May 29, 2012

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1449

20 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

Government’s investigation of Dow is ‘worrisome’: MPs

Cabinet picks acting Finance Minister after Al-Shamali quits Staff Writers

KUWAIT: During its weekly session on Monday, the Cabinet decided to form an investigative panel to look into the repercussions of a verdict issued by the International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration fining Kuwait $ 2.16 billion for scrapping the Dow Chemical deal.

However, an MP said that the government is not a neutral party to be entrusted with handling this matter singlehandedly.

In the meantime, a group of lawmakers demanded that the Parliament should discuss the issue during its upcoming session and listen to the measures being constituted by the government, as well as determine the role of the ministerial investigatory panel which has been formed for this purpose. A parliamentary source asserted that the MPs will not let this issue go without the identification of those responsible and hold them accountable.

Al Watan has learnt that the Minister of Oil Hani Hussein had informed His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlSabah that he would resign if any of the senior oil officials is suspended or have their services frozen.

For his part, MP Ali Al-Rashed noted that the penalty came as a result of political interference, and called on those responsible to bear the consequences of the verdict, as he singled out the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad AlSaadoun and his “group”.

In the same vein, MP Abdulhameed Dashti revealed that he is considering, along with his advisors, the prospect of filing a complaint with the Public Prosecution against all those behind fining Kuwait 2.16 billion, in accordance with the verdict issued over the Dow issue.

Lawyer Ali Al-Ali announced that on behalf of a group of Kuwaiti people, he lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor against anyone who took part in wasting public funds.

New Finance Minister

The government has also appointed Nayef Al-Hajraf as the country’s acting finance minister, state news agency KUNA said on Monday, after his predecessor Mustafa Al-Shamali quit amid allegations of financial irregularities in his departments.

Al-Shamali denied all allegations of mismanagement on his watch but stepped down last Thursday after opposition lawmakers accused him in parliament of failing to deal with alleged irregularities in his departments.

Hajraf, who is higher education minister, replaces Al-Shamali on an interim basis, KUNA reported, citing the outcome of a government cabinet meeting. A more permanent replacement is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, according to Kuwaiti media.

In another development, a group of MPs representing the Parliamentary Minority voiced support for the idea of transforming Kuwait into a single constituency. The idea was floated by

the Parliamentary Majority as a means of addressing the current state-of-affairs.

MP Saleh Ashour stressed that the amendment of electoral constituencies has become an urgent necessity, after the existing five constituencies have proved to be failure, lamenting that the current system gave rise to sectarianism and tribalism.

On the other hand, MP Dr. Mohammad AlHatlani addressed a preliminary query to the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Sabah asking him to verify press reports that Sheikh Thamer Al-Jaber was assigned to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar to identify dual nationals, during which he is reported to have met with the Saudi Crown Prince and Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul-Aziz. The lawmaker challenged the minister to dismiss the reports if they were proven to be wrong.

Furthermore, MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl caused uproar about the collection of donations by certain MPs for the Syrian people and their calls for arming the Free Syrian Army.

During a press conference, the lawmaker described the move as deceptive and that it is in violation of the law which bans unauthorized donation collection. The MP went as far as saying that the initiative is intended to deflate attention from the Dow-Chemical issue.

Al-Fadhl, however, affirmed that he had previously announced his supportive position for the rights of the Syrian people and his condemnation of the regime.

Islamists behind Houla massacre: Syrian government

Cabinet decides probe panel over K-Dow row

KUWAIT: The Cabinet has decided to set up a probe panel to look into everything related to the controversial K-Down deal between Kuwait’s stateowned Petrochemical Industry Company (PIC) and American Dow Chemicals.

The decision was made during a weekly Cabinet meeting, presided over by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

The move came as an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration court had recently issued a multi-billion-dollar ruling in favor of Dow Chemicals because of the cancellation of the contract. The main tasks of the decided probe plan are to review all procedures related to the consideration of the feasibility study and conclusion of the contract, legal approvals, appropriate compensations in similar contracts as well as excuses for the cancellation of the contract, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Sabah told reporters following the meeting. The tasks also include the assessment of efforts exerted by the defense team to defend the Petrochemical Industry Company (PIC), and even post-cancellation efforts, said Sheikh Sabah, who also doubles as minister of state for cabinet affairs. The panel will also suggest appropriate legal and administrative procedures in case of negligence or More on 2 remissness, he added.

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities on Monday blamed Islamist militants for the massacre of 108 men, women and children in the town of Houla and denied UN and witness accounts that army tanks were in the area at the time. In a letter to the UN Security Council published by state media, the Foreign Ministry said the Syrian army was “in a state of self defense (against) armed terrorist groups” comprised of hundreds of armed men who it said committed the massacre.

The ministry said the killers used knives, which it called a “signature” of Islamist militant attacks.

Meanwhile, UN-Arab envoy Kofi Annan arrived in the Syrian capital Monday for a bid to salvage his battered peace plan, expressing “shock” at the massacre of more than 100 people in the town of Houla.

Annan said the “tragic” massacre in the central Syrian town was “an appalling moment with profound consequences,” in remarks to reporters ahead of a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

The former UN secretary general said those responsible for the massacre must be held accountable, and called on “everyone with a gun” to abide by his six-point blueprint to help end 15 months of bloodshed.

More on 4

Arctic microbe hunt could aid search for alien life Allies quit government as Nepal crisis deepens

KATHMANDU: Three parties quit Nepal’s Maoist-led government on Monday as the Himalayan republic slipped deeper into crisis after the prime minister called elections following the failure to agree on a new constitution aimed at ending years of instability.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has called for Nov 22 elections to resolve the constitutional impasse, sparking a backlash from politicians and Nepalis who have seen the country lurch from one crisis to the next after a civil war ended in 2006.

With political rivals calling for the prime minister’s resignation, the desertion of three parties from his coalition may force Bhattarai to step down, but it is not likely to derail fresh elections.

However, the political row could trigger months of street protests and violence in one of the world’s poorest countries, wedged between India and China.

Security forces in Kathmandu remained on “high alert” after clashes between protesters and police injured more than a dozen people over the weekend.

More on 5

Young elephant Donna plays with a football watched by keeper Elizabeth Becker at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo near Dunstable, southern England Monday May 28, 2012. Playful elephants at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo enjoyed a kickabout in the sun as the Zoo prepares to host the Shaun the Sheep Championsheeps, which takes place at the Zoo from June 2 to 10. (AP)

15

Yemen army tightens grip on militant-held town ADEN: Yemeni troops clashed with Islamist militants in a southern town largely controlled by an Al-Qaeda-linked group as they fought to dislodge them in a new US-backed offensive. Six militants were killed in the clashes on the eastern edge of Zinjibar, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. Several militants were also killed on Monday in air strikes in other areas of southern Yemen. Local officials and militants said one of the attacks was carried out by a US drone.

Militants overran Zinjibar one year ago, while former President Ali Abdullah Saleh grappled with protests that weakened central government control over Yemen and eventually toppled him. The town has been contested ever since.

Previous efforts to retake Zinjibar have met with fierce resistance from the militants, who have seized several other towns in the southern province of Abyan and declared them Islamic emirates.

The United States and its Gulf Arab allies have watched with mounting alarm as security deteriorates in Yemen, home to Al-Qaeda’s Arabian Peninsula wing (AQAP), which is viewed by Washington as a serious threat.

The Yemeni army has recently regained some initiative in the south, pushing into the centre of Zinjibar, but the militants still hold a considerable chunk of the town and have planted mines to cover their retreat, officials said.

Jaar, another militant stronghold in Abyan, is being surrounded from all sides by the army. -Reuters

Fire kills 19, mostly children, in Qatar mall

Family members of victims of a fire react in grief after a fire took hold of the Villaggio Mall, in Doha’s west end, in the Qatari capital of Doha Monday May 28, 2012. (AP)

DOHA: At least 19 foreigners, including 13 children, were killed in a fire that ripped through an upscale shopping mall in Qatar on Monday, the country’s interior ministry said.

Four of the dead children were Spanish, diplomatic sources in Madrid said.

In was not immediately clear what caused the blaze at the Villagio Mall in Doha’s west end and Qatar’s interior ministry said an investigation was under way.

“There don’t seem to have been any fire alarms or sprinklers at the mall,” a relative of a two-yearold child who died in the fire told Reuters, speaking by phone from Qatar’s Hamad hospital.

Smoke was seen billowing from the mall, which was evacuated. Ambulances and police vehicles blocked entry to the complex.

A ministry official told journalists none of the dead were Qataris. Four of the dead adults were teachers and the other two were civil defense personnel, the official said. Seventeen people were also wounded, including four children, the official added. Many expatriates live in Qatar, a gas and oilrich Gulf Arab state with one of the highest standards of living in the world.

The Villagio Mall, which opened in 2006, is an Italianate-themed shopping complex with a hotel, theme park and canal plied by gondolas. -Reuters

Blast rocks Kenyan capital, more than 30 hurt

NAIROBI: An explosion tore through a shopping complex in Nairobi’s business district during Monday’s lunch hour, wounding more than 30 people, an d police said they were investigating whether it was a bomb attack. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said antiterrorism police were combing the blast site in the city centre for clues, appearing to row back on an earlier suggestion by the police commissioner that a massive electrical fault might be to blame.

More than ten people have been killed in a string of attacks in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October to fight al

Qaeda-linked militants.

Nairobi has blamed the al Shabaab militants, who merged with al Qaeda earlier this year, for the surge in violence and kidnappings that has threatened tourism in east Africa’s biggest economy and wider regional destabilization.

“The investigating team is exploring the possibility that the blast was caused by criminals using an improvised explosive device,” Kiraithe said in a statement.

Two shopkeepers told Reuters independently that they saw a man drop a bag inside the trading center moments before the blast. -Reuters

Obama pledges no more wars unless ‘absolutely necessary’

ARLINGTON, Va.: President Barack Obama honored veterans on Monday by noting “the light of a new day” of having US troops home from Iraq and returning soon from Afghanistan, while promising not to send soldiers back to war without a clear need. Obama did not mention tension with Iran and Syria in his remarks to veterans and military families at a hot, sunny Memorial Day ceremony, focusing instead on the wars started by his predecessor, George W. Bush, that he wound down as president. “After a decade under the dark cloud of war, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon,” he said at Arlington National Cemetery, drawing applause when he noted the “milestone” of it being the first Memorial Day in nine years without Americans fighting and dying in Iraq. “As commander in chief, I can tell you that sending our troops into harm’s way is the most wrenching decision that I have to make,” Obama said shortly after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“I can promise you I will never do so unless it is absolutely necessary and that when we do, we must give our troops a clear mission and the full support of a grateful nation.” -Reuters

Andrea Bryson, of Woodbridge, Virginia, wipes tears from her face as she visits the grave of her husband, Army Col. Gene Bryson, in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, Monday, May 28, 2012. (AP)

Ukraine official resigns over ticket scandal Libya NTC leader says election could be delayed

TRIPOLI: The head of Libya’s National Transitional Council said an election for the national assembly could be delayed, holding up a landmark vote in the transformation of the country following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. The election for an assembly that will draw up a new constitution was originally scheduled for June 19. Mustafa Abdel Jalil told Reuters he thought the vote could be delayed by appeals from people who have been blocked from standing as candidates.

Candidates wishing to run in the election must first pass

19

a vetting process which they may appeal in court. “This appeal process will perhaps result in a postponement of the elections,” Jalil said. The last day for candidate registration was on May 23 and is followed by a 10-day appeal process.

The candidates then need time to campaign and the High National Election Commission must have time to print out ballots. Earlier last week, commission chief Nouri Al-Abbar had said they could not confirm the June 19 date.

Neither Abbar or Abdel Jalil specified a new potential date or by how long it could be delayed. -Reuters

2

ALWATAN DAILY

kuwait

TUEsDAY, may 29, 2012

Cabinet decides probe panel over K-Dow row KUWAIT: The Cabinet has decided to set up a probe panel to look into everything related to the controversial K-Down deal between Kuwait’s state-owned Petrochemical Industry Company (PIC) and American Dow Chemicals.

The decision was made during a weekly Cabinet meeting, presided over by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

The move came as an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration court had recently issued a multibillion-dollar ruling in favor of Dow Chemicals because of the cancellation of the contract.

The main tasks of the decided probe plan are to review all procedures related to the consideration of the feasibility study and conclusion of the contract, legal approvals, appropriate compensations in similar contracts as well as excuses for the cancellation of the contract, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid AlSabah told reporters following the meeting.

The tasks also include the assessment of efforts exerted by the defense team to defend the Petrochemical Industry Company (PIC), and even post-cancellation efforts, said Sheikh Sabah, who also doubles as minister of state for cabinet affairs.

The panel will also suggest appropriate legal and administrative procedures in case of negligence or remissness, he added.

The Cabinet also decided to entrust a ministerial committee including the minister of finance as chairman and the ministers of justice, Awqaf and Islamic affairs and information as members to ponder over legal means to han-

Cabinet is seen holding their weekly meeting on Monday, May 28, 2012 presided over by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)

dle the recent ICC court order so as to reduce possible financial losses.

Furthermore, the Cabinet’s Fatwa and Legislation Department was tasked with compiling a report on all legal

cases filed against all Kuwaiti authorities and companies both at home and abroad.

The Cabinet also asked the Supreme Council for Planning and Development to suggest congenial mechanisms

and tools to work out contracts pertinent to major projects carried out by world companies for the State of Kuwait inside or outside Kuwait.

During their weekly meeting, the ministers were apprised of two messages received by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah from both Turkish and Burundian leaders on bilateral cooperative relations.

The ministers also thanked Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shimali, who had recently tendered resignation, for his distinguished national role during his term of office.

The cabinet approved a draft decree forming a Competition Protection Agency board of directors, as well as a donation for setting up a new KD-1.5 million clinic.

Meanwhile, the ministers condemned a recent Houla massacre in Syria, which claimed the lives of scores of people, as a blatant violation of international law.

They also appreciated Kuwaiti public initiatives to raise funds for the Syrian people in order to alleviate their current humanitarian tragedy.

A Michigan-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration court issued a multi-billion-dollar ruling in favor of Dow Chemicals because of the cancellation of the contract. The ministers and supreme petroleum council members discussed on Sunday the legal consequences that resulted from the cancellation of the contract, and how PIC sought international law firms’ expertise which contributed to reducing the amount of compensation requested by Dow Chemicals. -KUNA

Court of Appeal Amir receives foreign officials, sentences 4 to life in spying case credentials of new ambassadors Criminal court adjourns blasphemy case to June 4 Ibtisam Said Staff Writer and Agencies

KUWAIT: The Court of Appeal here Monday sentenced four defendants to life imprisonment for collaborating with the Islamic Republic of Iran and acquitted three others.

The Public Prosecution charged the accused of seven charges, which include spying for a foreign country and aiding the intelligence body of a foreign country, as well as accepting financial benefits in exchange for information they provide, in addition to photographing Kuwaiti military sites.

A first instance court had previously sentenced three of the accused to capital punishment, two others to life-imprisonment and acquitted two defendants.

Monday’s ruling abolishes the death sentence for the accused.

The Court of Appeal also acquitted the fourth defendant and upheld a ruling to acquit the sixth and seventh defendants on the same case.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court adjourned the blasphemy case that was filed against the Kuwaiti citizen Hamad Al-Naqi to June 4, 2012. He was accused of blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and the prophet’s wives and companions on social networking websites. The court is expected to take a decision about the case on June fourth.

However, Public Prosecution accused Al-Naqi of publishing information blaspheming prophet using the social media website Twitter, where such false information contributes immensely in stirring sectarian sedition. He was also accused of insulting two Gulf regimes, which may contribute in affecting the national interests between Kuwait and those two states.

Moreover, Prosecution accused him of insulting the Islamic religion as well as some Muslim icons.

Al-Muwaizri appoints acting manager for Saving, Credit Bank Abdullah Al-Shemmari Staff Writer

KUWAIT: In the latest twist regarding the dismissal of the Credit and Saving Bank General Manager Salah Al-Mudhaff, the Minister of Housing and the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Shuaib Al-Muwaizri issued a new decision on Sunday appointing the bank’s Deputy Manager for Financial and Administrative Affairs Saayed Al-Thufairi as acting Manager with immediate effect until further notice.

In line with the decision, Al-Thufairi will assume his duties as of Monday, while the dismissed manager described the move as an ‘electioral deal,’ and vowed to fight it out at the courts.

In a statement, Al-Mudhaf announced that he had filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court appealing against the minister’s decision to remove him from his post as the bank manager, and asserted that the decision was in breach of the Constitution and the laws governing the Civil Service with regard to appoint-

ments and service termination.

Al-Mudhaf further indicated that he had filed a petition with His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and the concerned minister regarding his dismissal and that he was still serving in his post even though the Cabinet did not issue a decision in his favor yet. The fired official went on to accuse Minister Al-Muwaizri of pursuing electoral gains at the expense of the Constitution and set laws.

“The minister defied all State apparatuses and set his eyes on parliamentary elections by breaking Amiri decrees and violating Civil Service Commission regulations,” Al-Mudhaf added.

He equally pointed out that the minister defied the decisions of the Fatwa and Legislation Department and ignored a letter sent by the Minister of Interior who affirmed the illegality of barring him from entering the bank on the grounds that no Amiri decree was issued for his dismissal. “The judgment rests with our free and fair judiciary and does not lie in the hands of Al-Muwaizri,” Al-Mudhaf concluded.

Gulf art competes with international production: Salman RIYADH: The artistic productions and the formative art of the Gulf region nowadays competes with the best schools and artists around the world, and the fact is evident in the prizes and ovations works of Gulf artists receive at international events and exhibitions, said Head of the Kuwaiti Formative Arts Society Abdul Rasoul Salman, Monday. Salman was speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on the occasion of holding the “Contemporary Kuwaiti Art Exhibition”, here which was inaugurated last night under the auspices of the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Khuja. The opening was attended by advisor at the Kuwaiti Embassy Ahmad Al-Jeiran.

Salman, who also functions as Arab coordinator for international arts associations, said Gulf art works at international competitions and biennials and events continue to impress and attract attention.

On the current exhibition, he said the works on display are from varied schools and represent the different hues and shades of the Gulf artist’s creativity, and reflect the artists’ keenness to keep up with the

developments in the Arab and global art scene.

Salman said the State of Kuwait is to host a Saudi art exhibition in October, and expressed appreciation to all those who helped in the organization of this current exhibition and contributed to its success.

Meanwhile, minister Al-Khuja said art was a message of peace among peoples. It is a sublime summation of the human experience as perceived by the artists. It was a pleasure to hold this exhibition, he added, and it is important to hold others in the future to provide opportunity for exchange of expertise and interaction with “the other” in order to enrich the final product, and the events are opportunities for art enthusiasts as well to find what they are looking for. The current exhibition has over 70 works on display by artists Ahmad Jowhar, Amira Ashkanani, Khalid Al-Shatti, Salem Al-Kharji, Saad Al-Bloushi, Samar Al-Bader, Abdullah Al-Otaibi, and Abdul Rasoul Salman himself, among others. The exhibit is hosted at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Art Center and lasts for 10 days, receiving visitors in the morning and evening. -KUNA

Amir receives the credentials of the new Gambia ambassador to Kuwait Omar Jabril Sala on Monday, May 28, 2012. The Amir also received the credentials of the Bulgarian, Tanzanian and Turkish ambassadors. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace on Monday a number of foreign officials. Sheikh Sabah received Eritrean Minister of Energy and Mines Ahmed Haj Ali who handed him a written letter from President Isaias Afewerki concerning bilateral relations and means to develop ties.

The Amir also met with Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) William Lacy Swing and

the accompanying delegation.

Meanwhile, the Amir received also the credentials of new ambassadors to Kuwait including ambassadors of Turkey Umit Yalcin, Bulgaria Alexander Borisoff, Ghana Abdullah Salifu, Tanzania Ablah Hard Omar and Gambia Omar Jabril Sala.

The ceremony was attended by deputy prime minister, foreign minister and state minister for cabinet affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, deputy Amiri

Diwan Affairs Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Amiri Diwan Undersecretary Ibrahim Al-Shatti, Director of the Amir’s Office Ahmad Fahd Al-Fahd, Adviser at the Amiri Diwan Mohammad Abul Hassan, Head of the Amiri Protocols Department Sheikh Khaled Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Al-Naser Al-Sabah, Director of Protocol at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Thari Ajran Al-Ajran and head of the Amiri Guard authority Major General Talal Mohammad Al-Musallam. -KUNA

Al-Saqr expresses Kuwait’s firm support for Bahrain MANAMA: Kuwait’s firm and principled supportive stances towards Bahrain stem from the solid historical fraternal ties bonding the two countries whose security and stability are indivisible, member of the Kuwaiti Parliament and Chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee Mohammed Al-Saqr said, affirming that the current visit of the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation aims to express support for Bahrain.

Al-Saqr also described what is going on in Bahrain as “unacceptable”, adding that “we are certain that what is being done by some political associations, including AlWefaq Islamic Society, and personalities has not been decided by themselves, but dictated by foreign sides.

He also stressed that he had already rejected demands by some Bahraini personalities to back unrest in the Kingdom through international organizations out

of his firm and unwavering support for the Bahraini leadership, government and people, adding that those groups are “repeating the same old mistakes and therefore doomed to fail.” MP Al-Saqr voiced the stances during the meeting held here today between the Representatives Council Speaker Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Dhahrani and a Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation, currently on a visit to the kingdom, as part of a GCC tour.

During the meeting, Al-Dhahrani asserted that the reform and modernization march in the kingdom will continue, affirming that the wisdom of the political leadership, the landmark achievements of the government, the accomplishments of the Legislative Branch and the unity and cohesion of the Bahraini people have helped the country overcome the impacts of the recent events, restore security and

stability and fortify the pillars of the state of law and institutions.

He also indicated that the Gulf Union is a popular demand as well as an official one, expressing confidence that it will be launched in the near future.

Members of the Kuwaiti delegation affirmed that the majority of Kuwaiti MPs are in favor of the union among GCC countries, adding that any initiative by the Kuwaiti government in this regard will be backed by a parliamentary majority.

On his part, President of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU) and member of the Kuwaiti Parliament and Ali Al-Daqbassi reiterated AIPU’s full support for Bahrain and its efforts to protect its security and stability and strong denunciation of Iran’s flagrant interference in the internal affairs of the GCC countries, including Bahrain. -BNA

Armenia, Kuwait to open new chapter in inter-parliamentary relations KUWAIT: Armenia’s Ambassador to Kuwait Fadey Charchoghlyan met with the head of the Kuwait-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Ali Fahad AlRashid on Monday here at the National Assembly.

The sides discussed issues on expanding bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The Ambassador welcomed the quick establishment

of the parliamentary group at the Kuwaiti Parliament, stressing that it will give an impetus to the development and deepening of parliamentary relations.

In his turn, Ali Fahad Al-Rashid stressed the readiness of Kuwait to open new chapter in cooperation and desire to visit Armenia to discuss the cooperation possibilities and prospects. -Agencies

Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation with Bahraini officials during their meeting on Monday, May 28, 2012. (BNA)

ALWATAN DAILY

KUWAIT

tuesdAY, may 29, 2012

3

Minister Safar urges overhauling e-waste treatment laws Tasneem Al-Shami

Staff Writer and Agencies

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs Fadhil Safar stressed here Monday the significance of revamping pieces of legislation and laws bearing on e-waste treatment.

Addressing an electronic waste treatment conference, the minister said it is necessary to overhaul e-waste treatment laws with a view to using relevant scientific methods.

Regarding the conference, he said it mainly aims to highlight the e-waste problem as a major challenge to humanity, and to find more effective ways to resolve it in light of the present stupendous technological advancement.

He urged all sides involved, be they public or private, to focus more attention to this big problem in order to reduce the effects of e-waste pollution. He warned against merging electronic wastes with other wastes, since this can lead to fires and other environmental disasters.

He added that the government seeks to take advantage of recommendations and legislations that are in favor of the public welfare. He explained that as a result of advanced technology and its rapid development, it is necessary to find suitable means to destroy electronic wastes; especially that most gadgets have mercury and other haz-

ardous substances. He went on to say that all advanced countries seek convenient and proper means to get rid of wastes through recycling or exporting them to other countries for recycling.

He noted that all government authorities in Kuwait must collaborate to get rid of those wastes, such as the Public Authority for Industry that should allocate pieces of land to build factories for people interested in recycling electronic wastes. He mentioned that the municipality must set terms and regulations for methods used in collecting wastes.

The Kuwaiti minister considered the conference a significant opportunity for the conferees to share experience and information on the problem and to come up with effective recommendations.

He noted that Kuwait’s national development plan provides for collecting and recycling e-waste.

Moreover, the United Nations official in Kuwait Mai Al-Eissa applauded the efforts exerted by Kuwait to accomplish the goals of sustainable environment.

Furthermore, Chairman and Managing Director of Estedama Holding Company Khaled Al-Mutawwa highlighted the importance of recycling electronic wastes, and asserted that Kuwait can spearhead this field, if it receives government support.

19th meet of GCC technical education, vocational training chiefs kicks off KUWAIT: The 19th meeting of officials of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Committee on technical education and vocational training kicked off here on Monday.

Director-General of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) Dr. Abdul Razzaq Al-Nafisi stressed in an opening speech confidence of the GCC governments in the importance of the segment of professionals and technicians, as well as the care extended by GCC officials for the advancement of technology.

Al-Nafisi added that the segment of professionals and technicians are the backbone of the life process, as innovations are generated from the womb of these areas.

He expressed hope that decisions of the Committee would contribute to making the technical education and vocational training “a monument of the edifices of science that makes our homelands in permanent development and a way to hone the skills of our younsters with the latest applied technology globally.” He said he looked forward that the conference would come out with “fruitful recommendations that would guarantee the quality of output which will engage in professional and technical areas in our countries”.

The draft agenda includes discussion of 13 items chiefly the decision of the Supreme Council on equality between the GCC citizens in the field of technical

Director-General of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) Dr. Abdul Razzaq Al-Nafisi. (KUNA)

education, guidance and vocational guidance, approval of the professional qualifications and professional testing systems in the GCC States, in addition to the indicative framework for small businesses (incubators). -KUNA

Albanian President receives official at Bayan Palace KUWAIT: Visiting Albanian President Bamir Topi received here on Monday Second Deputy of the Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdulwahham Mohammad Al-Wazzan, and members of the chamber, at his residence in Bayan Palace. The meeting was attended by head of the mission of honor, Amiri Diwan Advisor Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq.

Meanwhile, Albania’s first lady Teuta Topi toured a centre for disabled children, among other cultural centers during her visit to Kuwait on Monday.

In the visit to the Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center, the Albanian president’s wife met renowned Kuwaiti academic and former Kuwait University rector, Professor Faiza Al-Kharafi.

The first lady also paid a visit to the Treasury of the World exhibition of jeweled arts from the Indian Mughal age at the Amricani Cultural Center.

She was accompanied by Kuwait’s undersecretary for historic documents and Amiri Diwan libraries Sheikha Mona Jaber Al-Abdallah Al-Sabah. -KUNA

Kuwait pioneer in caring for people with disability, says Bouresli

KUWAIT: Honorary President of the Journey of Hope Project and member of its Board of Trustees, Dr. Rihab Bouresli said here Monday that Kuwait has been a pioneer in caring for people with special needs for more than 50 years, particularly on the Gulf and regional levels.

Bouresli told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) following a meeting with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah earlier Monday, that meeting the Amir was a continuation of His Highness’ follow-up of the volunteering tour, a journey she said would roam the world to raise awareness on mental disabilities.

She noted that Kuwait is still to this day receiving Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) disabled persons to study in specialized schools.

Bouresli pointed out that the trip also aims to spread the concepts of people with a disability and care extended by Kuwait for this segment of society, adding that such keenness is reflected by the Amir’s care and support for them.

She explained that the goals of the trip are focused on highlighting Kuwait’s cultural image, exchanging its expertise in this regard with other countries, demonstrating the ability of people with disability to carry out heroic acts to draw attention to their needs and to shed light on the category of those with Down Syndrome, Autism and other cases and show their ability to learn and innovate. -KUNA

Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs Fadhil Safar touring the exhibition of the e-waste treatment conference on Monday, May 28, 2012. (KUNA)

Kuwait set to attend China-Arab talks in Tunis

CAIRO: Kuwait is set to attend preparatory talks of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum on Tuesday, two days ahead of ministerial talks in the Tunisian capital.

Ahead of his departure to Tunis, Kuwaiti envoy to the Arab League Jamal Al-Ghunaim told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Monday that his country’s participation in the event comes to boost diplomatic relations between the Arab world and China, which have both become major players on the international stage.

Talks intend to focus on the issues of Syria, Sudan and the Palestinian territories.

Other issues on the agenda include cooperation in the economic, commercial, social, industrial, health and tourism fields.

China, as a permanent member in the Security Council, plays a major role in the Syrian conflict, he added. -KUNA

Children cancer hospital in Egypt thanks Kuwait for support

CAIRO: Manager of Children Cancer Hospital (57357) Dr. Sherif Abul-Naja praised on Monday the State of Kuwait for supporting the facility.

In remarks to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), while receiving the famous Kuwaiti actor, Saad Al-Faraj, Dr. Abul-Naja said the hospital has received many prominent Kuwaiti personalities, including religious figures, artists, media personnel and politicians, indicating that the eminent guests backed the hospital.

“This is a commonly known fact of Kuwait and its people,” he said.

Such continuing support depicts the solid ties between the two states and peoples, said the manager of the hospital.

For his part, Al-Faraj called for supporting this major medical facility for it serves a noble message of treating the children of the dangerous disease. “Kuwaiti contributions have these children smile,” he added. -KUNA

Winds of change in Egypt bear glad tidings: Ambassador Al-Hamad

Taha Amin Staff Writer

KUWAIT: His Excellency the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt Dr. Rasheed AlHamad welcomed the Egyptian recent presidential elections, praising the country’s democratic process.

Speaking to Al Watan, Dr. Al-Hamad said that the elections reflect the free will of the people and their determination to finalize that important aspect of the constitutional process and to embody the true and triumphant nature of the Jan. 25 revolution.

He said that the presidential contest is now between Dr. Mohammad Mursi and his rival Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shafiq and that such true and honest contest has reflected the country and the people’s civilized character.

“What we see today is the unanimous agreement of the one Egyptian family to have full participation in the presidential election within an ambience of freedom and democratic process similar and akin to the one in Kuwait,” he remarked.

The recent events of the past year have embodied the will and determination of the people of Egypt who have expressed their desire to see change, starting from the people’s choice to change the parliament and all the way up to the presidential post.

He believes that such democratic process which the country has never witnessed before throughout the history of Egypt will indeed boast the good and positive image of Egypt.

Asked about the apparent support of the Kuwaiti people for the former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, the ambassador said that the fact of the matter that many Egyptians are under the impression that Kuwait had given its support to the former president, but in reality what had happened is that a number of Kuwaiti lawyers volunteered to defend the former president and that surely doesn’t mean that the lawyers are official representatives of the state of Kuwait as it had been announced then through the official channels.

Asked if the Egyptian revolution would have positive impact on the country, the ambassador said that he is personally optimistic and that knowing the true and good nature of the Egyptian people, he is convinced that the revolution would have positive influence and consequences on Egypt.

“Egypt has and will always play a pivotal and strategic role in the region and international arenas.

It is possible that at one particular time, Egypt had become preoccupied with some affairs but then the country will go back to its former glory. The region is in need for Egypt as there are many things that taking place at the moment and really they should not have, had it not been for that Egypt is utterly preoccupied with its internal affairs,” he remarked.

The ambassador said that the country will eventually be stable and enjoy the security and peace it so eagerly seeks. He added that there is a degree of stability and security which can be closely felt and that at any rate Egypt is so powerful to be disturbed by such minor incidents here and there, adding at the same time that once the post of the Egyptian president is fulfilled, Egypt will bring the glad tidings to the region.

Kuwait Dive Team lifts sunken Iranian ship

Ambassador meets Mongolian Prosecutor General

ULAANBAATAR: The Kuwaiti Ambassador to Mongolia Mubarak Mohammad Al-Sehaijan met the Prosecutor General Dambiyn Dorligjav here Monday, and also met the Assistant Prosecutor General Ganzoring Gombosuren.

The officials discussed means to bolster relations in general and in the judicial and legal fields in general, and also discussed means to facilitate legal transactions for citizens in either country. The ambassador stressed the importance of exchange of visits by officials from the two countries to support exchange and interaction and to provide better information of progress made by either side.

The Mongolian prosecutor general for his part praised the level of ties between his country and Kuwait, describing them as “historical” and pointed out there are joint goals on which these relations prosper, which is ultimately in the best interest of the two nations and peoples. -KUNA

CAN sets up 300 TV screens in hospitals to raise awareness

The Kuwait Dive Team affiliated to the Environmental Voluntary Foundation (EVF) after succeeding to lift a sunken Iranian ship at Beda’ shore close to Blajat street. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Dive Team affiliated to the Environmental Voluntary Foundation (EVF) has succeeded in lifting a sunken Iranian ship at Beda’ shore close to Blajat street.

The team worked in cooperation with Kuwait Ports Authority, the coastal team of the cabinet’s security committee, and Kuwait Directorate General of the Coast Guard.

Head of the team Waleed Al-Fadel in press remarks on Monday said the ship, carrying food supplies, sank four days.

The team towed the ship to another location before lift-

ing it to avoid crashing with any passing vessel, he added.

Coast Guards’ boats lifted the 5980-ton ship from the depth of the sea in an area close to the shore. The team pulled it to the shore using equipment of the security committee coastal team.Weather and sea conditions helped the team in floating the ship, using 18 air bags.

Al-Fadel called on relevant authorities to put more restrictions on entry requirements of wooden ships and ensure their safety, so that the maritime navigation would be spared accidents, besides protecting the marine environment from pollution. -KUNA

KUWAIT: Cancer Awareness Nation (CAN) campaign on cancer awareness continues to spread the word on the various cancerous diseases to all sectors of society through the use of the latest technologies, Deputy Director of the CAN campaign and oncology specialist Dr. Khalid Al-Saleh said on Monday. He told the press that the campaign will take on a project of setting up 300 TV screens in all of the country’s hospitals and clinics to broadcast awareness messages on cancer. The company, which will supervise this project, will be in charge of operating and controlling the transition of these messages, he noted. He further said that the televised messages, along with other news segments, will be broadcast at the waiting halls of these medicals facilities.

This televised approach to spread healthcare awareness to hospitals’ visitors is widely adopted in many European countries, he pointed out. -KUNA

4

ALWATAN DAILY

regional

tuesDAY, may 29, 2012

Islamists behind Houla massacre: Syrian government Annan arrives in Syria ‘shocked’ by massacre

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities on Monday blamed Islamist militants for the massacre of 108 men, women and children in the town of Houla and denied UN and witness accounts that army tanks were in the area at the time. In a letter to the UN Security Council published by state media, the Foreign Ministry said the Syrian army was “in a state of self defense (against) armed terrorist groups” comprised of hundreds of armed men who it said committed the massacre. The ministry said the killers used knives, which it called a “signature” of Islamist militant attacks.

Meanwhile, UN-Arab envoy Kofi Annan arrived in the Syrian capital Monday for a bid to salvage his battered peace plan, expressing “shock” at the massacre of more than 100 people in the town of Houla.

Annan said the “tragic” massacre in the central Syrian town was “an appalling moment with profound consequences,” in remarks to reporters ahead of a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.

The former UN secretary general said those responsible for the massacre must be held accountable, and called on “everyone with a gun” to abide by his six-point blueprint to help end 15 months of bloodshed.

World leaders have voiced outrage over the

deaths of at least 108 people in Houla on Friday and Saturday, among them 49 children and 34 women, many gruesomely blown to bits or shot dead at point blank range. The UN Security Council - where Syrian allies Russia and China wield veto powers - on Sunday condemned the Damascus government’s use of heavy artillery in the assault on Houla.

“I am personally shocked and horrified by the tragic incident in Houla two days ago, which took so many innocent lives, children, women and men,” Annan told reporters at a Damascus hotel.

“This was an appalling crime, and the Security Council has rightly condemned it. Our goal is to stop this suffering. It must end and it must end now. I urge the government to take bold steps to signal that it is serious in its intention to resolve this crisis peacefully, and for everyone involved to help create the right context for a credible political process. And this message of peace is not only for the government, but for everyone with a gun. “The six-point plan has to be implemented comprehensively. And this is not happening. I intend to have serious and frank discussions with President Bashar AlAssad. I also look forward to speaking with a range of other people while I am here.”

“Hama is like a ghost city,” an activist on the spot told AFP by telephone on Monday.

“We are very afraid now, because the regime troops are surrounding the areas where there was fighting, and we fear there might be a new attack,” the activist said.

UN-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan speaks to the press upon his arrival in Damascus for talks with top officials on May 28, 2012. (AFP)

The Observatory, which says more than 13,000 people have been killed in Syria since an anti-regime revolt broke out in March 2011, said there was no excuse for the shelling of civilian neighborhoods.

‘No plan B’

The UN Security Council’s condemnation of the Syrian government’s role in the Houla massacre did little to bring the international powers together to end the crisis.

Britain and France had proposed a text making an even stronger condemnation of the Al-Assad government. But Russia would not agree on the wording and demanded a special meeting before approving the eventual text.

Syria’s UN envoy Bashar Jaafari said accusations of government responsibility were part of a “tsunami of lies” against Damascus.

Russia defended its key Middle East ally at the Security Council, and on Monday said both sides in the conflict were responsible for the massacre. “Here we have a situation where both sides clearly had a hand in the fact that peaceful citizens were killed,” said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, adding “who is in power” in Syria was less important than “ending the violence.” Human Rights Watch demanded that Annan push Al-Assad’s government to allow the UN-appointed Commission of Inquiry on Syria to investigate the Houla massacre.

“Annan should insist that Syria grant access to the UN commission of inquiry to investigate this and other grave crimes,” HRW’s Sarah Leah Whitson said. Syria’s opposition said the massacre was another reason why it should not respect the ceasefire that Annan brokered but which has never taken hold. The Syrian National Council called for a “battle of liberation and dignity” against the regime until the United Nations allows an international military intervention. And the Free Syrian Army warned unless the international community took concrete action it would no longer be bound by Annan’s plan. -AFP

Islamist denounces Egypt vote outcome Hamas permits election committee to work in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s Hamas rulers on Monday gave the green light to the Palestinian Central Election Commission to begin updating voter lists throughout the coastal strip, a top CEC official said.

“Hamas has agreed to let the CEC start working throughout Gaza,” said CEC president Hanna Nasser at a news conference in Gaza City, in a key step to paving the way for elections.

“The commission has started its operations now with five offices in the five governorates,” he said after meeting Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya to discuss starting work to update Gaza’s electoral register for the first time since 2006.

“We hope to begin working immediately to prepare for the process of updating voter lists,” Nasser said, thanking Haniya for allowing the CEC to start its long-overdue work.

“We hope that within six weeks, the voter lists will be complete in Gaza as it is in Ramallah.”

At a meeting in Cairo on May 20, senior Fatah and Hamas officials agreed that the CEC would start work in Gaza by the end of the month, and that both factions would at the same time begin consultations on forming an interim “government of independents.” Holding elections and putting together a caretaker cabinet are two of the main issues which have been holding up implementation of a reconciliation deal between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions which was inked on April 27, 2011. Discussions over the interim government were also to start on Monday at an evening meeting between the two factions in Cairo, a Hamas spokesman told AFP on Sunday.

Under the terms of the long-stalled unity deal, the two factions were to put together a caretaker cabinet of independent technocrats tasked with preparing for presidential and legislative elections by May 2012.

The new agreement reached between the two sides on May 20 envisaged a temporary government which would be headed

by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas which would have a six-month mandate to prepare for elections.

In the event that elections were not held within that period, the two factions would put together a new administration which would be headed by an independent technocrat. -AFP

Sudan bombs S. Sudan on eve of peace talks

JUBA: South Sudan said Monday Sudanese war planes and artillery had bombarded its territory on the eve of peace talks, as Southern officials set off to attend African Union-led negotiations in Ethiopia. “They are bombing South Sudan, attacking South Sudan, and continuing to send armed groups to destabilize South Sudan... these are not the signs of peace,” South Sudan’s top negotiator Pagan Amum told reporters. However, Amum said he was still “optimistic” that the talks due to start on Tuesday in Addis Ababa would go ahead and produce results.

The former civil war foes fought heavily in contested border regions last month, the worst fighting since the South won independence last July and sparking international concerns of a return to all-out war. International pressure has pushed both sides to return to the long-running talks stalled by the fighting in April, when Southern troops seized an oil field from Khartoum’s troops for ten days as Sudan launched repeated air strikes. Southern army spokesman Philip Aguer said that Khartoum’s army, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), had launched bombing raids by warplanes as well as firing shells across their contested border. “For the last three days SAF has been bombing Northern Bahr el Ghazal... this has also involved long range artillery,” Aguer told AFP. “We remain on high alert for a possible ground attack.”

Sudan has repeatedly denied it has launched air strikes on the South, and it was not possible to independently verify the reports of the attacks. A United Nations Security Council earlier this month ordered both sides cease fighting and return to talks or face possible sanctions. “We are returning to the talks ready to negotiate with the Government of Sudan to discuss all the outstanding issues,” Amum added. “We are actually more optimistic than any time before, as today we have the UN Security Council resolution giving a timeframe to achieve resolution within three months. It is good there is international backing.”

However, Amum accused Khartoum of “attempting to impose preconditions on the talks” and said that it was “clear and obvious that the Government of Sudan is not only hostile but is in violation of the (UN) resolution.” Khartoum’s foreign ministry has said it will attend the May 29 talks and discuss the UN resolution that they resume dialogue on “critical” issues unresolved after the South gained independence last year. -AFP

CAIRO: A moderate Islamist candidate denounced Egypt’s first-round presidential poll as dishonest on Monday in the strongest criticism yet of what was billed as the first free leadership election in the country’s history.

The electoral committee said it would announce official results later in the day.

Unofficial tallies suggest a run-off on June 16 and 17 between the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi and Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq.

A committee source, who asked not to be named, said all complaints about last week’s voting had been rejected and “therefore the run-off is between Mursi and Shafiq”.

A Mursi-Shafiq run-off poses a tough dilemma for those among Egypt’s 50 million voters who are equally wary of Islamist rule or a return to military-backed secular autocracy.

“I reject these results and do not recognize them,” said Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, a former Brotherhood member, alleging that votes had been bought and representatives of candidates had been denied access to polling stations during the count.

“The national conscience does not allow for labeling these elections honest,” he added. Preliminary results put Abol Fotouh in fourth place.

Three other candidates lodged com-

plaints, Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist, who was unofficially put in third place, and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who also queried the outcome.

Only Abol Fotouh has so far rejected it outright.

“There are question marks on the result of the election,” Moussa told a separate news conference. “There were violations, but this should not change our minds on democracy and the necessity of choosing our president.”

The Muslim Brotherhood sought to muster a coalition to help Mursi against Shafiq, an unashamed admirer of Mubarak, who like his “role model” once commanded the air force.

Powerful ‘Flame’ cyber weapon found in Middle East BOSTON: Security experts have discovered a new data-stealing virus dubbed Flame they say has lurked inside thousands of computers across the Middle East for as long as five years as part of a sophisticated cyber warfare campaign. It is the most complex piece of malicious software discovered to date, said Kaspersky Lab security senior researcher Roel Schouwenberg, whose company discovered the virus.

The results of the Lab’s work were made available on Monday. Schouwenberg said he did not know who built Flame. If the Lab’s analysis is correct, Flame could be the third major cyber weapon uncovered after the Stuxnet virus that attacked Iran’s nuclear program in 2010, and its data-stealing cousin Duqu, named after the Star Wars villain. The discovery by one of the world’s largest makers of anti-virus software will likely fuel speculation that nations have already secretly deployed other cyber weapons.

“If Flame went on undiscovered for five years, the only logical conclusion is that there are other operations ongoing that we don’t know about,” Schouwenberg said in an interview.

The Moscow-based company is controlled by Russian malware researcher Eugene Kaspersky, and gained notoriety in cyber weapons research after solving several mysteries surrounding Stuxnet and Duqu.

Researchers at Kaspersky said they were only starting to understand how Flame works because it is so complex.

The full significance will not be known until other cyber security firms obtain samples of Flame.

The Lab’s research shows the largest number of infected machines are in Iran, followed by the Israel/Palestine

region, then Sudan and Syria. The virus contains about 20 times as much code as Stuxnet, which attacked an Iranian uranium enrichment facility, causing centrifuges to fail. It has about 100 times as much code as a typical virus designed to steal financial information, Schouwenberg said.

Flame can gather data files, remotely change settings on computers, turn on PC microphones to record conversations, take screen shots and log instant messaging chats.

He said there was evidence to suggest the code was commissioned by the same nation or nations that were behind Stuxnet and Duqu, which were built on a common platform.

Both Flame and Stuxnet appear to infect machines by exploiting the same flaw in the Windows operating system and employ a similar way of spreading.

That means the teams that built Stuxnet and Duqu might have had access to the same technology as the team that built Flame, he said. Schouwenberg said he believed the attack was highly targeted, aimed mainly at businesses and academic institutions.

He estimated that no more than 5,000 personal computers around the world have been infected, including a handful in North America. Kaspersky Lab discovered Flame while investigating reports that a virus dubbed Wiper was attacking computers in Iran.

The International Telecommunications Union, a UN agency that promotes research and cooperation on telecommunications technology, asked Kaspersky Lab to investigate those reports.

Schouwenberg said that his team discovered Flame, but failed to turn up anything that resembled Wiper. -Reuters

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off is held between the top two. Unofficial results show Mursi and Shafiq each winning about a quarter of the votes.

“Today we announce the results of the first round of the presidential election,” Hatem Bagato, the secretary-general of the electoral committee, told Reuters by telephone.

The close contest has set both contenders scrambling for support, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, which is trying to draw losing candidates and other political forces into a broad front to prevent a “counter-revolutionary” Shafiq victory. -Reuters

Turkey prepares trial of Israeli raid commanders ISTANBUL: Turkey is ready to try four Israeli commanders held responsible for the killing of nine Turkish activists in a 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

An Istanbul court unanimously approved an indictment finalized Wednesday by Turkish prosecutors, who want life sentences for the Israelis for their alleged role in the deadly flotilla raid, the agency said.

Israeli commandos boarded the Turkishflagged Mavi Marmara, the largest ship in a flotilla aimed at breaking Israel’s Gaza blockade, on May 31, 2010, leaving nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.

The raid triggered a crisis between Israel and Turkey, once regional allies, and resulted in a dramatic downgrade in diplomatic relations and expelling of the Israeli ambassador from Turkey. Military ties were also cut.

The 144-page indictment called for nine life sentences to be given to each of the four commanders, including Israel’s former chief of the general staff Gabi Ashkenazi.

The date for the trial is not yet announced, but it would be held in the absence of the accused, Israel having ruled out any prosecution of those who took part in the attack.

A United Nations report into the raid last September accused Israel of acting with “excessive force” in the operation. -AFP

US drone strike, clashes kill 10 militants in Yemen ADEN: A US drone strike and clashes between Yemeni troops and fighters of AlQaeda killed at least 10 members of the militant group and a civilian in Yemen, officials and tribesmen said on Monday.

Five militants of Al-Qaeda were killed when they were hit by a US drone on Monday, a tribal source told AFP. “A US drone struck a convoy carrying Al-Qaeda’s leader in Bayda province, Qaed Al-Dahab,” the tribal source said on condition of anonymity, adding that “Dahab survived but five of his guards were killed.” The strike hit the militants as they were travelling in the area of Manaseh, east of the city of Radaa in central Yemen, he said. Western diplomats say that US experts are assisting the Yemeni army in their battle to destroy Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington to be the network’s deadliest and most active branch.

In an interview with ABC television’s “This Week,” US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended the use of drones as “the most precise weapons we have” in the campaign against the militant group.

His comments marked the first time the US formally acknowledges the use of unmanned drones against Al-Qaeda sus-

Army soldiers display flags of the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Al-Sharia group, at a position recaptured from the group near the southern Yemeni city of Zinjibar May 26, 2012. (Reuters)

pects in Yemen. Five other Al-Qaeda fighters and a civilian were killed in overnight clashes as Yemeni troops inched closer to capturing the city of Jaar, a bastion of the

militant group in war-torn southern province of Abyan, a military official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a “mid-level commander”

of the militant group, Abdul Rahman AlMusallami, was one of the five Al-Qaeda operatives killed in the clashes.

A local official in Jaar confirmed this toll and said the bodies of the five militants were taken to the city for burial. The military official said that Yemeni troops had advanced towards Jaar and were surrounding the city from three sides.

Yemeni troops advanced to “about three kilometers of Jaar,” and have “surrounded the city from the north, the east and the west,” he said. He said the overnight assault on Al-Qaeda positions in and around Jaar involved both ground troops and Yemeni air force. “We are tightening the noose around Al-Qaeda,” he added.

The army also made strides in their advances on Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan that fell to the militants in May 2011, he said, but gave no further details.

Yemeni forces launched an all-out offensive on May 12 this year to capture AlQaeda controlled areas in Abyan. Since the offensive began, at least 338 people have been killed, according to a tally compiled

by AFP, including 247 Al-Qaeda fighters, 55 military personnel, 18 local militiamen and 18 civilians. -AFP

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

Indian PM meets Myanmar Allies quit government president in historic visit as Nepal crisis deepens

In this handout photograph released by the Indian Press Information Bureau, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (left) talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein during a meeting in Naypyidaw on May 28. (AFP)

NAYPYIDAW: India’s prime minister held talks with Myanmar’s president on Monday in a historic visit to boost trade and secure energy supplies, while contesting the strong influence of regional rival China.

Manmohan Singh, the first Indian premier to visit Myanmar in a quarter of a century, was greeted with a guard of honor as he met leader Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

Energy-hungry India is eyeing a raft of

agreements with its resource-rich neighbor in a bid to foster closer ties with Myanmar after dramatic reforms in the country ended its international isolation. Singh and Thein Sein shook hands and posed for pictures with senior Myanmar ministers as the talks began.

The Indian prime minister will travel to the main city of Yangon for talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, in a move seen as a sign that India wants to repair links with the veteran activist. -AFP

KATHMANDU: Three parties quit Nepal’s Maoist-led government on Monday as the Himalayan republic slipped deeper into crisis after the prime minister called elections following the failure to agree on a new constitution aimed at ending years of instability.

Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has called for Nov 22 elections to resolve the constitutional impasse, sparking a backlash from politicians and Nepalis who have seen the country lurch from one crisis to the next after a civil war ended in 2006.

With political rivals calling for the prime minister’s resignation, the desertion of three parties from his coalition may force Bhattarai to step down, but it is not likely to derail fresh elections.

However, the political row could trigger months of street protests and violence in one of the world’s poorest countries, wedged between India and China.

Security forces in Kathmandu remained on “high alert” after clashes between protesters and police injured more than a dozen people over the weekend. The streets were quiet in the capital on Monday, which was a public holiday.

But protesters took to the streets again in southern pockets of the country, angry at the ongoing deadlock.

“Political parties are not interested in a constitution. They simply want power and money for themselves and don’t care about us,” said

Bal Bahadur Lama, a 63-year-old laborer in the Nepali capital.

Bhattarai is Nepal’s fifth prime minister since the end of the civil war, which killed more than 16,000 people and ended the rule of a centuries-old monarchy.

Efforts for a new constitution have been scotched by demands for the country to be divided into states along ethnic lines, which triggered violent protests in recent weeks and saw ethnic groups stage demonstrations outside the parliament building.

The call for new elections prompted three smaller allies of the Maoist-led government to quit on Monday morning.

“The prime minister brought the election proposal suddenly without consulting us,” said Ishwar Pokharel, from the Communist UML party, who resigned as deputy prime minister.

“The government has no constitutional or political legitimacy to hold new elections,” he told Reuters.

Critics accuse the Maoists, whose guerrilla army fought against the monarchy during the war, of using the elections as a cynical ploy to remain in power.

Prolonged instability in Nepal, with immense potential to generate hydro-electric power could have regional implications as energy-hungry China and India could compete to influence an unstable neighbor, dependent on aid and tourism. -Reuters

Britain’s Blair faces grilling over ties to Murdoch LONDON: Tony Blair’s decision to openly court Rupert Murdoch to win power and ensure favorable coverage during his decade-long tenure as British prime minister will come under scrutiny when he faces a media inquiry on Monday.The inquiry, ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron after Murdoch’s now defunct News of the World tabloid admitted hacking phones, has tarnished Britain’s elite by laying bare the collusion between politicians, the police and the media.

Blair kicks off an important week at the Leveson inquiry by answering questions about his often obsessive media management which included courting Murdoch.

The inquiry has so far focused on the conduct of the media and the close ties between Murdoch’s empire and serving ministers, helping the opposition Labor Party leader Ed Miliband consolidate his position with attacks on Cameron. But the grilling of Blair, who recast the relationship between the media and politicians by “spinning” news to gain the most favorable coverage, could undermine Miliband’s attempt to portray Labor as a party above courting media tycoons.

While Blair is no longer active in British politics, the inquiry may still prove uncomfortable as it examines issues such as his decision after stepping down as prime minister to become a godfather to Murdoch’s daughter Grace at a ceremony on the banks of the river Jordan.

“Blair led the way in having no shame about courting Murdoch,” said Ivor Gaber, professor of political journalism at City university.

“He set the style and the standard and if you regard Cameron as the ‘heir to Blair’ then it’s not exactly surprising that he followed suit.”

Murdoch told the inquiry last month that he

5

tuesdAY, may 29, 2012

had never asked a prime minister for anything.

Blair set the tone for his relationship with Britain’s press when he flew to Australia in 1995 to speak before a gathering of Murdoch’s executives who had previously used their British tabloids to vilify his Labor Party predecessors.

The decision infuriated much of his left-of-centre party who saw the Australian-born tycoon as a right-winger who had helped to keep them out of power for years. “People would be horrified,” Blair said later in his autobiography. “On the other hand ... not to go was to say carry on and do your worst, and we knew their worst was very bad indeed.”

“The country’s most powerful newspaper proprietor, whose publications have hitherto been rancorous in their opposition to the Labor party, invites us into the lion’s den.You go, don’t you?” The speech received a standing ovation and Murdoch indicated for the first time that he could be willing to switch the allegiance of his newspapers to the Labor Party.

“If our flirtation is ever consummated Tony then I suspect we will end up making love like porcupines, very, very carefully,” he told him.

With the backing of Murdoch’s top-selling Sun tabloid, Blair swept to power in 1997 and again in 2001 and 2005. But with an ever increasing reputation for public relations “spin”, he started to face questions over his sincerity.

“Tony Blair quickly became famous in Fleet Street for inviting in one group of newspaper people and telling them how skeptical he was about Europe; and then inviting in another lot and telling them how keen he was on Europe,” Andrew Marr, a senior BBC journalist, told the inquiry. “But the different groups compared notes, and his reputation was not hugely enhanced.” -Reuters

NEWS IN BRIEF Strong quake strikes northern Argentina WASHINGTON: A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck northern Argentina early on Monday, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake occurred at 2:07 a.m. local time (1.07 a.m. EDT) and was centered 72 miles east-southeast of Santiago del Estero, the USGS said. Police in the town said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the quake, which was upgraded from an initial 6.3. -Reuters

NATO coalition member dies in Afghanistan KABUL: An insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan killed a NATO service member on Monday, the US-led coalition said.

The statement did not provide any details about the attack nor the nationality of the coalition member who was killed. The death raised the number of NATO troops who have been killed in Afghanistan this year to 170. Also Monday, a coalition aircraft crashed in eastern Afghanistan, but no fatalities were reported. The coalition said it is trying to determine the cause of the crash. Initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area. -AP

Pakistan: US missiles kill five militants in NW PESHAWAR: American missiles killed ive suspected Islamist militants close to the Afghan border, the latest in a barrage of attacks that show Washington is ignoring Islamabad’s demands it halt the strikes, Pakistani officials said Monday.

The uptick comes amid fractured relations between Pakistan and the United States over Islamabad’s refusal to reopen US and NATO supply lines to neighboring Afghanistan that have been blocked since November. It indicates Washington’s resolve to press ahead with the attacks, which have taken out many al-Qaida leaders close to the border since 2007.

Five missiles hit a vehicle and a house in Makeene Kili village close to the town of Mir Ali late Sunday, the officials said. The identities were not known, but the region is home to Al-Qaeda militants and insurgents fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan. -AP

Bali bombmaker’s lawyers call for lenient sentence Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai (center) addresses the nation from his official residence to declare fresh elections for November 22, 2012 for the Himalayan republic after political parties failed to finalize the new constitution, in Kathmandu, May 28. (Reuters)

Lighter winds help in fight against New Mexico fire GLENWOOD: Lighter winds aided crews battling a massive wildfire in southwestern New Mexico’s Gila National Forest, but they still were unable to stop the blaze that has raged across more than 190 square miles of mountainous forest lands since last week.

As the strong, erratic gusts slackened Sunday, teams focused on building protection lines on key flanks of the blaze. The WhitewaterBaldy Complex fire grew to more than 122,000 acres and was about two miles away from the privately owned ghost town of Mogollon.

Denise Ottaviano, a spokeswoman for the crew fighting the blaze, said the fire hasn’t made a significant push toward the town. Crews were working to build a protection line between Mogollon and the fire’s western edge. Residents in the area were evacuated over the weekend.

The blaze, however, destroyed a dozen homes and several outbuildings on Wednes-

day in the community of Willow Creek, which remains under evacuation. Officials say crews were taking measures to protect homes in Willow Creek.

No other communities were threatened. On Sunday, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez authorized the deployment of 15 National Guard soldiers to help secure areas around the fire.

Meanwhile, crews built protection lines on the fire’s western and northern edges. They also made preparations to send five helicopters to focus on the blaze’s hotspots, but it wasn’t clear if the aircraft were deployed Sunday. For the last several days, high winds had prevented them from taking to the air.

Zero percent of the fire has been contained.

Despite tamer winds, crews were still contending with extremely dry conditions and are expecting a decrease in humidity. -AP

JAKARTA: Prosecutors last week recommended a life sentence for Umar Patek, 45, accused of heading the bombmaking operation in the attacks on two nightclubs on the resort island and Jakarta church bombings on Christmas Eve in 2000. “The judges must give our client a sentence of less than 15 years’ imprisonment,” Asludin Hatjani, one of Patek’s lawyers, told AFP outside the court after the trial. Hatjani earlier told the West Jakarta District Court that Patek’s “involvement was small.” “The bombs were almost completely assembled when he arrived in Bali. He only helped mix the remaining explosives,” he said. -AFP

Taiwan ‘deploys anti-China missiles’ TAIPEI: Taiwan has for the first time deployed cruise missiles capable of striking key military bases along the southeast coast of the Chinese mainland, local media reported on Monday. Mass production of the Taiwan-made “Hsiungfeng” (Brave Wind) 2E, which have a range of 500 kilometers(300 miles), has been completed and the missiles have come into service, the Liberty Times said, citing an unnamed military source. The defense ministry declined to comment on the report, but the paper said the project, codenamed “Chichun” (Lance Hawk), had cost the military around Tw$30 billion ($1.02 billion US dollars). -AFP

Japan government bears most blame for Fukushima TOKYO: Japan’s prime minister at the time of the Fukushima nuclear crisis apologized Monday and said the government and its push for nuclear energy bore most of the responsibility for the disaster.

“The nuclear accident was caused by a nuclear plant which operated as national policy,” Naoto Kan told a parliamentary inquiry into the cause of the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

“I believe the biggest portion of blame lies with the state,” said the former premier, who has come out strongly against nuclear power since the Fukushima disaster in March last year.

“As the person who was in charge of the country at the time of the accident, I sincerely apologize for my failure to stop it,” said Kan, who stepped down in September after 15 months in office.

Kan came in for intense criticism for creating a distraction when he visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on March 12, 2011 - a day after it was swamped by a huge tsunami - as emergency workers were grappling with what would become full-blown meltdowns.

His administration was also lambasted for providing too little information to the public as reactors went into meltdown, apparently withholding computer models that showed how radiation from the venting reactors might spread.

Tens of thousands of people were later evacuated from an area around the plant after it began spewing radiation. Many have still not been allowed home, with some areas expected to be uninhabitable for decades.

Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, was seen as confused and slow to release information in a response widely thought to have been inept.

TEPCO, one of the world’s largest utilities, whose tentacles of influence reach well inside Japan’s huge government bureaucracy, has also been criticized for ignoring warnings about the potential dangers from quake-generated tsunamis.

At the hearing Monday, Kan attacked TEPCO for its failure to keep the government informed about the accident.

“I was thinking it was a battle against an invisible enemy. I thought, if the situation called for it, we might have to risk lives to contain it,” he told the hearing.

Kan’s public testimony came after a private panel probing the accident said in February the former premier’s aggressive involvement had averted a worse crisis.

That panel said it was Kan who ordered TEPCO, which refused to co-operate with the study, to keep men on site.

Experts concluded that if the premier had not stuck to his guns, Fukushima would have spiraled further out of control, with catastrophic consequences.

Kan’s then-top government spokesman, Yukio Edano, testified on Sunday.

Asked about Kan’s visit to the Fukushima plant, Edano said the prime minister had gone to the site because the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and TEPCO had seemingly “backtracked and wavered”.

“We had this awareness that someone who is more important than a vice industry minister (who was already at the scene) should go and take hold of the situation,” Edano said.

Edano, now the industry minister, also said he refused a US offer to station nuclear experts in the prime minister’s office citing sovereignty fears. -AFP

Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan (center) speaks at a parliamentary commission in Tokyo on May 28, probing the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

(AFP)

6

ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

tuesDAY, may 29, 2012

The unsuspecting victims of interpellation motions Nabeel Al-Fadhl

I

am now absolutely certain that citizens across the country will respect the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali more and even those that were not aware of his character will now begin to respect him. I say this because the honorable minister has taken the right decision and maintained a respectable stance through agreeing to face the interpellation motion despite being fully aware of the circumstances involved and the repercussions that would follow soon after discussions are held over the motion. On the other hand, it has surely accorded him an excellent opportunity to prove his honor, honesty and integrity and in the underlying process expose the repulsive aims and ambitions of MPs. I would, once again, like to take this opportunity of mentioning the underlying fact that the minister is indeed a courageous man for plucking the raw nerve of looking at all those ministers in the eye while also taking a daring decision of resigning from his post the minute those MPs began colluding against him. The interpellation motion that has been submitted against him has opened a can of worms in the sense that there are certain personalities that are not even aware of all that is actually happening around them.

Now consider this: MP Al-Anjari; who happens to be one of the MPs who claimed he was not aware of any plot that was being

Isn’t it indeed paradoxical that at a time when the overseas money transfers issue was at its peak; he had actually pledged to disclose several other relevant documents at that time? against the finance minister also claimed to have heard some rumors of Al-Shamali’s involvement in financing the construction of the Iranian nuclear reactor. There are also those others who nurse the firm belief that although MP Khalid Al-Tahous claimed not to know anything about rumors circulating around AlShamali’s intentions of financing the construction of the Iranian nuclear reactor; he and MP Al-Barrak were desperately looking for a pretext to conceal the real reasons behind their intentions of submitting the interpellation motions.

One specific clause contained in the interpellation motion that was prepared by MP Al-Tahous was not just silly; it was downright weak. That clause prompted MP Musallam Al-Barrak to bring the house down after he started screaming at the top of his voice and threatened to disclose some other documents in the process. Isn’t it indeed paradoxical that at a time when the overseas money transfers issue was at its peak; he had actually pledged to disclose several other relevant documents

at that time and when he finally did; onlookers were shocked to discover that all those irregularities that he was talking about were actually false and baseless. In fact, even the Dow deal somehow failed to silence the bombastic voice of Al-Barrak; the repercussions of which prompted the government to cancel the deal in 2008 and compelling the exchequer to pay huge compensations to the tune of $2.16 billion. It is interesting to note here that while discussions on the motion with the finance minister were ongoing, most of the members of the Majority Bloc preferred to stay outside while the minister described the various aspects of the motion in detail. Isn’t it indeed disgusting that at time when the minister was clarifying all the aspects that members of the Majority Bloc needed to hear to prove his innocence, they were actually engrossed in deep conversation in attempts to submit a vote of no-confidence against him?

I can also say with utmost confidence that most of the people might want to question the reasons why His Highness the Prime Minister

Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah chose not to attend the beginning of the session in which MPs were questioning the finance minister. The answer to that question is very easy and simple; the premier is simply not interested in the performance of the said minister nor does he care about the performance of MPs while discussing the motion!

Another important fact to be noted here lies in the fact that the premier was fully aware of the actual contents of the interpellation motion simply because he read the contents before attending the session.

On the other hand, all those members of the Majority Bloc who decided to attend the session; did so because they had already decided on the minister’s fate and hence; it did not really matter to them what his replies to their queries would be. Unknown to most of us; either their decisions were surely taken at a diwaniya or in the farmhouse of a particular MP. Anyway, the venue where they made their decisions is not that important; but what certainly concerns us is the fact that they made

their decisions outside the confines of the National Assembly.

Isn’t it strange indeed that we have been, over the past several months, listening to words like “influential figures” and since we nurse the firm conviction that MPs can be considered as influential figures; the question that will surely come to mind is: “Are we supposed to consider MPs as good influential figures or bad influential figures?!” This also brings to mind another dangerous and provocative statement that was issued by MP Musallam Al-Barrak who said: “We are all equal partners in the country’s governance and in the state’s public funds.” That statement was not only disgusting; it was downright derogatory. I would like to bring it to his kind attention that neither he nor his coterie of followers can ever bring themselves to partners in the country’s governance.

He must first realize the underlying fact that Kuwait’s Constitution specifically stipulates that the country’s overall governance has been entrusted in the capable and efficient hands of the Mubarak Al-Sabah family. This is a reality that we all have to accept under any circumstances because that is what is enshrined in Kuwait’s Constitution. And in the likely event that the honorable Musallam Al-Barrak is indeed in possession of another Constitution; then why doesn’t he take the initiative and expose it to all the citizens of this country?

Time to emerge from the caves of frustration Khalil Ali Haydar

I

t is an undisputed fact that citizens in countries across the Arab world are still reeling from the events that have transpired in their respective countries since that horrendous day; when inspired by the events that transpired in Tunisia, tens of thousands took to the streets of Cairo calling for democratic reform and demanded Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Reporters and activists that were present at the scene in Cairo at that time had said there was a spirit of anger and defiance in the crowds and there were protests of varying sizes in at least a half-dozen Egyptian cities.

By late afternoon, thousands of protesters had already converged in Tahrir Square, not far from the US embassy, the Interior Ministry, and several five-star hotels looming over the Nile. Water cannons and tear gas barrages used by police did little to deter them from venting their anger, desperation and frustration over a leader and a regime that was simply interested in its own vested interests. At that time it was indeed hard to imagine the aging Hosni Mubarak and the apparatus of the state being swept from power in the same way that President Ben Ali was chased from Tunis. Egyptian military spending is much higher than in Tunisia and the circle of people who have everything to lose if the system crumbled even more.

The riveting images that were beamed into millions of Egyptian homes of the Tunisian uprising appear to have led to a shift in public consciousness as is evident in the fact that a small group of leftists and democracy activists have been trying to reorganize similar protests over the years, although they have failed miserably in garnering huge numbers of protestors out on the streets. On the other hand, all those average Egyptians; especially those that are mired in abject poverty are definitely afraid of the consequences of participating in protests and simply prefer to stay away.

They must be simply wondering whether all that is happening around them is a great wrath that is sweeping the Arab world or real popular revolutions! Let`s just think, for a second, that what is happening now is indeed a revolution especially because people are now nursing great ambitions after those revolutions led to the eradication of corrupt regimes. The revolutions have also given the Arab

people the absolute right to elect candidates of their choice to represent them in parliament; unlike those earlier times when former regimes actually placed themselves in leading positions. And although we have, in the past, witnessed coups and calls inciting people to rise against dictators, calls in recent times to overthrow such regimes have been far stronger, persistent and on a much larger scale.

The dawn of the Arab Spring through all those subsequent revolutions still suffers from several negative points like the existence of supporters of those former regimes and is compounded with the rise of Islamist movements that are clamoring among themselves to seize power and authority.

Disputes and disagreements that still exist among the various movements including the Islamist ones will surely be expected. The Saudi writer Abdullah Bin Bejad Al-Otaibi recently stated in the Middle East Newspaper that what transpired in Egypt was sort of a revolutionary movement in which people cooperated to achieve one goal but after achieving that goal; several other disputes occurred among those very people who sought to achieve one goal.

Another writer Dr. Mamoun Fandi who also wrote an article in the same newspaper said that although most of the people talk about democracy in countries across the region following the Arab Spring; that spring will never dawn on those people simply because our citizens do not know anything about the concepts of democracy and freedoms.

He added that the scourge of tyranny might temporarily disappear in the region only to reemerge in a new shape.

He also indicated that even Arabs who took an active part in staging revolutions are sectarian by nature; and since they are not intellectual Arabs, they will never succeed in administrating their country well enough in leading them towards a better future.

After reading such frustrating possibilities, readers might surely want to ask: “What then will be the fate and future of the region? Can`t revolutions take place in backward societies?” The writer says that it can take place but we should not exaggerate whenever we tend to extol the Arab Spring. This is the main reason why we have to think seriously about the fate of our immediate future before we even contemplate getting out of the caves of frustration and oppression!

Ali Farzat

Encroaching on the jurisdictions of other authorities Shamlan Yousef Al-Eisa

I

n a landmark decision ruled by an internal court in favor of Dow Chemical Company, Kuwait has ordered to pay compensation to the tune of 2.16 billion US dollars for canceling contracts that were signed in a deal in 2008. Further reports indicate that Kuwait is in unofficial talks with Dow Chemical Company to avoid a $2.5 billion penalty before reaching arbitration for scrapping a $17.4 billion petrochemical deal. Unconfirmed reports have also indicated that Kuwait has offered to pay $250 million or 10 percent of the penalty. It is important to mention here that Kuwait, which is the fourth-largest oil exporter in the world; scrapped the petrochemicals deal with Dow in December 2008, a month after signing it due to criticism in parliament.

The question that surely comes to mind here is: “Who is responsible for incurring losses of such magnitude? Is it the members of government, members of the National Assembly or can we lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of members of the Supreme Council for Oil?” Furthermore, this issue can also be included as a chapter in business and commerce text books to be taught to students in secondary classes, students studying law or even those studying political science simply because the issue highlights the core disadvantages of inefficient administration. It also highlights another dangerous precedent which is; the squandering of public funds due to overlapping policies and other volatile

vocational specializations. All those who have been following up on the frequent negotiations initiated between Dow and the Kuwaiti Petrochemical Industries Company will surely realize that those negotiations have been going on for a considerable period of time. It is also common knowledge that the Kuwaiti company had approved some ongoing consultations after which the deal was referred to the Supreme Council for Oil which, after approving it, referred it to the Cabinet to obtain its final approval.

Soon after, a Kuwaiti delegation was actually sent abroad to conclude the contract; but for reasons best known to members of the government the deal was simply scrapped after being kept dangling for a while. The most important question that surely comes to mind is: “Why was the deal actually suspended and what were the underlying reasons behind the deal’s indefinite suspension?! The answers to those questions slowly emerged after some MPs especially those affiliated to the Popular Action Bloc began imposing undue pressure on the government to stop the deal.

It is important to note here that two MPs namely; Ahmad Al-Saadoun and Musallam Al-Barrak had always expressed their displeasure over the contracted deal on grounds that they witnessed several loopholes in the deal. They had also averred that the deal would impose a severe strain on public funds which were already showing signs of depletion.

And in the midst of all this turmoil, there were some other officials and members of other parties that intervened and

compelled the government to suspend the deal indefinitely simply because they believed that the overall estimate of the deal turned out to be extremely high; worth some $8.15 billion!

It is a presumed fact that MPs should never intervene or offer any opinions over issues of such nature simply because these issues fall within the jurisdictions of the executive authority and the oil ministry. This is the main reason why members of the government brought it upon themselves to stop the MPs from interfering in issues that are not within their jurisdictions. I cannot comprehend the reasons why MPs always fail to understand the underlying fact that each and every ministry is equipped with personnel that are experts and specialized in their respective fields and hence; they should stop dabbling in certain areas of expertise that they are simply not familiar with or equipped to deal with.

Moreover, the concerned authorities at the petrochemical company had then stated that they had conducted a feasibility study on the project after which they had sought professional advice from a number of consultation offices and experts. All the experts in the various fields that they consulted with; with regards to the feasibility of the project had unanimously affirmed that the project was indeed lucrative and that Kuwait would definitely benefit from it. In fact, they had affirmed, at that time, that the project would necessitate setting aside job opportunities for about 5,000 Kuwaiti citizens. Now wasn’t that an interesting assumption

considering the underlying fact that thousands of Kuwaiti citizens would be accorded permanent employment opportunities?

And now the situation is such that after scrapping the deal and bearing in mind the fact that Kuwait has been ordered by a court to pay $2.16 billion, people will surely be prompted to ask who was actually responsible for that situation! Can we ever expect members of the government and the Popular Action Bloc to tender their apologies to the Kuwaiti people and admit their mistake over not going ahead with Dow deal; while especially taking into consideration the fact that members of the parliament and government are fully aware of the subsequent repercussions of scrapping the deal?

What are the vital lessons that can be learned through mistakes such as these? I personally feel that the most important lesson that we can learn through such an experience is that we must take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages and the pros and cons before even contemplating going ahead with any project in attempts to ensure the best interests of the country before taking any wrong decisions! It is a universally accepted fact that leaders of developed countries across the world always seek advice and counseling from professionals in those respective fields before going ahead with any projects. Parliamentarians in those countries are never encouraged nor are they permitted to interfere in the jurisdictions of other authorities; especially in the jurisdictions of the government.

Have an opinion?

Share it with the world! The Al Watan Daily accepts articles written on any subject, expressing personal views on topics you care about or in reaction to a column already published in our pages. We will review it and then get back to you. Just email us your thoughts at opinion@alwatandaily.com If your submission grabs our attention, we’ll let you know what we think and possibly publish it on this page. Give your opinion a voice. Write for Al Watan Daily today.

Editor-IN-CHIEF

Dr. Ali Altarrah Al Sawari International for advertising & publishing

DISCLAIMER:

General Manager

Dina Al-Mallak

Editors Ali Marafie Darlynn Amara Angie Galal Halah Al Gharabally Julius Paul Coelho Amina Mustafa

To Advertise:

CONTACT US

Tel. +(965) 2249 5103 Fax. +(965) 2249 5107

To Subscribe: +(965) 2482 6780 Al Watan Hotline: 1822255

E-mail:

times@choueirigroup.com

For Press Releases: alwatandaily@alwatandaily.com or info@alwatandaily.com

for Classifieds

FAX: +(965) 2492 5797 E-mail: classifieds@alwatandaily.com

The views and opinions presented on the ‘Opinion’ & ‘Views’ page are the authors’ own, and do not necessarily represent those of Al Watan Daily and its staff.

ALWATAN DAILY

views

tuesDAY, may 29, 2012

The cooperative alternative

The arms race for human rights Bernd Debusmann Reuters

P The Union Cooperative Society Shopping Mall is pictured in this undated file photo in Al- Hamriya, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Capitalizing on cooperatives’ successes and learning from their mistakes can help us search more inclusive and sustainable models of development, analysts said.

(Agencies)

Mahmoud Mohieldin Project Syndicate

I

n an era in which conventional models of finance, corporate governance, and corporate responsibility are increasingly debated, if not called into question, it may be time to revisit the alternative approach taken by economic cooperatives. The foundational values of cooperatives embody not only a humane vision, but also a pragmatic approach to production that has enabled the successful ones to thrive - and to spur economic growth in countries that desperately need it.

Cooperative movements took shape in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Japan in the 1800s. Many grew from the simple proposition that ordinary people could overcome adversity in the marketplace by banding together to buy and sell goods at reasonable prices, and quickly realized the added benefits of sharing knowledge among members, promoting inclusion, and building social capital.

Today, cooperatives cover a range of activities and come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from small-scale agricultural and consumer organizations in Africa to some of the leading agricultural brands and largest financial-service providers in North America and Europe.According to the International Cooperative Alliance, a cooperative is a “jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.” But, beneath this definition lie rich notions of voluntary association, accountability for strategic decisions, and concern for the communities that cooperatives serve.

Cooperatives have helped to bring information and services to far flung rural communities, empower workers, and expand financial services, healthcare, education, and housing. In doing so, they have transformed the economic and social landscape in countless communities.

The International Cooperative Alliance reports that more than 800 million people are members

7

As we search for innovative solutions to today’s development challenges, we should consider what the cooperative movement can offer. of cooperatives worldwide.

Moreover, cooperatives account for a significant share of GDP in many countries, and an especially high share of the agricultural and consumer sectors. Cooperatives are also one of the largest providers of financial intermediation to the poor, serving an estimated 78 million people globally who live on less than $2 per day. Of course, cooperatives have sometimes struggled to live up to the ideal. In the most egregious cases, some have fallen victim to bad politics, weak governance, or mismanagement. Others are exposed to risks stemming from concentration in a single business sector, commodity, and/ or geographic area.

Cooperatives have also wrestled with questions of members’ entry and exit, financial disclosure, and relationships with the non-cooperative sector. And governments have often faced vexing questions with regard to financial regulation and taxation of cooperatives, including treatment of profits and consideration of exemptions. And now, in a more mobile and urban world, one might ask: can cooperatives maintain their essential character, based on inclusion and knowledge sharing within a community?

In a world in which geography is a diminishing barrier to business, can cooperatives sufficiently distinguish themselves as a viable alternative model? Or will they evolve to serve virtual communities, organized around new sets of challenges and opportunities? The United Nations has declared 2012 the “Year of Cooperatives.” This provides a good opportunity to examine the extraordinary history of cooperatives, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and rekindle a discussion about a development model that promises higher levels of inclusion, ownership, self-determination, and concern for community.

The World Bank is active in the development of producer and credit cooperatives around the world. Some of the most notable programs include the Indian Dairy Cooperative, which has created an estimated 250,000 jobs, mostly in rural areas. Similarly, Mexico’s National Savings and Financial Services Bank has helped to strengthen savings and credit institutions that serve millions of rural residents who would otherwise have been relegated to the margins of the formal financial sector.

The bank’s policy work has re-affirmed the notion that rural producer organizations are fundamental building blocks of agricultural development. And it has helped governments to supervise and regulate cooperative financial institutions.

As we search for innovative solutions to today’s development challenges, we should consider what the cooperative movement can offer.

That means not only greater economic inclusion, higher agricultural productivity, strengthened food security, and financial stability, but also lessons concerning responsible and sustainable business practices, corporate governance, and community relations.

And we should consider how to facilitate the spread of cooperatives’ best practices while avoiding common pitfalls. The cooperative movement can prompt us to think in new, inspired ways. Capitalizing on cooperatives’ successes and learning from their mistakes can help us to expand the menu of options as we search for more inclusive and sustainable models of development, and new ways of building and sharing knowledge. * Mahmoud Mohieldin is Managing Director at the World Bank Group, and was formerly Egypt’s minister for investment.

rofits from arms deals tend to trump human rights. The United Nations Security Council, whose five vetowielding permanent members count among the world’s biggest arms dealers, is falling down on its job. Hypocrisy is rampant as governments pay lip service to human rights. So says Amnesty International, the London-based human rights organization, in its latest annual report, published this week. It deplores an “endemic failure of leadership” and says 2011 - the year of the Arab Spring - had made clear that “opportunistic alliances and financial interests have trumped human rights as global powers jockey for influence...”

That reference covers Russia, chief armorer of the government of Bashar Al-Assad, as well as the United States, which recently resumed arms shipments to the royal rulers of tiny Bahrain, whose crackdown on dissidents has been brutal, though not nearly on the same scale as the campaign to wipe out the opposition in Syria. The death toll there now stands at around 10,000. To hear Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty tell it, the leaders who have so far failed to match human rights rhetoric with arms export deed have a chance to redeem themselves at a United Nations conference next July to work out a global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an idea first put forward in 2003 by a group of Nobel laureates who argued that existing arms control regulations are full of loopholes.

Campaigning for an arms treaty has gathered momentum over the past few years and in a letter to US President Barack Obama timed to coincide with the Amnesty International report; representatives of 51 non-governmental organizations described the July conference as an historic opportunity to prevent weapons from ending up in the hands of human rights violators. “We urge you and your administration to play a strong leadership role,” the letter said. According to arms control experts, there are more rules and regulations governing the trade in bananas than in the trade in tanks, machine guns, sniper rifles and bullets. The lack of common international standards, the argument goes, results in the deaths of thousands of civilians every year at the hand of dictatorial governments, criminals and terrorists. The existing framework of arms embargoes is not bullet-proof, so to say. According to the relief organization Oxfam, which has taken a prominent role in advocating for the ATT, countries under arms embargoes imported more than $2.2 billion worth of arms and ammunition since the year 2000. Case in point: Darfur. It has been under an arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council in 2004 but weapons from Belarus, China and Russia continue to flow despite largescale human rights violations.

National Interests

Given the long history of questionable arms deals, a dose of skepticism is in order about the prospect of a treaty that would change a world in which one man’s rightstrampling government is another man’s valuable ally. Case in point: Bahrain. On

The threat of German amnesia Joschka Fischer Project Syndicate

E

urope’s situation is serious - very serious. Who would have thought that British Prime Minister David Cameron would call on eurozone governments to muster the courage to create a fiscal union (with a common budget and tax policy and jointly guaranteed public debt)? And Cameron also argues that deeper political integration is the only way to stop the breakup of the euro. A conservative British prime minister! The European house is ablaze, and Downing Street is calling for a rational and resolute response by the fire brigade.

Unfortunately, the fire brigade is being led by Germany, and its chief is Chancellor Angela Merkel. As a result, Europe continues to try to quench the fire with gasoline - German-enforced austerity - with the consequence that, in a mere three years, the eurozone’s financial crisis has become a European existential crisis. Let’s not delude ourselves: if the euro falls apart, so will the European Union (the world’s largest economy), triggering a global economic crisis on a scale that most people alive today have never experienced.

Europe is on the edge of an abyss, and will surely tumble into it unless Germany - and France - alters course. The recent elections in France and Greece, together with local elections in Italy and continuing unrest in Spain and Ireland, have shown that the public has lost faith in the strict austerity forced upon them by Germany. Merkel’s kill-tocure remedy has run up against reality - and democracy. We are once again learning the hard way that this kind of austerity, when applied in the teeth of a major financial crisis, leads only to depression.

This insight should have been common knowledge; it was, after all, a major lesson of the austerity policies of President Herbert Hoover in the United States and Chancellor Heinrich Brüning in Weimar Germany in the early 1930s. Unfortunately, Germany, of all countries, seems to have forgotten it. As a consequence, chaos looms in Greece, as does the prospect of subsequent bank runs in Spain, Italy,

French President Francois Hollande arrives for a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on May 23, 2012.

Europe’s leaders are expected to shift their focus from austerity to growth amid accelerating worries over Greece’s eurozone future and Spain’s troubled banks. (AFP)

and France - and thus a financial avalanche that would bury Europe. And then? Should we write off what more than two generations of Europeans have created - a massive investment in institution-building that has led to the longest period of peace and prosperity in the history of the continent? One thing is certain: a breakup of the euro and the EU would entail Europe’s exit from the world stage. Germany’s current policy is all the more absurd in view of the bitter political and economic consequences that it would face. It is

up to Germany and France, Merkel and President François Hollande, to decide the future of our continent. Europe’s salvation now depends on a fundamental change in Germany’s economic-policy stance, and in France’s position on political integration and structural reforms.

France will have to say yes to a political union: a common government with common parliamentary control for the eurozone. The eurozone’s national governments already are acting in unison as a de facto government to address the

The lack of common international standards, the argument goes, results in the deaths of thousands of civilians every year at the hand of dictatorial governments, criminals and terrorists.

May 11, the US State Department said it would end a freeze on military sales to the island state - imposed in September in response to a violent crackdown on dissidents - because of “a determination that it is in the US national interest to let these things go forward,” in the words of an official who briefed reporters. He did not need to explain the nature of the national interest - Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet, there to guard shipping lanes that carry around 40 percent of the world’s tanker-born oil.

National interest trumps human rights concerns. That is as true for the United States, the world’s largest arms manufacturer and exporter, as it is for other arms exporters. Russia, number two in the arms exporters’ ranking, does not cite “national interest” for shipping weapons to Syria, it just refers to compliance with commercial contracts. But its naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, Moscow’s only outpost in the Mediterranean, clearly plays a role.

While proponents of a treaty sound optimistic about the possibility of all 193 members of the United Nations agreeing on new regulations, they also say there are different approaches that have yet to be reconciled. One would require that countries “shall not” transfer weapons to recipients who might use them to violate human rights or humanitarian law. “Without that ‘shall not’ requirement, the treaty would be ineffective,” says Oxfam’s Scott Stedjan. The second approach under discussion as experts prepare for the July conference would require signatories to “take into account” potential risks associated with an arms deal. That’s a loophole big enough to drive a tank through.

In April, the State Department’s point man on the proposed treaty, Thomas Countryman, put things into perspective at a panel discussion arranged by a Washington think tank. Even an effective treaty, he said, “will not fundamentally change the nature of international politics nor can it by itself bring an end to the festering international and civil conflicts around the world.” * Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters correspondent. The views expressed here are his own.

crisis. What is becoming increasingly true in practice should be carried forward and formalized. Germany, for its part, will have to opt for a fiscal union. Ultimately, that means guaranteeing the eurozone’s survival with Germany’s economic might and assets: unlimited acquisition of the crisis countries’ government bonds by the European Central Bank, Europeanization of national debts via Eurobonds, and growth programs to avoid a eurozone depression and boost recovery.

One can easily imagine the ranting in Germany about this kind of program: still more debt! Loss of control over our assets! Inflation! It just doesn’t work! But it does work: Germany’s export-led growth is based on just such programs in the emerging countries and the US. If China and America had not pumped partly debt-financed money into their economies beginning in 2009, the German economy would have taken a serious hit. Germans must now ask themselves whether they, who have profited the most from European integration, are willing to pay the price for it or would prefer to let it fail.

Beyond political and fiscal unification and short-term growth policies, Europeans urgently need structural reforms aimed at restoring Europe’s competitiveness. Each of these pillars is needed if Europe is to overcome its existential crisis. Do we Germans understand our pan-European responsibility? It certainly does not look that way. Indeed, rarely has Germany been as isolated as it is now. Hardly anyone understands our dogmatic austerity policy, which goes against all experience, and we are considered largely off-course, if not heading into oncoming traffic.

It is still not too late to change direction, but now we have only days and weeks, perhaps months, rather than years. Germany destroyed itself - and the European order twice in the twentieth century, and then convinced the West that it had drawn the right conclusions. Only in this manner - reflected most vividly in its embrace of the European project - did Germany win consent for its reunification. It would be both tragic and ironic if a restored Germany, by peaceful means and with the best of intentions, brought about the ruin of the European order a third time. * Joschka Fischer, Germany’s foreign minister and vicechancellor from 1998 to 2005, was a leader in the German Green Party for almost 20 years.

classifieds@alwatandaily.com

tuesday, may 29, 2012

A 15 yr exp. Marketing professional available for part time activity for International business relations. Well versed in IT.

Call 66013056

Baby Items in “Excellent Condition” For Sale 1) JUNIORS Cot (from Birth up to 5 years) 2) GRACO Baby Car Seat (designed by Laura Ashley) 3) DURELL-USA Car Seat (from Birth up to 18kgs) 4) CAM-NEONATO-Italy Baby Tub + Stand

KD 50 KD 35 KD 35 KD 10

Brand New Items...at half the Retail PRICE...!!!

5) MOTHERCARE Toilet Training Set 6) MOTHERCARE 2 position Baby Carrier 7) SCENIQUE Baby Crib Musical Mobile with Sonic Control 8) AVENT Breast Pump Set with 2 Bottles & Accessories

KD 5 KD 5 KD 5 KD 20

Baby-sitting in Jabriya call:

Flexible timing Reasonable price For males and females Abu Khaled

Contact: 55224747

WDLR

We carried out all kind of electrical house holds LCD TV Telephone PBX maintenance and installation. DSL wirings trouble shootings and wireless solutions.

Required licensee for a tax business.Tel:66689802

Mudarrib Nafais : Contact: 65553012

Garmin GPS Tel:99226042

for

sale.

Selling the numbers (90008944-5500503).

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

Tel:99739700 Kitchen Tel:24762688

appliances.

FOR RENT

FOR RENT

One big room available for Keralite couple or working ladies in Hawally with Keralite family.

2 bedroom, 1 bathroom rent KD 85. Tel: 50824257

bathrooms, living room and kitchen along a maid room.

Tel: 90958689-99925977

Tel:67058331

SLR

Carpenter.

Tel: 66291129 SLR

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

For rates, please call

6068 5554

WDLR

Room available only for Filipino, single lady near Kuwait National English School, Hawally. Accessible to bus going to City and Sharq. New building with Pinoy TV Channel and large sala & dining area. Tel: 97197268 Deluxe villa for rent in Egila, strategic location located around 3 streets, 2 floors, 7 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, 4 living rooms + 2 kitchens and 2 gardens. Tel: 55969322

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

WDLR

Apartment in Zahra, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room and kitchene, KD360, Tel: 99725755 Apartment in Manqaf, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room and kitchen.Tel: 90958689

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

Tel: 65563683

Apartment in Salmiya, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, pool, DSL and kids playground, KD475.Tel: 66297171

Toyota Corolla 2008 in very good condition white color.

Ran only 60000km. Call Abul Kawshar: 99867323

BMW 2000, White exterior, beige interior, KD 1250 Tel: 97878183

Nissan Altima Tel:94915050 Toyota mini buss KD2900.Tel:24747418

30-01/30-02

2005.

2005,

Lexus IS400 1998, navy full option, KD 1900.Tel: 97803380 Hyundai 2000, green exterior, KD 500.Tel:99628345

Learn French, Speak French!

Private French lessons with an experienced teacher in all levels and with all age groups. Interested?

Please call: 97722008

21-03/21-04

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

Tel:97601745

A well known Bakala

located at Block 4 Mahaboula behind Alia and Galia Tower.

Floor space 5mX5m, with bathroom, include 2 chillers, 2 freezers, cash register, vegetable scale, with stocks.

SLR

Paints and wallpapers, professional work.

Tel:99795097

Interested parties may contact

60452716

SLR

20-03/20-04

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

Learn Arabic For foreigners to learn Arabic easily.

Contact: 66972388

SLR

Packing and moving services.

06-03/06-04

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

Tel: 66970789

Tel:65599091

SLR

24-01/24-02

Laptops rent,

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

Tel: 66644270

16-01/16-02

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

SLR

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

Tel:94996159

Required chef for Lebanese restaurant. Tel: 6509292697686366

SLR

Apartment in Abdullah Al Ahmad, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room and kitchen.

Tel:90958689.

Cars

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

FOR SALE

Apartment in Salmiya, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, maid room, living room and kitchen, KD400.

Tel:67004704

Cars

21-05/21-06

25/12 - 25-02

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

Studio in Salwa, block 1, street 6, house360, KD260.

Tel:66143662

Apartment in Manqaf, private entrance, 3 bedrooms, 3

Arabic Teacher

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

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

Tel: 97720081

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

Tel:60001848

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

25/12 - 25-01

SLR

Professional gardening services.

contact Mr. Khaled Ph: 99619998 & 55619998

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

Price: KD. 15 each

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

(includes mattres)

Those interested can call: 97932925

16-04/16-05

28-02/28-03

Serious buyers please contact 67002524

Tel: 9769364

WDLR

Items for sale

Kitchen Equipment repairs 24hours.

Abu Mahmud:

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

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

16-04/16-05

- Flexible Timing - Reasonable Price - For all languages

SLR

SLR

EB-5 Investor Program

Driving Instructors available for learners

Tel: 93399180

Satellite service, 24hours, covers all area.

Boston whalev super sport 150 boat.Tel:65880918

Contact: 67009278

Birthdays and weddings

Satellite

21-05/21-06

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

Events planner

16-04/16-05

miscellaneous

Senior Manager available in Furniture, General Trading, FMCG, Air & Sea Freight Forwarding, Retails, Wholesales.

Can suggest acquiring profitably running Cash businesses with line-of-products.

Please Call: 9983 4436

24-04/24-05

Please contact Mr. Sabir, mobile 99509163

Tel: 60091481

30 years experienced

50kgs Weight lifting set of dumbbells - KD 30 Exercise bench for lifting - KD 25 AB King Pro W/C - KD 15 All the above are as good as new.

99867323

21-03/21-04

Driving Instructors Available

Exercise equipments for sale

Toyota Camry 2000, in great condition.Tel:99734995 Volkswagen Touareg 2005, navy exterior in a very good condition, KD 2500.Tel: 94404405 Ford Lincoln, grey exterior.

Tel: 99288558 Mercury Grand Marquis 2005, hardly used in great condition with valid insurance.Tel:97175533 GMC Yukon 1999, spacious and clean. KD 1700, price is negotiable. Tel:66694310

WDLR

Carpool service, female driver covers all Kuwait areas.

Website designer and management

Tel:60361977

SLR

Sewer system cleaning.

Tel:66070166

Tel:66238890

SLR

Paints and wallpapers.

SLR

Baraka: Tel: 99881053

SLR

Gold rises as Greek election outlook lifts euro

BUSINESS

TUESdAY, may 29, 2012

m ar ket watc h KUWAIT

DUBAI

1.0% 6216

0.2% 1477

QATAR

OMAN

0.2% 8509

0.3% 5698

ABU DHABI 0.2% 2457

LONDON: Gold prices rose in Europe on Monday after opinion polls ahead of Greek elections next month showed pro-bailout conservatives in the lead, lifting the euro versus the dollar on hopes Greece may stay in the euro zone.

Lingering concerns over sluggish growth in the currency bloc and the health of Spanish banks mean the euro is still on track to fall five percent in May, however. Gold is down 5.2 percent in the same period and is vulnerable to further losses in the euro.

OIL MARKETS BAHRAIN 0.0% 1143

EGYPT 1.3% 4738

SAUDI 1.0% 7057

US Crude $91.43 $0.57 London Brent $106.80 $0.03 Kuwait Crude $102.68 $1.83 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

CURRENCIES US Dollar

British Pound

Saudi Riyal

Qatari Riyal

Indian Rupee

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Philippine Peso

Buy 0.2799 Sell 0.2804 Buy 0.3516 Sell 0.3523

Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China up 28.4% in January-April Brent crude oil rises above $107 on Greece, Iran

BEIJING: Kuwait’s crude oil exports to China in the first four months of this year reached 3.83 million tons, equivalent to around 232, 000 barrels per day (bpd), up 28.4 percent from the same period of 2011, the latest government data showed.

Kuwaiti share of Chinese crude oil imports in the January-April period stood at 4.1 percent, compared to 3.5 percent from the year before, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In April alone, Kuwait’s shipments to China fell 33.6 percent on the year to 157,000 bpd.

China’s overall imports of crude oil in April rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 5.44 million bpd. Saudi Arabia remained China’s top supplier with its shipments jumping 14.0 percent to 1.07 million bpd, followed by Angola with 923,000 bpd, up 41.2 percent. Russia became third, with imports from the country growing 20.3 percent to 450,000 bpd. Meanwhile, China slashed its oil imports from Iran by 23.7 percent to 399,000 bpd in April.

Kuwait has been in talks to build a 300,000 bpd refinery in the southern Chinese city of Zhanjiang with Sinopec and French oil giant Total as part of its aim of more than doubling crude exports to China to 500,000 bpd.

In more news, Oil rose above $107 per barrel on Monday as fears of a euro zone break-up receded but Middle East oil supply worries resurfaced after minimal progress in talks over Iran’s nuclear program.

Opinion polls suggested Greece’s pro-bailout conservatives could win elections on June 17, keeping the country in the euro zone and making a swift collapse of the currency bloc less likely. Fears of a war in the Gulf that could threaten global oil supplies have returned after world powers failed to convince Iran last week to halt its most sensitive nuclear work. Tension between Iran and the West remains high ahead of more talks in Moscow next month to try to end the stand-off.

In markets thinned by public holidays across Europe and Memorial day in the United States, Brent gained for a third session in a row, supported by a weaker dollar.

July Brent futures hit a high of $108.04, up $1.24, before easing back to trade around $107.75 by 1310 GMT. US crude oil futures also rose more than $1 to an intraday high of $91.99.

“The latest Greek opinion polls are being seen as a positive and a lack of progress in the Iranian talks have also helped lift the market,” said Christopher Bellew at brokerage Jefferies Bache in London.

Tensions

Ben Taylor, a trader at CMC markets, said news from Greece was key to commodities markets.

“The idea that Greece will stay within the euro zone calms the market,” said Taylor. “A move towards creating a common euro bond, and stimulating the economy through growth-related policies versus austerity are factors that will be positive.”

Surveys over the weekend showed Greece’s New Democracy party has regained an opinion poll lead, which could see the formation of a government determined to keep on good terms with its European partners.

A conservative government would attempt to impose tough austerity conditions attached to a 130 billion euro bailout agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund in March. The euro bounced off two-year lows in Asian trade on Monday, hitting $1.2590 and pulling away from Friday’s 1.2495, its lowest level since July 2010.

Despite recent gains, oil has fallen sharply this month with Brent down more than 12 percent. The front-month Brent contract is off about 16 percent from this year’s high above $128 reached at the beginning of March.

Large speculators in crude oil futures and options markets have cut net long positions this month, easing back on assets deemed risky. Exchange data on Monday showed Brent net longs have been trimmed for three consecutive weeks.

Investors say a key risk for the oil market is tension over Iran’s nuclear program, which Washington and its allies believe is designed to produce an atomic weapon.

A dispute between Iran and the West intensified over the weekend after Tehran refused to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit a nuclear site suspected of being used to develop nuclear weapons.

A report by the UN watchdog last week said satellite images showed “extensive activities” at the Parchin complex, located southeast of Tehran. Iran says the complex is a military site.

The US-based Institute for Science and International Security think-tank has said there is concern Iran may be trying to cleanse the building at Parchin - possibly by grinding down surfaces, collecting the dust and washing the area thoroughly. “Any escalation of tensions involving Iran is going to push up the risk premium and put the market on edge,” Taylor said. -Agencies

KAMCO standards remain high

KUWAIT: Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO) Asset Management Company (KAMCO) has always been a highly compliant firm and has been quick to implement all applicable regulations as set forth by regulators including CMA, CBK and the KSE. With the heightened regulations, it is imperative that companies operating within the finance and investment sector follow tighter and more stringent regulations in order to protect themselves and their clients. To be aligned with the best practices, KAMCO provides its employees regular and systematic training. These training include training to spot and combat money laundering operations and the financing of terrorist activities. KAMCO has structured its training efforts with more emphasis towards the employees who are in direct contact with the company’s clients and investors to ensure that their awareness of the global risks in that area and ways to detect and report suspicious transactions is up to date.

KAMCO has built a reputation for investing in its employees and the community at large. It is a testament to KAMCO’s growing corporate social responsibility program that KAMCO is involved in a diverse set of programs.

These include the joint sponsorship of the Dealing Room at Kuwait University (which allows students to practice and hone their skills at trading on the stock exchange), the sponsorship of the Chartered Financial Analysts Award Ceremonies and the job fair at the American University of Kuwait, the Kuwait Education Fund at KAMCO, and Shariky - a portfolio fund which helps young entrepreneurs set up their own independent businesses. Khaled AlSharrad, Senior Executive Vice President of KAMCO’s Human Resource Management & Development and Administration Division explained that, “We are extremely proud to be able to offer such specialized training for our employees. Seeing them excel and apply the new skills that they have gained gives me confidence that the company will always be in safe hands.”

Rickshaw drivers await customers in Beijing on May 28, 2012. China’s government has stressed the need to make growth a priority as it warned that the world’s number two economy faces “increasing downward pressure”. (AFP)

Current account surplus reaches an all-time high in 2011

KUWAIT: Latest data from the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) provide evidence of the immense strength of Kuwait’s external position. Strong oil revenues in 2011 generated a huge surplus on the current account of the balance of payments. This allowed a further rise in Kuwait’s already large stock of foreign assets, according to the National Bank of Kuwait’s latest Economic Brief.

Current account

The current account surplus recorded a big jump in 2011, reaching an all-time high of 20 billion Kuwaiti dinars, up from KD 11 billion in 2010 and equivalent to 42 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This figure exceeded the previous record set in 2008, and stands above the KD 12 billion average of the past five years.

Almost all of the increase in the current account surplus came from the surge in the balance on goods, the largest component of the current account. The goods balance rose by some nine billion dinars in 2011 to a record high of KD 23 billion on the back of higher global oil prices.

This was mainly driven by a 50 percent rise in oil exports, which make up more than 90 percent of total exports.

These exports reached a record KD 27 billion in 2011 as Kuwait export crude prices soared to an annual average of 105 US dollars per barrel. Non-oil exports also rose during the year, by some 25 percent, but their contribution to total exports remains low at seven percent.

Imports have continued to pick-up since

their fall in 2009, growing by five percent in 2011 to six billion dinars. However, growth in imports still remains weak compared to its pre-crisis average of 15 percent (2001-2008).

The services account deficit increased

by KD 0.5 billion to KD 2.1 billion in 2011, led by a KD 0.4 billion surge in travel services outflows; the travel deficit is a persistent trend in the services account.

Another major contributor to the rise in the current account surplus was investment income (categorized under primary income), which comprises receipts from income-generating assets primarily held by the government. Investment income was up by KD 0.3 billion to KD 3.1 billion. Income from portfolio investments, the largest source of investment income, were actually down by some 10 percent in 2011, but this decline was more than off-set by a big jump in net income from direct investments which more than trebled.

As for the current transfers account deficit (referred to as secondary income), this rose by KD 0.4 billion in 2011 to just above KD 4 billion. This account consists mainly of workers’ remittances, which were up by around 5.5percent, partly reflecting the 2.6 percent increase in the number of expatriates in the workforce during the year.

Capital and financial accounts

The combined capital and financial accounts, the flipside of the massive current account surplus, saw their traditional

outflow reach a record high of almost KD 17 billion in 2011, about four billion dinars higher than last year. These accounts reflect the net change in ownership of foreign assets - the source of potential income in the future. The outflows have continued to increase since their dip following the financial crisis, indicating a recovery in Kuwait’s investment overseas.

All of the components of the financial account remain in deficit i.e. Kuwait continues to invest more abroad than it is receiving from overseas.

The deficit in direct investments, which represent major long-term equity stakes, has remained more or less stable at around KD 2 billion. Direct investments abroad were up by some 66 percent to KD 2.4 billion in 2011, which more than off-set a smaller increase of 21 percent in foreign direct investments in Kuwait to KD 0.1 billion. Although this signals strong investments by Kuwaiti institutions overseas, it also reflects Kuwait’s weakness in attracting investments from abroad.

On the other hand, portfolio investments, which represent investments in financial instruments, saw their net outflows fall back to KD 2.6 billion in 2011 from KD 4.8 billion in 2010. Most of this decrease in outflows came from reduced investments by Kuwaitis in foreign debt securities, which saw a repatriation in investments of around KD 1.5 billion in 2011.

The other investments account, mostly made up of net overseas loans and investments in shorter-term deposit

See page 10

accounts, were the single biggest source of outflows in 2011. The account saw net outflows rise considerably to KD 12.6 billion from seven billion dinars in 2010.

This category is especially volatile, but the 2011 outflow is the largest on record. The increase in outflows came mostly from the government’s investments in foreign currencies and deposits which were almost five billion dinars higher in 2011 than the previous year. This could reflect a shift in the government’s accumulation of foreign assets away from debt and equity to lower risk investments.

Other smaller sources of capital flows include the capital account, which saw inflows climb by KD 0.4 billion to almost KD 1 billion in 2011, largely driven by UN compensation payments.

Reserve assets and balance of payments position

The CBK accumulated reserves for the eighth consecutive year. This change in reserves, also equivalent to the surplus in the balance of payments, reached an all-time high of KD 1.2 billion in 2011 compared to KD 0.2 billion in 2010.

The broader balance (also known as the overall position of the balance of payments) takes into account changes in the value of foreign assets held not only by the CBK, but also by Kuwait Investment Authority, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and Kuwait Airways Corporation representing the country’s main foreign reserves. This overall surplus rose to a record KD 13.5 billion in 2011, up from KD 10.5 billion the previous year.

Buy 0.4392 Sell 0.4401

Buy 0.003525 Sell 0.003533

Buy 0.0746 Sell 0.0748

Buy 0.07619 Sell 0.07633

Buy 0.07701 Sell 0.07686 Buy 0.7423 Sell 0.74372

Buy 0.00508 Sell 0.00507

Buy 0.006447 Sell 0.006428

Prices in Kuwaiti fils as of May 28, 2012 Courtesy: KAMCO

In Focus

Four casts Savio S. Gomes

Exclusive to Al Watan Daily

KUWAIT: Ignorance is bliss has long held sway as a phrase with deep merits. Hong Kong’s financial secretary once held the opinion that the office of national statistics should be abolished. The absence of employment statistics was seen as a remedy to help poorer nations along the path to prosperity. Two key problems were seen to arise from the compilation and publishing of statistics. One, poor economic data generally gained momentum and became self prophecies, spreading doom and gloom. Secondly, statistics strengthened the hand of governments to interfere in free markets, and universally, this has never been held to be a good thing for the economy. Thirdly, statistics (as in the case of Greece) often tell only a part of the story, can be manipulated and sometimes are plain cooked.

Economists too, are notoriously poor at forecasting. History has shown that economists do not have a much better record than the average investor in forecasting. Economic forecasts are as much of a science as weather forecasts. For example, the only predictable aspect about most central bankers’ forecasts is that they will be revised each quarter.

Most famously, three days before the crash of 1929, economist Fisher stated confidently that the stock markets had reached a permanently high plateau. Paul Samuelson held the view that economists predicted nine of the preceding five recessions. The Bank of England’s forecasts have been changing with unfailing regularity. Trust in forecasts is often misplaced, and the Bank of England, inexplicably made questionably emergency loans to the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS. Similarly, its policies of injecting liquidity were designed with the objective of preventing future, ‘forecasted’ crises, rather than solving the immediate crisis at hand. The Bank of England’s court of directors has recently commissioned an independent investigation into the forecasting capabilities of the Monetary Policy Committee.What most experienced investors could have told them, without an investigation, is that ‘forecasting’ capabilities, quite simply are a myth.

In the long term scheme of things, Japan’s economic growth in the 20th century, appears now to have been a flash in ‘the pan’. Japan is desperately trying to stimulate the economy using export subsidies and government spending. Key economic ailments facing Japan are the shortage of power (definitely not resolved with nuclear power plants), an export dependent economy (China is learning the very same lesson currently), an ageing population, rising social security costs, inadequate child care, astronomical levels of public debt (200 percent of annual gross domestic product), wealthy cash hoarders, rising consumption taxes, low women’s participation in the workforce, inflexibility on employment of post retirement workers etc. The Bank of Japan has shown itself to be completely out of sync with developments in financial markets. In the midst of the current financial crises, the Bank of Japan has set itself and inflation goal of one percent. If Japan does not change its course, the country is headed for yet another Chapter 11 (country 11) in the next decade, following the path laid out by Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and other illustrious developed countries.

Politicians of today debate between austerity measures, growth, inflation, currency values, and employment. These are conflicting objectives only to politicians in terms of their commitments to vote banks, and are not conflicting objectives in economic terms.

The French philosopher Jean Buridan’s philosophy of moral determinism was illustrated with the example of ‘Buridan’s donkey, that when placed equidistant from a stack of hay and a pail of water, died of both hunger and thirst, as a result of inability to make any rational decision. The massive crises in the Euro zone have also been compared with the infamous Schleswig-Holstein question. Lord Palmerston declared that only three persons possessed the answer to the Schleswig-Holstein question, and they were dead, mad and with a failed memory.

The views expressed above are the writer’s own. Savio is a financial and management advisor with a background in economics. He has carried outconsulting and management intervention projects in several countries such as USA, UK, Australia, Kenya, Armenia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc.

The writer may be contacted on saviosgomes@gmail.com.

KSE ends session with all indices in red

KUWAIT: The trading session at Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended on Monday with all three main indices in red.

The price index came to 6,216.04 points upon losing 61.17 points, and the weighted index came to 405.77 points shedding 3.69 points, while the KSX 15 index came to 973.2 points on a loss of 7.41 points.

There were 5,246 trades till end of business, worth KD 19,484,474.311 and with 284,544,533 shares changing hands.

All but technology and insurance sector indices were also in red upon closing.

The boards at Kuwait Stock Exchange were mainly in red by 9:40 a.m. Monday, with the price index reading 6,259.88 points on a loss of 17.33 points, and the weighted index came to 408.66 points, on a loss of 0.8 points, while the KSX 15 index came to 978.4 points at the time, losing 2.21 points.

Corresponding number of trades was 1,198 transactions, worth KD 4,800,406.

511 and volume came to 79,384,327 shares. -KUNA

10

ALWATAN DAILY

BUSINESS

tuesDAY, may 29, 2012

Gold rises as Greek election outlook lifts euro LONDON: Gold prices rose in Europe on Monday after opinion polls ahead of Greek elections next month showed pro-bailout conservatives in the lead, lifting the euro versus the dollar on hopes Greece may stay in the euro zone.

Lingering concerns over sluggish growth in the currency bloc and the health of Spanish banks mean the euro is still on track to fall five percent in May, however. Gold is down 5.2 percent in the same period and is vulnerable to further losses in the euro.

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at 1,577.76 US dollars an ounce at 1150 GMT, while US gold futures for June delivery were up $8.30 an ounce at $1,577.20. The precious metal fell 1.1 percent last week.

“Gold is moving very much in line with the forex market,” Natixis analyst Nic Brown said. “On a day like today, when you have a bit of optimism about the Greek opinion polls, the euro strengthens, the dollar weakens, and gold benefits from that.”

But without the support lent to the market last year by safe-haven demand linked to the euro zone debt crisis, prices will struggle to rise significantly in the near term, he said.

“It feels as though there is plenty of scope later this year for the focus to move from the European fiscal situation to the US fiscal situation. That has the potential to be supportive

for gold prices,” he said. “But I would have to say that apart from that, the outlook doesn’t look particularly good.”

The euro bounced off a two-year low to rise 0.1 percent early on Monday, as fears over a potential Greek exit from the euro zone subsided.

Analysts hope a conservative victory on June 17 will lead to Athens forming a government that would agree to harsh bailout terms by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), enabling it to stay in the euro zone.

The news boosted assets seen as higher risk across the board, with European shares up 0.5 percent and oil prices climbing nearly one dollar a barrel.

The bond markets pointed to ongoing worries over euro zone debt, however, with the premium investors require to hold Spanish government bonds over their German counterparts at its highest since the euro was launched on Monday.

Lean times for Indian demand

While gold prices in India tracked the spot price higher, physical demand for the metal in its biggest global consumer remained depressed by the weak rupee and seasonal factors. “We are heading towards a seasonally weak demand period,” Babu Alapatt, managing director at retailer Alapatt Gold Pvt Ltd in

Gulf Keystone sees big oil moving into Kurdistan

the southern state of Kerala, said. “The wedding season is coming to an end and the monsoon is approaching.”

Meanwhile, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that in the week ended May 22, speculators cut net bullish bets on US gold to the lowest since Dec. 2008 as the rise in short positions outpaced the uptick in longs.

Among other precious metals, silver was flat at $28.51 an ounce. Silver has underperformed gold this month, on track to decline 7.6 percent after falling to its lowest this year at $26.73.

Holdings of silver-backed exchange-traded funds were at a one-month high on Friday, Reuters data showed, at 489.3 million ounces, though they remain around seven percent below the record high they hit in April 2011.

Spot platinum was up 0.7 percent at $1,435.99 an ounce, while palladium was up 1.8 percent at $596.97.

The gold/platinum ratio, which measures the number of platinum ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, held at its highest since early January on Monday.

“Within the precious metals complex, gold continues to outperform relative to silver and the platinum group metals,” Deutsche Bank said in a note. “We expect this trend to continue in an environment where downside risks to global growth continue to persist.” -Reuters

Saudi Aramco 2011 crude output tops 9 million barrels per day

FILE - A visitor touches a 220 kg gold bar, on display at the Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park in Xinbei city Sept. 16, 2011. Gold prices rose in Europe on Monday after opinion polls ahead of Greek elections next month showed pro-bailout conservatives in the lead, lifting the euro versus the dollar on hopes Greece may stay in the euro zone. (Reuters)

Saudi’s foreign aid bill piles up

to lead to financial self-sufficiency. Even if the bilateral aid to Egypt is meant to be temporary and funds for Bahrain and Oman are designed to boost vital capital spending, Saudi’s largesse could easily encourage poor fiscal discipline and, in turn, greater financial dependence. With the kingdom’s ambitious desire to create a Gulf Union strongly opposed to Iran, Saudi could find that its mounting foreign largesse becomes tomorrow’s permanent liabilities.

Saudi Arabia on May 20 pledged $3.3 billion in aid to neighboring Yemen. The al Qaeda hit country has received refined oil products from the kingdom since June last year. Separately, the kingdom is finalizing a $2.7 billion aid package for Egypt. After the transfer of one billion dollars to Egypt’s central bank earlier this month, the Saudi package includes $500 million of support for development projects, $250 million for petroleum purchases, $200 million for small to medium size firms, and purchases of T-bonds.

Jordan received $1.4 billion last year from Saudi Arabia in the form of a direct cash budgetary grant.

The country’s budget deficit forecast at 4.6 percent of GDP in 2012 allows for extra foreign aid. Officials say there has been no aid pledged from Saudi so far this year. Moreover, last year, Gulf countries launched a $20 billion aid package for Bahrain and Oman to help upgrade housing and infrastructure over 10 years.

KAMCO Research Saudi has a permanent seat at the International Report Monetary Fund alongside Oil the& Money UnitedMarket States, Japan, France, the UK, Germany, China and Russia.

Una Galani

Reuters Columnist

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s foreign aid bill is mountLONDON: Kurdistan’s plan to start oil exports to Turkey could ing. Egypt Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen - the make it attractive for more big oil players to try to move into the region, Arab spring has elicited a string of pledges of loans the head of Britain’s Gulf Keystone Petroleum told Reuters on Monday. and grants from the oil-rich kingdom to its troubled, resource-poor neighbors. Charity is a key tenet of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region has been locked in a long-runKHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Aramco’s crude Islam and the kingdom is an established donor. The ning dispute with Baghdad over oil exports, inconveniencing oil firms oil output in 2011 rose to 9.1 million barrels per day that operate there and putting off others due to the complication of (bpd) from 7.9 million a year earlier, the state oil firm Saudi Fund for Development supports infrastructure projects, predominantly across the Islamic world. The monetizing huge oil finds made in the area. said in an annual review released on Monday.

Saudi central bank reported that foreign aid totaled Gulf Keystone’s Chief Executive Todd Kozel believes the stage is set “In 2011, the company supported global energy 3.7 billion US dollars or 0.8 percent of gross domestic for change, however, after Kurdistan earlier this month detailed plans security and petroleum market stability through the product (GDP) in 2010. That’s roughly in line with continuing reliability of its operations and its investto start exporting crude to Turkey by August 2013. “This is the first I’ve the United Nations’ target. seen of this kind of aggressiveness,” Kozel said in an interview. ment in significant spare production capacity,” Ali The real cost of the foreign aid bill is likely to be “It’s finally showing an opening into the commercialization phase.

Al-Naimi, Aramco’s chairman and the kingdom’s oil much higher. That now includes bilateral pledges reThey laid out dates for the beginning and ending of those projects. They minister, said in the review. lated to unrest that will come to more than $12 bil“Historically, our spare capacity has been tapped laid out quantities. It’s significant.” lion, assuming the Saudis contribute one quarter of to compensate for production disruptions and declinKurdistan, previously a no-go area for oil majors with contracts to ing supply from other major suppliers, and is a corthe $20 billion package promised by Gulf countries to develop Iraq’s southern oil fields, has increasingly been on the radar of Oman and Bahrain. Outsiders have little knowledge nerstone of the Kingdom’s forward-looking energy the biggest oil companies after US group ExxonMobil inked a deal to exFacilities Kuwaiti Banks about the timing and nature of such aid; economists Al-Naimi said. plore there in 2011. Gulf Keystone, which estimates itCredit has found around by policy,” treat Saudi’s helping hand as an off-balance sheet Exports by Saudi Aramco, the oil company of the 10.5 billion barrels of oil at its giant Shaikan oil field, has been the subDuring March-12, the credit facilities portfolio of local banks extended last month’s gain to add around KWD Saudi’s expensive foreign policy probably isn’t ject of frequent rumors that Exxon is looking to acquire it.

“Is that posworld’s largest oil exporter, jumped to 2.42 billion 158 mn and stand at KWD 26 bn. During 2011, credit facilities saw a marginal increase of 1.6item. percent or at home. The aid is a clear expression sible in the future? Yes, anything’s possible, we’re aaround publicKWD company,” barrels 2011 from 2.02 billion in 2010, said, ris- along too 407 mn, indicating the in challenging business environment foritenterprises with unpopular banks’ solidarity while also shoring up support for said Kozel when asked whether the company would still be independent 6.63 million.there Aramco said conservative lending policies ing andtothe lowmillion appetitebpd for from credit.5.5 Currently, is no clear sign of of Arab potential credit in the short-term as demandaveraged for credit9.9 bybillion the private is day not picking up the club of kings. And while GDP per capita theand region’s in a year’s time. “It’s life. I don’t know what’s going torevival happenin tomorrow. gas production cubicsector feet per continuous delay in implementing the development plan isinhaving adverse impact market. is lower in Saudi than in other, less populous Gulf in 2011 from 9.4 billion 2010.an Gas reserves roseon the credit Our plans are to keep our nose down and keep working.”

Although the isslowdown in credit growth is expected to cubic Q2-12 feet on the tight credit countries, conditions,the kingdom has pledged massive domestic The dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdish capital Arbil part to 282.6 trillion standard (scf)back fromof279 insolvency problems suffered by local firms, scarce investment opportunities in the local market along with a spending that should be sufficient to deal with its own of a broader political crisis in Iraq, where a fragile government of Shitrillion. Saudi Arabia holds the world’s fourth largrise in default risk by distressed and highly indebted firms; credit facilities posted a 1.5 percent growth in Q1chronic housing shortage and help tackle high unemgas reserves. proven conventional crude oil ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs is struggling to overcome deep splits 12 compared to over a marginal 0.3est percent increase inIts Q1-11. ployment. At the current oil price, and with low debt, and condensate reserves, the world’s largest, slipped power-sharing. facilities, the key growth driverbillion of credit and itsinmajor trend forafford to be generous with its wealth.

Saudi can Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinBaghdad says only the central government’s oilPersonal authorities have to 259.7 barrels 2011component, from 260.1continued billion athe upward the eleventh consecutive month growing at 0.5 percent in March to reach KWD 9.18 bn, hence comprising The recipients are more of a worry. Aid funneled ions presented in the column are the company’s own the right to control oil exports, and dismisses contracts signed with the year earlier, the review showed.

-Reuters around 35 percent of banks’ loan portfolios. During Q1-12, personal facilities grew by 3 percent fuelled by through the decrease International Monetary Fund typically dobegan not necessarily represent those of Al Watan Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as illegal, while KRG saysand it robust growth in the retail sector accompanied with the significant increase registered in Q1-11.

Although loans toand trade 2012 on a positive note, the stagnant growth highthe consumption in public comes with conditions a fiscal planthe that is three supposed Daily its credit staff. conditions. Meanwhile, industrial loans has the right to develop its own oil fields. -Reuters sector salaries. in loans to -trade during past years was due and to tight

KAMCO Research

Credit Facilities- Kuwait Banks

Credit facilities for the purchase of securities, which account for 30 percent of personal facilities, fell in Mar12 by 1.6 percent to stand at KWD 2.68 bn after witnessing stagnant growth since January-10. Given, the deterioration in the local and international equity markets due to the financial crisis, the structure of credit facilities, with the highest percentage of funds channelled into the equity market, has exposed banks to a high default risk by individual investors who are heavily invested in the local and regional bourses. However, as the local bourse witnessed a rebound in 2012, liquidity slightly flowed back into the markets, pushing credit facilities for the purchase of securities higher.

jumped KWD 132.5 mn, in 2011 following a KWD 116.7 mn increase registered in 2010. The growth in industrial loans is part of an upward trend that began in 2007 as banks strategy shifted towards extending more funds to the productive economic sectors that are backed by real cash flows

KAMCO Research Credit facilities by Kuwaiti banks increase to KD 26 billion in March

Credit Facilities- Kuwait Banks KUWAIT: During March 2012, the credit Credit Facilities by Kuwaiti Banks facilities portfolio of local banks extended last During March-12, the credit facilities portfolio of gain local banks month’s gain to add million around KWD Kumonth’s toextended add last around 158 158 mn and stand at KWD 26 bn. During 2011, credit facilities saw a marginal increase of 1.6 percent or waiti dinarsbusiness and environment stand atforKD 26 billion.

During around KWD 407 mn, indicating the challenging enterprises along with banks’ conservative lending policies and the low appetite for credit. Currently, there is no clear sign of potential 2011, credit facilities saw increase revival in credit in the short-term as demand for credit by the private sectorais marginal not picking up and the continuous delay in implementing the development plan is having an adverse impact on the credit market. of growth 1.6 ispercent around KD 407 Although the slowdown in credit expected to or Q2-12 on the back of tight creditmillion, conditions, ininsolvency problems suffered by local firms, scarce investment opportunities in the local market along with a thefirms; challenging business environment rise in default risk by distresseddicating and highly indebted credit facilities posted a 1.5 percent growth in Q112 compared to a marginal 0.3 percent increase in Q1-11. for enterprises along with banks’ conservative Personal facilities, the key growth driver of credit and its major component, continued the upward trend for policies andto the appetite for credit. the eleventh consecutive monthlending growing at 0.5 percent in March reach low KWD 9.18 bn, hence comprising around 35 percent of banks’ loan portfolios. During Q1-12, personal facilities grew by 3 percent fuelled by Currently, there is no clear sign ofincrease potential high consumption and robust growth in the retail sector accompanied with the significant in public resector salaries. vival in credit in the short-term as demand for Credit facilities for the purchase of securities, which account for 30 percent of personal facilities, fell in Marcredit private sector not picking 12 by 1.6 percent to stand at KWD 2.68 bnby afterthe witnessing stagnant growth sinceis January-10.

Given, the up deterioration in the local and international equity markets due to the financial crisis, the structure of credit and ofthe in has implementing facilities, with the highest percentage fundscontinuous channelled into the delay equity market, exposed banks to a the high default risk by individual investors who are heavily invested in the local and regional bourses. However, plan is flowed having antheadverse impact as the local bourse witnessed development a rebound in 2012, liquidity slightly back into markets, pushing credit facilities for the purchase of securities higher. on the credit market. Although the slowdown Chart 1. Development in Credit Facilities since December 2006 in credit growth is expected to second quarter 25,995 25,204 25,611 25,105 26,000 (Q2) 2012 on the back of tight credit condi23,549 24,000 5,841 tions, insolvency problems suffered6,120by local 5,685 5,586 22,000 20,139 5,355 20,000 firms, scarce investment opportunities in the 18,000 4,269 local market 8,392 along with a rise in default risk 16,000 14,934 8,947 8,456 9,181 7,870 14,000 3,062 by distressed and highly indebted firms; credit 7,093 12,000 10,000 facilities posted percent 2,897 a 1.5 2,829 2,380 growth 2,218 in first 2,862 6,087 8,000 2,409 quarter (Q1) 2012 compared to a marginal 0.3 6,000 1,427 8,477 8,230 in Q1 8,234 4,000 percent increase 2011.8,444 7,462 6,369 4,358 2,000 Personal facilities, the key growth driver Ͳ DecͲ06 DecͲ07 DecͲ08 andDecͲ09 DecͲ10component, DecͲ11 MarͲ12 of credit its major continued the upward trend for the eleventh consecutive month growing at 0.5 percent in March to reach KD 9.18 billion, hence comprising around 35 percent of banks’ loan portfolios.

During Q1 2012, personal facilities grew by three percent fuelled by high consumption and robust growth in the retail sector accompanied with the significant increase in public sector salaries.

Credit facilities for the purchase of securities, which account for 30 percent of personal facilities, fell in Mar 2012 by 1.6 percent to stand at KD 2.68 billion after witnessing stagnant growth since January 2010. Given, the deterioration in the local and international equity markets due to the financial crisis, the structure of credit facilities, with the highest percentage of funds channelled into the equity market, has exposed banks to a high default risk by individual investors who are heavily invested in the local and regional bourses. However, as the local bourse witnessed a rebound in 2012, liquidity slightly flowed back into the markets, pushing credit facilities for the purchase of securities higher.

During 2011, credit to purchase of securities fell by two percent or KD 56 million in large part due to the deleveraging amid high Real Estate & Construction

Source: KAMCO Research & Central Bank of Kuwait

NonͲBank Financial Institutions

Personal Facilities

Others

Chart 1. Development in Credit Facilities since December 2006

26,000 24,000 22,000 20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 Ͳ

25,105

25,204

25,611

25,995

5,586

5,685

5,841

6,120

8,392

8,456

8,947

9,181

23,549 20,139

5,355

4,269 14,934 3,062 6,087

7,870 7,093 2,862

2,409

1,427 4,358 DecͲ06

2,897

2,829

2,380

2,218

6,369

7,462

8,230

8,234

8,444

8,477

DecͲ07

DecͲ08

DecͲ09

DecͲ10

DecͲ11

MarͲ12

Real Estate & Construction

NonͲBank Financial Institutions

Personal Facilities

Chart 5. Change in Loans extended by Kuwaiti Banks across different Sectors KWD Mn 800 750 700 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 (50) (100) (150) (200) (250) (300) (350) (400) (450) (500) (550)

Change for TTM Period ending Mar-2011 (KWD mn)

763

Change for TTM Period ending Mar-2012 (KWD mn)

130

179

111

16

79

0.2

81

111

(43) (150)

(513) Trade

Industry

Construction

Non-bank F.I

Personal Loans

Real Estate

Others

Source: KAMCO Research & Central Bank of Kuwait

Source: KAMCO Research & Central Bank of Kuwait

market risk and volatility in local and international markets. This made banks shift their lending policy by extending credit to households and the productive economic sectors guaranteed by sustainable cash flows. Chart 2 shows the sustainable growth in consumer loans (excluding purchases of securities) since December 2005 indicating a robust growth amid increase in consumption and purchasing power fuelled by salary increase and economic prosperity. Consumer loans grew at a six-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.4 percent since 2005 up from KD 3.9 billion to KD 6.3 billion in December 2011.

During Q1 2012, consumer loans grew at 3.2 percent to KD 6.5 billion fuelled by rise in salaries and banks focus on diversifying loan portfolios. On the other hand, following 5 consecutive years of strong growth rates over the period 2004-2008 with a CAGR of 34.5 percent fuelled by buoyant market and ample liquidity, growth in credit to the purchase of securities slowed down significantly during 2009 to one percent and then followed a downtrend in 2010 and 2011 with a yearly contraction of 5 percent and 2 percent respectively. However in Q1 2012, credit to purchase securities grew by 1.3 percent to stand at KD 2.68 billion as the market was witnessing a slight rebound in 2012.

Loans to the real estate and construction sectors, which have together comprised an average of 32 percent of banks’ loan portfo-

Chart 5, which depicts the change in outstanding loans across the major economic sectors during the TTM period ending March-12 and March-11, reflects a considerable growth in personal loans and credit to real estate and industrial sectors along with shrinking credit to ICs due to the strict lending policies followed by local banks.

lios since December 2004, increased by KD 17 million during March 2012 to reach KD 8.48 billion. During 2011, real estate loans grew 2.5 percent following stagnant growth in 2010. Chart 3 shows that since 2008, real estate loans have started to lose momentum driven by the slowdown in property market and the depreciation in asset prices. Following a three-year CAGR of 40 percent over the period 2004-2007, growth in loans to the real estate and construction sectors dropped sharply to 17 percent in 2008 then to 10 percent in 2009 and remained flat in 2010.

Given the slowdown in the real estate market and the challenging business environment faced by real estate companies and contractors in Kuwait, high exposure to this sector by banks indicates that further correction in the real estate market might expose local banks to higher credit risk and weigh down on asset quality. During Q1 2012, loans to the real estate and construction sector posted a marginal growth of 0.4 percent to stand at KD 8.48 billion.

The most adverse impact of the credit crisis was on loans to non-bank financial institutions - Investment Companies (ICs); banks suddenly stopped lending to ICs in the last quarter of 2008 following easy credit in the pre-crisis period when loans to ICs grew at a CAGR of 55 percent over the period 2004-2007. Since then, credit slowed down to 19 percent in 2008 and 1.2 percent in 2009 and then followed a

During the TTM period ending Mar-12, credit to the real estate sector grew by KWD 111 mn, while growth

steep downward trend in the years that folgrowth personal loans and credit real toes-ICs in personal facilities showed significant improvement to KWDin763 mn. On the other hand, to credit lowed dropping by 16 percent in 2011.

Banks tate and industrial sectors along with shrinking contracted by KWD 513 mn and KWD 150 mn in both periods, indicating the deterioration in operating remain cautious in extending additional credit ICs due strict lending policies environment, weak financial standing of some majorcredit playerstoalong withto thethe restructuring of some highly ICs given firms the challenging business local banks. leveraged and the significant lossesenvironincurred by followed the sector by originated mainly from drop in the prices of ment andand the deterioration in their financial During thebanks TTM period ending 2012, equities real estate. The impact of the investment sector on local is expected to beMar manageable in the near-term, dueprofile; to the high level of provisions have to already built-upsector againstgrew this sector. standing and credit accordingly, credit that credit the been real estate

by KD facilities to ICs fell in Q1 2012 by 6.8 percent 111 million, while growth in personal facilities Personal facilities added KWD 763 mn during the same period fuelled by the increase in consumption and totheKD 2.2 billion,ofrepresenting 8.5 percent of retail-oriented. showed significant improvement KD 763 reassessment banks strategies that became The Industrial sector hastogained a new banks’ loan portfolios. the adverse im- witnessed million.during On thetheother hand, credit con-The credit of KWD 111 mn,Though lower than the increase comparable periodtoinICs 2011. pact of IC’s growth doubtful debt to has priced in since tracted KD 513 million and KD new 150strategy milsustainable in credit thebeen industrial sector 2009by is mainly driven by the banks’ banks books, current market conditions and lion both periods, indicating the deteriorato direct more funds to the productive economic sectors thatinare backed by real cash flows. possible deterioration in IC’s financial standtion in operating environment, weak financial ing along with delay in implementing restrucstanding of some major players along with the turing plans could result in booking further restructuring of some highly leveraged firms provisions by banks. and the significant losses incurred by the secDuring Q1 2012, loans to trade rose KD tor originated mainly from drop in the prices 91 million to record KD 2.4 billion compared of equities and real estate. The impact of the to a KD 30.9 million decrease registered in Q1 investment sector on local banks is expected 2011. Although loans to trade began 2012 on to be manageable in the near-term, due to the a positive note, the stagnant growth in loans high level of provisions that have already been to trade during the past three years was due built-up against this sector.

4 to tight credit conditions. Meanwhile, indusPersonal facilities added KD 763 million trial loans jumped KD 132.5 million, in 2011 during the same period fuelled by the increase following a KD 116.7 million increase regisin consumption and the reassessment of banks tered in 2010. The growth in industrial loans is strategies that became retail-oriented. The part of an upward trend that began in 2007 as Industrial sector has gained a new credit of banks strategy shifted towards extending more KD 111 million, lower than the increase witfunds to the productive economic sectors that nessed during the comparable period in 2011. are backed by real cash flows The sustainable growth in credit to the indusChart 5, which depicts the change in outtrial sector since 2009 is mainly driven by the standing loans across the major economic banks’ new strategy to direct more funds to the sectors during the TTM period ending March productive economic sectors that are backed 2012 and March 2011, reflects a considerable by real cash flows.

ALWATAN DAILY

BUSINESS

11

TUESdAY, may 29, 2012

Saudi says to complete minimum wage study within 4 months Monday 28 May, 2012 Index Price index Weighted Index KSX 15

Security

Change ź ź ź

High

-61.17 -3 69 -3.69 -7.41

Low

count for only 10 percent of the private sector workforce.

Saudi Arabia has not seen the mass uprisings that rocked other parts of the Arab world last year, facing only small protests by a Shi’ite minority in its oilproducing Eastern Province.

Still, last year hundreds of university graduates and teachers staged rare protests in Jeddah and Riyadh to demand jobs and better wages and vowed to continue demonstrating until the government produces jobs.

The groups later dispersed after government officials pledged to deal with the complaints.

King Abdullah promised last year to spend about 400 billion riyals ($110 billion), or more than 18 percent of gross domestic product, on housing, new jobs, health care, salary bonuses and other benefits.

The kingdom’s deputy labor minister said last week the largest Arab economy would start licensing expatriate labor companies within a month in a first move away from a sponsorship system, whereby employers bring in foreigners on a work visa for a certain job only. Authorities hope that shifting from the sponsorship system will help more Saudi citizens fill jobs previously filled by foreigners.

Thanks to a decades-long population boom, the Saudi government can no longer afford to reduce unemployment by creating public sector jobs. Last year’s revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Syria were blamed by some on high youth unemployment. -Reuters

KUWAIT: The Internet economy in the G-20 is larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Brazil or Italy and is expected to nearly double to 4.2 trillion US dollars by 2016. However, this growth could be severely limited without an effective set of ‘trade rules’ to ensure the appropriate flow of personal data.

This was mentioned in a report released on Monday.

‘Rethinking Personal Data: Strengthening Trust’, a new report from the World Economic Forum, produced in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group, suggests that appropriate use of personal data can create enormous value for governments, organizations, and individuals. It can help achieve new efficiencies in business, tailor and personalize new products, help respond to global challenges, and empower individuals to engage in social, commercial, and political activities more effectively.

Personal data, however, remains an asset without clear trade rules and, as a result, is at significant risk of not yielding potential value. High-profile securitydata breaches are commonplace. Individuals are increasingly concerned about intrusions into their privacy and the possibility of their personal data being used for purposes of which they do not approve.

Companies are unclear about what they can and cannot do with personal data and are either standing on the sidelines or forging ahead with an unclear understanding of liabilities and the potential for negative impact on their reputations and brands.

Governments are proposing various laws and regulations to protect privacy while also aiming to encourage innovation and growth.

“Appropriate use of personal data can lead to new economic value, as the recent valuations of companies that collect and utilize personal data would suggest. And it can foster significant social value - benefiting industry, individuals, and governments alike,” said John Rose, senior partner at BCG. “But data is an asset that needs to flow to create value - and that requires trading rules that balance the interests of all stakeholders.”

The question is how to establish a clear, robust set of rules that will enable appropriate data flow and fit the speed at which today’s hyper connected world moves. There must be clear rules and accountabilities but also sufficient flexibility to deal with a rapidly moving, complex, and uncertain set of needs and opportunities.

The report analyzes these challenges and outlines concrete steps that stakeholders can take, focusing on three areas: • Upgrading Protection and Security. Focus on how to protect privacy and secure personal data against intentional and unintentional security breaches and misuse.

• Agreeing on Rights and Responsibilities for Using Data. Establish consensus on rights, responsibilities, and permissions for use of personal data that recognize the importance of context and the need to balance the interests of multiple stakeholders.

• Driving Accountability and Enforcement. Hold organizations accountable for protecting and securing personal data and using it in accordance with the rights and established permissions for trusted flow.

Joerg Hildebrandt, Partner and Managing Director at BCG Middle East said, “The findings of this report are equally relevant for the Middle East where the digitial economy is becoming an important component of many countries’ GDP. To give one example, the Saudi Internet economy is projected to rise to SAR107 billion by 2016, representing 3.8 percent of GDP. Trends such as this, combined with several other indicators (the growth of social media, the high rates of internet and mobile phone penetration etc) point to increasing levels of connectivity which would further facilitate the flow of personal data in the region.

This means that dialogue about the frameworks required for the use of this personal data is becoming increasingly important.”

Low

6,277.21 409 72 409.72 982.21

6,180.96 404 24 404.24 968.15

Trades Value (KD)

Trades

Last

Change

Security

Volume Value (KWD) Number of Trades

High

Low

Volume

285,059,872 19 505 569 19,505,569 5,286

Trades Value (KD)

Trades

Last

Change

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

00 0.0

URC

106

104

343 708 343,708

36 421 36,421

9

104

ź

-2 0 -2.0

190

190

107

20

1

190

Ÿ

2.0

NRE

126

124

470,019

59,082

21

126

ź

-2.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

SRE

260

255

190,045

48,462

11

260

Ÿ

5.0

NAPESCO

340

340

5,398

1,835

2

340

ź

-20.0

PEARL

34

33

7,054

230

6

34

ź

-1.0

AREFENRGY

126

124

10,001

1,240

3

126

Ÿ

2.0

TAM

228

218

10,001

2,180

2

228

ŷ

0.0

GPI

62

61

195,001

12,070

5

62

ź

-2.0

AREEC

158

154

21,000

3,238

2

158

ŷ

0.0

ABAR

202

202

4,250 214,757

859 16,024

2 13

202 962.30

ź ź

-10.0 -14.88

MASSALEH ARABREC

104 36

104 35

15,100 300,010

1,570 10,496

2 13

104 36

ź ź

-10.0 -1.0

UREC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

108

106

70,702

7,576

9

108

ź

-2.0

ERESCO

93

91

240,005

21,960

15

93

Ÿ

1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MABANEE

970

950

1,501,475

1,446,022

53

970

ŷ

0.0

610

600

170 010 170,010

102 106 102,106

6

610

ŷ

0.0

INJAZZAT

63

59

104 306 104,306

6 226 6,226

11

61

ź

-3.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

INVESTORS

19

18

16,987,316

311,274

219

19

ŷ

0.0

ALQURAIN Basic Materials

214

212

407,982 648,694

87,140 196,822

27 42

214 975.29

Ÿ ź

2.0 -1.48

IRC ALTIJARIA

51 83

50 81

221,000 1,544,961

11,051 126,085

11 17

51 81

ź ź

-2.0 -1.0

SANAM

60

58

23,001

1,374

4

60

ŷ

0.0

KCEM

415

410

15,250

6,303

2

410

ź

-5.0

AAYANRE

85

83

465,652

39,259

25

85

Ÿ

2.0

REFRI

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

AQAR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

CABLE

PIPE KFOUC BPCC ALKOUT

1,280

1,180

49,345

61,518

19

1,240

ź

-40.0

ALAQARIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

SHIP

226

220

57,050

12,569

8

220

ź

-10.0

MAZAYA

79

77

173,626

13,544

10

79

ź

-3.0

PCEM

900

860

32,863

28,739

17

880

ź

-30.0

ADNC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

PAPER

184

184

200

37

1

184

ź

-8.0

THEMAR

86

86

347,135

29,854

1

86

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

GRAND

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ACICO

248

240

113,592

27,871

9

248

ŷ

0.0

TIJARA

40

39

635,000

24,538

19

40

ź

-0.5

GGMC

-2.5

MRC

800

800

1

1

1

800

ź

-50.0

TAAMEER

49

48

248,901

11,953

18

48

ź

HCC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ARKAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KPAK

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ARGAN

168

168

1

0

1

168

Ÿ

10.0

KBMMC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ABYAAR

46

44

8,765,169

390,456

107

45

ź

-0.5

NICBM

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MUNSHAAT

35

33

780,500

25,978

22

34

ź

-0.5

EQUIPMENT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

FIRSTDUBAI

37

35

511,180

17,773

22

35

ź

-2.5

NCCI

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KBT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

102

86

1,002

102

3

102

Ÿ

11.0

REAM

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

GYPSUM SALBOOKH

32

31

260,000

8,235

7

32

ź

-1.0

MENA

42

38

148,651

5,764

6

42

Ÿ

2.5

AGLTY

400

395

1,266,049

501,358

45

400

ŷ

0.0

ALMUDON

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

EDU

128

124

2,500

314

2

128

ź

-2.0

MARAKEZ

53

50

20,000

1,005

10

50

ź

-2.5

CLEANING CITYGROUP

136 500

120 500

1,916,034 12

244,236 6

84 1

134 500

Ÿ ź

4.0 -50.0

REMAL Real Estate

0

0

0 35,756,394

0 2,733,236

0 664

0 963.80

ŷ ź

0.0 -8.70

KGL

108

100

1,366,700

141,328

79

106

ŷ

0.0

KCPC

375

375

10

4

1

375

Ÿ

20.0

KINV

102

100

30,000

3,030

3

102

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

FACIL

275

270

570,889

156,969

24

275

Ÿ

5.0

HUMANSOFT

108

94

570

61

3

95

ź

-4.0

IFA

43

42

22,231,201

930,053

299

42

ź

-2.0

SAFWAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

NINV

124

118

736,711

89,309

45

122

ź

-2.0

GFC

29

27

1,020

29

3

27

ź

-2.5

KPROJ

325

320

536,500

174,325

20

325

Ÿ

5.0

MAYADEEN

20

19

32,013,112

613,867

253

20

ź

-0.5

COAST

49

47

656,402

30,696

34

48

ź

-1.5 0.0

NAFAIS

1,360

1,280

49,493

65,361

28

1,280

ź

-60.0

TII

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

MTCC

92

88

291,501

26,225

20

91

ź

-1.0

SECH

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

UPAC

350

350

10,001

3,500

2

350

ź

-25.0

IIC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ALAFCO

CGC

290

285

2,304,364

658,341

35

290

ź

-5.0

SGC

150

150

100

15

1

150

ź

-10.0

MUBARRAD

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

IFC

97

93

751,368

71,483

34

97

ŷ

0.0

LOGISTICS

280

270

1,056,536

290,502

55

280

Ÿ

5.0

MARKAZ

116

114

170,000

19,680

5

116

ŷ

0.0

SCEM

84

80

131,000

10,815

4

84

Ÿ

1.0

KMEFIC

69

69

1,000

69

1

69

ź

-20.0

GCEM

97

92

311,203

29,300

18

94

ź

-3.0

AIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

QCEM

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ALAMAN

34

32

567,000

18,269

20

32

ź

-2.5

FCEM

94

86

50,001

4,335

4

94

Ÿ

4.0

ALOLA

144

142

1,806,000

259,712

20

144

ŷ

0.0

RKWC Industrials

108

108

1,187 41,300,596

128 2,735,084

1 705

108 936.55

ź ź

-10.0 -12.18 12.18

ALMAL GIH

49 32

45 30

453,379 7,340,664

20,439 223,681

35 172

49 31

Ÿ ź

2.0 -2.0 2.0

AAYAN

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

BAYANINV

38

37

165,000

6,158

16

37

ź

-1.0

KSH

Lack of trust in use of personal data threatens to undermine digital economy

High

6,277.21 409 46 409.46 980.61

IKARUS

Oil & Gas

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia aims to complete a study on setting a minimum wage for private sector workers within four months, local media quoted the labor minister as saying, part of a government drive to make jobs more appealing to nationals and cut unemployment.

The jobless rate in the world’s top oil exporter is now running at 10 percent and is a potential source of discontent as private companies prefer to hire foreigners, mainly from Asian countries such as Pakistan, who agree to work for wages as low as 1,800 riyals (480 US dollars) a month.

That is less than the monthly unemployment benefit of 2,000 riyals.

Saudis have favored government jobs, which offer security and higher salaries.

“There was a royal order for the labor ministry to study this issue in collaboration with the private sector,” Labour Minister Adel Faqih was quoted as saying in daily Okaz newspaper on Monday.

“We are now in the final stages of this study, which will be announced within the next four months,” he said.

Media reports have suggested the government could set a minimum wage of 2,000-3,000 riyals.

Last year the government tightened rules introduced in the mid-1990s to try to increase the employment of locals through a “Saudization” scheme that set quotas for the number of Saudis each company must hire.

Foreign workers, including laborers and expatriate professionals, account for a third of the desert kingdom’s population of 27 million and Saudi nationals ac-

Last Closing

6,216.04 405 77 405.77 973.20

MARIN IPG

FILE- A worker stands at a desalination plant, 35 lm south of Riyadh, May 4, 2011.

Saudi Arabia aims to complete a study on setting a minimum wage for private sector workers within four months, local media quoted the labor minister as saying, part of a government drive to make jobs more appealing to nationals and cut unemployment. (Reuters)

Volume

Closing

NSH PAPCO

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

GLOBAL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

114

112

20,999

2,392

2

112

ź

-8.0

OSOUL

72

72

6,588

474

1

72

ź

-5.0

CATTL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KFIC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

DANAH

86

85

280,000

23,980

19

86

ź

-3.0

KAMCO

240

240

1

0

1

240

ź

-10.0

126

126

85,000

10,710

2

126

ŷ

0.0

1,320

1,300

70,999 456,998

92,319 129,401

5 28

1,300 960.40

ź ź

-20.0 -16.78

MHC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

ATC

950

850

2,550

2,418

2

850

ź

-50

YIACO Health Care

450

440

40,000 42,550

17,775 20,193

6 8

445 1192.64

ŷ ź

0 -20.84

KCIN

960

950

1,055

1,005

5

950

ź

-50

KHOT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

POULT FOOD Consumer Goods

NIH

46

46

1

0

1

46

ź

-2.5

ISKAN MADAR

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

ŷ ŷ

0.0 0.0

ALDEERA

38

36

840,002

30,680

25

37

ź

-0.5

ALSAFAT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ALSALAM

250

230

3,404,915

811,592

205

250

Ÿ

10.0

EKTTITAB QURAINHLD

84 0

74 0

6,554,203 0

519,006 0

237 0

84 0

Ÿ ŷ

5.0 0.0 0.0

ALMADINA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

NOOR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

166

160

29,799 29 99

4,769 4 69

4

166

Ÿ

2 2.0 0

TAMINV

104

100

257,000

26,280

20

104

Ÿ

2

EXCH

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

CABLETV

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

TAIBA

114

114

10,000

1,140

2

114

ŷ

0.0

EYAS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

KSHC

32

29

3

0

3

31

ŷ

0.0

IFAHR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

STRATEGIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0 1.0

SULTAN

MASHAER

265

260

295,646

76,928

19

265

ŷ

0

KCIC

67

65

476,923

31,084

15

67

Ÿ

OULAFUEL

310

275

50,713

14,352

20

285

ŷ

0

MANAFAE

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MUNTAZAHAT

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

GNAHC

48

46

508,251

23,687

22

47

ź

-1.5 0.0

JAZEERA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

AMWAL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

SOOR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

MASAR

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

FUTUREKID

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

ALIMTIAZ

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ALNAWADI

108

100

74,000 74 000

7,722 7 722

10

102

ź

-6 6

MANAZEL

34

32

8,958,925 8 958 925

291 467 291,467

116

33

ź

-1.5 15

ALRAI

120

116

12,303

1,427

4

120

ŷ

0

NIND

222

218

2,026,013

445,953

41

220

ź

-2.0

ZIMAH UFIG KOUTFOOD Consumer Services ZAIN NMTC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

UIC

88

86

149,682

12,928

11

86

ź

-1.0

255

236

752

178

2

255

Ÿ

9

BIIHC

68

63

89,082

5,651

30

68

Ÿ

1.0

0

0

0 691,469

0 127,891

0 80

0 958.81

ŷ ź

0 4.03 -4.03

SHOP SENERGY

0 76

0 74

0 414,000

0 30,870

0 16

0 75

ŷ ź

0.0 2.0 -2.0

AGHC

142

134

1,594,734

217,275

32

142

Ÿ

2.0

710

700

373,915

263,737

34

710

ŷ

0

ALSAFWA

20

19

12,668,151

241,888

145

20

ź

-0.5

2,260

2,160

5,741

12,539

13

2,200

ź

-60

KPPC

73

72

580,000

42,080

10

73

ź

-1.0

70

8,357,105 8,736,761

619,030 895,305

268 315

75 905.28

ŷ ź

0 -8.47

TAHSSILAT JEERANH

85 88

85 84

50 510

4 43

1 2

85 88

ź ź

-10.0 -1.0 0.0 00

HITSTELEC 78 Telecommunications

EKHOLDING

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

NBK

1,060

1,040

391,122

409,618

17

1,040

ź

-20

GFH

43

40

73,410,954

2,999,072

788

42

ŷ

0.0

GBK CBK

410 750

400 750

561,774 5,549

227,518 4,162

15 2

405 750

ź ŷ

-5 0

INOVEST Financial Services

55

51

7,817,025 155,556,026

411,941 8,125,494

139 2,576

53 936.06

ŷ ź

0.0 -13.33

MAREF 0 Investment Instruments

0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0.00

ŷ ŷ

0.0 0.00

ABK

560

550

182,587

100,716

16

550

ź

-20

ALMUTAHED KIB

890 270

880 265

7,027 60,020

6,184 15,905

3 8

890 270

ŷ Ÿ

0 5

BURG

430

420

991,348

420,363

24

430

Ÿ

10

KFIN

750

730

1,548,074

1,140,492

155

740

ŷ

0

ASC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

BOUBYAN

610

600

867,639

520,628

50

600

ź

-10

SAFTEC

78

72

41,000

2,963

4

78

Ÿ

1.0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

FUTURE

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

168 46

168 42

205,783 205 783 36,021,365

34,572 34 572 1,562,217

6 490

168 42

ŷ ź

0 -3

HAYATCOMM Technology

118

116

75,000 75 000 116,000

8 8,740 740 11,703

8 12

116 1137.78

ŷ Ÿ

0.0 0 0 3.36

40,842,288

4,442,374

786

973.02

ź

-7.17 0.0

UGB AUB ITHMR Banks

BAREEQ

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

AFAQ

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

ALSHAMEL

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

19

38

ź

-2.5

485

Ÿ

5.0

37

ŷ

0.0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

0

0

0

ŷ

00 0.0

0 0

0 1

0 32

ŷ ź

0.0 -2.0

KINS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

GINS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

AINS

400

385

115,000

45,300

15

395

ź

-15.0

SAFRE

0

0

0

0

WINS

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

AJWAN

43

38

195,303

7,422

KUWAITRE

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

SPEC

485

455

6,000

2,760

2

FTI

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

MASAKEN

38

34

311,535

10,599

16

WETHAQ

91

85

69,500

5,961

4

91

Ÿ

5.0

DALQAN

0

0

0

0

ARIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

00 0.0

ALEID

0

0

0

BKIKWT Insurance

0

0

0 184,500

0 51,261

0 19

0 1107.62

ŷ Ÿ

0.0 10.09

MIDAN FLEX

0 32

0 32

0 1

AINV

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0

SOKOUK KRE

0 52

0 52

0 1,681,578

0 87,442

0 27

0 52

ŷ ź

0.0 -2.0

THURAYA

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

KCLINIC

0

0

0

0

0

0

ŷ

0.0

AMAR Parallel Market

0

0

0 512,839

0 20,780

0 38

0 960.90

ŷ ź

0.0 -7.88

For more information, call 1 80 42 42, www.globalinv.net

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

12

ALWATAN DAILY tuesday, may 29, 2012

April 2009 May21, 28, 2012

1% 6%

2% 6%

Saudi

90

Bahrain Bahrain

Abu Dhabi

Saudi

96

95 28-Feb-12 85

28-Mar-12

28-Apr-12

-1%

28-May-12

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

-6%-2

19-Apr-0

Country (Index)

-4%

-2%

Dubai

-6%

Kuwait

MENA Best Performers

GCC Best Performers

1

% Chg.

52 Wk High

YTD

Turnover USD million

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

2,457 5,250

-0.2% -4.0%

2.2% 9.3%

2,775 10,090

2,293 4,130

14 2,183

64,927 264,263

Qa UAUAE Qatar (DSM Index) (ADSM Index)

8,509 2,695

0.2% 0.6%

-3.0% 12.8%

8,892 5,148

8,071 2,137

95 122

128,004 69,783

11.59 7.29

Ba Qa Bahrain Qatar(BSE (DSMIndex) Index)

1,143 5,590

0.0% -18.8%

1,351 12,627

1,129 4,230

0 196

17,164 65,352

9.05 8.85

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

1,892

2,178

1,879

8

26,318

12.49

63,640

7.67

Ku Kuwait (KSE Weighted Index)

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

OmOman UAE(MSM (DFMIndex) Index)

406

1,477 406

5,698 1,745

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)

4,738

5,478

1,681

10,087

463

1,164

2,825 453

10,621

4,978

1,094 546

Tu Tunisia (Tunis SE Index)* * Market Closed

3,282

10.0% YTD

-0.9%

-0.2% 1.8% 0.3% 1.9%

0.0% 3.9%

-1.3%

5.1%

-0.2%

0.4%

0.3%

0.0%

-

2.2%

-0.3%

-1.6%

-

-

0.9% -

0.0%

444

9.1% -0.2%

1,754 787

0.0% 6.6%

6,082 5,860

30.8%

5,628

0.7%

-5.0%

-6.8%

-9.3%

8.5%

-1.1%

12,109 2,903

12,203

1,033

1,379

2.4%

5,044

-4.9%

513

-3.3%

14,635

23.6%

739

4.6%

5,141

-7.2%

2,119

13.6%

3,418

Turnover 1,533 USD million

396

Mkt. Cap. 368,633 USD million

70

1,301 316

22 718

5,419 1,433

5 305

3,587

45

4,224

17,852 37,413

1,572 328

-

1,154

2,551 453

9,406

-

4,116

1,043

-

2,837

-

407

4

1

3

12.71

9,512

16.01

2

1.32

1.68

1.53

1.29

2.86

1.56

0.81

2.15

1.07

18.36

8,507

3.95

1.77

6.47

2,079

0.86

8.67

6,576

MENA Worst Performers

2.50

13.85

1.92

SAUDI ARABIA *Market Closed

ABABurgan Co. for Well Drilling

225 Saudi Industrial Inv. Grp.

101 Riyad Bank

-4.0% -8.6%

SAR 24.70

-6.4%

136,626,003 120,703,950

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

Turnover (USD)

83,188,423

201 Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (KSA)

343,553,085 53,548,224

201 Basic Industries City Corp.(KSA) (KSA) 422Saudi Emaar the Economic

119,955,261 50,261,975

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

97,126,838

NBKNational Bank of Kuwait (KUW)

5,748,731

Turnover (SAR '000)

1,382,485,357

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

-6.8%

Turnover (USD)

MENA Highest Turnover

88,742,222 64,280,166 Close

% Chg.

9.95

4220.SSE Emaar the Economic City

9.9%

11.15

7,931 / 5,916 1150.SSE Alinma Bank

Tadawul Index 52 week High / Low

110

-6.3%

KWD 0.240 SAR 48.00

115 Alinma Bank (KSA)

13.00

Advance/Decline Ratio

% Chg.

SAR 13.70

GCC Highest Turnover

62% 7030.SSE Zain - Saudi Arabia

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

2.6%

8.0%

KWD -4.7% Close0.202 % Chg.

7,057 (1.0%)

Tadawul Index (% Chg.)

115

3.1% 8.6%

KWD 1.280 -13.1% -4.5% KWD 0.265 QAR 9.28 -4.0% SAR 22.95 -8.9%

EMAEmaar Properties (UAE) Best Performers

Summary

3.2% 8.8%

USD 0.150

KFI Kuwait Finance House (KUW)

Rebased Performance

4.4% 9.8%

8.0%

Close

ITH Ithmaar Bank

0.88 201 KAM KIPCO Asset Management 1.74 Saudi Basic Industries Corp. Co.

9.02

59,990

OMR 0.720

GCC Worst Performers

1.94 FAC CGCommercial Combined Grp Contracting 1.37 Facilities Co. Co. 1.61 VFQ Vodafone Qatar 0.88 238 Rabigh Petrochem.

6.22

33,782 2,458

3

0.70 1.52

14.54

10,404

67

10.28 9.99

1.00 1.77

8.07

52,856

1.86

PB1.42

9.50

18,727

2

QAR 21.60

BKMBankMuscat

PB

9.60

15,024

BHD 0.398

QGTQatar Gas Transport Co.

10.17 6.87

55,035

SAR 13.35 QAR 6.35

BBKBBK

PE 15.65 8.12 10.24

31,264 98,547

46

9,747

11.90

99,653

SAR 11.15 OMR 0.703

115 Alinma Bank KCB Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

Trailing

Index 7,057

% 1.0% Chg.

52 Wk 5,916 Low

PE

QAR5.60 18.00 SAR

422Galfar EmaarEngineering the Economic City GEC & Contracting

Trailing

Mkt. Cap. USD million

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

Level

52 Wk 7,931 High

52 Wk Low

% Chg.

SAR 9.95% Chg. 9.9% Close

KCB Al Khalij Hldg.

Commercial Bank 3 428 Kingdom Co.

Period's Liquidity Ratio (PLR x)*

Index Level

Close

4 703 Zain - Saudi Arabia

Period's Liquidity 1 Ratio (PLR x)

-1

MENA Indices Highlights

MENA Indices Highlights

-2% -1%

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

Kuwait

Tunisia Abu Dhabi

99

Oman

Palestine Palestine

Return DailyDaily Return (%)(%)

0%

95

Dubai

Qatar

0%

100

0%

0%

Dubai Dubai

105

2%

Qatar Saudi Saudi

105

100

1%

Qatar

Oman Qatar

111

4%

Oman Morocco

110

Oman

Kuwait Kuwait

113

Jordan

113

DailyIndex Index Performance Snapshot Daily Performance Snapshot

Egypt Jordan

110115

Bull/Bear Indicator Bull/Bear Indicator

Bahrain Bahrain

Rebased RebasedPerformance Performance

2250.SSE Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

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

3.2%

13.35

3.1%

23.30

2.0%

11.45

1.8%

105

Highest Turnover 100

43Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

97 28-Mar-12

28-Apr-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

Turnover (SAR) 512,388,499 1060.SSE SABB 452,676,025 2050.SSE Savola Group Co. 311,981,544 #N/A #N/A

1 Alinma Bank

99

95 28-Feb-12

Worst Performers

20Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

200,821,903

42Emaar the Economic City

28-May-12

188,497,486

70Zain - Saudi Arabia

#N/A

Close

% Chg.

34.50

35.70

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

7020.SSE Etihad Etisalat Co.

66.50

-1.4%

-0.3%

#N/A #N/A

0.8%

Saudi SE

Quotes Company Name 1 Al Rajhi Bank

Close 73.25

Daily % Chg. 1.0%

High 73.50

Low 72.75

Turnover (SAR '000) 68,302

1 Alinma Bank

13.35

3.1%

13.35

13.05

512,388

1 Arab National Bank

28.10

0.0%

28.50

28.00

17,948

24.40

6,380

2 Almarai Co.

1 Bank AlBilad

1 Bank Al Jazira

1 Banque Saudi Fransi

67.50

0.0%

68.00

67.00

43,185

27.00

0.8%

27.20

26.90

14,397

35.20

0.3%

35.60

35.10

3,359

24.55

1.7%

24.65

4 Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

11.45

1.8%

11.50

11.35

452,676

7 Etihad Etisalat Co.

66.50

0.8%

66.75

65.50

40,896

152.00

2,780

32.70

13,821

23.30

8,571

4 Emaar the Economic City

4 Jabal Omar Development Co. 4 Jarir Marketing Co.

4 Kingdom Holding Co.

2 National Industrialization Co.

2 Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

1 Riyad Bank

1 Samba Financial Grp.

2 Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co.

1 Saudi Arabian Mining Co.

2 Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

11.15

19.00

154.75 11.10

32.90

21.20

23.35

47.50

177.25 30.30

94.50

3.2%

0.0%

1.6%

0.5%

0.6%

0.0%

0.2%

1.7%

11.15

19.25

154.50 11.15

33.00

21.35

23.40

47.50

22.80

12,528

16.80

1,356

37,158 10,058

27.80

27.20

2 1 Saudi Investment Bank 2 Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. 7 Saudi Telecom Co. 2

19.95

0.3%

20.05

19.90

2,896

16.15

39,544

35.60

5,337

34.60

3,879

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

40.50

40.20

20,662

0.7%

102.00

101.00

3,840

1.7%

49.00

48.40

11,961

9.95

188,497

-0.3%

34.50

-1.4%

47.20

1.1%

49.00 9.95

1,964

0.8%

35.70

101.50

9.9%

35.80

35.00

47.20 9.95

615

69.25

50.00

165.00

108.67

46.80

15,634

18,011 4,226 18

420

367

22.90

13.10

50.75

26.90

41,135,294

23.10

-35.2%

57.25

1.9%

-11.2%

42,750,000

-19.2%

19.8%

8.2%

-8.9%

24.0%

-6.5%

10.3%

10.3%

1.3%

-6.1%

-13.2%

29.30

21.42

145

24.45

17.75

-18.4%

15.50

-23.9%

149

42.60

35.80

15.55

33.00

23.70

18,339,397

18,571,200

72

18.55

-22.0%

9,285,000

-24.0%

-18.7%

24.25

-19.2%

41.3%

-8.8%

12.85

510

46,550,000

22.7%

16.30

21.30

nmf

25.4%

2,659

2,441

9,477,500

12,366,000

-15.3%

-13.9%

21.00

37.7%

7.05

87.75

80

1.5

17,658,600

109.75

25.30

10.7

7,365,000

27.4%

32.60

-7.9%

-19.0%

0.2%

11.2

1.5

0.8

1.3

8.8

2.6

17.2

9.5

nmf

nmf

7.7

nmf

1.9 1.5

1.6

2.3

10.6

-2.1%

44,312,500

10.9

4.9

-1.8%

-12.3%

283,500,000

9.8

2.0

-4.7%

-4.0%

55,207,368

0.7%

22.6% 5.3%

-6.9%

19.8%

24.4%

-7.7%

27.2

35,025,000

-4.9%

-0.3%

3.8

1.4

31,821,429

56.4%

11.1%

1.2

-8.9%

-17.0% -6.2%

10.7

3.4

2.0

11.10

3,301

538

23,885,000

39.1

19.8

27.9%

51.7%

20,025,000

8,100,000

26.7%

-11.4%

98.00

40.6%

-4.0%

165.00

113

23.6

25.8%

200.00 37.50

27,000,000

57.9%

125

1,226

24.6%

30.2%

-17.3%

-16.3%

0.0%

40.50

-18.0%

6.05

42.40

35,237

16.25

6.20

13.85

56.75

13.05

0.3%

13.60

39,535

89

27.40

16.20

4.5%

-23.0%

4,223

311,982

17.10

-12.0%

15.75

47.10

94.25

0.0%

30.00

31.90

-24.6%

1 Saudi Hollandi Bank

17.00

40.00

21.00

95.00

23.35

95

PB

14.3

28.5%

36.0%

Trailing PE

109,875,000

44.8%

-17.9%

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

-3.6%

-11.6%

17.20

260

12 mths

2.2%

32.90

28.10

30.10

42.8%

533

1,243

0.8%

2.0%

-16.6%

26,350

88.50

23.30

26.60

5.4%

18.0%

21.10

89.25

Saudi International Petrochemical Co.

33.70

YTD

-5.9%

237

0.9%

22 Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

639

-17.8%

2,634

22,155

13.25

48.41

9.05

11.05

176.00

1.2%

71.75

16.25

-11.5%

80,294

89.25

13.25

67.25

on high

18.95

3 Saudi Cement Co.

5 Saudi Electricity Co.

82.75

38,381 640

% Change

Low

200,822

177.50 30.40

932

52-Week High

10.85

0.6%

1.0%

Volume ('000)

38.4%

-1.7%

-10.3%

-11.7%

11.3%

29.8%

28,027,500

9.9

45.5

1.2

1.5

1.6

13,655,250

14.4

4.7

10,875,060

10.0

1.5

10,485,000 7,315,000

22.9

21.1

1.1

1.7

9.9

1.4

nmf

1.6

9,350,000

13.1

81,000,000

9.4

1.7

24,300,000

17,850,000

14.1

1.1

2.2

38

106.75

70.00

-4.9%

18.0%

41.0%

14,210,000

14.9

5.8

244

83.25

47.40

-41.1%

-30.0%

-23.1%

9,922,500

11.8

2.9

18,944

11.50

5.25

-13.5%

79.3%

35.4%

13,930,000

nmf

112

331

37.00

56.25

27.82

41.60

-6.8%

-16.1%

12.7% 7.3%

4.5%

-3.9%

34,500,000

26,550,000

11.5 8.4

2.0

2.4

3.6

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

13

ALWATAN DAILY tuesday, may 29, 2012

KUWAIT Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 6,216 (-1.0%)

KSE General Index (% Chg.)

110

406 (-0.9%)

Advance/Decline Ratio

0.53 SULTAN.KSSultan Center Food Products Co. 6,492 / 5,694 KIB.KSE Kuwait International Bank

48%

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

KSE General Index 52 week High / Low

105

99

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

2.0%

0.270

1.9%

0.104

2.0%

0.275

1.9%

Worst Performers Turnover (KWD) 1,446,022

MMabanee Co.

1,140,492

A Alafco Aviation Lease and Fin. Co.

658,341

A Agility

501,358

520,628

B Boubyan Bank

28-May-12

2.4%

0.260

27,912,682

K Kuwait Finance House

28-Apr-12

Salhia Real Estate Co.

Highest Turnover

100

28-Mar-12

SRE.KSE

% Chg.

0.430

19,481

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

95 28-Feb-12

BURG.KSE Burgan Bank

444 / 396 FACIL.KSE Commercial Facilities Co.

KSE Weighted Index 52 week High / Low

Turnover (KWD '000)

100

Close

KSE Weighted Index (% Chg.)

Close

% Chg.

ABAR.KSE Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

0.202

-4.7%

KAMCO.KSKIPCO Asset Management Co.

0.240

-4.0%

0.880

-3.3%

CGC.KSE

Combined Grp Contracting Co.

ABK.KSE

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

1.280

-4.5%

0.550

PCEM.KSE Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

-3.5%

KSE Weighted Index

Quotes Company Name

Close

A Agility

0.400

T Al Themar Intl. Holding Co.

0.086

A AREF Energy Holding Co.

0.126

A Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

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

B Boubyan Petrochemical Co. B Burgan Bank

Daily % Chg.

High 0.400

0.395

501

0.0%

0.086

0.086

30

1.6%

0.126

0.124

0.0%

0.610

0.600

102

0.202

1

-3.5%

0.290

-1.7%

0.600

-1.6%

0.430

2.4%

A Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

0.202

-4.7%

C Commercial Bank of Kuwait

0.750

0.0%

C Combined Grp Contracting Co. F Commercial Facilities Co. G Global Investment House

1.280

0.116

G Gulf Bank

-4.5%

0.275

1.9% -

0.405

-1.2%

0.395

-

C Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

1.240

IK Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co.

0.190

1.1%

JAJazeera Airways

0.405

-

IF IFA Hotels & Resorts

IF International Finance Co.

K KIPCO Asset Management Co.

K Kuwait Cement Co.

-3.1%

0.097 0.240

Turnover (KWD '000)

0.0%

0.550

0.610

Low

0.0% -4.0%

52-Week

Volume ('000)

High 0.430

0.248

347

0.102

0.079

-15.7%

0.132

0.085

101

0.285

658

0.600

521

0.420

420

1.280

65

0.270

157

0.410

0.400

228

562

-

-

-

-

0.290 0.610

0.430

0.202 1.360

0.750

0.750

-

-

0.275

1.280

0.190

-

-

0.097 0.240

868

0.610

170

-

49 571

0.240

1

0.410

6

0.410

1.0

-4.5%

18.9%

12.5%

-3.2%

8.9%

-18.3% -1.6%

-16.3%

0.019

0.0%

-25.9%

-22.5%

0.405

-24.0%

0.285

-20.2%

1.240

-22.5%

0.214

0.146

-11.2%

0.485

0.182

-16.5%

0.096

0.315

0.226

-4.9%

11.8% -4.9%

-11.0% -1.6%

0.709

1.040

-1.9%

1.060

1.040

410

391

1.109

0.909

N National Industries Grp. Holding

0.220

-0.9%

0.222

0.218

446

2,026

0.275

0.192

-20.0%

-15.4%

N National Real Estate Co.

0.126

-1.6%

0.126

0.124

59

470

0.168

0.056

-25.0%

-1.6%

0.212

87

0.100

26

0.081

126

2.160

13

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

0.122

1.8

-10.9%

-22.5%

13.7

147,610

10.4

-21.2%

1,066,400

37.8

3.9%

179,283

nmf

260,315

3.1

0.9

nmf

8.3

2.4

7.2

1.5

3.7

33.8%

142,500

16.9

1.0

115.4%

98,010

9.1

3.6

-36.2%

77,880

-5.9%

nmf

63,192

-31.7%

261,439

0.7

nmf

0.8

18.0

1.7

1,548

0.963

0.690

-23.2%

-11.2%

-21.6%

2,149,081

27.6

1.7

1.9%

0.270

0.265

16

60

0.335

0.236

-19.4%

5.9%

-19.4%

280,078

23.6

1.4

1.6%

0.325

0.320

174

537

0.376

0.281

-13.6%

12.1%

-12.4%

434,387

14.3

-1.6%

1.320

92

1.300

0.900

-

0.124

0.118

89 14

0.260

2.0%

0.260

0.255

48

0.228

0.0%

0.228

0.218

2

0.9%

2.0%

0.081

-1.2%

2.200

-2.7%

-

0.0%

0.214

0.104 0.083 -

-

-

2.260 0.710

0.660

0.425

-

0.425

0.325

737

0.260

0.250

0.122

-19.8%

-12.2%

-29.0%

23.9%

-4.9%

24.0%

-15.6%

28.2

-6.2%

4,527,638

14.9

-13.7%

284,922

1187.9%

-13.8%

0.0%

-17.6%

-29.1%

-48.7%

-51.2%

23.5%

0.355

0.242

-19.7%

-5.0%

-13.6%

190

0.265

0.200

-1.9%

25.0%

10

0.270

0.216

0.226

257

0.136

1,545

0.097

6

2.480

-

0.186

0.170

374

0.093

-23.5%

0.067

-16.5%

0.170

1.880

1.060

-5.3%

0.690

-15.6% 0.0%

-11.3%

-33.0%

280,500

1.9

31.5

592,853

1187.9% 2.2%

79,996

10.8

24.0%

0.0%

-6.2%

522,603

-25.4%

51

408

264

0.700

1.300

1.240

-

-

-

1.620

33

-

-

-

71

29

0.860

0.275

0.710

nmf

1.5

1,140

0.310

0.170

0.8

11.8

0.730

-

0.104

28.9

4.3

0.750

-

0.214

42,344

136,056

1.4

nmf

0.0%

0.0%

0.285

1.2

-17.3%

-16.8%

-25.9%

1.5

33.8

-12.7%

-16.7%

1.020

N National Investments Company

664,336

5.7

295,911

152,242

1,501

0.280

-11.5%

8.9%

182.9%

5.8%

1,446

N National Industries Co.

1,048,941

1.7

nmf

136.7%

0.950

0.425

0.0%

18.3

94,500

954,017

0.970

N National Bank of Kuwait

226,134

-16.7%

0.0%

M Mena Holding

-14.7%

-5.1%

-10.9%

0.970

M Mabanee Co.

832,282

-51.3%

-3.3%

0.325

-15.1%

-4.7%

0.880

K Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding)

P Kuwait Portland Cement Co.

-31.7%

1.7%

-1.5%

0.270

0.410

-23.8%

-7.9%

1.300

K Kuwait International Bank

F Kuwait Food Co.

0.600

-40.1%

-12.6%

-1.2%

0.740

15

nmf

0.116

0.162

0

87,075

-18.5%

1.600

751

-17.3%

0.700

0.495

0

-5.5%

0.920

0.533

49

0.5

-51.3%

0.255

PB

15.8

0.198

1.182

PE

418,735

-15.4%

6.7%

Trailing

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

12 mths 9.6%

0.415

0.355

-

-

0.530

1.727

6

71

0.530

0.514

4

0

0.280

0.630

991

62

0.550

-7.0%

YTD

0.410

K Kuwait Finance House

0.415

0.355

10

-

0.093

0.650

2,304

4

1.180

0.190

183

1

on high

1,266

0.550

0.560

% Change

Low

1.3

0.7

3.9

30.2

1.7

2.0

96,549

19.2

1.2

106,898

nmf

0.6

-

nmf

0.7

nmf

0.6

98,662

24.3

2.3

23.8%

133,308

18.6

1.0

-0.9%

-12.3%

85,071

19.7

30.8%

30.8%

115,600

nmf

0.0%

-13.3%

5.2%

13.4%

-21.1%

11.5%

235,400

-5.5%

60,198

20.9%

148,620

11.1%

1,108,872

-30.4%

3,058,350

13.0

1.1

nmf

1.6

0.9

15.8

0.6

9.1

10.5

1.4

10.7

1.6

UAE Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,477 (-0.2%)

DFM Index (% Chg.)

110

2,457 (-0.2%)

ADSM Index (% Chg.)

36% ARTC.DFM Arabtec Holding 0.64 TAMWEEL Tamweel 1,754 / 1,301 DEYAAR.D Deyaar Development Co.

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

105

DFM Index 52 week High / Low 99

95

Highest Turnover

85 28-Feb-12

28-Mar-12 S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

28-Apr-12

E Etisalat

Abu Dhabi SE

10,458,968

A ALDAR Properties

28-May-12

0.7% 0.4%

Worst Performers

S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

87

0.9%

1.1%

2.88

Turnover (AED) 23,477,773 DIB.DFM Dubai Islamic Bank 11,876,925 AIRARABIA Air Arabia 11,695,016 SIB.ADSM Sharjah Islamic Bank

E Emaar Properties

90

1.17

380,792,688

Market Cap. (AED '000)

95

1.3%

0.30

135,008

Turnover (AED '000)

% Chg.

0.79

2.90

2,775 / 2,293 UNB.ADSM Union National Bank

ADSM Index 52 week High / Low

100

Close ARKAN.AD Arkan Building Materials Co.

4,704,097

A Arabtec Holding

Close

% Chg.

1.89

-2.1%

0.87

-1.1%

1.19

-0.8%

0.58

ARMX.DFM Aramex

1.78

TAQA.ADS Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

-1.2% -1.1%

Dubai FM

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Low

Turnover (AED '000)

A Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

3.05

-0.3%

3.07

3.04

2,563

T Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

1.19

-0.8%

1.20

1.17

A Air Arabia

0.58

-1.2%

0.59

0.58

A Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

A Abu Dhabi National Hotels A ALDAR Properties A Amlak Finance

A Arabtec Holding A Aramex

3.12

1.99

1.06 1.02 2.90

1.78

A Arkan Building Materials Co.

0.79

D Dana Gas

0.40

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

2.85 0.30

3.02

-0.6%

-0.5%

N National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain S Sharjah Islamic Bank

S Sorouh Real Estate Co. T Tamweel

0.7%

0.3%

0.31

3.04

67.00

-

-

8.70

0.0%

1.71

-

-

-

-

8.71 -

0.30

249

3.01

1,928

-

-

-17.4%

2,720,686

9.9

0.5

-21.5%

1.18

-16.1%

91.5%

139.7%

0.71

-45.5%

-21.8%

-41.5%

-38.5%

-11.1%

-36.5%

0.0%

-9.2%

3.24

2.67

-12.0%

823

0.46

0.20

-33.2%

637

3.63

0.34

2.80

-16.8%

2.65

-40.8%

-

-

1,330 363

-

-

4,543 -

392

11,877

2.88

86

-

8,079

3.30

11.20 10.75

1.44

2.41 8.57 6.98

0.67

-

102.00

67.00

-

4.95

3.37

522 -

450

9.00

2.24

1.02

2.3%

15.2%

4.63

-

1.00

-

-0.5%

-16.4%

536

0.37

-22.8%

-28.9%

1.88

0.36

-

0.8

2.26

2,936

-0.8%

7.2

1,092

1.16

3.56

7,407,750

2,082

1.17

0.37

3.5%

-26.1%

11,695 3,184

8.70

-0.8%

0.68

8.76 8.70

-

-12.5%

-1.3%

-26.9%

1.69

7.38

0.0%

-1.1%

3.2%

42.7% 4.5%

15.2% -2.6%

-11.8%

13.2%

-21.5% -18.4%

-3.7% 13.5%

-16.0%

-6.8%

70.4%

0.0%

-1.1%

4,330,237 1,530,000

nmf

nmf

0.5

13,805,714

11.3

2.4

7,744,000 7,176,432

1.8 1.0

-8.3%

993,527 -

7.3%

33,708,658 5,445,000

-5.5%

-10.0%

2,736,000

-6.5%

2,110,185

-21.1%

2,651,250

30

3.90

2.82

-26.2%

-0.3%

-15.8%

7,187,400

4.05

3.28

-12.1%

-2.2%

-20.9%

3,547,189

0.24

-26.1%

41.9%

0.8

11.9 7.0

18.8%

0.50

4.5

1.0

69,494,971 26,310,000

15,228,303

-30.3%

-

nmf

0.3

-14.2% 0.5%

-27.9%

0.67

1,486

4.3

0.6

50.0%

94.0%

1.4

0.9

9.0

8.8%

-21.5%

1.5

1,756,512

-23.7%

0.53

1.1

0.9

1.45

1.49

0.6

7.2

2,640,801

11,717 2,526

11.7

0.2

17,725,504

0.0%

3.6%

nmf

1.1

-4.9%

-10.3%

-14.7%

4.6

1,382,500

2,606,098

-4.4%

-8.3%

8.5

14.6

0.7%

-19.3%

6.4

4,552,275

5,809,303

-34.0%

7.3%

1,990,000

-0.2%

-34.3% -3.3%

7,377,882

1.63

0.80

PB 0.7

-12.1%

-28.4%

-

PE 5.2

-9.5%

0.76

Trailing

Market Cap. (AED '000) 17,066,572

-

0.65

12 mths 12.1%

1.31

23,478

-

1.96

1.98

YTD 9.7%

1,564

2.89 -

649

2.92

-8.1%

1,509

0.9%

U United Arab Bank

-

7,898

-

1.17

2.88

-

3,156

-

0.87

0.4%

1.45

0.39

0.88 1.02

9,909

1.45

-1.1%

0.0%

2.80

231

1,160

0.87 1.01

257

183

1.78

1.89

-

3.55

3.46

1.93

8.83 8.80

-

30

1,626

0.96

-0.2% 0.0%

-

-

0.97

8.79 8.77

2.88

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

-

2.93

U Union National Bank U Union Properties

0.57

0.41

-

1.79

0.3%

4.95

0.76

0.0%

2.74

N National Bank of Fujairah

5,087

511

0.78

E Emirates NBD

N National Bank of Abu Dhabi

2,963

0.81

-2.1%

1.21

1.14

1.3%

-1.1%

1.89

M Mashreq

1.36

4,704

D Dubai Islamic Bank

G Gulf Cement Co.

36

2.87

-0.1%

E Etisalat F First Gulf Bank

43

95

2.91

1.1%

-

on high

2.69

10,459

-

% Change

Low

3.32

3.12

1.99

52-Week High

840

1.04

1.07

0.97

2.91

1.99

0.0%

D Dubai Financial Market

E Emaar Properties

3.15

Volume ('000)

26.1%

-11.4%

1,170,000 1,232,270

8.7

nmf

13.8

0.4

0.8

0.9

8.8

1.2

8.1

0.9

7.5

0.4

4.7

0.7

10.3

1.8

18.5 8.0

12.6 nmf

2.7

0.5 0.5 0.5

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

14

ALWATAN DAILY tuesday, may 29, 2012

QATAR Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 8,509 (0.2%)

DSM Index (% Chg.)

110

Advance/Decline Ratio Turnover (QAR '000)

466,076,092

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

99

28-Mar-12

28-Apr-12

V Vodafone Qatar

25,649,069

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

24,710,956

MMasraf Al Rayan

28-May-12

115.90

0.8%

27.90

0.7%

77.90

Turnover (QAR) 27,909,306 VFQS.DSM Vodafone Qatar 26,698,904 DHBK.DSMDoha Bank

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank 95 28-Feb-12

0.9%

0.4%

Worst Performers

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

98

4.4%

139.20

QIBK.DSM Qatar Islamic Bank

Highest Turnover

100

% Chg.

18.00

8,892 / 8,071 QTEL.DSM Qatar Telecom 346,783 BRES.DSMBarwa Real Estate Co.

DSM 52 week High / Low 105

Close

44% KCBK.DSMAl Khalij Commercial Bank 1.29 IQCD.DSM Industries Qatar

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

14,834,553

Q Qatar National Bank

Close

% Chg.

9.28

-4.0%

QNNS.DSMQatar Navigation

64.00

-0.8%

MARK.DSMMasraf Al Rayan

26.85

-0.6%

57.00

ERES.DSMEzdan Real Estate Co.

-1.0%

19.65

-0.7%

Doha SM

Quotes Company Name A Aamal Co.

Close 16.40

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank

18.00

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

71.60

E Ezdan Real Estate Co.

19.65

B Barwa Real Estate Co. D Doha Bank

27.90

Daily % Chg.

High

0.4%

4.4% 0.7%

Turnover (QAR '000)

Low

16.52

2,863

16.20

18.00 27.90

17.18

25,649

27.55

27,909

56.90

3,634

0.1%

72.00

71.10

4,226

-0.7%

20.40

19.60

473

57.00

-1.0%

IQIndustries Qatar

139.20

0.9%

139.40

137.30

12,121

Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

139.00

0.3%

139.40

138.10

2,085

-0.1%

50.50

49.50

485

M Masraf Al Rayan

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co.

Q Qatar International Islamic Bank Q Qatar Islamic Bank

26.85

-0.6%

15.81

0.3%

49.95

77.90

Q Qatar National Bank

134.40

Q Qatar Telecom

115.90

Q Qatar Navigation V Vodafone Qatar

0.4%

57.40

27.05

15.90 78.00

26.85

24,711

15.70

7,510

77.20

445

-0.1%

134.60

134.10

14,835

0.8%

115.90

114.00

2,274

64.00

-0.8%

9.28

-4.0%

64.30 9.70

63.90

3,116

9.20

26,699

52-Week

Volume ('000)

High

176

14.00

-25.1%

31.10

26.25

-10.3%

50.00

-14.9%

18.00

59

85.50

64 24

on high

21.90

1,432 1,007

% Change

Low 16.06 68.00

67.00 24.97

18.60

87

146.20

118.80

15

148.00

129.50

10

56.20

45.50

917 476 6

28.10

18.32 85.30

-5.6%

10,856,577

-11.1%

10.5%

11,781,775

-21.3%

-11.5%

-15.7%

-3.6%

15.9%

-4.4%

-1.4%

4.7%

-0.4%

7,560,869

-23.8%

7.24

-4.5%

123.30

94.31

-5.2%

-6.0%

52,121,560

6.5%

64.00

8.0

0.9

9.3

1.8

9.3

13,900,000

-7.6%

1.5

17,717,160

-4.1%

-8.7%

PB

18.5

13.2

76,560,000

76.30

Trailing PE

6,480,000

-1.3%

-11.5%

-11.1%

8,929,800

0.3%

-9.7%

20

9.72

-6.8%

4.8%

-13.7%

122.73

2,828

-24.5%

-14.8%

-6.1%

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

13.5%

15.70

141.73 84.00

12 mths

-16.3%

-4.8%

22.50

110 49

0.0%

YTD

20,137,500

1.3

1.3

nmf

1.9

9.9

3.2

10.2

4.6

14.0

2.4

8,756,274

10.7

4.5

-1.8%

18,407,240

12.9

1.7

-16.3%

-24.2%

7,329,613

10.1

0.7

22.9%

17.5%

-7.5% -2.7%

7.4%

22.9%

94,043,636

9.5%

37,125,088 7,845,312

11.3

1.7

12.0

2.3

14.7

1.8

nmf

1.2

OMAN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 5,698 (0.3%)

MSM Index (% Chg.)

110

47% RNSS.MSMRenaissance Services

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

3.00

Advance/Decline Ratio

OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

6,082 / 5,419 OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co. 1,780 RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

MSM 52 week High / Low Turnover (OMR '000)

105

6,869,557

Market Cap (OMR '000)

NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

Highest Turnover

100

99

Turnover (OMR) 198,190 BKMB.MSMBank Muscat 139,150 NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

B Bank Muscat

106,082

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

95 28-Feb-12

28-Mar-12

28-Apr-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

104,564

R Renaissance Services

28-May-12

% Chg.

0.51

0.2%

1.31

0.2%

0.67

0.2%

1.23

0.0%

0.29

0.0%

Worst Performers

R Raysut Cement Co.

98

Close

70,342

O Oman Cement Co.

Close

% Chg.

0.58

-0.2%

1.23

0.0%

0.29

RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co. OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

0.0%

1.31

0.2%

0.67

0.2%

Muscat SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

B Bank Dhofar

0.445

N National Bank of Oman

0.290

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

1.307

R Renaissance Services

0.511

B Bank Muscat

O Oman Cement Co.

R Raysut Cement Co.

Daily % Chg.

High -

0.584

-0.2%

0.670

0.2%

1.233

Turnover (OMR '000)

Low

-

-

-

0.588

0.290

0.290

0.2%

1.310

1.305

106

0.510

105

0.0% 0.2%

70

0.669

1.244 0.518

% Change

Low

0.522

on high

0.423

0.671

-14.8%

0.565

62.2%

1.425

1.041

-8.3%

1.250

204

0.711

0.894

0.458

-4.6%

-1.4%

81

161

-7.1%

55.1%

-10.5%

0.416

-14.8%

-3.3%

0.286

-42.8%

12 mths

-2.2%

-12.3%

0.324

0.693

YTD

-13.0%

10

105

198

1.233

High

238

3

0.0%

52-Week

-

139

0.580

0.670

Volume ('000)

-0.2%

Market Cap. (OMR '000)

PE

PB

489,552

12.2

321,327

8.9

1.2

8.5

2.2

nmf

0.9

-3.9%

1,049,328

22.3%

221,685

16.1

246,600

14.7

22.7%

980,250

17.8%

-6.2%

Trailing

-42.3%

144,150

2.1

8.5

1.2

1.5 2.5

BAHRAIN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers 1,143 (0.0%)

BSE Index (% Chg.)

110

47% BBK.BSE BBK 1.00 BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co.

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

1,351 / 1,129 ITHMR.BSE Ithmaar Bank 100 #N/A #N/A

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

105

6,470,988

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

Highest Turnover

100

100

99

7,300

A Ahli United Bank

28-May-12 Bahrain SE

#

2.6%

0.47

0.0%

0.15

-6.3%

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

Turnover (BHD) 24,423 ITHMR.BSE Ithmaar Bank 20,513 BATELCO.BBahrain Telecommunications Co.

IT Ithmaar Bank

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

28-Mar-12 28-Apr-12 S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

% Chg.

0.40

#N/A

Worst Performers

B BBK

95 28-Feb-12

#N/A

Close

#N/A

#N/A

-

BBK.BSE

AUB.BSE #N/A

BBK

Ahli United Bank

Close

% Chg.

0.15

-6.3%

0.40

2.6%

0.47

0.60 -

#N/A

#N/A

0.0%

#N/A

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

Low

Turnover (BHD '000)

A Ahli United Bank*

0.600

-

-

-

-

A Arab Banking Corp.*

0.460

-

-

-

-

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

0.950 0.090

-

0.472

0.0%

797

-

0.398

2.6%

0.150

-6.3%

0.234

-

0.560

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.472

0.472

-

-

-

-

-

0.398

0.398

0.155

0.150

-

-

-

-

Volume ('000)

on high

YTD

12 mths

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

0.676

0.599

-11.2%

-0.5%

-9.4%

3,140,133

-

0.530

0.420

-13.2%

9.5%

-19.3%

1,430,600

0.380

-2.9%

20.4%

6.3%

679,680

0.0%

0.0%

-30.0%

637,560

-2.6%

-5.1%

479,002

-

7

65

% Change

Low

-

21

52-Week High

-

1.020

43 18

428 -

0.106

0.486 0.420 797

0.240

0.600 0.424

0.857 0.082 0.388 797

-6.9%

-15.1% -5.2%

1.7%

0.0%

-3.9%

0.065

-37.5%

130.8%

0.234

-44.8%

-22.0%

0.545

-6.7%

-6.9%

-21.1% -5.2%

76.5%

-31.2%

Trailing PE

PB 9.9

1.2

963,751

8.0

0.8

84,571

nmf

0.8

338,840

10.6

401,665

195,287

6.8

0.4

8.6

1.3

4.5

0.6

10.4

1.8

nmf

nmf

1.4 0.7

0.9

LIFE

Keep off the weight you’ve lost

Maintaining weight loss can be more difficult than losing it in the first place. The American Council on Exercise suggests how to help maintain weight loss: •Weigh yourself every week.

•Move as much as possible, walking frequently, watching less TV and even fidgeting while you’re seated.

•Stock your kitchen with plenty of nutritious treats.

•Place your gym bag near the door, and keep any home exercise equipment where you can frequently see it.

•Make exercise part of your social life.

•Measure your waist once monthly and make changes to your diet and exercise routine if your waistline starts growing.

TUEsDAY, may 29, 2012

Arctic microbe hunt could aid search for alien life WASHINGTON: Microbes living at the edges of Arctic ice sheets could help researchers pinpoint evidence for similar microorganisms that may have evolved on Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa or Saturn’s moon Enceladus, researchers say according to SPACE. Scientists are investigating the receding edge of ice sheets on Earth to study the release of methane there.

Methane is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas. On Earth, some methane is produced abiotically - not by life - through reactions between water and rock, as well as through the breakdown of hydrocarbons by geological processes.

On the other hand, some methane comes directly or indirectly from methanogenic microbes, as a byproduct of fermentation of acetate - a derivative of vinegar - into methane and carbon dioxide.

“It is increasingly clear that on Earth, there are coldadapted methanogenic microbes in Arctic, Antarctic and sea-bottom settings,” said Jeffrey White, an environmental biogeochemist at Indiana University. “Acetate fermentation is the principal pathway accounting for as much as 95 percent of methane production in these cold environments.”

Similar ice sheets exist elsewhere in the solar system, such as the buried water ice glaciers in the Hellas Basin region on Mars. The plan is to see what methods can best determine whether the sources of any such methane are biological or not.

neutrons while atoms of carbon-13 have seven.

The available data suggest that methane from microbial reactions is substantially richer in lighter isotopes at 20 to 40 parts per thousand than abiotic methane, explained researcher Lisa Pratt, an astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist at Indiana University.

Small dissolved molecules or ions containing a lighter isotope move more rapidly at a given temperature than ones containing a heavy isotope. Consequently, those containing a light isotope interact more often with a bacterium’s enzymes, and so get incorporated more often into what it makes metabolically, such as methane.

In 2011, the researchers used an infrared laser to look for methane at multiple sites across a valley that extends for tens of miles near the margin of the Greenland ice sheet.

Measurements were taken about 6 feet (2 meters) above the soil surface for 1 to 4.5 hours each time.

Methane was spotted at several lakes and wetland areas. However, the methane levels seen were very close to what would be detected from normal atmospheric levels at ice margins in Greenland. Their next measurements will be taken at heights just above the soil surface to better distinguish local sources of emission.

Surprising finds

Studying Arctic microbes

Methanogenic microbes rely on a community of microorganisms that provide the acetate and other simple molecules they consume. If such communities evolved in the cold corners of Earth, “it seems reasonable to search for evidence of similar biological processes on other icy bodies in our solar system,” White said.

Such objects include Enceladus and Europa - moons of Saturn and Jupiter, respectively - both of which are thought to harbor oceans of liquid water beneath their icy shells.

To analyze these microbes and their methane emissions, White and his colleagues recently went to Greenland as part

FILE - NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has been studying Saturn and its moons since it entered orbit in 2004. This image, taken on Oct. 5, 2008, is a stunning mosaic of the geologically active Enceladus after a Cassini flyby. (AFP)

of a $2.6 million NASA ASTEP (Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets) grant.

The researchers investigated the western edge of the Greenland ice sheet, “one of the most readily accessible margins of a large ice sheet on Earth,” White said. “The relatively manageable logistics and climate in Greenland com-

Genetic cause of stunted growth in babies discovered NEW YORK: The genetic cause of a syndrome that causes stunted growth in babies has eluded scientists since it was discovered 20 years ago. Now, a gene mutation thought to be linked to large stature has been pinpointed as the culprit of the so-called IMAGe syndrome according to LiveScience.

The finding, the researchers say, could lead to new treatments and tests for the stunted-growth disease and its polar opposite syndrome.

Children with IMAGe syndrome have stunted growth before birth - babies with the syndrome end up with a smaller-than-normal body and organs. Complications from the disease can be life-threatening.

Study researcher Eric Vilain, of UCLA, first identified the disorder as a medical resident in his native France, where he cared for two boys, ages 3 and 6, who were dramatically short for their ages.

“I never found a reason to explain these patients’ unusual set of symptoms,” Vilain said in a statement.

“I’ve been searching for the cause of their disease since 1993.”

Identifying the gene

He finally found it after studying the genetics of an Argentinean family and several other patients with the syndrome. A total of 20 IMAGe patients have been identified with the syndrome across the globe, and many have provided samples for genetic testing.

He compared the genomes of affected patients in the family with their nonaffected relatives. The researchers found the mutation that causes IMAGe in a gene called CDKN1C. The mutation in the CDKN1C gene “consistently appeared in every family member affected by IMAGe syndrome,” Vilain said in a statement. “We were a little surprised, though, because the mutation was located on a gene previously recognized as causing BeckwithWiedemann syndrome.”

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is a growth disorder that causes large body size and organs. Those with the disorder also have an increased likelihood of developing tumors, the most common of which are Wilm’s tumor (a kidney cancer in kids) and adrenal carcinoma, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This disease is more prevalent than IMAGe, affecting about 1 in 12,000 to 15,000 newborns worldwide; about one in five infants with the syndrome dies early in life, according to the NIH. “Finding dual functions in one molecule is an unusual biological phenomenon.

These two diseases are polar opposites of each other, Vilain said. “When the mutation appeared in the slim section we identified, the infant developed IMAGe syndrome. If the mutation fell anywhere else in the gene, the child was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann. That’s really quite remarkable.”

pared to Antarctica made this area an excellent choice.”

Careful analysis of the isotopes making up methane can shed light on its origins. Isotopes are variants of elements.

All isotopes of an element have the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei, but each has a different number of neutrons. For instance, atoms of carbon-12 each have six

So far, the researchers have been surprised by how much biology and biogeochemistry can vary across several small lakes arrayed along a single valley near the ice margin.

“If life was widespread during an early period on Mars when small lakes were common, we need to approach sampling with the expectation that pronounced variation in biological markers could occur even over distances as small as 100 meters (330 feet),” Pratt said.

In the coming summer, the researchers intend to look for potential subsurface gaseous signs of life with an innovative drill they have developed. The device allows rapid transfer of unaltered gas samples from drilled boreholes directly into analytical instruments.

A similar instrument could one day find use in planetary exploration, Pratt said.

Friend groups may encourage kids to be more active NEW YORK: Kids in after-school programs often increase their own physical activity if they make friends who run and jump around more than they do, a new study from Tennessee has found.

Though not completely surprising, that finding could be important as parents, after-school teachers and camp counselors try to encourage youngsters to move more and head-off obesity before it starts, researchers said.

The results are also in line with research that’s been done in teens and adults, who tend to look like the rest of their friend group in terms of weight and fitness level.

“This is more evidence that peers and social networks do influence health behaviors,” said Dr. Pooja Tandon, a childhood obesity researcher from the University of Washington in Seattle who wasn’t involved in the new study.

“The next steps will be (understanding) how to harness the power of social networks to promote health behaviors,” such as physical activity in kids, she told Reuters Health.

Researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville studied 81 racially-diverse public school students, ages five to 12, who went to after-school programs at one of two different sites.

To see how the kids’ friendships affected their physical activity -- and vice

versa -- pediatrics researcher Sabina Gesell and her colleagues spent time with the students during three week-long periods over the spring of 2010.

During each visit, they asked kids individually who they were friends with in the after-school program. Then, Gesell’s team outfitted the youngsters with accelerometers -- small devices that clip on to the belt and measure how active people are at any given time.

Based on accelerometer readings, the students spent an average of 30 percent of their free time at after-school in what the researchers counted as moderate-tovigorous physical activity, including running around or playing active games.

Over the course of the study, Gesell and her colleagues found, kids didn’t make or break friendships based on how active they were compared to other students. For example, those who spent most of after-school running around were equally likely to befriend their active or non-active peers.

Instead, when kids made new friends who were more or less active, they tended to change their own activity level accordingly, the researchers reported Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

“Kids are constantly adjusting their activity levels to match their friends,” Gesell told Reuters Health.

That finding starts to hint at possible

ways to address evidence that kids are spending more time on the couch and less time running around than in the past -and becoming overweight and obese as a result. “If (counselors) can basically use different strategies to encourage activity even in some children, that could have a ripple effect,” said Tandon, who also wondered if similar techniques to promote exercise would work during school recess or at home.

Of course, friends in the study didn’t always have a positive influence.

“Some kids’ activity levels got pulled up by their immediate friends, and others got pulled down,” Gesell told Reuters Health.

The question now, she said, is how to “leverage” that finding to encourage lessactive kids to get more exercise, and not the other way around.

The research is still a few steps away from leading to changes in how afterschool programs are run in the real world, Gesell said. But in the future, counselors could shake up sedentary friend groups and encourage a couple of less-active kids to join those that go straight to the gym or the playground, she added.

“The after-school programs have had this long history of keeping kids safe and keeping them off the street,” Gesell said.

“Now the thought is, what if we use this ideal arena to improve health?” -Reuters

Short-haired bees return to UK after near extinction

The Flaming Star Nebula blazes beautifully in the night sky in this skywatching photo. Astrophotographer Bill Snyder took this spectacular image of IC405, also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, on March 26 from his home observatory in Connellsville Pa. IC405, named after its resemblance to burning flames, lies about 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Auriga. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers). It has two regions, an emission nebula and a reflection nebula. The reflection nebula region reflects the light of the nearby blue-ish star AE Aurigae. The emission region emits lights of many colors from clouds of ionized gas. When seen together, these are called diffuse nebulas. The flaming star nebula can be seen at magnitude + 6.0. On this scale, smaller numbers represent brighter objects. The dimmest objects visible to the human eye are about magnitude 6.5. It’s little more than one degree away from IC 410 and skywatchers can view the nebula with a small telescope. (AFP)

LONDON: They’ve been away, but now they are - hopefully -buzzing back to their rightful place in the bucolic British countryside.

Around 50 short-haired bees were released into an English nature reserve Monday, some two decades after they were wiped out from most of rural Britain. Ecologists hope that with the support of farmers who have agreed to grow flowers and plants that help bees flourish they will zip across the country again.

“Our farmland always used to have wild flower borders. We are just asking farmers to go back to the way things were and the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Nikki Gammans, who is leading the ambitious project, told The Associated Press.

The population of short-haired bees - scientific name Bombus subterraneus has declined dramatically across most of Europe the last two decades as their habitat was destroyed. The bees were declared extinct in Britain 12 years ago.

But they survived in Skane, southern Sweden and three years ago Natural England, a conservation program that advises the UK government, launched a program to bring the bees back into the wild along with the Royal Society for Protection of Birds, Bumblebee Conservation Trust and ecology research group Hymettus.

Natural England gave farmers grants to plant flower-rich hay meadows on their land and border their fields with wildflowers to attract bees. Once the wildflowers were in place, Gammans collected nearly a hundred bees from Sweden, and held them in quarantine while screening them for parasites.

The 51 that made it through the screening process were released into the wild Monday in a nature reserve in

Dungeness, Kent in southeast England, filled with wild flowers such as red clover, white dead nettle, yellow flag and tufted vetches.

“There are corridors of wild flowers all over the country so we really hope the bees will be able to spread out and thrive in the English countryside again,” Gammans said.

Britain has 250 species of bees, but numbers are falling fast, as they appear to be worldwide.

A UN report last year said the world’s bee population is likely to continue declining unless habitats are protected. Pesticides, wet weather and a parasite called the varroa mite also are hitting numbers.

The U.N. estimates that of the 100 crop

species that provide 90 percent of the world’s food, more than 70 are pollinated by bees, and therefore the declining bee population could soon hit food supplies.

In Britain, both honey bees and wild bees, like the short-haired bee, are under threat.

“The problem of vanishing bees is a complex one and there is no single solution, but the planting of wildflowers is enormously helpful,” said Tim Lovett, a former president of British Bee Keepers Association. “Other people can help too, by planting bee friendly plants like lavender in their garden, and local authorities can plant more trees. We all have to do something because we are all in it together. -AP

This undated photograph made available by ecologist Nikki Gammans shows a short haired bee on red clover in New Zealand. (AP)

16

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

tuesdAY, may 29, 2012

Attempts to revive language spoken in Jesus’ time In a Wednesday, May 2, 2012 photo Atif Zarka, 64, a volunteer Aramaic teacher’s assistant, plays the violin to fourth grade students studying Aramaic in the Arab village of Jish, northern Israel. (AP)

JISH, Israel: Two villages in the Holy Land’s tiny Christian community are teaching Aramaic in an ambitious effort to revive the language that Jesus spoke, centuries after it all but disappeared from the Middle East.

The new focus on the region’s dominant language 2,000 years ago comes with a little help from modern technology: an Aramaic-speaking television channel from Sweden, of all places, where a vibrant immigrant community has kept the ancient tongue alive.

In the Palestinian village of Beit Jala, an older generation of Aramaic speakers is trying to share the language with their grandchildren. Beit Jala lies next to Bethlehem, where the New Testament says Jesus was born.

And in the Arab-Israeli village of Jish, nestled in the Galilean hills where Jesus lived and preached, elementary school children are now being instructed in Aramaic. The children belong mostly to the Maronite Christian community. Maronites still chant their liturgy in Aramaic but few understand the prayers.

“We want to speak the language that Jesus spoke,” said Carla Hadad, a 10year-old Jish girl who frequently waved her arms to answer questions in Aramaic from school teacher Mona Issa during a recent lesson.

“We used to speak it a long time ago,” she added, referring to her ancestors.

During the lesson, a dozen children lisped out a Christian prayer in Aramaic.

They learned the words for “elephant,” ‘’how are you?” and “mountain.” Some children carefully drew sharp-angled Aramaic letters. Others fiddled with their pencil cases, which sported images of popular soccer teams.

The dialect taught in Jish and Beit Jala is “Syriac,” which was spoken by their Christian forefathers and resembles the Galilean dialect that Jesus would have used, according to Steven Fassberg, an Aramaic expert at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

“They probably would have understood each other,” Fassberg said.

In Jish, about 80 children in grades

one through five study Aramaic as a voluntary subject for two hours a week. Israel’s education ministry provided funds to add classes until the eighth grade, said Principal Reem Khatieb-Zuabi.

Several Jish residents lobbied for Aramaic studies several years ago, said Khatieb-Zuabi, but the idea faced resistance: Jish’s Muslims worried it was a covert attempt to entice their children to Christianity. Some Christians objected, saying the emphasis on their ancestral language was being used to strip them of their Arab identity. The issue is sensitive to many Arab Muslims and Christians in Israel, who prefer to be identified by their ethnicity, not their faith.

Ultimately, Khatieb-Zuabi, a secular Muslim from an outside village, overruled them.

“This is our collective heritage and culture. We should celebrate and study it,” the principal said. And so the Jish Elementary School becomes the only Israeli public school teaching Aramaic, according to the education ministry.

Their efforts are mirrored in Beit Jala’s Mar Afram school run by the Syrian Orthodox church and located just a few miles (kilometers) from Bethlehem’s Manger Square.

There, priests have taught the language to their 320 students for the past five years.

Some 360 families in the area descend from Aramaic-speaking refugees who in the 1920s fled the Tur Abdin region of what is now Turkey.

Priest Butros Nimeh said elders still speak the language but that it vanished among younger generations. Nimeh said they hoped teaching the language would help the children appreciate their roots.

Although both the Syrian Orthodox and Maronite church worship in Aramaic, they are distinctly different sects.

The Maronites are the dominant Christian church in neighboring Lebanon but make up only a few thousand of the Holy Land’s 210,000 Christians. Likewise, Syrian Orthodox Christians number no more than 2,000 in the Holy Land, said Nimeh. Overall, some 150,000 Christians

live in Israel and another 60,000 live in the West Bank.

Both schools found inspiration and assistance in an unlikely place: Sweden.

There, Aramaic-speaking communities who descended from the Middle East have sought to keep their language alive.

They publish a newspaper, “Bahro Suryoyo,” pamphlets and children’s books, including “The Little Prince,” and maintain a satellite television station, “Soryoyosat,” said Arzu Alan, chairwoman of the Syriac Aramaic Federation of Sweden. There’s also an Aramaic soccer team, “Syrianska FC” in the Swedish top division from the town of Sodertalje.

Officials estimate the Aramaic-speaking population at anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 people.

For many Maronites and Syrian Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, the television station, in particular, was the first time they heard the language outside church in decades. Hearing it in a modern context inspired them to try revive the language among their communities.

“When you hear (the language), you can speak it,” said Issa, the teacher.

Aramaic dialects were the region’s vernacular from 2,500 years ago until the sixth century, when Arabic, the language of conquering Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula, became dominant, according to Fassberg.

Linguistic islands survived: Maronites clung to Aramaic liturgy and so did the Syrian Orthodox church. Kurdish Jews on the river island of Zakho spoke an Aramaic dialect called “Targum” until fleeing to Israel in the 1950s. Three Christian villages in Syria still speak an Aramaic dialect, Fassberg said.

With few opportunities to practice the ancient tongue, teachers in Jish have tempered expectations. They hope they can at least revive an understanding of the language.

The steep challenges are seen in the Jish School, where the fourth-grade Aramaic class has just a dozen students. The number used to be twice that until they introduced an art class during the same time slot - and lost half their students. -AP

Saudi woman defies religious police over nail polish FRANCE: A YouTube video of a Saudi woman defying orders by the notorious religious police to leave a mall because she is wearing nail polish has gone viral, attracting more than a million hits in just five days.

The three and a half minute video posted on May 23 shows members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice telling the women to “get out of here (the mall).”

But she refuses to comply, saying: “I’m staying and I want to know what

you’re going to do about.”

“It’s none of your business if I wear nail polish,” the unidentified woman, who is not seen on tape, is heard shouting at bearded men from the feared religious force.

“You are not in charge of me,” she defiantly shouts back, referring to new constraints imposed earlier this year on the religious police banning them from harassing Saudi women over their behavior and attire.

“The government has banned you

Nepal traditional mask dancers perform during a function to observe Nepal Fifth Republic Day, in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, May 28, 2012. The fifth Republic Day was observed to commemorate the day when the first meeting of the elected Constituent Assembly (CA) declared Nepal a Republic and abolished the 240-year old monarchy, meanwhile, Nepal’s Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai called new elections for November after the term of the Constituent Assembly expired at midnight Sunday without political leaders completing the task of writing a new constitution. (AP)

from coming after us,” she told the men, adding “you are only supposed to provide advice, and nothing more.”

In January, Saudi King Abdullah appointed a moderate to head the religious police raising hopes that a more lenient force will ease draconian social constraints in the Islamic country.

Two weeks into his post, Sheikh Abdullatif Abdel Aziz Al-Sheikh banned volunteers from serving in the commission which enforces the kingdom’s strict Islamic rules.

And in April he went further prohibiting the religious police from “harassing people” and threatening “decisive measures against violators.”

As of Monday, the video was viewed more than 1,142,000 times, with over 12,000 people posting comments online, most of them denouncing the woman’s behavior.

One posting said she had “no shame” and accused her of “prostituting” herself.

Another called her a “slut” and a “whore.”

The clip earned only about 1800 “likes.” The number of “dislikes” reached almost 7000.

The woman filmed the incident herself and posted it on YouTube. At one point during the video, she cautions the religious police that she has already posted the exchange online.

It is also not clear if the woman was eventually forced to leave the mall.

The religious police prevent women from driving, require them to be covered from head to foot in black, ban public entertainment, and force all commerce, from supermarkets to petrol stations, to come to a halt at prayer times, five times a day. -AFP

All aboard! Double-decker bus makes Baghdad comeback BAGHDAD: More often seen speeding past Trafalgar Square, British-style double-decker buses are making a comeback in Baghdad, the latest sign that Iraq’s capital is on the road to recovery after years of war and sanctions.

Once a common sight during Saddam Hussein’s rule before the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraq’s old red double-deckers all but disappeared from use when looting, sectarian violence, and attacks engulfed the Iraqi capital at the height of the war.

Baghdad is still chaotic, with traffic crawling along rubble-filled roads and through security checkpoints that protect government compounds.

But the new air-conditioned buses are a relief for long-suffering residents.

“They disappeared after the occupation, but it’s good to see them back,” said passenger Basil Hashim, an Arabic language teacher taking one of the new routes in central Baghdad. “It makes it feel like Baghdad is like any other capital.”

Iraq’s transport ministry says 60 new doubledecker buses, made in Jordan, will start running this week on state-run lines. The 500 Iraqi dinar (40 US cents) ticket is half the price of a ride in one of the city’s often dilapidated, packed taxis.

Nine years after the US-led invasion ousted Saddam, Iraq’s capital is still messy. Residents rely on generators to compensate for patchy power service, infrastructure is crumbling, and violence remains a constant risk with Sunni Islamist insurgents fighting the state.

Iraq’s government has ambitious plans for major projects from a high-speed train to a metro line.

But in a city where corruption is rife and paving a

single main street can take years, many Iraqis dismiss those plans with skepticism.

Still, as attacks and bombings have ebbed, Baghdad is slowly coming back to life. Along the Tigris River in the city’s Abu Nawas Street, playgrounds, football pitches and restaurants selling Baghdad’s famous fish dish Masgoof thrive at weekends.

City officials have started taking down many of the tall blast walls that once made Baghdad a maze of concrete.

Baghdad’s old double-deckers, were either stolen, or gradually fell into disrepair, as Iraq struggled with the violence that erupted after the invasion.

More than 300 old buses were dumped in a north Baghdad scrap yard.

Bringing new buses back to Baghdad has not been without its problems. Speed bumps at security checkpoints and the make-shift electricity wiring that crisscrosses in low-slung webs across many Baghdad streets has proven tricky.

A mortar attack a few days before the buses started running killed one person and wounded six people along Sadoun street area, in a reminder of the fragile security.

But in a city where summer temperatures can sneak over 50 degrees Celsius, the air-conditioned double-deckers offer an alternative to a taxi ride squeezed in with other passengers or one of the fleet of competing minibuses.

“It’s a lot of competition for sure. But they are slow,” said taxi driver Abdul Salam Hamil, his passengers sweltering in his battered 1980 white Toyota. “In the end, there is enough for everyone, we get our livelihood and they get theirs.” -Reuters

US embrace Venezuela’s musical imperialism

Dan Trahey, the man behind OrchKids, in rehearsals for a concert with young students from Highlandtown Elementary Middle School in Baltimore. (dpa)

WASHINGTON: Politically, the United States and Venezuela are antagonists. However, beyond the limelight, cultural exchanges are thriving: the Venezuelan musical education program El Sistema is branching out to poverty-stricken US cities.

US authorities slam Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a demagogue, Chavez describes US President Barack Obama as a “clown.”

Verbal skirmishes and outright sanctions often hide the fact that both countries share a cultural alliance, with organizations like El Sistema acting as a bridge.

The education scheme was founded in 1975 by economist and musician Jose Antonio Abreu, and it annually reaches out to about 40,000 children from mostly poor backgrounds in Venezuela.

Gustavo Dudamel, the celebrated music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is one of its products.

Dudamel, who grew up in a humble home, rose to achieve international acclaim. He embodies the potential of El Sistema, which is also finding an echo in the world’s richest country.

Over the past four years, the program has expanded into the United States.

“The movement is burgeoning all over the country,” says Tony Woodcock, president of the New England Conservatory and a sponsor of El Sistema.

“It is a diffuse, viral movement, unlike the Venezuelan model, which is pretty tightly controlled and unified.”

In cold Juneau, Alaska, there is a project inspired by the Venezuelan model. In sunny Miami, 5,500 kilometers away, there is another. In between those two, there are 52 orchestra programs under El Sistema’s umbrella.

One of the leading projects is in the East Coast city of Baltimore.

The program founded by the local symphony orchestra is called OrchKids. Following the example of El Sistema, it is aimed at underprivileged elementary school students in the impoverished west of the city.

This after-school program keeps the children off the streets and teaches them to play instruments like the violin or the trumpet.

However, that is hardly all.

“It’s about more than just learning to play some notes on an instrument,” says Dan Trahey, 32, the man behind OrchKids.

“The orchestra is a metaphor for society. It teaches understanding and empathy.”

Demand for El Sistema’s approach to social development is huge in a city like Baltimore.

A quarter of the 400 OrchKids students are growing

up in poverty. Only one out of 10 children in Baltimore graduates from college, which is in turn the most significant precondition to get a job in the United States.

Besides, one out of 10 city residents is addicted to heroin. Heroin abuse has such deep roots in Baltimore that dependency is often passed on by mothers to their children.

It is not yet clear how many of the children who have such a handicap can break away from it with help from OrchKids, Trahey notes. However, experience shows that the program’s children do better at school and are more active in the community.

Compared to the Venezuelan program, which is subsidized by the state, the scattered US projects have reached a smaller number of children, 4,500 in total.

“It’s not that many children, but it is a start,” says Mark Churchill, who paid a visit to Abreu 12 years ago and then founded the lobby group El Sistema USA. After all, Churchill notes, every child that El Sistema prevents from landing in prison saves the state a huge amount of money.

El Sistema in the United States is expected to remain a loose group of different projects. The political and economic system in the country is simply not receptive to a centralized program like the Venezuelan variant, Woodcock says.

However, he is quick to brush aside criticism that the system is “too socialist” for the United States.

“El Sistema pre-dates the Chavez regime by several decades,” he stresses.

“It is clear that the program is apolitical. The promise of teaching children an instrument and strengthening the communities is one that resonates pretty universally,” Woodcock notes.

The Venezuelan experience has inspired programs beyond the United States. In Latin America and in other parts of the world there are youth orchestras like those envisaged by Abreu.

Stories like that of Lianne Salas highlight the strength of the vision of this Venezuelan man, now aged 72. A violin teacher from Cebu City in the Philippines, Salas has been touring the United States since the beginning of the year.

Beyond OrchKids, she has visited scores of youth orchestras as an inspiration for her own dream: to establish El Sistema on the Asian archipelago. And although she is only now joining the family built around this musical education program, she already sounds like Abreu.

“I just happen to be from the Philippines,” she says.

“The whole world needs El Sistema.” -dpa

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

17

Haneke’s Amour wins top prize at Cannes

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Somebody Artist: Niki & The Dove Album: Instinct Genre: Electro In short: Niki & The Dove is the latest Swedish export to impact the music scene outside of Sweden. After Robyn, Erik Hassle, and a myriad of other artists, Niki & The Dove arrive with a sleekly produced record that puts most recent pop releases to shame. “Somebody” is a just a taste of what the album holds.

To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz De Niro talks to Bates grads, gets honorary degree As he received an honorary doctorate Sunday, Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro told Bates College graduates that despite his own lack of formal education, he made out OK. During a 15-minute address that was by turns sincere and irreverent, De Niro drew a steady stream of laughter from the 463 graduating seniors and more than 5,000 onlookers at the private, liberal arts college’s campus. De Niro, who quit high school to pursue an acting career, was one of three high-profile guests who received honorary degrees at the Bates commencement. De Niro stole the show with his words. “In many ways, leaving school when I did it was an advantage. I saved nearly $6,000 by not having to pay tuition and expenses for four years of education,” he said. “I feel a little foolish, because if I had waited until now not to go to college, I could have saved around a quarter of a million.” Looking back, he said, “it worked out just fine. I saved the money, and I got the degree.” The honorary doctorate of fine arts was conferred by Nancy Cable, interim president at Bates. De Niro also offered the graduates some serious advice. “If you’re an actor, always be true to your character,” he said. “If you’re not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself.” -AP

Men in Black bumps Avengers at North American box office The third “Men in Black” alien action comedy bumped the mighty “Avengers” from the top of movie box office charts through Sunday and was likely to dominate theaters over the rest of the Memorial Day weekend. “MIB 3”, starring Will Smith, racked up $55 million in the United States and Canada from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates. The movie also topped box offices in 104 countries around the world, and is expected to haul in a global $202 million over the four-day holiday weekend, distributor Sony Pictures said. It is the first “Men in Black” film to reach theaters in 10 years, and the best performing film since the franchise began in 1997. In “MIB 3”, Smith returns to his role as Agent J, half of a secret-agent duo that keeps order among aliens disguised as humans and living on Earth. The new installment finds J traveling back to the 1960s to save a younger version of K, portrayed by Josh Brolin. “MIB 3” knocked superhero team “The Avengers” to second place after three weeks at No. 1. -Reuters

Elvis Presley crypt up for auction this month For the right price, you or a loved one can rest in peace in the tomb of The King. Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien is selling Elvis Presley’s original crypt to the highest bidder as part of his “Music Icons” auction later this month. The tomb is located inside the granite and marble mausoleum at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennesse. Presley was interred there alongside his mother, Gladys, after he died Aug. 16, 1977. The original crypt has remained empty ever since.

Julien says the winning bid from the auction beginning June 23 will receive the crypt, opening and closing of the vault for burial, a memorialization inscription and use of a chapel for a committal service. -AP

Justin Bieber wanted for questioning in scuffle Justin Bieber is wanted for questioning by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators after a photographer complained of being roughed up by the pop star at a shopping center. Sheriff’s Lt. Robert Wiard says the photographer called 911 on Sunday and complained of pain to his chest. Wiard said the scuffle happened when the photographer tried to snap pictures of Bieber and his girlfriend, teen actress Selena Gomez, after they walked out of a theater at The Commons at Calabasas. Wiard says the photographer was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released. -AP

Concert on National Mall shut down by thunder The National Memorial Day Concert has been canceled due to a line of thunderstorms that moved into the District of Columbia on Sunday night. About halfway into the concert, an annual event on the National Mall, host Gary Sinise told the audience there was a severe weather warning and advised concertgoers to leave and seek shelter. The Memorial Day concert, broadcast by PBS, features songs from pop and country performers, patriotic music from military bands and stories of heroic acts by US troops. Country singer Trace Adkins and rock band Daughtry had already performed before the plug was pulled Sunday. -AP

Director Michael Haneke, actress Emmanuelle Riva (left) and actor Jean-Louis Trintignant (right) react after receiving the Palme d’Or award for the film “Amour” (Love) during the awards ceremony of the 65th Cannes Film Festival, May 27, 2012. (Reuters)

CANNES: The Cannes Film Festival rewarded one of its favorite directors Sunday, as Michael Haneke won the top prize for a second time with his stark film about love and death, “Amour.” The Austrian director’s powerful and understated film stars two French acting icons - 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva and 81-year-old Jean-Louis Trintignant - as an elderly couple coping with the wife’s worsening health.

Cannes jury member Jean Paul Gaultier praised the performances of the two actors and the “incredible connection” they established in the movie.

Haneke said he made the film because “I experienced something in my family that touched me.” He thanked his wife and - in a rare personal comment - said he had promised her “we would never leave each other, like in the film.”

Some viewers were surprised by the movie’s frank humanity, coming from a master of tightly controlled cinema whose movies often contain sudden bursts of violence.

The director said his reputation for delivering shocks was unjust. “Journalists always try to stick a label on directors,” he said. “For a long time I’ve been the expert in violence.”

But he said a film’s style should match its subject matter, not its director, and “this film is about love.”

Haneke has brought 10 films to Cannes over the years, including “Funny Games” and “Hidden.” He previously won the Palme in 2009 for “The White Ribbon,” and is only the seventh director to take the top prize twice.

The festival jury awarded the second-place Grand Prize to Matteo Garrone’s Italian satire “Reality,” while Ken Loach’s whiskey-tasting comedy “The Angels’ Share” won the thirdplace Jury Prize.

Both have won Cannes prizes before - Garrone took the Grand Prize for “Gomorrah” in 2008 and Loach won the Palme d’Or in 2006 for “The Wind That Shakes the Barley.”

Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas was named best director for his surrealism-tinged family story “Post Tenebras Lux.” The best actor prize went to Mads Mikkelsen as a man ostracized by his small-town community when he is accused of child abuse in “The Hunt.”

Jury member Ewan McGregor said Mikkelsen had given a beautiful performance whose “wonder is in the subtlety ... but with complete conviction with his character.”

Best actress was won jointly by Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan, as friends separated by faith in Romanian movie

Best Actress award joint winners Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur (left) for the film “Dupa Dealuri” (Beyond the Hills) react next to actor Alec Baldwin during the awards ceremony of the 65th Cannes Film Festival, May 27, 2012. (Reuters)

US director Benh Zeitlin poses on stage with his trophy after being awarded with the Camera d’Or (Best First Film) for his film “Beasts of the Southern Wild” during the awards ceremony of the 65th Cannes film festival on May 27, 2012 in Cannes. (AFP)

“Beyond the Hills.” Cristian Mungiu’s drama of love and faith in a remote Romanian monastery also won the award for best screenplay.

The prize winners were chosen from among 22 contenders by a jury, led by Italian director Nanni Moretti, that included actors Ewan McGregor and Diane Kruger, director Alexander Payne and fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Moretti revealed that none of the winners had been a unanimous choice, with several films sharply dividing the jury.

He said the biggest fights had been over Leos Carax’s bizarre and episodic “Holy Motors,” Ulrich Seidl’s sex tourism drama “Paradise: Love” and Reygadas’ “Post Tenebras Lux,” whose title means “light after the darkness.”

British director Andrea Arnold, a juror, said it was a film “which dared to fail and be brave about life.”

The 12-day festival has seen plenty of glamour, with the likes of Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart appearing both on-screen and on the red carpet.

But in the movies, weighty themes dominated at an event whose French Riviera froth was subdued by several days of unseasonable rain and cold.

Despite a strong American flavor to the festival, US films were shut out apart from Benh Zeitli’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” which won the Camera d’Or for best first film.

The jury overlooked Pitt, who plays a cynical mob enforcer in Andrew Dominik’s “Killing Them Softly,” and Kidman as a Southern femme fatale in Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy.”

Payne said it would be wrong to draw any conclusions about the state of a nation’s cinema “based on one tiny snapshot.”

Other much-praised performances at the festival included Marion Cotillard’s tragedy-struck killer-whale trainer in “Rust and Bone,” newcomer Paul Brannigan’s scrappy Glasgow lad in “The Angels’ Share,” and Denis Lavant, as a performer who takes on a host of bizarre personas in “Holy Motors.” -AP

Appropriate Adult, Borgen win big at the BAFTA TV Awards LONDON: Monica Dolan waltzed off with this year’s British Academy Television Award for best supporting actress for her turn in ITV1’s serial killer drama “Appropriate Adult.”

Dolan saw off the challenges of her fellow nominees, which included Maggie Smith, in line for her role as a snippy dowager duchess in “Downton Abbey.”

It marked a night where upstarts ruled more established hits and the contenders considered to be among the bookies’ favorites.

Dolan hit the podium ahead of fellow nominee Smith for her nod dished out by Timothy Spall.

Fresh mini-series “Appropriate Adult” won three of the evening’s top performances with Dolan’s the first dished out.

Emily Watson secured the evening’s best actress plaudit for her turn in “Appropriate Adult” while her co-star from the show, Dominic West, picked up the evening’s best actor nod.

West made it to the podium ahead of challenges from Benedict Cumberbatch in “Sherlock,” John Simm in “Exile” and Joseph Gilgun in “This is England ‘88.”

Watson impressed ahead of Nadine Marshall in “Random,” Romola Garai in “The Crimson Petal and the White” and Vicky McClure in “This Is England ‘88.”

Danish thriller “Borgen” walked away with this year’s British Academy Television Award for best international TV show, beating fellow Dane contender show “The Killing”, US comedy “Modern Family” and the adaptation of best-selling Australian novel “The Slap.” The award was presented by Vicky McClure and Sam Claflin.

Other BAFTA TV nods saw Andrew Scott scored a best supporting actor award for his turn in “Sherlock,” an award he picked up from Helen Mcrory.

BAFTA TV’s best situation comedy category was deemed to be “Mrs Brown’s Boys” while Jennifer Saunders scored the BAFTA for best female in a comedy performance for her role in “Absolutely Fabulous.”

Darren Boyd picked up the evening’s

Monica Dolan wins BAFTA TV best supporting actress award for “Appropriate Adult” on May 27,2012 in central London. (Reuters)

best male comedy turn in “Spy,” aired on BSkyB’s Sky One. Stephen Moffat, the television writer and producer of both “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who” was presented with the 2012 Television Special Award, presented to him Benedict Cumberbatch and Matt Smith, his “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who”

List of Winners:

• Palme d’Or (Best Film): “Love”/Amour (Austria) by Michael Haneke • Grand Prix (Runner-up): “Reality” (Italy) by Matteo Garrone • Jury Prize (Third Prize): “The Angels’ Share” (Britain)

by Ken Loach • Camera d’Or (Debut Film): “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (US) by Benh Zeitlin • Best Director: Carlos Reygadas for “Post Tenebras Lux” (Mexico) • Best Screenplay: “Beyond the Hills” (Romania) by Cristian Mungiu • Best Actress: Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur in “Beyond the Hills” • Best Actor: Mads Mikkelsen in “The Hunt”

stars.

And one of the biggest ovations of the night was left to TV legend Rolf Harris who picked up a BAFTA fellowship.

This year’s show was hosted by Irish comedian and TV host Dara O’Briain from the Royal Festival Hall in central London and sponsored by Arquiva. -Reuters

Lady Gaga sends love to Indonesian fans JAKARTA, Indonesia: Lady Gaga told fans she was “devastated” at having to cancel her sold-out show in Indonesia following threats by Islamic hard-liners, who called her a “devil worshipper.” Controversy over the concert is a blow to the predominantly Muslim country’s reputation as a tolerant, pluralist society that respects freedom of expression. Some fans accused police - who refused to issue a permit over concerns about security - of buckling to the will of a small group of thugs. “We had to cancel the concert in Indonesia,” the 26-year-old pop diva tweeted to her followers Sunday night after promoters acknowledged concerns about her own safety and that of her “Little Monster” fans if the show went ahead. “I’m so very sorry to the fans & just as devastated as you if not more,” she wrote.

“You are everything to me.”

Indonesia, a secular nation of 240 million, is often held up by the US and others an example of how democracy and Islam and can coexist. In many ways they are right. Since emerging from dictatorship just over a decade ago, sweeping reforms have resulted in direct elections, while vastly improving human rights and freeing up the media. But a small extremist fringe has become more vocal - and violent - in recent years, attacking Christians and members of other religious minorities, transvestites, atheists and anyone else deemed immoral. The most notorious, the Islamic Defenders Front, said Lady Gaga’s sexy clothes and provocative dance moves would corrupt the youth. They vowed to turn out at the airport by the thousands if Lady Gaga arrived. Others said they bought tickets so they could wreak havoc from inside the 52,000-seat stadium in the capital, Jakarta. Police responded by denying the necessary permits. Then, after public outcry, they said they’d reconsider - but only if Lady Gaga agreed to tone down her act. Instead, she pulled the plug on what was supposed to be the biggest stop on her Asian tour.

Michael Rusli, head of Big Daddy, promised “Little Monster” fans full refunds. But that provided little consolation to people like 25-yearold Johnny Purba. “This only shows to the world how weak security forces are in this country, how police are afraid of a bunch of hard-liners,” he said. “Gaga’s two-hour show will not hurt Indonesian Muslims. For God’s sake, she is not a terrorist!” -AP

18

ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012

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

Feature o f

graffiti

the day

moderately confused

University Health Network leaders visit Kuwait from May 27 to 31

KUWAIT: A key focus for UHN’s partnership with KCCC is the development of a strategic plan for the Kuwait Cancer Control Center and the country as a whole. During the leadership visit on May 27 to May 31, UHN leaders will join their KCCC colleagues in interviews with key external partners to hear what people think of KCCC and to better understand what KCCC should strive towards over the next 5-10 years. This is part of UHN’s ongoing commitment to enhance cancer care in Kuwait, provide clinical expertise to the Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC) and to promote a collaborative approach health system development.

Dr. Bob Bell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz, Medical Director and ten other UHN senior executives and department heads will visit Kuwait at the end of May to monitor progress in implementing departmental plans jointly developed with KCCC partners at the end of last year. The foundation of these plans incorporated three main themes: 1) Ensuring that the plans enhance patient and family centered-care; 2) Continuous Quality Improvement and 3) Informed by international care standards. The theme for the visit will be collaboration and integration within KCCC and between KCCC and other hospitals and community agencies involved in the delivery of cancer care in Kuwait.

Adil Khalfan, Regional Director, UHN international program, stated: “Through our promising partnership with Kuwait Cancer Control Center we will be able to improve and develop cancer services for our patients in Kuwait and in the region by sharing and exchanging medical expertise which will not only benefit the state of Kuwait but also UHN as a whole. The Ministry of Health and KCCC should be applauded for their persistence to ensure Kuwait’s specialized healthcare

Month a t

Sudoku

Elementary

Advanced

Intermediate

services offer the most up-to-date and state-of-the-art care while partnering with leading centers around the world.

Within their first year of partnership, the UHN and the KCCC witnessed an unprecedented success and achieved a number of significant accomplishments.

These included 580 patient consults, 30 complex surgeries and over 1000 case reviews.

“There have been a total of 70 attended clinics, 150 educational sessions and presentations and 30 KCCC consultations to the UHN to date. These accomplishments mark the KCCC’s continuous development towards becoming the region’s hub for cancer care.”

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

a glance Arts presents Carnevale, an extravaganza of dance and celebrations from across the Globe.

The event will take place starting June 8th until June 9th on the British School of Kuwait Campus at Salwa Block 1, Street 1, Villa 32. For more information please contact 60052087/25623604.

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

For more information, please contact Khaled Al-Hashem at 65588824.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Lilly is a gentle and gorgeous two-year-old female Tiffany cat. She is confident and loves being the center of attention. Lilly will be a wonderful addition to a family with children aged 5 and above. To adopt contact K’S PATH at (+965) 67001622 or visit the website www. kspath.org

Waist Watchers Diwaniya presentation May 29/ 7 p.m. / The AWARE Center: You are cordially invited to our diwaniya presentation entitled, “How to take care of your teeth,” by Dr. Soud Al-Enezi. Would you like to learn something about gum Problems and how do we avoid them? Problems with Wisdom Teeth? And how are dental services provided in Kuwait? In his 30-minute presentation, Dr. Soud will answer all these questions and many more. For more information, call 25335260/80.

AUB Annual Gala Dinner June 1/ 8:00 p.m./Sheraton Hotel: AUB Alumini in Kuwait hold a Charity Gala dinner each eyar to raise money for students on financial aid at the university.

This year, the event will take place on June 1st with the Comedy Night from Lebanon as the main attraction of the night. The event will commence at 8:00 p.m., at the Diamond Ballroom in the Sheraton Hotel. The event is available for public and is free of charge.

BAIA Carnevale June 8 - 9/ 1:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m./Salwa: The British Academy of International

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.

Cissi is a pretty and friendly 6-month-old mix-breed female dog who loves to play and run. She is very affectionate and enjoys a cuddle. Cissi will do great in a family with children aged 8 and above.

Hip Hop at BAIA Every week/ Salmiya: BAIA offers weekly Hip Hop classes for students aged five and up.

These “just for fun” classes are a great work-out. For more information visit www.thebaia.com or contact: info@thebaia.com. Telephone: 2562 3604 ext.154, 2562 0706 ext.154. Mobile: 6005 2087.

Brainbang session October 7-April/ 11:45 a.m. -1:45 p.m. /Salmiya: BRAINBANG, the creative arm of Friends of CRY Club (FOCC) invites all students aged 11 and above, to join us fortnightly on Fridays.

The areas of development are: Creativity in learning, tools and techniques to empower your mind, profile based learning, activity, fun, games and worksheet based assignments, practical experiments, mind gymnastics and application of learning techniques to conventional study. E-mail: brainbang@focckwt.org or call 25660835/25618471/97677820.

Dilbert

Ugandans in Kuwait (UIK) Are you a Ugandan living and working in Kuwait? Would you like to get in touch with other Ugandans in Kuwait both socially and professionally? We would like to invite you to register with the Ugandans in Kuwait (UIK) association, an informal organization of Ugandans living and working in Kuwait. This association is voluntary. It is designed to create a forum for Ugandans in Kuwait to foster a sense of community, to communicate more effectively with each other and to encourage Ugandans out here to work together.We are also planning a celebration to mark 50 years of Ugandan’s Independence this year. If you have any questions regarding this then please send an email at ugandansinkuwait@gmail.com.

Embassy of Korea The Embassy of the Republic of Korea wishes to inform that it has moved to Mishref, Block 7A, Diplomatic Area 2, Plot 6. Contact: 25378621/2/3/4/5. The embassy also wishes to inform that it will be opened to the public on the following office hours: Morning: 8 a.m. 12:30 p.m. Lunch break: 12:30 p.m. - 1 p.m. Afternoon: 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

You may find that people are likely to challenge your mental process today, Aries. Don’t be surprised if they seem to argue with your ideas left and right. Your heart may be especially tender, and any sort of belligerent dispute could affect you deeply. On the other hand, you can use your sensitivity to calm situations that need to be remedied. The sooner the better.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

The key for you today is to use your heart more than your head, Taurus. Base all your actions on your feelings and inner knowing of situations. Facts may deceive you. You’ve come to rely so much on a linear, logical way of thinking that you can’t see any other way.

It’s important that you see the interconnectedness of many of the different areas in your life and then act.

Gemini: May 21- June 21

Things will go especially well for you today, Gemini, so don’t worry about a thing. Life does not necessarily get easier as you get older. You just learn how to deal with things. You’ll find this to be true right now as your incredible sensitivity and wisdom are making it possible for you to attain a clear perspective.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

The more attention you try to get from other people today, Cancer, the more people are going to ignore your fancy displays and grandiose ideas. Take a more sensitive approach. You’ll be able to lead people better when you walk behind them. Earn the respect of others by relating to their emotions. Your heart is big and bold you have a great deal of love to give.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Take care of the people around you, Leo. Service to others is an important part of the day, as compassion and caring are at the forefront of your mind.

Take this opportunity to become a reassuring caregiver for someone who needs a nurturing shoulder. You’ll win a great number of loyal friends to your side as you share your passionate nature with others. Way to go now!

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

You may feel as if you’re sinking into an emotional vortex. Be careful about assuming that things are yours when they aren’t really. It’s important that you not accuse someone of being a thief when you have no facts to back up this claim. Keeping things in balance may be difficult with the great amount of emotional sensitivity in the air.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Your thinking is quite clear, Libra, and you’ll find that your emotions support your mental processes.

Your psychic nature is also strong, so you should trust any hunch you have. The masculine and feminine sides of your being are working together harmoniously to balance out the degree of give versus take. Try not to take on as your own other people’s problems.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

You may need to keep your spaceship idle today and perform a safety check for your crew, Scorpio.

Make sure everyone on board is informed of the destination. It could be that you just picked them off the street without really telling them where they’d end up. It is vital that you not drag people unwittingly into your world. If they voluntarily give the controls to you, that’s fine.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Things may not be as obvious as they first seem today, Sagittarius. Don’t get started on any project until you understand the full scope of what you’re getting into. You may find yourself caught in the middle of an emotional drama that leaves you no room for escape. Do not be surprised if your motivation suddenly dissipates.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Don’t try to force your ideas on anyone, Capricorn.

It’s important to maintain neutrality so you can act from a stable state of mind when someone brings you an issue that needs to be dealt with right away.

Don’t react to a situation. If you know you’re right about something, keep it to yourself. There’s no need to rub it in anyone’s face and tell them they’re wrong.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Your intuitive nature is especially strong, Aquarius. You won’t have to think about things because you’ll have the ability to just know the answers. If any penetrating detective work needs to be done, this would be an excellent time. Your caring, sensitive nature will get you through any door you want to walk through today. Keep that smile on your face at all times.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Any argument you start today is likely to erupt into a brutal battle, Pisces, so beware. Try not to tread on anyone else’s turf, because you’ll find that he or she is likely to be possessive and rather belligerent about defending what is rightfully theirs. Avoid eruptions of energy. Don’t pick fights where they aren’t needed.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

tuesDAY, may 29, 2012

19

Basketball

Tennis

Unstoppable Spurs silence Thunder

Federer equals record with win, Azarenka has close shave

San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan (left) dunks on Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha (right) during Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference basketball finals in San Antonio, Texas, May 27, 2012. (Reuters)

SAN ANTONIO: The San Antonio Spurs taught Oklahoma City a lesson in championship poise with a 101-98 win on Sunday that stretched their remarkable win streak to 19 games and earned them a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals.

The experienced Spurs, who have won four NBA championships under coach Gregg Popovich, trailed by nine after three quarters but kept their cool and sprinted to the finish to win the opening game of the best-of-seven series.

Manu Ginobili scored a team-high 26 points off the bench, and Tony Parker added 18 as San Antonio outscored the visiting Thunder 39-27 in the fourth to pass a rare post-season test.

“They had us on our heels and we were not aggressive,” Ginobili told reporters of the game’s first three quarters. “We needed an edge. In the fourth quarter, we had it.”

The red-hot Spurs remain perfect in the post-season with nine victories and have now tied the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers for longest win streak between the regular season and playoffs.

Kevin Durant netted 27 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, who defeated the past two NBA champions in their previ-

ous rounds and were in good shape to move ahead of San Antonio before getting blitzed in the fourth.

Three-time defending scoring champion Durant managed no field goals in the last 16plus minutes of the game.

“They forced me out a little bit and they do a good job on help defense,” Durant said. “”I did things I wanted to do tonight, I just have to do better next time.”

San Antonio opened the final period with a 15-3 run to seize a lead they would never relinquish.

The home team built a 10-point advantage with two minutes remaining, and James Harden trimmed the final scored with a trio of three-pointers in the last couple minutes.

Harden finished with 19, and Russell Westbrook had 17 but only made 7 of 21 shots. Duncan chipped in 16 and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who also got a boost from reserve Stephen Jackson’s late defense against Durant.

“It’s a long series and you have to continue to play,” said Oklahoma City guard Derek Fisher, who had 13 points.”

“They showed mental toughness tonight in being able to battle back, and now it’s our turn.” -Reuters

PARIS: Roger Federer’s bid for a record 17th major tennis title began with another landmark on Monday, when he won his 233rd match at a grand slam event, equaling the achievement of Jimmy Connors.

Federer beat German Tobias Kamke 6-2 7-5 6-3 in the first round of the French Open and can surpass American Connors’s professional-era record by continuing his progress here.

Women’s world number one Victoria Azarenka was lucky to advance after being five points away from defeat against Italian Alberta Brianti in their first-round match, but turned the tables to scrape through 6-7 6-4 6-2.

Federer, the 2009 champion at Roland Garros and runner-up four times to Rafa Nadal, hit some wayward shots against the 78th-ranked Kamke but was happy to get through in straight sets.

“They are never easy, those first rounds,” the Swiss world number three told a news conference. “I missed a few too many shots but I was in the lead so I could afford to do those.”

Asked about matching Connors’s record, Federer said he had not been aware of it before the match.

“But I’m very happy, because Jimmy Connors was a huge champion, still is, so it’s a great pleasure,” he added.

“That (record) is a big one, because it means longevity. I have been so successful for such a long time and to already tie that record, at 30 years old is pretty incredible, so I’m very happy.”

Federer will now meet Romania’s Adrian Ungur who beat Argentine David Nalbandian 6-3 5-7 6-4 7-5.

Australian Open champion Azarenka, who would have been the first top-seeded woman to lose in the opening round, hit 60 unforced errors in her two hours 16 minutes on Philippe

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Tobias Kamke of Germany during the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris May 28, 2012. (Reuters)

Chatrier court.

“I think that says it all,” the Belarussian said. “Bad days happen.”

She was happy, though, that a shoulder injury which forced her to pull out of the Italian Open nearly two weeks ago had healed.

“It’s much better, the pain went away,” she said. “But I didn’t have much time to prepare.”

Defending champion Li Na raced through her opening match, thrashing Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-1 in 58 minutes.

Li, who became the first player from an Asian nation to win a grand slam singles title here last year, said she was still smarting from

Quickfire Li Na into French Open second round PARIS: Chinese defending champion Li Na overpowered Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1 on Monday to advance to the second round of the French Open, sustaining Asia’s hopes of another Grand Slam title.

The 30-year-old, world number seven, took just 58 minutes to dispose of the 22-year-old

Cirstea, ranked 43, with a display of superior cross-court ball striking.

Li is bidding to become the first champion since Justin Henin in 2007 to defend the women’s singles title at Roland Garros.

The sight of a Chinese flag as she walked into centre court boosted her confidence before

Olympics

Ukraine official resigns over ticket scandal KIEV: A top official from Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee has resigned over allegations he offered to sell thousands of dollars worth of tickets for the London Games on the black market.

The committee said in a statement on Monday on its website (www.noc-ukr.org) that Volodymyr Gerashchenko, the general secretary and second highest-ranking official on the 149-member body, stepped down after an emergency meeting last Friday.

It added that an investigating panel had been set up to probe the allegations, which stem from a BBC report which said that Gerashchenko had offered to sell up to 100 tickets for the July 27-August12 Games to a reporter posing as a buyer.

“After the meeting of the executive committee, the general secretary resigned. At the same time. V. Gerashchenko gave an assur-

ance that he would cooperate fully with the investigation,” the statement said.

“Ukraine’s NOC will do everything it can to clarify all aspects of the affair.”

Gerashchenko, 56, who has been in his post since 1997, was temporarily suspended from his role on May 22 when news of the scandal broke during Olympic meetings in Quebec City.

The Ukraine Olympic Committee was allotted 2,900 tickets for distribution to various officials and groups.

It said that Gerashchenko’s functions as general secretary required him to go to London to ensure the accreditation there of Ukraine’s athletes and official delegation.

The affair casts a shadow over the former Soviet republic’s international image as it prepares to co-host the European soccer Championship with Poland next month. -Reuters

FILE- Ukraine Olympic chief Sergei Bubka (right) and general secretary Volodymyr Gerashchenko attend a ceremony during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in this Feb. 12, 2010. (Reuters)

her narrow defeat by Maria Sharapova in the Italian Open final eight days ago.

“The final in Rome still killing me. After the final I told everyone ‘don’t talk to me about tennis for like three days’,” she said.

Fifteenth seed Dominika Cibulkova was also swift in beating French wildcard Kristina Mladenovic 6-2 6-1 and will play American Vania King in the second round.

Men’s world number one Novak Djovokic, who wants the French Open title to complete a sweep of the grand slams, was playing Potito Starace of Italy on Monday, while defending champion Nadal will join the fray on Tuesday.

China’s Na Li hits a return to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea during their Women’s Singles 1st Round tennis match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, on May 28, 2012. (AFP)

facing Cirstea.

Li won the title last year from Francesca Schiavone, giving Asia its first ever singles title in any Grand Slam with a straight-sets demolition of the Italian.

She will face either Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic or France’s Stephanie Foretz Gacon for a place in the last 32.

Earlier, Li’s compatriot Zheng Jie beat Alize Cornet of France 6-4, 6-4, also using her edge in experience to clinch the match.

Zheng, 28, fought back after twice being broken to 4-4 to serve out both sets against the 22-year-old Cornet in front of the disappointed French crowd.

Since winning last year’s French Open, which pushed her to a career-high number four, Li has struggled with her form and failed to win another title.

She made it to the final of the Sydney International this year where she lost to Victoria Azarenka.

At the Australian Open in Melbourne, Li failed to convert four match points in the fourth round against Belgium’s Kim Clijsters and Azarenka went on to win the tournament and grab the world number one ranking. After Melbourne, Li suffered quarter-final exits at Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Madrid before finally reaching the final last weekend in Rome, only to falter once again.

Li was leading Maria Sharapova by a set and 4-0 but allowed the Russian to claw back and win the title with a third set tie-breaker after a rain delay. Her disappointment at losing to Sharapova has not dissipated. -AFP

Cricket

Scandals? What scandals? IPL hailed as success NEW DELHI: The scandal-prone Indian Premier League (IPL) remains cricket’s most divisive tournament, but some thrilling action in front of packed houses has put immediate doubts over its future to rest.

When the gawdy Twenty20 event’s fifth edition started last month, flagging crowds and signs of “cricket fatigue” among India’s public, together with a welter of poor publicity, had raised questions about the tournament.

But by the time Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Chennai Super Kings to claim the title on Sunday, and despite damaging spotfixing claims and a string of lurid headlines, the IPL had been hailed as a success.

“The fifth edition started under a cloud of controversies and crowd backlash, but apprehensions were soon swept aside as some command performances on the field was well-received by packed galleries,” the Deccan Herald said.

The Indian Express estimated more than 160 million people watched the games on TV, two million tickets were sold worth 36 million US dollars, and that the IPL brand valuation would rise from last year’s estimate of 3.67 billion US dollars.

“If the sense of fulfillment could be calculated, it would run into several billions of dollars,” said N. Srinivasan, president of the

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which runs the event.

The positive assessments jar with some off-pitch developments, mainly the suspensions of five Indian players after a TV sting claimed to unearth evidence that no-balls could be arranged to order in the IPL. The report targeted fringe players and provided no proof of corruption within IPL games, but it re-focused fears about betting, with India seen as the hub of illegal gambling on cricket.

Meanwhile Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Kahn dented his huge popularity after becoming involved in an ugly stand-off with officials at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium.

Other incidents included allegations made to police -- and later dropped -- that Australian Luke Pomersbach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore had molested a woman and beaten up her fiance in a hotel room in New Delhi.

Separately, South African seamer Wayne Parnell and India spinner Rahul Sharma were questioned by police for their presence at a Mumbai hotel which was raided for being an alleged illegal rave party.

“Whatever is happening is neither cricket not is it our culture,” said former federal finance minister Yashwant Sinha, a member of the main opposition Bharatiya Ja-

nata Party (BJP), as the scandals dominated headlines.

“The sports ministry should intervene and make drastic changes in the IPL.” Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar, now a popular commentator, said the blame lay in the fact that the tournament was marketed as more than just a cricket tournament.

“The BCCI will realize that packaging the IPL as entertainment may not be such a good idea. It’s got to be just sport,” he said.

International wariness about the IPL was apparent when England’s Kevin Pietersen, who plays for Delhi Daredevils, said he was “sick and tired” of defending his participation, and suggested other countries were jealous.

However, the attractions of last-ball winning sixes, extravagant switch-hitting and rapid-fire centuries seem to have trumped many concerns, at least in the minds of the Indian public.

The tournament was also not competing with any other major cricket events, unlike last year when it immediately followed the one-day World Cup which was co-hosted -and won -- by India.

“The packed stadiums this year should silence all doubting Thomases,” said the BCCI’s Srinivasan. -AFP

TUESday, may 29, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editors Highlight YAOUNDE: Cameroon’s government has set match bonuses for the national soccer team to avoid the ruckus over money that led to a strike last year and the subsequent suspension of captain Samuel Eto’o. They will each be paid 5 million CFA Francs (S$9,550) for any win in the World Cup qualifiers, which start this weekend, and will receive 500,000 FCFA for every call-up to a competitive match among other bonuses, sports ministry officials told Reuters on Monday.

All the money comes from state coffers and should the team qualify for theWorld Cup or African Nations Cup finals, they will be entitled to a special bonus to be decided by the government.

Eto’o was given an eight-month ban for leading a strike last November when Cameroon refused to play a friendly in Algeria because they had not been paid promised bonuses. -Reuters

Football

‘I’m in phenomenal form’: Torres Austria: Spanish striker Fernando Torres claimed on Monday he was feeling in phenomenal form and hoped that he would be entrusted with leading the defending champions attack at Euro 2012 next month.

The 28-year-old Chelsea marksman has suffered a serious slump in form and confidence for both club and country since being a bit part player in Spain’s 2010 World Cup triumph. However, having made Vicente del Bosque’s squad and helping Chelsea to their penalty shootout defeat of Bayern Munich in the Champions League final the former Atletico Madrid star said he felt everything was clicking into gear.

“We (the Spanish squad) are all in it to do our best for the team,” said Torres, who revealed last week that he was not happy at Chelsea despite their Champions League success. “I felt better and better as the season drew to a close and I believe I am now in phenomenal form.”

Torres, who scored just six league goals last season and has been ravaged in the press since his 50million pound move from Liverpool in January 2011, admitted the absence through injury of Spain’s all-time scorer David Villa and talismanic defender Carles Puyol would be felt.

“We will try and make up for those two not being at the finals, while accepting that it will not be simple,” said Torres. Torres, who may find his future at Chelsea more secure now that Didier Drogba has said he is moving on and Salomon Kalou has also been told he can leave, said there remained a fierce desire within the squad to retain their title.

“The atmosphere within the team is the same as always, we are hungry for a third successive title,” he said. “The other teams know how we play, the matches against us will be for them enormous games.” Spain, who beat Serbia 2-0 on Saturday in their first warm-up

Injury rules England’s Barry out of Euro 2012

Spanish national football team player Fernando Torres walks during a training session in Schruns, May 27, 2012. (AFP)

game - are due to leave their training camp on Tuesday for Switzerland where they will play South Korea in Bern and a final warm-up match against China in Seville on June 3. The Spanish open their defense of the trophy

against Italy on June 10 in Gdansk, Poland, followed by the Republic of Ireland on June 14 in Warsaw and round off their Group C games against 2008 quarter-finalists Croatia on June 18. -AFP

Chelsea misses out on London’s Battersea Station LONDON: Champions League winner Chelsea Football Club will almost certainly fail in its bid to move its stadium to London landmark Battersea Power Station, a source close to the sale process told Reuters.

About 15 bidders including Chelsea, which is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, submitted plans earlier this month to buy the protected 15-hectare site on the south bank of the River Thames, the subject of repeated failed redevelopment attempts in the three decades since it shut.

Malaysian real estate company SP Setia and veteran British developer Godfrey Bradman are leading the chase to buy the site with one other bidder also in the frame, the source said, describing the Chelsea bid as “way off the pace”.

A final decision could come as early as this week, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. A report in UK trade magazine Property Week suggested Bradman’s bid may in difficulty after funding from its backers, the reclusive billionaires David and Simon Reuben, had been withdrawn.

Bradman was behind the Broadgate Circle development in London’s main financial district in the 1980s. A sale to SP Setia would mark its first foray into Europe and add to its residential schemes in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

Chelsea was not immediately available for comment. SP Setia and a spokeswoman for selling agent Knight Frank declined to comment. Bradman could not immediately be reached for comment.

The crumbling riverside edifice, which is Europe’s largest brick structure, and its quartet of art-deco white chimneys have been a recognizable silhouette on the London skyline for 80 years.

The site came on to the market after a 5.5 billion pound plan by Irish developer Treasury Holdings for homes, shops and offices collapsed in December and

Prandelli trims Italy Euro 2012 squad

Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, reacts after scoring a goal against Wigan Athletic during their English Premier League soccer match at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium in London, April 7, 2012. (AP)

had a price tag of about 300 to 400 million pounds.

It was placed into administration by Lloyds Banking Group and Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency, or “bad bank”, which are reportedly owed about 400 million pounds between them.

Chelsea said earlier this month the power station had the potential to become one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world.

Let’s not go crazy about Germany defeat: Khedira

Germany’s Mats Hummels (3rd right) scores a goal next to teammate Sami Khedira against Switzerland’s Stephan Lichtsteiner (left) during their international friendly soccer match, May 26, 2012. (Reuters)

BERLIN: Germany must not over-react to their makeshift team’s shock 5-3 away defeat by Switzerland in a friendly at the weekend, midfielder Sami Khedira said on Monday. “It was not a good game for us on Saturday but we should not go crazy,” Khedira told a news conference at Germany’s pre-Euro 2012 training camp in the south of France. “We should not ignore the result but we should equally not overestimate it. We can still win the tournament.” Khedira is expected to resume his midfield partnership with Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger that helped Germany finish third at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Schweinsteiger was one of eight Bayern players who missed Saturday’s match after coach Joachim

LONDON: England midfielder Gareth Barry was on Monday ruled out of Euro 2012 after sustaining a tear to his lower abdomen during his team’s 1-0 friendly victory over Norway. Everton’s Phil Jagielka has been called up as his replacement, the Football Association confirmed.

“I am very disappointed to lose Gareth, not only was he a member of my original 23-man squad but he has featured prominently in the England team over the last few years,” said manager Roy Hodgson.

“I know how much he wanted to be part of the tournament but I’m sure he will still have a part to play with England after the Euros.I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Barry’s place was in doubt after he lasted less than half an hour of a second-half appearance in Saturday’s friendly win over Norway in Oslo. After the game Hodgson said he may have to trust Barry to let him know exactly how bad the injury was.

It is not thought that was necessary, though, with scans indicating there was no way the Manchester City man was going to be fit to play any meaningful role in Poland and Ukraine this summer.

Jagielka had been tipped to come in and strengthen Hodgson’s defensive options.

The Everton man produced an excellent performance in Norway alongside Joleon Lescott - a pairing that kept Spain out in November and are now pressurising Chelsea duo John Terry and Gary Cahill. They will report for duty at England’s Watford base on Tuesday, along with the remainder of Hodgson’s 23-man squad. That number will include Danny Welbeck and Glen Johnson, who had been doubts with ankle and toe injuries respectively.

However, it seems those problems have cleared up, along with Scott Parker’s Achilles injury, and the FA are anticipating having to make no further changes when they submit their official squad to UEFA at 11am on Tuesday. -AFP

Loew gave them extra time to recover from the disappointment of losing on penalties to Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 19.

“The Bayern players were wounded but they are now full of anticipation for the tournament. They are fully focused,” said Khedira. “He laughs normally, he speaks normally, he is just normal,” he added, referring to Schweinsteiger who missed his spot kick in the Champions League shootout. Loew will announce his final 23-man squad on Tuesday, cutting four players from his preliminary list. Germany play their last Euro 2012 warmup against Israel in Leipzig on Thursday ahead of Group B matches against Portugal, Netherlands and Denmark in Ukraine and Poland. -Reuters

The football club has looked for alternative London homes after running into difficulties extending its 42,000 capacity Stamford Bridge stadium and recently failing in an attempt to move to Earls Court in west London.

The size of the ground puts the club at a financial disadvantage to rivals like Arsenal, whose stadium holds 60,000. -AFP

War crimes prosecutor Ocampo nominated as FIFA investigator AMSTERDAM: Top international prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, best known for pursuing war criminals, has been nominated as chief investigator at soccer’s corruption-plagued governing body, the head of FIFA’s governance committee told Reuters.

FIFA’s executive committee is due to discuss the appointment of a chief investigator within the next few weeks as part of the proposed clean-up following a string of scandals.

In March, FIFA’s executive approved plans to split the ethics committee, which looks into wrongdoing by officials, into separate divisions with one to investigate cases and one to judge them.

The appointment is likely to attract attention as evidence that FIFA is indeed willing to push ahead with proposed reforms.

Moreno-Ocampo, whose term as chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague ends in June, has been nominated to head the investigations side, according to Mark Pieth, a professor from the Swiss-based Institute of Governance.

Pieth heads a 13-member panel created last year to oversee changes in the way Swiss-based FIFA is run.

“The fact that Luis is on the list shows just how serious we are,” he told Reuters. -Reuters

ROME: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli on Monday trimmed his squad to 25 players ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA deadline for submitting Euro 2012 lists.

The current list of players have been selected for Tuesday’s friendly against Luxembourg in Parma. The two who don’t make the final cut will be kept on as reserves. Earlier in the day Italian Federation vice-president Demetrio Albertini revealed that Zenit St Petersburg left-back Domenico Criscito would not be part of the squad.

The 25-year-old was implicated in a match-fixing investigation launched by the Cremona public prosecutor and had his hotel room at Italy’s Coverciano base just outside Florence searched at dawn by police. Uncapped youngsters Ezequiel Schelotto and Marco Verratti were two of those dropped alongside Criscito from the original 32man list.

The others were Palermo goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, Rubin Kazan defender Salvatore Bocchetti, Cagliari defender Davide Astori and Atalanta midfielder Luca Cigarini.

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli and AC Milan forward Antonio Cassano were predictably amongst those selected, as were veterans Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo.

Uncapped forward pair Mattia Destra of Siena and Juventus’s Emanuele Giaccherini both made the cut, as did Torino’s Angelo Ogbonna. The 24-year-old of Nigerian descent is the only player in the squad not playing top flight football. Apart from Balotelli, goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu and Brazilian-born midfielder Thiago Motta, who both play for Paris Saint-Germain, are the only other players not plying their trade in Italy. Italy are in Group C with holders Spain, Republic of Ireland and Croatia. -AFP

Crunch time for Lippi in China

SINGAPORE: Celebrated coach Marcello Lippi faces a crunch game just two weeks after arriving in China when he tries to lead Guangzhou Evergrande into the AFC Champions League quarter-finals Wednesday. The World Cup-winning manager, hired to bring continental glory to the big-spending Chinese champions, has the difficult task of a must-win, one-off round of 16 match against FC Tokyo in just his third game in charge.The 64-year-old is unbeaten in China but has had little immediate impact since becoming the biggest coaching acquisition in the newly rich Super League, which is also now home to former Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka. Under Lippi, Guangzhou have won 1-0 and drawn 1-1 against the bottom two clubs, with their league lead now down to two points. OnWednesday, Evergrande face the sterner test of FC Tokyo, Japan’s Emperor’s Cup champions. On Tuesday, Australia’s 2008 runners-up Adelaide United host Nagoya Grampus, and 2010 champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma play Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor. South Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai face Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol on Wednesday. But neutral attention will focus on Lippi’s debut in the Asian competition with his expensively assembled side including star midfielder Dario Conca, and free-scoring striker Muriqui.

“Right from the start the club made it absolutely clear just how much enthusiasm and determination they had to create a good side, one good enough to win the Chinese Super League and do well in the AFC Champions League,” Lippi has said. “I’m here to do just that. I guarantee to work with my utmost passion and professionalism. Guangzhou’s presence in the last 16 is something of a surprise after Lippi’s predecessor, South Korean coach Lee Jang-Soo, guided them to a last-gasp win over Thailand’s Buriram United in his final game in charge.

Hours later, Lee announced his departure to an emotional group of players with whom he had won promotion and then the Super League title in consecutive seasons. According to various reports, Lippi has the use a boat and a large private villa since arriving in Guangzhou, an enormous industrial city near Hong Kong, as well as a 10 million euro ($12.6 million US dollars) salary. Lippi won the 2006 World Cup with Italy but he left the team after a poor showing at the 2010 competition. He now faces a very different task at Guangzhou’s Tianhe stadium. Last week, two-time winners Al Ittihad were among three Saudi teams to reach the quarter-finals, along with Al Hilal and Al Ahli, while Iran’’s Sepahan also qualified. -AFP