March 4, 2012 by Al Watan Daily

SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1363

16 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

MP Ashour to file interpellation against PM Tuesday

Mohammed Al-Salman, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, Osama Al-Qatari, Ahmed Al-Shemmari and Jarrah Al-Mutairi Staff Writers

KUWAIT: While the government is poised to meet with the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun on Sunday to discuss priorities, MP Saleh Ashour announced that he will file an interpellation motion against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah on Tuesday. Affirming that the motion is ready, the lawmaker told Al Watan that the interpellation revolves around four main issues. These include

the alleged multimillion dinar deposits and claims that a series of illegal financial transfers were made via Kuwait’s embassies abroad. The lawmaker also alleges that laws are not being seriously enforced, while stating that the fourth issue will be a surprise that would only be made public when he submits the motion. MP Ashour noted that the motion will be reviewed tomorrow (Monday) so that it can be put forth on Tuesday, denying that the decision to question the premier is intended to cause escalation and tension. “The previous Parliament witnessed early interpellations, so it is not us who invented the trend,” the lawmaker clarified. According to him, said interpellation

Ignoring demands of employees sparks strike at Kuwait Airways

will spell out and reveal all facts before the people of Kuwait, as well as the credibility of others in dealing with the issues in question. Commenting on the responsibility of the prime minister for the issues of multimillion deposits and overseas financial transfers, Ashour argued that Al-Mubarak was serving as first deputy premier in the previous government. “He also served as head of the caretaker government...and he now serves as prime minister so his responsibility is ongoing,” the lawmaker told the paper. Ashour went on to say that Al-Mubarak hasn’t so far taken any measures regarding the issue. Meanwhile, the lawmaker announced

that he had prepared 12 questions to be addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah. He revealed that these questions will be addressed to the minister today (Sunday). Noting that he will take appropriate decision based on the answers he will receive from him. The MP elaborated that certain questions concern the maltreatment of certain Shiite clerics at the airport at the hands of security personnel, insisting that the minister should explain the action taken against those who were involved in these “abusive” measures. MP Ashour further stated that some of the questions revolve around reports

Homs assault continues, journalist bodies released

A man photographs a collapsed section of the Henryville school after a tornado ripped through town March 3, 2012 in Henryville, Indiana. (AFP)

HENRYVILLE: A string of violent storms scratched away small towns in Indiana and cut off rural communities in Kentucky as an early-season tornado outbreak killed nearly 30 people, and authorities feared the already ugly death toll would rise as daylight broke on Saturday’s search for survivors. Massive thunderstorms, predicted by forecasters for days, threw off dozens of tornadoes as they raced Friday from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. Twisters that crushed entire blocks of homes knocked out cellphones and landlines alike, ripped power lines from broken poles and tossed cars, school buses and tractor-trailers onto roadways made impassable by debris. Weather that put millions of people at risk Friday killed 29, but both the scale of the devastation and the breadth of the storms made an immediate assessment of the havoc’s full extent all but impossible. In Kentucky, the National Guard and state police headed out to search wreckage for an unknown number of missing. In Indiana, authorities searched dark county roads connecting rural communities that officials said “are completely gone.” “We won’t know what’s going on before daybreak,” cautioned Sheriff’s Maj. Chuck Adams of the Clark County, Ind., where one person was known to have died in hard-hit Henryville. “Right now, we’re getting by through the night as best we can.” For those still in the town of about 2,000 north of Louisville, Ky., the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders, that meant walking down littered streets with shopping carts full of water and food, handMore on 5 ing it out to anyone in need.

IFAB approve of hijab and goal-line technology

The cofﬁns of French photojournalist Remi Ochlik and American journalist Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times are wheeled in a hospital in Damascus on March 3, 2012. (AFP)

BEIRUT: Syrian forces bombarded parts of the shattered city of Homs anew on Saturday and blocked the first Red Cross aid meant for civilians stranded for weeks without food and fuel in the former rebel stronghold, activists and aid workers said. The renewed government assault came a day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had received “grisly reports” that President Bashar AlAssad’s troops were executing, imprisoning and torturing people in Syria’s third largest city. “In an act of pure revenge, Al-Assad’s army has been firing mortar rounds and ... machine guns since this morning at Jobar,” said the Syrian Network for Human Rights, naming a neighborhood adjacent to Baba Amro, from which Free Syrian Army rebels pulled out this week after almost a month of siege and shelling. “We have no immediate reports of casualties because of the difficulty of communications,” it said in a statement. Concern was mounting for civilians in freezing conditions in battered Baba Amro, where International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) trucks were still being held up by Al-Assad’s forces. “The ICRC and Syrian Red Crescent are not yet in Baba Amro today. We are still in negotiations with authorities in order to enter Baba Amro. It is important that we enter today,” ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told Reuters in More on 4 Geneva.

Thousands protest against Hong Kong’s outgoing leader

Microsoft releases ‘reimagined’ Windows 8 for public testing

Saturn’s icy moon Dione has oxygen atmosphere

WASHINGTON: A NASA spacecraft circling Saturn has discovered a wispy oxygen atmosphere on the ringed planet’s icy moon Dione according to SPACE, but you wouldn’t want to live there. For one thing, you wouldn’t be able to breathe Dione’s atmosphere is 5 trillion times less dense than the air at Earth’s surface, scientists say. Dione’s atmosphere was detected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which spotted an ultra-thin layer of oxygen ions so sparse that it is equivalent to conditions 300 miles (480 kilometers) above Earth. On Dione, there is just one oxygen ion one for every 0.67 cubic inches (or one ion for every 11 cubic centimeters) of space, but it’s still enough to qualify as an atmosphere, Cassini mission scientists announced Friday (March 2). “We now know that Dione, in addition to Saturn’s rings and the moon Rhea, is a source of oxygen molecules,” Cassini team member Robert Tokar of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, who led the new study, said in a statement. “This shows that molecular

Egypt parliament sees ‘interference’ in activists’ release

Staff Writer

Devastating storms kill dozens from US Gulf Coast to Great Lakes

tutionally preserved right so there is no cause for concern. “However, we are concerned about the manner through which the premier will deal with it. If he faces it there will be no problem. But if he chooses to resign then there will be a crisis, hence Ashour will achieve his aim,” the MP said. On the other hand, Al-Omairi demanded that family related issues such as divorce and domestic violence be on top of the priorities. Citing statistics released by the Ministry of Justice, the lawmaker said that there are more than 15,000 divorcees in Kuwait aged no more than 24. He added this poses a great danger and requires speedy measures to address.

Municipality denies existence of poultry infected with Salmonella

Fahad Al-Loban

KUWAIT: Labor Union secretary of Kuwait Airways employees Hussein Habib criticized the government for taking the demands of the employees lightly and making unfulfilled promises. He revealed that an agreement was signed and documented between Kuwait Airways and the union in October 2011, and also signed by Minster of Communications Salem Al-Othaina. He added that breaching such an agreement is considered to be a serious violation of the Constitution and laws, not to mention all basic human rights. He wondered if an approved and documented agreement would require another agreement to be executed, adding that if the government does not honor its agreements, citizens will follow in its footsteps. Moreover, he mentioned that Kuwait’s aviation fleet fails to compete with other airlines in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, given the drastic developments in the sector that it has proved its inability to cope up with. He asserted that there will be no more negotiations with the government, since it only believes in strikes. He stressed that the union will not hesitate to begin a strike. He said that further steps will be taken to prompt the government to grant employees their raises and allowances that were mentioned in the contract, which has been signed and documented, in order to preserve the rights of the employees. He highlighted the fact that the government has sparked the strike by ignoring and foot-dragging the rights of the employees. He warned against suspending all services offered by Kuwait Airways and its subsidiaries, More on 2 which will paralyze flights; thus leaving passengers helpless.

that the ministry had purchased eavesdropping appliances, adding that he will seek clarifications about the purchase order, value and the reasons for which the equipment was bought. Other questions, he added, deals with the restriction of residency permits and visit visas to certain nationalities and the discriminatory arrest and pursuit of certain tweeters (twitter users). In another development, MP Ashour called for the release of the detained Bedouns (Stateless Arabs) who were arrested for claiming their legal and human rights. In his reaction to Ashour’s planned interpellation, MP Abdulateef Al-Omairi asserted that interpellation is a consti-

oxygen is actually common in the Saturn system and reinforces that it can come from a process that doesn’t involve life.” Dione is one of Saturn’s smaller moons and is about 698 miles (1,123 km) wide. It orbits Saturn once every 2.7 days at a distance of about 234,000 miles (377,400 km) - roughly the same as that between Earth and its moon, according to a NASA description. The oxygen on Dione may potentially be created by solar photons or high-energy particles that bombard the Saturn moon’s ice-covered surface, kicking up oxygen ions in the process, Tokar explained. Another idea suggests that geologic processes on Dione could feed the moon’s atmosphere, researchers added. Dione is by no means the only rocky body with an atmosphere in our solar system. Thick atmospheres cover the planets of Earth, Venus and Mars, as well as Saturn’s largest moon Titan. A thin atmosphere on Saturn’s moon Rhea - one similar to that of Dione - was also detected in 2010, NASA officials More on 11 said.

CAIRO: An Egyptian parliament speaker on Saturday decried what he said was “flagrant interference” behind a decision to release pro-democracy American activists accused of receiving illegal funds. The comments by Saad Al-Katatni, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, signaled growing anger over a sudden judicial decision on Wednesday to lift the travel ban of 43 non-governmental organization workers, including 16 Americans. Katatni vowed that all those involved in the decision would be held accountable. He also said a special parliamentary session to be held on March 11 would summon the prime minister and other government officials for an inquiry into the circumstances of the ban lift. Fifteen foreigners, including eight Americans, were flown out of Cairo on Thursday. The decision defused the first diplomatic standoff in decades between Washington and Cairo. But it also drew fierce criticism from Egyptian politicians and raised questions over possible pressure by

the ruling military on the judges. “We do not accept any form of foreign interference in Egypt’s internal affairs, under any justification,” said Katatni, who is also the secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. Egyptian authorities had accused the campaigners, including the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, of working for groups receiving illegal foreign funding and prevented them from leaving the country. Their departure came after days of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Washington and Cairo. “It is within parliament’s role to stand up to this crime and to hold all those involved accountable, regardless of who they are and what their positions may be,” said Katatni. “This was a flagrant interference into the judiciary’s work,” he said to applause at the start of a joint session of the two houses or parliament, convening to draw up an assembly to write the country’s More on 4 constitution.

Senior Pakistani politician escapes suicide attack

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber targeted the convoy of a senior politician in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing one of his guards and wounding at least three people, police said. Aftab Khan Sherpao, who as the interior minister had supervised operations against the Pakistani Taliban during the tenure of former President Pervez Musharraf, escaped unharmed in Saturday’s attack. But one of his police guards was killed in the bombing, and a lawmaker and three other people were wounded, local police chief Nisar Khan said. Another police officer, Saeed Khan, said Sherpao was passing through the district of Charsadda after addressing a political rally when a young man appeared out of an open field and blew himself up near the politician’s bulletproof vehicle. He said he was riding in another vehicle and saw the attacker, but before anyone could take any action, the man detonated the bomb. Sherpao, who comes from an influential political dynasty in the northwest, heads a splinter group of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party. He said such attacks could not deter his resolve and he would continue holding such rallies. He was campaigning ahead of parliamentary elections that are expected to be held later this year. The Taliban vowed to kill him, and has carried out a number of attacks against his party over the years. In April 2007, a suicide bomber attacked one of the party’s rallies, killing 28 people. In December 2007, a suicide bomber again targeted Sherpao amid hundreds of worshippers at a mosque inside his home in the same region, killing at least 50 people. -AP

A child looks on as Indian villagers smear themselves with colours during the Lathmar Holi festival at the Nandji Temple in Nandgaon, some 120 kms from New Delhi, on March 3, 2012. (AFP)

ALWATAN DAILY

kuwait

sunDAY, MARCH 4, 2012

Ignoring demands of employees sparks strike at Kuwait Airways Fahad Al-Loban

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Labor Union secretary of Kuwait Airways employees Hussein Habib criticized the government for taking the demands of the employees lightly and making unfulfilled promises. He revealed that an agreement was signed and documented between Kuwait Airways and the union in October 2011, and also signed by Minster of Communications Salem AlOthaina. He added that breaching such an agreement is considered to be a serious violation of the Constitution and laws, not to mention all basic human rights. He wondered if an approved and documented agreement would require another agreement to be executed, adding that if the government does not honor its agreements, citizens will follow in its footsteps. Moreover, he mentioned that Kuwait’s aviation fleet fails to compete with other airlines in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, given the drastic developments in the sector that it has proved its inability to cope up with. He asserted that there will be no more negotiations with the government, since it only believes in strikes. He stressed that the union will not hesitate to begin a strike. He said that further steps will be taken to prompt the government to grant employees their raises and allowances that were mentioned in the contract, which has been signed and documented, in order to preserve the rights of the employees. He highlighted the fact that the government has sparked the strike by ignoring and foot-dragging the rights of the employees. He warned against suspending all services offered by Kuwait Airways and its subsidiaries, which will paralyze flights; thus leaving passengers helpless. He stated that such a strike will result in significant losses, not to mention the negative impact of such a strike on the social and political life. He held the government and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) responsible for the consequences of the strike.

In another development, the Ministry of Health’s Labor Union announced that it is adamant in taking part in the strike organized by Kuwait Labor Union Federation on Wednesday. It is worth noting that this strike comes in response to the delay of the Civil Service Commission in granting the ministry’s employees their deserved allowances. Head of the union Hussein Al-Sabeel asked the commission’s officials to step down and allow new officials who are keener to shoulder their responsibilities. He added that the commission is a source of great disappointment to all the employees, because they feel unequal to their counterparts in other ministries as a result of adopting a vague policy in approving the allowances in various governmental institutions. Furthermore, he asserted that the union has been exerting relentless efforts in demanding the allowances of its members for the past years, but those demands are sidelines by the commission’s officials who weren’t eager to discuss them. He asked all employees to take part in the strike in order to deliver a strong message. In addition, he asked the officials of the Ministry of Health to attend the strike, in order to listen to the rightful demands of the employees before submitting those demands to the commission for approval. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Oil’s labor union asked the government to approve all the demands of its employees and to treat all employees justly. The union threatened that it will not hesitate in setting a date for the strike if its demands are ignored. Head of the union Adel Hejab said that it has suspended the strike based on an agreement with the federation. He mentioned that it seems that rights are only granted through strikes and sit-ins, and asserted that the union insists on granting the ministry’s employees the same rights granted to the employees of the oil sector. He went on to warn the officials against following tough criteria in the yearly assessment of the employees; especially after receiving several complaints.

FILE- A sign at Kuwait airport reads “We apologize our travelers ... strike” during a strike held on Oct. 24, 2011. (Al Watan)

Government proposes formation of parliamentary department for paperwork Abdullah Al-Najjar & Abdulrazzak Al-Najjar

Staff Writers

KUWAIT: Government sources revealed to Al Watan that the government is preparing a proposal which it intends to submit to Parliament regarding the creation of a special department to complete the paperwork of MPs, noting that the department will be affiliated to the National Assembly Secretariat. The sources said that the proposed draft law aims to save the time of MPs who need to attend sessions and meetings of committees. The sources expect that this proposal will be approved by MPs who urged the government to confront corruption,

and will relieve ministers and undersecretaries who feel embarrassed because their offices are usually occupied with MPs and their secretaries. The sources said that the proposal, which is being prepared, will suggest that paperwork should be completed within a week after submitting it to the concerned office at the National Assembly Secretariat. They added that the paperwork will be completed as long as it is legal, but illegal paperwork will be rejected and MPs will be informed about the reasons behind rejecting the paper work. The sources said that the proposal will allow the government to pinpoint flaws within departments to determine which of them that does not

complete paperwork submitted by citizens on time. They added that the said department will be asked to prepare reports on the performance of government departments in order to find out why some citizens resort to MPs to get their right to complete their legal paperwork. The sources see that MPs should support this proposal which reflects the government’s reformist approach through applying the law on all on equal terms. The sources expected that the same idea could be applied in the Municipal Council. They added that the application of the law will bind government officials to complete paperwork of citizens and then MPs will not have to visit offices of officials.

Raped Filipina cries out for quick arrest of assailants, appeals for justice Ricky Laxa

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Filipina who was abducted, raped and beaten on Feb.26 and released the following day by her rapists is hopeful that Kuwait will serve justice to her assailants once captured. In a statement published by local news she said that her abductors seemed habitual committing such crime and she feared that as long as they are at large, they will continuously victimize helpless women. Sources of Al Watan Daily stated that the plate number of the vehicle, which was reported by the victim, has led to the identification of the two suspects, published by local news as Kuwaiti nationals and that a company lawyer has been assigned to look into the case. “The case has been filed and we believe that the Ministry of Interior has already identified the assailants and that the arrest has been made. We will pursue the case until they are brought to justice and serve their sentence. This is an isolated case as she was abducted in the presence of her husband, who was made to believe that the assailants were police authorities questioning the validity of their marriage and producing documents to attest their status. This is more than rape, brutality and abuse, this is a wakeup call to women to be watchful, vigilant and inquisitive to those who claim to be police authorities,” stated the source. Philippine media aired on television the interview of the Filipina victim that caused alarm among Asian women in Kuwait and condemned by many as inhuman. Several cases of attempted abduction have occurred in the past week including another Filipina who jumped from a taxi as she was being abducted by the Pakistani taxi driver. The Filipina suffered contusion on her head and broken ribs. Early last year another Filipina was abducted as she walks past her house in Salmiya, she was sexually abused; gang raped and dropped in the same place after three days where she was abducted naked and bruised. Other nationals are exempted from such mishap in fact several victims reported were Arab and Western women. “Kuwait is considered safe as compared to several countries abroad. In fact most of these cases are isolated and often assailants are caught in no time,” said Bader, a Kuwait police captain. Bader explained that rape cases in the past have been successfully solved and even those were wanted by law that escaped to other Arab States have been deported to face their crimes committed. “I am confident that the with the plate number given, it would be easier to trace the culprits and make the arrest. However Bader said that it is completely against the law to impersonate police officers and falsify their documents,” commented Bader. He explained that some Arab nationals have been caught posing as police or CID officials. Such is the case with a man who asked to photocopy a stolen police card and have the photo changed to his own, he was caught red handed and investigations resulted to the photo copy center being questioned and the attendant imprisoned although he claimed

Amir’s upcoming visit to Philippines reflects depth of relations

KUALA LUMPUR: Bilateral relations between Kuwait and the Philippines are continuously improving and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s visit to the Philippines later this month is expected to focus on the fields of trade and investment. Diplomatic relations between the two countries began in 1979, and this has had a major impact on commercial exchange, which in 2006 reached 50 million US dollars, thus, making Kuwait the Philippines’ sixth biggest trade partner in the Middle East. Kuwait also hosts over 130,000 Filipino expatriates, who work across several sectors in the Gulf country. The last Kuwaiti official to visit the Philippines was former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, with the visit contributing to the signing of several agreements within the oil, gas, tourism, and health domains. In the field of humanitarian assistance, the Filipino Red Cross Society has on a number of occasions praised Kuwait’s role in aiding the southeastern Asian country during numerous natural disasters, like the recent floods. -KUNA

Demand for releasing Al-Mulaifi interferes with judiciary: MP Ashour Staff Writer

A videograb of the Filipina who was the victim of abduction and rape. Photo shows bruised eyes and cut on the forehead. (Photo Courtesy of ABS-CBN Bandila Philippines)

KUWAIT: Member of Parliament (MP) Saleh Ashour, in a statement on Saturday, called for the release of bedouns (stateless Arabs) “who were arrested for demanding their legal and human rights.” Furthermore, MP Ashour refused the demands made by some for the release of the writer Mohammad Al-Mulaifi, saying that there were several cases against him at the office of Public Persecution as the accused have degraded the Shiite and their School of Thought and thus the issue is in the hands of the judiciary. “We are astonished at such demands made at a time when we should not encourage extremism so that in the future neither side would be involved in such matters, which will only lead to the division of the society and feed sectarianism, something which the Kuwaiti public rejects totally,” he said. The MP added that the release of Al-Mulaifi is a direct interference with the work of the judiciary in the country, which must be independent and not subject to political influence. “The Ministry of Interior has no right to drop the charges against the accused because the case is being looked at as defending the social security. While I am for a humane treatment of the accused, I am against any attempt to apply further pressure on the case,” he concluded.

Bad weather affects air traffic to, from airport

Filipina shows her bruised arms other bruises were all over her body. (Photo Courtesy of ABS-CBN Bandila Philippines)

innocence and obeyed what the customer asked. Bader added that it is the right of every resident in Kuwait to ask for verification or identification from individuals who claim to be police authorities. “There is no harm in asking for identifications from individuals who question anyone in the streets, unless they are either in appropriate police patrol cars, uniforms and such that would identify and attest their claims. It would also be advisable to have someone around who can read Arabic. Should they have doubts, it is advisable to call some friends and immediately contact emergency police numbers for assistance,” suggested Bader. In the case of the Filipina victim who was abducted and raped, Bader said that no one escapes the law and everyone who willingly commits a crime will somehow has to face justice. “Women are always easy preys of these assailants and it is wise to be vigilant at all times and learn to study the streets, cars, people and trust their instincts,” concluded Bader. Avoiding abduction and rape is a must know how for every woman to avoid falling into being a

victim is essential: Here are some tips taken from Safe Women Journal: Avoid walking alone as much as possible,Your best defense is having other people nearby. If you walk alone plan your route carefully. Notice stores or restaurants that are open should you need to ask for help.Stay in well-lit areas as much as possible. Walk on the side of the street facing traffic. If you work late, don’t go to your car alone if you can avoid it. Ask somebody to escort you to your car or at least close to a crowded area, Do not hitchhike.When you get home and find that a door or a window has been forced open while you were absent, do not enter. Never allow people that you do not know into your house. If you find anybody suspicious on your way, try to get away from the attacker as quickly as possible and scream for help. Be alert always when you walk, so that you are aware as to what is happening around you. Rapists may grab you, knock you down and even take you to other places. Learning martial arts is an added advantage and most especially have numbers in your mobile on quick dials such as police numbers or friends numbers with cars.

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Saturday the sandstorm that hit the country on Friday forced cancelling six flights to and from Kuwait International Airport (KIA), changing the destination of another flight and rescheduling ten others. The changes affected international and domestic flights, before the air traffic returned to normal earlier today, Director of DGCA’s operations room Esam Al-Zamel told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). “The wind speed on Friday and early Saturday reached 68 km/h while the visibility dropped to about 230 meters, thus forcing the DGCA to enforce the precautionary measures last night,” Al-Zamel pointed out. “The flight of the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) has been cancelled while that of the German Lufthansa has been redirected to Al-Dammam Airport, Saudi Arabia. “Seven flights of Jazeera Airways from KIA have been cancelled while seven other flights belonging to the same airline have been rescheduled together with a Gulf Air flight, a Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) flight and a Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) flight,” he added. -KUNA

MP Hayef calls ministry of commerce to fine shops that sell sculptures Staff Writer

KUWAIT: MP Mohammad Hayef asked the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to inspect commercial complexes and markets and impose a fine on all shops and malls that display “strange” imageries and statues that seem like sculptures, as selling such items violate the values and traditions of Kuwait’s conservative society. In a statement on Friday, Hayef said that he will resist any queer practices even if such items are brought to Kuwait for the participation in competitions and carnivals. The lawmaker affirmed that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has to bring to account any dealers who import similar items, which according to the lawmaker has swept the market. He wondered why the ministry ignores the availability of such items which are seen in public display.

ALWATAN DAILY

KUWAIT

SUNDAY, march 4, 2012

Municipality denies existence of Sudan vice-president inaugurates poultry infected with Salmonella Kuwaiti hospital in Khartoum KHARTOUM: Sudanese Vice-President Al-Haj Adam inaugurated Saturday a new Kuwait hospital funded by Kuwait’s Popular Committee for Fundraising and set up by the Kuwaiti Patients Helping Fund. The opening ceremony was attended by Kuwaiti Ambassador to Khartoum, Dr. Sulaiman Al-Harbi, a number of the popular committee and Patients Helping

Wafa Qansour Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Director of the Imported Food Department in Kuwait Municipality Istiqlal Al-Mislem, denied in a statement on Saturday, the existence of any poultry infected with Salmonella in Kuwait, adding that its department is keen to check in all attempts to sell foodstuff deemed unfit for the human consumption warning that precautionary measures are taken by teams assigned for that purpose and that the law 301/2009 will be applied on those who attempt to violate the law. Al-Mislem stated that she strongly believes in the role and function of the press and TV in the awareness program and that her department is keen to have a close cooperation with the media. She said that various committees are active in meeting to coordinate with one another to ensure that targets are met in terms of food security. She also said that there is a tendency now in line with the aims and targets to introduce amendments into the existing laws and regulations. The department is seeking to introduce stricter measures against those who are charged with violations and had already passed the recommendations to the National Assembly. “We are keen to introduce amendments to existing laws due to the weakness in the existing laws. We have answered all questions made by the MPs and Members of the Municipal Council which had reached 40 questions. The Municipal Council had seven questions related to work paper some of which were based on inaccurate information,” she explained. Finally, Al-Mislem thanked and praised the staff

Fund officials and several Sudanese ministers and senior officials. Addressing the participants, Sudanese Vice-President expressed his government and people’s gratitude for the Kuwaiti leadership and people for their generous support to Sudan. He added that the projects show solidarity and cooperation between the two nations.

UNHCR initiative for Syrian refugees ‘needs support’, says envoy Director of the Imported Food Department in Kuwait Municipality Istiqlal Al-Mislem on Saturday, March 3, 2012. (KUNA)

in her department adding that in the past two years who have been actively working to curtail all attempts bring in and sell foodstuff unfit for the human consumption.

‘Proud to be Kuwaiti’ kicks off March 7

GENEVA: Kuwait has called on the world to support a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) initiative, expected to see light within the upcoming few days, to stop the humanitarian disaster affecting Syrian refugees. Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Dharar Razzouqi said Friday that his meeting with UNHCR’s High Commissioner Antonio Guterres focused on the situation in Syria and means to handle the refugee crisis there. He stressed that Kuwait considered the importance of partaking in the efforts to help the refugees before their situation worsens. The Kuwaiti Ambassador briefed the UN official on Kuwait’s efforts aid efforts in 2012, especially its one million US dollar donation to the UNHRC. The Kuwaiti official lauded the efforts of the UNHRC worldwide, stressing that it was vital to provide aid to countries witnessing distress created by conflict or natural disasters. On his part, Guterres commended Kuwait on its efforts, noting that the

Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations in Geneva Ambassador Dharar Razzouqi. (KUNA)

UNHRC would be coordinating with all nations to find peace and security for refugees in Syria. A huge portion of Kuwait’s aid con-

Kuwait Ambassador holds lecture at Mexican university

MEXICO CITY: Kuwait Ambassador to Mexico Sameeh Hayat held a lecture on Kuwait’s role in the UN at Aliant International University’s Mexico City Campus. His lecture came in opening remarks made in the Model United Nations forum held at the Mexican university. The envoy spoke of Kuwait’s long history within the UN, explaining that since joining in 1963, Kuwait has been supporting all of the UN’s causes aimed at peace, security, and development worldwide. The strong relations between Kuwait and the UN were most evident during the Iraqi 1990 invasion, said Hayat, who stressed the international organization’s integral role in the liberation of the Gulf state a year later. Kuwait’s role in supporting global development through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has been praised on many occasions by the UN. Since its inception in 1962, the Kuwaiti state-run fund has provided assistance to more than 102 countries, funding over 800 development projects with around 15.5 billion US dollars, so far. -KUNA

FILE- Photo obtained on line of a number of booths participating in the P2BK in the previous year. Abdullah Al-Tararwah Staff Writer

KUWAIT: During a press conference held by the participants of the Kuwaiti project ‘Proud to be Kuwaiti’ (P2BK), the organizers said that the projects aim at highlighting and boosting the abilities and skills of young citizens, and to instill concepts of loyalty and belonging to the country by implementing development projects. They added that it aims to support their inventions and achievements in order to develop their small project and make them big ones. The participants noted that the project will be held this year, for the fifth time, under the theme “Keep moving ahead”, which will kick off March 7 until March10, under the patronage of Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah. Head of the project Dhari Al-Wazzan expressed appreciation and gratitude to all those who support the project in all sectors. He paid a tribute to Kuwait veteran Actor Hussein Abdulridha and singer Abdullah Al-Ruwaishid for their participation in the media campaign. He also thanked Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed for sponsoring the event and supporting projects of Ku-

For his part, Popular Committee member Tarek Badr Al-Mutawa expressed appreciation to all government agencies and officials who facilitated the construction of this highly-equipped hospital. The hospital includes fully-equipped five operating rooms, 45 beds, emergency and intensive care sections and clinics for different specialties. -KUNA

waiti youth. Al-Wazzan said that more than 130 projects will participate in this year’s event, noting that 350 people submitted their projects. He added that people from Gulf States will take part in the event for the first time. Representative of Zain Company and Head of Public Relations Department Waleed Al-Khashti said, “We are proud to participate in this event for the third consecutive year. Our aim is to encourage young Kuwaiti people”. Al-Khashti said that Zain will support the best project, noting that Zain is always willing to support any projects implemented by Kuwaitis. For his part, Representative of 6alabat.com Khaled Al-Askar said that the project succeeded in developing the abilities of young people by supporting their small projects. Head of Marketing and Public Relations (PR) in Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) Omar Al-Sayed Omar said that that event achieved great success. He expressed pleasure for the participation of the Australian College in the event by projects and ideas. He explained that the college will conduct several courses on how to make visibility studies.

tribution would be directed to Somali and Malian refugees, in addition to other nations in Africa and Asia, noted the UN official. -KUNA

First Gulf female soccer tourney kicks off at GUST

KUWAIT: The first Gulf university soccer tournament for females opened on Friday at the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in the Mishref neighborhood here. The three-day gathered ladies’ football teams from the various universities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries, said advisor to GUST Chancellor Afaf Al-Rakhis. “GUST is represented by two teams while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian and the Kingdom of Bahrain are represented by one team each,” she told reporters. “Out of commitment to its social role, besides the academic one, GUST seeks to promote female sports in Kuwait and in the Arabian Gulf region through organizing and patronizing such competitions,” Al-Rakhis pointed out. She added that women’s sports reflect the social and cultural advancement of a country, voicing hope that the ongoing tournament would be a success and prepare the ground for more female sports activities in the future. -KUNA

Students in UAE hold annual event

DUBAI: The National Union of Kuwaiti Students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), NUKS held in Dubai late Friday its annual ceremony under the sponsorship of Kuwaiti General Consul in Dubai and the northern Emirates Tareq Al-Hamad. The Cultural Attache at the Kuwaiti Embassy in the UAE Dr. Salah Yaseen said in a keynote speech, on day one of the two-day event, that the UAE has around 66 certified universities that play an integral role in education, expressing hope Kuwait could follow suit and develop its own educational sector. He called on Kuwaiti students to support one another during their stay in the Gulf country, encouraging them to learn from their counterparts of other nation-

alities, and to act as good representatives and ambassadors of Kuwait. On his part, head of NUKS/UAE Khalifa Al-Yagoot said that the event this year would focus on national unity, under the theme “United We Rise”. He also congratulated His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah and the Kuwaiti people on the recent national days. Later, media professor at Kuwait University Dr. Anas Al-Reshaid made a speech on the issue of national unity. This was followed by a recital of works by poet Salim Sayyar, one of which praised the accomplishments of the late ruler of Abu Dhabi and former president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-

Nahayan. Attendees were finally shown a documentary, directed by student Ahmad Yaqoob, depicting past and present achievements in the history of Kuwait. Day two of the event is expected to host MP Riyadh Al-Adsani, Dr. Ghanim Al-Najjar and former Member of Parliament (MP) Walid Al-Jeri, all of whom will be involved in a political debate with television presenter Abdullah Boftain. Other segments will involve a legal presentation by Kuwaiti lawyer Abdullah Al-Ahmad, a nutrition presentation by Abdullah Al-Mutawa, success stories by two Kuwaiti graduates and a live televised competition organized by Al Watan TV. -KUNA

Journalists’ delegation visits Turkey on Sunday

ANKARA: A high-profile Kuwaiti journalists’ delegation arrives in Turkey on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues of mutual interest, with senior Turkish officials. The delegation includes officials of daily local newspapers, the Chairman of Kuwaiti Journalists Association (KJA) and Kuwait News Agency’s (KUNA) Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ahmad Yusuf Behbehani as well as KUNA’s Editor-in-Chief Rashed Al-Rwaished. The delegation also includes Editors- in-Chief of Al-Anbaa, Al-Rai, Al-Nahar, Kuwait Times domestic newspapers, as well as Editor- in-Chief of Al-Yaqaza magazine and other officials. During the six-day visit in Ankara and Istanbul,

the delegation is scheduled to meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and the government spokesman Boland Arnich in addition to other senior officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Economic institutions. The aim of the delegation’s visit is to emphasize the strength of the Kuwaiti-Turkish relations in light of the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries, which focus on political, economic, security, military, transport, agriculture, energy and scientific exchange. Furthermore the delegation is to discuss the prospects of expansion of possible cooperation between the two countries and means of pushing relations to more extensive areas. -KUNA

Kuwaiti students studying in the UAE are seen celebrating its annual ceremony under the sponsorship of the General Consul in Dubai on Friday, March 2, 2012. (KUNA)

ALWATAN DAILY

regional

We will never bow By Hossam Fathi

KUWAIT: El-Ganzouri has repeatedly said, “Egypt will never bow to the US”, and the Iron Lady has also repeatedly spoken about the case of foreign funding, stressing that judiciary in Egypt is independent. But suddenly we all prostrated ourselves and not only bowed when the old officials, who are used to oppression and humiliation, made a decision to lift the travel ban imposed upon people involved in said case. Do these officials know what they just did to us? They distorted our image before the entire world. After the January 25 Revolution, we began to breathe the breeze of freedom but it seems that the old officials are not used to freedom or dignity. Abdulmoeiz has humiliated himself and the Egyptian people. What did you do to yourself, your children and your grandchildren, who will more than likely be ashamed of your decision? Do you dare to look in the mirror after making such a decision? Didn’t you think for a moment about the reputation of Egypt, which will succeed, whatever you and your masters have done? I say to the people of Egypt, “Have confidence in the young people who led the revolution, and think on how they will bear the responsibility. Do not distort the image of any political movement or party”. We cannot blame the US.The US applied pressure in order to protect its citizens, but I do blame the Egyptian official who put Egypt in this humiliating situation. hossam@alwatan.com.kw Twitter:@hossamfathy66

Al-Qaeda offshoot claims Algeria attack

ALGIERS: An Al-Qaeda splinter group claimed Saturday to have carried out a suicide attack on a military base in southern Algeria which left 24 people wounded. “We inform you that we are behind the explosion that occurred this morning at Tamanrasset,” a message sent to AFP and signed by the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa said. The website of the Algerian Arabic-language daily En Nahar said 10 gendarmes and 14 civilians were taken to hospital after the attack at the paramilitary gendarmerie headquarters in Tamanrasset, 1,970 kilometers (1,220 miles) south of Algiers. Some of the injured were said to be in critical condition, while the suicide bomber was blown apart in the blast, which also caused major damage to the building. The APS news agency confirmed the attack without giving the number of casualties and said a major security presence was now being deployed in the zone. It was the first time such an attack had been reported in the area. The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Jamat Tawhid Wal Jihad Fi Garbi Afriqqiya) surfaced in December, when it claimed to be holding three Westerners kidnapped from a Western Sahara refugee camp in Algeria in October. Security sources said it had broken off from the main group, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in order to spread jihad to west Africa and not confine themselves just to the Maghreb or Sahel regions. The group released a video of the abducted aid workers and another showing six dark-skinned, turbaned men speaking of their ideological references, including Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar but putting more emphasis on historical figures of west African Islam. Also in December, Mali and Algeria agreed to step up coordination in efforts to root out Al-Qaedalinked groups in the region. -AFP

Court clears Egyptian tycoon of Islam insult CAIRO: A Cairo court on Saturday dismissed a complaint against Christian tycoon Naguib Sawaris accused of insulting Islam with a cartoon of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in conservative Muslim garb, Egypt’s state media reported. Hardline Islamist lawyer and MP Mamduh Ismail, who filed the complaint against the head of Orascom Telecom, told AFP he would appeal the decision. Sawiris, also the founder of a liberal party, reposted on Twitter a cartoon of Mickey Mouse wearing a beard and turban and Minnie Mouse in a niqab, the face veil worn by ultraconservative Muslim women. The cartoon was a joking reference to what would happen should Islamists, who now control parliament, take over Egypt, but Sawiris was forced to apologize after calls for a boycott of his cell phone service provider Mobinil. The official MENA news agency said the Cairo misdemeanor court “rejected the complaint” without giving any grounds for the decision. Last week, another court dismissed a similar complaint against Sawaris, saying the plaintiff had no legal standing to petition the court. The plaintiff was fined 50 Egyptian pounds (about eight dollars) for filing the case. Islamists dominate both houses of Egypt’s parliament following multiphase elections, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s dominant Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has installed its members as speakers of parliament and the senate. A liberal coalition that included Sawiris’s Free Egyptians party won around 15 percent of the vote. Sawiris, an outspoken liberal, was forced to take a back seat in politics after his involvement was seen as a hindrance to the party he founded, which had to battle accusations that it opposed the inclusion of Islamic law in the constitution. After an uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak a year ago, the Coptic Christian minority - roughly 10 percent of Egypt’s population - has grown fearful of its future after a spate of sectarian attacks. -AFP

SUNDAY, march 4, 2012

Syrian forces pound Homs anew

BEIRUT: Syrian forces bombarded parts of the shattered city of Homs anew on Saturday and blocked the first Red Cross aid meant for civilians stranded for weeks without food and fuel in the former rebel stronghold, activists and aid workers said. The renewed government assault came a day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had received “grisly reports” that President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops were executing, imprisoning and torturing people in Syria’s third largest city. “In an act of pure revenge, Al-Assad’s army has been firing mortar rounds and ... machine guns since this morning at Jobar,” said the Syrian Network for Human Rights, naming a neighborhood adjacent to Baba Amro, from which Free Syrian Army rebels pulled out this week after almost a month of siege and shelling. “We have no immediate reports of casualties because of the difficulty of communications,” it said in a statement. Concern was mounting for civilians in freezing conditions in battered Baba Amro, where International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) trucks were still being held up by Al-Assad’s forces. “The ICRC and Syrian Red Crescent are not yet in Baba Amro today.We are still in negotiations with authorities in order to enter Baba Amro. It is important that we enter today,” ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told Reuters in Geneva. A Damascus-based ICRC spokesman said Syrian authorities had given the convoy permission to enter but that government forces on the ground had stopped the trucks because of what they said were unsafe conditions, including “mines and booby traps.” Footage of wrecked city

The government’s SANA news agency reported a suicide car bombing in the southern town of Deraa, a blast activists denied was a suicide attack. Syrian state television conducted interviews with unnamed civilians in what it said was Baba Amro, against a backdrop of empty streets, some with heavy conflict dam-

An International Red Crescent worker sits in an ambulance next to the coffin of American journalist Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times in Damascus, March 3, 2012. (AFP)

age. “Anyone who went out on the street was kidnapped or slaughtered. We called for the army to come in. God bless the army, they saved us from the armed terrorist gangs,” said one interviewee, referring to the Free Syrian Army rebels. SANA said the bomber in Deraa killed two people and wounded 20 others, while residents said seven people had been killed. Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said anti-Assad fighters had killed six soldiers and wounded nine in the town of Al-Herak, south of Deraa. In the Damascus suburb of Qudsiya, activ-

ists said hundreds of security forces personnel had arrested at least 30 people, destroyed vehicles and burned at least one home. A fighter with the rebels, whose ranks include defectors from Al-Assad’s army, said they were planning their next steps after losing Baba Amro. “Our morale, praise God, is high. We do not say we are sorry when someone is martyred, we all hope for this, and for the fall of the regime,” said the rebel fighter who declined to be named. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his government was again seeking to have the UN Security Council tackle the Syrian crisis. “This means working with other countries

Egypt parliament sees ‘interference’ in activists’ release Lawmakers clash over drafting Egypt constitution

“We do not accept any form of foreign interference in Egypt’s internal affairs, under any justification,” said Katatni, who is also the secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. Egyptian authorities had accused the campaigners, including the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, of working for groups receiving illegal foreign funding and prevented them from leaving the country. Their departure came after days of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Washington and Cairo. “It is within parliament’s role to stand up to this crime and to hold all those involved accountable, regardless of who they are and what their positions may be,” said Katatni. “This was a flagrant interference into the judiciary’s work,” he said to applause at the start of a joint session of the two houses or parliament, convening to draw up an assembly to write the country’s constitution. Meanwhile, Egyptian lawmakers clashed Saturday over who should have the right to draft the country’s constitution, in a heated debate focusing on the influence of Islamists on the crucial document and how religiously conservative Egypt will be. The constitution debate centers on how

much of a role conservative Islamists will have in writing the document and essentially how Islamic the country will be. The new constitution is expected to curb presidential powers and give parliament more authority, a drastic change of Egypt’s political system and a gateway for Islamization of the country as long as Islamists keep their majority in parliament. The more conservative Salafis want the constitution to be based solely on Islamic law, also called Shariah. The Muslim Brotherhood shares many of the Salafists’ fundamental beliefs but has avoided going into specifics about the new constitution so as to not alarm moderates or western allies worried about Egypt turning into a theocracy. The political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, both of whom fared well in the parliament elections and dominate its two chambers, argue that elected parliamentarians must form between 40 and 60 percent of the constitution panel. The speaker of the lower house of parliament, who’s affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, tried Saturday to reassure liberals and others that they would not be shut out of the decision-making process. -Agencies

Four dead in south Yemen blasts

SANAA: Two suicide bombers drove a car packed with explosives into a Yemeni army base in the southern province of Al-Bayda on Saturday, killing one soldier, the Defense Ministry said, in an attack for which Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. Another soldier was killed by one of two blasts aimed at a central security forces building in the southern coastal town of Mukalla, where a suicide bombing a week ago killed at least 26 people. Authorities said they had made several arrests. Militants linked to Al-Qaeda have exploited political upheaval to strengthen their foothold in Yemen, particularly in the south which is also home to rising secessionist sentiment. Yemen’s south has been mired in violence since protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh took hold early last year, weakening already loose central government control over

whole swathes of the country. Saturday’s attack in Al-Bayda, which targeted barracks of the Republican Guard forces, came just days after the interior ministry said it had information about an Al-Qaeda plot to blow up eight cars in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Aden. “The explosion was very loud and took place in Dar al-Nasr, which is a military site of the Republican Guard,” said an opposition website. “Residents of the town were frightened by the force of the blast, which was felt more than two kilometers away and damaged dozens of neighboring houses and blew their windows out.” In a text message sent to Reuters, AlQaeda claimed responsibility for the attack it said was revenge for crimes committed by the Republican Guard. There was no way to verify if the text was from the militants

but they have used the method to communicate with media in the past. The United States, wary of Al-Qaeda entrenchment in Yemen, backed a plan brokered by Yemen’s wealthy Gulf Arab neighbors under which Saleh handed over power to his deputy last month and secured himself immunity from prosecution. Saleh’s opponents accuse him of exaggerating - even encouraging - the threat of militancy to scare Washington and Riyadh into backing him as a bulwark against AlQaeda and protecting him from reprisals after 33 years in power. The suicide bombing in Mukalla last week coincided with the swearing in of new President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and also targeted the Republican Guard, which is commanded by Saleh’s son. Al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing claimed responsibility for that attack as well. -Reuters

Yemeni soldiers inspect a car at a checkpoint in the capital Sanaa on March 3, 2012, after two suicide bombers killed four at a Republican Guard camp in Al-Bayda province. (AFP)

such as Russia and China that have blocked previous initiatives,” he told Sky News. Russia and China twice vetoed council resolutions that would have condemned Damascus and demanded it halt the crackdown on anti-Assad demonstrators, accusing Western and Arab nations of pushing for Libya-style “regime change” in Syria. The United States is drafting a legally binding council resolution that would call for aid workers to be allowed into besieged towns and an end to the violence, UN envoys said. Journalists’ bodies handed over Wounded British photographer Paul Conroy, who escaped Homs earlier this week, said on Friday he had witnessed Syrian troops carrying out a massacre in heavily-shelled Baba Amro. “I’ve worked in many war zones - I’ve never seen or been in shelling like this,” the Sunday Times photographer told Sky News from a hospital bed in central London. “I’m an ex-artillery gunner so I can kind of follow the patterns - they are systematically moving through neighborhoods with munitions that are used for battlefields. “It’s not a war, it’s a massacre, an indiscriminate massacre of men, woman and children.” Western diplomats on Saturday received the bodies of American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik, who were killed on Feb. 22 during a shelling of Baba Amro. A Reuters witness said the diplomats, believed to be the French ambassador to Syria and a representative from the Polish embassy, which is managing US affairs in Syria, had taken the bodies from the Al-Assad University Hospital in Damascus. The Paris prosecutor’s office said it had opened a preliminary investigation for murder and attempted murder into the bombing that killed Ochlik and seriously wounded French reporter Edith Bouvier. The United Nations says Syrian security forces have killed more than 7,500 civilians since the revolt began last March. Syria’s government said in December that “armed terrorists” had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police during the unrest. -Reuters

Ahmadinejad rivals leading in parliament vote

TEHRAN: Conservative rivals of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were leading in the race for parliament, according to early election results Saturday, an indication the Iranian president may face a more hostile house in the remaining 18 months of his second term in office. The strong showing by loyalists of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Friday’s parliamentary elections also reflected staunch support for Iran’s theocracy and its firm stance in the nuclear standoff with the West. Early returns Saturday in the capital Tehran showed Khamenei loyalists have pulled ahead. Partial results from provincial towns also show conservative Ahmadinejad rivals were elected in many constituencies. State media said the turnout was estimated at over 67 percent from among 48 million Iranians eligible to vote. The conservatives’ lead had been expected as the balloting for the 290-seat parliament had boiled down to a popularity contest between two conservative camps - those opposing Ahmadinejad and those backing the president. The elections were the first major vote since Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in June 2009 and the mass protests and crackdowns that followed. With the opposition crushed in the brutal crackdowns over the past three years and major reformist factions absent from polling stations, the outcome of the elections is unlikely to change Iran’s course over major policies - including its refusal to halt uranium enrichment that the West fears is geared toward weapons making, military and oil policies. A win by his rivals will weaken Ahmadinejad’s camp ahead of the 2013 presidential race. In another embarrassment, Parvin Ahmadinejad, a younger sister of the president, was defeated by a conservative rival in their hometown of Garmsar. Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, whose daughter is married to Khamenei’s son, was leading in Tehran, followed by other Khamenei loyalists. Another Ahmadinejad opponent and current parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, won a seat from the city of Qom, a religious center. Out of 189 winners that emerged by Saturday noon, at least 97 were conservative Ahmadinejad opponents. Also elected were six liberal-leaning candidates opposed to Ahmadinejad. The remaining 86 seats were split between Ahmadinejad supporters and centrists. Authorities said 15 seats will have to be decided in runoffs. -AP

Somalia car bombing near military base

MOGADISHU: A car bomb exploded on Saturday near a military base housing Burundian soldiers from an African Union peacekeeping force in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing the driver, police said. “The car exploded as it was closing on a base of Burundian peacekeepers. The driver was killed and two civilians nearby were slightly injured,” said Mohamad Duale, a senior Somali police officer. “We are still investigating where the attack was aiming, fortunately it did not hit any target,” he told AFP. Witnesses said the car slowed down as it approached the base. “There were not many people around the area when the car exploded. I saw the severed body parts of the driver but we are not sure if he was a suicide bomber,” said Ibrahim Ali, a witness. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

sundAY, march 4, 2012

Devastating and violent storms kill nearly 30 from US Gulf Coast to Great Lakes A string of devastating and violent storms scratched away small towns in Indiana and cut off rural communities in Kentucky as an earlyseason tornado outbreak killed nearly 30 people. (AP)

NEWS IN BRIEF China, Taiwan slam Japan over disputed islands BEIJING: China and Taiwan criticised Japan for giving Japanese names to disputed islands in the East China Sea claimed by all three parties in a long-running diplomatic row. China and Japan have a lengthy dispute over an uninhabited but strategically coveted island chain known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. Taiwan also claims the islands and local activists have tried to sail to the disputed area to press Taipei’s claim. China’s foreign ministry on Saturday said moves by Japan to rename scores of islands in the chain was “illegal and invalid”, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website. -AFP

Many killed in Pakistan checkpost attack

Authorities fear ugly death toll would rise HENRYVILLE: A string of violent storms scratched away small towns in Indiana and cut off rural communities in Kentucky as an early-season tornado outbreak killed nearly 30 people, and authorities feared the already ugly death toll would rise as daylight broke on Saturday’s search for survivors. Massive thunderstorms, predicted by forecasters for days, threw off dozens of tornadoes as they raced Friday from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. Twisters that crushed entire blocks of homes knocked out cellphones and landlines alike, ripped power lines from broken poles and tossed cars, school buses and tractortrailers onto roadways made impassable by debris. Weather that put millions of people at risk Friday killed 29, but both the scale of the devastation and the breadth of the storms made an immediate assessment of the havoc’s full extent all but impossible. In Kentucky, the National Guard and state police headed out to search wreckage for an unknown number of missing. In Indiana, authorities searched dark county roads connecting rural communities that officials said “are completely gone.”

Piles of splintered wood is all that remains of homes in Henryville, Indiana, Mar. 2, in Marysville, Indiana. (AFP)

“We won’t know what’s going on before daybreak,” cautioned Sheriff’s Maj. Chuck Adams of the Clark County, Ind., where one person was known to have died in hard-hit Henryville. “Right now, we’re getting by through the night as best we can.” For those still in the town of about 2,000 north of Louisville, Ky., the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland Sanders, that meant walking down littered streets with shopping carts full of water and food, handing it out to anyone in need. Hundreds of firefighters and police zipped around a town where few recognizable structures remained; all of Henryville’s schools were destroyed. “It’s all gone,” resident Andy Bell said as he guarded a friend’s demolished service garage, not far from where a school bus stuck out from the side of a restaurant and a parking lot where a small classroom chair jutted from a car window. “It was beautiful,” he said, looking around. “And now it’s just gone. I mean, gone.” Susie Renner, 54, said she saw two tornadoes barreling down on Henryville within minutes of each other. The first was brown from being filled with debris; the second was black. “I’m a storm chaser,” Renner said, “and I have never been this frightened before.” Friday’s outbreak came two days after an earlier round of storms killed 13 people in the Midwest and South, and forecast-

ers at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center had said the day would be one of a handful this year that warranted its highest risk level. By 10 p.m., the weather service had issued 269 tornado warnings. Only 189 warnings were issued in all of February. “We knew this was coming. We were watching the weather like everyone else,” said Clark County, Ind., Sheriff Danny Rodden. “This was the worst case scenario. There’s no way you can prepare for something like this.” A total of 14 people were reported killed in Indiana, including four in Chelsea, where a man, woman and their 4-year-old great-grandchild died in one house. Tony Williams, owner of the Chelsea General Store, said the child and mother were huddled in a basement when the storm hit and sucked the 4-year-old out her hands. The mother survived, but her 70-year-old grandparents were upstairs; both died. “They found them in the field, back behind the house,” Williams said. Two people also died further north in Holton, where it appeared a tornado cut a diagonal swath down the town’s tiny main drag, demolishing a cinderblock gas station in one spot and leaving a tiny white church intact down the road. Officials also confirmed three deaths in nearby Scott County and another four in Washington County further west. -AP

ISLAMABAD: At least 10 Pakistani soldiers and 23 anti-state fighters have been killed in a gunfight in the northwestern tribal area of Khyber Agency, military officials say.The clash took place in the Tirah Valley of the tribal district, which borders Afghanistan, early on Friday morning. Three soldiers were also wounded in the clashes, an official with the public relations wing of the Pakistani military told Al Jazeera, on condition of anonymity. -AFP

North Korea warns rival South of ‘sacred war’ PYONGYANG: North Korea has renewed threats to launch a “sacred war” with South Korea, indicating cross-border ties will remain icy despite Pyongyang’s agreement to freeze some nuclear and missile activities in return for 240,000 tons of US food aid. Friday’s comments from the North’s supreme military command struck a different tone with the South after statements announcing Wednesday’s deal, saw pledges from both the North Korean and US capitals to work towards better relations. The command accused South Korean troops of displaying slogans or placards slandering the North’s top leaders at their barracks, shooting ranges and other military facilities. -AFP

Bulgaria celebrates National Day Russia sets stage for Putin’s Kremlin return MOSCOW: Russia prepared Saturday to return strongman Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin for a record third term, facing the first swell of protests in his 12-year domination and another rise in tensions with the West. The 59-year-old ex-KGB spy’s victory in Sunday’s presidential ballot now seems beyond doubt. State forecasts show him storming to a firstround victory with 60 percent of the vote and his Communist rival Gennady Zyuganov - a dour but seasoned lawmaker who is running for the fourth time - taking second with 15 percent. The tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov and the flamboyant but ultimately pro-Kremlin populist Vladimir Zhirinovsky are expected to battle for third place while the former upper house speaker Sergei Mironov is looking to finish last. But the landslide victory may only mask a new era of political uncertainty that has descended on Russia and contrasts sharply with the current prime minister’s stable first two terms as president between 2000 and 2008. The emotional street protests that erupted in response to a fraud-tainted December parliamentary ballot have since swelled into a broader opposition movement whose reliance on social media echoes the Arab Spring revolts. The largest demonstrations have thus far been

The HQ SACT Color Guard and flag detail prepare to pass in review during the Bulgarian National Day celebration March 3, at Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. (Reuters)

SOFIA: Bulgaria celebrates on March 3rd its National Holiday, marking the 133rd anniversary of its Liberation from five centuries of Ottoman yoke. The Team of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) congratulates its Bulgarian readers on the occasion of Liberation Day! The 134rd anniversary of Bulgaria’s Liberation will be honored with ceremonies, traditionally held throughout the country, particularly solemn in towns and cities boasting victorious battles of Russian and Bulgarian soldiers in the 18771878 Liberation War. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, known in Bulgaria as the Liberation War, started in the spring of 1877. Russia was moved to declare war on the Ottoman Turkish Empire after the atrocities against the Bulgarian population during the April Uprising of 1876, which were made known to the world by US journalist working for the British press, Januarius MacGahan. Some 66 000 Russian, Belorusian, Ukrainian, Finnish, and Romanian soldiers were killed and about 140 000 were wounded on the Russian side of the war. About 30 000 Bulgarians were slaughtered by Ottoman troops and irregulars during the fighting. On March 3, 1878, the Peace Treaty of San Stefano (a tiny town near Istanbul) between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed, bringing Bulgaria back to the political map.

The Peace Treaty of San Stefano marks the revival of the Bulgarian State, dominated by the Ottoman rule since the end of 14th century. However, the San Stefano Treaty was not final and was revised at the Congress of Berlin, which took place a couple of months later in 1878. It ended with the redistribution back to the Ottoman Empire of certain Bulgarian territories that the previous treaty had given to the Principality of Bulgaria, most notably Macedonia. The Congress of Berlin (June 13 - July 13, 1878) was a meeting of the European Great Powers’ and the Ottoman Empire’s leading statesmen. In the wake of the Russian-Turkish War, 1877-78, the meeting’s aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans. Otto von Bismarck, who led the Congress, undertook to balance the distinct interests of Britain, Russia and AustriaHungary. The congress was aimed at the revision of the Treaty of San Stefano and at keeping Constantinople in Ottoman hands. March 3 was honored for the first time in 1880, on the occasion of the Enthronement of Russian Emperor Alexander the Second. Since 1888, March 3 has become Bulgaria’s Day of Liberation, but it was not declared National Holiday until 1978. With a Parliamentary Decree from 1990, March 3 was included in the list of Bulgaria’s official holiday. -Agencies

confined to Russia’s main cities and the authorities point to polls showing the anti-Putin cause backed by only a marginal fraction of the nation. Putin himself has put a brave face on the show of public displeasure by telling Western media executives he was “very happy about this situation.” “I think this is a very good experience for Russia,” said Putin in an interview this week. “It means that the authorities... have to actively react to what is happening in the country.” But Putin has never before ruled from anything less than an impregnable position of power and few dare to predict how he might respond now. “The system needs comprehensive political and economic reform. But (Putin) has neither the financial nor the political capital to accomplish this,” said Mark Urnov of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. The London-based Chatham House policy institute called Putin’s return “the latest stage in a continuing process of deterioration, not the start of a renewal, as some in the West might hope.” The entire campaign has been driven by an undercurrent of anti-Western rhetoric whose indignant tone now threatens to set back the “reset” in relations that US President Barack Obama tried to strike in 2009. “The days when Russia could be lectured or

preached to are over,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned this week. The campaign also saw Putin’s almost imperial refusal to debate his opponents - a feature of past elections that aims to paint him as a man of action who is too busy to engage in polemics with rivals. The four rank outsiders have all admitted to only having the ambition of finishing second and possibly joining a runoff should Putin fail to pick up 50 percent of the vote. “I really want to make it into the second round,” the metals magnate Prokhorov remarked before attending a Friday night campaign concert that featured a special performance by the Russia pop empress Alla Pugacheva. Putin for his part looked relaxed as he leaned back against the table and addressed the nation one last time before the vote. “We must consolidate all facets of society to the greatest degree possible,” Putin said in the brief Friday night address. “We must work smoothly and constructively, without shocks or revolutions,” said Putin. The marathon election stretches over nine time zones and begins with the opening of polls in the Far East at 2000 GMT Saturday. It culminates with their close in the western exclave of Kaliningrad 21 hours later at 1700 GMT on Sunday. -AFP

Japan, Britain Thousands protest against Hong Kong’s outgoing leader eye joint arms development TOKYO: Japan is planning to jointly develop weapons with Britain as Tokyo looks to boost its defense industry after easing a decades-old ban on arms exports, according to a newspaper report. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is seeking to reach a deal on the defense partnership during a visit by his British counterpart David Cameron planned for April, the Sankei Shimbun said. The British government has so far proposed plans to jointly develop four items, including the auto-loading system for 155-millimetre (6.2-inch) howitzers, the daily said. The move came after Tokyo relaxed its self-imposed ban on arms exports in December, paving the way for Japanese firms to participate in multinational weapons projects. In a move intended to bolster the domestic arms industry and reduce defense spending, officially pacifist Japan is for the first time in decades routinely allowing its companies to partner with foreign firms to develop weapons. Japan, whose industries took years to recover after World War II, declared in 1967 that it would tightly control its foreign weapons sales. The new rules allow Japan to develop and produce arms jointly with the United States and European countries and to export military equipment intended for operations such as UN peacekeeping. -AFP

Protesters march to voice their dissatisfaction with the territory’s leader, Chief Executive Donald Tsang, in Hong Kong on March 3. (AFP)

HONG KONG: Thousands of people marched to the offices of the Hong Kong city government on Saturday, demanding that outgoing chief executive Donald Tsang stand trial following allegations of ethics violations in his dealings with businessmen. The protest came ahead of an election this month to replace Tsang in which the China-backed frontrunner, Henry Tang, has become embroiled in a political scandal, adding to Beijing’s headache. Tsang, who has led the former British territory since 2005, has come under fire for taking private luxury yacht trips and flights. Some media have accused him of renting a luxurious Shenzhen flat at below market price. Testifying before Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Thursday, Tsang said he had paid for all the trips, would give up the property in Shenzhen, developed by a real estate tycoon, after the public outcry. But protesters, singing songs and holding banners,

said Tsang had violated public trust and must face trial to clear his name. “Apologies are insufficient, he needs to better explain his actions,” a protester, who was interviewed on local television, said. Organizers said more than 5,000 participated in Saturday’s march, but local police estimated about 2,800 turned up at Victoria Park, the site of Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigil and where the protest started. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 amid promises of a high degree of autonomy. But China’s leaders have kept grip over political and administrative elite from behind the scenes. The city’s seven million people can elect some legislative and district council members, but have no direct vote for their top leader, who is selected by a 1,200-strong election committee comprised largely of business leaders and Beijing loyalists. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

SUNDAY, march 4, 2012

Change of situations Fuad Al-Hashem

bout ten years ago, while I was watching TV with my friends in the diwaniya, I said a joke which makes them laugh whenever they remember it. Commenting on a scene for a groom holding his bride’s hand and bursting out laughing, I said “In near future, these smiles and laughs will disappear and will be replaced by tears and regret”. The War of July 2006, which was ignited in Lebanon by Leader of the Divine Victory Hassan Nasrallah, against Israel after kidnapping two Israeli soldiers, claimed the lives of large numbers of Lebanese people and large numbers of them were wounded and missed, in addition to losses estimated by billions. A few weeks after the war, the State of Qatar intervened and Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem visited the Southern Suburb several times to meet with Al-Sayed Nasrallah. The Al-Manar TV, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, was praising Sheikh Hamad around the clock. At that time, I used to burst out laughing whenever I watched the Al-Manar TV and repeat the same funny comment “In near future, these smiles and laughs will disappear and will be replaced by tears and regret”. Through this column, I offered several advices to the

Education for peaceful coexistence

Leader of Divine Victory not to “rush” and become a supporter of the Prime Minister of Qatar. But, as usual, he ignored the advice of “a Zionist spy, Sunni, secular, agent of the West, etc”. At that time, any Gulf citizen would enjoy the hospitality of the people of the Southern Suburb if he said that he is from Qatar. Nowadays, anyone who wants to die quickly, can travel to the Southern Suburb and say that he is Qatari, even if he was from Japan or Vietnam. When Israel launched a war on the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip in 2008, I wrote a series of articles against the “new rulers of Gaza” and held them responsible for shedding blood of innocent people in Gaza. Tens of Salafis and members of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Kuwait collected a large sum of money to publish ads in a full page in Al Watan and three other newspapers condemning what was written by the “Zionist spy, and secular client of the West” Fuad Al-Hashem who attacked the Islamic Movement and its jihad in Gaza and the free regime which supports it in Syria. Nowadays, Al-Sayed Nasrallah wishes to launch an Ababeel Rocket on Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem’s plane. The people who attacked me now consider Aburgal, who led Abraha’s Army to demolish Kaaba, a supporter of Arabism

more than “the Head of the free Regime in Syria”. Three days ago, a meeting involving a number of Qatari, US, French, British, and Israeli intelligence officers, was held in a secret underground place near Istanbul, for eight hours, to choose one of 11 generals in the Syrian Army to lead a coup against Al-Assad. Nour Islamic bank, owned by the government of Dubai, suspended all financial dealings with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The oil dealings of Tehran with this bank are about 60 percent of total foreign activities. Sheikh “5609 dinars” said to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “We have given Israel gas for free for a full year. Then we gave it gas at half of international prices for four years, plus cash in order to help us to topple the regime of Al-Assad. However, they still do not want to see that regime falling. What do Israelis want?” Bashar sent the following message to Russia “Please, help me put an end to this revolution once and for ever. In return, I promise to make the Gulf Rulers come to Damascus crawling to ask for my forgiveness and blessings. Then I will force them to pay 20 billion US dollars”. I do not know what the response of the Russians to the message of that crazy man was. Palestinians, who always stand with the tyrants against

peoples, stand with the regime of Al-Assad against the revolution of the people, not only politically but they also carried weapons with the thugs against the innocent civilians. In response by the Free Syrian Army, a number of dissident soldiers killed three officers of the Palestinian Liberation Army in Yarmouk Camp in the center of Damascus within the last two weeks. The Palestinian officers were Captain Abdulnasser Al-Maqari, Major General Rida Al-Qudwah and General Rafiq Ali. The Palestinians did not learn the lesson when they stood with Saddam when he invaded Kuwait, or when they supported Gaddafi. Foreign Minister of Tunisia Rafiq Abdulsalam was Head of Research and Studies at Al-Jazeera News Channel for three years. He was nominated for the post upon the recommendation by Sheikh “5609 dinars”. Abdulsalam is still owning a house in Doha, which was a gift from Sheikh “5609 dinars”. This means that the new Tunisian President and Foreign Minister are two employees in the Qatari Foreign Ministry. In the near future, the government of Tunisia will announce its intention to receive Bashar Al-Assad and his family on its lands by giving him asylum and will not hand him over, in response to Saudi Arabia receiving Ben Ali, which refused to give them a grant of five billion US dollars.

BU QUTADA & BU NABIL Oh wow

We need education that can develop the learners’ abilities to deal with contemporary developments.

Guys, let me talk. Are we in a classroom of noisy students?

Bla bla bla

This is inappropriate! Are you a bunch of kids?

booooooooo

Interrupt him. We don’t want to listen to his talk

Dr. Salwa Abdullah Al-Jassar

ll countries in the world agree over the importance of peaceful coexistence, abandoning conflicts and in asserting the importance of dialogue and tolerance for the opinions of others and abiding by rule of law. We should also agree on shared values which can determine the course of everyday behavior of individuals regardless of their different ideas and affiliations. This is the intention and the spirit of civilized societies who value the exercise of concepts and the culture of correct citizenship. Perhaps the most beneficiary are the peoples themselves, and in particular children and young people who are searching for security and safety for a better education. The transformations experienced by Kuwait have left many of the negative effects in various aspects of life and imposed their effects on the leaders of education and media. Therefore, the decision-makers should reconsider the plans and policies, in particular educational policies and programs, because education is the key element of intellectual configuration of citizens. Education at schools is a tool for the production and the development of values of citizenship, loyalty and belonging. School curricula needs to be reviewed and teaching methods and techniques need to be developed in order to maintain a pace with current developments and future needs of labor markets. We need education that can develop the learners’ abilities to deal with contemporary developments. We need graduates who are able to adapt and deal with the requirements of the labor market and the times in which we live. Education helps students to acquire skills that help enable to cope with problems and situations in a practical and objective way, far from extremism, apathy or dependency. We need education that can promote the efficiency of the learners in order to accept the other opinion and help them to live in peace with others and be able to bear the social responsibility. We want education to boost national unity in our civil society. Reform and change, which we seek, requires much work in order to be able to face challenges and extremist practices in order to put an end to distinction between people. The desired national education is that which can address all forms of violence and extremism in order to live in peace. Therefore, our schools and our educational institutions are required to teach students the importance of knowledge and mastering the skills and accelerating the values of citizenship, from childhood and onwards. Students need to love each other, and this must be one of the most important goals of education. Because of social changes, the State must make the quality of education on top of its priorities in order to graduate people who are aware of the political and civil liabilities.

Where is the democracy? Where is the respect to others?

LOOOOL

Whew, glad we didn’t let Nabeel Al-Fadhl continue talking

Yeah, we’re busy and want to hurry to our committees to protect the society’s morals and make sure everyone respects the other

Mohmmed Thallab

mthallab@alwatan.com.kw

The criteria of supporting oppositions Rashed Al-Radaan

ou support Syria, you support Bahrain. You are against Bahrain you are against Syria. I was confused while reading such statements. The question is “what are the criteria that we depend on while describing one as a supporter of Syria or Bahrain? Which means why we support the Syrian people or the Bahraini people due to the dangerous events that the two countries are undergoing?” Are our criteria patriotic ones, humanitarian or political? Some persons think that others support Bahrain or Syria due to sectarian reasons not humane ones. This in turn means that the Shiites support the Bahraini opposition just because the Bahraini opposition is Shiite and they did not endorse such a stance for any humane causes. The other side thinks that Sunni people in Kuwait support the Syrian people because the Syrian regime is partly Shiite while the Syrian rebels are Sunni too!! Frankly, such matters are available in the local arena and we can’t deny but we also can’t compare the massacres that the brutal Syrian regime commits against the Syrian people every day with what happens in Bahrain!! We can’t do that because the Syrian regime killed children, women and even animals and it shelled the Syrian villages and cities with tanks and

Frankly, such matters are available in the local arena and we can’t deny but we also can’t compare the massacres that the brutal Syrian regime commits against the Syrian people every day with what happens in Bahrain!!

heavy weapons. In the mean time more than 165 states of the world condemned the brutal crimes of the Syrian regime. Why did those states condemn such brutal practices? They did that because they witnessed what happens in Syria and the disgusting massacres that the fanatic Syrian army commits every day. Moreover, some Kuwaiti MPs describe Bashar Al-Assad as a brave president as a brave hero as well. They also used to tell the false statements and news that the Syrian regime used to release. Can we be fair and just while ignoring the suffering of the Syrian people? Especially that the Syrian people, who suffer from ongoing killing and crimes, that were pictured by satellites in addition to the news that the European reporters convey from Syria at the present time. I believe that the Shiite religious institutions don`t support such practices and condemn

it too. The very institutions condemn suppressing people everywhere but the problem lies in the statements of politicians who are usually talking according to their political interests regardless of all humane feelings. So, they defend injustice clearly although some of them were scolding the persons who supported the dictator Iraq Saddam Hussein!! At that time they questioned how some persons or people support injustice and an unjust ruler who killed his people!! At the present time they play the very role that they had already criticized others for in which they had rejected killing the Iraqi people by the former Iraqi Ba`ath regime but they support killing Syrian people by the brutal Ba`ath regime to show contradictory stances, one supports right and the other supports injustice. Such stances might change because of the change of political circumstances but all people should support the rights even if supporting the

rights affects our interests. Typing judiciary verdicts

I hope the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and the Minister of Justice Lawyer Jamal Shahab to pay a visit to the Justice Palace in order to ask the lawyers about the most important problems that they face and suffer from. I believe that all lawyers will answer- like one man- the problem of typing the judiciary verdicts. We wonder how the lawyer can appeal any sentence without reading the circumstances of the sentence itself. We also like to tell the minister that the problem of typing Judiciary verdicts is much more important than the competition of selecting the best voice in “Athan” calling for prayer and much more important than the competition of selecting the best male or female secretary!! We wish the minister to solve the problems that people face in his ministry after that he can conduct the competitions and things that he likes!! Another piece of news

The parliamentary expert affirmed that the Bureau of National Assembly studies seriously amending some items of the parliament`s bylaw, especially in the field of submitting interpellation motions and the way of voting for no confidence against ministers!!

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sunDAY, march 4, 2012

Fanning the flames of justice in Syria David Scheffer Project Syndicate

ustice will be a long time coming in Syria, but it can begin with a Security Council referral of the situation in that wounded country to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and, ultimately, prosecution. The obstacles are serious, but the goal is imperative. This week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé called for such a referral to the ICC during a session of the UN Human Rights Council that sharply attacked the Syrian regime for its deadly assaults on civilians in Homs and elsewhere in Syria. A report by UN legal experts found that crimes against humanity are being waged by Syrian forces against civilians under the leadership of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned of the prospect of war-crimes charges against Assad. Tunisia, seeking to induce Assad to leave, offered him asylum. The challenges erupting daily across Syria extend far beyond the criminal conduct of its leaders. The international community’s most important task is to force an end to the bombardments and killings, and to provide humanitarian relief to the country’s besieged civilian populations. If ever there was a case for preventing atrocities and activating the UN’s “responsibility to protect,” Syria provides it. But any further political pressure, economic sanctions, and humanitarian action through a tough UN Security Council resolution still seem remote, given resistance by Russia and China - both of which are permanent Council members and closely allied to the Assad regime. An initiative in New York to craft a Security Council resolution that only refers the Syrian situation to the International Criminal Court would not be enough to save many lives, but it might be a plausible first step at a time when few other options are available. Because Syria is not a party to the ICC, the only way to give the tribunal jurisdiction is through the Security Council’s use of its enforcement authority to refer the situation of atrocity crimes in Syria, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, to the Court. The Assad regime’s conduct would be investigated automatically, even without the consent of Damascus. Last year, the Security Council unanimously voted to refer the Libyan situation to the ICC for investigation several weeks before it adopted a second resolution creating the NATO no-fly zone over Libya. Russia and China abstained from the vote on that resolution, and now angrily resent its adoption, because it resulted in regime change rather than just humanitarian protection of Libyan civilians. But the Council’s earlier referral of Libya to the ICC was an entirely different initiative, and Russia and China supported it. Impunity for atrocity crimes has been radically diminished during the last 20 years with the rise of international criminal tribunals for the Balkans,

People attend an anti government protest in a town in north Syria, Friday, March 2, 2012. Syria has faced mounting international criticism over its bloody crackdown on the uprising, which started with peaceful protests but has become increasingly militarized. (AP)

Russia and China cannot be perpetually blind to the discrediting reality of supporting a regime bent on destroying sectors of its own population. Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and the permanent court in The Hague. Such major political and military leaders as Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, Charles Taylor, Jean Kambanda, Muammar Gadhafi, Omar Al-Bashir, JeanPierre Bemba, and others have been indicted - and many prosecuted - during this period. While some tyrants will escape justice in coming years, Assad surely must appreciate that his own impunity is in doubt. How should a Security Council referral of Syria to the ICC be framed in order to attract Russian and Chinese support (or at least abstention)? A “clean” referral like the one used last year to bring the

Libyan situation before the Court might not work this time. The Security Council has the power to tailor the referral and to limit to some extent the Court’s jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute. Mollifying Russia and China might require providing some escape hatch, which Assad and regime officials could use before the full weight of the Court’s jurisdiction comes thundering down on them. If, for example, the Security Council gave Assad and his colleagues one week to quit power and leave the country for asylum in, say, Tunisia (or perhaps Russia), the Council would explicitly omit their names from its referral of the Syrian situation to the Court.

A devaluation option for southern Europe Emmanuel Farhi Gita Gopinath Oleg Itskhoki Project Syndicate

his year is likely to mark a make-or-break ordeal for the euro. The eurozone’s survival demands a credible solution to its long-running sovereign-debt crisis, which in turn requires addressing the two macroeconomic imbalances external and fiscal - which are at the heart of that crisis. The crisis has exposed the deep disparities in competitiveness that have developed within the eurozone. From 1996 to 2010, unit labor costs in Germany increased by just 8 percent and by 13 percent in France. Compare that to 24 percent in Portugal, 35 percent in Spain, 37 percent in Italy, and a whopping 59 percent in Greece. The result has been large trade imbalances between eurozone countries, a problem compounded by large fiscal deficits and high levels of public debt in southern Europe (and France) - much of it owed to foreign creditors. Does addressing these imbalances require breaking up the eurozone? Suppose, for example, that Portugal were to leave and reintroduce the escudo. The ensuing exchange-rate devaluation would immediately lower the price of Portugal’s exports, raise its import prices, stimulate the economy, and bring about much-needed growth. But a euro exit would be a messy affair. The resulting turmoil could very well trump any short-term gains in competitiveness from devaluation. There is a remarkably simple alternative that does not require southern Europe’s troubled economies to abandon the euro and devalue their

The European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany is pictured in this undated file photo. The bank had announced on Feb. 27, 2012, that the amount lent to businesses by banks leveled off in January after a steep plunge in December. The data highlight concerns that companies are still finding credit scarce as the eurozone debt crisis puts pressure on banks. (AP)

exchange rates. It involves increasing the valueadded tax while cutting payroll taxes. Our recent research demonstrates that such a “fiscal devaluation” has very similar effects on the economy in terms of its impact on GDP, consumption, employment, and inflation. A currency devaluation works by making imports more costly and exports cheaper. A VAT/payroll-tax swap would do exactly the same thing. An increase in VAT raises the price of imported goods, as foreign firms face a higher tax. To ensure that domestic firms do not have an incentive to raise prices, an increase in VAT needs to be accompanied by a cut in payroll taxes. Moreover, since exports are exempt from VAT, the price of domestic exports will fall. The desired competitiveness effects of exchange-rate devaluation can thus be had while staying in the euro. This policy can also help on the fiscal front. As is true of an exchange-rate devaluation, the positive impact on growth of an increase in competitiveness can strengthen the fiscal position by raising tax revenues. Moreover, an important advantage of fiscal devaluations is that they generate additional revenues in proportion to the country’s trade deficit. For countries that are suffering from weak competitiveness and, as a consequence, running trade deficits, this typically means more revenues, especially in the short run. Like exchange-rate devaluations, fiscal devaluations create winners and losers. Both act as a wealth levy: inflation means that bondholders suffer a real loss in proportion to their wealth and the size of the devaluation. If taxes on capital are not adjusted, holders of domestic stocks suf-

fer a comparable loss. By contrast, many transfers, such as unemployment benefits, health benefits, and public pensions, are indexed to inflation, and thus maintain their real value. The same is true of minimum wages. These distributive effects play an important role in the politics of exchange-rate devaluations, and most of these effects appear in fiscal devaluations as well. Fiscal devaluations already have some advocates. Indeed, French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government just announced one. And concerns that a fiscal devaluation will conflict with euro rules can be met by simply pointing out that Germany’s government carried one out in 2007, though by another name, when it raised VAT from 16 percent to 19 percent and cut employers’ contribution to social insurance, from 6.5 percent to 4.2 percent. In short, there are simple fiscal alternatives to exchange-rate devaluation that can address southern Europe’s short-term competitiveness problems. To be sure, feasible fiscal devaluations would be limited in size. But, together with debt restructuring, accommodative monetary policy, liquidity support from the European Central Bank, and much-required structural reforms, they can help to put these troubled economies on a sound footing without a euro breakup or a major austerityinduced recession. * Emmanuel Farhi is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. * Gita Gopinath is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. * Oleg Itskhoki is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Such officials would have to demonstrate indefinitely their complete withdrawal from political and military power in Syria in order to qualify for continued omission from the Court’s jurisdiction. Russia and China cannot be perpetually blind to the discrediting reality of supporting a regime bent on destroying sectors of its own population. Rebel leaders found responsible for atrocity crimes also would have to fall within the jurisdiction of the Court to conduct fair and comprehensive investigations of all egregious criminal actions against civilians and even soldiers. This may strike some as an abdication to impunity. But Russia and China must be given some incentive to turn the wheels of justice in Syria; a referral to the ICC framed in this way might serve that purpose, as well as help to achieve some humanitarian objectives. In the future, Syrian courts operating under new leadership could indict and seek the extradition of Assad and others to face judgment at home. * David Scheffer, is Professor of Law at Northwestern University and former US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues.

Understanding Greece’s default

If the Greek bond exchange goes really smoothly, and the sun rises in the morning and Italian bond yields stay below 5 percent, then maybe that’s the most worrying outcome of all.

Felix Salmon Reuters

irst and foremost, apologies for how Greece-heavy this blog is these days. There are other things going on out there, I’m sure. But we’re going through the largest sovereign default in the history of the world, and surprisingly few people - including senior European policymakers and journalists who are covering it professionally - really seem to understand what’s going on. At the WSJ, for instance, the news story on an official ISDA determination (“Greek Deal Won’t Trigger CDS Payouts, Panel Says”) is bad; the blog post about it by Charles Forelle (“ISDA’s Greek Ruling Not the Last Word”) is very good. And in Europe, the range of sophistication within policymaking circles is even greater. At the lowest, most basic level, one finds a feeling that it’s a Bad Thing if a European sovereign nation were ever to default, and so therefore it would be a good thing if the bond exchange was organized so that there was no official market determination of default. (Never mind that Greece is already in selective default on its bonds, according to S&P.) At a slightly higher level of sophistication one finds the short-sellersare-bad crowd, who don’t like CDS because they allow hedge funds to easily bet against countries. If the messy Greek CDS situation helps to reduce the amount of trust that the markets have in sovereign CDS generally, then so much the better, on this view. And then, finally, there’s Peter Eavis’s conspiracy theory: if the Greek bond exchange goes really smoothly, and the sun rises in the morning and Italian bond yields stay below 5 percent, then maybe that’s the most worrying outcome of all. Because at that point Greece will have managed to wipe out, at a stroke, debt amounting to some 54 percent of GDP. You can see how Portugal and Ireland might be a little jealous. You don’t want to make sovereign default too easy - not least because it would do extremely nasty things to European banks’ balance sheets. That said, Greece has now broken the sovereigndefault taboo; many countries both inside and outside Europe have way too much debt; and now that debt relief is an option for politicians to seriously consider, it’s pretty much certain that at some point another European government will end up choosing that option. So it’s extremely important for European politicians and voters generally to really understand what’s going on here, rather than just a relative handful of financial-market sophisticates. Greece’s default was a drastic move, and Europe has semi-officially said that it was a mistake: once we’re done with Greece, they’ve said, we’re not going to ask any other European country to similarly write down its private debt. But the cat’s out of the bag now. Greece had no choice but to default. Portugal and Ireland do now have the choice. And while the cost of default is large, so is the cost of carrying a whopping great debt load. It’s up to the leaders and voters of those countries to determine which is the least bad option. *Felix Salmon is a Reuters correspondent. The views expressed here are his own.

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Shuwaikh 4th Ring Rd Airport Rd Ras Salmiyah 4th Ring Rd 4th Ring Rd Hawalli Shuwaikh Kheitan Farwaniyah 3rd Ring Rd King Faisal Rd Hawalli Hawalli Andalus Shuwaikh Shamiyah Nuzha Farwaniyah Farwaniyah Bayan Shuwaikh Shuwaikh Al Rai 6th Ring Rd Al Hasawi Sabah Salem 3rd Ring Rd Jahra Rd Shuwaikh UN Circle Jahra Rd Fahaheel Rd Hawalli Shuwaikh Ahmadi

KD 70 KD 140 KD 40 KD 40 KD 40 KD 40 KD 40

VISITORS RESIDENTS

H.S.C. Barium Enema Barium Meal O.C.G. Ultrasound Ultrasound desfruct M.R.I.

KD 40 KD 50 KD 45 KD 45 KD 15 KD 130 KD 245

KD 40 KD 35 KD 30 KD 30 KD 10 KD 65 KD 180

eMbassies &

Ministry of

C omm u nic a tions Telephone for Test & Complaints

warsha@warsha.com

f or e x p a tri a tes

VISITORS RESIDENTS

C.T. Scan Angiogram I.V.P MCUG Asc Urothrogram Sinogram Sialogram

Tel.: Afghanistan 2532 9461 Algeria 2251 9220 Argentina 2537 9211 Austria 2255 2532 Australia 2232 2422 Azerbaijan 2535 5247 Bahrain 2531 8530 Bangladesh 2531 6042 / 3 Belgium 25722014 Bhutan 2251 6640 / 50 Bosnia 2539 2637 Brazil 2532 8610 Bulgaria 2531 4458 Canada 2256 3025 China 2533 3340 Cuba 2254 9361 Cyprus 2243 3075 Czech 2252 9018 Denmark 2534 1005 Egypt 2251 9956 Ethiopia 2533 4291 Eritrea 2531 7426 Finland 2531 2890 France 2257 1061 Germany 2252 0827 Greece 2481 7101 Georgia 2535 2909 Hungary 2532 3901 India 2253 0600 Indonesia 2483 9927 Iran 2256 0694 Italy 2535 6011 Japan 2530 9400 Kenya 25353314 / 25353362 Lebanon 2256 2103

Libya 2257 5183 Malaysia 2255 0394/5/6 Morocco 2531 2980 / 1 Netherlands 2531 2650 Niger 2565 2943 Nigeria 2562 0278 North Korea 2532 9462 Oman 2256 1956 Pakistan 2532 7651 Philippines 2534 9099 Poland 2531 1571 Qatar 2251 3606 Republic of Botswana 2538 3619 Romania 2484 5079 Russia 2256 0427 Saudi Arabia 2240 0250 Senegal 2257 3477 Slovak Republic 2535 3895 Somalia 2539 4795 South Africa 2561 7988 South Korea 2533 9601 Spain 2532 5829 / 7 Sri Lanka 2533 9140 Switzerland 2534 0172 / 5 Syria 2539 6560 Thailand 2531 7530 Tunisia 2252 6261 Turkey 2253 1785 UAE 2535 5764 UK 2259 4320 Ukraine 2531 8507 USA 2259 1001 Venezuela 2532 4367 Vietnam 2531 1450 Yugoslavia 2532 7548 Zimbabwe 2562 1517

2257 5182 2255 0384 2531 7423 2532 6334 2564 0478 2562 0296 2535 1097 2256 1963 2532 8013 2532 9319 2531 1576 2251 3604 2539 3529 2484 8929 2252 4969 2242 0654 2254 2044 2535 3894 2539 4829 2561 7917 2531 2459 2532 5826 2533 9154 2534 0176 2539 6509 2531 7532 2252 8995 2256 0653 2259 4339 2538 0282 2532 4368 2535 1592 2532 7568 2562 1491

Police stations Tel.:

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

Ambulance

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

23940600 / 23941455 22422366 22510854 23919098 24883000 24725149 24570583 25311437 24815000 25739011 23261927

Private Hospitals

Al-Rashid Hospital Dar Al-Shifa Hospital Hadi Clinic London Hospital Mowasat Hospital Salam Hospital

Qadsiya 2257 4386 Qurain 2542 3772 Rabiah 2474 2160 Rawda 2256 0058 Riqqa 2394 1958 Rumaithiya 2562 4123 Sabah Al-Salem 2551 7229 Sabahiya 2361 5619 Salhiya (Kuwait City) 2242 7157 Salmi 2457 6576 Salmiya 2572 6950 Salwa 2562 6950 Shamiya 2484 5953 Sharq 2244 2466 Shuaiba Ind. Area 2326 1789 Shuwaikh 2481 3726 / 2484 4842 Sulaibekhat 2487 6555 Sulaibiya 2467 0672 Sulaibiya Ind. Area 2467 2728 Surra 2531 2220 Tayma’a 2457 1700 Wafra 2381 0412 Waha 2455 7902 Zour 2395 0160

Adan General Hospital Al-Sabah Chest Hospital Al-Sabah Maternity Hospital Amiri General Hospital As’ad Al-Hamad Dermatology Center Farwaniya General Hospital Ibn Sina Hospital Jahra General Hospital Mubarak Al-Kabeer General Hospital Subhan Renal Hospital Sulaibikhat Orthopedic Hospital

25624000 22802555 1828282 1883883 25726666 22533177

Private Health Centers/ Clinics

Boushahri Clinic British Medical Center Care Clinic International Clinic

Public Hospitals

cons u l a tes

Fax 2532 6274 2251 9497 2537 9212 2256 3052 2232 2430 2535 5246 2533 0882 2531 6041 2574 8389 2251 6550 2539 2106 2532 8613 2532 1453 2256 4167 2533 3341 2254 9360 2240 2971 2252 9021 2534 1007 2256 3877 2533 1179 2531 7429 2532 4198 2257 1058 2252 0763 2481 7103 2535 4707 2532 3904 2257 1192 2481 9250 2252 9868 2535 6030 2530 9401 25353316 2257 2182

centr a l 4 7 2 2 0 0 0

94904040

hospital charges

medical services

Call, sms, Email us

O n- s i t e I T s e r v i c e s

23940600 24815000 24848067 22450080

1885544 23713100 22610666 25745111

Public Health Centers/ Clinics:

Dasman Clinic Faiha Polyclinic Farwaniya Polyclinic Hawalli Polyclinic Inaya Germen Medical Center Sabah Al-Salem Clinic Salmiya Polyclinic Shamiya Clinic Shuwaikh Clinic Yarmouk Clinic

24832067 24883000 24840300 24575300 25312700 24840027 24874240

22447602 22545188 24726033 22611645 25750777 25524821 25723500 25610660 24848913 25336482

DOCTORS & DENTISTS

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

2565 0064 2533 3501

General Practitioner Dina Al Rifai 2533 3501 - 2533 3502 Obstetricians & Gynecologists Samira Al Awadi 2573 8055 Ma’asouma Maksheed 2573 1275 Mohamed Gamal 2534 9077 Mai Al Snan 2532 1171

2572 8004 2532 9924

Ear, Nose & Throat Surgeons Hossam Eldin Abdulfattah 2574 5056 Abdulmohsen Mousa Jafar 2565 5535

Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Adel Quttainah

2562 5030 / 60

Ministries

Awqaf & Islamic Affairs Commerce & Industry Communications Defense Education Health Higher Education Electricity & Water Finance

2248 0000 2248 0000 2481 9033 2484 8300 2481 7702 2487 7422 2240 1300 2537 1000 2248 0000

Foreign Affairs Housing Information Justice, Legal & Administrative Affairs Energy Planning Social Affairs & Labour Public Works

2242 5141 2530 1000 2241 5301 2248 0000 2241 5201 2242 8200 2248 0000 2538 5520

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

Noodle Factory Avenues Tel: 24954751

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

Sakura Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

AlRoshinah Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

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

Manousha Salmiya Tel: 25722607 / 8

Al-Noukhaza Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

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

Garden New Park Hotel Tel: 25634200

Yeldes Palace Kuwait City Tel: 22455212

Kabab-Ji Tel: 1861616

Zahrat Tunis Hawalli Tel: 22662444/333

Mais Al-Ghanim Kuwait City Tel: 22402590

• Persian Kabab Al-Hijja Bnaid Al-Gar Tel: 22517512

Palm Palace Salmiya Tel: 25756331 Saj Express Kuwait City Tel: 22497822 Sarai Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253180/1 Shisha &

Sushi Club Al-Blajat St. Tel: 25712144 Wasabi Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253112 Kuwait City Tel: 22494000 • Lebanese Al-Berdawny Palace Tel: 25661117 Ayam Zaman Holiday Inn Tel: 18477777 Burg Al-Hamam Gulf Road Tel: 22529095

• 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

Al-Boom Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25756000

Tumbleweed Southern Grill Al-Bida’a Tel: 22253154/5

Maki Al-Blajat St. Tel: 25733561 Marina Waves Tel: 22244560

Flavors Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

• Italian Ciro’s Pomodoro Kuwait City Tel: 22424004

Saj Express Kuwait City Tel: 22497822

Te l : 1 8 3 9 0 9 0

Salmiya - Jabriya - Keifan www.healthstop.com.kw

HOTELS

FIVE STAR Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel Crowne Plaza Kuwait Hilton Kuwait Resort JW Marriot Kuwait City Hotel Kempinski Julai’a Hotel & Resort The Regency Hotel & Resort Le Meridien Le Meridien Tower Marina Hotel Kuwait Movenpick Albid’a Movenpick Palms Beach Hotel & Spa Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts Refad Palace Safir International Hotel Kuwait Sheraton Kuwait Hotel & Towers Safir Hotel & Residences Kuwait

23931000 24772000 23725500 22455550 1 844 444 25766666 22510999 22831831 22244970 22253100 24610033 22824060 25673000 23908630 22530000 22422055 25455555

FOUR STAR Carlton Tower Hotel The Courtyard by Marriott Kuwait El Joan Resort Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait

22452740 22997000 23281897 22415001

Ghani Palace Hotel Holiday Inn Khalifa Resort Kuwait Continental Hotel New Park Hotel Al Bastaki Hotel Al Dana Hotel Heritage Village Palace Hotel Shiik Flamingo Hotel & Resort Swiss-Belhotel Plaza Kuwait

25710301 1 847 777 23280144 22527300 25634200 22555081 23902760 22520600 1 821 111 25725050 22436686

THREE STAR Imperial Hotel Oasis Hotel Safari House Hotel Second Home Hotel Spring Continental Hotel Ibis Hotel Salmiya Ibis Hotel Sharq

22528766 22465489 22443136 22532100 25742410 25713872 22928080

TWO STAR International Hotel Kuwait Residence Hotel

25741788 22467560

sundAY, march 4, 2012

BUSINESS

New initiatives drive performance at BMB by nearly twofold MANAMA: Bahrain Middle East Bank (BMB) announced in a press release on Saturday its results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011. These are characterized by the successful transformation to its new business model and its significant contribution to the Bank’s overall performance. The Bank was able to reap positive results in the most challenging and unfavorable regional and global markets environment. Highlights of performance includes income from new business initiatives grew by nearly ‘two fold’ to reach 5.7 million US dollars as compared to $3.0 million in 2010. See page 10

Kuwait’s oil revenues likely to top KD 27.8 billion KEC makes new oil discovery in Egypt, 16th since 2008

Iran: the real oil test Kamel Al-Harami Independent energy analyst Exclusive to Al Watan Daily

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s oil revenues may amount to 27.8 billion Kuwaiti dinars in the fiscal year (FY) 2011-2012 if the production and price levels remain the same as in February, the eleventh month of the current fiscal year, an economic report forecasts. The report, issued by the Economic Research Unit of Alshall Consultancy Company on Saturday, noted that the figure shows an all time record high and an increase by KD 15.5 billion over the targeted revenues in the state budget. By the end of February, the Kuwaiti oil prices remained well above 100 US dollars per barrel. Average Kuwaiti oil price for February scored about $116.2 per barrel, the highest average for the current fiscal year. According to published figures in the monthly followup report of the State’s accounts for January 2012, Kuwait achieved actual oil revenues until the end of last January -10 months - an amount of about KD 22.8328 billion. Kuwait is assumed to have achieved during February 2012 an amount of about KD 2.4 billion in oil revenues. As such, anticipated oil revenues will rise during the period -11 months- to about KD 25.2 billion, and perhaps more, if we take into account the sale of refined products. This figure is higher by 105 percent than the estimated oil revenues in the budget for the entire current fiscal year in the amount of KD 12.3071 billion. Assuming production and prices would continue at the same present rate during the last month of the fiscal year, projected oil revenues for the entire current fiscal year would score about KD 27.8 billion, which is KD 15.5 billion higher than the estimated budget figure. Adding KD 1.5 billion in non-oil revenues, total budget revenues for the current fiscal year would score about KD 29.3 billion. Comparing this figure with expenditures allocations in the amount of KD 19.435 billion, the outcome will be achieving a hypothetical surplus by about KD 10-11 billion for the thirteenth fiscal year in a row. In more news, Kuwait Energy plc and their main partner, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), announced Saturday a new oil discovery, the El Salmiya-1 well, in the Abu Sennan concession located in the Western Desert in Egypt. In a statement, the company said that this is the fourth exploration success in the Abu Sennan concession

Birjees, 35, poses for a photograph as she awaits customers inside her salon at a ‘ladies only’ shopping mall in Karachi. Birjees has been working for the past 10 years and earns about 3500 Pakistani rupees ($38) a month to support her siblings. (Reuters)

following the GPZZ-4 and Al Ahmadi-1 gas and condensate wells discovered in August 2011, and the Al-Jahraa1X oil well discovered in January 2012. The El Salmiya-1 well initial testing showed commercial flow rates at the Abu Roash “E” Member and Abu Roash “C” Member levels. The well showed rates of 400 barrels of oil per day (bopd) at the level of the Abu Roash “E” Member, while the Abu Roash “C” Member level showed rates of 2,500 bopd and 17 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscfd). The total tested flow rate from both Abu Roash “C” Member and Abu Roash “E” Member is equivalent to approximately 5,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). Kuwait Energy is one of the fastest growing independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the Middle East. The new discovery brings the total number of Kuwait Energy discoveries in Egypt to 16 since the start of its

operations in 2008. Kuwait Energy plc Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sara Akbar, said, “This is another milestone for Kuwait Energy and the Egyptian energy sector; a milestone that we are very proud of crossing. The Abu Sennan concession looks promising with four exploration wells yielding finds to date and we look forward to continuing our exploratory activities as planned for 2012.” Egyptian operations contribute the largest share to Kuwait Energy’s total working interest production today, comprising 17,500 boepd as of yearend 2011. The 2011 production level excludes the discoveries made in the Abu Sennan concession. Kuwait Energy is the operator of three blocks in Egypt namely the Area A, Burg El Arab development lease and Abu Sennan concession, and has working interest share in two other blocks, Mesaha concession and Petroshahd development lease. -KUNA

‘Solarity’ brings the power of the sun to the Kuwaiti market Michael A. Kolarov Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The grand opening of ‘Solarity’ was on Thursday March 1, 2010, where Khalid Al-Fulaji has brought his vision for the future of Kuwait to life in a small store in Shuwaikh. Al-Fulaji gave Al Watan Daily

a few moments of his time during the event to tell us about what was going on. “I had the idea about three or four years ago, while I was in University. Now I have more time for the venture,” he told us. The project was his brain child from start to finish, which is impressive considering he’s a fresh University graduate. “I think it’s time that someone goes into solar en-

The newly opened Solarity storefront view (Photo by Michael A. Kolarov)

ergy with retail, especially since we have very strong sun power all year long,” Al-Fulaji goes on to tell us. “I think it’s the only venture in retail I will invest in at the moment. Because I think it has a very big future. We have a very large range of products, currently the store only has about 20 percent of our products and in a month’s time we’re going to have all our products - about 72 to 100 products range. .. we’re going to be covering everything from home lighting to security lighting and each one will be 100 percent powered by solar energy.” “We’ve been on Twitter since four days and already have about 300 followers. And the opening was good. We’ve started selling whole sale before the opening. I think we’re going to focus on the whole selling part of the business. It’s easier to import/export the quantities, the margins can be lower but if the quantities are big, you can compensate.” Al-Fulaji concluded, “Business hasn’t been bad especially with companies who are in construction, mostly for private homes. We’ve also dealt with the retail aspect of lighting stores, and toys since we’ll have toy products that work on solar in the near future. Plantation stores are also buying our lighting. And with big stores such as ACE, we’re negotiating a big deal. Solarity has a few agents from the US, UK, and near future, India. Our products also compliment the desert camps as well. Most of our products have a modern look, which can go well with new homes, and even older homes.”

KUWAIT: The oil market globally is behaving in a strange way, not knowing for certain how to behave, or how to deal with current unstable situation. With all kinds of threats of oil shortage how is it possible to contain the situation should the disruption of oil occur? Accordingly, oil speculators and others are trying to maximize benefits of the uncertain market conditions and are shouting towards higher oil prices. Friday’s rumors on the pipeline explosion in Saudi Arabia shot the oil price to a record high of 128.50 US dollars, the highest since 2008. This will continue to be the case until something happens or someone gives in. The real test will come once Iran stops exporting oil. Then the market will witness the strength and the power of oil producing countries in meeting the world’s demand. That is the real test for the oil markets. Then we will know the real power of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producing countries. Iran is for sure in an awkward position. Its oil exports are gradually decreasing and it is unable to take advantage of the higher oil prices which it is behind and the cause of. Iran’s oil sales are shrinking by the day and its market share is following suit. With oil prices hitting the $125 level, Iran is not gaining much from the 30 percent increase in oil prices over the past three months. It is actually losing sales from its prime customers of Asia, from India, China, Korea and Japan. Iran may be able to replace the 20 percent lost from European markets, by selling additional volumes to Latin American countries, but to lose its natural geographical markets is a real disaster and is hard to replace. The oil market is in real turmoil and cannot find any direction. Oil prices go up one day on Iranian noises and the next day, they come down due to better economic outlooks. Oil markets are behaving like a see-saw, puzzling everybody with its real direction. The sanctions are squeezing hard on Iran’s exports and must do something to replace the lost volume. The other thing of concern is how to gain the lost volume and the long established customers and come with new ones under today’s sanctions on Iran’s oil exports. The world economy certainly can’t sustain those increasing oil prices and it will dent growth of the US and Asian economies. Europe however will sink deeper into recession, and its euro will remain weak and beyond repair until something happens. We just hope there isn’t a full stoppage of Iranian exports of its oil, as the real test just could be fatal with crude oil spare capacity limited and any stoppage of oil export from any oil exporting country could lead to acute shortage of oil globally. Oil prices continue to act according to any event and development or any noise that comes from any Middle East country as an alarm ringing will lead to higher oil prices. Today no one can predict the future of oil prices under given circumstances and any figure or any guess could be correct with no thought to the future level or the maximum price of crude oil when the threat becomes a reality. Hardening oil prices are not good news for anybody. The recent rumor on Saudi’s pipeline blast pushed oil price to the highest level since 2008. Such an event will take oil prices beyond repair for the consumers and most importantly for US consumers, in a sense that oil prices must be within the reach of the consumers, otherwise voters will not vote for higher gasoline prices and someone must lose the election, so we ever witness the real test and the strengthen of oil producing countries. The author of this article can be reached at naftikuwaiti@yahoo.com. Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions presented in the column are the company’s own and do not necessarily represent those of Al Watan Daily and its staff.

KSE ends week with 0.69% rise, both indices in green KSE weekly activity, March 1, 2011

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended last week in the green zone. The price index ended last week with an increase amounted to 0.69 percent, while the weighted index raised by 0.48 percent compared to the closings of the week before. Furthermore, last week’s average daily turnover decreased by 19.77 percent, compared to the preceding week, reaching 49.59 million Kuwaiti dinars, whereas trading volume average was 635.17 million shares, recording decrease of 25.68 percent.Kuwait stock market was able to realize some gains throughout last week supported by the quick and speculative buying operations, which was executed on many stocks in most of the sectors especially the Investment, as it continued to lead the market’s upward trend, through its acquisition to a large percentage of the pumped liquidity into the market. Also, the return of activity on a number of the listed investment groups, gave a strong support to the market. On the other hand, it was noticed throughout last week’s trading, a continued pressure by the Banking sector on the market indices performance, as it witnessed steep declines due to the stocks selling actions, which negatively impacted both indices performance, especially the weighted index that realized less weekly gains

than the price index. Moreover, the stock market outperformed last week in spite of its current watch state, as the traders are waiting for the listed companies 2011 financial results; noting that the declared companies reached only 28 percent so far, however more than two thirds of the legal notice period (given three months) have already passed. The total number of declared companies reached 58 out of 205 listed companies, realizing approximately KD 1.54 billion, with a decline of 20.94 percent compared to same companies’ results for 2010. By the end of the week, the price index closed at 6,133.6 points, up by 0.69 percent from the week before closing, whereas the weighted index registered a 0.48 percent weekly gain after closing at 410.59 points. Sectors’ indices

All of KSE’s sectors ended last week in the green zone. Last week’s highest gainer was the Insurance sector, achieving 2.97 percent growth rate as its index closed at 2,705.3 points.Whereas, in the second place, the Investment sector’s index closed at 3,952.2 points recording 1.41 percent increase. The Food sector came in third as its index achieved 0.99 percent growth, ending the week at 4,457.0 points. The Services sector was the least growing as its index closed at 13,540.6 points with a 0.24 percent increase. Sectors’ activity

The Investment sector dominated total trade

volume during last week with 581.14 million shares changing hands, representing 30.50 percent of the total market trading volume.The Services sector was second in terms trading volume as the sector’s traded shares were 30.07 percent of last week’s total trading volume, with a total of 572.93 million shares. On the other hand, the Services sector’s stocks where the highest traded in terms of value; with a turnover of KD 45.75 million or 30.75 percent of last week’s total market trading

value. The Investment sector took the second place as the sector’s last week turnover of KD 38.73 million represented 26.03 percent of the total market trading value. Market capitalization

KSE total market capitalization grew by 0.46 percent during last week to reach KD 28.73 billion, as six of KSE’s sectors recorded an increase in their respective market capitalization, whereas the other two recorded declines. The Insur-

ance sector headed the growing sectors as its total market capitalization reached KD 311.25 million, increasing by 2.94 percent. The Real estate sector was the second in terms of recorded growth with 2.59 percent increase after the total value of its listed companies reached KD 1.85 billion. The third place was for the Investment sector, which total market capitalization reached KD 2.14 billion by the end of the week, recording an increase of 1.21 percent. The Food sector was the least growing with 0.34 percent recorded growth after its market capitalization amounted to KD 722.96 million. On the other hand, the Non-Kuwaiti Company sector headed the decliners list as its total market capitalization decreased by 0.37 percent to reach, by the end of the week, KD 1.85 million. The Banks sector was second on this list, which market value of its listed companies declined by 0.03 percent, reaching KD 12.60 million. Disclaimer: This report has been prepared and issued by the Studies & Research Department @ Bayan Investment Company on the basis of publicly available information, internal data, and other sources considered reliable. While great care has been taken to ensure that the facts stated are accurate, neither Bayan Investment Company nor any of its employees shall be in any way responsible for the contents. This report is not an offer to buy or sell any of the securities referred in the report.

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY sunDAY, march 4, 2012

New initiatives drive performance at BMB by nearly twofold

India business team to visit Iran next week

ern sanctions that are drying up banking routes. Iran is India’s second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, providing around 12 percent of the fast-growing country’s crude needs. India has been examining ways to step up trade with Iran amid problems in settling its oil bills from Iran as a result of the intensifying sanctions campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. India’s Congress party-led government says it will abide

The effects of an export-led growth model on Singapore

What are the economic and financial implications?

What does the indicator tell us?

The trade balance is the difference in value

Singapore’s trade balance can act as a ba-

Benchmark

Ÿ KSE - Price Index Ÿ KSE - Weighted Index Ÿ KSE - KAMCO TRW Index Ÿ Saudi Stock Exchange (TADAWUL) Ÿ Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Ÿ Dubai Financial Market Ÿ Qatar Exchange ź Bahrain Bourse Ÿ Muscat Securities Market Total GCC Equity Markets

Closing

6,133.6

Weekly

Return (%) YTD-12 Return

0.69%

410.6

0.48%

2,608.6

0.33%

7,226.4

2.78%

2,623.9

3.33%

1,702.0

8,741.6

1,148.0 5,841.8

Benchmark

4.27%

0.10%

(0.53%) 2.55%

5.5%

12.6%

2,776,580

16,914,835

9.2%

803,180

268,490

25.8%

3,158,228

945,125

(0.4%)

41,333

358,541

0.4% 2.6%

8,010 103,221

4,488 81,585

Ÿ 5- Samba Financial Group Ÿ 6- Saudi Arabia Fertilizers Co. Ÿ 7- Al-Etihad Etisalat Co. Ÿ 8- Kingdom Holding Co. Ÿ 9- Riyad Bank Ÿ 10- SABB

Ÿ 4- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Ÿ 6- Union National Bank ő 7- Abu Dhabi National Energy Ÿ 8- National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah Ÿ 9- AL DAR Properties Co. ź 10- National Bank of Fujairah

776,207

3.04%

1,330

2.61%

1,611

1.30%

(89) 377

17,226

(0.53%) 2.24%

2.27%

Yield (%)

0.710 0.455

0.0%

(1.2%)

(1.0%) 0.0%

4.7%

(1.8%)

(1.5%)

(1.4%) 0.0%

4,670

3,681

2,205

1,204

1,018

1,014 979

922

903 669

101.50

79.00 38.20

14.10

52.25

182.75

62.75

11.05

26.00 46.20

9.43

11.65

Return (%)

1.0%

4.6% 2.1%

(1.4%) 4.7%

3.1%

5.9%

0.9%

2.4% 5.5%

Weekly

Return (%)

(1.4%) 6.4%

21.10

15.9%

3.49

0.9%

3.23

3.15 1.25 5.10

1.18 4.10

2,835

3,347

15.4

2.1

3.0%

5,670

4,832

12.4

1.7

20.9%

3,255

2,678

27.8

1.7

2.2%

1,690

809

33.3

2.7

0.0%

116

2.9

1.3

2.5%

2,155

1,923

31.6

3.6

1.3%

1,065

597

4.1

0.0%

260

166

17.9

1.9

3.1%

40 1,570

28 707

31.9 13.5

1.7 1.5

2.1% 0.0%

Weekly Trading Indicators

Weekly

6.3%

1.9% 0.0% 5.2%

7.3% (9.9%)

P/E (X)

23.20

P/B (X)

1.35

Dividend

Market Cap.

(SAR Mln)

304,500

118,500

76,400

58,749

47,025

45,688

43,925

40,950

39,000 34,650

Volume

(000's shrs)

Value

(000's SAR)

4.6%

(AED Mln)

74,523

33,436 31,650

18,074

8,253 7,861 7,781 5,888

4,820 4,510

Trailing

P/E (X)

Trailing

P/B (X)

Dividend

Yield (%)

3,811,278

10.2

2.3

3.4%

10,334

805,842

16.6

3.8

3.8%

5,996

227,429

10.5

1.7

7.9%

47,228

671,272

24.1

1.1

5.0%

1,554

80,362

11.0

1.7

3.2%

1,261

227,515

11.8

6.6

6.6%

8,583

527,329

9.1

2.6

3.2%

10,237

113,087

60.3

1.7

0.0%

4,182 1,361

108,183 61,571

12.4 13.2

1.3 2.1

5.0% 1.5%

Volume

Value

P/E (X)

Trailing

P/B (X)

14.66

72.81

13.13

11.11 12.19

16.25

2.07

3.1%

1.10

3.0%

0.99

2.1%

1.88

2,000

5 0

Ͳ5 Ͳ2,000

Ͳ10 Ͳ15

Ͳ4,000

Ͳ20 Trade Balance (lhs)

Ͳ6 000 Ͳ6,000

Export growth

Import growth

Ͳ25 Ͳ30

Source: KCIC Research on DataStream, 2012.

JaanͲ12

DecͲ11

OctͲ11 O

NoovͲ11

SeepͲ11

JJulͲ11

AuugͲ11

JuunͲ11

AprͲ11 A

MayͲ11

MarͲ11

SeepͲ10

JJulͲ10

AuugͲ10

JuunͲ10

Ͳ35

AprͲ10 A

Ͳ8,000

www.kcicͲasia.com/research

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

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

Price

(AED)

Ÿ 1- EMAAR Properties

0.91 1.63

Beta

1.44

1.58

1.47

0.88

1.21

1.03

1.51

0.72

0.80 1.34

Beta

1.23 1.06

0.83 0.76 0.68

1.08

0.99 0.81

0.75 0.73

Dividend

(000's shrs)

(000's AED)

Yield (%)

7,148

67,861

10.4

1.9

3.7%

3,654

40,788

9.0

1.3

2.1%

7,706

154,084

8.9

1.2

2.6%

13,664

43,760

5.9

0.8

0.0%

2,943

10,373

7.8

1.0

6.2%

2,464

7,730

5.1

0.6

2.9%

2,125

2,693

5.6

1.1

8.0%

435

2,180

5.0

1.3

3.9%

187,208 0

219,423 0

NM 18.7

1.0 2.3

0.0% 1.5%

Beta

1.00

1.17

1.32

1.31

1.24

1.13 1.35

0.14

1.50 NA

Ÿ 4- Emirates Integrated Telecom. Ÿ 5- Dubai Financial Market ź 6- Dubai Islamic Bank Ÿ 7- Commercial Bank of Dubai

3.4%

ź 9- Air Arabia Co. Ÿ 10- Dubai Investment

4.8% 4.6%

1.61

ő 3- Mashreq Bank

3.4%

Ÿ 8- Arabtec Holding P.J.S.C.

3.070

Return (%)

1.0%

3.300

6.5%

91.45

0.0%

3.100

4.0%

1.040

13.2%

3.400

13.3%

0.739 0.825

(0.3%) 2.5%

2.190

(1.4%)

3.500

14.8%

Market Cap.

(AED Mln)

18,700

18,341 15,462

14,171

8,320

8,319

6,600

5,233

3,449 3,023

ROE YTD Price

Top 10 Largest Qatari Companies by Market Cap Price

Chg. (%)

13.4%

5.4%

14.9%

(4.4%)

6.2%

(8.9%)

8.4%

(5.9%)

43.6%

4.1%

12.6%

13.9%

3.5%

(5.1%)

10.8%

(3.0%)

5.2% 11.3%

(10.1%) (4.2%)

(QAR)

Ÿ 1- Qatar National Bank Ÿ 2- Industries Qatar ź 3- Ezdan Real Estate Co. Ÿ 4- Qatar Telecom. (Q-Tel) ź 5- Masraf Al Rayan ź 6- Commercial Bank of Qatar Ÿ 7- Qatar Islamic Bank Ÿ 8- Qatar Electricity & Water Co. ź 9- Doha Bank Ÿ 10- Qatar Fuel Co. (Wokod)

133.90

Return (%)

0.5%

1.5%

19.00

(1.0%)

26.50

(0.9%)

164.90

6.2%

76.90

(8.0%)

78.10

0.3%

147.00

1.4%

61.50 299.00

(5.7%) 9.9%

Market Cap.

(QAR Mln)

93,694

77,770

50,397

29,022

19,875

19,029

18,454

14,700

12,712 12,432

Bahrain Bourse

ROE YTD Price

Top 10 Largest Bahraini Companies by Market Cap Price

Chg. (%)

22.4%

5.5%

23.1%

13.7%

15.9%

13.0%

4.7%

1.4%

15.7%

12.1%

55.6%

3.8%

29.0%

19.5%

(BHD)

ź 11 Ahli United Bank (Price in USD) ź 2- Aluminum Bahrain ź 3- Bahrain Telecommunications Co. ő 4- Arab Banking Corp. (Price in USD) ź 5- National Bank of Bahrain Ÿ 6- Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Ÿ 7- Al Baraka Banking (Price in USD)

2.8%

24.9%

ő 8- United Gulf Bank

10.6% 16.0%

11.6% 13.5%

ő 9- Investcorp Bank (Price in USD) ő 10- Gulf Hotels Group

0 680 0.680

Return (%)

(2 2%) (2.2%)

(4.1%)

0.390

(3.5%)

0.420

0.0%

Market Cap.

(BHD Mln)

1 278 1,278 838 562

492

0.570

(1.7%)

488

1.060

3.9%

347

0.412

5.6%

0.304

0.0%

796.95 0.720

0.0% 0.0%

351 254

240 119

Muscat Securities Market (MSM)

ROE YTD Price

Top 10 Largest Omani Companies by Market Cap Price

Chg. (%)

(OMR)

18.5%

3.3%

Ÿ 1- Bank Muscat

14.2%

6.4%

Ÿ 2- Oman Telecom Co.

13.8%

36.6%

14.2%

16.2%

Ÿ 4- Omani Qatari Telecom (NAWRAS)

12.4%

10.4%

Ÿ 5- National Bank of Oman

12.0%

9.0%

Ÿ 6- Oman International Bank

19.7%

4.2%

ź 7- Shell Oman Marketing

26.8%

2.0%

NM 12.2%

28.3% (9.9%)

Ÿ 3- Bank Dhofar

ź 8- Ahli Bank Ÿ 9- Renaissance Services Ÿ 10- Raysut Cement

0.734

1.401

0.541

0.628

0.320

0.283

2.292

0.255

0.627 0.870

Return (%)

2.2%

0.1%

0.4%

1.3%

1.1%

(0.3%)

(1.2%) 7.9% 6.7%

Market Cap.

(OMR Mln)

1,137

1,051 495

409

346

274

229

204

177 174

P/B (X)

Dividend

222,182

696,342

13.8

0.6

4.1%

5,435

17,711

6.7

0.5

6.1%

16.9

1.3

2.2%

48,638

148,239

9.0

2.5

0.0%

246,097

250,777

1.1

0.0%

33,009

73,523

9.4

0.9

4.6%

8.0

1.1

5.9%

142,361

482,854

35.0

1.9

0.0%

117,213 93,325

88,327 76,761

13.1 7.9

0.7 0.4

10.8% 7.3%

Volume

P/E (X)

Trailing

(000's AED)

Yield (%)

Trailing

P/E (X)

Trailing

P/B (X)

Dividend

(000's shrs)

(000's QAR)

834

98,701

13.4

2.3

2.1%

2,119

181,139

10.0

3.2

3.9%

218

1.8

0.0%

Yield (%)

207

25,518

11.8

1.4

2.5%

2,770

59,630

15.1

2.4

8.1%

995

78,482

10.5

1.4

8.3%

742

52,314

12.0

1.7

5.9%

102

13,834

10.7

4.2

4.1%

1,098 354

53,795 48,528

10.9 11.2

1.9 2.7

7.5% 2.8%

Volume

Trailing

P/B (X)

Dividend

(000's shrs)

(000's BHD)

11 1 11.1

14 1.4

3 6% 3.6%

1,159

688

3.7

1.1

9.1%

161

7.3

1.2

11.5%

6.9

0.4

0.0%

305

175

10.8

1.9

4.8%

489

200

10.0

1.5

6.1%

7.7

0.8

4.3%

60.3

1.2

0.0%

0 0

4.5 15.9

0.6 2.3

0.0% 3.8%

Volume

P/E (X)

Trailing

Yield (%)

Trailing

P/E (X)

Trailing

P/B (X)

1.40

4.3%

19.5%

7.8%

12.2%

7.4%

(9.9%)

0.61

0.05

0.98

1.60

1.15 0.27 1.31

1.01 1.22

Chg. (%)

27.2%

7.3%

0.1%

23.8%

9.4%

12.9%

13.2%

17.2%

5.4%

120.1%

5.1% 4.5%

26.1% 36.4%

Beta

0.85

1.07

0.53 0.64

0.85

1.14

1.03

0.79

1.04 0.71

ROE YTD Price

Chg. (%)

17.3%

(3.1%)

31.5%

6.3%

0.5%

(14.4%)

11.7%

17.1%

16.1%

(4.8%)

13.1%

(8.5%)

14.1%

(7.4%)

39.5%

5.3%

17.1% 24.4%

(4.1%) 22.0%

Beta

2 11 2.11

0.93

0.77

ROE YTD Price

Chg. (%)

12 2% 12.2%

2 3% 2.3%

28.8%

(10.6%)

16.0%

(0.5%)

0.57

5.3%

0.0%

17.2%

(0.9%)

0.76

15.3%

(0.5%)

10.0%

(2.8%)

0.48 0.07

1.9%

1.3%

13.2% 14.6%

0.0% 6.7%

0.34

0.50

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples

Value

ROE YTD Price

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples

Value

Beta

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples

Value

Weekly Trading Indicators

Weekly

Trailing

(000's shrs)

Weekly Trading Indicators

Weekly

0.590

Value

Weekly Trading Indicators

Weekly

141.40

Volume

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples

Weekly Trading Indicators

Weekly

Qatar Exchange (QE)

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples Trailing

15.45

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples

37,717

Weekly Trading Indicators

Market Cap.

Dubai Financial Market (DFM)

Yield (%)

Risk & Return

Valuation Multiples P/B (X)

(AED)

Ÿ 5- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

16,630 17,218

2,251

P/E (X)

Price

Ÿ 3- First Gulf Bank

52,387

125,905

3.05%

(000's KD)

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)

Ÿ 2- National Bank Of Abu Dhabi

76,296

11,224

(000's shrs)

Top 10 Largest Companies by Market Cap in Abu Dhabi

ź 1- Emirates Telecom. Co.

379,802

(KD Mln)

(SAR)

ź 4- Saudi Electricity Co.

(%)

0.49%

Return (%)

Price

Ÿ 3- Saudi Telecom

522

(KWD)

Saudi Stock Exchange (TADAWUL)

Ÿ 2- Al-Rajhi Bank

19,118,393

Weekly Trading Indicators

1.7%

4,000

Top 10 Largest Companies by Market Cap in Dubai

Ÿ 2- Emirates NBD

0.9%

Top 10 Largest Saudi Companies by Market Cap

Ÿ 1- Saudi Basic Industries Corp

(USD Mln)

Dividend

0.640

ź 9- Commercial Bank of Kuwait ő 10- Burgan Bank

107,970

Trailing

0.560

ź 8- Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

(USD Mln)

545,329

Trailing

0.900

ź 7- Boubyan Bank

(000's USD)

Trailing Trailing

Value

2.020

Ÿ 6- Ahli United Bank (Kuwait)

(000's shrs)

1,905,503

Weekly Chg.

Volume

0.480

ź 4- Gulf Bank ő 5- National Mobile Telecom. Co.

Current

Market Cap.

0.820

ź 3- Kuwait Finance House

Value

Valuation Multiples

Weekly

0.860

ő 2- ZAIN

Market Cap.

Price

1.180

Ÿ 1- National Bank of Kuwait

1-Mar-2012

1.2%

Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)

Top 10 Largest Kuwaiti Companies by Market Cap

30 6,000

1-Mar-12 Volume

8,796,054

KAMCO Research

Weekly Trading Indicators

Index

%chg, YoY

KAMCO Research GCC Week No.9 GCC Equity EquityMarkets MarketsReport Reportforfor Week No. 9 GCC Equity Markets Weekly Performance

rometer for global economic activity. A rising trade surplus is correlated with high levels of GDP growth in Asia. The pick-up in the import sector in Singapore’s case, may not necessarily point to a weak trade balance ahead, instead it may be somewhat indicative of a potential improvement in export figures. As a major export hub, a large proportion of Singapore’s exports are re-exported products or intermediate products i.e. products that have been imported and then processed and/or re-distributed or reexported. For example, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries like Saudi Arabia, would sell oil to Singapore which would then be re-exported to neighboring Asian countries. So the recent rise in imports may be illustrative of some recovery in export demand. Factories in Thailand are almost fully operational again after their flash floods at the end of 2011. As a major supplier to Japan and Taiwan, Thailand would in turn help boost production in those respective countries too. In addition, as Japan scrambles to fill in its energy consumption gap by importing oil after it shut down its nuclear reactors, we should expect oil exports in Singapore to pick-up. Furthermore, as Asia which covers over 60 percent of Singapore’s export market, keeps on focusing on stimulating domestic demand, we should expect exports to recover.

Since 2010

8,000

MayͲ10

between a country’s total exports and imports. When a country is in a trade surplus, then it is a net exporter: its exports are outweighing its imports in value. For over a decade Singapore has been a net exporter of goods, thanks to its strategic geographical location. Its economy is highly dependent on the ‘Asian model’ of export-led growth, a model that was born in Japan. Asian economies, particularly Asia’s four ‘tiger economies’ (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea) were inspired by Japan’s economic lead after the second world war, and after implementing the model back in the 1960s, saw their economies boom, per capita income grow and poverty levels fall. Over the past decade, tiger economies’ exports as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) grew from 68 percent to 98 percent. But becoming such a highly export dependent economy does not come without its consequences: the on-going global economic slowdown is having serious economic repercussions on Singapore’s economy. The fall in export demand is dragging the country’s GDP growth to dangerously low levels, from a high of almost 20 percent back in May 2010 down to about 3.6 percent in December of 2011.

SG: Trade Balance

JaanͲ10

Why is this graph important?

Singapore is home to the world’s busiest port and like many of its Asian counterparts, its economy is almost purely based on an exportled-growth model. Thus, a slowdown in exports can have serious economic repercussions on the country’s domestic economy. Exports in Singapore have been on a downward trend for the past two years, due mainly to the slowdown in economic activity in the G2 countries (US and European countries). However, it is important to bear in mind that the US and EU together are only a relatively small share of Singapore’s market: Asia takes up over 60 percent of the market. Both oil and non-oil exports have been falling; in fact, non-oil exports contracted by 2.1 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in January compared to the relatively robust nine percent growth it logged year-on-year the month before. The dominant drag on non-oil exports was the electronics sector. Electronic goods make up 60 percent of total non-oil exports because they are strongly sensitive to changes in demand, it comes as no surprise that it is one of the first sectors to get hit when global demand slows down and is an indicator of upcoming weakness in the world’s economy.

Wilson Benjamin, Chairman of Bahrain Middle East Bank

only by UN sanctions on the Islamic republic, and will not implement those by individual nations. Indian Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar last month said New Delhi would send “a huge delegation” to Iran to “promote our own exports” and investigate business opportunities spawned by the sanctions. The two countries, which have long historic ties, hope to be able to settle around 45 percent of their oil trade in Indian rupees by increasing exports, Indian media reports say. -AFP

USD, mn

MarͲ10

Anand Seth, spokesman for the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, an Indian government partner in promoting trade, told AFP. The top trade organization, set up by the government, said Indian exporters would be paid for goods sent to Iran using a rupee payment system. Iran’s Parsian Bank has opened an account with India’s UCO Bank and Indian exporters now are receiving rupee payments from Iran, Seth said. The method gives New Delhi a way to circumvent West-

FeebͲ10

CAPITALS: An Indian trade delegation will travel to Iran next week to explore business openings created by USled sanctions over the Islamic republic’s disputed nuclear program, an export group says. The group will visit Iran from March 10-14, the Federation of Indian Export Organizations said late Friday, adding exporters had settled a major problem on how to receive payments from Tehran in the face of sanctions on dollar deals. “We are expecting to get a lot of business from this trip,”

JaanͲ11

•

FeebͲ11

•

Akbar Habib, Chief Executive Officer said, “Despite the Bank’s limited resources, it gives us a good level of satisfaction that the new business initiatives have been successfully implemented, albeit on a small scale during 2011, yet it not only delivered a positive key contribution on the Bank’s overall performance but has a profound impact on the Bank’s business model. This demonstrates that the model is not only viable but also resilient in view of its successful implementation during the period of unfavorable regional and international market conditions. These positive and encouraging developments provide us with a great degree of confidence and optimism that its business model is sound and fundamentally well positioned to take it to new heights in 2012 and beyond.”

DecͲ10

•

levels despite adverse market conditions (2010: $7.4 million) Commenting on the results Wilson Benjamin Chairman of the Bank said, “We are very pleased with the results of the Bank achieved amidst heightened uncertainty that continued to characterize global financial markets in 2011. The Bank’s capacity to consistently deliver despite challenges remains testament to the success of its new initiatives and depth and diversity of its new business model. We applaud the Management for their relentless efforts and successes more so amidst these challenging circumstances. The Bank gradually managed to transforme itself as a Niche Financial Services Provider capable of building long-term sustainable value for its shareholders”

OctͲ10 O

Highlights of performance included:

• Income from new business initiatives grew by nearly ‘two fold’ to reach 5.7 million US dollars as compared to $3.0 million in 2010. • Operating costs continued to show consistent efficiency improvements amounting to $6.3 million in 2011 - as compared to $7.6 million

•

in 2010 representing a further 17 percent decrease. Relative to the pre-restructuring operating expenses of $11 million in 2008, this marks 43 percent overall reduction - taking total post-restructuring cumulative expense savings to approximately $10.0 million Net profits for the period amounted to $3.7 million (2010: $6.4 million) Capital adequacy continued to remain amongst the highest in the Kingdom at 25.1 percent (2010: 21.1 percent) Leverage measured by total financial obligations to equity reduced to 1.0 x from 1. 6 x at end-2010 and 3.4 x at end-2009. Distribution of private equity realizations to customers amounted to $7.1 million during the period - broadly maintained at previous year

NoovͲ10

MANAMA: Bahrain Middle East Bank (BMB) announced in a press release on Saturday its results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011. These are characterized by the successful transformation to its new business model and its significant contribution to the Bank’s overall performance. The Bank was able to reap positive results in the most challenging and unfavorable regional and global markets environment.

Dividend

(000's shrs)

(000's OMR)

Yield (%)

7,526

5,483

9.8

1.4

3.0%

1,543

2,166

9.5

2.3

7.1%

150

81.2

36.4

2.2

2.1%

2,906

1,823

8.6

2.8

6.1%

1,046

332

10.6

1.3

4.7%

1,807

506

16.3

1.7

5.0%

210

481

17.3

8.2

5.7%

1,050

268

11.9

1.8

0.0%

4,761 512

2,932 437

13.1 13.0

1.0 1.8

1.9% 11.5%

Beta

1.21

0.88 0.65

1.33

1.02

0.99

0.38

0.81

1.14 0.97

ROE YTD Price

Chg. (%)

13.9%

(4.2%)

23.7%

7.0%

6.2%

(1.1%)

30.6%

(3.4%)

11.9%

0.0%

10.2%

1.1%

47.6%

(4.2%)

10.0%

(3.8%)

36.0% 13.5%

15.0% 14.5%

LIFE

Help your child develop a healthy approach to eating Girls can develop an unhealthy body image and unhealthy eating habits just by watching how others look at their bodies and treat food. The womenshealth.gov website says these factors can trigger an unhealthy attitude toward food among girls: •Seeing that their mothers are very concerned with their weight. •Having a mother who worries too much about her daughter’s appearance and weight. •Gaining weight naturally during puberty. •Being influenced by peer pressure about appearance and weight. •Having issues with self-esteem. •Seeing examples of the “ideal” very thin body among images in the media.

sunDAY, march 4, 2012

Saturn’s icy moon Dione has oxygen atmosphere WASHINGTON: A NASA spacecraft circling Saturn has discovered a wispy oxygen atmosphere on the ringed planet’s icy moon Dione according to SPACE, but you wouldn’t want to live there. For one thing, you wouldn’t be able to breathe Dione’s atmosphere is 5 trillion times less dense than the air at Earth’s surface, scientists say. Dione’s atmosphere was detected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which spotted an ultra-thin layer of oxygen ions so sparse that it is equivalent to conditions 300 miles (480 kilometers) above Earth. On Dione, there is just one oxygen ion one for every 0.67 cubic inches (or one ion for every 11 cubic centimeters) of space, but it’s still enough to qualify as an atmosphere, Cassini mission scientists announced Friday (March 2). “We now know that Dione, in addition to Saturn’s rings and the moon Rhea, is a source of oxygen molecules,” Cassini team member Robert Tokar of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, who led the new study, said in a statement. “This shows that molecular oxygen is actually common in the Saturn system and reinforces that it can come from a process that doesn’t involve life.” Dione is one of Saturn’s smaller moons and is about 698 miles (1,123 km) wide. It orbits Saturn once every 2.7 days at a distance of about 234,000 miles (377,400 km) - roughly the same as that between Earth and its moon, according to a NASA description. The oxygen on Dione may potentially be created by solar photons or high-energy particles that bombard the Saturn moon’s ice-covered surface, kicking up oxygen ions in the process, Tokar explained. Another idea suggests that geologic processes on Dione could feed the moon’s atmosphere, researchers added. Dione is by no means the only rocky body with an atmosphere in our solar system. Thick atmospheres cover the planets of Earth, Venus and Mars, as well as Saturn’s largest moon Titan. A thin atmosphere on Saturn’s moon Rhea - one similar to that of Dione - was also detected in 2010, NASA officials said. That observation and the discovery of ozone on Dione by the Hubble Space Telescope led researchers to suspect it may host a thin atmosphere. But it wasn’t established for sure until the Cassini spacecraft used an instrument called a plasma spectrometer to detect the ionized oxygen on Dione during a close flyby in April 2011, when the probe

FILE - This view highlights tectonic faults and craters on Saturn’s moon, Dione, an icy world that has undoubtedly experienced geologic activity since its formation. It is based on images from the the Cassini spacecraft taken on Dec. 24, 2005. (AFP)

flew within 313 miles (503 km) of the icy moon. The spacecraft detected an atmosphere made up of about 2,550 oxygen ions per cubic foot (or about 90,000 per cubic meter), researchers said. “Scientists weren’t even sure Dione would be big enough to hang on to an exosphere, but this new research shows that Dione is even more interesting than we previously thought,” said Amanda Hendrix, the deputy project scientist for Cassini at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., who did not participate in Tokar’s study. “Scientists are now digging through Cassini data on Dione to

look at this moon in more detail.” Dione was discovered in 1684 by astronomer Giovanni Cassini, after whom the Cassini spacecraft is named. The moon is named after the Greek goddess Dione, who the ancient Greek poet Homer described as the mother of the goddess Aphrodite, NASA officials explained. NASA launched the Cassini mission in 1997 and it has been orbiting Saturn since its arrival at the ringed planet in 2004. The mission, which is a joint effort by NASA and the space agencies of Europe and Italy, has been extended several times, most recently until 2017.

Loneliness may be deadly: studies NEW YORK: Loneliness can send a person down a path toward bad health, and even more intense loneliness, studies have shown. But while some have assumed the culprit was a dearth of others to remind a person to take care of himself or herself, new research suggests there’s a direct biological link between being lonely and ill health according to LiveScience. Loneliness can set into a motion a barrage of negative impacts inside the human body - but with additional social contact, some of the ill effects can be stopped. John Cacioppo, a University of Chicago social psychologist who studies the biological effects of loneliness, presented some of his latest research at the Social Psychology and Perception meeting in San Diego in February. He has found, for instance, loneliness is tied to hardening of the arteries (which leads to high blood pressure), inflammation in the body, and even problems with learning and memory. Even fruit flies that are isolated have worse health and die sooner than those that interact with others, showing that social engagement may be hard-wired, Cacioppo said. In one study, Cacioppo and Steve Cole of UCLA examined how the immune system changed over time in people who were socially isolated. They observed a change in the kinds of genes that lonely people’s immune systems were expressing. Genes overexpressed in the loneliest individuals included many involved in immune system activation and inflammation. In addition, several key gene sets were underexpressed, including those involved in antiviral responses and antibody production. The result is that a lonely person’s body has let its defenses down to viral and other invaders. “What we see is a consistent pattern where it looks like human immune cells are programmed with a defensive strategy that gets activated in lonely people,” Cole told LiveScience. Here’s why: The immune system has to make a decision between fighting viral threats and protecting against bacterial invasions because it has a fixed fighting capability. In lonely people who see the world as a threatening place, their immune systems choose to focus on bacteria rather than viral threats.Without the antiviral protection and the body’s antibodies produced against various ills, the result means a person has less ability to fight cancers and other illnesses. Those who are socially isolated suffer from higher all-cause mortality, and higher rates of

cancer, infection and heart disease. In addition, loneliness raises levels of the circulating stress hormone cortisol and blood pressure, with one study showing that social isolation can push blood pressure up into the danger zone for heart attacks and strokes. It undermines regulation of the circulatory system so that the heart muscle works harder and the blood vessels are subject to damage by blood flow turbulence. Loneliness can destroy the quality of sleep, so that a person’s sleep is less restorative, both physically and psychologically. Socially isolated people wake up more at night and spend less time in bed actually sleeping, according to Cole and Cacioppo’s research. The cycle created by loneliness can be a downward spiral. Studies by Cacioppo and others before him have found that lonely people tend to rate their own social interactions more negatively and form worse impressions of people they meet. “Much like the threat of physical pain, loneliness protects your social body. It lets you know when social connections start to fray, and causes the brain to go on alert for social threats,” Cacioppo told LiveScience. “Being lonely can produce hyper-reactivity to negative behaviors in other people, so lonely people see those maltreatments as heavier. That makes it possible to fall more deeply into loneliness.” The reasons trace back to humanity’s evolutionary history, when people needed each other to stay alive. Loneliness doesn’t just make people feel unhappy, it actually makes them feel unsafe - mentally and physically. This powerful evolutionary force bound prehistoric people to those they relied on for food, shelter and protection, to help them raise their young and carry on their genetic legacy. Cacioppo surmises that the distress people feel when they drift toward the edges of a group serves as a warning - like physical pain - that they need to reengage or face danger. Everyone feels left out for some period of time, be it moving to a new city or starting college. Typically the feelings subside by themselves within six months. But when it comes to treating chronically isolated people, some interventions work better than others. In a large meta-analysis done last year, Cacioppo and colleagues found that two of the best ways to treat loneliness are to train people for the social skills they need to view the world in a more positive light, and to bring people together to share good times.

Chocolate may be good for your heart LONDON: Eating chocolate is not only a treat for the tongue -- it may also have some tangible benefits for heart health, such as lowering blood pressure slightly, according to a study involving more than a thousand people. The study, which combined the results of 42 smaller studies and was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also found that participants had small improvements in blood vessel function and a dip in their insulin levels. A number of past studies have found that chocolate lovers seem to have lower rates of certain heart risks, such as high blood pressure. “My take-away message would be that if people like dark chocolate, then eating a little in place of other ‘treat’ foods is fine, and may be beneficial,” said study leader Lee Hooper, at Norwich Medical School in the UK. “However, the evidence is not yet good enough to suggest that we should all be doing this.” She cautioned that the studies involved were neither large enough nor long

enough to show whether eating chocolate has any effect on a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke. In contrast to past studies, which were largely observational and couldn’t prove cause-and-effect -- that chocolate itself caused the changes -- the current study focused on clinical trials, where researchers assigned people to eat chocolate or not and then watched for changes in blood pressure, cholesterol and other heart risk factors. Hooper and her team pooled data from 42 small clinical trials involving about 1,300 people and found that chocolate eaters had a few points knocked off their blood pressure readings, along with lower insulin levels and other benefits. Though it’s not clear why chocolate has this affect, it’s believed to be due to compounds known as flavonoids, which are also present in foods such as nuts, soy, tea and wine. But researchers acknowledged shortcomings in their study, including differences in the people involved in the trials

-- some healthy, some with chronic health problems -- and different ways of testing chocolate’s effects. Some studies used cocoa drinks, some solid chocolate and some cocoa supplements. They also varied in how long people were “treated,” though most trials lasted less than six weeks. The biggest question may be whether any benefits would be worth the downside of chocolate. Based on the studies they used, Hooper’s team writes, it could take several hundred calories’ worth of chocolate to see effects on insulin and blood vessel function -- and that could mean trouble for your waistline. “From a practical perspective it is premature to advise individuals to consume chocolate or cocoa to decrease their risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the cardiovascular nutrition lab at Tufts University in Boston, who was not part of the study. For now, she added, if you enjoy a little chocolate in your life, you can probably keep doing so. Just don’t add it in the hopes of helping your heart. -Reuters

New breed of strawberry is deep purple NEW YORK: Scientists aren’t content to let nature rest on its laurels when it comes to the strawberry. Cornell University horticulturists have announced that they’ve bred a new type of strawberry called the Purple Wonder designed to stun with both its taste and its color - a deep burgundy according to LiveScience. “Purple Wonder is sweet and aromatic, with outstanding straw-

The new breed of Purple Wonder strawberry is shown. (Agencies)

berry flavor,” Courtney Weber, a small fruits breeder and associate professor of horticulture at Cornell, said in a statement. “But the color is something you won’t be able to find in any grocery store.” “The color develops all the way through the fruit, which might surprise consumers accustomed to supermarket fruit with color mostly on the surface,” Weber said. “And letting the fruit ripen on the plant just makes the berries sweeter.” The medium-sized berries start off creamy-white and then turn red before deepening into their dark purple hue. The new fruit will be unveiled at the Philadelphia International Flower Show on Monday (March 5). Cornell has an exclusive licensing agreement with seed company W. Atlee Burpee Co. to sell Purple Wonder seeds. The company plans to market the fruit to home gardeners who keep a plot in their backyard or some pots on their fire escape. Purple Wonder’s lack of many runners (horizontal shoots that produce new plant sprouts) makes it ideal for container growing, its makers say. Plus, its high antioxidant content makes it a health booster. The fruit is bred to be hardy enough to fare well across most of the temperate United States, resist disease and insects, and most of all, to taste great, Weber said. “Let’s face it: Berries often get eaten on the way home from the farmers’ market,” he said.

An elongated solar filament lies near the edge of the upper right of the sun’s edge in this photo (from roughly 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock). Part of the filament near the north pole erupted on Feb. 19, 2012, as seen by the STEREO (Ahead) spacecraft in extreme UV light. Solar filaments consist of clouds of gases cooler than their surroundings that float above the sun’s surface, suspended by magnetic forces. Filaments commonly erupt and disappear into space. In this case, the majority of this filament (to the right) did not fly up off the sun during the eruption. (AFP)

UK scientists to help satellites dodge sun storms LONDON: British scientists have developed a system to help protect navigation and communications satellites from potentially devastating solar storms, they said on Friday. Services spanning everything from mobile phones to sophisticated weaponry increasingly depend on global positioning system, or GPS, technology. However damage by a massive burst of solar energy could knock out GPS satellites and send them veering into the paths of other craft or scramble their communications. Led by a team from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), researchers from six European countries will use satellite data and ground-based measurements of the earth’s magnetic field to forecast changes in radiation. That will allow them to alert satellite operators of a sudden increase in dangerous particles and give them time to move the craft out of harm’s way, power them down or fold sensitive wings away. “For the first time, we can now forecast radiation levels for a whole range of different orbits, from geostationary to medium earth orbit where there is a tremendous growth in the number of satellites,” said BAS researcher Richard Horne, who led the project. “Nobody has done that before.” GPS satellites are particularly vulnerable because they orbit closer to the earth, passing through the Van Allen belt - a magnetic field that surrounds the planet and a troublesome source of radiation for satellites at all times. “We know that the radiation levels there are much higher than in geostationary orbit, but they’re still subject to big changes and we have a lot less information on those medium earth orbit locations,” Horne told Reuters.

STORM BREWING

The tremendous growth in GPS system satellites from many countries, including Europe’s Galileo, means that monitoring near-earth space has become increasingly important.The risk of storms is growing. The 11-year activity cycle of the sun is set to begin a peak of stormy activity in 2012-13, making forecasting all the more important. Though solar radiation can take a day and a half to travel from the sun to the earth, the new system will still only be able to give satellite operators a few hours notice of a storm thanks to data from a relatively distant NASA satellite, 1.3 million km (800,000 miles) out in space. The price of the 2.54 million euro (3.39 million dollar) system is tiny compared to the loss of even just one satellite. A repeat of a “superstorm,” like that seen in 1859 would wreak an estimated $30 billion of damage to satellites alone, according to governmentfunded BAS. In 2003, a geo-magnetic storm caused more than 47 satellites to go haywire and led to the loss of one satellite valued at $640 million. Commercial operators are cagey about just how vulnerable their satellites are to solar storms, but a spokesman for Virginia-based satellite manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corporation said such storms were a well-known concern. “Space weather of course is a contributing factor to long-term satellite performance,” said spokesman Barron Beneski. “If there is a new tool that would probably be welcome.” An Orbital satellite attracted attention in 2010 when it failed and remained unresponsive for months, a malfunction the company said could have been caused by space weather. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

Technology

APP OF THE WEEK

SUNDAY, march 4, 2012

Microsoft releases ‘reimagined’ Windows 8 for public testing

Jumanah Al-Ghadban Staff Writer

App: Fairway Solitaire - Big Fish Games Category: Games Price: Free Platform: iOS Works with: iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch Briefly: Since the start of the Digital time we have been obsessed with solitaire and that obsession has extended further than the actual cards into the PC world and no onto your phones and tablets. Fairway Solitaire is the latest craze, a highly addictive game that combines solitaire with golfing. In this game you follow a gopher’s dream of golfing perfect scores by clearing the card decks using the least amount of moves. No words need to be said to convince you to download it, just do so and enjoy your latest addiction.

TECH TALK Hackers winning security war: Technology security professionals seeking wisdom from industry leaders in San Francisco this week saw more of the dark side than they had expected: a procession of CEO speakers whose companies have been hacked. -Reuters Zynga seeks own game space away from Facebook: Zynga Inc is launching a new games service that allows users to play on the company’s website instead of Facebook, potentially driving traffic away from the world’s No. 1 social network that is its biggest partner. -Reuters Facebook rolls out new advertising tools: Facebook rolled out new tools for advertisers Wednesday as it prepares to go public later this year in the largest flotation ever by an Internet company on Wall Street. Among the marketing opportunities unveiled at an event held by Facebook at the Museum of Natural History was the possibility for ads on mobile devices -- a so-far untapped revenue source for the California-based social network. -AFP

Windows’ and Windows Live Division President Steven Sinofsky attends the Windows 8 Consumer Preview presentation at Hotel Miramar during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Feb. 29, 2012. (Reuters)

Windows’ Corporate Vice President of programs management Julie Larson-Green attends the Windows 8 Consumer Preview presentation at Hotel Miramar during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona Feb. 29, 2012. (Reuters)

BARCELONA: Microsoft Corp released an incomplete version of Windows 8 for the public to download and try out on Wednesday, looking to rev up excitement for the slick, new-look operating system that it hopes will restore its fading tech supremacy. Windows 8, as the first Microsoft operating system compatible with low-power microprocessors designed by ARM Holdings Plc, will run on tablets as well as desktops and laptops, in an effort to counter the runaway success of Apple Inc’s iPad. “It’s an even better Windows than Windows 7,” said Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft’s flagship Windows unit, as he demonstrated the new system at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Windows 7, Microsoft’s last operating system, was its fastest-selling ever, racking up 525 million sales in less than three years. But Microsoft has

into the market at the same time, but has not set a target date. The world’s largest software company generally tries to bring out a new version of Windows every three years, so that would indicate a full release date around October this year, in time for the holiday shopping season. In both versions, Windows 8 features a completely new interface, borrowed from what Microsoft calls the “Metro” style of the current Windows Phone software. It features blocks or “tiles” that can be moved around the screen or tapped to go straight into an application. The latest version of Windows 8 unveiled on Wednesday has better performance, quality and reliability than the version it released to developers last autumn. For the first time, this version of Windows 8 includes the Windows Store, where users can download and try out apps and get access to cloud

found itself sidelined in the rush toward mobile computing by Apple, Google Inc and Amazon. com Inc. “It’s incredibly fast and fluid to just navigate this UI (user interface)”, said Sinofsky, showing off Windows 8 on a tablet and an ultra-thin laptop at the event in Barcelona. Anyone can download the new version of Windows, but it will only work on PCs and laptops running standard Intel Corp x86 chips. Consumers will have to wait longer to try out the full experience on ARM-compatible tablets. It is available for download at http://preview.windows.com. Sinofsky said people from 70 countries had already downloaded the software on Wednesday morning, but he did not give exact numbers. Microsoft says it is aiming to get machines running on both the ARM and Intel platforms

Sony returns to smartphones with new models

NASA says was hacked 13 times last year: NASA said hackers stole employee credentials and gained access to mission-critical projects last year in 13 major network breaches that could compromise US national security. -Reuters Google rolls out new privacy policy amid howls: Google rolled out its new privacy policy Thursday allowing the firm to track users across various services to developed targeted advertising, despite sharp criticism from US and European consumer advocacy groups. Google contends the move simplifies and unifies its policies across its various services such as Gmail, YouTube, Android mobile systems, social networks and Internet search. -AFP

New, faster Apple iPad expected next week

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc is hosting a media event next Wednesday, where it is expected to unveil a faster, better-equipped version of its popular iPad tablet to thwart increasing competition from deeppocketed rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. The invitation-only event will be held at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) on March 7 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, where the company also introduced the last two generations of iPads. Apple, which sent the invitation to reporters by email on Tuesday, did not divulge details of the event beyond saying: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.” The invitation featured a partial picture of the touchscreen of a device resembling an iPad. Apple launches are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar, scrutinized by fans, investors, the media and industry insiders alike. The iPad has dominated the nascent tablet computer market, but Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which sells at half the cost, has chipped away at the lower end of the market. The third iteration of a device that has helped put pressure on demand for traditional laptops and computers is expected to boast a faster, quad-core processor and a higher-definition screen. Some analysts and industry experts expect 4G wireless capability, ensuring that the iPad remains current as cutting-edge broadband technology from Verizon Wireless and other carriers gains momentum. Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc. “The picture is zoomed in on an icon and I don’t see any pixels in that icon,” Avi Greengart, analyst at Current Analysis, said, underscoring how industry experts pick apart even Apple’s communiques for hints of what to expect. “You don’t need exceptional foresight to guess that Apple is likely looking at a higher resolution display.” -Reuters

The newly launched Xperia Smartphone series that were announced on Feb. 29, 2012. (Agencies)

BARCELONA: Sony Corp. declared a return to the smartphone business on Sunday, unveiling its first smartphones under the Sony brand, but warned the group’s painful transition would not be as fast as rebranding. Kazuo Hirai is due to formally take over as Sony CEO on April 1, replacing Howard Stringer. Hirai said that while some management changes had already been identified there was still a long way to go to “explain to everybody who’s doing what.” Hirai was at the Barcelona Mobile World Congress to unveil two new Androidpowered smartphones, Xperia P and Xperia U, carrying the Sony brand. These new Xperia smartphones combine stand-out design and superior entertainment technology with the powerful performance consumers would expect from a Sony smartphone. The Xperia NXT series also provides access to the Sony Entertainment Network*, giving con-

sumers a comprehensive content and services ecosystem with unrivalled entertainment possibilities and allowing them to share and enjoy content across multiple devices. The newly renamed Sony Mobile Communications is headed by Bert Nordberg, Sony Ericsson’s chief executive from 2009. While both Hirai and Nordberg stressed that their message to Barcelona was that Sony was back in the phone business, Hirai said that Sony Mobile Communications would be integrated within Sony as a whole. He pointed to Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, the company responsible for the PlayStation and other gaming products, which remained a separate entity but was fully integrated when it came to discussing products and unifying the experience of users. “That’s the way I envision Sony Mobile Communications working as well,” Hirai said. He said work had already started on making that happen, but did not offer specifics. -Reuters

storage with the ability to move content across a range of devices including Windows phones. It also uses a test version of Microsoft’s newest browser, Internet Explorer 10. The Windows Store has a range of apps including a reader for Gannett Co Inc’s national newspaper USA Today, games such as Cut the Rope, and other titles compatible with Microsoft’s Xbox video game system. But it is still tiny in comparison with the 140,000 apps available for the iPad. Users need to sign on with a Microsoft account to download apps, which are all free during the test period. The test version of Windows 8 has mail, calendar and messaging apps, but no evidence of Office, Microsoft’s dominant suite of work applications. Sinofsky said earlier this month that a version of Office would be included in Windows 8 for ARM tablets. -Reuters

HTC eyes recovery with new HTC One Series

BARCELONA: Taiwan’s HTC, the world’s No. 5 smartphone maker, launched a new range of smartphone models on Sunday, hoping the fresh designs will help it to recover some of the lost market share. The new smartphones are crucial for HTC in a cut-throat market place -dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc -- as lack of new, outstanding models has sent its sales sinking over the last months. The challenge for HTC, which was once the standard bearer for the marketleading Google’s Android operating system, but dropped in global rankings last quarter, is to make its Android devices stand out among dozens of similar models. HTC unveiled three new models for the new HTC One range late on Sunday, ahead of start of Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. “HTC One takes HTC to a new level,” CEO Peter Chou said at a news conference. All new models – One X, One S and One V -- run the latest version of Android software. The HTC One series consists of three models, the One X, One S and One V, running the latest version of Google’s Android software. They have fast processors for graphics and either polycarbonate or metal cases HTC says are harder and more resilient than standard ones. The phones feature HTC’s ImageSense camera technology that it says offers photography on a par with traditional digital cameras, including fast autofocus and low-light shooting. They also have photo storage and sharing software. Music features include integrating Internet radio and using audio technology from Beats Electronics, which HTC bought last year, for games as well as music. “The products look competitive, but HTC executives will be looking over their shoulders nervously to see how these new devices stack up against rival Android smartphones also being announced at the show,” said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight. -Reuters

GEARS

Ford Mustang 2013: Completely re-engineered Compiled by Jameel W. Karaki

The Ford Mustang is the longest surviving of the affordable breed of classic American muscle cars. The 2013 Ford Mustang has new front-end styling, some other exterior tweaks and more power for the V-8-powered GT. The rear-wheel-drive sports icon, available as a coupe or a convertible, also comes with a V-6 and is available in higher-performance Boss 302 and Shelby GT500 versions, the latter of which is the most significantly re-engineered of the 2013 lineup. Competitors include the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Hyundai Genesis coupe. Exterior

The most dramatic changes for 2013 are in the front, where the grille protrudes even farther than before, and the lower grille is now as large as the top one, though only a portion of it actually admits air. Likewise, the vents that flank the lower grille are for show. Not so for the vents on the GT’s new hood; they’re functional heat extractors. Xenon high-intensity-discharge headlights are now standard on the Mustang V6 and GT, and LED accent lights join the main headlight assemblies. Similar to simple puddle lamps that illuminate the ground alongside some cars, “pony projection lights” on the 2013’s side mirrors project the Mustang pony logo onto the street. The faceted rear end introduced in 2010 continues in the 2013, but there’s now a gloss-black panel between the taillight clusters, whose signature three segments are more delineated than before and employ LEDs. Interior

For 2013, the Mustang’s instrument panel adds a 4.2-inch dis-

Under the Hood

Powertrain changes include a small output increase and a giant leap into the 21st century. The GT’s 5.0-liter is now rated at 420 horsepower, an increase of 8 hp. The optional six-speed automatic transmission now includes a sequential manual shifting mode that is controlled by a switch on the gear selector rather than steeringwheel shift paddles. The GT Track Package option includes the Boss’ limited-slip differential along with an engine oil cooler, upgraded radiator and performance brake pads. Available only with the standard six-speed manual transmission and 3.73 rear axle, the package includes everything in the current Brembo Brake Package.

Staff Writer

Safety

1- The 2013 Ford Mustang has new front-end styling, some other exterior tweaks and more power for the V-8-powered GT.

play between the gauges that provides trip-computer and performance information in a colorful, high-resolution format seen in other Ford models. A new Track Apps feature displays g-forces and acceleration and braking times. It’s similar to readouts offered for the past several years on some Chrysler and Dodge SRT models. New options include two new stereos, the eight-speaker Shaker and nine-speaker Shaker Pro. Cloth or leather Recaro-brand sport seats previously found only on the Boss 302 and Shelby GT500 can now be added to the V6 and GT trim levels. What the Mustang doesn’t add is the controversial MyFord Touch control system.

The Mustang includes the federally required antilock brakes, electronic stability system and frontal airbags. There are also frontseat-mounted side-impact airbags with a head-protection extension. Shelby GT500

The ultimate Mustang has received more changes for 2013 than the other models. A new supercharged 5.8-liter V-8 produces 650 hp and 600 pounds-feet of torque that’s good for a claimed 200 mph top speed. The outgoing model’s supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 made 550 hp and 510 pounds-feet of torque. Boss 302

Like the 2012 model that revived the name, the 2013 Boss 302 has a 444-hp, 5.0-literV-8 that makes 380 pounds-feet of torque and drives the rear wheels through a short-throw six-speed manual.

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Thinking of You Artist: Tracy Chapman Album: Our Bright Future Genre: Folk/Soul In short: Tracy Champan sped to mainstream fame with “Fast Car” in 1988, and then again with “Give Me One Reason” in 1995, but singles released henceforth failed to a big impact on mainstream level. Chapman’s latest release, 2008’s Our Bright Future, wasn’t without notable gems that standout amidst her long career. “Thinking of You” is the perfect example of that. Laid back and free of gimmicks, “Thinking of You” is evidential of Chapman’s lyrical prowess. “I used to think, Galileo would agree / That the world was round, and you’d come round to me / But I have looked for you, and you’re nowhere in sight / The world must be flat, the Babylonians were right,” sings Chapman on the number. To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz Oprah to interview Houston’s daughter, family Oprah Winfrey has landed an interview with Whitney Houston’s daughter and other family members for a TV special that will air on the Oprah Winfrey Network. “Oprah’s Next Chapter” will feature an interview with 18-year-old Bobbi Kristina, Houston’s only child, as well as Patricia Houston, her sister-in-law and manager, as well as the singer’s brother Gary. It is scheduled to air next Sunday. The superstar was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 11. An exact cause of death has yet to be determined. Winfrey was one of the guests invited to Houston’s funeral in Newark, N.J., last month. Houston was 48 years old. Her daughter turns 19 Sunday. -AP

Memorials to honor Monkees singer Davy Jones The heart attack that killed Monkees heartthrob Davy Jones came while the singer was in his stable surrounded by his beloved horses. The star’s spokeswoman, Helen Kensick, offered the detail Friday, two days after Jones died in Florida. She says Jones spent his final days surrounded by family and riding horses before his sudden death. A funeral in Florida will be private. Kensick says public services to honor Jones will be held in New York and in England, though the details have not been finalized. Jones rocketed to stardom in the 1960s as a member of The Monkees. Though their television show lasted just two years and the group ultimately broke up, they have endured with such chart-topping hits as “I’m a Believer” and “Daydream Believer.” Jones was 66. -AP

Scarlett Johansson to play Janet Leigh in Making of Psycho Scarlet Johansson is checking into the Bates Motel. “The Avengers” star will play Janet Leigh in “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho,” a spokesman for the actress confirmed to TheWrap. In a boon to the hormonal hordes, that means that the star will be re-enacting Leigh’s famous shower scene. It also may require lathering up with chocolate syrup, which was used in the original black-and-white film to simulate blood. Anthony Hopkins has been tapped to play Hitchcock and Helen Mirren will play the director’s wife, Alma. The Fox Searchlight project will offer a behindthe-scenes look at the 1960 horror classic. It is based on Stephen Rebello’s book of the same name, which traced the film’s development, creation and popular reception. Filming is expected to begin this year with Sacha Gervasi (“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”) directing a script from John McLaughlin (“Black Swan”). -Reuters

Singer Cee Lo Green announces Las Vegas residency The singer-songwriter behind the Grammy-winning 2010 single “Forget You” and the 2006 hit “Crazy” is settling down - at least for a few months - in a Las Vegas residency. Cee Lo Green says his semi-permanent show, “Loberace,” will launch Aug. 29 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, and run at least through the end of the year. “The production will combine Cee Lo’s flamboyant sense of style and over-the-top creativity,” producers said in a statement, adding that the show “will be as inspired and visually alive as Cee Lo Green.” Organizers say the show will include a musical journey through time, with tributes to Price and the Rolling Stones. “Mind-twisting magic and sexified showgirls” are also on tap. The 37-year-old Green, known for his soulful voice and extravagant costumes, is a coach on the NBC show “The Voice.” His break came in the mid-1990s in the southern rap scene, but has evolved to include Gnarls Barkley, a collaboration between him and DJ-producer Danger Mouse, and his 2010 solo album “The Lady Killer.” The 28 shows through the end of December are scheduled for late nights, and some follow Planet Hollywood’s “Peepshow” production in the 1,400-seat theater. -AP

Weinstein protests R rating of ‘Bully’ documentary NEW YORK: Fresh off his Oscar glory with “The Artist,” there’s no silence for Harvey Weinstein when it comes to his next film. The famously bellicose producer is protesting the R rating received by a documentary his Weinstein Co. is releasing. “Bully,” directed by Lee Hirsch, is an examination of school bullying that follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. It received the rating, which restricts kids under the age of 17 from seeing it without an accompanying adult, because of six expletives. Weinstein claims such a rating restricts the very audience the film can most benefit: high school teens. The Weinstein Co. appealed the decision, but the Motion Picture Association of America, which oversees movie ratings, declined to lower the rating to a PG-13. “I find it outrageous,” says Weinstein, who has long been renowned for his combativeness. “This is, on a personal level because of my own temper, a redemptive act for me.” “We’re hoping that smart people come to their senses,” he adds. Weinstein has threatened to withdraw his future films from the MPAA rating system. But John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, has reminded him that such a tactic would result in theaters treating unrated films as NC-17 movies, which can kill a film’s artistic or commercial success. “As a father of a 9-year-old child, I am personally grateful that (the Weinstein Co.) has addressed the important issue of bullying in such a powerful documentary,” Fithian wrote in a letter to Weinstein. “Yet were the MPAA and NATO to waive the ratings rules whenever we believed that a particular movie had merit, or was somehow more important than other movies, we would no longer be neutral parties applying consistent standards, but rather censors of content based on personal mores.” That leaves the makers of “Bully” with the question of whether to edit or bleep the expletives, which are part of the antagonistic behavior documented between kids in the film. Right now, Hirsch is declining to do that, and has the backing of Weinstein. The director says such editing would minimize

FILE - In this Nov. 23, 2011 photo, Harvey Weinstein, film producer and co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, poses for a photo in New York. (AP)

the harsh realities of bullying. “To cut around it or bleep it out, it really absolutely does lessen the impact and takes away from what the honest moment was, and what a terrifying feeling it can be (to be bullied),” says Hirsch. “I feel a responsibility as a filmmaker, as the person entrusted to tell (these kids’) stories, to not water them down.”

Julie Taymor claims there was a ‘Spider-Man’ plot NEW YORK: Director Julie Taymor has hit back at her former creative partners in “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” arguing in court papers that she was the victim of a conspiracy to unfairly push her out of the production. Taymor’s legal team on Friday defended the Tony Award winner against a countersuit from producers, the latest installment in their bitter legal battle over financial rewards for Broadway’s most expensive show. “While secretly conspiring to oust Taymor and use and change her work without pay, the producers also fraudulently induced Taymor to continue working and to diligently make improvements,” her lawyers said. Taymor, the original “Spider-Man” director and cobook writer, was fired in March after years of delays, accidents and critical backlash. The show, which features music by U2’s Bono and The Edge, spent months in previews before officially opening a few days after the Tony Awards in June. It has become a financial hit at the box office. In November, Taymor slapped the producers - led by Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris - as well as Glen Berger, her former co-book writer, with a copyright infringement lawsuit, alleging they violated her creative rights and haven’t compensated her for the work she put into the $75 million show. In January, the producers’ filed a counterclaim asserting the copyright claims are baseless. The latest salvo is Taymor’s team responding to that counterclaim. Producers for “Spider-Man” had no immediate response. In the legal filing, she claims she was ousted not because she wasn’t willing to cooperate with changes but simply to appease investors, sway critics to the idea that the show was being fixed, bilk her of royalties and “mask the producers’ own failures.” The filing quotes emails among her and the producers, Berger and Bono and The Edge, painting a picture of a creative team very supportive of Taymor’s direction and vision. She also said she had no part in the accidents that injured actors and embarrassed the production. The filing describes a behind-the-scenes atmosphere that was secretive and slightly paranoid. Taymor alleges that Berger was told to quietly work on changes to the story without Taymor’s knowledge - called “Plan X” - that in an email Berger complained led him to lead a “double life” - both working with and against Taymor. The stunt-heavy show has been doing brisk business

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2010 file photo, Julie Taymor, director of the musical “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” is photographed in New York. (AP)

since it opened its doors. Most weeks it has easily grossed more than the $1.2 million the producers have indicated they need to stay viable. Over the Christmas holiday, the show earned the highest single-week gross of any show in Broadway history. Taymor alleges that the show has not been re-imagined and that what audiences are seeing at the Foxwoods Theatre is essentially the same show she directed. “The producers’ current suggestion that they have created a ‘new’ show after a mere three-week shutdown is false and incredible,” the filing says. -AP

Weinstein has feuded with the MPAA and NATO before, notably over the NC-17 rating of the 2010 drama “Blue Valentine” and the R given to the 2011 best picture winner “The King’s Speech” - which was recut and briefly released again in a PG-13 version. Some believe Weinstein is using this ratings squabble to help promote “Bully” ahead of its March 23 release. “This is not publicity,” Weinstein counters. “This is ridiculous.” He claims there is precedent for degrading a film’s rating when it serves a greater good. Though the 2004 documentary “Gunner Palace” contains dozens of expletives, its R rating was changed to PG-13 on appeal because of its worthy subject matter: the experiences and stories of American soldiers in Baghdad during the Iraq War. Joan Graves, head of the Classification and Ratings Administration for the MPAA, calls that decision “an anomaly” made in “a different time and a different appeals board.” Graves says the lesson of that ruling was that the MPAA shouldn’t wade into territory where it’s deciding ratings based on merit and subject material. “The danger of our switching our criteria for what we perceive to be good films is that, one day, you and I are not going to agree on what’s good and what’s bad,” says Graves, who added that she does consider “Bully” a good film. “Our system has always been built on giving the level of content and letting parents make the decision.” Many are rallying behind a rating change for “Bully,” including American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. “Films like Lee Hirsch’s ‘Bully’ are critical in illustrating to students the painful consequences of bullying on their classmates and our communities,” Weingarten said in a statement. “Unfortunately, because of the film’s R rating, students will be shut out and discouraged from viewing this film. By giving it a PG-13 rating, the MPAA can take a stand against bullying and ensure this powerful film reaches children across the country.” Katy Butler, a 17-year-old Michigan high school student, has gotten more than 185,000 signatures for an online petition to change the rating. -AP

Celebrity burglary suspect takes plea deal

LOS ANGELES: A man accused of leading a series of burglaries at the Hollywood Hills homes of celebrities pleaded no contest Friday to stealing from Lindsay Lohan and reality star Audrina Patridge. Nicholas Frank Prugo spoke softly as he entered the pleas under a deal that includes two years in state prison and requires him to testify against three remaining defendants charged with breaking into the home of Paris Hilton and Lohan. Prugo and others were accused of break-ins that netted more than $3 million in jewelry, high-end clothes, art and other goods. Most of the property has never been recovered. Prugo, 21, was initially charged with burglarizing the homes of Hilton, Orlando Bloom and Rachel Bilson, but those counts were dropped in exchange for his plea. He will be responsible for restitution awards stemming from the break-ins, prosecutor Christine Kee said. “Nick is doing the right thing,” his attorney Markus MuellerDombois said after the hearing. Prugo could face serious penalties if he does not testify, including more than seven years in state prison. He will also be considered a two-strike felon after sentencing, which could bring lengthy prison time if he commits another felony. Prugo pleaded no contest to two counts of felony residential burglary and was set for sentencing May 4 or after the cases against the remaining defendants have concluded. Neither Lohan or Patridge, a star of MTV series “The Hills,” attended Friday’s hearing. Two others charged in the case, Rachel Lee and Alexis Neiers, also accepted plea deals. Prugo said Lee helped plan the breakins. She was sentenced to four years in state prison after pleading no contest to burglarizing Patridge’s home. The plea deals have spared the stars from testifying at trials about the break-ins. However, several appeared before a grand jury in 2010. “It wasn’t about the things that were taken, it was just the fact that someone came into the only private space that I have in my life at this point,” Lohan told the panel. -AP

Eddie Izzard, Liam Neeson join NY Amnesty benefit lineup NEWYORK: British stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard and actor Liam Neeson have joined the final lineup for Sunday’s one-night benefit show, the Secret Policeman’s Ball, to be staged for the first time in New York at Radio City Music Hall.

Justin Long signs up for Broadway debut The first new student has been revealed for the Broadway play “Seminar” - Justin Long. Producers announced Thursday that Long will make his Broadway debut alongside Jeff Goldblum on April 3 for eight weeks as a new cast takes over at The Golden Theatre. The original cast is Alan Rickman, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, Jerry O’Connell and Hettienne Park. They will play their final performance April 1. Other replacements will be revealed later. In Theresa Rebeck’s play about the soul-torturing world of authors, four budding writers are taught about life by a crass, pugnacious novelistturned-tutor. Long will take over Linklater’s part. Long’s films include “The Break Up” and “Dodgeball.” On TV, he was in “Ed” and “New Girl.” He’s also known for Apple’s “Get a Mac” ads. -AP

SUNDAY, march 4, 2012

British comedian Eddie Izzard poses at the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute honoring Paul McCartney in Los Angeles Feb. 10, 2012. (AP)

Also joining the usually British-based music and comedy festival is actor Tim Roth and British comedians Matt Berry and Jimmy Carr. Among American comedians are “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bobby Moynihan, Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah ,as well as “Entourage” actor Rex Lee. The concert, which will benefit Amnesty International on the 50th anniversary of the human rights group, will feature previously announced big names and acts including Coldplay, Jon Stewart, Russell Brand, Paul Rudd, Stephen Colbert and Mumford & Sons among a total of 36 entertainers. “The Secret Policeman’s Ball has a long and glorious tradition of helping Amnesty International to take on tyrants through world-class comedy,” said Kerry Moscogiuri, director of marketing for Amnesty International. “As Amnesty International brings the Ball to the United States for the first time, the headlines around the world - from Syria to China - demonstrate just how much Amnesty’s work is needed,” she added. Myanmar comedian and director, Zarganar, will also perform at the show that was first staged in 1976. Zarganar was released last year after being sentenced in 2008 to 59 years in a remote prison after criticizing then-ruling generals for their sluggish response to Cyclone Nargis. The concert’s head writer David Javerbaum, the former head writer and executive producer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” called the final line-up “a pretty unbelievable collection of comedic and musical talent.” The show, last held at Royal Albert Hall in 2008, aims to celebrate free speech and raise awareness for Amnesty International. It will feature sketches, music and other acts. -AP

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2009 file photo, defendant Nicholas Prugo leaves a court hearing in Los Angeles after pleading not guilty to felony burglary charges. (AP)

ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012

If you have an event you wish to include, please email: aroundtown@alwatandaily.com

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

Rich Pakistani culture attracts people at exhibition

Sudoku Pakistani stalls with their colorful and unique collection of cultural artifacts remained focus of attention for the large number of people who turned up at the, ‘Bilateral Relations Exhibition’ and ‘Cultural Heritage, History and Civilization Exhibition’, held in Kuwait from Feb 23-26, 2012. The first exhibition was held at Kuwait House of National Works to commemorate country’s 51st Independence Day and 21st Liberation Day. While the second one marked the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the establishment of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). Pakistan’s active presence at the two events was strongly felt by those who visited the exhibitions to know about the history and culture of different coun-

Month a t

tries as Pakistani stalls had lot to offer them in the shape of wide variety of cultural products representing different parts of the country. The vast collection of hand-made artifacts, colorful posters on the country’s beautiful landscape as well as pamphlets and brochures on tourism and economy drew immense interest especially from the youth who came there in groups. Kuwait’s Information Minister, Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah and the Under Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah, the chief guests at the two events respectively, visited Pakistani stalls and shown great interest in the products. Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kuwait Iftekhar Aziz briefed them about the salient features of the history and cultural heritage of Pakistan.

Intermediate

Advanced

Elementary

General A n n o u n c e m e n t s

a glance

Quiz night for ladies March 14/ 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. / TIES Center: Ties Center Ladies Club invites all ladies to the educative and entertaining session. You can come with your family and enjoy the quiz night together. Refreshments will be provided. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6 or 97228860/97793440.

New Toastmasters Club Second and fourth Tuesday/ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m. / Jabriya: A new Toastmasters Club is being formed and encouraging new members to join. Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. It is a non-profit international organization dedicated to improve member’s communication and leadership skills by attending and participating toastmasters meetings. For more information, please contact Khaled Al-Hashem at 65588824.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Lana is a very affectionate and sweet female puppy of mixed breed. She was born in October 2011. Lana is a happy girl who loves to play and go for long walks. She will be a great addition to a family with children over 10 years of age.

Waist Watchers

Diwaniya presentation March 6/ 7 p.m. / AWARE Center: You are invited to a diwaniya presentation entitled, “Business Survival Guide” by An Swinnen. In 2010, An decided to write “The Business Survival Guide (because it is a jungle out there)” which gives top tips on how to run your own business, business skills, management skills and social skills. The book was written in Kuwait and summarizes some of An’s experiences of doing business in Kuwait and the GCC countries. For more information, call 25335260 ext 0.

Turkish lessons for beginners March 4/ Turkish Embassy: The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that “Turkish”, a new class ofTurkish lessons for beginners will restart at the Embassy’s Tourism, culture and information office. For details contact 22277405.

Art exhibition March 5-15/ 7 p.m. / Dar Al Funoon: Mohammed Abou El Naga is a multidisciplinary visual artist, art professor, curator and developer. Throughout his colorful career, he created award winning art projects, fulfilled his responsibility towards his community and brought up new generation of young artists with his teaching, workshop and his multitude of practices.

Fiona is a beautiful female SemiLong Haired cat born in May 2008. She loves being cuddled and a good belly rub! She enjoys being held and likes to play. Fiona would be a lovely new family member in a household with children over 5 years of age. To adopt, call (+965) 6700 1622.

Every Tuesday/ 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. / British Ladies Society: Meetings are based on the world’s most successful healthy eating plan. Weekly meetings include private weigh in, motivational talks, recipes to try, and cooking demonstrations. Fee of KD 2.500 is required to cover for the cost of course material. For more info contact; Danielle desertdanny@hotmail.com.

Hip Hop at BAIA Every week/ Salmiya: BAIA offers weekly Hip Hop classes for students aged five and up. These “just for fun” classes are a great work-out. For more information visit www.thebaia.com or contact: info@thebaia.com. Telephone: 2562 3604 ext.154, 2562 0706 ext.154. Mobile: 6005 2087.

Brainbang session October 7-April/ 11:45 a.m. -1:45 p.m. /Salmiya: BRAINBANG, the creative arm of Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) invites all students aged 11 and above, to join us fortnightly on Fridays. The areas of development are: Creativity in learning, tools and techniques to empower your mind, profile based learning, activity, fun, games and worksheet based assignments, practical experiments, mind gymnastics and application of learning techniques to conventional study. E-mail: brainbang@focckwt.org or call 25660835/25618471/97677820.

Dilbert

Royal Thai Embassy The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuwait wishes to invite Kuwaiti companies that deal business with Thai companies or those agencies of Thai commercial companies to visit the Embassy’s Commercial Office to register their relevant information to be part of the embassy’s business and trade database. The Royal Thai Embassy is located in Jabriya, Block 6, Street 8, Villa No. 1, Telephone No. 25317530 -25317531, Ext: 14.

EducationUSA Do you have questions regarding studying at a university in the US? AMIDEAST can help. Please visit our EducationUSA Advising Center in Sharq, and attend one of our weekly free group advising sessions, held every Monday, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. For further information, visit: www.amideast.org, telephone us at 2247-0091, ext. 6819, or E-mail us at: kuwait@ amideast.org.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

Information you receive will be clouded and delusional Aries so take it with a grain of salt. Someone’s trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Check all bus schedules twice before hopping on board or you’ll find yourself in the wrong part of town. Have some patience and don’t to get too upset if you aren’t receiving the answers that you want. Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Your fantasy world will be especially active today, Taurus, and you’ll feel free to take off into dreamland. Let your imagination run the show and you’ll be surprised at those rewards it’ll bring to your everyday life. It will be hard to make decisions over anything practical, so don’t even try. Leave it for a day in which you’re feeling more grounded. Gemini: May 21- June 21

Things might not fit into place, so do not press the issue. You may sense a strong desire to escape into fantasyland and never come back. Resist the temptation to indulge in recreational substances that’ll leave you feeling more muddled. Get your work done and then let loose. Explore what rich fantasies your inner self has to offer.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

Your physical vitality is extra strong today, Cancer, although your thoughts may be a bit clouded. Someone could strongly object to an action of yours, but realize that their motivation maybe skewed. Whatever happens you’ll be called on to take action. Take the time to assess all facts carefully because there may be some trickery going on. Leo: July 23 - August 22

There could be a bit of confusion in your world, Leo. Trying to make sense of what is going on won’t be the easiest task. Rational and analytical processes may not be the best ways to find the solution. Just let the issue sit for now and deal with it later when facts are clearer. Let go of control and the desire to make sense of it all. Try to relax. Virgo: August 23 - September 22

You’re asked to spring into action today, Virgo, so don’t resist it. Be aware of the fact that things may not be as they seem.There’ll be a strange façade over situations that you should be aware before you act. Your fantasy world is very active today so you’ll feel the urge to run away and never come back. That might not be a bad idea after all.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

It might be hard to get to the root of a matter today, Libra. Instead of getting stressed about it take a long nap this afternoon. Water your plants and read a book. Escape to some sort of fantasyland that takes you away from your daily life. Dealing with people on their own terms proves to be extremely difficult. Just relax and deal with them later. Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Enjoy a spirited day in which you indulge in everything your heart desires, Scorpio. Your imagination will take you to a whole new realm in which you play the starring role. Remember that if you can dream it, you can do it, so think big. Make good use of this power before it’s squandered away by someone else tugging on the strings. Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Sagittarius.Your thoughts are with the less fortunate. Perhaps you should consider teaming up with a local church or other organizations to help your community.Your spiritual well-being is also important to you today, and you should do something to honor this part of you. It could be hard for you to keep yourself grounded for too long.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Today is an active day in which you would do well working with groups, Capricorn. Your imagination is active and you might find yourself playing out scenes from your dreams. The people in your life are playing a more important role than they have in times past. Work with them to lift the layer of fog that is just clouding the air today. Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Don’t take anything too seriously today Aquarius, and refrain from making any major decisions. You might get the sense that something or someone is working behind the scenes without your knowledge. Trust your instincts. See what you can do to bridge the gap between reality and what you sense from the spiritual world that you live in. Pisces: February 19 - March 20

This could very well be one of those days in which you forget to wear shoes before heading out the door, Pisces. Ensure your head is screwed on tight before you climb out of bed this morning. Daydreams will seep into your consciousness no matter how hard you try to keep your mind focused on the matter at hand.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

SUNDAY, march 4, 2012

TENNIS

Federer edges Murray Roddick loses to win Dubai Championships to Anderson at Delray Beach DELRAY BEACH: Andy Roddick had three match points to beat Kevin Anderson on Friday, but could not convert any and the South African won through to the semifinals of the Delray Beach International Series. Seventh-seeded Anderson won 2-6, 7-6 (9), 6-4 to set up a semifinal against another big-serving American, John Isner. “There’s not often I can look back at my career and say a serve lost me the match,” Roddick said. “But, today, that was the case. “I’ve made a career of getting my first serves in.” Isner advanced with a solid 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 8 seed Bernard Tomicof Australia. On the other half of the draw, Dudi Sela of Israel progressed to a rare semifinal berth by beating Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0, and will face Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic, who finished strongly to beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Roger Federer of Switzerland (left) holds the winning trophy after defeating Andy Murray of Britain during the men’s singles final at the Emirates Dubai ATP Tennis Championships in Dubai, March 3, 2012. (AP)

second set and was up 30-0 but lost the next four points to send the second set into a tiebreaker which Kohlschreiber won. The Israeli was more ruthless in the third set, losing only four points in his three service games. “I was supposed to win in two sets,” Sela said. “I was 6-5 in the second set, 30-love serving, and I got a little nervous and he went for two good shots. “But I’m happy I played well in the third, stayed positive and won the match.” The 173rd-ranked Matosevic, who is currently on an 11-match winning streak, is into his first career ATP semifinal. “It feels good, especially coming through qualifying because it feels like I really earned it,” Matosevic said. “The conditions were really tough and the wind was really getting me down in the first set. I just wasn’t making enough balls and returns. “I just let him beat himself in the end.” -AP

Cricket

Compiled by Al Watan Daily

DUBAI: Roger Federer beat Andy Murray 7-5 6-4 to win the Dubai Championships on Saturday, the Swiss maestro’s 72nd tour title. Federer clinched his fifth Dubai crown without dropping a set all week. He broke Murray at 5-5 in the first set as the Briton’s serving dipped. The day after inflicting a first defeat of the season on world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Murray went down 7-5, 6-4 in just over an hour and a half. The Scot did break the 16-time grand slam champion for the first time in the tournament, but Federer always looked to have the edge. Murray’s serve, which had been so impressive against Djokovic, deserted him in the final, as his firstserve percentage dropped below 50 per cent and he won just 56 per cent of points on his second serve. The three-time major finalist had beaten Federer in the last two finals they had been in, Shanghai and Toronto in 2010, but his opponent was too good this time. Federer was soon into his stride and took Murray to deuce before the Scot held his serve in the opening game. The Swiss also had to hold in his first service game before Murray went 2-1 ahead, sealing the game with an ace. The former world No 1 was giving as good as he got, though, and two effortless winners set him up to take the next game.

Murray continued the service holds and then carved out two break points as Federer sent a weak shot into the net. But the two-time Australian Open finalist wasted both with unforced errors as Federer went on to level the match at 3-3 in style. An overhand smash helped the Scot close out the seventh game for a 4-3 lead. Neither player was giving an inch and Murray kept up the pressure to make Federer serve to stay in the first set at 5-4 down. The Swiss was up to the challenge and then moved 40-0 ahead on Murray’s serve to turn the heat back up on his opponent. Murray dug deep to save the three break points and then a fourth, but he could not shake off Federer, who made the decisive break at the fifth time of asking before closing out the set. The Swiss held to love and broke and then held to love again to go 3-1 in front to close in on yet another title. The Scot was not going to go down without a fight, though, and closed the gap to 3-2. He then carved out a break point with a lob and volley at the net and took it as Federer netted following another Murray lob. Federer was still playing the better tennis, though, and another break in the ninth game as Murray put a two-handed backhand into the net left him serving for the title. Federer was really turning on the style now and, despite Murray saving the first match point, took the second with a booming forward to clinch victory and his fifth Dubai crown.

Basketball

Mask-wearing Kobe gets 38, Lakers hold off Kings LOS ANGELES: With a 20-point lead over lowly Sacramento in the fourth quarter, perhaps the Los Angeles Lakers started thinking 36 hours ahead to a visit from the Miami Heat. The Kings capitalized on that wandering focus for an impressive comeback until the Masked Mamba finished them off. Kobe Bryant scored 38 points in his second straight big game in a protective mask, and the Lakers blew most of a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter before holding on to beat Sacramento 115-107 Friday night in their highest-scoring performance of the season. Bryant warmed up for Miami’s Sunday afternoon visit with eight rebounds, three assists and 13-for-24 shooting in his second game since Dwyane Wade gave him a concussion and a nasal fracture with a hard foul in the All-Star game. Kobe wasn’t thinking about the guy who broke his nose while making sure the Lakers didn’t stub their toes against Sacramento. “We played well, but we didn’t come in with the right sense of urgency and focus in the fourth quarter, and it almost cost us,” Bryant said. Andrew Bynum had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who improved to 16-1 at home since losing their season opener on Christmas. Pau Gasol added 15 points, and Metta World Peace scored eight of his 15 points in the final 5 minutes when the Lakers finally countered a lengthy rally by Sacramento’s reserves. “We were doing good things offensively,” Gasol said before recalling the Lakers’ similar fourth-quarter woes two nights earlier against Minnesota. “But the last two games, we got such a big lead, we stopped doing the things that got us such a big lead. Against Miami, we can’t afford to let up at any time.” Francisco Garcia scored 18 points to lead seven Kings in double figures in their eighth loss in 10 games. After Sacramento trailed 94-74 early in the fourth quarter, its reserves scored 11 consecutive points during a 21-6 run that trimmed the Lakers’ lead to 100-95 on Jimmer Fredette’s three-pointer with five minutes

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant puts up a shot during the first half of their NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Friday, March 2, 2012. (AP)

Despite the loss, Roddick feels his game is getting into better shape after dealing with a right hamstring and right ankle injury this season. “I played OK this week,” Roddick said. “I returned a little bit better. I flowed a little bit better than a week ago. It’s just a matter of getting my percentage better on my serve.” On a day where the swirling wind annoyed all the players, Isner put up nine aces and won four of his nine service games at love in the 56-minute match. “I played well right from the get-go,” Isner said. “When he has time, that’s when he gets comfortable. So I wanted to keep the points short, which is what I want to do every match. “The wind was very, very tricky.” The 75th-ranked Sela reached his first ATP World Tour semifinal since the 2010 Chennai tournament. Sela was serving for the match in the

to play. World Peace and Bryant both hit key threepointers down the stretch to counteract big baskets by Fredette and John Salmons, who had eight of his 12 in the final period. Marcus Thornton scored 15 points for the Kings, who have lost two straight since California’s capital city announced its financing plan for a 391 million US dollars downtown arena to replace Arco Arena. Sacramento couldn’t keep up with the Lakers despite committing just five turnovers, their fewest in a game since December first, 2007. “These guys could have folded and said, `It’s over, we’re going to roll over,”’ Sacramento coach Keith Smart said. “But they played hard and got themselves back in the game, and that’s why this group is going to be OK. This group is going to come around as we continue to get familiar with each other, and they’re going to play hard every single night.” Two nights after scoring 31 points in a win over Minnesota in his first game in the mask, Bryant had 31 points through three quarters against the defense-deficient Kings. The NBA’s leading scorer had 20 points in the first half, but didn’t score in the fourth until hitting a rally-killing three-pointer with two minutes and 43 seconds to play. Bryant is sticking with his clear plastic mask until his nose is less tender, although he says the protection feels like “a sauna on my face.” The mask hasn’t affected his vision or his shooting stroke: He’s 20 for 24 on free throws since donning the mask, even though he banked in his last foul shot with 9.5 seconds left. “The mask felt fine,” Bryant said. “It felt fine last game, it felt fine tonight.” The Lakers have had trouble with their upstate rivals in recent months, starting with Sacramento’s 100-95 win at Staples Center in January 2011 to snap a six-game skid in the series. The Kings then beat the Lakers at home on December 26 while Bynum served a suspension, sending Los Angeles off to a 0-2 start to the season. -AP

South Africa sweep New Zealand ODI series AUCKLAND: Paceman Marchant de Lange picked up four wickets on his one-day international debut as South Africa completed a 3-0 clean sweep against New Zealand with a five-wicket victory in the third and final ODI in Auckland on Saturday. South Africa’s bowlers bundled out New Zealand for 206 in 47 overs after the visitors had won the toss and opted to bowl in wet and windy conditions at Eden Park. Hashim Amla, who made 92 in the last ODI in Napier on Wednesday, continued his impressive form by scoring 76 as South Africa reached their target with 40 deliveries to spare. The stylish right-hander, who was dropped on 30 by Nathan McCullum off Kyle Mills, added 80 runs for the first wicket with makeshift opener Wayne Parnell (27) and 58 runs with Albie Morkel (41) for the second to anchor the chase. Amla hit seven sublime boundaries in his knock before he mistimed a pull shot to be caught by New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, giving seamer Kyle Mills his 200th wicket in ODIs. The visitors, who had also won the preceding three-match Twenty20 series 2-1, lost some wickets after Amla’s dismissal but it was not enough for New Zealand to post an unlikely win. South Africa pacemen Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe pegged New Zealand back with some hostile fast bowling at the start and the hosts struggled for momentum from there on. The 21-year old de Lange, who made his test debut last December against Sri Lanka also extracted a good pace and

bounce from the track as New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals to be bundled out with three overs left in their innings. The 55-run stand between James Franklin (36) and debutant Colin de Grandhomme (36) for the fifth wicket was the only half-century partnership in the New Zealand innings.

De Grandhomme, who hit three sixes and a four in his 36-ball knock, and Kane Williamson were run after some athletic fielding by South Africa while left-arm spinner Robin Peterson lopped off the tail with two wickets at the end. The three-test series between the two sides begin in Dunedin on Wednesday. -Reuters

South Africa’s JB de Villiers (left) plays a shot, watched by New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum, during their final one-day cricket international, March 3, 2012. (Reuters)

India’s disastrous Australia cricket tour over

SYDNEY: India leave for home on Saturday after a disastrous tour of Australia to face likely recriminations after Sri Lanka ended their hopes of reaching the finals of the trinations one-day series. Sri Lanka held their nerve to end India’s late bid for a spot in the best-of-three finals with a gripping nine-run win over Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. That result means the deserving Sri Lankans will do battle with Australia in the finals, starting in Brisbane on Sunday. India, who arrived Down Under in December as the second-ranked Test nation and reigning World Cup champions, return home to face questions over their poor tour, which included a 4-0 drubbing in the Test series against Australia. Symptomatic of India’s miserable time was the failure of batting star Sachin Tendulkar to claim his 100th international century. Test and one-day cricket’s revered leading run scorer missed out on scoring a century for the first time in five tours

to Australia, where he was given standing ovations to and from the wicket each time by respectful crowds. In eight Test and seven ODI innnings Tendulkar could not deliver the ton that has been eluding him since his 111 against South Africa at last year’s World Cup. It was difficult to gauge Tendulkar’s feelings on the subject as he was cocooned away from the media and did not appear at press conferences while all his teammates daily trotted out their reasons for each successive failure. India’s tour record does not make for pretty reading. Their 4-0 Test humiliation included defeat by 122 runs in Melbourne, innings losses in Sydney and Perth and a 298run thrashing in Adelaide. There have been calls back home for India’s ageing stars Rahul Dravid,V.V.S. Laxman, even Tendulkar to move on and the strategy and approach of skipper Dhoni and the batting lethargy of Virender Sehwag have been questioned. -AFP

Formula One

Grosjean fastest again in Barcelona F1 test

MONTMELO: Lotus driver Romain Grosjean set the fastest time in Formula One testing for the second successive day on Friday, clocking a best lap of 1min 22.614sec. Grosjean’s French compatriot Jean-Eric Vergne, who had topped the time charts with 1min 23.614 in the Toro Rosso in the morning session, finished the day as second overall fatest. World champion Sebastian Vettel, in the Red Bull, was third, ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Vettel said that some new parts will be added to the Red Bull for the final two days of testing. “We have some new bits for the next two days and then we’ll know a little bit more,” he told www.autosport.com. “Everyone is a bit in the same situation. Usually the last couple of days of testing are quite important because you bring some new bits and the car is closer to what you will race at the first race, so we will see if that comes true. “Hopefully we can make another small step forward and then we should be okay.”

Testing continues until Sunday ahead of the first race of the 2012 Formula One season in Melbourne, Australia, on March 18. Another former world champion Lewis Hamilton was down in ninth in his McLaren, but was adamant that the team had collected crucial information. “Today was all about testing set-up. It was a good day: we learned quite a lot and improved a few things. We didn’t get a lot of mileage, as we had a lot of downtime in between changes,” said Hamilton. “Our car feels better set-up wise, we still haven’t added the new aero package, so I think we’ll get a better picture of what the car will be like in Australia over the next two days. But I definitely feel like we have a competitive car. “This year’s winter testing has been way better than last year. I’ve not had any problems, we’ve ironed out a lot of issues and I feel very comfortable. I’m fit and ready for Melbourne.” -AFP

SUNdAY, MARCH 4, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editors Highlight RIO DE JANIERO: Brazil Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said on Saturday his country would no longer recognize FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke as a spokesman after he slammed the country’s faltering organization of the 2014 World Cup. FIFA have for months expressed varying degrees of concern over the extent to which preparations are on track for the first World Cup in Brazil since 1950. But Frenchman Valcke pulled no punches on Friday when he said that although there was no danger of Brazil losing the event, he believed progress was much too slow.Valcke also suggested the priority in Brazil was to win the tournament rather than organize a good World Cup. -AFP

Football

Van Persie seals Arsenal victory at Anfield LONDON: Two goals from Robin van Persie, the second in stoppage time, earned Arsenal a 2-1 Premier League victory at Liverpool on Saturday to strengthen their claims of a top-four finish. The lethal Dutchman volleyed the winner during eight minutes of added time having headed an equaliser in the first half after Liverpool had gone ahead courtesy of an own goal from Arsenal centre-half Laurent Koscielny. Liverpool, who less than a week ago won the League Cup to ensure Europa League qualification, surrendered their unbeaten home league record and remain in seventh place, 10 points adrift of the top four with a game in hand. Arsenal’s fans serenaded Van Persie with chants of “he scores when he wants” after his latest contribution and while that may be an exaggeration, his knack of scoring important goals for the north Londoners is extraordinary. He had hardly been in the game when he headed in Bacary Sagna’s searching right-wing cross after 31 minutes, by which time a rampant Liverpool side should have scored more than one goal. Arsenal’s Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny had kept his side in the game early on. After clipping Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez to concede a penalty he then saved Dirk Kuyt’s spot kick and the scrambled across his line to beat out the Dutchman’s weak follow-up effort. Szczesny was powerless to prevent Liverpool taking the lead after 23 minutes when Jordan

Henderson’s cross was sliced into the net by a panicky Koscielny. Suarez then struck a post after Henderson’s shot had been saved by Szczesny before Van Persie silenced the home fans with a stooping header from Sagna’s cross. Liverpool continued to dominate and Suarez was denied a superb solo goal after the wriggling South American had slalomed through Arsenal’s defence, only for Szczesny to claw away his goalbound shot. Kuyt almost put Liverpool back in front in first half stoppage time but his closerange effort hit the post. A lengthy stoppage after Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta suffered concussion interrupted the flow at the start of the second half. Liverpool’s Martin Kelly contrived to miss an open goal with 20 minutes remaining, failing to connect from inside the six-yard box while at the other end Arsenal threatened on the break with Theo Walcott’s deflected shot brilliantly saved by Pepe Reina with his legs. A draw beckoned for Liverpool only for van Persie to bag all the points for his team when he guided a textbook volley inside Reina’s near post after being picked out by Alex Song’s precision pass. “We had good chances in the second half and we knew when that chance went to Van Persie we could get the three points,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told Sky. “We had two men of the match today, one completely at the back and one completely at the front.” -Reuters

Robin van Persie of Arsenal celebrates scoring the equalizing goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal, March 3, 2012. (AFP)

Man City five clear as Bolton woe continues MANCHESTER, England: Leaders Manchester City coasted to an 18th straight home league win after Gretar Steinsson’s own goal and a Mario Balotelli effort helped them to a 2-0 success over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. City move five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with second-placed Manchester United facing Tottenham Hotspur, who sit third, on Sunday. Roberto Mancini’s team were a long way from their best but their win was never in doubt after Gael Clichy’s drive flew in off Steinsson mid-way through the first half.

They had to wait another 46 minutes to double their advantage when Balotelli, who was left out of the Italy squad for the mid-week friendly with the United States, slammed in from close range. Mancini’s side now entertain Chelsea and head to Arsenal in the next run of seven games before they host United, who have a simple run after Sunday’s game at Spurs. City may have won each of their 13 home league games this season but Bolton at least became only the third team to leave Eastlands without conceding at least three goals. Although Bolton lined up with American de-

Mario Balotelli of Manchester City holds off a challenge from Zat Knight of Bolton Wanderers during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, March 3, 2012. (AFP)

fender Tim Ream as a holding midfielder in a system aimed at containment, City wasted no time in cutting their visitors apart. With just a minute gone, some quick passes created space for Adam Johnson to send Pablo Zabaleta through and the defender’s low cross saw Samir Nasri kept out by a fine block from David Wheater. Moments later, Yaya Toure fed Balotelli, whose effort come back off the post, before Nasri was twice denied by Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan. Vincent Kompany almost had an anxious moment at the other end when his header from a Mark Davies free-kick nearly found the corner of his own net. But City, with the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva starting on the bench, maintained their intense pressure. Balotelli wasted another great opportunity when he missed from close range after more fine work from Johnson. But the breakthrough came mid-way through the first half when Clichy was given plenty of room to hit a shot from 25 yards that glanced off Steinsson and past Bogdan. David Ngog was denied by Joe Hart as Bolton looked for a quick response and Ryo Miyaichi also troubled the City goalkeeper twice, going closest after robbing Kolo Toure. But City almost added a second just before the interval when Yaya Toure tore forward and clipped a pass across to Kompany, whose fine pass on the turn found Balotelli, only for the Italian to be denied by Bogdan’s save. City were totally in control and Bogdan did well to rush off his line to block from Balotelli within seconds of the restart. Gareth Barry also lifted a shot well over the bar from distance as City struggled to maintain their early pace. Just after the hour, Kolo Toure went close to adding a second when he thumped a drive past the far post after a fine burst down the right wing. Balotelli finally got his goal mid-way through the second half after Johnson’s direct run into the area culminated in a neat back-heel to Balotelli, who drilled in at the near post. -AFP

Bayern sunk by late double blast from Leverkusen BERLIN: Bayer Leverkusen warmed up for their Champions League clash at Barcelona with a 2-0 home win against Bayern Munich on Saturday, as the Bavarians’ poor form continued. The hosts took the lead on 79 minutes when ex-Germany striker Stefan Kiessling tapped the

Leverkusen’s Daniel Schwab (left) and Bayern’s Arjen Robben vie for the ball during the German first division Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, March 3, 2012. (AP)

ball home from two yard after Swiss forward Eren Derdiyok’s overhead kick took Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer out of the game. Midfielder Karim Bellarabi, 21, had been on the pitch just eight minutes when he supported Gonzalo Castro’s break to slot home Leverkusen’s second and claim his first

goal for Bayer, sending the home crowd delirious. Leverkusen are at Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium on Wednesday, needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash. Victory keeps Leverkusen fifth in the league. Third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach can usurp Bayern from second place in the league if they win at Nuremberg on Sunday. Bayern’s form has deserted them since Christmas and this was their sixth defeat in the league in total, while they have won only four of their last nine games this year. They face a make-or-break few weeks and have to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg of their last-16 tie against FC Basel on March 13 in the Champions League, before a German Cup semi-final at Gladbach on March 21. The Bavarians are bidding to avoid a repeat of last season, when they finished in the rare position of having won no silverware. Stuttgart are eighth in the table after they earned a 4-0 win at Hamburg. Hertha Berlin finally broke their seven-match losing streak with a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen as ex-Greece coach Otto Rehhagel, who steered the Greeks to the Euro 2004 title, enjoyed his first win in only his second game in charge. Schalke’s ambitions of winning a first Bundesliga title suffered a dent as they fell 2-1 at Freiburg, which lifted the hosts off the bottom of the table. The Royal Blues finished with 10 men as Greece defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos was sent off after earning a second yellow card towards the end of the second half. Kaiserslautern are now bottom of the table after their goalless draw with VfL Wolfsburg, while Augsburg are 16th after their 2-2 draw at Hanover. -AFP

Chelsea’s Champions League hopes hit by West Brom WEST BROMWICH, England: Gareth McAuley struck a dramatic late winner as West Bromwich Albion defeated Chelsea 1-0 to heap the pressure on Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas on Saturday. Northern Ireland international McAuley slid in to convert from close range with just eight minutes remaining at The Hawthorns to leave Chelsea three points adrift of the fourth and final Champions League spot following Arsenal’s victory over Liverpool in the day’s early game. While it was a third straight victory for West Brom, Chelsea have now won just one of their last seven matches and the defeat will only add to the uncertainty over Villas-Boas’ future, who conceded this week he fears for his job at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea return to the midlands in midweek for an FA Cup fifth round replay against Birmingham and a defeat at the hands of the Championship club could prompt Blues owner Roman Abramovich to sack Villas-Boas. Once again, there was no place for Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s starting line-up, yet Frank Lampard kept his place despite last week’s admission that his relationship with his manager was “not ideal”. Roy Hodgson’s side dominated the early stages and threatened in the eighth minute when James Morrison forced Petr Cech to tip a swerving 25yard effort bound for the top corner over his crossbar after Jerome Thomas’ lay-off. Chelsea’s stuttering start was summed up when the unmarked Juan Mata completely fluffed his lines 15 yards out from Daniel Sturridge’s cross, however the Spaniard did better in the 14th minute when Didier Drogba’s flick gave him sight of goal from a tight angle only for him to be foiled by Ben Foster. On-loan Foster’s recent form has prompted Hodgson to admit it could price

them out of a permanent deal in the summer and the goalkeeper demonstrated he is at the top of his game with a fine fingertip save to keep Sturridge’s volley from the top corner after 39 minutes. However, the England forward spurned an excellent chance a minute later when he was sent through by Drogba’s threaded pass only to drag a shot past the post. Albion threatened again shortly before the interval, though, and it took a fortunate deflection off Gary Cahill to stop Youssouf Mulumbu’s curling effort giving the Baggies the lead. Foster excelled once more when he darted off his line and emerged victorious from a one-on-one confrontation with Sturridge outside of his own area eight minutes after the restart. Mata capitalized when Steven Reid pulled up with an injury and the Spaniard set Sturridge clean through on the counter-attack, however Foster read the former Manchester City player’s dummy and the danger was averted. Reid was forced off, with Gabriel Tamas replacing him, and he was soon followed onto the field by Baggies captain Chris Brunt for his first appearance since a lengthy absence through injury. Mulumbu and Marc-Antoine Fortune both forced smart saves from Cech, while Brunt let fly with a low drive as the Baggies continued to knock on the door. Villas-Boas finally responded to Chelsea fans’ calls for Torres by introducing him in the 76th minute in one last throw of the dice. Yet it was the Baggies who were to eventually prosper. Cech could only punch Brunt’s deep corner out to Keith Andrews, wide on the left. Andrews’ cross was fired back across goal by Liam Ridgewell and McAuley slid in to spark wild celebrations among the Albion fans. -AFP

IFAB approve of hijab and goal-line technology BAGSHOT, England: The International Football Association Board IFAB, which comprises four representatives from the world governing body FIFA and four from the British associations have agreed in principle to overturn the decision they took in 2007 and will now allow Muslim women footballers to wear a hijab, or headscarf, when they play. The hijab decision, taken after a presentation to the Board by FIFA executive committee member Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, was agreed by all eight members and will also be subject to further testing with a view to a final decision on July 2. “I am deeply grateful that the proposal to allow women to wear the headscarf was unanimously endorsed by all members of IFAB,” Prince Ali said. “I welcome their decision for an accelerated process to further test the current design and I’m confident that once the final ratification at the sepcial meeting of IFAB takes place, we will see many delighted and happy players returning to the field and playing the game they love.” In other decisions, a proposal from FIFA to allow a fourth substitute in extra time in Cup matches was withdrawn while further discussions will be taken regarding the “triple punishment” sanction when a

player concedes a penalty, is sent off and faces a suspension for preventing a goalscoring opportunity. IFAB also approved the use of “vanishing spray”, the temporory marker sprayed on to the pitch by the referee so defenders stand 10 yards (9.15 metres) from freekicks, can also be used in matches, It also allowed rolling substitutes in amateur and veterans matches. The issue of goal-line technology has been on and off IFAB’s agenda over the last decade, but FIFA president Sepp Blatter, once a staunch opponent, changed his mind after Frank Lampard’s infamous phantom goal for England against Germany in the 2010 World Cup finals was disallowed when it was clearly over the line. Blatter said before the meeting he “would rather die” than witness another blunder like that in a future World Cup and with his support, the introduction of the system became more likely. A number of issues remain to be settled regarding technology including future licensing agreements, the costs involved and to what playing level the systems can be used. Both systems, and future ones yet to be developed, could eventually be licensed with costs expected to reduce over time. -Reuters