March 8, 2012

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1367

20 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

World powers seek joint stance on Iran

VIENNA: Six world powers struggled Wednesday to find common ground on how harshly to criticize Iran, reflecting the difficulties of presenting a united front at upcoming talks with the Islamic Republic meant to coax it into reducing activities that could be used to make a nuclear weapon.

A 35-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board was scheduled to discuss concerns about Iran’s nuclear program Wednesday.

But its rapid and unscheduled adjournment reflected the East-West divide.

The United States, Britain, France and Germany seek a joint statement that takes Iran to task for defying UN Security Council resolutions de-

manding it end uranium enrichment and cooperation with an IAEA probe of suspicions it secretly worked on nuclear arms. But a senior Western diplomat told The Associated Press that Russia and China - which have condemned Western sanctions on Iran as counterproductive - want more moderate language. He asked for anonymity because his information was privileged.

While divisions along such lines are not new, the fact that diplomats at the IAEA meeting have been unable to bridge them three days into the IAEA meeting reflects poorly on hopes of unity at talks scheduled in the near future between Iran and the six.

Open skepticism within the Western camp about Iran’s readiness to negotiate cast further doubt about the outcome of those talks, with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe saying he is not convinced the Islamic Republic is ready to compromise over its nuclear program.

Speaking for the six powers - who have repeatedly tried and failed to wrest concessions from Iran - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton announced Tuesday that they had agreed to new talks at a still to be determined a time and venue. Even minor progress at such a meeting would serve to lower tensions exacerbated by increasingly frequent warnings from Israel of pos-

Lawmakers may file more interpellations as PM faces questioning over handling of probe

Staff Writers and Agencies

KUWAIT: The interpellation filed by MP Saleh Ashour against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah has apparently given other lawmakers the appetite for addressing similar motions against other ministers.

Despite assertions by the majority of MPs that interpellation is a constitutionally preserved right, yet, others have criticized the timing.

Sources within the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) affirmed the group’s support for the interpellation as a political and constitutional right. However, the source indicated the ICM’s reservation over the constitutionality of the issues highlighted in the motion.

For his part, the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Khaled Al-Sultan commended the prime minister’s declared position that he would step up to the podium to face the interpellation in a public session.

Al-Sultan noted that the move signals the gov-

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WASHINGTON: An impressive solar flare is heading toward Earth and could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center said the sun erupted Tuesday evening and the effects should start smacking Earth late Wednesday night, close to midnight EST (05:00 GMT). They say it is the biggest in five years and growing.

The magnetic storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids.

Its radio emissions can disrupt global positioning systems to make them less accurate.

It also could damage satellites. Scientists said communication problems and radiation from the storm will probably force airplanes to avoid flying over the north and south poles. Colorful auroras may be more visible. -AP

UN aid chief in Syria as tanks roll

Libya leader threatens force over east’s autonomy bid

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Matisse show in Paris reveals painter’s obsessive nature PARIS: A major exhibition on Henri Matisse opening in Paris this week brings a new perspective to his work, showing the painstaking creative process behind the simple shapes and strident colors that made the French artist’s name.

“Matisse: Pairs and Series” explores for the first time how one of the greatest painters of the 20th century would repeat the same composition again and again, varying color and technique, before being satisfied with the result.

For a man best known as leader of the Fauvist movement, and for seemingly spontaneous bursts of color such as his 1906 “Joy of Life,” the show reveals an insecure and restrained side that would remain unchanged throughout a six-decade career.

“We wanted to challenge the received wisdom that he was a happy painter, an easy painter, a sort of virtuoso of simplicity and joy,” said exhibition curator Cecile Debray.

“Matisse was obsessive, worried,

racked with doubt from the beginning to the end, and he showed it in his painting through this constant multiplication and exploration,” she said.

The exhibition, expected to be one of the highlights of the spring cultural season in Paris, runs to June 18 at the Pompidou Center, before moving on to Copenhagen’s Statens Museum for Kunst and then the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It comprises some 60 paintings and 30 drawings, including emblematic works like Matisse’s “Blue Nude” cut-paper series from 1952, four collages labeled I to IV, where he began the last work first then tried three different variations, before coming back to finish his first attempt at the end. “A painting is like a card game: you should know from the beginning what you wish to achieve at the end. Everything should be worked backwards so that you have finished before you have begun,” Matisse is quoted as saying in the exhibition.

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reactors, but it wants full control over the nuclear process from uranium ore to fuel rods.

It has also stonewalled an IAEA probe of suspected clandestine research and development into nuclear weapons for four years, dismissing the allegations as based on forged intelligence from the United States and Israel.

In a possible concession Tuesday,Tehran said inspectors could visit Parchin, a military facility that the IAE suspect was used for secret atomic weapons work. An IAEA official, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue, dismissed the offer as a stalling tactic.

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Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power

ernment’s new approach.

In the same vein, MP Jamaan Al-Harbash described the interpellation as a fundamental constitutional right which has been restored by the nation due to its firm stance toward the previous government.

In the meantime, MP Obeid Al-Wasmi addressed a barrage of questions to the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah demanding answers for the circumstances surrounding the death of Mohammad Al-Maimouni and Mahmoud Al-Bannay.

The MP also sought to be familiarized with the security restrictions on Bedouns (Stateless Arabs).

He also wanted to discover the non-criminal deaths attributed to overdose.

Further, MP Mohammad Al-Hatlani followed the footsteps of MP Ashour by hinting at a possible interpellation against the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali over the dismissal of the Kuwait Investment Office London Manager Eid Al-Rayyes.

Syrian government supporters attend a pro-regime rally in Damascus, on March 7, 2012. UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos was headed for Syria to urge the regime to allow aid into battered protest cities, as US President Barack Obama insisted military intervention would be a “mistake”. (AFP)

sible military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

But Juppe said Wednesday he’s “a bit skeptical” about the outcome after previous failures.

“I think Iran is continuing to use double speak,” Juppe said on France’s i-Tele television. “That’s the reason why we must remain extremely firm on the sanctions we have decided upon, which are from my point of view the best way to avoid a military option, which could have immeasurable consequences.” Iran has steadfastly rejected demands to halt its uranium enrichment, which Washington and its allies worry could be the foundation for a future nuclear weapons program. Iran claims it seeks only energy and medical research from its

BEIRUT: The UN humanitarian chief headed to the shattered central Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, where activists have accused regime forces of trying to cover up evidence of a month-long military assault and alleged execution-style killings. Valerie Amos arrived in Damascus earlier in the day and met the foreign minister before departing for Homs, said a UN spokesman in Syria, Khalid Al-Masry. The government had rebuffed an earlier request by Amos to visit the country this month as regime troops attacked the Baba Amro neighborhood in Homs, finally wresting it back from rebels last Thursday. Despite international appeals, the Syrian government still has not allowed any aid workers into Baba Amro, saying there was a security risk. But activists say the government has been engaged in a “mopping-up” operation to hide their activities.

Al-Masry said he did not know ifAmos would visit Baba Amro. Amos has said the aim of her visit is “to urge all sides to allow unhindered access for humanitarian relief workers so they can evacuate the wounded and deliver essential supplies.”

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Image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sun as it unleashed an X5.4-class solar flare on March 6, 2012. The flare appears as the bright spot in the upper left.

Norway mass killer charged with murder, terror acts

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Amid Gandhi defeat, India greets new political star

NEW DELHI: It was supposed to be the crowning moment for Rahul Gandhi, the heir-apparent in India’s ruling Congress party, but he was thrashed in this week’s state election results and another young man thrust into the spotlight.

Akhilesh Yadav has won national acclaim by helping return his father to power as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous and politically key state where Gandhi had hoped to stage a revival for Congress as it prepares to contest national elections in 2014.

Both men had taken charge of the campaigns to the Uttar Pradesh state legislature -- Gandhi for Congress and Yadav for his Samajwadi (Socialist) Party.

A relative unknown outside his state until recently, Yadav proved a canny op-

erator and an effective grass roots campaigner, travelling hundreds of kilometers around Uttar Pradesh on a bicycle. It was a smart move, since the bicycle was the Samajwadi election symbol.

Samajwadi ended up with 224 out of the state’s 403 seats, enabling it to form the state government without any need for a coalition. Despite an energetic campaign that saw him sleep in the huts of villagers and join farmers’ protests, Gandhi and the Congress party got just 28 seats.

“Akhilesh Yadav queered Rahul Gandhi’s pitch, by projecting a youthful modernist face, but with the added advantages of being seemingly rooted in local social circumstance,” wrote analyst Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express.

“He talked the language of aspira-

tion.” Both Yadav and Gandhi had projected themselves as agents of change, but on Wednesday it was Yadav’s face that was splashed all over the front pages, feted for doing what Gandhi tried and failed to do.

Both men have been educated overseas -- Gandhi in Britain and the United States and Yadav in Australia -- but Yadav managed to maintain a distinct “man of the masses” image that went down well in the largely rural state. He also managed to change his party’s image of being peopled by strongmen and thugs.

In one landmark decision, Yadav insisted that an alleged criminal be refused a party ticket to contest the election, reportedly against the wishes of some party stalwarts. The young man’s view prevailed. -Reuters

Safety fears delay search for Congo blast survivors BRAZZAVILLE: Fears of more unexploded munitions at a Congo arms depot where a series of blasts killed nearly 200 people this weekend have delayed the search for more wounded there, officials said Wednesday. Work to make safe the munitions dump where massive blasts killed nearly 200 people has been delayed so experts can carry out more exploratory work in the sector, defense ministry spokesman Colonel Jean-Robert Obargui said. But that meant that Red Cross workers cannot yet get to the site, the Mpila barracks, in the capital’s east, he said.

“It’s not easy,” Obargui told AFP by phone from Brazzaville.

“We are talking after all about a mu-

nitions explosion... It’s difficult to go there as long as we have not studied the sector,” he added. Army officers and experts from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), which specializes in demining work, had inspected the site on Tuesday, he added.

“We hope to be able to get access very quickly to recover any possible wounded and bodies,” said a statement from the president of the Congolese Red Cross, Christian Sedar Ndinga. Flags were flying at half-mast in the capital as the country mourned its dead.

The mourning period is due to last until the victims of the explosions have been buried, a date that has not yet been fixed. -AFP

Scientists find lunar connection to Titanic disaster SAN ANTONIO: A century after the Titanic disaster, scientists have found an unexpected culprit for the sinking: the moon. Anyone who knows history or has seen the blockbuster movies knows that the cause of the transatlantic liner’s accident 100 years ago next month was that it hit an iceberg. “But the lunar connection may explain how an unusually large number of icebergs got into the path of the Titanic,” said Donald Olson, a Texas State University physicist whose team of forensic astronomers examined the moon’s role. Ever since the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, killing 1,517 people, researchers have puzzled over Captain Edward Smith’s seeming disregard of warnings that iceMore on 15 bergs were in the area where the ship was sailing.

Floodwaters inundate a property in North Wagga, about 380km (236 miles) southwest of Sydney March 7, 2012. (Reuters)

Six UK soldiers believed killed in Afghan explosion

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ALWATAN DAILY

kuwait

THURSDAY, march 8, 2012

Lawmakers may file more interpellations as PM faces questioning over handling of probe MPs hail Sheikh Jaber’s move to discuss interpellation in open-door session Mohammed Al-Salman, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, Osama Al-Qatari, Ahmed Al-Shemmari and Jarrah Al-Mutairi Staff Writers and Agencies

KUWAIT: The interpellation filed by MP Saleh Ashour against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah has apparently given other lawmakers the appetite for addressing similar motions against other ministers.

Despite assertions by the majority of MPs that interpellation is a constitutionally preserved right, yet, others have criticized the timing.

Sources within the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) affirmed the group’s support for the interpellation as a political and constitutional right. However, the source indicated the ICM’s reservation over the constitutionality of the issues highlighted in the motion.

For his part, the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Khaled Al-Sultan commended the prime minister’s declared position that he would step up to the podium to face the interpellation in a public session. Al-Sultan noted that the move signals the government’s new approach.

In the same vein, MP Jamaan Al-Harbash described the interpellation as a fundamental constitutional right which has been restored by the nation due to its firm stance toward the previous government.

In the meantime, MP Obeid Al-Wasmi addressed a barrage of questions to the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah demanding answers for the circumstances surrounding the death of Mohammad Al-Maimouni and Mahmoud Al-Bannay. The MP also sought to be familiarized with the security restrictions on Bedouns (Stateless Arabs). He also wanted to discover the non-criminal deaths attributed to overdose.

Further, MP Mohammad Al-Hatlani followed the footsteps of MP Ashour by hinting at a possible interpellation against the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali over the dismissal of the Kuwait Investment Office London Manager Eid Al-Rayyes.

Similarly, MP Khaled Al-Tahous has lashed out at Minister Al-Shamali, saying that the latter is unfamiliar with his ministry’s operations and is being swayed by other. The MP regarded the appointment of Al-Shamali as head of the Civil Service Council a provocative move, and insisted that the

Parliamentarian Saleh Ashour giving a speech during National Assembly on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. (Al Watan)

minister will only cause and create tension between the executive and legislative authorities.

The minister also came under severe criticism from the MP Mubarak Al-Waalan who opined that the current state of affairs will not improve as long as Al-Shamali remains in Cabinet, noting that Al-Shamali is infamous for always refusing to approve matters related to his ministry.

Lawmakers will question the prime minister next week over issues linked to the collapse of the previous government, a ministry official said, a move highlighting discord in the month-old Parliament.

Parliamentarian Ashour, who called for the questioning, has accused Sheikh Jaber of failing to investigate corruption allegations linked to the previous administration.

Kuwait’s information minister said the premier would deal with the questioning in a “positive and relaxed spirit,” according to comments carried by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

MP Ashour said that the statement made by Minister of Information Mohammad Al-Mubarak, in which he said that His Highness the Prime Minister will accept discussing

the interpellation motion in an open-door session and not be postponed or referred to the Constitutional Court, was a positive step that is in the interest of the political action in Kuwait.

However, the lawmaker revealed that he has secured the support of seven MPs to file a no-cooperation motion, and that he is in search of three more.

Ashour expressed hope that such an approach of dealing with a “constitutional tool” will continue, adding that it was a good approach towards the development of the democratic process and political accountability in Kuwait.

As for the last two items included in the questioning regarding the issue of Bedouns and failure of government to submit action plans, which were part of an interpellation motion MP Obaid Al-Wasmi expressed his intention to file against the Prime Minister earlier, Ashour said that political issues are adopted by everyone.

Meanwhile, MP Hamad Al-Mattar valued the announcement made by the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber to mount the podium. He added that the prime minister had no other option as the majority would force him to do so.

Speaking to reporters in the Parliament on Wednesday, Al-Mattar said that Ashour made a statement to Al-Jaridah newspaper on Nov. 28, 2011 in which he said that the interpellation motion filed against the Prime Minister on the money transfers and bank deposits was unconstitutional since the Minister of Finance is responsible for the deposits and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for money transfers. Al-Matar proposed to the government to refer the interpellation to the Constitutional Court or to the Legislative Committee or to request writing it off, noting that he is for the last option.

Al-Mattar said that the procedure taken by Ashour was constitutional, adding that the Kuwaiti people have the right to be aware of the details of the political accountability.

Meanwhile, MP Mohammad Al-Dallal said that the move taken by the Prime Minister was a good step which reflects his respect to the constitution. He hoped that such approach, which is discussing interpellations in open-door sessions, will continue.

Speaking to reporters, Al-Dallal said that any lawmaker has the right to file interpellations, but filing this interpellation at this time is surprising, especially if the aim was to interrupt the efforts to form parliamentary investigatory committees.

Parliamentarians have the option to call a no-confidence motion after the questioning, a move which could put the prime minister’s position at risk.

However it seems unlikely that opposition politicians, who won a majority of seats in February’s election, will take such a step as it would jeopardize their own new-found power if the push leads to parliament being dissolved.

The newly elected, mainly Islamist opposition is also fragmented. Political parties are banned, which means opposition politicians are forced to rely on forming blocs in parliament.

The move to interpolate the highest-ranking minister so early in the legislative period suggests power struggles will continue to paralyze politics and stifle economic and social reforms in the oil-producing state.

A court is investigating a complaint against former premier Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and a nephew of the Amir over allegations of illicit financial transfers abroad, a source in the prosecutor’s office confirmed last month.

Sheikh Nasser’s government resigned last year after some opposition lawmakers alleged it had made a series of illegal financial transfers via Kuwait’s embassies abroad. He denied any wrongdoing at the time.

When the allegations first came to light protesters staged a series of demonstrations outside parliament that culminated in the storming of the chamber, forcing the government to resign and triggering the dissolution of the assembly.

Al-Milaifi subjected to mistreatment in prison: Human Rights Committee Staff Writer

KUWAIT: In a press statement made available to Al Watan, the parliamentary Committee for Human Rights headed by the Committee Chairman Dr. Adel Al-Damkhi and members Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei, Mohammad Hayef, and Faisal Al-Yahya visited the Central Prison accompanied by the General Manager Brigadier Khaled Al-Dayin and other officials.

Al-Damkhi praised the work and cooperation of the prison management saying that the

committee nonetheless had made some notes regarding the status of the prison, the prisoners and the services provided.

“During the visit, Committee members took notes while meeting with some of the bedouns (Stateless Arabs) who were released from prison. The committee also met with writer Mohammed Al-Milaifi who complained against the way he was treated as he was taken from the Central prison to the Court,” he remarked, adding that the committee has decided to look into the nature of the complaint. Al-

Damkhi concluded by stressing that the visit is only part of a series of visits expected to be carried out to introduce proper and appropriate regulations for the Central Prison.

On his part, MP Al-Tabtabaei said that the visit to the Central Prison is intended to be periodic and the committee was keen to make such visit as top priority at this early stage in the current legislative term. He added that the purpose of the visit is to improve the status of the inmates and the services provided to them “so that the bright image of Kuwait in the sphere of

IAPU applauds Kuwait parliament recommendations on Syria

human rights would be underscored.”

“The Committee met with a number of inmates including those who had been accused of breaking and entering the Syrian Embassy.

The committee is keen to see that conditions of the prison and the treatment they receive are compatible with the rules and regulations of the human rights,” he explained.

Similarly, MP Hayef said that he met with the bedouns who were released from prison and that he listened carefully to their complaints, pointing out that the issue of the bedouns “is

Urgent meeting held today for setting housing project timetable Abdullah Al-Shimmery Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The new General Manager of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare Subhi Al-Mullah begins his duties today by holding an urgent meeting with the Supreme Planning Committee for Housing Project and Activities.

Meanwhile, an informed source told Al-Watan that the members of the supreme administration of the authority will

Arab Parliament Speakers pose for a group picture after the 18th Conference of the Inter-Arab Parliamentary Union on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.

(Al Watan)

the product of the past successive governments and it is time that the present government should deal with it bearing in mind the humane side of it with the view of nationalizing those who deserve the Kuwaiti nationality.”

MP Hayef stressed that in future meetings, the committee is planning to discuss the issues and complaints raised during the visit.The committee was also accompanied by the Chairman of the Kuwaiti Society for Basic Fundamentals Dr. Yousef Al-Saqr and Vice Chairman Abdullah Al-Damkhi.

attend the meeting wherein the authority is expected to determine today the policy of the next stage as well as projects that will be carried out by each sector. During the very meeting the authority will call for preparing a survey on the new housing areas that will be used later for establishing projects and it is expected that an executive timetable will be set for them.

The source affirmed that the Minister of State for Housing Affairs Shuaib AlMuwaizri has asked Al-Mullah to prepare

a survey on all the housing projects at authority and referring the survey to the minister in order to help it to overcome the obstacles that the projects may face as well as putting an end to the housing problem.

The source added that the meetings of the planning committee will continue until it completes the required survey. The committee is also expected to complete its executive plan within the next few weeks.

Kuwait calls for maintaining freedom of faith

KUWAIT: The 18th Conference of the Inter-Arab Parliamentary Union (IAPU) lauded here Tuesday recent recommendations by the Kuwaiti National Assembly on the situation in Syria. The Kuwaiti parliament had called for sending medical teams to Syria, bringing in critically injured protesters for medical treatment at Kuwaiti hospitals, launching a fund-raising campaign and allowing Syrians living here to get in their families, mainly women and children.

The IAPU conference kicked off here on Monday and has just concluded.

In a final communique, the conferees openly condemned crimes committed against the Syrian people, which left thousands of Syrians killed or wounded and rendered other thousands homeless.

Sounding the alarm about a looming civil war in Syria, they said the solution to the Syrian crisis is a “political one”, which should include an immediate halt to violence and killing, non-international intervention, release of all detainees and a peaceful power transition.

This political solution should find its way through the Arab League, they stressed.

On the GCC, they voiced concerns over “Iran’s continuing interference in the internal affairs of the GCC member states in breach of their sovereignty and independence”.

They, therefore, called on Iran to stop such practices and commit to good-neighborliness principles and international laws and norms.

However, the Arab members of parliament supported the states’ right to peaceful nuclear energy with commitment and cooperation with the IAEA, while urging a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear standoff.

On Palestine, they denounced all Israeli racial violations of the Palestinian people.

They called for an Arab boycott against the Zionist entity, and for Arab strict steps against any country that may support it or provide political, military and financial support to it.

They appreciated the recent smooth power transition in Yemen in line with the Gulf initiative.

They welcomed the outcomes of a recent conference in London on inter-Somali reconciliation.

But, they urged Arab countries to provide urgent material, humanitarian and medical support to the drought-hit Somali people.

On Lebanon and Sudan, the Arab conferees stressed these Arab countries’ security, stability, unity and territorial integrity.

Finally, they underlined the significance of empowering women and enacting pieces of legislation that should reinforce democracy, freedoms, human rights, good governance, rule of law and justice. -KUNA

GENEVA: Kuwait called all international organizations for respecting individuals` freedom, including the freedom of faith in order to enhance peace amongst the different factions of society.

The Third Secretary at Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Hajri said in a statement at the 19th session of Human Rights Council that the different countries of the world have to highlight the freedom of faith for all individuals, affirming that Kuwait respects and abides to all principles of human rights including the economic, social, cultural, civil and political ones as all individuals of society should enjoy such rights.

He added that article 35 of the Kuwaiti constitution stipulates that freedom of faith is open and the state defends it as well, therefore all individuals can practice the religious rituals that they want as long as the rituals don’t breach the laws and traditions of the country.

Al-Hajri added that Kuwait calls on countries to halt all attempts that stir religious hostility, violence and discrimination according to the second item of article 20 of the International Charter of political and civil rights. “Kuwait has supported all programs which call for tolerance and understanding through dialogue. His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad has also

Third Secretary at Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Hajri at the 19th session of Human Rights Council Wednesday, March 7, 2012. (KUNA)

endorsed the initiative of establishing an International Center for Moderate Practices of Islam which organized several

international conferences to show its experience in fighting extremism,” he said.

-KUNA

ALWATAN DAILY

KUWAIT

thursDAY, march 8, 2012

‘Strategic alternatives’ are ideal for future increment: Civil Service Khalifa Al-Rabee, Jarrah Al-Mutairi Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Even though it declared that it fully accepts and endorses the so-called “strategic alternatives”, which is basically to come up with a salary rate based on the nature of the job and the element of hardship it involves, the Civil Service Bureau ended its meeting on Tuesday with the recommendation that any increment would be on temporary basis and that any final decision regarding this particular point would be dealt with in their Monday meeting. The Civil Service Bureau, however, agreed that any increment would be granted to all state employees who were not part of any recent increases. Sources related to Al Watan said that the postponement of a final decision

was made following a dispute over the actual rate of increase, as the argument revolved around whether the increase would be above the rate of 30 percent or lower.

Other sources affirmed that there was an agreement that the increase should be within the range of 20 to 25 percent.

The rate of increment was presented during the meeting as it was introduced back in 1982. Other incentives and increases were also discussed. The “strategic alternatives” seems as the ideal answer and even inevitable by some, but it takes longer in terms of time for implementation.

Sources said that certain professions have not enjoyed any increment. It is estimated that 100 professions in the public sector haven’t had any proper increment.

Sources confirmed that the increase would

be temporary until the matter is finalized and that it would not cover those who received increments lately such as teachers, engineers, and military staff and oil employees.

The increment is expected to cover people in the Customs and Excise, legal practitioners and employees of the Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC).

On their part, the Kuwait labor Union announced a strike following the decision made by the Civil Service. The Chairman of the Union Fayez Al-Mutairi said that the Civil Service has neglected the demands made by the Union and that the decisions they make regarding the increase is “haphazard”, as there are neither criteria nor legal authority in the way they base their decision.

Kuwait, US discuss boosting military cooperation KUWAIT: Kuwait Army Chief-of-Staff, Lieut-General Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah discussed Wednesday, with US Commander General of the Third Army LieutGeneral Vincent Brooks, means to enhance military cooperation.

The meeting was attended by Land Force Commander Brigadier Khalid Khalil Al-Foderi and Head of the Directorate of Military Cooperation Brigadier Abdulrazzaq Al- Awadhi.

Earlier this week, the American World Tribune said that the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet has been conducting patrols in the past few days in the northern part of the Gulf waters, with the aim of protecting Kuwait and preventing any attacks against the country.

It pointed out that 25,000 US soldiers are stationed in Kuwait and that a large number of them are there to support the combat assignments of the US troops in Afghanistan.

It also said that the US Navy had been using different military units to protect naval bases in Kuwait as well as an eight meter patrol boats and sea Ark crafts.

Citing the Commander Kevin Hanson, it said that the mission is done through an efficient way. He explained that the Commander Task group 56.5 Harbor has been carrying out patrol assignments within “unusual arrangements”.

Technician Steve Murdick in Unit 307

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Sheikh Khalifa Al-Sabah says Qatari lawyer sought other newspapers

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Sheikh Khalifa Al-Ali Al-Sabah Editor in Chief of Al Watan said that the hit and run car accident of the Kuwaiti citizen Ahmed Assad was tragic, adding that both the victim as well as the assailant are regarded as part of the people of this country.

Sheikh Khalifa’s statement came during a telephone conversation with the presenters and guests of the late night program “Night is Early” during which the issue of a Qatari and Kuwaiti tragic fight was discussed.

On Tuesday, the Ahmadi Prosecution ordered the detention of the Qatari national accused of overrunning Assad where he will be referred to the Central Prison pending investigations.

The order came due to the poor health condition of Assad and the difficulty involved in taking statements from him. A session will be set following the remand in custody to determine whether the accused should face renewed detention or released on bail.

“I would like to point out that my brother Sheikh Nasser Al-Ali has close relationship with the tribe of Al-Murras and specifically the Adhbis to whom the accused Ali Al-Merri belong. Sheikh Al-Ali contacted the brother of the accused and informed him that the newspaper is open for any statement he wishes to make,” he remarked.

Sheikh Khalifa added that Ahmad Al-Sulaiti accused Al Watan newspaper of lack of professionalism “even though the newspaper is open for all to express their views”.

He added that it was the decision of Al-Merri’s lawyer to seek the assistance of, and express his views, in different newspapers. “Just like we have given the opportunity to lawyer Hawra AlHabeeb, as well as other lawyers to express their view on the case, we are readily available to publish any views by the lawyer”, he explained, adding that he finds it difficult to accept the Qatari Al Watan newspaper’s coverage of the case as he pointed out that the details of the story was not properly checked nor did they contact the Kuwaiti Al Watan for more information.

But Sheikh Khalifa expressed his concern over the allegation that the victim was intoxicated, saying that such allegations are untrue. He added that he was informed that Al-Sulaiti is a man of honesty and patriot who is well-known in his own country.

“However, I say to Al-Sulaiti that he needs to contact us and ascertain the truth in this matter,” he noted, expressing his hopes that this would be the last of the tit for tat and exchanging accusations between the two parties and that people should shun any attempt to degrade each other’s countries and to verify matters before jumping into conclusions.

Demands for exceptional salaries by officers who retired before 1990 escalating Staff Writer Kuwait Army Chief-of-Staff, Lieut-General Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah (right) with US Commander General of the Third Army Lieut-General Vincent Brooks (left) on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. (KUNA)

for Coast Guard Port Security said that the deployment was terrific especially in terms of training as it is a matter of immense importance.

It also pointed out that the US troops

Ambassador Al-Khalifa: Kuwait, Bahrain respect multi sects, religions

last January carried out drills in rapid deployment at large scale units, adding that 4,000 soldiers are coming to Kuwait and expected to reach full strength within few weeks. -Agencies

KUWAIT: In light of the government’s efforts to look into the demands of unions and other private and public sector institutions, officers who retired before 1990 are applying more pressure on the government to meet their demands by approving exceptional salaries for them in order to be equal to their counterparts who received increased pensions after being approved by the Cabinet last year.

Member of Parliament (MP) Nayef Al-Merdas

said that the demands of this group of retired officers must be met, given that their current pensions are low compared to the current living standards; especially as the government is increasing the salaries of its employees to meet such an increase in costs of living.

The retired employees explained that the cost of their demand will not be high due to their low number, because the cost of increasing the pensions of 100 officers by 500 Kuwaiti dinars will cost the government KD 50,000.

Great desire to bolster ties with Kuwait, GCC: President Gul

Wafaa Qansour Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Bahraini Speaker of Parliament Khalifa Al-Zahrani asserted that the relationships between Bahrain and Kuwait are old and strong. He praised the stance taken by Kuwait’s government and people regarding the recent attempts of some powers to interfere in Bahrain’s domestic affairs.

It is worth noting that the Bahraini official is visiting Kuwait to take part in the Arab Parliamentary Forum, and was invited to a banquet by Bahrain’s Ambassador in Kuwait Sheikh Khalifa Al-Khalifa.

Al-Zahrani explained that Bahrain has democracy and freedom of speech, but warned against some powers that seek to raise issues that are unfamiliar to the Bahraini people.

He went on to say that those issues are now being raised as a result of the Arab spring that affected several Arab countries, and stressed that there are many countries around the world that wish that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other Arab countries remain in a constant state of unsettlement.

However, he said that Bahrain will continue in its current development efforts, in order to offer the people of Bahrain a better future.

He refused to accuse Iran or any other country of interfering in Bahrain’s domestic affairs.

Meanwhile, Al-Khalifa applauded Kuwait and its people for assisting Bahrain to overcome the recent turbulences, and stated that Bahrain respects multi-sectarianism and the three religions. He added that there is no difference between Sunnis and Shiites.

FILE-Photo of Bahraini Speaker of Parliament Khalifa Al-Zahrani obtained online.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul centering reporters from Kuwait visiting Ankara. (KUNA)

ANKARA: Turkey is most desirous of bolstering its ties with Kuwait in particular and the whole Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc in general in order to guarantee regional stability and security, said Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Wednesday.

The president was speaking to a senior level Kuwaiti press delegation, and stressed that “Kuwaitis know, better than anyone else, how important it is to have stability in their geographic context.” Gul noted that his country has strategic relations with the GCC countries and that the relations with Kuwait are unique and excellent.

Recalling important Kuwaiti investments here, he expressed a wish to see a boost in economic and trade exchange.

Answering a question related to allowing Kuwaiti citizens the right of owning property in Turkey, he said this is an “important” issue, while clearly specifying that the Turkish Constitution requires reciprocal treatment. He further added the authorities are considering an exemption for GCC nationals.

When it came to visiting Kuwait, the president remarked his visit back when he served as foreign minister and during his current presidency.

The Amir had on his part visited Turkey twice, first in 2008 when cooperation agreements in many fields were signed and again in 2009 to take part in an economic summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

On these and other issues in the region, Turkey seeks a united and coordinated stance with

that of other countries, most particularly the GCC, Arab League, and the OIC. Closer to home, Gul remarked on the great development his country achieved over the last ten years, and stressed the reforms it initiated had furthered Turkey’s influence regionally and internationally. It also made it an economic power to be reckoned with, and an economic power that surpasses the traditionally dominant powers within the European Union.

On the Islamic orientation of the ruling party, the president pointed out the party is not strictly Islamic in membership and includes elements from many other schools of thought. Furthermore, although he was the founder of the Justice and Development Party, Gul said he cannot take sides on any issue in his official capacity, as stated in the constitution.

The foundation of the party, he added, relied on stress on general values including freedom and the social values widely accepted in Turkey.

It was therefore natural for the party to have an Islamic identity since it is in a country of over 90 percent Muslims.

As to whether the party could serve as model for others in the countries affected by the Arab spring, he said Turkey has relations with and shares a great deal of values with Islamic parties that took over in some countries after the revolutions. There are shared ideas to do with democracy and reform, he said. In our contacts with them, we stress that managing the country is the true challenge, not getting to power.

Gul remarked, “This need to realize the current situation and its details and deal with it realistically would be communicated to Tunisian officials” during his visit to Tunisia, which is his first and comes over a year after the democratic changes there.

Gul was asked to comment on the Ottoman legacy, amid criticism of some parts of it recently.

“The Ottomans ruled a far-reaching empire over six centuries and made some mistakes in the process. However, this does not mean some of the accusations against it from Christian parties are justified; they are in fact political ploys to discredit an opponent.” The concern over circumstances in the Middle East, with rising tensions in many parts of the region, is “not cause for alarm or fears of war. Nor do we hope to see any armed conflict in the region.” The Kuwaiti press delegation, which started its six-day visit Monday, includes Kuwaiti Journalists Association Chairman and Deputy Managing Director of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Ahmad Yusef Behbehani, Al-Anbaa daily Editor in Chief Yusef Khalid AlMarzouq, KUNA Editor in Chief Rashid Al-Ruwaished, Al-Rai Editor in Chief Majid Al-Ali, and Annahar Editor in Chief Emad BuKhamsin.

It also included Editor in Chief of the English daily Kuwait Times Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, Deputy Editor in Chief of Al-Anbaa daily and visit coordinator Adnan Al-Rashid, and Deputy Editor in Chief of Al-Yaqaza magazine Dalia Behbehani, along with photographer Majid AlSabij. -KUNA

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ALWATAN DAILY

regional

British journalists held in Libya treated well: Jailer

TRIPOLI: Two British journalists held in Libya on suspicion of spying have their own room, access to telephones and are fed meals of chicken and pasta, but they will be kept where they are for several more weeks, the head of the militia holding them said. Nicholas Davies-Jones and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson, who were working for Iran’s English-language Press TV, were detained on Feb. 22 by the Swehli brigade, one of the dozens of militias which last year helped force out Libyan leader Muammar Gaddhafi.

Speaking at the militia’s base, a former women’s military academy in Tripoli, commander Faraj AlSwehli told Reuters on Wednesday the pair were being questioned by his own investigators. “We have not used any threats or violence. We are just investigating with them. It is just a process of questions and answers,” Swehli said in an interview. Asked when they would be released or transferred to the Libyan authorities, he said: “They are still under investigation. We are still only 40 percent of the way through the investigation.” “As soon as we have finished the investigation we will refer them to the prosecutorgeneral. We are an integral part of Libya.”

He did not disclose where the two Britons were being held, but said they had regular visits from the British consul, medical care was available if they needed it, and the belongings they had in their hotel had been brought to them.

“They are living in a place that is almost like paradise. They are free to move around. They are eating pasta, chicken, meat. They have their phones 24 hours a day so they can talk to their families or their embassy. It is not detention as you would imagine it.” -Reuters

NEWS IN BRIEF Hamas to stay out of any Israel-Iran fighting GAZA CITY: A spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas rulers says the militant group won’t strike Israel if there is a war between Iran and the Jewish state. Fawzi Barhoum says Hamas’ weapons are “humble” and meant for defending Palestinians. Speaking Wednesday to The Associated Press, he said Hamas does not have the ability to be “part of any regional war.” Israel has been signaling it might attack Iran to stop Tehran’s nuclear program. Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the years. Barhoum’s comments may lessen Israeli concerns that if war erupts, the Iranallied Hamas would fire rockets at Israel. Hamas has sought to distance itself from Iran recently. Even if Hamas stayed out of the fighting, the more powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon could attack Israel alongside Iran. -AP

Iran’s leader sets up Internet control group TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader has ordered the creation of an Internet oversight agency that includes top military and political figures in the country’s boldest attempt to control the web. Wednesday’s announcement on the state media follows a series of high-profile crackdowns on cyberspace including efforts to block opposition sites and setting up special teams for what Iran calls its “soft war” against the West and allies. Iran has blamed Israel for a computer virus discovered in 2010 that targeted uranium enrichment equipment. The order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave no specifics on the new group. But it includes powerful figures in the security establishment such as the intelligence minister and the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. -AP

Israel troops carry out Gaza incursion GAZA CITY: Israeli troops entered northern Gaza on Wednesday, briefly sealing the Erez border crossing between the Palestinian territory and Israel, Hamas officials said.

“Occupation forces moved into the northern Gaza Strip and began bulldozing work and closed the Erez crossing to travellers,” the interior ministry of the Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza said in a statement. Witnesses told AFP that two Israeli bulldozers accompanied by three tanks had moved into the area and were levelling land near the border. Palestinian officials at the Erez crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip said it was closed for several hours on Wednesday morning, before reopening at around 10:30 am (0830 GMT). The Israeli military confirmed the incursion, saying only “the army entered the area to stop terrorist activities.” -AFP

Yemen policeman shot dead in restive south

SANAA: Unknown assailants have shot dead a Yemeni policeman and wounded four others in the country’s restive south, a security official said on Wednesday, the fourth such attack in less than a week. “The gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint killing one policeman and wounding four others,” late Tuesday in the city of Ataq, the capital of Shabwa province, an Al-Qaeda stronghold, the official told AFP. On March 4, gunmen killed a senior police official in the southeastern province of Hadramawt while the following day unknown assailants shot and wounded a police chief travelling between Aden and the nearby province of Lahij.

Two other policemen were wounded on Saturday when roadside bombs planted in their camp exploded.

Attacks on Yemen’s security forces, which officials attribute to Al-Qaeda, have escalated since newly elected President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi pledged to eradicate extremism and militancy in the country’s lawless south and east during his February 25 inauguration speech. On Sunday, a massive assault on a Yemeni military base in Abyan province blamed on Al-Qaeda extremists killed 185 soldiers.

The extremists, known in Yemen as the Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) and who have links to Al-Qaeda, seized control of Abyan’s provincial capital Zinjibar and several other towns in the south last May as former president Ali Abdullah Saleh faced mass protests. Also in the south, in Daleh province, members of the separatist Southern Movement “opened machinegun fire at a police vehicle, wounding three policemen on Wednesday” a security official told AFP. Southern Movement militants demand either autonomy or outright independence for the south, which was a separate country until 1990. The violence highlights the security challenges facing Hadi as he tries to restore order and unify the country’s armed forces, as stipulated by a Gulf-brokered transition accord that ended Saleh’s 33-year rule. -AFP

thurSDAY, march 8, 2012

UN humanitarian chief in Syria to urge aid access BEIRUT: The UN humanitarian chief headed to the shattered central Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, where activists have accused regime forces of trying to cover up evidence of a month-long military assault and alleged execution-style killings.

Valerie Amos arrived in Damascus earlier in the day and met the foreign minister before departing for Homs, said a UN spokesman in Syria, Khalid Al-Masry. The government had rebuffed an earlier request by Amos to visit the country this month as regime troops attacked the Baba Amro neighborhood in Homs, finally wresting it back from rebels last Thursday.

Despite international appeals, the Syrian government still has not allowed any aid workers into Baba Amro, saying there was a security risk. But activists say the government has been engaged in a “mopping-up” operation to hide their activities. Al-Masry said he did not know if Amos would visit Baba Amro.

Amos has said the aim of her visit is “to urge all sides to allow unhindered access for humanitarian relief workers so they can evacuate the wounded and deliver essential supplies.”

The trip comes as Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad defies mounting international pressure to end the year-old crackdown on an uprising against him. According to state news agency SANA, Al-Assad said Tuesday that he will continue to confront “foreign-backed terrorism.”

Since the uprising began last March, he has blamed armed gangs and foreign terrorists for the unrest, not protesters seeking change.

The UN says more than 7,500 people have been killed since Syria’s uprising began. Activists put the death toll at more than 8,000.

Destroyed vehicles and buildings are seen after shelling by Syrian military forces in the Inshaat neighborhood of the restive city of Homs, on March 5, 2012. (AFP)

Despite the growing bloodshed, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that unilateral US military action against Al-Assad’s regime would be a mistake.

The United States said it is proposing a new United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an end to violence in Syria, first by government forces and then by opposition

fighters. Russia and China, powerful Syrian allies that have blocked a Security Council resolution against Syria, have made clear they were still standing by the regime in Damascus.

Still, in a sign of China’s growing alarm, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Beijing was pulling its workers out of Syria because of the violence.

“I can tell you most Chinese workers have been withdrawn from that country to China,” he told a news conference Wednesday. “There are only about 100 people left there taking care of projects, assets and property. We will wait until the local situation stabilizes. We will go back to Syria and restart those projects.”

Obama has resisted calls to step into the turmoil in Syria to stop Al-Assad’s bloody crackdown on protesters. He told a news conference Tuesday that the international community has not been able to muster a campaign against Syria like the one in Libya that ousted Gadhafi last year.

“For us to take military action unilaterally, as some have suggested, or to think that somehow there is some simple solution, I think is a mistake,” Obama said. “What happened in Libya was we mobilized the international community, had a UN Security Council mandate, had the full cooperation of the region, Arab states, and we knew that we could execute very effectively in a relatively short period of time. This is a much more complicated situation.”

Obama’s strategy has been to use sanctions and international diplomatic isolation to pressure Al-Assad into handing over power.

The top US commander in the Middle East said the advanced air defense weapons Russia has provided to Syria would make it difficult to establish a no-fly zone there as part of an effort to help the rebellion. Marine Gen. James Mattis, head of US Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee it would take a significant military commitment even to create safe havens in Syria where aid could be delivered. -AP

Libya leader threatens Double bombing kills 12 in northern Iraq force over east’s autonomy bid BAGHDAD: Two bombs that exploded in swift succession killed 12 people Wednesday near a crowded restaurant in a mid-sized city in Iraq’s north, officials said.

Tal Afar Mayor Abdul Aal Abbas Al-Obedi said a car parked outside a popular downtown restaurant exploded in the early afternoon. As people rushed to the scene to help, a suicide bomber in the crowd detonated his explosives belt, Abbas said.

Al-Obedi and local politician Qusai Abbas said 12 people were killed in Tal Afar, a mixed Sunni Arab-Turkomen city about 90 miles (150 kilometers) east of the Syrian border and 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Abbas said 22 people were wounded, although Al-Obedi put the injuries at 15. Such confusion is common in the immediate aftermath of attacks in Iraq.

Tal Afar was a major battleground between US forces and Iraqi insurgents in 2005, and the Americans claimed it as one of their first lasting counterinsurgency victories. It has however seen infrequent but bloody militant attacks in the years since.

“The blasts of today turn our memories backward to the previous years of explosions, and return our minds to the violence and sectarian displacement of the people of Tal Afar then,” said Abbas, a member of the Ninevah provincial council that includes representatives for the city.

The town sits strategically between the Syrian border and the Ninevah capital of Mosul, which for years was a hotbed of insurgency during the years Iraq teetered on the edge of civil war. Sunni fighters embold-

ened by Al-Qaeda’s battle in Iraq traveled from Syria to train and plot attacks in Mosul before heading south toward Baghdad to target the Shiite-led government and pilgrims there.

Though Al-Qaeda’s threat has been drastically weakened in Mosul over the last five years, it remains potent, and the city continues to be a staging ground for Iraqi fighters and smugglers now heading to Syria to help opposition forces overthrow the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, whose religion is an offshoot of Shiism.

Monday’s attack signals “that Tal Afar is still a hot area, and remains an Al-Qaeda stronghold as an area used by insurgents crossing the borders from and to Syria,” Abbas said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but car bombs and suicide bombers are hallmarks of Al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda frequently targets security forces, as in a Monday attack in the western Iraqi city of Haditha where 25 policemen were killed in a brazen pre-dawn assault by insurgents dressed as government troops. AlObedi said only civilians were killed in the Tal Afar restaurant.

“This cowardly terrorist attack only targeted poor civilians,” he said. “There were no police or troops in this popular restaurant.”

Also on Wednesday, separate car bombings in Baghdad killed four people and wounded 14 in a Sunni area of the capital, according to police who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. -AP

World powers seek joint stance on Iran

From Page 1

Israel on Wednesday cautiously welcomed the planned resumption of bigpower nuclear talks with Iran, insisting that Tehran be denied the means to turn uranium into bomb fuel.

With Israel speaking increasingly loudly of resorting to military action to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, the talks could provide some respite in a crisis that has driven up oil prices and threatened to suck the United States into its third major war in a decade.

Tuesday’s announcement of new talks followed a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States, where President Barack Obama said the talks offered a diplomatic chance to quiet the “drums of war.” “I’m very happy that they are opening discussions,” said Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror.

“There will be no one happier than us, and the prime minister said this in his own voice, if it emerges that in these talks Iran will give up on its military nuclear capability,” he told Israel Radio.

Taking up Iran’s offer of talks with the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the powers sought

assurances on “the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, while respecting Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.” A date and venue for the talks have yet to be agreed. Meanwhile Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said on Wednesday that talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear program will fail, if world powers use “pressure” during the negotiations. “They (world powers) should pay attention that if they want to continue pressure in the talks, it will achieve nothing,” Larijani was quoted as saying on the state television website.

His remarks came after world powers agreed on a renewed dialogue, which has been stalled for more than a year, with Tehran on its nuclear program.

In a Feb. 14 letter to Ashton, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said Tehran was ready to resume the deadlocked negotiations at the “earliest” opportunity as long as the world powers respected its right to peaceful atomic energy.

At the last talks between the two sides held in Istanbul in January 2011, Iran refused to address questions on its nuclear program, laying down what diplomatic sources said were “pre-conditions” such as a lifting of sanctions. -Agencies

TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Mustapha Abdel Jalil on Wednesday said he would defend national unity “with force” if necessary, after tribal leaders and a political faction declared autonomy for an eastern region.

“We are not prepared to divide Libya,” Abdel Jalil said as he called on leaders in the eastern Cyrenaica region to engage in dialogue and warned them against remnants of the regime of slain leader Muammar Gadhafi in their ranks.

“They should know that there are infiltrators and remnants of Gadhafi’s regime trying to exploit them now and we are ready to deter them, even with force,” he said in televised remarks during a conference in Misrata to draft a national charter. “The national charter contains provisions that protect this nation and it is like a constitution for Libya’s future,” Abdel Jalil said of the document, which hasn’t been made public yet.

A faction of tribal and political leaders in the oil-rich east of the country is trying to carve out a semi-autonomous territory and has called for a federal system of governance.

On Tuesday, they unilaterally declared the region of Cyrenaica as autonomous but recognized the ruling National Transitional Council as the country’s legitimate representative in foreign affairs. Libya was a federal union from 1951 to 1963 during the monarchy of Idris Senussi, which split the country into three states - Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan. Advocates of a return to federalism say it will prevent the east from being marginalized as was the case for decades, while opponents fear the initiative will split the country and stand in the way of reconciliation.

Senior officials in Tripoli, including interim Prime Minister Abdel Rahim Al-Keib, have flatly rejected the federalist project as a throwback to the past, promoting a program of decentralization instead. On Tuesday, Abdel Jalil charted that some Arab nations were supporting and financing sedition in eastern Libya in a bid to prevent the so-called Arab Spring from reaching their doorsteps.

Hundreds of people demonstrated on Wednesday against federalism in southern Libya - including in the desert cities of Sabha and Kufra, according to video footage posted on Facebook.

Several Libyan cities, including Benghazi, have witnessed similar rallies rejecting the federal system of government, with banners emphasizing national unity and state-building, and stressing that Tripoli is the only capital.

Libyan leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the ruling Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), speaks during a press statement about the danger of federalism in Libya on March 6, 2012, in the capital Tripoli. (AFP)

Ahmed Zubair Al-Senoussi, who was appointed to lead Cyrenaica on Tuesday, downplayed fears that the federal model, which grants each territorial unit limited executive, legislative and judicial powers, would splinter the country.

“This is not sedition,” he said in an interview with AFP, arguing that federalism, which thrived in the United Arab Emirates, is the most suitable form of government for Libya.

Al-Senoussi is a relative of the late monarch, a member of the ruling National Transitional Council, and was the longest serving political prisoner under Gadhafi’s regime.

Meanwhile, Organization of the Islamic Cooperation chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu urged Libyans on Wednesday “to preserve national unity and territorial integrity of Libya.”

Ihsanoglu in a statement received by AFP also “renewed his call for all Libyans to rally around the” ruling National Transitional Council “which is the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people, and to support the transitional government in this important sensitive period.” -AFP

Top reformist jailed for 4 years in Iran: Reports

TEHRAN: Iran has sentenced a leading reformist from a banned political party to four years in prison for allegedly spreading anti-regime propaganda, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. Ali Shakouri-Rad, a ranking member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front and former lawmaker, was also found guilty by a Tehran Revolutionary Court of “spreading lies”, the government-run Iran newspaper’s website reported.

In addition to the jail term, he is also “banned from political activity for 10 years and is sentenced to 10 years of exile” inside Iran, the report said. It did not say when the verdict was reached, or when it was forwarded to Shakouri-Rad. Shakouri-Rad, an outspoken critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government, spent several weeks behind bars in 2010. He was released on bail in January 2011, the report said.

Iran has banned two reformist parties, Shakouri-Rad’s party and the Islamic Revo-

lution Mujahedeen Organization, both of which backed opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi against Ahmadinejad in the June 2009 presidential election. The vote gave Ahmadinejad a landslide victory, sparking claims of fraud from the opposition.

Several high-ranking members of both parties were arrested and given long prison terms in a major government crackdown on reformists, lawyers, political activists, human rights defenders and journalists following the election. On Tuesday, several opposition websites reported that Iran sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani to 18 years in jail for allegedly spreading antiregime propaganda.

Soltani, a co-founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre along with Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and others, was arrested in early September, spurring condemnation by Amnesty International and the European Union. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

thursdAY, march 8, 2012

Sarkozy says ‘we have too many foreigners’ in France PARIS: President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that there are too many immigrants in France, defending his re-election campaign promise to cut the number of new arrivals in half.

“Our system of integration is working more and more badly, because we have too many foreigners on our territory and we can no longer manage to find them accommodation, a job, a school,” Sarkozy said.

Sarkozy has been accused of tacking to the right in the run up to the April 22 first round of the French presidential election in order to recruit voters tempted by anti-immigrant candidate Marine Le Pen’s platform.

But, in a television interview, he insisted that while immigration could remain “a boon” for France in many areas, it must be controlled more tightly through tougher residency qualifications for newcomers.

“Over the five year term I think that to restart the process of integration in good conditions, we must divide by two the number of people that we welcome, that’s to say to pass from 180,000 per year to 100,000,” he said.

Sarkozy also announced new plans to limit some welfare benefit payments currently available to immigrant workers to those who have enjoyed residency for ten years and have worked for five of those. -AFP

NEWS IN BRIEF Motorcycle bomb kills four Afghan civilians KANDAHAR: A bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle exploded at a market in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing four people, officials said. All those killed in the midday blast in Spin Boldak, on the Pakistani border, were civilians, said Zalmai Ayubi, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial government. Eight people were wounded in the explosion, including one border police officer, he said. -AP

Journalist arrested in New Delhi bomb attack French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UMP party candidate for the 2012 French presidential election, arrives at a campaign rally in Montpellier. (AFP)

HRW slams Islamist attacks on schools in Nigeria

Maiduguri city is considered the hotbed of the Islamist sect Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. (AFP)

LAGOS: Global rights watchdog HRW Wednesday condemned as “reprehensible” attacks by suspected members of Boko Haram on schools in and around restive Maiduguri city, hotbed of the Islamist sect in northern Nigeria.

“Boko Haram’s attacks on schools represent a new and reprehensible development since the group began its campaign of violence in 2009,” said Zama Coursen-Neff, deputy children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch {HRW}.

As a result of the attacks, at least 5,000 students are staying at home, HRW said in a statement, quoting media reports.

Over the past two weeks at least a dozen public and private schools in Maiduguri have been set ablaze by members of the sect.

The Islamist Boko Haram, whose name translates to “Western education is sin”, has claimed responsibility for some of those attacks, saying their actions were in response to “raids” by soldiers on an Islamic seminary in the city.

A self-styled spokesman for the group, Abul Qaqa, said last month that the school attacks were over the “indiscriminate arrests of students of Quranic schools by security agents”.

Human Rights Watch said the attacks on schools

“not only put children and teachers’ lives at risk, but they may also deprive children of an education.

Schools may close and children drop out entirely.”

Nigeria is a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which guarantee children the right to education, HRW said.

Troops in Maiduguri on Monday shot dead three suspected Boko Haram members, injured and captured two others as they allegedly tried to burn down a school, the army said.

A number of homemade explosives which they allegedly intended to use to attack a primary school in the Lamisula district of the city were recovered, army spokesman in the city Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed told AFP. The sect, blamed for a wave of attacks mainly in northern Nigeria, had over the past two-and-half years targeted mostly the police and other symbols of authority in Africa’s most populous nation.

It has lately added churches on its list of targets.

Although its specific aims remain unclear, violence by the sect since mid-2009 has claimed more than 1,000 lives, including more than 300 this year alone, according to AFP and rights groups. -AFP

Six UK soldiers believed killed in Afghan explosion LONDON: Six British soldiers were missing and believed to have been killed after their armored vehicle was hit by an explosion while they were on patrol in the Helmand area of southern Afghanistan, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.

If the soldiers are dead, the incident will be the biggest single loss of life for British troops in Afghanistan since 2006 and take the overall death tally for British forces there to 404 since the 2001 US-led invasion to oust the Taliban.

The soldiers, five from the 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and one from the 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, were on a mounted patrol when their Warrior Armored Fighting Vehicle

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was struck, the ministry said.

“I utterly condemn those responsible for this incident who will ultimately fail to derail a mission that is protecting our national security at home and making real progress in Helmand Province,” Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement.

“It is because of the continuing efforts of our armed forces ... that we are on course to build an Afghanistan that can stand on its own two feet when UK combat operations cease at the end of 2014.”

Britain has some 9,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, a number due to be reduced in phases as it ends combat operations in the next two years. -Reuters

‘Weak’ Italy humbled by rising India in shootings row ROME: Experts say Italy’s government is failing its first big foreign policy test, as the fate of a pair of marines arrested for killing two Indian fishermen risks a diplomatic crisis with a resurgent India.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone were deployed as guards on an Italian oil tanker under a new agreement against piracy when they allegedly shot and killed two fishermen they mistook for pirates on February 15.

They said their ship was approached by a smaller, fast-moving vessel.

Several observers have called into question Italy’s attempts to intervene in the case of the marines, who remain in custody in India, and critics say the country would have been better off involving the European Union in its diplomatic efforts. “The government has proceeded in fits and starts, following a wavering and therefore inevitably weak line,” read an editorial in the Corriere della Sera daily this week after an Indian court sent the marines to prison.

The editorial said Prime Minister Mario Monti’s government, which came to power in November, had approached the case with “unjustified presumption.”

“The facts of the last few days demonstrate that Italy does not have sufficient international stature to be negotiating from a position of force with a great power like India that is increasingly conscious of its status,” it said.

Italy says the marines should be prosecuted in their homeland because the incident occurred on an Italian-flagged vessel in international waters.

India says the incident took place in its waters off the state of Kerala.

The Italian foreign ministry initially adopted a softly-softly diplomatic approach to the case.

But the rhetoric has been stepped up.

Junior foreign minister Staffan De Mistura, a former United Nations envoy to Iraq, was dispatched to India on February 21 and has been there ever since lobbying for the immediate release of the two men.

Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi on Saturday said the case represented an infringement of Italy’s national sovereignty and on Tuesday he summoned India’s ambassador to Rome, Debabrata Saha, to condemn the inquiry as illegitimate.

“There is pressure in Italy, especially from representatives of the former government, for a more radical line,” said Francesco Francioni, a law professor at the European University Institute near Florence.

Monti’s government “is beginning to feel under siege,” he added. Supporters of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, including ex-defense minister Ignazio La Russa, have called for a more strong-arm approach and some have appealed for widely-respected President Giorgio Napolitano to step in. -AP

NEW DELHI: Police arrested an Indian journalist in connection with last month’s bombing of an Israeli diplomatic vehicle in New Delhi, authorities said Wednesday, the first apparent breakthrough in an attack that Israel accused Iran of orchestrating. The Press Trust of India said the suspect had claimed to work for an Iranian news organization, a fact Indian police declined to confirm. Though Indian authorities have not implicated Iran in the bombing, any leads that point in that direction could complicate India’s delicate efforts to ward off growing Western pressure and maintain its strong economic ties with Tehran. -AP

Suicide bomber kills five police in Russia’s Dagestan MOSCOW: A female suicide bomber has killed at least five policemen by blowing herself up at a traffic police post in the restive Dagestan region of southern Russia. The woman detonated her bomb late on Tuesday outside Karabudakhkent, a village 40 km (24 miles) south of the provincial capital Makhachkala, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted local police as saying. “The female terrorist approached the (traffic police) enclosure and blew herself up,” the police official said. -Reuters

South Korea threatens ‘revenge’ for any North attack SEOUL: South Korea’s defense chief on Wednesday urged his soldiers to launch strong counter-attacks if provoked by the North as the two Koreas exchanged tirades despite a recent nuclear deal.

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-Jin said any fresh attacks from the North must be turned into a chance for the South’s military to “avenge” the North’s 2010 bombardment of a South Korean frontline island. “If the North carries out any provocative act, you must punish them strongly by pounding not only the origins of such provocations but also their supporting units until they completely surrender,” the minister said. -AFP

‘Sacked’ Pakistan Taliban commander backs peace talks KABUL: A senior commander sacked as deputy to Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud came out publicly to back peace talks with the government and said he was not directly informed of his dismissal.

Maulvi Faqir Mohammad is the Taliban commander in Bajaur, one of Pakistan’s seven districts in the tribal belt on the Afghan border and one that has seen a recent lull in fighting between the Taliban and Pakistani soldiers.

He was sacked on Sunday at a meeting presided over by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud at a secret location in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt, spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP. Ehsan gave no reason for the removal.

Neither was a successor announced.

Speaking to AFP from an undisclosed location on Tuesday, Mohammad said the Taliban did not inform him directly of his sacking or give an explanation.

“I came to know through the media.

I was not given any notice. I don’t know the background of this decision,” he said, speaking by telephone. Giving one possible reason, he said: The leadership might be angry with my talks with Pakistani government. If it was so, I talked to them with the permission of my leadership.”

A source close to the Taliban previously told AFP on condition of anonymity that the Bajaur commander fell out of favour with Mehsud over his alleged support for peace talks with the Pakistani government.

Asked whether he still favors talks with Pakistan, Mohammad said: “I don’t think it is something bad.”

The TTP is a loose confederation of militant commanders founded and run by Baitullah Mehsud until his death in a US drone strike in August 2009. His killing sparked a bitter succession battle won by Hakimullah Mehsud.

Northwestern Pakistan, particularly the main city of Peshawar, has seen a recent increase in suicide and gun attacks

blamed on Taliban.

Mullah Omar, the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban, reportedly asked his Pakistani counterparts to stop attacks within Pakistan, considered vital in any peace process in Afghanistan.

The only TTP commander who refused to comply was Mehsud, an Afghan Taliban member recently told AFP. Young and impetuous, the TTP leader has reputedly said there will be no end to attacks until Washington stops drone strikes. -AFP

This file photo shows Maulvi Faqir Mohammad (right), the Taliban commander in Bajaur, one of Pakistan’s seven districts in the tribal belt on the Afghan border. (AFP)

Norway mass killer charged with murder, terror acts

The soldiers were on patrol in eastern Helmand when their Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle was struck. (AFP)

OSLO: The anti-Islam militant whose bomb attack and shooting massacre shocked Norway last summer was formally charged Wednesday with terrorism and the premeditated murder of 77 people as officials prepared for a trial to start next month.

Prosecutors said they would initially seek a sentence of psychiatric care for the admitted killer but might demand 21 years in prison - Norway’s nominal maximum - if an initial diagnosis of psychosis is contradicted in a second examination.

Anders Behring Breivik, 33, has admitted carrying out a July bomb attack that killed eight people at government headquarters in Oslo and a gun massacre hours later that killed 69 people at a Labor Party summer camp.

His targets were “traitors” with immigrant-friendly attitudes, he said at a preliminary court hearing.

“The defendant has committed highly serious crimes of a dimension we have no previous experience with in our society in modern times,” prosecutor Svein Holden told reporters. He said the killings included “aggravating circumstances” but did not amount to crimes against humanity under Norwegian law.

There had been speculation Breivik might face a crimesagainst-humanity charge, with a maximum 30-year sentence, but legal experts said Norway’s law applies to widespread, systematic atrocities rather than the acts of an individual.

Prosecutors and police formally presented the charge sheet to Breivik in prison earlier Wednesday.

While the maximum conventional prison sentence for murder in Norway is 21 years, courts are permitted to extend custody indefinitely after that if a violent, sane convict is considered likely to repeat his crimes. -AFP

6

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

THURSDAY, march 8, 2012

Investments and national unity Nabil Al-Fadhl

M

y colleagues at Al-Watan told me that they received SMS messages from the MP Dr. Waleed AlTabtabaie saying that he has submitted a suggestion calling for investment in Saudi Arabia. The suggestion calls for such investments due to the good revenues that investors obtain in addition to the security, the low rate of risks as well as taxes. The suggestion stipulates investing an amount of money worth 15 billion US dollars in different fields such as real estate, industry and tourism wherein these investments will be run by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)!!!

We would just like to ask this economic and touristic expert, the so called MP, about investment in Kuwait and why he did not call for investment in Kuwait especially that Kuwait enjoys stable local markets where investors don`t face from either taxes or risks!!

The other thing is that Kuwait and the Kuwaiti markets should benefit from its funds before any other sides in which such an amount of money can contribute effectively in refreshing the local markets. We don`t know why the MP has made this suggestion and why certain people do not trust the local markets. Are there corrupt figures controlling the local market and who should be punished by directing investments to other countries or are the Gulf markets much better and safer than the Kuwaiti ones!!!

Does that lawmaker know that the biggest loser in the field of investments inside Kuwait is the Kuwaiti public fund because the investment authority is the biggest owner of the listed shares in the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE)!! How-

If you respect us, we will respect you

We should thank some figures who attempted to assign a clear concept or definition to national unity and who try to reach a consensual definition wherein the majority of people would approve. ever, the very lawmaker and his colleagues have paralyzed KIA and interrupted any chances for reviving it although more than 250,000 Kuwaiti citizens own shares in it but the shares got very cheap and even cheaper than toilet paper.

National unity is a good word for uttering but it means nothing in the political dictionary because the word doesn’t exist in such a dictionary. The very word is used immensely in Kuwait during the last few years and we don`t know if the word exists in other Arabian countries or not!! The word has become very famous because of its continuous usage and many people use it even if they do not understand its meaning.

At the present time, there are many figures who call for criminalizing of any attempts which aim at disrupting national unity but those figures ignore the idea that we don`t have a clear definition for national unity to be able to assess whether or not such attempts influence national unity.

We should thank some figures who attempted to assign a clear concept or definition to national unity and who try to reach a consensual definition wherein the majority of people would approve. If such steps succeed then we will be able to apply a law which criminalizes disruption of national

unity after explaining the different aspects, meanings and limits of national unity that all citizens should adhere to.

One of the few figures who exert careful efforts to assign a definition of national unity is Dr. Khalid Al-Shamroukh upon receiving Amiri instructions for holding a conference for youths to discuss the topic of national unity.

In this article, I will try to determine a concept or definition to national unity. I will not discuss the history or the birth of the two words national and unity, which I believe replaces the failure of Arabian unity wherein after the Arabs failed to achieve unity some countries started to apply this word locally. Let`s focus on the idea that the word “national” means belonging to the country and being loyal to it as well. While unity means that all people are subject to one leadership and obey the rulers. If we don`t abide by that in principle then people will begin to have different opinions and some of them might support certain issues and others might oppose the same issues.

Loyalty and unity in Kuwait mean being loyal to the Kuwaiti constitution wherein all people should abide by and respect the constitution. We have to also abide by the decisions of the decision makers in order to avoid involving the

country in chaos as chaos is the most dangerous thing in terms of national unity. This means that we have to abide by the constitutional articles even if an article or some articles are amended some day.

Regarding the word “national” and its two parts loyalty and belonging, the thing that determines belonging is the thought of protecting the country, its history and social fabric wherein citizens should have the feeling that they are a part of this social fabric and all factions or movements have the same duties and rights but the best one is the faction or movements that submits better services to Kuwait.

Loyalty means that the citizen should have the will for sacrificing for the sake of his or her country and to avoid any attempt for supporting a movement against another.

As a result, criminalization of disruption of national unity can be applied through penalizing anyone who is negligent of the constitution or the principles of belonging and loyalty.

We also leave the door open for those who seek to participate in defining national unity even if he or she holds a different opinion to ours.

The cleric Yousef Al-Qardawi started stirring sedition in a Gulf Country through inciting Gulf people against their ruler from Qatar and through a Qatari TV channel. Anyway, we do not blame the cleric who was homeless a while before but we blame those who provided shelter and media sources for him.

The most important question is, “will the problems in the Gulf, which come out from Qatar continue and will the people of Qatar bear the current policy of Qatar’s politicians?!

BU QUTADA & BU NABIL Welcome back Bu Nabeel.

What did you do in Lebanon?

Rashid Al-Raddan

M

any people do not want to understand some of the reformist programs adopted by some parliamentary blocs, and see that the reform should be confined to politics, economy and fighting corruption. But the reality makes it imperative for our representatives to address the aspects of social corruption.

Therefore, the Justice Bloc in the National Assembly provided the outline to address shortcomings experienced by some entertainment places, such as some hotels and marine clubs, where men and women swim in the same swimming pools and play football.

Such things have to come to an end.

If I were in the place of the Justice Bloc, I would post signs in front of the beaches and marine areas which would read “If you respect us, we will respect you, but if you didn’t, we would continue to demand the closure of the clubs and question the prime minister for such acts that are contrary to the teachings of the religion, customs and traditions of the society. By posting such signs, many things could be achieved without exerting much effort, and will never see aspects of nudity on our beaches and in swimming pools in marine clubs.

I hope that young people who have yachts can accompany the members of the Justice bloc, and its Chairman Mohammed Hayef in a tour in some Kuwaiti islands and set up tents there to stay for a day or two to monitor the cases of mixing, nudity, etc., and then write detailed reports supported by photos. These islands are part of Kuwait, so it is unacceptable to ignore them.

We made Botox and dimples

Ummm....

And silicon and eyelashes

That’s nice

She is also on a diet to lose weight

Is it Um Nabeel?

No, it is my camel. It is participating in a “Camel beauty contest”

You cannot fool the committee, which only recognizes natural beauty

Lieutenant General Dahi

I read on Twitter the threat of Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan to Sheikh Al-Qaradawi. I was surprised because Khalfan only threatens when there is something very serious.

When I listened to the speech delivered by Al-Qaradawi, I discovered that he attacked the United Arab Emirates so I excused Khalfan. I advise Khalfan to keep attacking Al-Qaradawi so he might benefit from the experiences of Kuwaitis with Al-Jazeera News Channel.

For several years, Al-Jazeera has been interviewing the followers of the ousted Saddam and the enemies of Kuwait to attack Kuwait but all writers and journalists in Kuwait responded to the channel and revealed the facts. Al-Jazeera attacked Kuwait and now it is attacking the UAE. Breaking News:

The parliamentary expert affirmed that some MPs would speak against the interpellation motion filed against the Prime Minister on the grounds that some of the items included in the interpellation interfere with the interpretation of the Constitutional Court that the government is not responsible for the work of the previous governments.

Mohmmed Thallab

mthallab@alwatan.com.kw

Who can help to stop wasting public funds?

Dr. Shamlan Yousef Al-Issa

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itizens speak in diwaniyas and forums as well as in media, including the press and television, about the prevalence of corruption, bribery and lack of commitment by state employees to work and persistence of the phenomenon of claiming to be sick in order to get sick leaves, especially among students and teachers in the Ministry of Education where the cost of excluded sick leaves reached 5.5 million dinars and absence days reached 419 thousand working days in 2011.

All of this happens while the new MPs are demanding increasing salaries and approval of special allowances.

MP Abdullah Al-Barghash intends to file interpellation motions against members of the Executive Authority and accuse the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali of foot dragging in approving the special allowances for staff working in the General Administration of Customs.

MP Dr. Obaid Al-Wasmi disagrees with his colleague Al-Barghash as he stressed the need

to reconsider the salaries and special allowances which have been approved, arguing that the Ministry of Finance is not a “cake” which we share. He accused the Civil Service Commission of corruption in making decisions, noting that the approval of special allowances created chaos.

The series of wasting public funds continues through suggestions and proposals of lawmakers. MP Hussein Al-Qallaf is calling for promoting all employees in the customs or the General Investigation Directorate if he failed three smuggling attempts, and also called for paying the salary of two months to all State servants at retirement. He also proposed the allocation of 30 dinars for each citizen since birth and investing the money by an investment institution until the citizens reach the legal age. MP Abdulhameed Dashti demanded that the Public Authority for Social Security should deduct five percent of its annual profits to be distributed among Kuwaiti retirees equally.

The series of wasting public funds is not

confined to MPs, who only give statements to improve their images. But the catastrophe is that the Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs and Chairman of Credit and Savings Bank Shuaib Al-Muwaizeri issued a decision to raise the ceiling of the social loan paid to those who get married for the first time to six thousand dinars; two thousand is a gift which should be paid by the Ministry of Finance and four thousand dinars as a loan that should be paid back by the citizens on monthly installments.

The question is “Why do citizens, led by members of parliament and ministers, consider the State as a cow that it’s milk should be drunk without any attempts to strengthen the state’s income by work and production?”

Official reports confirm that the State servants do not abide by attendance policy and claim to get sick to get sick leave. That is aside from theft, accepting of bribes, but no one dares to put in place mechanisms for spending public funds. There are too many stories

we hear and reported by the press about how some citizens fool the Credit and Savings Bank in order to take loans as they only need to submit the Civil I.D of the girl and the man who wants to marry her.

A colleague at the Sociology Department has discovered that the women, or female students, are married by their parents more than ten times without telling them, as the fathers use their Civil I.Ds to request money. Corruption and lack of oversight and scrutiny at the Credit and Savings Bank is widespread.

The new minister wants to satisfy his constituents by wasting public funds. How can the waste of public funds stop? The answer is very difficult because we live in a welfare state. The government does not ask us to pay taxes because it is afraid of being asked how it spends the money. How could the citizens, who do not contribute to the control of money they pay, control the waste of the public funds by the government and the parliament, if they both agree on the waste and the bankruptcy of the state?

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7

thursDAY, march 8, 2012

Burma’s turn

Joseph E. Stiglitz Project Syndicate

H

ere in Myanmar (Burma), where political change has been numbingly slow for a half-century, a new leadership is trying to embrace rapid transition from within. The government has freed political prisoners, held elections with more on the way, begun economic reform, and is intensively courting foreign investment.

Understandably, the international community, which has long punished Myanmar’s authoritarian regime with sanctions, remains cautious. Reforms are being introduced so fast that even renowned experts on the country are uncertain about what to make of them.

But it is clear to me that this moment in Myanmar’s history represents a real opportunity for permanent change an opportunity that the international community must not miss. It is time for the world to move the agenda for Myanmar forward, not just by offering assistance, but by removing the sanctions that have now become an impediment to the country’s transformation.

So far, that transformation, initiated following legislative elections in November 2010, has been breathtaking. With the military, which had held exclusive power from 1962, retaining some 25 percent of the seats, there were fears that the election would be a façade. But the government that emerged has turned out to reflect fundamental concerns of Myanmar’s citizens far better than was anticipated.

Under the leadership of the new president, Thein Sein, the authorities have responded to calls for a political and economic opening. Progress has been made on peace agreements with ethnic-minority insurgents - conflicts rooted in the divide-and-rule strategy of colonialism, which the country’s post-independence rulers maintained for more than six decades. The Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was not only released from house arrest, but is now campaigning hard for a parliamentary seat in April’s by-elections.

On the economic front, unprecedented transparency has been introduced into the budgetary process. Expenditures on health care and education have been doubled, albeit from a low base. Licensing restrictions in a number of key areas have been loosened. The government has even committed itself to moving towards unifying its complicated exchange-rate system.

The spirit of hope in the country is palpable, though some older people, who saw earlier moments of apparent relaxation of authoritarian rule come and go, remain cautious. Perhaps that is why some in the international community are similarly hesitant about easing Myanmar’s isolation.

But most Burmese sense that if changes are managed well, the country will have embarked on an irreversible course.

In February, I participated in seminars in Yangon (Rangoon) and the recently constructed capital, Naypyidaw, organized by one of the country’s leading economists, U Myint. The events were momentous, owing both to large and actively engaged audiences, more than a thousand in Yangon, and to the thoughtful and moving presentations by two world-famous Burmese economists who had left the country in the 1960’s and were back for their first visit in more than four decades.

My Columbia University colleague Ronald Findlay pointed out that one of them, 91-year-old Hla Myint, who had held a professorship at the London School of Economics, was the father of the most successful development strategy ever devised, that of an open economy and export-led growth. That blueprint has been used throughout Asia in

Supporters wave National League for Democracy (NLD) flags as Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (not pictured) arrives at an electoral campaign rally in Naypyidaw on March 6, 2012. (AFP)

So far, that transformation, initiated following legislative elections in November 2010, has been breathtaking. recent decades, most notably in China. Now, perhaps, it has finally come home.

I delivered a lecture in Myanmar in December 2009. At that time, one had to be careful, given the government’s sensitivities, even about how one framed the country’s problems - its poverty, lack of rural productivity, and unskilled workforce. Now caution has been replaced by a sense of urgency in dealing with these and other challenges, and by awareness of the need for technical and other forms of assistance. (Relative to its population and income, Myanmar is one of the world’s smallest recipients of international assistance.)

There is much debate about what explains the rapidity of Myanmar’s current pace of change. Perhaps its leaders recognized that the country, once the world’s largest rice

Japan’s resilience lessons Margareta Wahlström Project Syndicate

B

uried in the coverage of last year’s Great East Japan Earthquake is a success story of which the world should not lose sight, because it tells us much about how we manage risk in the twenty-first century. It is the story of how the Japanese people, through centuries of memory and shared experience, have built up their resilience to natural disasters. Indeed, as the sea reared up to ravage the country’s coast on March 11, 2011, more than 90 percent of the population in the affected areas had already fled to safety.

That safety was further endangered by the meltdown of nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, a catastrophe with which Japan is still coping. Nevertheless, the country can take heart that so many of its people, children in particular, are alive today because of early-warning systems, safety drills, and a strong emphasis on disasterrisk reduction in the school curriculum.

The world has been paying greater attention to reducing loss of life from disasters. And yet, while mortality risk relative to population size is falling, the lives of more than 200 million people continue to be disrupted each year by disasters. Moreover, economic costs are soaring, with insured losses reaching a record-high 380 billion US dollars last year.

Over the last 40 years, the world’s population has almost doubled, to seven billion, but global exposure to tropical cyclones has almost tripled. More than 100 million people experience floods each year, and roughly 370 million live in earthquake-prone cities.

Given the rapid pace of urbanization, and the technology base that a well-resourced city requires, the risk of “synchronous failure” is growing constantly, as the Great East Japan Earthquake demonstrated. The earthquake disrupted critical sections of Japan’s electricity grid, including the power supply needed to cool the spent fuel at Fukushima, while the tsunami disabled back-up generators at the plant, resulting in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine in 1986.

The broader lesson should be clear: when a natural hazard wreaks havoc on a power grid, there is a high potential for cascading impacts on dependent systems, such as banking and finance, government services, transport and communications, and drinking water. Moreover, as new drivers of risk emerge and interact, longstanding assumptions about disasters are being called into question. In 2010, western Russia experienced July temperatures almost eight degrees Celsius above the long-term average, which, combined with lack of rainfall, led to wildfires across 800,000 hectares of parched fields, forests, and peat lands.

Moscow and its surroundings, with a population of more than 15 million inhabitants, were covered by smoke for many weeks. People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, the elderly, and the very young were particularly affected. During and after the wildfires, Russia’s mortality rate rose 18 percent.

Given the rapid pace of urbanization, and the technology base that a well-resourced city requires, the risk of ‘synchronous failure’ is growing constantly, as the Great East Japan Earthquake demonstrated.

Floods in Thailand last year threw 700,000 people out of work and had knock-on economic effects around the world. The Economist reports that American bank JP Morgan has estimated that the disaster set back global industrial production by a surprisingly large 2.5 percent. Economic exposure to floods is increasing faster than per capita GDP in all regions.

Human happiness and economic well-being are also being affected by climate change, which may be contributing to what could turn out to be a third consecutive year of drought in sub-Saharan Africa - and this is amid growing food-security concerns in a world with one billion underfed people.

Much of the world was shaken from its lethargy on disaster preparedness by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. The following month, 168 countries adopted an international blueprint for disaster-risk reduction at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, hosted by the city of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, the scene in 1995 of one of Japan’s worst earthquakes, with more than 5,000 lives lost.

The resulting Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 was a watershed moment in establishing disaster-risk reduction and climate-change adaptation as hallmarks of good governance. Most of the countries that stand to benefit from the Hyogo Framework do not have Japan’s long historical experience of battling natural hazards. The Framework can help them to understand their exposure and vulnerability in today’s hazardous world, and to set priorities for action in developing a culture of prevention.

That is why, as the Hyogo Framework comes to an end, it is important to start thinking now about its replacement, which will guide us through the thicket of risks emerging in the urbanized, interdependent world of the twenty-first century.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has already started to talk with governments, local government partners, and a broad spectrum of civil-society organizations to prepare a new framework in time for the next World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2015, which, not surprisingly, will again be hosted by Japan. The outcome will certainly reflect what was learned from last year’s earthquake and tsunami, and seek to encourage deeper political and economic commitment to disaster-risk reduction and resilience worldwide. * Margareta Wahlström is the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNISDR, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

exporter, was falling far behind its neighbors. Perhaps they heard the message of the Arab Spring, or simply understood that, with more than three million Burmese living abroad, it was impossible to isolate the country from the rest of the world or prevent ideas from seeping in from its neighbors.

Whatever the reason, change is occurring, and the opportunity that it represents is undeniable.

But many of the international sanctions, whatever their role in the past, now seem counterproductive. Financial sanctions, for instance, discourage the development of a modern and transparent financial system, integrated with the rest of the world. The resulting cash-based economy is an invitation to corruption.

Likewise, restrictions that prevent socially responsible companies based in advanced industrial countries from

doing business in Myanmar have left the field open to less scrupulous firms. We should welcome Myanmar’s desire for guidance and advice from multilateral institutions and the United Nations Development Program; instead, we continue to limit the role that these institutions can play in the country’s transition.

Whenever we withhold assistance or impose sanctions, we need to think carefully about who bears the burden in bringing about the changes that we seek. Opening up trade in agriculture and textiles - and even providing preferences of the kind that are offered to other poor countries - would likely benefit directly the poor farmers who make up 70 percent of the population, as well as create new jobs. The wealthy and powerful can circumvent financial sanctions, though at a cost; ordinary citizens cannot so easily escape the impact of international-pariah status.

We have seen the Arab Spring blossom haltingly in a few countries; in others, it is still uncertain whether it will bear fruit. Myanmar’s transition is in some ways quieter, without the fanfare of Twitter and Facebook, but it is no less real and no less deserving of support. * Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University, a Nobel laureate in economics, and the author of Freefall: Free Markets and the Sinking of the Global Economy.

A hidden Gulf economy, Romney’s old taxes, and patent wars

president and was probably making more money and taking advantage of the tax breaks available to people with his sources of income.

Patent wars:

Steven Brill Reuters

A

n underground economy in the Gulf?

I was interested to read these paragraphs in a recent New York Times story about the processing of claims being made by victims of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; pay special attention to the part I have underlined: Glenn Poche, a shrimper, said he had lost 90 percent of his retail business. Despite official assurances that seafood pulled from the Gulf of Mexico is safe, many of his customers “want to wait a couple more years” to be sure....

Diane Poche, Glenn Poche’s wife, said she had received 30,000 US dollars from the fund - “just a little drop in the bucket of what we’ve lost” - but her claims for more had been refused, she said, her voice rising. “I sent in paperwork over two inches thick!”

In his response, Mr. Feinberg, the celebrated arbitrator hired by British Petroleum to process the claims, said that the Poches’ claim was for more than twice the annual gross income Mr. Poche had reported before the oil spill and that Mrs. Poche was listed as a housewife, not a business partner, on the family’s tax forms. Mr. Feinberg has said that thousands of claims have been rejected because of inadequate documentation.

So, here’s the possible story: Without drawing any conclusions from this brief description of the Poche family’s dispute with Mr. Feinberg, it may be that much of the economy in the Gulf - small-business shrimping and other fishing, chartering boats, waiting on tables in restaurants, small retailing - is a cash economy, in which some people may make more money than they report to the IRS. Comparing claims about lost earnings with what people tell the tax man they earned - which could probably be done on a macro basis using government data about the Gulf economy - might be an eye-opener, as would asking people about possible differences in their claims of lost income versus their reported earnings. So would checking with the IRS to see if it ever compares claims for lost income in tort suits, which are public, with plaintiffs’ tax filings. With that in mind, maybe Times reporter John Schwartz, who wrote this otherwise comprehensive piece, could go back to the Poches and ask them to comment on Mr. Feinberg’s response: that he found a 100 percent difference between what the Poches claim they lost and what he says they told the IRS. Romney’s prior returns:

Why haven’t reporters pushed Mitt Romney to release more than his most recent two years of tax returns? Or at least asked him if he paid more or less than the combined 13.8 percent he reported paying for those two years when he released his 2010 return? Wouldn’t he have released returns for those earlier years if the rate had been higher?

Which means that it was likely lower, perhaps much lower, for years when he wasn’t thinking about running for

It seems that every day we read another story about patent litigation threatening to upset some company’s marketing of a key product. The most ubiquitous of these stories involve patent wars being fought around the world by heavy hitters like Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon and Microsoft. But as this story from Paid content illustrates, there is patent litigation surrounding almost every high-tech product we use; and, as this article highlights, the plaintiffs are now often investment firms that have been formed for the sole purpose of buying up relatively obscure patents and then suing deep pockets in this case, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, for infringing them.

I vaguely remember from law school that you can be sued successfully for infringing a patent even if you didn’t know about it, let alone copied it. And I remember that when my partners and I sold our technology company (Press+) last year, the biggest legal hang-up in an otherwise quick and simple deal was over whether we would promise to pay the buyer’s legal fees and damages if they were ever sued, even unsuccessfully, for patent infringement. I thought that shouldn’t be a problem, because I knew how we had created what we created, but our lawyers told us we couldn’t agree to something that broad because they were so many “patent trolls” out there ready to sue anybody for almost anything, especially once a company had succeeded and developed those deep pockets.

So I’d like to see a definitive article surveying the landscape and identifying the key players in what seems to have become this era’s most destructive business litigation.

Has patent trolling become the most lucrative lawyering out there? Who’s making a killing? Who are the richest intellectual property lawyers on the plaintiffs’ and defense sides? How did they get to the top? What about those investment funds that finance the litigation?

What exactly are the rules, and have they produced the kind of monster monkey wrench when it comes to commerce, innovation and deal flow that I suspect they have? Are companies like Apple or Google destined to pay millions for litigation no matter what they do, while smaller companies get smothered by the same forces once they start to succeed? And how much did recent patent reform legislation change things in the US? In tort law, which in the United States is generally governed by state laws, several states with especially accommodating statutes and sympathetic juries became known during the 1980s as plaintiffs’ paradises. At the American Lawyer, we did a story with exactly that title. Are there countries around the world that now enjoy that distinction when it comes to fights over intellectual property? * Steven Brill, the author of Class Warfare: Inside the Fight To Fix America’s Schools, has written for magazines including New York, The New Yorker, Time, Harpers, and The New York Times Magazine. He founded and ran Court TV, The American Lawyer Magazine, ten regional legal newspapers, and Brill’s Content Magazine. The views expressed are his own.

8

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

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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Noodles Salmiya Tel: 25712233

Bukhara Sheraton Hotel Tel: 22422055

The Peacock Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25673000

Tourist Restaurant Kuwait City Tel: 22411702

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

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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

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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

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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

Iraq OKs Statoil sale of oilfield stake BAGHDAD: Iraq has approved the sale by Norway’s Statoil ASA of its minority stake in a giant oil field to Lukoil OAO, making the Russian firm the sole foreign partner in one of Iraq’s biggest new oil projects, two Iraqi oil industry sources said on Wednesday. Statoil will sell its 18.75 percent state in the West Qurna Phase-2 field to Lukoil, giving the Russian firm a 75 percent stake. An Iraqi state oil company owns the other 25 percent. The deal makes Statoil the first big Western oil firm to abandon one of the lucrative oil deals offered by Iraq in recent years.

“Statoil reached an agreement with Lukoil to sell its stake in West Qurna-2, and Iraq’s Oil Ministry approved the deal,” an Iraqi oil industry source said.

BUSINESS

thursdAY, march 8, 2012

m ar ket watc h KUWAIT

DUBAI

QATAR

OMAN

ABU DHABI

0.72% 6183

4.8% 1608

0.7% 8605

0.7% 5826

2.2% 2553

See page 10

OIL MARKETS BAHRAIN

EGYPT

0.1% 1157

0.5% 5457

SAUDI

0.4% 7369

US Crude $105.11 $0.41 London Brent $122.74 $0.76 Kuwait Crude $121.12 $0.58 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

CURRENCIES US Dollar

British Pound

Saudi Riyal

Qatari Riyal

Indian Rupee

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Philippine Peso

Buy 0.2782 Sell 0.2783 Buy 0.3653 Sell 0.366

Buy 0.4374 Sell 0.4383

Buy 0.003445 Sell 0.003452

Buy 0.0742 Sell 0.0743

Buy 0.07571 Sell 0.07585

Buy 0.07643 Sell 0.07638

Buy 0.005541 Sell 0.00553

Buy 0.7374 Sell 0.73919

Buy 0.006491 Sell 0.006482

Prices in Kuwaiti fils As of March 7, 2012 Courtesy: KAMCO

KSE ends action Kuwaiti crude price rises to $121.12 per barrel in red with 44.7 point drop Oil rebounds on China demand outlook

CAPITALS: The price of Kuwaiti crude rose to 121.12 US dollars per barrel Tuesday, the state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said Wednesday. The prices are in a state of instability, due to several factors, such as geopolitical events, Iranian file, in addition to speculators and exploitation of workers.

In more news, crude oil gained on Wednesday after China said it would boost energy imports this year, though the Brent benchmark held well below a near four-year high set last week as Iran’s offer of talks with major powers eased concerns about supply disruption.

Front-month Brent gained 72 US cents to $122.70 a barrel by 1415 GMT, after settling $1.82 lower at $121.98 in the previous session.

It was well below a high above $128 per barrel set last week, a level last hit in July 2008.

China’s trade ministry said it plans to boost energy imports in 2012, and will keep policies to ensure stable export growth, which it expects to improve in the second half of the year. China’s plans on energy imports reinforce a view that Asian demand will continue to support

oil prices, even as demand from developed economies is seen as sluggish. US oil gained 12 cents to $104.82 a barrel after falling to a low of $104.68.

More signs emerged that demand for oil was vulnerable as investors braced for news on whether Greece would succeed in restructuring its huge debt pile, and evidence mounted of a weakening outlook for global economic growth.

Germany announced factory orders in January posted a surprise fall as demand slumped from outside the euro zone, adding to concerns about a slowdown in Brazil,Australia and China, though these regions are still experiencing growth.

And the US Energy Information on Tuesday (EIA) cut its world oil demand growth forecasts for both 2012 and 2013.

Investors will watch weekly inventory data from the EIA for further clues on the demand picture in the United States. US crude oil stocks likely rose for the third straight week last week, while refined product inventories likely fell, an extended Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.

US crude oil inventories rose 4.6 million barrels last week, the industry group American Petroleum Institute said in a weekly report released late on Tuesday, far exceeding the expected rise. -Agencies

KUWAIT: Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) price index was in red at the end of Wednesday’s session; it decreased to 6,183.2 points, a loss of 44.7 points. The weighted index meanwhile read 413.06 points, a down of 3.74 points. The trading session saw 5,878 transactions worth 44,345,120 Kuwaiti dinars with 447,315, 000 shares changing hands. All of the sector indices were red. The biggest gainer of the day with an up of 112.9 points was the Non-Kuwaities index. Top gainer share was that of Kuwait Commercial Market Complex Company, while top

loser was Al Masaken International Real Estate Development Company.

The trading began at Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) on Wednesday with the main indices in red.

By 9:46 a.m., the price index came to 6,218.1 points, a drop of 9.8 points, while the weighted index came to 414.68 points, a drop of 2.12 points. Trades came to 1,675 transactions by the time of the reading, with value reaching KD 13.3 million and 138.1 million shares changing hands. -KUNA

KFIC bondholders agree to KD 21.5 million restructuring

DUBAI: Kuwait Finance & Investment Company (KFIC) said on Wednesday that holders of its 21.5 million-Kuwaiti dinar (77.24 million US dollar) bonds have approved the company’s proposed debt restructuring plan.

KFIC said that bondholders appointed a representative to sign the deal without giving further details, according to a statement on the Kuwait bourse. The bond, which was issued in March 2005, matures in December. -Reuters

BLME voted best Islamic bank in the UK for 3rd year running LONDON: Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME), the largest Islamic bank in Europe whose main shareholders are Boubyan Bank and the Public Institution for Social Security, has today announced that it has been awarded Best Islamic bank in the UK by the Islamic Finance News Annual Poll for 2011. This is the third year running BLME has won the award and is testament to the Bank’s position as a pioneer in the global Islamic Finance industry. This was stated in a press release on Wednesday.

BLME also won Best Real Estate Deal of the Year for its 14 million Sterling pound financing of The Brewery Square Development Company, a partnership between Resolution Property and Waterhouse to finance Phase 2 of Brewery Square, Dorchester; the largest town centre reStaff at British retailer John Lewis react after hearing of their 14 percent bonus payout at a press conference in Stratford, east London, on March 7, 2012.

Operating as a partnership, the annual profit bonus at John Lewis is shared equally between every partner, meaning that all staff from senior management to sales staff, receive the same percentage of salary as a bonus. (AFP)

Zain chooses NeuString’s OptiPrizer software to improve roaming services Deal covers seven

Zain operations in the Middle East KUWAIT: Zain Group has agreed with Dubai-based NeuString, the leading supplier of actionable business data analytics for mobile operators, to utilize its ‘OptiPrizer’ predictive analytics software across seven Middle East markets to improve the cost and quality of roaming services. This was mentioned in a press release on Wednesday.

Neustring’s OptiPrizer software helps to increase profit margins through accurate and actionable analytics of individual customer’s activity, giving the operator an unprecedented ability to control, forecast and improve revenues.

The agreement, which was signed on the side-lines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, covers all customers on Zain’s network in, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan making this the largest deployment of NeuString’s software to date.

Nabeel Bin Salamah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zain Group, said, “We found out, during the analysis and testing period, that NeuString’s predictive analytics solution, OptiPrizer, offers many advantages and tangible results, and by using it,

we have increased our efficiency and productivity, and we now have the ability to run targeted plans, which in turn has enabled us to increase our profit margins.”

Bin Salamah added that this cooperation will open up new horizons for Zain Group in this type of applications, as it will enable us to continue to fulfill our obligations towards our customers, in addition to devoting more of our resources in support of our core business.

Jens Nikolaj Aertebjerg, CEO of NeuString said, “NeuString is very pleased to have another large mobile operator group onboard, and with Zain Group we cement our market leading position as the preferred choice for roaming analytics in general and specifically for mobile operators looking to benefit from group interaction and the unification of their market activities.”

“We are really excited to have Zain Group on board using our OptiPrizer software. Our expertise in roaming, and consultative approach to customer service means that Zain Group is sure to make great profit improvements,” said Nevzat Simsek, CCO of NeuString.

NeuString has an unrivalled reputation for being able to provide focussed, advanced, actionable analytics for telecoms.

The OptiPrizer software is a proven solution processing the data of more than 45 operators worldwide, providing profit improvements of between five percent and 22 percent.

generation project in the South West.

Humphrey Percy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BLME, said, “2011 was another difficult year for the banking industry. Against the backdrop of a tough economic environment we have continued to expand our business by recruiting more staff, developing and launching new products and diversifying our offering and client base.” He added, “I would like to thank all of our employees for their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm. To achieve the title of Best Islamic Bank in the UK for the third year in a row is outstanding.”

Andrew Wadsworth of Waterhouse said, “In an otherwise difficult debt market, the BLME team’s flexible and positive view of development funding was as refreshing as it was welcome.”

Kuwait, Japan enjoy longstanding energy cooperation TOKYO: Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano expressed gratitude to Kuwait for maintaining stable supply of crude for decades to his country which relies on imports for virtually all of its domestic crude consumption.

The Japanese minister, in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), welcomed His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s upcoming visit to Tokyo and thanked Kuwait for hosting the Ministerial Meeting of the International Energy Forum slated to March 12-14. “Under uncertainty surrounding the future of global energy situation, it is meaningful that oil producing and consuming countries will have a dialogue toward stability in world oil markets. I appreciate Kuwait for providing such an invaluable opportunity for us,” said the minister. Despite gradual fall in its crude oil demand in recent years, Japan remains one of top buyers of Kuwaiti oil, with Japanbound shipments accounting for roughly 20 percent of Kuwait’s total crude exports of 1.3-1.5 million barrels per day (bpd).

Last year, Kuwait’s exports to the world’s third-largest energy user totaled 87.05 million barrels, or 240,000 bpd. In addition to crude oil, Kuwait also enjoys steady shipments of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and naphtha to Japan.

The first shipment of oil from state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) to Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. dates back to in 1958, even before the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1961, while KPC established Tokyo office in 1968 as its first regional marketing office. One of KPC’s noteworthy achievements last year was a landmark deal with Japan’s Fuji Oil Co. in October. KPC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Farouk Al-Zanki signed the long-term crude supply contract, which he said “expected to bring in billions of dollars of revenues to the Kuwaiti treasury over the coming years.” Meanwhile, Tokyo-

based Arabian Oil Company, Ltd. (AOC) has maintained solid business relationships with Kuwait more than half a century. The Kuwaiti government granted a concession to AOC in 1958 to explore and develop hydrocarbon reserves in the offshore Divided Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which resulted in discovery of the massive Khafji oil field in 1960 and the Hout oil field in 1963. Although the concession agreement expired in January 2003, AOC reached a 20-year crude oil purchasing deal in the same month, which Kuwait guarantees it the right to supply crude produced in the Khafji oil field.

In addition, new types of bilateral energy cooperation have come to the fore recent years. KPC’s international unit Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) established a joint venture with Idemitsu and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. in 2008 to construct a 200,000 bpd refinery and petrochemical complex in Vietnam, which will utilize Kuwait’s stable crude oil supply and Japanese firms’ oil refining and petrochemical business experiences. The project, with a view to going online in 2015, marks the first-ever Kuwaiti-Japanese joint venture in building a refinery in a third country. Moreover, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), which was established in 1967 by AOC in fulfillment of its obligations under the oil concession agreement, currently joins hands with the Japanese team in upgrading technologies for Kuwait’s heavy crude oil.

Amid rising demand on the high quality oil derivatives, KISR and Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP) expedite technical cooperation in converting Kuwait’s large quantities of high-sulfur heavy crude to more useful light, low-sulfur crude oil, based on Japan’s technologies, experience and know-how on desulfurization catalysts.

The two countries have also accelerated bilateral cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and energy conservation. -KUNA

The two awards were presented to BLME at the Islamic Finance News Awards ceremony in February 2012. This award recognises BLME’s achievements and successes in the fields of healthcare, energy, property and transportation, providing a high quality service, innovative product development and leading position in the UK market. The Islamic Finance News Awards are widely recognised as the most transparent and comprehensive in the industry.

Now in their seventh year, the Islamic Finance News Awards select the best providers of Islamic financial services across a number of markets worldwide, as well as specific sectors including Islamic finance issuers, investors, nonbanking financial intermediaries and government bodies.

UGB appoints Acting Chief Executive Officer

Rabih Soukarieh, the new Acting Chief Executive Officer (ACEO) of United Gulf Bank.

BAHRAIN: United Gulf Bank (UGB) announced in a press release on Wednesday the appointment of Rabih Soukarieh as the new Acting Chief Executive Officer (ACEO) following Board approving the retirement request of the present incumbent, Mohammed Haroon, effective March 6, 2012.

Soukarieh, the Head of Asset Management and Investment Banking at UGB, has worked extensively, over the past twenty one years, in Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Qatar. Prior to re-joining UGB in 2009, he held senior operating positions in Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) Group Companies including Chief Executive Officer, United Gulf Financial Services Company, Qatar and Group Chief Financial Officer, Wataniya International. He initially joined the Bank in January, 2003 as Vice President, Corporate Finance. He is a director of several UGB subsidiaries and associates. Soukarieh is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a M.B.A. from Northeastern University, Boston and a B.Sc. in Finance from Indiana University, Bloomington.

UGB’s Chairman, Masaud Hayat, said, “On behalf of Board of Directors, I would like to pay tribute to Haroon’s major contribution to the business growth and strategic development of UGB. We thank Haroon for his dedicated commitment to the Bank over the past thirty years. We are also delighted to announce the appointment of Soukarieh as the new Acting Chief Executive Officer. His strong decision making skills supported by hands-on approach to management, good professional judgement, thorough analytical abilities and in depth negotiation skills, put him in an ideal position to lead UGB. His vast knowledge of credit and capital markets will enable him to continue UGB’s track record of creating shareholder value and profitability.”

10

BUSINESS IN REGION

ALWATAN DAILY THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012

Iraq OKs Statoil sale of oilfield stake BAGHDAD: Iraq has approved the sale by Norway’s Statoil ASA of its minority stake in a giant oil field to Lukoil OAO, making the Russian firm the sole foreign partner in one of Iraq’s biggest new oil projects, two Iraqi oil industry sources said on Wednesday.

Statoil will sell its 18.75 percent state in the West Qurna Phase-2 field to Lukoil, giving the Russian firm a 75 percent stake.

An Iraqi state oil company owns the other 25 percent.

The deal makes Statoil the first big Western oil firm to abandon one of the lucrative oil deals offered by Iraq in recent years.

“Statoil reached an agreement with Lukoil to sell its stake in West Qurna-2, and Iraq’s Oil Ministry approved the deal,” an Iraqi oil industry source said.

Another Iraqi oil industry source confirmed the deal. “Statoil has sold its stake to Lukoil, and Lukoil now is the sole operator of West Qurna-2,” the second source said.

Statoil confirmed it was in talks to sell the stake and said it would comment fully when the deal was finished.

“Both Lukoil and Iraqi authorities have previously confirmed that we have initiated a process to transfer our shares in the West Qurna-2 project in Iraq,” a spokesman said. “We will inform when this process is complete.”

The Norwegian state company has considered quitting Iraq for some time and turning its attention to less risky assets elsewhere, industry sources say. It is planning billions of dollars worth of investments in areas such as offshore Norway and in the United States.

Lukoil and Statoil sealed the 20-year deal in December 2009 to develop the virgin field. They targeted a plateau output of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in six years. Iraq has signed several oil deals to develop its vast oil fields, which target ca-

A worker adjusts the valve of an oil pipe in Tawke oil field near Dahuk, 400 kilometers north of Baghdad, Nov. 14, 2011. Iraq has approved the sale by Norway’s Statoil ASA of its minority stake in a giant oil field to Lukoil OAO, making the Russian firm the sole foreign partner in one of Iraq’s biggest new oil projects. (Reuters)

pacity of 12 million bpd by 2017.

Infrastructure bottlenecks and bureaucratic hurdles make achieving a target of six million bpd look ambitious, but the deals are still expected to make Iraq one of the world’s biggest sources of new oil

Nokia appoints new general manager for lower Gulf

Vithesh Reddy, Nokia’s new General Manager for the lower Gulf region.

DUBAI: Nokia, a leader in mobile communications, has announced the appointment of Vithesh Reddy as its new general manager for the lower Gulf region, stated a press release on Wednesday. Reddy, who brings to the role more than seven years experience of the Nokia brand, will be responsible for the development of Nokia’s business operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

In this role Reddy will utilize his vast sector experience and regional knowledge to lead Nokia’s growth throughout the Lower Gulf region.

These are very exciting times for Nokia in the region, and indeed the mobile communications sector as a whole,” said Reddy. “As a brand, Nokia has entered a new chapter in its evolution, one that is defined by an ongoing commitment to innovation. As such it’s an exciting time to be appointed General Manager and to be part of driving the brand on to even bigger and better achievements across the Lower Gulf.”

Prior to his appointment as General Manager, Reddy was Head of Sales for Nokia Lower Gulf, a role in which he excelled in driving sales across the region.

He has also held various sales management roles in Nigeria and South Africa.

A graduate of University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, Reddy began his career in Sales and Channel management for MTN, South Africa and later in Nigeria and has more than ten years experience in the consumer and business technology market.

in the next few years. Iraq’s oil production has been held back by decades of war and sanctions, but officials say they now expect it to rise quickly. Iraq said this week its production had reached three million bpd for the first time since 1979. -Reuters

VIVA announces the 12 STB London finalists

KUWAIT: VIVA announced in a press release on Wednesday, the names of the twelve finalists who will attend the second annual Small to Big (STB) management course at Kings College London March 11-17 2012.

Abdulrazzaq Al-Essa, Senior Communication Manager at VIVA said, “This highly regarded course brings together some of the best and the brightest young minds in Kuwait for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn and expand their horizons, and enhance their insights in management.

At VIVA, we are committed to supporting activities that benefit our community, and through this initiative, we are helping to support practical education and helping prepare a group of talented young people for future management.”

Finalists were chosen through entries submitted from across Kuwait.

This year, the finalists ranged from entrepreneurial individuals to employees who surpassed others through their exceptional work and potential.

The Finalists of STB for 2012 are: Farah AlFadhalah; Abdulrahman Al-Nouri; Lama Alfadala; Hebah Almansour; Fawaz Al-Roudhan; Omar Alothman; Fatemah Alhai; Dana Madouh; Fahd Alyahya; Abdullah Bu Ftain; Dari Al-Huwail; And Mohammed Alnusif.

STB is an initiative sponsored by VIVA to assist and guide Kuwaiti corporate executives, giving them a greater understanding of market dynamics and different management situations and providing them with the essential tools and knowledge to augment their business acumen and skills.

The initiative was launched in 2011 with great success and VIVA is repeating the program this year.

Gold recovers as dollar retreats, buyers step in

LONDON: Gold prices snapped three days of losses to rise on Wednesday, helped by a rebound in the euro versus the dollar, which eased negative currency effects on the precious metal, and by a tentative recovery in demand for physical gold at lower prices.

Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at 1,680.00 US dollars an ounce at 1224 GMT, while US gold futures for April delivery were up $8.20 an ounce at $1,680.30.

The metal is down more than 6 percent since late February, having dropped sharply from the year’s highs after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke held off signaling a further round of US monetary easing in a key speech.

“Open interest has fallen dramatically over the last week, indicating that many if not most of the longs that were initiated above $1,700 during the last month have been closed down,” said Saxo Bank vice president Ole Hansen. “This should help the market to stabilize.”

“We have wiped out the Bernanke move from Jan. 25 and are back to square one, so to speak. Technically, last week’s close is still pointing towards a deeper correction, but I would think decent support should come in towards $1,656, a 50 percent retracement of the 2012 rally.

“Overall though, I think we have to get used to lower performances as the corrections these past few months may have dented many people’s love affair with gold.

Money managers especially will not be rushing back in unless we get a clear technical break, above $1,800.”

The euro, a drop in which pushed gold below a key support level on Tuesday, triggering a near two percent fall in prices, firmed a touch but remains vulnerable to fears over whether Greece can pull off a bond swap deal needed to avert default.

A clutch of Greek pension funds and some foreign investors are holding back on the deal, raising fears that Greece may not secure an agreement with private creditors to cut its mountainous debt by the Thursday deadline.

Bad news on the deal could hurt gold in the short term.

It tends to suffer from a stronger dollar, which makes commodities priced in the US unit more expensive for other currency holders, and reduces the metal’s appeal as an alternative as-

set.

Gold’s positive correlation with the eurodollar exchange rate stood at 55 percent on a 25-day rolling average. Its 20 percent positive correlation with US stock markets suggests it is also trading in line with assets seen as higher risk.

Risk appetite dwindles

German government bond futures held near record highs on Wednesday as markets remained nervous that Greece would not win sufficient support this week for a debt restructuring, risking a chaotic default.

Europe’s stock markets edged higher in choppy trade, but investors fretted about Greek debt and global growth.

On the physical markets, gold traders in India, the world’s biggest buyer of bullion, continued to purchase the metal as prices stayed near their lowest in a week, dealers said. The Indian rupee’s drop to seven-week lows kept a lid on buying, however.

Activity in the world’s second largest bullion consumer, China, was also hit and miss.

“While dips have encouraged some buying from China, interest has been rather sporadic, instead of the consistent support that gold seems to need right now,” said UBS in a note. “Our client flows were two-way and Shanghai Gold Exchange volumes for the two gold contracts have eased back to average levels.”

Elsewhere South Africa’s Gold Fields, the world’s fourth largest gold producer, said 85 percent of its workforce had heeded a call for a one-day nationwide strike.

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.6 percent at $33.10 an ounce, also recovering from a sharp slide on Tuesday when it dropped more than four percent, its largest one-day decline this year.

Platinum group metals also fell in that session by the most this year, with platinum down more than three percent and palladium falling 5.5 percent. Both rebounded on Wednesday, with platinum up 0.6 percent at $1,618.74 an ounce and palladium up 1.3 percent at $670.18 an ounce.

Workers at Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg mine, which was hit by a large-scale strike earlier this year, largely ignored the one-day work stoppage elsewhere in the republic. -Reuters

FILE - A woman looks at a gold shop in Hong Kong on April 20, 2011. Gold prices snapped three days of losses to rise on Wednesday, March 7, 2012, helped by a rebound in the euro versus the dollar. (AFP)

Politics stymie Gulf ’s hope of sharing Qatari gas

DUBAI: Countries neighboring the world’s biggest natural gas field in the Gulf face years of importing fuel by ship from distant suppliers, after plans to share the gas through a pipeline were stifled by political rivalries and haggling over price.

Qatar has become one of world’s richest countries by selling gas from the vast North Field under its waters to Europe, Asia and the Americas - bankrolling its preparations to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament with some of the profits.

Long before Qatar spent billions of dollars on building the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to export the fuel, it began discussing with the other five countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the idea of creating a gas sharing grid to drive economic growth in the region.

But over a decade later, only one under-used leg of the grid has been built. And Qatar has now committed itself to selling nearly all its gas to countries outside the Gulf, until it lifts a self-imposed moratorium on further export projects.

“The perception across the Gulf in the early part of the last decade was that there was not a gas shortage, and by the time a number of countries realized that they would be short, Qatar had called the moratorium and committed its gas,” a senior source in Qatar’s gas industry told Reuters.

“Until the middle of the last decade, people were still expecting to get gas at very low prices,” said the source, who declined to be identified because of the political sensitivity of the issue.

“People realize now that if they are going to have gas traded across (the Gulf), then it’s not going to be at low prices...For Qatar it’s not really a price issue - until the moratorium is lifted, there isn’t any gas.”

Demand

For decades, Gulf countries saw natural gas largely as a byproduct of their oil production, with much of it burned off or sold cheaply to local industries. Gas became eagerly sought-after in the region over the past decade as a population boom drove up demand for electricity and industries such as petrochemicals and aluminum smelting developed.

Saudi Arabia continues to burn large quantities of its oil reserves in power plants, but its less well-endowed neighbors want to burn more gas so they can keep oil for export. As a result, the International Energy Agency expects the Middle East to account for a fifth of the growth in global gas demand between 2011 and 2016.

Sharing Qatar’s huge gas reserves could have provided the GCC with a convenient solution to its supply problems and helped the integration of its economies, one of the organization’s stated goals. Instead, politics intervened.

According to diplomatic cables from the US embassy

in Manama on Feb. 16, 2005, released by Wikileaks, Bahrain’s King Hamad complained to the US ambassador that Saudi Arabia was blocking a proposed pipeline from Qatar to Kuwait via Bahrain.

Manama appealed to Washington to pressure Riyadh to let Kuwait and Bahrain link to the North Field. But the project was dead in the water, leaving Kuwait no choice but to find global suppliers to ship LNG into the Gulf from as far afield as Australia.

Meanwhile, Bahrain is in talks for Russian gas giant Gazprom to supply the tiny island, which is located just 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the North Field, with LNG from around the world.

In one of great oddities of world trade, cargoes of Qatari LNG have even been delivered to northwest Europe, then reloaded and shipped back to the Gulf in a round trip of over 26,000 km, because prices on offer in the Gulf were higher at the time.

“Politics is a big part of it,” said Robin Mills of Dubaibased Manaar Energy Consulting.

Analysts believe Saudi Arabia, which had already decided to look for its own gas under the sand dunes of its Empty Quarter rather than rely on Qatar, probably blocked the GCC pipeline from running alongside its east coast because it would have given Doha too much power over GCC countries.

“They don’t want Qatar to increase its regional economic and political influence, possibly to the detriment of

their own,” said Jonathan Stern, director of gas research at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies.

“The reason they don’t import Qatari gas themselves - a highly sensible idea for them - is partly because they don’t want to give the Qataris any power over them.”

According to US embassy cables released byWikileaks, Bahrain and Kuwait at one stage began supply negotiations with Iran in the hope that Saudi Arabia would see the proposed Qatari pipeline as less threatening than a deal with Tehran, which is Riyadh’s biggest rival in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

That tactic failed, however. Iran’s own appetite for its reserves, including a share in the North Field which Tehran calls the South Pars, and international sanctions against Iran have slowed production growth, limiting the country’s exports.

Bahrain’s energy minister Abdul Hussein bin Ali Mirza told Reuters that talks with Iran fell apart because of “recent events” in the region. Bahrain accuses Iran of fomenting a February 2011 uprising against the government.

The only gas pipeline that Iran has laid, to the UAE, has remained closed for years since it started leaking gas at the bottom of the Gulf during initial tests.

In the absence of a pipeline, Gulf countries could still import Qatari LNG by ship. But with the exception of the UAE, they have generally failed to agree on terms, generating some ill feeling in the region. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

MARKETS

11

THURSDAY, march 8, 2012

Samsung market share in Kuwait at 24%, says Ashraf Fawakherji gap between desktops and smartphones.

Enterprises in particular, are finding a broad set of uses for tablets, including productivity, sales, field support, management, healthcare and many more. The growing set of powerful third-party business applications and the ability to create customized applications for business are creating new and powerful use cases.

In addition, establishments such as schools also benefit from a tablets’ innovative approach to learning.

Compiled by Al-Watan Daily

The following is an interview with Ashraf Fawakherji, Head of Telecommunications Group at Samsung Gulf Electronics discussing the Samsung Galaxy Tab and its market in Kuwait.

How important is the Gulf region for Samsung’s mobile devices business?

What is your current market share in Kuwait specifically?

Fawakherji: Consumers in the Gulf are very tech savvy and demand the latest and most innovative products. Coupled with factors such as high internet penetration rates, the growing need for mobility and connectivity and increased consumer spending in the area of digital devices, the Gulf continues to be a key region for the global consumer electronics segment.

Samsung recorded an average of 21 percent market share in the Gulf region.Our current market share in Kuwait stands at 24 percent.

We achieved a 40 percent increase year-on-year in mobile communication devices sales for the fourth quarter of 2011 following the launch of the GALAXY S II and a comprehensive portfolio of tablets including the GALAXY Tab 10.1, 8.9, 7.7 and 7.0 Plus.

What is the potential of the Kuwait market for Samsung?

Fawakherji: In 2011, a series of new product releases in Kuwait helped stimulate the demand for electronics. This was mainly due to increasing demand for next generation technology devices and growing competition among manufacturers and resellers to offer innovative lifestyle products as Kuwaiti consumers seek products that have better connectivity, performance, speed, quality and convenience to suit their lifestyles. According to a report by Business Monitor International, the consumer electronics market in Kuwait is forecasted to reach 780 million US dollars by 2015, driven by new technologies and the growing popularity of digital lifestyle products such as smartphones and tablets, LED TV sets, feature-rich notebook computer, digital cameras, as well as other key product groups. Since we launched our mobile products in Kuwait, we have noticed a significant growth in market share each year and will continue to foresee an optimistic and profitable growth moving forward. We believe that our market share growth in Kuwait is due to the in-

A handout picture of the GALAXY Tab 7.7.

creased adoption of our smartphones and tablets. In Kuwait alone, we achieved a 24 percent market share in 2011. We expect the Kuwait smartphone and tablet industry to experience upward growth in 2012 with more consumers embracing new technologies and smart devices such as the GALAXY Tab. What kind of growth is the tablet industry experiencing in the region?

Fawakherji: The outlook for the tablet industry is very positive this year. A report released recently by Morgan Stanley states that the tablet market is poised to be bigger than expected with 2012 tablet shipments expected to touch 100-million in the best case scenario.

Samsung is set to lead this segment with its wide range of tablet offerings that include the GALAXY Tab 10.1, 8.9, 7.7 and 7.0 Plus.

Our current tablets line-up boast a thin and light form factor while integrating the top of the line technologies.

The tablets are based on the Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) platform, which offers superior multi-tasking, enhanced user interaction and navigation capabilities.

Combined with features such as speed, light weight, a customized user experience, an entertainment hub and enterprise ready applications, the new Tablets give consumers more possibilities on the go.

How much market share does Samsung hold within telecommunications business?

Fawakherji: The strong and growing demand of the tablets in the Gulf region has helped record a solid 30 percent growth on quarter and 60 percent growth on year with the telecommunications business. Our current market share in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) currently holds at 21. After achieving strong results in 2011, we anticipate continuing the year by providing consumers with wide range of tablet form factor.

What are the differentiating factors when it comes to using tablets?

Fawakherji: Both consumers and enterprise users find tablets attractive as these devices offer portability and on the go connectivity.

Moreover, tablets are lightweight and relatively easy to carry around and provide a new level of adaptability by not only allowing users to play games, but also allowing users to download applications for unique uses. Plus, users don’t have to deal with product keys, registration codes or the heat from extended usage. In addition, booting up, software download and installation in tablets are almost instantaneous.

Tablets combine a PC like computing experience with the mobility, connectivity and touch interface of smartphones, thereby bridging the

Date of Closing Prices: 07 / 03 / 2012 For more information please contact “Global” at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net

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

1,220

1,180 480 640 870 255 460 840 540

Kw Investment Commercial Facilit.

Int'L Financial Adv. National Invest.

Kw Projects Ahlia Holding Coast Invest.

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

Exch KW BH Int

110 270 64 184 345 14.5 68 116 116 34.0 134 64 34 42.5 242 40.0 102

485 640 870 260 460 860 550

Global Index - Banking

Taiba Kuwaiti Holding

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

206.0 104.0

22.0 31.5 65.0 182 31.5 72 55 132

Global Index - Investment

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

290 450 -

Global Index - Insurance

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

63 110 150 212 90 43.5 102 920 80 17.0 65.0 89 60 63 85 21.5 39.0 118 46.0 37.5 36.0 22.5 32 59 305

Global Index - Real Estate

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

Heavy eng. & Ship.

Marine Services Portland Cement Shuaiba Industrial Metal Collecting Kuwait Foundry

238 134 134

1,440

325 154 880 200 118 -

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108 270 60 176 340 13.5 65 110 116 33.5 130 61 33 40.0 236 38.5 97 202.0 96.0 22.0 29.0 62.0 178 31.5 71 54 130

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

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60 110 144 212 90 42.0 100 910 77 16.5 61.0 88 58 61 79 20.5 39.0 118 46.0 37.0 33.5 21.5 32 58 305

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

234 130 134 1,440 320 152 870 200 118 -

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Last Close 182.63 6,183.20 Last Prev.

Close Close 1180 485 750 640 870 260 460 860 550 321.81

110 270 61 176 345 14.5 66 25.0 130 28.5 230 112 116 50 52 33.5 130 62 33 71 40.5 48.5 64 26.0 242 51 38.5 51 38.5 102 204.0 97.0 22.0 29.0 62.0 29.0 178 255 114 31.50 70 71 55 55 64 42.50 132 84.83 290 610 450 148 220 122 40.50 43.88

61 110 150 212 32.5 234 118 90 42.0 120 100 910 77 16.5 63.0 89 60 62 80 36.0 85 21.0 87 17.5 39.0 57 75 118 46.0 37.5 34.5 25.5 21.5 134 134 220 59 305 54.81

238 130 420 134 1,440 320 152 880 200 118 395

1220 485 750 650 870 260 460 850 550 325.43 112 275 63 182 345 14.0 69 25.0 130 28.5 230 112 116 50 52 34.5 130 65 34 71 41.5 48.5 64 26.0 244 51 38.5 51 39.0 96 200.0 100.0 23.0 31.5 66.0 29.0 186.0 255 114 31.50 70 73 55 55 64 42.50 134 85.62 300 610 450 148 220 122 40.50 44.15

Previous Close Change 184.37 -1.74 -44.70 6,227.90 Trading Activity Tran. Value(KD) Chng Volume

DTD -0.94% -0.72%

Last Bid

Last Ask

MTD YTD 0.92% 1.85% 6.35% 0.92% Div. Annual Close High Low P/E Yield

2,720,900 602,200 25,600 426,300 616,950 147,200 1,344,050 811,200 6,694,400

1,180 480 710 630 870 255 460 850 540

1,200 485 720 650 880 260 465 860 550

3.4% 0.0% 2.0% 3.1% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3% 0.0% 2.0%

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

1,100 475 710 640 790 236 450 820 550 317.17

15.53 33.26 86.32 17.34 30.38 24.73 12.26 24.50 104.63 18.94

-2 440,000 -5 190,000 -2 29,400,000 -6 3,440,000 190,000 25,920,000 0.5 -3 5,200,000 19,940,000 560,000 1.0320,000 4,760,000 4,880,000 -3 3,200,000 -1 1,600,000 -1 -2 40,000 5,920,000 0.57,880,000 6 7,760,000 4.0 8,020,000 3.01.080,000 14,080,000 2.54.011,640,000 8.0320,000 80,000 760,000 -2 360,000 -2 3,760,000 0.80- 160,740,000

12 9 211 86 5 153 93 208 12 4 62 80 38 18 2 51 98 156 159 1 129 196 13 1 9 9 76

108 270 60 176 340 14.0 65 27.0 108 114 33.0 128 61 33 40.0 64.0 51 38.0 102 202.0 97.0 21.5 61.0 176 30 65 71 51 53 130.0

112 275 61 178 345 14.5 66 30.0 230 112 116 34.0 130 62 33 41.0 69.0 246 56 38.5 204.0 98.0 24.0 29.0 62.0 180 270 32 75 72 55 56 132.0

0.0% 8.1% 0.0% 0.0% 5.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.4% 5 1% 5.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 9.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3%

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

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

42.09 12.56

1,891

48,000 51,300 1,827,040 618,080 64,650 361,240 347,120 2,230,320 64,960 10,760 630,160 308,560 105,360 66,440 9,560 231,080 788,080 1,583,280 796,480 1,760 415,720 731,600 57,520 2,520 54,600 19,480 493,400 11,919,070

20,000 10,000 30,000

1 1 2

5,800 4,500 10,300

290 440 116 30.0

300 580 465 146 43.0

6.9% 4.1% 5.6% 6.8% 2.7% 0.0% 0.0% 4.7%

325 610 520 148 220 134 40.5 44.80

280 550 450 102 220 102 40.5 42.22

15.14 14.06 9.19 23.37 296.83

16,720,000 260,000 2,500,000 480,000 40,000 2,960,000 520,000 590,000 520,000 7,360,000 32,840,000 1,600,000 2,320,000 2,080,000 6,880,000 1,840,000 160,000 20,000 1,920,000 560,000 9,040,000 3,200,000 400,000 120,000 730,000 95,660,000

104 8 63 16 1 30 18 32 12 40 265 21 48 38 107 15 2 1 12 7 97 32 5 2 25

60 110 146 210 230 116 90 42.0 100 900 76 16.5 61.0 88 59 61 33.5 84 20.5 87 39.5 70 118 36.5 34.5 25.0 21.5 32 58 300

61 112 150 212 35.0 234 42.5 130 102 910 78 17.0 63.0 89 61 62 38.0 85 21.5 40.0 62 75 120 46.0 38.0 35.0 26.5 22.0 144 32 60 305

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 9.4% 0.0% 4.3% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 5.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1.0%

63 118 152 214 37.5 236 130 90 52.0 120 104 940 80 20.0 64.0 92 75 64 90 38.0 85 23.0 91 17.5 40.5 59 80 144 52.0 39.5 35.0 28.5 25.5 134 34 220 70 480 55.66

47 97 108 200 32.5 224 114 77 27.0 108 94 840 62 11.0 35.0 77 56 52 80 33.0 59 13.5 87 17.5 31.0 57 64 116 27.5 22.0 25.0 25.5 15.0 134 32 220 49 270 49.06

47.27 14.11 26.87 18.90

1,001

1,020,480 28,600 368,360 101,760 3,600 126,120 52,640 539,100 40,640 124,400 2,068,000 141,920 137,200 128,680 571,240 39,200 6,240 2,360 88,320 20,960 315,560 70,400 12,800 7,000 222,650 6,238,230

4,180,000 1,080,000 180,000 37,500 90,000 100,000 105,000 20,000 20,000 -

75 38 2 3 6 5 9 1 1 -

986,880 141,720 24,120 54,000 29,000 15,280 92,100 4,000 2,360 -

236 128 420 132 1,440 320 870 190 108 380

238 130 430 134 1,460 325 152 880 208 116 400

0.0% 0.0% 2.4% 3.7% 4.5% 3.1% 3.3% 11.4% 5.0% 0.0% 5.1%

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

214 120 415 134 1,380 315 152 660 180 102 395

72.40

63 110 146 214 32.5 234 118 85 44.5 120 100 920 77 17.5 64.0 89 60 63 80 36.0 81 21.0 87 17.5 39.5 57 75 120 48.5 39.0 35.0 25.5 23.0 134 134 220 60 305 55.10

5 2.5-10 1.01.0-1 4 0.5-2 -3 1.50.51.5-1 0.29-

238 136 420 136 1,440 325 162 890 200 116 395

-6 -2 -5 -10 -10 2 -

-

-2 4 -2 -

What kind of marketing techniques/offers have you been using to attract more customers to buy the tablet?

How have your retail partners been performing in Kuwait? What initiatives are you working on to try and improve sales, e.g. customer service?

Fawakherji: Our primary aim is to highlight our technology, cutting-edge design and the premium quality of our products. For the Kuwaiti market specifically, our main channel for marketing is the print media. We are now also making higher investments in digital and social media. This is complemented with a strong, consistent and strategic product market entry plan that is combined with effective business management to ensure the success and reach of our product lines. In addition, strong channel partnerships and responsible corporate practices are factors that have helped Samsung to advance as a profitable and successful company.

Our aim is to retain our leadership position by pushing the boundaries of innovation and offering consumers the most advanced and easy to use product offerings such as the GALAXY

Date of Closing Prices:

59 23 4 22 39 12 68 36 263

-10 Ex-D 0.27-

Fawakherji: According to Gartner’s top predictions for 2012, by 2015, mobile application development projects targeting smartphones and tablets will outnumber native PC projects as the smartphone and tablet industry continue to expand rapidly. Smartphones and tablets will represent over 90 percent of the net-new growth in device adoption for the coming four years as per the report. In the Gulf region specifically, the technology landscape will continue to grow driven by factors such as a developed infrastructure, higher broadband speed and growing consumer demand for the latest devices. So as the need for constant connectivity and mobility continues to grow, consumers and businesses alike require real-time access to content, the internet, computing and communication tools and high-quality services.

Fawakherji: Our focus continues to be on retail and Samsung has a strong retail presence in Kuwait thanks to the support from our distributors and retail partners. Samsung has chosen to focus on partners as a key to generating revenue and sales.

Our partner relationships are solely focused on creating the best solutions for their customers. With that in mind, Samsung provides our partners with the tools they need to better serve their customers and to reward them for their support towards our business. We place tremendous value on these partnerships as these companies continuously achieve their sales and business goals and take proactive steps in ensuring that Samsung continues to ride the growth momentum in the country.

05 / 01 / 2012

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

2,280,000 1,250,000 40,000 490,000 2,390,000 320,000 1,590,000 1,475,000 9,835,000

-40 -10 10 3.62-

Fawakherji: Tablets were built as a portable computing device that is intuitive, fast and allows users to stay connected while on the move.

As the tablet industry expands, more manufacturers provide devices that can efficiently multitask and are powerful enough to provide a PClike experience in a portable form factor.

According to a recent research conducted

by Morgan Stanley, 68 percent of respondents regularly used their tablets to browse the internet. Email and social networking ranked the second and third most popular activities amongst tablet consumers with 62 percent and 53 percent respectively. This research, while providing insight on consumer usage of the tablet, reinforces the popularity of the multifunctional, portable computing device. Tablets are also used popularly as multi-tasking mobile devices for entertainment, information, education and work. Most tablet consumers use the device for content consumption such as web browsing, email, instant messaging, social networking, media consumption and simple gaming. As the Gulf consumers seek a high-quality and efficient mobile computing device that is tailored to fit their unique needs, the demand for Tablets will be high across both the consumer and enterprise markets with players.

Trading Prices of Kuwait Stock Exchange Date of Closig Prices: 7/03/2012

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

What are the practical uses of such devices?

What are the technological trends that one can expect for the smartphone and tablet industry in 2012?

Trading Prices of Kuwait Exchange Trading Prices of Kuwait Stock Stock Exchange

Global General Index KSE Price Index

Tab range, which include the Tab 10.1, 8.9, 7.7 and 7.0 Plus.

92.07 13.95 1.55 0.00

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

0.00 9.33 22 77 22.77 11.92 44.26

0.00 5.36 12.82

12.71

16.93 5.81 16.98 40.87 22.96 0.00 16.62 30.21

6.22 24.45 12.18 5.12 46.49

23.07 18.82 0.00 0.00 17.93

17.16 6.58 7.66 138.98 117.52 12.12 26.26 22.99

ACICO

-

United Industries Global General Index 95 Boubyan Petroch.

610 KSE Price Index

Gulf Glass HilalCompany Cement Al Kout Ind. Project High 1,140 K-PAK Bank National Gulf BankMaterial 495 Building Commercial 770 Nat. Ind.Co.Bank 320 Ahli Bank 640 Equipment Holding 74 Ahli United Bank 850 Mena Holding International Bank 248 Consumer Industries 460 Burgan Kuwait Bank Gypsum 890 Kw Finance House 220 Qurain Boubyan Bank 590 Salbookh Trading 51 Global IKARUSIndex - Banking178 Boubyan Int'L Ind. 78 Kw Investment -

94 610 Low 1,120 490 770 320 640 71 800 248 455 880 216 580 51 178 78 -

ŷ źź źŷ ŷ ŷ

ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ źź Ÿŷ ŷ ŷ źŷ źŸ ŷ ŷ źź ź ŷ 265 260 źź Commercial Facilit.

Global Index - Industrial 41 40 ź Int'L Financial Adv. 1,020 1,020 NationalInvest.

Cinema 174 National 170 źź KwProjects Hotels 300 - Ÿŷ Kw 300 420 ŷŷ Agility 430 12.5 Ahlia Holding 13.5 61 56 źŸ Market Complexes Coast Invest.

53 52 ZAIN -860 -850 ŷź Int'L Investor 79.0 76.0 Safat Energy Securities House - ŷź Educational - ŷŷ Ind. & Fin. Inv.Group Indep. Petroleum -Securities Group - - ŷŷ Int'L Finance - ŷź National Cleaning 146 140 110 MARKAZ 108 134 Sultan Center 126 ŷŷ -KMIFIC - - ŷŷ Arabi Group Int'L Group CityInv. Group - ŷŷ Aref Inv. Group - ŷź 2,040 2,040 Wataniya Tele.

Investment Dar - ŷź 126 Kw Gulf Link 118 Al AMAN Inv. Kw Cable Vision - ŷŷ ALOLA Inv. System 110 108 Automated 248 248 ŷŸ ALMAL Inv. 50 49 ź NAPESCO - ŷ Gulf Inv. House - ŷ KCPC 285 280 ŷ - ŷ A'ayan Leasing K.S.H - ŷ 31.0 ŷ 32.5 Bayan Inv. Eyas - ŷŷ GLOBAL Inv. Hits Telecom - 87 - 81 ŷź Osoul Inv. Al Safwa Holding 22.0 21.0 ź GULFINVEST ŷ Human Soft - ŷŷ KFIC 75 Privatization Holding 78 KAMCO - ŷź Nafaaes Holding Int'l Leasing & Inv. -- - ŷŷ National Slaughter - - ŷŷ Nat. Int'l Holding -118 Aref energy 114 - ŷŷ Housing Finance 710 MADAR Safwan - ŷŸ 710 26.5 Al Deera Holding 59.0 26.5 Gulf Petroleum 57.0 ŷź Al Safat Inv. - ŷź Gulf Franchising 27.5 26.0 122.0 - 114.0 - Ÿŷ Al Salam Credit & Group Collection 41.0 Ekttitab Holding 17.5 źŷ 18.5 39.0 National Ranges Al QurainWell Holding - ŷŷ Burgan Drilling 16.5 Sokouk Holding 450 16.5 425 ŷŷ IFA H&R Al-Madina Finance 40.0 1,540 38.5 1,520 źŷ Combinted Group NOOR - 75 - 74 ŷź Jeeran Holding Tamdeen Inv. 160 158 ź - ŷ Palms Agro KW BH Int'l Exch.

- ŷ 72.0 ź 75.0 Safat TEC Taiba Kuwaiti Holding - ŷ 99 94 Mushrif Trading ź Kuwait Syrian - ŷ U it d P j t United Projects 315 315 Strategia - ŷź 315 ALAFCO 310 53 53 ŷŷ Kuwait China Inv. Al-Muwasat -- - ŷŷ Manafae Inv. 242 Mashaer 236 Gulf NorthHolding Africa - ŷŸ 265 Oula Fuel 265 Amwal - ŷź - ŷŷ Future Al MasarComm.

85 Hayat Comm.

88 124 źŸ Al-Imtiaz 132 Mubarrad Transport 66 63 źź Global Index - Investment Kuwait Resorts ŷ Kuwait Insurance - ŷ Advanced Technolgy - ŷ - ŷ Gulf Insurance Yiaco Medical 400 370 - ŷź Ahlia Insurance Al Jazeera Airways 485 450 źŸ 112 108 Warba Insurance Al Soor Fuel 236 236 ź Kuwait Re-Ins. Future Kid First Takaful Ins. - - ŷŷ K G L Insurance Wethaq -270 -260 ŷŸ 85 Al Nawadi 85 źź Global Index - Insurance Alrai Media 138 ź 142 48 - ź Kuwait R.E. 48 Zima Holding ŷ 100 Ÿ United R.E. 100 Global R.E. Index - Services 118 Ÿź National 126 200 Salhia R.E. Trans.

204 LiveStock 190 188 źź -104 ŷź Pearl -112 DanaR.E. Al-Safat 224 224 - źŷ Tamdeen R.E. United Poultry Ajial R.E. -- - ŷŷ Kw FoodStuff - - ŷŷ Massaleh R.E. -United Food Arab 30.0 - 30.0 - źŷ KoutR.E. Food - ŷ Union R.E. ź Global Index - Food 98 96 ź ERESCO Sharjah Cement 89 88 Ÿź 860 840 Mabani 75 74 INJAZZAT RE 104 Gulf Cement 102 Ÿź Inv. 70 11.5 68 źŷ UmHolding QuwainGrp Cement 12.0 -114 ŷź -114 Int'L Resorts Fujaira Cement 78 77 Ÿź Commercial R.E 120 Ras AlKheimah 120 70 65 - źŷ Sanam ARIG R.E. 54 53 - źŷ Aa'yan UnitedR.E Gulf Bank - ŷŷ Aqar Egypt Kw Holding 325 325 Kuwait R.E Holding Bahrain Kw Ins. - ŷ 59 ź AL Mazaya 60 Gulf Fin. House 65.0 61.0 ź 14.0 ź Al Dar National R.E 14.0 42 Inovest Int'L Holding 43 - ŷŷ Themar

Ahli United Bank -188 Grand R.E Projects -188 Ithmaar Bank 20.5 -20.0 Tijara & R.E Invest Al Tameer Global Index - Non-Kuwaiti Arkan Al-Kuwait R.E 70 70 Markaz Real Estate Safat Global Investment Al Argan Int'L Funds 28.5 28.0 Abyaar Al-Bareeq Holding 23.5 - 23.5 Munshaat AFAQ First Dubai 26.0 - 25.5 Al-Shamel KBT 27.0 Al-Safat Real Estate 27.0 Manazel 16.5 30 15.5 30 Ajwan Real Estate REAM Specialities Group 265 260 Mena Real Estate Masaken Inter.

51 51 Al Moudon Intl. R.E Dulaqan R.E Markaz Real Estate 57 56 Eid Food Kuwait Remal R.E 295 285 Maidan Clinic

-

Global Index - Real Estate Flex -

-

-

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

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

Heavy & Ship.

Totaleng.

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

Global Index - Islamic

ź ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ź ź ŷ ŷ ŷ źŷ źŷ ź ŷ ŷ źź ŷ ź ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ź ŷ Ÿ ŷ ź źŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ź ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ź ŷ

- Change 206 206 Last Close Previous Close DTD MTD YTD 4.9% 224 196 23.76 198 210 -2 2,400,000 35 225,760 94 176.5396 0.0% 102 94 34.16 93 94 -0.40% -1.55% 177.24 -0.70 -1.55% 610 25,000 3 -27.3015,250 6105,726.90 - 5,754.20 5.7% 610 550 86.98 600 610 -1.50% -0.47% -1.50% 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,220 21.05 1,400 2.9% Last Prev.

Trading Activity 216 - Last - Last224 Div. 216 216 Close 206 11.21 4.6% Annual Close Close Volume -Tran. - Value(KD) - Bid370 Ask High350 Low350 P/E 7.76 Chng 350 350 Ex-D - Yield 5.7% 275 275 3,796,050 - 1,120 - 1120 1120 69 3,377,500 300 1,100 275 13.23 300 3.6% 7.3% 250 1,140 1,120 14.74 20 495 495 830,000 407,950 490 495 - 0.0% 510 490 33.95 Ex-D 224 224 228 224 27.09 214 0.0% 770 770 10,000 11 7,700 - 770 780 790 770 88.62 20,000 320 6,400 320 320 260 20.53 315 330 1.9% 2.5% 640 -20-2 24 6,400 660 10,000 64069 66072 3.1% 66073 64051 17.34 11,600 73 71 160,000 34.03 0.0% 800 50 850 350,000 23 282,700 840 850 - 1.6% 85033 79033 29.68 33 33 0.00 0.0% 16 248 248 - 700,000 173,600 246 248 - 0.0% 255 24893 23.59 102 102 102 0.0% 460 465 -5 500,000 10 229,750 460 465 - 0.0% 475 460 12.26 128 128 128 128 17.06 9.4% 890 -10 2 880 1,280,000 6631 1,127,050 880 900 880 25.07 870 216 1,280,000 218 277,680 222 210 8.79 220 2.3% 0.0% 218 590 590 607,850 - 1,035,000 33 8 59050 0.0% 580 59051 59041 112.24 20,400 51 51 400,000 0.0% 319.37 319.54 8,092,500 6,639,050 18.61 0.173,560 180 20,000 240 1 -2 178 180 318.41 162 10.45 176 180 2.0% 0.0% 319.54 62,400 83 800,000 17 78 0.0% 106 106 --5 102 10678 0.0% 10688 10670 40.56 260 265 -5 250,000 14 65,750 260 265 8.5% 265 260 12.09 170.49 163.04 10.80 0.551,972,510 10,917,500 240 170.49 2.7% 169.93 40 1,020 170 280 300 425 12.5 61 52 850 25.0 78.0 130 110 31.0 310 230 102 142 108 132 50 104 44.0 530 52 2,040 74 118 28.5 63 108 248 49 365 23 280 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 83 68 21.0 20.5 270 26.0 76 244 97 94 154 51 118 36 710 51 26.5 57.0 75 26.0 120.0 120 39.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 450 38.5 1,540 29.0 74 158 86 255 73.0 114 95 26.00 315 68 310 53 130 60 242 46.5 265 64 265 42.50 88 128 63 75.90

55.0

325 640 560 370 485 480 110 236 220 104 114 265 40.50 85 43.43

138 48 110 100 770.71 124

200 188 37.5 104 224 130 120 1,460 82 390 30.0 530 108 355.70 97 88 860 75 102 11.5 69 38.0 114 78 120 65 132 54 230 90 325 38.0 455 59 62.0 14.0 42 91 188 17.5 20.0 31.0 59 46.07 70 122 48.5 124 28.0 144 23.5 106 25.5 250 27.0 28.0 15.5 30 134 260 134 51 220 345 57 106 295 1,860 49.73

36.0

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

41 1,120 172 280 295 425 12.5 56 53 860 25.0 79.0 130 110 31.0 310 230 102 146 112 132 50 104 44.0 530 52 2,060 74 126 28.5 63 108 238 49.5 365 23 280 71 260 31.0 260 48.5 86 68 22.0 20.5 270 26.0 77 244 97 94 154 51 118 36 670 51 26.5 60.0 75 28.0 112.0 120 41.5 18.0 19.0 255 16.5 450 39.0 1,520 29.0 75 160 86 255 74.0 114 96 26.00 325 68 310 53 130 60 232 46.5 270 64 265 42.50 83 130 67 76.02

55.0

325 640 560 375 485 475 118 240 220 104 114 260 40.50 90 43.63

144 49 110 99 777.86 120

204 190 37.5 112 234 130 120 1,460 82 390 30.5 530 108 357.05 98 90 850 73 106 12.0 69 38.0 116 77 124 70 132 55 230 90 330 38.0 455 63 64.0 14.5 42 91 190 17.5 31.020.5 59 46.69 74 122 48.5 124 28.5 144 24.5 106 26.0 250 27.0 28.0 16.5 33 134 270 134 57 220 345 58 106 290 1,860 49.75

36.0

-1

-100 -2 5 -1 5 - -10 1.0--4.0- - -20 --8 10 -1 - -3 1 --1 - - - 40 - 3.02.08.0 2.00.5- - -1 2.01.01.0-10 - - 10 --5 - -5.0 2 -4 0.12--5 -8 5 Ex-D-4 - -5 -5 0.19-6 -1 1 7.164

1,680,000 75,000 1,040,000 110,000 1,460,000 7,040,000 17,880,000 1,280,000 3,050,000 16,880,000 - - 980,000 680,000 980,000 - - 10,000 3,100,000 - 500,000 20,000 320,000 240,000 1,840,000 - 12,320,000 15,760,000 - 6,000,000 - - 380,000 5,000 240,000 1,840,000 560,000 11,180,000 1,920,000 18,160,000 - 480,000 170,000 10,640,000 382,500 80,000 80,000 1,080,000 3,880,000 20 000 20,000 5,790,000 200,000 - 1,260,000 10,000 - 1,480,000 1,240,000 8,320,000 40,720,000

13 20 9 5 4655 236 22 131 155 - - 38 1833 - - -4 92 - 14 1 4 18 22 - 131 71 - 90 - - 17 -1 231 -7 212 24 113 - 516 9356 -2 4 18 77 -2 123 2 - 25 -1 - 3832 145 558

30,000 650,000 120,000 20,000 - 4,800,000 40,000 120,000

-3 40 6 -1 - 161 61

-

-

15 380,000 1 80,000 9 920,000 1,951 128,092,500 105 3,100,000 12 7 -4-2 520,000 220,000 --8 162 10,820,000 3 10.0- 100,000 - - - - - - 1 80,000 0.5- 11,040,000 169 1.35-

-1 320,000 8 1,280,000 10-2 1,935,000 5719 241 120,000 2-4 1,380,000 1542 0.5- 2,000,000 2,840,000 -1 - -2 20,000 31 1-4 240,000 20,000 17 1,000,000 -5 4 -1 200,000 - -1 20,000 - - Ex-D 11 440,000 -4 16,080,000 147 -2 1 80,000 0.560 5,040,000 1,600,000 2 26 2,720,000 - -1 -23 31,000,000 361 0.62-4 320,000 2 - - 12 0.5- 2,720,000 1.0- 80,000 1 0.5240,000 3 Ex-D 35,040,000 - 4 1,200,000 82 1.0160,000 -3 - -10 610,000 26 1 -6 40,000 -1 240,000 6 47 5 2,110,000 0.0253,085,000 332

Ex-D

-

-

242 -10 13,220,000 - 154 93.0 128 - 140,000 6 65 470 -20 50,000 2 65 150 810,000 1,460 -40 2,500 129 335 - 447,315,0005,878 212 Prev. Close 720 Close 230,000 19 180 191.86 193.64 106 188.16-2 80,000 190.313 460 -

570.36

569.03

67,160 40 76,500 177,720 168 33,000 295 617,650 420 90,920 12.5 1,068,480 67,280 5161 2,593,850 - 840 1,303,960 77.0 - - - 139,200 140 73,920 106 127,560 126 - - - 20,400 2,040 376,760 118 - 27.0 54,920 108 4,960 15,840 49 21 67,250 275 244 58,760 31.0 - 1,023,960 64.082 337,160 21.0 - 455,920 -76 - -92 134 - 43,760 114 3,550 - 6,360 26.0 106,160 57.0 14,800 26.0 1,305,280 - 118.0 77,080 -18.0 330,120 - 18.0 7,920 16.0 73,300 425 419,440 38.5 588,950 1,540 - 74 5,960 12,680 156 82 79,120 72.0 374,880 95 6 300 6,300 315 63 1,819,400 310 10,600 52 120 - 299,240 240 2,650 260 - - 246 129,320 124.088 157,920 536,520 63 2,702,550

-

11,400 305,450 13,200 4,720 - 1,273,700 3,400 13,200

53,120 3,840 92,000 14,279,430 383,920

104,680 41,560 1,154,680 22,400 - - 2,400 1,196,240

31,160 113,040 1,656,950 8,960 141,240 23,960 195,720 2,280 18,520 2,400 67,400 10,720 6,500 - 26,160 1,007,400 1,120 210,840 300,800 54,720 2,034,940 22,400 - 76,880 1,880 6,160 946,080 19,240 4,800 159,700 2,040 13,520 610,850 4,151,200

-

52.0

300 510 370 460 470 108 234 - - 260

85 136 48 -

99 122 200 186 - 104 128 110 1,440 - - 510 112 95 86087 7187 11.5 100 35.568 77 114 120 53 - - 325 13.5 9062 - 42 186.0 30.0 70 116 28.0 23.5 25.0 24.5 15.5 255 29 218 55 84 290

-

-

3,111,120 -17,800 122 22,550 455 150 166,540 3,550 1,420 310 44,345,120 Change 710 165,600 178 -1.78 8,480 -2.15 104 435

1.33

40

0.0%

3.9% 1,040 172 0.0% 0.0% 300 - 6.7% 425 0.0% 9.4% 13.0 0.0% 52 - 0.0% 23.5% - 850 0.0% 0.0% 78.0 0.0% 0.0% 33.5 - 0.0% 330 9.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 142 110 132 9.3% 0.0% 0.0% 104 0.0% - 560 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2,060 2.5% 0.0% 120 0.0% 29.567 0.0% 0.0% 110 - 0.0% 10.1% 50 5.5% 360 0.0% 24 0.0% 1.8% 280 0.0% 6.0% 32.5 0.0% 3.8% 0.0% 0.0% - 83 0.0% 0.0% -21.5 0.0% 0.0% - 280 0.0% 77 0.0% 238 0.0% 102 0.0% 0.0% 5.2% 54 - 0.0% 118 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 670 3.1% 27.0 58.0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 26.5 0.0% 120.0 130 0.0% 0.0% 39.0 18.5 0.0% 0.0% 20.0 255 0.0% 0.0% 16.5 0.0% 450 0.0% 39.0 4.5% 1,560 0.0% % - 80 0.0% 0.0% 3.8% 160 91 9.3% 270 5.1% 0.0% 74.0 0.0% 0.0% 96 0.0% 27 9 5% 330 9.5% 73 0.0% 3.2% 315 0.0% 53 160 0.0% 5.4% 61 242 10.8% 0.0% 47 270 0.0% 0.0% 69 9.4% - 290 0.0% 11.4% 128.0 0.0% 64 2.4% 0.0% 56.0 0.0% 325 6.2% 0.0% 610 4.5% 2.7% 380 5.2% 500 480 9.1% 0.0% 114 240 0.0% 2.7% 0.0% 106 0.0% 110 265 0.0% 1.9% 43.0 92 4.7% 5.9% 140 0.0% 49 120 0.0% 0.0% 100 0.0% 11.7% 126 0.0% 202 188 10.0% 0.0% 37.5 4.8% 106 0.0% 224 130 4.5% 0.0% 0.0% 130 1,500 4.5% 6.1% 85 400 1.3% 31.5 3.8% 570 0.0% 6.5% 118 3.9% 0.0% 98 5.7% 87088 0.0% 7688 0.0% 9.8% 12.0 0.0% 102 0.0% 37.069 0.0% 0.0% 79 118 0.0% 8.3% 65 124 0.0% 5.7% 54 140 0.0% 0.0% 91 230 0.0% 9.2% 40.5 330 0.0% 7.7% 60 0.0% 0.0% 14.5 0.0% 0.0% 9463 5.5% 5.3% - 42 0.0% 188.0 0.0% 0.0% 33.5 57 0.0% 3.9% 74 0.0% 0.0% 126 0.0% 28.5 - 0.0% 0.0% 25.0 - 0.0% 0.0% 25.5 255 0.0% 3.2% 28.0 0.0% 29.5 0.0% 16.033 0.0% 0.0% 130 260 3.7% 2.7% 0.0% 32 51 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 57 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 295 0.0% 1.1%

48.5

232 94.0 13070 46570 1,440 340 216 DTD 720 190 -0.92% 108 -1.13% -

0.23%

0.0%

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.2% 7.7% 3.3% 0.8% 4.6% 3.0% 4.64% 2.4% 13.9% 5.6% 0.0% 4.3%

42 40 990 1,120 174 170 280 280 305 295 430 340 13.5 12.5 5461 5241 900 840 25.0 25.0 79.0 45.0 130 130 110 110 36.0 31.0 295 345 230 230 102 102 146 110 116 108 108 136 50 5084 104 44.0 44.0 530 530 52 52 1,920 2,060 74 7495 126 28.568 28.563 112 108 230 248 51 49 340 395 23 22 260 305 71 71 260 260 31.5 31.0 260 260 48.5 48.5 132 68.0 68.054 14.0 23.5 20.5 20.5 270 280 26.0 26.0 24481 24461 104 94 9490 154 154 51 51 118 36 3691 520 51 51 710 26.5 27.5 30.0 74.0 75 75 16.0 28.5 99.0 120.0 120 140 19.5 41.5 19.5 12.0 19.0 19.0 275 198 17.0 16.5 490 425 39.0 38.0 1,580 1,500 29.074 29.089 156 162 91 86 255 255 74.0 57.0 114 114 80 104 26 28 335 270 68 68 280 315 53 55 130 130 60 60 172 242 47 47 265 305 64 64 300 265 42.5 42.5 88 132.0 128.070 76.32 72 75.90 51

56.0

44.0

325 325 640 640 560 560 345 390 520 485 410 480 118 110 270 236 220 220 104 114 134 114 265 218 40.5 40.5 44.80 92 43.43 80

156 49 110 100 777.86 128

116 48 110 99 744.62 120

200 208 182 222 37.5 37.590 114 234 224 126 130 130 120 1,420 1,500 82 82 340 390 30.5 30.0 500 570 108 108 365.22 345.74 100 96 86095 84044 76 7355 108 12.570 11.543 38.0 38.0 122 46 78 77 126 118 75 65 132 132 54 55 232 188 90 90 330 250 38.0 38.0 455 455 63 59 74.0 40.5 14.5 14.0 91 91 17.5 17.5 31.0 31.0 59 59 47.16 40.74 78 70 1,220 1,220 48.5 48.5 144 124 29.0 28.0 24.5 23.5 26.0 25.5 28.5 27.0 16.5 15.5 134 134 32 32 220 220 57 60 295 270 49.86 49.73

-

-

232 260 130 128 470 450 158 150 1,460 1,420 340 335 212 222 MTD 710 740 180 180 1.04% 104 116 0.91% 460 460

1.42%

17.46 88.93 12.13 14.15 1.33 13.02 0.00 23.89 0.00 19.12 0.00 25.70 0.00 53.09 0.00 13.21 0.00 0.00 0.00 12.39

6.94 9.75 11.97 9.19 306.45 32.31 0.00

13.80 0.00 12.48

0.00 9.60 116.80 0.00 17.64 0.00

5.25

0.00

0.00 71.64 98.16 16.84 0.00 3.06 8.28 7.35

22.77 11.92

10.72

58 69 58.69 43.00

5.17 7.80 7.99 22.46 16.17 0.00

5.19 10.01

3.85

16.97 25.05 12.90 11.90 9.91 8.56 17.37 16.48 296.83

11.59 6.99 6.11 12.60 12.32

37.20 12.83 12.30 22.21 17.83 16.20 5.72

11.56

5.29 25.40

9.84

15.28 11.31 39.65 21.70 0.00 14.56 9.60 26.32 35.93

7.39 8.10 41.28

4.15

10.07

62.86 19.44 10.57

11.37 0.00 5.38 27.28

20.67 9.93 23.07 8.93 18.82 63.06 0.00 11.03 0.00 16.27

14.44

70.58 18.38

9.92 6.49 8.02 14.68 193.84 YTD 96.15 10.91 1.22% 23.15 -1.02% 26.77

1.49%

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

12

ALWATAN DAILY thursday, march 8, 2012

April 21, 2009 March 07, 2012 Rebased RebasedPerformance Performance 115115

113

Bull/Bear Indicator Bull/Bear Indicator

DailyIndex Index Performance Snapshot Daily Performance Snapshot

5% 6%

1% 6% Oman

113

111

110

111

110

2%

-2%

Dubai Abu DhabiBahrain Bahrain

90

GCC Best Performers

Saudi

95 7-Dec-11 85

7-Jan-12

7-Feb-12

Dubai

-5%

7-Mar-12

-6% -2

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

MENA Best Performers 1

Period's Liquidity 1 Ratio (PLR x)*

-1

MENA Indices Highlights Country (Index)

Index Level

% Chg.

YTD

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

Index 7,369 Level

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

2,553 5,250

-2.2% -4.0%

QaUAUAE Qatar (DSM Index) (ADSM Index)

8,605 2,695

-0.7% 0.6%

Ku Kuwait (KSE Weighted Index)

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

OmOman UAE(MSM (DFMIndex) Index)

413

1,608 406

5,826 1,745

BaQa Bahrain Qatar (BSE (DSMIndex) Index)

1,157 5,590

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

1,986

Eg Egypt (EGX 30 Index)

OmOman (MSM Index)

Ba Bahrain (BSE Index)

M Morocco (Casa All Shares Index)

Eg Egypt (Hermes Egypt Index (HFI))*

Le Lebanon (Beirut SE Index)

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

Pa Palestine (Al-Quds Index)

M Morocco (Casa All Shares Index)*

Tu Tunisia (Tunis SE Index)

Le Lebanon (Beirut SE Index)* *Market Closed

Pa Palestine (Al-Quds Index) * Market Closed

5,457

5,478

1,681

11,381

463

1,213

2,825 485

10,621

4,727

1,094 546

Tu TunisiaClosed (Tunis SE Index)* * Market

3,282

52 Wk High

%-0.4% Chg.

-0.9%

1.8%

5.1% 0.4%

-1.1%

-

2.2%

0.4%

0.1%

-

-

0.9% -

Mkt.385,071 Cap. USD million

159

67,452 264,263

-1.9% 12.8%

8,892 5,148

8,012 2,137

80 122

123,593 69,783

2 196

17,339 65,352

1,754 787

6,416 5,860

1.2% -18.8%

50.7%

0.7%

-6.8%

8.5%

151

1,921

4,224

10,785

5,044

2,551

1,425

2.4%

1.6%

513

328

1,164 465

-3.3%

14,635 4,785

4,091

23.6%

739

407

-0.7%

-7.2%

2,119

13.6%

3,418

-

9,406

-

1,043

-

2,837

-

4

0

7.67

3

9,528

1.45

1.68

1.61

8.07

1.29

16.53

10,546

33,782

3.64

1.56

6.44

0.89

12.71

2,539

2.15

9.44

59,990

1.18

18.36

3.95

14.73

8,507

1.68

6.47

2,079

0.86

8.67

6,576

2.50

13.85

1.92

SAUDI ARABIA *Market Closed

OMR 0.720

GCC Worst Performers

MENA Worst Performers

AED 0.36

ARTArabtec Holding

120

1.05 SARAED 22.95

225 Saudi Industrial Inv. Grp.

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

101 Riyad Bank

115

SAR 24.70

-6.4%

110

169,412,587 150,075,024

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

343,553,085 127,044,473 119,955,261 124,052,840

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

97,126,838

NBKNational Bank of Kuwait (KUW)

88,742,222

43Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

7-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

476,480,296

20Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

7-Mar-12

39.60

2280.SSE Almarai Co.

1211.SSE Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

Turnover (SAR) 1,089,989,546 3030.SSE Saudi Cement Co. 635,381,906 2290.SSE Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. 562,856,378 3020.SSE Yamama Saudi Cement Co.

70Zain - Saudi Arabia

7-Jan-12

Close

% Chg.

2.3%

10.75

1.4%

10.10

1.0%

33.80

0.9%

106.00

1.0%

Worst Performers

23Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co.

100

64,280,166

4220.SSE Emaar the Economic City

Highest Turnover

105

-6.8%

Turnover (USD)

201 (KSA) 201Saudi SaudiBasic BasicIndustries IndustriesCorp.

Corp.

(KSA)

1,444,207,933

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

111

-9.5% -8.9%

290,625,129

703 Zain - Saudi Arabia (KSA)

11,433,439

-9.9%

Turnover (USD)

MENA Highest Turnover

7,400 / 5,916 4300.SSE Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

Tadawul Index 52 week High / Low

Turnover (SAR '000)

% Chg.

-9.4% -8.6%

235 Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. (KSA)

0.45

1.3%

8.0%

1.35 SARAED 48.00

SAR 13.70

GCC Highest Turnover

93% 7010.SSE Saudi Telecom Co.

Advance/Decline Ratio

1.4% 8.6%

3.06 -13.1% -9.7% KWDAED 0.265

7,369 (-0.4%)

Tadawul Index (% Chg.)

118

2.3% 8.8%

AED 2.93% Chg. -9.9% Close

EMAEmaar Properties (UAE) Best Performers

Summary

2.6% 9.8%

8.0%

Close

DEYDeyaar Development Co.

KFI Kuwait Finance House (KUW)

Rebased Performance

95 7-Dec-11

QAR 21.60

0.88 201 TAM Tamweel 1.74 Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

9.50

63,640

KWD 1.540

SAR 10.75 QAR 6.35

1.88 FAC CBD CommercialFacilities Bank of Co. Dubai 1.37 Commercial 1.61 DFM Dubai Financial Market 0.88 238 Rabigh Petrochem.

9.27 8.85

13.85

67

2

0.76 1.52

10.61

61,924

3

10.27 9.99

1.07 1.77

10.82 6.87

18,727

3

1.99

PB1.45

27,061

CG Combined Grp Contracting Co.

BKMBankMuscat

PB

11.60 7.29

15,024

SAR 39.60 OMR 0.703

QGTQatar Gas Transport Co.

PE 14.06 8.68 10.24

63,330

46

Trailing

12.98

18,296 37,413

BHD5.60 0.585 SAR

701Galfar SaudiEngineering Telecom Co. GEC & Contracting 422 Emaar the Economic City KCB Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

Trailing

33,995 98,547

22

1,572

12,800

1,033

3.1%

3,587

2,246

2,903

2.4%

32 305

1,129 4,230

12,109

159 718

5,419 1,433

1,433 12,627 5,628

-0.3%

1,301 316

PE

101,852

40 2,183

2.3% 6.6%

0.3%

Turnover 3,049 USD million

2,293 4,130

-0.7% 1.9% 0.5%

396

Mkt. Cap. USD million

2,775 10,090

18.8% -0.2%

0.1% 3.9%

467

525,916 Wk Low

Turnover USD million

6.2% 9.3%

-4.8% 1.8%

-0.2%

52 Wk 7,400 High

14.8% YTD

52 Wk Low

% Chg.

KWD 0.150% Chg. 2.7% Close

NationalHldg.

BankCo. of Bahrain NBB 3 428 Kingdom

Period's Liquidity Ratio (PLR x)*

MENA Indices Highlights

Close

4 NR National Real Estate Co.

Abu Dhabi

-3%

Tunisia Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

Palestine Palestine

-5%

-6%

Saudi Dubai Dubai

Kuwait

Qatar Saudi

95

Oman

-4%

Qatar Oman

Qatar

-1%

-4%

Saudi

Morocco

0%

Lebanon Oman

100

-3%

-2%

Kuwait Kuwait

105

Kuwait

Egypt Jordan Jordan

Return DailyDaily Return (%)(%)

1%

0%

Bahrain Bahrain

105

100

-1%

Qatar

3%

111

0% 4%

465,260,176

42Emaar the Economic City

1060.SSE SABB

2250.SSE Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

Close

95.50

% Chg.

53.00

54.00

45.60 22.90

-2.6% -1.9% -1.8% -1.3%

-1.3%

Saudi SE

Quotes Company Name 1 Al Rajhi Bank

1 Alinma Bank 2 Almarai Co.

1 Arab National Bank

Close 76.50

% Chg.

-1.3%

12.55

-0.8%

32.00

0.0%

106.00

Daily High

77.25

12.60

Low

Turnover (SAR '000)

75.75

120,822

1,577

32,847

31.60

3,975

125

23.50

28,212

1,180

9.70

562,856

55,941

10.00

62.50

46,934

742

63.50

80

151.75

1,468

45.10

1.0%

106.50

104.50

26.00

25.10

13,686

275

25.70

-1.2%

1 Banque Saudi Fransi

46.00

-1.1%

46.00

45.70

4 Emaar the Economic City

10.75

1.4%

11.10

10.20

465,260

16.25

15.75

62,294

3,882

10.85

11,243

1,020

24.50

84,598

49.70

12,104

32.70

100,689

95.00

39,007

4 Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co. 7 Etihad Etisalat Co.

4 Jabal Omar Development Co. 4 Jarir Marketing Co.

4 Kingdom Holding Co.

2 National Industrialization Co.

24.05

10.10

63.00

16.15

151.50 11.05

42.90

2 Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

24.95

1 Samba Financial Grp.

50.50

1 Riyad Bank

2 Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co.

1 Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

2 Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

3 Saudi Cement Co.

5 Saudi Electricity Co.

1 Saudi Hollandi Bank

22 Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

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

2 Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. 7 Zain - Saudi Arabia

-0.6% 1.0%

-0.8%

-0.6%

24.10

10.25

63.50

-0.2%

153.75

149.50

-0.7%

43.00

42.50

62,918 8,049

-0.2%

11.10

25.20

25.90

-0.4%

26.00

25.80

187.00

-0.3%

187.00

184.00

33.80

101.50

-0.5% 0.9%

100.50

-0.7%

14.55

14.35

125,108

22.35

45,160

18.10

2,886

0.3%

22.90

-1.3%

18.80

-0.5%

39.60

2.3%

34.50

105.25

32.30

22.95

31.70

1,874

0.2%

22.90

22.30

0.3%

18.50

17.85

1,089,990

33.60

12,894

45.60

7,015

0.6%

18.90

39.80

34.50

38.20

87,576

0.2%

107.00

102.00

11,846

-1.8%

55.00

53.25

41,393

-1.3%

53.00

-1.9%

9.45

97.25

98,305

45.60

54.00

35,878

102.00

32.30

18.30

34.00

-0.5%

-2.6%

22.75

50.50

476,480

95.50

14.50

3,411

12,028

-0.5%

0.0%

46.10

53.25 9.60

80.75

410,052

1 Bank AlBilad

1 Bank Al Jazira

52-Week

High

12.25

29,013

32.00

Volume ('000)

52.00 9.05

100,412 635,382

531 74

43,258

12.90

105.75

Low

67.25 9.05

83.75

on high

-5.3%

-2.7%

0.2%

% Change YTD

10.1%

34.2% 7.1%

35.18

26.60

-9.0%

16.4%

24.55

15.75

-2.0%

27.20

36.4%

17.1%

1.0%

39.3%

32.9%

10,908,000

10.0

0.7

46.40

-0.8%

20.0%

35.8%

85.50

-0.2%

0.5%

6.05

11.10 7.05

30.82

-1.8%

-3.1%

-4.9%

9.3%

46.3%

32.9% 8.8%

24.9%

44.0%

33,267,858

82.2%

9,137,500

31.8%

71.2%

-0.6%

33.6%

49.6%

4,703

112.50

8,635

14.75

405

87.75

-3.0%

-9.8%

6.3%

5.5%

10.7%

60,415,610

27.2

1.2

8.4%

12.2%

4,335

23.20

17.75

59,946

19.15

15.50

154

24.60

15.55

-23.6%

20.5%

0.8%

17.2%

9.4%

79,200,000

10.4

1.7

0.2%

22.4%

70.4%

14,735,000

16.5

5.6

-4.4%

5.2%

59.50

760

83.25

48.50

-35.1%

-22.9%

5.25

0.0%

70.3%

1,903

67,386

54.00 9.45

37.00

41.60

0.6%

-1.9%

-1.9%

23.3%

10.2%

20.2%

36.4%

12.0%

18.4%

20.5%

11.3%

18.3%

64.3%

19.5

1.4

10,340,000

105.00 46.50

10.5

4.5

-10.3%

15.5%

112

153

10,683,225

17.6

1.8

16.4%

-1.9%

33.00

23.70

14,611,500

nmf

10,305,000

39.30

34.30

31,265,000

26.9%

2,240 378

1.3

2.2

-0.9%

-15.8%

1.6

10.4

25.70 18.05

10.6

304,500,000

32.60

27.20

2.7

4.9%

92.5%

1,979

nmf

12.3

5.7

32.6%

59

1.6

11.4

-2.6%

4.3%

38,850,000

nmf

46,750,000

49.60

-1.7%

1.7

9.4%

98.00

12.85

2.4

2.2

45,450,000

22.30

nmf

1.2

9.8

-5.6%

-11.0%

8.7

23,913,681

8.4%

42.40

6.1%

nmf

1.7

10.0

21,856,200

11.2%

11.4

2.3

17.7

17.4%

39.2%

23.6

1.6

9,090,000

7.3%

5.4%

56.75

165.00

15,009,810 40,949,999

242

-2.3%

44,100,000

43.5%

-16.3%

23.10

7,710,000

4.3%

21.15

34.00

3.6

1.5

5.90

192.75

1.2

26.6

10.70

193

21.4

12.5

3.5

7,215,000

29.5%

29.80

3,013

24,380,000

43.6

PB

39.8%

-5.5%

-8.0%

26.50

18,825,000

15.6

41.9%

17.20

3,393 311

114,750,000

Trailing

PE

27,200,000

37.50

11.40

5.2%

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

-1.5%

50.00

16.45

12 mths

1.7

8,341,667

11.8

1.5

27,450,000

nmf

1.8

17,250,000

34,200,000

14.6

14.5

11.8

10,935,000

14.9

13,230,000

nmf

29,812,500

9.4

1.2

2.2

2.0

3.2

2.8

3.1

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

13

ALWATAN DAILY thursday, march 8, 2012

KUWAIT Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 6,183 (-0.7%)

KSE General Index (% Chg.)

115

413 (-0.9%)

KSE Weighted Index (% Chg.)

54%

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price 111

110

0.42

Advance/Decline Ratio

CGC.KSE

Combined Grp Contracting Co.

KFIN.KSE Kuwait Finance House

Highest Turnover

7-Jan-12

7-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

1.3%

0.860

1.2%

0.218

0.9%

0.480

1.1%

Worst Performers Turnover (KWD) 2,720,900

N National Bank of Kuwait

7-Mar-12

2.7%

28,345,339

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

95 7-Dec-11

% Chg.

1.540

44,295

Turnover (KWD '000)

99

0.150

467 / 396 ALQURAIN Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co.

KSE Weighted Index 52 week High / Low

100

Close

National Real Estate Co.

6,523 / 5,694 JAZEERA.KJazeera Airways

KSE General Index 52 week High / Low

105

NRE.KSE

ZA Zain Kuwait

2,593,850

A Alafco Aviation Lease and Fin. Co.

1,819,400

IFInternational Finance Co.

2,230,320

K Kuwait Finance House

1,344,050

Close

NINV.KSE National Investments Company NBK.KSE

0.176

National Bank of Kuwait

% Chg.

-3.3%

1.180

-3.3%

OULAFUELOula Fuel Marketing Co.

0.265

-1.9%

ABK.KSE

0.640

-1.5%

FACIL.KSE Commercial Facilities Co.

0.270

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

-1.8%

KSE Weighted Index

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Agility

0.425

T Al Themar Intl. Holding Co.

0.087

A AREF Energy Holding Co.

0.118

A Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

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

B Boubyan Petrochemical Co.

0.0%

13.5%

-1.6%

8.9%

27.1%

1,475

0.620

0.550

-11.3%

0.460

147

320

0.550

0.410

-16.4%

0.0% -

0.114

0.610

0.610

0.460 -

-

44

1.540

1.520

589

0.270

-1.8%

0.270

0.270

0.485

0.0%

0.485

0.450

0.0%

0.620

-

0.480

0.420

0.198

-1.6% -6.8%

-3.2%

0.480

602

1,250

0.580

0.470

-16.4%

-4.9%

0.450

0.425

73

170

0.500

0.285

-10.0%

-5.3%

0.0%

0.116

0.110

2,230

19,940

0.285

0.096

-60.7%

-0.8%

0.242

0.236

10

40

0.315

0.236

-23.2%

0.0%

IK Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co.

0.178

-1.1%

JAJazeera Airways

0.480

1.1%

-

-

-

1.440 0.178

0.485

1.440

54

0.178

4

0.450

-

-

-

-

0.055

38

1.700

20

305

1.380

0.180

650

-

0.019

0.132

0.480

-

0.112

0.630

0.415

961,529

12.2%

676,843

-8.9%

148,811

16.7%

-31.6%

0.710

-3.5%

0.0%

0.255

0.960

6.1

-19.4%

0.395

-

241,729

-5.1%

190

-

-4.6%

-21.9%

51

-

-10.9% -15.3% -1.1%

0.0%

-33.3%

-2.5%

3.8%

1.4% 4.7%

9.8%

5.5%

-0.8%

-8.7%

nmf

18.3

-45.7%

-20.8%

PE

922,355

20.3%

1.300

-

-1.5%

-39.3%

1.945

-

0.420

0.085

-16.3%

-3.0%

383

-

0.242

0.142

25

-

1.3%

0.112

380

15

1.540

1.440

K Kuwait Cement Co.

11.3%

811

C Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

K KIPCO Asset Management Co.

-16.9%

0.540

0.049

IF International Finance Co.

88,088

0.550

0.118

0.079

Trailing

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

-13.0%

0.0%

0.104

-7.2%

13.3%

12 mths

-4.4%

0.550

-

YTD

444,906

-18.4%

-

0.610

% Change

28.8%

0.280

-

0.690

-2.3%

0.380

-

40

0.248

5,790

0.750

IF IFA Hotels & Resorts

26

0.435

on high

1,819

C Commercial Bank of Kuwait

G Gulf Bank

1,460

Low

0.310

0.0%

0.640

618

52-Week

High

0.315

0.0%

0.640

Volume ('000)

0.0%

-

0.460

G Global Investment House

0.420

Turnover (KWD '000)

0.310

0.255

F Commercial Facilities Co.

0.430

Low

-1.5%

A Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

C Combined Grp Contracting Co.

High

0.640

0.610

B Burgan Bank

Daily

% Chg.

0.5 1.9

nmf

1.0

1.6

88,500

nmf

295,911

12.0

1.3

53,454

26.2

1.0

954,017

-28.0%

PB

1.2

nmf

4.2

13.4

1.5

18.7

4.1

nmf

1.8

144,926

13.3

0.9

3.2%

1,216,236

39.7

2.8

-11.8%

204,247

nmf

64,309

-4.0%

302,301

34.8%

-60.7%

-23.2%

8.3

1.7

4.2

13.9

0.9

105,600

9.3

4.3

nmf

63,719

-26.4%

3.1

133,500 89,923

313.8%

nmf

267,815

0.8

nmf

0.8

19.4

1.9

K Kuwait Finance House

0.860

1.2%

0.860

0.840

1,344

1,590

1.100

0.820

-21.8%

-4.4%

-15.6%

2,312,575

38.4

1.3

K Kuwait International Bank

0.260

0.0%

0.260

0.255

617

2,390

0.350

0.236

-25.7%

2.0%

-3.7%

269,705

22.9

1.3

K Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding)

0.345

0.0%

0.345

0.340

65

190

0.425

0.295

-18.8%

-8.2%

439,160

11.7

F Kuwait Food Co.

1.460

P Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

-

0.880

-1.1%

0.910

-1.1%

1.180

-3.3%

N National Industries Grp. Holding

0.238

0.0%

N National Real Estate Co.

0.150

M Mabanee Co.

M Mena Holding

0.033

N National Bank of Kuwait N National Industries Co.

N National Investments Company O Oula Fuel Marketing Co.

A Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co. S Salhia Real Estate Co.

S Sultan Center Food Products Co. T Tamdeen Real Estate Co.

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

Z Zain Kuwait

-

0.320

-

-

0.880 0.920 -

1.180

2,721

2,280

1.260

1.000

0.234

987

4,180

0.285

0.192

-16.5%

0.144

368

2,500

0.168

0.056

-10.7%

0.216

278

1,280

0.226

0.172

-3.5%

980

0.146

0.093

1,600

0.092

0.067

10

2.060

1.600

0.176

-3.3%

0.184

0.176

0.265

-1.9%

0.212

-0.9%

0.234

-

0.218

0.9%

0.265

0.265

0.220 0.212

0.212

128

0.089

0.0%

0.089

0.088

142

2.040

-1.0%

2.040

2.040

20

0.130

-

0.850

-1.2%

-

-

0.860

-

-

0.850

2,594

0.158

0.360

480

0.265

0.240

-

0.260

0.320

10

-

0.033

0.355

3,440

102

0.564

0.060

20

3

0.660

0.940

-

618

0.126

1.580

590

6

0.134 -

105

-

0.0%

0.132

-9.9%

539

0.320

0.150

1.340

0.910

0.320

2.7%

1.620

92

0.0%

0.238

-

0.870

-

1.220

-

0.270 -

3,050

1.420

23.9%

-35.5%

-3.2%

5.8%

61.3%

-45.0%

13.1%

2.2

-1.7%

308,234

nmf

0.8

2.3%

-31.0%

0.216

-13.3%

1.9%

0.8

15.4

-45.0%

-11.7%

1.3

4,670,116

-15.8%

-26.4%

13.6

3.5%

14.3%

17.2%

2.0

3.5

-9.9%

-8.5%

79,996

12.2

25.8

-49.2%

5.4%

586,923

505,620

0.0%

-6.3%

-11.7%

0.840

9.0%

-44.3%

0.200

-

-1.4%

21,780

110,766

2.3

38.6

154,214

53.1%

-

-7.3%

87,370

-1.5%

76,405

nmf

1.7%

1.7%

0.6

24.0

13.3

108,697

0.8

nmf

239,800

-10.2%

1.4

nmf

26.7%

1.9%

0.1

2.1

1.2

21.0

0.9

-9.6%

10.0%

-3.3%

15.6%

21.9%

163,298

19.0

0.7

-1.0%

5.2%

27.5%

1,028,227

2.8

1.3

0.0%

-40.1%

0.0%

-5.6%

87,310

0.0%

88,400

-34.6%

3,661,404

1.1

17.6

0.9

nmf

7.0

12.9

1.8

UAE Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,608 (-4.8%)

DFM Index (% Chg.)

130

2,553 (-2.2%)

ADSM Index (% Chg.)

Advance/Decline Ratio

110

Highest Turnover

100

Turnover (AED) 140,285,588 DEYAAR.D Deyaar Development Co. 110,183,779 ARTC.DFM Arabtec Holding 68,153,365 CBD.DFM Commercial Bank of Dubai

E Emaar Properties

D Dubai Financial Market 7-Jan-12 S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

7-Feb-12 Abu Dhabi SE

29,703,864

S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

7-Mar-12

-1.6%

3.16

-1.9%

Worst Performers

TATamweel

90 7-Dec-11

-0.5%

401,390,348

Market Cap. (AED '000)

105

1.90

733,335

Turnover (AED '000)

0.5%

-0.4%

1.24

2,775 / 2,293 ADCB.ADS Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

ADSM Index 52 week High / Low

% Chg.

9.26

1,754 / 1,301 TAQA.ADS Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

DFM Index 52 week High / Low

111

2.11

73% ETISALAT.AEtisalat 0.04 ARMX.DFM Aramex

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

122

120

Close

ADNH.ADS Abu Dhabi National Hotels

28,460,723

A ALDAR Properties

DFM.DFM

Close

0.36

% Chg.

2.93

3.06

Dubai Financial Market

1.05

TAMWEEL Tamweel

1.35

-9.9% -9.9%

-9.7% -9.5%

-9.4%

Dubai FM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily

% Chg.

A Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

3.16

T Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

1.24

-1.6%

A Air Arabia

0.70

-4.2%

1.02

-

A Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

A Abu Dhabi National Hotels A ALDAR Properties A Amlak Finance

3.42

2.11

1.11

-1.9%

-2.0%

High

Low

Turnover (AED '000)

3.13

6,350

1.25

1.23

3,973

0.73

0.70

12,658

3.20

3.45

0.5%

2.15

-8.3%

1.17 -

3.38

1,414

2.10

190

1.09

28,461

-

-

2.93

-9.9%

3.20

2.93

25,148

A Arkan Building Materials Co.

1.02

-8.9%

1.05

1.01

213

D Dana Gas

0.46

-6.1%

0.49

0.45

10,424

0.36

17,122

3.00

18,941

A Arabtec Holding A Aramex

C Commercial Bank of Dubai D Deyaar Development Co. D du

1.90

3.06 0.36

3.03

-0.5%

-9.7% -9.9%

-2.9%

1.91

3.06 0.39

3.16

1.80

2,651

3.06

54

D Dubai Financial Market

1.05

-9.5%

1.16

1.05

D Dubai Islamic Bank

2.12

-2.3%

2.16

2.11

E Emirates NBD

3.00

-2.0%

3.25

3.00

E Emaar Properties E Etisalat

2.85

9.26

F First Gulf Bank

19.90

M Mashreq

91.45

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

N National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain S Sharjah Islamic Bank

S Sorouh Real Estate Co. T Tamweel

1.30

11.00 4.10 1.81

-3.7%

-0.4%

-4.6%

-7.8% -

-4.4% -

-

0.6

12.1

0.0%

1,530,000

nmf

3.63

0.95

-19.3%

84.3%

207.8%

209

1.77

0.71

-42.4%

1.0%

-8.9%

1,785,000

46.3

1.1

22,436

0.71

0.34

-35.2%

2.2%

-20.7%

3,036,921

7.3

0.4

18

47,160 6,189

62,460 5,616

1.96

3.45

0.46

3.30

1.46

2.31

1.60

2.90 0.20

2.80

0.68

1.88

-3.1%

-11.3% -21.8% -8.2%

-28.1% -8.2%

5.6%

5.5%

67.1% 4.8%

25.0% 9.3%

18.8% 2.0%

2,781,790

5,940,340

31.7

1.1

8,336 1,398

4,380,350

0.6

13.1 7.2

58.2%

2,056,968

nmf

6.3%

13,851,429

12.6

-6.3%

3.4%

8,400,000

8,049,754

nmf

8.0

1.6

1.5

0.9

0.5 2.2 1.1

0.9

-18.8%

1.4%

-15.4%

73,210,856

12.5

1.9

1.30

18

14

1.56

83.1%

6.6%

1,067,426

nmf

10.60

4,078

-

-

-

-

1.09 3.01 -

48

29,704 1,873 -

781

945 -

371 -

11,452

-

0.0%

7.1

3,266,690

8.64

0.40

3.85

0.0%

0.3

-9.6%

4,534,493

1.1

12.7

11.40

140,286

U United Arab Bank

-11.9%

1.2

1,525

2,389

1.35

0.45

20.7%

19.5%

2,110,000

5.0

0.8

14,129

-

3.09

-28.5%

7.0

9.17

1.61

-8.1%

-

-4.1%

-16.4% -33.9%

7,719,000

8,087,294

PB

0.6

-9.4%

-1.9%

0.76

-12.1%

14.4%

5.8

9.7

1.35 0.41

-

0.57

-28.5%

17,682,088

17,360,030

-

1.17

-

1.68

2.02

3.3%

43.6%

PE

16.8%

0.97

-8.3%

0.84

25,554

2.95

-23.9%

8.2%

Trailing

Market Cap. (AED '000)

10.9%

1.00

1.11

17,856

90

1.14

13.7%

12 mths

-18.3%

-

-

1.63

-3.7%

YTD

2.41

18,796

-

3,192

2.92

-4.8%

% Change

3.49

19.60

11.10

3.55

2.20

on high

38,518

20.40 1.30

413

3.32

Low

110,184

-3.0%

3.03

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

9.32

11,958

2,008

52-Week

High

2.80

0.98

U Union National Bank U Union Properties

2.94

68,153

Volume ('000)

-

49

26,711 94,382 619

27,537 -

4.63

2.65

21.50

13.95

102.00

74.70

4.70

2.91

1.02

0.80

11.90 2.39

0.67

9.33

1.63

-35.2%

28.8%

-10.3%

-9.9%

22.4%

-12.8%

-9.9%

-5.7%

-3.9%

16.7%

-16.7% -7.6%

-24.3%

0.67

-27.9%

3.90

2.82

-22.3%

3.28

-27.4%

0.50 5.30

0.53

0.24

-7.1%

-7.4%

1.54 1.49

2.0%

0.5%

0.0%

30.6%

32.2%

16,673,324

29,850,000 -

17.9%

31,570,476

-7.7%

2,896,000

8.9%

6.7%

6.6

8.1

18.8 8.5

2,376,990

9.5

0.5

2,913,750

9.0 8.7

1,350,000

13.3

-17.2%

58.9%

58.9%

1,380,411

nmf

-31.9%

1.2

2.2

36.4%

5.8%

0.8

1.3

16.1

123.9%

5.8%

1.1

4,510,000

-9.4%

4.8%

0.5

7,561,744

3,836,145

5.0

11.6

0.9 0.5

0.6

0.7

0.6

1.9

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

14

ALWATAN DAILY thursday, march 8, 2012

QATAR Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 8,605 (-0.7%)

DSM Index (% Chg.)

115

Advance/Decline Ratio

111

110

Close

44% QNNS.DSMQatar Navigation 0.18 IQCD.DSM Industries Qatar

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

73.40

Turnover (QAR '000)

449,951,459

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

0.6%

142.00

8,892 / 8,012 AHCS.DSMAamal Co. 292,673 QNBK.DSMQatar National Bank

DSM 52 week High / Low

% Chg.

0.1%

15.51

-0.1%

133.70

DHBK.DSMDoha Bank

-0.2%

58.80

-0.3%

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (QAR) 46,630,963 QIIK.DSM Qatar International Islamic Bank 41,257,859 MARK.DSMMasraf Al Rayan

MMasraf Al Rayan

98

IQIndustries Qatar

19,424,646

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

95 7-Dec-11

7-Jan-12

7-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

19,274,672

Q Qatar National Bank

7-Mar-12

12,035,100

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

QTEL.DSM Qatar Telecom

CBQK.DSMThe Commercial Bank of Qatar

Close

50.50

% Chg.

-2.1%

26.05

-1.9%

163.10

-1.6%

17.24

-0.9%

74.80

QGTS.DSMQatar Gas Transport Co.

-1.5%

Doha SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Aamal Co.

15.51

Daily

% Chg.

-0.1%

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank

17.40

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

74.80

-1.5%

E Ezdan Real Estate Co.

18.90

-

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

28.35

D Doha Bank

58.80

IQIndustries Qatar

142.00

Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

145.90

M Masraf Al Rayan

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

Q Qatar International Islamic Bank

0.1%

17.24

-0.9%

77.00

-0.8%

133.70

Q Qatar Telecom

163.10

73.40

V Vodafone Qatar

-0.3%

-1.9%

Q Qatar National Bank Q Qatar Navigation

-1.1%

26.05

50.50

Q Qatar Islamic Bank

-

7.25

-

-2.1%

High

Low

Turnover (QAR '000)

15.50

192

28.25

19,425

58.50

3,280

142.10

140.20

41,258

-

-

-

15.51 -

-

28.55

-

75.60

74.50

11,669

-

-

-

59.30

25.50

46,631

17.39

17.20

12,035

77.40

76.50

6,137

26.15

51.00

49.70

7,359

-0.2%

134.00

133.30

19,275

-1.6%

165.50

163.10

9,964

0.6%

-0.7%

73.90 7.30

-

High

24.09

Low

15.40

19.15

16.40

35.90

28.10

on high

-35.6% -9.1%

-21.0%

% Change YTD

-2.5%

1.3%

-5.3%

156

85.50

68.00

-12.5%

-11.0%

-

24.97

18.60

-24.3%

20.20

56

67.00

29.0%

19,537,500

13.9

16.59

-12.0%

-1.5%

9,548,271

12.1

7.8

76.30

-9.7%

-8.7%

-0.4%

18,194,576

13.3

1.6

-4.1%

-18.6%

8,406,150

15.6

0.8

-4.0%

-2.2%

6,129,150

nmf

0.9

144

141.73

109.59

61

167.00

118.50

206

8.12

0.9

-6.5%

44.90

94.30

1.2

9.1

-7.3%

56.20

13

1.4

12.9

nmf

125.50

85.30

PB

50,132,188

153.50

80

11,031,683

6,264,000

14.2

-13.5%

-

146

-1.6%

-4.4%

PE

-14.9%

118.80

19.58

7,677,450

9.8

148.50

698

-10.8%

Trailing

18,508,989

46.15

28.10

12 mths

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

9.2%

292

1,807

1,500

7.25

12

684

953

72.50

52-Week

Volume ('000)

-12.2% -4.4%

-5.0%

-10.1% -5.7%

69.90

-22.2%

7.24

-10.7%

-2.3%

-8.3%

6.8% 4.5%

-6.5%

-3.2%

15.8%

27.4%

12,153,831

18.3%

78,100,000

16.3%

14,590,000

2.6%

12.2%

7,644,122

22.0%

93,553,826

37.6%

28,705,600

1.3

9.8

1.7

1.8

9.8

3.0

2.3

11.2

4.8

11.7

1.6

12.5

2.2

11.1

1.4

OMAN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 5,826 (-0.7%)

MSM Index (% Chg.)

115

42% RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

0.20

Advance/Decline Ratio

111

110

Close

0.89

OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co.

Turnover (OMR '000)

7,044,119

Market Cap (OMR '000)

0.2%

1.41

6,416 / 5,419 NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman 12,168 OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

MSM 52 week High / Low

% Chg.

-0.1%

0.32

-0.6%

0.73

-1.0%

0.51

BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

-0.8%

105

105

Highest Turnover 100

Worst Performers Turnover (OMR) 1,346,223 RNSS.MSMRenaissance Services 741,141 BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

B Bank Muscat

214,789

N National Bank of Oman

95 7-Dec-11

7-Jan-12

7-Feb-12

7-Mar-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

91,520

R Renaissance Services

83,901

O Oman Cement Co.

Close

0.60

% Chg.

-2.1%

0.73

OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

-1.0%

0.51

NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

-0.8%

0.32

OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co.

-0.6%

1.41

-0.1%

Muscat SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

% Chg.

Daily

B Bank Dhofar

0.543

N National Bank of Oman

0.315

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

1.405

-0.1%

R Renaissance Services

0.597

-2.1%

B Bank Muscat

0.726

O Oman Cement Co.

0.506

R Raysut Cement Co.

0.890

-

-1.0% -0.6%

-0.8% 0.2%

High

Low

-

Turnover (OMR '000) -

-

0.730 0.510

0.899

215

1.395

1,346

959

0.605

0.595

92

153

0.509

0.658

0.332

166

40

Low

0.781

682

84

0.890

0.680

1,021

0.314

0.503

1.410

High

-

741

0.720

0.315

52-Week

Volume ('000)

0.608

45

1.197

YTD

-0.7%

12 mths

0.416

-16.8%

17.1%

-11.2%

0.711

-25.2%

17.1%

-23.2%

0.458

-5.1%

-0.1%

-50.1%

-1.6%

7.3%

9.5%

Market Cap. (OMR '000)

-18.6%

-5.2%

1.041

1.190

-20.1% -7.0%

0.302

1.407

on high

% Change

496,974

4.5%

1,124,124

-1.3%

Trailing

PE

12.9

10.0

19.6%

1,053,750

9.4

-41.9%

168,410

167,422

178,000

2.3

9.6

340,515

PB

1.3

1.2

13.1

1.1

2.1

11.9

1.7

nmf

1.0

BAHRAIN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,157 (0.1%)

BSE Index (% Chg.)

115

32% NBB.BSE National Bank of Bahrain 2.00 BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co.

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

110

1,433 / 1,129 BARKA.BS Albaraka Banking Grp. 701 #N/A #N/A 6,536,658 AUB.BSE Ahli United Bank

BSE 52 week High / Low

111

Turnover (BHD '000)

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

Close

0.59

% Chg.

2.6%

0.40

0.5%

1.06

0.0%

#N/A

#N/A

0.67

-0.7%

105

Highest Turnover 100

100

Worst Performers Turnover (BHD) 568,917 AUB.BSE 46,770 #N/A

A Ahli United Bank

B BBK

40,700

N National Bank of Bahrain

95 7-Dec-11

7-Jan-12

7-Feb-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

12,676

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

7-Mar-12

2,849

B Albaraka Banking Grp.

Bahrain SE

Close

Ahli United Bank

0.67

#N/A

#N/A

BARKA.BS Albaraka Banking Grp.

BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co.

NBB.BSE

% Chg.

National Bank of Bahrain

1.06

0.40 0.59

-0.7%

#N/A

0.0%

0.5% 2.6%

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Ahli United Bank*

0.670

A Arab Banking Corp.*

0.420

B Albaraka Banking Grp.* B Bahrain Islamic Bank

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co. B BBK

IN Investcorp Bank* IT Ithmaar Bank*

N National Bank of Bahrain U United Gulf Bank

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

1.060 0.082

Daily

% Chg.

-0.7%

0.0% -

0.402

0.5%

797

-

0.412 0.090

0.585

0.304

0.0% -

2.6% -

High

0.670

Low

1,509

2,246

-

-

-

1.060

-

-

0.402

0.400

-

-

0.412 -

0.585 -

52-Week

Volume ('000)

0.670

1.060 -

Turnover (BHD '000)

0.412

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.580

8

13 47

-

7

32

114 -

41

-

70

High

0.770

1.280

0.570 0.116

0.492

0.436

1,139

Low

0.660 1.000

-13.0%

797

0.065

0.424

0.270

0.560

3,339,507

0.0%

-26.3%

1,306,200

2.6%

-8.6%

578,880

-8.9%

-5.5%

-0.5%

-21.7%

38.5%

-28.3%

1.3%

-18.3%

-30.0%

-16.4%

12 mths

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

-5.6%

-29.3%

0.380 0.390

0.8%

-2.8%

-26.3%

0.082

YTD

-17.2%

0.420

0.115

0.700

on high

% Change

0.0%

1.7%

-7.4%

-30.5%

921,723

Trailing

PE

10.8 7.8

7.2

1.1

350,759

11.0

-21.7%

240,999

nmf

-25.9%

253,707

-8.7%

637,560

500,386

0.8

0.4

nmf

-37.0%

1.3

6.4

77,053

-8.4%

PB

0.8

1.5

4.5

0.6

11.0

1.8

nmf

0.4 1.2

LIFE

Skip TV and get active It’s easy to veg out in front of the TV when you’re bored or looking to relax.

But there are healthier ways to wind down. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers these healthier alternatives to television: •Take a stroll to explore nearby scenery. •Walk to a friend’s house. •Cook a healthy new recipe for dinner. •Join an exercise class.

thursDAY, march 8, 2012

Scientists find lunar connection to Titanic disaster SAN ANTONIO: A century after the Titanic disaster, scientists have found an unexpected culprit for the sinking: the moon. Anyone who knows history or has seen the blockbuster movies knows that the cause of the transatlantic liner’s accident 100 years ago next month was that it hit an iceberg.

“But the lunar connection may explain how an unusually large number of icebergs got into the path of the Titanic,” said Donald Olson, a Texas State University physicist whose team of forensic astronomers examined the moon’s role.

Ever since the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, killing 1,517 people, researchers have puzzled over Captain Edward Smith’s seeming disregard of warnings that icebergs were in the area where the ship was sailing.

Smith was the most experienced captain in the White Star Line and had sailed the North Atlantic sea lanes on numerous occasions. He had been assigned to the maiden voyage of the Titanic because he was a knowledgeable and careful seaman. Greenland icebergs of the type that the Titanic struck generally become stuck in the shallow waters off Labrador and Newfoundland, and cannot resume moving southward until they have melted enough to re-float or a high tide frees them, Olson said.

So how was it that such a large number of icebergs had floated so far south that they were in the shipping lanes well south of Newfoundland that night?

The team investigated speculation by the late oceanographer Fergus Wood that an unusually close approach by the

FILE - In this 1912 photo and provided by the Frank O. Braynard Collection, the Titanic leaves on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England. (Reuters)

moon in January 1912 may have produced such high tides that far more icebergs than usual managed to separate from Greenland, and floated, still fully grown, into shipping lanes

that had been moved south that spring because of reports of icebergs. Olson said a “once-in-many-lifetimes” event occurred on January 4, 1912, when the moon and sun lined up

Genetic tweak helps mice avoid cancer, obesity CONNECTICUT: New research offers potential insight into the connection between cancer, obesity and longevity in humans by showing that genetically modified mice live longer, skinnier and almost cancer-free lives according to HealthDay News.

There are quite a few differences between mice and humans, especially in regard to the type of fat that’s apparently affected by the genetic tweak, so there’s no way to know if the research could lead to benefits in humans. Even if medications based on the research are developed, no one knows what the side effects in people might be or their eventual cost.

Still, a potential drug “could have two benefits: adding some extra protection against cancer and protecting us from overeating,” said Manuel Serrano, senior group leader at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid and co-author of a study appearing in the March issue of Cell Metabolism.

At issue is a gene called Pten that boosts the body’s cancer-fighting powers. Mutations in the gene can contribute to the development of cancer.

The researchers genetically engineered mice to have extra copies of the

gene. The mice didn’t suffer from side effects, Serrano said, and they managed to live 15 percent longer than other mice and suffer from less cancer.

He acknowledged, however, that figuring out a mouse’s cause of death can be a challenge.

Mice that ate a high-fat diet also managed to be leaner, suggesting that the genetic tweak affected their ability to gain weight even when they would normally be packing on the extra ounces.

Serrano said the key seems to be the tweak’s effect on something known as brown fat.

Both mice and humans have brown fat, but it’s better understood in mice, he noted. In mice, it appears to burn regular “white fat” and be activated when it’s cold or when the mice eat too much, Serrano said.

“Brown fat is very abundant and active in mice, but in humans it is scarce,” Serrano explained. “At present, it is not known whether pushing the brown fat in humans will have a significant effect in fat burning.”

Serrano said drugs are now in development that tinker with the gene in an effort to fight cancer.

Saturn’s rings, biggest moon dazzle in new photo

WASHINGTON: A spectacular new photo shows Saturn’s rings casting shadows across the planet, while the huge moon Titan looms in the distance according to SPACE. The iconic rings of Saturn cut across the top of the image, which was captured in infrared light by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on Jan. 5 and released to the public this week.

The rings’ shadows play out below, creating dark bands and stripes across much of the gas giant’s surface. In the new Saturn photo, the planet’s largest moon, Titan, hangs just beneath the rings, in the upper right portion of the image. Just above the rings sits the tiny moon Prometheus, barely visible as a tiny white speck. At 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) in diameter, Titan is nearly 50 percent wider than Earth’s moon. The only moon in our solar system larger than Titan is Ganymede, which orbits Jupiter. Titan has a thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere that shrouds the frigid body in a soupy brown haze.

Complex organic molecules - the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it - swirl about in this atmosphere. The huge moon also has a hydrocarbon-based weather system, with methane rain falling from the sky and pooling in liquid-methane lakes.

Astrobiologists speculate that Titan may be one of the best places in the solar system to search for extraterrestrial life. Prometheus is an entirely different body altogether - an irregularly shaped, elongated moon just 53 miles (86 kilometers) across. Scientists think Prometheus is a porous, icy object, but they don’t know much about it. Cassini launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004. It has been studying the ringed planet and its many moons ever since, and will continue to do so for years to come. Last year, NASA extended the probe’s mission to at least 2017.

Dr. Aaron Cypess, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School who studies obesity, said the research appears to be valid and useful.

“There’s a connection being made between tumor-suppressing genes, which prevent cancers from growing, and energy expenditure -- consuming calories,” he said. “We know that obesity can lead to cancer in humans. This makes the arrow go the other direction.

What it’s saying is that no cancer leads to no obesity.”

There’s a big caveat, however.

“While the mouse is a very useful model to understand humans, there are a lot of differences between mice and men,” Cypess said. “Practically speaking, just because something happens in a mouse model doesn’t mean it’s going to happen in a human. We are very different.”

In a related study in the journal, researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that blocking production of a marijuana-like compound in the brain boosted mice’s metabolism of brown fat. These mice were able to eat more and move less than typical mice, without gaining weight or developing symptoms that can raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Alien invasion a threat to Antarctic ecosystem SYDNEY: In the pristine frozen continent of Antarctica scientists fear an alien invasion -- not from outer space, but carried in people’s pockets and bags.

Seeds and plants accidentally brought to Antarctica by tourists and scientists may introduce alien plant species which could threaten the survival of native plants in the finely balanced ecosystem.

Invasive alien plants are amongst the most significant conservation threat to Antarctica, especially as climate change warms the ice continent, said a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal published on Tuesday. More than 33,000 tourists and 7,000 scientists visit Antarctica each year by ship and aircraft, and a two month survey of visitors has found that many are carrying plant seeds picked up from other countries they have already visited.

The study vacuumed travelers’ pockets, trouser and sleeve cuffs, shoes and inside their bags, and used tweezers to pry out accidentally hidden seeds. On average each person checked had just 9.5 seeds in clothing and equipment.

“The people that were carrying the most had lots and lots of seeds. They really were substantial threats,” said Dana Bergstrom, from the Australian Antarctic Division. “When we take things in through hitchhiking then we get species which are competitive. The plants and animals there are not necessarily competitive, so there’s a good chance... we’d start losing various precious biodiversity on the (Antarctic) continent,” Bergstrom told Reuters.

Amongst the alien species discovered were the Iceland Poppy, Tall Fescue Velvet grass and Annual Winter Grass -all from cold climates and capable of growing in Antarctica. The Antarctic Peninsula, where most tourists travel, is now considered a “hot spot” on the frozen continent and the warmer the climate, the easier for seeds to propagate.

“The peninsula is warming at some of the greatest rates on the planet,” said Bergstrom. The study, the first continent-wide assessment of invasive species in Antarctica, surveyed about 1,000 passengers during 2007-2008, the first year of the International Polar Year, an international effort to research the polar regions.

It has taken almost three years to identify the seed species and their effects on the icy continent. Bergstrom said the one alien seed that had gained a foothold is Annual Winter Grass.

It is a substantial weed in the sub-Antarctic and is on the Antarctic island of King George. It has also made its way to the tail part of the Antarctic continent. Annual Winter Grass grows very well in disturbed areas like seal and penguin areas, and could propagate amongst the slow growing mosses around those colonies. -Reuters

in such a way that their gravitational pulls enhanced each other. At the same time, the moon’s closest approach to earth that January was the closest in 1,400 years, and the point of closest approach occurred within six minutes of the full moon. On top of that, the Earth’s closest approach to the sun in a year had happened just the previous day. “This configuration maximized the moon’s tide-raising forces on the Earth’s oceans,” Olson said. “That’s remarkable.”

His research determined that to reach the shipping lanes by mid-April, the iceberg that the Titanic struck must have broken off from Greenland in January 1912. The high tide caused by the bizarre combination of astronomical events would have been enough to dislodge icebergs and give them enough buoyancy to reach the shipping lanes by April, he said.Olson’s team has sought to use tide patterns to determine exactly when Julius Caesar invaded Britain and prove the legend that Mary Shelley was inspired by a bright full moon shining through her window to write the gothic classic “Frankenstein.”

The team’s Titanic research may have vindicated Captain Smith - albeit a century too late - by showing that he had a good excuse to react so casually to a report of ice in the ship’s path. He had no reason at the time to believe that the bergs he was facing were as numerous or as large as they turned out to be, Olson said.“In astronomical terms, the odds of all these variables lining up in just the way they did was, well, astronomical,” he said. -Reuters

US studies confirm Europe close on ‘God particle’

WASHINGTON: Scientists at the Tevatron particle collider in the US have found the strongest evidence yet for the existence of the Higgs boson according to The Guardian. Their results lend credence to the tentative glimpses of the subatomic particle reported at the end of last year by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern in Geneva suggesting that the particle is indeed real. Tevatron scientists, based at Fermilab in Chicago, announced their results on Wednesday at the annual Rencontres de Moriond conference in LaThuile, Italy.They found evidence for a new fundamental particle that has a mass of around 120 GeV, which fits with the predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics for the Higgs boson and is similar to experimental evidence announced by LHC scientists in December.

The Tevatron’s results are the swansong for the particle accelerator, which finished colliding particles in September last year. Until the LHC was switched on in 2008, the Tevatron was the most powerful collider in the world and, in its final years of operation, raced to catch a glimpse of the Higgs boson.

The Higgs particle is postulated by physicists as part of the mechanism by which all other fundamental particles acquire mass. The theory behind it was published by six physicists - including Edinburgh University physicist Peter Higgs - within a few months of each other in 1964.

In their search for the particle, scientists at the LHC announced results in December from particle collisions at the Atlas and CMS detectors. One team

reported a “bump” in their data that could have been a Higgs boson weighing 126GeV, with a significance of 2.3 “sigma” (the scale used by particle physicists to grade the significance of results, from one to five, with five being enough to claim an official discovery).A second team reported a 1.9 sigma Higgs signal at a mass of around 124GeV. Wednesday’s announcement by Tevatron scientists combined data from the two main detectors at the particle accelerator, D0 and CDF. The scientists there found an excess of signals between 115GeV and 135GeV, at a significance of 2.2 sigma.

Stefan Söldner-Rembold of the University of Manchester, who works on the D0 experiment, told the Guardian that the result was “significant”, though a formal discovery would require a much higher sigma level.

“What it says is that it’s very difficult to remain a sceptic at this point,” said Söldner-Rembold. “Everything points in the same direction and it is really really hard to believe it’s not there.”

One reason the Tevatron results are important is that the detectors there look for the Higgs in a different way to the detectors at the LHC. In the LHC’s announcement in December, scientists had largely been looking for a signal in which the Higgs boson decayed into a pair of photons, whereas the Tevatron located its signal in the decay of the boson into a pair of heavy “bottom” quarks. The Higgs is key in the standard theory of physics because it easily explains why things in the universe have mass.

Cheetah struggling to reproduce due to climate change

FILE - Cheetahs have developed abnormal coils in their sperm as a result of warmer temperatures, affecting the big cat’s ability to reproduce. (AFP)

LONDON: The world’s fastest animal, the African cheetah, is losing its ability to reproduce because of climate change, according to Kenyan researchers reports The Guardian. Scientists with the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and the Kenya Wildlife Service have discovered that the animal, Acinonyx jubatus, has developed abnormal coils in its sperm as a result of warmer temperatures, affecting the big cat’s ability to reproduce.The warmer temperatures are also affecting its feeding habits, they say. Risky Agwanda, head of mammology section at NMK, said: “Climate change has contributed to defects of the cheetah sperm. Many have abnormal coils, low sperm counts, as well as extremely low testosterone levels. Change in climate has made the survival of the gazelle difficult to survive and as a result, the cheetah has had to switch to other diets, also affecting its ability to reproduce effectively.”.

He added that the animal, that can accelerate from 0-100kph in three seconds, has a sperm count 10 times lower than the domestic cat.

“Cheetahs love to prey on Thomson’s gazelles, they have a very high protein content compared to other herbivores and the population of the gazelle has been on a rapid decline due to poor climate conditions and human activities. “We have studied a large number of the cheetahs. As a result, it preys on other

herbivores such as the zebra which do not have a high nutritional content. We discovered that the gazelle diet can actually help maintain the good health of the cheetah sperm if the animal has not yet been negatively affected by poor climate,” explained Agwanda.

There are currently only 1,000 cheetahs in Kenya according to figures from the Kenya Wildlife Service. In the early 1980s, there were more than 5,000 cheetahs in Kenya.As gazelle numbers continue to decrease due to drought, conservation efforts of the cheetah could be badly affected. The gazelles are also crossbreeding with other herbivores, reducing their protein content further, Agwanda said. Scientists have never discovered any reproductive health deficiencies in other big cats, which they say can adapt more to climate change compared to the cheetah.

“The genetic make-up of the animal is more sensitive as compared to the other big cats. The cheetahs have weak genes,” said Agwanda.

Mordecai Ogada, a fellow cheetah researcher at the National Museums, says that also another problem threatening the survival of the animal is conflict between humans and wildlife, resulting in damage to to the cheetha’s habitat. Ogada added that cheetah numbers have also declined because of poaching for their skin, which fetches a high price on the black market.

16

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012

Afghanistan’s teen brides who set themselves alight FRANCE: Flayed by a fire she began herself, Aatifa’s childlike frame is painstakingly wrapped in thick bandages -- her shrieks of “Allah” echoing around the hospital ward where surgeons prepare to graft skin back on to her skeletal torso.

Her wide blue eyes alternating between flashes of anger and wells of tears, the 16-year-old Afghan girl struggles to explain what led her to douse her own body in petrol, step outside and light a match. Married at the age of 14, the young carpet-weaver, who has nine brothers and sisters, said her mother-in-law criticized her housework and encouraged her mechanic husband to beat her for allowing her mother to visit too often.

She complained to authorities but was berated for causing trouble. Later told that her husband hated her and would marry a second woman, she swung between anger and depression before carrying out her masochistic deed.

Aatifa poured petrol over her head and, once outside her home, lit the flames that engulfed two thirds of her body. Her brother found her and smothered her with his clothes before neighbors took her to hospital.

“I just wanted to kill myself, this was my goal,” she said, her bone-thin arm etched with flaring purple burn scars. “What can I do? I’m not useful anymore. I want to get a divorce, it’s better to stop everything.”

Bound by early marriage into a life of domestic disharmony, dozens of girls like Aatifa in Afghanistan’s sophisticated but conservative main western city of Herat are choosing a brutal form of escape by setting themselves on fire. In the past one year alone, doctors at a burns unit at the city hospital have seen 83 cases of self-immolation, with nearly two-thirds proving fatal.

The disturbing phenomenon is considered to be a cultural import from neighboring Iran. But feuding between

poor and uneducated families who marry off their daughters as young teens is usually at the heart of the problem.

“Sometimes it’s for very small reason they burn themselves, and most of them complain about the in-law’s family,” said chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the burns unit, Ghafar Khan Bawa.

“There’s an accumulation of depression, stress and domestic violation and then the woman just seeks a way of getting out of the situation. A way of expressing their anger, a way of expressing their depression.”

Police, tribal elders, Mullahs and courts all exist to resolve family disputes which are common within Afghanistan’s impoverished and illiterate societies. But it is considered culturally taboo for a woman to complain.

“There’s a defect in the system because a woman cannot complain here. And if they were not accepted before burning themselves, then how will they be accepted with disfigurement and deformities and disabilities?” added Bawa.

Herati women’s rights advocate Suraya Pakzad said that early marriage and family feuds commonly caused dangerous levels of stress for women in the home, with many too young to cope with the wifely roles expected of them.

“Maybe not all of them decide to die, it’s just a warning for their family to stop, and they never thought fire would immediately go to all of their body,” said the head of the Voice of Women’s Organization in Herat.

The organization operates two shelters for women, although all cases must be referred through the government.

Once they realize there could be other options for escape she said the self-harming teens all wish things could be different.

“Whenever we meet them and talk to them they say they really regret what they did.” -AFP

FILE-In this picture taken on Feb. 5, 2012, 16-year-old Aatifa cries after she set herself on fire in Herat main hospital.

(AFP)

YSL confirms Hedi Slimane as new creative director FRANCE: Hedi Slimane, a former designer for Dior Homme is to take over as creative director at Yves Saint Laurent, YSL and its parent company PPR confirmed on Wednesday. Slimane is “named creative and image director” and “will take on artistic responsibility for the brand and all the collections. In parallel with his new job, he will continue his career as a photographer,” a joint statement said. The announcement, which confirmed what industry sources told AFP in February, came on the last day of Paris Fashion Week. It is Slimane’s second stint at the legendary fashion house, having worked there in the late 1990s as head of the menswear collection.

Slimane, whose father is Tunisian and mother Italian, is returning to the fashion industry after several years away. He has been based in Los Angeles during an extended sabbatical from the fashion world, working mainly in photography.A lot of his work is in black and white -- and much of it features the rock milieu.

He is still only 43, having made his mark at Christian Dior between 2000 and 2007, where he is generally acknowledged to have revolutionized menswear.

During his time there, he made Dior Homme each season’s must-see show.

A rock fan and artist, Slimane drove an androgynous look of skinny suits and tight low trousers that

found its imitators not just in the fashion world but spread into the rock world that so fascinates him.

Stars Mick Jagger and Pete Doherty have gone on stage in Dior Homme, while designer Jean-Paul Gaultier once said he could not do better than Slimane. Even the legendary Karl Lagerfeld shed some 45 kilos (90 pounds) to be able to slide into a pencilthin Slimane suit. The look Slimane developed was much copied by mass-market designers across the world and even influenced the design of women’s clothes. At the height of his fame, some young followers even adopted Slimane’s distinctive Tintin-like quiff. -AFP

Afghan artists use graffiti to depict war, oppression KABUL: Encased in a head-to-toe burqa, the image depicts a distraught woman slumped on a cement stairwell, the work of Afghanistan’s first street artists who use graffiti to chronicle violence and oppression.

The female-male duo surreptitiously spray-paint the crumbling and dilapidated walls of buildings in the capital Kabul, abandoned and destroyed during 30 years of war that still rages today. Talking of her woman on the steps, Shamsia Hassani, 24, said: “She is wondering if she can get up, or if she will fall down.

Women in Afghanistan need to be careful with every step they take.” The somber depictions of Afghan women on Kabul’s rutted streets offer rare public insight into their lives, still marred by violence and injustice despite progress in women’s rights since the Taliban was toppled over a decade ago.

In an abandoned textile factory, Hassani spray-painted a wall with six willowy figures in sky-blue burqas, who rise out of the ground like ghosts.

“In three decades of war, women have had to carry the greatest burdens on

A view of graffiti on a wall in Kabul March 5, 2012.

(Reuters)

their shoulders,” Hassani, who also works in the faculty of fine arts at Kabul University, told Reuters. Her friend and fellow artist Qasem Foushanji, 25, said he avoids images he describes as clich, such as the Taliban, but wants to produce socially political art about aspects of Afghan life that “make people go nuts, like women being beaten.” His works include a huge red heart flanked by bones, with the words “the positive anger” spray-painted across it in English.

The pair, taught how to spray-paint at a workshop in Kabul two years ago, hope their graffiti will gradually bring art back to Afghanistan, where cultural development has been severely hindered by turmoil.

“People were too busy trying to feed their families and art was shelved,” said Hassani, whose family comes from Kandahar, the Taliban’s birthplace. Like millions of Afghans fleeing violence, Hassani grew up in neighbouring Iran as a refugee. “We can develop our culture with art, but not suddenly, and not alone.

For a country that’s undergone so much pain and war, it will take time,” she said, sporting a dark overcoat and a head scarf the shade of blue she uses in her paintings. The austere rule of the Taliban frowned upon painting and banned images depicting peoples’ faces, saying it was un-Islamic. They banned cinema, music and theatre outright. Foushanji, from western Herat province, said stigma surrounds artists, seen as “odd and crazy” in Afghanistan’s ultra-conservative society.

Both Hassani and Foushanji said that stigma translates into harassment and disapproval from government officials. And like graffiti artists in other countries, they face attempts to stop them spray-painting public buildings.

“My friends have backed out when they realized it was serious, they said it was too dangerous,” Foushanji said between puffs on a cigarette.

For now, the two have avoided main streets and outdoor markets, where they would love to spray-paint, and are instead sticking to sites hidden from view. Hassani hopes to one day teach a graffiti course at her university, similar to the kinds colleges offer in the West.

Contemporary Afghan artists are also accused by the more traditional figures of society of being too Western-leaning, which the graffiti duo reject, saying they instead use Western tools to tell an Afghan story. “I will never say I am not an Afghan. This messed up country is mine. I will perfect what I have and try to stay connect to our people,” said Foushanji. -Reuters

Arabic book award withheld over lack of suitable candidates LONDON: A #130,000 book award intended to celebrate the best literature in the Arab world has been withheld because all candidates failed to meet the prize’s “stringent” requirements, reports The Guardian. Although Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Book awards, which hand out a total of AED7m (#1.21m), found winners for categories including children’s literature, fine art and translation, the AED750,000 literature prize was not awarded because the books submitted “did not meet the award’s stringent norms” - so the advisory council opted to withhold it.

After 148 books were nominated for the literature award, which is open to poetry, stories, novels, plays and works of criticism, six titles were long listed, of which five were novels: Iraqi author Maysaloon Hadi’s The Tea of the Bride, books by Jordanian authors Samiha Ali Khrais and Hisham Saleh Abdallah called Yahya and A Period of Oppression respectively, Moroccan Mohammed Gharnate’s Under the Moonlight and Syrian Mousa Abbas’s Bilan. One study of Arabic reading, by Moroccan author Abderrahim Ouhabi, was also in the running.

“I don’t understand it at all. Why make a shortlist if you don’t believe in the titles?” wrote M Lynx Qualey at ArabLit, a website about Arabic literature in English.

“This non-awarding of the literature prize is not likely to do much for the profile of an award that already languished in the shadow of the IPAF. Despite the SZBA’s AED750, 000 in prize money, the award has not captured public attention like the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.” Qualey went on to point out that there was no overlap between the titles on the Sheikh Zayed Book award and the long list for the higher-profile (but, worth $60,000 to the winner, less lucrative) IPAF, widely dubbed the “Arabic Booker”.

The Sheikh Zayed Book award was established in October 2006.

This year, it selected Egypt’s culture minister Shaker Abdel-Hamid as winner of its fine arts prize, for his book Art and Eccentrics; Abdo Wazen from Lebanon won the children’s literature award for his novel about a blind child The Boy Who Saw the Colour of Air, praised for its “beautiful narrative language”; Tunisian Layla Al Obaidi won the young author prize for her title Humour in Islam and her fellow Tunisian Abu Y’arub Al Marzouqi took the translation award for A Prelude to Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy.

Unesco won the cultural personality of the year award “for the key role it plays in preserving the global cultural heritage liberated of prejudice or discrimination”, Brill Publishing House was named winner of the publishing and distribution prize “for its rich history, strong international focus and promotion of Arab culture”, and South Korea’s Paju Bookcity took the best technology in the field of culture prize for setting an example “worthy of highlighting as a success story to other countries in the Arab region”.

The “best contribution to the development of the country” prize was, like the literature award, withheld over a lack of suitable candidates.

FASHION

Models present creations by Turkish designer Arzu Kaprol during her Fall/Winter 2012-2013 ready-to-wear collection show, on March 7, 2012 in Paris. (AFP)

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Sweet Misery Artist: Amel Larrieux Album: Infinite Possibilities Genre: Neo-Soul In short: From the very first second, the song digs its fangs deep in the minds of listeners; the way Larrieux’s voice flutters on the hypnotic intro is exactly what sets her apart from her peers. “Sweet Misery” depicts a tired script in a beautifully fresh way.

To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz Chef Paula Deen’s lawyers say accusations ‘false’ Attorneys for Paula Deen say a lawsuit filed in Georgia claiming the celebrity chef and her brother created a hostile work environment for a former restaurant employee are false and will be proven so. Deen’s law firm, Oliver Maner, issued a statement Tuesday saying Lisa Jackson’s lawsuit “makes false allegations against Paula Deen and they will be proven false in court.” Jackson claimed she had panic attacks because of a hostile work environment at Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House. The Savannah restaurant is co-owned by Deen and her brother Bubba Hiers. The woman’s lawsuit alleged Hiers routinely watched pornography and that he once violently shook a black employee. -AP

Obese US man’s plea becomes YouTube sensation A morbidly obese California man whose tearful, videotaped plea for help became a YouTube sensation may be getting the support he wanted. The Contra Costa Times reports that the “Dr. Phil” show and former contestants from “The Biggest Loser” have reached out to 23-year-old Robert Gibbs of Livermore since he posted his three-minute video last week. Gibbs mentioned both programs in his clip, which has been viewed more than a million times and inspired more than four dozen recorded responses from viewers offering diet tips and encouragement. He estimates his weight to be between 600 and 700 pounds. On the video, which he made the day before his birthday last Friday, Gibbs says he fears he won’t live long enough to see his nephew and niece grow up or to have a family of his own. -AP

Dwayne Johnson to play Hercules The star of the hit sequel “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” Dwayne Johnson has signed on to star as Hercules in an action adventure, according to a report in Variety. A adaptation by producer Brett Ratner (“Rush Hour”) of the graphic novel “Hercules: The Thracian Wars,” depicts the character as he turns into “a mercenary who turned his back on the gods following the loss of his family, finding solace only in battle.”

Production is scheduled to begin in October in New Zealand.

It was also announced on March 5 that Johnson will star in “Cuidad,” based on another graphic novel that is being cowritten by the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo (“You, Me And Dupree”), with Ande Parks. -AFP

Emily Watson joins Some Girl(s) Emily Watson has signed for the film adaptation of Neil LaBute’s 2005 play “Some Girl(s),” TheWrap has confirmed.

Watson appeared as Rose in last year’s Oscar-nominated film adaption of the book and play “War Horse.” She joins previously announced cast member Adam Brody and Kristen Bell in the film, to be directed by Jennifer Getziner, a TV director and former script supervisor. The play “Some Girl(s)” revolves around a man who revisits former lovers on the eve of his marriage to another woman. Watson will play Lindsay, a vengeful married college professor who had an affair with the man, who then skips town. -Reuters

Sigourney Weaver to make TV series debut Sigourney Weaver has just joined the growing list of bigscreen talent transitioning into small-screen projects. The “Avatar” actress has signed on for USA Network’s series “Political Animals,” the network said today. In her series TV debut, Weaver will play Elaine Barrish, a divorced former First Lady and current Secretary of State who throws herself into the job after recovering from the dissolution of her marriage and losing the presidential nomination. James Wolk, of “Lonestar” and “Happy Endings,” will play her son Doug, who serves as her chief of staff. “Parenthood” actress Brittany Ishibashi also stars as Doug’s fiancee. The mini-series, from Greg Berlanti (“Brothers & Sisters” and Laurence Mark (“Dreamgirls”), will be six hours in duration, with a premiere slated for this summer. -Reuters

Designer of Star Wars look dies in Calif. at 82 Ralph McQuarrie, the artist who developed the look of the first “Star Wars” trilogy’s signature characters, sets and spaceships, has died. He was 82. McQuarrie’s death Saturday at his Berkeley home was announced on his official website and Facebook page. John Scoleri, co-author of a book on McQuarrie’s art, told the Los Angeles Times that McQuarrie had suffered from Parkinson’s disease. In a statement on the official “Star Wars” website, George Lucas said McQuarrie was the first person he hired to help him envision what would become some of the top-grossing movies of all time. -AP

THURSDAY, march 8, 2012

17

‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ composer dies LONDON: How do you sum up the work of songwriter Robert B. Sherman? Try one word: “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

The tongue-twisting term, sung by magical nanny Mary Poppins, is like much of Sherman’s work - both complex and instantly memorable, for child and adult alike. Once heard, it was never forgotten.

Sherman, an American who died in London at age 86, was half of a sibling partnership that put songs into the mouths of nannies and Cockney chimney sweeps, jungle animals and Parisian felines.

Robert Sherman and his brother Richard composed scores for films including “The Jungle Book,” ‘’The Aristocats,” ‘’Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” They also wrote the most-played tune on Earth, “It’s a Small World (After All).”

Sherman’s agent, Stella Richards, said Tuesday that Sherman died peacefully in London on Monday.

Son Jeffrey Sherman paid tribute to his father on Facebook, saying he “wanted to bring happiness to the world and, unquestionably, he succeeded.” Jeffrey Sherman told The Associated Press that his father had learned the craft of songwriting from his own father, Tin Pan Alley composer Al Sherman.

Robert A. Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Co., said in a statement that the company mourned the loss of “one of the world’s greatest songwriters and a true Disney legend.” Three Broadway marquees - including The New Amsterdam Theatre, where “Mary Poppins” is playing - were to dim their lights Tuesday night in Sherman’s honor.

The Sherman Brothers’ career was long, prolific and garlanded with awards. They won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins” - best score and best song, “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” They also picked up a Grammy for best movie or TV score.

Their hundreds of credits as joint lyricist

Music composers Richard M. Sherman (left) and his brother Robert B. Sherman (right) are shown on the set of the Disney movie “Mary Poppins” with actors Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in this undated publicity photograph released to Reuters on March 6, 2012.

(Reuters)

and composer also include the films “Winnie the Pooh,” ‘’The Slipper and the Rose,” ‘’Snoopy Come Home,” ‘’Charlotte’s Web” and “The Magic of Lassie.” Their Broadway musicals included 1974’s “Over Here!” and stagings of “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the mid-2000s.

The brothers’ awards included 23 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They became the only Americans ever to win First Prize at the Moscow Film Festival for “Tom Sawyer” in 1973 and were inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall

of Fame in 2005. President George W. Bush awarded them the National Medal of Arts in 2008, commended for music that “has helped bring joy to millions.”

Challenges of Song Writing

Robert Bernard Sherman was born in New York on Dec. 19, 1925, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California.

The brothers credited their father with challenging them to write songs and for their love of lyrics. Al Sherman’s legacy of songs includes “You Gotta Be a Football Hero,”

‘’(What Do We Do On a) Dew-Dew-Dewy Day” and “On the Beach at Bali-Bali.”

Robert Sherman’s affection for Britain was nurtured during his service with the US Army in World War II. After the war, the brothers started writing songs together. They began a decade-long partnership with Disney during the 1960s after having written hit pop songs like “Tall Paul” for ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and “You’re Sixteen,” later recorded by Ringo Starr.

Though they were estranged for a number of years, the brothers never completely broke ties. They wrote over 150 songs at Disney, including the soundtracks for such films as “The Sword and the Stone,” “The Parent Trap,” “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Aristocats” and “The Tigger Movie.”

Most of the songs the Shermans wrote - in addition to being catchy and playful - work on multiple levels for different ages, something they learned from Disney.

Most of their songs were written quickly, but others took longer. The pair spent two weeks trying to nail down a snappy title for a song sung by the nanny in “Mary Poppins.”

They considered, and then nixed, “An Apple a Day” and “A Stitch in Time.”

Another of their songs - “It’s a Small World (After All)” - has become one of the most translated and performed songs on the planet. It plays on a continual, multilingual loop every few minutes at Disney theme parks across the world - a fact that Disney employees are only too well aware of. Away from the piano, the two raised families and pursued their own interests, yet still lived close to each other in Beverly Hills and continued working together well into their 70s.

Robert Sherman moved to Britain in 2002 after the death of his wife Joyce. He is survived by his brother and four children: Laurie, Jeffrey, Andrea and Robert. -AP

Nicollette Sheridan’s lawyer Garth Brooks headed to said actress feared retaliation Country Music Hall of Fame LOS ANGELES: Nicollette Sheridan didn’t ask ABC to reprimand “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry after he allegedly struck her in the head because she feared for her job, the actress’s entertainment attorney testified Tuesday.

“We weren’t looking to ABC Disney to do anything because Nicollette was concerned about retaliation,” Neil Meyer said in Los Angeles Superior Court. “Marc Cherry had apologized, and she was prepared to put her head down and go back to work. Nicollette was upset, but she was also worried about her job.” In her $6 million wrongful termination suit, the actress claims that Cherry gave her “a nice wallop” to the left side of her head at a Sept. 24, 2008 rehearsal, and then killed off her character when she complained about the incident.

Earlier, Meyer had testified that he called ABC business affairs executive Howard Davine after the incident in question and told him that Sheridan was afraid of retribution from Cherry.

Meyer said that he did not respond when Davine sent a letter to Meyer on Dec 5, 2008, informing him that the ABC HR investigation had been concluded and that Sheridan had not been

mistreated.

After Tuesday’s lunch recess, Meyer was cross-examined by ABC’s lawyer Adam Levin, who compelled Sheridan’s attorney to admit that he would have made “between $100,000 and $200,000” had Sheridan been retained for a sixth season on the show.

Sheridan’s attorney Mark Baute then called Richard Olshansky to the stand as an expert witness. Olshansky was exec vice-president of business affairs at NBC from 2004 to 2009.

Olshansky, who worked with shows including “30 Rock,” “Law and Order” and “Parks and Recreation” at NBC, testified that it was extremely unusual for a comedy show to kill of a main character. “It’s virtually unprecedented as far as I can tell, for a lead character in a comedy to be killed off in a show,” Olshansky said.

Olshansky then explained how hard it is for a TV show to even get on the air, saying that for every 100 scripts commissioned, one makes it on the air. “Once you get something that works, you tend to not want to mess with it,” Olshansky said, and noted that there were other reasons for not killing off a main character. -Reuters

Franco, Cornish among those with films at Tribeca NEW YORK: This year’s Tribeca Film Festival will feature many domestically oriented movies that deal with contentious contemporary issues, from the recession to James Franco’s artistic antics. Tribeca announced the first half of its slate for this year’s festival Tuesday: 46 feature films out of a planned 90. This half includes entries in the world narrative and documentary categories, as well as those in the festival’s “viewpoints” section, a category that highlights edgier films.

The documentary “Downeast” follows unemployed 70-year-olds in Gouldsboro, Maine, who are trying to get back to work after the closure of a sardine canning factory. The documentary “Off Label” explores overmedication. And clashes over school textbook content are chronicled in “The Revisionaries.”

In the narrative competition, “The Girl,” written and directed by David Riker, stars Abbie Cornish as a single mother who loses her job.

Desperate for income to keep custody of her son, she helps smuggle illegal immigrants over the USMexico border.

A film Franco made while moonlighting on

the daytime soap opera “General Hospital” will also play at the festival. It’s an “experimental psychological thriller” about “a celebrity’s escalating paranoia” called “Francophrenia (or: Don’t Kill Me, I Know Where the Baby Is).” Co-directed by Franco and Ian Olds, the film (which premiered at the Rotterdam International Festival) uses footage Franco shot while appearing on “General Hospital.”

This slate is the first curated by Tribeca’s revamped programming leadership. Frederic Boyer, a veteran of the Cannes Film Festival, has joined as artistic director. Geoffrey Gilmore, who directed the Sundance Film Festival for years before becoming creative director at Tribeca in 2009, is now also overseeing the program.

“The quality of American independent cinema is well represented this year, but international diversity has its share, too, with films from countries as varied as Cuba and Kenya,” Boyer said.

The 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival will be held April 18-29. Opening the festival will be “The Five-Year Engagement,” a comedy starring Jason Segel and produced by Judd Apatow. -AP

Jackson theft accused will prove innocence: Lawyer LONDON: A lawyer for two Michael Jackson fans accused of stealing unreleased music by the late King of Pop from Sony’s computers says the men are confident they can prove their innocence in court.

Karen Todner says James Marks and Jamie McCormick “are eager to point out to Michael Jackson’s fans and family that they would never do anything to harm the legacy that is Michael Jackson’s music.”

In a statement Wednesday, she also quoted Jackson: “Lies run sprints but the truth runs marathons.” The two British men were arrested last year after Sony Music Entertainment noticed a breach of its systems.

Marks, 26, and McCormick, 25, pleaded not guilty last week at Leicester Crown Court in central England.

They were freed on bail and are due to stand trial in January. -AP

Hargus “Pig” Robbins, (left) Connie Smith, and Garth Brooks, (right) pose together after the announcement on March 6, 2012, that they will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn. (AP)

NASHVILLE: The Country Music Association on Tuesday named three stars for induction into its Hall of Fame including superstar Garth Brooks and veterans Connie Smith and Hargus “Pig” Robbins.

Brooks, who has sold more than 128 million albums worldwide in his career, became a superstar of the 1990s with albums such as “Ropin’ the Wind” and “No Fences” and was heralded for his live stage acts. He took a break from heavy touring in the early 2000s, but in recent years has been performing more often.

The 50-year-old Brooks was picked for the Country Music Hall of Fame in its “Modern Era Artist” category.

At Tuesday’s announcement in the Nashville-based Hall of Fame, Brooks said it was an honor to be named but added it seemed premature with others such as Randy Travis, Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs still not inducted.

Piano player Hargus “Pig” Robbins was announced in a category for recording and touring musicians. He was among the most sought-after music artists in Nashville for what became known as the

Recovering Bee Gee back on stage for Titanic show

LONDON: Bee Gees star Robin Gibb will return to the stage after a serious illness for a performance of his requiem for victims of the Titanic disaster. Organizers say Gibb will attend the Royal Philharmonic’s premiere performance of “The Titanic Requiem” in London on April 10, and will perform a new song, “Don’t Cry Alone.” The classical composition commemorates the April 1912 sinking of the ocean liner and the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

The 62-year-old Gibb was hospitalized late last year for stomach and colon problems, but told the BBC last month he was making a good recovery. He did not disclose the nature of his illness but said a growth on his colon had been removed. The Bee Gees had a string of hits in the disco era, including “Stayin’ Alive.” -AP

“Nashville sound” of the late 1950s and 1960s. Robbins, 74, also was part of an elite group of studio session musicians known as the Superpickers. He played with hundreds of artists including Haggard, Jones and Reba McEntire.

He lost one eye at age two and became completely blind at age four. He earned his nickname as a young student after sneaking out of class and returning “dirty as a pig,” a teacher said. The nickname stuck. Like Brooks, Robbins said he was “honored” to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Connie Smith, 70, was selected in the Veterans Era artist category. She rose to fame in the 1960s and saw her debut single, 1964’s “Once a Day,” claim the No. 1 spot on Billboard magazine’s record chart. It was the first time a female country singer reached No. 1 -- a feat that went unmatched for 20 years.

The induction of Brooks, Robbins and Smith will take place later this year at the Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater in Nashville.

The Country Music Association created the Hall of Fame in 1961 and induction is considered the industry’s top honor.

-Reuters

Justin Bieber’s mom to publish memoir TORONTO: Pop star Justin Bieber’s mom has inked a book deal to tell the story of the role she played in her son’s rise to superstardom.

Pattie Mallette signed a deal with Revell Books to publish, “Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber’s Mom.” The book’s publisher said in a statement Tuesday that Mallette will share details of the trauma, abuse and addiction that plagued her early childhood and young adult years, leading to a suicide attempt when she was 17.

The Stratford, Ontario, native became pregnant at age 18 and gave birth to Bieber in 1994.

The book, written in collaboration with A.J. Gregory, will include a foreward by Bieber. It is slated for release Sept. 18. -AP

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012

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

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

GUST raises awareness on Literacy Day KUWAIT: The Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) English Department, organized Literacy Day, to raise awareness on the issue of literacy worldwide and its effect on future generations. A day filled with activities and collaborations filled the GUST campus including essays competition, project competition, the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) segment and a performance reading of the known children’s book “The Gruffalo” by young children to highlight the event and a book donation drive to benefit local schools.

GUST students were encouraged to participate in an essay competition and a project competition last month and the winners were announced today at the GUST Literacy Day! In the essay competition, Mohammed Yaqoub won first place for his essay “Effects of Literacy on People,” Haneen Al-Othman in second place for “Literacy for Peace,” and Talal Al-Qaoud in third place for his essay “Effects of Literacy on People.”

As for the project competition, Deemah Al-Mulla stole the show with her Literacy Day Project reading to nursery school children weekly at the Mooney Face PreSchool. Deemah learned a lot from her experience at the preschool

Month a t

Sudoku

Elementary and said she believes she “enjoyed it as much (if not more) than the kids did!”

Following the announcement of the winners, which took place at GUST’s 8th Annual Book and Information Fair, the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) segment followed, which was a campaign directed to students, staff and faculty to literally, drop everything and read, for 10-minutes. Many participated in this campaign.

Intermediate

Advanced

Ann Newman, instructor in the GUST English Department and one of the main organizers of Literacy Day, said, “Reading is one of the most important things you will ever learn, as it not only hones your language skills and increases your vocabulary, but also it provides the key to open a world full of knowledge. The best part is whether you’re reading in your native language or in English, reading is a transferable skill.”

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

a glance his teaching, workshop and his multitude of practices.

Arabic course March 11-April 19/ TIES Center: TIES Center is glad to announce the start of Arabic courses. We offer classes for all levels, from beginners to advance and also introduced new classes called Kuwait dialect. TIES Arabic classes are intended for all expatriates who wish to learn Arabic for whatever purposebusiness, basic communication, as a second language or simply as a hobby. For more information/registration, contact 97228860/97793440.

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.

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.

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.

New Toastmasters Club

Kuwaiti cuisine March 15-April 5/6 p.m. - 8 p.m./TIES Center: TIES Ladies Club invites you to our Kuwaiti cuisine classes which will start soon. Join us for a one month cooking program where you will learn to cook real Kuwaiti food. All ladies are invited to join our classes and let your family enjoy the mouth watering Kuwaiti cuisine. For more information/registration, contact 25231015/6.

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.

Golden Era Club

Waist Watchers

March 9/ 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. / Rumaithiya: It’s all about sharing and caring. The Golden Era Club invites all seniors to a very special meeting. Come check it out. Venue- House #34, next to Abu-Tammam Intermediate School for Boys, Sate Alhusari St., Block 2, Rumaithiya. For details call 97172788/ 66208183 or drop a line to goldenera60@yahoo.com

Every Tuesday/ 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. / British Ladies Society: Meetings are based on the world’s most successful healthy eating plan. Weekly meetings include private weigh in, motivational talks, recipes to try, and cooking demonstrations.

Fee of KD 2.500 is required to cover for the cost of course material. For more info contact; Danielle desertdanny@hotmail.com.

Art exhibition

Hip Hop at BAIA

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

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.

Dilbert

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

EducationUSA Do you have questions regarding studying at a university in the US? AMIDEAST can help.

Please visit our EducationUSA Advising Center in Sharq, and attend one of our weekly free group advising sessions, held every Monday, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. For further information, visit: www.amideast.org, telephone us at 2247-0091, ext. 6819, or E-mail us at: kuwait@ amideast.org.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

Your sensual nature is heightened, Aries, and you’ll find yourself engaged in tender moments and languid peacefulness in the company of others. Soothe your soul by letting yourself slip into situations that give you the emotional freedom to do or say whatever comes to mind. Life should be like a love poem written by a great master.

Accept the good energy that comes your way.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Allow your eager and restless nature to express itself in ways other than through the spoken word, Taurus. Show someone that you care through your gentle touch or a big bear hug. Hold on a little bit more tightly than you might normally. There’s an unspoken understanding that comes when you communicate through nothing but pure silence.

Gemini: May 21- June 21

This is a terrific day for you, Gemini. You should find that your relationships, especially with men, go exceptionally well. Your tender and extremely sensitive nature is finally being recognized as the treasure chest it is. There are many times in which this type of personality is seen as weak.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

A selfish attitude on your part won’t be tolerated today, regardless of the circumstances, Cancer.

Don’t make it worse for yourself by pretending that you don’t notice others’ hurt feelings. People are likely to be extra sensitive today, so be careful about trying to impose your will on someone who really wants nothing more than an ear to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

You could find the hardest person to face is you, Leo. You tend toward introspection, and you may find yourself shrinking into self-recrimination. You could analyze the important people in your life and yet fail to address the one you really need to look at - you. As you continually strive for perfection, give yourself proper credit. Do something nice for yourself today.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Take advantage of the creative energy in the air today, Virgo. Keep your hands moving and your imagination flowing toward something fun and artistic. If you begin to doubt your work, you may fall down a spiral of creative blockage. Don’t get into the habit of constantly judging the quality or outcome of your work.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Your sixth sense is right on target, Libra, so trust your instincts today. You’re likely to connect with someone in a wonderful partnership that will help you foster the very plan you want to develop now.

Stay close to those things that resonate strongly with your morals. The answer is in front of you; you don’t have to search too far afield in order to find it.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Take a break from your routine, Scorpio. You might feel like you’re leading an army into battle as you strive for new adventures and conquer new realms.

Make sure you take a bit of time out today to stop and let your troops rest. You deserve a little rest yourself. Use this moment of stillness to form your plan of attack so you’re sure about how to proceed.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

The key for you is to minimize your daily drama as much as possible, Sagittarius. You may not realize how much you cripple yourself by the way you exaggerate every aspect of your life. Try not to give so much of your attention to things that really don’t matter much.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Be careful of advertising yourself as someone who is so strong and mentally competent that you’re capable of handling everything, Capricorn. Take note that the strongest mule on the trail usually ends up carrying the most weight. Your emotions are more sensitive than you may think, and certainly more than you demonstrate to others.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Things should flow well for you today with very little effort on your part, Aquarius. Take note that if any quarrel arises, it’s an indication that the person you’re arguing with isn’t necessarily the right person to deal with or confide in. Emotional issues are likely to be the hardest ones to overcome, but this shouldn’t be a problem for you. You have the ability to work through these like a pro.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

This is meant to be a nice, relaxing day, so treat it as such, Pisces. There’s no need for you to plan any great strategy at this time. Try to take it easy and not indulge in any unnecessary stress. This is your time to enjoy the moment. Don’t tax your mind by overanalyzing everything that comes your way.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

thursDAY, march 8, 2012

19

Basketball

Heat roll past Nets, 108-78, end two-game slide MIAMI: James scored 21 points, Bosh added 20 in his return to the lineup and the Heat led by as many as 40 points on the way to rolling past the New Jersey Nets 108-78 on Tuesday night.

The Heat made 12 of their first 15 shots on the way to a 10th straight home win. James finished 9 for 11, adding nine rebounds and six assists, and the 78 points allowed matched Miami’s season-best.

Deron Williams, who was coming off an NBA seasonhigh 57 points in a win over Charlotte, scored 16 for the Nets. MarShon Brooks scored 12 and Johan Petro added 11 for New Jersey, which lost to the Heat for the ninth straight time.

Miami’s lead was 64-37 at the half, the Heat having shot a season-best 66 percent in the first two quarters.

Miami’s “Big Three” of James, Bosh and Wade combined for 54 points on 24 of 33 shooting. All 12 Heat players either scored or logged double-figure minutes and even little-used center Eddy Curry got into the act, getting into his 10th game of the season and playing the final 5:59.

With the win, Miami (29-9) pulled within two games of the Chicago Bulls (32-8) for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.And the Heat are apparently getting into scoreboardwatching mode, with Spoelstra spending part of the team’s shootaround Tuesday morning going over the latest standings and where Miami matches up among the other NBA elite.

Everything was going Miami’s way, even in the first quarter when Dexter Pittman posted up against the Nets’ Kris Humphries to the left of the basket. He turned, shot wildly, watched the ball kiss the top of the backboard and fall softly through the hoop.

Miami led by as many as 27 in the first half, then stretched the lead to 33 in the third quarter and as many as 40 in the fourth.

Norris Cole scored 13 points, Battier added 11 and Pittman finished with 10 for the Heat, who outrebounded New Jersey 43-29. -AP

Miami Heat’s LeBron James goes up against New Jersey Nets’ Jordan Williams (left) during their NBA basketball game in Miami, March 6, 2012. (Reuters)

Cricket

Martin triple strike puts NZ on top

Chris Martin of New Zealand (right) bowls to Jacques Rudolph of South Africa during day one of the first five day international cricket test match between New Zealand and South Africa, March 7, 2012. (AFP)

DUNEDIN: Medium fast bowler Chris Martin grabbed three wickets in four balls after tea to seize the momentum for New Zealand as the hosts reduced South Africa to 191 for seven at the close of the opening day of the first test in Dunedin on Wednesday.

Jacques Rudolph was 46 not out while Vernon Philander was on four at the close of the rain-effected day as New Zealand managed to wrest back the advantage after South Africa had returned from the tea break on a comfortable 86-1.

Martin, however, produced an inspired spell of bowling that began when Graeme Smith chased a wide delivery and was caught for 53 in the first over after tea, before Jacques Kallis was snared by Ross Taylor at first slip for a two-ball duck in his next over.

He then trapped AB de Villiers lbw off the next ball, though South Africa’s limited overs captain reviewed the decision, which was upheld to leave the visitors struggling at 90-4.

“It took me a while to get going but there was a bit more intensity in the wicket, we got a little bit of nibble, got the ball to swing a little and put it in good areas,” Martin said in a televised interview of his spell after tea. Rudolph survived the hat-trick delivery then combined with Hashim Amla in rebuilding the innings

with a 66-run partnership before Amla (62) was caught

by Taylor after the ball deflected off Kruger van Wyk’s gloves from the bowling of Daniel Vettori.

Mark Boucher was then run out for four after some smart work from Doug Bracewell at backward point before Dale Steyn was caught by Taylor after Martin Guptill had parried a simple catch to his captain, who bobbled the ball before grabbing it on the third attempt.

Alviro Petersen (11) was the only wicket to fall in the first session after rain delayed the start of play for nearly four hours, when he was trapped in front by leftarm seamer Trent Boult.

Petersen had initially been given not out by umpire Aleem Dar but Taylor used the decision review system to have it overturned.

“It was a good start but we need to get the wickets early tomorrow for it to show the good work we showed today,” Taylor said. “But we’re in a good position and so I’m semi-happy. We’ve got a big day tomorrow and hopefully we can make some early inroads and then make a good start with the bat.”

Should South Africa sweep the three-match series 3-0, they will take over the world number one test ranking from England. -Reuters

Captain Clarke transformed on and off the pitch in a year SYDNEY: Australia captain Michael Clarke limped off the Adelaide Oval to a rousing ovation on Tuesday after scoring 117 against Sri Lanka in his final innings of a long Australian summer.

His innings was destined to be in a losing cause and his hamstring injury could yet jeopardize his participation in the tour of the West Indies, but a sometimes spectacular century was a fitting end to his first year as Australian captain.

Since the start of 2011, when he was jeered by sections of local crowds as the country digested the humiliation of a home Ashes defeat, Clarke has been transformed both on and off the pitch.

Long heir apparent to his friend and mentor Ricky Ponting, he assumed the captaincy on the eve of his 30th birthday after Australia’s quarter-final exit from the 50-overs World Cup. Taking over the job with Australian cricket at its lowest ebb since the mid-1980s, the boos made it clear that Clarke was not a universally popular choice.

This year, Clarke has led Australia to a 1-0 test series win in Sri Lanka, 1-1 draws in series with South Africa and New Zealand before the 4-0 sweep of a poor India around the turn of the year.

It is the revival of his own batting fortunes after a miser-

able Ashes series, however, that has done the most to turn around public opinion.

Clarke has scored seven international centuries since he became captain, highlighted by his brilliant 329 not out against India in the second test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

His response to achieving the 14th highest score in the long history of test cricket was instructive of his approach to being his country’s 43rd test skipper.

Clarke has also shown a ruthless streak this year, best illustrated when he voted as a member of the selection panel to bring an end to Ponting’s one-day international career last month.

While he has been fulsome in his praise of his team when they have “executed their skills” well, as in the India series, he has been publicly scathing of sloppiness.

Fifth in the world in tests when he took over, Australia are now ranked fourth but the stated goal for Clarke has always been to put his country back on top.

As with all Australian captains, full judgement will be reserved until he has contested an Ashes series in 2013 but, if nothing else, a sometimes unforgiving media has at least stopped listing the candidates they would prefer as captain.

-Reuters

Pistons overcome Bryant, beat Lakers 88-85 in OT AUBURN HILLS: Rodney Stuckey scored 34 points, and the Detroit Pistons overcame a tying shot by Kobe Bryant at the end of regulation Tuesday night, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 88-85 in overtime.

Bryant’s basket at the buzzer forced the extra session, but he missed from 3-point range in the final seconds of overtime. Metta World Peace came up with the ball and dribbled back toward the top of the key, but his last-ditch turnaround missed as well. Andrew Bynum had 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers.

Bryant finished with 22 points on 8-of-26 shooting. He started the game with black mask protecting his injured nose but switched to a clear one while struggling through the first half.

World Peace stole the ball near midcourt and went the other way for a layup to put the Lakers ahead 76-75, but Stuckey’s 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left gave the Pistons a two-point lead. As the clock ticked down, Bryant calmly dribbled to his right and sank a shot from about 17 feet over Tayshaun Prince to force overtime.

Neither team led by more than three in the extra session, and the Pistons won by forcing the Lakers to take bad shots from the perimeter late. With the Pistons up 86-85, World Peace forced a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down.

After that miss, Stuckey drove hard to the basket and drew a foul, sinking both free throws with 36.8 seconds remaining.

The Lakers outscored Detroit 20-9 in the third quarter, and Bryant had success with more high-percentage shots.

His alley-oop from Pau Gasol gave Los Angeles a 59-52 lead, and Bryant added a runner to make it 61-54. -AP

Celtics awaken in time to beat Rockets 97-92 in OT BOSTON: Kevin Garnett grabbed 13 rebounds to pass Shaquille O’Neal and move into 12th on the NBA’s career list, and Paul Pierce scored seven of his 30 points in overtime on Tuesday night to lead the Boston Celtics to a 97-92 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Boston has won five straight since the All-Star break, including two in a row in overtime. Houston has lost four in a row.

Ray Allen scored 21, including a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give Boston the lead.

But Rajon Rondo missed an open layup with a chance to clinch it in regulation, and Goran Dragic tied it for the Rockets.

Pierce scored seven points over a 2:05 span in overtime.

Luis Scola had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Samuel Dalembert had 11 points and 17 boards for Houston.

Houston trailed 57-47 with 8 minutes left in the third but outscored the Celtics 21-6 over the rest of the quarter. Boston made just one basket in the final 8:58 of the period, and just one in the first 7:16 of the fourth.

The Celtics trailed 80-70 with 5:33 left before scoring 14 of the next 16 points, taking advantage of back-to-back Houston airballs and 24-second clock violations and making it a three-point game, 80-77, on a fast break from Pierce to Rondo to Allen with 2:49 left.

Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen (20) drives against the Houston Rockets during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Boston Tuesday, March 6, 2012. (AP)

Houston again ran down the 24-second clock, with Kyle Lowry forcing up a 30-footer at the buzzer. This one caught the rim and Dalembert got the rebound and made a layup. Pierce made two free throws, then Garnett grabbed another defensive rebound - tying O’Neal - and made

a pair of free throws to make it 82-81.

Allen opened the scoring in overtime, and after Dragic’s jumper, Garnett gave Boston an 88-86 lead. Pierce then ran off seven straight Celtics points, starting with a three-point play that gave them the lead for good. -AP

Tennis

Upbeat Federer back at beloved Indian Wells INDIAN WELLS, California: With his confidence sky-high after winning five of his last seven tournaments, Roger Federer returns to one of his favorite venues for the Masters Series event starting this week.

The Swiss world number three has triumphed three times at the state-of-theart Indian Wells Tennis Garden and will be difficult to beat on the hardcourt surface

with his defensive skills now possibly better than ever.

Long regarded as one of the most elegant and aggressive serve-and-volley players of all time, Federer has had to improve the resilience of his baseline game in recent years in a bid to blunt the twin challenge of Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Though Federer has not claimed a

FILE - Swiss Roger Federer returns the ball to Finnish Jarkko Nieminen on the fifth day of the ATP Tennis Tournament at the Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam, Feb. 17, 2012. (AFP)

grand slam singles crown since the 2010 Australian Open, he has piled up 10 ATP World Tour titles during that span.

Federer, a 16-times grand slam winner, has always loved competing in the California desert at Indian Wells.

“This tournament has worked out well for me, winning three titles in a row and playing some of my best tennis here,” said the 30-year-old, who is seeded to meet Nadal in the semi-finals.

“I’ve had some great finals, big matches, and I always enjoy playing at Indian Wells. The surface really suits my game, my slice stays low, the kick goes up and the ball travels quickly through the air.”

Despite losing to Federer in last week’s final, Murray also arrives in the California desert with high hopes.

“I did everything pretty good (last week),” the Briton said. “I was happy I managed to adjust to the court after a couple matches, because I was struggling at the beginning of the week. It turned out to be a very good week. The conditions in Indian Wells ... are going to be very, very different, a much slower court, which hopefully will suit my game a little bit better.”

Australian Open champion Djokovic, who beat Spaniard Nadal in last year’s final at Indian Wells, is the top seed with Nadal seeded second, Federer third and Murray fourth.

Among the leading contenders in the women’s competition, starting on Wednesday, are holder Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and second-ranked Russian Maria Sharapova.

-Reuters

thursdAY, MARCH 8, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editors Highlight

ZURICH: World and European champion Spain remained at the top of FIFA’s monthly world rankings on Wednesday, and the United States rose four places to No. 27 with a win over Italy for its highest place since June. The Netherlands retook the No. 2 spot from Germany, which lost 2-1 to France. Uruguay is at No. 4, followed by 2014 World Cup host Brazil, which rose two places after beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1. England and Portugal, each fell one place to sixth and seventh, respectively. Argentina climbed three places to No. 8, and Italy and Croatia completed the top 10. Ivory Coast is the highest-ranked African team at No. 15. African Cup of Nations champion Zambia rose two more places to No. 41. The rankings weigh all international results over a rolling four-year period.

Football

Arsenal’s heroic failure inspiration for strong finish LONDON: Manager Arsene Wenger’s hopes Arsenal’s glorious failure in the Champions League on Tuesday will inspire them to finish the season on a high and earn themselves a place back in the competition next season.

The Gunners went down with all guns blazing losing their Round of 16 tie 4-3 on aggregate to AC Milan after a superb fightback ended in a 3-0 win in the second leg at the Emirates which took them frustratingly close to saving the tie.

Arsenal were attempting to become the first side in European history to overturn a 4-0 first leg deficit and qualify, but although they fell just short after goals from Laurent Koscielny, Tomas Rosicky and a penalty from Robin van Persie, Wenger was not totally downbeat.

“We are disappointed because we touched qualification, we had the chances, and although we didnt do it, we were very close,” he told reporters afterwards. “But the players gave a faultless performance with a fantastic spirit and you can only congratulate the whole team.”

Looking ahead to the next two months, and asked if they could finish high enough to qualify for next season’s competition, he said: “We are on a good run in the league and it will be difficult - I don’t deny that. The team has grown well together, and hopefully from here we can finish the season strongly because there is no room for disappointment at the moment in the league. Every point is a battle until the end of the season and that is what is in front of us. But our target is possible because we are four points behind Tottenham, though we have to go step by step because we have another big game on Monday night against Newcastle and we take it game by game.”

Arsenal, who have come from behind to beat their arch-rivals Tottenham 5-2 and Liverpool 2-1 in their last two league matches and have won their last four in the Premier League, are fourth, four points behind Spurs with 11 matches to go.

Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny scores a goal against AC Milan during their Champions League last 16 second leg soccer match at the Emirates Stadium in London, March 6, 2012. (Reuters)

Although they are now set for a seventh straight season without a trophy, their form has certainly improved.

With Spurs showing signs of vulnerability and with fifth-placed Chelsea in transition following the exit of manager Andre Villas-Boas,

the odds of Arsenal booking a 15th successive Champions League appearance look promising.

“We need to win our games and look at the results of teams like Tottenham to catch them up, but for us, its clear - we have to win our games,” Wenger said. -AP

United renews old acquaintance in Europa League LONDON: Manchester United’s rare foray into European football’s second tier gives it a chance to renew another old acquaintance Thursday when it hosts Atletico Bilbao in the Europa League.

Having reached the round of 16 by winning its first encounter with Ajax since 1976, United is up against a Spanish side it has not played since 1957.

Back then, Bilbao beat United 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the old European Cup before the so-called “Busby Babes” advanced to a semifinal against defending champion-and eventual winner-Real Madrid with a 3-0 second-leg win. With a record of one win from four matches contributing to its demotion from the Champions League to the Europa League, United’s home form in Europe is less impressive this season but Bilbao’s players are still excited.

“It’s a dream for us to play at Manchester just like it’s a dream for our fans to see us play at Old Trafford,” defender Jon Aurtenetxe said. “The best result would be a victory. But we’re aware of how difficult that will be, so we’ll try to produce the best possible result. We’ll give it our all. Let’s see if we can give them a scare.”

Bilbao center back Fernando Amorebieta is suspended but Spain forwards Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain are available, as are dangerous midfielders Markel Susaeta and Ander Herrera.

Llorente has 12 goals in 18 appearances since returning from injury in January, helping the Basque club get this far and to reach the Copa del Rey final. Bilbao has never won in seven trips to England but can take heart from the 2-1 win by Ajax last month that nearly took the Dutch club through against United. Ajax was eliminated 3-2 on aggregate but came close to scoring the third goal that would have carried it through on away goals.

Defender Chris Smalling should return to United’s lineup after recovering from a head injury sustained playing for England, while Anderson could make his first appearance since Jan. 8. Tom Cleverley and Antonio Valencia are unlikely to be fit but Valencia could make next week’s second-leg match in Spain. In another of Thursday’s eight matches, United’s local rival, Manchester City, is at Sporting Lisbon. City is two points clear at the top of the Premier League and warmed up with a routine 2-0 win over Bolton on Saturday. Sporting is coming off a surprise 1-0 defeat to struggling Vitoria Setubal that ended a three-game winning run and left the club 14 points behind leader FC Porto, a team that City demolished 6-1 over two games in the last round.Atletico Madrid, the winner of the inaugural Europa League in 2010, remains in good form ahead of its game against Besiktas with only a single loss since coach Diego Simeone took over at the start of this year. -AP

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (center) celebrates after scoring a goal against Tottenham Hotspur during their English Premier League soccer match at White Hart Lane, March 4, 2012.

(Reuters)

Bayern defends Heynckes with ‘full confidence’

MUNICH: Bayern Munich has strongly denied media reports that it is looking to replace coach Jupp Heynckes following a string of poor results.

The Bundesliga side said in a statement Wednesday that it has “full confidence in Jupp Heynckes and his work” following reports Wednesday that it was already considering alternatives to the 66-year-old.

Bayern dismissed the reports as “rumor-journalism” and said club bosses “condemn this outrageous media speculation, which is not based on facts, in the strongest terms.” The club said it will consider legal advice against any similar reports in future.

Bayern has only won three out of seven games since the winter break to slip seven points behind Bundes-

liga leader Borussia Dortmund with 10 games left to play. It needs to overturn a 1-0 deficit against FC Basel to progress in the Champions League on March 13, while Borussia Moenchengladbach will also provide stiff opposition in the German Cup semifinal on March 21. German daily Bild reported that Bayern was considering letting Heynckes go at the end of the season, one year before his contract is due to expire, should it go a second year in a row without silverware. The newspaper says Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge favors Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre to take over, while Hannover coach Mirko Slomka is reportedly favored by club president Uli Hoeness. -AP

Chelsea begin life under Di Matteo with Cup win

ENGLAND: Chelsea started life after Andre Villas-Boas with an improved performance as goals from Juan Mata and Raul Meireles secured a 2-0 win over second tier Birmingham City in an FA Cup fifth-round replay on Tuesday.

Roberto Di Matteo, appointed interim coach for the rest of the season after Villas-Boas was sacked following a sequence of one win in seven matches, was all smiles after starting his reign with a victory.

The visiting Chelsea fans began the match at St Andrews with incessant chants for their former manager Jose Mourinho, who led the club to two Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, but ended the tie with loud cries of ‘There’s only one Di Matteo’.

“Mourinho has a big legacy at this club but I have a connection with the supporters because I’ve also played for them,” the former midfielder told ITV Sport. “I think our attitude was right tonight, the commitment was right, the passion was there and we had a clean sheet. But the most important thing was to get through to the next round and to show that we cared. Everybody was involved tonight, the people on the bench too. That’s the only way we are going to reach our targets this season,” added Di Matteo after Chelsea secured a home quarter-final against second tier Leicester City on March 18.

The Italian made several changes to the team, leaving out Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Daniel Sturridge and recalling Meireles, Fernando Torres, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel.

Ashley Cole also missed out with an ankle injury and there was no discernible change from the Villas-Boas era in the first half as six-times FA Cup winners Chelsea struggled to impose themselves on Chris Hughton’s Birmingham.

The visitors perked up in the second half and broke through in the 54th minute when Mata bundled the ball in from close range following a cross by Brazilian Ramires, keeping up his record of scoring in every round of this year’s competition.

Meireles made the game safe six minutes later with a venomous rightfoot shot from 20 meters after excellent work down the right by Branislav Ivanovic.

The next task for Di Matteo is to lift Chelsea up from fifth in the Premier League, starting with Saturday’s home game against Stoke City, and to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit in next week’s Champions League first knockout round tie with Napoli.

Reports swirled in the media during the last few weeks under Villas-Boas of a rift between the Portuguese and his players but Di Matteo said it was important for everyone to pull together.

“We have two months left to the end of the season and we are all sitting in the same boat,” said the Italian. “We have to help each other and try to achieve what we have set out for ourselves. All 25 players in the squad are going to have to be a little unselfish and work together, otherwise it’s not going to be possible.” -Reuters