commercial crude oil stockpiles were forecast to have climbed 1.7 million barrels, according to a Reuters survey of analysts. Gasoline stocks were expected to be down 1.0 million barrels, with distillates to have fallen 1.3 million.

The industry group American Petroleum Industry on Tuesday estimated US crude inventories rose 2.8 million barrels in the week to March 9.

Saudi to fill ‘perceived or real’ oil supply gap

In this photo taken with a long exposure, a pumping unit sucks oil from the ground near Greensburg, Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

Brent crude oil dipped slightly on Wednesday as expectations for a build in US crude inventories and a stronger dollar offset support from improving economic sentiment. (AP) Dollar gains

A strengthening US dollar also pressured Brent crude oil prices. Gains in the dollar can pressure dollar-denominated commodities by making them more expensive to consumers using other currencies.

In euro terms Brent crude oil was just below all-time highs set the previous session, piling pressure on a fragile economic recovery in Europe, which is lagging the United States and Asia.

The dollar hit an 11-month high against the yen and a one-month high on the euro on Wednesday, extending its gains after a modest brightening of the Federal Reserve’s economic forecasts.

“We would argue that downside risks for oil prices are currently limited as economic stabilization suggests that demand growth might have troughed,” said Tobias Merath, head of global commodity research at Credit Suisse Private Banking.

The US central bank slightly upgraded

its economic outlook on Tuesday, saying it expected “moderate” growth over coming quarters and a gradual decline in the unemployment rate, although it said the jobless rate “remains elevated”.

Exporter Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers warned oil prices could spike higher if tensions between the West and Iran do not subside. The Saudi oil minister said oil markets were generally balanced but stood ready to fill any supply shortfalls. -Reuters

UAE’S Taqa sees 2012 capital expenditure at $2.0-2.2 billion ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (TAQA) expects to increase capital spending to between two billion US dollars to $2.2 billion this year as it pushes ahead with expansion plans.

TAQA, which is 75-percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, spent $1.9 billion in 2011, Chief Executive Carl Sheldon said in a conference call on Wednesday, adding this year’s spending would mainly go towards five long-term projects.

“This year it (capex) runs in the order of two billion dollars to $2.2 billion in long range projects,” Sheldon said. TAQA plans to spend on oil and gas drilling in western Canada and the North Sea, as well as in expansion

programs in Morocco, Ghana and the Bergermeer gas project in the Netherlands, he said.

The firm made a fourth-quarter loss of 372 million dirhams ($101 million) according to Reuters calculations, compared with a 343 million dirhams profit in the same period of 2010.

The loss was mainly due to an impairment charge on gas producing assets in Canada, Sheldon said.

TAQA, which sold a 650 million Malaysian ringgit denominated Islamic bond or Sukuk last month, will go to the bond market on an opportunistic basis, he said.

The Sukuk was part of the firm’s 3.5 billion Malaysian ringgit Sukuk program, which was established late

Oil shut-ins, slow supply growth, support price

LONDON: Incremental oil supply from non-members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries will grow less than expected in the first quarter this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, leaving its global oil demand growth forecast unchanged.

The agency, which advises industrialized nations on energy policy, said nonOPEC oil production will rise by just 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter, down from 490,000 bpd in previous forecasts as unplanned shut-ins topped 750,000 bpd.

The IEA also downgraded its full year non-OPEC production growth to 730,000 bpd from 900,000 bpd. Combined with sanctions on Iran, supply outages have helped push Brent crude up by more than 17 percent since the start of the year to 126 US dollars a barrel on Wednesday.

“The main change in our report is to cut our assessments of production in Sudan, South Sudan and Syria,” said David Fyfe, head of the oil industry and markets division of the IEA. South Sudan has shut down its entire output of about 350,000 bpd since January following a row with Sudan over how much the landlocked new nation should pay to export its oil through northern pipelines.

Fyfe said that no real progress ha d been made towards a solution but the agency assume d a gradual recovery in Sudanese oil output in the second half of the year.

Syrian supply, under embargo to many Western countries, is expected to remain at minimal levels throughout 2012.

Supply outages have helped cut inventories in industrialized nations, despite slow demand growth.

Also on the supply side, the agency highlighted the erosion of inventories in industrialized nations, adding that although China and other emerging consumers were building new storage capacity, their actual holdings provided less demand cover than those in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“Put simply, a post-recession OECD industrial stock overhang has gradually been whittled away. Inventories, notably crude in Europe and the Pacific, look very tight in absolute terms,” the IEA said in the monthly report.

OECD inventories rose by a ‘muted’ 13.6 million barrels in January to 2.61 billion barrels, it said, putting absolute inventory levels below the five-year average for the seventh consecutive month.

Production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries which pumps around a third of the world’s oil, rose for the fifth month in a row to highs not seen since October 2008 of 31.42 million bpd led by Saudi output and the Libyan recovery.

Saudi supplies rose during the month to a near-three decade peak of around 10 million bpd, leaving spare capacity at less than two million bpd.

“The market’s relatively slim ‘buffer’ suggests a bumpy ride in the months ahead,” the IEA said.

Regarding appetite for oil, the agency kept its estimates broadly unchanged for 2012, seeing growth of about 800,000 bpd.

OPEC also retained its view that world oil demand will grow by 900,000 bpd this year, unchanged from last month.

However, the IEA warned that high oil prices were the main threat to a recovery. Demand growth will likely remain stunted by weaker economic prospects, the more so if prices stay high,” the IEA said.

Brent futures have risen by more than 17 percent since the start of the year to stand just short of 126 US dollars a barrel on Wednesday. -Reuters

last year. “There is no pressure to go to the market and our capex is funded from our operations,” Stephen Kersley, chief financial officer, said.

TAQA’s total outstanding debt at the end of 2011 was 72.1 billion dirhams of which nearly half is project debt and the remainder corporate debt, Kersley said.

The firm which is a low bidder in Dubai’s Hassyan 1 power project, may consider bidding for Dubai’s mega solar power project, said Sheldon, adding TAQA may also bid for renewable energy projects in Morocco.

TAQA shares were up 3.2 percent on the Abu Dhabi bourse Wednesday. They have risen 5 percent so far this year. -Reuters

KUWAIT: Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia stands ready to fill any oil supply gap - “perceived or real” - as oil prices rally on fears of a potential loss of Iranian output.

“Today the oil market is generally balanced and there is ample production and refining capacity ... Saudi Arabia and others remain poised to make good any shortfalls - perceived or real - in crude oil supply,” Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said on Wednesday in a speech at the International Energy Forum. The Saudi oil minister has previously said the kingdom was prepared to raise production only if it sees increased demand from customers. Gulf oil sources told Reuters on Tuesday the United States was pressing Saudi Arabia to boost output to fill a likely supply gap arising from international sanctions on Iran.

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

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 above 125 US dollars 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. Already running close to record highs of about 10 million bpd, Saudi Arabia says it has the capacity to increase production to 12.5 million bpd. Iran produces below 3.5 million bpd and exports around 2.2 million bpd to world markets.

Taboo subject

Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the region, is also keen to avoid a major spike in tensions with Iran, which the West accuses of developing a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies the accusations and says its atomic program is peaceful.

Although the stand-off between the West and Iran is the key worry for the oil markets at the moment, the tensions appeared to be a taboo subject at the Forum, the world’s biggest gathering of producing and consuming nations.

Neither Al-Naimi nor OPEC’s Secretary General Abdalla Al-Badri mentioned the tensions in their speeches and Iran’s oil minister Rostam Ghasemi only vaguely alluded to the stand-off.

“Unfortunately some big countries who are among the major energy consumers, view oil as one of the basic constituents in their military, security and political strategies and use it as a political tool against oil producing countries,” Ghasemi said in a speech. “Exerting unilateral economic constraints of political instigations is a threat, which jeopardizes free trade and continuity of oil supply in the world,” said the Iranian minister. Al-Badri avoided the issue of tensions all together, focusing instead on the need for regulatory reforms to reduce excessive volatility in oil markets by financial speculators. -Reuters

Visa goes for gold as sponsor of London 2012 Olympic Games Celebrates over 25 years as a worldwide sponsor of Olympic Games

KUWAIT: Visa, one of the world’s leading payment solution providers, is celebrating its longstanding worldwide sponsorship of the Olympic Games with one its biggest ever Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-wide campaigns. This was stated in a press release on Wednesday.

As an Olympic partner since 1986,Visa continues to be the exclusive card of the Olympic Games and official payment service of the International Olympic Committee with Visa being the only card accepted at all Olympic venues for all official Olympic-related transactions.

As part of its sponsorship, Visa is delivering a high impact advertising campaign across the GCC, and is also offering Visa cardholders in each market the chance to win one of more than 100 once-in-alifetime trip to London to see The Games in action for themselves.

‘Go World’ advertising across GCC

Visa’s eye-catching ‘Go World’ campaign was unveiled to the public during last month’s Dubai Shopping Festival, featuring an interactive 3D activation in the Mall of the Emirates, which enabled Visa to promote its involvement with The Games in a fun and engaging way. The high impact advertising campaign has now been rolled out across the GCC. The extensive campaign will run until July and with a series of below-the-line initiatives, including a dedicated PR and social media campaign, complimenting the advertising campaign.

As part of Visa’s worldwide sponsorship of The Games, Visa will be running a series of promotions giving over 100 Visa cardholders across the region the chance the unique opportunity to attend the Games in London with a friend during the summer. In the UAE, 11 prizes packages are on offer directly from Visa, with customers ADIB, Emirates NBD and Mashreq having additional chances to win this much coveted prize as part of exclusive partnerships with Visa.

As the world’s biggest sporting event, the Olympic and Paralympic Games provide Visa with

an unparalleled opportunity to promote our brand to our broad and diverse customer base and to reinforce preference for Visa products and services at an international and local level.

The unwavering and growing appeal of the Olympic Games has provided Visa with a flexible platform on which to build integrated marketing campaigns,” explains Karim Beg, Visa’s Head of Marketing for MENA. “Over the years, Visa’s use of the Olympic sponsorship to support its business has evolved with its business strategy.”

As a result, Visa has utilised its sponsorship of the last twelve Olympic Games to increase its global brand leadership, grow Visa transaction volume, expand acceptance in new and emerging markets and enhance preference for its products and services.

Beg continues: “During the early days of our Olympic sponsorship, we focused on promoting our exclusive acceptance at the Games. Today, we utilise the sponsorship platform to promote the advantages of using Visa instead of cash, and to facilitate the development and advancement of the payment infrastructure in Olympic host countries.”

French BNP Paribas to grow Middle East revenues DUBAI: French lender BNP Paribas expects to grow its revenues from the oil-rich Gulf region this year despite a slight impact on its business as a result of the Arab Spring, the bank’s Middle East head told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

“Globally, the bank had good 2011 results and also here in the Middle East, and we expect this to continue especially from asset management and wealth management,” Jean-Christophe Durand said. “This is a very important region for BNP Paribas.”

Durand said the impact of the Arab Spring popular revolts across the region was “very minimal”.

“A lot of business of what we do here in the Gulf is with large corporates, financial institutions and governments,” he added.

Some European banks, struggling under the weight of the euro zone debt crisis, have been retrenching from lending business in the region, and Durand acknowledged BNP was currently focusing on debt structuring and financial advisory ser-

vices as opposed to lending.

Across the region, the bank sees opportunities in corporate and financial advisory services, trade finance and cash management, wealth and asset management as well as debt capital markets.

For BNP, historically one of the most active players in project financing across the region, the scene is changing with more reliance on debt capital markets.

“It is clear that traditional long term financing is changing and will be done differently. We will have a bigger use of capital markets like bonds and Sukuk,” said Durand.

Bahrain unrest

BNP, which has its regional headquarters in Bahrain and operations in the Gulf Arab region since more than 30 years, was forced to move some of its staff and back-office operations out of Bahrain after unrest in the kingdom earlier this year.

Bahrain, a small non-Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil producer

was thrown into turmoil in February when protesters, mostly majority Shi’ites, took to the streets demanding democratic reforms in the Sunni-ruled state.

Durand said the bank was staying put on the island kingdom.

“We are not moving our regional head quarters from Bahrain,” Durand said. “We are cutting staff in some businesses and in others we are hiring to adapt to new market conditions.”

Rival Societe Generale’s private banking arm plans to close its office in Bahrain as part of a cost cut move, it said in February, while Credit Agricole decided to close its office in Bahrain and move staff to neighboring Dubai last year amid unrest.

BNP recently transferred a representative office it had in Dubai to the Dubai International Financial Centre to support its wealth management business, and opened a “secondary platform” which will act as a back up to ensure business continuity in line with the bank’s global policy, Durand said. -Reuters

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY

US hedge fund wins $45.5 million claim against Dubai’s Drydocks Dubai’s Aramex in partnership deal with South Korean firm

CAPITALS: A US-based hedge fund said it has won a 45.5 million US dollar legal claim against Dubai’s Drydocks World for defaulting on a loan, putting the ship builder’s $2.2 billion debt restructuring in further trouble.

Monarch Alternative Capital said in an emailed statement that Drydocks, a unit of Dubai World, has been ordered to pay the entirety of the sum of $45.5 million claimed plus Monarch’s legal costs.

Monarch sued Drydocks last year in the High Court of London casting a blow to the restructuring talks.

A week ago, Drydocks proposed repaying creditors in five years and said it was seeking more working capital as it tried to restructure a $2.2 billion loan facility, ending lengthy and complex debt talks.

The restructuring had been scheduled to be completed by April 2011, but it was slowed by a lack of government support and opposition from hedge fund creditors, including Monarch.

When asked how the judgment would affect its restructuring Khamis Juma Buamim, Drydocks World chairman, said,”As made clear at all lender meetings, the company is confident that it can still implement its restructuring if it transpires that Monarch do not accept the terms on offer.”

“But I would very much hope that notwithstanding their legal action Monarch will accept the very reasonable restructuring proposal.”

Debt talks

Drydocks World’s debts stem from a multibillion-dollar loan it took out to fund expansion in Singapore. Drydocks has its

Midas Furniture celebrates success of unprecedented ‘Win Daily’ campaign KD 42,400 in gifts given away in one month

major ship and rig building facilities in southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. The $2.2 billion facility, taken out in October 2008, comprised a $1.7 billion three-year loan paying 170 basis points and a five-year $500 million loan with a 190 basis point margin, according to Thomson Reuters data. Bookrunners on the 15-lender syndicate were BNP Paribas , Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Mashreq, Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking Group among others.

Presence of hedge funds is seen complicating debt restructurings in the Gulf Arab region, where previous negotiations have been bank-only affairs.

Another US hedge fund manager Davidson Kempner Capital Management is part of the creditor committee for the $1.1 billion debt restructuring at Bahrain investment house Arcapita , the first time a fund has fulfilled such a role in the region.

In more news, Dubai courier firm Aramex has signed a partnership agreement with South Korea’s CJ GLS, its latest expansion into east Asia, Aramex said in a statement on Wednesday.

CJ GLS is an unlisted unit of CJ Cheiljedang, a food-to-entertainment conglomerate. The deal will enable Aramex to provide express and freight services to South Korea and follows the firm’s launch of a joint venture in China with Sinotrans Air Transportation in November.

“Aramex will have a strategic position serving the South East Asian economies,” Othman Al Jeda, Aramex’s Asia chief executive, said in the statement to the Dubai bourse. No financial details of the partnership deal was provided.

Trade between Korea and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries - United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman - was worth 113 billion US dollars in 2011, according to the statement. -Agencies

KUWAIT: Midas Furniture announced in a press release on Wednesday the final set of winners of Kuwait’s most exciting February offer, which gave shoppers the first-ever opportunity to win up to 100 percent of their purchase value three times per day for an entire month. The luck-filled offer produced more than 80 winners who brought home a cumulative 42,437 Kuwaiti dinars in store credit, making this campaign one of the most attractive and successful to date for Midas customers. As the month progressed, so did the average prize values along with the number of winners who won twice in a single day, creating a building sense of excitement for customers and employees alike. By the end of the offer period, seven shoppers took home over KD 1,000 and two individuals won twice in one day.

“Our goal with this campaign was to advance the prized relationship we have with our customers by means of appreciation, generosity and better access to the largest selection of elegant furniture in Kuwait. With this formula, we were able to demonstrate that when our customers win, so does Midas,” explained Russell Brown, Midas Regional Director Retail Division.

Midas has been pursuing a customer-first strategy that aims to complement its regional expansion throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab world.

“At Midas, we consider customer satisfaction to be the ultimate benchmark for success in this business. We know that if we have an ever-growing relationship with our customers built on total

Company

Ÿ

High

Low

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

1,080

1,060 475 630 870 250 435 860 550

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 KW BH Int Exch.

110 280 59 170 340 14.0 62 23.0 110 116 32.5 140 57 30 39.0 51 40.5 -

485 630 870 255 445 870 560

Global Index - Banking

Taiba Kuwaiti Holding

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

30.5 67.0 194 75 71 57 53 138 -

-

228.0 104.0

-

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

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60 116 144 222 45.5 100 960 74 15.5 69.0 95 60 67 86 20.5 44.5 118 50.0 33.5 33.5 23.0 32 63 320

59 110 138 218 43.0 99 930 73 14.5 64.0 90 59 64 83 20.0 43.0 116 47.5 31.5 32.5 22.0 32 58 310

242 128 435 320 890 190 114 375

238 126 435 315 870 190 114 375

Global Index - Real Estate

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

Heavy eng. & Ship.

Marine Services Portland Cement Shuaiba Industrial Metal Collecting Kuwait Foundry

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110 280 57 168 335 13.5 61 23.0 106 116 30.0 134 55 29 38.0 51 37.5 220.0 100.0 29.0 61.0 186 75 70 52 52 134

Global Index - Investment

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

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1080 485 700 630 870 250 435 870 560 327.39

110 280 59 170 340 14.0 61 25.0 130 23.0 230 108 116 50 52 32.0 136 57 29 71 39.0 48.5 64 26.0 242 51 38.5 51 40.5 93 228.0 102.0 23.5 29.5 61.0 29.0 186 255 114 27.00 75 71 57 53 64 42.50 138 84.53

290 610 450 148 220 122 40.50 43.88

60 114 144 222 32.5 244 118 100 45.0 120 100 950 73 15.0 65.0 94 60 65 79 36.0 83 20.0 87 17.5 44.5 57 75 118 47.5 31.5 33.0 25.5 22.0 134 134 220 63 310 56.01

242 126 435 132 1,440 315 150 870 190 114 375

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 29.0 190.0 255 114 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

Previous Close Change 183.61 1.35 15.20 6,148.60 Trading Activity Tran. Value(KD) Chng Volume

Date of Closing Prices:

DTD 0.73% 0.25%

Last Bid

Last Ask

MTD YTD 2.21% 3.15% 6.01% 0.60% Div. Annual Close High Low P/E Yield

79 15 1 1 11 20 30 20 177

2,860,950 283,200 3,150 4,350 234,400 581,900 633,350 198,050 4,799,350

1,080 475 690 580 880 250 435 860 550

1,100 485 710 640 890 255 440 870 560

3.7% 0.0% 2.1% 3.2% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3% 0.0% 2.0%

1,220 510 790 680 920 260 480 900 590 327.39

1,060 475 700 630 790 236 435 820 550 317.17

15.63 33.26 80.57 17.93 30.38 23.78 12.18 24.78 106.53 19.07

2 20,000 680,000 1 20,760,000 480,000 50,000 8,400,000 0.5-1 2,520,000 80,000 -1 -2 3,060,000 1,400,000 -2 2,080,000 2 11,940,000 2,440,000 5,040,000 -1 240,000 1 40,000 18,160,000 2.5 5,940,000 2.0 7,260,000 4.05,600,000 1.05.025,200,000 4.0660,000 40,000 10 1,040,000 -1 2 640,000 1 720,000 1,060,000 0.06- 125,550,000

1 29 189 17 2 54 43 1 72 18 25 133 48 59 3 1 117 144 199 44 415 28 1 13 14 8 33

108 275 58 168 335 13.5 61 23.0 106 116 31.5 134 57 29 38.5 64.0 51 40.5 226.0 100.0 22.0 29.5 61.0 184 28 71 70 55 52 136.0

110 285 59 170 340 14.0 62 24.0 230 108 118 32.5 136 58 29 39.5 69.0 244 56 228.0 102.0 24.0 30.0 62.0 190 30 72 58 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% 9.4% 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 41.0 102 228.0 130.0 25.0 33.5 96.0 29.0 190 255 114 32 75 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

42.09 13.02

1,711

2,200 190,400 1,207,920 80,720 16,800 117,520 154,080 1,840 331,200 162,400 64,920 1,621,680 137,360 146,400 9,280 2,040 714,800 1,333,680 743,360 165,880 1,588,840 125,200 3,000 73,640 35,240 37,520 143,800 9,211,720

-

-

-

290 445 112 28.5

300 620 470 146 43.0

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

4,640,000 11,240,000 400,000 880,000 2.0 12,880,000 240,000 20 1,230,000 280,000 0.58,320,000 2.022,640,000 3 14,880,000 -1 200,000 3,320,000 -2 3,240,000 960,000 480,000 40,000 -3 57,200,000 1.02,880,000 0.5 1,200,000 2,800,000 80,000 1,320,000 2 450,000 0.65 151,800,000

51 108 17 21 132 4 63 5 64 235 119 5 56 44 11 6 2 309 34 14 24 1 32 31

59 112 140 220 240 95 44.5 99 940 72 14.5 63.0 93 59 65 83 19.5 87 43.5 75 116 31.0 32.5 22.0 32 59 310

60 114 142 222 35.0 248 100 45.0 130 102 960 73 15.0 65.0 95 60 66 84 20.0 45.0 57 78 120 47.5 32.0 33.0 25.0 22.5 134 32 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 52.0 120 104 950 80 20.0 67.0 94 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 56.01

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

46.50 14.63 25.79 19.79

1,388

273,840 1,268,600 56,440 194,160 575,360 23,800 1,166,800 20,560 124,240 1,487,320 1,390,120 11,920 215,720 275,560 19,440 21,000 4,680 2,758,120 95,000 39,880 62,400 2,520 80,880 140,900 10,309,260

2,600,000 600,000 10,000 120,000 80,000 20,000 20,000 180,000

47 16 1 9 14 1 1 10

624,720 76,560 4,350 38,050 69,750 3,800 2,280 67,500

240 126 430 130 1,440 315 148 870 110 370

242 128 440 1,460 320 154 880 198 116 375

0.0% 0.0% 2.3% 3.8% 4.5% 3.2% 3.3% 11.5% 5.3% 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

Ex-D 1 4 4 -

2 -2 10 -10 -20 -10 -5

growth of 12.4 percent at Saudi banks in 2012, led by a 16 percent retail loan growth.

“Improved provision coverage, asset quality and capital base make Saudi banks well-equipped to continue the strong lending growth recorded in 2011,” analyst Farouk Miah wrote in a March note for the sector.

He also expects the continued government spending and low interest rates to drive corporate lending and boost domestic liquidity.

The analyst named Al Rajhi Bank, Samba Financial Group and Riyad Bank as top picks in the sector. -Reuters

05 / 01 / 2012

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

2,657,500 590,000 5,000 5,000 920,000 1,330,000 730,000 360,000 6,597,500

20 Ex-D -10 -5 -10 2.71

chandeliers, silverware, bathroom accessories, carpets and more.

Midas customers are treated to an exclusive bouquet of value-added services such as free delivery and assembly, free furniture storage for up to 90 days after purchase and ‘the highest’ level of customer service.

Midas Furniture was established in 1993 based on the unique vision of providing highquality furniture and accessories at affordable prices. Today, Midas is one of the largest furniture retailers in home and office furniture, with branches located throughout the GCC and Arab world. A total of nine showrooms and 1,200 employees represent the Midas brand in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, Jordan and Iraq.

Trading Prices of Kuwait Stock Exchange Date of Closig Prices: 14/03/2012

For more Information please contact "Global" at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net Last Close 184.95 6,163.80 Last Prev.

Close Close

satisfaction, then we have a sustainable future as a regional leader in furniture retail,” elaborated Brown. As a company that considers its name to be synonymous with ‘elegance’, Midas has been championing rich values such as beauty, comfort and peace of mind for over 18 years. Its showrooms are characterized by a large selection of unique and vibrant styles under some of the world’s most respected brands, including Ashley Furniture Home (USA), KARE Design (Germany) and Sia Home Fashion (Sweden).

Midas caters to tastes in Modern, Transitional and Classical styles, in addition to housing a designated section for Kids. Brown emphasized on the Accessories section, which consists of a growing display of tasteful paintings, vases, candles,

C APITALS: Saudi banks with significant exposure to the corporate sector may see their net interest margins shrink as competition increases, NCB Capital said, downgrading Saudi Investment Bank and Arab National Bank to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight.’

The brokerage, however, expects loan

Date of Closing Prices: 14 / 03 / 2012 For more information please contact “Global” at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net Ÿ

Midas Furniture winner Jassim Hamad Yousel Al-Muselim

NCB Capital cuts Saudi Investment Bank, Arab National Bank

Trading Prices of Kuwait Exchange Trading Prices of Kuwait StockStock Exchange

Global General Index KSE Price Index

11

THURSDAY, march 15, 2012

88.93 13.75 1.49 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 9.75 22 77 22.77 11.92 47.42

0.00 5.60 12.94

12.71

17.65 6.45 16.98 40.87 23.97 0.00 17.55 31.68

5.93 27.90 12.18 5.12 48.01

23.07 18.82 0.00 0.00 18.49 73.62 17.77 6.58 7.54 137.15 116.19 11.52 25.37 21.83

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ACICO

Global General Index 94 United Industries Boubyan Petroch.

610 KSE Price Index

Gulf Glass HilalCompany Cement High Al Kout Ind. Project 1,140 National K-PAK Bank Gulf BankMaterial 495 Building Commercial 770 Nat. Ind.Co.Bank 325 Ahli Bank 640 Equipment Holding 70 Ahli United Bank 850 Mena Holding International Bank 248 Consumer Industries 460 Burgan Bank Kuwait Gypsum 890 Kw Finance House 216 Qurain Bank Boubyan 590 Salbookh Trading 47 Global Index - Banking IKARUS 202 Kw Investment -Boubyan Int'L Ind.

92 600 Low 1,120 490 770 325 640 70 800 248 455 880 214 580 44 198 --

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ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź Ÿ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ź ŷ 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 300 410 ŷŷ Agility 420 12.5 Ahlia Holding 13.5 Coast Invest.

53 52 62 60 źź Market Complexes -850 -840 ŷŸ Int'L Investor ZAIN Securities House - ŷŸ 78.0 77.0 Safat Energy Ind. & Fin. Inv.Group Educational - ŷŷ -Securities Group - - ŷŷ Indep. Petroleum Int'L Finance National Cleaning 140 138 ŷŷ 110 MARKAZ 108 124 Sultan Center 120 ŷź KMIFIC - ŷź 92 Arabi Group 92 Int'L Inv. Group City Group - ŷŷ Aref Inv. Group - ŷ 2,280 2,240 Ÿ Wataniya Tele.

Investment Dar - ŷ 114 Kw Gulf Link 110 Ÿ Al AMAN Inv. ŷ Kw Cable ALOLA Inv.Vision 110 108 - ŷŷ Automated ALMAL Inv. System 50 49 - źŷ NAPESCO -Gulf Inv. House - - ŷŷ KCPC Leasing 275 275 - ŷŷ A'ayan K.S.HInv. 32.5 - 31.0 - ŷŷ Bayan Eyas - ŷŷ GLOBAL Inv. Hits Telecom - 88 - 82 ŷŷ Osoul Inv. Al Safwa Holding 20.5 -18.5 ŷŸ GULFINVEST - ŷŷ KFIC Human Soft KAMCO - ŷŸ 75 Privatization Holding 78 Int'l Leasing & Inv. -- - ŷŷ Nafaaes Holding - - ŷŷ Nat. Int'l Holding -National Slaughter - ŷŷ Housing Finance 102 112 Aref energy MADAR -- - ŷŷ Safwan 26.5 Al Deera Holding 26.5 63.0 ŷŷ 66.0 Gulf Petroleum Al Safat Inv. - ŷŸ 24.5 Gulf Franchising 25.0 122.0 Al Salam Credit & Group Collection - 114.0 - Ÿŷ 39.0 ź 41.0 Ekttitab Holding 17.5 Ÿ 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 1,560 Combinted Group ŷ NOOR ŷ Jeeran Holding Tamdeen Inv. 160 158 - źŷ 91 91 Palms KW BH Agro Int'l Exch.

- ŷŸ 71.0 76.0 SafatKuwaiti TEC Holding Taiba - ŷŸ 95 91 Mushrif Trading Kuwait Syrian - ŷŸ U it d P j t United Projects -Strategia - - ŷŷ 310 ALAFCO 305 53 53 ŷŷ Kuwait China Inv. Al-Muwasat -- - ŷŷ Manafae Inv. Gulf NorthHolding Africa - ŷŸ 250 Mashaer 244 Amwal - ŷŸ 290 Oula Fuel 285 Al MasarComm.

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

Global Index - Investment 63 61 źŷ Mubarrad Transport -KuwaitInsurance Resorts - - ŷŷ Kuwait Advanced Technolgy - - ŷŷ Gulf Insurance -375 375 Yiaco Medical - ŷŸ Ahlia Insurance Al Jazeera Airways 470 465 źŸ 112 108 Warba Insurance Al Soor Fuel --- ŷ Kuwait Re-Ins. First Takaful -- - ŷŷ Future Kid Ins. Wethaq -280 -270 ŷŸ K G L Insurance 86 Al Nawadi 86 źŷ Global Index - Insurance Alrai Media 128 128 48 źŸ 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. Kw FoodStuff Massaleh R.E. United Food Arab R.E. 30.0 30.0 Kout Food Union R.E. Global Index - Food 98 96 ERESCO 860 840 Mabani Sharjah Cement 75 74 INJAZZAT RE 95 Gulf Cement 90 Inv. 72 11.5 70 UmHolding QuwainGrp Cement 12.0 Int'L Resorts Fujaira Cement 78 77 Commercial R.E Ras AlKheimah 70 65 Sanam R.E. ARIG 54 53 Aa'yan R.E United Gulf Bank Aqar Egypt Kw Holding 320 320 Kuwait R.E Holding Bahrain Kw Ins. 59 AL Mazaya 60 Gulf House 58.0 14.0 55.0 Al DarFin. National R.E 14.0 52 Inovest Int'L Holding 55 Themar -190 Grand R.E Projects -194 Ahli United Bank -20.5 Tijara & R.E Invest Ithmaar Bank 21.0 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 Manazel 15.5 30 29 Ajwan Real Estate REAM Specialities Group 285 305 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

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

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

Heavy eng. & Ship.

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

Global Index - Islamic

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Last Close Previous Close DTD MTD YTD 216 - Change 216 4.6% 224 196 24.91 210 216 -0.40% -1.55% 177.24 -0.70 -1.55% 92 176.5393 -1 2,120,000 26 197,160 92 0.0% 102 92 33.44 93 408,050 6105,726.90 610 680,000 12 -27.30 - 5,754.20 600 5.7% 610 550 86.98 -1.50% -0.47% 610 -1.50% 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,220 21.05 1,500 2.9% Last Prev.

Trading Activity Div. Annual Close Last Last 216 216 206 216 206 11.21 226 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% 375 3,796,050 - 1,120 - 1120 1120 69 3,377,500 1,140 1,120 14.74 275 275 300 1,100 275 13.23 255 300 3.6% 7.3% 20 495 495 830,000 407,950 490 495 - 0.0% 510 490 33.95 224 Ex-D 224 228 224 27.09 0.0% 770 770 10,000 11 7,700 - 770 780 790 770 88.62 325 20,000 325 6,500 325 260 20.86 320 325 1.9% 2.5% 640 -20 1 24 6,400 660 10,000 64068 66072 3.1% 66073 64051 17.34 19,600 70 69 280,000 33.55 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 25.07 870 214 384,360 214 1,780,000 222 210 112.24 8.63 216 0.0% 0.0% 214 590 590 607,850 - 1,035,000 3338 590 580 590 590 50,160 47 47 13 1 1,120,000 51 41 47 48 0.0% 319.37 319.54 8,092,500 6,639,050 2.0% 319.54 318.41 18.61 0.17240 202 120,000 5 24,080 2 200 200 202 162 11.86 202 0.0% 106 106 - - - - 10275 10680 0.0% 10688 10670 40.56 78 78 0.0% 260 265 -5 250,000 14 65,750 260 265 8.5% 265 260 12.09 171.74 171.35 0.39 9,750,000 198 1,976,920 171.74 163.04 10.97 2.7% 40 1,020 170 280 300 420 12.5 52 60 25.0 850 130 78.0 31.0 110 230 310 102 140 108 120 50 92 44.0 550 52 2,280 74 112 28.5 63 108 280 49 345 23 275 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 85 68 20.5 20.5 270 26.0 244 78 94 97 51 154 36 112 51 560 26.5 65.0 75 25.0 120.0 120 39.5 18.5 19.0 255 16.5 420 38.5 1,560 29.0 73 158 91 255 75.0 114 94 26.00 325 68 310 53 130 60 46.5 250 64 290 42.50 290 128 87 75.90 62

54.0 325 640 560 375 485 470 110 240 220 114 98 40.50 280 86 43.43

128 48 102 100 781.35 124 200 186 37.5 102 224 130 120 1,440 82 365 30.0 530 108 350.83 97 860 84 75 95 11.5 71 38.0 97 78 122 65 132 54 230 90 320 38.0 455 59 58.0 14.0 91 55 17.5 192 31.0 20.5 59 46.16 70 122 48.5 124 28.0 144 23.5 106 25.5 250 27.0 20.0 15.5 30 134 305 134 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 Ÿ 460 ź

41 1,020 172 280 295 420 12.5 53 63 25.0 840 130 77.0 31.0 110 230 310 102 140 112 122 50 97 44.0 550 52 2,220 74 110 28.5 63 108 280 49.5 345 23 275 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 85 68 18.0 20.5 270 26.0 244 75 94 97 51 154 36 112 51 560 26.5 65.0 75 24.5 112.0 120 41.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 420 39.0 1,560 29.0 73 160 86 255 71.0 114 93 26.00 325 68 310 53 130 60 46.5 242 64 285 42.50 290 130 87 76.02 62

54.0 325 640 560 370 485 465 118 240 220 114 98 40.50 270 86 43.63

124 49 102 99 772.23 120 204 186 37.5 104 234 130 120 1,440 82 365 30.5 530 108 351.12 98 850 84 73 95 12.0 72 38.0 97 77 122 70 132 55 230 90 325 38.0 455 63 57.0 14.5 91 50 17.5 192 31.021.0 59 46.26 74 122 48.5 124 28.5 144 24.5 106 26.0 250 27.0 20.0 16.5 30 134 280 134 51 220 345 58 106 290 1,860 49.75 36.0

-1 -2 5 -

-1-3 - 10 1.0 -----2 --5 60 2 - -1 - - - 3 -3 - - - - - 0.5 8.0 2.00.5 0.52.05 4.0 1.0 - - - -8 -5 - --2 0.12- ---5 -8 5 Ex-D - 10 0.19- -1 4 1 9.12 4 -

1,680,000 13 1,040,000 20 110,000 5 1,380,000 7,040,000 4642 1,280,000 2250 3,200,000 13 290,000 74 8,120,000 - - - - 16 460,000 680,000 1847 1,220,000 -1 40,000 17 67,500 32 1,240,000 14 500,000 320,000 4 - - 10,000 -1 1,840,000 22 - - 43,640,000 374 39,600,000 237 - - 9,800,000 88 - - - - 60 1,460,000 - - 260 240,000 3,680,000 -5 480,000 11,180,000 - 212 24 1,920,000 5,200,000 41 5 480,000 10,640,000 93 32,500 -3 80,000 4 40,000 -1 40 5,040,000 49 2,200,000 - 1,210,000 200,000 233 - - 2,080,000 54 -2 20,000 - - 1,240,000 38 40,720,000 840,000 55817 - - 30,000 30,000 120,000 - - 2,470,000 40,000 120,000

- - -1 63 - - 80 61

20,000 11 80,000 9 920,000 1,443 133,940,000 105 3,100,000 12 -4 520,000 7 240,000 --2 111 4,920,000 3 10.0100,000 1 80,000 0.55,160,000 118 0.28-1 320,000 8 10 1,935,000 57 216 120,000 2 960,000 1557 0.52,000,000 5,960,000 -1 - 3 1 240,000 17 1,000,000 -5 4 -1 200,000 30,000 2 Ex-D 11 440,000 -4 39,560,000 428 1 80,000 0.5-1 5 176 11,880,000 2,560,000 46 - -1 -27 2,480,000 63,430,000 752 0.10-4 320,000 2 - - - - 12 0.5- 2,720,000 1.080,000 1 0.5240,000 3 Ex-D 35,040,000 4 1,200,000 8 1.0160,000 2 1,020,000 48 - 25 - - - -1 240,000 6 47 5 2,110,000 0.02- - 53,085,000 - 332 Ex-D

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-

242 -10 13,220,000 93.0 - 154 128 140,000 6 65 470 -20 50,000 2 65 150 - - - 1,180,000 1,460 -40 2,500 150 335 5,787 212 - 496,227,500720 Close 230,000 19 Prev Close Prev.

180 194.44 192.90 106 -2 80,000 3 189.98 460 192.01 -

573.83

575.07

67,160 40 177,720 168 33,000 295 572,850 90,920 410 12.5 67,280 194,320 5160 - 840 245,400 630,760 78.0 - - - 63,560 138 73,920 106 147,440 120 -92 3,680 152,350 2,280 138,640 112 27.0 54,920 108 260 15,840 49 330 - 21 2,750 275 58,760 31.0 - 3,703,680 64.084 791,000 -20.5 - -77 752,480 - - - 134 154,120 110 - 520 6,360 26.0 234,920 64.0 11,800 22.0 1,305,280 - 118.0 77,080 93,600 17.5 18.0 7,920 16.0 395 419,440 38.5 50,700 1,560 12,680 15672 3,640 -81 374,480 74.0 205,600 -93 330 - 63 373,100 305 10,600 52 - - 516,320 248 5,750 275 - - 265 157,920 - 124.083 2,702,550 52,000 61 - - 11,250 14,000 13,200 - - 677,550 3,440 13,200

2,560 3,840 92,000 10,183,740 383,920 104,680 44,200 499,240 22,400 2,400 543,440 31,160 1,656,950 8,960 88,160 23,960 422,920 - 18,520 67,400 10,720 9,600 26,160 2,224,080 1,120 641,480 488,800 51,080 3,926,120 22,400 - - 76,880 1,880 6,160 946,080 19,240 4,640 298,800 - 13,520 610,850 4,151,200 -

52.0 300 510 360 460 460 108 236 - - 275 83 120 48 99 -

122 200 182 - 100 126 110 1,460 112 95 86080 7180 11.594 35.571 77 93 120 53 320 13.5 9057 - 55 30.0 190.0 70 116 28.0 23.5 104 25.0 24.5 18.0 15.5 29 305 29 218 55 29084

2,160 -

3,111,120 -17,800 122 22,550 455 - 150 303,440 3,550 1,420 310 40,950,550 165,600 Change 710 178 1.53 8,480 104 2.04 435

-1.24

40

0.0%

3.9% 1,040 172 0.0% 275 6.7% 0.0% 300 420 0.0% 9.5% 13.0 5261 0.0% 0.0% - 850 0.0% 23.5% 0.0% 0.0% 79.0 33.5 - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 330 9.7% 0.0% 140 0.0% 110 122 9.3% 0.0% -97 0.0% 0.0% 560 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2,300 2.2% 0.0% 114 0.0% 29.5 0.0% 0.0% 110 - 0.0% 300 8.9% 50 0.0% 5.8% 24 - 0.0% 280 1.8% 0.0% 6.0% 32.5 - 0.0% - 0.0% 3.8% 0.0% - 85 0.0% 0.0% - 0.0% - 0.0% 0.0% 23878 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 66.0 0.0% 0.0% 25.5 0.0% 120.0 130 0.0% 0.0% 39.0 0.0% 18.5 0.0% 20.0 0.0% 250 0.0% 16.5 0.0% 0.0% 415 0.0% 39.0 4.5% 1,580 0.0% % 0.0% 160 - 3.8% 8.8% 270 - 5.1% 0.0% 75.0 0.0% 0.0% 2794 0.0% 9 2% 335 0.0% 9.2% 73 3.2% 310 0.0% 53 5.4% 61 - 0.0% 47 250 10.8% 0.0% 69 280 0.0% 0.0% - 285 0.0% 8.6% 128.087 0.0% 11.5% 62 2.4% 0.0% 55.0 6.2% 0.0% 325 0.0% 610 4.5% 2.7% 375 5.2% 500 470 9.1% 0.0% 114 240 0.0% 2.7% 110 106 0.0% 0.0% 43.0 280 0.0% 1.8% 86 4.7% 5.8% 130 0.0% 49 0.0% 112 0.0% 0.0% 100 11.6% 126 0.0% 202 186 10.0% 0.0% 37.5 4.9% 102 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% 12.095 0.0% 0.0% 37.072 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 79 96 8.2% 0.0% 65 122 5.7% 0.0% 54 132 0.0% 0.0% 91 230 9.4% 0.0% 40.5 325 0.0% 7.7% 60 0.0% 14.5 0.0% 0.0% 9458 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% 22.0 0.0% 16.0 0.0% 29 3.7% 130 2.3% 32 - 0.0% 56 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 57 - 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 295 - 1.1% 0.0%

48.5

232 94.0 130 70 465 -70 1,440 340 216 720 DTD 190 0.79% 108 1.07% -

-0.21%

0.0%

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% 7.7% 3.3% 0.8% 4.6% 3.0% 4.61% 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 2,280 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 15673 16289 25586 25591 75.0 57.0 114 114 104 2680 28 335 270 68 68 280 315 53 55 130 130 60 60 47 47 172 250 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 99 781.35 744.62 120 128 200 208 182 222 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 2.40% 180 104 116 2.98% 460 460

2.04%

17.46 88.93 12.13 13.98 1.33 0.00 13.02

23.89 0.00 18.85 0.00 22.74 0.00 55.09 0.00 14.76 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

12.80

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 7.78 22.77 11.92

10.61

60 55 60.55 43.00

5.17 7.80 8.25 24.58 0.00 17.69

5.19 10.01

3.78 16.97 25.05 12.90 12.06 9.91 8.38 17.37 16.76 296.83 10.92 7.39

6.18 12.60

11.43 37.20 12.83 12.49 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 7.27 8.10 38.62 4.15 10.28

19.44 64.43

10.65

11.37 0.00 5.38 27.28

20.67 9.93 23.07

10.47

18.82 63.06 0.00 11.03 0.00 16.27

14.44

70.58 18.38

10.87 6.49 8.02 14.84 193.84 96.15 YTD 10.91 2.58% 23.15 1.01% 26.77

2.11%

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

12

ALWATAN DAILY THURSday, march 15, 2012

April 21, 2009 March 14, 2012 Rebased RebasedPerformance Performance 115115

113

Bull/Bear Indicator Bull/Bear Indicator

DailyIndex Index Performance Snapshot Daily Performance Snapshot

1% 6%

1% 6% Oman

113

111

110

111

110

Dubai

2% 0%

Bahrain Qatar

95 14-Dec-11 85

14-Jan-12

14-Feb-12

Close

-6% -2

1

4 102 Bank Al Jazira

Period's Liquidity 1 Ratio (PLR x)*

-1

MENA Indices Highlights

AED 1.45 SAR 5.60

430Galfar Dar AlEngineering Arkan Real&Estate Dev. Co. GEC Contracting

SAR 11.40 OMR 0.703

SO Sorouh Real Estate Co. KCB Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

AED 1.45 QAR 6.35

TAQAbu Dhabi National Energy Co.

Country (Index)

Index Level

% Chg.

YTD

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

Ku Kuwait (KSE Weighted Index)

Index 7,568 Level

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

2,630 5,250

0.3% -4.0%

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

418

52 Wk High

0.6% % Chg.

0.7%

Turnover USD million

Trailing

Mkt. Cap. USD million

PE

Trailing

OMR 0.720

8.0%

467

396

146

Mkt.394,604 Cap. USD million

102,174

PE 14.18

PB1.46

9.4% 9.3%

2,775 10,090

2,293 4,130

50 2,183

69,492 264,263

8.95 10.24

1.10 1.77

PCEKuwait Portland Cement Co.

KWD 0.870

BURBurgan Bank

KWD 0.435% Chg. -2.3% Close

13.26

2.04

MENA Worst Performers

0.5% 1.8%

24.9% -0.2%

1,754 787

1,301 316

158 718

35,574 98,547

10.50 9.99

0.80 1.52

8,627 2,695

0.0% 0.6%

-1.7% 12.8%

8,892 5,148

8,071 2,137

52 122

124,234 69,783

11.65 7.29

BaQa Bahrain Qatar (BSE (DSMIndex) Index)

1,149 5,590

-0.3% 3.9%

0.5% -18.8%

1,433 12,627

1,129 4,230

0 196

17,225 65,352

1.89 FAC FGB First Gulf Bank 1.37 Commercial Facilities Co. 1.64 KIB KuwaitPetrochem.

International Bank 0.88 238 Rabigh

0.7%

12,109

Eg Egypt (EGX 30 Index)

5,085

OmOman (MSM Index)

Jo Jordan (Amman General 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

Tu TunisiaClosed (Tunis SE Index)* * Market

5,419 1,433

12 305

3,587

101

2,246

1,921

16

0.9%

12,669

10,785

3.0%

1,425

1,164

1.8%

513

465

40.4%

1,990

-0.3%

-0.1%

11,215

-0.5%

1,212

0.1%

486

0.3%

4,759

0.2%

1,681 463

2,825

10,621 1,094

Pa Palestine (Al-Quds Index) * Market Closed

4.9% 6.6%

0.7%

5,478

5.1% 0.4% -

2.2% -

-6.8% 8.5%

2.4%

6,406 5,860 5,628

2,903 1,033

5,044

-3.3%

14,635

-7.2%

2,119

0.0%

4,224

1,572 328

-

2,551 -

1,043

-

4,091

546

0.9%

23.6%

739

407

3,282

-

13.6%

3,418

2,837

9.27 8.85

Rebased Performance

SAR 13.70

-6.8%

8.07

1.29

101 Riyad Bank

SAR 24.70

-6.4%

7.67

1.56

33,782

12.71

2.15

59,990

18.36

3.95

8,507

6.47

0.86

2,079

8.67

2.50

6,576

13.85

1.92

60,764

16.29

10,535

6.45

2,546

-

0.89

9.50

9,528

2

3.58

14.82

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

1.69

115 Alinma Bank (KSA)

160,114,195

201 Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (KSA)

343,553,085 128,030,900 119,955,261 101,690,542

115 703Alinma Zain - Bank Saudi(KSA) Arabia (KSA)

NBKNational Bank of Kuwait (KUW)

97,126,838

KFI Kuwait Finance House (KUW)

88,742,222

EMAEmaar Properties (UAE) Best Performers

64,280,166

14,833,700 1,479,960,604

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

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

% Chg.

28.00

6.9%

11.40

6.1%

13.95

4.1%

1140.SSE Bank AlBilad

27.60

3.4%

1090.SSE Samba Financial Grp.

51.50

2.0%

Highest Turnover

Worst Performers

105

Turnover (SAR) 1,462,288,076 3020.SSE Yamama Saudi Cement Co. 1,022,286,674 4190.SSE Jarir Marketing Co. 600,508,289 1050.SSE Banque Saudi Fransi

43Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co. 1 Alinma Bank 20Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

272,573,437

Turnover (USD)

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

Tadawul Index 52 week High / Low

14-Mar-12

389,891,501

201 Basic Industries Corp.

(KSA) 422Saudi Emaar the Economic City (KSA)

3.00

Turnover (SAR '000)

14-Feb-12

Turnover (USD)

MENA Highest Turnover

1.19

93% 1020.SSE Bank Al Jazira

Advance/Decline Ratio

112

GCC Highest Turnover

7,568 (0.6%)

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

115

-2.0% -8.9%

225 Saudi Industrial Inv. Grp.

1.63

Tadawul Index (% Chg.) 121

KWD 0.250 SAR 22.95

1.68

14.22

1.38

Summary

125

AED 10.05 -13.1% -2.0% KWD 0.265

9.50

27,306

63,640

5

-2.3%

-1.8% -8.6%

18,727

1

% Chg.

KWD 0.108 SAR 48.00

4

1

Close

0.88 201 IFCSaudi International Finance Corp.

Co. 1.74 Basic Industries

10.13

15,024

1

11.03 6.87

59,950

46

67

9,406

4,785

18,638 37,413

SAUDI ARABIA *Market Closed

14-Jan-12

Abu Dhabi

BKMBankMuscat

Turnover 3,955 USD million

3.1%

0.3% 1.9%

4.8%

8.0%

1,691 406 5,975 1,745

5.8% 8.6%

QAR 21.60

GCC Worst Performers

PB

6.1% 8.8%

QGTQatar Gas Transport Co.

QaUAUAE Qatar (DSM Index) (ADSM Index)

OmOman UAE(MSM (DFMIndex) Index)

AED 1.32

6.6% 9.8%

525,916 Wk Low

17.9% YTD

52 Wk 7,540 High

52 Wk Low

% Chg.

SAR 28.00% Chg. 6.9% Close

ALDALDAR 3 428 Kingdom Properties Hldg. Co.

Period's Liquidity Ratio (PLR x)*

MENA Indices Highlights

Tunisia Abu Dhabi

Saudi Dubai Dubai

MENA Best Performers

-1%

14-Mar-12

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

95 14-Dec-11

Qatar Saudi

GCC Best Performers

Saudi

Palestine Palestine

90

-6%

Qatar Oman

-1%

Bahrain

Morocco

-4%

Lebanon Oman

95

0%

-2%

Kuwait Kuwait

100

Abu Dhabi

Kuwait

Egypt Jordan Jordan

Return DailyDaily Return (%)(%)

Abu Dhabi Dubai

105

0%

Oman

Bahrain Bahrain

105

100

Saudi

Qatar

111

4%

Kuwait

42Emaar the Economic City

480,179,891

1211.SSE Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

70Zain - Saudi Arabia

381,390,378

7030.SSE Zain - Saudi Arabia

Close

% Chg.

51.50

-1.0%

153.50

-0.7%

45.70

-0.7%

34.60

-0.6%

9.75

-0.5%

Saudi SE

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Low

Turnover (SAR '000)

Volume ('000)

52-Week High

% Change

Low

on high

YTD

12 mths

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

Trailing PE

PB

1 Al Rajhi Bank

77.50

0.0%

78.25

77.25

282,182

3,631

80.75

67.25

-4.0%

11.5%

2.0%

116,250,000

15.8

1 Alinma Bank

13.95

4.1%

14.00

13.60

1,022,287

73,938

13.40

9.05

4.1%

49.2%

46.8%

20,925,000

48.5

1.3

110.00

0.0%

111.00

109.50

28,719

261

110.00

83.75

0.0%

11.1%

18.3%

25,300,000

22.2

3.8

2 Almarai Co.

3.5

1 Arab National Bank

32.90

0.3%

33.00

32.50

2,193

67

35.18

26.60

-6.5%

19.6%

1.9%

27,965,000

12.9

1.7

1 Bank AlBilad

27.60

3.4%

28.10

26.70

71,822

2,606

27.20

17.20

1.5%

39.0%

53.8%

8,280,000

25.3

2.4

1 Bank Al Jazira

28.00

6.9%

28.20

26.30

68,732

2,492

26.20

15.75

6.9%

65.2%

60.0%

8,400,000

31.0

1.8

1 Banque Saudi Fransi

45.70

-0.7%

46.20

45.50

8,985

197

50.00

37.50

-8.6%

8.6%

3.2%

33,050,894

11.4

1.7

4 Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

11.40

6.1%

11.65

10.85

1,462,288

129,965

10.75

6.05

6.0%

57.2%

34.9%

12,312,000

11.3

0.8

4 Emaar the Economic City

11.90

1.3%

12.10

11.80

480,180

40,235

11.85

6.20

0.4%

61.9%

81.7%

10,115,000

nmf

1.4 2.4

7 Etihad Etisalat Co.

63.25

0.4%

63.25

62.75

52,634

835

64.50

46.60

-1.9%

20.5%

30.4%

44,275,000

8.7

4 Jabal Omar Development Co.

17.20

1.2%

17.30

16.95

184,383

10,758

17.00

11.10

1.2%

41.6%

28.3%

15,985,680

nmf

1.8

153.50

-0.7%

155.00

153.00

6,036

39

154.50

87.50

-0.6%

10.2%

69.6%

9,210,000

18.0

10.2

4 Kingdom Holding Co.

12.20

0.4%

12.60

11.00

76,064

6,486

12.15

7.05

0.4%

37.9%

28.4%

45,211,764

nmf

1.8

2 National Industrialization Co.

45.10

1.1%

45.30

44.90

73,380

1,628

45.10

30.91

0.0%

10.8%

44.2%

25,140,024

10.3

2.3

4 Jarir Marketing Co.

2 Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

25.60

0.4%

26.10

25.50

88,196

3,420

29.80

21.20

-14.1%

10.1%

13.3%

22,425,600

nmf

2.8

1 Riyad Bank

26.90

1.5%

27.00

26.60

26,401

984

26.50

23.10

1.5%

15.5%

4.3%

40,350,000

12.8

1.3

1 Samba Financial Grp.

51.50

2.0%

51.75

51.00

12,423

241

56.75

42.40

-9.3%

10.5%

-5.5%

46,350,000

10.8

1.6 5.7

2 Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. 1 Saudi Arabian Mining Co. 2 Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

3 Saudi Cement Co.

187.00

0.5%

188.00

186.75

37,185

198

192.75

165.00

-3.0%

6.3%

5.7%

46,750,000

11.4

34.60

-0.6%

35.00

34.40

49,469

1,425

35.30

22.30

-2.0%

36.8%

49.8%

32,005,000

nmf

1.9

105.50

0.7%

106.25

105.00

600,508

5,684

112.50

87.75

-6.2%

9.6%

5.5%

316,500,000

10.8

2.3

90.50

-0.3%

91.75

90.25

23,201

256

98.00

51.50

-7.7%

25.7%

74.9%

13,846,500

16.7

4.2

5 Saudi Electricity Co.

15.50

0.0%

15.65

15.45

111,383

7,167

15.70

12.85

-1.3%

11.5%

16.1%

64,582,204

29.1

1.2

Saudi Hollandi Bank

33.20

0.6%

33.50

33.10

4,736

142

33.10

25.70

0.3%

11.4%

14.5%

10,980,900

10.8

1.5

25.10

0.0%

25.60

24.80

103,406

4,115

27.20

18.55

-7.7%

32.1%

17.3%

11,295,000

21.4

1.9

24.30

1.3%

24.40

24.10

76,200

3,144

24.00

17.75

1.3%

23.4%

16.5%

8,910,000

12.6

1.6

20.05

0.3%

20.55

19.90

40,802

2,028

24.60

15.55

-18.5%

24.1%

-12.1%

11,027,500

15.6

1.3

1

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

18.90

0.3%

19.10

18.80

357,550

18,874

19.15

15.50

-1.3%

8.6%

4.7%

28,350,000

nmf

1.9

40.00

-0.3%

40.30

39.80

46,886

1,170

40.40

33.00

-1.0%

18.3%

7.5%

80,000,000

10.5

1.7

35.10

0.0%

35.30

34.80

12,188

347

35.40

23.70

-0.8%

22.3%

34.5%

17,550,000

14.7

2.3

99.00

0.0%

99.75

98.00

4,222

43

106.75

59.50

-7.3%

15.1%

62.3%

13,860,000

15.5

5.2

34.20

0.2%

34.70

33.90

12,113

355

46.50

37.00

-26.5%

-16.0%

-17.6%

25,650,000

8.9

1.5

3 Yamama Saudi Cement Co.

51.50

-1.0%

52.25

51.00

21,989

425

83.25

49.90

-38.1%

-26.4%

1.5%

10,428,750

14.2

3.1

2 Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co.

51.75

0.5%

53.00

51.75

100,384

1,923

54.00

41.60

-4.2%

17.6%

13.7%

29,109,375

9.2

2.8

9.75

-0.5%

9.90

9.70

381,390

38,943

9.80

5.25

-0.5%

75.7%

28.3%

13,650,000

nmf

3.2

7 Zain - Saudi Arabia

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

13

ALWATAN DAILY THURSday, march 15, 2012

KUWAIT Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 6,164 (0.3%)

KSE General Index (% Chg.)

115

418 (0.7%)

KSE Weighted Index (% Chg.)

54%

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

112

KSE General Index 52 week High / Low

0.630

3.3%

0.144

2.9%

2.280

2.7%

0.435

2.4%

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

40,902

Turnover (KWD '000)

28,527,078

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

105

3.3%

ABK.KSE

467 / 396 KCEM.KSE Kuwait Cement Co.

KSE Weighted Index 52 week High / Low

Highest Turnover

Worst Performers

101

100

Turnover (KWD) 2,860,950

N National Bank of Kuwait

95 14-Dec-11

14-Jan-12

14-Feb-12

14-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

% Chg.

0.094

2.40 NRE.KSE National Real Estate Co. 6,523 / 5,694 NMTC.KSE Wataniya

Advance/Decline Ratio

110

Close ALTIJARIA The Commercial Real Estate Co.

Close

% Chg.

PCEM.KSE Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

0.870

-2.3%

A The Commercial Real Estate Co.

1,390,120

BURG.KSE Burgan Bank

0.435

-2.3%

MMabanee Co.

1,166,800

KIB.KSE

Kuwait International Bank

0.250

-2.0%

K Kuwait Finance House

633,350

IFC.KSE

International Finance Co.

0.108

-1.8%

N National Industries Grp. Holding

624,720

SULTAN.KSSultan Center Food Products Co.

0.120

-1.6%

KSE Weighted Index

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Low

Turnover (KWD '000)

52-Week

Volume ('000)

High

% Change

Low

on high

YTD

12 mths

Trailing

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

PE

PB

A Agility

0.420

0.0%

0.420

0.410

573

1,380

0.435

0.248

-3.4%

12.0%

5.0%

439,671

nmf

0.5

A Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

0.630

3.3%

0.630

0.630

3

5

0.657

0.581

-4.1%

0.2%

1.8%

953,341

18.9

1.9

T Al Themar Intl. Holding Co.

0.087

-

-

-

-

0.104

0.079

-16.3%

-4.4%

-13.0%

88,088

nmf

1.0

A Alafco Aviation Lease and Fin. Co.

0.310

0.0%

0.310

0.305

373

1,210

0.380

0.280

-18.4%

-1.6%

-11.4%

241,729

6.1

1.6

A AREF Energy Holding Co.

0.112

0.0%

0.112

0.102

154

1,460

0.142

0.085

-21.1%

5.7%

-6.7%

84,000

nmf

1.2

B Boubyan Bank

0.560

0.0%

0.560

0.550

198

360

0.620

0.550

-9.7%

-5.1%

-6.7%

979,012

nmf

4.2

B Boubyan Petrochemical Co.

0.610

0.0%

0.610

0.600

408

680

0.620

0.495

-1.6%

8.9%

15.1%

295,911

12.0

1.3

B Burgan Bank

0.435

-2.3%

0.445

0.435

582

1,330

0.524

0.419

-17.0%

-3.8%

-4.2%

672,061

13.3

1.5

A Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

0.255

-

-

-

-

0.420

0.198

-39.3%

20.3%

-45.7%

53,454

26.2

1.0

C Combined Grp Contracting Co.

1.560

0.0%

1.560

1.560

-14.2%

150,744

18.9

4.1

C Commercial Bank of Kuwait

0.700

-

F Commercial Facilities Co.

0.280

0.0%

G Global Investment House

0.049

-

G Gulf Bank

0.485

0.0%

C Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

1.440

-

-

-

-

-

1.700

1.380

IF IFA Hotels & Resorts

0.420

-

-

-

-

-

0.500

0.285

IK Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co.

0.202

1.0%

0.202

0.198

24

120

0.202

0.134

IF International Finance Co.

0.108

-1.8%

0.110

0.106

331

3,060

0.255

JAJazeera Airways

0.470

1.1%

0.470

0.465

14

30

0.480

K KIPCO Asset Management Co.

0.242

-

-

-

0.280

0.280

-

-

0.485

0.475

-

-

-

51

33

1.945

1.300

-19.8%

-1.3%

-

-

0.960

0.700

-27.1%

-11.4%

-25.5%

890,416

nmf

1.7

190

680

0.395

0.255

-29.1%

7.7%

-25.3%

150,294

13.8

0.9

-

-

0.055

0.019

-10.9%

0.0%

11.4%

64,309

nmf

3.1

283

590

0.580

0.470

-16.4%

-4.9%

-4.9%

1,216,236

39.7

2.8

-15.3%

1.4%

-15.3%

302,301

8.3

1.7

-16.0%

-11.6%

-16.0%

190,630

nmf

4.0

0.0%

18.8%

42.3%

151,500

15.7

1.1

0.096

-57.6%

5.9%

-57.6%

86,711

nmf

0.8

0.114

-2.1%

3.3%

312.3%

103,400

9.1

4.2

-

-

0.310

0.236

-21.9%

-0.8%

-23.2%

63,719

nmf

0.8

K Kuwait Cement Co.

0.435

2.4%

0.435

0.435

4

10

0.630

0.415

-31.0%

-5.4%

-27.5%

277,380

20.1

2.0

K Kuwait Finance House

0.870

0.0%

0.870

0.860

633

730

1.100

0.820

-20.9%

-3.3%

-20.4%

2,339,465

38.9

1.3

F Kuwait Food Co.

1.440

-

-

-

-

-

1.620

1.420

-11.1%

-2.7%

-8.9%

578,883

12.1

2.0

K Kuwait International Bank

0.250

-2.0%

0.255

0.250

234

920

0.350

0.236

-28.6%

-2.0%

-21.9%

259,332

23.9

1.2

P Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

0.870

-2.3%

0.890

0.870

70

80

1.580

0.660

-44.9%

22.5%

-40.9%

79,087

31.2

1.2

50

0.425

0.295

-20.0%

11.5%

-17.1%

432,795

11.5

0.8

1,230

0.950

0.627

0.0%

10.5%

49.4%

527,845

25.4

3.6

K Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding)

0.340

0.0%

0.340

0.335

17

M Mabanee Co.

0.950

2.2%

0.960

0.930

1,167

M Mena Holding

0.033

-

-

-

-

-

0.060

0.033

-45.0%

0.0%

-49.2%

21,780

2.3

0.1

N National Bank of Kuwait

1.080

1.9%

1.080

1.060

2,861

2,658

1.145

0.909

-5.7%

6.1%

0.7%

4,701,777

15.5

2.2

N National Industries Co.

0.325

0.0%

0.325

0.325

7

20

0.340

0.260

-4.4%

16.1%

-1.5%

112,496

39.2

1.4

N National Industries Grp. Holding

0.242

0.8%

0.242

0.238

625

2,600

0.285

0.192

-15.1%

-6.9%

-10.4%

313,414

nmf

0.8

N National Investments Company

0.170

0.0%

0.170

0.168

81

480

0.320

0.158

-46.9%

-1.2%

-46.9%

148,956

nmf

0.8

N National Real Estate Co.

0.144

2.9%

0.144

0.138

56

400

0.168

0.056

-14.3%

12.5%

22.0%

-

nmf

0.6

O Oula Fuel Marketing Co.

0.290

1.8%

0.290

0.285

6

20

0.360

0.265

-19.4%

-3.3%

-4.9%

95,613

26.3

2.2

A Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co.

0.214

0.0%

0.216

0.214

384

1,780

0.226

0.174

-5.3%

0.0%

16.3%

235,400

13.0

1.1

S Salhia Real Estate Co.

0.222

0.0%

0.222

0.218

194

880

0.240

0.200

-7.5%

6.7%

-5.9%

113,825

22.0

0.9

S Sultan Center Food Products Co.

0.120

-1.6%

0.124

0.120

147

1,220

0.146

0.093

-17.8%

0.0%

-17.8%

69,459

nmf

1.0

T Tamdeen Real Estate Co.

0.244

-

-

-

-

-

0.270

0.216

-9.6%

6.1%

-9.6%

91,041

18.4

0.9

A The Commercial Real Estate Co.

0.094

3.3%

0.095

0.090

1,390

14,880

0.094

0.067

0.0%

22.1%

28.8%

172,473

16.4

0.7

S The Securities House

0.130

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

88,400

nmf

7.0

N Wataniya

2.280

2.7%

2.280

2.240

152

68

2.280

1.640

0.0%

17.5%

35.7%

1,149,195

3.2

1.4

Z Zain Kuwait

0.850

1.2%

0.850

0.840

245

290

1.380

0.840

-38.4%

-5.6%

-40.1%

3,661,404

12.9

1.8

UAE Rebased Performance

Summary

130

Best Performers

DFM Index (% Chg.)

1,691 (0.5%)

ADSM Index (% Chg.)

2,630 (0.3%)

5.8%

1.32

4.8%

DFM Index 52 week High / Low

0.43

2.9%

ADSM Index 52 week High / Low

2,775 / 2,293 DANA.ADS Dana Gas

0.50

2.0%

765,071

Turnover (AED '000)

112

414,766,179

Market Cap. (AED '000)

110 108

Highest Turnover

100

Worst Performers Turnover (AED) 228,806,875 FGB.ADSM First Gulf Bank 82,631,847 ARTC.DFM Arabtec Holding 61,675,353 TAMWEEL Tamweel

E Emaar Properties D Dubai Financial Market S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

90 14-Dec-11

14-Jan-12 S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

14-Feb-12

14-Mar-12

Abu Dhabi SE

6.6%

1.45

Advance/Decline Ratio

120

% Chg.

1.45

86% SOROUH.A Sorouh Real Estate Co. 1.75 TAQA.ADS Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. 1,754 / 1,301 DEYAAR.D Deyaar Development Co.

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price 122

Close ALDAR.AD ALDAR Properties

Close

% Chg.

10.05

-2.0%

2.95

-1.7%

1.25

-1.6%

A ALDAR Properties

51,888,236

UPP.DFM

Union Properties

0.47

-1.1%

TATamweel

34,743,964

DFM.DFM

Dubai Financial Market

1.22

-0.8%

Dubai FM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Low

Turnover (AED '000)

52-Week

Volume ('000)

High

% Change

Low

on high

YTD

12 mths

Trailing

Market Cap. (AED '000)

PE

PB

A Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

3.19

0.0%

3.21

3.17

4,494

1,407

3.32

2.33

-3.9%

14.7%

36.9%

17,849,956

5.9

0.8

A Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

3.46

-0.3%

3.49

3.44

1,832

530

3.55

2.92

-2.5%

9.5%

14.2%

8,181,882

7.1

1.2

T Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

1.32

4.8%

1.33

1.29

4,286

3,253

1.63

1.14

-19.0%

10.0%

-7.7%

8,217,000

5.3

1.2

A Abu Dhabi National Hotels

2.20

0.5%

2.20

2.20

4

2

2.94

2.02

-25.2%

0.0%

-25.4%

2,200,000

13.3

0.3

A Air Arabia

0.72

1.0%

0.73

0.72

2,435

3,366

0.84

0.57

-13.6%

23.4%

-9.1%

3,374,024

12.5

0.6

A ALDAR Properties

1.45

6.6%

1.48

1.42

51,888

35,693

1.68

0.76

-13.7%

57.6%

9.0%

5,923,437

9.2

0.8

A Amlak Finance

1.02

-

-

-

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

1,530,000

nmf

1.1

A Arabtec Holding

2.95

-1.7%

3.06

2.94

18,807

6,267

3.63

1.07

-18.7%

85.5%

159.7%

4,410,250

17.3

1.5

A Aramex

1.92

1.1%

1.92

1.88

687

362

1.96

1.69

-2.0%

6.7%

6.1%

2,811,072

13.3

1.5

A Arkan Building Materials Co.

1.07

0.9%

1.10

1.06

C Commercial Bank of Dubai

3.06

-

D Dana Gas

0.50

2.0%

0.50

D Deyaar Development Co.

0.43

2.9%

0.43

-

-

-

87

-

1.77

0.71

-39.5%

5.9%

-13.0%

1,872,500

48.6

1.2

-

-

3.40

2.90

-10.0%

5.5%

-11.3%

5,940,340

7.2

0.9

0.49

7,472

14,982

0.71

0.34

-29.6%

11.1%

-18.0%

3,301,001

7.9

0.4

0.42

13,000

30,519

0.46

0.20

-6.2%

100.5%

91.5%

2,467,206

nmf

0.6

-

82

-

D du

3.11

1.0%

3.20

3.07

7,946

2,542

3.30

2.80

-5.8%

7.6%

2.0%

14,217,143

13.0

2.3

D Dubai Financial Market

1.22

-0.8%

1.27

1.22

82,632

66,401

1.46

0.68

-16.4%

45.2%

-3.2%

9,760,000

nmf

1.3

D Dubai Islamic Bank

2.18

0.5%

2.23

2.18

11,976

5,434

2.31

1.88

-5.6%

12.4%

1.4%

8,277,578

8.2

0.9

E Emaar Properties

3.11

2.0%

3.15

3.07

228,807

73,821

3.49

2.41

-10.9%

21.0%

10.7%

18,943,752

10.6

0.6

E Emirates NBD

3.18

-0.3%

3.20

3.13

2,091

659

4.63

2.65

-31.3%

8.2%

-0.9%

17,673,724

7.0

0.5

E Etisalat

9.28

-0.1%

9.32

9.25

14,036

1,512

11.25

8.64

-17.5%

1.6%

-17.5%

73,368,979

12.6

1.9

10.05

-2.0%

10.20

10.00

15,369

1,528

10.75

6.98

-6.5%

30.1%

22.2%

30,150,000

8.1

1.1

1,067,426

F First Gulf Bank

1.30

-

-

-

-

-

1.56

0.67

-16.7%

83.1%

-7.1%

M Mashreq

91.45

-

-

-

-

-

102.00

74.70

-10.3%

-9.9%

22.4%

N National Bank of Abu Dhabi

12.20

12.00

6,107

12.05

9.42

0.0%

10.0%

25.7%

34,584,021

9.3

1.3

-

-

-

4.70

2.91

-12.8%

-9.9%

-5.7%

4,510,000

16.1

2.2

-

-

0.9

G Gulf Cement Co.

nmf

0.9

18.8

1.3

12.05

0.8%

N National Bank of Fujairah

4.10

-

N National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain

1.84

-

2.39

1.63

-23.0%

1.7%

-6.1%

2,944,000

9.2

S Sharjah Islamic Bank

1.01

1.0%

1.01

1.01

20

20

1.02

0.80

-1.0%

20.2%

6.3%

2,449,755

9.8

0.6

S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

1.45

5.8%

1.48

1.42

61,675

42,390

1.54

0.67

-5.8%

70.6%

36.8%

3,806,250

11.4

0.6

T Tamweel

1.25

-1.6%

1.33

1.24

34,744

26,814

1.49

0.53

-16.1%

107.3%

26.3%

1,250,000

12.3

0.5

U Union National Bank

3.19

-

-

-

3.90

2.82

-18.2%

10.4%

8.0%

7,961,044

5.3

0.7

U Union Properties

0.47

-1.1%

15,922

33,851

0.50

0.24

-6.1%

80.2%

76.8%

1,565,589

nmf

0.7

U United Arab Bank

3.70

-

-

-

5.30

3.28

-30.2%

1.6%

-34.5%

3,686,685

11.2

1.8

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

-

0.49 -

0.46 -

507

-

-

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

14

ALWATAN DAILY THURSday, march 15, 2012

QATAR Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 8,627 (0.0%)

DSM Index (% Chg.)

115 112

Advance/Decline Ratio DSM 52 week High / Low

110

Close

44% ERES.DSMEzdan Real Estate Co. 2.50 AHCS.DSMAamal Co. 8,892 / 8,071 IQCD.DSM Industries Qatar

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

188,026

Turnover (QAR '000)

452,448,715

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

% Chg.

19.00

2.2%

15.64

0.5%

144.00

0.4%

QGTS.DSMQatar Gas Transport Co.

17.63

0.3%

KCBK.DSMAl Khalij Commercial Bank

16.11

0.3%

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (QAR) 23,479,827 QEWS.DSMQatar Electricity & Water Co. 20,494,281 QTEL.DSM Qatar Telecom 19,700,817 DHBK.DSMDoha Bank

IQIndustries Qatar

98

MMasraf Al Rayan Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

13,012,463

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

95 14-Dec-11

14-Jan-12

14-Feb-12

14-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

9,431,085

Q Qatar National Bank

Close

QNNS.DSMQatar Navigation #N/A

#N/A

% Chg.

135.00

-1.8%

164.50

-0.7%

59.80

-0.3%

73.20

-0.1%

#N/A

#N/A

Doha SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Turnover (QAR '000)

Low

52-Week

Volume ('000)

High

% Change

Low

on high

YTD

12 mths

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

Trailing PE

PB

A Aamal Co.

15.64

0.5%

15.64

15.53

97

6

24.09

15.40

-35.1%

-1.6%

-11.3%

7,741,800

14.4

1.4

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank

16.11

0.3%

16.11

16.06

5,627

350

19.15

16.06

-15.9%

-6.2%

-11.0%

5,799,600

11.9

1.1

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

28.55

0.2%

28.55

28.45

5,987

210

35.90

28.10

-20.5%

-4.7%

-13.5%

11,109,508

9.2

0.9

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

73.10

0.1%

73.10

72.70

13,012

178

85.50

68.00

-14.5%

-13.0%

-4.6%

18,088,330

9.6

1.3

D Doha Bank

59.80

-0.3%

60.10

59.80

3,644

61

67.00

50.00

-10.7%

-6.7%

14.1%

12,360,529

10.0

1.7

E Ezdan Real Estate Co.

19.00

2.2%

19.00

18.90

158

8

24.97

18.60

-23.9%

-14.4%

-21.0%

50,397,437

nmf

1.8

144.00

0.4%

144.50

143.50

23,480

163

148.50

118.80

-3.0%

8.3%

4.4%

79,200,000

10.0

3.0

26.50

0.0%

26.60

26.40

20,494

773

28.10

21.13

-5.7%

-4.8%

23.4%

19,875,000

14.1

2.3

135.00

-1.8%

137.20

135.00

3,008

22

153.50

126.20

-12.1%

-3.3%

3.8%

13,500,000

10.4

4.5

17.63

0.3%

17.67

17.54

19,701

1,118

19.58

16.59

-10.0%

0.7%

-4.2%

9,764,270

12.4

8.0

IQIndustries Qatar M Masraf Al Rayan Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co. Q Qatar Gas Transport Co. Q Qatar International Islamic Bank

50.00

0.1%

50.80

50.00

1,791

36

56.20

44.90

-11.0%

-7.4%

8.7%

7,568,437

11.6

1.5

Q Qatar Islamic Bank

76.90

0.0%

77.00

76.60

2,990

39

85.30

76.30

-9.8%

-8.8%

-2.0%

18,170,947

13.3

1.6

135.30

0.2%

135.30

134.50

9,431

70

141.73

112.05

-4.5%

-2.1%

14.3%

94,673,393

12.6

2.3

73.20

-0.1%

73.30

73.00

1,027

14

92.60

69.90

-21.0%

-4.3%

-21.0%

8,383,245

15.6

0.8

164.50

-0.7%

166.00

164.50

1,651

10

167.00

131.33

-1.5%

16.8%

19.2%

28,952,000

11.2

1.4

7.30

0.3%

7.32

7.28

744

102

8.12

7.24

-10.1%

-3.3%

-3.3%

6,171,420

nmf

0.9

Q Qatar National Bank Q Qatar Navigation Q Qatar Telecom V Vodafone Qatar

OMAN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 5,975 (0.3%)

MSM Index (% Chg.)

115 112

Advance/Decline Ratio

6,406 / 5,419 RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co. 4,523 NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

MSM 52 week High / Low

110

Turnover (OMR '000)

7,175,446

Market Cap (OMR '000) 105

Close

63% OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co. 1.00 BKDB.MSMBank Dhofar

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

% Chg.

0.53

2.1%

0.60

0.3%

0.93

0.1%

0.32

0.0%

0.74

-0.1%

104

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (OMR) 797,324 RNSS.MSMRenaissance Services 419,616 OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co.

B Bank Muscat O Oman Telecommunications Co.

95 14-Dec-11

14-Jan-12

14-Feb-12

14-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

Close

% Chg.

0.60

-0.3%

1.40

-0.2%

R Raysut Cement Co.

337,688

BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

0.74

-0.1%

O Oman Cement Co.

122,830

NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

0.32

0.0%

RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

0.93

0.1%

94,542

R Renaissance Services

Muscat SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Turnover (OMR '000)

Low

Volume ('000)

52-Week High

% Change

Low

on high

YTD

12 mths

Market Cap. (OMR '000)

Trailing PE

PB

B Bank Dhofar

0.599

0.3%

0.602

0.590

37

62

0.680

0.509

-11.9%

9.5%

-10.6%

548,228

13.7

2.4

B Bank Muscat

0.739

-0.1%

0.744

0.737

797

1,079

0.781

0.658

-5.4%

-3.5%

2.1%

1,144,253

9.7

1.3

N National Bank of Oman

0.316

0.0%

0.318

0.314

43

135

0.332

0.302

-4.8%

-1.3%

0.0%

341,596

10.0

1.2

O Oman Cement Co.

0.526

2.1%

0.530

0.519

123

234

0.608

0.416

-13.5%

21.8%

-11.4%

174,039

13.6

1.2

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

1.404

-0.2%

1.408

1.403

420

299

1.410

1.041

-0.4%

7.3%

19.8%

1,053,000

9.4

2.1

R Raysut Cement Co.

0.934

0.1%

0.938

0.933

338

362

1.190

0.711

-21.5%

22.9%

-19.8%

186,800

12.5

1.8

R Renaissance Services

0.599

-0.3%

0.602

0.590

95

158

1.197

0.458

-50.0%

9.9%

-47.1%

168,975

nmf

1.0

BAHRAIN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,149 (-0.3%)

BSE Index (% Chg.)

115

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

112

1,433 / 1,129

BSE 52 week High / Low

110

Close

32% AUB.BSE Ahli United Bank BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co.

0.68

-0.7%

0.40

-1.5%

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

130

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

6,492,157

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

Turnover (BHD '000) Market Cap. (BHD '000)

% Chg.

105

Highest Turnover 100

99

Worst Performers Turnover (BHD) 48,473 BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co. 44,467 AUB.BSE Ahli United Bank

A Ahli United Bank B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

-

B Albaraka Banking Grp. #

95 14-Dec-11

14-Jan-12

14-Feb-12

14-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

#

BARKA.BS Albaraka Banking Grp.

Close

% Chg.

0.40

-1.5%

0.68

-0.7%

1.06 -

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

Bahrain SE

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

A Ahli United Bank*

0.675

-0.7%

B Albaraka Banking Grp.*

1.060

A Arab Banking Corp.*

0.420

Low

B BBK

0.412

YTD

12 mths

PE

PB

1.5%

-

-

-

1.280

1.000

-17.2%

-2.8%

-8.2%

921,968

7.8

0.8

-

-

-

0.570

0.420

-26.3%

0.0%

-26.3%

1,306,547

6.4

0.4

-

-

0.116

0.082

-29.3%

-8.9%

-29.3%

77,053

nmf

0.8

110

0.492

0.380

-17.9%

3.1%

-1.5%

581,760

7.3

1.2

-

-

on high

Trailing

-12.3%

-

-1.5%

Low

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

0.660

-

0.082

High

% Change

0.770

-

0.404

52-Week

190

0.675

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

Volume ('000)

129

0.675

B Bahrain Islamic Bank

Turnover (BHD '000)

-6.3%

3,365,321

10.8

1.3

-

-

0.408

0.402

-

-

-

-

-

0.436

0.390

-5.5%

-0.5%

-8.4%

350,759

11.0

1.5

797

-

-

-

-

-

1,139

797

-30.0%

0.0%

-37.0%

637,729

4.5

0.6

IT Ithmaar Bank*

0.090

-

-

-

-

-

0.115

0.065

-21.7%

38.5%

-21.7%

241,063

nmf

0.4

N National Bank of Bahrain

0.575

-

-

-

-

-

0.655

0.560

-12.2%

0.0%

-12.2%

491,832

10.8

1.8

U United Gulf Bank

0.304

-

-

-

-

-

0.424

0.270

-28.3%

1.3%

-25.9%

253,707

nmf

1.2

IN Investcorp Bank*

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

44

LIFE

What causes hearing loss?

You may develop hearing loss if your inner ear or auditory nerve is damaged, or something builds up in your ears and prevents the passage of sound waves. The womenshealth.gov website mentions these common causes of hearing loss: •Being exposed over long periods to loud noise. •Having certain infections or illnesses. •Taking certain medications. •Suffering a major blow or injury to the head. •Having a family history of hearing loss.

thursDAY, march 15, 2012

Mysterious Chinese fossils may be new human species NEW YORK: Mysterious fossils of what may be a previously unknown type of human have been uncovered in caves in China, ones that possess a highly unusual mix of bygone and modern human features, scientists reveal according to LiveScience.

Surprisingly, the fossils are only between 11,500 and 14,500 years old. That means they would have shared the landscape with modern humans when China’s earliest farmers were first appearing.

“These new fossils might be of a previously unknown species, one that survived until the very end of the ice age around 11,000 years ago,” said researcher Darren Curnoe, a palaeoanthropologist at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

“Alternatively, they might represent a very early and previously unknown migration of modern humans out of Africa, a population who may not have contributed genetically to living people,” Curnoe added.

At least three fossil specimens were uncovered in 1989 by miners quarrying limestone at Maludong or Red Deer Cave near the city of Mengzi in southwest China. They remained unstudied until 2008. The scientists are calling them the “Red Deer Cave People,” because they cooked extinct red deer in their namesake cave.

“They clearly had a taste for venison, with evidence they cooked these large deer in the cave,” Curnoe said.

Carbon dating, a technique that estimates the radioactive decay of carbon in samples of charcoal found with the fossils helped establish their age. The charcoal also showed they knew how to use fire. Stone artifacts found at the Maludong site also suggest they were toolmakers.

A Chinese geologist found a fourth partial skeleton, which looks very similar to the Maludong fossils, in a cave near the village of Longlin in southwest China in 1979 while prospecting the area for oil. It stayed encased in a block of rock neglected in the basement of an archaeological research institute until 2009, when the international team of scientists rediscovered the fossils.

The Stone Age fossils are unusual mosa-

the youngest population to be found anywhere in the world whose anatomy does not comfortably fit within the range of modern humans, whether they be modern humans from 150 or 150,000 years ago, the researchers noted.

“In short, they’re anatomically unique among all members of the human evolutionary tree,” Curnoe told LiveScience.

Mysterious population in Asia

This artist’s reconstruction by Peter Schouten suggests what the Red Deer Cave People may have looked like when alive some time between 11,500 and 14,500 years ago.

(Agencies)

FILE - A view of a skull from the Red Deer Cave People. Researchers found the species had unique features seen neither in modern nor known archaic lineages of humans. (Agencies)

ics of modern and archaic human anatomical features, as well as previously unseen characteristics. This makes them difficult to classify as either a new species or an unusual type of modern human.

For instance, the Red Deer Cave people had long, broad and tall frontal lobes like modern humans. These brain lobes are located im-

At global forum, ministers pledge to tackle water crisis PARIS: A hundred and thirty countries on Tuesday urged the upcoming Rio Summit to speed action on providing the poor with access to clean water and sanitation and fix worsening problems of water scarcity and pollution.

But their declaration was opposed by leftwing Bolivia as failing to enshrine the principles of social justice, the right to water and care for the environment, and activists derided the arena where it was issued as a trade fair.

“We commit to accelerate the full implementation of the human rights obligations relating to access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation by all appropriate means as a part of our efforts to overcome the water crisis at all levels,” a communique said.

The five-page statement, endorsed by 130 national representatives including 84 ministers, was issued at the World Water Forum, a six-day event gathering policymakers, businesses and water experts.

It also sketched aims for tackling water stress through better management and investment and for improving environmental custodianship of the precious resource.

It called for these aims to “be widely disseminated in relevant fora, including the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development,” the formal name for the June 20-22 followup to the 1992 Rio Summit.The declaration was backed by a petition with 130,000 signatures or-

ganized by Solidarites Internationales, a French group, which demanded access to water for the poor.

But the communique was contested

by Bolivian Environment and Water Minister Felipe Quispe Quenta. According to journalists who attended the ministerial plenary, his microphone was cut off, purportedly for time reasons, after he said the text did not include clear references to social justice and the right to water.

“We expressed our disagreement when the statement was being drafted and we were not heard.

Bolivia does not go along with this ministerial declaration,” the minister said to reporters after the session.A Canadian NGO, the Council of Canadians, described the Water Forum, held every three years, as “the Davos of Water... a nondemocratic forum run by multinational water corporations.”

Wenonah Hauter, executive director of a small US NGO, Food and Water Watch, said the Forum was viewed with suspicion by many grass-roots organizations on water, sustainable development and the environment.

“I think there is no interest (here) in having a debate or dialogue,” she told AFP. “We have a trade fair that is being promoted as a ministerial, but what we really need is the UN to take hold of the process. We cannot have the water industry dictate the issues.” -AFP

Gorbachev calls for global court for environmental crimes

PARIS: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev called on Tuesday for the creation of an international court to try environmental crimes, in an interview published in French daily Le Monde.

“I would personally look favorably upon creating an international tribunal to try those responsible for environmental crimes, both business leaders and the heads of state or government,” the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize recipient said.

Gorbachev, who was in the southern French city of Marseille on Monday to speak at the Sixth World Water Forum, has led the environmental pressure group Green Cross International since 1993.

Evoking the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the 2011 Fukushima accident, Gorbachev said his environmental group backed gradual denuclearization in both civil and military spheres.

“For me, there is a before- and after-Chernobyl,” he said of the April 1986 reactor explosion at a nuclear plant in Ukraine whose fallout spread through the western Soviet Union and a large part of Europe.

Gorbachev said he was surprised to see the trouble Japan faced in weathering the Fukushima accident.

“The Japanese are still struggling with difficulties today,” he said. -AFP

mediately behind the forehead, and are linked with personality and behavior.

However, the Red Deer Cave people differ from modernHomo sapiens in their prominent brow ridges, thick skull bones, flat upper faces with a broad nose, jutting jaws that lack a humanlike chin, brains moderate in size by ice age human standards, large molar teeth, and primi-

tively short parietal lobes - brain lobes at the top of the head associated with sensory data.

“These are primitive features seen in our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago,” Curnoe said.

Unique features of the Red Deer Cave people seen neither in modern nor known archaic lineages of humans include a strongly curved forehead bone, very broad nose and eye sockets, and very flat cheeks that flare widely to the sides to make space for large chewing muscles. In addition, the place where the lower jaw forms a joint with the base of the skull is unusually wide and deep.

All in all, the Red Deer Cave people are

The Red Deer Cave people lived in China at the end of the ice age. “They survived the final and one of the worst cold episodes, known as the Last Glacial Maximum, which ended around 20,000 years ago,” Curnoe said.

“The period around 15,000 to 11,000 years ago when they thrived in southwest China is known as the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and it saw a shift to climates and ecological communities the same as those of today,” Curnoe added. “It also saw the demise of the megafaunain most places, including a giant deer that was exploited by the Red Deer Cave people and recovered in large numbers from the Maludong site.”

“This time also saw a major shift in the behavior of modern humans in southern China, who began to make pottery for food storage and to gather wild rice - this marks some of the first steps towards full-blown farming,” Curnoe said. “The Red Deer Cave people were sharing the landscape with these early pre-farming communities, but we have no idea yet how they may have interacted or whether they competed for resources.”

Although modern-day Asia contains more than half of the world’s population, researchers still know little about humans there after our ancestors settled Eurasia about 70,000 years ago, Curnoe said. No human fossils less than 100,000 years old had been found in mainland East Asia that resembled anything other than anatomically modern humans until now. These new findings are fossil evidence that this region may not have been devoid of our evolutionary cousins. “The discovery of the Red Deer Cave People opens the next chapter in the latest stage of the human evolutionary story, the Asian chapter,” Curnoe said. “It’s a story that’s just beginning to be told.”

Asia climate disasters displace 42 million: ADB PARIS: Climate-related disasters have displaced more than 42 million people in Asia over the past two years, the Asian Development Bank said Tuesday in a report calling for swift action to avert future crises.

“Asia and the Pacific is the global area most prone to natural disasters, both in terms of the absolute number of disasters and of populations affected,” said the report launched in Bangkok, which was itself affected by flooding last year.

About 31.8 million people in the region were displaced by climate-related disasters and extreme weather in 2010 -- a particularly bad year -- including more than 10 million in Pakistan owing to massive flooding.

A further 10.7 million were forced to flee their

Type of bacteria may be linked to diabetes CONNECTICUT: There may be a link between H. pylori bacteria and type 2 diabetes in adults, according to a new study reports HealthDay News. In some people, an H. pylori infection of the stomach acquired in early childhood becomes persistent and can lead to ulcers in the stomach and small intestine. These bacteria have also been associated with an increased risk of stomach cancer. In this study, researchers analyzed data from people who took part in two U.S. National Health and Nutrition Surveys and found that the presence of H. pylori bacteria was consistently associated with elevated levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), an indicator of blood glucose levels and diabetes. This association was strongest in obese people, according to the study published March 14 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

H. pylori may affect the levels of two stomach hormones that help regulate blood glucose, New York University School of Medicine researchers Yu Chen and Dr. Martin Blaser said in a journal news release. They suggested that using antibiotics to eliminate H. pylori in some older obese patients could prove beneficial.

An expert not involved with the study said that while it did not show a cause-and-effect relationship between the bacterium and diabetes, the findings suggest certain possibilities.

“This associative data serves as a foundation for future research, possibly even to examine whether eradication of H. pylori may be beneficial from a glucose tolerance standpoint,” said Dr. Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

Further research is needed to evaluate the health impact of H. pylori and the effects of eradicating it in people of different ages and weights, the researchers noted.

In an accompanying editorial, Dani Cohen, of Tel Aviv University in Israel, and colleagues said that if the study findings are confirmed, they “could have important clinical and public health implications.” Type 2 diabetes causes about 3.8 million adult deaths worldwide each year.

homes last year, it said, warning that such events will become more frequent with climate change.

“While many of those displaced returned to their homes as conditions improved, others were less fortunate, struggling to build new lives elsewhere after incurring substantial personal losses,” ADB vice president Bindu Lohani said in a foreword to the report, released at an Asian climate forum.

The bank says Asia has six of the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, with Bangladesh and India in the top two places on a list that also includes Nepal, the Philippines, Afghanistan and Myanmar.

“The environment is becoming a significant driver of migration in Asia and the Pacific as the

population grows in vulnerable areas, such as lowlying coastal zones and eroding river banks,” Lohani said in a separate statement.

“Governments should not wait to act. By taking steps now, they can reduce vulnerability, strengthen resiliency, and use migration as an adaptation tool rather than let it become an act of desperation.”

The report, titled Addressing Climate Change and Migration in Asia and the Pacific, said governments in disaster-prone Asia-Pacific countries must enact a range of measures to stave off future crises. Among other things, it recommended greater investment in urban infrastructure and basic services to accommodate the anticipated increase in migrant flows to the region’s megacities. -AFP

UN nuclear body says ageing reactors fuel safety concerns

FILE - Eighty percent of nuclear power plants are more than 20 years old, raising safety concerns, the UN atomic agency warned in a draft report seen by AFP on Tuesday, a year after Japan’s Fukushima disaster. (AFP)

PARIS: Eighty percent of nuclear power plants are more than 20 years old, raising safety concerns, the UN atomic agency warned in a draft report seen

by AFP on Tuesday, a year after Japan’s Fukushima disaster. This “could impact safety and their ability to meet member states’ energy requirements in an economical and efficient manner,” the International Atomic Energy Agency’s draft annual Nuclear Safety Review said. Countries opting for what it called “long term operation (LTO) must thoroughly analyze the safety aspects related to the ageing of ‘irreplaceable’ key components,” said the report, due to finalized and published in mid-2012.

The IAEA, which promotes the peaceful use of nuclear technology, said that five percent of the world’s 435 nuclear facilities have been in operation for more than 40 years and 32 percent for more than 30 years. It said that there were “growing expectations that older nuclear reactors should meet enhanced safety objectives, closer to that of recent or future reactor designs.”

“There is a concern about the ability of the ageing nuclear fleet to fulfill these expectations and to continue to economically and efficiently support member states’ energy requirements,” it said.

It also said that 70 percent of the world’s 254 research reactors -- for producing medical isotopes and other uses -- have been in operation for more than 30 years, many of them “exceeding their original design life.” This has raised “serious concerns” amongst research reactor operators, regulators and the public, it said.

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano said last week that measures put into place since the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami but also by “human and managerial failings,” had made nuclear power safer.

Amano said that “good progress” has been made implementing the IAEA’s nuclear safety action plan, involving stress tests on nuclear power plants, peer reviews and the strengthening of defenses against natural disasters. -AFP

16

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

Sultan Gallery showcases work of three Lebanese artists Onilda Fernandes

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: As you walk through the Sultan Gallery in Subhan, the first thought that crosses your mind is that these artists displaying their works have definitely been places-all along the walls there are photographs mounted of the three artists in varied spectacular settings-standing below the Eiffel tower in Paris, sitting on a stone balustrade in possibly a Victorian house in England, posing in lush green gardens, driving around in fancy convertibles, even slouching over the surface of the moon.

Only that’s not physically possible. Further probing reveals that none of the photographs were clicked in the above settings.

They were taken in Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut and one has to look closely to discern the subtle variations in composition, an affinity with certain locations and poses. “We wanted to explore and manipulate the techniques that have fashioned a culture of reproducibility, standardization and accelerated the Arab world’s fascination with fame,” explained the two artists who were in Kuwait for the exhibition, Vartan Avakian and Raed Yassin to Al Watan Daily, “Through these comic over-the-top images, one begins to notice the fetishization of success and material wealth inherent in these practices.”

The duo along with Hatem Imam form part of a Beirut based Collective ‘Atfal Ahdath’ that was created in 2009 to share ideas about art.

“Apart from being individual artists, we are also great friends from the same generation.

Born in 1970’s, we have similar interests and felt the need to introduce this platform to have stimulating discussions. Under an art collective, we would probably do projects that we wouldn’t venture in, under our own name,” said Yassin.

“Take me to this place: I want do the memories”, which was shown at the Sharjah Biennial, according to the artists, relies mainly on studio photography that has changed in recent times owing to digital manipulation. “We started out as observers and were struck by the language of studio photography nowadays in the Arab world, photographs that show no specific time and place and timeless memories that are constructed in the process,” informed Avakian.

Giving examples, he recounted how newlywed couples walk into a studio and choose a

variety of templates, from their settings to outfits to their bodies with only their faces bearing any resemblance to the people they are. “Everyone has different fantasies and the approach is sometimes casual, sometimes trashy, not always beautiful.

It raises questions such as, why would anybody aim to be somebody else in some other place, which is different but not necessarily nice,” remarked Yassin.

The exhibition clearly portrays the depths of human gullibility, the conjuring power of photography, and a deeper subject: The dreamer in all of us. “Evidently, in this urban way of life, in our search for an identity or individuality, many resort to mass produced templates.

In the United Arab Emirates, one can choose from a set of 60-70 body doubles and settings.

Another layer of the exhibition is the fact that usually photographs are clicked as a reminder of a particular memory in a definite space and time. When you look through an album, a certain photograph triggers events of that particular day. Like a birthday or a school trip makes you nostalgic and you want to return to that time and place. But these sorts of photomontage can play no part in the future; you are the maker of your photos,” insisted Avakian.

“You’ll find them in expensive cars, big vil-

Some of the works on display at Sultan Gallery on March 13, 2012. (Al Watan Daily)

las, and fantastic greenery. It’s basically where you want to go and what you want to be. For

Iraq’s artists lament decline in cultural life LONDON: Yasir Abdul-Hakim, a sculpture student at Iraq’s Fine Arts Academy, wanted to learn his craft by making copies of a nude Greek statue. A professor told him to cover them with clothes.

He covered the first one, but the second one he copied naked, as it was.

“One of the professors told me: ‘What are you doing? You are exposing your life to danger’,” Abdul-Hakim said with a bitter smile. “I would like to do nude models from Greek civilization. But I cannot execute them due to the religious tide we are in, which no one can deny,” he said. “If my professor at college accepts it, society outside will not.”

Although Iraq is safer than in the darkest days of sectarian violence, many of its artists, filmmakers, musicians and performers say they are being stifled by religious conservatism and, with the government focused on reconstruction and security, missing the state support they once enjoyed.

Under Saddam Hussein, the government commissioned paintings and sculptures, and funded orchestras and theatres, to glorify the nation and its dictator.

But since Saddam was toppled in 2003, Iraq has been dominated by Islamist political parties from the previously suppressed Shi’ite majority. Newly influential clerics deem enjoying painting, sculpture and music as a sin, and much of the official support has disappeared.

The Fine Arts Academy still exists and receives state funding, but students and teachers complain that it is no longer adequate for a proper education.

Carefully filing a statue of a headless torso of an ancient Assyrian hunter as part of a project for a class on the restoration of antiquities, Abdul-Hakim said he is hoping to acquire skills in Iraq that he can take abroad.

His dream is to go join a sculptor relative who emigrated decades ago to England. In Iraq, he said, “things will be worse, because the intellectual cannot stand against other tides.”

Yasir Abdul-Hakim, a sculpture student, works on a sculpture at Iraq’s Fine Arts Academy in Baghdad March 6, 2012.

(Reuters)

example in Lebanon, no matter how small a wedding is, the bride will have a dress either

rented or bought in full, but in Egypt you can get married without a celebration. So what the couple usually does is goes and clicks fancy photographs of themselves in elaborate wedding settings like grand villas, with even the photo frames in the villas accompanied by pictures of themselves in that house. Like a real picture montage with 3D elements. You know it’s not yours, your friends know it’s not yours, your wife knows it isn’t but somehow it’s your memory,” says Yassin.

The artists realize that nobody is going to buy photographs of themselves in body doubles but agree that success is not restricted to material wealth. “We have never made compromises on our artwork, neither with this Collective nor with our individual work. We believe that if we do interesting works for the market, the market will be interesting.We have been asked, how can you sell these photos of yourself to the people? We don’t care, we love them.”

As for using digital photo shopping techniques in this exhibition, Yassin says, “art through the ages has always been a reflection of its own age. Using digital techniques is normal development of the world we live in.

There’s nothing Avant-garde about what we do, even an illiterate person knows how to use Photoshop today.”

Encyclopedia Britannica ends print, goes digital

Decline Of A Tradition

Iraq has a long and proud tradition in the arts. The relics of ancient Mesopotamia show that sculpture flourished here for millennia, and in the Islamic period, Iraq’s cities were world-renowned centers of poetry and philosophy.

Iraqi art was also vibrant in the 20th century, although decades of war and economic sanctions under Saddam caused many artists to emigrate and the firm hand of dictatorship stifled free expression.

The situation for artists deteriorated even further after Saddam was deposed. Many of Baghdad’s intellectuals fled the widespread violence caused by fighting between Shi’ites and Sunnis in 2006-07.

Now, in a country where the capital still has electricity for only a few hours a day, funding for art is not a priority. Public gatherings are dangerous. There are few galleries. Concert halls are empty. Cinemas and most theatres are shut. Qasim al-Sabti, a prominent painter whose works have been shown in Tokyo and New York, has seen his own career track the fortunes of Iraqi art over the past 40 years.

Back in the 1960s, when he was poor and Baghdad was an emerging intellectual capital of the Arab world, students used to pay him a falafel sandwich for a drawing. In the 1970s, support for the arts became a sign of Iraq’s new oil wealth. By the time Sabti graduated from the Fine Arts Academy in 1980, he could earn a good living making paintings on commission from Saddam’s government. That work began drying up in the 1990s when the international community imposed sanctions on Baghdad. Since Saddam’s fall, he has sold 300 paintings in New York but only 20 in Iraq. “Who appreciates art? The clergy who call for fighting art and culture? Or the politician who does not understand anything about culture or art?” said Sabti, his fingertips colored with oil paint as he sat in his art gallery, Dialogue, near the Academy. “If I changed the gallery into a mosque, I would get financial support. But as long as it is a gallery that displays art it will not get any support.” -Reuters

FILE-This undated product image provided by Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. shows volumes of the company’s encyclopedia.

(AP)

NEWYORK: In yet another sign of the growing dominance of the digital publishing market, the oldest English-language encyclopedia still in print is moving solely into the digital age.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, which has been in continuous print since it was first published in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1768, said on Wednesday it will end publication of its printed editions and continue with digital versions available online.

The flagship, 32-volume printed edition, available every two years, was sold for $1400. An online subscription costs around $70 per year and the company recently launched a set of apps ranging between $1.99 and $4.99 per month.

The company said it will keep selling print editions until the current stock of around 4000 sets ran out.

It is the latest move Encyclopedia Britannica has made to expand its Internet reference services and move farther into educational products. It first flirted with digital publishing in the 1970s, published a version for computers in 1981 for LexisNexis subscribers and first posted to the Internet in 1994. “The print edition became more difficult to maintain and wasn’t the best physical element to deliver the quality of our database and the quality of our editorial,” Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., told Reuters. Yet even as publishing industry has created more digital products, it has struggled with financial losses, and Cauz admitted to a “long road to profitability” for many publishers.

“Britannica was one of the first companies to really feel the full impact of

technology, maybe twenty years ago, and we have been adapting to it, though it is very difficult at times,” he said.

While Encyclopedia Britannica has continued to operate, he expected “many trade publishers will not survive -- and any content development company will have to be thinking about how they are going to fill the gap.” As to whether print editions of books will be viable products in the future, Cauz predicted, “print may not completely vanish from the market, but I think it is going to be increasingly less important. Many publications will never have a print analog and will only be printed on digital formats.”

With its scholarly, reliable reputation, Encyclopedia Britannica had not been affected by the popularity of free online website Wikipedia, he said. -Reuters

Riches to rags for Spanish towns PELEAS DE ABAJO, Spain: Fifty years ago Peleas de Abajo was a centre of farming innovation. Now it is famous for claiming to be Spain’s most indebted municipality after investments made during the country’s boom years went sour. The small town in the northwestern region of Castilla y Leon is struggling to pay its bills and service a pile of debt that accumulated from an investment in a rest home 15 years ago when cheap loans were plentiful.

The riches to rags story is typical of towns and regions across the country. After years of overspending their finances are under scrutiny as Spain tries to rein in its budget deficit just as the economy heads towards recession.

Every euro is being scrutinized in an austerity drive to chop Spain’s deficit to the European Union limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product next year from 8.5 percent in 2011.

Town halls alone generated a deficit of 0.4 percent of GDP last year. The 250 residents of Peleas de Abajo are embarrassed about the 4.6 million debt which equals about 20,000 euros per person, nearly 10 times the level to each inhabitant of Madrid. “It’s disgraceful, it’s incredible a small town owes more (per person) than a big city,” said Jose Ramon Guerras, 30, who runs the town’s only bar, where a handful of men gather at lunch time to play cards. Outside the bar, the streets are quiet. The only activity in the square is when a handful of women in their dressing gowns came out of their homes to meet the bread van.

It wasn’t always this way.

Former dictator Francisco Franco’s agriculture secretary came from Peleas de Abajo and in the 1960s he chose his home for a pilot farming project, grouping together small

parcels of land to enable the purchase of large machinery.

“They started buying tractors ... and cultivating beets. All the surrounding towns came here to farm the beet.When anyone would talk about going to Germany or France to work, the people would say ‘but we have Germany right here’,” said Mayor Felix Roncero. Private farms in the town are still healthy but the public administration is saddled with debts, mainly from the 300,000 euro loan taken out to build the Virgen del Carmen nursing home. Like many other towns and cities in Spain, Peleas de Abajo suddenly found it difficult to continue meeting payments after a national property bubble burst in 2008, unemployment soared, public sector subsidies were cut back and tax revenues fell. Roncero said the unpaid interest on the original loan to build the residence accounts for more than half of the town’s debt. Another 600,000 Euros is owed to Social Security for unpaid tax on workers, with further hundreds of thousands in arrears for heating the building and paying providers of food and other services.

Peleas de Abajo is not alone. Overspending and mismanagement in more buoyant times have left many administrations struggling to pay their bills, in turn hurting local businesses that are vital to keeping an economy going. The central government announced a 35 billion euro loan program for heavily indebted municipalities and regional governments last month to pay suppliers and help them get their finances back on track. Others are taking more unusual steps. One small town in northeastern Spain is trying to rent its land for marijuana cultivation to pay off their 1.3 million Euros debt in two years. Roncero is trying to renegotiate with creditors, otherwise he says it will take 500 years to repay his entire town’s debt. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Forgotten Artist: Avril Lavigne Album: Under My Skin Genre: Pop/Rock In short: Back in day when Avril Levigne was still making excellent music, she released her sophomore album, Under My Skin, that went on to become one of 2004’s biggest selling albums. The album yielded four hit singles, yet it had even more punch in store; “Forgotten” wasn’t released as a single, but it can hardly be forgotten.

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

The Buzz Clint Eastwood’s family set for reality TV series Clint Eastwood’s family is coming to TV in a new reality show.

The E! network said Tuesday that “Mrs. Eastwood & Company” will premiere May 20 as a 10-episode series. Clint Eastwood is expected to make guest appearances. The show spotlights Dina Eastwood, who has been married to the Oscar-winning actor-director since 1996. Also on hand are the Eastwoods’ 15-year-old daughter, Morgan, as well as 18-yearold Francesca, Clint Eastwood’s daughter with actress Frances Fisher. Rounding out the cast is the all-male, six-member vocal group Overtone, managed by Dina Eastwood. -AP

America’s Most Wanted renewed for 20 more episodes “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh has been given 20 more chances to help put the nation’s bad guys behind bars.

Lifetime, which picked the series up after it was canceled by Fox last May, has ordered 20 more episodes, the network said Tuesday. “America’s Most Wanted” began its relationship with Lifetime just in time for its 25th season. -Reuters

Hunger Games TV rights picked up by ABC Family “The Hunger Games” has landed a television home with a couple of weeks to go before its theatrical release. ABC Family has acquired the rights to Lionsgate’s seeming blockbuster-to-be, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The deal will give the cable outlet rights to air the movie 30 months after its theatrical release, which would place the first airing of the movie sometime in the latter half of 2014. Though the movie – based on Suzanne Collins’ series of young-adult novels – won’t be hitting theaters until March 23, indications are that the highly anticipated film will be a sizable hit. A month prior to its release, “The Hunger Games” outpaced “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” in first-day advance ticket sales on Fandango.com, setting a new record in the site’s 12-year history. (“Eclipse,” released in 2010, has gone on to amass nearly $700 million worldwide.) ABC Family has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. -Reuters

Martha Stewart to guest star on 2 Broke Girls As “2 Broke Girls” characters Max and Caroline pursue their cupcake-shop dreams, they’ll seek a very special endorsement in the show’s May 7 episode from guest star Martha Stewart. Stewart will play herself on the CBS freshman comedy, as Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) plan to attend a big fashion soiree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Stewart is on the guest list. Their goal is to get the domestic doyenne to sample their cupcakes and give her seal of approval, as they continue to save the $250,000 they need to open a cupcake shop.-Reuters

Henry Cavill’s Cold Light of Day moved to a fall release “The Cold Light of Day,” starring “Superman” star Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver, is getting a limited release in September rather than a wide release in April, Summit Entertainment said Monday. The movie is about a young Wall Street trader whose life turns upside down when, during a sailing vacation in Spain, his family is kidnapped by intelligence agents who want to recover a mysterious briefcase. The PG-13 thriller originally was set to be released domestically on April 6 – the same day as Universal releases its comedy “American Reunion” and Paramount releases “Titanic 3D.” On Monday, Summit said it is switching the date to September 7, and instead of a wide release, the movie will have a limited release. No major films are scheduled for release that day. -Reuters

War film maker Pierre Schoendoerffer dies at 83 Pierre Schoendoerffer, an Oscar-winning French filmmaker who was held prisoner in Indochina and chronicled war on screen and on the page, has died. He was 83. The French military health service confirmed that he died Wednesday.

France’s Le Figaro newspaper said Schoendoerffer died in a hospital outside Paris after an operation. President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement that “France will miss him.”

Sarkozy praised the “legendary filmmaker and novelist” for risking his life for France and “helping us better understand our collective history.” Schoendoerffer won an Oscar in 1968 for his documentary “The Anderson Platoon,” filmed in Vietnam. He served as a cameraman in the French army and was captured in the fortress of Dien Bien Phu before going on to make documentary and fiction films. -AP

thursDAY, march 15, 2012

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Malawi ‘fed up’ with Madonna, slams school plans LILONGWE: Malawi’s government on Tuesday accused Madonna of not consulting over her plans to build 10 new schools in the poor southern African state and said the singer seemed more interested in promoting her global image than helping with education there.

But the head of an organization that pop star Madonna brought in to help with her efforts in Malawi fired back, saying the government accusation was “simply not true” and that it had been “fully updated” on the singer’s plans.

Madonna, who has adopted two children from Malawi, announced in January her Raising Malawi charity was teaming up with the non-profit group buildOn to construct the schools, which would educate at least 1,000 children a year.

Malawi’s Ministry of Education spokeswoman Lindiwe Chide told Reuters the government was “fed up” with Madonna.

Chide said that when the singer last year scrapped a previously planned academy for girls in Malawi, alleging mismanagement and cost overruns, she did not inform Malawian authorities.

“Now she decides to announce that she plans to build 10 schools without getting authority from us again,” Chide said.

“We now feel like this is all about propping up her global image and not in our interest,” she added.

Trevor Neilson, who heads up Global Philanthropy Group, said in a statement released by the pop star’s New York-based spokeswoman: “This is simply not true. The government of Malawi has been fully updated on Madonna’s effort to provide funding for ten schools to be built in communities where there are no schools.”

Madonna’s earlier plan to build a state of the art girls school for about 400 girls just outside the Malawi capital Lilongwe collapsed last year, and the board of her Raising Malawi charity was fired. The New York Times said at the time that $3.8 million had been spent on the school with little to show for it.

The singer has lent $11 million to the organization which she co-founded in 2006. Chide said: “She has no mandate to decide where she wants to build a school because she doesn’t know our needs and where we want new schools ... she first needed to consult us, get permission from us before doing anything”.

Neilson countered by saying that Raising Malawi had com-

FILE - Pop star Madonna lays the first stone during a bricklaying ceremony at the site of her Raising Malawi Girls Academy, near the capital Lilongwe, in this April 6, 2010 file photo. (Reuters)

municated with Malawi’s Minister of Education and that buildOn had discussed the project with local officials and “cleared all plans for school construction with them.”

Malawi has more than half a million children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic and is ranked by the United Nations as one of the world’s 20 least developed countries.

The latest dispute came at a time when Malawian Presi-

Depp, Streep join call to lower Bully rating LOS ANGELES: More Hollywood heavyweights are joining the call for a lower rating on the teen-focused documentary “Bully.”

The Weinstein Co, which is releasing the film March 30, said Tuesday that Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees have signed on to support the film.

Lee Hirsch’s documentary on bullying in American schools has been rated R, which restricts children under 17 from seeing it without an adult. The Motion Picture Association of America, which oversees movie ratings, cited language as the reason for the R rating.

Distributors appealed the decision, but it was upheld by the MPAA. That prompted a Michigan teenager who was bullied in middle school to start an online petition calling for a lower rating for the film so more young people can see it.

She met with MPAA officials last week and delivered the 200,000 signatures she collected, but the group declined to change the rating.

Katy Butler, a 17-year-old high school junior from Ann Arbor, now has nearly 300,000 signatures on her petition on Change.org. Among them is that of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who tweeted Monday that she supports the teen’s effort to lower the film’s R rating to PG-13. Gerry Lopez, chief of AMC Theaters, also added his name to the petition, the Weinstein Co. said.

MPAA spokesman Howard Gantman did not address the possibility of a PG-13 for “Bully” in his response Tuesday to the growing call for a revision of its rating.

“We respect the viewpoints of members of Congress and the public and Hollywood celebrities who care deeply about an issue that is troubling our nation,” he said in an email. “The MPAA shares the goal of shining a light on the problems caused by bullying, and we hope that this new film and the national discussion about it among educators, parents and students will help lead to ways to

FILE - Johnny Depp attends the ‘Rhum Express’ Paris Premiere at Cinema Gaumont Marignan on Nov. 8, 2011 in Paris, France. (AFP)

better ensure that kids feel safe and protected when they come to school.” -AP

Housewives actress suffers court setback LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday dismissed former “Desperate Housewives” cast member Nicollette Sheridan’s battery complaint against the hit TV show’s creator, Marc Cherry, dealing the actress a setback in her wrongful termination suit.

The decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White came as the nearly two week trial approached closing arguments before a jury.

The case brought by Sheridan, an actress in the hit ABC comedy “Desperate Housewives” from 2004 to 2009, is unique in shedding public light on the kind of behind-the-scenes Hollywood disputes that often are resolved in private.

Sheridan accused Cherry of smacking her on the head during a 2008 rehearsal, and she contends she was fired and her character killed off after she complained about the contact.

Cherry has said he only tapped Sheridan to instruct her about a scene and that the death of her character, sexy Edie Britt who had slept with most men in the neighborhood, was planned long before the incident.

Judge White sided with Cherry in dismissing Sheridan’s battery complaint but let stand the wrongful termination suit against Touchstone Television Productions, the studio behind “Desperate Housewives” and ABC. “I’m sure that she and her attorneys are very unhappy today. This is a big setback for them,” said attorney

Lisa Bloom, whose past clients include Lindsay Lohan’s father. Bloom said jurors are likely to be “sophisticated enough” to understand the judge has thrown out part of Sheridan’s case. “That could really be a problem for her,” Bloom added.

Outside the courtroom, Cherry told Reuters, “Obviously I am thrilled by the judge’s decision, but I am going to withhold further commentary until this matter is resolved completely.”

With the judge’s decision, Cherry was officially no longer a defendant in the suit. Closing arguments on the wrongful termination claim are set to begin on Wednesday.

Sheridan, 48, who apart from “Desperate Housewives” has appeared in such shows as “Knots Landing,” testified earlier in the trial that she and Cherry were in a tense discussion about dialogue when he hit her. “It was a nice wallop,” she said.

Cherry has testified that he did not choose to kill off the actress’ character because of her accusation that he had struck her, but because there were no longer any more male characters with whom Edie Britt could have a fling.

Bloom said the Sheridan trial is a rarity for Hollywood. “It’s extremely unusual for an actor to bring a claim against her employer, it’s almost unheard of because they know it will be very difficult for them to work again,” Bloom said. -Reuters

dent Bingu wa Mutahrika is at loggerheads with former colonial ruler Britain and other western donors.

Historically, foreign aid has accounted for 40 percent of Malawi’s budget but much of this assistance has been suspended following a police crackdown on opposition protesters in July that killed 20 people. The row with Britain came over a leaked diplomatic cable that called Muthar. (Reuters)

Dugard to remain in hiding to protect daughters NEWYORK: Kidnapping survivor Jaycee Dugard, who first made national headlines three years ago, said in a TV interview that she plans to live in seclusion with her daughters until they are mature enough to understand what happened to them.

Dugard, 31, and her two girls, ages 14 and 17, have been living at an undisclosed California location since being found by authorities in 2009 - 18 years after Dugard was abducted from a South Lake Tahoe bus stop. She was held by Phillip and Nancy Garrido in their Antioch backyard, where she gave birth to the two children conceived by rape.

In an interview that aired Tuesday night, Dugard told ABC News she’s spent the past three years healing and experiencing life with her family.

“I want my girls to have a normal life as much as possible,” she told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer. “I feel like on some things I have to do it a little bit differently ... not be recognized ... for their sake.

Dugard has been working to build the JAYC Foundation, which aims to support families dealing with abduction and other tragedies. She wrote a best-selling memoir last year, “A Stolen Life,” which recounts her years in captivity.

Dugard also made her first public appearance last weekend at a star-studded New York awards ceremony held by fashion designer and humanitarian Diane von Furstenberg.

She was introduced at the Friday ceremony by Oprah Winfrey, another honoree of the night.

“Jaycee Dugard, I am so proud of you, your courage, your ability to press onward toward the future and toward a more victorious life for yourself and for using your courage, your strength, and your power to show the world that you care,” Winfrey said.

Phillip Garrido is serving a 431-year prison sentence, and Nancy Garrido is serving 36 years to life, after both struck plea deals on kidnapping and rape charges. The state of California paid Dugard a $20 million settlement under which officials acknowledged repeated mistakes were made by parole agents responsible for monitoring Phillip Garrido, who was a convicted rapist. -AP

Disco Inferno singer Jimmy Ellis dies at 74

LOS ANGELES: Jimmy Ellis, the lead singer of the hit “Disco Inferno” from ‘70s R&B/funk group The Trammps, died Thursday in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He was 74.

Ellis’s daughter, Erika Stinson, told the New York Times the singer died from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Ellis and The Trammps were a Philadelphia-based group, formed in the early 1970s. The group’s biggest hit, “Disco Inferno,” reached number 11 on the Billboard pop chart in 1977, after being featured in the John Travolta hit “Saturday Night Fever.”

The song was included on the movie’s bestselling soundtrack, and The Trammps received a Grammy Award when the soundtrack won Album of the Year honors in 1979.

Ellis was born James Thomas Ellis II on November 15, 1937 in Rock Hill. He also performed with groups like the Volcanoes and the Exceptions, but toured with The Trammps until 2010.

As for the extra “m” in the group’s name, Trammps keyboard player and manager Edward Cermanski told the Times it stemmed from the band’s days singing on street corners. Ellis is survived by his wife and daughter, a son, three brothers, a sister, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. -Reuters

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

If you have an event you wish to include, please email: aroundtown@alwatandaily.com

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

Centrepoint makes it special for moms on Mother’s Day KUWAIT: This mother’s day, delight and surprise your mother with a wide array of fashion and accessories from Centrepoint.

Gift her with a KD 20 Gift Voucher and get a KD 5 Gift Voucher absolutely free.

An exciting new collection is now available in stores for you to check out and promises to completely bowl you over with a wide variety of styles and accessories to choose from across the various brands.

Centrepoint, the popular shopping destination in Kuwait is pulling out all stops to craft a number of opportunities to show your mum that you truly care.

“It’s nice to show your mum you appreciate her and it is even better to have a special day once a year to show appreciation.

We have this special promotion available only for a few days, thus, go ahead and surprise your mothers with a voucher or shop her desire at Centrepoint.

Your favorite shopping destination once again has it all to surprise your mum and fulfill all her shopping needs!

Stop by at any of the stores located at Al Rai, Hawally, Salmiya, Kuwait City, Fahaheel, Fintas, Jahra from March 18-22, 2012 to avail this promotion.

Month a t

Sudoku

Elementary

Intermediate

Advanced

General A n n o u n c e m e n t s

a glance

AUK hosts lecture March 21/ 6 p.m. / AUK: The Centre for Gulf Studies (CGS) at the American University of Kuwait is hosting a lecture entitled “’The People Are Missing’: Palestinians in Kuwait” by Dr. Mai Al Nakib, Assistant Professor of English at Kuwait University. During her lecture, Dr. Al-Nakib will look at the status of the Palestinian community in Kuwait prior to the first Gulf War, discussing the ethical consequences to Kuwait after their expulsion in 1991.

New Toastmasters Club

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.

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.

Kuwaiti cuisine

Waist Watchers

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.

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.

Art exhibition

Hip Hop at BAIA

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.

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

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.

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

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.

The Philippine Embassy The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait announces that the Department or Foreign Affairs is advising all passport applicants to claim their passports within six (6) months from the date of application. Otherwise, unclaimed passports shall be cancelled and sent back to the Department for disposal. The Embassy will continue to entertain last minute claimants for such unclaimed passports within the next two months before finally canceling the passport in accordance with the directive of the Department.

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.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

Vivid, wonderful dreams may have haunted your sleep last night, Aries, leaving you disappointed that they weren’t real. They have a message for you, so write them down, set them aside, and analyze them later. Your psychic abilities and imagination are very sharp today. This is a great day to start an artistic project that has been in the back of your mind for some time. Enjoy your day.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Feel free to take full advantage of the very open social energies of today, Taurus. You, especially, will feel at home in any social gathering, totally at ease talking to new people and charming the room. This would be an ideal day to meet someone new. Someone of the opposite sex may be particularly attracted to you. Feel free to be as flirtatious as you want!

Gemini: May 21- June 21

Expect some very pleasant surprises today, Gemini. If you’re single, you’re likely to receive a phone call from someone who interests you romantically.

This should greatly increase your level of self-confidence, and you’re therefore likely to float through the rest of the day.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

You should be feeling especially strong, healthy, and charismatic. You’re likely to receive some invitations to exciting parties. You might be surprised at what seems a sudden increase in your popularity.

Expanded career opportunities could also come your way from new acquaintances, and you could find doors opening to a whole new life - new friends, new position, and possibly a new home.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Optimism and enthusiasm for the months ahead have you feeling confident and strong. The sky’s the limit! A male visitor could have some surprising news for you. This is a great day to make investments or purchase property. If you’ve been expecting money through legal papers or contracts, it could come in the mail today. The night could bring vivid and interesting dreams.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Some interesting information could come to you from another state or country, Virgo. This could induce some pretty deep thinking, leading to decisions that could alter the course of your life in some way.You might be considering returning to school to advance your education. Your mood today should be optimistic and positive.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

You should wake up feeling strong and confident, Libra. Expect to receive some good news today, which will only heighten your mood. In the afternoon you could attend a party or neighborhood get-together. You’ll have a good time talking to friends and meeting new people. In the evening, relax!

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Your outgoing and jovial nature is intensified today, Scorpio, and so you’re probably going to be sought after for any parties or celebrations.Your generosity is also at an all-time high, and will take many forms, which will be appreciated by that special someone in your life.

Think about taking your partner with you as you make the social rounds tonight and making him or her the star of the evening.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Inspiration is the keyword for today, Sagittarius. An optimistic and enthusiastic attitude could lead to powerful imaginings, which may take solid form as plans for future projects.These could be artistic, business related, or centered around your home in some way.Whatever they are, this is a good day to put those plans into motion.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

A group you’re associated with could bring information to your attention that puts you in a very positive frame of mind and almost has you skipping all the way home. You should enjoy socializing today, Capricorn, as you’re even more gregarious than usual. Both old and new friends could seek out your company. A victory of some kind has come your way, contributing to your great mood.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Your faithful and diligent work, Aquarius, in addition to a lot of sacrifices for the sake of your career, will soon bear fruit. The anticipation of a great evaluation, with possible advancement, is likely to have you walking on air all day, full of dreams and plans for the future.

Enjoy this well-deserved peace of mind. Spend some time today enjoying your family. Perhaps you could plan a pre-celebration.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Congratulations, Pisces! You’ve finally reached a goal you’ve been working toward for a long time.

Success and advancement are on their way, and you should be feeling extremely enthusiastic and optimistic about your future. Some vast changes may take place in your life, but they all promise to be positive.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

thursDAY, march 15, 2012

19

Tennis

Ferrer out, Nadal and Federer progress INDIAN WELLS, California: Fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer was ousted from the Indian Wells ATP tournament on Tuesday as Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer both moved into the fourth round.

Ferrer was upset 6-4, 6-3 by Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin, Nadal swept past fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-4 and Federer survived an early storm from Milos Raonic before completing a 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

A winner of three titles this year, Ferrer had lost only once in 20 ATP matches this season before struggling badly on his second serve as he was outplayed by the 51st-ranked Istomin.

Claycourt specialist Ferrer, a former world number four, had won titles in Auckland, Buenos Aires and Acapulco this year.

Second seed Nadal, Indian Wells champion in 2007 and 2009, dominated Granollers with his superb baseline game but lost a bit of momentum in the second set before triumphing in one hour, 25 minutes with an ace on his fifth match point.

“I played well. It was a comfortable first set,” Nadal said. “I didn’t play my best in the second. I had a few mistakes, especially for the backhand, and then I was in a little bit trouble. But I am happy that I finished the match well.”

Federer was stunned by Raonic’s power serving in the opening set but delivered a master class in the next two before wrapping up the win in just over two hours when the towering Canadian netted a forehand.

The Swiss, who had never previously played the 21-year-old, will next face Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, who benefited from a walkover when Russian Nikolay Davydenko withdrew due to illness.

Big-serving Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina survived a shaky second set to beat Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 7-6 in the first match of the day on the stadium court.

Del Potro, who won his first grand slam title at the 2009 US Open, breezed through his opening set in 39 minutes before struggling against his opponent’s fluent ground strokes.

The six-foot six-inch (1.98m) Argentine saved four set points on his own serve in a marathon 10th game, and two more in the tiebreak, before sealing victory when a Verdasco backhand flew long.

Sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France battled back to beat Czech Radek Stepanek 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 while Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov scraped past Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. -Reuters

Wozniacki exits, Azarenka and Sharapova advance

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves against compatriot Marcel Granollers during their match at the Indian Wells ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California March 13, 2012. (Reuters)

INDIAN WELLS, California: World number one Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova stayed on track for a mouth-watering showdown in the final of the Indian Wells WTA tournament while defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was beaten by Ana Ivanovic on Tuesday.

Top-seeded Belarusian Azarenka eased into the last eight with a ruthless 6-3, 6-1 demolition of Germany’s Julia Goerges before Russia’s second seed Sharapova swept past Italy’s Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-1.

Dane Wozniacki, however, was ousted by former winner Ivanovic, who produced sizzling tennis from the baseline to triumph 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round.

Serb Ivanovic, who won the Indian Wells title in 2008, will next meet seventh seed Marion Bartoli of France after she breezed past Czech Lucie Safarova 6-1, 6-4.

In dazzling afternoon sunshine, Azarenka broke Goerges three times in each set before sealing victory with an ace to end the match in just over an hour on the showpiece stadium court.

The pony-tailed Belarusian, who won her first grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January, is 20-0 this year and will next face fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

Radwanska, who won her eighth WTA title in Doha last month, advanced when American wild card Jamie Hampton retired with cramp when trailing 6-3, 4-6, 3-0.

The 22-year-old, who has launched her 2012 campaign with three WTA titles, said complacency was not in her vocabulary and that she always strived to improve her performance.

“I always try to work on different things because I think there is never really a limit to what you can achieve,” Azarenka added. “You can always try to do better. It may not work right away, but at least you can start the process.”

Sharapova had needed five match points to beat Romania’s Simona Halep in the previous round but stepped up a few gears against Vinci, breaking her six times before completing victory in just over an hour. -Reuters

Basketball

Big win brings new future philosophy for Howard Mavericks get much-needed ORLANDO: The Orlando Magic entered their third meeting with the Miami Heat shrouded in uncertainty because of the unknown status of their biggest star.

Dwight Howard made a preseason request to be traded from the only team the former No. 1 pick has ever known, leaving fans wondering

if every game could be his final one with in a Magic jersey But with the NBA’s Thursday trade deadline fast approaching, Howard used the aftermath of a 24-point, 25-rebound performance in the Magic’s 104-98 overtime victory over the Miami Heat Tuesday night to quell some of

Dwight Howard (12) of the Orlando Magic attempts to block the shot of LeBron James (6) of the Miami Heat during the game at Amway Center on March 13, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. (AFP)

that uneasiness.

Howard took back his preseason request and said that he wanted to remain with the team for the remainder of the season.

“Well, I told those guys, I’ve been telling them for the past two or three weeks now that I want to stay and finish the season,” Howard said. “I told them I feel we have a great opportunity to win and I told them that I want to be here and I want to bring a championship here.

I told them they’ve got to give me that chance.

They didn’t trade me at the beginning of the season and I told them I’d go out and play as hard as I could every night to put our team in a position to win.”

Jameer Nelson scored 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

It was the eighth 20-20 game of the season for Howard and 40th of his career. It helped the Magic overcome a 14-point, first-half deficit to win their third straight and fifth in six games.

Dwyane Wade scored 28 points and Chris Bosh 23 for the Heat, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. LeBron James added 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Howard said in the preseason that he wanted to be traded, potentially ending a seven-year relationship for the only franchise the 26-year-old, three-time Defensive Player of the Year has known. He has the option of terminating his current contract and becoming a free agent in July.

It will be still be an interesting time for the Magic with the trade deadline looming, but barring the Magic deciding to trade him anyway because of fear he could walk this summer, the team has a calm it hasn’t had in months. Howard said he expects to be with the Magic on Friday. Though the questions or speculation won’t end with Howard’s latest declaration, he said his mind is at ease with his status in Orlando. -AP

win, 107-98 over Wizards DALLAS: Dirk Nowtizki scored 27 points, Jason Terry had 24 and the Dallas Mavericks got a much-needed victory, beating the Washington Wizards 107-98 on Tuesday night.

The defending NBA champions had lost eight of their previous 10 games. That included three road losses in three nights before a welcome two-day break leading into consecutive home games against the league’s two worst teams. Rodrigue Beabuois, who also had a couple of acrobatic plays to keep balls from going out of bounds, added 19 points. He had five in a row in less than a minute early in the fourth quarter when the Mavs had a 7-0 run to go up 92-79. Trevor Booker had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards (9-32).

The only team with fewer wins than Washington is Charlotte (6-34), which plays in Dallas on Thursday night before Southwest Division-

leading San Antonio is in town Saturday night.

JasonTerry’s short jumper started the clinching run early in the fourth quarter, Beaubois quickly followed with consecutive baskets.

Beaubois made a 12-footer, then followed up a Terry miss with another basket and extended his personal run with a free throw on the next possession with 8 1/2 minutes left.

Dallas went ahead to stay in the second quarter, when they shot 82 percent (14 of 17 from the field). They ended the half with a 10-3 run for a 60-51 lead.

That half-ending run came after Nowitzki, who had made his first seven shots, missed a 3 from the top of the key with 2:55 left in the half.

But he had a 17-footer and two free throws in the final 44 seconds, giving him 20 points in the first half. He finished 10-of-14 shooting overall.

Carter added 14 points for Dallas. -AP

Cricket

Ponting included in Australia test squad for West Indies

Formula one

Webber in fighting shape for new season LONDON: Mark Webber has sweated through the European winter to give himself the best possible shot of beating double world champion team mate Sebastian Vettel when the Formula One season starts in Australia this weekend. Already one of the leanest and fittest drivers on a starting grid that now includes six champions, the 35-year-old Red Bull driver turns up for his home race in Melbourne lighter and hungrier than ever. Team boss Christian Horner felt the no-nonsense Australian was

FILE - Mark Webber of Australia and Red Bull Racing prepares to drive during day one of Formula One winter testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on March 1, 2012. (AFP)

sure to be a contender again after a disappointing 2011 season in which the final race in Brazil brought his only victory.

“He has worked hard on his weight because he was probably giving away a fraction of range in set-up of weight distribution last year to Sebastian who is a few kilos lighter than him,” Horner told British reporters. “He was determined to narrow that band. The team has found it for him as well by managing to take weight out of the car so he’s in great shape. I think he lost about a further kilo. There’s not a lot of him anyway because he is quite a tall frame,” added Horner. “He’s been very disciplined with his diet to do that.” Webber’s height and build has been a disadvantage in the past against smaller team mates, allowing him less room to maneuver with ballast around the car.

A fitness fanatic, like the similarly lanky but now absent Robert Kubica, Webber took time to come to terms with the new Pirelli tires last season. Horner felt the driver also struggled to pick himself up from the disappointment of coming so close to the title in 2010 before losing out at the last race in Abu Dhabi to Vettel.

“I think he’s going to be a contender this year,” said the Briton.

“The tonic of winning that last race at the end of last year going into the winter actually set his winter up very well. He’s gone away, he’s trained hard, he’s come back lighter and fitter than he’s ever been. He’s more relaxed, noticeably so, within the team than he was 12 months ago,” said Horner. No Australian has won his home grand prix and Webber, whose contract runs out at the end of the year, faces a major test from his team mate let alone what appears to be a stronger challenge from McLaren and other rivals. Vettel, 24, won 11 races last year after starting a record 15 from pole position. The German is chasing his third successive championship which would make him only the third driver to pull off such a hat-trick. - Reuters

FILE - Ricky Ponting of Australia walks from the field during game six of the One Day International series between Australia and Sri Lanka, Feb.17, 2012. (AFP)

MELBOURNE: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, dropped from the one-day team last month, was included in the test squad for the tour of West Indies on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old batsman’s successor Michael Clarke is expected to have recovered from a left hamstring strain, which is likely to rule him out of the limited overs matches which precede the test, to lead the side. Left-arm spinner Michael Beer, who played his one and only test against England during the ill-fated 2010-2011 Ashes series, was a surprise inclusion alongside finger spinner Nathan Lyon.

Five fast bowlers, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris and Mitchell Starc, will travel to the Caribbean but teenager Pat Cummins, who took 6-79 in his only test to date, was not fit enough to be considered.

Top order batsman Shaun Marsh, who

struggled during India’s tour over the turn of the year, has been dropped while Brad Haddin is included as one of two wicketkeepers along with Matt Wade.

Wade and batsman Peter Forrest are the only players in the 16-man squad uncapped at test level.

“It is anticipated Michael Clarke will be fully recovered and take his place as captain for the first test match in Barbados beginning on Saturday 7 April,” chief selector John Inverarity said in a news release.

“Shane Watson will come back into the test XI and he could replace Shaun Marsh in the vitally important number three position.”

All rounder Watson, formerly an opener in tests, played his last test on the tour of South Africa last year before being sidelined with a calf injury. -Reuters

thursdAY, MARCH 15, 2012

SPORTS

Football

Bayern’s double act back on song

Sports Editors Highlight ENGLAND: Argentina strikerTevez has not played senior football for City since a Champions League loss away to Bayern Munich in September. The 28-year-old then spent more than three months in Argentina without City’s permission before returning to north-west England after failing to secure a move during the January transfer window. Tevez though has since apologized to Mancini and has recently played two matches for the reserves. City’s loss means they could be as many as four points behind United by the time they kick-off against Chelsea. Although Tevez trained with the senior squad Wednesday, he is not eligible to play in Thursday’s match as he has not been registered for European competition. -AFP

Back to Swiss reality for FC Basel

MUNICH: FC Basel face a trip back to the harsh realities of the shrinking Swiss Super League following their rude awakening in the Champions League against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Having visited Old Trafford, the Allianz Arena and Benfica’s Stadium of Light during their European campaign, Basel’s 7-0 defeat has left them with the prospect of trips to Thun, Sion and the vast empty expanses of Zurich’s Letzigrund. Last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Grasshoppers in front of 7,000 fans in Zurich, where the running track around the pitch makes the stadium feel even emptier, is an example of what they face. With a 12-point lead over their nearest challengers, Basel are expected to win the Swiss Super League for the sixth time in nine seasons as they remain the big fish in a small pond. Too strong for their own country, Tuesday’s defeat, their heaviest in Europe, showed they are still out of their depth at the very top of international level.

Basel’s Champions League campaign, where they qualified from the group stage with two memorable performances against Manchester United and then beat Bayern Munich at home, had been a rare bright spot for Swiss football. Now, commentators are wondering whether they have simply added to Swiss woes. Heiko Vogel, promoted to his first senior coaching job after Thorsten Fink left for Hamburg SV last season, was hopeful the high points - including 3-3 at Old Trafford and 1-1 away to Benfica in Lisbon - would still be remembered.

The national side failed to qualify for Euro 2012, finishing below Montenegro in their qualifying group, and Basel were their only remaining representatives in club competition this season.The country had briefly earned a direct place in the Champions League group stage but, from next season, their champions will again have to negotiate two qualifying rounds. -Reuters

Gerrard hat-trick earns Liverpool derby spoils

Players of Bayern Munich celebrate their fifth goal as Markus Steinhoefer of FC Basel walks past during their Champions League round-of-16 second leg soccer match in Munich, March 13, 2012. (Reuters)

MUNICH: Bayern Munich pair Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery have their “Robbery” double act back in full swing and the Bavarian side, who have scored 14 goals in their last two games, are once again one of the most potent attacking forces in Europe.

Few teams can cope with Bayern when their wingers are on song, especially with goal poacher supreme Mario Gomez, scorer of seven goals in his last two outings, lurking in the penalty area to finish off their runs.

The Allianz Arena goal celebration has been played out 14 times in the last two matches after Bayern hammered FC Basel 7-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday and Hoffenheim 7-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Leading 1-0 from a shock first-leg win in the round-of16 tie, Basel had no clue how to deal with the duo, who took it in turns to pull the Swiss champions apart.

Left-footer Robben was a constant menace with his favorite tactic, picking up the ball on the right touchline before cutting inside and running at the heart of the opposing defense. Teams know exactly what he is doing but few appear able to stop the injury-prone Dutchman, who has often been labeled selfish.

Frenchman Ribery does similar damage down the left flank although he often prefers to go on the outside, slipping to the byline before pulling the ball back into the centre. That recipe provided three goals in 17 second-half minutes against Basel, all of them convert-

ed by Gomez, as Bayern surged into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 7-1 aggregate win.

The last five days may prove to have been the turning point for Bayern’s season, which had threatened to go down the drain after an indifferent run featuring defeats to Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach as well as a goalless draw at lowly Freiburg.

“Maybe the team needed to have their backs to the wall to produce these performances,” said club president Uli Hoeness, who added that Basel’s poor pitch was partly to blame for the first-leg defeat.

Heynckes, in his third stint at the club, said that even during recent defeats Bayern had been playing good football. For all their problems, Bayern are still in with a chance of a Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble, and will benefit from Bastian Schweinsteiger’s return from injury.

Heynckes has compared Schweinsteiger to Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta and Xavi. Bayern trail Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund by five points with nine games to go and face Moenchengladbach in the semifinals of the German Cup next week.

Tuesday’s demolition of Basel put them into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and Bayern’s own stadium will host this year’s final. Winning a fifth European title on home soil would be the perfect scenario for Germany’s biggest club. -AFP

Manchester clubs must rally or face Europa exit MADRID: Manchester rivals United and City are well clear at the top of the Premier League standings but are playing for survival in continental competition this week in the Europa League.

United is trailing 3-2 and away at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday. A fearless performance by the young Bilbao team in last week’s first-leg encounter was a further blow to what has largely been a stuttering European campaign for United this season. City is on home soil, where it is unbeaten in Europe in nearly four years, but needs to overturn a 1-0 loss at Sporting Lisbon last week. Bilbao is aiming to be one of three Spanish teams through to the quarterfinals, with Atletico Madrid and Valencia both carrying two-goal advantages after dominant home wins. Olympiakos, Twente and AZ Alkmaar all hold advantages going into their return matches.

Manchester United has lost successive European games for the first time in 16 years to follow up its exit from the Champions League. “We have had a bad year

in Europe,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “Maybe it is just one of those years where we are having to restock and assess how we should approach games at home.” Manchester City will be bidding to rebound from its league loss on Sunday and there’s speculation Carlos Tevez will return to face the Portuguese club.

“I have always been a big fan of Tevez, I love him,” City fullback Micah Richards said.

“There were games last season where he carried us on his own and in these sort of games he would get a 1-0 win for us. It’s up to the manager ultimately but I would love to see him back.” The depth of City’s defensive stocks will be tested with Vincent Kompany (calf) set to miss out, while Joleon Lescott (groin) and right back Pablo Zabaleta (hamstring) both doubtful.

Elsewhere, Phillip Cocu will make his PSV coaching debut by trying to rally the Dutch club back from a 4-2 deficit against Valencia and end a three-game losing streak. -AP

Ranieri safe for now as Inter face rebuilding job MILAN: Inter Milan’s “golden generation” is at the end of the line and a major restructuring is now expected after the 2010 Champions League winners were dumped out of this season’s competition by Olympique Marseille. The rot began as soon as coach Jose Mourinho left following the club’s staggering treble success two years ago. The wily Portuguese knew Inter’s ageing side had reached their peak and quit for Real Madrid knowing his legacy was intact.

Rafa Benitez, Leonardo, Gian Piero Gasperini and then Ranieri were left to pick up the pieces and major changes in the playing staff are now inevitable.

“We must not think of a revolution but a restructuring. Anyway the club knows this,” Ranieri said after Brandao’s injury-time goal sent Marseille through despite being sandwiched between Diego Milito’s strike and a Giampaolo Pazzini penalty.

“We will continue to fight but our luck must change.

The team cannot give more than it is giving. If next year

Moratti wants to change coach I will thank him sincerely for the opportunity he gave me.”

Ranieri was appointed in September but has endured a rollercoaster season as Inter climbed away from the relegation places before a dreadful run where they failed to win in nine games. The coach, however, seems safe until the end of the campaign at least.

“I don’t feel like taking any action,” Moratti said. “I don’t see how Ranieri is to blame, it’s more to do with the luck French counterpart Didier Deschamps had. If we had lost 4-0 I might have seen things differently.”

Moratti is wary of UEFA’s new financial fairplay rules catching Inter out during their rebuilding although money is available after the sale of Samuel Eto’o to wealthy Russians Anzhi Makhachkala.

The Cameroon striker’s departure in August summed up the fact Inter had lost the ambition they had while winning five Serie A titles in a row under Roberto Mancini and then Mourinho. -AFP

LONDON: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scored the first hat-trick in a Merseyside league derby since 1982 as his side enjoyed an emphatic 3-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League at Anfield on Tuesday.

Liverpool, who had lost their last three league matches, remained seventh in the table but moved five points ahead of their local rivals whose manager David Moyes endured a miserable evening to mark 10 years in charge of the Goodison Park club.

“To beat Everton is always special and to get three goals is a bit extra but I’ve got to thank my team mates especially Luis Suarez who put two goals on a plate for me,” Gerrard told Sky Sports after playing his 400th Premier League game.

“It has been a frustrating run for us, we need to find a level of consistency.”

Ian Rush was the last player to score three in the derby while the previous hat-trick in the fixture at Anfield was Fred Howe’s in 1935.

Gerrard had the first clear chance to open the scoring when his late run took him clear of the Everton defense after seven minutes but his low shot was well saved by the sprawling Tim Howard.

Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard celebrates after scoring his second goal against Everton during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, England, March 13, 2012. (AP)

The home side dominated the early stages with some crisp attacking football, Uruguay striker Suarez causing problems with his darting runs and clever movement, and they made the breakthrough after 34 minutes.

Howard blocked a shot from Martin Kelly and when the ball broke to Gerrard just inside the penalty area he delicately chipped it over the stranded goalkeeper

and into the net. Suarez’s persistence earned the second Liverpool goal, his mazy dribble along the goal line setting up Gerrard to smash the ball high into the net from eight meters shortly after halftime. A toothless Everton never threatened to get back into the match and Gerrard completed his hat-trick from close range following another pass by Suarez deep into stoppage time. -Reuters