May 3, 2012

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1423

20 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

Citizen’s mysterious death triggers new crisis

Al-Juwaihel’s interpellation against Interior gains momentum Mohammed Al-Salman, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, Osama Al-Qatari and Ahmed Al-Shemmari Staff Writers

KUWAIT: MP Mohammed Al-Juwaihel revealed that a recent case of a citizen’s death, Nawwaf Al-Azmi, is similar to that of Al-Maymooni’s, who allegedly died under suspicious circumstances in police custody. Al-Azmi’s corpse was kept at the Criminal Investigations morgue for two months. Al-Juwaihel revealed that Al-Azmi’s family has searched for him in all the hospitals and police stations after his disappearance, until they discovered that he has been dead for two months and kept at said morgue.

He criticized the Ministry of Interior for being unprofessional and for its mismanagement.

He stated that the corpse was buried by his family as per the orders they received from an undercover police officer, who allegedly threatened the family with an ultimatum that the body would be interred according to department procedures should the family not take responsibility for it.

Al-Juwaihel criticized the Ministry of Interior

for not informing the victim’s family of his death, although the corpse was kept at the morgue for two months. He warned the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud, saying that he will face the consequences of the mismanagement within his ministry. Al Watan has learnt that AlAzmi left his family compound on Feb. 14 and never returned. Accordingly, the family reported the matter without obtaining any response from the relevant security authorities. Two months after his mysterious disappearance, they were informed that the corpse had been kept at the Criminal Investigations Department after Al-Azmi had died on Feb. 15, one day after his disappearance, due to heart related problems.

Meanwhile, MPs are expected to clash today during the second round of deliberations over a law which calls for tougher penalties against blasphemers including the death penalty. Lawmakers are due to hold a vote to pass the strict law.

While the Legislative Committee introduced amendments to the law, particularly with regard to repentance and the fate of non-Muslims, the law is widely opposed by the Minority MPs who will reportedly abstain or reject the law unless

Interior Ministry says stateless protesters carried out criminal acts

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Kuwaitis worry Twitter cases stir sectarian tensions

KUWAIT: Kuwait is about to take a firmer line on regulation of social media, uneasy about people who it says use Twitter and Facebook to stoke sectarian tensions and wary of spillover from turmoil in nearby Gulf states and Syria.

Although Kuwait has largely been spared the sectarian violence that flares in other countries in the region, the Sunni government is constantly aware of the potential for Sunni-Shiite tensions to boil over. Authorities are particularly sensitive to developments in Bahrain, where the Sunni monarchy has cracked down on mainly Shiite Muslim protesters.

Kuwait also borders Iraq and Saudi

Arabia and sits across the Gulf from nonArab Shiite power Iran. Lately there are signs that frictions are heating up, and much of the activity is being stoked online.

“Twitter is becoming a platform that many people are using and many people are watching. You cannot look at this without neglecting what is happening in the region,” said Kuwaiti Twitter user and blogger Jassim Al-Qamis.

Twitter has enjoyed runaway popularity in Kuwait, whose oil wealth and freer political system have helped to shield it from Arab Spring-style anti-government More on 2 demonstrations.

their proposed amendments are entertained.

These MPs propose that members of the Prophet’s family be added and that various jurisprudence views should be taken into account as far as this issue is concerned.

Parliamentary sources expect the Majority to pass the law amid haggling and disagreements among the MPs, adding that no one can predict the outcome of the session.

On the other hand, an official source urged MPs to reach a compromise to avoid the prospect of the bill being returned by the government.

In another development, MPs have been divided over the remarks and the procedures being instituted by the head of the Central Commission for Illegal Residents Saleh Al-Fadhala.

It has been gathered that certain MPs seek to convene a special session to discuss Al-Fadhala’s comments and the information he has about Bedouns (Stateless Arabs). Others have suggested that the Parliamentary Bedoun Committee should be assigned to prepare a report concerning the data provided by Al-Fadhala and how his commission is handling this issue.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Palestinian hunger striker moved to Israeli hospital JERUSALEM: A Palestinian prisoner who on Wednesday marked his 64th day on hunger strike has been transferred from an Israeli prison infirmary to a civilian hospital, his lawyer told AFP. Jamil Khatib said his 27-year-old client Bilal Diab had been transferred from the infirmary at Ramle prison near Tel Aviv to the nearby Assaf HaRofeh hospital on Tuesday lunchtime.

“Bilal is in a stable condition after being transferred to the gastroenterology department of Assaf HaRofeh hospital,” he told AFP. News of his transfer to a civilian hospital on Tuesday was confirmed by the Ramallah-based Prisoners’ Club, with spokeswoman Amani Sarahna saying Jawad Boulos, the Club’s legal adviser, would visit Diab later on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, Khatib said he would visit his other client, Thaer Halahla, 34, who has also been on hunger strike for 64 days but is still being held in Ramle despite serious concerns about the state of his health. Diab’s transfer took place a day after a doctor from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel examined the pair and found that both were in danger of dying, warning they were not receiving adequate medical care at the Ramle infirmary. -AFP

UN Council approves resolution on Sudan sanctions

South Koreans attend a candle-lit rally demanding a full ban on the import of US beef, in Seoul May 2, 2012. The police said hundreds of people attended, while civic groups said more than 1,000 people attended the rally. (Reuters)

British border workers set May 10 strike date

LONDON: Britain’s border control union said Wednesday it has set a strike date for May 10 as part of its dispute with the government over retirement ages. The strike by the union, which represents 4,500 border control officers who check passports and bags at customs, comes at a time of great tension at UK checkpoints. Long lines at London’s Heathrow Airport - some visitors have reported waits of more than two hours to have their passports checked - have become the subject of national concern with the country preparing to host the Olympics from July 27Aug.12.

Lucy Moreton, the deputy general secretary of the Immigration Service Union, said Wednesday that workers at major airports and seaports will be affected by the 24-hour strike. Border controls in Paris and Brussels connected to the Eurostar train service will also be affected. “It is with deep regret,” Moreton said of the strike. The union is demanding its employees be exempt from government increases in the retirement age because of the physical nature of their jobs. Britain’s immigration minister Damian Green called the strike unnecessary. He said the “public will find it unacceptable” if the strike goes forward. “The security of the UK border is of the utmost importance and we will use tried and tested contingency plans to ensure we minimize any disruption caused by planned union action,” he said.

The UK Border Agency would not comment on the “tried and tested” contingency plans that Green was referring to or how much disruption the strike was expected to cause. -AP

20 dead in Cairo after attackers storm protest

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday that threatens Sudan and South Sudan with sanctions if the east African neighbors fail to halt an escalating conflict and resume negotiations on disputes within two weeks. The UN Council resolution on Sudan and South Sudan, former civil war foes that split when the south seceded last year, follows weeks of border fighting that have raised fears Khartoum and Juba could launch an all-out war, after failing to resolve a string of disputes over oil revenues and border demarcation. Sudan on Tuesday warned its southern neighbor, which split away last year, over widening “aggression” as the South alleged fresh clashes despite an African Union peace initiative in the oil-fuelled conflict.

Khartoum charged that “South Sudan and its army are working to widen the aggression and occupy some disputed points and areas by force. Sudan cannot allow the occupying troops to impose their power.” More than a week ago South Sudanese soldiers said they had completed a withdrawal from Sudan’s main oil region of Heglig, which they occupied for 10 days, while SuMore on 4 dan launched air strikes across the border.

An Egyptian anti-military protester confronts an army officer following the deployment of a military unit in the Abbassiya district of Cairo where clashes took place during a protest on May 2, 2012. (AFP)

Egypt army signals willingness to hand over power

CAIRO: Thugs attacked an anti-military protest near the defense ministry in Cairo on Wednesday and 20 people were killed, officials said, in the politically tense run-up to the first post-uprising presidential election.

The dawn assault sparked fierce clashes between the unidentified attackers and the protesters, who have been there for days calling for an end to military rule, with both sides hurling pet-

China demands apology as activist leaves US embassy

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Eritrea leads world in press censorship

NEW YORK: Eritrea has surpassed North Korea as the world’s top press censor, with Syria and Iran placing third and fourth in a new list published Wednesday by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The New York-based rights group said Eritrea had climbed to the top of the list by banning all foreign media and controlling every detail of the local media’s coverage through its information ministry.

“Every time (a journalist) had to write a story, they arrange for interview subjects and tell you specific angles you have to write on,” it quoted an exiled Eritrean journalist as saying, on condition of anonymity.

“We usually wrote lots about the president (Issaias Afeworki) so that he’s always in the limelight.”

Secretive and highly authoritarian North Korea slipped to second after topping the list last year, with the CPJ saying “some tiny cracks have emerged” such as the opening of an Associated Press bureau in the capital Pyongyang.

However, foreign reporters are only rarely allowed in and details about Pyongyang’s nuclear program and the new power structure following the

death of ruler Kim Jong-Il remain “hidden beneath severe censorship,” it said.

Syria has ratcheted up press restrictions since the outbreak of a popular revolt against President Bashar Al-Assad a year ago, leaping from ninth on the CPJ’s 2006 list to third in the latest one. Damascus has heavily restricted media access, particularly to cities that have seen large protests and violence.

Iran has meanwhile “mixed high-technology techniques such as Web blocking with brute-force tactics such as mass imprisonment of journalists to control the flow of information and obfuscate details of its own nuclear program.”

The CPJ drew up the list based on 15 benchmarks, including the blocking of websites, the absence of privately-owned or independent media, restrictions on journalists’ movements and security service monitoring of journalists. For this list, the group only considered countries in which restrictions are imposed by the government and not cases like Mexico and Somalia where journalists are often forced to censor themselves because of crime or unrest. -AFP

Syria’s archaeological treasures victim of shelling, chaos engulfing country

Greenpeace activist paraglides into French nuclear plant

PARIS: A Greenpeace activist dropped a smoke flare as he flew over a French nuclear reactor on a paraglider on Wednesday, seeking to draw attention to what green activists call gaps in nuclear security four days before a presidential election runoff.The plant’s owner, EDF, confirmed an enginepowered paraglider had landed within its Bugey nuclear site in southeastern France.

The pilot flew over the plant and threw a red-smoke flare on the roof of a building before landing, television images showed. “At no moment was the safety of the installations at risk,” EDF said in a statement, adding that the pilot was caught by the police in charge of protecting the site.

Separately, another man entered the Civaux nuclear site in southwestern France through the truck gate and remained hidden for an hour in a thicket in the “surveillance zone” before being arrested, EDF said.

France’s dependence on nuclear energy has been much debated ahead of the vote. France is more dependent on nuclear energy than any other country, relying on it to produce 75 percent of its electricity. “This over flight shows the vulnerability of the French nuclear site to an air attack,” Sophia Majnoni d’Intignano, in charge of nuclear questions at Greenpeace, said in a statement. “While Germany took account of a plane crash in its safety tests, France still refuses to analyze this risk for our reactors.”

Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande has said he would shut France’s oldest nuclear plant if elected.

rol bombs and rocks, the official said.

The army deployed troops in central Cairo to quell the clashes, a military source told AFP. A security official said the army and security forces had formed a cordon between the protesters and the attackers, bringing the fighting to a halt. A doctor at a field hospital set up in the area said 20 people had been killed and dozens More on 4 injured.

After the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, France along with other European countries, pledged to carry out safety tests on its 58 nuclear reactors to test their capacity to resist flooding, earthquakes, power outages, failure of the cooling systems and operational management of accidents. -Reuters

A handout picture released by Greenpeace and taken on May 2, 2012 shows a Greenpeace activist flying over the French nuclear plant of Bugey, central eastern France. (AFP)

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‘Iceman’ mummy holds world’s oldest blood cells

ROME: Scientists examining the remains of “Otzi,” Italy’s prehistoric iceman who roamed the Alps some 5,300 years ago, said on Thursday they have isolated what are believed to be the oldest traces of human blood ever found. The German and Italian scientists said they used an atomic force microscope to examine tissue sections from a wound caused by an arrow that killed the Copper Age man, who was found frozen in a glacier, and from a laceration on his right hand.

“They really looked similar to modern-day blood samples,” said Professor Albert Zink, 46, the German head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman at the European Academy in Bolzano, the capital of Italy’s German-speaking Alto-Adige region.

“So far, this is the clearest evidence of the oldest blood cells,” he said by telephone, adding that the new technique might now be used to examine mummies from Egypt. The studies were carried out in conjunction with the Center for Smart Interfaces at Darmstadt Technical University in Germany and the Center for Nano Sciences in Munich. Over the last two decades, scientists have collected data from the stomach, bowels and teeth of the well-preserved man, who was found protruding out of a glacier by German climbers in 1991 in the Tyrolean Alps More on 15 on the Austrian-Italian border.

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ALWATAN DAILY

kuwait

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

Kuwaitis worry Twitter cases stir sectarian tensions KUWAIT: Kuwait is about to take a firmer line on regulation of social media, uneasy about people who it says use Twitter and Facebook to stoke sectarian tensions and wary of spillover from turmoil in nearby Gulf states and Syria.

Although Kuwait has largely been spared the sectarian violence that flares in other countries in the region, the Sunni government is constantly aware of the potential for Sunni-Shiite tensions to boil over.

Authorities are particularly sensitive to developments in Bahrain, where the Sunni monarchy has cracked down on mainly Shiite Muslim protesters. Kuwait also borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia and sits across the Gulf from non-Arab Shiite power Iran.

Lately there are signs that frictions are heating up, and much of the activity is being stoked online.

“Twitter is becoming a platform that many people are using and many people are watching. You cannot look at this without neglecting what is happening in the region,” said Kuwaiti Twitter user and blogger Jassim Al-Qamis.

Twitter has enjoyed runaway popularity in Kuwait, whose oil wealth and freer political system have helped to shield it from Arab Spring-style anti-government demonstrations.

One million accounts were registered in the country of 3.6 million inhabitants as of April, a two-fold rise in 12 months, according to Parisbased Semiocast, which compiles Twitter data.

“You have the extreme Islamists in Kuwait and you have a tension between Saudi and Iran. This is fuelling the discussion here,” said Al-Qamis, who has written online about the unrest in Bahrain and has 2,000 followers tracking his Twitter messages. “People are becoming proxies of powers in the region. Kuwait has become a battlefield for this.”

The rift between Sunnis and Shiites dates back some 1,400 years, originating in a debate over who would succeed the Prophet Mohammad as leader of the Muslim community. But it now can also encompass different political, social and historical outlooks and splits down ethnic lines.

Shiites make up about one third of Kuwait’s 1.1 million nationals and vocal members can be found in senior positions in parliament, media and business.

Sunni writer Mohammad Al-Mulaifi was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined nearly 18,000 US dollars after a court ruled in April that he had posted falsehoods on Twitter about sectarian divisions in Kuwait and had insulted the Shiite faith.

Lawyers and rights activists said this appeared to be the strictest punishment so far for comments posted online.

Insulting religions or religious figures is illegal in Kuwait and the penalty is usually a fine or prison term. Lawmakers recently voted in

favor of a legal amendment which could make such offenses punishable by death.

But it is the case of a Kuwaiti Shiite charged with insulting the Prophet Mohammad that has triggered the biggest public uproar.

Easy Outlet

Hamad Al-Naqi was arrested in March over charges that he had insulted the Prophet, his companions and his wife on Twitter. He has denied this, saying his account was hacked, according to his lawyer.

Dozens of Sunni activists protested to condemn him, one burning an Iranian flag and accusing him of links to the Shiite regional power, something he has denied via his lawyer.

Al-Naqi was attacked and slightly injured by a fellow inmate in jail as he awaits a trial, according to the Interior Ministry. If the new legislation passes he could face the death penalty.

While Kuwait’s main newspapers have published editorials condemning Al-Naqi on the assumption he did write the tweets, some have also voiced concern that Kuwaitis were so quick to attack each other along Sunni-Shiite lines.

“No Muslim ever accepts offense to the Prophet Mohammad ... yet reactions to such offenses must not be expressed chaotically and with a stereotypical vengeful state of mind,” columnist Mohammad Al-Sabti wrote in a local newspaper.

“I do not understand why the entire Shiite community was targeted for a single error committed by one Shiite citizen,” Al-Sabti said.

Some Kuwait lawmakers agreed that troublemakers appear to have found an easy outlet to spark sectarian tensions.

“Some are provoking Sunnis to fight with Shiites and Shiites to fight with Sunnis. This is also happening on Twitter and Facebook now,” said Hussain Al-Qallaf, one of the seven Shiites in Kuwait’s 50-member parliament.

Tensions between the communities are not new in Kuwait, which has a lively parliament and a generally more outspoken press than other states in the Gulf region.

In 2010, a Shiite cleric, accused of insulting Sunni Islam in comments made in London, was stripped of his citizenship. Earlier this year, Kuwait suspended privately-funded al-Dar newspaper for inciting sectarian strife.

But the Twitter cases have proven complicated because Kuwait lacks legislation covering the Internet. Prosecutors use the state’s criminal code to charge Twitter users with slander or libel, as if they had made the comments in a public place.

New Laws

The recent cases have prompted the government and lawmakers to push for new laws

mirroring those governing Kuwait’s media.

“The government is now in the process of establishing laws that will allow government entities to regulate the use of the different new media outlets such as Twitter in order to safeguard the cohesiveness of the population and society,” Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah told Reuters on April 24. The government says it is following the example of Western countries which have charged people for offensive comments made on Twitter over topics such as race or religion.

“Our political situation is not very strong here...People with power back one group or another, make attacks or promote people,” said Islamist MP Mohammad Al-Dallal, a specialist in legal matters related to the media.

“This debate has moved to many sectors and one of them is Twitter...it is not always being used as social media in Kuwait - not about friendship or personal matters but it is being used politically, to attack. This is a bad thing.”

Al-Dallal, who has 33,000 Twitter followers, said social media laws could be passed by June given strong political support.

For several commentators, unreasonable behavior, rather than simply freedom of speech, is at the heart of the Kuwaiti debate.

They think some users are ill-mannered and insulting, and stirring trouble rather than engaging in serious debate.

“People can be so negligent, and it is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of insulting others,” said academic and human rights expert Ghanim Al-Najjar, who has attracted nearly 24,000 followers in the four months since he joined Twitter.

He has used his online presence to object to introducing the death penalty for insulting Islam and to campaign on behalf of Kuwait’s stateless. Al-Najjar said sectarianism in Kuwait is not as bad as it appears.

“There is a balance. But the voices of sectarianism are much louder and compounded by events on the ground in Syria and Bahrain and the eastern province of Saudi, Iran.”

Critics of the government’s approach say people arrested for their online comments are being used as scapegoats. They argue that the authorities have managed to draw even more attention to sectarian issues through their actions.

“The government is trying to hit sectarian discourse hard because of fear is what is happening in the region, without knowing that what they are doing is creating another underground discourse,” said Ibtihal Al-Khatib, an academic and columnist at a local daily who has 12,900 followers on Twitter.

“Bottling it up would be the worst thing that you could do to a nation.” -Reuters

Further steps for enhancing transparency taken: MP Al-Tabtabaie Mervat Abduldayem Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Head of the parliamentary Committee for Legislative and Legal Affairs Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaie affirmed that the current legislative term will not end before endorsing integrity and anti-corruption laws. He indicated that the committee has received 37 draft laws regarding fighting corruption, interest-conflict and disclosure of financial property of officials

before and after holding political positions.

During a seminar organized by the committee at the headquarters of national assembly in cooperation with Kuwait Transparency Society under the title “Integrity of the Parliamentary work ... as a British experiment” yesterday, the lawmaker said that discussing the British parliamentary experiment is a positive step to discover the great heritage of the democratic and parliamentary work in the United Kingdom particularly that the UK was the first state in the

FILE-Photo of the Head of the parliamentary Committee for Legislative and Legal Affairs Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaie speaking during a recent Parliament session. (Al Watan)

world to establish a parliament like the parliaments that we have at the present time.

Al-Tabtabaie emphasized that corruption is one of the most dangerous issues that affect the Arab countries however, the very issue led to the eruption of the Arab Spring in one way or another. He added that the political, financial and administrative corruption in some Arab States caused people to be outraged therefore the people of those countries responded immensely by calling for having democratic regimes.

The MP added that corruption is available in the different Arab countries but Kuwait is ranked at the end of the corruption list of the Arab Countries, therefore most of the candidates of the former parliamentary election in Kuwait focused on corruption during their electoral campaigns.

On his part, the Head of Kuwait Transparency Society Salah Al-Ghazali welcomed the idea of cooperation amongst civil society organizations on one hand and the legislative authority on the other hand because cooperation between the two sides, regardless in the field of cooperation, will lead to serving the country.

He described holding such seminar as one of a series of steps that might contribute effectively in enhancing integrity as well as the performance of the legislative authority. “As a result, we have to pursue holding such symposiums in order to turn the ideas that we discuss into laws and regulations that can be applied in the country,” said Al-Ghazali.

MP Al-Mislem: Lawmakers asked Ministry for documents about overseas transfers

Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Head of parliamentary committee assigned to investigate overseas financial transfers Member of Parliament (MP) Faisal Al-Mislem revealed that he has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide him with all documents regarding financial transfers made by the ministry

as per instructions given by former Prime Minister or any employee. He also asked about reports concerning the expenses of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It is worth noting that Al-Mislem had visited the ministry and met with its officials since he has been assigned to head the committee handling the investigations.

Al-Mislem was prompted to make this

visit to the ministry, since he did not receive comprehensive answers to his questions. He noted that the committee had asked Head of Audit Bureau Abdul Aziz Al-Adassani to attend the committee’s meeting on Thursday, in addition to His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak who was asked to attend Saturday’s meeting.

Citizen’s mysterious death triggers new crisis

FILE-Photo of MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel (left) speaking to the Parliament Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun (right) during a recent Parliament session. (Al Watan)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In this vein, MP Shaya Al-Shaya affirmed that Al-Fadhala is a patriotic Kuwaiti citizen who is exerting enormous efforts to resolve this thorny issue.

Speaking to Al Watan, the lawmaker noted that the commission’s head is a man of integrity and honesty and that MPs trust his ability and support the steps he has taken to address the longstanding issue of Bedoun. Contrary to this commendation, MP Mubarak Al-Waalan urged Al-Fadhala to go, saying that the latter has proven his failure to address the plight of Bedouns. He affirmed that the issue can only be resolved by delivering justice to all.

“We will push for referring the issue of Bedoun to the judiciary because Al-Fadhala’s confusion is further complicating it,” the opposition MP was quoted as saying.

In the same context, MP Adel Al-Damkhi, who is a member of the Bedoun Committee, stated that mishandling the issue of Bedoun, the

empty promises and the provocative remarks of Al-Fadhala have been a major factor in the demonstrations being staged by this segment.

Additionally, MP Saleh Ashour noted that the gathering of Bedoun in Teima does not entitle the Ministry of Interior officers to arrest and imprison them, particularly since the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression to individuals without discrimination based on race or nationality. Ashour therefore called on the ministry to immediately release the Bedoun detainees. In other news, MP Abdullah Al-Tareeji revealed that he has been informed that a Ministry of Interior officer is an Iranian national who has access to classified information.

The lawmaker promised to provide details for the ministry and expressed hope that it will cooperate. Also, MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl addressed a letter to the Housing Minister Shuaib Al-Muwaizri demanding that he reverse his decision to second MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaie’s son and to force him to pay back the funds he secured to travel abroad for further education.

Arab education, higher education ministers urge more attention to teachers

Kuwait Education and Higher Education Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf (left) speaking during the eighth conference of the Arab education on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: The eighth conference of the Arab education and higher education ministers came up with a number of key recommendations to upgrade the performance of teachers and modernize educational policies in the Arab world. In a press conference following the closing ceremony, Kuwait Education and Higher Education Dr. Nayef AlHajraf said the final communique urged all Arab countries to set mechanisms for coordinating work of teachers qualifying and training institutions.

The communique called for the establishment of highly-qualified and specialized institutions to offer training courses to teachers after graduation.

It added that Arab countries must do more

to encourage scientific research in the education studies.

The conferees stressed the necessity of increasing the budget of education ministries to help improve quality of the education process.

Minister Al-Hajraf said the participating ministers and experts underlined the importance of teachers’ participation in preparing curricula.

The conferees also asked the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) to set standards for teachers’ qualifications and training.

Al-Hajraf disclosed the conference recommended asking teachers to get license before joining any educational institution. -KUNA

FM attends parliament committee meeting

KUWAIT: The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee held here a meeting Wednesday, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled

Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Head of the committee Member of Parliament (MP) Mohammad Al-Saqer lauded the Minister’s cooperation with the committee, affirming that discussions were fruitful. -KUNA

ALWATAN DAILY

KUWAIT

thursdAY, may 3, 2012

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Interior Ministry says stateless protesters carried out criminal acts No real intention to solve Bedouns issue, says Al-Bader

Jameel W. Karaki Staff Writer and Agencies

KUWAIT: After the police aborted an attempt made by some Bedoun (Stateless Arabs) to protest in Taima two days ago and arrested 14 protesters, 18 Bedouns organized another protest in Sulaibiya on Wednesday midnight, using hot air balloons that carried slogans calling for citizenship. The Bedoun set off the balloons and escaped before the police arrived.

It is worth noting that the police received tips that a small group of Bedoun flew balloons that carry slogans calling for citizenship. Interior Ministry on Wednesday accused stateless protesters of carrying out criminal acts against police officers during the demonstration. We regret the attacks by demonstrators in Taima (Square) and the shameful acts punishable by law that they committed,” the ministry said in a statement on state-run news agency KUNA. Demonstrators “tried to run over police officers, destroy equipment and devices, ignite tires and block roads,” it said.

Authorities said 14 people were arrested.

Meanwhile, Nawaf Al-Bader, the official spokesman of Kuwaiti Stateless committee described Tuesday’s protest by Bedouns as regrettable, as the Ministry of Interior treated the situation with unjustified violence, adding that all evidences ensures its arbitrariness.

He added, “It also affected journalists and photographers, where some of them were threatened, expulsed and even Al-Rai (newspaper) photographer was arrested.”

He explained that these demonstrations are a result of the government’s lack of credibility in dealing with the Bedouns issue and lack of intention to resolve the matter. Al-Bader pointed out that since the establishment of the Central Agency for Illegal Residents stateless body, no one has received their rights.

Regarding the statement of Chief of Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents Saleh Al-

Bedoun protestors are seen gathered in Taima area located in Jahra on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (Al Watan)

Security forces are seen arresting one of the protestors on Tuesday, May 1, 2012.

(Al Watan)

Fadhala, he described them both “funny and sad.” “He claims that he has thousands of proofs against Bedouns, who faked their documents. So, we ask him to send them for trials, but these statements are not new for us as activists. He also admits that a lot deserves citizenships and yet they didn’t get it till now”.

He concluded, that there is no true intention to solve this issue, and the statements of Al-Fadallah were “shameful and the National Assembly lawmakers should stop him.”

MP Shaye Al-Shaye affirmed that Al-Fadhala is one of the sincere men of Kuwait, indicating that the chief has exerted great efforts to solve the thorny case of Bedoun and all of us appreciate his hard efforts.

Al-Shaye told Al-Watan that Al-Fadhala is a man of integrity and he is up to responsibility, moreover he could achieve many positive steps towards solving the case. The MP asked for giving Al-Fadhala the time that he needs for solving this critical case.

On the other hand, Al-Shaye asked for disclosing the person that was behind granting the Kuwaiti citizenship to the Iraqi police offi-

origin to taking advantage of the privileges granted by the Central Apparatus for each and everyone who discloses their true origin,” he remarked.

As for the breakdown of the people who had already disclosed their true origin, AlFadhala said that 565 are of Saudi origin; 359 of Syrian origin; 104 of Iraqi origin; 11 of Iranian origin; 9 of Jordanian origin; 3 of Yemeni origin; 2 from New Zealand; 2 Egyptians; 2 Eritreans and 1 Canadian.

He went on to explain that the function of the Central Apparatus is to find a solution to the problem of the Stateless Arabs residing in the country illegally. He said that it was the wishes of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to resolve the issue and for that purpose the Supreme Council for Planning was assigned to do exactly the job in 2008.

He added that when the Central Apparatus began its work, they officially registered 93,000 people who claimed stateless status.

He said that the figure was enormous and therefore it was decided that there would be

Kuwaiti-Iraqi request to UN for border demarcation UNITED NATIONS: In a sign of closer cooperation to satisfy all international obligations on both sides, Kuwait and Iraq sent a joint request to the UN, Tuesday, requesting a tripartite meeting this week to consider measures to start maintenance of the border demarcation between the two northern Arabian Gulf countries.

The letter in this regard was initialed by Kuwait Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi and Iraqi counterpart Hamid Al-Bayyati and addressed to UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) the letter expresses a joint desire for the UN to uphold its legal obligation in implementing maintenance of the border demarcation, in view of Security Council Resolution 833.

The issue of the border demarcations had repeatedly been pushed back since February 2006 when a UN technical team visited the border area and requested that Iraq remove residential and other structure erected in the area and preventing proper identification of the demarcation.

“Implementing resolution 833 could create an atmosphere conducive to building trust and boosting bilateral relations to benefit both parties.

“There had been positive developments in our bilateral relations, such as exchange of visits by officials of the highest levels.

His Highness the Amir also recently took part in the last Arab Summit held in Baghdad, and our two countries also convened the Higher Joint Committee and signed a Memo of Understanding (MoU) on managing traffic in Abdullah Inlet (Khor Abdullah).”

On the issue of POWs, missing, and Kuwaiti property, the ambassador said there was discussion on this point at the committee meeting and it continues.

“This is a humanitarian issue on which there is no debate. Kuwait appreciates the Iraqi government’s efforts and knows it is impossible to realize any real progress on these dossiers without full Iraqi cooperation.

“We hope this cooperation continues; we still have 370 people the fate of whom is still unascertained. And there is also the State of Kuwait Archive, which is still missing,” Al-Otaibi said. The diplomat said Kuwait is working with Iraq to help the latter out of provisions of Article VII of the UN Charter.

“It is in all parties’ interest and for the interest of peace and stability in the region to see all international obligations satisfied and dossiers closed.” -KUNA

cer, after the MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji discussed the case. He affirmed that such person should be exposed before the Kuwaiti people even if he is a member of the current Parliament.

On Tuesday, Al-Fadhala has called on populace pressure against some lawmakers decision to end the issue of Bedouns, warning at the same time that such draft law, as proposed by some MPs, would put an end to the work of the Central Apparatus and its endeavors to make communications and contacts with officials in Iraq and Syria to grant those stateless Arabs living in Kuwait illegally citizenship.

Al-Fadhala’s statement came during a meeting held in a diwaniya in Al-Yarmouk area, in which he explained that at least 42,000 Stateless Arabs have been confirmed of Iraqi origin. He added that Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki asked him if he substantiate the claims to which Al-Fadhala sought to prove, but was hindered by the Arab spring.

“The Central Apparatus has obtained an irrefutable evidence regarding the true origin of 67, 000 Stateless Arabs with 1,058 people have already declared publicly their true

Developments to enhance medical services at Al-Ahmadi governorate KUWAIT: Al-Ahmadi governorate launched new specialized clinics in the primary care facilities, and also introduced new administrative methods to enhance service in the governorate.

Head of the Primary Health Care Unit in Al-Ahmadi Governorate Dr. Fahad Al-Azmi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), on Wednesday, that the governorate is inhabited by one third of the total population of Kuwait, and there are also new residential areas annexed to it with added population, which imposes a great burden on the medical services and infrastructure.

The new clinics would help patients with diabetes and chronic diseases in Fahad Al-Ahmad Center, healthy child services would be provided in western Al-Subaheya and Fintas Centers, and the working hours in Abu-Futaira Center would be extended till midnight, he said Geriatric care is to be provided in Al-Qurain Family Medical Center, along with care for conditions affecting the skin and cases involving the ear, nose, and throat, he added.

These changes and additions would help alleviate the pressure of such large number of patients who have to wait for long periods at Al-Adan hospital, which is already at a great distance for many of them to begin with, he said.

The medical services offered in Al-

One of the new clinics opened in Al-Ahmadi governorate on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. (KUNA)

Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorates witnessed a remarkable progress, especially in the dentistry field, head of dentistry services in Al-Ahmadi governorate Dr. Jaber Taqi said. New dentistry units were opened including well equipped clinics, X-ray facilities, and sterilization rooms, he said.

The electronic files of patients are currently used in most of dentistry clinics

in the governorate’s primary care units, and the patient’s medical history can be looked up easily though entering the civil Id number, he explained. New primary care units would be opened in many areas in Al-Ahmadi and Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorates including Al-Ogailah, Ali Sabah Al-Salem, Al-Ahmadi, and Bnaider where Al-Rashed Center is to offer dentistry services. -KUNA

Kuwait students comfortable in Jordan, says Kuwait parliament committee AMMAN: Kuwait’s National Assembly Jordanian-Kuwaiti friendship committee lauded here Wednesday the Jordanian authority’s care and support towards Kuwaiti students, reflecting the strong relations between the two Arab nations.

The committee met with Kuwaiti students with the participants of the members of the Kuwaiti embassy’s staff in Jordan.

Head of the delegation Member of Parliament (MP) Saifi Al-Saifi stressed the strong relations between the people of Kuwait and Jordan, noting that meetings with Jordanian officials focused on boosting relations with Jordan within the educational domain.

The delegation also focused on supporting the needs of Kuwaiti students pursuing their studies in Jordan. -KUNA

Kuwait’s National Assembly Jordanian-Kuwaiti friendship committee during their meeting with Kuwaiti students. (KUNA)

a red card granted for three categories; those with security risk; those with repeated offenses such as drugs charges; and those who were served with an official note to leave the country. All these three categories are by law barred from naturalization, but were given red card to assist them with matters related to schooling and medical treatment provided for them on humane grounds.

He also pointed out that if any of the charges are not accurate, and if any Bedoun feels that the charges against him are inaccurate, he can dispute by either referring to the State Security or Military Intelligence whichever and bring an official document showing that the charges indeed were inaccurate.

As for the other two types of Bedouns, AlFadhala said that some have the 1965 Registration which means they are entitled as long as no security risk is noted in their files. Those people are issued with Green card.

The last type is related to those who were present after 1966 and remained thereafter.

Those are given a Yellow card as long as there are no security restrictions in their files.

Interior minister hails cooperation between Kuwait, GCC members

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said here Wednesday security cooperation between Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states is based on firm pillars.

Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) ahead of departure to Riyadh for the 13th consultative meeting of GCC interior ministers, Sheikh Ahmad said, “Security cooperation between Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior and its counterparts in other GCC member states is existing, continuing and based on firm basics.” On the meeting, he said they will discuss the overall security situation in the region, security coordination and joint plans for handling security matters.

He noted the gathering represents a positive vision and fresh springboard for reinforcing joint security cooperation and coordination to face regional and international security developments and changes and to fight terrorism and illegal drugs.

“There is no doubt that stable security conditions in the region are a basic request for our people to fulfill their ambitions and hopes for stability, progress and social and economic development,” he added. -KUNA

Lebanese Minister of Information hails 9th Arab Media Forum BEIRUT: The 9th Arab Media Forum held in Kuwait, contributes to enhancing future media cooperation between Lebanon and other participating countries, the Lebanese Minister of Information Walid Doug said on Wednesday.

In press remarks following his return to Lebanon, Daouq said that he will convey the greetings of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the Lebanese political leadership and people, wishing them everlasting peace and stability.

The Lebanese minister extended invitations to Kuwaitis to spend their summer vacation in Lebanon, especially that the country is enjoying an atmosphere of stability and tranquility. The two-day forum witnessed the participation of various political and media figures from Kuwait and abroad, discussing various issues related to Arab media. -KUNA

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ALWATAN DAILY

regional

The Eastern Enemy

By Hossam Fathi Staff Writer

Apparently, the approaching presidential election and potential for an elected president, which will be followed by the transferring of power from the Military Council to a civil authority, annoys our eastern neighbor, who wishes for the destruction of the newly born Egyptian democracy! The enemy might look into finding a new pretext to undermine Egyptian security in order to enable the military council to maintain power for a longer period of time.

The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman said that he is more worried about the situation in Egypt than the Iranian nuclear program; meanwhile the former Minister of Defense and current MP Benjamin Ben-Eliezer affirmed that Israel has to be prepared for a possible confrontation with Egypt and that the Israeli army should be in stand-by mode for such an eventuality.

The security committee at the Israeli parliament approved calling thousands of military reservists to join the army, at the same time Israel is preparing for new military operations against the Gaza Strip. Is it really the time for Egypt to be dragged into a war?

And what would be the main objective of such a war?

Shall we abandon the presidential election, and our dreams of democracy as well as the coming renaissance, through perpetuating support for the military council as the incumbent leaders of the country? hossam@alwatan.com.kw Twitter:@hossamfathy66

Israel army closes probe into deaths of 21 Gazans

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Wednesday it has closed its investigation into the shelling deaths of 21 members of a single Palestinian family and would not file any charges in what was one of the gravest incidents in the 2009 war in the Gaza Strip.

The military’s move, which exonerates Israeli soldiers from any responsibility in the killings, outraged relatives of the killed Palestinians and the Israeli human rights group that had pressed for the investigation. They said the findings proved the army is not capable of investigating the conduct of its soldiers.

“We are talking about a crime against civilians,” said Salah Samouni, 34, whose 2-year-old daughter was killed when Israeli shells slammed into the Gaza City house where the family had gathered.

“We know that God above will punish the killers.

If they escaped trial, they can’t escape God’s punishment,” said Samouni, who survived the shelling.

Israel launched the three-week offensive in Gaza in response to months of rocket fire by the ruling Hamas militant group. About 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the fighting, including hundreds of civilians, and thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged. Thirteen Israelis also died. Surviving members of the Samouni family had claimed the family was ordered by Israeli soldiers to take refuge in a house that was then shelled, killing 21 people.

In its findings, the Israeli military said its investigation “totally refuted” allegations that the incident was a war crime. It denied the building was deliberately targeted or that soldiers acted recklessly.

Following the war, a UN report accused Israel of deliberately attacking civilians in its campaign against Hamas militants. The report’s lead author, South African jurist Richard Goldstone, later questioned that finding, although the report was never modified or withdrawn. The report also accused Hamas militants of targeting Israeli civilians, and said that both sides may have committed war crimes. B’tselem, an Israeli human rights group, said it was “intolerable” that the military exonerated itself of responsibility in the Samouni case. The military’s response “demonstrates yet again the need for an Israeli investigation mechanism that is external to the army.” The Israeli military has filed three indictments against soldiers who took part in the operation, and in three other cases, disciplinary action alone was taken. -AP

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012

20 dead in Cairo after attackers storm protest Egypt army signals willingness to hand over power

CAIRO: Thugs attacked an anti-military protest near the defense ministry in Cairo on Wednesday and 20 people were killed, officials said, in the politically tense run-up to the first post-uprising presidential election.

The dawn assault sparked fierce clashes between the unidentified attackers and the protesters, who have been there for days calling for an end to military rule, with both sides hurling petrol bombs and rocks, the official said.

The army deployed troops in central Cairo to quell the clashes, a military source told AFP. A security official said the army and security forces had formed a cordon between the protesters and the attackers, bringing the fighting to a halt.

A doctor at a field hospital set up in the area said 20 people had been killed and dozens injured.

Four presidential candidates announced they had temporarily suspended their campaigns over the killings.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi told reporters he decided to suspend his campaign for 48 hours “in solidarity with the protesters.”

He blamed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces because it is the ruling authority. SCAF “is the first to be responsible,” he said.

His main Islamist rival, Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, cancelled all his events for the day over the clashes, a campaign official told AFP. Leftist candidates Khaled Ali and Hamdeen Sabbahi also announced they were suspending their campaigns.

Pro-democracy activists including the Coalition of Revolution Youth, as well as Abul Fotouh, have called for a march to Abbassiya at 5:00pm (1500 GMT) to demand an end to the bloodshed in Cairo, where traffic in the centre of the city had ground to a halt and created patches of grid lock across the capital.

Leading dissident Mohamed El-Baradei denounced the “massacre” outside the ministry of defense. “SCAF & Government unable to protect civilians or in cahoots with thugs. Egypt going down the drain,” the former UN nuclear watchdog chief posted on Twitter.

Egyptian anti-military protesters throw stones during clashes with unidentified attackers in the Abbassiya district of Cairo on May 2, 2012. (AFP)

Meanwhile, Egypt’s military might hand over to civilian rule earlier than planned in the unlikely event that this month’s presidential election produces an outright winner, politicians said after meeting generals on Wednesday.

Few Egyptians expect anyone of the 13 candidates to secure more than 50 percent support in the May 23-24 vote, which is

UN Council approve resolution on Sudan sanctions UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday that threatens Sudan and South Sudan with sanctions if the east African neighbors fail to halt an escalating conflict and resume negotiations on disputes within two weeks.

The UN Council resolution on Sudan and South Sudan, former civil war foes that split when the south seceded last year, follows weeks of border fighting that have raised fears Khartoum and Juba could launch an all-out war, after failing to resolve a string of disputes over oil revenues and border demarcation.

Sudan on Tuesday warned its southern neighbor, which split away last year, over widening “aggression” as the South alleged fresh clashes despite an African Union peace initia-

tive in the oil-fuelled conflict.

Khartoum charged that “South Sudan and its army are working to widen the aggression and occupy some disputed points and areas by force. Sudan cannot allow the occupying troops to impose their power.” More than a week ago South Sudanese soldiers said they had completed a withdrawal from Sudan’s main oil region of Heglig, which they occupied for 10 days, while Sudan launched air strikes across the border.

In New York, a resolution drawn up by the United States calls on the two countries to “immediately cease all hostilities” and withdraw troops to their own territory, in line with the call made by the African Union.

The resolution would threaten “additional measures” under Article 41 of the UN Charter,

which allows for non-military sanctions.

Under the resolution, the two countries would have two weeks to “unconditionally” start talks under AU mediation on borders and sharing oil revenues, and they would have three months to conclude an accord. UN leader Ban Ki-moon would have to report to the Security Council every two weeks on the crisis. Sudan and South Sudan have kept trading accusations following the Heglig clashes, the most serious in a month of border confrontations.

Each side denies backing rebels on the other’s territory in a proxy war after failing to settle outstanding issues over contested territory, oil revenues and borders.

The South became independent last July after an overwhelming “yes” vote under a 2005

At least 20 Syrian troops ‘killed in new clashes’

Syrian soldiers man a checkpoint at the entrance of the Al-Karama area in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs on May 2, 2012. (AFP)

New foot and mouth strain spreads to Gaza Strip

ROME: A new strain of foot and mouth disease (FMD) has reached the Gaza Strip and threatens to spread further after first being detected in Egypt and Libya in February, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Wednesday.

FAO said sick animals had been detected on April 19 in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. It said vaccines against the SAT2 strain of the virus were still in short supply and the priority at the moment was to limit animal movements.

FMD is a highly infectious and sometimes fatal disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, buffalo and pigs. It is not a direct threat to humans. Meat and milk from sick animals are unsafe for consumption, not because FMD affects humans, but because foodstuffs entering the food chain should only come from animals that are known to be healthy, FAO said.

Movements of animals from the Nile Delta eastward through the Sinai Peninsula and north into the Gaza strip have been deemed the highest risk for the spread of the disease into the wider Middle East region, the Rome-based agency said.

“If FMD SAT2 reaches deeper into the Middle East it could spread throughout vast areas, threatening the Gulf countries - even southern and eastern Europe, and perhaps beyond” said Juan Lubroth, FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer.

The FMD virus is transmitted via the saliva of sick animals, and spreads easily via contaminated hay, stalls, trucks and clothing, FAO said.

The Gaza Strip will receive an initial 20,000 vaccines to protect cattle and 40,000 doses will soon be available for sheep and goats, the agency said. It is negotiating with vaccine producers in case the disease spreads further. -Reuters

likely to go to a run-off in June. The army has pledged to hand over power to an elected president by July 1.

Political party leaders met members of the ruling military council hours after the incident occurred. The army’s message appeared intended to cool talk that it might use the unrest as a pretext to delay the vote. -Agencies

DAMASCUS: At least 20 Syrian regime troops and two rebel fighters were killed in violent clashes overnight in the provinces of Aleppo and Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday. Fifteen soldiers, including two colonels, were killed in an ambush by rebels at dawn on Wednesday in northern Aleppo province, the Britainbased watchdog said.

The ambush took place near the village of Al-Rai, scene of clashes between opposition fighters and regime forces, the monitor said, adding that two rebel fighters were also killed.

“Syrian regime forces have scaled up military operations in Aleppo in recent days,” after a lull in violence following a truce that came into force on April 12, the Observatory said.

Meanwhile, in the Harasta suburb of Damascus, “violent clashes” killed at least six soldiers, the monitoring group added.

The eastern province of Deir El-Zor also suffered

violence, with shelling by regime forces on Al-Dahla village, the Observatory reported. In Al-Quriya town, regime troops conducted raids and burned down activists’ homes, it added.

In southern Daraa, a civilian was killed by regime gunfire in the Al-Lajaa area, the Observatory reported.

The violence took place amid a putative ceasefire that came into effect on April 12.

The United Nations has accused both sides of violating the truce that is part of a peace plan brokered

by United Nations-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

The plan calls for a daily two-hour humanitarian ceasefire, media access to all areas affected by the fighting, an inclusive Syrian-led political process, a right to demonstrate and the release of detainees.

According to the UN, more than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since an anti-regime uprising broke out in March last year, while the Observatory puts the figure at more than 11,100. -AFP

peace deal that ended a 22-year civil war.

On Tuesday, the South’s army said Sudanese troops and allied militias clashed with South Sudanese troops along the disputed border.

“Sudanese forces, militias and mercenaries attacked our positions in Hofra in the oil region of Unity state,” Southern army spokesman Philip Aguer said, adding that Southern troops had “repulsed the attackers” but were preparing for another expected assault from Sudan.

It was not possible to independently verify the situation.

The British embassy, meanwhile, said Tuesday that it had met with one of its citizens allegedly detained by Sudan’s army along the tense southern border and that he was in good condition.-AFP

Airstrike kills 15 Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen

SANAA: An airstrike Wednesday killed 15 Al-Qaeda-linked militants in their training camp in the country’s south, Yemeni military officials said. The airstrike resembled earlier US drone attacks, but the US did not comment.

The officials said the air attack targeted the militants’ camp north of the town of Jaar in the southern province of Abyan. It coincided with a Yemeni government offensive against the militants.

On Monday, 17 Al-Qaeda militants were killed in a two-pronged attack by military units and civilians who took up arms against Al-Qaeda south of the town of Lawder. Two civilians and a military officer were also killed in the fighting. The Yemeni officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. For several weeks, the Yemeni military has been on the attack against Al-Qaeda, after a year during which the militants were largely unopposed in their takeover of cities and towns in the south. This came while Yemen was preoccupied with an internal power struggle, set off by huge demonstrations against longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh that eventually led to his resignation in February The new government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has made fighting Al-Qaeda a top priority, but his drive has been hindered by resistance from cronies of Saleh, who are hanging on to key military posts and refusing to step down.

Saleh was long considered a US ally in the battle against Al-Qaeda, but eventually Washington joined the chorus of opponents demanding that Saleh hand over power. The US has been active against the militants for years, tracking and striking Al-Qaeda operatives with missiles.

US officials usually don’t comment on airstrikes like Wednesday’s, but White House counterterrorism official John Brennan acknowledged on Monday that the US carries out attacks using unmanned drone aircraft against specific AlQaeda terrorists, with the cooperation of a local government.

Al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen is considered one of its most dangerous and has been linked to several attempted attacks on US targets.

The training camp hit Wednesday was set up around an abandoned munitions factory seized last year by the militants. Then it exploded, killing at least 100 people. The blast was ignited when impoverished townspeople entered the factory in the aftermath to try to haul away anything of value that remained.

Al-Qaeda has held Jaar, about 250 kilometers (160 miles) southeast of Sanaa, for the past year. Parts of the provincial capital, Zinjibar, are also under Al-Qaeda control, but government troops fought their way into the city’s center last week. -AP

Iran says seeks end to sanctions at talks with world powers

VIENNA: Iran said on Wednesday it was seeking an end to Western sanctions over its arms program during talks with world powers and criticized France for helping Israel, the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have atomic weapons.

An adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the talks in Baghdad on May 23 should lead to the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian media.

The comments reflect increasing emphasis in the Islamic Republic that an end to sanctions is vital to the success of the talks. It was also the first time an influential political figure explicitly said he expects progress on the issue.

“At the least, our expectation is the lifting of sanctions,”

Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel said in answer to a question.

The United States and its allies say Iran’s nuclear program is a cover for developing atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

They have imposed new sanctions against Iran’s energy and banking sectors since the beginning of this year and the European Union is set to impose a total embargo on the purchase of Iranian crude oil in July.

In Vienna, Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mahdi Akhondzadeh sought to turn the tables on the Western powers. He said nuclear weapons had no place in Iran’s defense doctrine, and accused “certain” states of double standards.

He took aim at France, a key player in tightening sanc-

tions on Iran, and said it had “spared no effort” in helping Israel - widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East. He did not elaborate.

“The existence of nuclear weapons in the hands of...Israel continues to pose the gravest threat to the stability and security” in the Middle East, Akhondzadeh said.

Israel neither confirms nor denies it has nuclear weapons, under an ambiguity designed to deter regional foes but avoid arms races.

The United States and Israel regard Iran’s nuclear ambitions as the main threat in the volatile region, prompting persistent speculation they might attack its atomic sites if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

WORLD

thursdAY, may 3, 2012

Taliban attack in Afghan capital kills at least seven after Obama visit US president sees ‘clear path’ to end Afghan mission

KABUL: Taliban insurgents attacked a compound housing foreigners in the Afghan capital Wednesday, killing seven people, hours after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit and signed a pact governing the US presence after combat troops withdraw.

The Taliban said the attack was a response to Obama’s visit, which coincided with Wednesday’s anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan.

It was the second major assault in Kabul in less than three weeks and highlighted the Taliban’s continued ability to strike in the heavily guarded capital even when security had been tightened security for the high profile events.

Obama arrived at Bagram Air Base late Tuesday, then traveled in to Kabul by helicopter for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in which they signed the agreement. Later, back at the base, he was surrounded by US troops, shaking every hand. He ended his lightning visit with a speech broadcast to Americans back home.

The violence began around 6 a.m. in eastern Kabul with a series of explosions and gunfire ringing out from the privately guarded compound known as Green Village that houses hundreds of international contractors.

Shooting and blasts shook the city for hours as militants who had stormed into the compound held out against security forces, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

A local witness said the attackers were disguised in burqas - the head-to-toe robes worn by conservative Afghan women.

A handout picture released by the Afghan President Office on May 2, shows US President Barack Obama (left) and Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai (2nd right) sign documents during their meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan. (EPA)

“A vehicle stopped here and six people wearing burqas entered the alley carrying black bags in their hands.When they entered the alley, there was an explosion,” said Abdul Manan.

At least seven people were killed, according to the Interior Ministry. It also said 17 were wounded, most Afghan children on their way to school.

The area appeared to have calmed down by about 10 a.m. and NATO said all the attackers had been killed. The gate at the entrance of the Green Village was destroyed, with the wreckage of the suicide bomber’s car sitting in front.

The road running past the compound was littered with shoes, books, school supplies and

French presidential candidates face off in debate

François Hollande (left) and Nicolas Sarkozy cast their vote in the first round of the French presidential elections. (AFP)

PARIS: France’s two presidential contenders are to face off in a nationally televised debate, preceded by the kind of dramatic build-up normally reserved for a heavyweight boxing championship.

The two-and-a-half-hour prime-time debate between rightwing incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy and his leftwing challenger Francois Hollande is billed in newspaper headlines Wednesday as “The Last Duel”

and “The Final Confrontation,” providing a sense of suspense in a campaign that, if polls are right, has lacked it from the beginning. Surveys continue to predict that Hollande will defeat the divisive Sarkozy in Sunday’s decisive presidential runoff. Experts say past debates have never swung a French election, regardless of who comes off better in the televised showdown. -AFP

the bloody ID card of a student from a nearby school.

The suicide car bomb that exploded near Jalalabad road - one of the main thoroughfares out of the city - was among the first blasts, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said. A station wagon that was driving past was caught up in the explosion and four people inside were killed, Sediqi said. A passer-by and a Nepalese security guard were also killed, said Kabul Deputy Police Chief Daoud Amin. The seventh death was not identified.

A young man who saw the explosion said the dead pedestrian was one of his fellow classmates.

Police probe embattled Australian speaker CANBERRA: Police on Wednesday said they were probing fraud allegations against Australian parliamentary speaker Peter Slipper who is at the center of a scandal about travel vouchers and sexual harassment.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) said they had been investigating the fraud claims since last month, speaking to potential witnesses and gathering evidence about Slipper’s alleged misuse of taxi entitlements.

“The AFP has now assessed that the matter requires further investigation,” it said in a statement, adding that it would not comment further.

Slipper has stepped aside as speaker in a blow to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s fragile hold on power in the House of Representatives.

He strongly denies the claims which include misusing taxi vouchers and sexually harassing former staffer James Ashby with explicit text messages and inappropriate comments.

Gillard on Sunday distanced herself from Slipper, who resigned from the opposition to become an independent lawmaker to take up the speaker’s role, by saying he had agreed to step down indefinitely.

The prime minister, who is facing political oblivion in next year’s elections according to current opinion polls, also forced a second embattled lawmaker, Craig Thomson, to quit the Labor Party.

Thomson has been under a cloud for several years over allegations he misused the credit card of a former employer, the Health Services Union (HSU), to pay for lavish meals, prostitutes and to get cash advances.

Thomson maintains his innocence.

Police on Wednesday raided the Sydney headquarters of a branch of the HSU, a trade union rep-

North Korea jamming affects flights, says Seoul official SEOUL: Electronic jamming signals from North Korea have affected scores of civilian flights in and out of South Korea, a Seoul official said Wednesday, amid rising tensions with Pyongyang. “We’ve confirmed the GPS (global positioning system) jamming signals have been stemming from the North,” Lee Kyung-Woo, a deputy director at the state Korea Communications Commission, told AFP. The transport ministry, in a statement and in comments to AFP, said the jamming had affected 252 flights since last Saturday but did not identify who was responsible. The North has been accused before by Seoul of jamming GPS systems but there was no previous widespread effect on civilian flights.

In recent weeks it has frequently threatened offensive action against the South, amid growing fears it may soon carry out a nuclear test following a failed rocket launch last month that sparked international criticism.

The North accuses Seoul’s leaders of disrespect during Pyongyang’s celebrations last month of the centenary of the birth of founding leader Kim Il-Sung. A transport ministry statement said 241 flights by nine South Korean airlines and 11 flights operated by nine foreign airlines had been affected since last Saturday.

It said Seoul that day issued a warning notice for pilots and airlines. Kim Choon-Oh, a ministry director, said GPS disruption was noticeable around Incheon airport, the South’s main international gateway.

“Authorities are tracing the origin,” he told AFP. “Despite disruption in GPS, there is no serious threat to the safety of flights because planes are using other navigation devices.”

Kim said there was a brief effect on the GPS systems of civilian flights last year, “but this kind of widespread disruption is unusual”. A spokesman for Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to say whether the jamming was also directed against the military. “There has been no problem in our military operations,” he said. The South’s then-defense minister said in October 2010 that a North Korean jamming device capable of disrupting guid-

“I was walking to school when I saw a very big explosion. A car exploded and flames went very high into the air,” said 21-year-old Mohammad Wali. “Then I saw a body of one of my classmates lying on the street. I knew it was a suicide attack and ran away. I was so afraid.”

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.

“This was a message to Obama that those are not real Afghans that are signing documents about this country,” Mujahid said. “The real Afghan nation are those people that are not letting foreign invaders stay in this country or disrespect the dignity of our country.”

However, because such complex attacks usually take significant advance planning, it also was possible that the Taliban were capitalizing on fortunate timing. Mujahid said the target was a “foreign military base.”

NATO forces spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff said no NATO bases came under attack.

The Green Village complex, with its towering blast walls and heavily armed security force, is very similar in appearance to NATO bases in the city. An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw a group of Afghan soldiers enter the Green Village compound, after which heavy shooting could be heard coming from inside.

Outside the complex, men could be seen carrying a wounded man covered with blood, apparently pulled out of the flames engulfing a nearby car.

“These people evacuated a man from the burning car, two bodies are laying there now and three or four other victims were evacuated from the school,” said Ahmad Zia, a resident who saw the explosion.

Green Village was also the target of anti-foreigner protests following the burning of Qurans at a US base in February. At that time, violent protests raged outside, but the angry crowds did not breach the compound’s defenses. -AP

ed weapons posed a fresh threat to security. Minister Kim TaeYoung told parliament the North had imported Russian equipment to jam South Korea’s GPS reception and could achieve this effect over a distance of up to 100 kilometers (60 miles).

Kim said the North was thought to have been responsible for the intermittent failure of GPS receivers on naval and civilian craft along the west coast from August 23 to 25 that year.

In March last year the South’s Yonhap news agency said the North had used jamming equipment to block South Korean military communication devices. It said the strong jamming signals had caused minor disruptions to phones and navigational devices using GPS at military units near Seoul.

The latest incidents did not endanger civilian flights, a senior official at the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration told AFP on condition of anonymity. -AFP

North Korea jammed GPS signals; forced emergency landing of US plane. (AFP)

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NEWS IN BRIEF Pakistan on alert for Bin Laden anniversary ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was in a state of high alert Wednesday over fears militants will launch revenge attacks on the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s killing by American Navy SEALs. The anniversary of the single most humiliating event in recent Pakistani history caps a devastating year for the country. Its dubious reputation has been dragged deeper through the mud and its relationship with the United States is as bad as ever as questions about Islamabad’s intelligence failures or complicity with Al-Qaeda remain unanswered. -AFP

China violated Indian airspace BEIJING: China breached Indian airspace twice in March, a minister said Wednesday, adding the intrusions were reported to Beijing to “facilitate maintenance of peace” between the two Asian giants. Chinese helicopters flew into Indian airspace on March 16 and 19, Defense Minister A.K. Antony told parliament, specifying that on the first incident two aircraft illegally crossed the militarized border into India. Both airspace violations occurred over India’s mountainous Himachal Pradesh state, which shares part of its border with Tibet, the defense minister told parliament’s upper house in a statement. -AFP

Man due in court over two murders LONDON: A 36-year-old man will appear in court Wednesday charged with two murders in the northeast of England.

James Allen has been charged with two counts of murder pluts rape, false imprisonment, assault and witness intimidation.

The charges relate to the deaths of Colin Dunford, 81, from Middlesbrough, and Julie Davison, 50, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, whose bodies were discovered last week. Dunford, who was found dead at his home last Monday, had suffered serious head injuries, post-mortem results showed. -AFP

US man guilty over subway suicide-bomb plot NEW YORK: A Bosnian-born US citizen has been convicted of plotting coordinated suicide bombings of New York subways in what federal authorities called one of the biggest terrorism threats to the country since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. A federal jury in Brooklyn on Tuesday found Adis Medunjanin, 28, guilty of all nine counts against him, including conspiring to carry out a suicide attack on US soil, receiving military training from Al-Qaeda and plotting to kill US soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. The jury deliberated for 10 hours over two days. Medunjanin faces possible life imprisonment when he is sentenced on Sept. 7. -Reuters

China demands apology as activist leaves US embassy Peter Slipper, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, meets with Rebiya Kadeer, president of the World Uyghur Congress, in Parliament House, Canberra. (AP)

resenting health workers, seizing documents and computers. Thomson was a former HSU national secretary between 2002 and 2007 before entering parliament. -AFP

Top Irish Catholic faces new abuse cover-up claims

DUBLIN: The leader of Ireland’s 4 million Catholics, Cardinal Sean Brady, faced renewed pressure to resign Wednesday after a BBC documentary accused him of helping to cover up child abuse committed by a notorious pedophile priest in the 1970s.

Brady already has admitted he took written testimony in 1975 from two abused teenage boys and gave the report to his bishop, not the police. The revelations became public after victims sued Brady and the church for damages and won confidential settlements.

One of those now-adult children, Brendan Boland, told the BBC he also alerted Brady to five other children being abused by the same priest, but Brady didn’t tell their parents of the danger. The priest, Brendan Smyth, spent two more decades abusing children in Ireland and the United States before being imprisoned.

Boland said his own father had not been allowed in the room when Brady questioned him about Smyth’s sexual assaults, contradicting Brady’s claim that his father was present. Brady had the 14-year-old boy sign an oath of secrecy - a measure that the church insists was designed to protect the boy, not the church. A prominent Irish support group for child abuse victims, One in Four, said Brady previously declared he would resign if his actions had resulted in unnecessary abuse of even a single child, and should follow through on that promise now.

“The documentary suggests that many children could have been protected from the sexual predator if Cardinal Brady had not been so invested in protecting the church,” One in Four said in a statement. Brady, 72, is expected to respond to the new allegations later Wednesday. -AP

BEIJING: Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has left the US embassy to seek medical care and join his family, officials said Wednesday, as Beijing demanded a US apology on the eve of key talks between the two powers.

Chen, who riled Chinese authorities by exposing forced abortions and sterilizations under the “one-child” policy, fled house arrest on April 22 and sought refuge in the US embassy where he demanded assurances on his freedom.

Hours after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in China for long-planned meetings, the United States broke nearly a week of silence over his case and said that the dissident has been taken for treatment in Beijing.

“Chen Guangcheng has arrived at a medical facility in Beijing where he will receive medical treatment and be reunited with his family,” a senior US official said on condition of anonymity.

The US official did not immediately provide more details on Chen, such as whether he would be allowed to return home or head to the United States. The 40-year-old self-taught lawyer, who has been blind since childhood, has voiced hope for staying in China.

Wednesday’s nearly simultaneous announcements from the two countries may not have ended the row, with China demanding an apology for what it called interference in its affairs.

“China is very unhappy over this. The US action is an interference in China’s internal affairs and China cannot accept it,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said, as quoted by the state Xinhua news agency.

“China demands that the US apologize and thoroughly investigate this incident, deal with the people who are responsible and ensure these types of incidents do not occur again,” he said.

His flight came despite round-theclock surveillance around his home in eastern Shandong province, where he has alleged that he and his family suffered severe beatings after he ended a four-year jail term in 2010. -AFP

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ALWATAN DAILY

OPINION

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

Dealing with love-hate sentiments witnessed in parliament Nabeel Al-Fadhl

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or reasons beyond my comprehension, I simply fail to comprehend the reasons why the parliamentary session has been deferred to August 2 which coincidently happens to be a Thursday. One will also surely be compelled to wonder why of all the days, dates and months that are available during the entire year, this specific day, date and month has been assigned to hold the deferred session.

Didn’t this date strike a raw chord of hatred in the hearts and minds of the decision makers taking into consideration the fact that the date happens to coincide with that Black Thursday on Aug. 2, 1990 when the then dictatorial president of Iraq rolled his armored tanks and battalions and invaded Kuwait?

More importantly, apart from the fact that the day will be overwhelmed with painful and sorrowful undertones, it also happens to coincide with preparations that the faithful undertake to observe and partake in prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. The faithful in Kuwaiti society have always been known to be serious when it comes to making preparations for Ramadan which is expected to commence on July 20 this year. And in the event that the parliamentary session is held as scheduled, there can be no doubt that the first few days of the holy month will surely be affected by the outcomes of the parliamentary session.

Once again, I find myself flabbergasted and unable to find any reasonable answers why they scheduled the session for this particular day. Perhaps we can attribute such careless timing to the love-hate sentiments that are usually nursed by parliamentarians against one another. What I mean by this is that the parliamentary speaker MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun has been campaigning persistently to regain his coveted previous position as speaker before losing it to Jassem Al-Kharafi. In fact, it has been precisely 12 years since he lost his seat and ever since he has been fighting tooth,

While we can truly understand the nature of his dedicated relationship with the gavel, the gentleman now seems to have become so consumed with it, that he tends to overlook the sentiments of other MPs.

nail and claw to retain his former post in parliament. It is hence, pretty obvious here that this is part of the equation of the “love-hate” sentiments.

Al-Saadoun, it seems, finds it pretty hard to let go of the gavel that he so persistently held in the palm of his hands over the years and hence it’s pretty obvious that he does not like to let it slip from his hand for as long as humanly possible. I personally feel that this is the main reason why he is adamant on deferring all subsequent parliamentary sessions and stretch them as much as he possible can. However, while we can fully appreciate and truly understand the nature of his dedicated relationship with the gavel, the gentleman now seems to have become so consumed with the gavel that he seems to overlook the standing of other MPs. Now this is where the hate part of the relationship steps in.

It is common knowledge that parliamentary sessions are usually held over a period spanning eight months -- from October to July; but due to the dissolution of the last parliamentary session, matters have taken a serious turn for the worse. It is worth mentioning here that by deferring the last parliamentary session to August, it will not, in any way, make up for lost time simply because this current parliament has been convening its sessions since February anyway. For example, let us calculate the number of sessions that are usually expected to be held over a period eight months.

With two sessions held every week and twice in four weeks, it accounts for four sessions held in any given month. Hence over a period of eight months, a total number of 32 sessions are usually held, with an occasional one or two extra sessions thrown in -- if circumstances demand them.

However, this set pattern has currently changed ever since MP Al-Saadoun’s stint as speaker - as is evident in the fact that he has changed the set pattern from two to three sessions per week. In this particular scenario, if the parliament embarks on its annual hiatus on July 19 after convening three sessions per week, then it will end up with 30 sessions with an additional five -- not to mention any extraordinary sessions that could be in the offing.

I personally feel that the number of sessions held already are more than enough for the current year and this is why I understand why most, if not all, MPs find it almost difficult to digest the logic behind stretching the end of the parliamentary tenure to August 2. And in the event that AlSaadoun finds it difficult to let go of the gavel, I’d surely advice him to retain it in the palm of his hand during the entire parliamentary hiatus!

As for the current stance held by some MPs nowadays with regards to amending the Kuwaiti Constitution in attempts to make it compatible with this day and age, we are all aware of the fact that this is merely a bubble which soon

will burst. However, we are also aware of the fact that there have always been repeated demands to amend the Constitution in futile attempts to realize all those hidden agendas nursed by those who demand amendments. In fact, they are behaving in a very arrogant manner making it seem like that they have been appointed to seek their personal interests and not those of the citizens and the country. It is not that we resist or seek to abort any attempts at modernization or upgrading our existing systems of governance. On the contrary, we support all demands for the better -- if they lead to modernity and development of the country.

In attempts to cease any further arguments on the issue, we will accept all the demands that those MPs are persistently demanding but in return, we humbly urge them to introduce a new legislation wherein political parties can now be legalized. In doing so, we can surely witness the end of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists. Moreover, it will also end all tribal affiliations and allegiances once and for all and once that is done, then by all means, it will surely pave the way to make changes in the Constitution.

However, we are all aware of the fact that they would never ever dare thinking about executing something to that effect.

Cowards!

Once again, if they are really serious about restricting the terms of office for any undersecretary to not more than two terms (eight years) we will wholeheartedly ascribe to this motion but in return we demand that no MP should be retained in parliament for more than the specified period.

And then, under the circumstances, we can mutually endorse the notion of amending Article 83 to that effect.

After all what is good for the goose is surely good for the gander. This notion would surely suit many people simply because we have never heard of an undersecretary who served for four decades. On the other hand, we have heard of MPs who have served for more than 40 years and are still counting!

For want of a contract, a nation is lost Nawaf Sulaiman Al-Fuzai

I

sn’t it strange indeed that most, if not all, controversial contracts that have been signed in recent years simply go missing? Reports of findings compiled by a parliamentary investigation committee, the contract of a multi-million deal that was signed with Shell Company and the Dow contract are just two of the several other contracts that have been reported missing from securely locked vaults. Moreover, the oil minister recently denied any knowledge of appointments in the oil sector and in the event that another committee is appointed to delve into a host of vagaries that are committed in other departments once can only surmise the magnitude of the problem.

I am absolutely certain that the contract that was signed with Shell is definitely not lost but that certain parties simply wanted to conceal it from public view because disclosing the clauses of the contract would blow their cover and expose their ill intentions to the general public. And to worsen an already deteriorating situation, the oil minister intends to compensate Dow without even referring the case to Kuwaiti courts. I challenge the minister to release the contents of the contract by referring it to the National Assembly if he has really nothing to hide. He is fully aware of the fact that disclosing the contents of the contract will only lead to a huge scandal and in the event that he chooses to compensate Dow, then we will renew our pledge of referring him to the Ministerial Court!

Then there are those that tend to draw the attention of the general public by highlighting certain issues just to detract their attention from more explosive projects and contracts like the calcified coal, power generators and most importantly; the Shell and Dow deals. They try to do that through suggesting the amendment of some constitutional articles little realizing that the National Assembly doesn`t have the authority to amend the Constitution – it can just scrutinize articles. Amending articles in the Constitution necessitates the dissolution of any current parliament and calling for new elections to elect a constituent council and it is this council that has the authority to prepare a new constitution.

And although constitutional experts are fully aware of this eventuality, they attempted to exploit and influence the inexperienced MP Faisal Al-Yahya and who in turn submitted a five-pronged request to amend some articles although his attempts will never gain any success. To prove a case in point, let us follow up on the chronological order of those events. The committee that was formed to initiate an investigation into the calcified coal deal was rejected while the recommendations of the other committee -- that was formed to follow up power generators project -- were not even referred to the National Assembly. No other committee has been formed to initiate investigations into the Shell and Dow deals.

In fact, even the Audit Bureau failed to compile a report over the calcified coal deal besides several other deals. We urge the Kuwaiti people to be aware of such huge violations simply because their children and those after them will never be able to enjoy the bliss and happiness that the Kuwaiti people enjoy at this current point of time if the seeds of corruption continue to engulf the country on a greater magnitude.

Ali Farzat

f so er ent b m m Me rlia Pa

The subtle nuances between Arab and Western elections Shamlan Yousef Al-Esa

I

t is common knowledge that despite all the promises made by those political leaders who emerged victorious in the Arab Spring that swept countries in the region; especially countries like Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, there has been no noticeable change to date as is evident in the fact that citizens of those countries are still grappling with their own miseries and shortcomings. In fact, even those newly elected leaders who were elected to power by their respective peoples have failed to bring about that promised transition from dictatorial rule to a democratic one.

And while the leaders of those countries are still undecided over their fate of their citizens and their countries, leaders and peoples across the world are witnessed being mute spectators to their miserable plight.

In fact, contrary to popular perception, the Arab Spring has actually paved the way for political Islam to emerge uncontested and unchallenged as is evident in the fact that several movements affiliated to political Islam have ob-

tained a majority of seats in their respective parliaments seats after free and fair elections were held in countries like Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The question that is pursed on everyone’s lips these days is: “Is the rising trend of political Islam movements actually paving the way towards enhancing democracy and freedoms as was the case in countries across Europe or will those very movements restricting those freedoms or worse; wipe them off the face of the world?”

At this current point of time, countries across Europe and the West are witnessing massive electoral campaigns specifically in the United States and France. What we should focus on, through those elections, is how we ourselves can go about encouraging our own local candidates to concentrate on economic, political as well as those pertinent to immigration. Candidates, on the other hand, should also focus on setting aside job opportunities for citizens and improving public services which have been appalling in recent times. It is important to note here that the contesting candidates in the West do not usually urge

their supporters to rally around them in public squares nor do they attempt to impose any pressure on judicial and electoral committees. In fact, contesting candidates in the West do not launch any scathing attacks against their adversaries but restrict themselves to criticizing only their electoral agendas.

They endorse clear and practical programs while none of them claim that they represent the right religion. The French candidate Hollande called for imposing more taxes on the affluent to reach up to 75 percent of their total income. The leader of a French extremist party, on the other hand, focused on increasing the number of Muslims and immigrants; but unfortunately, lost in the very first round.

The other question that needs to be asked here is: “Why is it so that the concepts of democracy and human rights have succeeded in Western countries while Arab countries still suffer from chaos in addition to sectarian seditions!

Why have Western revolutions succeeded in further developments like the French and American revolutions to cite two cases in example?”

Do we need to get involved in civil, sectarian or tribal wars in order to attain real democracy that guarantees the rights of human beings?! Some Arab countries involved themselves in several civil wars but such wars only led to dividing the Arab peoples even further.

The concepts of democracy succeeded in those countries because their peoples respect the opinion of others and the freedom of expression while we tend to ignore such issues. We need a convenient environment that enables people to think freely away from religious and sectarian issues and this in turn requires a strong state which depends on the law.

The need of the hour is to encourage an educated class in attempts to embrace the concepts of democracy and protect it from sedition and sectarianism. All those movements affiliated to Islam movements try to seize power just to enforce their own narrow views on their peoples and this is the main reason why we have to reject the views of those people who reject intellectual and religious pluralism.

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views

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

The resistible rise of Asia?

On a per capita basis, Japan remains nine times richer than China, and it possesses Asia’s largest naval fleet and its most advanced hightech industries.

Brahma Chellaney Project Syndicate

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favorite theme in international debate nowadays is whether Asia’s rise signifies the West’s decline. But the current focus on economic malaise in Europe and the United States is distracting attention from the many serious challenges that call into question Asia’s continued success. To be sure, today’s ongoing global power shifts are primarily linked to Asia’s phenomenal economic rise, the speed and scale of which have no parallel in world history. With the world’s fastest-growing economies, fastest-rising military expenditures, fiercest resource competition, and most serious hot spots, Asia obviously holds the key to the future global order.

But Asia faces major constraints. It must cope with entrenched territorial and maritime disputes, such as in the South China Sea; harmful historical legacies that weigh down its most important interstate relationships; increasingly fervent nationalism; growing religious extremism; and sharpening competition over water and energy. Moreover, Asia’s political integration badly lags behind its economic integration, and, to compound matters, it has no security framework.

Regional consultation mechanisms remain weak. Differences persist over whether a security architecture or community should extend across Asia, or be confined to an ill-defined “East Asia.” One central concern is that, unlike Europe’s bloody wars of the first half of the twentieth century, which made war there unthinkable today, the wars in Asia in the second half of the twentieth century only accentuated bitter rivalries. Several interstate wars have been fought in Asia since 1950, when both the Korean War and the annexation of Tibet started, without resolving the underlying Asian disputes. To take the most significant example, China staged military interventions even when it was poor and internally troubled.

A 2010 Pentagon report cites Chinese military preemption in 1950, 1962, 1969, and 1979 in the name of strategic defense. There was also China’s seizure of the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974, and the 1995 occupation of Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, amid protests by the Philippines. This history helps to explain why China’s rapidly growing military power raises important concerns in Asia today.

Indeed, not since Japan rose to world-pow-

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A surface-to-surface Agni V missile is launched from the Wheeler Island off the eastern Indian state of Odisha April 19, 2012. The long range missile is capable of reaching deep into China and Europe, thrusting the Asian power into an elite club of nations with nuclear weapons capabilities. China is rising alongside other Asian countries, including South Korea, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia, analysts said. (Reuters)

er status during the reign of the Meiji Emperor (1867-1912) has another non-Western power emerged with such potential to shape the global order. But there is an important difference: Japan’s rise was accompanied by the other Asian civilizations’ decline. After all, by the nineteenth century, Europeans had colonized much of Asia, leaving in place no Asian power that could rein in Japan.

Today, China is rising alongside other important Asian countries, including South Korea, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. Although China now has displaced Japan as the world’s second largest economy, Japan will remain a strong power for the foreseeable future. On a per capita basis, Japan remains nine times richer than China, and it possesses Asia’s largest naval fleet and its most advanced high-tech industries.

When Japan emerged as a world power, imperial conquest followed, whereas a rising China’s expansionist impulses are, to some extent, checked by other Asian powers. Militarily, China is in no position to grab the territories that it covets. But its defense spending has grown almost twice as fast as its GDP. And, by picking territorial fights with its neighbors and pursuing a muscular foreign policy, China’s leaders are compelling other Asian states to work more closely with the US and each other.

In fact, China seems to be on the same path that made Japan an aggressive, militaristic state, with tragic consequences for the region and for Japan. The Meiji Restoration created a powerful military under the slogan “Enrich the country and strengthen the military.” The military eventually became so strong that it could dictate terms to the civilian government. The

same could unfold in China, where the Communist Party is increasingly beholden to the military for retaining its monopoly on power.

More broadly, Asia’s power dynamics are likely to remain fluid, with new or shifting alliances and strengthened military capabilities continuing to challenge regional stability. For example, as China, India, and Japan maneuver for strategic advantage, they are transforming their mutual relations in a way that portends closer strategic engagement between India and Japan, and sharper competition between them and China.

The future will not belong to Asia merely because it is the world’s largest, most populous, and fastest-developing continent. Size is not necessarily an asset. Historically, small, strategically oriented states have wielded global power.

America’s election has gone to the dogs

In fact, with far fewer people, Asia would have a better balance between population size and available natural resources, including water, food, and energy. In China, for example, water scarcity has been officially estimated to cost roughly $28 billion in annual industrial output, even though China, unlike several other Asian economies, including India, South Korea, and Singapore, is not listed by the United Nations as a country facing water stress.

In addition to its growing political and natural-resource challenges, Asia has made the mistake of overemphasizing GDP growth to the exclusion of other indices of development. As a result, Asia is becoming more unequal, corruption is spreading, domestic discontent is rising, and environmental degradation is becoming a serious problem. Worse, while many Asian states have embraced the West’s economic values, they reject its political values.

So make no mistake. Asia’s challenges are graver than those facing Europe, which embodies comprehensive development more than any other part of the world. Despite China’s aura of inevitability, it is far from certain that Asia, with its pressing internal challenges, will be able to spearhead global growth and shape a new world order. * Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, is the author of Asian Juggernaut and the Water: Asia’s New Battleground.

Is sovereign immunity hurting America?

Bernd Debusmann Reuters

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merica’s electorate is sliced, diced and analyzed in minute detail, but there’s one comparative poll yet to be conducted: What is worse in the eyes of voters, having eaten dog meat or having put the family dog in a crate on the roof of a car for 12 hours? This is not a trifling question in a country with close to 80 million pet dogs, whose owners treat them as family members and might be disinclined to give their votes to a candidate perceived as a dog eater, in the case of President Barack Obama, or a dog abuser, in the case of his presumptive Republican rival for the presidency, Mitt Romney.

The crated dog on the roof, an Irish setter named Seamus, has dogged Romney on and off ever since the story came to light in 2007. Obama’s dog-eating is a recent addition to the ever-growing catalog of anecdotes collected by Republican and Democratic activists and campaign operatives to paint the other side’s candidate in the darkest possible colors. The dog stories have legs, so to say, and are likely to stay part of the election campaign until it finally ends on November 6. To refresh the memories of those who might have followed the campaign for weightier topics - high unemployment, say, or the war in Afghanistan - here is a recapitulation of what happened so far.

While Seamus rode atop the Romney family station wagon on the way to a vacation in Canada, the dog was struck by a bout of diarrhea that resulted in fecal matter running down the windows. Romney pulled up at a gasoline station, hosed down the car, the crate and the dog, and continued on his way. That was in 1983, but the story was revived in the Republican primary campaign when one of Romney’s rivals said it pointed to character flaws.

President Obama’s involvement in the canine aspects of the campaign stems from a passage in his 1995 memoir Dreams From My Father that recounted how he was “introduced to dog meat (tough), snake meat (tougher) and roasted grasshopper (crunchy)” by his Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetero.

Obama lived in Djakarta between the ages of six and 10. Jim Treacher, a conservative blogger for the website The Daily Caller, came across that passage and published it on April 17 as an antidote to the potentially damaging effect of Romney’s dog-on-theroof episode.

“Say what you want about Romney,” Treacher wrote, “but at least he only put a dog on the roof of his car, not the roof of his mouth. And whenever you (liberals) bring up the one, we’re going to bring up the other.” The dog wars were on.

Pit Bull With Soy Sauce

Aides to Obama and Romney traded jocular tweets about their bosses’ attitudes toward dogs for days until the president himself took up the issue at the April 28 White House Correspondents’ dinner, an occasion presidents traditionally use to mock themselves (and others). Riffing off a famous sound bite from Sarah Palin, Republican candidate for vice president in 2008, Obama asked: “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? A pit bull is

Felix Salmon Reuters

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act has been the law in New York for as long as anybody can remember, and anybody writing contracts in New York knows about it.

B Supporters of US President Barack Obama demonstrate before a campaign stop by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the fish pier in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, April 30, 2012. Obama’s dog-eating is a recent addition to the catalog of anecdotes collected by Republican and Democratic activists and campaign operatives to paint the other side’s candidate in the darkest possible colors, analysts said. (Reuters)

A Democratic polling company, asked 900 voters who they thought would be a better president for dogs. Thirty-seven percent opted for Obama and 21 percent for Romney. delicious.” Particularly with soy sauce.

Obama also showed a mock Republican attack contrasting the rivals’ competing vision of an American dog’s life after the November elections. Under Obama: “dogs forced into government-controlled automobiles.” Under Romney: a dog’s “freedom to feel the wind in his fur.”

The ad’s final shot shows Romney standing in front of Air Force One, a Boeing 747. Strapped to the aircraft’s roof: a dog kennel. For some pundits, the whole dog debate shows that the election campaign has sunk to new lows. “One does wonder what the rest of the world must think of us? Is this what happens to old democracies? Are we too silly to be taken seriously anymore?” asked Kathleen Parker, a conservative columnist.

Probably not. It’s a safe bet that parts of the world would welcome a dose of politics interlaced with the kind of levity that, now and then, accompanies the political discourse in the United States. As to the yet-

to-be-conducted missing survey on dog-eating versus dog-on-the-roof: there actually is a poll on the relative dog friendliness of Romney and Obama. But it was conducted before the president’s culinary adventures in Indonesia became a topic of such fascination that a Google search for “Obama and dog-eating” yields 43 million hits. (“Romney and dog” yields just 28 million).

In March, Public Policy Polling, a Democratic polling company, asked 900 voters who they thought would be a better president for dogs. Thirty-seven percent opted for Obama and 21 percent for Romney.

Thirty-five percent said learning of Seamus’ rooftop trip had made them less likely to vote for Romney.

That result practically guarantees that the dog issue will stay alive. Entertainment for some, silliness for others. *Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters correspondent.

The views expressed here are his own.

ack in November, Alison Frankel had a very sensible and cleareyed analysis of the lawsuit which a Cayman-based hedge fund, Fir Tree, is bringing against, essentially, the government of Ireland.

In short, Ireland has sovereign immunity, so, no dice. Sorry, better luck next time. Since then, there’s been no real new news in the case. But for some reason the Economist has decided all of a sudden that this is a terribly important case which “eviscerates law in New York” and which raises a host of worries: If America’s legal system cannot be relied on for deals done in America, it will become a less attractive place to do business. Borrowing costs may rise, which could prompt non-American companies to take business elsewhere. At the very least, terms will be tweaked. To make a long story short, the saga here is that Fir Tree wound up buying Anglo Irish debt obligations which were written under New York law. But then Anglo Irish got nationalized, so Fir Tree no longer has a simple commercial contract in New York, facing a bank: it’s now having to line up with other bank creditors of the Irish government.

That’s not a great outcome for Fir Tree, but it’s simply what happens when a bank gets nationalized. Fir Tree would have been no better off had Anglo Irish simply been left to go bust, which was the only other alternative. And any time anybody lends money to a foreign company, they know there’s a risk of nationalization - especially when that foreign company is a bank. The law in New York, it’s important to emphasize, has not been eviscerated at all. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act is the law in New York, it has been the law in New York for as long as anybody can remember, and anybody writing contracts in New York knows about it.

Does the existence of the FSIA make New York “a less attractive place to do business”? Not really: it’s been around for a long time, with no visible effect on New York’s attractiveness as a commercial center.

What’s more, you can’t “tweak” the terms of a contract to get around the risk that a foreign company will become nationalized and thereby subject to the FSIA. That’s a known risk for any lender, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it. Moving the contract to some other jurisdiction wouldn’t help, either: the world’s major commercial centers all have laws giving foreign sovereigns immunity on a very broad front. New York is in no way exceptional in that.

As we’re seeing in the saga of Elliott vs Argentina, any attempt to sue a foreign sovereign in New York court is going to be extremely fraught and difficult at best. Some market fundamentalists might have a problem with that: if “corporations are people too”, then why shouldn’t entire countries be people as well? But for the time being, and for the foreseeable future, foreign sovereigns are special in the eyes of the law. And that’s not an evisceration of anything. * Felix Salmon is a Reuters correspondent. The views expressed here are his own.

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thursdAY, may 3, 2012

EMERGENCY - Police - Fire - Ambulance 112 - TRAFFIC HOTLINE 1 88 41 41 CIVIL ID 1 88 99 88 - AIRPORT 1888 180 - KAC BOOKING 17 1

Prayer Times Fajer

03 : 38

Shorook

05 : 04

Dohor

11 : 45

Aser

03 : 21

Maghreb

06 : 26

Ishaa

07 : 49

WE FIX IT

KD 95 KD 90 KD 55 KD 55 KD 55 KD 40 KD 40

Jabriya (Surra) 2531 0000 Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh 2431 0000 Old Jahra 2477 0000 New Jahra & 2457 0000 Abdaly Hawally 2261 0000 Ras Al-Salmiya 2571 0000 Al-Riqa 2394 0000 Salmiya 2561 0000 Shuwaikh 2481 0000 Sabah Al-Salem 2551 0000 (Messila) Sulaibiya 2467 0000 Sulaibikhat 2487 0000

South Sabahiya 2361 0000 Fintas 2390 0000 Zoor 2395 0000 Ahmadi 2398 0000 Ardiya 2488 0000 Fahaheel 2391 0000 Farwaniya 2471 0000 Kuwait City 2240 0000 Mishref 2538 0000 Manqaf 2371 0000 Nuzha 2251 0000 Umm Al Haiman & 2328 0000 Wafra Shuaiba 2326 0000

metropolitan

a re a b u s ro u tes

Bus No.

Origin

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 29 31 32 34 36 38 39 40 41 51 59 * 101 102 103 105 139 501 502 506 507 602

Orthopaedic Orthopaedic Kheitan * Messila Salmiyah * Kheitan * Salmiyah Orrthopaedic Al-Jleeb Al-Jleeb * Al-Jleeb Kheitan Salmiyah Jahra Gate Sulaibiya Al Jleeb Kheitan Jabriya Salmiyah Al-Jleeb Messilah Kheitan Fahaheel Kheitan Al Jleeb * Al-Jleeb * Fahaheel Fahaheel Jahra Fahaheel Jahra Gate Airport Fahaheel Al-Jleeb Al-Jleeb Fahaheel

Destination

Sharq Sharq Mirgab Mirgab Mirgab Jahra Gate Sharq Mirgab Sharq Mirgab Sharq Mirgab Mirgab Jabriya Sharq Mirgab Sharq Sharq Sharq Salmiyah Jahra Gate Sharq Sharq UN Circle Mirgab Mirgab Mirgab Mirgab Mirgab Al-Jleeb Fahaheel Mirgab Mirgab Jahra Gate Sharq Fahaheel

Via

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

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

VISITORS RESIDENTS

H.S.C. KD 40 Barium Enema KD 50 Barium Meal KD 45 O.C.G. KD 45 Ultrasound KD 15 Ultrasound desfruct KD 130 M.R.I. KD 245

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

eMbassies &

Ministry of

C omm u nic a tions Telephone for Test & Complaints

warsha@warsha.com

f or e x p a tri a tes

VISITORS RESIDENTS

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

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

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

Police stations Tel.:

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

Ambulance

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

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

Private Hospitals

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

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

25624000 22802555 1828282 1883883 25726666 22533177

Private Health Centers/ Clinics

Boushahri Clinic British Medical Center Care Clinic International Clinic

Public Hospitals

cons u l a tes

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

centr a l 4 7 2 2 0 0 0

94904040

hospital charges

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

medical services

Call, sms, Email us

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

Adan General Hospital 23940600 Al-Sabah Chest Hospital 24815000 Al-Sabah Maternity Hospital 24848067 Amiri General Hospital 22450080 As’ad Al-Hamad Dermatology Center 24832067 Farwaniya General Hospital 24883000 Ibn Sina Hospital 24840300 Jahra General Hospital 24575300 Mubarak Al-Kabeer General Hospital 25312700 Subhan Renal Hospital 24840027 Sulaibikhat Orthopedic Hospital 24874240

1885544 23713100 22610666 25745111

Public Health Centers/ Clinics:

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

22447602 22545188 24726033 22611645 25750777 25524821 25723500 25610660 24848913 25336482

DOCTORS & DENTISTS

I N PR I VAT E PR AC T ICE

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

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

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

Gastroenterologist Mohamed A. Al Shimali2532 2030 - 2263 9955 Urologist Fawzi Taher Abul Ali Yousef Mehdi

2565 0064 2533 3501

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

2572 8004 2532 9924

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

Cosmetic Surgeon Dr. Adel Quttainah

2562 5030 / 60

Ministries

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

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

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

2242 5141 2530 1000 2241 5301

Saj Express Kuwait City Tel: 22497822

Manousha Salmiya Tel: 25722607 / 8

Al-Noukhaza Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

Fakhr Al-Din Restaurant Kuwait City Tel: 22423180

Villa Fairouz Shaab Tel: 22652030

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

2248 0000 2241 5201 2242 8200 2248 0000 2538 5520

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

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

Tel: 1815050 • French Le Notre Gulf Road Tel: 25758888 • Indian Dawat Restaurant Bneid Al Gar Tel: 22411728 Abu Halifa Tel: 23724251 Al Alamia Mall, Jahra Tel: 24554642 Taal Restaurant Salmiya Beda’ Tel: 22253142

Tel: 22997000 Beit 7 Kuwait City Tel: 22450871 Café Rio Al-Fanar Tel: 25732226 Dunes Ritz Hotel Tel: 22499911 Failaka Al-Manshar Rotana Hotel Tel: 23931000 La Brasserie JW Marriott Tel: 22455550

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

Winner’s Salmiya Tel: 25739954 Abu Halifa Tel: 23711374 / 5 Riggae Tel: 24895501 / 2 Jahra Tel: 24560088/8800 Asha’s Tel: 22244502/3/9 Marina Crescent Tel: 24954700

Square International Tel: 22437681

Noodles Salmiya Tel: 25712233

Bukhara Sheraton Hotel Tel: 22422055

China Town Salmiya Tel: 25652541 Greens Al-Wafra Complex Tel: 22516031

The Peacock Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25673000

Tourist Restaurant Kuwait City Tel: 22411702

Noodle Factory Avenues Tel: 24954751

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

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

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

L I S T I N G S

Ritz Shamiya Tel: 24820184 Shuwaikh Tel: 24844350

Test n’ Taste Villa Moda Tel: 24827010 Teatro Hilton Kuwait Resort Tel: 23725500

Kuwait City Tel: 22400737

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

Sakura Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

AlRoshinah Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

Shogun The Palms Hotel Tel: 27070022

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

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

Yeldes Palace Kuwait City Tel: 22455212

Kabab-Ji Tel: 1861616

Zahrat Tunis Hawalli Tel: 22662444/333

Mais Al-Ghanim Kuwait City Tel: 22402590

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

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

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

Flavors Restaurant Safir Hotel & Residences -Fintas Tel: 25455555

• Italian Ciro’s Pomodoro Kuwait City Tel: 22424004

Garden New Park Hotel Tel: 25634200

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

Shabistan Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

The Gaucho Grill The Palms Hotel Tel: 25667370 -

• Seafood Al-Ahmadi Crowne Plaza Hotel Tel: 24742000

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

Al-Boom Radisson Blu Hotel Tel: 25756000

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

Te l : 1 8 3 9 0 9 0

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

HOTELS

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

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

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

22452740 22997000 23281897 22415001

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

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

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

22528766 22465489 22443136 22532100 25742410 25713872 22928080

TWO STAR International Hotel Kuwait Residence Hotel

25741788 22467560

S&P upgrades Greece out of selective default

BUSINESS

thursdAY, may 3, 2012

m ar ket watc h KUWAIT 0.64% 6441

DUBAI

QATAR

1.6% 1597

0.1% 8666

OMAN

ABU DHABI

0.3% 5852

0.0% 2506

ATHENS: The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ratings agency lifted Greece’s credit grade out of default on Wednesday after the country completed a massive debt writedown with private creditors. It upgraded the country from selective default to ‘CCC’, still in junk status, and gave it a stable outlook, which means no further ratings changes are being considered. Athens finalized its bond swap, the largest in history, on April 25. The deal wiped 100 billion euros (132 billion US dollars) off Greece’s debt and saw private bondholders take a cut of about 75 percent on the real value of their investment.

See page 11

OIL MARKETS BAHRAIN

EGYPT

SAUDI

0.2% 1151

0.8% 4907

0.1% 7536

US Crude $105.73 $0.43 London Brent $119.04 $0.62 Kuwait Crude $115.97 $0.00 Information Courtesy: KAMCO

CURRENCIES US Dollar

British Pound

Saudi Riyal

Qatari Riyal

Indian Rupee

Euro

Japanese Yen

UAE Dirham

Bahraini Dinar

Philippine Peso

Buy 0.277 Sell 0.2775 Buy 0.3674 Sell 0.3682

Buy 0.07546 Sell 0.07552

Buy 0.07620 Sell 0.07612 Buy 0.7352 Sell 0.73582

Buy 0.005284 Sell 0.005279 Buy 0.006575 Sell 0.006562

Kuwait private sector wages to rise, may fuel inflation KUWAIT: Kuwaiti nationals working in the private sector are in line for hefty pay increases, following on from double-digit hikes awarded to state workers earlier this year and fuelling concerns of a spike in inflation. The Gulf emirate’s civil service commission proposed increases of up to 330 Kuwaiti dinars (1,190 US dollars) per month after the government agreed to wage rises of between 25 and 30 percent for public sector employees. The commission’s proposals are likely to win cabinet approval, which would oblige firms to honor the increases for nationals on their payrolls. The increases for state workers followed strikes that hit Kuwait’s airport and shipping sector earlier this year. Annual inflation reached 4.1 percent in March and, while the country’s oil wealth enables it to absorb a spike in earnings in the short term, policymakers and economists warn price pressures will mount if settlements do not moderate. The rises for private sector workers will be based on qualifications in nine categories, staterun news agency KUNA reported late on Tuesday. The most qualified - such as physicians, pharmacists and engineers - will get KD 330 more a month. People without school education will get KD 50 more, the agency quoted Commission Chairman Abdulaziz AlZaben as saying. The increases were not given in percentage terms.

The wage rise will cost the private sector 90 million dinars a year and affect 61,000 Kuwaitis, daily Al-Qabas reported. Most Kuwaitis work for the state in well paid, secure jobs. Around two-thirds of Kuwait’s roughly three million inhabitants are foreigners, making up the bulk of its workforce. -Reuters

Mabanee allocates part of Avenues mall new expansion for small businesses

A vegetable vendor waits for customers in Kathmandu in this June 23, 2011 file photo. Experts say innovations and initiatives will be critical if the world is to feed itself over coming decades as the population soars, cities sprawl and climate change takes its toll. By 2050, the planet will need at least 70 percent more food than it does today to meet both an expected rise in population to nine billion from seven billion and changing appetites as many poor people grow richer, experts say. Feeding a world of nine billion will require fundamental changes to unsustainable but well-entrenched policies and practices, said Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser to Britain’s Department of Environment and Rural Affairs and a former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Reuters)

Jazeera Airways Group announces Q1 net profit of KD 1.2 million, up 17.8% KUWAIT: In a webcast attended by local and international analysts, award winning Jazeera Airways Group announced in a press release on Wednesday a record net profit of 1.2 million Kuwaiti dinars for the first quarter (Q1) of 2012, making the quarter the seventh straight profitable quarter since Q3 2010 despite increasing fuel costs and political turmoil in some of its destinations.

Q1 2012 financial highlights

• Q1 2012 operating revenue: KD 12.7 million, up 11.8 percent from Q1 2011’s KD 11.4 million • Q1 2012 operating profit: KD 2.3 million, up 25.5 percent from Q1 2011’s KD 1.8 million • Q1 2012 net profit: KD 1.2 million, up 17.8 percent from Q1 2011’s KD 1.0 million • Q1 2012 average yield: up 20.7 percent from Q1 2011’s

The results reflect the success of the company’s Turn-Around Plan that was implemented in second quarter 2010 and had steered the company into continued profitability for the last seven quarters.

Jazeera Airways Group Chairman Marwan Boodai said, “This is the first time in our history that we record seven straight quarters of profitability. Our strong performance clearly demonstrates the agility of the company’s business model, which continues to perform in the wake of increasing fuel costs and political turmoil in Syria.”

Established in 2005, Jazeera Airways Group is a Kuwait Stock Exchange-listed with a fleet of 12 fully-owned Airbus A320s, evenly distributed between its airline business, Jazeera Airways, and its fully-owned leasing-arm Sahaab Aircraft Leasing. Sahaab has assets placed with Virgin America, SriLankan Airlines, and Jazeera Airways. The company’s outlook for 2012 continues to be positive in-line with a growing Kuwaiti economy, which continues to witness higher incomes despite international and regional economic pressures. The company’s forecasts remain unchanged and expects a mild second quarter, a seasonal increase in demand in the third quarter, and a mild fourth quarter to close the year.

KSE continues upward trend, jumps 41.2 points

Buy 0.003469 Sell 0.003476

Buy 0.0739 Sell 0.074

Prices in Kuwaiti fils as of May 1, 2012 Courtesy: KAMCO

M1 jumps 4.9% in March, rises by KD 337 million, reports NBK KUWAIT: Money supply (M1) jumped by 4.9 percent in March, rising by 337 million Kuwaiti dinars. Broader liquidity (M2) also increased by KD 863 million. According to a specialized report by the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), strong growth in both KD and foreign currency deposits (KD 557 million and KD 265 million, respectively) was behind the increase in M2. These developments are likely related to annual bank dividend payments and a second month of strong credit growth.

March saw a second month of strong credit growth, as total credit facilities rose by a healthy KD 158 million.

The increase was smaller than last month’s impressive KD 242 million, but remains an improvement on the levels of growth seen in 2011. Meanwhile, the rise in total credit stems primarily from notable increases in loans extended to the trade sector (+KD 60 million) and “other business credit” (services, telecom, transportations, etc.), which saw its second consecutive monthly increase of KD 93 million. Personal facilities excluding loans extended for the purchase of securities, which were the driver of credit growth last year, rose by KD 86 million, with y/y growth rising to 12.1 percent.

These continued to be supported by steady consumer confidence and finances. According to the report, these gains in credit helped outweigh the ongoing contraction in credit extended to nonbank financials. Credit to that sector (primarily investment companies), dropped by KD 58 million in March, and by KD 162 million during 1Q2012.

Loans for the purchase of securities were also down by KD 44 million following an unusually strong month in February.

Moreover the report highlighted that private sector deposits exhibited an increase of KD 822 million in both local and foreign currencies, with the bulk of this gain coming from KD deposits, notably sight and time deposits (KD 296 million and KD 148 million, respectively). The average rates offered on private KD deposits remained unchanged across maturities in March averaging 0.81 percent, 1.04 percent, 1.30 percent, and 1.54 percent, for the one, three, six and 12-month maturities, respectively.

Finally, bank reserves rose by KD 308 million during March mostly due to time deposits at the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK). Accordingly, the reserve ratio was up 70 basis points to 14 percent. Total bank assets increased KD 722 million as all categories (credit facilities, liquid and foreign assets) rose.

Buy 0.4495 Sell 0.4504

KUWAIT: Trading ended at Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) Wednesday with the main indices were green. The price index gained 41.2 points to reach 6,440.9 points, while the weighted index came to 418.33 points a rise of 1.86 points.

Trades came to 7,322 spot transactions worth 48,768,740 Kuwaiti dinars, with 764,730, 000 shares changing hands till end of session.

As for sector indices, there were all green. Top gainer sector was banking which put on 67.7 index points.

Top share for the day was that of Al-Safat Real Estate Company, while biggest loser was the Taameer Real Estate Investment Company. Top-volume share was that of Abyaar Real Estate Development Company. -KUNA

KUWAIT: Mabanee Real Estate Company, overseeing the Avenues Mall project, said that part of the mall’s new expansion will be allocated for Kuwaiti small businesses.

The company said in a press release, on Wednesday, that the leasing process of stores in the new expansion phase was complete. Kuwaiti owners of these small businesses were required to pay nominal fees for rent in means of support.

The new expansion will add a new dimension to the mall.

It takes the form of an old Kuwaiti souk with old architectural designs and narrow allies, making the Avenues one of the most prestigious malls in the world. The mall will have an overall leasable area of more than 270,000 square meters, with over 800 stores and parking for 10,000 cars. The total project development will cost around 300 million Kuwaiti dinars (over one billion US dollars). -KUNA

Kuwait to start building six oil tankers in 2014 KUWAIT: Kuwait Oil Tanker Co will start building six oil and gas tankers in 2014 and receive nine others as part of a deal with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)

said on Wednesday.

The new tankers are part of the crude exporter’s strategy to modernize its fleet, KUNA quoted Chairman Nabil Bouresli as saying. KUNA had reported in Janu-

ary that the Kuwaiti company had signed a $556 million contract with Daewoo for five tankers.

Kuwait’s oil output is currently three million barrels a day, close to capacity. -KUNA

Zain opens full business branch in Al-Hamra Tower

Officials at the opening of Zain’s newest branch in Al-Hamra Tower

KUWAIT: Zain, one of the leading telecommunication companies in Kuwait, has recently extended its branch network with the opening of a new high-end branch that applies an innovative concept in technology and the provision of communication services. This was stated in a press release on Wednesday.The latest addition to Zain’s extended network is in sync with the theme of Al-Hamra, one of the largest and most vital areas in Kuwait. Through its latest branch opening, Zain provides exclusive telecommunication services in Al-Hamra Tower.

Commenting on the occasion of the branch opening, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Zain, Omar Al-Omar, said, “Customers’ satisfaction, convenience and continuous technological growth have always been our priority. The opening of our ‘Al Hamra Tower’ branch fur-

ther strengthens the company’s commitment to maintain such an objective and to drive its growth employing a forwardlooking vision and technological innovation.”

The new branch opening is part of Zain’s expansion strategy that focuses on a geographical footprint in the main residential and commercial areas in Kuwait.

It also aims to strengthen the company’s current network of branches which are currently a total of 51 offering the best services and products to the customers according to the highest international standards.

Adding another branch to Zain’s extended network will serve the company’s customers by introducing a greater suite of products and a dedicated VIP area, and by providing greater access to the market. Zain has the largest network

of branches in Kuwait. The Al-Hamra branch will serve all kinds of customers - ranging from consumer and high value customers to corporate customers.

Zain’s larger branch network will provide an innovative concept of services. It will facilitate the access to the latest communication devices and accessories for mobile phones and will roll out better VIP services.

Al-Omar said, “For us, easy access to our numerous services is a primary goal.

The greater number of branches we have, the more customers across all areas of Kuwait can enjoy our latest products and services.” Al-Omar said, “We are keen to provide the best customer services and products and to continue to improve the performance of our branches and the services we roll for our customers who outnumber 2.1 million.”

Dubai aims for unusual again, with undersea hotel

DUBAI: The indebted shipbuilding arm of Dubai World, the conglomerate that triggered Dubai’s debt crisis four years ago, signed a deal to develop undersea hotels with a Swiss firm on Wednesday.

Only a month after it sought insolvency protection in Dubai and Singapore to push through a 2.2 billion US dollar debt restructuring, Drydocks World unveiled an agreement with BIG InvestConsult, which holds the technology rights, to build the World Discus Hotel. The hotel, featuring a discus-shaped residential underwater building connected to another discus above water, will be funded by BIG, which is in talks with other investors. “Drydocks and Maritime World is appointed as the exclusive main contractor for construction of the new concept hotels and cities floating in the Middle East,” Drydocks said in a statement. Extravagant projects were the hallmark of Dubai during the 2002-2008 boom years and the emirate is home to man-made islands shaped like palms as well as a map of the world. It also boasts the world’s tallest tower and an indoor ski slope. The projects, aimed at boosting Dubai’s global profile, were built on massive amounts of leverage that nearly crushed the emirate after the 2008 global credit crunch. Thanks to a strong showing by its logistics, trade and tourism businesses and benefiting from its status as a safe haven amid the Arab Spring revolts that have roiled the region, Dubai has been making a recovery. On Wednesday, the firms said two developments with five hotels attached to them are planned in the Middle East. The Swiss firm is eyeing the coast of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.“We are in the design and fabrication side for the project ... it’s the same concept as rigs,” Khamis Juma Buamim, chairman of Drydocks World told reporters. -Reuters

10

ALWATAN DAILY

BUSINESS

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

Oil slips on European manufacturing data LONDON: Oil eased on Wednesday as weak economic data in Europe hit the demand outlook, countering more positive figures from China and the United States.

Brent crude for June slipped 30 US cents to 119.36 US dollars a barrel by 1040 GMT, after settling 19 cents higher at $119.66 on Tuesday. US crude for June was down 41 cents at $105.75.

The euro zone’s manufacturing sector slipped further into decline last month as a downturn that started in the periphery appeared to be taking root among core members France and Germany, a survey showed on Wednesday. Germany’s manufacturing sector shrank at the fastest pace in nearly three years in April, and manufacturing activity in France, Italy and Greece also retreated while unemployment in Germany and France rose.

“It does feel a bit like we are in a negative death spiral,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodity strategist at SEB in Oslo. “Austerity measures over an extended period are showing up in disappointing economic activity.”

It was a different story in the United States. US manufacturing growth in April hit its highest level in 10 months, while China’s factory sector also expanded last month, government data showed on Tuesday.

Oil remains well below the highs above $126 per barrel seen in March, and the relatively small upward move on Tuesday after the strong US data highlights the overall bearish tone, Schieldrop said.

“It seems like we are more sensitive to downside news, as even when there was stronger data from the United States, there was not much of a reaction in the Brent market,” he said. SEB has a forecast of $115 per barrel for the third quarter.

While Europe was the main concern of investors, lingering worries about the outlook for China, also helped to pressure prices.

“China is a concern, with new loans falling sharply last month. The question is whether the government’s easing measures have come in time for a soft landing,” said Gordon Kwan, head of energy research at Mirae Asset Management in Hong Kong.

Chinese bank lending is estimated to have dropped 30 percent in April from a month earlier as demand for credit declined, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.

Abu Dhabi’s TAQA to start work on Dutch gas project ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA) will begin work on the delayed Dutch Bergermeer gas project in July after winning approval from the country’s highest administrative court to start operations, it said on Wednesday.

The joint venture project with EBN, an independent company with the Dutch State as its sole shareholder, was suspended due to environmental concerns, with the administrative court asking for additional tests to be done.

“The decision of the Council of State is the final stage of a transparent and meticulous process in which environmental concerns have been of the absolute highest priority,” TAQA said. TAQA, which is 75-percent owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, said ten of the eleven competent authorities had earlier approved the project, including the national parliament. “TAQA will shortly commence preparatory work. Work on the well site will start after the meadow birds breeding season (in July),” the company said. TAQA and EBN will invest more than 800 million euros (1.06 billion US dollars) in the drilling of 14 new wells, the construction of the gas treatment installation in Alkmaar and the intervening pipelines.

With a working volume of 4.1 billion cubic meters (the average annual gas consumption of 2.5 million households in the Netherlands), the Bergermeer facility will be the largest accessible gas storage facility in Europe.

It is a key part of Netherlands’ ambition to become a gas hub once it stops exporting gas in 2025. In December, TAQA said it secured three energy firms as launch customers for the Bergermeer facility.

TAQA, which owns assets in Canada and Europe, sold a 650 million ringgit ($215 million) denominated Islamic bond or Sukuk in February as part of plans to diversify its funding sources. Its shares were trading down 0.8 percent on the Abu Dhabi bourse at 1040 GMT Wednesday. -Reuters

UAE’s ADNOC keeps June crude supply to Asia steady

TOKYO: Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), the main exporter for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will supply full contractual crude oil volumes to Asia in June, steady from May, an industry source said on Wednesday.

ADNOC has notified Asian buyers that it will supply its four main grades - Murban, Lower Zakum, Umm Shaif and Upper Zakum - at contractual volumes in June, the source said.

ADNOC also resumed giving buyers the option of asking for all grades’ cargoes to be five percent more or less than contracted volumes for June, the source said.

Last month, ADNOC granted the so-called tolerance to only the three grades except Murban for May, and did not afford the right to load five percent more than the contractual supply of Murban, sources said.

But, in reality, the buyers could have exercised the socalled “plus tolerance” option on Murban crude because supplies were plentiful, the sources said.

Murban is the main export grade for the UAE. ADNOC produces most of the country’s crude. -Reuters

FILE - An employee updates gas prices at a gas station in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, April 14, 2010. Oil eased on Wednesday as weak economic data in Europe hit the demand outlook, countering more positive figures from China and the United States. (Reuters)

Fears about disruption to supply from Iran have eased somewhat in recent weeks, with more conciliatory words coming from Jerusalem and Tehran, which has also helped to keep prices off recent highs.

Iran is optimistic about talks with world powers about its nuclear program, but it will never give up its right to the peaceful use of atomic energy, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.

Even if there were to be further disruption from sanctions on Iran, action by other oil producers and possible

inventory releases will mute impact on the oil price, Schieldrop at SEB said.

“Saudi Arabia can pump more oil, and we are seeing increased production from Iraq and Libya,” he said.

In the United States, crude oil stocks rose by two million barrels last week, the industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) said, less than expected.

Ahead of weekly inventory reports, a rise of 2.5 million barrels for crude, a sixth consecutive build, was forecast in a Reuters survey of analysts. -Reuters

King Hamad inaugurates $2.1 billion Al Dur project Bahrain’s largest independent power, water plant project

KUWAIT: King Hamad Bin Isa AlKhalifa, King of Bahrain, inaugurated Bahrain’s largest independent power generation and water desalination plant owned by Al-Dur Power & Water Company (Al Dur). The ceremony, which was attended by Prince Khalifa bin Salman AlKhalifa and more than 600 local, regional and international dignitaries and business leaders and shareholders and partners of the company. This was mentioned in a press release on Tuesday.

Al Dur has been established to help meet the growing demand in the Kingdom of Bahrain for clean, reliable and competitively-priced power and water.

The plant, which began commercial operations in February 2012, has a capacity of 1,234 MW of power and 218,000 meters cubed per day of the highest quality water in the GCC today.

This is equivalent to approximately one-third of the Kingdom’s installed power capacity and one-third of its water requirements. With the additional capacity that Al Dur will supply to the national grid of the Kingdom, the plant has the potential to transform Bahrain from an importer of power at peak periods of usage to an exporter of power to other GCC countries. The Bahraini Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) is the sole offtaker of the plant output under a 25-year Power and Water Purchase Agreement.

Al Dur has been developed at a total cost of 2.1 billion US dollars by Interna-

tional Power-GDF SUEZ, a world leader in independent power and water generation, and Gulf Investment Corporation, the largest financial investor in power and water projects in the GCC. Its shareholders include a number of local Bahraini institutions: Social Insurance Organization, Bahrain Islamic Bank, Capital Management House, First Energy Bank and Instrata Capital.

Commenting on the occasion, Abdulhussain bin Ali Mirza, Minister of Electricity of the Kingdom of Bahrain, said, “We are honoured by the patronage and presence of His Majesty the King to mark the official inauguration of the Al Dur power and water plant. His support reflects His Majesty’s keen interest in developing landmark projects of this scale in the Kingdom and, in particular, those that contribute towards enhancing the quality of life for citizens and their access to vital services.

EWA is working hand-in-hand with the private sector in order to support Government efforts to expand the Kingdom’s infrastructure. We are confident that the launch of Al Dur and its partnership with EWA will ensure the stable and secure supply of power and water to support ongoing growth and diversification of the economy. We would also like to congratulate His Royal Highness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa and the Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Isa Al-Khalifa on this important occasion. This significant investment made by the shareholders of Al Dur is a direct reflection of their confidence in the Kingdom, its leadership and its strong prospects for the future.”

“We are delighted to inaugurate this landmark project in the Kingdom of Bah-

rain,” said Hisham Al-Razzuqi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC).

“As Bahrain’s single largest independent producer of power and water, Al Dur is a critical part of the Kingdom’s economic infrastructure. With the launch of commercial operations at the plant, the Kingdom’s power and water supply has been secured well into this decade. Reliable access to power and water is essential to fuelling growth and we are proud to play an important part in the Kingdom’s further economic development for the benefits of all citizens. We thank His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and the leadership and government of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the support they have extended to Al Dur and its shareholders and for continuing to make Bahrain an ideal location for pioneering private sector projects.”

Developed and built by best-in-class partners and contractors, Al Dur uses cutting edge technologies that put the plant at the forefront of reliability, safety and environmental friendliness. “For water desalination, the plant is the first of its size in the Middle East to use Reverse Osmosis (RO), a technology that combines advanced technique with environmental preservation” said Mr. Phillip Cox Chief executive officer of International Power.

This enables Al Dur to operate with maximum efficiency whilst simultaneously protecting the integrity of Bahrain’s natural environment at all times. The plant is fully compliant with World Bank standards for environmental emissions and the drinking water produced at Al Dur is to very exacting standards that meet or exceed World Health Organization (WHO) requirements.

BAE Systems profit growth hinges on Saudi jet deal LONDON: British defense group BAE Systems said its chances of delivering profit growth in 2012 hinged on talks to finalize a fighter jet deal with Saudi Arabia, in a year marked by tight government defense budgets.

“Whilst little sales growth can be expected for the group in 2012 in the current market conditions, modest growth in underlying earnings per share is anticipated, assuming a satisfactory conclusion to Salam negotiations (with Saudi Arabia) in 2012,” BAE, Europe’s biggest defense contractor, said on Wednesday.

In 2007 Saudi Arabia signed a contract with BAE to buy 72 Typhoon aircraft, 24 of which have been delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The Salam deal, as it is known, is worth around 4.5 billion pounds ($7.3 billion).

Earlier this month BAE said the contract to build the remaining 48 jets in Britain had been signed but changes to the price of the deal had yet to be agreed. “Salam trading ... remains deferred until ongoing negotiations have been concluded,” BAE said.

BAE, which is involved in the production of F-35 fighter jets and Astute class submarines systems, said the approval of the United States’ 2012 defense budget had resulted in less disruption to the award of contracts than in 2011 but that delays to the approval of 2013 budgets were likely.

“Saudi contract negotiations must be successfully concluded given the importance of this to BAE as both an offset to declining US land revenues and management’s ability to do further buybacks,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Rupinder Vig. Shares in BAE were down 1.2 percent at 292.9 pence by 0810 GMT, valuing the group at 9.6 billion pounds.

BAE shares have fallen 10 percent in the last year, underperforming the FTSE All Share Aerospace & Defense Index by almost 18.5 percent.

BAE’s rivals across the Atlantic last week reported improving earnings. US peers Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Lockheed Martin reported better than expected first quarter results and made bullish noises about the year ahead.

Analysts expect BAE to post flat earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) for 2012. The company reported EBITA of 2.02 billion pounds for 2011, a 7 percent fall on 2010.

Gold retreats as US data lifts dollar LONDON: Gold prices retreated towards 1,650 US dollars an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened against the euro, after a downbeat reading of euro zone manufacturing activity contrasted with stronger data from the United States.

Speculation the Federal Reserve is set to unleash another wave of monetary easing faded, adding further pressure to gold, after comments from several Fed officials reinforced the notion they are happy to stand pat on policy.

Talk that further easing could be imminent, which would potentially undermine the dollar and keep interest rates low, has added significant support to gold this year.

Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,652.20 an ounce at 1121 GMT, while US gold futures for June delivery were down $9.20 an ounce at $1,653.20.

The metal traded in its tightest monthly spread since last June in April and remains firmly within the $1,620-1,670 range, awaiting fresh impetus from the wider financial markets and economic indicators.

Jobs data at 1215 GMT will be closely watched as a precursor to a key non-farm payrolls report on Friday. A weak report would lift expectations for more monetary stimulus.

“With economic data throwing mixed signals, it is most likely that gold will continue to wobble in a narrow range, at least until there is clarity on the jobs front,” Richcomm Global Services analyst Pradeep Unni said.

“In the near term, we need to break and hold above 1676 for a quick spike to 1700,” he added. “Pent-up buying would resume on any dips below 1630.Worse than expected data on Friday will add acceleration to the uptrend.”

A spate of more positive readings on the US economy has cut speculation the United States will extend quantitative easing to stimulate growth.

BNP Paribas cited waning expectations that quantitative

Euro-fighter fight

Earlier this year BAE’s Euro-fighter consortium lost out in the deal to supply 126 fighter jets to India, which chose France’s Dassault Aviation, which makes Rafale jets, as preferred bidder. The setback came after Japan chose to buy 42 Lockheed Martin F-35 jets instead of the Euro-fighter.

This leaves Oman and the UAE as the largest potential markets for the Euro-fighter, both of which are significantly smaller than India and less certain to move forward.

The British arms maker said it had submitted a proposal to the government of Oman to sell it 12 Euro-fighter jets with a five-year support, pilot and ground crew training package.

BAE last year launched a review into its shipbuilding operations, which could lead to the closure of one or more of its British dockyards. It cut 3,000 UK jobs last year, having shed 15,000 positions globally over the previous two years.

Hundreds of BAE workers are to stage a protest outside the company’s annual shareholder meeting in London later on Wednesday as part of their campaign to save jobs. -Reuters

casts), given gold’s tight positive relation with the level of market liquidity.”

Physical demand soft

FILE - An Indian artist works on gold jewelry inside a workshop attached to a jewelry showroom in Kolkata on April 11, 2012. Gold prices retreated towards 1,650 US dollars an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar strengthened against the euro. (AFP)

easing is imminent in cutting its gold and silver forecasts for this year, by $140 to 1,715 an ounce and by $4.40 to $33.10 an ounce respectively. “(Our economists’) central scenario is now for further

Fed monetary accommodation to be implemented only in the fourth quarter instead of June,” it said.

“This change has significant implications for our gold price forecasts (and by extension for our silver price fore-

Gold prices have been held in check in the last month by a dearth of physical demand, with buyers in key jewelry consumer India deterred by high prices and a weak rupee, exchange-traded funds reporting outflows and coin sales easing.

Some appetite returned for gold coins in May, with the US Mint reporting sales of 10,000 ounces on the first day of the month, half the total sold in the whole of April. That was its worst month for gold coin sales since June 2008.

Holdings of the gold-backed exchange-traded funds monitored by Reuters, which issue securities backed by physical gold and which proved a popular investment during the financial crisis, fell 194,000 ounces in April and edged below 70 million ounces on Tuesday for the first time since Feb. 2.

“As much as the remarkable resilience of gold ETF investment is testament to the ongoing positive sentiment among longer-term players, in our view there’s no doubt that the buying has dried up,” UBS said in a note on Wednesday.

“In the current lackluster environment, the market needs more than just resilience - significant ETF buying will have to resume in order to breathe some life back into gold,” it added. “Absent that resuscitating factor, we think gold is likely to continue its aimless wander.”

Silver was down 1.2 percent at $30.58 an ounce. Its underperformance lifted the gold/silver ratio, which measures the number of silver ounces needed to buy an ounce of gold, to three and half month highs. Spot platinum was down 0.5 percent at $1,557.94 an ounce, while palladium was down 0.7 percent at $670.72. -Reuters

ALWATAN DAILY

BUSINESS

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012

11

S&P upgrades Greece out of selective default

Growth spreads across MENA in 2012 despite strain of historic transitions

A Greek flag waves in front of the ancient temple of Parthenon in Athens, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ratings agency lifted Greece’s credit grade out of default on Wednesday after the country completed a massive debt writedown with private creditors.

(AP)

DUBAI: Hosted by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial and business hub connecting the region’s emerging markets with the developed markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched in a press release on Wednesday its Regional Economic Outlook Update for the Middle East North Africa (MENA), Afghanistan, and Pakistan region (MENAP).

The Outlook, titled, ‘Middle East and North Africa: Historic Transitions under Strain’, takes into consideration the near-term risks to the macroeconomic stability of the Arab countries which have increased due to a combination of political transition, pressing social demands, and an adverse external environment. While these risks were contained to some extent during 2011, faltering growth, rising unemployment and continued fiscal and external pressures, IMF expects 2012 to be an equally challenging year.

According to the report, MENAP oil exporters benefited from high oil prices which shielded them from the impact of the Eurozone crisis and its amplifications.

The GDP growth of these countries decreased in 2011 to four percent but is projected to increase back up to five percent in 2012.

In 2011, the MENAP oil exporters’ combined external current account surplus almost doubled approaching 400 billion US dollars. Continued government spending due to intensified social demands and higher oil prices, will support to the non-oil sector, which is projected to grow at 4.5 percent in 2012.

As their oil production increased in 2011 to compensate for oil supply decreases, the GCC countries’ GDP growth reached eight percent last year. As stability returned to other oil producing countries, the GCC will return to normal oil production levels and its GDP growth will settle around 5.3 percent.

Masood Ahmed, Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, said: “Middle East oil exporters are benefitting from high oil prices, and we expect GDP growth to strengthen and become more broad-based this year. Nonetheless, fiscal vulnerabilities to falling oil prices have increased, and structural challenges remain, such as the need to create jobs for

ATHENS: The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ratings agency lifted Greece’s credit grade out of default on Wednesday after the country completed a massive debt writedown with private creditors.

It upgraded the country from selective default to ‘CCC’, still in junk status, and gave it a stable outlook, which means no further ratings changes are being considered.

Athens finalized its bond swap, the largest in history, on April 25. The deal wiped 100 billion euros (132 billion US dollars) off Greece’s debt and saw private bondholders take a cut of about 75 percent on the real value of their investment.

An integral part of the conditions for the crisis-hit country to continue receiving international rescue loans, the bond swap aims to trim Greece’s debt from about 165 percent of gross domestic product last year to about 120 percent by 2020.

The finance ministry said on April 25 about 199 billion euros ($262.9 billion) worth of bonds have been exchanged, out of the total 205.5 billion euros in eligible

paper owned by banks, pension funds and other private bondholders.

“While the exchange has, in our view, alleviated near-term funding pressures, Greece’s sovereign debt burden remains high,” S&P said in a statement.

Greece has been relying on billions of euros in international rescue loans since 2010, after years of overspending and mismanagement of the country’s finances left it locked out of the international bond market and facing a potentially catastrophic bankruptcy.

In return for two bailouts, Greece has imposed harsh austerity measures that have included repeated rounds of tax hikes, as well as cuts to pensions and salaries. The measures hammered the economy, which is in the fifth year of a recession.

The country will hold national elections this Sunday, with opinion polls indicating no party will win enough of a majority to form a government without seeking the backing of another party to form a coalition. With the country expected to take more fiscal measures to meet

targets in June, the elections are critical.

S&P noted it was keeping Greece in junk status with its ‘CCC’ rating due in part to its “uncertain economic growth prospects” and weakening political consensus for unpopular reforms.

“The fiscal consolidation under way is largely premised on tax hikes and improved tax collection, an extensive privatization program, and wholesale cuts in government spending,” the agency said.

“We believe this adjustment has implementation risks given the likely further contraction of the sovereign’s GDP (gross domestic product) this year and next, which will likely result in persistent social pressures.”

“The adjustment in our view will be particularly challenging after the upcoming May 6 parliamentary elections,” it added.

However, it said its outlook was stable “balancing our view of the government’s stated commitment to improving its fiscal track record and effecting a material fiscal adjustment, against the economic and political challenges of doing so.” -AP

Trading Prices of Kuwait Exchange Trading Prices of Kuwait StockStock Exchange

Date of Closing Prices:

Company

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High

Low

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

1,080 430 590 275 435 740 600

1,040 420 590 270 430 730 590

Kw Investment Commercial Facilit.

Int'L Financial Adv. National Invest.

Kw Projects Ahlia Holding Coast Invest.

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

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

104 265 150 325 60 106 118 42.5 154 53 39 38.0 69 315 51 38.5 260.0 106.0 71.0 194 34.0 70 52 108

104 260 146 320 59 102 116 40.0 152 51 36 37.0 68 295 51 38.0 250.0 100.0 67.0 190 32.0 70 52 104

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Global Index - Banking

Global Index - Investment

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

58 114 132 248 110 40.0 93 1,020 73 21.5 64.0 90 63 69 87 85 33.5 43.5 58 87 51.0 38.0 46.0 35.5 62 355

Global Index - Insurance

Global Index - Real Estate

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

Heavy eng. & Ship.

Marine Services Portland Cement

1060 425 770 590 880 275 435 740 590 317.38

1040 430 770 580 880 275 435 730 590 314.45

104 265 52 150 325 13.0 60 25.0 130 25.0 230 106 118 102 52 42.0 152 53 37.5 71 38.0 48.5 69 26.0 315 51 38.5 51 38.5 100 255.0 100.0 22.0 22.5 69.0 29.0 194 265 114 33.50 72 70 61 52 64 42.50 106 83.67

104 265 52 146 325 13.0 59 25.0 130 25.0 230 106 118 102 52 40.0 154 51 36.5 71 38.0 48.5 69 26.0 295 51 38.5 51 38.5 100 250.0 104.0 22.0 22.5 68.0 29.0 192.0 265 114 32.00 72 70 61 53 64 42.50 106 83.23

300 520 460 126 220 122 40.50 42.44

300 520 460 126 220 122 40.50 42.44

Ÿ

58 112 132 246 28.5 234 124 110 39.5 110 92 1,020 73 21.5 64.0 90 62 68 87 36.0 84 33.5 87 17.5 43.5 55 87 160 51.0 37.0 44.0 17.5 35.5 134 134 220 61 355 59.94

57 108 134 246 28.5 234 124 104 38.5 110 93 1,020 73 21.0 64.0 90 59 68 77 36.0 85 31.0 87 17.5 43.5 59 83 160 49.5 36.5 44.5 17.5 33.0 134 134 220 58 355 59.58

Ÿ Ÿ ŷ Ÿ Ÿ ŷ ŷ ŷ

228 122 450 154 1,300 285 144 870

224 120 450 144 1,280 285 144 870

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

228 122 154 1,300 285 890

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

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ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ ŷ

56 110 130 246 102 38.0 92 1,000 73 20.5 63.0 90 59 67 87 84 31.5 43.5 54 87 48.5 36.0 44.0 30.5 58 350 222 118 154 1,280 285 870

Last Close 179.89 6,440.90 Last Prev.

Close Close

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

Previous Close Change 179.11 0.77 6,399.70 41.20 Trading Activity Chng Volume Tran. Value(KD)

DTD 0.43% 0.64%

MTD YTD 0.32% 0.21% 4.48% 10.78% Div. Annual Close Yield High Low P/E

Last Bid

Last Ask

20 -5 10 10 2.93

1,060,000 2,260,000 5,000 1,800,000 300,000 1,875,000 995,000 8,295,000

42 53 1 32 8 106 24 266

1,123,600 951,300 2,950 487,800 129,100 1,381,100 594,950 4,670,800

1,060 415 760 590 880 270 430 730 590

1,080 425 780 600 890 275 435 740 600

3.8% 0.0% 0.0% 2.5% 1.7% 1.8% 2.3% 2.0% 0.0% 2.0%

1,220 510 800 680 930 285 480 900 600 326.42

1,040 425 700 600 790 236 410 720 530 314.20

15.26 36.55 1209.21 17.74 33.01 26.31 13.29 26.75 128.53 19.36

4 -

1 6 46 7 65 90 4 208 67 55 408 5 3 8 1 26 162 325 331 7 5 10 7 48 1,895

2,080 41,900 209,160 61,300 266,360 725,080 23,320 1,136,800 903,240 269,720 2,219,840 24,240 8,200 36,250 2,040 92,320 1,613,950 1,571,840 1,610,600 30,840 13,280 70,000 18,720 305,240 11,256,320

102 260 148 320 59 104 118 42.0 152 52 38 37.5 68.0 305 38.5 250.0 100.0 68.0 192 32 70 69 58 51 106.0

106 265 150 325 60 230 106 120 102 42.5 154 53 38 38.5 72.0 315 56 39.0 255.0 102.0 69.0 194 280 33 71 60 53 108.0

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 6.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.6% 4.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.3%

112 285 67 182 345 18.5 69 25.0 130 36.0 230 122 120 102 52 35.5 150 65 35 71 44.0 48.5 70.0 26.0 295 65 39 51 47.5 104 270.0 130.0 25.0 33.5 96.0 29.0 190 310 114 32 89 73 60 59 64 42.5 140.0 85.99

104 255 40 144 295 11.5 50 25.0 130 21.0 230 99 102 50 52 24.0 106 47 21 71 28.5 48.5 64.0 26.0 242 51 36 51 26.0 61 99.0 19.5 19.0 16.0 38.0 29.0 154 255 114 26 58 50 51 47 64 42.5 106.0 74.96

16.16 10.02 0.00

2.0 -2 2 1 20 5.0 4.01.0 2.0 1.5 -1 0.45

20,000 160,000 1,400,000 190,000 4,480,000 6,960,000 200,000 27,440,000 5,880,000 5,200,000 59,120,000 640,000 120,000 120,000 40,000 2,400,000 6,350,000 15,260,000 23,360,000 160,000 400,000 1,000,000 360,000 2,880,000 164,140,000

Ex-D Ex-D Ex-D -

-

-

-

280 460 450 118 28.0

300 500 460 132 -

6.7% 3.8% 5.4% 4.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.9%

325 610 540 148 220 134 40.5 44.91

13.38 280 13.67 520 10.96 450 20.49 102 66.32 220 102 40.5 64711.96 12.95 42.22

1 4 -2 -

6 1.0 -1 0.5 3 10 -1 2.5 -4 4 2 0.5 0.52.5 Ex-D 3 0.36

7,200,000 3,760,000 500,000 80,000 7,780,000 4,640,000 440,000 120,000 280,000 43,280,000 12,520,000 40,000 2,560,000 1,080,000 40,000 1,400,000 20,720,000 1,360,000 840,000 40,000 87,400,000 11,120,000 8,640,000 80,960,000 2,400,000 2,220,000 301,420,000

78 53 13 2 26 41 11 12 6 276 91 1 51 17 1 22 159 7 13 1 395 111 85 537 48 60 2,117

409,040 422,280 65,520 19,720 815,160 182,240 40,800 120,100 20,440 907,440 793,560 3,600 157,040 73,520 3,480 117,720 677,040 59,160 47,080 3,480 4,350,400 411,280 387,840 2,680,680 144,800 785,900 13,699,320

57 112 130 246 26.0 230 120 108 39.0 100 92 1,000 72 21.0 63.0 89 61 67 87 36.0 83 33.5 87 43.5 54 78 150 50.0 36.5 44.0 35.5 36 60 350

58 114 132 248 28.5 234 130 110 39.5 120 93 1,020 74 21.5 64.0 90 62 69 38.0 84 44.0 57 88 170 51.0 37.5 44.5 39 62 355

0.0% 4.5% 0.0% 6.1% 0.0% 3.4% 0.0% 6.4% 0.0% 6.4% 0.0% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 5.7% 6.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.9%

63 118 152 246 37.5 250 130 100 52.0 120 104 1,080 85 20.0 68.0 97 75 73 90 38.0 92 23.0 91 17.5 45.0 70 80 174 52.0 39.5 40.5 28.5 25.5 134 40 220 70 480 59.94

47 97 108 200 28.5 224 114 77 27.0 108 94 840 62 11.0 35.0 77 54 52 74 33.0 59 13.5 87 17.5 31.0 57 64 116 27.5 22.0 25.0 17.5 15.0 134 31 220 49 270 49.06

4 2 10 20 -

4,400,000 4 400 000 300,000 100,000 12,500 10,000 250,000

75 12 3 4 1 32

990,720 990 720 36,200 15,400 16,100 2,850 220,650

226 120 440 154 1,280 280 138 870

228 122 450 1,320 285 148 880

0 0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.3% 0.0% 5.6% 3.5% 0.0% 7.5%

260 136 475 158 1,480 345 222 920

214 116 415 122 1,240 290 134 660

-

-

1

05 / 01 / 2012

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

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

growing working-age populations and to further diversify the economies.”

Dr Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist at DIFC commented: “As the transitions taking place across the region continue, and with the depressed global environment, it is inevitable that economic growth will be impacted, even though the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and other oil exporters are continuing to benefit from high oil prices. Job creation is the clear economic and social policy priority and highlights the importance of having an inclusive agenda that supports and accelerates the growth of the private sector, notably SMEs and family businesses. It also highlights the need for the effective mobilization of funds and the channeling of resources to meet the growing infrastructure and capital investment needs of the region. A cooperative and formal financing solution is required and I believe it is an opportune time to set up a dedicated Arab bank for reconstruction and development that could tailor solutions to the needs of individual nations in MENA, while catering for regional infrastructure projects that would support greater regional economic and financial integration.”

2011 was a difficult year for MENAP oil importers.

The social unrest and resulting decline in tourism and investment as well as higher energy prices and slower global growth, weakened economic activity and resulted in a decline in its growth to 2.2 percent.

With lingering concern over social instability and policy uncertainty, tourism - an important source of jobs and foreign exchange receipts - and private investment are likely to slowly recover this year. IMF expects the average real GDP growth for MENAP oil importers to increase slightly to 2.7 percent in 2012 with the main near-term downside risk being a potential large increase in oil prices which would impact these countries’ external balances.

The IMF report also highlights the gross external and fiscal financing needs of MENA oil importers, which are projected at about $90 billion and $100 billion in 2012 and 2013 respectively, and the consequent need of a timely official financing.

Ahmed added, “2012 is another challenging year for many oil-importing countries in the region, and in particular for those undergoing transition. Growth is faltering and unemployment is on the rise, and many countries are faced with diminished policy space, having eaten into their foreign exchange and fiscal buffers in 2011. A joint and sustained effort is needed to help these countries navigate through this challenging period and set out an economic vision that is fair and inclusive.”

Trading Prices of Kuwait Stock Exchange Date of Closig Prices: 2/05/2012

Date of Closing Prices: 02 / 05 / 2012 For more information please contact “Global” at (+965) 180 42 42 or www.globalinv.net Global General Index KSE Price Index

GCC continues to be regional growth driver with GDP growth projected at 5.3%

14.46 0.00 9.03 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 47.89 0.00 0.00 73.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 15.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 19.36 20.94 16.18 550.15

0.00 0.00 5.29 14.14

52.11 13.16 17.17 22.83 11.62 15.16 23.12 30.00 0.00 15.69 399.01

186.08 0.00 15.94 8.00 219.94 0.00 0.00 26.88 439.41 0.00 0.00 19.65

20.11 7.52 12.85 18.03 31.17

Last Close Previous Close - Change 216 216 - ŷ 20,000 1 124 176.53130 -6 177.24 -0.70 2,480 124 źź - 5,754.20 10,000 1 -27.30 3,300 330 3305,726.90 330 źŷ 4 140,000 7 33,160 234 238 234 Ÿ ACICO 238 Last Prev.

Trading Activity 2 4,120,000 65 380,200 92 90 91 Ÿ United Industries 94 Company Close High Chng - Volume 605,000Tran.

18 Value(KD) 620 369,100 620 610 ŷ Close Boubyan Petroch.

620 Low 1,000 1,000 3,796,050 1,140 - 1,120 - ŷŷ 1120 - 1120 69 3,377,500 Gulf Glass National Bank 20 1 495 -6 830,000 407,950 4,440 216 20,000 222 Gulf Bank 495 222 ŷŸ 495 Hilal Cement 222 490 770 770 10,000 1 7,700 415 Commercial Bank 770 770 415 ŷ - ŷ Al Kout Ind. Project -20 2 6,400 660 10,000 Ahli Bank 640 - 640 - źŷ 640 275 275 K-PAK 800 50 850 350,000 23 282,700 Ahli UnitedMaterial Bank 850 - 800 - Ÿ 224 Ex-D 224 Building 1629 248 700,000 173,600 International 248 --10 1,060,000 315 305 323,300 305 248 305 ŷź 248 Nat. Ind.Co.Bank 460 465 5 500,000 10 229,750 460 Burgan Bank 455 ź 95 188 3,280,000 4 637,400 192 190 Ÿ Equipment Holding 198 890 -10 1,280,000 66 1,127,050 Kw Finance House 102 102 Consumer Industries 890 - 880 - źŷ 880 590 590 607,850 1,035,000 33 Boubyan Bank 590 - 580 - ŷ 128 Ex-D 128 Kuwait Gypsum 319.54 8,092,500 6,639,050 0.17- 200,000 240 9 214 214 42,800 Global Qurain Index - Banking 214 214 źŷ 319.37 3,680,000 44 46 160,800 Salbookh Trading 106 -34 --3 Kw Investment -45 -44 ŷź 106 188 188 IKARUS 265 -5 250,000 14 65,750 265 - 260 - źŷ 260 Commercial Facilit.

Boubyan Int'LAdv. Ind. 4076 1,680,000 -1 67,160 4176 13 41 40 - źŷ Int'L Financial 3,238,900 168.30 18,207,500 387 0.70 167.60 1,040,000 20 172 -2 177,720 174 National 170 źŸ 170 GlobalInvest.

Index - Industrial 300 110,000 51 33,000 295 540 Kw Projects 300 5,000 5,000 960 1,000 1,000 ŸŸ 1,000 300 National Cinema 7,040,000 12.5 12.5 46 90,920 Ahlia Holding 13.5 12.5 ŷ 280 280 Kw Hotels - ŷ 1,280,000 22 52 53 -1 67,280 Coast Invest.

53 52 ź 120,000 420 49,950 7 420 420 Agility 415 ŷ 25.0 25.0 Int'L Investor ŷ 52 52 Market Complexes - ŷ 130 130 Securities House - ŷ 151,750 -10 205,000 740 16 750 740 ź ZAIN 750 31.0 31.0 Ind. & Fin. Inv. ŷ 3,600,000 83.0 85.0 49 299,120 2.0Safat Energy 84.0 82.0 ź 230 230 Securities Group - ŷ 110 110 Educational Group - ŷ 102 102 Int'L Finance - ŷ 340 340 -Indep. Petroleum 112 73,920 680,000 18 110 - 108 - ŷŷ 108 MARKAZ 357,040 2,220,000 156 6.0 162 164 National Cleaning 156 50 50 -51 KMIFIC - ŷŸ 108 360,000 38,960 110 Sultan 44.0 - -2 -16 - 110 Int'L Inv. Center Group - 108 ŷź 44.0 101 5,920,000 142 883,840 152 146 Arabi 152 52 52 -10 Aref Inv.Group Group - ŷŸ 550 550 ŷ City Group 74 74 - Investment Dar - ŷ 85,000 2,380 200,800 2,360 2,360 Tele.

2,380 28.5 28.5 - -20 -12 AlWataniya AMAN Inv. ŷź 757,840 5,940,000 112 132 122 122 ŷŸ 108 Kw Gulf Link 132 108 14 54,920 108 -10 500,000 ALOLA Inv. 110 58 Kw Cable 4958 49.5 15,840 -1 320,000 4 ALMAL Inv. Vision 50 49 - źŷ 2,950 10,000 300 295 295 295 Automated System 23 -1 23 --5 Gulf Inv. House - ŷź 330 330 NAPESCO 71 - - 71 - - - - ŷŷ - A'ayan Leasing 607,200 1,790,000 325 350 315 ŷŸ 31.0 KCPC 350 31.0 31.0 58,760 1,840,000 2286 -25 32.5 Bayan Inv. 255 255 - ŷŷ 48.5 K.S.H Inv. - 48.5 - - GLOBAL 260 260 EyasInv. -ŷ - - 68 68 -Ex-D - Osoul 2,051,080 21,560,000 268 93 94 20.5 - -1 Hits Telecom - 92 ŷź 20.5 GULFINVEST - 97 26.0 2 86,000,000 448 1,838,600 20.0 22.0 -20.5 ŷŸ 26.0 KFIC - 22.0 Al Safwa Holding - 244 - - - KAMCO - - ŷŷ 244 - 270 270 Human Soft 9477 -2 9475 -37 Int'l Leasing & Holding Inv. -77 -74 ŷŸ 178,680 2,360,000 Privatization - - 5194 5194 - - - - ŷŷ Nat. Int'l Holding - Nafaaes Holding - 36 36 - - - - - - ŷŷ Housing Finance 154 154 National Slaughter -17 51 51 -2 MADAR - ŷŸ 48,320 380,000 128 126 128 Aref energy 126 26.5 2 6,360 240,000 26.5 - 26.5 - ŷŷ 26.5 AlSafwan Deera Holding 540 540 75 75 -60 AlGulf Safat Inv. - ŷź 67.0 3,840,000 260,000 68.0 1.069.0 Petroleum 66.0 8.0 122.0 112.0 1,305,280 AlGulf Salam Group 59,920 26.5 24.0 2,320,000 21224 2.5 11,180,000 26.5 114.0 Franchising 24.5 ŸŸ 120.0 2.039.5 41.5 24 77,080 1,920,000 39.0 41.0 Ekttitab Holding 120 120 - źŷ Credit & Collection 19.0 - 0.5- 22.5 ŷź 19.0 AlNational Qurain Holding -24.0 23.0 150 980,400 23.5 42,800,000 Ranges 16.5 5 7,920 480,000 Sokouk 255 255 BurganHolding Well Drilling 16.5 - 16.5 - ŷŷ 16.5 39.0 0.5- - 10,640,000 93 419,440 Al-Madina 40.0 - 38.5 - źŷ 38.5 395 395 IFA H&R Finance 29.0 29.0 - 20 -26 NOOR ŷŸ 232,250 1,720 135,000 1,700 1,720 Combinted Group 1,740 160 2.0158 12,680 80,000 4 Tamdeen Inv. 160 1 3,480 87 85 2 40,000 Jeeran Holding 87 15887 źŸ 255 255 KW BH Int'l Exch.

- ŷ 4,320 108 108 40,000 2 108 ŷ Palms Agro 108 114 114 Taiba Kuwaiti Holding - ŷ 74.0 74.0 ŷ Safat TEC 26.00 26.00 Kuwait Syrian - ŷ 20 6 260 000 652 080 102 100 2.0 6,260,000 144 652,080 Mushrif Trading 106 99 Ÿ 68 68 Strategia - ŷ 350 350 7,000 20,000 1 350 350 ŷ UPAC 53 200,000 53 10,600 2 53 53 ŷ Kuwait China Inv. 295 300 315,650 1,070,000 295 ALAFCO 295 --5 60 -38 60 - ŷź Manafae Inv. 168 168 Al-Muwasat 46.5 - - - - - Gulf North Africa - - ŷŷ 46.5 280 285 5 360,000 99,750 12 ź 275 Mashaer Holding 280 64 64 Amwal - ŷ 255 255 - ŷŷ 42.50 Fuel 42.50 - - - - AlOula Masar 265 265 Future Comm.

130 -2 1,240,000 38 157,920 Al-Imtiaz 132 - 124 - źŷ 128 128 126 2.0 40,720,000 230,360 1,840,000 55862 124 źŸ 75.90 128 Hayat Comm.

76.02 0.122,702,550 Global Index - Investment 70 69 120 1 660,360 9,360,000 72 68 Ÿ Mubarrad Transport -12 325 Kuwait Insurance - ŷŸ 325 51.0 48.0 1,000,000 49,040 3.0 51.0 48.5 Kuwait Resorts - - 560 - - - ŷŷ 560 Gulf Insurance - 810 810 -Advanced Technolgy 485 485 - Ahlia Insurance ŷ 380 380 - ŷ Yiaco Medical 118 -8 120,000 6 13,200 112 - 108 - źŷ 110 Warba Insurance 435 435 Al Jazeera Airways 220 220 Ex-D - Kuwait Re-Ins. 226 226 Al Soor Fuel - ŷ 114 114 - - - First Takaful - - -ŷ 108 Ex-D 108 Future Kid Ins. 40.50 40.50 Wethaq Insurance ŷ 275 275 730,000 41 200,700 270 ŷ 280 KGL 43.63 0.19- 120,000 6 13,200 Global Index - Insurance 80 80 Al Nawadi - źŷ 43.43 122 122 Alrai Media 1 3,840 49 -1 48 80,000 48 - źŷ Kuwait R.E. 48 98 92,000 9 9998 Zima R.E. Holding 1 920,000 United 100 - 100 - Ÿŷ 100 383,920 120 4 105 3,100,000 118 Ÿź 124 National 126 1,915 743.41 747.69 200,370,000 4.2811,226,440 GlobalR.E. Index - Services 12 104,680 200 204 -4 520,000 200 ź Salhia R.E. 204 184 184 - ŷ 37.5 LiveStock Trans.

37.5 Pearl R.E. ŷ 4,360,000 93 410,200 95 Dana Al-Safat 365 10.0-2 100,000 22,400 234 22496 22493 źŸ 224 Tamdeen R.E. 136 136 ŷ United Poultry 120 120 - Ajial R.E. - ŷ 27,500 1,360 37,400 1,360 Kw FoodStuff 1,360 1,360 82 - -3 82 - ŷŷ Massaleh R.E. 340 340 ŷ United Food 1 30.0 80,000 30.5 0.52,400 Arab R.E. 30.0 30.0 ź 580 580 Kout R.E. Food - 108 - - - - - ŷŷ 108 Union 4,387,500 335.56 447,600 0.28 335.27 31,160 -1 320,000 98 97 868 Global Index - Food 98 96 źŸ ERESCO 1,656,950 10 1,935,000 850 5728 86086 84085 Ÿŷ 860 Mabani 1,440,000 122,720 85 85 Sharjah Cement 2 8,960 120,000 2 75 73 75 74 INJAZZAT RE 7,840,000 102 91 723,440 92 -1 Gulf Cement 94 90 Ÿź 1533 23,960 11.5 12.0 0.52,000,000 12.0 11.5 Inv. Holding Grp ź Ex-D 3,400,000 65 221,040 65 Um Quwain Cement 66 64 38.0 38.0 Int'L Resorts ŷ 94 -3 91,520 91 960,000 21 97 Fujaira Cement 91 ź 3 18,520 78 77 1 240,000 78 77 Ÿ Commercial R.E 120 120 - ŷ Ras AlKheimah 67,400 17 1,000,000 65 70 -5 70 65 ź Sanam R.E. 112 112 - ŷ ARIG 4 10,720 54 -1 55 200,000 54 53 ź Aa'yan R.E 168 168 United Gulf Bank - ŷ 90 90 - ŷ Aqar 14,500 5 290 285 50,000 2 290 290 Ÿ 38.0 Egypt Kw Holding 38.0 Kuwait R.E Holding ŷ Ex-D 455 455 Bahrain Kw Ins. 11 59 26,160 440,000 -4 63 59 ź AL Mazaya 60 24,600,000 1,429,840 59.0 59.0 173 57.0 źŷ 14.0 House 59.0 14.0 1 80,000 1,120 14.5 0.5- AlGulf Dar Fin. National R.E 14.0 InovestInt'L Holding 110,880 1,480,000 - -1 -25 9175 9176 -76 -74 ŷź Themar 125,360 170 170 740,000 -10 17.5 Ahli United Bank - 168 ŷŷ 17.5 Grand R.E Projects - 170 31.049.0 53.0 27,400,000 280 1,390,060 4 - 48.0 ŷŸ 31.0 Tijara & R.E Invest -53.0 Ithmaar Bank 59 59 - ŷŸ AlGlobal TameerIndex - Non-Kuwaiti 4,229,360 0.38 43.71 67,910,000 674 44.09 -4 320,000 2 22,400 70 74 Arkan Al-Kuwait R.E 70 ź 70 122 122 - ŷ 48.5 Markaz Real Estate 48.5 Safat Global ŷ - - - 124 124 - ŷ AlInvestment Argan Int'L Funds 12 0.52,720,000 76,880 28.0 28.5 28.5 28.0 Abyaar 144 144 Al-Bareeq Holding - źŷ 1.0- 80,000 1 1,880 24.5 23.5 - 23.5 - źŷ 23.5 Munshaat 106 106 AFAQ 0.5240,000 6,160 3 26.0 25.5 First Dubai 26.0 - 25.5 - ź 250 250 Ex-D Al-Shamel 946,080 - 5.0 35,040,000 41 27.0 KBT 80,000 24.0 19.0 1,920 Al-Safat Real Estate 27.0 24.0 27.0 24.0 ŷŸ 27.0 1,200,000 88 1.0- 19,240 16.5 Manazel 16.534 15.531 źŷ 15.5 32 640,000 32 20,480 Ajwan Real Estate -14 134 REAM - ŷŷ 134 500 500 190,000 96,700 Specialities Group 500 520 - - - 134 - Mena Real Inter.

Estate - - ŷŷ 134 51 51 Masaken - - - - 220 AlDulaqan MoudonR.E Intl. R.E - - - ŷŷ 220 345 345 -1 240,000 6 13,520 5790 5890 Markaz Real Estate 57 56 źŷ Eid Food 47 610,850 290 5 2,110,000 Kuwait Remal 295 - 285 - Ÿŷ 295 2,260 2,260 Maidan ClinicR.E 0.02- - 53,085,000 - 332 4,151,200 49.73 49.75 ź Global Index - Real Estate 39.5 39.5 Flex Shuaiba Industrial

-

Metal Collecting Global General Index 124 Kuwait Foundry 330 KSE Price Index

102.0 Dar Al-Thuraya Real E 242 232 Nationl Ind. Group 232 źŷ Kw Medical Services 12875 12675 ŷź 128 75 Pipes Ind. & Oil 450 Kuwait Cement 455 450 ź Amar For Fin. & Leas.

55 - ŷ 150 - ŷ Refrigeration Ind.Market Total Parallel 1,420 1,420 1,420 ź Gulf Cables & Elec.

335 - ŷ Heavy & Ship.

Totaleng.

Market 212 Marine Services - ŷ GlobalCement Special Indices 720 720 ŷ Portland 720 Ÿ GlobalIndustrial Index - Kuwaiti Co.'s 180 - ŷ Shuaiba Ÿ Global Index - 10 Large 104 104 ź Metal Collecting 110 Cap. 460 Ÿ - ŷ Kuwait Foundry Global Index - Islamic -

102.0 242 -10 13,220,000 - 154 128 --5 140,000 61 80 40,000 470 20 50,000 2 55 150 -24 950,000 1,460 -40 2,500 1 335 764,730,0007,322 212 Close Prev. Close 720 230,000 19 188.56 180 189.32 181.983 106 182.69-2 80,000 460 568.26 565.19

DTD MTD YTD 0.0% 216 180 13.22 216 -0.40% 128 -1.55% -1.55% 0.0% 120 102 124 495 0.0% 315 335 350 -1.50% -0.47% -1.50% 230 2.1% 196 29.54 236 240 Annual Close 79 Last91 Last 92 Div. 0.0% 102 37.66 Bid600 Ask 620 Yield High630 Low550 P/E88.41 0.0% 1,080 4.0% 1,400 1,100 15.82 1,120 3.6% 1,140 1,120 1,100 14.74 490 495 - 0.0% 510 490 33.95 6.8% 216 206 12.73 210 770 780 - 1.9% 790 770 88.62 8.4% 340 9.94 415 640 660 - 3.1% 660 640 17.34 275 5.20 0.0% 300 255 840 850 - 1.6% 850 790 29.68 2.2% 228 224 35.32 246 248 255 248 23.59 300 305 0.0% 3.3% 24.93 325 260 460 465 475 46051 12.26 194 0.0% 0.0% 188 152 880 - 2.3% 900 88093 25.07 870 0.0% 102 590 - 0.0% 580 590 590 112.24 5.5% 128 18.88 128 18.61 214 216 2.0% 0.0% 319.54 210 13.03 222 318.41 0.0% 0.00 102 10644 0.0% 10651 10641 40.56 188 4.3% 194 8.5% 214 162 16.76 260 265 265 260 12.09 0.0% 4074 4077 0.0% 4288 4070 2.7% 174.76 163.04 13.81 172 168 0.0% 174 170 88.93 295 300 305 295 12.13 970 910 1,020 6.7% 4.2% 1,120 18.77 12.5 13.0 0.0% 13.5 12.5 1.33 0.0% 280 280 51 52 0.0% 54 52 7.1% 410 420 430 340 16.26 0.0% 25.0 25.0 0.00 0.0% 41 0.00 65 0.0% 130 130 8.8% 740 750 900 690 11.15 33.5 0.0% 36.0 31.0 83.0 84.0 0.0% 81.0 45.0 0.0% 230 230 0.0% 110 110 58.86 0.0% 102 102 0.00 325 340 9.3% 0.0% 350 295 106 110 116 108 160 162 3.1% 170 110 20.70 0.0% 50 50 0.00 0.0% 136 102 - 108 - 110 0.0% 44.0 44.0 0.00 152 0.0% 132 12.84 - - 0.0% 52 5284 0.00 560 0.0% 550 530 0.0% 74 74 0.00 2,360 2.1% 2,380 0.0% 2,440 1,920 12.32 27.0 29.5 28.5 28.5 0.00 132 0.0% 0.0% 130 132 110 112 10895 0.00 108 0.0% 49 50 - 0.0% 5168 4958 290 325 0.0% 8.5% 350 230 21.81 21 24 23 22 320 395 7.6% 340 8.13 - - 0.0% 71 71 0.00 345 305 2.9% 260 11.96 31.0 32.5 - 0.0% 31.5 31.0 7.1% 260 255 12.82 - 250 - 280 0.0% 48.5 48.5 - 0.0% 260 260 7.7% 4.79 68.0 64.0 68.0 32.31 132 306.51 0.0% - 93 - 94 0.0% 20.5 20.554 - 21.5 - 22.0 0.0% 26.0 26.0 0.00 23.5 14.0 0.0% - 238 244 244 280 0.0% 270 12.91 280 0.0% -76 -77 0.0% 9484 9461 0.00 13.63 6.5% -90 5499 0.0% 51 5184 116.80 104 0.0% - 0.0% 36 36 0.00 184 154 154 9.95 0.0% 0.0% 51 5191 0.00 128 130 0.0% 120 26.0 26.5 27.0 27.5 510 710 5.0% 520 13.11 560 0.0% 0.0% 75 75 0.00 67.0 78.0 68.0 0.0% 30.0 10.40 99.0 120.0 0.0% 120.0 118.0 26.5 28.5 16.0 0.0% 19.5 39.0 41.5 120 130 0.0% 0.0% 140 19.0 20.0 19.0 18.0 22.5 23.0 0.0% 0.0% 22.5 0.00 12.0 16.0 16.5 17.0 16.5 242 270 0.0% 41.84 275 198 0.0% 39.0 38.0 38.5 39.0 400 0.0% 375 86.17 0.0% 490 380 0.0% 29.0 0.00 % 29.0 1,720 1,740 16.37 1,740 1,500 4.1% 156 8.28 3.8% 156 160 162 85 87 5.78 0.0% 89 73 255 22.77 255 270 5.1% 104 114 12.52 9.3% 126 86 11.92 114 0.0% 114 73.0 74.0 0.0% 78.0 57.0 26 27 0.0% 28 0 0% 0 00 102 104 0.0% 104 80 0.00 68 43.00 63 73 0.0% 68 340 350 355 12.70 8.6% 270 53 53 52 0.0% 55 280 290 295 315 3.86 3.4% 60 61 0.0% 60 130 6.0% 7.71 176 10.8% 168 47 47 - 47 172 4.6% 275 280 305 9.96 64 0.0% 69 64 21.75 0.0% 265 305 42.5 0.00 - 242 - 248 0.0% 42.5 300 0.0% 280 18.62 265 124.0 128.0 0.0% 132.0 128.0 5.19 128 2.4% 124 75.90 70 0.0% 124 10.01 76.32 71 51 0.0% 72 70 16.97 325 300 6.2% 325 325 51.0 0.0% 62.0 22.21 44.0 48.5 12.90 610 510 560 560 1.9% 770 640 33.57 750 4.5% 9.91 460 500 520 485 3.9% 390 12.46 345 365 375 5.2% 17.37 108 114 118 110 0.0% 485 410 9.97 415 435 9.1% 220 220 2.7% 0.0% 270 236 296.83 16.62 222 226 134 11498 110 4.6% 14.91 114 106 108 0.0% 40.5 43.0 0.0% 40.5 300 218 8.42 7.3% 270 275 12.60 44.80 92 43.43 77 8.8% 6.95 77 82 4.7% 0.0% 156 22.69 114 116 122 0.0% 37.20 49 49 48 48 0.0% 110 12.83 100 - 0.0% 100 9994 99 126 0.0% 120 22.21 128 122 12.2% 791.90 705.36 11.35 202 10.0% 200 17.83 208 200 0.0% - 0.0% 222 182 15.27 37.5 37.5 37.5 0.0% 114 234 22490 16.20 22496 4.5% -95 126 3.7% 136 126 6.02 146 0.0% 130 120 110 130 4.8% 1,500 1,360 1,360 11.38 1,340 6.1% 82 82 5.29 85 355 1.5% 390 44.60 340 0.0% 30.5 30.0 31.5 610 5.2% 630 6.5% 500 10.40 530 108 108 15.28 112 118 4.2% 365.22 331.33 11.40 0.0% 100 96 39.65 95 98 860 840 21.70 86084 87085 0.0% 0.0% 44 95 76 73 7685 0.0% 7184 0.0% 108 55 0.00 12.573 11.543 11.590 12.091 0.0% 10.8% 30.20 38.0 38.0 35.5 37.0 65 66 0.0% 0.0% 122 46 0.0% 78 14.56 77 77 79 8.3% 126 10.76 118 93 0.0% 75 65 65 114 0.0% 132 120 102 54 26.32 0.0% 55 53 54 0.0% 232 106 365.94 172 114 0.0% 90 90 91 162 330 250 6.46 176 6.9% 0.0% 38.0 38.0 40.5 0.00 455 455 285 295 5.5% 63 60 0.0% 59 560.45 40.5 74.0 0.0% 14.5 4.15 14.5 14.0 0.0% 13.5 0.0% 9459 5.5% 91 91 9058 7.1% 9.38 17.5 17.5 - 75 0.0% - 74 33.5 31.0 31.0 19.44 30.0 0.0% 168.0 170.0 0.0% 57 0.0% 59 59 4.1% 40.74 47.16 8.71 70 74 0.0% 78 70 11.37 1,220 1,220 0.0% 0.00 48.5 48.5 116 126 0.0% 144 124 5.38 28.0 28.5 - 0.0% 29.0 28.0 27.28 0.0% 25.0 - 0.0% 24.5 23.5 23.5 5.03 4.7% 25.0 25.5 26.0 25.5 13.99 6.0% 255 0.0% 24.5 28.0 0.0% 28.5 27.0 0.0% 17.0 15.532 16.034 0.0% 16.5 15.5 0.0% 134 130 134 23.07 16.05 5.7% 495 500 3.7% 32 29 3250 0.0% 32 0.0% 220 - - 0.0% 220 18.82 218 816.78 0.0% 57 60 0.00 5590 5795 0.0% 8.47 0.0% 295 270 0.00 290 295 - 0.0% 0.0% 1.1% 49.86 49.73 16.27 0.0% 22.19

96.0 3,111,120 17,800 3,000 122 22,550 455 150 122,100 3,550 1,420 48,768,740 310 Change 710 165,600 0.76 178 0.70 104 8,480 435 3.08

102.0 0.0% 0.0% 232 0.0% 13085 0.0% 465 - 2.2% 0.0% 3.3% 0.6% 1,440 4.6% 4.71% 340 3.0% 216 2.4% DTD 13.9% 720 0.40% 190 5.6% 0.39% 108 0.0% 4.3% 0.54%

232 260 130 128 470 450 158 150 1,460 1,420 340 335 212 222 MTD 710 740 0.11% 180 180 -0.30% 104 116 460 460 0.69%

70.58 18.38

14.10 6.49 14.65 8.02 193.84 YTD 96.15 -0.12% 10.91 -3.90% 23.15 26.77 1.11%

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

12

ALWATAN DAILY thursday, may 3, 2012

April 2009 May21, 02, 2012

2% 6%

1% 6% Oman

113

90

GCC Best Performers

Saudi Dubai

95 2-Feb-12 85

2-Mar-12

2-Apr-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

1

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

Index 7,536

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

2,506 5,250

Ku Kuwait (KSE Weighted Index)

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

Qa UAUAE Qatar (DSM Index) (ADSM Index) OmOman UAE(MSM (DFMIndex) Index)

Level 418

% Chg.

YTD

8,071 2,137

148 122

127,838 69,783

1,129 4,230

2 196

17,256 65,352

5,852 1,745

0.3% 1.9%

2.8% 6.6%

0.0%

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)

1,681

10,258

463

1,191

2,825 468

10,621

5,082

1,094 546

Tu Tunisia (Tunis SE Index)* * Market Closed

3,282

0.75 1.52

8,892 5,148

1,981

Ba Bahrain (BSE Index)

10.27 9.99

-1.2% 12.8%

-0.1% 0.6%

Jo Jordan (Amman General Index)

Eg Egypt (Hermes Egypt Index (HFI))*

33,326 98,547

15 2,183

-0.2% 3.9%

M Morocco (Casa All Shares Index)

PB1.43

2,293 4,130

18.0% -0.2%

5,478

PE 14.20

2,775 10,090

1,151 5,590

OmOman (MSM Index)

101,074

4.2% 9.3%

3.1%

-1.6% 1.8%

4,907

176

0.0% -4.0%

0.4%

Ba Qa Bahrain Qatar(BSE (DSMIndex) Index)

Eg Egypt (EGX 30 Index)

396

52 Wk 7,931 High

1,597 406

8,666 2,695

467

17.4% YTD

-0.8%

5.1% 0.4%

-0.4%

0.4%

-

2.2%

0.2%

-0.2%

-

-

0.9% -

1,754 787

0.6% -18.8%

5,419 1,433

5,628

3,587

0.7%

12,109

-7.7%

12,203

10,218

2.4%

5,044

2,551

-0.6%

2,214

-6.8%

2,903

8.5%

1,033

1.2%

1,403

-1.8%

513

1,164 465

4,091

23.6%

739

407

2,119

13.6%

3,418

46

328

5,115

-7.2%

64

1,572

9,406

12.81

66,009 264,263

9 305

4,224

14,635

Mkt. Cap. 393,073 USD million

58 718

1,921

-3.3%

6.8%

Turnover 2,158 USD million

1,301 316

6,353 5,860

1,406 12,627

35.5%

52 Wk 5,916 Low

8.42 10.24

1.34

63,640

7.67

-

1,043

-

2,837

-

NICNational Industries Co.

9.72

18,727

1.68

1.59

8.07

56,299

1.29

15.04

2

10,584

33,782

12.71

4

10,029

15.52

2

2,079

3.20

1.56

6.35

2,512

0.85

2.15

9.17

59,990

1.12

18.36

8,507

3.95

1.77

6.47

0.86

8.67

6,576

2.50

13.85

1.92

SAUDI ARABIA *Market Closed

125

Tadawul Index (% Chg.)

Close

% Chg.

BHD 0.390 SAR 22.95

225 Saudi Industrial Inv. Grp.

101 Riyad Bank

-1.9% -8.6%

SAR 24.70

-6.4%

144,894,749 120,591,507

115 Alinma Bank (KSA)

Turnover (USD)

96,156,745

201 Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (KSA)

201 Industries Corp.

(KSA) 430Saudi Dar AlBasic Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co. (KSA)

343,553,085 85,914,515

NBKNational Bank of Kuwait (KUW)

97,126,838

119,955,261 52,945,432

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

88,742,222

115

8,094,789

1,474,142,898

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

113

64,280,166

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

7,931 / 5,916 2280.SSE Almarai Co.

Turnover (SAR '000)

-6.8%

Turnover (USD)

MENA Highest Turnover

425 Jabal Omar Development Co. (KSA)

0.56

Tadawul Index 52 week High / Low

-2.5% -8.9%

SAR48.00 159.50 SAR

SAR 13.70

GCC Highest Turnover

85% 4250.SSE Jabal Omar Development Co.

Advance/Decline Ratio

-9.9%

AED 3.15 -13.1% -3.1% KWD 0.265

7,536 (-0.1%)

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

3.8%

8.0%

8.0%

EMAEmaar Properties (UAE) Best Performers

Summary

4.1% 8.6%

OMR 0.720

KFI Kuwait Finance House (KUW)

Rebased Performance

4.2% 8.8%

KWD -3.2% Close0.305 % Chg.

0.88 201 419Saudi Jarir Marketing Co. Corp.

1.74 Basic Industries

9.50

4.9% 9.8%

AED 74.20

56,285

-

3

MA Mashreq

10.46 6.87

13.38

67

MENA Worst Performers

18,123 37,413

15,024

4

1.03 1.77

GCC Worst Performers

1.94 FAC EMA Emaar Properties 1.37 Commercial Facilities Co. 1.61 BBK BBK Petrochem.

0.88 238 Rabigh

27,308

1

1.99

8.99 8.85

QAR 21.60

BKMBankMuscat

PB

11.57 7.29

10

AED 1.10

QGTQatar Gas Transport Co.

Trailing

Mkt. Cap. USD million

Trailing

AED 2.80 QAR 6.35

GC Gulf Cement Co.

Turnover USD million

%-0.1% Chg.

QAR 20.00 OMR 0.703

CBDCommercial Bank of Dubai KCB Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

52 Wk Low

PE

OMR5.60 0.681 SAR

ERE EzdanEngineering Real Estate&Co. GEC Galfar Contracting

52 Wk High

% Chg.

KWD 6.8% Close0.315 % Chg.

OCKingdom Oman Cement Co. 3 428 Hldg. Co.

Period's Liquidity Ratio (PLR x)*

Index Level

Close

4 KAMKIPCO Asset Management Co.

Period's Liquidity 1 Ratio (PLR x)

-1

MENA Indices Highlights

MENA Indices Highlights

MENA Best Performers

-2%

2-May-12

Tunisia Abu Dhabi

-2%

-6%

Abu Dhabi

-4%

Saudi

Palestine Palestine

95

-2%

Saudi Dubai Dubai

Bahrain

0%

100

Oman

-1%

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Qatar Bahrain

0%

105

0%

Kuwait Kuwait

Qatar Saudi

Return DailyDaily Return (%)(%)

Dubai

107

100

2%

Qatar Oman

111

105

110

0%

Qatar

Morocco

111

4%

Lebanon Oman

115110

Kuwait Kuwait

113

DailyIndex Index Performance Snapshot Daily Performance Snapshot

Egypt Jordan Jordan

120115

Bull/Bear Indicator Bull/Bear Indicator

Bahrain Bahrain

Rebased RebasedPerformance Performance

3050.SSE Southern Province Cement Co.

2020.SSE Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co.

Close

% Chg.

22.65

3.4%

11.55

1.3%

66.75

0.8%

106.50

0.5%

185.25

0.4%

111

Highest Turnover

105

Worst Performers Turnover (SAR) 543,398,779 4190.SSE Jarir Marketing Co. 452,254,329 7020.SSE Etihad Etisalat Co. 360,616,642 2050.SSE Savola Group Co.

42Jabal Omar Development Co. 1 Alinma Bank

20Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

95 2-Feb-12

2-Mar-12

2-Apr-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

322,205,206

43Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Dev. Co.

2-May-12

198,561,252

42Emaar the Economic City

Close

% Chg.

159.50 68.00 35.10

3030.SSE Saudi Cement Co.

2060.SSE National Industrialization Co.

96.00

35.10

-1.9%

-1.8% -1.1%

-1.0% -0.6%

Saudi SE

Quotes Company Name 1 Al Rajhi Bank

Close 78.00

Daily % Chg. 0.0%

High

Low

78.75

78.00

Turnover (SAR '000) 68,051

1 Alinma Bank

14.95

-0.3%

15.15

14.90

452,254

1 Arab National Bank

30.80

0.0%

30.90

30.70

710

2 Almarai Co.

66.75

0.8%

67.50

815

4,357

114

1 Banque Saudi Fransi

38.20

0.3%

38.60

38.00

4 Emaar the Economic City

13.25

0.4%

13.40

13.20

198,561

22.30

543,399

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

4 Jabal Omar Development Co. 4 Jarir Marketing Co.

4 Kingdom Holding Co.

2 National Industrialization Co.

11.55

0.0%

1.3%

68.00

-1.8%

159.50

-1.9%

22.65

12.10

35.10

3.4%

-0.4%

-0.6%

11.65

68.50

23.00

160.75 12.20

35.70

11.40

322,205

68.00

45,989

154.00

64,077

34.90

75,062

12.05

3,006

22.65

15,762

50.50

11,330

32.90

23,134

22.70

1 Samba Financial Grp.

50.50

-0.5%

33.10

-0.3%

96.00

-1.0%

1 Saudi Hollandi Bank

28.40

0.4%

28.50

28.30

2 Saudi International Petrochemical Co.

21.70

0.0%

21.85

21.70

12,092

-0.6%

17.90

17.70

90,234

35.00

3,986

36.00

1,845

24.90

2 Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co.

185.25

2 Saudi Basic Industries Corp.

103.00

1 Saudi Arabian Mining Co. 3 Saudi Cement Co.

5 Saudi Electricity Co.

22 Saudi Industrial Investment Grp.

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

13.60

5,310

0.0%

24.95

24.90

0.4%

186.75

184.75

30,247

0.0%

104.00

102.75

360,617

-0.4%

13.70

13.60

27,336

24.00

25,329

18.70

3,083

24.15

-0.4%

18.75

0.3%

17.70

22.85

28.20

2 Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co.

1 Riyad Bank

0.0%

28.60

7,424

51.00

33.40

98.00

24.50 18.90

96.00

7,485

2,433

-0.2%

42.50

42.10

38,800

Savola Group Co. 0 3 Southern Province Cement Co. 0 1 SABB

42.20

106.50

-0.6%

107.00

106.00

7,727

36.00

0.5%

52.50

-0.5%

51.00

50.25

12,344

2 Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co.

0.0%

9.65

193,850

3 Yamama Saudi Cement Co.

7 Zain - Saudi Arabia

35.10

50.50 9.65

-1.1%

0.0%

35.70

36.40

53.50 9.80

52.50

28,444

262

12.2%

71.75

48.41

-7.0%

16.6%

32.90

31.90

9.05

-8.6%

15.75

-11.6%

6.05

-16.6% -1.8%

17.20

40.00

30.00

13.60

6.20

13.85

674

69.25

50.00

165.00

105.50

23,955 411

248

2,124 693

22.90

13.10

50.75

28.90

11.10 7.05

35.10

24.25

98.00

55.50

29.30

21.42

24.45

17.75

200.00

165.00

3,489

112.00

87.75

2,003

16.30

56.75

37.50

1,046

27.20

164

21.00

556

5,069 916

113

-30.8%

-11.0%

163

86

-7.6%

42.40

23.10

77

-3.3%

21.30

42.60

35.50

24.5%

26,700,000

23.3

62.6%

11.9

1.8

87.9%

11,262,500

nmf

1.5

28.3%

60.0%

50.0%

40.7% -8.8%

8,460,000

12,474,000

47,600,000

21,050,910 9,570,000

44,841,176

19,565,739

-2.4%

-21.5%

19,885,200

8.4%

-9.8%

45,450,000

-11.7%

30.8%

20.4%

-2.0%

33.3%

68.4%

-3.1%

14.4%

12.5%

-7.4%

-7.4%

-8.0%

6.9%

5.3%

7.0%

-4.2%

3.5%

37,350,000

31.2 11.3 9.0

nmf

17.7 nmf

8.2

nmf

11.9

10.6

1.8 0.8

2.6

2.3

9.8

1.7

1.7

2.4

1.2

1.6

46,312,500

11.4

5.1

-8.0%

309,000,000

10.7

2.1

-1.8%

56,665,676

23.5

1.1

30,617,500

14,688,000

49.7

15.5

1.8

5.0

12.85

-16.6%

18.55

-11.2%

27.1%

-11.2%

10,867,500

21.9

1.8

15.55

-10.7%

16.1%

-0.8%

10,312,500

14.6

1.2

15.50

33.00

23.70

-11.2%

-16.9%

-2.2%

3.7

1.6

34,533,483

29.5%

-13.8%

1.4

2.7%

27.6%

36.7%

12.1

3.6

2.6

59.3%

14.5%

26,180,000

nmf

27.5

46.5%

86.4%

22,425,000

9,000,000

66.4%

80.3%

PB

15.9

-7.2%

-2.6%

Trailing PE

117,000,000

12.0%

51.1%

Market Cap. (SAR '000)

1.6%

48.0%

13.4%

-1.1%

12 mths

59.9%

-4.5%

-21.5%

26.90

698

-8.8%

21.20

213

223

-8.0%

26.60

28,017 14,953

YTD

-5.7%

33.70

24,576

on high

67.25

23

673

% Change

Low

82.75

16.25

30.00

-0.3%

52-Week High

30,052

45,079

30.00

28.20

870

66.00

1 Bank AlBilad

1 Bank Al Jazira

30.40

Volume ('000)

10.2% 1.7%

0.0%

-3.3%

-0.9%

24.9%

16.6%

-1.1%

22.3%

24.5%

11,271,960 7,956,667

26,550,000

84,400,000

17,550,000

11.1

10.8 nmf

1.5

1.5

1.8

9.8

1.7

13.8

2.1

72

106.75

63.25

-0.2%

23.8%

66.4%

14,910,000

15.6

6.1

244

83.25

47.50

-39.3%

-27.9%

-12.2%

10,226,250

13.9

3.0

5.25

-16.1%

73.9%

38.8%

13,510,000

nmf

51

537

19,951

37.00

56.25

11.50

27.82

41.60

-2.7%

-6.7%

17.6%

19.3%

7.1%

1.0%

36,000,000

29,531,250

12.5 9.3

2.1

2.6

3.4

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

13

ALWATAN DAILY thursday, may 3, 2012

KUWAIT Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers

120

KSE General Index (% Chg.)

6,441 (0.6%) 418 (0.4%)

KSE Weighted Index (% Chg.)

54%

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

KSE General Index 52 week High / Low

48,800

Turnover (KWD '000)

Turnover (KWD) 1,381,100 1,123,600

N National Bank of Kuwait

95 2-Feb-12

2-Mar-12

2-Apr-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

N National Industries Grp. Holding

990,720

IFInternational Finance Co.

725,080

951,300

G Gulf Bank

2-May-12

1.060

1.9%

1.8%

0.590

1.7%

Worst Performers

K Kuwait Finance House

100

2.7%

0.228

Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

Highest Turnover

103

6.8%

0.150

28,098,494

Market Cap. (KWD '000) 105

NINV.KSE National Investments Company

467 / 396 ABK.KSE

KSE Weighted Index 52 week High / Low

111

110

% Chg.

0.315

1.29 NBK.KSE National Bank of Kuwait 6,523 / 5,694 NIND.KSE National Industries Grp. Holding

Advance/Decline Ratio

115

Close KAMCO.KSKIPCO Asset Management Co.

Close

% Chg.

NICBM.KSENational Industries Co.

0.305

-3.2%

ALAFCO.KSAlafco Aviation Lease and Fin. Co.

0.295

-1.7%

SULTAN.KSSultan Center Food Products Co. NRE.KSE

0.108

National Real Estate Co.

-1.8%

0.132

ZAIN.KSE Zain Kuwait

-1.5%

0.740

-1.3%

KSE Weighted Index

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

High

A Agility

0.420

0.0%

T Al Themar Intl. Holding Co.

0.087

-

A AREF Energy Holding Co.

0.128

A Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait

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

B Boubyan Petrochemical Co. B Burgan Bank

0.590

0.295

-1.7%

0.590

0.0%

0.620

0.435

A Burgan Co. for Well Drilling

0.255

C Commercial Bank of Kuwait

0.770

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

0.295

3

-

0.295

316

0.590

595

0.430

129

48

1.6%

0.128

0.126

0.0%

0.620

0.610

369

-

-

0.0% -

0.600

0.435 -

on high

120

0.430

0.248

-

0.104

0.079

5

0.657

-2.3%

12.0%

-16.3%

-4.4%

0.580

-10.2%

1,070

0.375

0.280

-21.3%

995

0.620

0.530

-4.8%

380

0.132

605

0.085

0.630

300

0.530

0.524

-

0.420

-6.2%

-15.4%

672,061

8.9%

-6.3%

166,205

16.7

4.1

142,242

10.0

0.9

-20.3%

1,119,062

36.5

2.6

-7.1%

179,283

nmf

10.7%

-39.3%

20.3%

-18.1%

-2.5%

-18.1%

0.0%

-10.9%

0.260

42

160

0.375

0.255

-29.3%

0.425

-1.2%

0.430

0.420

951

2,260

0.552

0.425

-23.0%

-12.6%

0.395

-

-

-

-

-

0.495

0.285

-20.2%

-16.8%

JAJazeera Airways

0.435

-

1.6% -

-

-

-

1.300

1.280

-

16

-

-

0.106

0.0%

0.106

0.102

725

0.315

6.8%

0.315

0.295

36

-

0.450

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

0.055

13

0.019

1.680

-

1.240

0.214

0.138

-10.9% -22.6% -12.2%

6,960

0.242

0.096

-56.2%

120

0.315

0.236

0.0%

-

0.485

-

0.120

0.610

0.415

-10.3%

-26.2%

1.0

-3.8%

-1.6%

0.265

0.700

1.8

1,031,459

0.0%

0.940

nmf

0.5

19.6

-3.3%

0.265

-

88,088

892,811

0.0%

-11.6%

-

-16.3%

-4.7%

230,033

1.300

-

16.3

-21.3%

1.945

-

PB

439,671

-6.3%

135

-

PE

-2.3%

20.8%

-17.0%

Trailing

Market Cap. (KWD '000)

12 mths

-3.0%

0.410

0.198

YTD

232

0.188

K Kuwait Cement Co.

-

0.590

% Change

Low

1.720

IK Ikarus Petroleum Industries Co.

K KIPCO Asset Management Co.

-

0.590

50

High

1.740

1.300

IF International Finance Co.

0.415

52-Week

Volume ('000)

1.2%

C Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Co.

IF IFA Hotels & Resorts

0.420

Turnover (KWD '000)

1.720

0.049

G Gulf Bank

1.7%

Low

1.9%

-8.5%

10.6% 3.9%

-4.4%

29.1%

-2.2%

3.2% 5.1%

-45.7%

96,000

nmf

300,762

34.3

53,454

36.5

979,457

-30.3%

64,309

-22.6%

272,911

27.0%

-58.4%

16.7%

-26.2%

4.2

1.2

1.5

1.0

nmf

1.8

nmf

3.1

7.5

105,270

10.0

286,945

1.4

13.3

16.8

82,940

1.5

nmf

141,000 85,106

262.5%

5.8

1.6

3.7

0.9

nmf

0.8

nmf

1.0

4.1

20.1

1.9

K Kuwait Finance House

0.740

1.4%

0.740

0.730

1,381

1,875

1.000

0.720

-26.0%

-11.2%

-26.0%

2,149,081

27.6

1.7

K Kuwait International Bank

0.275

0.0%

0.275

0.270

488

1,800

0.350

0.236

-21.4%

7.8%

-20.3%

285,265

24.1

1.4

K Kuwait Projects Co. (Holding)

0.325

0.0%

0.325

0.320

190

0.395

0.281

-17.7%

12.1%

-17.7%

434,387

14.5

F Kuwait Food Co.

1.360

P Kuwait Portland Cement Co. M Mabanee Co.

M Mena Holding

0.0%

0.870

0.0%

N National Industries 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

250

61

1.500

0.660

-16.0%

-8.1%

-42.0%

22.5%

0.0%

30.4%

-7.4%

4.1%

120

120

1.020

0.691

1.060

1.9%

1.080

1.040

1,124

1,060

1.145

0.909

1.8%

0.228

0.222

991

4,400

0.280

0.192

-18.6%

-12.3%

-1.5%

0.132

0.130

66

500

0.168

0.056

-21.4%

3.1%

-

0.305

-3.2%

0.150

2.7%

0.132

S Salhia Real Estate Co.

221

1.340

1.000

N National Real Estate Co.

A Qurain Petrochemicals Industries Co.

0.870

1.620

1.020

0.228

O Oula Fuel Marketing Co.

0.890

28

0.0%

N National Industries Grp. Holding N National Investments Company

37

1.360

1.020 0.033

N National Bank of Kuwait

1.360

0.255

-

0.214

0.0%

0.246

0.0%

-

-

0.305 0.150 -

0.214

0.305

323

0.146

209

-

-

0.214

43

0.108

39

0.246

-

-

-

-

-

-1.8%

0.090

0.0%

0.090

0.090

2.360

-0.8%

2.380

2.360

-

0.130

-

0.740

-1.3%

0.110

-

0.750

-

360

152

0.255

0.226

80

-

0.144

0.360

200

4

0.260

0.285

-

-

-

0.340

1,400

201

0.740

-

1,060

20

0.248

0.108 0.234

-

0.186

0.248

0.200

0.270

0.216

0.136

0.690

2.0

-18.6%

295,283

nmf

0.8

17.9%

-

-0.8%

18.3%

-38.3%

105,592

2.3

0.1

24.9

131,432

1.4

nmf

0.7

nmf

0.7

21.7

2.1

18.3%

126,130

17.6

1.0

1.7%

-13.3%

87,310

22.8

0.0%

0.0%

88,400

nmf

0.0%

21.6%

1.880

15.2

21,780

88,277

-4.8%

2.480

4,614,707

0.0%

-47.4%

16.9%

85

0.8

-7.4%

-12.4%

0.0%

1.2

4.2

-12.8%

-7.2%

-

31.2

30.0

-15.0%

-13.3%

1.9

623,412

-29.2% -5.3%

79,087

11.4

43.9%

-10.3%

-10.0%

0.067

1.200

-47.4%

546,723

-42.0%

8.9%

-20.6%

0.097

205

-10.3%

0.0%

0.093

40

-

0.0%

-12.8%

-17.8%

3.9%

235,400

-12.9%

62,514

23.3%

165,133

15.7%

1,189,517

-37.3%

3,187,576

13.0

1.1

nmf

1.6

0.9

15.7

0.7

7.0

3.3

1.5

11.2

1.5

UAE Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers

135

DFM Index (% Chg.)

1,597 (-1.6%)

2,506 (0.0%)

ADSM Index (% Chg.)

Advance/Decline Ratio

Highest Turnover

111 105

A Arabtec Holding

15,560,228

TATamweel 95 2-Feb-12

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

2-Apr-12 Abu Dhabi SE

10,629,234

E Etisalat

2-May-12

0.8%

1.7% 0.8%

Worst Performers Turnover (AED) 65,668,533 MASQ.DFM Mashreq 23,909,998 EMAAR.DF Emaar Properties

E Emaar Properties

101

0.60

393,110,770

Market Cap. (AED '000)

113

3.8%

1.22

270,087

Turnover (AED '000)

4.1%

1.10

2.99

2,775 / 2,293 TAMWEEL Tamweel

ADSM Index 52 week High / Low

% Chg.

2.80

1,754 / 1,301 AIRARABIA Air Arabia

DFM Index 52 week High / Low

115

Commercial Bank of Dubai

59% GCEM.ADS Gulf Cement Co. 0.73 UNB.ADSM Union National Bank

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

125

Close CBD.DFM

7,240,720

D Dubai Financial Market

Close

% Chg.

74.20 3.15

EMIRATES Emirates NBD

2.79

DEYAAR.D Deyaar Development Co.

0.36

ALDAR.AD ALDAR Properties

1.14

-9.9%

-3.1%

-1.4% -1.1%

-0.9%

Dubai FM

Quotes Company Name

Close

6,905

1.20

-0.8%

1.20

1.20

0.60

0.8%

0.60

A Air Arabia

3.17

3.23

2.00

1.14

-0.9%

1.15

3.47

-0.6%

A Arkan Building Materials Co.

0.89

D Dana Gas

0.44

A Arabtec Holding A Aramex

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

2.00

-0.6%

0.0%

A Amlak Finance

1.02 1.83

2.80

10

1.46

0.60

3,170

5,289

0.76

-

-

-

-

2.00

0.0%

0.91

0.82

0.0%

0.45

4.1% -1.1%

2.80

0.37

N National Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain S Sharjah Islamic Bank

S Sorouh Real Estate Co.

1.85

0.90

-

-

7,241 2,529

371

6,469 1,266

0.46

3.63

1.35 2.26

2.67

0.20

2.80

102.00

74.70

-

-

-

4.95

3.00

-

1.02

0.80

94

8.75

4,391

-

5,445

-

-

2.97

2,045

U United Arab Bank

3.95

-

-

-

76

85

500 4,814

4.63

1.50

9.00

2.24 1.46

-13.5%

-21.8%

-12.9%

-26.7%

12

1.10

213

-6.6%

0.67

883

0.46

142.7%

-39.7%

74.20

1.26

118.2%

2.65

74.20

-

-4.4%

0.0%

-11.9%

8.57 6.98

-

-26.5%

1.88

11.20 10.75

8.90

23.9%

-17.0%

1,230 291

1.10

-28.3%

0.68

10,629 2,591

3.00

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

4,624

3.24

1.69

8.62 8.91

8.70 8.91

1.7% -

89

1.96

1.24

2.41

2.99

0.0%

nmf

3.30

U Union National Bank

0.45

1,530,000

-

20,761

1.12

U Union Properties

0.5

0.76

65,669

1.14

0.8%

10.4

3.13

3.19

0.0%

1.22

2,795,353

0.0%

1,175

250

1.13

T Tamweel

-18.9%

3.15

2.79

-

2.2%

-9.1%

1,666

2.86

0.7%

-20.7%

7.38

1.7%

1.4%

67.1% 9.3%

0.0%

8.8%

8.2%

2,904,881

-3.6%

13.2

1.8 1.0

-0.7%

-10.1%

72.5%

3.28

-23.3%

-12.2%

15,506,191

903,207 -

5.4%

34,018,623

-3.6%

2,960,000

2,966,250

19.6%

-12.2%

0.24

2.82

0.8

11.7 7.1

8.5%

0.50

1.2

68,309,050 26,730,000

-17.9%

4,100

4.8

2.3

-16.5% -2.1%

3.5%

1,817

nmf

0.4

0.6

-22.1%

0.44

1.4

1.0

9.7

32.9%

102.3%

1.8

19,187,401

-22.6%

-18.1%

1.1

-2.8%

0.67

0.53

0.6

0.5

14,445,714

7,556,137

0.2

0.9

5.7

-3.7%

8,960,000

1.1

7.1

nmf

2.2% 7.1%

5,707,386

12.7

2,056,968

-17.4% -11.8%

2,679,303

16.0%

1.63

1.49

4.50

-35.3%

-25.2%

12,588

-

nmf

54.9%

-26.9%

5.0

1,557,500

-32.6%

-27.3%

4,657,047

8.0

-42.6%

-2.1%

-5.1%

-5.4% 15.3%

2,000,000

6.5

20.4

-10.8%

-22.9% -17.1%

7,496,118

5,187,650

2.6%

22.6%

15,560

3.90

0.0%

-17.0%

-4.5%

-2.4%

-31.0%

33.3%

1.19

683

-3.1%

-31.0%

0.36

-1.4%

4.95

0.57

1.98

-2.2%

2.79

8.78

1.0

-36.2%

E Emirates NBD

N National Bank of Fujairah

11.4

0.34

1.98

N National Bank of Abu Dhabi

7,470,000

0.69

2.00

3.8%

-17.8%

2,795

-0.5%

-9.9%

0.0%

1,225

1.99

1.10

-17.8%

0.3%

0.43

2.80

D Dubai Islamic Bank

74.20

1.14

-10.7%

-11.9%

1.11

M Mashreq

0.8

2.92

-42.6%

1.13

G Gulf Cement Co.

5.7

0.71

623

PB

18,577,383

1.55

1,122

PE

15.7%

647

0.0%

-0.5% 0.0%

1.59

Trailing

Market Cap. (AED '000)

19.4%

572

1.79

-0.3%

8.64 8.91

6,274

2.90

12 mths

0.0%

3.63

3.16

E Etisalat F First Gulf Bank

5

3.55

YTD

6,851

1.12

-3.1%

3.19

78

10

23,910

0.36

3.15

248

3.45

1.83

on high

12

3.17

3.53

0.6%

% Change

Low 2.69

7,174

-

High 3.32

1.13

-

52-Week

Volume ('000) 2,081

D Dubai Financial Market

E Emaar Properties

Turnover (AED '000)

3.30

T Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.

A ALDAR Properties

Low

3.35

3.32

A Abu Dhabi National Hotels

High

0.3%

A Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank A Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

Daily % Chg.

1.1%

8.8

nmf

15.3

1.3

8.7

0.9

19.4

2,182,950

8.3

8.4

23.2%

1,220,000

13.2

10.4%

1,498,251

nmf

3,935,785

0.7

1.0

8.9

5,445,000

7,461,919

0.4

4.9

11.4

2.6

0.5

0.5

0.5

0.7

0.6

2.0

STOCKS WITH NBK CAPITAL

14

ALWATAN DAILY thursday, may 3, 2012

QATAR Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers

120

DSM Index (% Chg.)

8,666 (-0.1%)

Advance/Decline Ratio Turnover (QAR '000)

110

14,780,644

Q Qatar Telecom 2-Apr-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

14,293,883

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

2-May-12

8.59

0.5%

0.5%

26.80

Turnover (QAR) 78,128,302 BRES.DSMBarwa Real Estate Co. 18,645,655 AHCS.DSMAamal Co.

B Barwa Real Estate Co.

2-Mar-12

0.7%

0.2%

Worst Performers

IQIndustries Qatar

90 2-Feb-12

4.2%

77.80

16.48

MARK.DSMMasraf Al Rayan

Highest Turnover

100

100

465,444,959

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

% Chg.

20.00

8,892 / 8,071 KCBK.DSMAl Khalij Commercial Bank 538,626 VFQS.DSM Vodafone Qatar

DSM 52 week High / Low 111

Close

44% ERES.DSMEzdan Real Estate Co. 1.00 QIBK.DSM Qatar Islamic Bank

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

13,977,218

MMasraf Al Rayan

Close

% Chg.

26.80

-1.1%

QNBK.DSMQatar National Bank

132.90

-0.5%

CBQK.DSMThe Commercial Bank of Qatar

71.60

16.56

QNNS.DSMQatar Navigation

-0.8%

69.70

-0.4%

-0.4%

Doha SM

Quotes Company Name A Aamal Co.

Close 16.56

Daily % Chg. -0.8%

Low

16.80

16.51

1,499

26.75

18,646

56.90

13,060

16.48

C The Commercial Bank of Qatar

71.60

-0.4%

72.00

71.50

14,294

E Ezdan Real Estate Co.

20.00

4.2%

20.00

19.20

892

D Doha Bank

26.80 56.90

-1.1% -0.2%

16.50

16.31

27.05 57.80

IQIndustries Qatar

145.80

0.0%

146.50

145.80

78,128

Q Qatar Electricity & Water Co.

141.30

0.1%

142.00

140.00

10,232

Q Qatar International Islamic Bank

51.00

0.0%

51.40

50.60

1,400

Q Qatar National Bank

132.90

Q Qatar Telecom

140.20

M Masraf Al Rayan

Q Qatar Gas Transport Co. Q Qatar Islamic Bank Q Qatar Navigation

26.80 16.46

0.1%

77.80

0.7%

69.70

V Vodafone Qatar

0.2%

8.59

26.90

16.52 78.00

26.70

13,977

16.43

11,342

77.40

8,015

69.50

4,249

-0.5%

133.80

132.60

7,345

-0.1%

140.80

139.00

14,781

-0.4%

0.5%

70.40 8.63

High

90

18.01

694

% Change

Low

21.90

87

on high

0.0%

0.0%

26.80

-17.7%

-10.5%

-16.9%

0.0%

85.50

68.00

45

24.97

18.60

0.0%

22.50

-4.6%

67.00

50.00

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

53,049,934

nmf

-3.8%

17.3%

20,100,000

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

27

56.20

45.50

-9.3%

-5.6%

55

141.73

122.73

0.0%

0.0%

106

140.40

64.09

103 61

277

85.30

76.30

87.50

69.00

9.22

7.24

0.0% 0.0%

0.0%

-0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

11,761,105

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

9.3

1.8

1.9

80,190,000

10.4

3.3

14,130,000

10.4

4.7

14.0

2.4

11.1

4.7

0.0%

18,383,611

12.8

1.7

0.0%

7,982,406

11.0

0.8

7,261,986

nmf

1.1

7,719,806

0.0%

92,994,042

98.2%

0.0%

0.9

1.3

9,116,272

8.4%

118.8%

1.1

7.6

0.0%

129.50 16.45

10,428,540

1.5

12.1 9.3

148.00 18.63

5,932,800

PB

18.7

17,717,160

72

689

9,016,920

Trailing PE

0.0%

118.80

0.0%

Market Cap. (QAR '000)

0.0%

0.0%

148.50 28.10

0.0%

0.0%

534

522

12 mths

0.0%

16.06

32.55

YTD

14.00

199

228

2,367

8.50

52-Week

Volume ('000)

1,427

K Al Khalij Commercial Bank B Barwa Real Estate Co.

0.5%

Turnover (QAR '000)

High

32,077,760

0.0%

11.5

1.7

11.9

2.2

12.7

1.5

OMAN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers

120

MSM Index (% Chg.)

5,852 (0.3%)

42% OCOI.MSM Oman Cement Co.

% of stocks trading above 1yr avg. price

0.67

Advance/Decline Ratio Turnover (OMR '000)

111

6,979,175

Market Cap (OMR '000)

% Chg.

0.68

RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

6,353 / 5,419 OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co. 3,411 BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

MSM 52 week High / Low 110

Close

NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

4.9%

1.23

3.2%

1.30

0.0%

0.62

-0.2%

0.29

-0.3%

105

Highest Turnover

100

Worst Performers Turnover (OMR) 801,224 RNSS.MSMRenaissance Services 358,681 NBOB.MSMNational Bank of Oman

O Oman Cement Co.

R Raysut Cement Co.

227,802

B Bank Muscat

90 2-Feb-12

2-Mar-12

2-Apr-12

2-May-12

S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

151,913

R Renaissance Services

120,286

N National Bank of Oman

Close

% Chg.

0.62

-0.5%

0.62

-0.2%

0.29

BKMB.MSMBank Muscat

-0.3%

OTEL.MSMOman Telecommunications Co.

1.30

% Change

Trailing

RCCI.MSM Raysut Cement Co.

0.0%

1.23

3.2%

Muscat SM

Quotes Company Name

Close

B Bank Dhofar

0.444

N National Bank of Oman

0.291

O Oman Telecommunications Co.

1.304

R Renaissance Services

0.618

B Bank Muscat

O Oman Cement Co.

R Raysut Cement Co.

Daily % Chg.

High -

Low

-

Turnover (OMR '000) -

-

0.619

-0.2%

0.620

0.616

228

0.681

4.9%

0.700

0.650

801

1.200

359

1.227

-0.3%

0.0% 3.2%

-0.5%

0.292 1.304 1.233

0.621

0.290

120

1.300

65

High

-

Low

0.549

on high

-2.4%

-17.8%

0.291

-10.2%

-6.7%

-5.2%

1.041

-8.5%

0.458

-41.3%

0.572

1,177

0.681

0.416

292

1.227

0.711

0.324

50

1.425

246

1.053

12 mths

-19.1%

0.679

413

YTD

0.423

368

152

0.615

52-Week

Volume ('000)

-8.8%

-7.1%

0.0%

57.6%

0.0%

61.4%

-0.4%

Market Cap. (OMR '000)

PB

488,452

12.2

2.1

322,435

8.9

1.2

-8.8%

1,112,215

14.6%

225,324

16.3

1.6

14.4%

245,400

16.4

2.4

15.6%

13.4%

PE

978,000

-41.3%

174,334

9.0

1.3

8.8

2.0

nmf

1.0

BAHRAIN Rebased Performance

Summary

Best Performers

120

BSE Index (% Chg.)

1,151 (-0.2%)

Advance/Decline Ratio

1,406 / 1,129

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

6,505,469

726

BBK.BSE

Turnover (BHD) 149,781 BBK.BSE 47,348 #N/A

A Ahli United Bank

25,958

B BBK

2-Mar-12 2-Apr-12 S&P GCC Large/Mid Composite

#N/A

5,480

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co.

2-May-12 Bahrain SE

% Chg.

0.19

2.8%

0.62

#N/A #N/A

0.0%

#N/A

#N/A

0.39

-2.5%

#N/A

BBK

#N/A

Worst Performers

IT Ithmaar Bank

90 2-Feb-12

#N/A

Highest Turnover

101

100

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

111

110

Close

32% ITHMR.BSE Ithmaar Bank 1.00 AUB.BSE Ahli United Bank

% of stocks trading above 1 yr avg. price

1,479

B Albaraka Banking Grp.

#N/A

AUB.BSE

Close BBK

% Chg.

0.39

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

#N/A

Ahli United Bank

0.62

ITHMR.BSE Ithmaar Bank

0.19

-2.5%

#N/A #N/A

0.0%

2.8%

Quotes Company Name

Close

Daily % Chg.

A Ahli United Bank*

0.620

0.0%

A Arab Banking Corp.*

0.420

-

B Albaraka Banking Grp.* B Bahrain Islamic Bank

B Bahrain Telecommunications Co. B BBK

IN Investcorp Bank*

IT Ithmaar Bank*

N National Bank of Bahrain U United Gulf Bank

* Closing Prices, Turnover and Market Cap. in USD

0.930 0.088

0.456

0.0% -

0.0%

0.390

-2.5%

0.185

2.8%

0.260

-

797

0.545

-

-

Turnover (BHD '000)

Low

0.620

0.620

126

-

-

-

0.930 -

0.930 -

0.456

0.456

-

-

0.396

0.390

-

-

4

5

0.175

397

-

-

-

-

-

High

% Change

Low

on high

202

0.680

0.599

-

0.530

0.420

-20.8%

0.380

-

26

0.185 -

52-Week

Volume ('000)

High

-

4

12

66

1.063

0.116

0.486

0.426 797

0.857 0.082 0.390 797

2,179

0.185

0.065

-

0.424

0.260

-

0.600

0.545

-8.8%

YTD 2.8%

12 mths

Market Cap. (BHD '000)

-8.8%

3,244,804

0.0%

-26.3%

1,306,200

-6.2%

16.3%

-5.8%

656,640

0.0%

0.0%

-30.0%

637,560

-5.2%

-8.4%

466,171

-12.5%

-0.4%

-24.1%

-2.2%

-8.5%

-5.8%

0.0%

184.6%

-38.7%

-13.3%

-9.2%

-12.5%

-24.1% -8.5%

94.7%

-36.0%

943,462

Trailing PE

PB

10.3 8.0

6.2

0.4

8.3

1.3

4.5

0.6

10.1

1.7

82,691

nmf

332,029

10.4

495,386

216,986

1.3

0.8

nmf

nmf

0.8

1.4 0.9 1.0

LIFE

Help Prevent Back Pain Few people go through their entire lives without back pain, which can range from mild to severe. But there are steps you can take to help prevent it. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons mentions these activities that can help prevent back pain: • Practice a regular exercise regimen that combines aerobic exercises with those that help strengthen the abdominal and back muscles.

• Get rid of excess weight, which can strain your back.

• Don’t smoke.

• Practice good posture when you sit, stand and lift.

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

‘Green bullet’ innovations aim to feed world of 9 billion LONDON: In flood-hit fields in the Philippines, farmers are testing a hardy new variety of rice that can survive completely submerged for more than two weeks.

In Kenya’s Kibera slum, poor urban families are turning around their diets and incomes just by learning to grow vegetables in sack gardens outside their doors.

These are just a few of the kinds of innovations and initiatives that experts say will be critical if the world is to feed itself over coming decades as the population soars, cities sprawl and climate change takes its toll.

By 2050, the planet will need at least 70 percent more food than it does today to meet both an expected rise in population to 9 billion from 7 billion and changing appetites as many poor people grow richer, experts say.

“Can we feed a world of 9 billion? I would say the answer is yes,” said Robert Watson, chief scientific adviser to Britain’s Department of Environment and Rural Affairs and a former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

But doing so will require fundamental changes to unsustainable but well-entrenched policies and practices, from eating so much meat to spending trillions on agriculture and fuel subsidies, he said.

In the meantime, many hunger fighters say the answer lies in clever alterations to the way food is planted, watered, harvested, stored, transported, sold, owned and shared.

Many of those changes are already being tested in the world’s farms and fields, in laboratories and government offices, in factories and markets. Some are even speaking of the beginnings of a 21st century food revolution.

Myriad ‘Green Bullets’

Unlike the last century’s agricultural “Green Revolution”, which dramatically boosted world food production with new high-yielding crop varieties and more irrigation, this revolution must rely on myriad “green bullets” to tackle hunger. They range from persuading farmers in Africa’s drought zones to switch from water-hungry rice to hardier crops like sorghum or millet, to helping them build pestproof grain silos that allow food to be stored longer or sold when prices are higher.

With 70 percent of the world’s people expected to live in cities by 2050, finding ways to help city dwellers grow food in small urban plots or roof gardens, or group together to buy food at cheaper prices, is a major focus.

a start, some anti-hunger activists say, as would improving roads in regions like South Asia and Africa where transport delays mean produce often rots on the way to market.

Solutions to the threat of worsening hunger will vary by region, by country, sometimes even from one farm or village or apartment building to the next, experts say. Not all ideas will succeed, and scaling up those that do prove to work, as quickly as possible, will be essential.

‘No normal to go back to’

FILE - A girl takes a break from tilling a field with her family in southern Niger in this July 1, 2005 file photo. (Reuters)

Can we feed a world of 9 billion? I would say the answer is yes.

Changing farming practices by adopting more waterconserving drip irrigation or planting crops amid fertilizing trees, as is now happening throughout Africa, will also be key. So will cutting the at least 30 percent of the world’s

food supply eaten by pests, spoiled on the way to market or thrown away unused from plates and supermarkets.

Simply getting supermarkets to stop offering two-for-one specials - which can encourage people to overbuy - would be

Many innovations focus on easing the adverse effects of climate change on food production.

While warmer weather and growing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could spur plant growth and food production in some regions – and open a few northern reaches of the world to farming – many more regions are expected to see worsening losses from droughts, floods, storms, rising sea levels and higher temperatures that can cause crop yields to drop.

“It used to be there was an extreme weather event here or there but we knew that in a year or so things would go back to normal,” said Lester Brown, a food security and sustainability expert, and president of the US-based Earth Policy Institute.

“Now there is no normal to go back to.”

That’s why scientists from Bangladesh to Tanzania are developing new resilient varieties of maize, wheat, rice and other crops that can survive underwater, or with very little rain, or even both extremes in the same season, and still produce a reliable crop.

Other innovators are focusing on the effects of growing water scarcity.

In villages where glacier-fed streams are set to become more irregular or disappear in the years ahead, or where flooding from heavy rain is quickly followed by drought, communities are learning to harvest and store water to ensure supplies throughout the year.

They are also developing water-conserving irrigation methods to make what they have available last. Will all such innovations be enough to feed 9 billion people by 2050?

Possibly, say experts, but success will depend on making enough key changes fast enough. In addition to on-theground solutions, those changes will need to include major policy shifts – including potentially a ban on turning grain into biofuel or limits on food speculation. -Reuters

Silkworms and squid GAVI man’s mission to ‘immunize every kid on earth’ inspire smart materials

LONDON: Car panels made of silkworm cocoons, clothing that can camouflage the wearer at the flick of a switch and a “smart” shirt with a phone and power source embedded in the fabric.

Scientists, some with funding from the US Air Force, have made breakthroughs that could eventually make all this reality.

Research published on Wednesday reveals advances in materials science that could transform industries struggling with the rising cost and scarcity of raw materials and save lives in post-conflict countries still clearing minefields.

In a study published in the Royal Society journal Interface, Oxford University researchers David Porter and Fujia Chen examine the structure of silkworm cocoons, which are extremely light and tough, with properties that could inspire advanced materials for use in protective helmets and light-weight armor.

Their research could lead to lightweight armor that dissipates rather than deflects the particular components of a blast that do the most damage to the human body - much like crumple zones in modern cars or sound-absorbing sonar tiles that make submarines harder to detect.

Even more tantalizing from an economic standpoint, Porter and Chen’s research, which was funded by a grant from the US Air Force, could point to a new material for fabricating car panels in some of the fastest-growing car markets - China and India.

Fritz Vollrath, who heads the Oxford research group, said supplies of cocoons are plentiful. “Present raw silk market production globally is half a million tons annually.”

Most of that is boiled and unraveled for textiles, but Vollrath says there are potential applications for the cocoons themselves, particularly in the developing world and potentially in car panels that are very tough and totally sustainable. The researchers are working on carbon footprint calculations but Vollrath notes that the production process is probably carbon neutral, involving a mulberry bush and worms that, unlike cattle, don’t emit any methane.

Further research is needed. Porter said the next stage will be to find a way to replicate the structures found in the cocoons or use them as a base material impregnated with gels as a way of developing a scalable production process.

Now you see me, now you don’t

Scientists have also created artificial muscles in the laboratory that mimic the color-changing ability of squid and zebrafish and could eventually be used in camouflaging ‘smart clothes’.

Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK created soft and stretchy artificial muscles based on specialist cells called ‘chromatophores’ that are found in some fish and reptiles. They contain pigments which give these animals the ability to change color.

The Bristol scientists say their camouflaging technology could also be used to regulate the temperature of the wearer at the flick of a switch.

Zebrafish can pump pigmented fluid from under their skin to the skin’s surface - a process Rossiter and his colleagues have been able to mimic in artificial muscles in the lab.

“The application of this biomimetic pumping action to thermoregulation is most easily understood by considering smart clothing or a ‘second skin’ which contains heat-emitting fluid,” Rossiter told Reuters.

“When the wearer is cold, the fluid is kept close to the skin. When the wearer becomes hot, the fluid is translocated to the outside of the ‘second skin’ where the heat energy is radiated away from the body.”

Rossiter said his group will be looking for more potential applications, from artificial skins for human-interacting robots, to new electronic devices.

Wired for sound

High-tech clothing is an area that researchers from the University of Exeter hope to exploit with findings unveiled in the last week in the journal Advanced Materials. They have made the “most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity”.

The material, which is based on the revolutionary substance graphene, a form of carbon just one atom thick but 100 times stronger than steel, could accelerate the creation of clothing with embedded devices like mobile phones and MP3 players. -Reuters

ACCRA: Seth Berkley was a young epidemiologist working for the US State Department when he saw the graves left behind after measles swept through refugee camps in Sudan during the 1985 famine. “You’d see little shallow graves, lined up, one after the other - babies. That’s what happens when measles goes through a nutritionally deficient community. It’s a horrible disease and it spreads incredibly efficiently,” he says.

Now, as chief executive of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Berkley’s specialism is vaccinology and he is in Africa again, working to introduce routine childhood immunizations which protect most people in the rich world.

Here in Ghana, there have been no deaths from measles since 2003, and no cases of polio, another vaccine-preventable disease, since 2008. But Berkley’s sights are set high. His interim goal with GAVI is to save another 4 million lives by 2015, and his big mission is for the global health community to get vac-

cines against every preventable disease to every child who needs protecting.

“I wish we could have state-of-the-art hospitals in every corner of the earth...but realistically it’s going to be a while before that can happen,” he said in an interview. “But we can immunize every kid on earth, and we can prevent these diseases. It’s only a matter of political will, a little bit of money and some systems to do it.” GAVI, set up in 2000, uses private and government donor backing to negotiate down vaccine prices for the developing world and then bulk-buy and deliver them to countries whose populations need them most.

In its first decade, GAVI says it has already financed Immunization that has prevented more than 5.5 million premature deaths from common but lifethreatening diseases.

After teetering on the brink of a funding crisis in late 2010, the group held a pledging conference in London last June and enlisted the help of billionaire

philanthropist Bill Gates and the British government to squeeze other donors hard. The result was $4.3 billion in pledges, substantially more than the $3.7 billion GAVI had asked for and enough to keep the alliance’s programs in more than 70 of the world’s poorest countries funded until 2016.

Berkley says GAVI’s success lies in the sheer size of the market it has created, making it hard for pharmaceutical companies to ignore.

“The concept of GAVI was to create a market for the entire developing world. When we’re in negotiations with companies, it’s not just about the Togo market or the Ghanaian market, it’s about the entire market,” Berkley says. “Our birth cohort is 75 million children. That’s a big market.”

Asked about fears that a focus on Immunization might take attention and funds away from other areas of health, such as building hospitals and improving access to treatment, Berkley says Immunization is simple, cheap and very cost-effective. -Reuters

‘Iceman’ mummy holds world’s oldest blood cells ROME: Scientists examining the remains of “Otzi,” Italy’s prehistoric iceman who roamed the Alps some 5,300 years ago, said on Thursday they have isolated what are believed to be the oldest traces of human blood ever found.

The German and Italian scientists said they used an atomic force microscope to examine tissue sections from a wound caused by an arrow that killed the Copper Age man, who was found frozen in a glacier, and from a laceration on his right hand.

“They really looked similar to modern-day blood samples,” said Professor Albert Zink, 46, the German head of the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman at the European Academy in Bolzano, the capital of Italy’s German-speaking Alto-Adige region.

“So far, this is the clearest evidence of the oldest blood cells,” he said by telephone, adding that the new technique might now be used to examine mummies from Egypt.

The studies were carried out in conjunction with the Center for Smart Interfaces at Darmstadt Technical University in Germany and the Center for Nano Sciences in Munich.

Over the last two decades, scientists have collected data from the stomach, bowels and teeth of the well-preserved man, who was found protruding out of a glacier by German climbers in 1991 in the Tyrolean Alps on the Austrian-Italian border.

Otzi, whose nickname derives from the German word for the area where he was found, had brown hair and type-O blood and was believed to be 45 when he was felled by an arrow while climbing the high mountains some 5,300 years ago.

The nanotechnology instrument used by Zink and his team scans the surface of the tissue sections using a very fine probe, the scientists said in a summary of their report. As the probe moves over the surface, sensors measure every tiny deflection of the probe, line by line and point by point, building up a three-dimensional image.

Red Doughnut Cells

Zink, an anthropologist, said the red blood cells his team found had a classic doughnut shape seen in healthy people today.

“It is very interesting to see that the red blood cells can last for such a long time,” he said.

“This will also open up possibilities for forensic

FILE - An undated handout file photo shows “Otzi”, Italy’s prehistoric iceman. (Reuters)

science and may help lead to a more precise determination of the age of blood spots in crime investigations,” he added. Earlier this year, the scientists made the first complete genome-sequencing on Otzi, determining that the man had a predisposition for cardiovascular diseases and brown eyes that betrayed possible near-Eastern origins.

Otzi had lactose intolerance that was common among Neolithic agrarian societies and was also the first-known carrier of Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread by ticks.

Examination of the wound where the arrow entered Otzi’s back identified fibrin, a protein involved in the clotting of blood, a summary of the report said.

Because fibrin is present in fresh wounds and then decays, this appears to show that the hunter died

quickly rather than after a few days as had been previously thought, it said.

Zink carried out his research with Marek Janko and Robert Stark, professors of material sciences at the Center for Nano Sciences in Munich and Italian colleagues in Bolzano.

To be certain that the specimens they were examining were blood and not pollen, the scientists used a second analytical method known as the Raman spectroscopy method. In that method, a laser beam illuminates a tissue sample and analysis of the spectrum of the scattered light permits the identification of various molecules.

Zink said he and his colleagues hope to carry out further analysis on Otzi’s enzymes, proteins and immune system. -Reuters

16

ALWATAN DAILY

CULTURE

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012

Syria’s archaeological treasures victim of shelling, chaos engulfing country ‘Each incident of destruction is like burning a page in the book of history of mankind’

BEIRUT: On its towering hilltop perch, the Krak des Chevaliers, one of the world’s best preserved Crusader castles, held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin nearly 900 years ago. It was lauded by Lawrence of Arabia for its beauty and has been one of the crown jewels of Syria’s tourism. But it has fallen victim to the chaos of Syria’s uprising and the crackdown against it by President Bashar Assad’s regime. Recently, gunmen broke into the castle, threw out the staff and began excavations to loot the site, says Bassam Jammous, general director of the Antiquities and Museum Department in Damascus.

Syria’s turmoil is threatening the country’s rich archaeological heritage, experts warn.

Some of the country’s most significant sites have been caught in the crossfire in battles between regime forces and rebels. Others have been turned into military bases, raising archaeologists’ fears of damage. Regime shelling of neighborhoods where the opposition is holed up has smashed historic mosques, churches and souks, or markets. Looters have stolen artifacts from excavations and museums.

In one of the most egregious examples, shells thudded into the walls of the 12th century Al-Madeeq Citadel, raising flames and columns of smoke as regime forces battled with rebels in March. The bombardment punched holes in the walls, according to online footage of the fighting.

Local activists said regime forces carried out the assault

and afterward moved tanks into the hilltop castle. Later footage showed bulldozers knocking through part of the walls to create an entrance.

The government and opposition have traded blame for damage and looting of sites around the country. But a group of European and Syrian archaeologists tracking the threats through witness reports from the ground says that in several cases, government forces have directly hit historic sites and either participated in or turned a blind eye to looting.

“We have facts showing that the government is acting directly against the country’s historical heritage,” said Rodrigo Martin, a Spanish archaeologist who has led past research missions inside Syria.

What’s happening is reminiscent of Iraq’s chaos in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s 2003 fall, when Baghdad’s major museum was looted, and of Egypt, where looting has reportedly increased at archaeological sites around the country in the turmoil since longtime President Hosni Mubarak was toppled last year.

An important crossroads, Syria’s rich archaeological treasures extend over millennia. The capital, Damascus, is often claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Archaeologists have uncovered cities dating back 5,000 years to the early Bronze Age, and the country is dotted with “tells,” or hills, that likely hide more such cities, still not excavated. A series of cultures have left their mark - from Biblical civilizations, Alexander the Great’s successors and the Romans to Christian Crusaders and Muslim kingdoms.

“What we know of Syrian heritage has already provided a huge quantity of information, but we can safely say that the part that has not yet been studied is even bigger,” said Martin. Each incident of destruction “is like burning a page in the book of history of mankind.” -AP

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 21, 2012 file image made from amateur video and released by Ugarit News, purports to show a castle being shelled in Hama, Syria. The chaos from Syria’s yearlong revolt is destroying some of the country’s most important archaeological sites, and horrified experts warn that some of the Middle East’s most precious sites are at risk of destruction and looting.

Numbers of Muslims, Munch’s ‘The Scream’ may Mormons rising sharply: Report fetch $80M at NYC auction

FILE - A woman attends Friday prayers in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, April 13, 2012. (AP)

LONDON: American Muslims grew in number over the past decade, outnumbering Jews for the first time in most of the Midwest and part of the South, while most mainline churches lost adherents, according to a census of American religions released on Tuesday.

The number of Muslim adherents rose to 2.6 million in 2010 from 1 million in 2000, fueled by immigration and conversions, said Dale Jones, a researcher who worked on the study by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.

“Christians are the largest group in every state, but some of the things we found interesting was the growth of the Mormons, who reported the largest numerical gain in 26 states,” said Jones, who presented the report to a conference in Chicago.

The number of Mormons, whose Utah-based church’s formal name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, grew by 45 percent to 6.1 million in 2010, according to the census, which asked 236 religions to count their own adherents. Family members of adherents were generally included in the numbers.

Roughly 55 percent of Americans attend services with enough regularity to be counted, according to the data. By comparison, most surveys estimate roughly 85 percent of Americans profess religious faith, though they may not attend services.

Some 158 million Americans were classified as “unclaimed” by any religion in the survey.

Among major religions, the census found the num-

ber of Catholics, the largest single faith, declined 5 percent to 58.9 million during the decade.

“Catholics had the largest numeric decline,” including big losses in Maine where a priest abuse scandal came to light, Jones said. In the New England region, Catholic funerals are outnumbering baptisms, he added.

Among the other largest US faiths, adherents to the Southern Baptist Convention held steady at 19.9 million over the decade, the United Methodist Church lost 4 percent to 9.9 million adherents, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America lost 18 percent to 4.2 million, and the Episcopal Church lost 15 percent of its adherents to 1.95 million.

Evangelical protestant congregations continued to grow, though slowly, to 50 million adherents. Most of the growth, surprisingly, was in urban areas and the vast majority of expanding congregations have fewer than 100 members and are not large mega churches, Jones said.

Jones said Buddhists made strong gains in the Rocky Mountain states, where the number of temples and congregations increased markedly. The total number of Buddhist adherents in the United States was nearly 1 million. There was no estimate in 2000.

“Based on some of the temple names, I think some of the upscale yuppie types are looking for something different than the church they grew up in,” Jones said.

-Reuters

Ireland’s Catholic leader defends role in coverup, says he won’t quit

DUBLIN: The leader of Ireland’s 4 million Catholics said Wednesday he wouldn’t resign after a BBC documentary accused him of helping to cover up 1970s child abuse committed by a pedophile priest who went on to assault scores of other children for decades.

Cardinal Sean Brady said the documentary exaggerated his role in his 1975 interviews of two teenage boys abused by Brendan Smyth. He said he gave his report to his bishop, who in turn had responsibility to tell Smyth’s religious order leaders. They, not he, had the power to act and failed to do so, he said. “I feel betrayed that those who had the authority in the church to stop Brendan Smyth failed to act on the evidence I gave them. However, I also accept that I was part of an unhelpful culture of deference and silence in society, and the church, which thankfully is now a thing of the past,” Brady said.

Brady’s statement did not address why nobody in the church thought to call the police. Nor did not mention that he, as the canon lawyer in the two interviews, had both

NEW YORK: One of the art world’s most recognizable images - Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” - could sell for $80 million or more when it is auctioned at Sotheby’s on Wednesday.

The 1895 painting of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked, blood-red sky has become a modern symbol for human anxiety, popularized in movies and plastered on everything from mugs to Halloween masks to T-shirts.

It is one of four versions created by the Norwegian expressionist painter. Three are in Norwegian museums; the one at Sotheby’s is the only one left in private hands. It is being sold by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father was a friend and patron of the artist.

A price tag of $80 million would be among the highest-ever for an artwork.

The record is $106.5 million for Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust,” sold in 2010 by Christie’s in New York.

The image has become part of pop culture, “used by everyone from Warhol to Hollywood to cartoons to teacups and t-shirts to whatever else,” said Michael Frahm of the London-based art advisory service firm Frahm Ltd. “Together with the Mona Lisa, it’s the most famous and recognized image in art history,” he added.

Sotheby’s said its pastel-on-board version of “The Scream” is the most colorful and vibrant of the four and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, detailing the work’s inspiration.

In the poem, Munch described himself “shivering with anxiety” and said he felt “the great scream in nature.”

Proceeds from the sale will go for the establishment of a new museum, art center and hotel in Hvitsten, Norway, where Olsen’s father and Munch were neighbors.

“I have lived with this work all my life, and its power and energy have only increased with time,” Olsen said in February. “Now, however, I feel the moment has come to offer the rest of the world a chance to own and appreciate this remarkable work.”

Frahm predicted that “we’re going to see a new world record for a piece sold at auction.” He said the sale will show that

boys sign oaths of secrecy promising not to tell anyone outside the church of the abuse they had suffered. He previously has argued that the oaths were designed to protect the rights of the children, not the reputation of the church.

One of those victims, Brendan Boland, told the BBC that Brady and two other priests involved in gathering his 1975 testimony made his father wait outside the room. Boland, aged 14 at the time, said he told the priests the names and addresses of five other boys and girls that were being sexually assaulted by Smyth. The BBC interviewed all five and reported that some continued to be assaulted into the 1980s, and that their parents never received any message of warning from the church. Smyth, who also allegedly abused dozens of children in the US states of Rhode Island and North Dakota, was finally imprisoned in the British territory of Northern Ireland in 1994 after his conviction for molesting four children in the same Belfast family. The mishandling of his case triggered the collapse of the Irish government that year. Smyth died in 1997. -AP

great quality artworks can still come up for sale; that the top end of the market is driving further away from the rest of the of the market and that it’s a global market now where Asia and the Middle East are playing a more significant role than Europe and America.

But figuring out who might buy it trickier. “This could really be someone who just wants to own the most iconic piece of art to come up at auction ever,” Frahm said, adding that it could be the Qatari royal family, one of the world’s biggest art buyers.

The director of the National Museum in Oslo, Audun Eckhoff, says Norwegian

authorities approved the Munch sale since the other versions of the composition are in Norwegian museums. One version is owned by the National Museum and two others by the Munch Museum, also in Oslo. Sotheby’s said a total of eight works have sold for $80 million or more at auction.

Only two other works besides Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust” have sold for more than $100 million at auction. Those are Picasso’s “Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice)” for $104.1 million in 2004 and Alberto Giacometti’s “Walking Man I” for $104.3 million in 2010. -AP

FILE - This undated photo provided by Sotheby’s shows “The Scream” by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. (AP)

Museum of Contemporary Art honors Annie Leibovitz BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.: Annie Leibovitz has photographed practically every celebrity, rock star and politician over the past four decades, but when she was honored by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, she showed a photograph of Niagara Falls.

Leibovitz received the 7th MOCA Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts Tuesday at a private luncheon at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills. She showed the NiagaraFalls image and told a story about a recent trip there with her children featured in her new book, “Pilgrimage.” She said the MOCA honor “means a lot to me.” “This award has been given to a great group of women, very distinguished company,” she said, noting that artist Barbara Kruger was among the guests Tuesday.

“And here I am in California. This is where I learned to be a photographer.”

Leibovitz, 62, started shooting for Rolling Stone magazine in 1970 while still a student at the San Francisco Art Institute. She went on to work for Vanity Fair and Vogue and has released several books of her photographs. Her “Pilgrimage” collection is currently on view

at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Some of her most iconic images include a naked John Lennon curled around clothed Yoko Ono and Demi Moore nude and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Ever humble, Leibovitz snapped photos, Facebookstyle, with fans’ pocket cameras before accepting her award from her friend Maria Shriver.

In one of her rare public appearances since filing for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger last summer, Shriver described Leibovitz as a living legend and “a woman of brilliance.”

“I’m here out of friendship for her, but really out of respect for the way she has lived her extraordinary life,” Shriver said. “You have chosen (to recognize) a woman who has had an incredible effect not just on the arts, not just on fashion, not just on photography, not just on women, but on all of us.” Actresses Marisa Tomei, Rosanna Arquette and Daphne Zuniga were among the celebrities at the luncheon that benefited MOCA’s educational programs. A group of young students participating in Contemporary Art Start also attended the event. -AP

ALWATAN DAILY

entertainment Song Of The Day

Fahad AlSabah Staff Writer

Song: Skinny Love (The Voice Performance) Artist: Lindsey Pavao Album: Skinny Love (The Voice Performance) - Single Genre: Alternative In short: Lindsey Pavao stood out during the blind auctions with her unique rendition of Trey Songz’s “Say Aah” and has kept delivering great performances one by the other week after week. “Skinny Love” was her latest and last performance on The Voice, as the votes weren’t in her favor, but she’s left the show with a bang as strong as the one she started it with, taking Bon Iver’s hit to new heights.

To listen to the song visit www.alwatandaily.com E-mail your feedback to falsabah@alwatandaily.com

The Buzz Oscars venue christened The Dolby Theater When Hollywood rolls out the red carpet in 2013 for filmdom’s Academy Awards, the venue will be the same but it will be called The Dolby Theater. Audio company Dolby Laboratories said on Tuesday that it had purchased naming rights for the 3,400-seat theater that up until this year had carried the name of iconic film company, Kodak. CIM Group, which owns the theater and adjacent hotel and shopping complex, said Dolby had signed a contract that would be good through 2033. “The Academy’s Board of Governors believes that the home for our awards is in Hollywood,” Academy President Tom Sherak said in a statement. CIM group said it had signed a 20-year contract with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to keep the Oscars at the theater. The theater carried Kodak’s name from 2001 when it opened. Eastman Kodak Co withdrew from naming rights after filing for bankruptcy protection last January. Financial terms for the deal with Dolby were not disclosed. -Reuters

Two and a Half Men co-creator steps down There’s been another “Two and a Half Men” shakeup - but this one has nothing to do with volatile cast members. Lee Aronsohn, who created the hit CBS series with Chuck Lorre, is stepping down as the series’ showrunner, an individual with knowledge of the decision confirms to TheWrap. Aronsohn, who has been with the series for nine years, is in final negotiations to remain on as an executive consultant for the show. No reason was given for Aronsohn’s decision. Don Reo and Jim Patterson, who began serving as executive producers for the series in 2011, in time for Ashton Kutcher’s replacement of series star Charlie Sheen, are in final talks to become co-show runners with Lorre. (Patterson has been involved with the series in a variety of capacities since 2005.) “Two and a Half Men” executive producer Eddie Gorodetsky is expected to remain on the series, as well as to maintain his duties as consulting producer on Lorre’s other hit series, “The Big Bang Theory.” -Reuters

Structure OK after blaze at Tyler Perry’s studios The structure of a large building at filmmaker Tyler Perry’s Atlanta studio is fine after part of it caught fire, sending flames into the night sky, authorities said. There were no reports of injuries from the blaze that began shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday and burned through the building’s exterior surface, Atlanta Fire Capt. Jolyon Bundrige said. “It was all in flames,” Dorothy Ware, who lives in a high-rise apartment next door to the studio complex, told The Atlanta JournalConstitution. Flames shot as high as nearby trees, which are about as high as a six-story building,Ware said. “The building started popping,” Ware said. “Whatever the fire was hitting, was blowing up. There were plenty of sparks coming over here where we are.” More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, and they were able to limit the damage because the building is broken up into sections, Bundrige told Atlanta station WSB-TV. The cause of the four-alarm blaze and the amount of damage to the complex was not immediately known. -AP

Jessica Simpson gives birth to a baby girl The Jessica Simpson baby watch is finally over. Simpson gave birth to a daughter named Maxwell Drew Johnson in Los Angeles on Tuesday, said publicist Lauren Auslander. Maxwell weighed 9 lbs. 13 ounces. Since announcing her pregnancy last Halloween over Twitter, Simpson posed nude for the cover of Elle magazine, shared her cravings like salted cantaloupe and pop tarts and joked about her excess of amniotic fluid on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Maxwell is the first child for 31-year-old Simpson and her 32-year-old fiancé Eric Johnson, a former NFL player. -AP

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

Tony nominations spread out but Once leads NEWYORK: There was something for virtually everyone to smile about on Broadway on Tuesday after 30 of 37 shows this season got at least one Tony Award nomination. The folks at “Once” had the most reason to celebrate tonight at their working bar on stage.

The musical based on the low-budget 2006 film about an unlikely romance between a Czech flower seller and an Irish street musician in Dublin earned a leading 11 nominations, including nods for best musical, for both its lead actors, its book, lighting, sound, choreography and its set, which offers the audience real drinks before the show in a replica pub. “‘Once’ constantly surprises me. I think it’s the power of the music and the storytelling that people connect with,” said John Tiffany, who was nominated for best director of a musical. Two other big winners were Disney and the Gershwin estate: Two musicals using George and Ira Gershwin songs - “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” and “Nice Work If You Can Get It” - each got 10 nominations.

And “Peter and the Starcatcher,” a play about the origins of Peter Pan co-produced

by Disney Theatrical Productions earned nine nominations; while Disney’s energetic song-and-dance musical “Newsies” got eight nods.

The fall revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” got eight nominations, setting up a face-off in the best revival category with “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” which Sondheim had criticized for messing with a classic.

The nominations, picked by 22 theatre professionals, were announced at 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday by Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons. The actual awards will be broadcast on CBS from the Beacon Theatre on June 10.

In this undated image released by Richard Kornberg & Associates, Steve Kazee, left, and Cristin Milioti are shown in a scene from “Once,” performing at the New York Theatre Workshop in New York. (AP)

Neil Patrick Harris, the star of “How I Met Your Mother,” will be the host.

Broadway’s most expensive show, the $75 million “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” got only two nominations, for best scenic design and costume. The show, a former punch-line, is now a top-earning hit and a spokesman shrugged off the snub.

“Even without a nomination for best musical, we can assure you that the audiences this week will love the show just as much as they did last week,” Rick Miramontez said.

The best new play category is very strong and includes “Clybourne Park” by Bruce Norris, “Other Desert Cities” by Jon Robin

Baitz, “Peter and the Starcatcher” by Rick Elice, and David Ives’ “Venus in Fur.” In the musical revival category, “Follies” and “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” will compete against two Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice works: “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Evita.”

“Once,” with songs by Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard, was originally a lowbudget movie made for about $150,000. The film earned $20 million, thanks in part to an original score that included the sublime, 2007 Oscar-winning song, “Falling Slowly.” The musical is a study in how to beautifully adapt a movie to the stage.

“Once” earned its stars, Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti, best actor nominations. It also earned nods for best scenic design, best book of a musical and Elizabeth A. Davis got a nomination for an actress in a featured role.

The best leading actor in a play Tony will pit James Corden from the British import “One Man, Two Guvnors,” Philip Seymour Hoffman from Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” James Earl Jones from “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man,” Frank Langella from “Man and Boy” and John Lithgow of “The Columnist.”

“I expect to go out with the gang tonight, which I don’t do very often because this play is so damned exhausting,” Lithgow said, laughing. “And I intend to buy all the drinks.

That’s pretty unusual, too. I am a Scotsman, after all.”

The battle in the female leading actress play category will be fierce, with competitors including Arianda, Tracie Bennett of “End of the Rainbow,” Linda Lavin of “The Lyons,” Cynthia Nixon in “Wit” and Channing.

Lavin, the Golden Globe- and Tony Award-winning actress who starred in the long-running TV sit-com “Alice,” was literally in the air when she learned of her nomination. She was flying back from her home in Wilmington, N.C., after seeing a play at her 50-seat Red Barn Studio Theatre.

“I don’t think I’ve hit the ground yet,” she said. “I’m sitting in my apartment, having a bowl of soup. It’s been quite a whirlwind morning. I just hope I don’t die from it. I’m feeling very, very heightened right now.”

Peters will get at least one honor: She’s to receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which honors someone from the theater community who has helped a charity. -AP

Colleagues, friends gather to honor Mike Wallace NEW YORK: Chris Wallace turned and blew a kiss to a giant portrait of his father, “60 Minutes” journalist Mike Wallace, after memorializing him Tuesday as “the best journalist I have ever known.”

The Fox News anchor also told of when his father tried to steal an interview from him and, when his infuriated son called to confront him, paused when told he had to choose between Chris Wallace and Chris Rock. Mike Wallace didn’t take the interview, but handed if off to Ed Bradley of “60 Minutes” instead.

Former colleagues, friends and family members swapped stories about Wallace in an auditorium a few blocks from where he worked, before an audience that included GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Donald Trump and journalism luminaries like Roger Ailes and Carl Bernstein. The public face of TV’s most enduring newsmagazine for nearly four decades, Mike Wallace died at age 93 on April 7.

Some of the stories were flattering, some less so. And despite the somber purpose of remembering the recently deceased, some were hilarious.

“Let’s be honest, at some point in time not just Morley (Safer), not just Ed (Bradley), many people in this room were not speaking to my father,” Chris Wallace said.

After years of a tense relationship, caused in part by Chris trying to escape his father’s giant shadow, his son recalled how Mike called him every day to see how he was doing when Chris was going through a divorce. “That’s how we became father and son,” he said.

As dementia began stripping away his intellect in his final years, “what remained of Mike Wallace was a sweet and gentle man,” he said. Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes” said Wallace was instrumental in bringing him onto the show, but that didn’t mean he was immune to his competitiveness. Some colleagues once asked Kroft whether he knew that Wallace tried to steal one of Kroft’s earliest scoops, a 1992 interview with Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton about the future president’s alleged infidelities.

Kroft said no, “but I just assumed it.”

“There was a greatness to him,” he said,

In this image released by CBS, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, and his wife, Ann, attend the CBS News memorial service for Mike Wallace at Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP)

“and besides the fact that he was a real pain in the ass, you knew that deep down you were never going to get a chance to be around someone like Mike.”

Former colleague Safer had his own complicated relationship with Wallace - the two once didn’t speak for a year for reasons Safer no longer remembers - but remembered him fondly as a man “who did not merely live life.

He attacked it.”

Safer recalled when his colleagues, as a

Atmosphere at the Mike Wallace Memorial at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on May 1, 2012 in New York City. (AFP)

practical joke, composed a fake letter from a sperm bank seeking a donation from Wallace to join the Nobel prize winners and other notables who had made their own contributions.

Wallace proudly showed the letter around the office, he recalled.

“It took an hour to convince him he had been had,” Safer said.

Speakers poked fun at Wallace’s vanity, and how he relished the attention when in 2004 an altercation with a police officer over

Wallace’s double-parked car led to tabloid headlines. He would have loved Tuesday’s memorial at the Time Warner Center, and would have asked for a crowd count “to see if more people showed up for his memorial than showed up for (“60 Minutes” founding executive producer Don) Hewitt’s,” said Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and current executive producer of “60 Minutes.”

“He loved being in the spotlight,” Kroft said. “In some ways, it was like his drug.”-AP

Judge to consider oversight of Zsa Zsa Gabor LOS ANGELES: Attorneys for Zsa Zsa Gabor’s daughter and husband are scheduled to appear for the first time before a judge who is considering whether the ailing actress needs independent oversight of her finances and medical care.

Wednesday’s hearing is the first time attorneys for the two sides will argue their case before Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz, who is being asked by Gabor’s daughter to impose a conservatorship.

Constance Francesca Hilton petitioned to be named her mother’s conservator in March, but Gabor’s husband Fred-

Khloe & Lamar not canceled, just taking a break -Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom either have some very good or very disappointing news, depending on one’s perspective. The stars of E!’s reality show offering “Khloe & Lamar” aren’t abandoning their show, as earlier reports have asserted. They are, however, taking a little time-out.

Kardashian and Odom took a moment at E!’s upfront presentation to address reports that the show’s second season - which wrapped Sunday - would be its last. According to the pair, they are taking an indefinite break from things in order to address other obligations, whether they be familial or professional. (Of course, with the Kardashians, the lines between personal and professional lines are pretty thoroughly blurred.) -Reuters

17

FILE - In this 1978 file photo, Hungarian-born American actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is shown. (AP)

eric von Anhalt wants the request denied. An independent attorney has already logged at least 89 hours evaluating the case to provide Goetz with information for her ruling.

Hilton claims von Anhalt is keeping her mother heavily sedated and may be mismanaging her money, accusations that Gabor’s husband of 25 years vehemently denies. In a court filing, he claims that Hilton has created financial problems for Gabor in the past and that he is providing the best possible care.

Gabor, who is confined to her bed and has been in poor health for months, will not attend the hearing.

A doctor who has evaluated her wrote in a court filing that Gabor’s well-being is closely tied to her remaining in a familiar environment.

“Continued access to familiar persons and environment are crucial to her comfort and maintenance of her continued health,” Dr. Debra Judelson wrote in a report submitted last month.

“She is aware of her own bedroom and is calm and well cared for by husband with assistance of two aides,” Judelson wrote.

Hilton, who is seeking access to medical and financial information that von Anhalt has refused to give her, is open to having a third-party act as her conservator, her attorney Kenneth Kossoff has said. Von Anhalt has stated in court filings that he should be appointed conservator if Goetz rules one is necessary.

Gabor, a Hungarian-born sexpot of the 1950s and 1960s, has been in declining health and didn’t make an appearance at a February birthday party hosted at her mansion. -AP

In this April 23, 2012 photo released by ABC, actor Jaleel White, left, and his partner Kym Johnson perform on the celebrity dance competition series, “Dancing with the Stars,” in Los Angeles. Jaleel White can cross dance rehearsals off his to-do list: The 35-year-old actor is done with “Dancing With the Stars.” White was eliminated from the hit ABC dance-off Tuesday after losing the show’s “final dance duel” to fellow competitor Roshon Fegan. The two actors were at the bottom of the leader board coming into the episode after judge’s scores and viewer votes were tallied. White and Fegan faced off with a simultaneous rumba, and the judges deemed Fegan the winner. (AP)

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ALWATAN DAILY

AROUND TOWN / TIME OUT

THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012

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

Feature o f t h e d a y

graffiti

moderately confused

Eight kilogram tumor removed from patient’s abdomen at Dar Al Shifa Hospital

KUWAIT: Dar Al Shifa Hospital announced that its surgical team, under the leadership of Dr. Abdullah Al-Haddad, has successfully completed an operation where an abnormally large tumor had been removed from a patient’s abdomen.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Haddad, Specialist of General Surgery and Colon and Rectum surgery at Dar Al Shifa Hospital commented, “The patient suffered from bloating and severe abdominal pain, so after conducting a CT scan, we found a tumor that had developed in the area next to the small intestine.”

He continued, “We managed to remove the tumor weighing approximately eight kilograms and measured around 28 centimeters.

The operation lasted for an hour and a half after which the patient recovered quickly and was released on the fourth day post-surgery.”

Amongst the key factors that contributed to the success of this operation and considered rare in kind were the excellent caliber of the general surgery team at Dar Al Shifa, along with being equipped with the most advanced in medical technologies.

Sudoku

Elementary

Dr. Abdullah Al-Haddad received his fellowship in colon and rectum surgery and completed the board examination for both the American and Canadian Bard of

Intermediate

Advanced

Surgery and the American Board of Colon Rectal Surgery. He was also granted the position of voluntary assistant professor at the University of Miami, USA.

Month a t a g l a n c e

General A n n o u n c e m e n t s Bread baking course April 19- May 10/ 6 p.m.-8 p.m. /TIES Center: TIES Ladies Club invites all ladies the unique course of preparing the ancient traditional food “The Bread Baking”. Baking of different kinds of breads will be demonstrated including Old English Toast, Italian Bread Stick, Strawberry Sweet Heart and many more.

For more information please contact us on 97228860/2523015/6 or emailinfo@tiescenter.net.

Aim high Golden era club May 11 and 25/ 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. / Rumaithiya: Golden Era Club presents ‘The Eight Fold Path to Yoga’. Yoga here! Yoga there! Yoga everywhere! Yet, few comprehend Yoga’s true nature! Join Yoga Guru - Aacharya Shashikala Pushkarna - on this unique journey to the true ‘union’ between the mind, body and spirit. All seniors (60+) are cordially invited. Venue- House #34, next to Abu-Tammam Intermediate School for Boys, Sate Alhusari St., Block 2, Rumaithiya. For registration call 97172788/ 66208183 or drop a line to goldenera60@yahoo.com

Annual speech contest May 5/ 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. /AIS: The Annual Inter-Gavel Club Contest showcases the communication skills of young children through speech contest. This speech contest will be amongst the members of 14 Gavel Clubs mentored by the members of internationally recognized toastmasters in Kuwait. This year’s contest will be held at American International School, Maiden Hawalli. Entry to this event is absolutely free but a prior registration is required.

Annual lecture May 9/ 7 p.m. / AWARE Center: As the 22nd anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait approaches, the AWARE Center cordially invites all interested western expatriates to its annual lecture entitled, “Kuwait before and after: a photographic document,” presented by Gustavo Ferrari - Journalist and photographer. For more information, call 25335260/80.

May 10/ 7 p.m. - 9 p.m./ Jabriya: Toastmasters Club would like to take this opportunity to invite you to a showcase meeting which is a part of a membership campaign drive to be held on Thursday at the Jabriya Public Library. The goals of the membership drive are; to promote Aim High meetings, to attract new members and to encourage members to invite guests to the club. This is a great opportunity for members and guests to meet and network with a cross section of individuals in Kuwait with common interest of improving their communications and leadership skills.

For information please call: Khaled Al-Hashem - President at 65588824 or Rhea Usman - VP Membership at 90024115.

K’S PATH invites applicants for the adoption of pets Sepp is a Domestic Long Haired (DLH) male cat. He will be 2-years-old April 2012. This friendly, laid-back boy loves a good cuddle and likes a high vantage point in a cat tree or ledge to look out from. He would do best in a home with children over 12 years of age.

To adopt, contact +965 67006122 or visit the website www.kspath.org

Mario is a gentle and affectionate 6-years-young Spitz male. This friendly boy does great with people and dogs of all ages.

Fayre trade May 12/ 10 a.m. -4 p.m. / Sadu House: Welcome to the fayre! A great day out for all the family. Do your summer souvenir shopping in the wonderful surroundings of Sadu house. Games for the kids, raffle, free admission. Relax after shopping with a scone and a nice cup of tea in the Diwaniya coffee shop.

Art and photography, handicrafts and gifts, jewelry rugs and carpets, sadu weaving, frankincense and myrrh, books, fashion. Supporting 5 charities. For more info: Fayretradeq8@yahoo.com Facebook: Fayre Trade Kuwait.

The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Kuwait would like to inform the public that on the occasion of the Liberation Day, the Embassy will be closed on Tuesday, May 8, 2012.

Holiday Notice The Embassy of India will remain closed on May 6, 2012 on account of “Buddha Purnima”.

International bazaar May 26/ 10 a.m.-3 p.m. / TIES Center: Stop by and have the opportunity to see and even own some international antiques on display and taste the delicious foods on display. Also have your name inscribed in Arabic calligraphy at no cost and have a taste of our Arabic ice cream. Various items will be available for sale, such as pashmina shawls, accessories, jewelry, Mexican food, Indian food, cosmetics, cookies, handbags, traditional Kuwaiti - style dresses and many more. For more information please contact 2523105/6 or 97228860

Dilbert

Embassy of the Slovak Republic

Open House for Indian Citizens Ambassador of India would be holding an Open House for Indian citizens to address their problems\grievances on Wednesdays of the second and the fourth weeks of every month between 1500 hrs and 1600 hrs in the Embassy. In case Wednesday is an Embassy holiday, the meeting will be held on the next working day. To ensure timely action/follow-up by the Embassy, it is requested that, wherever possible, Indian citizens should exhaust the existing channels of interaction/grievance redressal and bring their problems/issues in writing with supporting documents.

Nancy

Horoscopes Aries: March 21 - April 19

Are you having some problems with authority, Aries? Are you having a hard time making yourself understood? If so, have you thought about explaining your projects in detail to the people that you hope will follow you in your adventure? You can’t expect others to follow you blindly. They, too, have their lives to live, as well as their own objectives and priorities.

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Yes, Taurus, your projects have taken some time to get set up. This is because you haven’t been concentrating hard enough. You are doing several things at once, with the result that things have been moving more slowly than expected. Your change in orientation requires you to focus energy in a single direction. However, the question remains - what direction?

Gemini: May 21- June 21

You don’t have to create everything alone. Life isn’t an individual sport. To live life fully, you must participate.This involves interacting with other people.

This is an exercise in confidence. Do you want to be with us - yes or no? Regardless of your answer outside events will lead you in a direction that you can neither predict nor imagine.

Cancer: June 22 - July 22

When we have found our path, we naturally want to start to walk down it, Cancer. The reverse isn’t true despite what you seem to believe. It’s quite futile to learn how to walk when you don’t know which path to walk upon. This may seem a little obscure to you, and yet it’s true. Desire is what creates aptitude, not the reverse.

Work on it and you’ll prevail.

Leo: July 23 - August 22

The astral energy is encouraging you to open up more to your world, culture, and ways of thinking, Leo. You don’t have to go off alone in the desert to reinvent everything. For you, this would be the easy way out, because it would allow you to hide! Develop your curiosity about what exists in this society. Your opinion will carry weight later on. Just have patience.

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

How focused you are, Virgo! You’re so calm and collected. Of course, the mood is especially hospitable to sobriety, reasonableness, and hard work.

The horizon is clear, and you have all the information you require to navigate the seas of life. All you need is a little more faith and courage.

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Today, Libra, you can at last express the secrets that have been troubling you. You may be seething with anger inside and afraid to let it show for fear it may explode on contact or you may be steaming with a concealed passion for some lucky special someone. Your head will rule the heart today and the mind will be unclouded by any emotional haze. Take advantage.

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Your mind is in great turmoil right now, Scorpio, so it isn’t surprising that you can’t pay much attention to anything. It’s as though your concept of the world has been inexorably changed and you see your love life and career with new eyes. Even so, you feel compelled to pick up the pieces of the past and save them. The day ahead should help you let go of the old world.

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

The day will be fairly quiet for you, Sagittarius.

You’re likely to yoke yourself to a task and continue working on it until evening. If someone tries to persuade you to take a break, it won’t be all that difficult to resist. This is one day when you should follow your instincts, keep your head down, and focus on the task at hand.

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

You should use the day to ponder your professional future, Capricorn. Many forces seem to be working together to clarify your ideas on the subject.

Rather than rebel at the slightest provocation, as you’ve been doing lately, it would be much more reasonable for you to think first about the basic material needs of you and your family. Those are the priorities at hand.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Today is no time for dreaming, Aquarius! It’s quite the contrary. You can expect to have to settle a number of minor technical problems involving communications or transmissions. On the whole, it will be a somewhat trying day, but at least your mind will be occupied, leaving no room for the difficult internal questions that have been bothering you so much recently.

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Are you getting hit with obstacles, Pisces? Could it be that you simply need to allot yourself more time to complete the monumental tasks you take on?

This might be difficult for you to tolerate. You don’t know how to deal with times like these when you must continue doing the same thing over and over until you get results.

ALWATAN DAILY

SPORTS

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

19

basketball

Pierce leads Rondo-less Celtics past Hawks, 87-80 ATLANTA: Maybe they’ll start calling it Piercing. Paul Pierce certainly ripped apart the Atlanta Hawks.

Almost single-handedly, Pierce wiped out an 11-point deficit in the second half, scoring 36 points to carry the Boston Celtics to a stunning 87-80 win Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, even with Rajon Rondo serving a suspension and Ray Allen sidelined again by an ailing ankle.

“The only way we were going to win a game like this without Ray and Rondo,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, “was if Paul had a game like this.”

He also had a game-high 14 rebounds and, for good measure, threw in some Tebowing.

After making a couple of foul shots with just over a minute remaining to clinch it, Pierce paused on his way back to the bench to copy the move named after NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, sinking to a knee and bowing his head for a brief prayer in the middle of the court.

Boston heads home for Game 3 on Friday night tied 1-1. Rondo will be back for the Celtics in that one, his short-handed team having claimed the home-court edge while he sat out as punishment for bumping an official in the opener. Pierce made sure the stellar point guard wasn’t missed, outscoring the Hawks all by himself over the last 15:08.

Pierce scored Boston’s first nine points but struggled mightily through the second and third quarters. He came through when the Celtics really needed him, especially with the Rondo-less offense a bit out of sync and Allen watching from the bench in a suit rather than a uniform. Down the stretch, the Celtics simplified things: Give the ball to Pierce and get out of the way.

“With Rondo being out, I knew I had to step up my scoring,” said Pierce, who had only 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in Game 1.

The Hawks appeared to be in control when they pushed out to a 65-54 lead late in the

Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett pulls down a rebound as Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (left) defends in the second half of Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff basketball series, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP)

third quarter. From that point, Pierce outscored the Hawks all by himself, 18-15, including 13 points in the final quarter.

76ers pull away in 3rd, beat Bulls 109-92

Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday (left) shoots next to Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah during the first quarter of Game 2 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, in Chicago on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP)

CHICAGO: Holiday scored 26 points, Lou Williams added 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Chicago 109-92 on Tuesday night to even their first-round series at 1-1 in the Bulls’ first game since Derrick Rose’s season-ending knee injury.

The superstar point guard received a standing ovation and waved to the crowd as he limped onto the court to present the game ball, then watched from a suite as the 76ers blitzed the Bulls in the third quarter.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to come into Chicago and get a playoff win here on the road for our team,” coach Doug Collins said. “It was a great, great night.”

The Sixers outscored Chicago 36-14 in the period, turning an eight-point deficit into an 83-69 lead against the league’s topseeded team. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia. “This game we caught fire and it was pretty hard to put it out,” Holiday said.

All the Bulls could do was shake their heads and vow to do better.

“Disappointed,” Chicago’s Joakim Noah said. “Disappointing effort overall.

We didn’t play well defensively. We didn’t play well offensively.”

Holiday was 11 of 15 from the field, and the Sixers shot 59 percent overall. Williams came up big, going 8 of 13 after hitting just 1 of 6 shots in the opener, and Chicago product Evan Turner chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Noah led the Bulls with 21 points and eight rebounds. John Lucas III scored 15 points, but Carlos Boozer scored just nine and Luol Deng finished with eight. More alarming, the Bulls simply couldn’t stop the Sixers, particularly in the third quarter.

“We kind of let our offense affect our defense,” Richard Hamilton said.

The Sixers were leading 68-61 midway through the quarter after a 12-0 run that Elton Brand started with a foul-line jumper.

Then, after a basket by C.J. Watson, Andre Iguodala threw down a thunderous onehanded dunk over Deng for a three-point play that drew plenty of oohs, aahs and groans from a crowd that could feel the game slipping away.

Things didn’t get much better for Chicago after that. The 76ers continued to pour it on, with Iguodala delivering another vicious dunk late in the quarter and then hitting Williams with an alley-oop pass that made it 83-69 heading into the fourth.

“For the first time in a long time our defense dictated our offense,” Iguodala said.

“We rebounded the ball. Evan and myself pushed it out on the break and we finished pretty well. It started with that in the third quarter.” It added up to a rough night for the Bulls, who were in a familiar spot with Rose sidelined again - this time after tearing the ACL in his left knee late in Game 1.

He missed 27 games during the regular season because of a variety of ailments, and the Bulls did just fine, going 18-9. Throw in injuries to Hamilton and Deng, and they were able to go with their projected starting five just 15 times, yet they still captured homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs for the second straight season.

That’s why they insist they can still make a run, even with Rose out. They won without him before. They insist their championship hopes didn’t end when he went down.

“It’s different without Rose,” Noah said.

“There’s no excuses, though. We know we can play better. It’s disappointing, but you know what? We live to fight another day.

There’s a lot of basketball to play.” -AP

The Celtics were up 74-72 when a quick spurt essentially finished the Hawks, especially when Josh Smith went out late in the game

with a sprained left knee.

Joe Johnson turned it over, part of another tough game for the Hawks star, sparking a

fast break that ended with a give-and-go from Avery Bradley to Pierce for a dunk. After Jeff Teague missed badly on a jumper, Pierce came down and hit his first 3-pointer of the series after missing his first 10, stretching the lead to 79-72 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

Smith had 16 points and 12 rebounds before he went out for good with 4:20 remaining, the state of his knee now becoming a major concern for the Hawks, who already have played most of the season without Al Horford.

Smith will be re-evaluated Wednesday. The Hawks surely can’t afford to lose him, too.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Bradley, who shifted over to take Rondo’s spot at the point, chipped in with 14 points but only three assists - a far cry from what the Celtics usually get out of that position.

Johnson had 22 points for Atlanta but never got many open looks, hitting just 7 of 17 from the field.

He had plenty of company in that dreadful fourth quarter. The Hawks made just 4 of 19 shots, missing all four of their 3-point attempts.

They also turned it over five times.

The game definitely appeared to be going the Hawks’ way by the third quarter. When Smith tried to pass the ball inside, Boston’s Greg Stiemsma got a hand on it, but the ball deflected into the corner - right to a wide-open Johnson, standing behind the arc. With no one around, he swished the 3 to push the Hawks to their 65-54 advantage.

The Celtics, meanwhile, were struggling to do anything right. When they botched a threeon-one break and gave up a layup at the other end, Rivers stormed out of his seat and signaled for a timeout. He was so mad he didn’t even want to stand near his players as they trudged to the bench, remaining out near the foul line until he regained his composure.

Thanks to Pierce, the coach felt a lot better by the end. -AP

Lakers hold off Nuggets to take 2-0 series lead LOS ANGELES: Kobe Bryant scored 38 points, Andrew Bynum followed up his playoffopening triple-double with 27 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers weathered Denver’s late rally for a 104-100 victory over the Nuggets on Tuesday night, taking a 2-0 series lead.

Pau Gasol had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the third-seeded Lakers, who still haven’t trailed in this series despite nearly crumbling against a much-improved effort by the Nuggets and Ty Lawson, who scored 25 points and led the fourth-quarter charge.

Los Angeles’ 19-point lead in the third quarter dwindled to four with 3 minutes to play, but Ramon Sessions scored four key points in the final 1:14 before Bryant’s icing free throws with 9.4 seconds left. Game 3 is Friday in Denver.

Lawson shook his awful series opener with 17 second-half points, but the sixth-seeded Nuggets lost their ninth straight road playoff game despite playing much closer to their preferred speedy tempo after the Lakers muzzled them in Game 1.

Sessions scored 14 points for Los Angeles, which played just enough fast-break ball of its

own to stay ahead of Denver - and now the Lakers are halfway to the second round. They have only lost one playoff series in franchise history after winning the first two games, going 42-1.

Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Danilo Gallinari and Corey Brewer added 13 points apiece, but Denver still couldn’t consistently defend Bryant or negate Bynum, who played another outstanding low-post game on both ends until disappearing a bit in a threepoint fourth quarter.

A 14-5 run in the final minutes eventually trimmed Los Angeles’ lead to 98-84, but Sessions hit a teardrop layup with 1:14 to play, and Bryant made a slick steal on the other end. JaVale McGee’s tip-in with 30 seconds left trimmed the Lakers’ lead back to four, but Sessions and Bryant hit their free throws.

Jordan Hill shook off brewing legal troubles to contribute six points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who used just three reserves. Denver’s bench outscored the Lakers’ reserves 35-8.

Bynum blocked just two shots after swatting 10 in the Lakers’ series-opening victory, but Denver minimized his dominance with home run passes, speedy outlets and 30 fast-break points.

Cricket

Formula one

Denver coach George Karl attempted to help through the media after Game 1, saying Bynum and the Lakers played illegal defense constantly during the opener. Karl tried another gambit before Game 2, saying Staples Center is not a noisy, intimidating road building, but more like “a Broadway stage.”

The Lakers were called for no illegal defenses in Game 2.

Los Angeles stretched its seven-point halftime lead to 19 in the third quarter with a 14-0 run, but the Nuggets trimmed it back to seven entering the fourth quarter with an 18-4 run.

Denver cut the lead to four points late on consecutive hustle plays by Faried, but Bryant scrapped for a loose ball on one end and led the break to the other, feeding Bynum for a dunk his first points of the fourth quarter - and a foul with 2:15 to play.

Hill produced another strong performance off the Lakers’ bench a day after news broke of a felony assault charge against him in Houston, where he played for the Rockets before a late-season trade. Hill said Tuesday night he was “shocked” by the charges, but thinks he won’t miss any time in the Lakers’ championship quest. -AP

Pietersen exits IPL as Alonso fastest in rain-lashed Mugello test Clarke makes debut NEW DELHI: England batting star Kevin Pietersen flew home on Wednesday after a highly successful stint in the Indian Premier League as Australia captain Michael Clarke made his debut in the Twenty20 tournament.

Pietersen, who left midway through the league to prepare for England’s home series against the West Indies, scored 305 runs at an average of 61.00 in his first season with the Delhi Daredevils.

He played eight matches for the top-of-the table side, featuring a brilliant innings of 103 not out off 64 balls against the Deccan Chargers on April 19. Pietersen, who had in the past played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, will miss the last six league matches.

“Sad day leaving India today,” the England star tweeted. “Will be back soon. Special thanks to Delhi Daredevils. And another thank you to the people of India.”

Clarke, who had shunned the four previous editions of the cash-rich tournament, signed up with the Pune Warriors this year for an undisclosed amount to play after Australia’s recent tour of the West Indies.

The Australian skipper shrugged off jetlag after the long journey from the Caribbean to strike 41 off 31 balls on Tuesday night, but could not prevent Pune from suffering a 13-run loss at the hands of bottom-placed Deccan Chargers in Cuttack.

Clarke has six more league games to help Pune, led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, finish among the top four in the nine-team competition and qualify for the play-offs.

Pune, owned by the Sahara group, are currently lying seventh in the table with four wins and six defeats.

“Clarke is a class act and it’’s great to have him with us,” said Ganguly, whose international career featured many fierce, competitive clashes with the Australians. -AFP

In this photo released by Ferrari, Fernando Alonso speeds on his racer during tests on the Mugello racetrack in Scarperia, Italy, Tuesday, May 1, 2012. (AP)

MUGELLO, Italy: More than 15,000 fans turned out in pouring rain at the Mugello circuit in Italy on Tuesday to see Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso lap fastest in Formula One’s first mid-season test since 2008. The Spaniard, who clocked a best time of one minute 12.444 seconds at the Ferrari-owned track north of Florence, felt for the crowd on an afternoon red-flagged briefly due to a thunderstorm. “It’s a shame about the rain, which complicated the running of this first day of testing, and a shame for the spectators who deserved to see more of a show,” said the double world champion. The test is a key one for his Italian team, desperate to sort out a difficult car that has been off the pace despite Alonso’s victory against the odds in a rain-soaked Malaysian Grand Prix in March. The rain prevented Ferrari and the 10 other teams present - all but Spanish stragglers HRT - from carrying out a full day’s work, however, with only a small window of dry running in late morning. Some teams sat out the afternoon altogether to save tyres. Alonso, who hands over to Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa for Wednesday, did a total of 46 laps with the afternoon limited to practice starts.

Lotus changed their plans, with Kimi Raik-

konen no longer scheduled to take part in the test and French team mate Romain Grosjean now slotted in for two days instead of one after Belgian reserve Jerome D’Ambrosio opened the test.

“We’ve opted for one driver for the next two days so we can make better use of the time after losing this afternoon’s running,” said the team’s trackside operations director Alan Permane in a statement. Australian Mark Webber was second on the timesheets for champions Red Bull.

“The weather wasn’t great today so we didn’t get to do much running in the dry. Really we only got one decent run on the slicks,” said Webber who did just 24 laps. “Then it rained after lunch and with limited sets of wets available, you can’t do that much. We’re hoping for better over the next couple of days. It’s an important test.

“We have a lot of information to gather and, while today didn’t quite work out as expected, I’m optimistic that over the course of the next few days we’ll get the information we need.”

The Mugello test is the fourth and final one of the season for regular race drivers, with only a young driver test scheduled between now and the end of the year. Regular in-season testing is otherwise banned. -Reuters

thursDAY, may 3, 2012

SPORTS

Sports Editors Highlight LONDON: Former England defender Sol Campbell announced his retirement as a player on Wednesday bringing down the curtain on a career that spanned five clubs over two decades and included one of the most acrimonious transfers of recent years. The strong central defender, 37, made 646 appearances for five different clubs between 1992 and 2011, as well as playing 73 times for England and taking part in three World Cups and three European Championships. He made his professional debut as an 18-year-old for Tottenham Hotspur where he was revered as the team’s captain and outstanding player for 10 years before signing for north London rivals Arsenal. He was a member of the Gunners ‘Invincibles’ side that went through the 2003-4 Premier League season unbeaten. -Reuters

Football

Ukraine’s images takes a beating as Euro football nears KIEV: It was never meant to be like this. When Ukraine was named co-host of Europe’s biggest soccer feast in 2009, its leaders hailed the award as a milestone on the road to joining the European mainstream.

A delighted Yulia Tymoshenko, then prime minister, told her compatriots her government had scraped together “every kopeck” to make the dream possible. Her jubilant tone foresaw the former Soviet republic turning a confident, smiling face to the world in the month-long Euro-2012 soccer tournament which it will co-host with Poland, its cheer-leader in Europe. That was in December 2009.

Now, with the first games to be played in Ukraine on June 9, Tymoshenko lies in prison on hunger strike, nursing bruises after what she said was a beating by prison guards. Images of her show her trademark peasant braids lying in a forlorn tress across her shoulder.

Western leaders, some of whose national teams will compete in Euro-2012, have reacted with horror. Led by Germany, leaders of several European Union countries have called off scheduled visits to Ukraine in protest at the treatment meted out by President Viktor Yanukovich’s leadership.

Amid talk of a possible boycott of the June 8 ceremonial opening by European politicians, Ukraine has accused of European powers of resorting to Cold War tactics. A series of mystery bomb blasts in the city of Dnipropetrovsk last week which injured 30 people have raised security concerns.

The government says they were organized by forces out to destabilize the nation. Identikits of suspects have been issued but there have been no arrests.

FILE - An aerial view shows the Olympic stadium in Kiev March 31, 2012. The stadium is set to host the final match of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament. (Reuters)

Kiev’s Olympisky stadium, where the July 1 final will be played, has been completely revamped from the outdated Soviet relic which first opened in 1923.

UEFA president Michel Platini, who has toured Euro

UEFA will not change Champions League suspension rules BERNE: UEFA has ruled out changing its Champions League suspension rules regarding yellow cards for at least three years and has no intention of bringing them in line with the rules used in the European Championship, officials have told players’ representatives. FIFpro, the international players’ union, said in a statement on Tuesday that UEFA had rejected their plea for clemency for the six Chelsea and Bayern Munich players who picked up a third yellow card in last week’s Champions League semifinals. The decision means that Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles of Chelsea and Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber of Bayern will all miss the final in Munich on May 19.

FIFpro said UEFA adopted FIFA’s policy for the European Championship, where existing yellow cards are waived after the quarter-finals, and should do the same for the Champions League.

However, Michael van Praag, the chairman of UEFA’s Champions League competition workshop, told them: “We have just had three sessions with representatives of the ECA (European Club Association) and others, in which we confirmed the rule

for the coming three years. “We did not receive any request whatsoever concerning the yellow-card rule, not even from the representative of Bayern Munich, and so we will be continuing the rule for the next three years. Different rules can apply in different competitions. The current rules are the result of a careful, democratic procedure,” he said.

FIFPro spokesman Simon Barker said: “Anybody committing a serious offence in the semi-final should be awarded a red card and miss the final but the offences that result in a yellow card do not justify the serious punishment of missing the match of your life. For example, Alaba slipped over and got the ball kicked against his hand - it is not right that such a player should miss the Champions League final because of this. Some people say that this will give players the licence to kick all and sundry during the semi-final, but that is utter nonsense.Any serious offence will result in a red card and that still means exclusion from the final.”

Chelsea’s skipper John Terry will also miss the final as he was shown a red card in the second leg of their semi-final in Barcelona. -Reuters

Another Euro failure beckons for England LONDON: England return to the European Championship after an eight-year absence with new manager Roy Hodgson hoping to improve on what is a woeful record in the finals for one of Europe’s traditional stronger soccer nations. England are the only European country to have won the World Cup but never be crowned European champions and there are very few indicators suggesting that England’s disappointing European record will improve this summer.Whether Hodgson, 64, named on May 1 as England’s new permanent manager following the departure of Fabio Capello in February, can bring success remains one of the many unanswered questions facing the Three Lions next month. In eight finals appearances since 1968 they have only reached the semifinals twice: in 1968, when only four teams took part in Italy and in 1996 when they hosted the tournament.

Now, with only weeks to go before their Group D campaign kicks off against France in Donetsk, Ukraine, on June 11, the responsibility for picking the squad and the team has passed from caretaker Stuart Pearce, to Hodgson, who is expected to name his squad next week.

The immediate target for Hodgson is to ensure there is

no repeat of England’s dismal performances at the 2010 World Cup finals where they went out to Germany in the last 16 after suffering their worst everWorld Cup defeat a 4-1 thrashing. There is no doubt that England’s players, used to playing at the highest level week in week out in the Premier League with some of the world’s biggest names, have the capacity to do well.

Hodgson at least, who has spent the last 15 months at West Bromwich Albion, does have previous international experience having coached the Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates national sides in the past.

But whether the player’s potential, and Hodgson’s knowledge, combine to produce success is unknown, but he does have one immediate dilemma to solve and that is over the relationship between John Terry and Rio Ferdinand and the captaincy issue.

His striker options are also limited because of Rooney’s two-match ban, a serious injury to Darren Bent that makes it unlikely he will be fit in time and the inexperience of youngsters like Danny Welbeck of Manchester United and Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge, who started the season well before fading. -Reuters

President Blanc campaigns for new term PARIS: Laurent Blanc will be trying to restore France’s reputation at the European Championship.

The former world and European champion was named France coach in the aftermath of their dismal 2010 World Cup campaign in South Africa, where France recorded two defeats and one draw, with the players staging a strike to support Nicolas Anelka after he was kicked out of the squad for insulting then coach Raymond Domenech.

Blanc was dubbed “the president” during his glorious years as a player yet it remains to be seen whether Euro 2012 will also serve as his bid for re-election.

He has been at the France helm for two years and his contract may be extended should Les Bleus perform well in June. There is no guarantee of that, however, but hopes remain high even though they failed to win a single game in the Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup finals.

Moreover, while French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet wants to see how France’s Euro campaign unfolds, Blanc himself has been linked

by the media to several top European clubs.

After the FFF had spent almost a million Euros to fire Domenech, the 46-year-old signed a two-year deal with the objective of leading France to Euro 2012.

Blanc is a discreet, almost secretive figure, who takes a forensic approach to his job, considering every angle, but maintains a distance from his players.

His awkward statement on the need to have fewer tall, powerful Africa-born players stirred strong criticism and accusations of veiled racism, including from his former team mates Lilian Thuram and Patrick Vieira.

Blanc established his reputation as a coach with success in his first job at Girondins Bordeaux, whom he led to the Ligue 1 title in his second year in charge.

But his appointment as France coach followed a mediocre season with Bordeaux, which left some excoaches and players questioning his ability to manage in hard times.

A successful Euro campaign might help silence those critics, whatever the future holds for him afterwards. -Reuters

venues over the past two years and often chided Ukraine along the way, recognized the huge effort. “Bravo to all responsible for Ukraine’s preparations,”, he said late last year, giving a thumbs up.

But long-standing prejudices and suspicions among Ukraine’s critics that the country was too much of a lightweight to be entrusted with the Euros have persisted.

Ukraine lends itself easily to stereotypes and clichés.

The Kiev government, which expects at least one million fans to visit Ukraine, has sought to curb hoteliers with anti-trust investigations and a planned deal with a low-cost airline that officials say will offer $300 return trips from London.

All the same, there are signs that many fans are opting to stay at home and follow their national team’s fortunes on television rather than make the trek to Ukraine.

Yanukovich, a heavily built hard man who has run Ukraine since February 2010 after narrowly beating Tymoshenko for the presidency, may still hope the Euro competition will infuse people with some joy amid mounting economic woes that threaten his party’s success in an end-of-year election.

Professional football in Ukraine is a potent symbol of wealth and power, impossible to separate from its macho, big money politics.

A successful football club is a ‘must-have’ for some oligarchs. Many top Ukrainian league clubs are in the hands of wealthy industrialists.

Take, for example, Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, billionaire owner of the Shakhtar Donetsk club who bank-rolled Yanukovich’s election campaign in 2010.

The lavish Donbass Arena stadium he has built in the eastern mining town will stage one of the Euro semi-finals. Akhmetov, who Forbes says has a net worth of $16 billion, will not want a Euro flop. -Reuters

Fulham defeat won’t affect FA Cup confidence: Dalglish LONDON: Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish insists his team will still enter Saturday’s FA Cup Final with Chelsea in confident mood despite a dispiriting 1-0 home loss to Fulham in their last game before the Wembley showpiece. An early own goal from Martin Skrtel condemned Liverpool to another home loss in a season which has seen them set records for futility in terms of their league form at Anfield.

With Dalglish opting to rest Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard with Chelsea in mind, it was hardly ideal preparation for Liverpool’s second domestic cup final of the season.

But the Scotsman insisted that the defeat would have no bearing on the outcome on Saturday as his team attempts to add the FA Cup to the League Cup they won earlier this year.

“If we had won this game 4-0 it wouldn’t have made any difference for Saturday,” said Dalglish. “It won’t affect the Cup Final but it’s disappointing and doesn’t mean to say it makes it right. The attitude and desire was not there. We can’t play at that tempo, we have to play quicker than that.

I have to take part of the blame because I wanted to give everyone an opportunity to get minutes on the pitch and a chance to push their case. But the performance and attitude were very poor and that’s not like us. Our attitude and approach is where it went wrong. A lot of people have to take responsibility for that. We tried to be fair to give everyone an opportunity and stake a claim for the Final. People here have come to support us and they deserved bet-

Liverpool’s Andy Carroll (right) shoots at goal against Fulham during their English Premier League soccer match at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, May 1, 2012.

(Reuters)

ter than that.” One of the few players to emerge with any credit was forward Andy Carroll who improved his chances of starting at Wembley.

“It was good to see Andy back, he had a niggle at the weekend but he’s back and fit and played the 90 minutes without any repercussion so that is good for us,” said Dalglish. But Carroll’s performance was an isolated positive in a sea of negatives as Dalglish and Liverpool must face up to their worst home league season in history.

They have one home league game remaining, coincidentally against Chelsea on Tuesday, and must win to avoid match-

ing their worst ever home season in terms of league wins - the five they recorded in 1948-49. Liverpool are also four goals short of matching their previous worst season in terms of home league goals, the 24 they scored in the 1903-04 campaign.

They are also in danger of finishing outside the top eight of English football since 1953-54, a season which ended in relegation. The fact that West Brom, currently managed by new England and former Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, can finish above Liverpool to ensure that occurs will be particularly disappointing to the Anfield faithful. -AFP

Guardiola exit changes nothing, Mourinho says MADRID: Pep Guardiola’s decision to step down as Barcelona coach at the end of the season will change nothing for Real Madrid, Guardiola’s Real counterpart and bitter rival Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday.

In his first public comments since Guardiola announced on Friday he was taking a sabbatical, Mourinho, whose Real side are on the brink of taking Barca’s La Liga crown, said the decision should be respected and even sent his adversary a hug.

“The Guardiola case is a personal decision,” Mourinho told a news conference.

“It’s his, he is the one who knows, he is the one who knows why, he is the one who has to comment on it, he is the one who has to do what makes him happiest at any given time,” the 49-year-old former Inter Milan, Chelsea and Porto manager added.

“I have been a coach for 12 years and for me I would be annoyed in June when I don’t have any matches as I will miss training and playing, playing and training. But everyone is the way they are and you have to respect and accept that and hope that they really do find enjoyment because the

Real Madrid’s coach Jose Mourinho (right) looks at Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola after Xavi Hernandez goal during their Spanish first division soccer match, Dec. 10, 2011. (Reuters)

most important thing in life is to enjoy it.

If for him enjoying life means withdrawing from football for a while then so be it and I send him a hug.” It was an unusually conciliatory performance from the normally combative Portuguese, who has a habit of getting under the skin of the club where he was an assistant coach when Guardiola was a player in the late 1990s.

Matches between the two sides since Mourinho arrived in 2010 have often been torrid affairs, when the sumptuous football on display has been overshadowed by brawling and accusations of refereeing bias and racist abuse. Mourinho famously poked the man Barca have tapped to replace Guardiola, his long-term assistant Tito Vilanova, in the eye during a melee at the start of this season.

At a later news conference, Guardiola thanked Mourinho for his comments and said his decision to quit had nothing to do with the Portuguese.

“The fatigue I feel after these years is not due to Mourinho,” the 41-year-old said.”He is not even responsible for one percent. Mourinho does not tire you out, it tires you out winning so much.”

Mourinho was asked whether Guardiola’s departure, after four years and 13 titles including two Champions Leagues triumphs and three La Liga crowns, would benefit Real. He also appeared to confirm he would stay on next season amid speculation he might leave two years into a fouryear deal. “I don’t know why it would benefit us,” Mourinho said. -Reuters