14 Feb

basketball

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com

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emergency number 112

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013 / RABEE’A AL-THANI 4, 1434 AH

NO. 14963

56 PAGES

150 FILS

After delays Kuwait moves ahead on infrastructure — Details Page 39 —

Court acquits 5 in Twitterville HRW hit

Other Voices

By Nihal Sharaf Arab Times Staff

A trader displays truffles in the market.

fl

truf

es

See Page 27

Opinion

Their drum rings hollow

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

YOUR HIGHNESS, whenever we beg for pardon, it is not for a handful of citizens who carry out destructive and forbidden actions. It is just like saying, “Oh God, do not punish us for the misdeeds of a few amongst us”. These people usually raise slogans on reforms and piety, yet their actions are far from what they preach.

They take advantage of the patience and big heart of HH the Amir to commit insolent acts without caution, up to the extent of spreading poisonous ideologies because they are used to hatred. Whoever is a hostage of bitterness will always be bitter against everyone else at every point. They keep on disturbing the Amir by issuing statements which reflect their immaturity and shortsightedness.

They are not satisfied with the level of destruction they have caused in various State institutions, because they behave like fire that wants to devour more.

Therefore, abandon them and put them where the loud noise and threats will be useless for decision-making. Settling scores in the ministries and establishments will not be enough to rescue them on the day of reckoning.

They are like serpents that bit themselves when they did not find anybody to bite. Their current situation makes them utter incoherent words as they are now tired of trying to justify their slogans and to convince the people.

Yes, we are shy of insulting Continued on Page 12 Email: ahmed@aljarallah.com Follow me on:

ahmedaljarallah@gmail.com

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The Criminal Court on Wednesday acquitted five opposition Twitter usersMohammad Khaled Al-Ajmi, Fares Al-Bahan, Rashed AlEnezi, Abdulaziz AlJarallah Al-Mutairi and Fahad Al-Jafira — who were accused of writing statements on the microblogging site deemed offensive to HH the Amir.

However, the Court of Appeals rejected the defense’s request for the release of Rashed Al-Enezi, who is being tried for similar charges separately, and set the next hearing for March 6. AlEnezi was convicted by the Criminal Court in January and jailed for offensive statements against HH the Amir on Twitter, a conviction he is appealing.

After a strong footing, what justifies violence?

By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli Former Oil Minister

THE MUSLIM Brotherhood’s history has always been linked with violence since its inception. Its file in Egypt is blotted with horrific killing incidents. For instance, the assassination of former Egyptian Prime Minister Al-Nuqrashi Pasha and Judge Ahmad AlKhazandar; as well as the assassination attempt on former Egyptian President Jamal Abdul Nasser and several others.

At one point, they justified their course of action by saying it was necessary during what they called as the ‘period of establishment. They raised slogans with their

logo — two crossed swords with an excerpt of a verse from the Holy Quran stating, ‘’...and prepare for them with all your strength”. Is there anything stronger than a gunshot to the head in the 20th century? This is what they mastered at the time.

However, it may be surprising for a neutral observer to realize that the Brotherhood still uses violent methods even if Allah had given Al-Baghli them power. They continue to use violence against anyone who opposes them.

Continued on Page 5

Several opposition activists and three opposition former lawmakers were convicted this year, while tens more are awaiting trial, for the same charges. In solidarity with the convicted and detained, a number of opposition have been holding daily sit-ins in a park in front of the Justice Palace.

Seminar In other news, the national union of Kuwait University students held a seminar at the College of Social Sciences in the area of Shuwaikh with the participation of a number of opposition ex-MPs. They reiterated the opposition demand for the scrapping of the onevote electoral system and the current National Assembly, whose election they’ve boycotted on Dec 1. Veteran exMP Ahmad Al-Saddoun said that “Kuwait, since 1956, has not seen such political arrests as we see today.”

At the National Assembly, MP Khaled Al-Shulaimi praised the acquittal of the five opposition Twitter activists by the court. He said that “the state security’s priority should be to protect the state’s security from the breaches of Iranian ships into Kuwaiti waters”.

Meanwhile, MP Yaqoub AlSane’ criticized the news conference by the Human Rights Watch and those who’ve hosted it at the Kuwait University Graduates Society in which it was deemed that the human rights conditions in Kuwait have deteriorated. He said that “the matters raised by the conference were clearly fabrications and lies about the political and social situation in Kuwait.”

“The accused have been labeled an activist and the abuses of the Amiri status, which is protected by the Constitution and the law, to them has become freedom of expression... there is a big difference between freedom and chaos,” he added.

“Who said that there is a law Continued on Page 12

An Egyptian protester displays used shotgun shells he said were used in recent clashes in Tahrir Square, during events to mark the second anniversary of former president Hosni Mubarak’s resignation, in Cairo, Egypt. (AP)

‘Egypt in crisis’

Moussa in call for unity government

By Joana Saba Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Former Secretary General of the Arab League and Egyptian presidential candidate Amr Moussa held a press interview, in the aftermath of the First International Conference of the Council for Arab and International Relations.

Outlining the dangers faced in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution, and the future of Egypt’s relations with the Gulf and Kuwait, Moussa spoke of the future of the Egyptian opposition and the Muslim Brotherhood, in

light of his leading position on the National Salvation Front.

On President Morsi’s recent statements that he neither accepts nor rejects the calls from the National Salvation Front to form a new government, Moussa stated, “It is not a question of acceptance or refusal; he is the president, and as such it is a question of whether or not he will take this step.”

“It is not a question of negotiations or deals, but rather it is important for there to be a National Unity Government,” continued Moussa, stating that it is clear that the situation

Newswatch SARS-linked virus may have spread

Continued on Page 12

Euro/KD 0.3794

British £/KD 0.4386

Negotiated settlement critical for Syria

By Valiya S. Sajjad

▼ Dow -36.10 pts at closing, Feb 13

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Syria should look to a negotiated settlement of the crisis as the aspirations of people can’t be suppressed for long, says Dr Najma Heptulla, Member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.

The MP was talking to the Arab Times Wednesday during her visit to Kuwait to attend the International Conference of Council of Arab and International Relations.

Heptulla was quick to add that Indian’s foreign policy has consistently been to stay out of the internal affairs of a foreign state. However, wherever there’s an opportunity for a negotiated settlement of conflicts, “we are always there to help and support.”

The MP stressed that the will of the people must be respected, and Syria should have thought of conflict avoidance, because innocent civilians are dying.

Arab Times Staff

See Page 45

See Page 46

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Photo by Mesha’al Nayef

Amr Moussa expressing a point

▲ KS E +27.26 pts at closing, Feb 13

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Meanwhile, the fatwa of a Salafist cleric has been published in various media forms. By the way, the Salafists are now in alliance with the Brotherhood.

The cleric is Dr Mahmuud Shaaban, a lecturer in AlAzhar University, who called for bloodshed for the officials of the Egyptian National Rescue Front, due to their lack of allegiance to their leader or for revolting against the latter. He justified his fatwa by stressing the importance of implementing the ‘bandit punishment’ in Egypt to defend the country’s leader.

Tunisia used to be proud of its secularism and liberalism until the forces of the hardliners (Brotherhood and Salafists) assassinated leftist thinker Shukri

Photo by Mahmoud Jadeed

Dr Najma Heptulla during the interview.

Continued on Page 5

Huge ME water loss DOHA, Qatar, Feb 13, (AP): An amount of freshwater almost the size of the Dead Sea has been lost in parts of the Middle East due to poor management, increased demands for groundwater and the effects of a 2007 drought, according to a NASA study.

The study, to be published Friday in Water Resources Research, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, examined data over seven years from 2003 from a pair of gravity-measuring satellites which is part of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment or GRACE. Researchers found freshwater reserves in parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran along the Continued on Page 12

LONDON, Feb 13, (AP): British officials say a mysterious virus related to SARS may have spread between humans, as they confirmed the 11th case worldwide of the new coronavirus in a patient who they say probably caught it from a family member.

The new virus was first identified last year in the Middle East and the 10 people who have previously been infected had all traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan.

According to Britain’s Health Protection Agency, the latest patient is a U.K. resident with no recent travel to any of those countries but who had close personal contact with an earlier case. The patient may also have been at greater risk of infection due to an underlying medical condition and is currently in intensive care at a Birmingham hospital.

“Although this case provides strong evidence for person to person transmission, the risk of infection in most circumstances is still considered to be very low,” John

Continued on Page 12

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

LOCAL

2

Aiwa 22% say teachers focusing more on ‘tuitions’

Parents decry low quality of school uniforms at high prices

By Valiya S Sajjad Arab Times Staff n this week’s online poll conducted by the Arab Times, a majority of respondents hit out at the low quality uniforms that some private schools provided at exorbitant prices. The topic of the poll was about problems related to schools in Kuwait.

The issue of school uniform has been raging among the Indian community for a while following a sudden decision to change uniforms by the board of a particular private school. Parents who spoke to the Arab Times condemned the board’s decision saying it was absolutely uncalled for and that garnering extra revenues for the school seems to be the only objective behind the move.

Parents also complained that the new uniform was priced two or three times higher than the cost of the old uniform which was available with local merchants.

“After the parents took up the issue seriously, and voiced our concerns loudly, the school board revised the uniform cost cutting it by 50 percent.” This has put the school authorities in dim light, “who see the school merely as a money churning machine.”

Another great number of voters, 22 percent, picked out the issue of school teachers focusing more on private tuitions to the neglect of their school duties. This was a concern that both expatriates and citizens

I

shared, and they riled against the practice saying that’s illegal and unethical.

Parents complained that many a time children learn very little from the school, and the parents have to literally teach them everything. “Most parents don’t complain thinking it’s the incompetence of their child that is to be blamed. However, the truth is teachers don’t teach well in the classes so that students are forced to take up special tuition with them. This brings them extra income. Secondly, teachers who teach outside the school are unable to cope with the workload and compromise on teaching quality in the school, because their school salaries are not affected by their level of commitment.

A small minority of parents thought that the school authorities were forcing children to raise funds for the activities by making them sell raffle tickets on special occasions. Apart from this being a distraction for students, some parents also found it demeaning to send their children around in the neighborhood asking people for money. Some parents also said that raffle tickets, which work like lottery, have a religious proscription, “and school authorities need to understand these sentiments before forcing things on children.”

Other problems in schools revolved around poor roads and parking spaces, often creating a logjam in the mornings and evenings. Unhygienic toilets also attracted some votes. But they were seen as minor problems.

Kuwaiti finmin in Egypt for Arab economic meet CAIRO, Feb 13, (KUNA): Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shimali arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to attend an Arab League ministerial economic and social council meeting, due a day later.

Senior Arab officials, including Kuwait

Finance Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Sami Al-Saqabi, earlier completed preparations for the meeting, discussing a range of topics namely related to food security, a joint electric network, an Arab free-trade zone and a joint customs union.

Suspicions raised on KD 731m investments by former ministers ‘Firm in charge of security at borders not Israeli’ KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The incumbent ministers will most likely bear the responsibility for the wrongdoing of their predecessors who purportedly invested public funds amounting to KD731 million without presenting reports to the State Audit Bureau (SAB) or any other concerned authority, sources told Al-Shahed daily.

Sources said suspicions have been raised on the investments, considering the bureau, companies, banks and government investment bodies have not been informed in this regard. Sources disclosed some government agencies failed to meet the deadline for the submission of data on direct and indirect investments, so the bureau had no option but to ask the incumbent ministers to present financial statements of their respective portfolios within 15 days. Sources also added that in case these ministers fail to include in the financial statements the losses or depreciation in the value of investments, they will be held liable for the mistakes of their predecessors.

Young engineers in a group photo with some of the participants of the conference.

Sources said the government has incurred losses in its investments in the Kuwait Livestock Company, AlWataniya Manufacturing and Automobiles Trading Company, and Kuwait Real Estate Clearing House Company. Sources revealed the capital bases of these companies have depreciated, yet no one bothered to look into the issue. Sources added the previous ministers violated Article Seven of law number 1/1993 on the protection of public funds.

Meanwhile, the company in charge of security at the Kuwaiti borders is not Israeli-owned and has no relationship with the Zionistic entity, reports Al-Shahed daily quoting reliable sources as saying.

The same sources affirmed the company is Canadian and specializes in developing remote control systems, and added “this information disproves grilling request MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan has submitted against the First Deputy Premier, Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud”.

Sources explained the official correspondence between Ministry of Interior and the security company has to do with official notes the Canadian government sends to Kuwaiti Foreign Affairs Ministry, of which an official letter from the Canadian Embassy in Kuwait indicated the company has 30 years experience in the field of security, thus disproving the inquest of AlDuwaisan completely.

They reiterated grilling request alleging the allocation of the ministry is 40 million dinars — despite one million dinars has been allotted, reflects the exaggerated manner of dealing with issues.

Left to right: some of the young engineers being honored.

Young Engineers-Future Leaders confab ends The conference was organized by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and UNESCO. Nawal Al-Nuhaini, supervisor of the national youth project, said the project targeted an age group of 17-30 years old with the objective of creating a productive youth capable of contributing to develop-

A conference about Young Engineers-Future Leaders, held under auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, wrapped up deliberations here on Tuesday.

Conferees talked about their experience in the sessions of the third and final day which was themed, “globalization and international relations.”

ment in Kuwait.

The project’s media official Budoor Burusli said the project aimed at organizing the objectives over development-related matters.

UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Dr Hayat Sendi said her experienced dealt with social creativity and how it was important in “our life. “ (KUNA)

News in Brief

‘Lift ban on import of Irish meat’

Bid to develop labor index: The Central Statistics Department, in cooperation with International Bank held a workshop recently to help develop the labor index in Kuwait, with the involvement of Director of Central Statistics Department Dr Abdullah Sahar, the Secretary General for Planning Adel Al-Wagyan, Assistant Undersecretary for Statistical Labor Mona Daa’as and heads of departments at the sector, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

At the workshop, the labor market index in Kuwait was discussed, in light of reports pointing to the proportion of laborers in the private sector increasing by 7.5 percent in 2006 and 10 percent in 2011. ❑

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Director General of Kuwait Municipality Ahmad Al-Subaih has demanded Assistant Director General for Municipality Service sector to lift

the embargo on import of Irish meat products issued by the Food Safety Committee of Kuwait Municipality, reports Al-Shahid daily quoting reliable sources.

Foreign bank eyes 2nd branch:

open another branch in the country due to the recent decision which limits the number of branches a foreign bank is allowed to establish here to one.

Sources added the banking sector officials are allegedly planning to call for the revision of the employment system in foreign banks due to the obstacles they are currently facing under the Kuwaitization policy because most nationals prefer to work in local banks that offer higher salaries and allowances.

A foreign bank currently operating in the country will soon forward a request to the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) to open its second branch here, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting sources.

Sources explained the bank’s strategy for 2013 includes the promotion of various financial schemes for companies and individuals.

Sources said the concerned officials in the bank are keen on obtaining approval from the Central Bank to

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Al-Duwaisan

Kuwait Today Civil ID info: 1889988 Site for checking travel ban

Prayer Timings Fajr .................................................05:08 am Sunrise .................................................06:28 Zohr ................................................12:02 pm Asr ..................................................03:12 pm Maghreb ...............................................05:36 Isha.......................................................06:53

Weather Expected weather for the next 24 hours:

By Night: Cool with moderate freshening at times north westerly wind, with speed of 20-40 km/h.

By Day: Sunny with moderate to fresh north westerly wind, with speed of 20-45 km/h causing raising dust over open areas.

Station Max Min Rec Exp Kuwait City 23 12 Kuwait Airport 22 10 Nuwaiseeb 22 12 Wafra 23 10 Salmi 19 07 Abdaly 22 08 Jalaliyah 21 10 Failaka 22 12 Ahmadi Port 21 15 Qarush Island 20 16 Umm Al-Maradem 19 16

4 days forecast Weather Thursday, Feb 14 Expected weather...........sunny + ..................................raising dust Max Temp .............................22C Min Temp ..............................10C Wind Direction.......................NW Wind Speed...............20-45 km/h Friday, Feb 15 Expected weather...........sunny + ..........................scattered clouds Max Temp .............................23C

www.kuwaitcourts.gov.kw/mojweb/NGeneral/Main.jsp

deaths Aysha Abdullah Mohammad Al-Awadi, 76 years old, widow of Abdullah Ahmad Al-Awadi, buried on Wednesday. Condolences: (Men) Qadisiya, Diwan Abdullah Mohammad Hadi Al-Awadi, Block 9, Cairo St, House 4, Tel: 22563106-22546216. (Women) Dahiyat Abdullah Al-Salem, Block 2, Ibn Abbas St, House 26, Tel: 22545026. Ibrahim Ayash Khaleel AlJaber, 52 years old, buried on Wednesday. Condolences: (Men) Salam, Block 4, St, 25, House 77, Tel: 66369671. (Women) Salam, Block 4, St, 25, House 79, Tel: 99755071. Abdullah Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al-Arfaj, 52 years old, buried on Wednesday. Condolences: (Men) Mishref, Block 6, St, 1, House 51, Tel: 66335885. (Women) Jabriya, Block 5, St, 9,

House 48, Tel: 25325589. Qout Mohammad Rashed Armali, 71 years old, buried on Wednesday. Condolences: (Men) Shamiya, Diwan AlArmali , Block 4, Ahmad Al-Ghanim St, Tel: 97951888. (Women) Shamiya, Block 4, St, 41, House 8, Tel: 24832705. Abdul Aziz Abdul Razaak Ali Ismail Jamaal, 85 years old, buried on Wednesday.

Condolences: (Men) Dai’ya, Huseiniyat Al-Shamali, Tel: 99724061.

(Women) Shaab, Block 5, St, 50, House 2. Wafa Saleh Abdul Aziz AlHamdan, 59 years old, to be buried on Thursday at 09:00 a.m.

Condolences: (Men) Shuwaikh, Diwan Al-Qanaat. (Women) Nuzha Block 1, St, 12, House 27, Tel: 22533140.

Feb 13, 2013 Min Temp ..............................09C Wind Direction ..............NW-VRB Wind Speed...............08-26 km/h Saturday, Feb 16 Expected weather ...partly cloudy Max Temp .............................26C Min Temp ..............................14C Wind Direction.................SE-NW Wind Speed...............15-40 km/h Sunday, Feb 17 Expected weathersunny + raising ..............................................dust Max Temp .............................21C Min Temp ..............................11C Wind Direction.......................NW Wind Speed...............20-45 km/h

Marine Forecast Station

Max Min Sea Exp Rec Surf

South Dolphin Ahmadi L/V Beacon M28 Beacon N6

21 17 19 23

14 08 15 14

16 17 -

Today’s Waves Ht Direction

6ft 6ft 6ft 6ft

SE SE SE SE

Qarush Island Umm Al-Maradem Sea Island Buoy Salmiyah

20 19 20 21

16 16 14 15

18 17 -

6ft 6ft 6ft 6ft

SE SE SE SE

4-days forecast - Marine Thursday, Feb 14 Expected weather...........sunny + ..................................raising dust Sea state .......moderate to rough Wave height ........................3-6 ft Max Temp .............................22C Min Temp ..............................10C Wind Direction.......................NW Wind Speed...............20-45 km/h Friday, Feb 15 Expected weather...........sunny + ..........................scattered clouds Sea state ........slight to moderate Wave height ........................1-3 ft Max Temp .............................23C Min Temp ..............................09C Wind Direction ..............NW-VRB Wind Speed...............08-26 km/h

Saturday, Feb 16 Expected weather ...partly cloudy Sea state ........slight to moderate Wave height ........................2-5 ft Max Temp .............................26C Min Temp ..............................14C Wind Direction.................SE-NW Wind Speed...............15-40 km/h Sunday, Feb 17 Expected weathersunny + raising dust Sea state .......moderate to rough Wave height ........................3-6 ft Max Temp .............................21C Min Temp ..............................11C Wind Direction.......................NW Wind Speed...............20-45 km/h

Tide times at Shuwaikh Port 1st high tide:.......................02:15 2nd high tide:......................14:45 1st low tide: ........................20:30 2nd low tide: .......................08:45

Sunrise: ..............................06:28 Sunset: ...............................17:36

Recorded yesterday at Kuwait Airport Max temp..............................26C Min temp...............................14C Max Rh.................................73% Min Rh..................................28% Max Wind....................N 50 km/h Total Rainfall in 24 hrs .....00 mm

Recorded yesterday at South Dolphin Min/Max/ Air Temp ...........17/22C Min/Max Rel Hum ...........52/86% Wind Dir./Wind Speed N/52 km/h Prev Wave Dir/Max Wave Ht.N/1 ft Min/Max Sea Surface Temp 16/17C Sea Current .................Upwelling

— Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Meteorological Dept.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

LOCAL

3

Al-Rashed congratulates Al-Sheikh on becoming Shura Council chief in its 6th session

Kuwait, Saudi stress need to boost in GCC legislative co-op RIYADH, Feb 13, (KUNA): Visiting Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Ali Al-Rashed and Saudi Majlis Al-Shura (Shura Council) Chairman Sheikh Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh underlined here Tuesday the necessity of further reinforcing cooperation among the GCC legislatures.

This took place during talks held between Kuwaiti and Saudi members of

parliament.

During the meeting, the Kuwaiti parliament speaker said he was happy to be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, lauding fraternal ties between both sides.

Al-Rashed congratulated Al AlSheikh on becoming chairman of the Shura Council in its sixth session.

He also hailed the recent appointment of 30 women in the Saudi council as a

good step, saying Gulf, especially Saudi, women have proved themselves in all fields.

For his part, Al Al-Sheikh stressed deep fraternal bonds between Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

He boasted that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states have

made accomplishments in various domains, especially in the parliamentary field. During their talks, they also discussed a mechanism to put in place a recent call by the Saudi king to turn the GCC from the stage of cooperation into a phase of unity.

Al-Rashed arrived here on Monday, along with an accompanying delegation, on a three-day official visit.

Sane presents draft on changes to some articles of Election Law Panel discusses Public Tenders draft law The ongoing Peninsula Shield military exercises.

embassy row

By Valiya S. Sajjad Arab Times Staff

Australia The Embassy of Australia has announced that Kuwaiti citizens can apply for and receive visit visas in at least 10 working days through www.immi.gov.au.

All other processing of visas and immigration matters are handled by the Australian Visa Application Centre located in Al Banwan Building, 4B 1st Floor, Al Qibla Area, Ali Al Salem Street, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Visit www.vfs.ae for more info.

The Embassy of Australia does not have a visa or immigration department in Kuwait. All processing of visas and immigration matters are conducted by the Australian Consulate General in Dubai.

Email: info.ausdxb@vfshelpline.co (VFS), immigration.dubai@dfat.gov.au (visa office). Tel: +971 43551958 (VFS), +971 45087200 (Visa Office), Fax: +971 43550708 (Visa Office).

Notary and passport services are available by appointment at the Australian Embassy only on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Appointments can be made by calling the embassy on 22322422.

Bangladesh The Embassy of Bangladesh will be closed on Thursday, Feb 21, 2013, on the occasion of Shahid Dibash and International Mother Language Day.

Canada The Embassy of Canada in Kuwait has announced that it does not have a visa or immigration department and that all processing of visa and immigration matters including enquiries is conducted by the Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Individuals interested in working, studying, visiting or immigrating to Canada should contact the im-enquiry@international.gc.ca. the Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al Mutawakei St, Block 4 in Da’aiya. Please visit the embassy website www.Kuwait.gc.ca. The embassy is open from 7.30 to 15.30 hrs Sunday through Thrusday.

France The French Embassy has announced that Schengen Visa applications for France are now received and processed only by the company Capago MENA in Kuwait.

For information and appointments, please contact Capago MENA’s call center on: 22 27 05 55. Capago MENA is situated in Al Raya Tower I, 26th Floor, Al Raya Shopping Center, Shuhada Street, Kuwait City.

India The Embassy of India has announced

that it will remain closed on the following days: Feb 25, 2013, Monday, for National Day of Kuwait, and Feb 26, 2013, Tuesday for Liberation Day of Kuwait.

Peru The Embassy of Peru is located in Sharq, Ahmed Al Jaber Street, Al Arabiya Tower, 6th Floor. Working days / hours: Sunday–Thursday / 09:00am - 04:00pm.

Residents in Kuwait interested in getting a visa to travel to Peru and companies attracted to invest in Peru are invited to visit the permanent exposition room located in the Embassy. For more information, please contact: (+965) 22267250/1.

UK The Embassy of UK has informed British nationals that its consular section has online appointment booking system for consular customers.

All information including how to make an appointment is available on the embassy website. The Embassy no longer accepts walk-in customers. In addition, there is also a ‘Consular Appointment System’ option on the website.

For the latest FCO travel advice visit: www.fco.gov. uk/en/travel-and-livingabroad/travel-advice-by-country/middleeast-north-africa/kuwait British Embassy’s Consular Section is located at the British Embassy, Kuwait.

Postal Address: PO Box 2, Safat 13001.

For non-notarial issues or consular emergencies call: 22594355/7/8.

The Embassy of UK also reminds British nationals that full validity passports are no longer issued at the British Embassy’s Consular Section in Kuwait.

Follow the link ‘Passports’ on the British Embassy’s website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk for full details on the application procedure.

USA The US Embassy in Kuwait has launched a new streamlined visa application, the DS160, which replaces and combines all previous forms. All non-immigrant visa applicants will use this new form.

With the new form, applicants will have to upload a visa photograph and submit the form via the Internet. The applicant will print just one confirmation sheet upon completion of the DS-160.

For additional information, please visit the US Embassy website: http://kuwait.usembassy.gov. The site contains a complete list of application requirements, links to the new application and the online appointment system. ❑

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Editor’s note: The Embassy Row column is dedicated to serving the needs of all embassies in Kuwait by publishing information on their activities free of charge every weekend. All embassies are therefore welcome to send information on their functions to the Editor, Fax No. 24818267.

DISPATCHES

Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: MP Yaqoub Sane Wednesday presented a draft amendment on some articles of the Election Law No 35/1962 with relation to electing members to the National Assembly.

The draft amendment calls for adding a clause to Article (2) of the law to prevent persons convicted of a felony or a crime of dishonesty or immoral behavior from taking part in the elections.

He explained though in February the door opens for registration for both the candidates and voters, many citizens still face restrictions due to their previous convictions “and my question to minister of interior is how long should we not apply the Election Law on Members of Parliament and disqualify those who have committed criminal offence or were found dishonest?

He added, he is sure that if the law is applied it will get rid of the confusion that occurs during every election year. He urged the ministry to delete all names of convicted persons from the elections roster which should be reviewed every two months “So that they know they are not qualified either to vote or contest elections, but because the government has failed to apply the law from the beginning these people are allowed to take part in elections.

“However, following any dispute if a person is taken to court following disqualification, the situation puts pressure on the courts as we see what is happening today.”

Meanwhile, the Financial and Economic Committee Wednesday discussed the Public Tenders draft law and draft bills so that discussions on them may be completed by March 3, 2013.

The committee Rapporteur, MP Safa Al-Hashim explained the committee discussed the public tenders draft law and the draft bills presented by both the government and the MPs in this current legislative term.

She added, all the concerned authorities namely representatives from the Central Tenders Committee (CTC), the Ministry of Finance and the Kuwait Audit Bureau attended the meeting.

She also said the meeting discussed many observations made by CTC and the Finance Ministry and noted the best model in transparency of Tenders Centralization System is the Turkish law.

She explained the meeting also discussed four major points which included the form and description of tender as to whether it is an executive or a supervisory body and the meeting agreed that the CTC will supervise and oversee the tenders of ministries of Interior and Defense, the National Guard and the Central Bank.

In another development, Chairman of the Women and Family Committee, MP Masouma Al-Mubarak explained the committee discussed four draft bills of granting social assistance to unemployed women.

She added, after listening to the opinions of representatives of both ministries — Social Affairs and Labor and Finance — who attended the meeting, the committee requested the two authorities to provide it with statistics and the financial cost to enable the committee to take a decision on the bills.

Congratulations on national days

News in Brief Special X-ray centers eyed: Ministry of Health is conducting a study to establish specialized X-ray centers in all health areas, reports Al-Anba daily quoting the Undersecretary of Health Dr Khalid Al-Sahlawi as saying.

In a statement, Al-Sahlawi added the step will help reduce congestion at the hospitals, particularly for X-ray appointments. ❑ ❑ ❑ Info minister meets KUNA chief: Kuwaiti Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem AlHumoud Al-Sabah received here Wednesday KUNA Director General and Chairman Sheikh Mubarak Al-Duaij AlIbrahim Al-Sabah and visiting Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Yemen’s SABA news agency Tareq Al-Shami.

Sheikh Salman stressed that Kuwait was eager to bolster relations with Yemen namely within the media and

By Abubakar A. Ibrahim

press domains.

He said Kuwait regards the security of its neighbours in the Gulf, including Yemen, crucial and important.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mubarak applauded the healthy relationship between the two nations, stressing that both KUNA and SABA were keen on further boosting media cooperation.

The SABA chief proceeded to hand over a letter from Yemeni Information Minister Ali Al-Omrani, addressed to his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Salman.

He applauded the support and assistance offered to his country during its political difficulties by GCC countries and announced that his country would hosting an internal round of talks on March 18.

The talks discussed means through which the Kuwait Information Ministry and KUNA could provide necessary training and technical support to Yemen’s SABA news agency. (KUNA)

MANAMA, Feb 13, (KUNA): Media Advisor to the Bahraini King Nabeel AlHamar congratulated here Wednesday Kuwait on its upcoming national celebrations.

This came during the Bahraini official’s meeting with Kuwaiti Ambassador to Bahrain Sheikh Azzam AlMubarak Al-Sabah.

The Bahraini official stressed Kuwait’s important role within the region and international arenas, noting that the recently held International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria was evident of the status of the State of Kuwait within the global community.

On his part, Sheikh Azzam lauded relations with Bahrain, stressing that the two nations were eager to further bolster their brotherly relations in the

Photos by Anwar Daifallah

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has launched the National Days celebration by decorating its premises in Ahmadi area. The yards and roads glitter with lights.

It will help environmental hazard: Al-Sharrad

‘Need to expedite renewable energy investments’ KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Environmental Researcher Dawoud Al-Sharrad has said the need to expedite renewable energy investments due to its economic and environmental benefits in sparing hydrocarbons used in the production of electricity, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

Al-Sharrad said renewable energy will help eliminate environmental hazard and pollution caused by hydrocarbons, while economizing alternative energy to secure a reasonable rate of energy.

He indicated investments in renewable energy keep pace with

the Earth’s population, which will most likely reach 9 billion in 2050.

He noted the country will save 5 billion dinars each year from oil it burns to run the power stations generating electricity if we depend on solar energy, which is the most suitable option here.

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Health and CSC discuss recent staff recruitment Proposal to pay KD 50 allowance rejected KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13, (KUNA): The representatives of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) convened a meeting at the CSC Headquarters Tuesday and discussed the latter’s remarks and reservations regarding recent ministry decisions to do with taking on staff.

Following said meeting, MoH Undersecretary Khalid Al-Sahlawi told KUNA the ministry representatives explained the objectives and circumstances related to each of the issues discussed, and went further to urge the commission to adjust some of its own regulations on promotions and adjustments to professional status to avoid repeat of such observations and the need for more such meetings.

The ministry is keen to cooperate with the CSC, he stressed, adding the representatives have agreed on feasibility of a joint coordination committee to address the commissions’ reservations on ministry decisions in the future and respond to inquiries promptly.

In addition to Al-Sahlawi, the meeting was attended by Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Quality Affairs Dr. Walid Al-Falah, Legal and Investigations Affairs Department Director Dr. Mahmoud Abdelhadi, Administrative Staff Department Director Mershed AlMershed, and Technical Department Director Dr. Majdah Al-Qattan.

For the CSC, the representatives attending were Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Roumi, Assistant Undersecretary for Staffing Officers Affairs Mohammad Al-Rumaihi, and Assistant Undersecretary for Organizational Structuring Nabil AlMejil.

Civil Service Commission (CSC) rejected a proposal to pay KD 50 allowance to personnel of the Interior Ministry and making them on par with non-commissioned officers in the military, reports Al-Rai daily.

In a letter, the Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry Lieutenant Ghazi AlOmar had requested CSC to pay civil-

KUNA photo

The Kuwaiti and Azeri sides during the meeting

Speaker receives Kuwait FM

Azeris hail Kuwait support MOSCOW, Feb 13, (KUNA): Azeri National Assembly Speaker Ogtay Asadov received on Wednesday visiting Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah who arrived in Azerbaijan earlier today.

Asadov expressed to Sheikh Sabah appreciation of his country to the role played by the State of Kuwait in supporting unity of Azerbaijan in a number of international fora chiefly the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He extolled both countries’ ties in the politica, and commercial domains, expressing readiness of his country to even bolster them further.

He said the State of Kuwait and Azerbaijan have signed 13 bilateral agreements in various spheres, adding that both sides would sign five more during this visit.

He praised the role played by the joint Azeri-Kuwaiti cooperation committee in boosting bilateral ties in the commercial, economic and investment domains Sheikh Sabah is also

scheduled tomorrow to visit the grave site of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev.

Earlier, Turkish President Abdullah Gul received and his party.

The two sides discussed a range of issues of common concern including the bilateral ties and the coordination of stances at international forums.

Sheikh Sabah, who started an official visit to Turkey earlier, also held talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu.

In a joint press conference with Davutoglu after the talks, Sheikh Sabah thanked Turkey for the hospitality offered to him and his party, appreciating the meeting with President Gul. “I’ve delivered a letter from His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to President Gul and conveyed HH the Amir’s congratulations for Turkey on being unanimously selected as venue of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) summit in 2016,” he said.

ians working in the ministry KD 50 allowance. However, CSC rejected the proposal and said civilian workers are

considered as non-commissioned officers according to law, and they will not be included in the salary scale of CSC.

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‘Unsuitable’ meat controversy rages Fear of health hazards expressed

By Abdul-Nasser AlAslami Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The fear of consuming spoilt meat and animals prohibited by Islam has resurfaced, due to a recent outcry

by Municipal Council member Abdullah AlKanderi on the purported importation of donkey and elephant meat, alleging a company has been supplying dead livestock to some restaurants.

Photos by Sameer Shiqer

Top & above: The workers seen during the sit-in.

Demands made

Cbank employees organize a sit-in

By Abdullah Sahoud Special to the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Many employees of Kuwait Central Bank organized a sit-in Wednesday in front of the bank’s headquarters after the official working hours to demand their salary scale approved by Civil Service Commission since 2007. The workers called for the National Assembly to form an investigation committee for this purpose.

Representative of the protestors Ali Al-Roumi summarized the demands of protestors as follows: ■ Payment of salary scale approved by , with retroactive effect from January 2007, plus the maximum monthly wage.

■ Increase the end of service benefits for Kuwaiti personnel and specify the maximum period within which employees should remain in a position to resolve problems associated with failure that became common among employees after the bank canceled the decision to promote them based on seniority.

■ To modify the Health Insurance Law proposed by the administration to include family members of employees.

Finally, the protestors demanded the administration to consider their demands and recommendations to improve the conditions of the bank’s personnel.

After a strong

Negotiated

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Baleed in broad daylight. It is hard to directly link this assassination to the ruling party — Nahda Islamic Movement, but Baleed was certainly on the list of another Salafist group — an ally of the Brotherhood chapter in Tunisian, just like the situation in Egypt.

It is enough to understand the situation through the legislation passed by the Nadha party on the formation of the so-called Revolution Protection Committee, which is allowed to confront any voice against the party and to tighten its grip on power in Tunisia. This is also manifested in the party’s tacit insertion of an article in the Constitution to legalize the existence of a militia group that resembles the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

In a statement against the detractors of his group, Rashid Al-Ghannushi addressed the Salafists, saying many secularists in Tunisia still control the media, particularly the newspapers and important domains in the revolution In Libya, we saw how the Islamist fundamental groups disrespected the graves of our Christian brothers by destroying their ‘crosses’ without remorse or shame. If the Christians were to retaliate in their countries by committing such cowardly actions in the graves of Muslims, you would have seen the Muslims holding memorial gatherings, while burning flags and attacking the embassies.

No one from those with long beards and short dresses had protested against the actions of Libyan aggravators who uphold an extremist ideology. This makes us call to mind the days when the late Colonel Gaddafi was in power.

We can justify the violent acts of the Islamists when they were not yet in power, but now that they have obtained power in more than one country, what could be the justification for their aggression?

Email: Ali-albaghli@hotmail.com

Heptulla recalled Kuwait’s invasion by Iraq when refugees were pouring into Saudi Arabia and Jordan. We are seeing a similar if not worse situation now in Syria.

The influx of refugees from Syria into Turkey was discussed at the conference when a Turkish minister raised the topic. The border is turning volatile, she noted, and there was a blast there. The MP said that when there is violence in a country it doesn’t remain without affecting the neighboring countries, warning that if Syria is not handled more deftly, it can unsettle the entire region.

India wants peace to prevail in Syria. She also expressed her concern over the happenings in Libya and Egypt. In her view, the conference was held at an appropriate time, because the Arab world is in turmoil.

Although Iran is not an Arab country, it was given considerable time on the first day alongside Syria and Turkey.

At the conference, Heptulla spoke about Indo-Arab relations, touching on the centuries old relationship between the two civilizations.

India’s Silk Route passed through the Arabian Gulf region up to Aleppo on its way to Europe. India’s trade relations with the Arab countries, especially Kuwait, date back to centuries.

The MP dwelled on the close ties between Kuwait and India, “standing beside Kuwait during invasion, and expressing strong condemnation of Saddam Hussein’s claims over Kuwait.”

India’s growing world class companies and businesses have much to offer Kuwait, which is now rearing to launch into developmental projects emerging out of the shadows of occupation, Heptulla noted.

She took the example of TATA and Mittal who made international headlines for their acquisitions of top European companies.

India’s trade exchanges with Kuwait is valued at $18 billion, and more than 6.5 million Indians are working in the Gulf states, Heptulla added to highlight the symbiotic relationship

Al-Kanderi doubted ability of the precautionary detective equipment to differentiate the types of meat imported for sale and consumption. He affirmed that the country lacks the right equipment for detecting meat that is permitted for consumption in Islam (halal). He cited livestock such as camel, cattle and sheep, and stressed the equipment should be able to differentiate the meat of donkey and elephant which are prohibited.

He cautioned the phenomenon is likely to cause health hazard associated with food in the country and explained he did not mean to scare people, indicating he was trying to uncover the state of affairs in the country. He reiterated a company has been importing the controversial meat from Ethiopia to the country, assuring a team from Jahra Municipality monitored a company that supplied meat to several restaurants within the governorate to affirm that it actually supplied the meat of dead livestock to the restaurants. Records indicated the importer distributed the meat to major restaurants in the area, especially Sa’ad AlAbdullah.

Meanwhile, the Islamic preacher Sheikh Nazim AlMisbah praised the efforts of the concerned authorities assigned to control and inspect markets, restaurants and other places where rotten meat could be used, sold or distributed, reports AlSeyassah daily.

In a press statement, he stressed that is essential to take all necessary legal measures to protect people from rotten or inedible food as it could harm the health of the consumers.

He pointed out that meat obtained through illegal slaughtering methods is forbidden for consumption as per Islamic norms as in the case of pork meat consumption.

Meanwhile, he indicated that those who commit violations by importing rotten meat into the country should be severely punished, adding that closing down shops of people who sell rotten meat is not a severe punishment. between the two states.

On the issue of Palestine, Heptulla said India has always supported the cause of the Palestinian people. “We were among the first countries in the world to recognize Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).

“India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharalal Nehru, had unequivocally said that Palestine belongs to Palestinians as England belongs to the British and France to the French.”

When asked about the emerging cordial relations between India and Israel, the MP replied that when the Arab countries had no ties with Israel, India refrained from having any ties with Isreal.

Israel and South Africa (for apartheid) were two countries that India distanced itself from. India deeply respected the Arab sentiments.

However, when some Arab states opened up to Israel, India found it necessary to establish relations with Israel to be in a position to play a positive role in the search for a negotiated settlement between the conflicting sides. India then opened its embassy in Israel.

Heptulla added we don’t mix our relations. “Our relations with Arabs are there, our support for the Palestinian cause is there, and the idea that Palestinians should be able to live happily in a secure border is there.

At the last UN General Assembly India cosponsored the resolution to get Palestine the full membership of the UN. “We still stand on that position.

We don’t want violence and are against Israeli settlements in the Palestinian area.”

Prime Minister to reconsider MoD terminations: MPs KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Some eight lawmakers have said HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak promised to extend the period of service of GCC and Bedoun military personnel who have been released of their duties in Ministry of Defense, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

MP Askar Al-Enzi, along with seven other MPs who met the Premier recently said a great number of MPs are not happy with the decision of releasing the military men abruptly, as they deserve to be honored for the sublime services they offered to Kuwait.

Meanwhile, five lawmakers have presented amendment to Elections Law No. 35/1962 and added two new conditions to the parliamentary election procedures stipulating that candidates must have academic degree from a university or its equivalent from an accredited educational institute, and with previous parliamentary experience.

Additionally, the candidate must also present clearance from the Health Ministry confirming he/she does not suffer from any psychological disease or addiction, along with certificate of good conduct and a sheet of fingerprint from Interior Ministry.

Sources reiterated the amendment is along the lines of parliamentary work and it aims to protect the legislative authority’s dignity.

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Kuwaiti held with drug pills

Indian expat stabbed in Jleeb quarrel

By Munaif Nayef Special to the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: A 48-year-old Indian expatriate sustained serious injuries when he was stabbed in the chest during a quarrel in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.

Reportedly, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information about a quarrel between two expatriates in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, securi-

tymen and paramedics rushed to the location and discovered that an Indian expatriate was stabbed in the chest.

Paramedics referred him to Farwaniya Hospital where he was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit in serious condition.

A case was registered and investigations are ongoing to arrest the other suspect who ran away after committing the crime.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti citizen in his 40s was arrested recently in Ahmadi for posses-

sion of narcotic pills and drugs of different types and drug-intake tools. According to security sources, while securitymen were patrolling Ahmadi, they noticed a vehicle parked in a lot and the driver sitting inside the vehicle. They approached the vehicle and checked the identity of the driver to discover he is a Kuwaiti citizen.

Sensing his nervousness, they checked his vehicle and found drugs of different types, a piece of hashish and drug intake tools.

Expats nab, hand over two ‘thieves’ to police Pakistani attempts suicide KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Police have arrested a lance corporal from the Ministry of Interior and his cousin for robbing expatriates in Fahaheel, reports Al-Anba daily.

after the guard of the camp succeeded in putting off the fire.

According to sources the man poured an inflammable substance over his body and set fire to it.

The Pakistani will be summoned for interrogation after his health improves.

The cousin and another man (who is still at large) are also charged with impersonating police.

Indian beaten, robbed: Police are now looking for three unidentified persons who allegedly assaulted and robbed an Indian, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources.

The Indian told police he was surprised when the suspects approached him as he does not know any of them. They took turns in beating him, and then they took his mobile phone, KD150 cash and a gold necklace.

After taking the abovementioned items from the victim, the suspects immediately fled from the scene. The Indian obtained a medical certificate from Salmiya Clinic before filing a report on the incident at a nearby police station. He also provided police with a detailed description of the culprits.

A case was registered and investigations are ongoing to arrest the thieves.

A security source said the lance corporal who works for the Criminal Investigation Department taking advantage of his position raided the homes of expatriates, assaulted them and stole their wallets with the help of the two accomplices.

The daily added, some expatriates wrestled the corporal and his cousin to the ground, tied their feet and hands behind their backs and called the Operations Department of the Ministry of Interior.

Police rushed to the spot, arrested the thieves and seized from them KD 3,000.

The thieves have been detained at the Fahaheel Police Station prior to referring them to the Public Prosecution. ❑

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Suicide attempted: A Pakistani man who tried in vain to end his life by setting himself on fire inside a camp in Kabd has been admitted to the Al-Babtain Hospital for Burns, reports Al-Anba daily.

A Kuwaiti informed the Operations Department of the Ministry of Interior

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According to residents of the area setting fire to cars on the open ground has become a daily routine. The cars which are being set on fire are believed to be stolen property.

After setting fire to the cars the suspects escape from the scene. ❑

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Cars set on fire: Police are looking for unidentified persons for setting fire to two cars which were parked on an open ground in Taima, Jahra, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

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Thieves arrested: The Jahra police have arrested two young thieves (a GCC citizen and a bedoun) for breaking into cars in Taima two days ago, reports AlAnba daily.

Investigations conducted by securitymen led to the identification of the two suspects and police then set a trap for them in the Jahra Industrial Area and caught them red-handed.

During interrogation the thieves are said to have admitted to the charge. The victims will be summoned to identify their belongings. ❑

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Woman molested: Police are looking for an unidentified individual for molesting a young Kuwaiti woman, reports AlRai daily.

A security source said the woman in her complaint to the Nugra Police Station said the suspect approached her and asked for help.

The complainant added she gave the ‘beggar’ two dinars and as she walked to her car, the man touched her body and escaped when she screamed for help.

KUNA photo

Al-Ansari with Taiwanese team

Cooperation sought Director General of Kuwait Fire Service Direction Major General Yousef Al-Ansari discussed with a Taiwanese trade representative in Kuwait ways to enhance cooperation and expertise with the Taiwanese Fire Service Directive.

The Fire Department said in a press statement that the head of the Taiwanese delegation praised Kuwait’s keenness to cooperate with Taiwan. This meeting was attended

by Deputy Director General for Firefighting Affairs and Human Resources at Kuwait Fire Service Directorate (KFSD) Brigadier Khaled Al-Mekrad and from operation and Supporting Center Capt Mishari Al-Faras. (KUNA)

A car damaged in one of the accidents.

Kuwaiti dies in accident

By Munaif Nayef Special to the Arab Times A Kuwaiti citizen died while seven expatriates sustained injuries due to traffic accidents that occurred throughout the country on Wednesday.

In details, a Kuwaiti citizen died when his vehicle toppled after colliding with another on Jahra Road near Amghara Bridge. His corpse was referred to the Forensics Department and a case was registered for investigations.

Meanwhile, four Nepali expatriates sustained injuries when two vehicles collided on Jahra Road. Paramedics rushed to the location and referred the victims to Jahra Hospital for treatment.

A Filipina woman fractured her right hand when a speeding vehicle hit her in Salmiya. Paramedics rushed to the location and referred her to Mubarak Hospital for treatment.

Woman harassed

Housemaid in suicide bid

By Meshal Al-Sanousi Special to the Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: An Asian woman tried to commit suicide by consuming large number of pills inside her sponsor’s house in Andalous.

According to security sources, when the Operations Room of Ministry of Interior received information from a Kuwaiti woman about her housemaid’s suicide attempt, securitymen and paramedics rushed to the location and referred the Asian woman to Farwaniya Hospital. During investigations, they discovered that she has some family problems in her country. A case was registered against her.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti woman working at a government office filed a case recently at Mubarak AlKabeer Police Station against a Kuwaiti citizen accusing him of harassing her.

She informed securitymen that the suspect contacted her, requesting for a love affair with her. She had switched off her mobile phone and when she switched it on later, she was shocked to note that he had sent immoral pictures and love messages to her.

Securitymen took down details of the suspect and discovered he is a Kuwaiti citizen. A case was registered against him and investigations are ongoing to arrest him.

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Drugs found in red signal violator’s car ‘Stay away from US citizens homes’ KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Police have arrested a Kuwaiti man for possessing drugs and crossing the red traffic signal, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

A police source said the suspect was arrested by a police patrol in the suburb of Mubarak Al-Kabir.

The suspect reportedly refused to stop when police ordered him to. However, he was chased and forced to stop in Sabah Al-Salem.

Police have seized from the man a bag containing methamphetamine, known among drug traffickers as ‘shabu, crystal and ice’. The drugs were hidden under the front seat.

The suspect has been handed over to the General Department for Drug Control.

Meanwhile, personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department have arrested an Asian man for trafficking in drugs, reports Al-Shahed daily. Acting on a tip-off and armed with a search and arrest warrant, police raided the

home of the Asian and caught him red-handed in possession of 250 grams of heroin, 30 grams of ice, 35 grams of marijuana and a scale.

The suspect and the contraband have been handed over to the General Department for Drug Control. ❑

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Stay away ... : Hanging out in front of their homes or rather in front of homes occupied by Americans in Kuwait can be considered a crime and people caught doing so may end up at a police station for interrogation or may even be referred to the State Security police, reports AlRai daily.

Recently two Kuwait University students were whisked away by the Bayan police for interrogation and threatened to refer them to the State Security but were released after three hours of interrogations and intervention of the father of one of them who lives on the same street as one of the staffers of the US embassy.

The drug peddler and ‘pills’ seized.

Syrian held with drugs A Syrian expatriate was arrested recently at Kuwait International Airport for attempting to smuggle 25,000 narcotic pills into the country.

Reportedly, customs officers suspected the Syrian expatriate who arrived from Lebanon and checked his luggage to find 25,000 narcotic pills hidden in tins of Arabic sweets.

He was referred with the items to the concerned authorities for necessary legal action against him.

Director of General Customs Department Ibrahim AlGhanim appreciated the customs officers for their continuous efforts in ensuring such illicit items are not smuggled into the country.

Picture of two juveniles with legs cuffed and taken inside the Palace of Justice was cause for arguments on social networking sites, and as a result, a number of former MPs, lawyers and human rights commissions have issued their statements, reports Al-Kuwaitiah daily. Former MP Ahmad Al-Saadoun also has called on all human rights organizations and people interested in children’s rights to protest such repressive police behavior and insult to children.

Former MP Ali Al-Deqbasi said chaining children shows the cruelty, arrogance and indifference of state agencies and abuse of power. A number of lawyers are of the opinion that handcuffing children is a violation of international convention and rights of children.

News in Brief Entry bid foiled: Security officers at the Kuwait International Airport recently prevented a Belgian citizen of Jordanian origin from entering the country, reports AlRai daily.

According to security sources the man was deported from the country in 1989, 24 years ago after he was convicted in a murder case.

At that time the man was holding Jordanian nationality. ❑ ❑ ❑ Sheep in hospital: A sheep strayed into the Abdullah Al-Salem health centre and damaged some seats causing panic among patients and visitors, reports Al-Shahed daily.

By the time police rushed to the spot, some Asians managed to control the animal and handed it over to the securitymen.

The sheep is being held at the area police station awaiting the owner to claim it. ❑ ❑ ❑

Theft at knife-point: Police are looking for four unidentified persons for stealing 5 rolls of electrical cables belonging to an international company working on a project belonging to the Ministry of Electricity and Water, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

According to security guards the thieves were armed with knives and threatened to kill them if they raised an alarm.

The suspects then tied their feet and hands behind their backs and escaped with the loot.

A case has been filed at the Sulaibikhat Police Station. ❑ ❑ ❑ Burglar sought: A Kuwaiti man has filed a complaint with the Fahaheel Police Station accusing a thief of breaking into his home and stealing electrical appliances and jewelry worth KD 2,000, reports Al-Anba daily. Police are looking for the suspect.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

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Support for grilling minister dwindles

DIWANIYA

a digest of public opinion

‘Kuwait in need of stability, way forward’

‘Nahaj’ quits Majority Bloc KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: The Al-Mustaqbal Bloc has convinced MP Abdullah Al-Tameemi to withdraw his name from the interpellation request which MP Saadoun Hamad is expected to submit against Oil Minister Hani Hussein, reports Al-Shahed daily.

Reliable sources said the bloc convinced AlTameemi that the current political circumstances are not appropriate for such an inquest. Therefore, AlHamad is expected to do it alone.

KUNA photos

Top and above: National Guard officers with the US Army team.

Joint inspection tour The Inspection and Surveillance Directorate of National Guard inspected the Technical Emergency Department of National Guard on Tuesday in collaboration with the American Training and Development Company and number of inspection officers from the American Army.

Director of Inspection and Surveillance Directorate Brigadier Fahad Abdulrahim Al-Mejhim specified in a press statement that they conduct periodical field tours and issue reports about the workforce, equipments, training and efficiency.

He revealed that the higher administration of National Guard is keen on assessing the efficiency of the unit as per international criteria to guarantee justice and equality among the personnel.

Meanwhile, National Guard will be one of the main sponsors of the 52nd exhibition of Kuwait Independence Day in which a number of officials from the National Guard will participate.

KCO plans meet

‘Ease UK students visa’ KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Head of Kuwait Cultural Office (KCO) in the United Kingdom Dr Mohammad Hamad AlHajeri disclosed that they will soon host a meeting with all Arab cultural offices to agree on a common stance for persuading the British Immigration Department and some universities to review the complicated procedures of acquiring students’ visa, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.

Dr Al-Hajeri explained to journalists that students applying for medical education should be fresh graduates who have never studied in any other country, adding that the students are expected to obtain a minimum of 90 percent and 7 points in the ELTS exam. He said the students who graduate from English secondary stage should go for the advanced study after the 11th year.

He pointed out that a complete digital system will be implemented in the cultural office to replace the current manual system, so that students can verify the status of their procedures without any need for contacting the office.

He revealed that the office has signed some memoranda of understanding to widen the scope of available specialties.

News in Brief KTS warned: Director of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Department at Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Saleh Al-Rabah revealed that the ministry warned Kuwait Teachers Society (KTS) against political participation at Al-Barrak’s diwaniya.

He revealed that when NGO department defended the rights of the teachers, the ministry issued a letter to them in which it advised them to focus on social work away from political activities. ❑ ❑ ❑ FM heads for Turkey: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Hamad AlSabah is to leave the country later Tuesday headed to Ankara for an official two-day visit, during which he would be discussing furthering bilateral relations with Turkey.

The official delegation comprises the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Turkey Abdullah Al-Thuwaikh, Director of the Europe Department at the ministry Ambassador Walid Ali Al-Khubaizi, Director of the Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Office Department Ambassador Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Consul General in Istanbul Sheikh Fahad Salem Sabah Al-Nasser Al-Sabah, and a host of senior Foreign Ministry officials.

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Ports, Customs discussed: A committee of Kuwaiti Chamber of Commerce and Industry representatives met for the second time a World Bank delegation, tasked with developing and improving the efficiency of Kuwait’s Ports Authority on Tuesday.

In their second meeting this year, the KCCI’s commerce and transport committee and the World Bank delegation discussed a number of issues affecting the trade and logistics sector in the country, primarily the excessive traffic at Shuwaikh Port, one of Kuwait’s three existing sea ports.

The committee took the opportunity to urge haste on the completion of a storage zone at Shuaiba Port, in order to ease the burden on Shuwaikh Port.

According to KCCI board member Khaled Al-Khaled, the two sides also discussed establishing more developed land border customs units for a more efficient maneuvering of goods. (KUNA) ❑ ❑ ❑

New Razi dept: Ministry of Health celebrates next Sunday a ceremony of laying the cornerstone of the new outpatient department in Al-Razi Hospital at the cost of nearly KD 3.4 million.

Undersecretary of the Ministry Dr Khalid Saad AlSahlawi told reporters today that the building consists of 32 specialized outpatient clinics to be added to the current 15 ones. The new project also comprises 11 clinics for visiting doctors.

The Undersecretary added that the new building will take 18 moths to complete. (KUNA)

Meanwhile, former Deputy Parliament Speaker, former Minister Mishari Al-Anhari refuted the allegations that he mediated between the government and nullified majority bloc. He stressed the need for stabilizing what he called internal positions in the best interests of Kuwait.

On the other hand, MPs Nabil Al-Fadhel and Abdulhameed Dashti extended their standoff over the mistake committed by the organizing committee of Arab and International Relations Council Conference since it ignored mentioning the name of acting Parliament Speaker Mubarak Al-Khrainej although he attend the inaugural session, said Al-Seyassah daily.

Al-Fadhel said the Chairman of Arab Relations Council former MP Mohammed Al-Saqer should treat Al-Khrainej as per the fact that he is deputy parliament speaker.

He added, “We do not accept such behavior and it is not part of Al-Saqer’s morals.

He urged him to apologize to Al-Khrainej.”

The political blocs in the country must unify their objectives because some parties and individuals are keen on attacking the opposition movement, reports Al-Rai daily quoting former Parliament Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun.

Al-Saadoun made the statement in the recently-concluded coordinative meeting for the popular movement in Kabad. He admitted the opposition members have yet to reach an agreement on unifying their goals. He disclosed he attended the meeting to prove that the citizens can work together towards the implementation of genuine reforms. He also stressed the need for the political blocs to unite amidst the incessant attempts by some to attack the opposition.

Meanwhile, former MP Musallam Al-Barrak confirmed that Nahaj Bloc has opted out of the Majority Bloc.

On the newly-formed coalition of opposition groups, AlBarrak said the group has agreed to adopt a number of principles, while its organizational structure will be announced on Sunday. He disclosed the structure includes several prominent personalities, youths and political figures.

Moreover, former MP Abdullah Al-Roumi asserted the National Labor Bloc will join the coalition only if it focuses on rescuing the country from further collapse.

‘MoE to register bedoun students’ KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Ministry of Education has completed mechanism to register bedoun students who are without civil number in the students’ registration system and awaiting approval of new mechanism by the Legal Department to enable the ministry to register them in public and private schools, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

The new mechanism covers bedoun students who only hold ‘Declaration of Birth’ without Birth Certificate or security card but either parents or one of the parents must have valid security card.

These students are those who will start class one in the elementary stage or those transferring from private schools in all classes.

It does not cover students who are in various classes at the public schools since they have already been registered with computer numbers they will use until the end of their studies. It covers expatriate students whose Civil ID cards are not ready and those who are transferring from Arabic schools, indicating they will be registered via transfer acceptance screen.

‘Opposition must quit confrontation’ “THE current political move by the former opposition members has embroiled into a conflict three constitutional powers — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary simultaneously,” columnist Professor at Kuwait University and former MP Dr Abdulmohsen Jamal wrote for AlQabas daily Wednesday.

“It is a common fact that the democratic political system consists of three powers - the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The opposition that was ‘formed’ began its activities during the tenures of the previous parliaments and this was evident through its opposition to the government (the executive power) and this is something natural and undeniable, because the nature of the democratic political action in every country throughout the world entails the existence of a political opposition to encounter the government.

“But in the wake of the verdict that was issued by the Constitutional Court annulling and dissolving the National Assembly of 2012 followed by the issuance of an emergency decree amending the Election Law whereby each eligible voter was entitled to just one vote instead of four, all observers were surprised by the decision taken by the opposition to boycott the last parliamentary elections.

“In other words, the opposition was determined that it is not represented in the incumbent National Assembly and this has transformed into an opposiJamal tion against the legislative power and this means that it had decided to deal with the latter on equal footing with the government or the executive power on the basis the two powers at the moment represent the two faces of the same coin.

“But the situation aggravated following the issuance of some court verdicts against some activists and some former MPs. The court has sentenced some to various jail terms while others have been acquitted and travel ban imposed on yet others.

“Such being the case, we discovered the opposition not only opposes the executive power and the legislature, its tentacles have reached the judiciary because this ‘opposition’ has started casting doubts on the court verdicts.

“It is needless to say the drastic reaction that has been shown by the opposition in the form of attacks on the three powers (the executive, legislature and judiciary) has brought this opposition into the limelight of strategic mistakes committed by it because the attack on the judiciary has portrayed it as a foe of the entire Kuwaiti political system.

“Besides, we found some of the opposition elements trying in some or the other way to offend the ‘President of the State’ and the lawsuits which have been filed against them for this reason are still being looked into by the judiciary.

“In other words, the opposition has got itself involved in a declared struggle with the ‘social contract’ which is applied in Kuwait — the contract that governs the relationship between the ruler and the subjects in the democratic countries.

“Given this scenario the opposition must review its current position and stop following the policy of ‘on’ the verge of catastrophe, particularly since we know this policy has caused many difficulties for it and moreover, because the Kuwaitis will not accept to see the democratic system being subverted — the system which is based on separation among the three constitutional powers — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary in addition to cooperation among these powers.

“We say the above, because at the moment we see attempts that have been exerted to create a state of ‘political defect’ in many Arab countries, particularly those states which are currently ruled by the former opposition. All Kuwaitis believe in the Hadith (saying of the Prophet, PBUH) which says ‘The believer would not have been bitten twice from the same hole’.”

Also: “In spite of the optimism shown by the government to ‘one man one vote’, and in spite of various statements issued by the government emphasizing the country during the term of the incumbent National Assembly shall witness an unprecedented push towards development, reality shows the other side of the coin which is frustrating,” columnist Nassar Al-Khalidi wrote for Al-Kuwaitiah daily Wednesday.

“In December 2012, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak immediately after the members were elected to the incumbent National Assembly, was quoted as saying ‘You have to wait for the occurrence of a qualitative transition in all development fields’. Not just that, he was seemingly positive following the first session between the executive power and legislature and was again heard saying ‘You will soon see a new government method at all levels’.

“The Speaker of the National Assembly Ali Al-Rashed was seemingly more optimistic about the performance of his Assembly and was quoted as saying ‘This National Assembly will be the Assembly of achievements and cooperation’.

“Although some MPs don’t like to create a crisis between the government and the National Assembly that is likely to drag the Parliament towards dissolution, the activities of this Assembly during the past 45 days show most significant achievements came in the form of parliamentary interpellations that have been filed against the Minister of Communications and the Minister of State for Housing Affairs Salem AlUtheina. This is in addition to the interpellation filed against the Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior by MPs Hussain Al-Qallaf and Faisal AlDuwaisan respectively.

“Apart from the above, MP Nawaf Al-Fuzaie has said he will submit a grilling request against the Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali. In the meantime, MP Saadoun Hammad was quoted as saying he will grill the Minister of Oil Hani Hussain and the Minister of Defence Sheikh Ahmed Al-Khaled.

“MP Safa Al-Hashim has threatened to grill

both the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Zhikra Al-Rashidi and the Minister of Health Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi, and some other MPs are planning to file interpellation requests against the Minister of State for Development Affairs Dr Rola Dashti.

“In light of the above, we conclude half of the government members are currently threatened with parliamentary interpellations and this means the government at the moment suffers from a state of instability. Hence, we wonder if this is the development which both the government and the National Assembly were talking about.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “If the borders between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were left open, there wouldn’t be any evil coming from our Saudi brothers. How can we expect evil from a nation that had made our plight theirs during the gruesome invasion of Kuwait? The danger lies in Persia and Iraq, not Saudi Arabia,” columnist Mufrej Al-Barjas AlDosari wrote for Al-Watan Arabic daily.

“The Persians have neither a covenant nor a treaty. The current rule is just an extension of the Shah’s regime. The irresponsible official statements of the Iranians indicate hatred and enmity which their hearts had concealed for ages — something which we were very aware of.

“Our ancestors did not trust them from the beginning. Their crimes against Kuwait and its citizens are disgraceful, let alone the crimes that they have committed against other Arab countries.

“On the other hand, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the center of nations and the fortress of Islam. It is the pillar of monotheism, the polestar of Muslims and the graveyard of their beloved Prophet (PBUH).

“We have no doubt about the intentions of their leadership or we’re worried about its kinship. We didn’t trust Iraq when it was ruled by an Arab, so how can we trust Baghdad when it is become one of the Iranian states? The Iraqis are not to be trusted even if they are able to make the sun rise from the west.’’ ❑ ❑ ❑ “The judiciary is like any other authority in the country, considering its exposure to all forms of corruption. It is not isolated from the society and its social, political and economic conditions,” Dr Bader Al-Dehani wrote for Al-Jaridah daily.

“Whenever a political corruption issue emerges, there is no separation of power between the three authorities. The executive pushes for the implementation of certain laws to restrict freedom through the legislative and judicial authorities. The government takes this step every time it plans to deal with political opponents as clearly reflected in the way police forces oppress people in the name of democracy; just like the deposed Egyptian regime.

“In addition, the independence of the judiciary from the government financially and administratively, particularly in terms of budget approval, promotion and appointment to leadership posts, will strengthen confidence of the people in the authority. Therefore, maintaining effective and incorruptible people in the judiciary is not possible through words; concrete steps must be taken for the country to have an advanced and autonomous judicial authority.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “The phenomena of pursuing political activists and involving judiciary in political conflicts will not last long due to harmony among various political blocs”, columnist Waleed Al-Rujeib wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“The political blocs, youth movement and parliamentary blocs must unanimously agree at one national cause and unified goals for the democratic development of the country.

“Every authority wishes its opposition would weaken and fail in achieving its goals, and therefore employ various methods for this purpose.

Media is one of these methods utilized by any authority to forge facts and mislead normal citizens. Through the media, it distorts the reputation of the opposition, accusing it of seeking to destabilize the country’s security.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “Can anyone tell how the State which has a government and security authorities fail in its duties and stop expired foodstuffs being fed to the people... and the rotten meat too?” columnist Mohammad Mesaed Al-Dousari wrote for Alam Alyawm daily.

“Can anyone convince the people why the government has until now failed to inaugurate vital projects which is of course because of the corruption that has impeded these projects?

“These are the principal questions for which we wish to receive answers prior to discussion or even consideration of any kind by the successive governments to wage war on corruption.

“However, all people of the world know that corruption has become the latest tool to buy loyalties of people who are in power making the government incapable of acquiring the simplest things mentioned above which revolve around a lot of accusations that do not need any mention.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “Unfortunately, the margin of freedom of opinion and expression, which recognized Kuwait from the rest of the GCC countries has recently begun to tighten its ropes in spite of the fact that the constitutional provisions that guarantee freedom of opinion on the one hand, such as Article 36, which states that ‘freedom of opinion and scientific research is guaranteed, and everyone has the right to express and propagate his opinion verbally, in writing or otherwise ...’, and in spite of Kuwait signing international conventions oblige the country to respect freedom of opinion and expression on the other hand,” columnist Dr Badr Al-Daihani wrote for AlJaridah daily.

“I have seen how political persecution has affected a number of political activists among them the youth and former deputies making us see for the first time prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.

“We have also seen the unfamiliar manifestations such as tightening security around the ‘Palace of Justice’ as if suggesting mafia or ter-

rorist gangs are on trial.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “Current lawmakers have submitted three grilling requests while the fourth one will be submitted soon,” columnist Abdullah Al-Mesfir AlAdwani wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“MP Hussein Al-Qallaf submitted the first one against the Minister of Communications Salem Al-Utheina followed by MP Faisal AlDuwaisan’s grilling request against the Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmad Al-Humoud while MPs Sa’adoun Hamad and Nawaf Al-Fuza’e submitted the third one against the Minister of Oil Hani Hussein. Since the fourth one is feminine in nature, it is being cooked in the kitchen.

“These lawmakers had submitted the grilling requests within a span of two months after the current National Assembly known as the ‘onevote parliament’ was formed. Many refer it as the parliament of stability and development as some claim the four-vote parliaments had disturbed the developmental activities. However, I wonder if this new parliament, which has contracted the grilling fever, is really the parliament of growth and development. Time will tell.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “Before the court verdict indicted the three lawmakers, some Twitter users had received similar verdicts. In consideration of this, it appears the verdict of a related case, which is yet to be delivered, will not be better because the charges linked to that case are much more than the previous ones,” columnist Ghazi Al-Enezi wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“However, this case also has several loopholes through which the laws can be manipulated.

Storming the National Assembly building and insulting the Amir’s entity are not trivial issues and the suspected former lawmakers and youths have notorious reputations.

“I believe we need a maestro who can lead the opposition’s activities and calm the situation of the country when required. He should know how to make things happen when necessary and the highest authority and decision-making body should accept him. However, if the current trend continues, doom and danger will definitely befall in the country.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “The discussion about cancellation of interests on consumer loans of Kuwaitis, which have constituted a serious burden on the debtors, is the source of major socio-economic problem faced by a large component of citizens,” columnist Nasser Khamis Al-Mutairi wrote for Annahar daily.

“It is unfortunate the concerned officials have been trying to solve the problem with another problem. Whatever the idea that has been presented now is within the framework of political and public achievement, which cannot solve the entire problem but rather likely to snowball into a bigger problem.

“This perception is strong considering the fact that the proposed solutions lack fairness, because it only takes care of certain debtors leaving others out.

“There is no appropriate formula to resolve the problems associated with the banking loan interests, because recommendations of the Parliament and the government are partial and incomplete solution.

“The solution cannot take care of the source of the crisis that has been affecting the banking system in the country.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “The stars fade out for the so-called opposition at all times, while in the real sense, they are far from becoming an opponent because their activities are founded on personal interests. However, the real opposition is all about pursuing the interests of the nation and its people,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Most importantly, whenever their stars fade away, the light is usually revived with a statement by a former official or Sheikh missing the train. This kind of statement gives them a new lifeline and fertile ground to gather the scattered pieces of their course, while in reality the statements are solely entitled to individuals who utter them. Now, they have realized that Kuwait waits for nobody and the country is a formidable ship that battles strong waves to get to its destination and still maintains its course to reach its safest grounds.

“The ongoing conflict in the country is no secret to anyone. The issue is even discussed at our forums and we realize that many of them are holding different opinions, so we excuse them.

With everything they have done to our beloved country, the majority of Kuwaitis oppose giving the so-called opposition power on a platter for reasons we all know or rather for reasons we intentionally ignore for the sake of public welfare. No one is convinced by his words anymore, so what exactly does he want?” ❑ ❑ ❑ “Sometimes, people call the disabled as physically handicapped; such as those who find difficulties in moving a certain part of their bodies or those who cannot speak, yet they are not aware that many others have no physical disabilities but they are handicapped in the mind and the way they think,” Kholod Al-Dohaim wrote for AlShahed daily.

“In this society, many are suffering from mental imbalance and hallucinations, and they have been working towards the destruction of the country and division of its people. They have passion for violence and committing crimes, especially the youths who are wrongly used to spread intellectual destruction. Youth power is being misused in a way that negatively affects the public interest. Who should be held responsible for this?

“The family has a big role, which is not limited to raising children; it also entails monitoring every step they take no matter how old they are. We usually see parents take care of their children when they are very young, but once they become teenagers, the level of attention and care declines. It is very important to be moderate to push for reforms but it is unfortunate to see people who are not even aware of the truth.”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

MIDEAST

9

‘45 protesters dead during the 2011 uprising’

HRW seeks independent probe into Yemen ‘massacre’ SANAA, Feb 13, (AFP): Human Rights Watch on Tuesday urged Yemen to launch an independent probe into the “massacre” of 45 protesters during the 2011 uprising against ousted autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The New York-based watchdog said an earlier investigation ordered by Saleh into the killings was flawed, calling for a new probe that is “independent, impartial and meets international standards.”

“Several senior former and current government officials appear to have played a role in the massacre but have not been charged,” it said in a 69-page report entitled “Unpunished Massacre”. A new investigation must ensure all those implicated in the killings “regardless of position or rank, are arrested and appropriately prosecuted,” it stressed.

In the event that Yemen fails to conduct such a probe, HRW urged the United Nations and world powers to “publicly support an independent international investigation into these violations”.

HRW said 45 Yemeni protesters, most of them

university students and three of them children, were killed in three hours on March 18, 2011, while 200 others were wounded by gunmen loyal to Saleh. “Security forces made no serious effort to stop the carnage,” HRW said.

Seventy-eight suspects were indicted in connection with the killings following the probe ordered by Saleh, but more than half of them remain at large, it added.

The watchdog said the trial of the alleged “killers began in September 2012 but ground to a halt after lawyers for the victims sought top officials’ indictments”.

“Yemen’s transition government is basing its prosecution of the case on a deeply flawed investigation by the Saleh administration,” said HRW. Saleh dismissed the attorney general when he demanded that primary suspects, including government officials, be brought for questioning, it said.

Hundreds of people were killed across Yemen during the year-long uprising of 2011 that pushed Saleh out of power after 33 years of iron-fisted rule.

Al-Rashudi jailed for ‘breaking allegiance to king’

Human Rights Watch urges Saudi Arabia to free ex-judge DUBAI, Feb 13, (AFP): Human Rights Watch on Wednesday urged Saudi authorities to free an exjudge and founder of a rights group who is serving a 15-year jail sentence for “breaking allegiance to the king.”

Sulaiman al-Rashudi, 76, was one of 16 people detained in 2007 and sentenced to jail in November 2011 “for peacefully trying to establish a human rights organisation in

Jeddah” and “breaking allegiance to the king,” HRW said.

“Saudi authorities should immediately release and drop all charges against” Rashudi, founder of the Saudi Association of Civil and Political Rights (ACPRA), said the New Yorkbased watchdog.

Rashudi was also accused of “cooperating with outside organisations” and faced “other charges

that arose entirely from his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of association.”

He was released on bail in April 2011 but he was re-arrested on December 12 after giving a public lecture in Riyadh in which he defended demonstrations as legal under sharia (Islamic) law.

HRW director for the Middle East, Sarah Leah Whitson, condemned the “cruel” sentence

against Rashudi and said Saudi authorities “seem to be saying that no independent individual can comment on sharia law.”

The watchdog quoted family members as saying Rashudi was denied the right to appeal the sentence while his daughter, Bahiya, was briefly detained on Sunday after taking part in a protest calling for the release of political detainees.

But Saleh only agreed to step down in November 2011 under a Gulf-brokered and UN-backed deal that gave

him and his aides immunity from prosecution.

HRW on Tuesday urged the UN

Security Council, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and world powers to “publicly oppose immunity for Yemeni officials

implicated in serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law”.

Egypt floods Gaza tunnels to cut Palestinian lifeline Abbas warns over prisoner hunger strike GAZA, Feb 13, (Agencies): Egyptian forces have flooded smuggling tunnels under the border with the Palestinianruled Gaza Strip in a campaign to shut them down, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said.

Students from the University of Birzeit gather during a demonstration, in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails, outside Israel’s Ofer military prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Feb 12. (AFP)

Israel faces tough questions

Australia to ‘review’ dead prisoner’s case CANBERRA, Australia, Feb 13, (Agencies): Australian legislators demanded answers Wednesday about the suspicious death of an Australian-Israeli man in an Israeli prison and the government ordered a review of the case, while little more information about the death was revealed in Israel.

The review followed an Australian Broadcasting Corp. report on Tuesday that sought to lift the veil of secrecy from a case that Israel has long kept under wraps and revealed that the man, identified as Ben Zygier, was suspected of links to Israel’s Mossad espionage agency.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said a review would be conducted of his department’s handling of the prisoner, who was found hanged in an Israeli prison cell in 2010. He is named Ben Allen in his Australian passport. He was also known as Ben Alon and was born Ben Zygier, and it is not certain that the passport name is genuine. A spokesman for Carr said the review was not meant “to suggest anything untoward has happened, but given that there’s an interest in the case, let’s have the review.”

Carr also revealed that some Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials knew in 2010 that Allen was detained, contradicting an earlier statement that the department only became aware after he died.

Shadow Among the lawmakers demanding clarifications was shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, who told ABC she wanted to know why details about the case were being censored in Israel.

“That’s a matter that I’ll raise directly with the Israeli Embassy to get an understanding of the basis for it,” she said.

Israeli media reports said she met the ambassador and explained her concerns.

The leader of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne, said Carr should press Israel about the circumstances of the case.

The affair emerged in June 2010, when the Israeli news site Ynet briefly reported on the existence of a prisoner — identified only as Prisoner X — whose crimes were unknown, but that report was removed from the site shortly after it was posted.

Ynet then reported on Dec. 27, 2010, that a prisoner had committed suicide while in solitary confinement two weeks earlier. That report, which said jailers took him down from his noose and unsuccessfully tried to revive him, was also quickly removed.

Israel’s military censor has the authority to block or even delete reports deemed

threatening to national security. The censor’s office declined comment.

The ABC reported that the prisoner, whom it referred to as Ben Zygier, migrated from Australia to Israel in 2000 and had worked for Mossad. It reported that his incarceration was top secret, but did not say why he had been arrested.

It said he hanged himself in a cell that had been specially designed for Yigal Amir, the Jewish ultranationalist who assassinated then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

In Jerusalem, Israeli MPs and commentators were on Wednesday asking tough questions about the mysterious detention and apparent suicide of “Prisoner X” after a TV report said he was an Australian Jew with ties to Mossad.

With tight reporting restrictions in place, the Israeli media was completely silent on the affair.

Embarrassing What they did report was that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Tuesday called an urgent meeting with the country’s top editors to ask them to cooperate by “withholding publication of information pertaining to an incident that is very embarrassing to a certain government agency,” Haaretz newspaper said, in a clear allusion to Mossad.

But shortly afterwards, three MPs raised questions over the issue in parliament, effectively sidestepping the censor in a move which forced a slight easing of the reporting restrictions.

It said he was working for Mossad, and that his arrest and incarceration was one of the most sensitive secrets of Israel’s intelligence community.

Before he was arrested in early 2010, Zygier had been living in Israel for about 10 years and was married to an Israeli woman with whom he had two children, the channel said.

ABC had no information on why he was arrested but said he was taken to Ayalon Prison near Tel Aviv where he was held in virtual isolation.

In December of that year, Zygier was found hanged in his cell, despite the fact it was equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance systems to prevent suicide, it said.

Although the press can now quote foreign media on details of the case, the restrictions bar any original reporting on the incident, a spokesman for the censor’s office said.

“It is now possible to report what foreign sources are saying about this story,” a spokesman told AFP, saying the main blackout was still in place.

The network of tunnels is a vital lifeline for Gaza, bringing in an estimated 30 percent of all goods that reach the enclave and circumventing a blockade imposed by Israel for more than seven years.

Reuters reporters saw one tunnel being used to bring in cement and gravel suddenly fill with water on Sunday, sending workers rushing for safety. Locals said two other tunnels were likewise flooded, with Egyptians deliberately pumping in water.

“The Egyptians have opened the water to drown the tunnels,” said Abu Ghassan, who supervises the work of 30 men at one tunnel some 200 metres (yards) from the border fence.

An Egyptian security official in the Sinai told Reuters the campaign started five days ago.

“We are using water to close the tunnels by raising water from one of the wells,” he said, declining to be named.

Dozens of tunnels had been destroyed since last August following the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers in a militant attack near the Gaza fence.

Cairo said some of the gunmen had crossed into Egypt via the tunnels — a charge denied by Palestinians — and ordered an immediate crackdown.

The move surprised and angered Gaza’s rulers, the Islamist group Hamas, which had hoped for much better ties with Cairo following the election last year of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist who is ideologically close to Hamas.

A Hamas official confirmed Egypt was again targeting the tunnels. He gave no further details and declined to speculate on the timing of the move, which started while Palestinian faction leaders met in Cairo to try to overcome deep divisions.

Hamas said on Monday the Egyptianbrokered talks, aimed at forging a unity government and healing the schism between politicians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, had gone badly but had not collapsed.

While Gaza’s rulers have been reluctant to criticise Morsi in public, ordinary Gazans are slightly more vocal.

“Egyptian measures against tunnels have worsened since the election of Morsi. Our Hamas brothers thought he would open up Gaza. I guess they were wrong,” said a tunnel owner, who identified himself only as Ayed, fearing reprisal.

“Perhaps 150 or 200 tunnels have been shut since the Sinai attack. This is the Morsi era,” he added.

Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas Tuesday called on the international community to intervene urgently in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails.

“Things may get out of control if the lives of the hunger strikers are not saved,” Abbas said on Palestinian television.

“We ask the international community to respond effectively to ease the situation, otherwise it will be impossible to control and it will deteriorate across the Palestinian territories.

“These prisoners are on hunger strike in response to the policy of administrative detention and ill-treatment by the occupying authorities,” he added in reference to Israel.

Tunisia raises security TUNIS, Feb 13, (RTRS): Tunisia’s Interior Ministry is protecting several politicians and journalists who have received death threats, its spokesman said on Wednesday, a week after the assassination of secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid.

“The forms of protection vary between protecting homes and providing escorts and non-regular protection for others,” added the spokesman, Lotfi Hidouri, without giving details.

An unidentified gunman killed Belaid outside his home last Wednesday, igniting public outrage and setting off three days of sometimes violent protests against the Islamist-led government.

Barak, Panetta hold talks at Pentagon

US will back rights in Mideast: Obama WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AFP): US President Barack Obama vowed to maintain the pressure on the Syrian regime and to defend human rights in the Middle East on Tuesday, but offered no new ideas to halt bloodshed in the Arab world.

“In the Middle East, we will stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and support stable transitions to democracy,” he declared, in his annual State of the Union address to the US Congress.

“The process will be messy, and we cannot presume to dictate the course of change in countries like Egypt. But we can, and will, insist on respect for the fundamental rights of all people,” he said.

For the past two years the major countries of the Middle East have been in upheaval following pro-democracy demonstrations that triggered revolutions in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt and civil war in Syria.

The United States was caught flatfooted by the revolts, which toppled foes like Libya’s Moamer Kadhafi and allies like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, and left behind countries in turmoil or outright combat.

The United Nations said Tuesday that 70,000 people have died in fighting between Bashar al-Assad’s brutal Syrian regime and rebel forces, increasing the pressure on the United States to intervene to find a solution.

But Obama, who is planning a trip to the region, offered no new plan.

“We will keep the pressure on a Syrian regime that has murdered its own people, and support opposition leaders that respect the rights of every Syrian,” he said.

“And we will stand steadfast with Israel in pursuit of security and a lasting peace. These are the messages I will deliver when I travel to the Middle East next month.”

Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak held talks Tuesday with Pentagon chief Leon Panetta that were expected to focus on the conflict in Syria and on Iran’s nuclear program, US officials said.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

10

Karzai strongly condemns airstrike

Nato accused of killing 10 Afghan civilians KABUL, Feb 13, (AFP): A NATO air strike killed 10 civilians, mostly women and children, Afghan officials said Wednesday, as Kabul welcomed President Barack Obama’s pledge to withdraw more US troops.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai “strongly condemns the NATO airstrike in Shigal district which killed 10 civilians”, the presidential palace said in a statement.

“Condemning the raid, he once again reaffirmed his longstanding stance that terrorism does not exist in Afghan homes and villages, and the fight there will not yield any successful result,” the statement said.

NATO forces said they were investigating the claims of civilian deaths and took “every allegation of civilian casualties very seriously”.

If the deaths are confirmed it will be another blow to the prestige of US-led forces as they prepare to withdraw combat troops from the war against Taleban Islamist insurgents by the end of next year.

The civilians were killed by a NATO air strike during an overnight raid on a Taleban hideout in a remote eastern region, local officials said. “Five children, four women and a man were killed in the raid,” Kunar provincial governor Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi told AFP. Three Taleban commanders, including a notorious alQaeda-linked militant leader called Shahpoor, were also killed in the raid, said district governor Abdul Zahir.

Zahir said the civilians were killed in the air raid in support of a ground operation by US-led coalition and Afghan forces in a Taleban-controlled valley in the insurgency-

‘Afghan forces capable to replace foreign troops’

Kabul welcomes Obama’s withdrawal plan KABUL, Feb 13, (AFP): The Afghan government on Wednesday welcomed President Barack Obama’s announcement that the United States will withdraw 34,000 troops from the war-torn country over the next year.

“We welcome this,” defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP. “We will take all security responsibilities by the end of 2013.

“Our troops will replace them.”

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has long supported the scheduled withdrawal of US and NATO combat troops by the end of 2014, saying Afghan forces are capable of taking responsibility for the fight against Taliban insurgents.

Obama, who made the troop withdrawal announcement during his State of the Union address, said the

drawdown would continue and “by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over”.

The Taliban dismissed the troop pull-out as insufficient.

“The problem is not going to be solved with reducing or increasing the number of troops,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP. “As long as the invading forces remain in Afghanistan, the jihad (holy war) continues. The problem is solved with the complete withdrawal of the invading forces and returning Afghanistan back to Afghans.”

Obama’s move effectively halves the size of the current 66,000-strong US force in Afghanistan, as NATO troops prepare to hand over control for security operations to some 352,000 Afghan security forces by the end of 2014.

plagued region.

It was not clear if the owner of the targeted house was a member of the Taleban or a civilian, but the Taleban were visiting when the home was attacked, he added.

The Taleban often force villagers to provide them with food and shelter.

Four other children were wounded in the raid, Wahidi said.

Civilian casualties caused by NATO forces are a highly sensitive issue and are regularly condemned by Karzai.

His government on Wednesday welcomed Obama’s announcement that the United States will withdraw 34,000 troops over the next year.

Thai marines kill 16 militants during military base ‘assault’ Army, police in hunt for over 60 escaped rebels “Sixteen militants were confirmed dead after the attack,” he told reporters at the scene, adding that the military and police were in “hot pursuit” of the 60 to 70 militants who fled the base after the attack.

The government expressed sorrow over the deaths, one of the highest single death tolls in some eight years of violence in Thailand’s deep south, but praised the military operation, sayIn the unusually brazen early-morning assault, 100 militants, dressed in army ing the army had had no choice. fatigues and armed with AK47 and M16 assault rifles, attacked the unit in “The government has no policy of using violence to deal with southern unrest but in this Narathiwat province, unit commander Captain Somkiat Pholprayoon said. incident (militants) attacked the military base,” Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung told reporters in Bangkok.

A shadowy insurgency has been fighting for greater autonomy for the country’s southernmost provinces since 2004, with shootings and bombings occurring on a near-daily basis.

More than 5,500 people have been killed, both Buddhist and Muslim, in the bloody conflict.

Chalerm, who heads the government’s special body in charge of the southern unrest, recently proposed imposing a curfew in certain areas of the most affected provinces. “If we impose a curfew then militants will find it more difficult to enter the area,” he said Wednesday.

Religious leaders oppose the move, saying it will do nothing to solve the underlying problems. The Thai cabinet is set to discuss the proposal Friday.

Critics accuse the government of failing to address the grievances of Thailand’s Malay Muslim minority, including alleged abuses by the military and a perceived lack of respect for their ethnic identity, language and religion.

Members of Thailand’s security forces are frequently targeted in ambushes and roadside bombs, but organised attacks on military bases are relatively rare.

No military casualties were reported in the early hours assault at the base in the Bacho district of Thai police officers inspect dead suspected insurgents who were killed when they attacked a military base in Thailand’s restive southern Narathiwat province, one of three province of Narathiwat on Feb 13. Scores of heavily armed gunmen stormed a military base in unrest-plagued southern Thailand, an army Muslim-dominated provinces spokesman said, in a major assault that left at least 16 militants dead. (AFP) near the border with Malaysia.

An army spokesman had earlier put the militants’ death toll at 17.

Pakistan seeks ceasefire before Taleban talks “We learned of the attack in advance from defected militants,” Colonel Pramote Promin, southern army spokesman told Thai television. He added that a key local leader of the fighters, Seebregts told AFP. dawn raid in the western Pakistani city of Quetta THE HAGUE, Feb 13, (AFP): Dutch-Pakistani who wore bulletproof vests durDressed in a white hooded sweatshirt, on Sept 23, 2010, had been tortured while in a al-Qaeda suspect Sabir Khan launched a lasting the attack, had been killed in blue tracksuit bottoms and white trainers, a Pakistani jail with the full knowledge of US ditch bid Tuesday to halt his extradition to the the clashes. clean-shaven Khan looked nervously at the intelligence agencies.

United States where he is accused of planning Southern army commander floor during the hearing and shook hands His extradition to face five terror-related acts of terror, including a suicide attack on a US Lieutenant General Udomchai with his lawyers afterwards before being led charges in a New York court would breach the base in Afghanistan.

Thammasarorat called for local away.

European Convention on Human Rights preNetherlands Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten in villagers to stay in their homes Meanwhile, Pakistan’s government on venting torture as well as Dutch law, which proDecember gave his final approval for the extrafor 24-hours, for their “safety Wednesday urged the Taliban to announce a 30hibits the handing over of a suspect to a country dition of Khan, 26, but his lawyers argue that the and to prevent any confusion day ceasefire as a precursor to peace talks which suspected of involvement in torture, Seebregts US was complicit in his torture in Pakistan, during the pursuit of militants”, the militants offered earlier this month, adding argued. where he was first arrested in 2010. he told broadcaster Thai PBS. the nation had rejected their campaign of terror.

The detailed charges against Khan have not Khan’s extradition would “give the impresA report by the International The umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan been made public, and it is unclear if the suicide sion that the Netherlands tolerates the violation Crisis Group on the violence in (TTP) faction has stepped up attacks in recent attack he is alleged to have planned on a US milof human rights,” lawyer Andre Seebregts told a December said insurgents had months, leading to fears that violence could mar itary base in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar District Court judge in The Hague, where an grown “bolder and stronger” general elections scheduled to take place by province ever took place. urgent interdict has been filed. amid political inaction from sucmid-May. “He (Khan) prefers not to say anything,” Seebregts argued that Khan, arrested in a cessive Bangkok governments.

NARATHIWAT, Thailand, Feb 13, (Agencies): In one of the most deadly attacks in Thailand’s long-running insurgency, scores of heavily-armed gunmen stormed a southern army base Wednesday, authorities said, leaving 16 militants dead.

Al-Qaeda suspect battles extradition to US

Daud may face charges

Somali journalist freed MOGADISHU, Somalia, Feb 13, (AP): A Somali journalist was freed after being detained without charges for more than a week for speaking out against the imprisonment of a fellow reporter.

Daud Abdi Daud was released but he said Wednesday that that the Somali government wants to charge him in court with “offending the president’s wife.”

Daud, a Radio Kulmiye reporter, said he was released Tuesday after more than a week in custody, though authorities treated him well.

He said his arrest stemmed from an incident last week when a Mogadishu court handed down one-year prison sentences to a woman who said she was raped by security forces and a reporter who interviewed her.

Daud said he spoke at the court saying that a journalist can interview any woman at her home, even if she the president’s wife, and that prompted his arrest.

Journalists’ rights groups expressed outrage over Daud’s arrest. Human Rights Watch asked Somali authorities to immediately charge or release Daud.

“They should not be shutting down free expression by jailing journalists and throwing away the key,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Somali authorities declined to comment on Daud’s arrest.

Reporters Without Borders said the arrest is an obvious act of intimidation, one that casts doubt on the sincerity of the Somali authorities.

Prisoner creates a ‘jihadi’ group NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, Feb 13, (AP): A Muslim extremist imprisoned in a Mauritanian jail announced the creation of a new jihadi group, Ansar alShariah in the Land of Chinguetti.

According to his declaration published by SITE Intelligence in Washington on Tuesday, Mauritanian Abou Ayyub alMahdi, also known as Ahmed Salim bin al-Hassan, said he was creating his group to promote Shariah-based governance.

Other prisoners released their own statement via the Mauritanian news portal, Nouakchott Information Agency, to say they have refused to take part in his group.

It was not immediately clear if Salim has supporters outside of prison.

An Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel keeps watch during a patrol in Nor Gal district Kunar province on Feb 13. The Afghan government welcomed President Barack Obama’s announcement that the United States will withdraw 34,000 troops from the war-torn country over the next year. NATO, which has about 37,000 troops in Afghanistan, will also withdraw them in stages before the end of 2014. (AFP)

‘Another Afghanistan’

Fears of catastrophic violence in tense Mali GAO, Mali, Feb 13, (Agencies): Mali risks descending into “catastrophic” violence, the UN rights chief has warned, after a string of attacks by Islamist rebels increased the pressure on French-led forces in the west African nation.

After four days of suicide bombings and guerrilla fighting in the northern city of Gao, fears of fresh attacks were high following a call from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for a holy war.

UN rights chief Navi Pillay warned against reprisal attacks by the Malian army and black majority on light-skinned Tuaregs and Arabs accused of supporting the Islamist rebels.

“As the situation evolves, attacks and reprisals risk driving Mali into a catastrophic spiral of violence,” Pillay told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

“Protection of human rights is key to stabilising the situation,” she added.

Rights campaigners have accused Malian troops of killing suspected rebel supporters and dumping their bodies in wells.

Some black Malians have turned on their Tuareg and Arab neighbours in northern towns recaptured from the Islamists.

And in Timbuktu last week, a grave containing several Arabs’ bodies was discovered.

Many Arabs and Tuaregs have already fled the north, fearing reprisals.

A total of 377,000 people have fled their homes, including 150,000 who have sought refuge across Mali’s borders, according to the UN. Mali imploded after a coup on March 22 last year by soldiers who blamed the government for the army’s humiliation at the hands of north African Tuareg rebels, who have long complained of being marginalised by Bamako.

With the capital in disarray, al-Qaeda-linked fighters hijacked the Tuareg rebellion and took control of the north.

Sidelights US to help allies: The United States will help its allies confront an evolving al-Qaeda threat and be more transparent with the American people in the fight against terror groups, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

Al-Qaeda Obama was now a “shadow” of the group that was behind the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, Obama said in his annual State of the Union address.

But he warned lawmakers gathered in the imposing US Congress: “Different al-Qaeda affiliates and extremist groups have emerged — from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa.

The threat these groups pose is evolving.” (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Hunt for hostages:

French soldiers load a homemade bomb containing 600 kilos (1,300 pounds) of explosives on a military excavator after defused it on Feb 13, in a courtyard of an abandoned house in the centre of northern Mali’s largest city Gao. The bomb, which was made of four metal barrels filled with explosives and connecting wires, was found with heavy machine gun cartridges lying on the ground nearby and several smaller bombs inside the building. (AFP)

Analysts say the crisis has been fuelled by a complex interplay of internal tensions and international factors, including al-Qaeda’s call to global jihad.

Those concerns were underlined Tuesday when AQAP, Al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch, condemned France’s intervention as a “Crusader campaign against Islam” and called all Muslims to join a holy war against it.

Around 90 percent of Malians are Muslim, but the Islamist extremists’ hardline ideology is not broadly accepted.

“Supporting the Muslims in Mali is a duty for every capable Muslim with life and money, everyone according to their ability,” AQAP’s sharia committee said in a statement reported by the US-based SITE Intelligence agency.

AQAP — which US officials have labelled al-Qaeda’s most dangerous franchise — said jihad is “more obligatory on the people who are closer” to the fight and that “helping the disbelievers against Muslims in any form is apostasy”.

That was an apparent reference to north African countries, notably Algeria, which agreed to let French warplanes use Algerian airspace. Islamist gunmen subsequently attacked a gas field there, unleashing a hostage crisis that left 37 foreigners dead.

“We’re not, at the drop of a hat, going to get into another Afghanistan in this region,” he told lawmakers. But requests for financial assistance and military trainers are being considered.

France launched its intervention on Jan 11, after Mali’s interim government called for help fending off the Islamist insurgents as they advanced into southern territory.

After pushing the rebels from the towns under their control, France is eager to wind down the operation and hand over to United Nations peacekeepers.

Hundreds of Muslim guerrillas will continue efforts to free foreign hostages held by al-Qaidalinked Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the southern Philippines despite a clash last week that killed scores of combatants from both sides, a Muslim rebel leader said.

Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari told The Associated Press late Tuesday that he ordered his men to reassess their plans following the Feb 3 clash but to resume efforts to secure the freedom of several hostages, including a Jordanian and two European men, without endangering the captives or nearby communities in Sulu province’s mountainous Patikul town. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Bill passed: Indonesia’s parliament passed an anti-terrorism bill on Tuesday that allows authorities to freeze bank

Florida terror trial

Pakistani outage ‘halts’ testimony MIAMI, Feb 13, (AP): A mysterious outage in transmission of live testimony from Pakistan has temporarily halted the South Florida terrorism support trial of an elderly Muslim cleric.

The feed to a Miami federal courtroom was cut off Tuesday and restoration efforts failed.

Neither lawyers for 77-year-old Hafiz Khan nor the US Justice Department could explain the cause Wednesday.

Khan lawyer Khurrum Wahid said employees at the Islamabad hotel where the witnesses were appearing told him police were seen taking photos in the building. But prosecutors say Pakistani government agencies contacted by the US denied cutting off the feed.

US District Judge Robert Scola ordered Khan’s lawyers to either bring witnesses to Miami or find a third country. Trial will resume next week. accounts and confiscate assets with suspected links to militant activity.

“This is an important key piece of legislation in (Indonesia’s) efforts to combat terrorism,” deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said in a plenary session of the 550-seat house.

The new law will also allow the government to request foreign nations to freeze accounts showing suspicious transactions that could be linked to terrorism. (AFP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

11

New probe into Murdoch’s News of the World incident

UK police arrest 6 more in phone hacking LONDON, Feb 13, (AFP): British police arrested six former News of the World journalists on Wednesday in a new probe into alleged phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch’s now-closed tabloid, Scotland Yard said.

Investigators had identified a “further suspected conspiracy” at the paper in 2005 and 2006 which was separate to the alleged hacking under which a number of people have already been charged, it said in a statement.

Two of those arrested on Wednesday now work at the daily tabloid The Sun, according to an internal memo by the chief executive of News International, the British newspaper wing of Murdoch’s US-based News Corp. empire.

The News of the World closed in disgrace in 2011 amid allegations that it had hacked the mobile phone voicemails of hundreds of celebrities, politicians and victims of crime and terrorism.

“Detectives on Operation Weeting have identified a further suspected conspiracy to intercept telephone voicemails by a number of employees who worked for the now defunct News of the World newspaper,” the statement said.

“As part of the new lines of inquiry six people were arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to intercept telephone communications... All of them are journalists or former journalists.”

Police arrested three men aged 46, 39 and 45 and two women aged 33 and 40 in London, and a 39-year-old

Fire kills six children in Britain

UK couple on trial over children’s death LONDON, Feb 13, (AFP): A British couple accused of killing their six children in a house fire started the blaze themselves as part of a “plan that went horribly wrong”, a court heard on Tuesday.

Prosecutors claim that Mick Philpott, 56, and his 31year-old wife Mairead set fire to their house in Derby, central England, last May in a bid to frame his ex-girlfriend and claim custody of the four children they had together.

The Philpotts, along with a third defendant Paul Mosley, 46, each deny six counts of manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court.

As their trial opened, Philpott sobbed and tried to leave the dock as the jury listened to the frantic telephone call the couple made to emergency services when the fire took hold in the early hours of May 11, 2012.

Mairead Philpott was heard screaming on the tape, while her husband choked back sobs and told the operator: “I can’t get in.”

The jury heard that neighbours tried to rescue the children, aged five to 13, but were overwhelmed by the smoke and flames.

woman in Cheshire, northwest England, and were questioning them at various police stations, the statement said.

Searches were also under way at a number of addresses.

“In due course officers will be making contact with people they believe have been victims of the suspected voicemail interceptions,” the statement said.

News International declined to comment on the arrests.

But in an internal memo to staff, News International chief executive Mike Darcey said two of those arrested

were current staff members at The Sun and were being offered legal assistance, a source told AFP. Those already facing trial over hacking at the News of the World include British Prime Minister David Cameron’s ex-spokesman Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Murdoch’s British newspaper wing. Operation Weeting was launched in January 2011 to investigate a string of allegations over hacking at the weekly News of the World, which was Britain’s biggest selling newspaper.

British Conservatives seek to break media law deadlock Australian magazine defends its decision to publish Kate pictures LONDON, Feb 13, (Agencies): British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives set out plans to regulate the newspaper industry on Tuesday in a bid to break the parliamentary deadlock that followed the judge-led inquiry into press standards and phone hacking.

the sometimes “outrageous” press following the year-long inquiry.

The government was forced to find an alternative solution however after Cameron — believing it would threaten the concept of a free press — rejected the need for a new law.

That put him at odds with his Liberal Democrat junior coalition partners and opposition Labour Party.

In response, Miller laid out plans on Tuesday for a Royal Charter that proposed setting up a body called the recognition panel which would oversee a regulator.

Culture Secretary Maria Miller published her party’s draft proposals more than two It believes the use of a charter, which sets out the terms of major organisations such as the months after a senior judge called for a new watchdog backed by legislation to police BBC, would make up for the lack of legislation proposed by the Leveson inquiry.

Under the plans, the charter could only be changed with the agreement of the leaders of the three main political parties and two thirds of lawmakers.

“I have been clear that the ‘status quo’ is not an option and that we need tough independent self-regulation,” Miller said.

“Equally, I have said that I have grave concerns about a press bill and am not convinced that it is necessary on the grounds of principle, practicality or necessity.

“The Royal Charter would allow the principles of Leveson to be implemented swiftly and in a practical fashion. It would see the toughest press regulation this country has ever seen, without compromising press freedom.”

The behaviour of Britain’s cut-throat tabloid media came under intense scrutiny after journalists resorted to increasingly intrusive tactics to break salacious stories to shore up falling circulation figures.

Cameron ordered the Leveson inquiry to investigate the conduct of the press after journalists and staff at Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World admitted hacking into the voicemails of phones to generate stories.

A campaign group set up to call for higher standards in the newspaper industry, Hacked Mike Crockart MP (left), and Lord St John of Bletso (right), participate in the annual charity parliamentary pancake race with participants from Off, said the plan for a Royal the House of Lords, The House of Commons and members of the political press in Central London on Feb 12. The event was staged to raise Charter fell a long way below funds for the charity Rehab UK. (AFP) what was needed.

Also:

British broadcaster in turmoil

SYDNEY:

BBC sued over Savile sex abuse scandal LONDON, Feb 13, (Agencies): Dozens of victims of alleged sexual abuse by the late British television star Jimmy Savile have sued the BBC in the wake of a scandal which threw the British broadcaster into turmoil and has raised questions about media ethics.

A police-led report showed last month that Savile - an eccentric presenter once much loved by the British public - sexually assaulted hundreds of people, mainly children, at BBC premises and hospitals over six decades of unparalleled abuse.

Alan Collins, a lawyer representing the group, said 31 victims had lodged their claims seeking compensation with the British High Court against the BBC as well as Savile’s

estate. The number of claimants was expected to grow, he said.

“They were forced into this position as a result of all the publicity,” Collins told Reuters.

“A lot of painful memories were rekindled.

The only way these people are ever going to get any peace is by taking these proceedings and hopefully getting some semblance of justice.”

The 90-year-old BBC is respected around the world for its news and known affectionately at home as “Auntie”. But its handling of the affair has rattled staff and audiences who fund the channel through an annual licence fee.

Director-General George Entwistle stood down after 54 days in the top job after failing to get to grips with the scandal. His predecessor,

Bid to boost UK economy

Charles to tour ME, Gulf LONDON, Feb 13, (AFP): Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are to tour Jordan, Qatar and Oman next month to help boost Britain’s economic, political and other ties with these countries, palace officials said on Wednesday.

The heir to the British throne will arrive in Jordan on March 11 before heading to Qatar and Oman, meeting the royal families of each nation, Charles’ residence Clarence House said.

The royal couple will return to Britain on March 19.

“The tour will help to strengthen the United Kingdom’s bilateral relations with key partners in the region, relations which are underpinned by the close personal friendships that exist between Their Royal Highnesses and the Royal Families in each country,” Clarence House said.

“The visits will also aim to support UK economic interests by highlighting the growing commercial links between British companies and their counterparts in Jordan, Qatar and Oman.”

Mark Thompson, now the head of the New York Times, has also faced tough questions about what he knew.

In a statement on its website, the BBC said: “We’re unable to comment on any legal claims of this nature made against the corporation.”

A one-time professional wrestler, Savile became famous as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s before becoming a regular fixture on TV hosting prime-time pop and children’s shows until the 1990s.

He also ran about 200 marathons for charity, raising tens of millions of pounds (dollars) for hospitals, leading some to give him keys to rooms where victims now allege they were abused.

An Australian women’s magazine Wednesday defended its decision to publish pictures of a bikini-clad Duchess of Cambridge which show her baby bump, saying they were a “beautiful” set of images.

Woman’s Day is set to run shots of Prince William’s wife Catherine taken while the royal couple were holidaying on the Caribbean island of Mustique in their next edition out Monday.

The Australian magazine is following Italian publication Chi, which also decided to print the photos of the private holiday, drawing criticism from St. James’s Palace that their publication was a breach of privacy.

DNA shows NZ girl not McCaan WELLINGTON, Feb 13, (AFP): DNA from a New Zealand girl bearing a striking resemblance to missing British youngster Madeleine McCann confirms she is not the child who disappeared in 2007, police said Wednesday.

British authorities asked for the sample after the latest reported sighting of McCann in New Zealand, nearly six years after she went missing while holidaying with her family in Portugal at the age of three.

New Zealand police said they had been contacted twice by people convinced the child was McCann, first in March last year and again on New Year’s Eve.

In this May 2, file photo shows Kate and Gerry McCann pose with a missing poster, an age progression computer generated image of their daughter Madeleine at 9 years old, as they talk to the media in London to mark their daughter Madeleine’s birthday and the 5th anniversary of their daughter disappearance during a family vacation in southern Portugal in May 2007. (AP)

A worker cuts beef meat at ‘DOLY-COM’ abattoir of the two Romanian companies exporting horse meat to EU countries, in Roma village, 450 kms north from Bucharest, on Feb 12. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, said on Monday in a press conference ‘no irregularities’ had been committed by companies in the country despite allegations that two abattoirs had duped European food companies by selling horse meat as beef. (AFP)

Horsemeat scandal

EU farm ministers to hold crisis talks BRUSSELS, Feb 13, (Agencies): European Union farm ministers hold crisis talks in Brussels on Wednesday to agree a response to a scandal over mislabelled frozen meat products which is spreading across Europe.

The snap talks come a day after British police searching for the source of horsemeat found in kebabs and burgers raided two meat plants, the first such operation in the row, and France became the second EU nation after Britain to find horsemeat posing as beef in frozen food.

“If there is horsemeat in hamburgers or lasagne there should’ve been a label indicating this,” EU commissioner for health Tonio Borg said ahead of the talks.

“Consumers are entitled to know what they are eating,” he said at a news conference.

“If anyone distributes and circulates meat products as beef, when it is not beef, that is in violation” of EU legislation.

Health It was up to member states to enforce current labelling legislation, he said, reiterating also that the European Commission believed that the scandal “up until now is a labelling issues” and “not a health issue”.

“It is evident,” he added, “that someone down the line has frauduBorg lently or negligently — probably fraudulently — labelled a product in a deceptive way.”

Wednesday’s talks between EU agriculture ministers opening at 1630 GMT aim to have “an exchange of views and allow for sharing of information between the most affected member states” — Britain, France, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

The ministers will also look at “whatever steps may be necessary at EU level to comprehensively address this matter”, said Ireland, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

On Tuesday, supermarkets in Switzerland and the Netherlands became the latest to pull ready-made meals as anger grows across Europe.

France has called for precise labelling on the origin of meat in ready-made dishes.

And President Francois Hollande warned on Wednesday that the scandal could seriously damage the country’s frozen food sector.

“The president underlines that it is a serious affair in relation to consumer confidence and potentially serious for the consequences for the French sector,” government spokeswoman Najat VallaudBelkacem said.

Interbev, an association representing the French cattle and meat industry, has denounced the EU’s failure to act, saying bth consumers and professionals wanted swift action on better labelling. In Britain, police and officials from the Food Standards Agency on Tuesday raided a slaughterhouse in northern England and a meatproducing factory in Wales.

They shut both sites and seized all meat there.

“The agency and the police are looking into the circumstances through which meat products, purporting to be beef for kebabs and burgers, were sold when they were in fact horse,” the agency said.

Andrew Rhodes, operations director of the FSA, said he had ordered an audit of abattoirs that produce horsemeat in Britain when the scandal arose last month “and I was shocked to uncover what

appears to be a blatant misleading of consumers.”

The raids on the British meat premises opened a new front in the pan-European search for the source of the horsemeat: the allegations had so far focused on Romania.

In France, retailer Picard said tests had confirmed that horsemeat was present in two lots of frozen “beef” lasagne meals made by French firm Comigel.

Retailers in Britain, Sweden, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands have been removing Comigel products after the firm alerted Swedish frozen food giant Findus to the presence of horsemeat in its meals last week.

Swiss supermarket giant Coop said it had now withdrawn all frozen lasagnes produced by Comigel as a precaution.

Comigel denies any wrongdoing. It said it obtained its meat from another French firm, Spanghero, which said it was supplied from two abattoirs in Romania who allegedly passed off horsemeat as beef.

But Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta this week angrily denied his country was to blame and called on European Union officials to find out from where the fraud originated and identify the guilty parties.

Dutch supermarkets PLUS and Boni said Tuesday they had withdrawn Primafrost brand frozen lasagne as a precaution because it may contain horsemeat without being marked on the packaging.

Horsemeat is largely taboo in Britain and Ireland, though in France it is sold in specialty butcher shops. While no health effects have been reported, the scandal has unsettled consumers and made clear that unscrupulous dealers in the complicated network of meat wholesalers are benefiting from selling much cheaper horsemeat as beef.

Peter Boddy, the owner of the slaughterhouse, said he would cooperate with police, while the BBC quoted a spokesman from Farmbox Meats as saying “there is nothing we have done here which is not totally permissible.”

Blatant Food Standards Agency director Andrew Rhodes said the companies appeared to be involved in “blatant misleading of customers.” He declined to speculate on how long such alleged fraud may have gone on, saying only that officials have seized documents — including customer lists — from the two venues and are investigating how much horsemeat was sold as beef to how many people.

Horses are slaughtered legally in abattoirs across Britain, and the meat is exported to countries where horsemeat is eaten.

Meanwhile, authorities on the continent have not established where the mislabeling of horse as beef occurred.

In Romania, food safety officials said Tuesday that the country produced 6,300 tons of horse, mule and donkey meat last year, and that it was correctly labeled when it was exported from 35 authorized plants to other European countries. Romanian officials have said the fraud occurred somewhere else down the line.

In rural Romania, horses are sold from individual households to abattoirs, and each animal has four sets of documents before the meat is exported.

The manager of a Romanian slaughterhouse implicated in the scandal, Doly Com, defended his plant on Tuesday and tried to assuage buyers’ concerns about his company’s meat.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

12

IAEA experts hold talks on nuclear differences in Tehran

Iran says it has begun upgrading uranium centrifuges TEHRAN, Feb 13, (AFP): Iran on Wednesday announced an upgrade to its uranium enrichment machines, upping the ante even as UN experts were holding talks in Tehran on the Islamic republic’s controversial nuclear drive.

The announcement comes despite a warning by Washington that an Iranian upgrade would violate UN resolutions and claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tehran is moving closer to making a nuclear bomb.

Atomic Energy Organisation chief Fereydoon Abbasi Davani said new centrifuges with “a higher efficiency” were being installed at Iran’s Natanz site, which uses the machines to enrich urani-

um gas by spinning it at supersonic speeds.

“The installation of new centrifuges at Natanz site started about a month ago... the process is ongoing,” Abbasi Davani said in his announcement, which was reported by local media.

He did not reveal how many centrifuges were installed but said: “These centrifuges have a higher efficiency and are used specifically to enrich uranium to less than 5 percent, and not to 20 percent” — the purity regarded as being a short step from that which is required to make a nuclear bomb.

Iran had indicated to the UN nuclear watchdog its intention to install the new

generation equipment, according to a document seen by AFP at the end of January.

The International Atomic Energy Agency document said that Iran informed it in a letter dated January 23 that “centrifuge machines type IR2m will be used in Unit A-22” at the Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz.

The IAEA replied in a letter dated January 29 asking for more information on the announcement.

Two days later White House spokesman Jay Carney warned that Iran’s plans to install more modern equipment at Natanz was a “further escalation” in the showdown over its atomic pro-

envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh.

The visit by the IAEA inspectors is aimed at addressing international fears of a possible military dimension to Iran’s nuclear drive and comes ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and six world powers in parallel diplomatic efforts in Kazakhstan on Feb 26.

The goal of the meeting in Tehran, the third of its kind in the past three months, is to finalise a “structured approach document”, according to Herman Nackaerts, the IAEA’s chief inspector who is leading the delegation to Tehran.

India’s good relations with Iran and the United States make it able to “provide the linkages” for any dialogue between Tehran

and Washington, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said Wednesday.

“We remain good friends with the US and we are extremely good friends with Iran,” he told a conference on the Gulf nation.

“It places us in a very significant position to be able to bridge the gaps and to provide the linkages necessary for a meaningful dialogue (between the United States and Iran),” Khurshid said, according to the Press Trust of India.

Energy-hungry India has been walking a diplomatic tightrope in the past few years as it continues to pursue good ties and to import oil from Iran while deepening relations with the United States.

Their drum

lead author of the study and a water policy fellow with the University of California’s Center for Hydrological Modeling in Irvine, said. “Both the UN and anecdotal reports from area residents note that once stream flow declined, this northern region of Iraq had to switch to groundwater. In an already fragile social, economic and political environment, this did not help the situation.”

Jay Famiglietti, principle investigator of the new study and a hydrologist and UC Irvine professor of Earth System Science, plans to visit the region later this month, along with Voss and two other UC Irvine colleagues, to discuss their findings and raise awareness of the problem and the need for a regional approach to solve the problem.

“They just do not have that much water to begin with, and they’re in a part of the world that will be experiencing less rainfall with climate change,” Famiglietti said. “Those dry areas are getting dryer.

They and everyone else in the world’s arid regions need to manage their available water resources as best they can.”

Syrian rebels seize most of army base in the north

certain changed would take time to exact, had there been any signs that the government intended to exercise any plan of change.

He further stated that the main condition for the National Salvation Front to enter negotiations with President Morsy is the formation of a new national unity government.

Regarding the NSF’s position towards the marginalization of Egyptian expatriates, he stated that they must take the initiative themselves to come forth with plans to partake politically. He added that the issue has various dimensions, from employment, support, education, etc., and as such should be discussed accordingly.

He further stated that the Gulf States cannot have relations with an oppositional movement and as states can only have relations with other states. However, he maintained that the current relations between the Egyptian government and the Gulf are much weaker than they were under Mubarak, stating that “there is most definitely a turbulence in the current relations.”

“Egypt, as a country, can either be a strong state, or a non-state, and this is the problem that we currently face, that it is the first time that Egypt confronts this possibility,” he added.

Further, questioned on why the NSF had failed to intercept the popular waves or demands before they took place, he stated that in presenting an economic plan, which was an unprecedented move, the NSF had in fact done so.

He concluded on stressing the importance of guarantees from the government, and calling for there to be the preconditions of negotiation before partaking in it.

Continued from Page 1 those Lilliputians. We are ashamed that some people have no regard for the teachings of our wonderful religion, traditions and norms; particularly in terms of respect for the elders, which is also stipulated in the Constitution. However, we cannot help but challenge those who misunderstand freedom of opinion and expression, which the leadership has granted to us in an unprecedented manner compared to other Arab nations.

Unfortunately, a few members of the society intend to transform this privilege into freedom of vulgarity and provocation against other people. God Almighty, however, blessed the good people with wisdom to handle the fools, specifically when He described the attributes of believers who use wisdom in dealing with the ignorant. The only consolation we have is that the people have stripped the irrational minority naked by removing the mask they used to engage in heinous activities in their desperate bid to serve dubious interests. It was a huge blow for them when the people stood firm by the Amir and reaffirmed their loyalty to him; thereby, allowing him to handle issues the way he deems fit to serve the interests of the country and its citizens.

Those people are drowning due to their actions like the saying, “I am drowning myself so I no longer fear of getting wet”.

They know that the humiliating path they followed has led them to a situation in which falsehood is useless. They have reached a point where the Constitution takes care of the issue and the only option for them is prison, so they may realize what they have done to themselves.

We will forever be grateful to the Amir for rescuing the country from those people, who now act like cats entangled in a tight corner after losing everything. We congratulate them for what they have done to themselves but more importantly, we congratulate the Amir because he has been relieved of their burdens as he is now far from their noise and empty drums.

Court acquits Continued from Page 1 that differentiates between Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis in demonstrations? The foundation of the problem is that there are influential personalities in the country seeking to undermine the reputation of Kuwait by externally marketing their dubious goal to implement a hidden agenda,” he stated.

Huge ME Continued from Page 1 Tigris and Euphrates river basins had lost 117 million acre feet (144 cubic kms) of its total stored freshwater, the second fastest loss of groundwater storage loss after India.

About 60 percent of the loss resulted from pumping underground reservoirs for ground water, including 1,000 wells in Iraq, and another fifth was due to impacts of the drought including declining snow packs and soil drying up. Loss of surface water from lakes and reservoirs accounted for about another fifth of the decline, the study found.

“This rate of water loss is among the largest liquid freshwater losses on the continents,” the authors wrote in the study, noting the declines were most obvious after a drought.

The study is the latest evidence of a worsening water crisis in the Middle East, where demands from growing populations, war and the worsening effects of climate change are raising the prospect that some countries could face sever water shortages in the decades to come.

Some like impoverished Yemen blame their water woes on the semi-arid conditions and the grinding poverty while the oil-rich Gulf faces water shortages mostly due to the economic boom that has created glistening cities out of the desert.

In a report released during the UN climate talks in Qatar, the World Bank concluded among the most critical problems in the Middle East and North Africa will be worsening water shortages. The region already has the lowest amount of freshwater in the world. With climate change, droughts in the region are expected to turn more extreme, water runoff is expected to decline 10 percent by 2050 while demand for water is expected to increase 60 percent by 2045.

One of the biggest challenges to improving water conservation is often competing demands which has worsened the problem in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins.

Turkey controls the Tigris and Euphrates headwaters, as well as the reservoirs and infrastructure of Turkey’s Greater Anatolia Project, which dictates how much water flows downstream into Syria and Iraq, the researchers said. With no coordinated water management between the three countries, tensions have intensified since the 2007 drought because Turkey continues to divert water to irrigate farmland.

“That decline in stream flow put a lot of pressure on northern Iraq,” Kate Voss,

Moussa in call Continued from Page 1 is getting worse every day. He added that it is also not a question of conspiracy or incitement by the opposition, but rather a question of the people’s anger, due to the lack of change or progress.

Further, on US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson’s recent reports expressing deep concern over the current state of Egypt’s economy, Moussa stated that it is of no importance to read the reports, as it is already very clear that the economy is in a very critical state.

In terms of resolving this, he stated, “There was an initiative [a few days ago] regarding this, including a five-step plan to salvage the Egyptian economy, and that this was presented to the government.”

Questioned on what the National Salvation Front is betting on to move forward with their plan, Moussa stated, “[it is] betting on the position of the people in democratic freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration to send a clear message to the government. Yet unfortunately, until now, and despite their clarity and the deep anger, the message appears not to have been received as yet.”

“It is impossible for a situation like the one Egypt is currently in to continue. It will either get worse or be resolved, and this relies on the way the government responds,” he said of the current state of affairs in Egypt.

He further noted that in the absence of response to diplomatic requests from the government, the street speaks very clearly and violently, but that there are those in power who choose to see current events in conspiratorial terms. He stressed that nonetheless the oppositional movement is a genuine one, and that by the time the government recognizes this, it will be too late.

“This is a part of the mismanagement of power; it is necessary to read situations correctly, and not the viewpoint that best suits [them],” he added.

Further, on recent statements he made on the fulfillment of the presidential term, Moussa clarified that the president legitimately was elected for a four year period.

However, he stated that there had been discussion prior to the constitution as to whether its passing would require new elections, and while there were disagreements on this, Moussa has then stated that this is not necessarily the case.

Legitimacy “However, I will speak of legitimacy; legitimacy comes from elections, but it does not give license to do whatever one pleases. Electing someone means placing the country as a token in their hands.

Therefore it is not just a question of legitimacy, but also credibility,” he stated, pointing to the steep decline that Egypt is experiencing.

He further stated that it is necessary for the government to move towards establishing national unity, and to address the various crises that Egypt currently faces, on top of which is the economic crisis.

Regarding the possibility of civil war, he stated that he hoped Egypt would remain safe, but did not expect there to be a civil war, rather a continuation of the legitimate struggle for revolution.

With regards to calls for elections in the near future, Moussa stated that, “I do not think this is a suitable time for elections. I think we should postpone elections. It’s not enough to simply hold elections.”

“There must be full judiciary supervision, international and civil society monitoring and finally the protection of the election process, which should be undertaken by the army,” he added, pointing to circumstances where certain people were prevented from voting.

Questioned on whether the oppositional forces (i.e. the National Salvation Front) held some of the responsibility for the current state of things in Egypt, Moussa stated that all Egyptians are responsible. He noted that the burden from the previous regime was very heavy. “[The opposition] was tardy in unifying ranks, and there may be tardiness in certain steps, but it is better late than never.

We have genuinely begun, and it is of the utmost importance that we maintain a unified position,” he added.

gramme.

“The installation of new advanced centrifuges is a further escalation and a continuing violation ... of Iran’s obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council and IAEA board resolutions,” Carney said.

Netanyahu warned on Monday that Iran was now closer to crossing the “red line” after which it would be able to build a nuclear weapon. He also asked for “stronger pressure and harsher sanctions” against Tehran.

Abbasi Davani’s statement Wednesday on the centrifuge update came as the UN experts were locked in talks in Tehran with a nuclear team led by Iran’s IAEA

Qatar hands embassy to opposition: statement BEIRUT, Feb 13, (Agencies): Syrian rebels took control of most of a strategic army base in northern Syria after a fierce firefight with President Bashar al-Assad’s forces on Wednesday, a monitoring group said.

The military complex, known as Base 80, is tasked with securing the nearby Aleppo international airport as well as the Nayrab military airport.

Rebels launched a coordinated assault on both airports on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which added that most of Base 80 “has come under insurgent control”.

Dozens of fighters and troops have been killed in the fighting, the Britainbased Observatory said.

Activists have said Aleppo’s insurgents shifted their focus from targets in the provincial capital to air bases because they are a source of ammunition and weaponry, and to put out of action warplanes used to bomb rebel bastions.

In Aleppo city itself, meanwhile, there was no supply of electricity or water Wednesday for a fourth day in a row, said the anti-regime Aleppo Media Centre, warning of a “humanitarian disaster” in what was once Syria’s commercial hub.

Commenting on the rebels’ advance in Aleppo province, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said the army may be giving up on parts of northern Syria, in order to secure the centre.

“The army is barely resisting the rebels’ advance on bases in the north.

Meanwhile, it is resisting with ferocity the insurgents in Daraya (southwest of Damascus) and Homs (central Syria),” Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Transition “The regime understands it cannot survive a transition without securing some land to bargain with,” he added.

Despite the advances, regime warplanes carried out several air raids on rebel areas in Aleppo province on Wednesday while army tanks shelled the east Damascus district of Jobar, the Observatory said. At least eight civilians were killed in Jobar, it said.

Insurgents have secured enclaves in the eastern and southern suburbs of Damascus, and the army is trying hard to push them out, the watchdog said.

On the eastern and western edges of the central city of Homs, rebels clashed with troops on two main highways, a rebel commander said.

Arraba Idriss told AFP via Skype that the insurgents are trying to “ease the pressure on people trapped in districts that have been besieged and bombarded” for some eight months by the army.

At least 190 people were killed in violence across Syria on Tuesday, said the Observatory, among them 79 troops and 76 rebels, making it an exceptionally bloody day for fighters on both sides.

Also among those killed on Tuesday were a pro-regime movement leader Ali Smandar, his two sons and a relative, said the watchdog, adding they were shot dead by unidentified armed men.

Qatar has handed the Syrian embassy building in Doha to the National Coalition, Syria’s main opposition group, a statement said on Wednesday.

“Qatar has decided to hand over the Syrian embassy building in Doha to Mr Nizar al-Haraki after his appointment as ambassador to Doha for the National Coalition,” the Coalition statement said.

“Qatar has acted faster than the Friends of Syria coalition,” the opposition statement said, in reference to a string of Western and Arab states, along with Turkey, which support the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“The flag of the revolution will be raised above the building,” the Syrian National Coalition added.

Speaking to AFP by phone, Haraki said the Qatari authorities had accepted his appointment.

“A formal decision has been made to accept my appointment as ambassador,” he said. “I will start work along with two other diplomats,” said Haraki.

“Depending on whether they support the revolution, we will decide which former embassy staff members we will keep, and who we will lay off.”

The National Coalition was formed in the Qatari capital on November 11.

“The National Salvation Front is here to stay, and it is critical that they do, because it has become politically ingrained in the Egyptian opposition that there is an oppositional front with a certain credibility. Opposition is part of democracy, and if you speak of the legiti-

Law Enforcement personnel block Hwy 38 during the hunt for accused killer and ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner in Yacaipa, Calif, on Feb 12.

Dorner is believed to be barricaded in a cabin Tuesday after a furious gunbattle with police in the snow-covered mountains of Southern California, authorities said, the culmination of an intensive manhunt that left a region an edge for nearly a week. (AP)

US fugitive thought dead: a gunshot, then fire As police scoured mountain peaks for days, using everything from bloodhounds to high-tech helicopters, the revenge-seeking former Los Angeles police officer they wanted was hiding among them, holed up in a vacation cabin across the street from their command post.

It was there that Christopher Dorner apparently took refuge last Thursday, four days after beginning a deadly rampage that would claim four lives.

The search ended abruptly Tuesday when a man believed to be Dorner bolted from hiding, stole two cars, barricaded himself in a vacant cabin and mounted a last stand in a furious shootout in which he killed one sheriff’s deputy and wounded another before the tear gasfilled building erupted in flames.

He never emerged from the ruins and hours later a charred body was found inside.

“We have reason to believe that it is him,” San Bernardino County sheriff’s

spokeswoman Cynthia Bachman said.

Dorner, 33, had said in lengthy rant police believe he posted on Facebook that he expected to die in one final, violent confrontation with police, and if it was him in the cabin that’s just what happened.

The apparent end came very close to where his trail went cold six days earlier when his burning pickup truck — with guns and camping gear inside — was abandoned with a broken axle on a fire road in the San Bernardino National Forest near the ski resort town of Big Bear Lake.

His footprints led away from the truck and vanished on frozen soil.

With no sign of him and few leads, police offered a $1 million reward to bring him to justice and end a “reign of terror” that had more than 50 families of targeted Los Angeles police officers under round-the-clock protection after he threatened to bring “warfare” to the LAPD, officers and their kin. (AP)

Business flourishes by word of mouth

Online matchmaking a hit with Saudi couples RIYADH, Feb 13, (AFP): In ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, where the sexes are strictly segregated, traditional matchmakers face tough competition from blossoming marriage services on online social networks.

More than 200 Twitter accounts and dozens of other forums on the Internet offer services for Saudi men and women seeking spouses, angering matchmakers like Um Sami who sees it as “organised prostitution.”

“Social networks undermine our work and everything they offer is virtual: they use nicknames and they are not reliable,” said Um Sami, an elderly woman and well-established matchmaker from the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

For her, many of these websites are “fraudulent” and some are even an organised form of prostitution.

“Marriage via online platforms is one hundred percent doomed to failure,” she said, stressing that only her traditional matchmaking method can lead to a successful marriage.

For matchmakers like Um Sami the business has flourished by word of mouth.

Families ready to marry off their offsprings contact her with details about their children and provide pictures which she carries around with her on rounds to match candidates.

But her job is not a simple one because, as she says, there are many different types of weddings that can be contracted in Saudi Arabia, from the traditional unions to unconventional ones by Western standards such as the “misyar” marriage.

A misyar — or “visitor’s” marriage macy of power, you must also speak of the legitimacy of the opposition.”

On why the opposition had waited 30 years to revolt against the previous regime but would not allow the current one to remain, he stated, “The critical difference is that the previous regime ended with a

— is one in which couples live separately but can meet up when they want, usually for sexual encounters.

It is allowed in Sunni-powerhouse Saudi Arabia but couples who choose to go that way will keep it a family secret shared only with the matchmaker.

In a traditional union sealed with the help of Um Sami, the bride and groom each pay the matchmaker around 2,000 riyals ($530) But the fee for a misyar wedding is much higher and usually starts around 5,000 riyals ($1,300) — with the man alone having to foot the bill while his spouse continues to live in her own home.

Misyar is often the marriage of choice for polygamous men as well as divorcees and widows in Saudi Arabia, where extra-marital relations are strictly banned and punishable under rigid Islamic laws.

A couple caught having sex out of wedlock in Saudi Arabia are sentenced to stoning and lashes, and unmarried couples who dare share a meal in a restaurant or spend time together alone risk being arrested.

Human rights activists and intellectuals have slammed misyar marriages as a form of “legalised adultery.”

Offers to help seal both traditional marriages and misyars are rife on the Internet.

The website khtabh.net allows men and women to post their requests.

One message reads: “Misyar marriage wanted immediately in Riyadh... and the matchmaker or mediator will be offered a big reward.” revolution against it. Should it become a trend that the people wait 30 years to revolt every time? When the people revolted their hopes were immediate and urgent.”

He added that the opposition could have been patient, and recognized that

Newswatch Continued from Page 1 Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the Health Protection Agency, said in a statement. “If (the) novel coronavirus were more infectious, we would have expected to have seen a larger number of cases.” (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

DUBAI: A UAE court on Wednesday sentenced to death an Emirati father for torturing his two daughters, one of them to death, and jailed his mistress for life on the same charges, local media reported.

“An Emirati father who mercilessly tortured and killed his eight-year-old daughter Wadeema will be executed,” reported local daily Gulf News on its website.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced 29-year-old Hamad Saud Juma alShirawi, a security official, to death. His 27-year-old girlfriend Al-Anoud Mohammed al-Ameri, a housewife, was jailed for life, said the daily.

Shirawi “will be executed by facing a firing squad as soon as the capital punishment becomes irrevocable and is endorsed by the ruler,” it said. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

MADRID: A retired couple in Spain killed themselves Tuesday because they faced eviction, police said, as lawmakers considered legislation to save ruined homeowners from being thrown into the street.

In the latest in a series of suicides reportedly linked to evictions, the couple, aged 68 and 69, killed themselves in their home in Calvia on the island of Mallorca, a police spokesman who asked not to be named told AFP. Hours later in Madrid, members of parliament agreed to debate a citizens’ motion to protect poor homeowners from eviction — a fate faced by hundreds of thousands in Spain.

The lower house of parliament agreed to debate the bill after lawmakers of the ruling conservative Popular Party threw their weight behind it despite earlier resistance, the party’s parliamentary spokesman Alfonso Alonso said. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

CARACAS: Economists in Venezuela are predicting that a new currency devaluation won’t solve some of the country’s biggest economic problems, including a dearth of dollars for imported goods and shortages of some staple foods.

The country’s fifth devaluation in a decade is taking effect on Wednesday. The new government-set rate of 6.30 bolivars to the dollar is down from the previous rate of 4.30 bolivars to the dollar. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ BERLIN: A union says security personnel at Germany’s Duesseldorf and Hamburg airports will walk off the job Thursday after wage negotiations failed to make any progress.

The ver.di union said in a statement Wednesday that the workers would stage a strike between 4 a.m. and midnight (0200 GMT and 2200 GMT) on Thursday after the latest round of negotiations with employers ended last week without an offer they found acceptable. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ UNITED NATIONS: A new UN report paints a grim picture of the millions of people trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor: They come from at least 136 different nationalities, have been detected in 118 countries, and the majority of victims are women though the number of children is increasing.

The UN Office of Drugs and Crime, which launched the report Tuesday at UN headquarters, said the victims can be found in the world’s restaurants, fisheries, brothels, farms and homes, among other places.

(AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SUBCONTINENT

13

People allowed to buy rations

Curfew eased in parts of Indian Kashmir SRINAGAR, India, Feb 13, (AP): Indian authorities relaxed a curfew in parts of Kashmir on Wednesday, letting people buy rations for the first time in days after protests over the secret execution of a Kashmiri man convicted in a deadly 2001 attack on India’s Parliament.

In some towns, residents were allowed out of their homes for two hours to buy food and other supplies. Most of the region’s nearly 60 newspapers published Wednesday after remaining shut for three days.

But cable television and mobile Internet services were shut down in most areas for the fifth straight day, and police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear continued to patrol the streets.

The restrictions were relaxed after tensions eased in several districts across Kashmir and some neighborhoods in Srinagar, the region’s main city, said Manoj Panditha, a police spokesman. Further decisions on lifting the curfew will be made after authorities review the situation, he said.

Despite a rigid curfew, Kashmir was rocked by anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru was hanged in New Delhi early Saturday.

Three protesters were killed and at least 30 others wounded in clashes with government forces. Officials said at least 45 police and paramilitary soldiers were also injured.

Separatist politicians called for a mass funeral prayer for Guru to be held Friday at a large square near Srinagar’s Martyr’s Graveyard, where hundreds of separatists and civilians killed in Kashmir’s separatist conflict with India are buried.

Troops deployed in Assam state

India official takes blame in deadly poll violence GUWAHATI, India, Feb 13, (Agencies): The chief minister of India’s northeastern Assam state said Wednesday that he was taking responsibility for violence that killed 19 people during local elections.

The violence erupted Tuesday when a local tribe protested against village council elections, fearing they were part of a government plan to infringe on the tribe’s autonomy.

Thirteen of the victims were killed by police firing at violent protesters and another six were killed in clashes between protesters and counter-protesters, said Assam’s chief minister, Tarun Gogoi. In addition, 300 houses were burned down.

“I take full responsibility for not being able to provide security in the area,” Gogoi said.

He accused opposition parties of instigating the vio-

lence and appealed to all parties to end the conflict.

Meanwhile, India deployed hundreds of troops and imposed a curfew on Wednesday as the death toll from electoral violence in the northeastern state of Assam climbed to 20.

Most of the deaths have been the result of firing by police, who have been trying to halt attacks by machete-wielding tribesmen opposed to local elections.

“Eight people were killed in overnight clashes, taking the total number of people who have died so far to 20,” Bhupen Bora, an Assam state home ministry official told AFP in the state’s main city Guwahati.

Bora said a curfew had been declared in two violence-racked areas and about 500 soldiers had deployed to help police control the situation in Goalpara district, some 120 kms (75 miles) from Guwahati.

Separatist politicians and militants have called for Kashmir to be granted independence or be allowed to merge with neighboring Pakistan. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, both of which claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety, The protests have stirred fears that the region could be descending into a new round of violence after two years of

relative calm. Many Kashmiris believe Guru did not get a fair trial, and his surprise execution only exacerbated the anger here.

Guru confessed in TV interviews that he helped plot the attack on India’s Parliament that killed 14 people, including the five gunmen, but later denied any involvement and said he had been tortured into confessing.

Maldives ex-leader seeks refuge at Indian embassy Local magistrate orders arrest of Nasheed MALE, Feb 13, (AFP): Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed was locked in a stand-off with police on Wednesday as he took refuge inside the Indian embassy after a local magistrate ordered his arrest.

by violent demonstrations and a mutiny by police and security forces.

“Mindful of my own security and stability in the Indian Ocean, I have taken refuge at the Indian High Commission in Maldives,” Nasheed wrote on Twitter as armed police stood outside the diplomatic compound.

A local magistrate’s court, where Nasheed is on trial for abusing his powers, issued an The new crisis comes amid more political turbulence in the Indian Ocean holiday arrest warrant for him on Monday after he failed to appear for a hearing at the weekend. destination a year after Nasheed, a former pro-democracy campaigner, was ousted A legal challenge to the arrest order in a higher court failed on Wednesday, his party said.

The former president’s supporters believe the trial is a politically motivated attempt to prevent him from leading his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) into upcoming polls. A conviction would disqualify him from politics.

Nasheed’s former foreign minister Ahmed Naseem said Nasheed would remain inside the embassy until there was an agreement among all political parties that candidates would be free to campaign before the Sept 7 elections.

“President Nasheed will be staying at the Indian High Commission until this situation is resolved,” he told AFP. MDP spokeswoman Shauna Aminath warned of “a long stand off until his safety is assured”.

Masood Imad, a spokesman for current president Mohamed Waheed, confirmed to AFP that police were waiting to arrest Nasheed on court orders, but said they would not enter the diplomatic compound.

“Maldivian police under no condition will enter the Indian High Commission and so it’s a wait-and-watch situation for the police,” he said.

The Indian foreign ministry in New Delhi said it was “in touch with the relevant Maldivian authorities to resolve the situation” and called on Waheed’s government to ensure fair elections.

“It is necessary that the presiIn this handout photograph released by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed (center), predential nominees of recognised pares to enter the Indian embassy in Male on Feb 13. Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed was locked in a stand-off with police political parties be free to particon Wednesday as he took refuge inside the Indian embassy after a local magistrate ordered his arrest. (AFP) ipate in the elections without any hindrance,” said the statement.

“Prevention of participation At least 100 people arrested: police officer by political leaders in the contest would call into question the integrity of the electoral process, thereby perpetuating the current political instability in Maldives.”

Nasheed, a famed global warming activist, won the first war of independence against Pakistan.

DHAKA, Feb 13, (AFP): Clashes rocked the witnesses said.

A senior Jamaat leader was sentenced to free elections in the Maldives in Television footage showed police in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka’s main commer2008. cial district on Wednesday as police battled armoured vehicles and wielding fire-arms life imprisonment last week for mass murder.

He claims he was ousted in a Eight other Jamaat officials, including its with Islamist protesters demanding a halt to chasing protesters.

“At least 100 people have been arrested,” leader and deputy leader, are also being tried coup orchestrated by former the country’s war crimes trials. along with two officials of the main opposi- strongman ruler Maumoon At least a dozen people were injured by sub-inspector Rafiqul Islam told AFP. Abdul Gayoom in alliance with The violence was the latest to hit the tion Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). rubber bullets during the clashes, Dhaka Islamist opposition. The curThe opposition has called the trials politi- the Medical College emergency officer Robiul, Bangladesh capital. On Tuesday, more than a rent government denies the alledozen people were injured, including the edi- cally-motivated and part of a wider vendetta gation. who uses one name, told AFP. Police and witnesses said the clashes at tor of a leading daily, in similar clashes against their leaders.

An international investigation The government says the trials are needed concluded that the transfer of Motijheel commercial area, home to top between police and protesters.

Demonstrations over the trials have left to heal the wounds of the nine-month war in power did not amount to a coup. banks, the main stock market and insurers, which it says three million people were killed, began after the supporters of Bangladesh’s seven people dead since last month.

Nasheed, who was repeatedly The protesters have been demanding a halt many by pro-Pakistani militia whose mem- detained and tortured during his largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami tried to to the trials of Jamaat leaders for crimes bers allegedly included Jamaat officials. hold marches. days as a pro-democracy activist, Independent estimates put the figure much was briefly arrested in October They torched a bus and attacked vehicles including genocide and rape they are alleged with police reacting by firing rubber bullets, to have committed during the country’s 1971 lower. last year at the start of the trial.

Several hurt in Dhaka war crimes protest

Top court dismisses cleric’s petition

Judge takes Pakistan step closer to historic polls ISLAMABAD, Feb 13, (AFP): Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday threw out a petition from a populist cleric seeking to dissolve the election commission, bringing the country a step closer to holding historic polls.

Although no date has been announced, the nucleararmed country of 180 million is due go to the polls by mid-May — marking the first time a democratically elected government would have seen out a full term in the country’s history.

The government and the opposition are publicly united that elections must be held on time, but politicians have fanned fears about a delay by claiming conspiracies are being hatched to postpone the polls.

Critics warned that there was a further risk to hold-

ing elections on time if the Supreme Court had accepted the petition from cleric Tahir-ul Qadri, who has unsettled politics by whipping up support for sweeping, pre-electoral reforms.

He returned suddenly last month after years living in Canada to lead tens of thousands of people in the largest political rally seen in Islamabad for decades.

His critics said he was working at the behest of the military, allegedly plotting to install an extended caretaker administration and delay the elections.

Qadri called off the protest after reaching a facesaving deal with the government and last week asked the Supreme Court to dissolve and reconstitute the electoral commission.

Indians feed sweets to a family member who was on death row in United Arab Emirates and recently freed by a Sharjah court, upon his return home in Amritsar, India, Feb 12. Seventeen Indians on death row on charges of murdering a Pakistani national were set free after paying blood money to the victim’s family, according to news reports. (AP)

Activists of India’s right-wing Shiv Sena party burn photographs of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik during a protest in Jammu, India, Feb 13. The protestors wanted the Indian government to act against Malik, who had on Sunday along with Pakistan’s religious group, Jamat-ud-Dawa, chief Hafiz Saeed, attended a hunger strike camp in Islamabad to protest against the hanging of Kashmiri Mohammed Afzal Guru. (AP)

A ‘Naga sadhu’ or naked Hindu holy man attends to a call as he plays a small drum at the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad, India, Feb 12. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are attending the Maha Kumbh festival, which is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days and falls every 12 years. During the festival pilgrims bathe in the holy Ganges River in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins. (AP)

Report submitted to UNHRC

Sri Lanka ‘fails’ to keep war probe promises: UN COLOMBO, Feb 13, (Agencies): Sri Lanka has failed to honour promises to investigate serious rights abuses and allegations that thousands of civilians were killed in the final stages of its ethnic war, a UN report says.

The report by human rights experts, which was submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Monday, found that investigations by local authorities were inconclusive and were not independent or impartial.

“The steps taken to investigate allegations of serious violations of human rights have been inconclusive, and lack the independence and impartiality required to Pillay inspire confidence,” according to the report seen by AFP Wednesday.

The document, compiled by experts who visited Sri Lanka in September, asked the government to establish a “truth seeking mechanism” to address “transitional justice” in a country emerging from nearly four decades of ethnic strife.

It said grave human rights violations, including the killing of 17 aid workers of a French charity in August 2006, had not been probed despite government promises swiftly to bring perpetrators to justice.

There was also no transparency in alleged military investigations into claims of summary executions during the final stages of the war.

UN figures show that up to 100,000 people were killed between 1972 and May 2009, when security forces declared victory over Tamil Tiger separatists who had fought for independence for minority Tamils in the Sinhalese-majority state.

Bloody The bloody finale to the ethnic conflict drew international condemnation and sparked allegations that up to 40,000 civilians were killed by security forces in the last months of fighting, a charge Sri Lanka denies.

The UN expert report was commissioned after the United States moved a resolution at the UNHRC asking Sri Lanka to probe war crimes and ensure accountability for civilian loss of life.

The experts said that “continuing reports of extrajudicial killings, abductions and enforced disappearance in the past year highlight the urgency of action to combat impunity”.

The US has already announced that it will move another censure motion against Sri Lanka at the current UNHRC sessions in Geneva to force the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse to deliver on his promises.

The experts said attacks on independent media and rights activists continued in Sri Lanka and there were also allegations of extra-judicial killings of prisoners.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called on authorities to allow international experts in criminal and forensic investigations to help resolve outstanding wartime crimes and end impunity.

“The steps taken by the government to investigate allegations of serious violations of human rights further have also been inconclusive and lack the independence and impartiality required to inspire confidence,” Pillay said in a report on a UN mission to Sri Lanka in September.

Defeat Rights groups say the Sri Lankan military killed thousands of ethnic minority Tamil civilians in the shrinking territory held by rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam just before their defeat in May 2009.

An expert panel set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon, whose findings have been rejected by Colombo, has said the army committed largescale abuses and that as many as 40,000 civilians were killed in the last months of the conflict.

Pillay said the government has not set up a mechanism to trace adults who went missing during the latter stages of the war and that investigations of disappearances had not led to arrests or prosecutions.

The commissioner, a former judge of the International Criminal Court, last month accused Sri Lanka of “gross interference” in the judiciary, saying its removal of chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake could jeopardise efforts to prosecute war crimes.

Sri Lanka has only committed to implement some of the recommendations of its own official investigation into the three-decade civil war, known as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, issued in late 2011, her report said.

Inaccuracies President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government says it never targeted civilians. In written comments on Pillay’s report, it complained of inaccuracies and said a court of inquiry would probe a video broadcast by Britain’s Channel 4 television in 2009 purporting to show summary executions of Tamil prisoners by government soldiers.

Pillay voiced concern about the “transparency, independence and impartiality of this process, as well as for the protection of witnesses and victims”.

“The period from the last quarter of 2011 to mid-2012 witnessed new reports of abductions and disappearances, including of political activists as well as politicians and their familiy members,” her report said.

“During that period, there were also reported cases of abducted persons being found tortured and killed,” it said, noting the government said the cases were being investigated.

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World News Roundup Court Senate OKs bill

US state mulls foreign law ban OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb 13, (AP): Lawmakers in the central state of Oklahoma are considering banning judges from basing any rulings on foreign laws, including Islamic Sharia law.

A Senate panel on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the bill, which has broad support in the Republican-controlled Legislature. The bill would specifically make void and unenforceable any court, arbitration or administrative agency decision that doesn’t grant the parties affected by the ruling “the same funCrain damental liberties, rights and privileges granted under the US and Oklahoma constitutions.”

“This is a way to protect American citizens ... where somebody may try to use any kind of foreign law or religious law to affect the outcome of a trial,” said Republican Sen. Ralph Shortey, who sponsored the bill. Shortey described it as “American Law for American Courts.” A handful of other states have laws aimed at keeping courts from basing decision on foreign legal codes, including Islamic law. Oklahoma voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 that would have specifically prohibited courts from considering Sharia law, but a federal judge blocked its implementation after a Muslim community leader alleged it discriminates against his religion.

Critics call the “American Law for American Courts” movement a bigoted response to a made-up threat of Shariah law, the Islamic legal code that covers many areas of life. Backers of the bills say they fill a glaring hole in legal protections for Americans.

A lone jogger makes his way around a pond during the noon hour on a snowy day in Oklahoma City, Feb 12. (AP)

Cyber President orders creation of voluntary security standards

Obama moves to better ‘defenses’

Caution The most fervently outspoken supporters of such bills caution Shariah law could begin to spread outside of Muslim countries in a slow-speed Islamic takeover of the world. Others, seeking to appeal to the masses, say not outlawing Shariah jeopardizes the rights of American women.

Though Shariah law was an unrecognizable term to nearly every American just a few years ago, it has become much more mainstream. Dangers of Shariah have been aired in political campaigns, in conservative tea party rallies and on right-wing cable news. One of the most persistent voices on the issue is David Yerushalmi, a Brooklyn, New York lawyer who drafted model legislation on the foreign law issue and who has waged a quiet campaign to ensure Shariah is outlawed in the US Yerushalmi calls Shariah “an offensive foreign law” but he says even if critics are right, and that he and other proponents of such legislation are acting on prejudice, legislatures have nothing to lose by outlawing it.

That prompted state Republican Sen. Brian Crain to describe the measure as a “solution that’s looking for a problem.”

Crain was the only member of the Senate committee to vote against the bill.

America Dems, GOP clash on gun curbs: The toll of gun violence and the widespread disgust it has generated in the US makes it time for new federal gun curbs that balance public safety with gun rights, Democrats said Tuesday at the Senate’s latest hearing on restricting firearms.

Republicans said today’s unenforced gun laws give criminals no reason to fear ignoring those laws. And they warned that the US Constitution’s right to bear arms must be protected, even after unspeakable events like the December slaughter of 20 school children in Connecticut.

Each side trotted out their own legal experts, statistics and even relatives of people slain by gun-wielding assailants. In the end there was little partisan agreement, though Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, said cooperation was possible on stopping straw purchases, in which someone legally buys a gun for a criminal or a person barred from owning one.

The hearing came just hours before Obama was to deliver his annual State of the Union address, in which he was expected to repeat his call for gun curbs.

Obama has proposed banning assault weapons and ammunition magazines that can carry more than 10 rounds, and wants background checks for all firearms purchases.

Currently, the checks are required only for sales by federally licensed gun dealers,

Geralyn Graham listens to MiamiDade Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez, during her sentencing in Miami Dade criminal court in Miami, Feb 12. Graham, 67, was sentenced Tuesday to 55 years in prison for kidnapping and child-abuse convictions in the abuse and kidnapping of missing foster child Rilya Wilson (inset).

(AP)

Murray

Leahy

Senate passes bill With strong bipartisan support, the Democratic-led US Senate on Tuesday passed a White Housebacked bill to expand and renew a landmark 1994 law to combat domestic violence.

On a 78-22 vote — with 23 Republicans joining 53 Democrats and two independents — the Senate sent the measure to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act to the Republican-led House of Representative for consideration.

The measure would renew antidomestic abuse programs and provide additional provisions for certain populations, such as Native Americans.

The House rejected a similar measure last year during the heat of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. At the time, House Republicans complained about Democratic efforts to extend domestic abuse protections in the Violence Against Women Act to gays, illegal immigrants and Native Americans.

Republicans accused Democrats of trying to score political points.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray said, “I was very encouraged last night to hear that 17 House Republicans” have written their leadership saying, “now is the time to seek bipartisan compromise.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat and chief author of the bill, defended the bid to expand protections. (RTRS) omitting the many transactions at gun shows and between individuals.

Democrats have been more receptive to Obama’s proposals than Republicans, most

WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (RTRS): US President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed an executive order seeking better protection of the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks that are a growing concern to the economy and national security.

The long-expected executive order, unveiled in the State of the Union speech, follows last year’s failed attempt by the US Congress to pass a law to confront continuing electronic attacks on the networks of US companies and government agencies. The order, which does not have the same force as law, directs federal authorities to improve information sharing on cyber threats — including some that may be classified — with companies that provide or support critical infrastructure.

Cyber attacks in recent months targeted a succession of major US companies and government agencies, adding fuel to the debate about how the government and the private sector, which runs most of the critical US infrastructure, can best protect sensitive information.

“We know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private email,” Obama said in the address.

“We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems.

We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security of whom — along with the National Rifle Association, a powerful gun advocacy group — have opposed them. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, hopes to write legislation in the next few weeks that is expected to include expanded background checks and a gun-trafficking prohibition, but not bans on assault weapons or high capacity magazines, which have gotten less support.

As always with guns, emotion and the issue’s personal impact colored the day’s

and our economy.”

The new order directs government officials, led by the secretary of homeland security, in the next year to create standards to reduce cybersecurity risks.

The government will offer incentives to encourage companies to adopt them, but because it lacks legal enforcement power, adoption of the so-called Cybersecurity Framework will be voluntary.

White House officials are revealing details of President Barack Obama’s initial plans for protecting the computer networks of crucial American industries from cyberattacks.

Their description of Obama’s executive order was planned for Wednesday, a day after the president signed it. The announcement was also coming hours after the president urged Congress in his annual State of the Union address to pass legislation taking even tougher steps.

Legislation He added, “Now, Congress must act as well by passing legislation to give our government a greater capacity to secure our networks and deter attacks.”

On Tuesday, senior administration officials said Obama’s order starts the development of voluntary standards to protect the computer systems that run critical sectors of the economy like the banking, power and transportation industries. It also directs US defense and intelligence agencies to share classified threat data with those session. (AP) ❑

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Man gets 40 to 80 yrs: A man has been sentenced to 40 to 80 years after pleading guilty to third-degree murder in the shooting death of an Ethiopian immigrant in Allentown, Pa. Twenty-six-year-old Enrique Manuel Ortiz of Allentown entered the plea Monday in Lehigh County Court in the January 2012 shooting death of 22-year-

companies.

To help companies protect themselves, the order also will set up a program to ease delivery of classified cyber threat information to eligible companies. It also calls for expedited security clearances for some company employees who deal with critical infrastructure.

Compel The executive order carries no power to compel companies to reciprocate or to exchange cybersecurity information among themselves. That is one reason why White House officials underscore that the order does not replace legislation that Congress could once again undertake this year.

“It’s not an end of the conversation and in fact it’s just a continuation of it,” said one senior administration official.

Last year’s bill, which also included liability protection for companies, is expected to be reintroduced on Wednesday, according to its author, Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee. “We agree that our biggest barriers to bolster our cyber defenses can be fixed only with legislation,” Rogers said.

His bill last year passed the House of Representatives but not the Senate, largely because of concerns about expansion of federal regulations and protecting private information when it comes to sharing private data with the government.

On Tuesday, the US Chamber of Commerce, the powerful business old Hagos Mezgebo.

Prosecutors had sought a first-degree murder conviction and said they planned to seek the death penalty.

They have speculated that the slaying may have been a case of mistaken identity, but First Deputy District Attorney Steven Luksa told The (Easton) ExpressTimes that he doesn’t expect Ortiz to ever reveal why he shot the victim.

Officials said Mezgebo, of Tigray, Ethiopia, had spent 2-1/2 years in a

Elderly sought jail

Ex-con robs bank

This Feb 9, surveillance photo provided by the FBI shows 73-year-old Walter Unbehaun, an ex-convict from Rock Hill., S.C., during a bank robbery in Niles, Illinois. (AP)

CHICAGO, Feb 13, (AP): After spending most of his adult life behind bars, 73-year-old Walter Unbehaun decided to rob another bank in hopes of getting caught. He felt more comfortable in prison, court documents allege, and wanted to spend his final years there.

So the balding, gray-haired man leaned on a cane as he walked into a bank in suburban Chicago over the weekend and used a novel stickup line: He had just six months to live, so he had nothing left to lose, according to a federal complaint citing his post-arrest interrogation.

lobby, reiterated its opposition to “expansion or creation of new regulatory regimes” and called Obama’s order unnecessary. Obama’s executive order requires government officials to comply with and routinely assess privacy standards and civil liberties protections.

Many influential lawmakers and industry heavyweights welcomed Obama’s move as a step closer to a comprehensive cyber security law that bolsters a partnership between the public and private sectors.

“These activities represent a down payment in the protection of our nation’s cyber infrastructure, which Congress will build upon as they develop comprehensive cybersecurity legislation,” said Michael Chertoff, former secretary of homeland security under President George W. Bush. He called the executive order a “critical step in protecting America.”

A trio of Republican senators and leaders in national security — John McCain, Saxby Chambliss and John Thune — said the executive action could not “achieve the balanced approach” that a Congressional law would and pledged to ensure thorough oversight of any action directed by the order. “The Senate should follow regular order and craft legislation that will have an immediate impact on our nation’s cybersecurity without adding or prompting regulations that could discourage innovation and negatively impact our struggling economy,” they said in a joint statement. refugee camp before coming to the United States. He was living and working in Allentown. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

US mom says son saw shooting: The mother of an Alabama boy who was snatched off a school bus and held hostage in an underground bunker for days said her son witnessed officers fatally shooting his kidnapper.

Jennifer Kirkland’s comments about her son, identified by authorities only by his first name Ethan, came in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw for an episode of the “Dr. Phil Show” that is set to air Wednesday.

In a promotional clip posted online, Kirkland said her 6-year-old son saw officers shoot the gunman identified as Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65.

“He says, ‘The Army came in and shot the bad man,’” Kirkland said.

Authorities said Dykes shot and killed Ethan’s school bus driver before grabbing the child off the bus and taking him into an underground shelter constructed on his rural property in southeast Alabama.

The FBI said agents wearing combat gear entered Dykes’ bunker on the sixth day of the standoff. Dykes was shot multiple times, a coroner said.

Ethan wasn’t physically injured, but his mother said he has had a difficult time sleeping, and she is worried about him.

“I’m scared of how he’s going to take getting on a bus,” she said. (AP)

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Defense ‘Force unpaid leave’

Pentagon calls for ‘cuts’ delay WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (RTRS): The Pentagon’s civilian and military leaders warned in dire terms on Tuesday that $46 billion in budget cuts due to go into effect in two weeks would erode the nation’s ability to go to war and appealed to Congress to delay the reductions.

The automatic, across-the-board cuts will force the Pentagon to put most of its 800,000 civilian employees on unpaid leave for 22 days, slash ship and aircraft maintenance and curtail training, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told the Senate Armed Services Dempsey Committee.

“These devastating events are no longer distant problems. The wolf is at the door,” Carter said as he and the military chiefs appealed for Congress to take action to delay the cuts known as sequestration from taking effect beginning March 1.

For months, Pentagon officials have been painting a doomsday scenario if Congress does not come up with a replacement for the sequester. The cuts are already law, but when Congress enacted them in August 2011, lawmakers never intended for them to happen. The thinking was that they would be so abhorrent that Democrats and Republicans would come up with an alternative budget-cutting plan.

US President Barack Obama (center) delivers his State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on Feb 12, in Washington, DC. Facing a divided Congress, Obama concentrated his speech on new initiatives designed to stimulate the US economy. (Inset): Obama is greeted before his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb 12. (AFP)

Politics Obama seeks a rise in minimum wage

Defense But no plan has emerged, leading defense officials to recently ratchet up their rhetoric about the dangerous consequences of the cuts, although some skeptics doubt that the impact would be as dramatic as described.

Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on a scale from one to 10, with one being the least dangerous and 10 being the most, the budget situation “sure feels like a 10.”

Asked by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina whether he or the other military chiefs had considered resigning in protest, Dempsey said they were not trained to walk away from a crisis.

“I will tell you personally, if ever the force is so degraded and so unready and then we’re asked to use it, it would be immoral to use the force unless it’s well-trained, well-led and well-equipped,” Dempsey said.

“Are we on the path to creating that dilemma?” Graham asked.

“We are on that path,” Dempsey replied. However, Mattea Kramer, research director for the National Priorities Project, a Massachusetts research organization that focuses on the US budget, said she did not think the cuts would be as devastating as described.

“We are not of the opinion that American security will be deeply compromised here,” Kramer said in an interview. “I do think that it’s true that sequestration is a bad instrument for going about cutting budgets and that DOD officials absolutely will be pulling out their hair.” She also noted, “There is waste, there are obsolete programs to be sunset, there is Cold War technology that we need not be investing in any longer.”

Nuclear Underlining the risks facing the United States, the hearing took place just hours after North Korea’s third nuclear test – something Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Pentagon employees represented a “serious threat” to America.

Tensions with Iran over its nuclear program are also simmering, and General Mark Welsh, chief of staff of the Air Force, acknowledged future cuts could make it more difficult for the US military to wage a preventive strike, if necessary.

“Our kick-in-the-door capability would be impacted,” Welsh said.

Officials said the military faced a crisis of readiness by the end of the year not only because of the looming $46 billion in cuts but also because of Congress’ failure to appropriate defense funding for the 2013 fiscal year. The impact would worsen over the decade if cuts continued at the same pace, they said.

The Pentagon, which is five months into the 2013 fiscal year, is currently funded under a continuing resolution that set spending at 2012 levels. While the funding is approximately the same, the money is in the wrong accounts and can’t be moved.

‘Make govt work for the many’ Nine-year-old Mukal Verma from India listens to the National Anthem during a citizenship ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center on Feb 12, in Chicago, Illinois. The ceremony was held to recognize as new US citizens 62 children, ages 6-18, from 23 countries who were adopted from abroad or who derived US citizenship when their immigrant parents were naturalized. (AFP)

America Esquire defends SEAL story: Esquire is defending its story about the Navy SEAL who shot Osama bin Laden after Stars & Stripes said the magazine erroneously reported he could not get health care.

Stars & Stripes, the military-run newspaper, reported on Monday that the magazine appeared to suggest the retired SEAL was denied healthcare, though he is eligible for it through the Department of Veteran Affairs. But on Tuesday, Esquire responded that Stars & Stripes reporter Megan McCloskey had overreached.

“McCloskey’s story is entitled, ‘Esquire article wrongly claims SEAL who killed bin Laden is denied healthcare’ and it is that headline that contains her first factual error,” Esquire said. for nowhere in Bronstein’s piece does he write that the Shooter was ‘denied’ healthcare.”

Esquire went on to defend at length what it said were other errors in the Stars & Stripes story. The issue is hotly contested because it gets to the core of whether the government is properly caring for veterans — including the one who played a key role in bin Laden’s death.

But it has also sparked a debate about whether Esquire is guilty of picking and choosing facts for the sake of producing a more interesting story.

The newspaper said the writer of the Esquire piece admitted that he deliberately chose not to report that the the SEAL did not know about his eligibility for healthcare benefits. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Senate OKs Hagel nomination: A US Senate panel approved Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama’s new secretary of defense on Tuesday, setting the stage for a vote on his confirmation by the full Senate, possibly this week.

After more than two hours of often intense debate, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 14-11 along party lines to advance the former Republican senator’s confirmation to succeed Leon Panetta as the civilian leader at the Pentagon.

Senator David Vitter, a Republican of Louisiana, did not cast a vote. Vitter had said he felt the process was too rushed.

Democratic Senator Carl Levin, the committee’s chairman, told reporters that he hoped for a vote by the full Senate on Hagel’s nomination by the end of this week. However, he said it could be pushed past the weekend if Republicans resort to procedural tactics to delay it.

Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader, said he hoped debate on Hagel’s nomination would start on Wednesday.

The nomination of Hagel, 66, has met stiff opposition from some of his fellow Republicans, who raised questions about

WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (RTRS): US President Barack Obama challenged a divided Congress on Tuesday to raise the minimum wage and make government work for “the many” in a State of the Union speech focused on economic fairness for the middle class as the Democrat takes a more assertive tack in his second term.

Looking to use momentum from his re-election victory last November, Obama vowed to turn much of his attention toward economic troubles like the 7.9 percent unemployment rate, an issue that dogged his first four years as president.

While he offered few concessions to Republican demands for spending cuts, Obama backed higher taxes for the wealthy and a $50 billion spending plan to create jobs by rebuilding degraded roads and bridges.

It was the second time in a few weeks that Obama has used a major occasion to show a new, bolder side, coming after his inaugural speech in January when he offered a strong defense of gay rights and put climate change back on the agenda.

Obama on Tuesday outlined plans to withdraw 34,000 of the 66,000 US troops in Afghanistan over the next year and called anew for action on immigration reform at home.

In the most emotional moment of the hour-long speech, Obama urged Congress to ban assault weapons and take other gun control measures.

Victims of recent shootings like the school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, looked on, some choking back tears.

But the central emphasis of his speech was to “build new ladders of opportunity” for the middle class.

“It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few,” Obama told hundreds of lawmakers, Cabinet officials and dignitaries gathered before him in the well of the House of Representatives.

Policies His address to a joint session of Congress came in the midst of yet another bitter battle with Republicans over taxes and spending, and this tussle cast a heavy shadow over his appearance.

Even as Obama spoke, House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, accused him of offering “little more than the same stimulus policies that have failed to fix our economy and put Americans

Address fails to tackle budget crisis

GOP blasts Obama speech as more of the same WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AFP): Republican lawmakers slammed President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday for not tackling the nation’s budget crisis, saying he only offered bigger government and more spending.

One after the other, Republican senators and congressmen expressed disappointment with the litany of new programs Obama mentioned — from education and infrastructure to manufacturing and tax reform — saying he failed to explain how the country would pay for them.

Obama “missed an opportunity to try to connect with members on my side of the aisle and many in the country who recognize we have a serious problem with out of control government spending,” Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told AFP after the one-hour speech to Congress.

Many of the 500-plus lawmakers rose to their feet at least 23 times in ovations for the president as he hit on various themes, including ending the war in Afghanistan, reforming the tax code and overcoming partisan gridlock.

But Obama’s soaring rhetoric appeared to have done little to span the partisan divide that has hindered major legislation in recent years.

“Not impressive,” sniffed Republican Tim Scott, one of two African-American senators currently in the chamber.

“It sounds like we have endless streams of cash coming from somewhere,” Scott added. “It’s remarkable to think the wish list can be accomplished without actually seeing higher revenues.”

Conservative congressman Raul Labrador put it succinctly: “Probably one of the worst speeches I’ve ever heard the president give,” he winced to AFP. Obama was disjointed and unfocused, Labrador said, adding that the president only became emotional near the end when he addressed the need to reduce gun violence.

“I thought it lacked inspiration,” he added.

One area where he and several other Republicans, including Senator Rob Portman and congressman Cory Gardner, offered

positive feedback was on immigration.

The president has proposed a comprehensive immigration reform package, as has a bipartisan “gang of eight” senators, and lawmakers Tuesday night were optimistic that a deal could pass through Congress this year.

The linchpin of any such deal would be freshman Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a CubanAmerican and rising star from Florida widely tipped as a 2016 presidential candidate, who laid out the framework of his party’s economic vision in the official Republican response to Obama’s speech.

“The tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle class families,” Rubio said, as he urged Obama to “abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work with us to achieve real growth in our economy.”

Republicans are smarting from their election defeat, when Americans largely rejected their austerity push and Obama handily won the Hispanic and the youth vote.

back to work.”

Boehner’s comments came in a statement that was issued while Obama was still delivering his address and the speaker was sitting behind him, at times scowling. “The president had an opportunity to offer a solution tonight and he let it slip by,” Boehner said in his statement.

The clock is now ticking on Obama. He has about a year to get his legislative priorities enacted before Americans shift attention to the 2014 congressional elections.

Obama reserved his toughest words to urge a resolution to a festering budget battle that will result in automatic, deep spending cuts known as “sequestration” at the end of the month unless a deal can be reached.

Americans, he said, do not expect government to solve every problem, “but they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromises where we can.”

Many of his proposals may face a difficult path getting through Congress. He proposed raising the US minimum wage for workers from

$7.25 to $9 an hour. Republicans typically oppose increases in the minimum wage out of worry it will prompt businesses to fire workers.

Some anecdotal evidence supports their concern.

Obama said that to offset the cuts he would like to raise $800 billion in revenue by eliminating tax loopholes enjoyed mostly by the wealthiest Americans.

It is a proposal Boehner backed before he reluctantly agreed instead to higher income tax rates on the richest to avert a fiscal crisis at the end of 2012. Republicans are in no mood for more tax increases and want spending cuts instead.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a rising Republican star who could run for president in 2016, accused Obama of being too fond of big government.

“I hope the president will abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work with us to achieve real growth in our economy,” Rubio said in the formal Republican response to Obama’s speech.

Bringing his speech to an emotional end, Obama called on Congress to vote on measures to expand background checks, prevent gun trafficking, ban assault weapons and limit the size of ammunition magazines, saying victims deserved to have their elected officials take up the proposals.

whether he was sufficiently supportive of Israel, tough on Iran and capable enough to lead the Pentagon. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

11mn illegal immigrants: There’s one number that keeps up popping up in the US debate over illegal immigration: 11 million.

That’s the estimate of how many people are living in the US without legal permis-

Hagel

Levin

Afford Monica Smith, 36, of Tupelo, Mississippi, said: “With us being in Mississippi, what is a $9 minimum wage going to do to small companies in Mississippi? I don’t know how some of these small companies could afford it.”

Obama backed a $50 billion program to fund infrastructure rebuilding projects like fixing aging bridges, but many Republicans are adamantly against such stimulative government spending after Obama’s first-term $787 billion stimulus did not lead to a dramatic reversal in the unemployment rate.

“Our economy is adding jobs, but too many people still can’t find fulltime employment,” he said.

“Corporate profits have rocketed to all-time highs, but for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely budged.”

sion. But how would anybody know? It’s not like people who are living in the United States illegally are jumping up and down to volunteer that kind of information.

Bring on the statisticians!

Number-crunchers dive deep into census data and other government surveys, make a bunch of educated assumptions and adjustments for people who may be left out, mix in some population information from

Mexico and elsewhere and tend to arrive at similar figures. The government’s Homeland Security Department, for example, estimates there were 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants living in the US in January 2011. The Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization, estimates there were 11.1 million living in the US in March 2011. Other estimates are in the same neighborhood. (AP)

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World News Roundup Italy If centre-right wins

League vows to ‘paralyse’ govt MILAN, Feb 13, (RTRS): Italy’s centre-right plans to obstruct the government expected to emerge from an election in less than two weeks time and block legislation, Northern League leader Roberto Maroni said on Wednesday.

The vow by Maroni, the closest electoral ally of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, could cause instability and government paralysis if the centre-right wins enough votes to control the balance of power in the Senate after the Feb 24-25 vote, which is expected to be won by the centre-lef Maroni’s federalist League has its stronghold Maroni in Lombardy, which returns the largest number of Senators, and he is standing for governor of the region in a separate election coinciding with the national vote.

The last opinion polls allowed before the election and published on Friday suggested the centreright was narrowly ahead in Lombardy. The League was polling around 5 percent nationally and the centre-right 29 percent to Bersani’s almost 35 percent.

Power The Senate upper house is elected on a regional basis, giving the centre-right a greater chance of holding the balance of power.

In an interview with Reuters, Maroni, 57, also said the Europe of nation states was dead and should be replaced by maxi regions, including Catalonia and Scotland, and that the European Commission should resign.

It should be replaced by a popularly elected president governing a federal Europe composed of regions, he said.

Outgoing technocrat prime minister and centrist candidate Mario Monti, who is seen likely to join a coalition with the centre-left after the election, should give up politics, said Maroni, who has rebuilt the League after a disastrous corruption scandal last year.

“The best thing for Italy is that he resigns and goes back to university. He is a representative of financial powers and made all his economic policy to favour the banks,” Maroni said.

According to the last opinion polls, Bersani is expected to win control of the lower house easily but fall short in the Senate, which has equal legislative powers and where he would need Monti’s support.

Pope Benedict XVI leads his weekly general audience at the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Feb 13. Looking tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI told thousands of faithful that he was stepping down for ‘the good of the church,’ speaking in his first public appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement of his resignation. (Inset): Pope Benedict XVI is flanked by his private secretary Archbishop Georg Ganswein as he reads a message during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. (AP)

Vatican Conclave likely to start between March 15-20

Resignation won’t hurt Church: Pope

A bird flies over the ice covered Wendelstein-church on the Wendelstein, southern Germany, on Feb 12 (AFP)

Majority The centre-right’s aim is to prevent the combination of Monti and Bersani from obtaining a workable majority in the Senate where seats are decided on a regional basis.

Italy, deep in a recession and with one of the world’s biggest debts, can ill afford paralysis or instability. Businessmen, investors and foreign governments are clamouring for Monti’s reforms to continue, with more emphasis on stimulating growth while maintaining fiscal rigour. If Berlusconi and Maroni won Lombardy and only one other populous region, they could prevent centre-left control of the upper house. The centre-right is traditionally strongest in the populous northern regions, where the League has most support.

Asked if the centre-right strategy was to prevent Bersani governing, Maroni replied: “Yes. That is the role of a serious opposition,” adding that this would include blocking legislation.

But he said international markets would not be spooked by a centre-right government including the scandal-plagued Berlusconi, who was forced out in November 2011 and replaced by Monti after Italy’s borrowing costs soared to danger levels. “We don’t run the risk that this will happen again...financial markets in my opinion will sustain the new government whether it is right or left,” said Maroni, who named Margaret Thatcher as his political hero.

Maroni said Italy would have to hold a second election if BersaniMonti failed to get a workable majority. Otherwise he didn’t expect their government to last more than two years.

He speaks good English after working for 10 years as a legal affairs manager for the giant US cosmetics firm Avon, before entering politics in 1992.

Maroni, a former interior minister, took over the leadership of the League last April when its founder and leader, Umberto Bossi, was forced out in a giant graft scandal involving his family.

Europe Cash-for-citizenship law: Bulgaria’s parliament amended on Wednesday parts of a new law offering citizenship to foreign investors, watering down some of the permanent residency requirements after the president vetoed them.

Citizenship in Bulgaria opens a door to parts of western Europe.

The law, which was initially adopted by parliament last November, offered Bulgarian citizenship to any foreign investor willing to pour one million leva (510,000 euros, $689,000) into the country’s ailing economy. The economy has suffered from a slump in foreign direct investments. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Putin aims to soften Duma bill: President Vladimir Putin has submitted a bill to Russia’s parliament aimed at preventing officials stashing illicit wealth abroad, seeking to make good on a pledge to crack down on corruption and stem capital flight.

But the text, published on Tuesday, is weaker than one already proposed by the State Duma, the lower house, which unlike Putin’s bill would not allow apparatchiks to own property abroad or to open foreign bank accounts. In his first annual address to the nation since returning to the Kremlin for a third presidential term, Putin called in December for “a whole system of measures to ‘de-offshore’ our economy”. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

First suspicious case: German officials announced on Wednesday the first suspected case of horsemeat mislabelled as beef having been delivered to the country amid a widening scandal in Europe.

Germany was alerted via a European quick warning system late on Tuesday of suspicions that mislabelled processed lasagne was, or could have been, brought into the country, a consumer protection ministry spokeswoman said.

It was delivered to at least one trader in the western state of North RhineWestphalia (NRW), where authorities are checking whether the product has been withdrawn from the market, she said. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ Swiss outraged over plan: Many Swiss were outraged Wednesday after hearing that the country’s beloved aerobatic red planes with their characteristic white crosses, the Patrouille Suisse, will be cut from the Swiss air force by 2016.

“We will no longer have planes simply for folklore,” President Ueli Maurer told a

ROME, Feb 13, (RTRS): A visibly moved Pope Benedict tried to assure his worldwide flock on Wednesday over his stunning decision to become the first pontiff in centuries to resign, saying he was confident that it would not hurt the Church.

The Vatican, meanwhile, announced that a conclave to elect his successor would start sometime between March 15 and March 20, in keeping with Church rules about the timing of such gatherings after the papal see becomes vacant.

“Continue to pray for me, for the Church and for the future pope,” he said in unscripted remarks at the start of his weekly general audience, his first public appearance since his shock decision on Monday that he will step down on Feb 28.

It was the first time Benedict, 85, who will retire to a convent inside the Vatican, exchanging the splendour of his 16th century Apostolic Palace for a sober modern residence, had uttered the words “future pope” in public.

Stunned Church officials are still so stunned by the move that the Vatican experts have yet to decide what his title will be and whether he will continue to wear the white of a pope, the red of a cardinal or the black of an ordinary priest. His voice sounded strong at the audience but he was clearly moved and his eyes appeared to be watering as he reacted to the thunderous applause in the Vatican’s vast, modern audience hall, packed with more than 8,000 people. In brief remarks in Italian that mirrored those he read in Latin to stunned cardinals on Monday he appeared to try to calm Catholics’ fears of the unknown.

He message was that God would continue to guide the Church.

“I took this decision in full freedom for the good of the Church after praying for a long time and examining my conscience before God,” he said.

He said he was “well aware of the gravity of such an act,” but also aware that he no longer had the strength required to run the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, which has been beset by a string of scandals both in Rome and round the world.

Benedict said he was sustained by the “certainty that the Church belongs to Christ, who will never stop guiding

parliamentary security policy commission meeting on Tuesday, according to the Basler Zeitung daily.

The commission had been discussing Switzerland’s pending purchase of 22 JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets from Sweden when a member reportedly asked about the future of the Patrouille Suisse, which has been a fixture in Swiss skies since 1964.

‘Initiative now in Vatican’s hands’

Islamic clerics seek dialogue with new pope CAIRO, Feb 13, (AFP): Senior Muslim clerics in Egypt believe Pope Benedict XVI’s abrupt resignation could reopen the way for dialogue with the Catholic Church, severed after Benedict’s controversial 2006 remarks on the Muslim prophet.

But improved ties between the Church and Al-Azhar, the premier seat of Sunni Muslim learning, would depend on the next pope’s approach to the Muslim world, the clerics said.

“The resumption of ties with the Vatican hinges on the new atmosphere created by the new pope,” said Mahmud Azab, an advisor on inter-faith for the head of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb.

“The initiative is now in the Vatican’s hands,” he said.

In 2006, Benedict sparked fury across the Muslim world when he recounted an anecdote in which the Muslim Prophet Mohammed was described as a warmonger who spread evil teachings by the sword.

Dialogue resumed in 2009, but was again severed after the pope strongly called for protection of Christian minorities following a January 2011 suicide bombing at a church in Alexandria, Egypt’s sec-

ond city.

At the time, Al-Azhar said it would cut ties again with the Vatican over what it called Benedict’s “repeated treatment of Islam in a negative way, and his claims that Christians and others are oppressed in the Middle East.”

Yusef al-Qaradawi, a senior cleric in Al-Azhar, said his International Union of Islamic Scholars organisation had boycotted Benedict since his 2006 comments.

“Now, God has willed that we resume dialogue, after a new pope is elected,” he said, adding he was “optimistic.”

Such a dialogue, however, would take place as Islamists take centre stage in several Middle Eastern countries, after the Arab uprisings of 2011, further complicating relations with Christian minorities.

Pragmatic groups such as Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood rulers are likely to welcome dialogue, said Ashraf al-Sherif, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo.

“Parties with an Islamic reference such as the (Brotherhood’s) Freedom and Justice Party may welcome dialogue, given their desire to present a good image,” he said.

To the right of such parties, however, are ultraconservative Salafi movements who are traditionally less open to inter-faith talks, but Sharif said they might also have no objections because “the dialogue is essentially a formality.”

“Generally, Islamists will not have a negative impact on the chances for a dialogue,” he said.

Al-Azhar and the Vatican had held ongoing dialogues on co-existence under Pope John Paul II, Benedict’s predecessor.

A resumption of dialogue should be based on the firmer grounds of an institutional relationship, rather than personal ties, said Hassan Wagih, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University.

“The danger is in reducing the relationship to a personal one; it must be an institutional relationship,” he said.

The new pope, he added, would have to tackle problems between the Vatican and Muslims and “push for mutual respect.”

Following his 2006 comments, which sparked protests in Muslim countries, Benedict tried to mend fences with a visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, the second visit by a pope to a mosque in papal history.

it and caring for it” and suggested that the faithful should also feel comforted by this. He said that he had “felt almost physically” the affection and kindness he had received since he announced the decision.

When Benedict resigned on Monday, the Vatican spokesman said the pontiff did not fear schism in the Church after his decision to step down. Some 115 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect his successor.

Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis.

The likelihood that the next pope would be a younger man and perhaps

a non-Italian, was increasing, particularly because of the many mishaps caused by Benedict’s mostly Italian top aides.

crises over sex abuse of children by priests in Europe and the United States, most of which preceded his time in office but came to light during it. His reign also saw Muslim anger after he compared Islam to violence.

Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier. During a scandal over the Church’s business dealings, his butler was accused of leaking his private papers.

“When cardinals arrive here for the conclave ... they are going to have this on their mind, they’re going to take a good hard look at how Pope Benedict was served, and I think many of them feel that the burden of the papacy that finally weighed so heavy on Benedict was caused in part by some of this infighting (among his administration),” Thavis told Reuters.

Mishaps Benedict has been faulted for putting too much power in the hands of his friend, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Critics of Bertone, effectively the Vatican’s chief administrator, said he should have prevented some papal mishaps and bureaucratic blunders. “These scandals, these miscommunications, in many cases were caused by Pope Benedict’s own top aides and I think a lot of Catholics around the world think that he was perhaps ill-served by some of the cardinals here,” said John Thavis, author of a new book The Vatican Diaries.

Benedict’s papacy was rocked by

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Spain, France hold 23: Spanish and

Putin

Maurer

French authorities on Tuesday arrested 23 alleged members of the Kurdistan Workers Party on suspicion they engaged in extortion to finance the operations of the rebel group seeking autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds, officials said. Six of the suspects

were detained in Madrid, Barcelona and the southern city of Murcia, Spain’s Interior Ministry said in a statement. Authorities also raided seven places linked to the suspects, who are accused of levying a “revolutionary tax” on fellow Kurds in an extortion scheme aimed at buying arms and explosives for use in terror attacks in Turkey, the statement said. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

17

China Questions raised

Bloggers vilify Fu’s memoirs BEIJING, Feb 13, (AFP): A Chinese-born businesswoman’s harrowing tales of gang-rape and murder in the Cultural Revolution years have come under fire from web vigilantes who accuse her of duping impressionable US readers.

Ping Fu, who went on to found US technology firm Geomagic and sits on a White House panel on innovation, has described dreadful experiences in her Fu rags-to-riches autobiography “Bend, Not Break” and media interviews.

Born in 1958, Fu said she was gang-raped and forced into child labour in a factory, and that on one occasion the Maoist Red Guards dismembered a teacher with four horses pulling on each limb to terrify her and other children.

She was jailed in the early 1980s for writing a university thesis on female infanticide due to the onechild policy, she said, only for paramount leader Deng Xiaoping to intervene. The book says she was later “quietly deported”.

Reviews “Bend, Not Break” has reached the New York Times bestseller lists, and drew rave reviews, before questions raised by a number of Chinese Internet sleuths cast doubt on key parts of Fu’s life story.

She has admitted to some exaggeration in the book but has blamed that on a faulty memory or intervention by her editors, insisting her memoirs are not a fabrication and accusing her Chinese critics of waging a “smear campaign”.

But her chief attacker Fang Zhouzi, a prominent blogger known for hunting down celebrity lies, says he will stay on the offensive.

“Fu Ping not only fabricated her tragic experiences during the Cultural Revolution, but also fabricated what she saw during the period when China strictly enforced the family planning policy,” he wrote in his latest article.

“Because she knows clearly that apart from the Cultural Revolution, the family planning policy is another Chinese scandal that can most easily touch Americans’ nerves,” Fang said.

Fu told a US radio station last month that she personally witnessed the killings of hundreds of baby girls, and drew official ire for exposing this in her thesis.

Roman Catholics devotees light candles at a church as the country marks Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of the Christian Lenten season in Manila on Feb 13. (Inset): A Roman Catholic has a cross from ash etched to his forehead as the country marks Ash Wednesday. The ash symbolizes the mortality of human beings. About 80 percent of Filipinos are Catholics and there has been speculation among some faithful that a Filipino could be chosen to succeed Pope Benedict XVI. (AFP)

North Korea Obama warns of firm action

Neighbors prep militaries after N-test

A Tibetan monk burns after he set himself on fire in Kathmandu, Nepal, Feb 13. The Tibetan monk doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in Nepal’s capital Wednesday in what is believed to be the latest self-immolation to protest Chinese rule in Tibet. Nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire in various countries, mostly in ethnic Tibetan areas inside China, since 2009. (AP)

Expel Fang says it is incredible that she could have seen so much infanticide, and says that if Deng had intervened on her behalf when she was jailed, nobody would have dared to expel her from the country.

He has also dismissed her account of the teacher’s equine quartering as “easy to tell but hard to conduct”, adding in an email to AFP: “I will continue to write” about her.

Fang suggested that Fu — who uses a Western word order for her name — invented the stories to enlist sympathy from US officialdom and build a grittier image of survival to embellish her credentials in the business world.

“No matter how fantastic your experiences sounded, Americans would believe them to be true.

Some people told so many lies that they even started believing it themselves,” he said.

A decade after leaving China, Fu became a naturalised citizen in 1992 and was given an “Outstanding American by Choice” award by the US government last year.

In its citation, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency said she “was imprisoned during college for her research into China’s history of infanticide”.

But a Chinese teacher who was on the same university course as Fu said that if she had been jailed for her thesis, none of their fellows was aware of it.

“The heroine in the story was indeed good at writing, this was a fact,” Zilanzhai Zhuren wrote last month in his own blog. “But what she wrote was mostly literary novels.”

Fu responded to some of Fang’s accusations in her blog on huffingtonpost.com, blaming media misinterpretations and a typo in her book for any misunderstanding.

But she admitted that Fang’s analysis of the dismembermentby-horse was “more rational and accurate” than her “emotional” memory.

In interviews, she has said that the word “deport” was not in her manuscript but suggested by her editors to “attract readers”, and that “we could say that was a literary interpretation”.

Dalai Lama

Jianrong

Asia Monk’s burning mark 100th ‘bid’: A Tibetan exile turned himself into a ball of fire in front of a Buddhist monument Wednesday, the 100th self-immolation attempt since 2009 in a wave of protests against Chinese rule.

Witnesses told AFP in Kathmandu the man in his early 20s doused himself with petrol in a restaurant washroom in the Nepalese capital, ran outside and set himself alight next to Kathmandu’s Boudhanath Stupa, one of the world’s holiest Buddhist shrines.

“After setting himself on fire at the foot of the stupa, he started running — he cried out something but I couldn’t understand the language,” said a waiter at the restaurant.

“Police arrived within minutes after people started to shout for help,” the waiter, Phursang Tamang, told AFP. The bespectacled man was engulfed by flames before police were able to extinguish the fire and take him to hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

The Tibetan government-in-exile, based in the Indian town of Dharamshala in the foothills of the Himalayas, had previously put the number of burnings since 2009 at 99, with 83 of them fatal.

The office of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, had identified the man as a monk. Police in Kathmandu could not confirm that he was a monk, and he was clad in a jacket and red cap rather than in a monk’s robes.

The gruesome burnings, most of which have occurred in Tibetan-inhabited areas of China, are seen as a sign of desperation in the community over perceived religious persecution in Chinese-ruled Tibet.

Speaking to AFP ahead of the milestone of 100 cases, Tibetan exile prime minister Lobsang Sangay had blamed Chinese authorities and called for the international community to take note.

“Because there is no freedom of speech or outlet for any of protest, unfortunately Tibetans have chosen self-immolations,” he said in an interview in Dharamshala. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb 13, (AP): North Korea’s neighbors bolstered their military preparations and mobilized scientists Wednesday to determine whether Pyongyang’s third nuclear test, conducted in defiance of UN warnings, was as successful as the North claimed.

The detonation was also the focus of global diplomatic maneuvers, with US Secretary of State John Kerry reaching out to counterparts in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo.

President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to assure US allies in the region and warn of “firm action.”

“Provocations of the sort we saw last night will only isolate them further as we stand by our allies, strengthen our own missile defense and lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats,” Obama said.

The nuclear device detonated Tuesday at a remote underground site in the northeast is seen as a crucial step toward North Korea’s goal of building a bomb small enough to be fitted on a missile capable of striking the United States.

North Korea said it tested a “smaller and light A-bomb, unlike the previous ones, yet with great explosive power.” Still, just what happened in the test was unclear to outsiders.

Intelligence officials and analysts in Seoul raised the possibility of another nuclear test and of ballistic missile test-launches. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the latest test was merely its “first response” to what it called US threats and that Pyongyang will continue with unspecified “second and third measures of greater intensity” if Washington maintains its hostility.

Net users blast official: Chinese social media users berated authorities Wednesday in Beijing for their relatively mild response to North Korea’s nuclear test, with one likening Pyongyang to a “crazy dog” that had humiliated Beijing.

The hostility towards China’s defiant neighbour contrasted with the official response from Beijing — expressing “firm opposition” but reiterating calls for calm and

Readiness South Korea has raised its military readiness alert level, and on Wednesday it used aircraft and ships, as well as specialists on the ground, to collect air samples to analyze possibly increased radiation from the test, according to the Defense Ministry.

Japanese fighter jets were dispatched immediately after the test to collect atmospheric samples. Japan has also established monitoring posts, including one on its northwest coast, to collect similar data.

Underground nuclear tests often release radioactive elements into the atmosphere that can be analyzed to determine key details about the blast.

One of the main points that intelligence officials want to know is whether the device was a plutonium bomb or one that used highly enriched uranium, which would be a first for North Korea.

In 2006 and 2009, North Korea is believed to have tested devices made of plutonium. But in 2010, Pyongyang revealed it was trying to enrich uranium, which would be a second source of nuclear bomb-making materials — a worrying development for the United States and its allies.

Generally, it takes about two days for such radioactive byproducts from the North’s test site to reach South Korea, Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said Wednesday.

Power South Korea also said Wednesday it has deployed cruise missiles with “world-class accuracy and destructive power” that are capable of hitting any target in North Korea at any time, and is speeding up the planned deployment of ballistic missiles.

restraint and not mentioning any reprisals or sanctions. Pyongyang conducted the test on Tuesday, two days after Lunar New Year, which is China’s biggest annual festival, and as the public holiday continued.

“If you pursue an unjust long-term diplomatic policy, then people will dare to explode a stinkbomb at your door while you are on holiday,” said Yu Jianrong, a director at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

“You are inviting your own humiliation,”

Kim said Seoul believes North Korea made test preparations at two underground tunnels and may still be able to conduct another atomic test in the second unused tunnel.

In an emergency session, the UN Security Council unanimously said the test poses “a clear threat to international peace and security” and pledged further action.

It remains to be seen, however, whether China will sign on to any new, binding global sanctions. Beijing, Pyongyang’s primary trading partner, has resisted measures that would cut off North Korea’s economy completely.

The test was a defiant North Korean response to UN orders that it shut down its atomic activity or face more sanctions and international isolation. It will likely draw more sanctions from the United States and other countries at a time when North Korea is trying to rebuild its moribund economy and expand its engagement with the outside world.

The test “was neither a surprise nor an occasion for panic,” said Robert Hathaway, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Asia program.

“Nonetheless, this latest provocation clearly constitutes a serious challenge to US and international efforts to block the North from acquiring a nuclear weapons arsenal.”

Tuesday’s test was North Korea’s first since young leader Kim Jong Un took power over a country long estranged from the West. The test will likely be portrayed in North Korea as a strong move to defend the nation against foreign aggression, particularly from the US. The UN Security Council recently punished North Korea for a rocket launch in December that the UN and

he added on Sina Weibo, China’s popular Twitter-like service, where he has 1.5 million followers. Beijing is Pyongyang’s most important backer, providing it with trade and aid that have enabled the state to survive since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. China fears instability would bring refugees flooding across the border, or even ultimately a unified Korea with a US military presence on its doorstep.

But an online commentator using the

Washington called a cover for a banned long-range missile test.

Pyongyang said it was a peaceful launch of a satellite into space. In condemning that launch, the council demanded a stop to future launches and ordered North Korea to respect a ban on nuclear activity or face “significant action” by the UN. It wasn’t immediately clear to outside experts whether the device exploded Tuesday was small enough to fit on a missile. A successful test would take North Korean scientists a step closer to building a nuclear warhead that could reach US shores — seen as the ultimate goal of North Korea’s nuclear program.

Uranium would be a worry because plutonium facilities are large and produce detectable radiation, making them easier for outsiders to find and monitor. However, uranium centrifuges can be hidden from satellites, drones and nuclear inspectors in caves, tunnels and other hard-to-reach places.

Highly enriched uranium also is easier than plutonium to engineer into a weapon.

“North Korea will want to send a message that its nuclear and missile issues cannot be resolved with sanctions and that high-level talks with the US are necessary,” said Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, referring to the possibility of another nuclear or missile test.

Despite tensions, he predicted USNorth Korea diplomatic talks could occur later this year.

“The biggest US concern is whether the North has made progress in its uranium enrichment program. It’s a matter of nuclear proliferation. To resolve this, the US cannot help but talk with North Korea,” he said.

nickname Wuyuesanren slammed some suggestions that North Korea’s nuclear programme strengthened China’s security, likening Beijing’s policy to “keeping a crazy dog to guard the house”.

Xie Wen, a former manager at Yahoo China, urged Beijing on his Weibo account at least to abandon a 1961 treaty of mutual assistance, cancel all aid and military or security cooperation and recall China’s ambassador. (AFP)

Agencies scramble to collect ‘data’

US probes N. Korea N-test details

A visitor looks at the North side through binoculars at Imjingak peace park in Paju near the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas on Feb 13. South Korea said on Feb 13 it would accelerate the development of longer-range ballistic missiles that could cover the whole of North Korea in response to a third nuclear test by Pyongyang. (AFP)

WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (RTRS): US intelligence agencies are scrambling to collect technical data on the type, design and explosive power of the nuclear device North Korea tested on Tuesday, officials said.

A senior US official said it could take a week or two for the United States and others to collect and study data about the Kim test before coming up with a consensus on the device’s design and power.

Initial indications are that the underground nuclear explosion was produced by the latest version of a plutonium-

based prototype weapon, according to one current and one former US national security official. North Korea tested more primitive plutonium-based devices in October 2006 and May 2009.

North Korea under its President Kim Jong Un is also believed to be working on a uranium-based nuclear weapons design.

The test, which Pyongyang claimed was of an advanced design, has boosted longstanding concerns over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. If it turns out the test was of a new uranium-based weapon, the stakes would be even higher for the international community.

The US government unit that monitors both peaceful and non-peaceful nuclear activities is a military agency called the Air Force Technical Applications Center.

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INTERNATIONAL

18

World News Roundup Myanmar Suu Kyi offers help

New push for ethnic peace YANGON, Myanmar, Feb 13, (AP): Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi offered to help negotiate an end to conflicts between the government and ethnic minority groups, a challenge the country’s president called essential to building democracy.

Suu Kyi made the offer in a video address to members of her National League for Democracy party on Union Day, which marks when her late father Gen Aung San signed a 1947 agreement with leaders of the country’s ethnic minorities to gain independence from Britain together.

The occasion is a reminder of an issue that has destabilized the country Suu Kyi since even before it obtained independence in 1948 under the name of Burma.

Rebellions by ethnic minorities striving for greater autonomy were hard for a democratic parliamentary system to handle, which increased pressure for strong central authority and helped lead to an army takeover in 1962. Military rule persisted until 2011.

The government of elected President Thein Sein has reached cease-fire agreements with most of the major ethnic groups but is still engaged in a bitter struggle with the Kachin in northern Myanmar.

Conflicts Thein Sein in his Union Day address stressed the importance of “political stability and the end of armed conflicts.”

“At present, political stability and the end of armed conflicts is of prime importance for the flourishing of democracy in the country,” he said in a speech delivered by Vice-President Sai Mauk Kham, a member of the Shan minority.

Suu Kyi said she would take part in peace talks if the parties involved asked her to do so.

“I have been criticized by some people for not taking part in peace talks regarding the Kachin conflict.

I have always said I am willing to take part in the peace process if the concerned parties wanted me to,” she said.

Suu Kyi’s father was assassinated before independence after negotiating the1947 Panglong Agreement with the minorities.

Many in Myanmar believe his removal from the scene was the reason the pact failed to keep the peace.

Chad Ryan Desoto, 21 of Tamuning, Guam (left), is in police custody after allegedly driving a Toyota Yaris through a crowd of people in the island’s visitor district in Tumon, Guam, on Feb 12, crashing into an ABC Store, and stabbing several individuals. (AP)

Police arrest attacker

Guam man kills 2, stabs baby Witnesses comfort each other after Desoto allegedly drove a Toyota Yaris through a crowd of people. (AP)

Autonomy Tension with ethnic minorities fighting for greater autonomy in Myanmar is considered one of the biggest major long-term challenges for any Myanmar government, though the Kachin are the only major ethnic rebel group that has not reached a truce with Thein Sein’s administration.

A cease-fire that held for nearly two decades broke down in June 2011 after the Kachin refused to abandon a strategic base near a hydropower plant that is a joint venture with a Chinese company.

Clashes escalated after the government began using fighter planes and helicopter gunships in its attacks starting on Christmas Day last year.

Earlier this month the government and the Kachin agreed to deescalate military tensions, open lines of communication and invite observers to attend their next meeting to be held before end of February. Both sides agreed to hold a political dialogue — as opposed to just cease-fire talks — and to establish a monitoring system to implement a cease-fire between warring government troops and Kachin guerrillas in the north of the country.

Asia MPs vote for ‘recognition’: Australian lawmakers formally recognised indigenous peoples as the country’s first inhabitants on Wednesday in Sydney, five years after an historic apology to Aborigines for past wrongs.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives to applause from a packed public gallery and paves the way for formal constitutional recognition.

It comes five years to the day after former leader Kevin Rudd apologised to the nation’s Aborigines for wrongs committed since the arrival of British settlers in 1788, including the forced removals of children from their parents.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the vote was a sign the parliament was committed to righting wrongs committed against Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the past.

tained injuries during the theft,” park curator Chad Staples said in a statement.

“The theft and injuries sustained would have been traumatic enough but if the animal is still alive, it will be feeling additional stress being in an unfamiliar environment.” (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Crime

Prosser

Key

Lawmaker apologises A New Zealand politician offered a qualified apology Wednesday for saying young Muslim men were a terrorist threat who should be banned from flying on Western airlines.

After his remarks were condemned across the political spectrum, Richard Prosser of the New Zealand First party said he had failed to acknowledge the vast majority of Muslims were law-abiding and did not support extremism.

Prosser said his call for all males aged 19 to 35 who were Muslim, looked Muslim, or came from Muslim countries, to be banned from flights was too broad, but said he still supported “targeted profiling” of airline passengers.

“I shouldn’t have called for a blanket ban, I should have called for an investigation into the merits of targeted profiling,” he told Radio New Zealand, without elaborating.

“That was something I shouldn’t have done and I’m apologising for that.”

Prime Minister John Key has described Prosser’s remarks as appalling, while Islamic community groups have called for him to stand down from parliament, something he says he will not do.

Former Labour Party politician Kelvin Davis responded to Prosser’s initial remarks with a tweet paraphrasing Mark Twain which read: “Better to stay silent than to open your mouth and confirm it.” (AFP)

HAGATNA, Feb 13, (Agencies): Two women were stabbed to death and an eight-month-old baby knifed in a frenzied attack on 14 Japanese tourists on the Pacific island nation of Guam, a court heard Wednesday.

The attack happened late Tuesday when a local man drove his car up a pavement near the Outrigger Guam Resort and rammed into a convenience store, before jumping out and stabbing bystanders.

Court documents allege Chad Ryan Desoto, 21, admitted he was intent on causing maximum carnage after being arrested following the rampage, which has stunned the normally sleepy tropical nation.

“The defendant later stated to police officers that he had intended on hurting as many people (as possible) with his vehicle initially and subsequently with his knife,” documents tendered in the Hagatna Superior Court said.

The court was told six people were mown down by Desoto’s car and eight more were stabbed, including 81-year-old Kazuko Uehara and Rie Sugiyama, 29, who both suffered fatal injuries.

Sugiyama’s eight-month-old son, referred to in the court documents only as “R.S”, was also stabbed but survived.

fled at the theft of an emu in a night raid, saying it would be frightened and possibly injured.

Officials could provide no immediate explanation for the attack.

Guam governor Eddie Calvo said it had shocked the nation of about 180,000, which attracts almost a million Japanese visitors annually.

“We are shocked and grieving with the families of those who were injured and who died,” Calvo said in a statement addressed “to the people of Japan”.

“This is not the kind of thing that happens in our community. Anyone who has been to Guam knows this.”

Smashed Local woman Ashley Quichocho said she was in a cafe near the resort’s entrance when a car sped past and smashed into the convenience store.

She said the man then got out, produced a knife and went on the attack.

“He started stabbing someone and I started freaking out. He was just running back and forth stabbing people,” she told the Pacific Daily News.

Quichocho said she fled into the resort to escape.

“He came out of the car and started attacking people. It was scary,” another witness, Lendi Cruz, told AFP. About 80 percent of Guam’s

The tall female bird was discovered missing from Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney’s western suburbs early Tuesday.

Her enclosure contained a large quantity of feathers, indicating a struggle.

“It looks like the emu may have sus-

‘Grandma mistreated’

Britain intervenes

“I do believe the community is willing to embrace the justice of this campaign because Australians understand that indigenous culture and history are a source of pride for us all,” Gillard told parliament. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Keepers baffled: Keepers at an Australian wildlife park Wednesday said in Sydney they were concerned and baf-

international visitors are Japanese and provide a major source of revenue for the economy, with tourist numbers reportedly recovering recently after a slump following Japan’s tsunami-quake disaster.

Governor Calvo said the attack was an isolated incident by a lone criminal and Guam was committed to ensuring its visitors were safe.

Guam Visitors Board chairman Mark Baldyga said the country had long been seen as one of the safest destinations in the region.

However, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga warned his compatriots to be careful when travelling overseas.

“There are many people who go abroad for vacations, they should exercise utmost caution to ensure their safety,” he said. “As the government of Japan, we will do what we can to that end.”

Japanese online travel agency Rakuten Travel said the two dead were among its customers. Another travel agent, H.I.S., said eight of its customers were hurt, none seriously.

A man accused of killing two Japanese visitors and injuring a dozen others after crashing his car and stabbing people in a major tourist district in Guam has been arrested and faces multiple charges, police said Wednesday.

Flower shop owners buy wholesale flowers on the eve of Valentine’s Day in Manila on Feb 13. Filipinos traditionally mark Feb 14, with romantic expressions with flowers and other gifts. (AFP)

DENPASAR, Indonesia, Feb 13, (AFP): Britain has raised claims that Indonesian authorities mistreated a British grandmother on death row for drug trafficking, in a statement supporting her appeal which was seen Wednesday.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office submitted a document in Indonesian to the Denpasar District Court citing allegations that officials had “violated Lindsay Sandiford’s fundamental rights under international laws and the Indonesian constitution”.

They said Sandiford, 56, was allegedly threatened with a gun and deprived of sleep.

“The British government wants to attract the court’s attention to serious allegations of mistreatment by related officers and officials at the time Lindsay Sandiford was first detained,” said the document obtained by AFP from the court.

‘Soft drinks may need warnings’: A New Zealand food industry association on Wednesday rejected a coroner’s call to add health warnings to softdrink labels following the 2010 death of a woman who drank about 2 gallons of Coca-Cola a day.

Coroner David Crerar issued a final report Tuesday into the death of 31-yearHarris old Natasha Harris, concluding that the mother of eight died from a heart attack. He said the large amount of Coca-Cola she drank likely led to metabolic imbalances that gave rise to her heart problems, adding that Coke was likely a “substantial factor” in her death.

(AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Youths look for compensation: Twenty-three Indonesian youths plan to sue Australia for illegal detention after being jailed in adult prisons for peoplesmuggling when they were minors, a child rights agency said on Tuesday in Jakarta.

Australian authorities detained the boys as adults between 2008 and 2011, following wrist X-ray tests to determine they were over 18 years old — a method which has been criticised by some experts as outdated and unreliable.

“The plaintiffs are looking for compensation and an apology from Australia so they can receive an education and live normal lives,” Indonesia’s National Commission for Child Protection deputy chief Apong Herlina told AFP. The commission is working on the case with an Indonesian and an Australian lawyer to file the civil suit in an Australian court. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

PNG police save 2 women: Papua New Guinea police have rescued two women accused of sorcery who were about to be set alight, a report said Wednesday, days after a young mother accused of witchcraft was burned alive by a mob.

Sorcery cases have been a priority for authorities after the horrific case of a 20year-old woman who last week was stripped naked, doused with petrol and set alight before a crowd, Highlands divisional police commander Teddy Tei told The National newspaper.

The woman, who was accused of causing the death of a six-year-old boy using sorcery, died after being tortured with a branding iron, tied up and set alight on a pile of rubbish in Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ 2 firefighters killed in bushfire: Two Australian firefighters were killed Wednesday when a tree fell on their vehicle as they battled a bushfire in a remote part of the southeastern state of Victoria.

The pair were a man in his thirties and a woman in her late teens, according to police quoted by the Australian Associated Press.

Emergency services were only able to reach them hours after the tree fell after initially being forced back by fire and hazardous conditions. (AFP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

19

Africa Sudan accused of troops build-up: South Sudan on Tuesday in Juba accused Sudan of building up forces along their border, in a sign that efforts to set up a buffer zone between the neighbours and resume the oil exports vital to both economies have made no progress.

The two countries came close to war last April in the worst border clashes since South Sudan seceded in 2011 under a peace agreement that ended one of Africa’s longest civil wars.

The African Union brokered a deal in September to defuse hostilities. But the nations have failed set up a demilitarised border zone and resume oil exports from the landD’Agoot locked South Sudan through Sudanese pipelines, as agreed in Addis Ababa.

Such a buffer zone is a pre-condition for Sudan to allow oil exports to restart.

Juba shut down its output of 350,000 barrels a day a year ago in a row with Khartoum over pipeline fees.

“The last two months have seen an unusual build-up of forces along our common border with the Republic of Sudan,” South Sudan’s deputy defence minister Majak D’Agoot told reporters in the capital Juba on Tuesday, without giving any numbers.

“Our forces are in the state of maximum readiness to repel any attack by Khartoum. We will stay in our current positions, we will keep to the terms of the (September) agreement,” D’Agoot said.

(RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

‘Journalist freed’: A journalists’ rights group says in Mogadishu that a Somali journalist has been freed after being detained without charges for speaking out against the imprisonment of a fellow reporter.

Reporters Without Borders said on their website Wednesday that journalist Daud Abdi Daud was released after more than a week in custody.

Human Rights Watch said this week that Daud’s arrest stemmed from an incident last week when a Mogadishu court handed down one-year prison sentences to a woman who said she was raped by security forces and a reporter who interviewed her.

Daud spoke out in court saying that journalists have the right to interview people. The group said police arrested Daud after he reportedly added that he would seek to interview the president’s wife.

(AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Rio de Janeiro’s samba school Vila Isabel’s dancer performs along the Sambadrome on the second day of the traditional city’s samba school parade on Feb 12. (Inset): Japanese avant-garde fashion designer Junko Koshino performs with her designed costume for Barroca Zona Sul samba school during the last day of the carnival parades at the Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Barroca this year is focusing its carnival theme on the history of Jabaquara, an ethnically diverse district that includes Jardim Oriental, a community that is home to many Japanese. (AFP)

Rio’s samba schools hold annual parade competitions Carnival revelers danced until dawn on Tuesday as Rio de Janeiro’s samba schools held their annual sequin-drenched parade competitions at the city’s iconic Sambadrome.

The all-night-long parade saw six top-tier samba schools deploy powerful percussion sections, larger-than-life

floats and battalions of nearly nude samba dancers. Tens of thousands of people watched the dance parades from the bleachers and swanky VIP stands inside the Sambadrome, while millions more caught the spectacle via television.

Tragedy overshadowed Carnival

festivities in Brazil’s port city of Santos, where a fire on a float killed four people and injured five others early Tuesday.

A fire department official in Santos said the float caught fire shortly after the Sangue Jovem samba school ended its parade at dawn, killing three

people who were pushing the float and a woman watching the parade.

Witnesses said the float caught fire after striking a power line. Results of the showcase parades in Rio, which saw 12 samba schools compete for this year’s Carnival title, will be announced later this week. (AP)

Citizenship

‘Suspension of Commonwealth’: Zambian opposition leaders called on Tuesday for a suspension of their country from the Commonwealth, accusing President Michael Sata of stifling democracy.

The leaders of several opposition parties and civil society groups gathered in Johannesburg to make the call, claiming it was now impossible for them to operate normally in Zambia. They called “for the provisional suspension of Zambia from the Commonwealth pending investigation” into rights abuses.

Several of those present, including Nevers Mumba and Hakainde Hichilema, have recently been arrested and granted bail on graft and other charges.

“The very fact that we were not able to hold this event in Lusaka gives you an indication of the levels of intolerance in Zambia,” said Sakwiba Sikota, leader of the United Liberal Party in Johannesburg.

Nigeria, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Fiji have previously been expelled from the 54-nation bloc. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

‘Booming business’ A reveller of Barroca Zona Sul samba school performs during the last day of the carnival parades at the Sambadrome in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb 12. (AFP)

Calderon

Zapata

1st presidential debate held: Three weeks before they go to the polls, millions of Kenyans watched and listened to the nation’s first-ever presidential debate, with the two front-running candidates trading barbs over the looming trial of one of them in the International Criminal Court.

Morning talk shows in Nairobi on Tuesday were still buzzing about the previous night’s debate – broadcast live on Kenya’s TV and radio stations – among eight presidential candidates who stood behind sleek, futuristic podiums. Much of the focus was on the two front-runners: Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding father, faces crimes against humanity charges at the ICC. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Ramphele quits Gold Fields: Respected anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele resigned as chairwoman of Gold Fields on Wednesday, intensifying speculation she is about to launch a political party to challenge the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

Gold Fields said Ramphele had decided to retire “to further her socio-economic and political work”. Former South African Airways chairwoman Cheryl Carolus will succeed Ramphele as chair, the company said in Johannesburg.

Ramphele, 65, commands considerable respect among South Africa’s black majority as a partner of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, who died in 1977 as a result of beatings received in an apartheid prison.

She was also placed under house arrest for seven years by South Africa’s whiteminority government because of her political activities. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Lightning strikes 9: Lightning struck nine teenage pupils at a boys school in Johannesburg as they played cricket on Tuesday, paramedics said in Johannesburg.

“There were children hit by lightning,” said private emergency service Netcare 911 spokeswoman Santi Steinman, adding that all nine boys survived.

The boys aged 16 to 18 were pupils at the King Edward High School, which was founded in 1902.

“Only nine 1st team cricketers affected.

7 stable and 2 under high care,” the school posted on microblogging site Twitter. (AFP)

Lat/Am Mexico unveils ‘details’: Mexico’s new administration offered the first details on Tuesday of a long-touted shift in the country’s war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2 billion this year on social programs meant to keep young people from joining criminal organizations in the 251 most violent towns and neighborhoods across the country.

The government will flood those areas with spending on programs ranging from road-building to increasing school hours, President Enrique Pena Nieto and Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong told an audience in the central state of Aguascalientes.

“It’s clear that we must put special emphasis on prevention, because we can’t only keep employing more sophisticated weapons, better equipment, more police, a higher presence of the armed forces in the country as the only form of combating organized crime,” Pena Nieto said.

The rhetoric of the announcement was a forceful rejection of Pena Nieto’s predecessor, Felipe Calderon, who deployed thousands of troops to battle cartel gunmen and frequently boasted of the number of drug-gang leaders arrested and killed on his watch. But the speeches by Pena Nieto and Osorio Chong contained few specifics more than two months into a presidency marred by continuing violence in many states and a headline-grabbing series of horrifying crimes, including the kidnapping and slaying of an entire 17member band near the northern city of Monterrey and the gang rape of six Spanish tourists in the resort city of Acapulco.

Analysts said the strategy, to be carried out by nine federal departments coordinated by a new Interagency Commission for the Prevention of Violence and Criminality, marked an important change in tone but not necessarily in the day-today reality of Mexico’s battle against drug cartels. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Family files lawsuit: The family of a US agent killed in a 2011 ambush on a Mexican highway and another agent who survived the attack on Tuesday sued the government and nearly two-dozen other defendants in McAllen, Texas.

The federal lawsuit arises from the Feb 15, 2011, attack on US Immigration and

Caribbean islands sell citizenship KINGSTON, Jamaica, Feb 13, (AP): Hadi Mezawi has never set foot on the Caribbean island of Dominica, has never seen its rainforests or blacksand beaches. But he’s one of its newest citizens.

Without leaving his home in the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian man recently received a brand new Dominican passport after sending a roughly $100,000 contribution to the tropical nation half a world away.

“At the start I was a little worried that it might be a fraud, but the process turned out to be quite smooth and simple. Now, I am a Dominican,” said Mezawi, who like many Palestinians had not been recognized as a citizen of any country. That passport will help with travel for his job with a Brazilian food processing company, he said by telephone from Dubai.

Turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has led to a surge of interest in programs that let investors buy citizenship or residence in countries around the world in return for a healthy contribution or investment.

Most are seeking a second passport for hassle-free travel or a ready escape hatch in case things get worse at home.

Nowhere is it easier or faster than in the minuscule Eastern Caribbean nations of Dominica and St. Kitts & Customs Enforcement agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila. They were attacked in their armored sport-utility vehicle near San Luis Potosi, Mexico, shortly after picking up some equipment from another agent. Zapata died and Avila

Nevis. It’s such a booming business that a Dubai-based company is building a 4-square-mile (10-square-kilometer) community in St. Kitts where investors can buy property and citizenship at the same time. In its first phase, some 375 shareholders will get citizenship by investing $400,000 each in the project, which is expected to include a 200-room hotel and a mega-yacht marina. Others will get passports for buying one of 50 condominium units.

“The more they fight over there, the more political problems there are, the more applications we get here,” said Victor Doche, managing director of another company that offers four condominium projects where approved buyers are granted citizenship in St. Kitts, which is less than twice the size of Washington D.C. It’s impossible to say how many people have used the cash for citizenship programs. Officials in both countries declined to respond when asked

by The Associated Press.

Explanation “Why do I have to speak on that?” said Levi Peter, Dominica’s attorney general. “I have no explanation to give to AP.” But Bernard Wiltshire, a former Dominica attorney general, said there were already around 3,000 economic citizens when he left government was seriously wounded.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday names the agents’ supervisors, the company that armored their vehicle and gun shops that allegedly sold two of the weapons used. It alleges that Zapata and Avila never should

about a decade ago. The country now has roughly 73,000 inhabitants in all.

“Investor visa” or citizenship programs are offered by many nations, including the United States, Canada, Britain and Austria. But the Caribbean countries offer a fast path to citizenship at a very low cost. The whole process, including background checks, can take as little as 90 days in St. Kitts. And there’s no need to ever live on the islands, or even visit.

Qualify A foreigner can qualify for citizenship in St. Kitts with a $250,000 donation to a fund for retired sugar workers or with a minimum real estate investment of $400,000. The minimum contribution in Dominica is $100,000.

By contrast, a US program allows visas for a $1 million investment in a US business employing at least 10 people or $500,000 in designated economically depressed areas. The investor can apply for permanent residence in two years, and seek citizenship after five more. Demand in Canada is so great that the country stopped accepting new applications in July.

A Dominica passport holder can travel without a visa to more than 50 countries, while a St. Kitts passport provides visa-free travel to 139 countries, including all of the European have been sent on the dangerous mission, their armored SUV was flawed and at least two of the guns used in the attack were bought in the United States and eventually smuggled to Mexico.

On Feb. 15, 2011, Zapata and Avila

Castro on Chavez

Cuba tones down

Police officers escort alleged rebel Victor Silva Soto to a media presentation at a police intelligence headquarter in Bogota, Colombia, Feb 12. Colombia’s police chief Jose Leon Riano said Silva is a member of the Central High Command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, and was arrested on Monday after attending a dentist’s appointment in Bogota. (AP)

HAVANA, Feb 13, (RTRS): More than a week after former leader Fidel Castro was quoted in Cuban media as saying Venezuela’s cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez was “much better,” the Communist Party newspaper published a different, toned down version of his comments on Tuesday.

The transcript in Granma, said to have been “reviewed and updated”

by Castro, left out the more positive assessments of Chavez’ condition, but did say he was recovering.

Castro, who spoke with reporters when he went to vote in Cuba’s National Assembly election, was quoted in Feb. 4 news accounts as telling reporters he got daily reports on Chavez and that he was doing “much better, recovering” two months after undergoing a six-hour operation in Havana.

Union. That’s a big deal to people in countries from which travel is restricted or whose passports are treated with suspicion. Critics say the programs undermine the integrity of national passports and have security risks.

While there are no known cases of terrorists using the programs, experts say that’s a possibility with many visa arrangements anywhere.

“No level of scrutiny can completely guarantee that terrorists will not make use of these programs, just as background checks cannot eliminate the risk that dangerous individuals will not enter the country (the US) on tourist visas, as students or as refugees,” said Madeleine Sumption, a senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute.

Canada imposed visa requirements on Dominica citizens a decade ago after complaining that suspected criminals had used island passports.

And in 2010, Britain said it was considering visa requirements for Dominicans, prompting the island to review its 20-year-old economic citizenship program. Dominica never publicly released the results of its review and Britain took no action.

St. Kitts closed its program to Iranians in December 2011, shortly after Iranian students stormed the British Embassy in Tehran. drove from Mexico City to San Luis Potosi to pick up equipment from another agent from the Monterrey office. Shortly after beginning their return trip the pair was ambushed by armed men. Zapata parked the vehicle, but when he did so the automatic door locks unlocked. Gunmen pried open the door and in their struggle to close it the agents partially lowered the window which allowed their attackers to fire inside. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Colombian rebels kill 2: Colombia’s FARC rebels killed a policeman and a child with a grenade in what the defense minister called a “demented, diabolical” attack and police said the guerillas also blew up an oil pipeline.

Fighting has intensified since a unilateral FARC ceasefire expired on Jan. 20, with guerrillas taking hostages, killing soldiers and blowing up oil and energy infrastructure and government security forces also stepping up operations.

The violence comes even as the two sides talk peace in Havana to try to end a five-decade-long war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said the FARC, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, killed a policeman and a boy in a village in the southeastern province of Guaviare on Monday night while residents tried to put out a fire the rebels had started. (RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

INTERNATIONAL

20

World News Roundup Health ‘Targets amyloid’

J&J ‘pivots’ to early stage Alz’s CHICAGO, Feb 13, (RTRS): A little over a year ago, Dr Husseini Manji, global head of neuroscience drug development at Johnson & Johnson, predicted that brain researchers were on the cusp of a golden age.

That was before J&J’s highly anticipated Alzheimer’s drug, bapineuzumab, failed to improve memory and thinking skills in closely watched clinical trials of people with mild to moderate forms of the disease.

Had it worked, the drug would have been the first to alter the course of Alzheimer’s, a fatal brainwasting disease that affects 36 million people worldwide. It also would have meant billions of dollars in annual sales.

Instead, J&J and its partManji ners, Pfizer and Elan, pulled the plug on the intravenous treatment after years of development.

Nevertheless, Manji, the Kenyan-born scientist who spent 15 years researching neuropsychiatric diseases for the National Institutes of Health, stands by his prediction.

The former chief of the NIH’s Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, who recently met with computer experts at NASA to understand how best to untangle the web of disparate information on brain science, says there is nothing more complex than brain disorders.

A computer generated image shows a reconstruction of the head of French King Henri IV (1553-1610) made after a panel of forensic scientists identified the skull of the king who was murdered at the age of 57 on May 14, 1610 by a fanatic. The reconstruction was made three years ago. (Inset): A person films a screen bearing the skull of the head of French King Henri IV (1553-1610) before his reconstruction, during a press conference in Paris on Feb 12. (AFP)

Efforts “We shouldn’t expect it to be easy,” Manji, 53, who leads the company’s research efforts in Alzheimer’s, mood disorders, schizophrenia and pain conditions, said in an interview.

Like its rivals, J&J is preparing to pivot from testing drugs in people who already have dementia to early-stage patients, when drugs may have a better shot at working.

In November, J&J partnered with Japan’s Shionogi to gain access to Shionogi’s oral beta secretase, or BACE, inhibitor, a promising new class of drugs that aims to prevent the production of the Alzheimer’slinked protein beta amyloid before it can form toxic clumps in people’s brains.

While J&J and its partners are retooling bapineuzumab into a more convenient shot formulation — instead of an IV — the company is also working on other approaches, including an amyloid-attacking antibody similar to bapineuzumab, called AAB003, and a vaccine that would enlist the help of an individual’s immune system to fight the disease.

Manji says the company remains committed to amyloid-clearing treatments. He expects doctors will need a whole menu of drugs to address the massive burden of Alzheimer’s, which is expected to affect 115 million people globally by 2050.

Experts liken Alzheimer’s to heart disease, in which fatty plaques build up in the arteries for years before breaking loose, causing a stroke or heart attack.

“If someone comes into the ER with a heart attack and you give them a (cholesterol-lowering) statin drug for the first time, you are probably 15 years too late,” said Dr Michael Rafii, an Alzheimer’s expert at the University of California at San Diego.

Patient Likewise, with Alzheimer’s, when a patient enters the dementia phase, treatments that remove amyloid may be too little, too late. That may be what occurred with bapineuzumab, which showed signs that it was removing plaques but offered no cognitive benefit.

Late-stage studies of Eli Lilly and Co’s similar drug, solanezumab, also failed to help patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s, but when the results of two studies were combined, researchers saw a hint of benefit in people with mild disease.

Many experts believe BACE inhibitors would be ideal for very early-stage patients because they may prevent dementia from developing.

Lilly and Merck already have midstage trials under way for their BACE inhibitors, with safety results expected by early 2014. J&J is still working out the details, but Manji said he expects human trials of the Shionogi drug to start soon.

Unlike anti-amyloid drugs, such as bapineuzumab, that remove plaque after it has formed, BACE inhibitors focus on preventing the production of beta amyloid. The drugs are designed to keep the enzyme beta-secretase from chopping up a larger protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP) into bits that make up beta amyloid.

See Also Pages 35&36

Climate ‘Act on climate’

Obama gives Hill warming ultimatum This undated file photo released by NOAA shows the USS Monitor. The remains of two unknown Union sailors recovered from the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery on March 8, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said on Feb 12. (AP)

Johnson

Bolden

Discovery Experts search for alien life: Some scientists are helping search for evidence of alien life not by looking into outer space, but by studying some rocks right here on Earth.

Some of the rocks are up to 3.5 billion years old. The scientists are looking for crucial information to understand how life might have arisen elsewhere in the universe and guide the search for life on Mars one day.

“There’s a story always hidden in rocks,” said geoscientist Clark Johnson, in Madison, Wisconsin the lead investigator for the Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium. “... It’s up to (geologists) to be clever enough to find the tools that we need to interrogate those rocks to find what story they preserve.”

The University of Wisconsin-Madison project is funded through the US space agency NASA, under its administrator Charles Bolden which provided a $7 million, five-year grant that started in January. It was the group’s second fiveyear, $7 million grant.

The consortium has been tasked with finding footprints of biological activity, or biosignatures, which are substances such as elements or isotopes that show evidence of ancient life. The scientists are looking for microscopic signs of life, including microbes, which are bacteria, and other tiny, one-celled organisms that are much more adaptable than more complex organisms. The team is also sending microbes into Earth’s orbit on the International Space Station to see how they react to radiation and a space environment.

In the process, they are learning more about Earth’s history. They’ve found new details of microbial life that dates back 2 billion to 3 billion years, before the planet’s atmosphere contained oxygen.

They’ve found that microbes then relied more on iron than sunlight for energy.

Eventually their work will be used to interpret data brought back from Mars by the six-wheel spacecraft Curiosity, which landed in August on a two-year mission to determine whether the environment was

WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (Agencies): US President Barack Obama on Tuesday gave Congress an ultimatum on climate change: craft a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the dangers of a warming world, or the White House will go it alone.

“If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will,” Obama said in his State of the Union address. “I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”

Congress should consider putting a price on climate-warming carbon emissions, Obama said, briefly nodding to his failed, first-term plan to confront climate change. Republican opposition means the president’s best chance to confront the issue will mean flexing executive power.

He vowed to push for more and cheaper solar and wind energy, and pledged to cut red tape to encourage more drilling for domestic natural gas, which Obama said had driven down fuel prices in the United States.

“But I also want to work with this Congress to encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and water,” the president said.

Framing the politically charged issue in terms of recent severe weather, Obama said the nation ever favorable for microbial life. Their work will also be used to prepare for future Mars missions.

“It may be that planets spent a long time in a microbial life condition and then only

should use its abundance of fossil fuels to pivot towards a no-emissions energy future.

To help pay for it, Obama proposed using revenue from oil and gas drilled on federal land to wean the nation off those same carbon fuels and promote clean energy.

“I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good,” the president said.

About 30 percent of US oil and gas production and 40 percent of the nation’s coal is managed by the Interior Department. The department collected roughly $12 billion in revenue from federal land last year.

Interior, steward of federal lands, already has proposed collecting higher royalties on some oil and gas exploration while critics have said the agency does a poor job of collecting revenue due taxpayers.

Cut Energy efficiency is also key, Obama said, urging that Americans cut in half the energy wasted in homes and business in the next 20 years. He said the federal government would support states that create jobs and cut power bills by constructing more efficient buildings.

Building on his Inauguration Day pledge to confront climate change despite the skepticism of Republican critics, Obama framed the issue in terms of recent severe weather and took aim at those who deny the link between human activity and global warming. rarely evolved to advanced multicellular complex life,” Johnson said. “That’s one of the hypothesis we would test.” (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

“We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science - and act before it’s too late,” he said.

Competitive Promoting renewable energy like wind and solar power could make the United States a more globally competitive economy, Obama said.

“Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America,” he said. “As long as countries like China keep going allin on clean energy, so must we.”

The president’s first term saw a doubling of energy from wind and solar power and a measure to increase fuel economy standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. This year is expected to see rules to curb emissions from power plants, which accounts for about 40 percent of carbon emissions.

But Obama’s first-term ambition to put a price on carbon fell flat and any similar initiative is likely to fail while Republicans control the US House of Representatives.

One of the executive actions Obama could take would be to increase green fuels for the US military, the world’s largest petroleum buyer.

The Pentagon already has helped finance renewable fuel suppliers, and this spur to the renewable energy market could grow in Obama’s second term.

Guppies use ugly friends: When it comes to mating, guppies treasure their ugly friends – because they look so good by comparison.

‘Ancient’

Experts find temple

Protesters flock to the water front to watch the sunset in Manila Bay on Feb 12. Hundreds of Filipinos converged on the Philippine capital’s main bay front Tuesday for a unique ‘sunset watch’ protest aimed at stopping what they said would be a disastrous reclamation project. (AFP)

LIMA, Feb 13, (AFP): Peruvian archeologists have discovered a temple believed to be about 5,000 years old at the ancient El Paraiso archeological site in a valley just north of Lima, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday.

If the date is confirmed, it would be among the oldest sites in the world, comparable to the ancient city of Caral, a coastal city some 200 kms (125 miles) to the north.

The discovery, dubbed the Temple of Fire, was found in one of the wings of El Paraiso’s main pyramid. It includes a hearth that experts believe was used to burn ceremonial offerings.

The Interior Department could require companies that drill or mine on federal land capture more methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

“I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago,” Obama said.

Obama has since relied on executive power to fight climate change, with the Environmental Protection Agency ordering stricter standards for power plants which form the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

As Obama was speaking, Republican leaders released statements urging Obama to approve the Keystone pipeline from Canada, arguing that it would create jobs.

The pipeline is strongly opposed by environmentalists as the oil from tar sands is heavy in carbon emissions.

Environmentalists, seeing a new opportunity in Obama’s renewed focus on climate change, plan what they hope will be a major rally in Washington on Sunday to press for action.

US climate scientists say that even if the world meets current goals on emissions, the planet is still poised for potentially catastrophic warming. Obama has set a goal of cutting emissions by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.

Andrew Steer, president of the World Resources Institute, said that by meeting its target, the United States “can signal that it’s serious about tackling climate change at home while enhancing its credibility on the global stage.”

An article published Wednesday by Britain’s Royal Society says that male guppies prefer to associate with their drab-colored counterparts when females are around.

“Males actively choose the social context that maximizes their relative attractiveness,” the article said. Or, as lead author Clelia Gasparini put it, “If you are surrounded by ugly friends, you look better.”

Gasparini and her colleagues at Italy’s University of Padua built their theory on a kind of guppy dating game. An aquarium was set up with one female in partition on either end. Guppy bachelorette No. 1 had two attractive, brightly-colored males placed on either side of her. Guppy bachelorette No. 2 was stuck with uglier, drabcolored fish.

When a male guppy was put in the middle of the tank, and given the choice of which female to sidle up to, Bachelorette No. 2 was the more popular pick, with male guppies spending about 62 percent of their time hanging around her side of the aquarium.

What’s more, the researchers found that the time guppies spent with bachelorette No. 2 correlated with their unattractiveness. The uglier the guppy, the less likely it was that he would hang around the brightly colored fish placed next to bachelorette No. 1. (AP)

Special effects all-too often distractingly cheesy

‘Beautiful Creatures’ concocts familiar teen angst

By Christy Lemire

T

Film

he genders have been reversed but the supernatural, starcrossed teen angst remains firmly intact in “Beautiful Creatures,” which clearly aims to pick up where the “Twilight” franchise left off.

Writer-director Richard LaGravenese’s film, based on the first novel in the young adult series

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, oozes Southern Gothic eccentricity and some amusing if inconsistent touches of camp. (A droll, drawling Jeremy Irons sitting at the piano playing Chopin?

Margo Martindale in a feathery hairclip, carrying a live peacock?

Yes and yes, please.)

But a strong cast of likable and, yes, beautiful actors can only do so much with the formula in which they’re forced to work. And, like the “Twilight” movies, the special effects are all-too often distractingly cheesy.

Thrills The setup breathes some new life into such familiar material, though, as co-stars Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert feel like actual awkward teens enjoying the fraught thrills of first love

rather than slick, ironic kids who are too cool. Their first meeting, on a two-lane road during a downpour, has all the trappings of a romance novel but it’s also an early indication of the lively chemistry they share.

Once the plot machinations start grinding in the second half, though, “Beautiful Creatures” as a whole grinds to a halt. Spells and scenery-chewing can be a hoot; watching other people sitting around scouring ancient tomes for clues, not so much.

Ehrenreich’s character, 17-yearold Ethan Wate, grew up in the suffocating small town of Gatlin,

S.C., and is dying to get out. He rebels against the local conservatism by reading all the banned books he can get his hands on, from “Slaughterhouse Five” to “Tropic of Cancer,” and as he enters his junior year in high school, all he can think about is how far away he can go to college.

But the arrival of the mysterious and equally restless Lena Duchannes (Englert) makes Gatlin suddenly tolerable. She’s come to live with her uncle, Macon Ravenwood (Irons), a descendant of the town’s founders and an alleged Satanist who never leaves the moss-covered and heavily

gated Ravenwood Manor. The popular, Bible-thumping socialites instantly hate her so naturally, Ethan is intrigued — and the fact that Lena introduces him to Bukoswki only makes her more exciting.

Ritual It turns out that Lena is — duh, duh-duh-duh! — a witch, or rather a “caster,” as her kind are called in the vernacular. And at a ritual on her 16th birthday, she’ll find out whether she’s destined for goodness or evil. Her attempts at functioning as a normal girlfriend until then, full of stolen kisses and

Friday night movie dates, bring a sweetness and relatability to these wild proceedings.

Eventually, though — as in the “Twilight” movies — “Beautiful Creatures” introduces more and more supporting characters to add to the denseness of the complicated, overly explained mythology.

Emma Thompson feels a bit too shrill in not one but two menacing roles, Viola Davis exists solely to provide exposition along with her usual grace, and a radiant Emmy Rossum vamps it up with reckless abandon as Lena’s sexy cousin, who has long since gone to the dark side. (AP)

Features

Variety

An undated handout photo obtained from Warner Bros shows a scene from the movie ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’. The 169-minute ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ was cited as good for a snore. (AP)

Film Facebook, Twitter can ‘help kill a movie … or extend its life’

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

LOS ANGELES : Nicolas Cage will play a former criminal out for revenge in “Tokarev,” the film’s producer Hannibal Classics said Tuesday.

In the action-thriller, Cage is forced to return to his law-bending ways after his daughter is kidnapped. Spanish-filmmaker Paco Cabezas will direct the project. Producers said that Cage was heavily involved in his selection, having been impressed with his work on such films as the 2007 horror flick “The Appeared.”

Cage’s career has endured peaks and valleys in recent years. He received good notices for his off-beat turn as a crimefighter in “Kick-Ass” (2010), but he’s also starred in a number of financial duds, such as the critically maligned “Season of the Witch” (2011) and the barely released “Trespass” (2011).

Production will start in May, 2013 in Spokane, Washington.

Jim Agnew and Sean Keller, who previously partnered on 2009’s “Giallo,” wrote the screenplay. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

NEW YORK: Cinedigm and Tribeca Film have partnered to acquire domestic distribution rights to “The English Teacher,” successful TV director Craig Zisk’s debut feature starring Julianne Moore as the titular teacher.

They will release the film on video-on-demand platforms and digitally in the spring, and then release it in theaters before it moves to the DVD and broadcast windows. Cinedigm will handle most of the distribution, including theatrical and digital, while Tribeca Film oversees the VOD release.

Zisk is a veteran TV director, having made episodes of “Weeds,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Alias” and “Shameless.” His first film is about an English teacher whose passion for her job contrasts sharply with her subdued personal life. A former pupil returns to her town having failed in his own profession,

Oscar for best nap time goes to…

NEW YORK, Feb 13, (Agencies): Nancy Zwiers was genuinely psyched to see “Lincoln,” but something happened between the ticket purchase and the credits.

Off screen, that is.

“Yes, I fell asleep,” confessed the 54year-old. “I only have two clear memories of the movie: a bunch of old white guys sitting around talking and Sally Field in a perpetual state of angst.”

That was shortly after its release in October. Fast forward to January, and a dozen Academy Award nominations for the 150-minute epic and another accolade has emerged: nap worthy, with and without apologies to Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Movie napping is almost certainly as old as cinema itself. It strikes the overtired and the well-rested, film nuts and occasional theatergoers. Some blame it on soporific popcorn. Others on the enveloping darkness and a comfy seat. The theater is too hot. The theater is too cold, too crowded, not crowded enough ...

Any which way, cinematic snoozing seems near epidemic proportions this awards season with buzz with extra ZZZs for “Lincoln,” the 157-minute sung “Les Miserables,” the 169-minute “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and others cited as good for a snore, but not always due to extra minutes.

Afflicted Forget the theory that movie watchers of a certain age are more heavily afflicted.

“I don’t realize I do it and I wake up 20 minutes later and then everyone’s, like, you were asleep,” said Rose Liu, 31. “I snore and then it’s embarrassing, but I really can’t control it. I wake up and I’m re-energized!”

upending her life.

Nathan Lane, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins and Michael Angarano also appear in the film, which Matthew E. Chausse, Naomi Despres, Ben LeClair and Robert Salerno produced. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Cage

Liu has movie dozed on dates and out with friends, some of whom have nudged her awake at the request of strangers sitting nearby.

She, too, was done-in by “Lincoln.” She’s not a fan, but she also caught some shuteye during the two-hour “Argo,” which she liked. A power napper in regular life and a moviegoer about once a month, Liu acknowledged it would make sense to avoid late screenings, but that’s usually not possible.

Count psychologist Jennifer Thomas, 43, as a nap person outside of theaters and in.

With four kids at home, she watches a lot on Netflix but gets out to the theater about once every three months. Thomas decided to take in “Life of Pi” in 3D on the recommendation of friends who enjoyed the book. In a rare moment of parenthood, Thomas was alone — in the dark, in a cushy seat.

“It was somewhere with the boat and the water and the lion, and they had settled into the story, and I just had this feeling that, ‘I’m just going to listen to the movie for a while and I’m just going to close my eyes,’” she recalled of her 15-minute break from the largely symbolic action.

Who among us hasn’t been there, at least once?

Collin Roberts has seen four of the nine films nominated for a best picture Oscar: “Argo,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” ‘“Life of Pi” and “Lincoln,” the latter definitely not her thing but a favor to her husband.

“The soliloquies started. That was something I didn’t know about Lincoln, his tendency to give long-winded speeches at inappropriate times. The elderly lady next to me fell asleep and started snoring softly and

Albrecht

LOS ANGELES: Premium pay TV channel Starz said Monday that it has renewed its agreement to carry movies from Sony Pictures through films hitting U.S. theaters in 2021. The deal, which was seen as a must-win for the channel, comes two months after Netflix snatched

before I knew it, I was nodding off, too,” she said.

Entertainment Weekly has dubbed this the most thrilling race for Oscar in years, but the length of some contenders has earned attention. Over at “Saturday Night Live,” a recent skit suggests the next two “Hobbit” movies morph into 18 instead, including “The Elf Queen Tries to Pick an Outfit.”

Review The writers at SNL included this mock review from film critic Peter Travers: “I fell asleep for 45 minutes and when I woke up the dwarves were assembling an Ikea dresser.” In real life, Travers liked parts of the Lord of the Rings prequel but hated the whole 48 frames a second thing and thought an hour could have been chopped.

The Internet is heavy with lists of all-time snoozer movies, but rarely is one season so full of them, or so say the nappers.

Tadd Rosenfeld gets plenty of sleep and rarely naps outside of movie theaters. He’s in catch-up mode on Oscar nominees and said his last in-theater snooze was “The Dark Knight Rises,” the latest in the Batman franchise released in July. It won a dozen awards, including one of the American Film Institute’s movies of the year and a Hollywood Film Award. Most of his friends loved it.

“But to me it was simply restful. It lost my attention almost straight away, and as my eyelids felt heavier and heavier, I just relaxed into a lower sitting position in the chair, allowing the colorful scenes to unfold as I drifted pleasantly away,” Rosenfeld said.

About an hour in, “I was rudely brought back by the sounds of an action scene,” he added. “But I just closed my eyes again, and

future Disney movies from Starz.

The deal will extend Sony’s relationship with Starz by five years, giving the channel access to major Hollywood releases into the future. Disney movies released in 2016 and beyond will play on Netflix’s streaming service instead of Starz.

let the carbohydrates from the popcorn send me back to sleepy-bye land.” That land is a familiar place for Margery Cooper.

“I fall asleep a lot in the movies. I snore, and then my husband wakes me up because of the noise. I go to movies once a month, always before 7 to make sure that I’ll stay awake,” she said.

Her “Lincoln” snooze was about 10 minutes. “I planned to sleep through ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ but was surprisingly engaged,” Cooper said.

2013 Academy Award nominees: http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Also: NEW YORK: Movie studios can no longer use marketing to turn bad movies into financial successes, Sony CEO Michael Lynton said on Tuesday, explaining that social media has robbed them of that tool.

Speaking at AllThingsD’s Dive Into Media Conference, Lynton described the ways social media now influences a movie’s box office performance and what that means for companies like Sony.

“The biggest issue for movie studios has always been that some films are good and others aren’t so good,” Lynton told the crowd at the tech site’s Laguna Beach conference. “Originally, marketing was supposed to smooth that out. But we can’t do that anymore. With social media, you can no longer hide the goods.”

Lynton’s own studio is coming off a banner year in 2012, as Sony’s films grossed more than $4 billion at the worldwide box office. “Skyfall” led the charge, but several other films, from “The Amazing SpiderMan” to “21 Jump Street” and “Think Like a Man” helped the studio lead Hollywood in terms of box office market share.

Analysts speculated that Starz is paying anywhere from $250 million to $400 million per year, an increase from the estimated $200 million it is paying Sony currently.

Starz CEO Chris Albrecht said in a securities filing, “we believe the terms are consistent with other recent agreements

between traditional premium TV networks and major Hollywood studios,” without elaborating.

The wording suggested Starz was paying more than $200 million annually, but less than $350 million a year, which is what Netflix is estimated to pay Disney. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

NEWS/FEATURES

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People & Places Film End of life tale

Haneke’s story behind ‘Amour’ LOS ANGELES, Feb 13, (RTRS): Austrian director Michael Haneke said his stark drama “Amour,” which has scored a surprising five Oscar nominations including for Best Picture, was inspired by his own experiences dealing with an aged aunt facing death.

The unflinching take on devotion, growing old and illness has also picked up Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Film and Best Actress for Emmanuelle Riva’s performance as bed-ridden Anne.

Haneke, who is also known for 2001’s “The Piano Teacher” and 1997’s “Funny Haneke Games” and its 2007 Hollywood remake, is the favorite to win the Best Foreign Film award for which he was nominated in 2010 for “The White Ribbon.”

Haneke, 70, spoke to Reuters from Madrid, where he is directing the Mozart opera “Cosi Fan Tutte,” about the film, what it would mean to win an Oscar, and his future plans.

Question: What do you make of some of the critics who, in their praise, have called the drama a horror film for its graphic portrayal of the end of life?

Answer: I believe that it has been a bit exaggerated how the film has been portrayed. The film is shocking, but the truth is always shocking. It’s no walk in the park, but it’s difficult and serious, and that makes it contemplative. I assume that I have an adult audience and that they’ll understand the situation. The film shouldn’t be a distraction (from life) — as many films are — but the film is also not meant to shock.

Q: What intentions did you set out with?

A: I wanted to make a film about how we deal with the suffering of the people that we love.

I could’ve certainly made a film about a couple married for 40 years with a child who dies of cancer. That would only be a tragic, singular case and less representative. But we all grow old and nearly all of us get sick and that subject matter is more general and concerns nearly everyone one of us.

I’ve also heard in the reception to the film from people that have said it’s just like what happened to me and my family. Indeed, that crosses generations as young people live through how their grandparents die or become ill or simply suffer, and now their parents are in the same situation. It’s a matter that affects everyone.

Q: Did you have an inspiration for the film?

A: The story arose out of my family. My aunt killed herself at the age of 93 and before she did it she asked me whether or not I could help her. I loved her very much and to watch her suffer was very difficult, but I certainly couldn’t help her (kill herself) because I’d be thrown in jail.

Personally, I don’t believe I could’ve done it anyway.

Q: Did you expect “Amour” to receive five Oscar nominations?

A: No, certainly not. I had hoped and figured ... that one or another nomination would come our way but I was naturally, like many, pleasantly surprised.

Q: How will it be to be a star of sorts at the Oscars?

A: Star? Those who are invited are of course stars (laughs) ... I certainly find it delightful to get dressed up with these people that the entire world knows and to compete alongside them. It’s quite enjoyable.

Q: What will it be like if “Amour” wins?

A: I’ll be happy. We’re happy about any prize but you don’t make films to win awards.

Nonetheless, you’re certainly quite happy about the recognition. For the film, it also makes it possible for many more to see it.

And each prize piques the interest of more people to watch the film.

Q: How much longer do you intend to keep making films?

A: As long as I can. I don’t know that answer. I could drop dead tomorrow or fall seriously ill. I’m no longer 25 years old but I don’t plan on calling it quits anytime soon, and perhaps that annoys someone somewhere.

Grammy award winner Juanes performs at a private concert presented by tour sponsors MetroPCS & ZTE, at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP)

Music ‘Thrift Shop’ tops iTunes chart

Gaga injured, postpones shows This Dec 15, 2012 file photo shows singer Lady Gaga performing at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (AP)

Beyonce

Huxley

Variety NEW YORK: Beyonce is hoping that her ultra-revealing documentary will someday provide inspiration for Blue Ivy, the yearold daughter she and husband Jay-Z have.

“I hope that she will see all of the beautiful times (and) all the tough times that led up to her being here,” the singer said Tuesday night at the New York premiere of her upcoming HBO documentary, “Life is But a Dream.”

She added: “I’m hoping that ... it can comfort her and inspire her in her life when she needs it.”

The autobiographical film takes a noholds-barred look at the entertainer. It stems from personal conversations the 31year old singer made using the video camera on her computer over the past couple of years. It also includes home movies of the Grammy-winning singer and her two sisters.

In the film, Beyonce candidly discusses personal matters like her miscarriage, reports of faking her pregnancy, and firing her father as her manager.

She claims the process of talking into a camera to get all her thoughts out was therapeutic.

“I really grew so much,” she says of the process. “This movie has really been my therapy. I’ve healed from so many wounds and I’ve been able to understand why some of the things I’ve been through, why I went through, so I feel really proud, and hopefully I can inspire other people.”

The singer has been private about her life in the past. But she felt the time was right to let people know how she felt. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: Rick Huxley, the bassist for the 1960s British Invasion poprock group the Dave Clark Five, has died, the band’s leader said on Tuesday. He was 72.

Huxley died unexpectedly at his home in the English countryside on Monday, Dave Clark told Reuters.

The band scored No. 1 hits on both sides of the Atlantic during its decade-

NEW YORK, Feb 13, (AP): Lady Gaga says she’s “heartsick” to postpone four shows after sustaining an injury that’s left her unable to walk.

A Tuesday news release says performances set for Feb 13-14 in Chicago, Feb 16 in Detroit and Feb 17 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, have been postponed due to a case of synovitis, a severe joint inflammation.

Gaga took to Twitter to explain, saying she injured herself during a performance some time ago and her condition has worsened, leaving her immobile following Monday’s concert in Montreal. She’s been hiding the injury from her staff, but can no longer perform.

The remainder of the “Born This Way Ball” tour is expected to continue on schedule, beginning with a twonight stand in Philadelphia on Feb 1920. Makeup dates for the missed shows will be announced later. ❑ ❑ ❑ iTunes’ Official Music Charts for the week ending Feb 11, 2013

Top Songs: 1. “Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz),” Ryan Lewis, Macklemore 2. “My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark (Light Em Up),” Fall Out Boy 3. “Scream & Shout (feat. Britney Spears),” will.i.am 4. “When I Was Your Man,” Bruno Mars 5. “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Taylor Swift 6. “Ho Hey,” The Lumineers 7. “Daylight,” Maroon 5 8. “Suit & Tie (feat. JAY Z),” Justin

long run from 1960-1970.

“Glad All Over” holds the honor of knocking the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold

Timberlake 9. “Don’t You Worry Child (Radio Edit) (feat. John Martin),” Swedish House Mafia 10. “Locked Out of Heaven,” Bruno Mars

Top Albums: 1. “Two Lanes of Freedom,” Tim McGraw 2. “Pitch Perfect (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack),” Various Artists 3. “Babel,” Mumford & Sons 4. “The Lumineers,” The Lumineers 5. “All That Echoes,” Josh Groban 6. “Believe Acoustic,” Justin Bieber 7. “Some Nights,” Fun. 8. “Unorthodox Jukebox,” Bruno Mars 9. “No Love Lost,” Joe Budden 10. “The Heist,” Ryan Lewis, Macklemore ❑ ❑ ❑ The following list represents the most viral tracks on Spotify, based on the number of people who shared it divided by the number who listened to it, from Monday, Feb 4, to Sunday, Feb 10, via Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and Spotify.

United States 1. Baauer, “Harlem Shake” (Mad Decent Protocol) 2. The Lonely Island, “YOLO” (Universal Republic Records) 3. Killswitch Engage, “In Due Time” (Roadrunner Records) 4. “Smash” Cast, “Broadway Here I Come,” featuring Jeremy Jordan (NBC Studios) 5. Kelly Rowland, “Kisses Down Low” (Universal Republic Records)

Your Hand” out of the top spot on the UK chart in 1964, while “Over and Over” topped the US chart in 1965.

6. will.i.am, “Scream & Shout (HitBoy Remix)” (Interscope Records) 7. Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX, “I Love It “ (Big Beat Records/Atlantic) 8. The Neighbourhood, “Sweater Weather” (The (r)evolve Group) 9. Flux Pavilion feat. Childish Gambino, “Do or Die” (Atlantic Records) 10. CHVRCHES, “The Mother We Share” (Chvrches)

United Kingdom 1. Killswitch Engage, “In Due Time” (Roadrunner Records) 2. Woodkid, “I Love You” (Green United Records) 3. Fall Out Boy, “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)” (The Island Def Jam Music Group) 4. Pulp, “After You” (Rough Trade) 5. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat.

Wanz, “Thrift Shop” (Macklemore) 6. Disclosure, “White Noise” (PMR Records) 7. Stereophonics, “Indian Summer” (Stereophonics LTD) 8. CHVRCHES, “The Mother We Share” (Chvrches) 9. Keane, Afrojack, “Sovereign Light Cafe (Afrojack vs. Keane Afrojack Remix)” (Universal Island Records) 10. The Lonely Island, “YOLO” (Universal Republic Records) ❑ ❑ ❑ The following list represents the top streamed tracks on Spotify from Monday, Feb 4, to Sunday, Feb 10:

United States 1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat.

The cause of death was not immediately known, said Clark, who added that Huxley had been “sprightly and in good

Pakistan festival

Gulzar pulls out

Indian Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu and child actress Doyel Dhawan attend a promotional event for the horror Hindi film ‘Aatma’ in Mumbai. (AFP)

KARACHI, Feb 13, (AFP): A leading Indian poet who won an Oscar for writing song lyrics for the smash hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire” has pulled out of Pakistan’s top literary festival at the last minute, organisers said Wednesday.

The move follows weeks of tension between the nucleararmed neighbours sparked by the killings of five soldiers along the de facto border in the disputed region of Kashmir.

Syed Ahmed Shah, one of the organisers of the Karachi Literature Festival, confirmed Gulzar had pulled out — just two days before the start of the event.

“We can’t say about the reasons and circumstances that led to his return home without attending the festival,” Shah told AFP.

Wanz, “Thrift Shop” (Macklemore) 2. Imagine Dragons, “Radioactive” (Interscope Records) 3. The Lumineers, “Ho Hey” (Dualtone) 4. A$AP Rocky, “(Expletive) Problems” (A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records) 5. will.i.am, “Scream & Shout” (Interscope Records) 6. Imagine Dragons, “It’s Time” (Interscope Records) 7. Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin, “Don’t You Worry Child (Radio Edit)” (Virgin Records) 8. Calvin Harris, “Sweet Nothing” (Columbia) 9. Bruno Mars, “Locked Out of Heaven” (Atlantic Records) 10. Of Monsters and Men, “Little Talks” (Universal Republic)

United Kingdom 1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat.

Wanz, “Thrift Shop” (Macklemore) 2. Calvin Harris, “Drinking From the Bottle” (Columbia) 3. will.i.am, “Scream & Shout” (Interscope Records) 4. The Lumineers, “Ho Hey” (Dualtone) 5. James Arthur, “Impossible” (Syco Music UK) 6. Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin, “Don’t You Worry Child (Radio Edit)” (Virgin Records) 7. Bruno Mars, “Locked Out of Heaven” (Atlantic Records) 8. One Direction, “Kiss You” (Syco Music UK) 9. Rihanna, “Diamonds” (The Island Def Jam Music Group) 10. Emeli Sande, “Clown” (Virgin Records)

shape” despite suffering from emphysema for several years.

“I spoke to him on Friday and he was in great spirits,” Clark said in a telephone call. “He went through a recent doctor’s check and had a good, clean bill of health.

This came totally out of the blue, and I’m just devastated.”

Clark remembered Huxley for his modest demeanor and humor.

“He always made me smile and I’ll miss that immensely,” Clark said. “He was never arrogant and flashy. He was a gentleman and very low key. He was a very, very talented musician and a great friend.” (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

PASADENA, California: John Kerr, the stage and film actor whose credits include the movie “South Pacific,” the thriller “The Pit and the Pendulum” and a Tony Award-winning turn in “Tea and Sympathy,” has died. He was 81.

Kerr died Saturday of heart failure in California, his son Michael said.

He was perhaps best known for playing a sensitive prep school student who is bullied for being a suspected homosexual in Elia Kazan’s 1953 Broadway production of “Tea and Sympathy.” He went on to reprise the role in a 1956 film version.

Kerr also played a district attorney on TV in “Peyton Place” in the mid-1960s. After leaving show business, he became a lawyer specializing in personal injury law. (AP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

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Film Crystal offers advice

Two tipped for ‘best actress’ LOS ANGELES, Feb 13, (Agencies): Two rising Hollywood actresses are seen as front-runners for this year’s Best Actress Oscar, with Jennifer Lawrence expected to steal the show from Jessica Chastain on awards night, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

In true Hollywood style, there is even some off-screen drama between the actresses before the Feb 24 Academy Awards with Chastain from “Zero Dark Thirty” using Facebook to deny unsubstantiated rumors of fierce rivalry with Lawrence from “Silver Linings Playbook.”

“I find it very sad that the media makes up bogus stories about women fighting in this industry,” Lawrence wrote Chastain over the weekend.

The two actresses are in a field of five vying for the top female title at the world’s most prestigious movie awards.

The group also includes the youngest and oldest nominees in the award’s 85-year history, with 9year-old Quvenzhane Wallis nominated for “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and Emmanuelle Riva, 85, up for foreign language drama “Amour.”

Running The fifth actress in the running is Naomi Watts as the mother in the tsunami movie “The Impossible.”

Riva has won two best actress awards this year — from the BAFTA and the National Society of Film Critics — for playing a retired music teacher struggling to cope with the aftermath of a stroke in Austrian director Michael Haneke’s film.

But a Reuters Ipsos poll of 1,586 Americans found 15 percent thought Lawrence, 22, should win the Oscar and 15 percent said she was most likely to win the prize.

Only 11 percent thought Chastain, 35, should win and 10 percent said she was most likely to win. Riva was only seen as most likely to win by 4 percent of voters.

Chastain and Lawrence have been competing head-to-head so far in the major acting awards this year.

Chastain lost out to Lawrence in the Screen Actors Guild awards last month when “The Hunger Games” star won the Best Actress prize for her role as a young widow in the quirky romance “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Role But Chastain took home the Golden Globe for her role as a young female CIA agent who tracks down Osama bin Laden in thriller “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Both actresses have been nominated for Oscars previously.

Chastain was in the running for Best Supporting Actress last year for her role in “The Help” while Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress in 2010 for the indie hit “Winter’s Bone.”

The public was more certain on who would bag the award for Best Supporting Actress from the 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Anne Hathaway has already won three trophies this year for playing Fantine in the musical “Les Miserables.”

The Reuters poll, conducted between Feb 8 and Tuesday, found 26 percent of voters said Hathaway was most likely to take home the Best Supporting Actress statuette, while 18 percent expected Sally Field to win for her role in the US Civil War-era drama “Lincoln.”

Also nominated for their supporting turns are Amy Adams from “The Master,” Helen Hunt from “The Sessions” and Jacki Weaver from “Silver Linings Playbook.”

The accuracy of the Reuters poll uses a statistical measure called a “credibility interval” and is precise to within 2.8 percentage points.

Also: LOS ANGELES: Despite getting advice from Billy Crystal and working as hard as he can to prepare to host the Academy Awards, Seth MacFarlane thinks his hosting gig is a “one-off” and that he’ll be “flayed by the press” no matter what he does.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday from the Dolby Theatre, where he’ll host the 85th annual Oscar ceremony on Feb 24, the entertainer was alternately confident and self-deprecating.

“I’m not feeling a lot of pressure from myself,” he said. “There is sort of a comfort in knowing that no matter what you do, you’re going to get the same reactions in the reviews. So I could put on the worst or the best show in the world and I will still be flayed by the press.”

(Left to right): British actor Jude Law, US producer Scott Z. Burns, US actress Rooney Mara and US director Steven Soderbergh, pose during a photo call for the film ‘Side effects’ presented in the Berlinale Competition of the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin on Feb 12. (AFP)

Film Jude Law brings psychiatrist role to Berlin

Soderbergh cheered for ‘final’ movie

Bosnian actress Senada Alimanovic (left), and Bosnian actor Nazif Mujic (right), holds a baby as they pose during a photocall for the film ‘Epizoda u zivotu beraca zeljeza’ (an episode in the life of an iron picker) presented in the Berlinale Competition of the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in Berlin on Feb 13. (AFP)

Baldwin

Cruz

Variety LOS ANGELES: Actor Alec Baldwin and his new wife Hilaria Thomas Baldwin are expecting their first child together, a representative for the “30 Rock” star said on Tuesday.

“If I really shared with you how I felt, I would probably burst out crying,” Baldwin told US television program “Extra.”

Baldwin, 54, married the yoga teacher, who is 26 years his junior, in a July 2012 wedding in New York.

The child is expected in the summer, the spokesman said, but gave no other details.

“It was a surprise, a wonderful surprise,” said his wife, who also works as a correspondent for the TV show.

“Now I’m showing and it’s getting to be much more, like, ‘Oh, my God, this is actually going to happen’.”

The award-winning actor most recently played egotistical television executive Jack Donaghy on the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” which broadcast its last episode in January. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

BERLIN, Feb 13, (AFP): Steven Soderbergh said goodbye to directing, and the Berlinale which has hosted him more often than any other film festival, with the taut thriller “Side Effects” that drew cheers Tuesday.

The Hitchcock-inspired picture about intrigue and corruption in the pharmaceuticals industry is one of 19 movies vying for the festival’s Golden Bear top prize.

Starring Jude Law, Catherine ZetaJones and Rooney Mara, the film is also what Soderbergh said is his last before he turns his back on Hollywood and devotes his time to painting and other pursuits.

“I just liked the idea of making a thriller as I near the twilight of my career,” the 50-year-old director, who won an Oscar for his 2000 narcotics drama “Traffic”, told reporters.

“Honestly, however long this break ends up being, I wanted this thing to be fun to make and to watch.”

Convicted Rooney jumped in: “Did you just call it a break and not your retirement?” Soderbergh replied with a smirk: “Whatever.”

Mara plays Emily, the wife of a Wall Street executive convicted of insider trading (Channing Tatum) who has just been released from prison.

She has a history of psychiatric treatment and finds it difficult to adjust to the new situation at home.

Enter Law as her new therapist who puts her on an experimental drug that a major company pays him to field test and that Emily’s former psychiatrist (Zeta-Jones) also recommends.

When Emily’s husband winds up

LOS ANGELES: Swimsuit model Kate Upton said on Tuesday her body shut down after she posed in a skimpy bikini in Antarctica for Sports Illustrated magazine.

Story ‘deeply disturbing and unfair’

Roma couple recreate own struggle in film BERLIN, Feb 13, (AP): A Bosnian Roma couple re-enact their personal struggle to get treatment after their baby died in the womb, in a tiny-budget movie by an Oscar-winning director that’s competing for the top prize at the Berlin film festival.

Director Danis Tanovic discovered the story of the couple, Senada Alimanovic and Nazif Mujic, in a newspaper in late 2011.

He says he went to meet the family several times and had the “crazy idea” of having the couple play themselves to avoid a long planning process.

Tanovic made the movie, “An Episode In the Life of an Iron Picker,” with 17,000 euros ($23,000) from a Bosnian film fund.

It has its premiere Wednesday at the Berlin festival, where it’s one of 17 movies competing for the

Golden Bear award.

The movie re-creates several days in which Mujic, who tried to make ends meet at the time by collecting scrap metal, fought to get emergency treatment for Alimanovic after her baby died while she was still carrying it.

The couple didn’t have public health insurance, and a hospital denied them the surgery when they were unable to meet its demands to pay 500 euros - a huge sum for them. Roma, also known as Gypsies, suffer from poverty and discrimination across Europe, particularly in the continent’s east.

“They were reluctant at first” to play themselves in the movie, said Tanovic, whose “No Man’s Land” won the Oscar for best foreign-language film in 2002. “They were a little bit afraid to tell the story. They didn’t know me, they didn’t know

what I wanted to do.”

He said their story is “deeply disturbing and unfair, (and) I think the best way for me to fight these things is to show them, to talk about them.”

Tanovic worked without a screenplay and the film features no professional actors; two doctors, one who refused to treat Alimanovic and another who did treat her, are played by other doctors who are friends of the director.

Mujic said he still has no regular job or health insurance and is “living from hand to mouth,” though he’s now involved with an organization that seeks to improve Gypsy children’s education - but, with the film project under way, he was able to get gall bladder treatment last year.

He was joined at the Berlin festival by Alimanovic.

stabbed with her fingerprints all over the kitchen knife, she says she cannot remember a thing about his killing and blames her medication.

The case of the shattered glamour couple captures the attention of the New York media and the suspicion shifts to the therapist who gave Emily the prescription. Further plot twists come hot on their heels in what Soderbergh called an attempt to play with the expectations of the thriller genre.

“I’ve always tried to approach each

film as if it destroys all the films that come before it,” he said. “I wanted to make something very, very lean, I wanted it to be all muscle. I didn’t want an extra shot, an extra moment.”

challenge in preparing for Steven Soderbergh’s new thriller “Side Effects” was psychological: convincing himself that he could play a psychiatrist properly.

The movie has its international premiere Tuesday at the Berlin film festival, where it’s one of 19 contenders for the top Golden Bear award. British actor Law plays a psychiatrist who prescribes a new drug he’s testing out as part of a lucrative deal with a pharmaceutical giant.

Law told reporters he was faced with “overcoming the reality that I wasn’t going to be able to go to medical school in the time it took to prepare for the part.”

Upton, wearing only a white bikini bottom and an unzipped white parka, was picked as the cover girl for the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, unveiled on Monday, for the second consecutive

year. “It was freezing,” Upton, 20, told NBC’s morning TV show “Today” on Tuesday. “I’m from Florida, so it wasn’t easy for me.

“When I came back, I was losing my

‘Fake story’

Palin jabs ‘Post’

MADRID: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem are expecting their second child.

Cruz publicist Javier Giner told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Spanish actress is pregnant.

He declined to provide any further details, including when the baby is due.

The 38-year-old Cruz and 43-year-old Bardem had their first child, a boy called Leo, in January 2011.

The couple became romantically involved after appearing together in Woody Allen’s 2008 film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and later married. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Also: BERLIN: Jude Law says his biggest

Guest of honor, actor Dustin Hoffman and Editor in Chief Nancy Perry Graham are seen at AARP. The Magazine’s Movies For Grownups Awards on Feb 12, in Beverly Hills, California. (AP)

LOS ANGELES, Feb 13, (RTRS): Sarah Palin, evereager to skewer the “lamestream media,” took Washington Post blogger Suzi Parker to task Tuesday after the writer mistakenly claimed the former Alaska governor was hired by the TV network Al Jazeera America.

Parker, who writes for the She The People blog, cited the satirical news site the Daily Currant in a story that claimed Palin had joined the Qatariowned network as a talking head.

“Hey @washingtonpost, I’m having coffee with Elvis this week,” Palin quipped on Twitter, claiming she was meeting with the long-dead King of Rock.

hearing and eyesight. My body was shutting down because it was working so hard to keep me warm.”

Upton joins celebrity models including Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley and Tyra Banks to appear more than once on the swimsuit issue’s cover.

M.J. Day, a senior editor for Sports Illustrated, told Reuters that Upton braved temperatures as low as 24 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 Celsius) and wind chills as low as -20 Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius).

“We should name a passageway after her down there,” said Day, who accompanied Upton on the frigid shoot. “She braved six days in a bikini while we were head-to-toe in jackets ... No one will ever accuse her of being a whiny model, ever.”

(RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

LOS ANGELES: Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ Dracula has found his arch nemesis. Or, perhaps, his arch nemesis will be finding him.

NBC has cast Thomas Kretschmann (“King Kong,” ABC’s “The River”) to play famed vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, a spokesman for the network told TheWrap on Monday.

The Van Helsing as envisioned in NBC’s version of the Dracula legend is a brilliant professor with a seemingly cool exterior who harbors an obsession with revenge and power that may make him a more dangerous threat to the public than Dracula. (RTRS)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

24

Food Chinese in Costa Rica set record for fried rice

Fine dining meets fast food at one Aussie McDonald’s SYDNEY, Feb 13, (Agencies): Would you like a knife and fork with that?

In a world first, a McDonald’s franchise in Australia is offering full table service for its dine-in customers, complete with china plates, glassware and metal utensils in place of the more usual paper boxes and plastic.

Meals are also brought to the table by waiters and waitresses, and diners can daintily dab their lips with cloth napkins after eating.

“It’s very popular,” store manager

Michelle Steain told Reuters of the fiveweek trial service. “Everyone seems to be loving it.”

Glenn and Katia Dwarte, owners of the franchise in Warilla, some 100 km (62 miles) south of Sydney, sought permission for the idea after their habit of serving Mr Dwarte’s parents with cutlery and plates caught the attention of other diners.

The dine-in offer is open to customers who purchase premium meals between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. each day.

This is not the first time that the Dwartes, who have owned the store for 20 years, have pioneered innovations for the fast food chain.

Last year, they caught the attention of McDonald’s head office in Chicago after creating an iPhone app that allows customers to place an order and pay in advance before they arrive in store.

Dining-in is the second world first for McDonald’s Australia after it last month temporarily changed signs at selected stores across the country to “Macca’s,”

the affectionate local nickname for the chain. ❑ ❑ ❑ Members of Costa Rica’s Chinese community celebrated the the arrival of the Year of the Snake by setting the world record Tuesday for the largest amount of fried rice ever cooked in Sna Jose.

Briton Ralph Hannah, an inspector with the Guinness World Records, certified the win after putting the giant meal

— enough to feed some 7,000 people — on a scale.

The official weight: 837 kilograms (1,845 pounds), which nearly doubles the previous record.

Armed with shovel-sized spoons, 52 cooks toiled over an enormous wok built especially for the event in San Jose’s recently inaugurated Chinatown.

Some 735 kilograms of rice were used, along with 200 kilograms of chicken, 120 kilograms of ham, 20 kilograms of Chinese sausage, hundreds of eggs

and vast amounts of chopped vegetables.

The Chinese Association of Costa Rica came up with the idea for the giant meal, said Godwin Pang, who helped coordinate the event. Pang said the Chinese community wanted to mark the Year of the Snake, which began on Sunday, with a big event.

Most Chinese residents in Costa Rica are in the restaurant business. Chinese restaurants can be found even in small towns across this Central American country of 4.7 million.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

26

Swagger the sheepdog draws most cheers

Banana Joe the affenpinscher wins Westminster NEW YORK, Feb 13, (Agencies): Banana Joe, a little affenpinscher with a bouncy step and shiny black coat, walked off as America’s top dog Tuesday night, winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.

Affectionately called a monkey dog because he looks just like one, Banana Joe made up for near misses the last two years at Madison Square Garden.

The 5-year-old wagged his tail a mile a minute and stuck out his pink tongue after earning his 86th best in show title overall.

It was a timely win, too, coming a day before he was set to fly back to the Netherlands with his owner. That trip has been postponed for his victory lap.

“He’s won a lot of big shows, but not like this one,” handler Ernesto Lara said.

A class clown, this champion also is pretty bright.

“He speaks German, Dutch, Spanish and English,” co-owner and breeder Mieke Cooijmans offered.

An old English sheepdog only 20 months old was picked as the runner-up on the green carpet of the Garden.

Dog handler Ernesto Lara holds Banana Joe, an affenpincher, after he won Best in Show at the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on Feb 12, in New York City. (AFP)

Swagger the sheepdog drew the most cheers, but judge Michael Dougherty picked Banana Joe. “He was presented in immaculate manner,” Dougherty praised. “He was

on the minute he walked in.”

“He’s in perfect condition, perfect body,” he added.

Also in the best-of-seven final ring were a German wirehaired pointer

ranked as the nation’s No. 1 show dog, an American foxhound, a Portuguese water dog, a bichon frise and a smooth fox terrier.

Banana Joe had never gotten this far before. He entered the last two Westminsters with a lot of fanfare, yet didn’t perform to perfection and finished second in toy group judging each time.

Lara kept hoisting the dog officially named Banana Joe V Tani Kazari after he became the first affenpinscher to win at the country’s premier dog show. The playful pooch enjoys tugging at his squeaky mouse toy — now he can put it in the prized silver bowl he won.

There were 2,721 entries in 187 breeds and varieties at the 137th Westminster, including a pair of newcomers, the treeing Walker coonhound and the Russell terrier. The Russell terrier drew a cheer when it made the initial cut in the terrier group.

The old English sheepdog was clearly a crowd favorite. Maybe that’s because fans knew his backstory — this was just the fourth dog show Swagger had ever entered.

In fact, Swagger didn’t even come to

Westminster as a champion. In past years, only dogs who had won a lot in the past were eligible. This time, with a larger exhibition space along the Hudson River during the day, more dogs were allowed.

Prestige Certainly, it was worth the $75 entry cost for Swagger’s owners.

Banana Joe, meanwhile, gets no prize money for winning Westminster.

Instead, along with the silver bowl, the Garden champion earns a lifetime of prestige, plus lucrative breeding fees for its owners.

The Portuguese water dog — the same breed that romps around the White House with President Barack Obama’s family — also arrived at 20 months old.

Matisse, who got his name because his owners are art lovers, showed well while Obama was delivering his State of the Union address.

Matisse beat out Fifi the Doberman in the working group. The Fifinator, as she’s known by her thousands of Facebook fans, won the group last year and came in second this time.

Hours earlier, Fifi was sound asleep

in her crate, a red rabbit stuffed toy at her paws, looking like the most docile dog in the world. Not exactly how many people see a Doberman pinscher.

“They can be intimidating,” ownerbreeder-handler Jocelyn Mullins said.

That’s why her rooters hoped she could win best in show this time.

“It would humanize the breed,” Westminster Kennel Club President Sean McCarthy said. “A win for the Doberman would be an acceptance of that breed.”

A kuvasz can search the entire Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show without finding another dog like him.

The same is true of a plott, an Anatolian shepherd dog, a Norwegian lundehund and an Entlebucher mountain dog, all obscure breeds represented by a single entry this year at the dog show, which crowned its best in show dog later on Tuesday.

“He’s a kuvasz,” Diana Wilson, the handler of a 4-year-old called Tanner, told confused-looking dog lovers visiting the benches backstage at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday evening.

“A what?” someone asked.

Travel

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Latest Bridge bi-weekly results: The results of the bi-weekly bridge games played on Jan 27: 1st: Bianca Mousalli/Ahmed Tawfik; 2nd: Ibrahim Al Qattan/Numan Turki; 3rd: Dr Abdul Aziz Dashti/Khalid Al Obeid; 4th: Stephanie/Dia Kassawat; 5th: Hisham/Sudhir Dumra; 6th: Imran/Sam Jacobs.

Bridge tournament is being held every Sunday and Wednesday at 20:00 hours.

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This March 17, 2009 photo provided by VisitBritain shows a monument to William Shakespeare in the Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey in London. Many famous British writers are memo rialized here, including Charles Dickens and Geoffrey Chaucer, so it’s a popular destination for visitors on a literary tour of London. (AP)

Past and present, fiction and real meet

When in London, take a page from favorite book

By Michelle Locke

W

alking toward the George Inn on a drizzly evening, yellow light from its bustling Parliament Bar spilling out on wet cobblestones, it’s easy to imagine the ghostly footsteps of the past.

Is that a double-decker bus rumbling down the Borough High Street? Or a four-in-hand carriage sweeping into the inn’s cobbled yard? And those commuters hurrying toward London Bridge — could one be an anxious Nancy bravely spiriting Oliver Twist to safety?

London is the kind of place where past and present, fiction and real-life swirl together in an ever-changing kaleidoscope. Which is why a fun way to explore the nooks and crannies of this sprawling city is to take a novel approach and look for places featured in your favorite books, or for the reallife hangouts of writers you admire.

Your choices are as varied as the many authors linked to London, but here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Look up a lexicon legend “If a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,” wrote author, critic and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, whose many pithy quotes also include “No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.”

But did you know that Johnson worked as a hack writer to support himself before making it big with “A Dictionary of the English Language” in 1755? You’ll learn about that and more — including his fondness for cats — at Dr Johnson’s House, a small but charming museum set in the 300-year-old townhouse where he lived. A statue of one of Johnson’s cats, Hodge, sits in the courtyard in front of the house, while inside the collection includes

18th and 19th century prints as well as paintings, several manuscripts and porcelain from the period.

If you are in need of refreshment, stroll around the corner to the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub on Fleet Street.

Don’t be thrown off by the name, which sounds a little like the kind of place you might find in the food court of an American mall. This is the real deal: A tavern has been on the property since 1538, and what’s there now was rebuilt after the previous one burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It’s associated with several literary figures, including Dickens.

Dickens of a time Charles Dickens might be the quintessential London author. He lived here, worked here, campaigned for social justice here and set many famous scenes here.

A good starting point is 48 Doughty St, the house where Dickens lived and wrote from 1837 to 1839. His first two children were born here and this is where he wrote “Oliver Twist” and “Nicholas Nickleby.” The house, near the Russell Square Underground station, is now home to the Charles Dickens Museum, which recently reopened after a major renovation.

There are audio guides, a learning center and cafe and numerous artifacts, including the author’s writing desk and chair.

About a 20-minute walk from Doughty Street is St Paul’s Cathedral, mentioned in several books and the place where David Copperfield took Clara Peggoty to show her the view of London from the top. Renovation work is closing the Golden Gallery at the top of the dome from Jan 7 to March 28, but you can climb as far as the Whispering Gallery and try out its famous acoustics. You can get here by

the Tube, taking Russell Square to St Paul’s, which requires a change from the Piccadilly to Central line at Holborn.

From St Paul’s it’s about a 15-minute stroll to London Bridge, which spans the Thames River. In Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” Pip crossed the bridge in great despair after learning that Estella was to be married to Drummle. In “Oliver Twist,” Nancy met with Mr Brownlow on the bridge to conspire for Oliver’s safety. Of course, if you want to stand on the actual bridge from the 1830s, you’ll have to go to Lake Havasu City, Ariz, where it was relocated, piece by piece, more than 40 years ago. The current London Bridge dates back to ye olde 1973.

Finish up your tour by crossing the bridge to the George Inn, which Dickens visited when it was a coffee house and mentions in “Little Dorrit.”

This building, the last remaining galleried coaching inn in London, is a replacement, too, built after a fire destroyed the previous inn. But in this case the “new” building was put up in 1676.

See the final chapter The Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey memorializes many of British literature’s greatest names.

It’s a tradition that started out slowly.

Geoffrey Chaucer was buried in the abbey when he died in 1400 because he had been Clerk of Works to the palace of Westminster, not because of his “Canterbury Tales.” But more than 150 years later, a bigger monument was erected to honor Chaucer, and in 1599, the poet and author Edmund Spenser was buried nearby.

Other writers buried here include poets John Dryden, Lord Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning, and authors Rudyard Kipling and Thomas

Hardy. A number of other writers are buried elsewhere but commemorated at Poets’ Corner including John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot, Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.

Some writers had a tougher time than others making it into the corner.

Shakespeare was buried at Stratfordupon-Avon in 1616, but didn’t get a monument until 1740. And the poet Lord Byron, a scandalous figure of his time, died in 1824 but didn’t get a memorial until the Swinging Sixties, 1969 to be precise.

Two of the graves are a fitting end to

This Jan 18, 2013 file photo shows people walking across a snowy Millennium Bridge near St Paul’s Cathedral in London. For visitors on a literary tour of London, the view of the city from the top of the cathedral was shown by David Copperfield to Clara Peggoty in Charles Dickens’ ‘ David Copperfield.’ (AP)

your literary tour. Johnson, who died in 1784 at age 75, is buried here, his grave marked by a plaque and a bust. And Dickens’ grave is also here, marked, at his instructions, only by a simple plaque inscribed with his name and the dates of his birth and death, Feb. 7, 1812, and June 9, 1870. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ If You Go...

Charles Dickens Museum: 48 Doughty St., http://www.dickensmuseum.com. Monday-Sunday, 10 am5 pm Adults, £8 ($12.40).

St Paul’s Cathedral, St Paul’s Churchyard, http://www.stpauls.co.uk/. MondaySaturday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm (last admission, 4 pm) Adults, £15 ($23.40).

George Inn: 77 Borough High St., http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/geor ge-inn/. Monday-Saturday, 11 am-11 pm, Sundays, noon-10:30 pm Dr Johnson’s House: 17 Gough Square, http://www.drjohnsonshouse.org/index.html. From October-April, Monday-Saturday, 11 am-5 pm May-September, MondaySaturday, 11 am-5:30 pm Closed Sundays. Adults, £4, 50 pence ($7).

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese: 145 Fleet St., Monday-Friday, 11 am-11 pm Saturday-Sunday, noon-11 pm Westminster Abbey: http://www.westminsterabbey.org/home . Monday-Friday, 9:30 am-4:30 pm (last admission 3:30 pm) and until 7 pm on Wednesdays (last admission 6 pm) Saturdays, 9:30 am-2:30 pm (last admission 1:30 pm). Sundays, worship only, no tourists. Adults, £18 ($28).

IBL registration: Indian Bowling League Season 4 will commence in March 2013. Kindly register your teams before that. It’s a mix of different nationalities and open to all. It’s fun and a good indoor sport. You will learn many things about it that you never knew. Email your applications to uly334@gmail.com IBL Season 3 – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set =a.10151366929589939.510911..5125449 38&type=1&l=63ddf1e93d Feb 16

Jewelry exhibition: FA Gallery presents collectible jewelry exhibition by Lama Hourani from Feb 16 to Feb 23.

The exhibition will feature her latest collections of handmade art-to-wear pieces and timeless classics.

Lama Hourani is a Jordanian jewelry designer residing between Amman, Barcelona and Shanghai. Hourani was recently honored as a global leader for 2012 by the World Economic Forum for her contribution to society, winner of the best innovative Design Award under the Young Arab Designers category by The Middle East Watches, Jewellery & Pens Awards. For details log on to www.thefagallery.com ❑ ❑ ❑

TIES Book Club: Join our first Book Club session on Saturday, Feb 16, 2013, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. For all Passionate Readers are welcome!! Stop in and meet new friends and welcoming environment. To sign up or for more information contact us on 97228860 or email us tiesbookclub@gmail.com. ❑ ❑ ❑ TIES Desert Camp: All are welcome for an outdoor event like never before! Its TIES Center all day Desert Camp on Saturday, Feb 16, 2013 from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. Transportation will be provided.

Don’t miss out!! For reservation please call us on 25231015/6 or 97228860 or visit our website www.tiescenter.net Feb 17

Turkish language course: The Embassy of the Republic of Turkey announces that a new classes of Turkish Language for beginners will start at the

Continued on Page 30

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

27

By Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud

Vendors display the truffles stacked in their stalls.

By Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud Special to the Arab Times rought to life by flashes of lightning and claps of thunder, and nurtured by early seasonal rainfall, the desert truffle is a gastronomic treasure that lies hidden beneath sandy soil in undisturbed landscapes. Highly prized by the pharaohs, relished by ancient Greeks and Romans, and still much sought-after today, desert truffles, known as fugga in the local dialect, are sold in ramshackle sheds at the back of the Friday Market just off of Fourth Ring Road.

The truffle vendors need no prompting to talk about their wares. “You want to know all about truffles? I will tell you,” says Abu Abbas. “The truffle season begins the middle of November and ends the middle of May. Truffles will only grow if there is rain during the wasm season, which in Kuwait is from the middle of October to the middle of November, and there must also be electrical storms. The truffles emerge 76 days after the first rains have fallen.

“The first truffles come from Algeria, because their rainy season begins early, in September. After that come truffles from Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. At the end of January, you have truffles from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait, and later on there are truffles from Syria.”

The question of whether truffles actually still grow in Kuwait is a point of contention in the truffle market.

“Kuwaiti truffles? There haven’t been any in years,” says one of the vendors.

“He’s right,” says an old Kuwaiti gentleman passing by. “The desert has been spoiled by all the campers with their cars and buggies, so nothing grows there any more.”

Another vendor claims there are truffles to be found in remote areas of Kuwait, where motor vehicles have not severely compacted the soil. Other

B

vendors agree, citing fenced off security and oil production areas, and even the sands surrounding Kuwait International Airport runways, as places where truffles still grow.

During this visit to the truffle market early in the season, the truffles are all from Algeria, with the smaller ones selling for KD 4 a kilo and the biggest ones priced at a kilo for KD 8. The smallest are a bit larger than a ping pong ball while the largest are about the size of a man’s fist. They resemble gnarled, irregular-shaped potatoes with lobes.

A Kuwaiti lady bargains for a basket of medium-sized truffles, carefully examining them to make sure they are firm and fresh. When questioned, she discloses her recipe for preparing these desert delicacies.

“First you have to wash the truffles several times as they are full of sand.

Then you boil them until tender, and at this stage I slice and wash them again, to make sure all the sand is removed.

Then I dry them off and fry them in clarified sheep fat called dehen adani, along with finely chopped onions, cumin, black pepper, and the dried black limes known as loumi aswad, and serve them along with rice. We like to eat them like this with our traditional dish called machbous, which can be made with meat or chicken. You can also just boil the truffles and then fry them in butter, like regular mushrooms. I made them this way for my family the other day and they really enjoyed them.”

Desert truffles are also used in local traditional medicine and are said to be good for treating eye, back, and leg

problems. “To make a cleansing and soothing eye wash, cut and wash the truffles thoroughly, then boil them and keep the water. When it has cooled off, put some of the water in a dropper and put a few drops into the affected eye,” instructs Abu Abbas.

Another vendor advises eating lots of truffles to strengthen the body, claiming this food is particularly beneficial for those with back, knee, or leg ailments.

There are hundreds of species of truffles. Desert truffles are the relatives of European truffles which are more rare, have a stronger aroma, and are infinitely more expensive. The price of black truffles sold by a retail seller in France several years ago is listed as 3,940 euros per kilo, the equivalent of more than KD 1,462.

European white truffles fetch equally astronomical sums. The record price for a single white truffle was set in 2007 when Macau casino owner Stanley Ho paid $330,000 (around KD 92,814) for an Italian specimen weighing 1.5 kilos. At such extravagant cost it’s no wonder that European truffles are served very sparingly, often finelyshaved into paper-thin slivers.

The fabulous reputation of the European truffle, however, should not detract from the merits of its cheaper cousin. Desert truffles were enjoyed by the great gourmets of the ancient world, the Romans, who cooked up mass quantities obtained from their colonies in Lesbos and Carthage. The first written mention of desert truffles

fl

truf fugga

Ho paid a hefty KD 92,814

dates much further back into the mists of time, with the neo-Sumerians noting the truffle-eating habits of their enemies, the Amorites, who belonged to the Third Dynasty of Ur, 20th century BCE. Papyrus writings tell us that desert truffles were popular with the pharaohs, while some three thousand years later they turned up on the tables of the Fatimid caliphs in Cairo.

Desert truffles, of which there are more than thirty varieties, have been found in a wide range of arid and semi-arid zones including the Kalahari and the Sahara Deserts, the Mediterranean basin, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Iran, parts of Eastern Europe and China. They belong to the Terfezia or Tirmania genera, and can be brown, black, creamy white or sometimes pink.

Much information on Kuwaiti desert truffles can be found in the writings of Dame Violet Dickson and her husband, the British Political Agent, Colonel Harold Dickson. The couple came to Kuwait in 1929 and during their many years in the country they chronicled Kuwait’s history, natural history, and desert traditions. Dame Violet wrote a book called The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain in which she describes the local desert fungi.

Writing about the Zubaidi or White Fugga (Tirmania) she says, “This truffle is found in great quantities in the Dibdibba, some 100 miles west of Kuwait, when the rainfall has been good... (The truffles) are associated with a plant known as ‘Rug-rug’ (Helianthemum lippi). They are looked upon as a great delicacy, and are sold in the Bazaars. These truffles are also found in Kuwait nearer the town, but they never attain the size of those found further west.”

According to Dame Violet, the Khalas or Brown Fugga (Terfezia) is smaller and not such good eating as the white Zubaidi variety. In her day it was found all over Kuwait, together with the White Fugga. “Before they are fully grown they only crack the earth very slightly and are difficult to locate, but as they grow larger they push up quite a mound of earth. A truffle of say, three inches across, will make a mound at least 12 inches across. They are

es

usually 4-6 inches deep in the ground... The Arabs say when they locate one truffle that her ‘walad am’, or cousin, must be close by.”

Dame Violet mentions one more type of desert truffle called Haberi or ‘Birds Fugga.’ “They are small and usually four or five grow together.

The largest I have seen is barely an inch in diameter, but more often they are no bigger than peas. They are eaten raw by all Badawin children.

The migrating birds discover them and peck them out of the ground, as they do not grow deep down.”

Dame Violet also states that unless the wasm rains are accompanied by thunder and lightning, truffles will not grow. This association between the germination of desert truffles and electrical storms was already noted in the first century AD by the Greek philosopher, Plutarch, and the Roman poet, Juvenal, who thought that truffles were engendered by thunder, lightning, and rain.

In her book, Forty Years in Kuwait, Dame Violet also provides an interesting account of a truffle-hunting expedition that took place in February 1968 following a season of abundant rainfall. On a bitterly cold morning she and her bedouin friends set off to the Dibdibba region of the desert, where they found many tents and many of the Rug-Rug plants which live in symbiosis with the truffles.

“On our first search for the truffles, Nasser, who has eyes like a hawk, immediately discovered a large white one (zubaidi), and later dug out many of the smaller brown ones... On the fourth day we went back to town with twenty kilos of truffles, more than 120 Pounds Stirling worth, at the prevailing market price, for this much-prized delicacy.”

Three weeks later, Dame Violet and her friends returned to the same area.

By this time it was warmer and the desert was carpeted with wildflowers.

“With my three companions I searched daily from early morning to nearly noon, and then again in the afternoon.

(At mid-day, with the sun overhead,

the small tell-tale cracks in the surface which mark the presence of a truffle have no shadow in them, and are difficult to detect.)

“The weather was perfect, and each evening we boiled up enough truffles for our own supper. It was a wonderful time, as this harvest of truffles gladdened the hearts of all the badu, and in our own party, as well as among the others we met, there was an air of happy excitement.”

After five days the truffle-hunting party returned to Kuwait town with about 150 kilos of large white zubaidi truffles, which Dame Violet divided between herself and her companions, giving many away to neighbours and friends. The bedouins told her it was the best truffle-season they’d seen in thirty years.

In his fascinating, detailed book on local bedouin life, The Arab of the Desert, Colonel Harold Dickson also wrote of the significance of the desert truffle. “If rain falls in October, truffles and mushrooms, great delicacies to every Badawin, appear in the following spring, and form the staple food of the tent-dweller and his family for weeks on end. Truffles with hubara (a game bird) are verily, like the manna of old, Allah’s reward to those who have endured the summer heat.”

In modern Kuwait, despite the vast variety of different foods available and the proliferation of restaurants, the gnarled and wrinkled desert truffle is still much in demand. Perhaps part of its attraction has to do with nostalgia for simpler times. After all, the desert truffle is evocative of the days when the spring air was scented with the sweet smell of wildflowers and Kuwaiti families in their seasonal camps could spend peaceful and enjoyable hours together hunting for fugga.

born of thunder … nurtured by rain over 30 varieties found in the desert

a nostalgia for simpler times heritage

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

28

Somethin’ different escape game

By Joe Sinclair

B

eing blindfolded, handcuffed and locked in a dark room under the gaze of a surveillance camera is not everybody’s idea of fun. But a new game in high-pressure Hong Kong is playing on people’s escapist fantasies.

Freeing HK is a “real escape game” in which players are pitted against a ticking clock as they desperately try to work their way out of the room by finding clues, cracking codes, and solving puzzles.

The phenomenon originated in Japan, and has spread to China, Taiwan, Singapore and the United States.

But the creators of the Hong Kong version say it has struck a nerve in the ultra-crowded city of seven million, as highly stressed students and overworked young business people look for a literal — and metaphorical — way out.

In this picture taken on Jan 28, 2013, Elly Chau, 18, part of the Freeing HK staff holds a chest inside one of the rooms of the premises in Hong Kong.

Freeing HK is a ‘real escape game’ in which players are pitted against a ticking clock as they desperately try to work their way out of the room by finding clues, cracking codes, and solving puzzles. (AFP)

“I think Hong Kong is the most stressed city in Asia,” said Freeing HK creator Instant Wan.

“There are long working hours, everybody is always talking about money, and there is little entertainment

— we only have films and karaoke.

“People want to find something new and escape from their stress in the money-hungry city. Here, they come from reality into the game.”

Wan, 27, a member of the high IQ society Mensa, author, and part-time lecturer on love and relationships, opened the game centre in November along with three young business partners.

Wearing an open-necked white shirt and black blazer with a silk handkerchief tucked into his top pocket, he fits the role of charismatic games master.

The centre is on the fourth floor of an anonymous tower block in the heart of Mongkok, one of the most populated areas on earth, an appropriate location for people looking for a portal out of the city’s frenetic hustle-bustle.

For HK$128 (US$16.5) each, players in small teams can take on one of three rooms — “Prison Break”, “Lost”, or

“Dr Alpha” — where they face scenarios that include being handcuffed to your teammate, or having to negotiate a Mission Impossible-style laser maze.

Only about one in five successfully find their way out within the 45-minute countdown, pressured by the ticking of the clock and looping piano music drifting through the speakers.

Asked about what she was trying to escape, Amy Chow, 21, a university student, sighed.

“Oh, study, work, Hong Kong’s stressful life. We need to spend a lot of time studying and working, so today is a very happy chance to do something different, something challenging and exciting.”

High-school student Michael Wong, 17, came straight from his end-of-term exams with a group of friends.

“Hong Kong is a very busy city and we all have to rush our lives,” he said.

“We just didn’t have the time to rest, but

coming here to live a life we may never know, being trapped in a small room, it’s an extraordinary experience.”

Freeing HK takes inspiration from “room escape games” that can be played on the Internet, and also has similarities to films such as “Cube”, “The Game” and the “Saw” series — but without the risk of a painful death.

In less than three months, about 5,000 people, mostly aged 15-35, have already taken up the challenge, drawn to the chance for a more intense, interactive experience.

The success of the venture means the company is expanding, with two new centres due to open in the coming months.

And Wan hopes that soon the phenomenon of real escape games in Hong Kong will itself be impossible to escape, as more and more people trapped in their fast-paced city lives choose to get locked up for a bit of adventure. (AFP)

Flower biz ablooms

Valentine’s Day

‘Express love with flowers’

By Michelle Fe Santiago Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Flower shops across Kuwait have been bustling this week as florists have been up on their toes doing all the bouquet and other floral arrangements on time for Valentine’s Day. Flower shops dotting Hawally, Salmiya and Kuwait City are filled with an array of flowers from daisies, chrysanthemums, anthuriums, oriental lilies, hyacinth, orchids, tulips and the alltime favourite — long-stemmed red roses.

Kumar, who has been a florist for 16 years now in a small flower shop in Hawally disclosed to the Arab Times on Wednesday that Valentine’s Day is the busiest day of the year at the flower shop. “We receive orders even a week before the Valentine’s Day. We also deliver but most of our clients pass by our shop and get the flowers that they have ordered,” he explained. He outlined that their shop gets the highest sales during Valentine’s Day though he refused to divulge the exact figure. “Maybe our sales on Valentine’s Day is equal to our average sales for one week,” he pointed out as he asked his colleague Mani to bring him some longstemmed roses and arranged them in a big vase.

Tulips

Some flowers bouquets on display

Neighbours ‘A first step towards achieving success’

Iraqi beauticians conquer fear at Baghdad fest BAGHDAD, Feb 13, (AFP): Long targeted during the country’s sectarian war, Iraq’s best hairdressers and beauticians have held a festival in central Baghdad to show their talents, a symbolic move to break with years of fear.

The event, officially called the Make-up, Hairdressing and Fashion Show, was organised over the weekend in the small Sadeer Hotel in Andalus Square, the first of its kind since the 2003 US-led invasion and its violent aftermath.

It is the latest in a series of efforts by the Iraqi capital’s residents to benefit from a decline in violence from its peak in 2006 and 2007 and restore Baghdad, once a dynamic and liberal city in the Middle East.

“The most important thing about this festival is spotlighting the brightness of Iraqi women, which has gone unseen by the world,” said Nadya Hamza Fuad, one of the organisers.

“This is a first for us after the events of 2003,” she said. “We see it as a first step towards achieving success.”

Talents “Darkness used to dominate, and the light of beauty was extinguished 10 years ago, especially in women’s salons. Society has been held back

because of the dark period.”

The festival, sponsored by Iraq’s Labour and Tourism Syndicate, brought together a handful of shy participants, upon whom beauticians and hairdressers showcased their talents, and a crowd of onlookers in two conference rooms in the hotel where the festival was held.

In one of the conference rooms, experts showed aspiring beauticians tricks of the trade and best practices, while in the other, a small platform was set up where three top hairdressers showed their skills in front of onlookers before their subjects walked across an adjoining catwalk.

It marked a sharp difference from the climate that once prevailed in the country, when tens of thousands were killed in the insurgency and sectarian war that followed the invasion that ousted now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein.

Religious extremists in particular targeted hairdressers, most of whom closed their shops in fear. Women, few of whom were veiled pre-2003, were suddenly forced to cover themselves and stay at home.

“We sat behind locked doors and nobody used to see us — only our customers,” lamented Najim Ashur, owner of a beauty and hairdressing academy and one of Iraq’s best-

known hairdressers.

“Our art in Iraq got sick, but it did not die,” he said.

“It is always renewing.”

Violence has dropped dramatically since that period, but attacks are still common and Baghdad remains one of the world’s most dangerous cities.

Among the beauticians exhibiting their talents was Ali Bulbul, who has

over 30 years experience doing makeup for television broadcasters and now runs a one-stop beauty centre in central Baghdad which he opened in late 2011.

Atmosphere “We hope this movement will continue, and become acceptable to the Iraqi people again,” said Bulbul, who left Iraq in 1990, after Saddam

An Iraqi model is made up backstage before a show during a hairdressers and make up artists festival on Feb 9, 2013 in Baghdad. It is the first time that this kind of festival takes place in the Iraqi capital since 1999. (AFP)

Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait. He returned for good in 2005 resuming as a television makeup artist.

Despite the positive atmosphere, attendees acknowledged that much remained to be done, with Iraqi actress Meelad Sirri noting that “there is some confusion, and there needs to be greater attendance, and more styles on display”.

“But it was generally good,” she said.

The one-day festival was limited to word-of-mouth advertising, largely to avoid garnering the attention of militants who, while weakened compared to years earlier, still carry out regular attacks in Baghdad and across Iraq.

And while participants were excited about an increasing openness among beauticians and hairdressers, some did voice lingering fears.

“We did not have any opportunities because of the society and the circumstances, but girls want to imitate fashions around the world,” said Suad Taha, a 20-year-old who was undergoing a makeover.

“This festival is a chance for Iraqi girls to show their beauty — that reflects the beauty of Iraq.”

But she admitted: “I have mixed feelings — of fear, and happiness.”

Mani welcomed a Kuwaiti man to the flower shop who wanted a bouquet of red tulips for his girlfriend.

Despite the call of some religious groups to ban the celebration of Valentine’s Day in the country, a big number of expatriates as well as some citizens still go ahead and celebrate the day with their loved ones.

“We all respect people’s beliefs but for me, personally, though Valentine which has a religious origin in the olden days, has now acquired a different global meaning and is more viewed by people as a universal day to express our love and affection to all the people we love,” stated Ali as he went out of the flower shop taking with him a big vase filled with red tulips.

A quick stroll at the flower shops on Wednesday showed that prices of flowers have remained steady despite the huge demand for flowers on Valentine’s Day, though prices may vary from the types of floral arrangement that the customers want. Most of the flower shops sell a stem of rose and a tulip at KD 1 but orchids cost cheaper at 750 fils per piece. Some bouquets and other floral arrangements may cost from an average of KD 3 to KD 50 or can go up to KD 100 depending on how intricate the arrangement is.

Busy Meanwhile, for some people who are too busy to drop by a flower shop opt for ordering flowers online. “We get a lot of orders online during Valentine’s Day. They can choose the floral designs that suit them. The minimum order is KD 24 with free delivery,” explained Peter June Dadios, a florist who works for an online flower shop. He cited that most of their customers are young executives who find it more convenient to purchase flowers online as it saves them more time and spare them from the traffic and mad rush.

“Most of our flowers are imported from The Netherlands like the tulips, our roses come from South America, Guatemala, Ecuador while our orchids are from Thailand. The most in demand these days are tulips and red roses,” he outlined.

He added that they also sell to walk-in customers at their flower shop in Kuwait City.

“We expect more walk-in customers on Valentine’s Day especially that it falls on a weekend this year. It is the busiest day for the shop.

Flowers are still the best and the most affordable way to express your feelings. On this day of the heart, just say it with flowers,” he stated.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

29

Badgl ey Mi schka

Packh

Fashio n

Jenny

am

Naeem

NEW YORK: Rachel Roy was at Vera Wang’s NY Fashion Week show Tuesday, in a choice seat next to John Legend.

Tory Burch regularly attends the shows of Narciso Rodriguez and Proenza Schouler. Diane von Furstenberg always makes room for Oscar de la Renta, and Tommy Hilfiger took in Belstaff.

Fashion has a reputation for being cutthroat, but there are friendships and mentorships as well that don’t always get their due.

“I’m a big believer in supporting others,” Burch said in a backstage interview.

Models are part of the glue here, too.

Jessica Stam made it to the Chelsea space where Thom Browne was showing and Coco Rocha made a quick change from von Furstenberg’s front row to Zac Posen’s backstage.

Karlie Kloss was on the red carpet for the Grammy Awards, hosting coverage for MTV. She took an overnight flight from Los Angeles to New York to walk in Carolina Herrera’s morning show Monday.

“These are my friends. That’s why I got back in time. It’s a family reunion at Fashion Week,” Kloss said. “It’s a common misconception that we don’t get along but its not really true. ... To have a long career, you have to get along.”

Roy decided to take her show digital this year, which meant an earlier deadline for her looks. She found the newfound freedom had at least one unexpected perk: “I can go to more of my friends’ shows!”

John Galliano, who is on a three-week guest stint at de la Renta’s studio, did not make a front-of-the-house appearance at the designer’s show Tuesday, Day 6 of fall previews that wrap up Feb 14. Shows follow in London, Milan and Paris.

Khan

Zero & Maria

NEW YORK Above and below: Models wear creations by Naeem Khan; Zero & Maria; Rodarte; Jenny Packham; Badgley Mischka Vera Wang; Ashton Michael and Dennis Basso during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Feb 12. (AFP)

runway: “I love bugs — at least from a design standpoint.”

She decorated a chiffon button-down shirt with scarabs and used jeweled ones on a silk skirt. Embellished dragonflies were subtly placed on some of the shoes — remember Burch’s roots are in accessories — making them an instant, must-have status symbol.

But Burch didn’t go looking in dark corners for inspiration. She tried to envelop metallic fabrics, the textures of Gustav Klimt’s portraits and a free-spirited mood all into the overarching theme of Art Nouveau.

Rodar te

Rodarte

Oscar de la Renta De la Renta did have company on the runway for his bow: models Karlie Kloss and Magdalena Frackowiak. He also had famous fashion designers — friends Diane von Furstenberg and Valentino — in the front row.

Nowhere to be seen, however, was John Galliano, who is in the middle of a three-week stint working in de la Renta’s studio. The question on guests’ minds was if Galliano, fired from Christian Dior two years ago after an anti-Semitic rant was caught on video, would stay at de la Renta’s house longer.

They were left to continue the rumor mill, but for the 15 minutes of show, they were fully engrossed in the show.

Badgley Mischka Mark Badgley and James Mischka are big movie buffs, and it shows in their clothes as they always seem attracted to silverscreen femme fatales.

Rodarte Their fall collection had a film-noir vibe that always does well for them on the modern Hollywood red carpet. This time, the inspiration was Alfred Hitchcock movies — their favorite ng being “Vertigo.”

Vera Wa Kim Novak as a muse makes so much sense, Badgley said. “She’s confident with She also wears polished silhouettes like a little bit of a dark, sexy side.” pencil skirts, fur stoles, halter-top gowns and tops with peplums very well, which fits the Badgley Mischka aesthetic perfectly.

Rodarte

Jenny Packham All the pretty young things who wear

Packham’s gowns on the red carpet are about to get a lesson in old-world glamour.

Design sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy grew up in sunny Santa Cruz, California, and evoked their seaside hometown in their fall collection.

But perhaps sso only to a B is n n De them.

“It’s really our own version of it,” Laura Mulleavy said backstage.

The beachy feel came across most strongly in prints — especially a tiedye motif in silk satin, hael ic M n to which appeared in a host Ash of flowing gowns in pink, blue, red and black.

There were even some Grateful Dead references in the mix — with the iconic Northern California band appearing via brilliant red-rose embroidery on the fanciest dresses, along with Swarovski crystals.

Vera Wang John Legend and fiance model Chrissy aria Zero & M Teigen, Jada Pinkett Smith and Christine Baranski were on the front row to see the Think farther back than Hollywood’s ready-to-wear collection of Vera Wang. golden age, farther back than Art Deco — Wang has embraced a high level of even farther back than the Edwardian era. artistry for her bridal and red-carpet cusPackham’s fall collection was based on tomers, but it was new for her ready to noble 17-century Parisians, the women wear. “It was time for us to raise the bar,” who would gather in their salons to discuss she said. (AP) literature, politics and art.

“These women were educated, wealthy and influential — they even liked politics.

They were like early feminist groups,” joked Packham backstage.

Tory Burch Burch has a confession she shared on the

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

30

Computer based non-medical therapy launched in Kuwait

Play Attention aims to improve attention, concentration

By Cinatra Fernandes Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Play Attention, a computer based nonmedical therapy that aims to improve attention and concentration, was launched in Kuwait with a seminar hosted by its International Consultant Sherry Kaen, to introduce and demonstrate the product at the Sheraton Hotel.

Play Attention, she informed, is attention deficit software with 11 training games that are used for educational cognitive and behavioural interventions for ADHD by teaching necessary skills and ensur-

Photo by Rezk Tawfik

Sherry Kaen, International Consultant — Play Attention

ing transfer to the everyday life, classroom and workplace.

Although it is certified by the US Board of Education, the program is not a clinical, medical, neuro or bio feedback and is not a certified treatment. However Kaen claimed that the gaming software’s many benefits include improving attention, memory, social skills and behaviour.

Skills The games focus on building attention stamina, visual tracking, time on task, short term memory, discriminatory processing, academic bridge, spatial memory, motor skills,

working memory, auditory processing and social skills. Play Attention works by measuring brain activity through BodyWave, a wireless technology and presents feedback in a video game format. BodyWave reads brain activity and allows control of the games by mind alone and focusing one’s attention moves the screen characters.

The program can be used by children above 6 years of age as well as adults in school and other learning centres, hospitals, clinics and medical centres, as well as privately at home. Participants are required to play 2 or 3 sessions per week approximately amounting to one

hour with a minimum of 40 hours for long term benefits. Behavioural changes will be noted after 12 hours of accumulative play and results can be permanent.

The program comes with a live personal coach, free training, free data analysis, free tech support and free educational support. The home unit would cost around $1,900 not inclusive of customs and shipping while an i-lab or professional unit would cost around $2,800.

Play Attention is partnered with Envoy General Trading, an IT & Telecom Company established in 2009 that offers a broad range of services and solutions.

AUK

Dr Hamzeh exchanging certificates with the Ambassador to mark the donation occasion.

AUK students, faculty and staff attended the event to greet the Ambassador and to accept his donation.

From left: Ms Asma Al-Kanan, Ambassador Angel Losada, Dr Nizar Hamzeh, and Deputy Head of Mission Gabriel Alou.

The collection of books donated by the Ambassador on the topics of Spanish culture, heritage and history.

Spanish Ambassador visits AUK library His Excellency the Ambassador of Spain to Kuwait Angel Losada Fernandez and the Deputy Head of Mission Gabriel Alou visited the AUK Library last week on a book donation event intended to promote cultural collaboration.

The delegation was warmly welcomed by AUK Provost, Dr Nizar Hamzeh and Library Director Ms Asma Al-Kanan, whereby

announces that a new classes of Turkish Language for beginners will start at the Embassy’s Tourism, Culture and Information Office on Feb 17, 2013. The lessons will be two times in a week for six weeks, for further details and registration please contact: ■ the Embassy at Tel: 22277405 (only from 9 am to 3 pm).

■ or fill the application form on http://kuveyt.be.mfa.gov.tr and send it to the e-mail: embassy.kuwait@mfa.gov.tr ❑ ❑ ❑

AWARE eighth diwaniya: You are cordially invited to AWARE’s eighth monthly diwaniya presentation entitled, “The meaning of “As-Shakour = ready to appreciate service,” which is among the 99 names and attributes of Allah on Sunday February 17, 2013 at 7:00pm.

Knowing Allah necessitates knowing the meanings of His names, being affected by them and applying those meanings in your daily life. Knowing and understating those beautiful names and attributes will have a strong impact on your life in this ephemeral world. It will also determine your destiny in the Hereafter. The more you delve into the names and attributes of Allah, the more you love Him, which leads to exerting your utmost efforts in getting closer to Him in worship. Among Allah’s 99 attributes is As- Shakur is translated into “The Appreciative”. What are the other meanings of As-Shakour?

What are the implications of understanding and putting into action this realization? How does Allah thank us yet He is our creator, cherisher and sustainer?

Everything we enjoy is given to us by Him. To learn more about this beautiful attribute of Allah (SWT), you are welcome to the AWARE Center on February 17, at 7:00pm. The speaker will be Hassan Twaha (AWARE Education Manager.)

For more information, please call 25335260/80 or e-mail: Htaware.hassan@gmail.com Feb 19

AWARE diwaniya: “The AWARE Center cordially invites you to its diwaniya presentation entitled, “History Of Kuwait’s Democracy,” by Albara Alwohaib on Tuesday Feb 19, at 7:00pm.

February is the time of national holidays in Kuwait. This year also, Kuwait will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its parliament. But the country had been going through some political crisis. So how did that happen? What are the roots of those crises. Albara Alwuhaib is going to answer these questions and many more in the next Diwanya.

Albara Alwuhaib is an engineer, who works for the ministry of interior & was sent to work as an assistant manager to the Kuwait Memorial Museum. He is also doing volunteer work to a number of nonprofit organizations including the Aware Center, Kuwaiti Human Rights foundations, & Kuwait Transparency Society.

He is also a founder of a book club, which is part of Aljalees project. In June 2012, he gave a presentation entitled, “The Kuwaiti Resistance,” to the American Army at Camp Arifjan.

For more information, please call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com.kw Feb 21

the two parties formally exchanged certificates to mark the donation occasion.

The donated collection consisted of books and multimedia items in Spanish, English and Arabic focusing on the history, art and culture of Spain.

During the event, Dr Hamzeh gave a speech on behalf of the

AUK President, welcoming the Ambassador and formally accepting the donation of books. From his side, HE the Ambassador delivered a speech to the attending audience of faculty and students. Concluding the event, Dr Hamzeh and Ms Al-Kanan acknowledged the guest with a certificate of official recognition and a gift from the AUK Library to commemorate the donation.

By Iddris Seidu Arab Times Staff

Photos by Meshal Nayef

Dr Al-Nasser (first right), Ambassador George (second right), jointly open the event with other officials looking on.

renowned research opportunities as key factors in the choice of Canadian Universities whose campuses offer multicultural environments, beautiful spaces and friendly people.

He added that the Middle East is a key student market for Canadian universities where students from Kuwait and the broader region are sought for their strengths and rich contributions to student life on Canadian university campuses.

“Increasing numbers of students from the region are making Canada their first choice of studies with Kuwaiti students in particular drawn to Canadian universities’ common attributes of international reputations for academic excellence, state-of-the-art resources and safe campuses in welcoming locations”, noted Holt.

Canadian universities are

engaged internationally as leaders in education through teaching, research and partnerships.

Undergraduate education in Canada is a hybrid of US and UK styles offering breadth of program options, flexibility in choice and a worldwide recognized degree with a style of teaching that puts the student in the driver’s seat.

Affordable Ambassador George for his part stated that Canada has top quality world-class universities providing affordable education with a very wide variety of programs, noting that the twelve universities out of the sixty in Canada represented at the fair are drawn from Canada’s biggest cities to the smallest communities.

“We recognize the importance of top quality education in today’s competitive and changing world.

International education experience

Holt speaks at the event.

Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait will remain closed on Thursday, Feb 21 on the occasion of the Shahid Dibash and International Mother Language Day. Feb 22

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom: Indian Youth

CIS hosts Canadian University Fair in Kuwait

students, who exhibit strong academic standing, includes school visits, information sessions as well as opportunities to interact with school guidance counselors as part of the delegation’s public outreach effort in Kuwait.

As is always the case with these tours where organizers work to strengthen secondary schools they visit, this tour includes a professional development workshop for school counselors from across the GCC region.

Speaking at the opening of the event, the leader of the delegation, Daralyn Holt from Trent University in Ontario stated that students choose to study in Canada because of the strong education and the positive international experience which is the foundation for their exciting and successful futures. He also listed quality, affordability and

Latest Continued from Page 26

Bangladesh Embassy closure: The

‘Canada has top quality world-class universities’

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: “International education experience helps promote understanding between peoples and nations; Canadian students also benefit from meeting students from other parts of the world”, said Canada’s Ambassador to Kuwait, Douglas George, as he spoke to the media on the sidelines of the 10th Canadian University Fair organized by the Canadian Higher Education Committee under the aegis of the Council of International Schools (CIS) Monday evening at the Sheraton Hotel.

The University Fair which is part of a GCC-wide road-show being undertaken by the CIS delegation, had twelve of Canada’s sixty universities on exhibition with the main goal of meeting parents, students, high school counselors and others to provide them with full information about studying in Canada as well as the various offerings available at the universities.

Universities represented at the fair include Carleton University/Concordia University, Dalhouse University, Lakehead University, McGill University, Memorial University, University of New Brunswick, Ryerson University, Saint Mary’s University, Trent University, Vancouver Island University and York University.

Interest The schedule of the delegation’s tour of Kuwait which is of special interest to senior secondary school

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helps promote understanding between peoples and nations; Canadian students also benefit from meeting students from other parts of the world”, said the Ambassador.

Head of the cultural office at the recently commissioned Cultural Office at Kuwait’s embassy in Ottawa, Dr Fahad Al-Nasser who came down to support the tour and assist in promoting education in Canada, stated that the opening of the cultural office at the Kuwaiti embassy in Ottawa three months ago had the goal of enhancing cultural relations between Canada and Kuwait as well as supervising and catering to the needs of Kuwaiti students in the host country.

Culture, he said, is broader than just students, universities and academics; it plays a big part in international diplomacy, citing as an example the planned holding of a Kuwaiti Cultural Week in Ottawa come June this year.

With over 270 Kuwaiti undergraduate students on government scholarships in Canada mostly majoring in medicine, dentistry, there are also masters and PhD students as well as medical students on residency numbering about 130 from Kuwait University.

“There’s no doubt the standard of education in Canada is very high and that’s the reason we encourage our elite students to attend Canadian universities. Besides, Canada is a big culturally-diverse country with different ethnic groups which prides itself as a safe and welcoming destination for foreign students”, said Dr Al-Nasser.

Society brings another unique show “JhoomBarabarJhoom” featuring world famous ghazal and qawwali singer Sabri Brothers and his team on Feb 22 at 6:30 pm sharp at Kuwait Medical Association Auditorium, beside Mubarak Al Kabeer hospital, Jabriya, Kuwait.

Young talents from Kuwait will be another attraction of the evening. For more details, please contact: 66127231, 69674121, 66869007, 67738135 and 99225378.

Email iyskuwait@gmail.com; Web Page: www.iyskuwait.com Feb 25

India Embassy closure: The Embassy of India will remain closed on the following days during the month of February 2013: Feb 25, 2013 – Monday, National Day of Kuwait Feb 26, 2013 – Tuesday, Liberation Day of Kuwait ❑ ❑ ❑

HMWA organizes grand prog: Hyderabad Muslim Welfare Association is going to organize a grand yearly programme on the life of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) titled “Prophet Mohammed Greatest Social Reformer on 25th feb 2013 soon after Friday prayer in Masjid-e-Abdullah Al Mehri next to famous Edi Stores and in front of Titanic building in Salmiya. Prominent scholars from kuwait will speak on the selected topics focusing life of Prophet (PBUH) and his message to whole humanity and in particular to Muslim Umma.

Dear Brothers it is yet again a great opportunity to learn more and more about Seerah of our beloved Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). And to show our Passion, love and respect to our beloved religion of Islam and enlightened our lives with good deeds preached by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) HMWA executive committee request all the members and people from Hyderabad and other areas to participate in great numbers and bring your near and

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ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

31

Legal Eagle ‘Foreign investors more encouraged now to invest’

Kuwait looks to become regional financial hub: Adil

By Valiya S. Sajjad Arab Times Staff

N

oor Addin Adil started his practice in Kuwait in 2004, and after close to a decade’s experience, he is adept at Kuwait’s commercial laws.

His job profile is restricted to an advisory role.

He is currently working in the Legal Bureau of Zakariya Saleh Abdul Razzak, which was founded in 2007. The firm provides commercial legal services to local and international businesses. Some of the firm’s clientele include investment houses and financial institutions, and real estate companies.

Adil’s office provides a variety of

services in the commercial sector including banking, corporate, commercial transactions, debt collection, litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution services to businesses.

Talking about the firm, Adil notes that it was set up in the light of changing political scenario of Kuwait that was impinging on the economic and social realities in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, the real estate sector was also undergoing unparalleled growth, some even fearing a bubble.

Asked about the recent changes in commercial laws, Adil said it’s a turn for the good. Kuwait has to diversify into sectors other than just oil, and reforms in commercial law are a must

to enable the transition.

Kuwait is looking to become the regional financial hub. Foreign investors are more encouraged now to invest in Kuwait, he notes.

Gained In the real estate sector, 2007 witnessed a slowdown, though not a bust, the performance was lacklustre.

From insights gained from his superiors, Adil understands that the crisis was one of the most important factors for the state to consider serious reforms in commercial laws. The government felt is necessary to reign in too much speculation.

Now the sector is recovering, though non-uniformly across the vari-

ous segments. There’s need for greater economic reform, particularly by way of girding up the private sector, highlighting the huge gap in oversupply and low demand in the commercial real estate segment.

“However, on the residential side, the industry is suffering a massive supply deficit which is driving up rents and prices exponentially. The supply is not able match up the growing demand.”

Adil feels this imbalance between commercial and residential real estate segments is very unhealthy. “This shows the skewed nature of our economy. We have to diversify into other areas of economic activity other than

our dependence on oil, and only the private sector can playing a leading role in this.”

Financial institutions must look at encouraging young entrepreneurs, and government must give appropriate backing to help the youth.

As examples he cited the research institutes in Kuwait that are coming up with ideas for innovative products and technologies in a variety of fields, including alternate energy.

Adil is more focused of late on regulations is Islamic finance. it’s relatively new, and new products and services are emerging every day. Adil is keenly watching any reforms taking place in this field as a robust reg-

ulatory structure is important to enable a growth environment for Islamic financial markets.

This he notes is because Islamic financial services involve complex Shari’a-compliant investments.

Moreover, as the industry is still evolving, Islamic financial products contain different types of risk compared to conventional financial products.

Adil graduated in law from Bombay, India, and worked at district level courts in India’s financial capital. This he believes gave him a strong grounding in the legal profession, and gave him the opportunity to deal with different kinds of clients.

Alternative Medicine ‘Test ‘stones’ before use’

Can gemstones boost our health?

By Mia Ponzo Special to the Arab Times

A

A flyer of the event

A flyer of the event

Manual therapy aims to improve range of motion

Physiotherapy helps frozen shoulder

By Erin Butler

difficult to perform.

Special to the Arab Times

Phases

rozen shoulder is a condition where the shoulder becomes painful and stiff, sometimes to the point where it is ‘frozen’ or stuck. It may start off with difficulty dressing or reaching into your back pocket, but may progress to a point where all shoulder movements are extremely limited and painful.

The reason why people develop frozen shoulder is unclear but it is thought to happen after an injury to the shoulder. If there is trauma, scar tissue can build up and become thick around the tissues that surrounds the shoulder joint. This can cause some restrictions in movement.

So how do you know if you have frozen shoulder? Well, since x-rays are often completely normal, diagnosis is based on symptoms of stiffness and pain coming on over a period of time. Pain can initially be greatest at night. As the pain increases, people reduce the amount of movement to the shoulder to help control the pain, thereby contributing to the stiffness.

Loss of movement with respect to raising or rotating the arm often makes simple activities of daily living

Frozen shoulder goes through three phases of progression. It can last a total of between twelve and eighteen months, but varies according to the individual. The first phase is also known as the “freezing” phase. It is usually the shortest and is associated with pain and progressive loss of shoulder movement. This stage can last between three and nine months.

Following that is the “frozen” stage, during which pain may decrease but range of motion becomes more limited. This stage can last between 4 to 12 months. The last phase is the “thawing” stage and can be the longest. Gradually the pain and stiffness resolves, and the arm tends to return to normal or near-normal function within 612 months. In Butler some cases the condition can last as long as 3 years.

Primarily affecting the non-dominant arm, frozen shoulder may occur in the other shoulder in up to 20% of cases.

F

click Latest Continued from Page 30 dear ones and get educated ourself with the message of Islam which is Peace, love and service to humanity.

For further details Contact 99481599, 50605074, 66605881 Feb 28

YMCA membership campaign: YMCA Kuwait is conducting membership Campaign until Feb 28. Persons who wish to become a member of YMCA Kuwait and persons who would like to contribute their time, efforts and services for the society and humanitarian causes may please contact – 97542985.

The collection of songs for this show is dazzling, including numbers from well known shows such as Evita, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard and many more. There really is something for everyone’s musical taste in what is guaranteed to be an evening of beautiful music. Directed and produced by KLT regulars, Mike Ricketts and Helen Newton, it’s sure to be an evening you should not miss! Show dates are: Wednesday 6th March, Thursday 7th March and Thursday 8th March. Book now by logging on to www.theklt.com April 9

NPIS organizes annual fun fair: New Pakistan International School is going to organize annual fun fair at Sha’ab Park on March 9 from 8 :00 am to 4:00 pm. All are welcome. You can buy tickets from the school office during working hours.

March 6

KLT Box Office shows: The Kuwait Little Theatre Box Office is now open for ‘An Evening with Andrew Lloys Weber’.

April 12

Konkani drama: Comedian Agostinho will present in Kuwait his new Konkani

Management of frozen shoulder frequently involves a combination of different therapies. Fortunately, frozen shoulder often improves with time and conservative management.

Conservative treatment such as physiotherapy is implemented, at a frequency of 3 to 5 times a week, depending on the individual’s case.

The main goal is to help reduce the pain especially throughout the first and second stages along with antiinflammatory medication that may be prescribed by your doctor. If, after a few weeks, the pain is not settling your doctor may then give you a cortisone injection to reduce pain so physiotherapy treatment can continue more effectively.

Motion The second goal is to maintain and regain as much range of motion as possible. Manual therapy is aimed at breaking up the adhesions in the shoulder joint capsule. This is achieved by using controlled force to move and stretch the shoulder as well as the vertebrae in the upper back and neck. Also a more gentle form of mobilization will be used to stretch the nerves that also have become tight causing numbness, tension and aching. Modalities such as ultrasound, drama ‘Corruption Kabar?’ on Friday, April 12, 2013 at 4:30 pm at the Kuwait Medical Association Hall, Jabriya. The star cast includes veteran Sabina Fernandes, Jessica Gomes, comedian Janet, Jr Nelson, Salu de Loutolim, Jaju Fernandes, Filipe Almeida, Sylvester Vaz, comedian Selvy Correia, comedian Agostinho Temudo and above all the singing sensation Seby de Divar. For more details, contact tel 99923176, 99540232 or e-mail flexq8@yahoo.com Aug 30

Konkani Drama: M.A. Production is all set to present a Konkani Drama (Tiatr) “MOJE DHUVENCHEM KAZAR” to be staged on 30 August 2013 with an emotionally charged storyline, humour and music, written by M.Dias and directed by Sylvester Vaz & M.Dias to be held at Kuwait Medical Association Auditorium (near Blood Bank), Jabriya. Popular actors and singers will be flown from India including Seby de Divar – Goa’s singing sensation, John D’Silva – Goa’s best known comedian and character artiste, Yvonne – new sensation in come-

electrical therapy, and acupuncture may be used to help reduce pain during the first and second stages.

A very specific exercise and stretching program will be prescribed aimed at increasing range of motion and reducing pain. Acupuncture is very useful to help with the breakdown of these adhesions and decreasing stiffness.

Physiotherapy combined with a steroid injection have been shown to have early significant improvements in shoulder range or movement, pain and function.

In some cases surgical techniques are used, often once conservative treatments have been tried and failed.

These include manipulation under anesthetic, or arthroscopic release of the capsular tissue. Usually physiotherapy is needed for around six to eight weeks to maintain and increase shoulder range of movement and shoulder strength. ❑

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For further information please contact Fawzia Sultan Rehabilitation Institute (FSRI). Erin Butler is a British trained physiotherapist that can be reached at FSRI 2572 0338 or visit our website at w dy, Fr Nevel Gracias (Vell’lekar) – well known actor and writer, Sylvester Vaz – Hitman of Konkani stage, besides a few prominent well established actors and singers from the tiatrist fraternity in Kuwait. The proceeds of this drama will be sent to Old Goa Retreat Centre. Please make note in your diary to attend this must-to-see by all parents and children, and support this noble cause.

Await for more details how to obtain your entry passes or email: dias_q8@yahoo.com Tel: +965 66698257, 99616965, 65095345. http://goablog100.blogspot.com/2013/02/ moje-dhuvenchem-kazar.html

Sports Football Coaching Course: The next P.G.A. Everton Football Coaching Course at the new location by Abdullah Al-Rujaib High School, Bayan Block 7, Masjed Al-Aqsa Street. Courses are available for boys and girls aged from 3 to 18 years. For further details see http://www.pga-kuwait.com.kw/ or contact academy Director Mike on 99981327

couple weeks ago I went to a program where the presenter talked about how gemstones could be beneficial for people’s health.

Most of the audience was very surprised about this. In fact, for several years now, there have been people writing books about gemstones and what benefits they can have for us. For centuries, or, in fact, for thousands of years, the practice of using gemstones for one’s health has been used and written about.

There is nothing new about the idea of gemstones, in the forms of mineral rocks or in cut form, in general, having health benefits.

But, the practice had fallen the wayside in most places of the world and in most cultures, until only fairly recently. In fact, using gemstones for healing had become a complete ruse in most people’s minds. It took on a connotation of being a superstitious practice, and not one of medicinal properties or reliable science.

In actuality, gemstones really do have health benefits. In fact, gemstones not only have health benefits, but also psychological benefits. It is not far-fetched at all that gemstones (rocks and minerals) can help us improve our health and well-being.

Practice Although the use of gemstone healing may not be widely accepted today, over the centuries this practice had become quite wellknown. In modern times, though, people have gotten the idea that only chemical medications can help people from a medical or psychological standpoint. The truth is that gemstones, whether they are cut or not, can not only give us physical and psychological benefits, but often do so more efficiently than chemical medications do.

What’s even better is that gemstones are much easier to use than chemical medications.

We don’t have to eat or drink them. We just keep them near us, wear them as jewelry, or hold them. That is all that is needed to reap the wonderful health benefits.

Does this sound easy? It should, because it really is that easy.

Also, amazingly, there is even a simple test to find out which gemstones are good for any particular person. That way a person doesn’t waste time and money trying gemstones that aren’t beneficial for them. Most of the books and articles that talk about using gemstones for healing inform people about the different supposed benefits of the gemstones. But, this is not a correct method.

To have the idea that a certain gemstone is going to have a certain benefit or benefits is not necessarily true. In fact, one gemstone that benefits one person may actually harm another one. So if you are going to use gemstones for healing, you really need to test them before using them.

The test for trying out the gemstones is quite simple, but it is bet-

or Executive Director Baker on 66918666. ❑ ❑ ❑

KLL registration: Kuwait Little League (KLL) has kicked off registration for the 2012-2013 baseball and softball season. The various divisions and corresponding age groups are as follows: Tee Ball: Boys and Girls — 5 to 7 years old; Minors: Boys and Girls — 8 to

ter if it is administered by someone who has some experience with this method of testing in order to avoid false positives or negatives. In order to test a specific gemstone, an easy to do kinesthetic muscle test is all that is needed. All the test does is to check the strength of certain muscle groups in relation to a particular gemstone.

Baseline Before testing the gemstones a baseline test is done in order to assess the overall strength of the muscle being used to perform the test. Once the baseline is established the gemstone testing can proceed. You need to make sure that each gemstone is tested individually, and that there is no interference with any other stones, magnetic fields, or anything else.

This means removing all jewelry, watches, etc. (If there is no professional or trained person in your area that can do the muscle testing, you can learn a simple muscle testing method on YouTube. Just search for “how to do kinesthetic muscle testing”. I’m sure you will find several videos that will explain how to do the muscle test quite simply and clearly.)

Then you need the gemstones (they don’t even have to be gemstones, but can be rocks or mineral samples). The reason most people use gemstones though is because they look so attractive. There really isn’t any other reason. What I personally do when testing is bring a large collection of gemstones for people to test. I usually begin by asking people to go through the pile of gemstones and choose the ones they are attracted to. The person might like the way they look, liking either the color or the shape.

Then, once that initial stage is done, we go through the stones one by one and see which ones increase the strength of the muscle being tested.

The gemstones that are beneficial for the person will have the effect of making the tested muscle extremely strong, often almost super humanly so. If the gemstone makes the muscle weaker, then we know that particular gemstone isn’t good for that person, so we put it aside. Once we have weeded through each gemstone, there will usually be a pile of a few gemstones for the person to choose from. Some people take all of the gemstones that make them strong, and some people choose one or two. Keep in mind that the stones don’t have to be expensive stones to be effective, although it is often true that more expensive or better quality stones are more beneficial due to their characteristics, but this isn’t always so.

(To be continued next week). ❑

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Email me: miaponzo@yahoo.com don’t forget to visit us at: www.kuwaitliving.com And check out my health articles at: www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/miaponzo

10 years old; Majors: Boys and Girls — 11 to 12 years old; Juniors: Boys and Girls — 13 to 14 years old; Seniors: Boys and Girls —15 to 18 years old; Softball: Girls only — 11 to 18 years old.

Challenger* – Boys and Girls — 7 to 12 years old (for children with special needs).

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ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

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Horoscope

By Jacqueline Bigar Happy birthday for Thursday, Feb 14, 2013: This year your words carry a lot of weight. You don’t need to fight for an audience; others make it their pleasure to listen to your ideas. Your resourcefulness impresses them. Give 150 percent to whatever you choose to focus on. The results might not be any different, but you will feel better. If you are single, you don’t need to go far — your magnetic personality attracts many potential suitors. If you are attached, your interactions are full of intensity and understanding. You will enjoy your time together more, especially as you learn new ways of expressing yourself. You are never shy with ARIES. The Stars Show the Kind of Day You’ll Have: 5Dynamic; 4-Positive; 3-Average; 2-So-so; 1Difficult

Capricorn - (Dec 22 - Jan 19) *** Let ideas circulate about a personal choice

you’ve made. Honor a suggestion from your inner circle. You know what works for you; don’t assume that it works for others. Listen carefully, and juggle the pros and cons of what is being offered. Tonight: Work close to home.

Aquarius - (Jan

20 - Feb 18)

***** Your unique style often seems irresistible to others. Your smile and attitude tells them that you believe you are on the winning team. Speak your mind, and share more of what you think. Situations emerge that allow greater give-and-take. Tonight: You don’t need to go far.

Pisces - (Feb 19 - Mar 20) *** You clearly have gone through a change, and you might be digesting the ramifications of this transformation. Your instincts are working overtime.

Focus on what feels right and what offers the most opportunities. Tonight: Treat a friend to dinner and a

home decor

movie.

Aries - (Mar 21 - Apr 19) ***** What you want done can be accomplished easily right now. Your perspective transforms as well. Focus on your long-term objectives. A meeting provides direction quickly and effectively. Touch base with a close friend or family member. Tonight: Let the good times roll.

Taurus - (Apr 20 - May 20) *** You might be moping around, overthinking a certain situation. You certainly are not in a gregarious mood right now. Take off and do something just for you. Often, you give too much of yourself. It’s OK to be a little me-oriented sometimes. Tonight: Suddenly on center stage.

Gemini - (May 21 - June 20)

***** A meeting points you in a certain direction. Follow through on what seems like the obvious choice. You can’t sit back and do nothing. Friends and loved ones surround you. Valentine’s Day seems to put a smile on many faces. Tonight: Have fun.

Cancer - (June 21 - July 22) *** You have a lot of responsibility that’s been tossed on you. Take your time, and check out the details when executing plans. Focus on your longterm goals. Others might take advantage of the moment and your caring spirit. Tonight: Finish what others have left undone.

Leo - (July 23 - Aug 22) ***** A little mystery goes a long way, and it has the potential to increase the level of excitement between you and someone else. Unexpected news comes in from a distance. Read between the lines when dealing with this person. Tonight: Somewhere

indoor gardening

very different.

Virgo - (Aug 23 - Sept 22): **** Dealing with one special person occupies your day. Fortunately, he or she is in a good mood, which makes it easier to relate on a one-on-one level. A friendly gesture in the morning could warm up the office atmosphere. Tonight: Make plans to be with a special person.

Libra - (Sept 23 - Oct 22) **** A key person is controlling. Your creativity gives you an idea that breaks through his or her power play. You need to be careful, as this individual could feel very vulnerable as a result. You are likely to see a new side of an old friend. Tonight: Say “yes” to an imaginative idea.

Scorpio - (Oct 23 - Nov 21)

beauty tips

*** Listen to a friend’s creative idea for Valentine’s Day plans. Make the most of the moment. Someone who wants to be your Valentine lets you know his or her feelings. Be sensitive yet open. Your fiery side will emerge if you feel cornered. Tonight: Make it relaxing.

Sagittarius - (Nov 22 - Dec 21) ***** Reach out to others in a discussion; they will be pleased to share their ideas and collaborate with you. Return calls. Much might be happening that you’d prefer not to talk about. Your words have impact, so remain sensitive to others’ thoughts.

Tonight: Talk is cheap.

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Born today: Actor Gregory Hines (1946), singer/songwriter Rob Thomas (1972), journalist Carl Bernstein (1944)

taste buds

iron-on hemming strip

gerbera jamesonii

retouching your lipstick

homemade sweet and sour sauce

Iron-on hemming strip makes it easy to hem fabrics without sewing.

Step 1: Hang your curtains and measure how much has to come off the bottom.

Step 2: Lay your curtain out flat and measure amount determined in step 1.

Step 3: Fold bottom of curtain (iron to get a really good fold) and place hemming strip underneath the fold.

Step 4: Iron slowly and carefully with hemming strip in place to ensure it bonds securely.

Step 5: Cut off the excess fabric.

Step 6: Hang and admire your new curtains.

Gerbera jamesonii produce big, velvety gerbera flowers - showy and long-lasting. They are held on thick, leafless stems above large, deeply veined leaves. The leaves are about 6 in (15 cm) long and are soft and furry on the undersides. Gerbera daisy colors range from soft pink, white and pale yellow to bright shades of pink, orange, purple and red.

Site: Bright light to full sun. Average room humidity.

Temperature: Cool to average 55-75°F, 1324°C. Water: Water thoroughly.

It is always best to remove all of your lipstick especially after you have retouched the makeup on your face. Remove your lipstick and, if your lips feel dry, apply lip balm and put on a completely new coat. This will help keep the look fresh and the original colour better.

Ingredients: 1/4 cup ketchup 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 3/4 cup pineapple juice 2 teaspoons oil Method: Mix juice and cornstarch. Heat oil in a small saucepan and add remaining ingredients and cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium to medium high heat, stirring until sauce thickens.

Dear Abby Grand kid’s bribed to keep from smoking

By Abigail Van Buren Dear Abby: It bothers me greatly to know that so many children continue to start smoking at an early age.

My husband and I did that, and now we’re paying an awful price. We have had emphysema for years. Four of our children also took up the habit. I finally started paying them to quit ($100 every two weeks they didn’t smoke — up to five payments).

I decided to head off the temptation our grandchildren would face. We told them if they didn’t start smoking by the age of 18, we’d pay them $2,000. So far, seven of the 10 have collected a nice check on their 18th birthday, and we expect the remaining three to collect in turn. They have grown up understanding that cigarettes are “gross” and, if they start smoking, it will cost them a lot of money!

Abby, you’re the best way to spread ideas. I hope you will think it worthwhile to pass this one along.

— Do as I say, Gainesville, Fla. Dear do as I say: I’m passing it along, but frankly, I’m not crazy about bribery. One would think that, having witnessed firsthand the serious health issues you and your husband Abigail Van Buren are experiencing, your grandchildren would have understood what awaited them if they took up the habit.

The tobacco industry has done a huge disservice to young people by marketing their products to them — and not just in the form of cigarettes, but also with flavored chewing tobacco, which is equally addictive. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, nearly 90 percent of smokers start by age 18.

In 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys E. Kessler of Washington, D.C., ruled the major cigarette manufacturers were guilty of fraud and racketeering under the federal RICO Act. (When the tobacco companies appealed, the Supreme Court rejected it without comment.)

She wrote that for more than 50 years the tobacco industry “lied, misrepresented and deceived the American public, including smokers and the young people they avidly sought as ‘replacement smokers,’ about the devastating effects of smoking....

“They suppressed research, they destroyed documents, they manipulated the use of nicotine so as to increase and perpetuate addiction, they distorted the truth ... so as to discourage smokers from quitting.”

It is extremely important that young people be educated about — and prevented from — using tobacco. Smokers who start as teenagers increase their chances of becoming addicted.

Think about it: reduced lung function, early heart disease, cancer, asthma, disfigurement. Yes — it could happen to YOU. ❑ ❑ ❑ Dear Abby: I have a wonderful husband and adorable grandchildren, but I have developed deep feelings for a man I met at the gym where I go with a friend.

I find myself thinking of this man during the day and night. I don’t want to have an affair nor do I want him to know what I feel. When the thoughts of him come, they overwhelm me so I try to pray. I have no plans to cheat on my husband. What else can I do?

— Confidential in Greenville, NC Dear confidential: Because you have a wonderful husband and a life you do not want to be disrupted, I recommend that when you finish exercising at the gym you take a COLD shower.

And if that doesn’t work, go to an all-female gym. ❑ ❑ ❑ Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

(Source: Universal Uclick)

what’s on today THURSDAY ■ AAM medical camp: Anti Alcoholic Movement (AAM), a spiritual organisation of Indian Orthodox Maha Edavaka, Kuwait is conducting a seminar on common cardiovascular problems in NRIs by Dr Madhu Paulose MD DM (Head St Gregorios Cardio-Vascular Centre, Parumala) today at Indian Central School, Abbassia and a free medical camp in association with Indian Doctors Forum and Kuwait Heart Foundation on Friday, Feb 15 at Indian Central School, Abbassia from 9am to 1pm. For registration and other details contact Mathai T. Varghese 97442630, Jose Kunju - 66392358; Johnson Zacharia - 66347396; Mathew K.A. - 66504107; John K.V. - 66151095; Roy N.K. - 66396204; Anu Varghese 97474649; Varghese Mathew - 97901528.

Note: 1. Those who need diabetes and cholesterol test have to come with 12 hours fasting. 2. Those who are not able to attend this camp after registration are requested to inform us at least one day before, so that we can accommodate somebody else in your place. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Go Healthy with TIES: ‘Why say so!!

Join our healthy cooking classes to discover the beautiful taste of healthy bite!!

For reservation please call us on 25231015/6 or 97228860 or visit our website www.tiescenter.net. Today from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ ‘AMG presents Dido & Aeneas’: Ahmadi Music Group (AMG) presents ‘Dido & Aeneas’ by Henry Purcell on Feb 14, 15 and 16 at 7:00 pm at the Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah, Maidan Hawalli. For details log on to www.ahmadimusicgroup.com ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Qattan art workshop: The Khalifa AlQattan’s Children & Youth Fine Arts Workshop will be held for three days from Feb 14 till Feb 16, Thursday through Saturday at the AbdulAziz Hussain Cultural Center in Mishref, by the co-op.

The workshop will take place during the morning from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and afternoon from 4:00 to 7:00 pm.

Participation age is from 4 to 14 years old and is for free. We only require the young artist to come and draw.

The application form is printed behind the painting for easy recognition of the owner of the painting. Each child is allowed one entry only. This is the one that will be judged by the panel of judges who will select the winning paintings.

After the paintings are collected, a committee of veterans artists will choose the best paintings of all age groups. The maximum number is 100 paintings. And since we are against competition, we do not have first, second or third place, all the paintings which have been selected (all 100) are winners! They are all awarded the Khalifa Al-Qattan Certificate of Excellence, a Trophy, and a gift of art supplies during the grand opening of the exhibition.

The Khalifa Al-Qattan Children & Youth Fine Arts Exhibition will be held in the same Center in Mujeb Al-Dosary’s Art Hall, on 12th of March at 5:00 pm. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ KLT presents Daisy Pulls It Off: Kuwait Little Theatre (KLT) is proud to present Daisy Pulls It Off by Denise Deegan. Daisy Pulls It Off is a hilarious

emergency number 112

Items for the What’s On page can be sent directly to the Arab Times, P.O. Box 2270, 13023, Safat or faxed to 24818267 or e-mail to arabtimes@arabtimesonline.com.

All items on this page are published as a courtesy to the public. These announcements can include birthday greetings, weddings, social functions or any other non-commercial events. Photographs of all events are welcome.

ESF Sixth Form students in their new uniforms.

Sixth Form Intro at ESF The English School Fahaheel will hold a special Introductory evening for prospective Sixth Form students and their parents on Feb 18 at the Lloyd Webber Theatre.

The event has been organized by Sixth Form staff.

The evening will provide information on courses offered at ESF and the extensive

counseling services offered to students when applying to Universities. Guests will also view the impressive Sixth Form facilities ESF has to offer.

Students at ESF have always enjoyed considerable success in attaining places at top Universities around the world. You too can be part of ESF’s select students.

parody of wholesome adventure stories.

Set in a 1920s girls’ English boarding school, new girl Daisy Meredith, a girl from a poor background, is forced to face and overcome snobbish prejudice and schoolgirl pranks from the wealthier girls. Along the way she and her new best friend Trixie Martin, search for missing treasure, perform a daring rescue, and make an amazing discovery.

Come and join Daisy and Trixie today, Thursday 14th February and Friday 15th February at 7.30pm. To book your tickets, please e-mail www.klt.boxoffice@gmail.com. Don’t forget to include which show date you are booking for, how many tickets you require, your full name, contact number and email.

Alternatively, you can call our Box Office on 99373678 between 9am and 4pm or send us a text anytime!

to come 15 minutes early.

For more info log on to www.kuwaitcp.com ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ KLT auditions: Auditions for the Kuwait Little Theatre’s (KLT) summer musical ‘Grease’ will be held at the theatre on Friday 15th February 11am – 2pm, Saturday 16th February 3-5pm and Monday Feb 18, from 7-9pm. For more information log on to www.theklt.com ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Curtorcares tourney: Curtorcares United Club will hold their One Day Seven-a-Side tournament on Feb 25 at Sabah Hospital ground, Shuwaikh. Clubs desiring to field two teams please contact Nicholas Rebello on 97993276 or Seby 99053718. Draw of the tournament will be held today at Sabah Ground after the first match of the ongoing tournament. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ TKK picnic: Tulu Koota Kuwait under the leadership of Ramesh Kidiyoor is proud to announce the “Family Picnic” scheduled to be held today at Mishref Garden from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

You can sign up your teams in advance for the kabaddi, volleyball and throw ball and ensure your participation with our Sports Secretary Ronald D’Souza Tel: 99865712 and membership renewal.

Please contact TKK Pro Paustine Pinto, Tel: 66614622 For more details pls. contact 97875789 Our Web www.tulukootakuwait.org Mail ID info@tulukootakuwait.org ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Valentine Dance 2013: Come today to celebrate the most awaited musical presentation ‘A Valentine Dance 2013’ will be organized by ‘Kitchen of RockBank’ with special guests.

Musicians and bands: New Version Band, Selda Band, and Free Fall Band at

FRIDAY ■ KCP special concerts: The Kuwait Chamber Philharmonia (KCP) kicks off the Concert Season 2013 with a Special Gala Concert today at 20:00 hours at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Al-Hashemi II Ballroom.

Taking part in the concert are internationally renowned artistes Hanan ElGuindi (mezzo soprano) — soloist from the Cairo Opera House and Bartolomiej Rybak (piano accompaniment) — renowned Polish pianist, composer and pedagogue based in Kuwait and Indian Sid Ramchander (piano - solo).

The program includes composition by L. Van Beethoven, G. Bizet, Franz Chopin, Franz Lehar, S. Rachmaninoff, C. SaintSaints and Franz Schubert.

Tickets for the event are priced at KD 8.

For reservation call Radisson Blu Hotel 25673000 or it can be done at the door.

The organizers request the concert goers

the Asia Asia Royal Hall, Al Watiya Complex, Kuwait City from 7:00 pm onwards. The event is sponsored by KORG. For more info, please contact 55633740, 90098427 or 50942441.

Celebrate the day with music and songs to meet the sentiments. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ SIK presents Art: SIK (Staged in Kuwait Productions), presents the Tony award winning comedy ART, by Yasmina Reza, at the Mousetrap theatre in Jabriya (NES campus) from today at 7:30 pm. Tim Waddell, Hassan Rawas and El Elsharif star as the three friends whose relationships go awry when one spends a small fortune on a piece of abstract, modern art.

Tickets for each production can be booked via our website at www.StagedinKuwait.com. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Basic teachings in Islam: TIES Ladies Club cordially invites all ladies to the new classes of basic teachings in Islam and Seerah. These classes will provide a good opportunity for all Muslim ladies to refresh their basic teachings in Islam and Hadiths of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). An interaction of day-to-day live achievements, challenges and ideas can be shared among the ladies to learn from each other.

Basic teachings in Islam from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon (every Saturday); Seerah from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm (every Tuesdays). All classes are free of charge.

For more information please contact us on 25231015-6; mobile 97228860 or visit our website at www.tiescenter.net. ❑ ❑ ❑ ■ Father’s Love Int’l Ministries: Have you had a challenging week? Want to hear something different for a change?

Something positive and energizing?

At Father’s Love International Ministries, you will find all these and much more … Love, Laughter, Life, Liberty.

You will find a community of God-loving believers, who come every Friday, Saturday and Monday to praise and worship together, pray together and listen to God’s word together at the Father’s House.

There is always a word of blessing and edification for everyone who comes to Father’s House.

So don’t be left out! Come join the family! You will be restored, revived, and renewed and greatly rewarded!

Father’s Love Encounter Services on Fridays — 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Bible Study on Saturdays — 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

Empowerment Services on Mondays — 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

For directions please call 99664030, 66550209. www.fathersloveim.com

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

33

Overheard in the Souk

the grapevine ● What is it about being 30,000 feet in the air that brings out the most annoying qualities and idiosyncrasies in people? Perhaps it is the subconscious awareness that we are seated in a confined metal container that could very well plummet into a vast ocean. This may be what heightens what would otherwise be a mundane as now being grossly obnoxious.

At the beginning of one such a journey, a young woman sitting at an aisle seat found herself bending outwards to distance herself from

the passenger sitting in the middle seat. What was so revolting about the grey suited gentleman was the incessant chirping on his mobile phone before take off as if all telecommunication in the entire galaxy of his existence was now ending.

After take off, things didn't get any better as the man hogged the armrests, cranked up the volume on his headset, spilled another man's drink, coughed while forgetting to cover his mouth and removed his shoes for comfort but subjected

everyone else to the wafting aroma.

As a follow up to safety demonstrations by stewards at the beginning of each flight, it would be immensely beneficial if they could lay down some tips for travel etiquette.

❑

❑

❑

● I witnessed a head-on collision involving two vehicles somewhere around the Shuwaikh Industrial Area. The police were quick arriving at the scene but the two severely injured drivers lay there moaning and crying like babies, hoping help

will arrive soon. The best help they could get was the sympathy extended to them by by-standers while they waited for the emergency medical ambulances.

At that point I saw the absurdity of accident victims having to wait for hours on end for emergency services while the nearest Good Samaritan could have ferried them to the nearest health facility for the urgent attention they needed to survive.

Instead of leaving accident victims to their slow death on the

street pavement, the authorities should sometimes look the other way and allow other vehicles to fill in for the late-arriving ambulances.

The shorter response time in most cases can make the difference between life and death.

❑

❑

❑

● It's Valentine's day! It's day to celebrate love. To those who are in love, today is the best day to express all your feelings to the one you love. People buy flowers, chocolates, stuffed toys and even expensive jewellery just to make

the day extra special. But what is really Valentine's day? To some cynics or brokenhearted, it's nothing but an ordinary day. It's a day of promoting consumerism among the rainbow-eyed people whose hearts thump with the lub-dub rhythm. Do we have to wait for Valentine's day to show our love and affection to people who are dear to us?

Wouldn't be nice to express that love every day in every little way, on every occasion and in every chance that we have? Cliché as it may sound, may everyone make each day a Valentine's day!

Tongues Wag Sports Continued from Page 31 Persons who deem themselves eligible as volunteer baseball coaches, umpires or team parents are also welcome to register.

For registration and more information please visit www.Q8LL.ORG. ❑ ❑ ❑

Kwt-Brits football supporters: A new football supporters website for British expats living and working in Kuwait has been set up by an Everton supporter, Trevor Powell. The Kuwait Brits Football Supporters Association (KBFSA) site aims to provide contact information for supporters of each others’ whereabouts and also in the future hopes to organise social events such as quizzes and even five-a-side matches on a home international teams basis. We need expats to register their support and hence we can then start to cast around for a suitable

meeting venue. The site can be accessed at www.kbfsa.co.uk. ❑ ❑ ❑

Kuwait Cricket for schools: Kuwait Cricket, the apex body of cricket in Kuwait would like to invite school cricket teams to participate in their tournaments which are planned to be held at the turf ground at Sulaibiya. Kuwait Cricket intends to conduct two cricket tournaments for U-15 and U-18 school children who should have valid Kuwait residence and be a student of their respective school. Physical Education officials or Managers of various schools in Kuwait are hereby requested to contact Murali Kutticode on 99542107 for more information. The tournaments will be played on Saturdays at Sulaibiya grounds and the matches will be 30 overs.

Participation of school cricket teams will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the open cricket tournament and we look forward to your

confirmation of attendance. Any inquiries may be directed to the contact phone numbers or email addresses mentioned below: A meeting of School representatives will be arranged shortly and please feel free to contact Kuwait cricket with your positive feedback.

Contact details: Murali Kutticode, Director, Junior & Corporate cricket Tel: 99542107 or kutticode@yahoo.com

Courses NYF – yoga classes: Yoga classes available for all age groups and different health problems, weight reduction, depression etc by well experienced Indian female yoga teacher near Al-Rashid Hospital, Salmiya. Separate workshop, meditation, advanced breathing exercise classes, healing courses available according to the requirements of different schools, hospitals and organizations at your place. For more details contact

99838117, 99315825. ❑ ❑

❑

TIES Russian Classes: TIES Center Russian Club is glad to announce the start of Russian Language Courses. We offer classes for all levels, from beginners to advance level. TIES Russian Courses are intended for all Arabic speakers who wish to learn Russian as a second language or simply as a hobby. Throughout the course the students will learn how to read and write in a friendly, relaxed and welcoming environment.

For more information/registration kindly contact us 97226650. ❑ ❑ ❑ Free Arabic course: IPC and all its branches is opening Free Arabic Language Course for non-Arab Ladies accessible in beginners and advance levels. Class in Islamic and Quran courses are also presented in different languages. Registration is on!

Call the nearest IPC branch: Rawdah:

Offers 2 alternatives for Level 1 — Call: 22512257. 1. Once a week class (4-month course); 2. Twice a week class (2-month course) Salmiyah: 25733263, 97533263; Kheitan: 24730137, 99285459; Mangaf: 23723002 ext 124/123; Jahra: 24558830, 97533948. ❑ ❑ ❑

AWARE Winter Arabic course: ‘The AWARE Management is glad to inform you that Winter 2 Arabic language courses with new textbooks and curricula begins today and runs until March 18, 2013. AWARE Arabic language courses are designed with the expat in mind. The environment is relaxed and courses are designed for those wanting to learn Arabic for travel, cultural understanding, and conducting business or simply to become more involved in the community. We cater to teachers, travelers and those working in the private business sector. Arabic classes at the AWARE Center are unique because students are provided with the chance to

practice their Arabic through various social activities that aim at bringing Arabs and Westerners together.

AWARE Arabic courses highlight: ■ Introductory to Level 5 Arabic language basics ■ Better prepare you for speaking, reading and writing Arabic ■ Combine language learning with cultural insights ■ Taught in multi-nationality group settings ■ Provide opportunities to interact with Western expatriates and native Kuwaitis/Arabs.

Note: Due to some of our clients’ busy schedules during week days, AWARE Center has decided to offer Arabic classes every Saturday for beginners (Introductory Arabic) with effect from Feb 9, 2013 until March 16, 2013. Don’t miss this opportunity!

For more information, please call 25335260/80 or log onto: www.aware.com

Cinema Cinema programme from Thursday 14/2/2013 to Wednesday 20/2/2013

Bullet To The Head (Dig) (Silvester Stallone, Jason Momoa) Sharqia 1

13:30, 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Muhalab 1 13:30, 00:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 15:30 (Daily) Fanar 1 18:00, 22:00 (Daily) Marina 2 00:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Avenues 1 12:45 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:15, 21:45 (Daily) 00:05 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 7 14:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:15, 18:30, 20:45, 22:45 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Al-Kout 4 20:00 (Daily) 00:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Grand cine 4 13:30, 15:30, 17:30, 20:30, 22:30 (Daily)

Safe Haven (Dig) (Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel) Sharqia 1 Muhalab 1 Fanar 3

15:45, 20:00 (Daily) 17:30, 19:45, 22:00 (Daily) 13:30, 23:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 19:30 (Daily) Marina 1 16:30, 20:45 (Daily) Avenues 5 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 18:30 (Daily) Avenues 10 13:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:00, 18:15, 20:30, 22:45 (Daily) 01:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 9 17:15 (Daily) 360° 11 12:45 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:15, 19:30, 21:45 (Daily) 00:05 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Al-Kout 4 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 17:30, 22:15 (Daily) Bairaq 2 16:15, 20:30 (Daily) Grand cine 3 14:00, 17:30, 20:00, 22:30 (Daily)

Gambit (Dig) (Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz) Sharqia 1 Fanar 1

18:00, 22:30 (Daily) 13:45, 00:05 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 20:00 (Daily) Marina 2 15:45, 22:15 (Daily) Avenues 2 13:15 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:15, 01:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:15, 19:15, 21:15, 23:15 (Daily) 360° 2 14:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:15, 18:15, 20:15, 22:15 (Daily) 00:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Al-Kout 3 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 17:45, 22:00 (Daily) Bairaq 3 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 17:30, 21:45 (Daily) Grand cine 2 13:00, 15:00, 17:30, 20:00, 22:15 (Daily) 00:30 (Thu, Fri)

Sharqia 2 Muhalab 3 Fanar 4

Marina 3 Avenues 9 360° 5 360° 6

Al-Kout 1

Bairaq 1

12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 16:15 (Daily) 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 16:45 (Daily) 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:45 (Daily) 13:15 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 16:45 (Daily) 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:00, 19:00 (Daily) 13:15 (Sat) 14:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:00, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00 (Daily) 12:45 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 14:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 16:30 (Daily) 12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 14:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 16:00 (Daily)

How to find us

A Good Day To Die Hard (Dig) (Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney) Sharqia 2

14:15, 00:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 20:15 (Daily) Muhalab 3 14:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:30, 22:45 (Daily) Fanar 4 16:45, 20:30, 22:30 (Daily) 00:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Marina 3 18:30, 20:30 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Avenues 4 12:30, 23:45 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 14:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:00, 19:15 (Daily) 21:30 (Sun to Fri) Avenues 11 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:45, 18:00, 20:15, 22:30 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 10 13:15 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:30, 17:45, 20:00, 22:15 (Daily) 00:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 12 12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 14:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:00, 21:30 (Daily) 19:15 (Sat to Thu) 23:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 13 13:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:00, 18:15, 20:30, 22:45 (Daily) 01:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Al-Kout 2 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 15:00, 01:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 21:00, 23:00 (Daily) Bairaq 2 14:00, 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:30, 22:45 (Daily) Laila 16:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 22:30 (Daily) Grand cine 6 13:00, 15:30, 18:00, 20:15 22:30 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri) Grand cine GC 15:00, 17:30, 20:00, 22:00 (Daily) 00:15 (Thu, Fri)

3Ala Gosety (Dig) (Ahmed Helmi, Ghada Adel, Edward, Hasan Hosny) Sharqia 2 Muhalab 3 Fanar 5

Marina 2 Avenues 5 Avenues 6

360° 1

The Snow Queen (Dig-3D) (Ivan Okhlobystin, Nyusha)

360° 14

Grand cine 5 13:00, 14:00 (Daily)

360° 9

Al-Kout 1 Bairaq 1 Plaza Laila Ajial 2

18:00, 22:30 (Daily) 20:30 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 15:15, 00:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 17:30, 19:45, 22:00 (Daily) 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 17:45, 20:00 (Daily) 16:00, 21:00 (Daily) 23:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:30, 20:00, 22:30 (Daily) 01:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 13:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:15, 18:45, 21:15 (Daily) 23:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 14:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 19:45, 22:15 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:15, 22:30 (Daily) 17:45, 20:00, 22:15 (Daily) 00:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 15:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 21:45 (Sat, Sun, Tue, Wed) 18:00 (Daily) 19:45, 22:00 (Daily)

1. 360°

Zahra’a Area, South Surra, 6th Ring Road, corner of King Faisal Highway Ajial Complex, Fahaheel

Plaza

3. Al Bairaq

Between Jaber Al Ali East & Al Agalia West

Ajial 1

4. Al Fanar

Al Fanar Complex, Salem Al Mubarak Street, near Sultan Center, Salmiya

5. Al Kout

Al-Kout Complex, at the end of the Coastal Road, Fahaheel

6. Al Muhalab

Al Muhalab Complex, Behind Hawalli Clinic, Hawalli

7. Al Sharqiya

Arabian Gulf Street, Souq Sharq, near the Amiri Hospital

8. Granada

Abraq Khaitan, off the Old Airport Road

Ajial 4

9. Laila Gallery

Salem Al Mubarak Street, near Sultan Center, Salmiya

Metro 1

10. Marina

Marina Mall, Between Salem Al Mubarak Street & Arabian Gulf Street, Salmiya

11. Metro

Metro Complex, Farwaniya, near Crowne Plaza Hotel & Farwaniya Garden

12. Plaza

Salem Al Mubarak Street, near Sultan Center, Salmiya

13. The Avenues

The Avenues Mall, Al Reggai near Al Rai, 5th Ring Road & Ghazali Road Intersection

12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 23:00 (Daily) 01:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Avenues 3 14:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:15, 18:30, 20:45, 23:00 (Daily) 01:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 8 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 00:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 15:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:30, 19:45, 22:00 (Daily) Al-Kout 1 20:30 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Bairaq 3 19:30 (Daily) 23:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Grand cine 1 15:00, 17:30, 20:00, 22:15 (Daily) 00:30 (Thu, Fri)

Broken City (Dig) (Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe) Sharqia 3 Muhalab 2 Fanar 2 Marina 3

16:30, 22:45 (Daily) 15:45, 22:15 (Daily) 16:00, 20:15 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 22:30 (Daily)

13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:30, 21:30 (Daily) 00:05 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 4 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 (Daily) 23:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Al-Kout 3 15:30, 19:45 (Daily) 00:05 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Laila 20:15 (Daily) Grand cine 7 13:30, 16:00, 19:45, 22:00 (Daily) 00:15 (Thu, Fri)

(David Lyons, Brenton Thwaites) Sharqia 3 Muhalab 2 Fanar 3 Marina 1 Avenues 8 360° 5

Al-Kout 2

18:45 (Daily) 18:00 (Daily) 17:30, 21:45 (Daily) 18:45 (Daily) 18:15, 20:15, 22:15 (Daily) 15:15 (Fri, Sat) 17:15 (Tue to Sun) 19:15, 21:15, 23:15 (Daily) 01:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 19:00 (Daily)

Muhalab 2 Fanar 2

The Guilt Trip (Dig) (Barbra Streisand, Seth Rogen) 16:00 (Daily) Fanar 1 Marina 1 Avenues 1

14:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 19:30 (Daily) 360° 15 13:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:45, 18:00, 22:30 (Daily) Al-Kout 2 17:00 (Daily) Grand cine 8 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:15, 22:15 (Daily)

Snowflake, The White Gorilla (Dig) (Claudia Abate, Pere Ponce) 15:45 (Daily) Fanar 3 Marina 3 Avenues 8 360° 3

Al-Kout 4 Bairaq 3 Ajial 2

15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 14:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 16:15 (Daily) 13:00 (Thu, Sat, Mon, Tue) 15:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 17:00, 19:00 (Daily) 15:45 (Daily) 15:30 (Daily) 16:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:00 (Daily)

Special 26 (Dig) (Hindi) (Kajal Agarwal, Manoj Bajpai) Avenues 7 18:30 (Daily) 360° 14 Ajial 3

17:30 (Daily) 16:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 19:00, 22:00 (Daily)

Warm Bodies (Dig) (Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer) Avenues 8 00:15 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 15

20:15 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Dig-3D) (Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton) Avenues 9 20:45, 22:45 (Daily) 00:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 360° 3 21:00, 23:00 (Daily) 360° 6 00:05 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) Grand cine 5 17:00, 20:30, 22:30 (Daily)

‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ starring Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch is now showing in Kuwait cinemas.

IMAX Imax film programme at The Scientific Centre

Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am Tornado Alley 3D 10:30 am, 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm To The Artic 3D 11:30 am, 3:30 pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30 pm, 6:30 pm Born to be Wild 3D 4:30 pm, 8:30 pm

Monday Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am Born to be Wild 3D 10:30 am, 3:30 pm, 9:30 pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30 am, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm 8:30 pm To The Arctic 3D 4:30 pm, 6:30 pm

Tuesday

Avenues 7

Save Your Legs! (Dig)

15:45 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:45, 21:45 (Daily) 15:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:30, 21:30 (Daily)

Sunday

Grand Al-Hamra, tel: 22270333, www.grandcinemas.com

Mama (Dig) 12:30 (Thu, Sat, Mon) 14:30, 01:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 20:45 (Daily) 13:45, 00:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 20:15 (Daily) 14:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:15, 22:45 (Daily)

Lokpal (Dig-Malayalam)

NB: Friday no show before 1:30 pm On Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday no show before 3.30 pm and after 11.15 pm in Sharq, Mohalab, Fanar, Marina, Al Kout, Bairaq, 360 and Avenues.

On Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday no show before 5:30 pm in Plaza, Laila, Ajial, Metro and Granada.

Regular show KD3:000; 3D-Digital — KD3.500; VIP show — KD6.000. ‘On Monday, price is KD1.500 except Digital movies.

Movies inquiries and Fax Back hotline 1803456

Marina 1

Metro 2

18:30 (Daily) 21:45 (Thu, Fri, Mon) 15:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:30, 21:30 (Daily) 15:45, 22:00 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon) 18:45 (Daily) 21:45 (Sun, Tue, Wed)

(Mohanlal, Kavya Madhavan)

14. The Scientific Center Opp Holiday Inn, Salmiya, Gulf Road IMAX

(Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) Sharqia 3

Mirchi (Dig-Telugu) (Prabhas, Anushka Shetty)

2. Ajial

15. Grand Cinemas

14:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon, Tue) 20:30 (Daily) 23:30 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Mon)

Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story (Dig-Hindi) (Vivek Oberoi, Neha Sharma)

Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am Tornado Alley 3D 10:30 am, 3:30 pm 6:30 pm, 8:30 pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 11:30 am, 5:30 pm, 9:30 pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30 pm, 7:30 pm Born to be Wild 3D 2:30 pm Journey to Mecca 4:30 pm

Wednesday Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am To The Arctic 3D 10:30 am, 2:30 pm, 6:30 pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30 am, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 12:30 pm, 3:30 pm, 8:30 pm Born to be Wild 3D 4:30 pm

Thursday Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30 am, 2:30 pm 6:30 pm To The Arctic 3D 11:30 am, 8:30 pm Tornado Alley 3D 12:30 pm, 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm Born to be Wild 3D 4:30 pm

Friday Fires of Kuwait 2:30 pm Tornado Alley 3D 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 8:30 pm To The Arctic 3D 4:30 pm, 7:30 pm Born to be Wild 3D 6:30 pm Flight of Butterflies 3D 9:30 pm

Saturday Showtime Available for Groups 09:30 am Flight of Butterflies 3D 10:30 am, 1:30 pm, 8:30 pm Tornado Alley 3D 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm, 9:30 pm To The Arctic 3D 12:30 pm, 6:30 pm Born to be Wild 3D 3:30 pm Journey to Mecca 4:30 pm Notes: All films are in Arabic. For English, headsets are available upon request. “Fires of Kuwait” is in English. Arabic headsets are available upon request. Film schedule is subject to changes without notice.

For information call 1848888 or visit www.tsck.org.kw

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

34

Couch slouch

Bonham follows Lohan into Taylor’s shoes with BBC biopic LOS ANGELES, Feb 13, (RTRS): Move over, Lindsay Lohan — another actress is taking a crack at playing Elizabeth Taylor, and just might have the chops to one-up you.

Helena Bonham Carter will play Taylor in an upcoming biopic “Burton and Taylor.” “The Wire” actor Dominic West will play Taylor’s on-again, offagain husband, Richard Burton, in the

production, which will air on BBC Four.

“Burton and Taylor” will tell the story of the the pair’s “ ill-fated appearance in a 1983 revival of Noel Coward’s stage play, ‘Private Lives,’” according to the BBC. William Ivory (“Women in Love”) is writing the BBC Drama Productions project, with Richard Laxton (“Effie”) directing.

Fans of guilty-pleasure television will

recall that “Mean Girls” star Lohan tackled the role of Taylor last year in the Lifetime film “Liz & Dick,” with Grant Bowler playing Burton.

While “Liz & Dick” racked up a respectable 3.5 million total viewers with its November premiere, the film drew rancorous reaction across the Twitterverse. ❑

❑

❑

Style Media is tapping into America’s obsession with wealth, celebrity and power to bring viewers another dose of “Life Styles of the Rich and the Famous” in 2013, while actively developing a glamor industry reality show produced by Charlize Theron.

The network announced Theron’s “Glam Squad” and the return of the celebrity-centric show that made Robin

Leach famous, along a two other new series called “Pop Style” and “Luxe Life Miami,” on Tuesday.

Leach will not be involved in the new and improved “Life Styles,” but Style will stay faithful to the format of the original series he hosted between 1984 and 1995.

Produced by RelativityREAL with Television 360 and Rysher

Entertainment, the show will take viewers on a “humorous, informative and fun” ride through the most glamorous locations where the world’s wealthy elite mix and mingle.

Tom Forman and Brad Bishop are executive producing for RelativityREAL with Daniel Rappaport and Scott Lambert for Television 360 and Patrick Gunn at Rysher.

tv highlights Animal Planet 05:55 Call Of The Wildman 06:20 Escape To Chimp Eden 06:45 Wildlife SOS 07:35 Wildlife SOS 08:00 The Really Wild Show 08:25 Breed All About It 08:50 Breed All About It 09:15 Dogs 101: Specials 10:10 Weird Creatures With Nick Baker 11:05 Wildest Africa 12:00 Animal Cops Phoenix 12:55 Call Of The Wildman 13:20 Wildlife SOS 13:50 World Wild Vet 14:45 Animal Precinct 15:40 Wildest Africa 16:30 Escape To Chimp Eden 17:00 The Really Wild Show 17:30 Dogs 101 18:25 Rescue Vet 18:50 Rescue Vet 19:20 Extraordinary Dogs 19:45 Extraordinary Dogs 20:15 Bondi Vet 20:40 Safari Vet School 21:10 Call Of The Wildman 21:35 Escape To Chimp Eden 22:05 Wildest Africa 23:00 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan 23:55 Max's Big Tracks 00:50 Animal Cops South Africa 01:45 I Was Bitten 02:35 I'm Alive 03:25 Wildest Africa 04:15 Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan 05:05 Max's Big Tracks 05:55 Call Of The Wildman

BBC Lifestyle 05:30 Living In The Sun 06:20 House Swap 07:05 Perfect Day 07:30 Indian Food Made Easy 08:00 Homes Under The Hammer 08:50 Bargain Hunt 09:35 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 10:20 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 11:40 MasterChef 12:35 Come Dine With Me 13:25 Rick Stein's Spain 14:20 Holmes On Homes 15:10 Bargain Hunt 15:55 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 16:40 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 18:00 Homes Under The Hammer 18:50 The Hairy Bikers USA 19:15 The Hairy Bikers USA 19:40 Baking Mad With Eric Lanlard 20:05 French Food At Home 20:30 Come Dine With Me 21:20 Perfect Day 21:45 Celebrity Fantasy Homes 22:30 Bargain Hunt: Famous Finds 23:15 Bargain Hunt 00:00 Homes Under The Hammer 00:50 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Specials 02:10 Come Dine With Me 03:00 Holmes On Homes 03:45 MasterChef 04:35 House Swap 05:20 Bargain Hunt 06:00 Living In The Sun

General

Boomerang 06:00 Bananas In Pyjamas 06:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 06:45 Jelly Jamm 07:00 Ha Ha Hairies 07:25 Baby Looney Tunes 07:50 Lazy Town 08:15 Krypto The Superdog 08:40 Jelly Jamm 09:05 Gerald McBoing Boing 09:30 Cartoonito Tales 09:55 Bananas In Pyjamas 10:20 Ha Ha Hairies 10:45 Lazy Town 11:10 Krypto The Superdog 11:35 Baby Looney Tunes 12:00 Jelly Jamm 12:25 Gerald McBoing Boing 12:50 Cartoonito Tales 13:15 Krypto The Superdog 13:40 Lazy Town 14:00 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 14:25 Tom And Jerry Tales 14:50 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 15:20 Johnny Bravo 15:45 Tom & Jerry 16:10 Pink Panther And Pals 16:35 The Garfield Show 17:00 What's New Scooby-Doo? 17:25 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 17:50 Tom And Jerry Tales 18:15 The Looney Tunes Show 18:40 TazMania 19:05 Moomins 19:30 Pink Panther & Pals 19:45 The Garfield Show 20:00 Sylvester And Tweety Mysteries 20:20 Tom And Jerry Tales 20:45 Moomins 21:10 Dexters Laboratory 21:20 Johnny Bravo 21:35 Puppy In My Pocket 22:00 The Garfield Show 22:25 What's New ScoobyDoo? 22:50 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 23:15 Tom & Jerry Tales 23:40 The Looney Tunes Show 00:05 Taz-Mania 00:30 Pink Panther And Pals 00:55 Moomins 01:20 Tom & Jerry Kids 01:45 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo 02:10 Puppy In My Pocket 02:35 Wacky Races 03:00 Looney Tunes 03:25 Duck Dodgers 03:50 Dastardly And Muttley 04:00 Dexter's Laboratory 04:30 Wacky Races 04:55 Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries 05:20 Tom & Jerry 05:45 The Garfield Show 06:00 Bananas In Pyjamas

News

Generator Rex 06:05 Ben 10

Crime & Investigation 06:00 Watching The Detectives 07:00 Murder Casebook With Fred Dinenage 08:00 The FBI Files 09:00 Psychic Detectives 09:30 Psychic Detectives 10:00 Crime Stories 11:00 Snapped: Women Who Kill 12:00 Psychic Detectives 12:30 Psychic Detectives 13:00 The Devil You Know 14:00 Crime Stories 15:00 Murder Casebook With Fred Dinenage 16:00 The FBI Files 17:00 Psychic Detectives 17:30 Psychic Detectives 18:00 Crime Stories 19:00 The FBI Files 20:00 Murder Casebook With Fred Dinenage 21:00 Snapped: Women Who Kill 22:00 The Devil You Know 23:00 Beyond Scared Straight 00:00 After The First 48 01:00 John Wayne Gacy 02:00 Watching The Detectives 03:00 After The First 48 04:00 Beyond Scared Straight 05:00 Snapped: Women Who Kill 06:00 Watching The Detectives

Discovery Channel 06:05 American Guns 07:00 Mythbusters 07:50 Unchained Reaction 08:45 Masters Of Survival 09:40 Border Security 10:05 Auction Kings 10:30 Auction Kings 10:55 How Do They Do It? 11:25 How It's Made 11:50 Magic Of Science 12:20 Time Warp 12:45 Mythbusters 13:40 Mythbusters 14:35 Border Security 15:05 Auction Kings 15:30 Auction Kings 16:00 Desert Car Kings 16:55 Masters Of Survival 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 American Guns 19:40 How Do They Do It? 20:05 How It's Made 20:35 Auction Kings 21:00 Auction Kings 21:30 Sons Of Guns 22:25 First Week In 23:20 Outlaw Empires 00:15 Sons Of Guns 01:10 First Week In 02:05 Outlaw Empires 03:00 Mythbusters 03:55 Border Security 04:20 Auction Kings 04:50 Auction Kings 05:15 How Do They Do It? 05:40 How It's Made 06:05 American Guns

Disney Channel 06:00 Phineas And Ferb 06:15 Suite Life On Deck 06:40 My Babysitter's A Vampire 07:05 Phineas And Ferb 07:15 Phineas And Ferb 07:30 Phineas And Ferb 07:40 Phineas And Ferb 07:55 Jessie 08:20 Good Luck Charlie 08:45 Doc McStuffins 09:00 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 09:25 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:35 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 09:45 Mouk 10:00 Jonas 10:25 So Random 10:50 Hannah Montana 11:15 Sonny With A Chance 11:40 Kim Possible 12:05 Shake It Up 12:30 Wizards Of Waverly Place 12:55 Phineas And Ferb 13:20 Austin And Ally 13:45 Suite Life On Deck 14:10 A.N.T. Farm 14:35 Phineas And Ferb 14:45 Phineas And Ferb 15:00 Phineas And Ferb 15:10 Phineas And Ferb 15:25 Shake It Up 15:50 Austin And Ally 16:15 Jessie 16:40 A.N.T. Farm 17:00 Geek Charming 18:30 Phineas And Ferb 18:45 High School Musical 20:15 Phineas And Ferb 20:30 That's So Raven 20:50 Cory In The House 21:15 Phil Of The Future 21:40 Hannah Montana 22:05 Good Luck Charlie 22:30 Good Luck Charlie 22:55 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place 23:45 Hannah Montana 00:10 Hannah Montana 00:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:00 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 01:25 Replacements 01:50 Replacements 02:15 Emperor's New School 02:40 Emperor's New School 03:05 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:30 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 03:55 Replacements 04:20 Replacements 04:45 Emperor's New School 05:10 Emperor's New School 05:35 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 06:00 Phineas And Ferb

Disney Junior

06:05 Ben 10 06:30 Ben 10 06:55 Angelo Rules 07:00 Casper's Scare School 07:30 Casper's Scare School 08:00 Mucha Lucha 08:25 Johnny Test 08:45 Adventure Time 09:05 Total Drama World Tour 09:30 Total Drama World Tour 09:55 Ben 10: Omniverse 10:20 Young Justice 10:45 Thundercats 11:10 Regular Show 12:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 12:50 Foster's Home For... 13:15 Foster's Home For... 13:40 Courage The Cowardly Dog 14:30 Powerpuff Girls 15:20 Angelo Rules 16:10 Batman: The Brave And The Bold 16:35 Young Justice 17:00 Ben 10: Omniverse 17:20 Transformers Prime 17:40 Johnny Test 18:00 Level Up 18:25 The Amazing World Of Gumball 18:50 Adventure Time 19:15 Regular Show 19:40 Mucha Lucha 20:05 Total Drama World Tour 20:30 Total Drama World Tour 20:55 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 21:20 Hero 108 21:45 Bakugan: Mechtanium Surge 22:10 Grim Adventures Of... 23:00 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 23:50 The Powerpuff Girls 00:40 Chowder 01:30 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 01:55 Bakugan Battle Brawlers 02:20 Foster's Home For... 02:45 Foster's Home For...

03:10 Courage The Cowardly Dog 04:00 The Amazing World Of Gumball 04:25 Ben 10: Ultimate Alien 04:50 Adventure Time 05:15 The Powerpuff Girls 05:40

06:00 Jungle Junction 06:15 Jungle Junction 06:30 Little Einsteins 06:50 Special Agent Oso 07:05 Special Agent Oso 07:15 Jungle Junction 07:30 Jungle Junction 07:45 Handy Manny 08:00 Special Agent Oso 08:15 Imagination Movers 08:40 Cars Toons 08:45 Handy Manny 09:00 The Hive 09:10 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 09:35 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 09:50 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 10:05 Doc McStuffins 10:20 Doc McStuffins 10:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 11:00 Minnie's Bow Toons 11:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 11:35 Minnie's Bow Toons 11:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12:05 Minnie's Bow Toons 12:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 12:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 13:00 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 13:10 Doc McStuffins 13:25 Handy Manny 13:40 Jungle Junction 13:55 Timmy Time 14:05 The Hive 14:15 Mouk 14:30 Little Einsteins 14:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:20 Minnie's Bow Toons 15:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 15:55 Minnie's Bow Toons 16:05 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 16:25 Lilo And Stitch 16:55 Imagination Movers 17:20 Handy Manny 17:35 The Hive 17:45 Lilo And Stitch 18:10 Doc McStuffins 18:25 Doc McStuffins 18:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 18:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 19:10 The Adventures Of Disney Fairies 19:35 New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh 20:05

Al-Jazeera

BBC World

00:00 NEWSHOUR 01:00 News 01:30 People & Power 02:00 NEWSHOUR 03:00 News 03:30 Inside Story 04:00 Al Jazeera World 05:00 NEWSHOUR 06:00 News 06:30 Earthrise 07:00 News 07:30 The Stream 08:00 News 08:30 News 09:00 Revolution Through Arab Eyes 10:00 News 10:30 Inside Story 11:00 News 11:30 The Stream 12:00 News 12:30 People & Power 13:00 NEWSHOUR 14:00 News 14:30 Inside Story 15:00 Witness 16:00 NEWSHOUR 17:00 News 17:30 The Stream 18:00 NEWSHOUR 19:00 News 19:30 Viewfinder Latin America 20:00 News 20:30 Inside Story 21:00 NEWSHOUR 22:00 News 22:30 The Stream 23:00 Revolution Through Arab Eyes

06:00 BBC World News 06:30 World Business Report 06:45 BBC World News 07:00 BBC World News 07:30 World Business Report 07:45 BBC World News 08:00 BBC World News 08:30 Hardtalk 09:00 BBC World News 09:30 World Business Report 09:45 Sport Today 10:00 BBC World News 10:30 BBC World News 11:00 GMT With George Alagiah 11:30 GMT With George Alagiah 12:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 12:30 Impact With Mishal Husain 13:00 Impact With Mishal Husain 13:30 Hardtalk 14:00 BBC World News 14:30 BBC World News 15:00 BBC World News 15:30 World Business Report 15:45 Sport Today 16:00 BBC World News 16:30 BBC Focus On Africa 17:00 BBC World News 17:30 World Business

MBC Action

21:00 Music And Lyrics 23:00 Killers 01:00 Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead 02:30 Perfect 04:15 New Police Story 06:30 Scoop With Raya 07:30 Killers

Cartoon Network

Movies

tv today

009:00 Battlestar Galactica 09:45 The 4400 10:30 Knockout Sportsworld 11:15 Most Daring 12:00 WWE Marathon 15:30 Action Ya Dawry 16:30 Assassins 18:00 The Mentalist 19:00 WWE Afterburm 20:00 House Of Wax 22:00 Nikita 23:00 Action Ya Dawry 00:00 V For Vendetta 02:00 Action Ya Dawry 03:00 Rome 04:00 House Of Wax 05:45 NCIS 06:30 Nikita 07:15 Top Gear USA 08:15 Human Target

MBC 2 06:30 Catwoman 08:30 End Game 10:30 Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs 13:00 William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet 15:00 The Out-Of-Towners 17:00 Catwoman 19:00 Dragonball: Evolution

OSN Movies Action HD 06:00 Warbirds 08:00 True Justice: Deadly Crossing 10:00 Rage Of The Yeti 12:00 Vengeance 14:00 True Justice: Deadly Crossing 16:00 Reign Of Fire 18:00 Vengeance 20:00 RoboCop 3 22:00 The Daisy Chain 00:00 Carriers 02:00 RoboCop 3 04:00 True Justice: Deadly Crossing 06:00 Vengeance

OSN Cinema 05:00 Riddles Of The Sphinx 07:00 Ceremony 09:00 Game Of Death 11:00

Sports TV listings — See Page 48 — Timmy Time 20:15 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 20:25 Doc McStuffins 20:40 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 20:55 Jake & The Neverland Pirates 21:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 21:35 Minnie's Bow Toons 21:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:10 Minnie's Bow Toons 22:20 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 22:45 Minnie's Bow Toons 23:00 Timmy Time 23:10 Animated Stories 23:20 Winnie The Pooh: Tales Of Friendship 23:30 Jungle Junction 23:45 Handy Manny 23:55 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 00:20 Little Einsteins 00:50 Special Agent Oso 01:00 Special Agent Oso 01:15 Lazytown 01:40 Jungle Junction 01:55 Jungle Junction 02:10 Handy Manny 02:20 Handy Manny 02:30 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 03:00 Lazytown 03:25 Special Agent Oso 03:40 Special Agent Oso 03:50 Imagination Movers 04:20 Handy Manny 04:30 Handy Manny 04:40 Special Agent Oso 04:50 Special Agent Oso 05:00 Timmy Time 05:10 Lazytown 05:35 Little Einsteins 06:00 Jungle Junction

09:15 Street Patrol 09:40 Real Emergency Calls 10:05 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

10:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 11:20 Murder Shift 12:10 Disappeared 13:00 Mystery Diagnosis 13:50 Street Patrol 14:15 Street Patrol 14:40 Forensic Detectives 15:30 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 16:20 Real Emergency Calls 16:45 Who On Earth Did I Marry?

17:10 Disappeared 18:00 Murder Shift 18:50 Forensic Detectives 19:40 True Crime With Aphrodite Jones 20:30 Disappeared 21:20 Nightmare Next Door 22:10 Couples Who Kill 23:00 Kidnap And Rescue 23:50 True CSI 00:40 I Almost Got Away With It 01:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 02:20 Ghost Lab 03:05 Kidnap And Rescue 03:55 True CSI 04:45 I Almost Got Away With It 05:30 Dr G: Medical Examiner 06:20 Ghost Lab

Classic 16:30 Olive It Up 17:00 Highway On My Plate 17:30 Chakh Le India Kacha Rasta 18:00 Gadget Guru 18:30 Tech Grand Masters 2 19:00 Great Drives 20:00 Yogacity 20:30 Life Is a Beach 21:00 Model TV Classic 21:30 Bikini Destinations 22:00 Tele shopping 22:30 Tele shopping 23:00 Tele shopping 23:30 Tele shopping 00:00 Tele shopping 01:00 Tele shopping 01:30 Tele shopping 02:00 Tele shopping 02:30 Tele shopping 03:30 Tele shopping 04:00 Tele shopping 04:30 Tele shopping 05:00 Tele shopping 05:30 Tele shopping 06:00 Tele shopping

OSN Comedy

Ora Mismo! 18:45 Wowowillie 20:45 Never Say Goodbye 21:30 Kidlat 22:15 Pilipinas News 22:40 Reaksyon 23:00 Face To Face 00:00 Ang Latest 00:30 Wasak 01:00 Pilipinas News 01:25 Reaksyon 01:45 Kanta Pilipinas 02:45 Istorifik! Pidol's Kwentong Fantastik 03:30 Kwentong Kanto 03:45 T3 Reload: Balita't Serbisyo, Ora Mismo! 04:15 Aksyon 05:00 Sharon 06:00 Ang Latest

OSN MnITV 06:30 Ikaw SA Puso Ko 07:00 Especially For You 07:30 The Daily Top 10 08:30 Pinoy Movie Fiesta 10:30 NBI Files 11:30 Kalipay SA Kasakit 12:00 Honorabol 12:30 Ikaw SA Puso Ko 13:00 Pinoy Movie Fiesta 15:00 Ok Ka Fairy Ko 16:00 The OPM Show 16:30 Stop, Talk And Listen 17:30 Kalipay SA Kasakit 18:00 Honorabol 18:30 This Is Life 19:00 Ikaw SA Puso Ko 20:00 M&L Libre 22:00 Especially For You 22:30 The Daily Top 10 23:30 The OPM Show 00:00 Ok Ka Fairy Ko 01:00 Stop, Talk And Listen 02:00 Go Channel 02:30 Drama Special 03:30 Pinoy Movie Fiesta 05:30 In The Fishbowl 06:30 Popstar Diaries

06:00 Dirk Gently 07:00 Cirque Du Soleil Zaia 08:00 60 Minute Makeover 09:00 Jeremy Kyle USA 10:00 Emmerdale 11:00 Coronation Street 12:00 Come Dine With Me Ireland 12:30 Coach Trip 13:00 The Jury 14:00 Dirk Gently 15:00 Cirque Du Soleil Zaia 16:00 60 Minute Makeover 17:00 Jeremy Kyle USA 18:00 Emmerdale 19:00 Coronation Street 20:00 Come Dine With Me Ireland 20:30 Coach Trip 21:00 The Syndicate 22:00 Marchlands 23:00 A Mother's Son 00:00 60 Minute Makeover 01:00 Jeremy Kyle USA 02:00 Emmerdale 03:00 Coronation Street 04:00 Come Dine With Me Ireland 04:30 Coach Trip 05:00 The Syndicate 06:00 Marchlands

06:00 Seinfeld 06:30 Hope & Faith 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Less Than Perfect 08:30 Less Than Perfect 09:00 The Simpsons 09:30 Allen Gregory 10:00 The Mindy Project 10:30 Hope & Faith 11:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 12:00 Seinfeld 12:30 Less Than Perfect 13:00 Less Than Perfect 13:30 Hope & Faith 14:00 Raising Hope 14:30 The Mindy Project 15:00 Allen Gregory 15:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 16:00 The Colbert Report 16:30 Seinfeld 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 The Simpsons 18:30 2 Broke Girls 19:00 Allen Gregory 19:30 Modern Family 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Big C 22:30 Louie 23:00 Veep 23:30 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 00:30 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 01:00 The Colbert Report 01:30 The Big C 02:00 Louie 02:30 Veep 03:00 The Simpsons 03:30 2 Broke Girls 04:00 Less Than Perfect 04:30 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 05:30 Less Than Perfect 06:00 Seinfeld

Nat Geo Adventure HD

OSN First

The History Channel

05:00 Good Morning America 08:00 Emmerdale 08:30 Coronation Street 09:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 10:00 Jane By Design 12:00 Franklin & Bash 13:00 The Finder 14:00 Jane By Design 15:00 Live Good Morning America 17:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 18:00 Emmerdale 18:30 Coronation Street 19:00 Drop Dead Diva 20:00 American Idol 23:00 Six Feet Under 00:00 American Idol 03:00 Drop Dead Diva 04:00 Six Feet Under 05:00 Good Morning America

06:00 THS 07:50 Behind The Scenes 08:20 E! News 09:45 Ice Loves Coco 10:15 THS 12:05 E! News 13:35 E!es 14:05 Kourtney & Kim Take New York 15:00 Style Star 15:30 E!es 16:30 Behind The Scenes 17:00 Married To Jonas 17:30 Married To Jonas 18:00 E! News 19:00 THS 20:00 Giuliana & Bill 21:00 Married To Jonas 21:30 Fashion Police 22:30 E! News 23:30 Chelsea Lately 00:00 Dirty Soap 00:55 Style Star 01:25 THS 02:20 THS 03:15 Behind The Scenes 03:40 Extreme Close-Up 04:10 E!es 05:05 THS 06:00 THS

06:15 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 3 06:40 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 07:10 Eccentric Uk 07:35 Eccentric Uk 08:05 Amish: Out of Order 09:00 Meet The Natives: USA 09:55 Bondi Rescue 10:20 Bondi Rescue 10:50 Bondi Rescue 11:15 Bondi Rescue 11:45 Travel Oz 12:10 Travel Oz 12:40 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 13:35 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 3 14:00 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 14:30 Eccentric Uk 14:55 Eccentric Uk 15:25 Amish: Out of Order 16:20 Meet The Amish 17:15 Bondi Rescue 17:40 Bondi Rescue 18:10 Bondi Rescue 18:35 Bondi Rescue 19:05 Travel Oz 19:30 Travel Oz 20:00 Eccentric Uk 20:30 Eccentric Uk 21:00 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 3 21:30 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 22:00 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 22:55 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 3 23:20 Food Lover's Guide To The Planet 23:50 Street Food Around The World 00:15 Street Food Around The World 00:45 Long Way Down 01:40 Into The Drink 02:05 Into The Drink 02:35 Cruise Ship Diaries 03:30 Treks In A Wild World 03:55 Earth Tripping 04:25 Banged Up Abroad 05:20 Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled 06:15 David Rocco's Dolce Vita 3

06:00 Pawn Stars 06:30 American Restoration 07:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In The East 08:00 Pawn Stars 08:30 Storage Wars 09:00 Mud Men 10:00 Pawn Stars 10:30 American Restoration 11:00 Pawn Stars 11:30 Storage Wars 12:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In The East 13:00 Ancient Aliens 14:00 Storage Wars 14:30 Storage Wars 15:00 Pawn Stars 15:30 American Restoration 16:00 Mud Men 17:00 Ancient Aliens 18:00 Storage Wars 18:30 Storage Wars 19:00 Pawn Stars 19:30 American Restoration 20:00 Mud Men 21:00 Pawn Stars 21:30 Storage Wars 22:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In The East 23:00 Mountain Men 00:00 Ancient Aliens 01:00 Pawn Stars 01:30 Storage Wars 02:00 Soviet Storm: WWII In The East 03:00 Mountain Men 04:00 Ancient Aliens 05:00 Mud Men 06:00 Pawn Stars

Food Network

Nat Geo Channel HD

05:40 Chopped 06:30 Iron Chef America 07:10 Unwrapped 07:35 Unwrapped 08:00 Food Network Challenge 08:50 Kid In A Candy Store 09:15 Unwrapped 09:40 Food Crafters 10:05 Barefoot Contessa 10:30 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 10:55 Cooking For Real 11:20 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 11:45 Easy Chinese 12:10 Mexican Made Easy 12:35 Mexican Made Easy 13:00 Iron Chef America 13:50 Tyler's Ultimate 14:15 Unique Sweets 14:40 Unique Sweets 15:05 World Cafe Asia 15:30 Easy Chinese: San Francisco 15:55 Easy Chinese 16:20 Food Crafters 16:45 Chopped 17:35 Barefoot Contessa 18:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back To Basics 18:25 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 18:50 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 19:15 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 19:40 Charly's Cake Angels 20:05 Guy's Big Bite 20:30 Chopped 21:20 Chopped 22:10 Iron Chef America 23:00 Unwrapped 23:50 Food Network Challenge 00:40 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:05 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:30 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 01:55 Andy Bates American Street Feasts 02:20 Unwrapped 02:45 Unwrapped 03:35 Food Network Challenge 04:20 Kid In A Candy Store 04:50 Unique Sweets 05:15 Charly's Cake Angels 05:40 Chopped

06:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 07:00 Engineering Connections 08:00 Naked Science S2.5 09:00 Fight Masters 10:00 Crash Science 11:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 12:00 Situation Critical 13:00 Shark Men 14:00 Bite Me With Dr. Mike Leahy 15:00 Engineering Connections 16:00 Naked Science S2.5 17:00 Fight Masters 18:00 Crash Science 19:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 20:00 Dogtown 21:00 Shark Men 22:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 23:00 Engineering Connections 00:00 My Dog Ate What? 01:00 Nordic Wild 02:00 World's Deadliest Animals 03:00 Cruise Ship Diaries 04:00 Dogtown 05:00 Shark Men 06:00 Cruise Ship Diaries

Disney XD 07:00 Kickin It 07:25 Phineas And Ferb 07:50 Almost Naked Animals 08:15 Pokemon: BW Rival Destinies 08:40 Slugterra 09:05 Scaredy Squirrel 09:30 Ultimate Spider-Man 09:55 Zeke & Luther 10:20 Kick Buttowski 10:45 I'm In The Band 11:10 Rekkit Rabbit 11:35 Rated A For Awesome 12:00 Iron Man Armored Adventures 12:25 American Dragon 12:50 Kick Buttowski 13:20 Pair Of Kings 13:45 Zeke & Luther 14:10 Kid vs Kat 14:35 I'm In The Band 15:00 Kick Buttowski 15:25 Pair Of Kings 15:50 Phineas And Ferb 16:15 Phineas And Ferb 16:25 Phineas And Ferb 16:40 Lab Rats 17:05 Lab Rats 17:30 Slugterra 18:00 My Babysitter's A Vampire 18:25 Scaredy Squirrel 18:50 Phineas And Ferb 19:00 Phineas And Ferb 19:15 Phineas And Ferb 19:40 Fort Boyard Ultimate Challenge 20:05 Slugterra 20:30 My Babysitter's A Vampire 20:55 I'm In The Band 21:20 Rated A For Awesome 21:45 Rekkit Rabbit 22:10 Phineas And Ferb 22:35 Ultimate Spider-Man 23:05 Kick Buttowski 23:30 Scaredy Squirrel 07:00 Kickin It

E! Entertainment

Fox TV 05:30 Ghost Whisperer 06:30 Flash Forward 07:00 Baby TV 08:00 Ghost Whisperer 09:00 AlMaw3ed Al3emyani 10:00 Flash Forward 11:00 CSI Miami 12:00 The Block 13:00 Al Qalb Al Maftooh 14:00 Glee 15:00 According to Jim 15:30 According to Jim 16:00 Ghost Whisperer 17:00 Ugly Betty 18:00 Ugly Betty 19:00 Movie: The Wedding Planner 20:30 Movie: Cocktail 23:00 Ugly Betty 00:00 Ugly Betty 01:00 Movie: The Wedding Planner 03:00 AlMaw3ed Al3emyani 04:00 AlMaw3ed Al3emyani 05:00 AlMaw3ed Al3emyani 06:00 AlMaw3ed Al3emyani

Investigation Discovery 06:20 Ghost Lab 07:10 Murder Shift 08:00 Mystery Diagnosis 08:50 Street Patrol

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ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

HEALTH

35

Health Tumors rarely prove fatal

Kidney cancer care in elderly questioned NEW YORK, Feb 13, (Agencies): In a stunning example of when treatment might be worse than the disease, a large review of Medicare records finds that older people with small kidney tumors were much less likely to die over the next five years if doctors monitored them instead of operating right away.

Even though nearly all of these tumors turned out to be cancer, they rarely proved fatal. And surgery roughly doubled patients’ risk of developing heart problems or dying of other causes, doctors found.

After five years, 24 percent of those who had surgery had died, compared to only 13 percent of those who chose monitoring. Just 3 percent of people in each group died of kidney cancer.

Surgery The study only involved people 66 and older, but half of all kidney cancers occur in this age group. Younger people with longer life expectancies should still be offered surgery, doctors stressed.

The study also was observational — not an experiment where some people were given surgery and others were monitored, so it cannot prove which approach is best. Yet it offers a real-world look at how more than 7,000 Medicare patients with kidney tumors fared. Surgery is the standard treatment now.

“I think it should change care” and that older patients should be told “that they don’t necessarily need to have the kidney tumor removed,” said Dr William Huang of New York University Langone Medical Center.

“If the treatment doesn’t improve cancer outcomes, then we should consider leaving them alone.”

He led the study and will give results at a medical meeting in Orlando, Fla., later this week. The research was discussed Tuesday in a telephone news conference sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and two other cancer groups.

In the United States, about 65,000 new cases of kidney cancer and 13,700 deaths from the disease are expected this year. Two-thirds of cases are diagnosed at the local stage, when five-year survival is more than 90 percent.

However, most kidney tumors these days are found not because they cause symptoms, but are spotted by accident when people are having an X-ray or other imaging test for something else, like back trouble or chest pain.

Cancer experts increasingly question the need to treat certain slowgrowing cancers that are not causing symptoms — prostate cancer in particular. Researchers wanted to know how life-threatening small kidney tumors were, especially in older people most likely to suffer complications from surgery.

They used federal cancer registries and Medicare records from 2000 to 2007 to find 8,317 people 66 and older with kidney tumors less than 1.5 inches wide.

Cancer was confirmed in 7,148 of them. About three-quarters of them had surgery and the rest chose to be monitored with periodic imaging tests.

After five years, 1,536 had died, including 191 of kidney cancer. For every 100 patients who chose monitoring, 11 more were alive at the fiveyear mark compared to the surgery group. Only 6 percent of those who chose monitoring eventually had surgery.

Furthermore, 27 percent of the surgery group but only 13 percent of the monitoring group developed a cardiovascular problem such as a heart attack, heart disease or stroke. These problems were more likely if doctors removed the entire kidney instead of just a part of it.

The results may help doctors persuade more patients to give monitoring a chance, said a cancer specialist with no role in the research, Dr Bruce Roth of Washington University in St Louis.

Some patients with any abnormality “can’t sleep at night until something’s done about it,” he said.

Doctors need to say, “We’re not sticking our head in the sand, we’re going to follow this” and can operate if it gets worse.

One of Huang’s patients — 81year-old Rhona Landorf, who lives in New York City — needed little persuasion.

“I was very happy not to have to be operated on,” she said. “He said it’s very slow growing and that having an operation would be worse for me than the cancer.”

Landorf said her father had been a doctor, and she trusts her doctors’ advice. Does she think about her tumor? “Not at all,” she said. ❑ ❑ ❑ Pregnancy: Women who outnumber men in poor communities are likelier to have babies at a younger age as competition drives them to lower their expectations of the opposite sex, a study said on Wednesday.

The findings are a useful tool for understanding unwanted teen pregnancies, its authors believe.

Researchers at Britain’s University of Portsmouth compared birth rates, gender ratios and the socio-economic background in more than 2,500 English wards, or urban neighbourhoods, each with about 8,000 residents.

In poor neighbourhoods where men were the minority, women had children earlier, the investigators found. But in more affluent neighbourhoods where men were similarly outnumbered, women focussed on

Biggest killer in EU

Lung cancer up in women PARIS, Feb 13, (Agencies): Cancer rates in Europe are generally falling, but lung cancer is poised to overtake breast cancer as the disease’s biggest killer of women, a study published on Wednesday said.

In 2013, about 1.31 million people — some 737,000 men and 576,000 women — will die of cancer in the 27-nation European Union (EU), researchers said.

In absolute terms, the toll will be higher than in 2009, a year that is the benchmark for measuring cancer mortality in the EU. But accounting for the impact of Europe’s greying population — advancing age is a factor in cancer — death rates in 2013 are likely to fall by six percent among men and by four percent among women compared with 2009.

But the study, which appears in the British journal Annals of Oncology, sounded a warning for women.

In 2013, the statistics point to a fall of seven percent in breast-cancer deaths since 2009, and a rise of seven percent for female deaths from lung cancer.

Co-author Carlo La Vecchia, a professor of epidemiology at Italy’s University of Milan, attributed the rise to a surge in smoking among women in the late 1960s and 70s, which is fuelling a wave of early deaths decades later.

Fewer women today are smoking in Europe, which means mortality rates for lung cancer may fall after 2020.

Lung cancer is still the main cause of cancer deaths among men, but rates have fallen by six percent since 2009.

“If these opposite trends in breast and lung cancer rates continue, then in 2015 lung cancer is going to be the first cause of cancer mortality in Europe,” said La Vecchia.

“This is already true in the UK and Poland.”

Water.org’s Matt Damon poses with a toilet seat in protest of the 2.5 billion people who don’t have access to safe water and sanitation. (Inset): (Left to right): YouTube star Lisa Schwartz interviews Water.org’s Matt Damon on Feb 12, in Los Angeles. (AP)

Overcrowding leads to risk of second heart attack

Hospital environment tied to PTSD

In this Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011 file photo, students listen during an assembly on the first day of school at a temporary high school in a converted store in Joplin, Mo., nearly three months after an EF-5 tornado destroyed six schools and damaged four others along with killing 160 people and devastating a third of the city.

According to research cited in a report by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, about twothirds of US children and teens younger than 18 will experience at least one traumatic event, including shootings and other violence, car crashes and weather disasters. (AP)

Survey

Also: LONDON:

Thermo Fisher Scientific said it had total confidence in its antibiotic test kits, after an investigation published in a medical journal alleged they did not always contain the right amount of antibiotic.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) said in a report published on Wednesday that Thermo Fisher’s Britishbased Oxoid unit had been selling flawed antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) discs.

AST discs, which contain specified amounts of antibiotics, are used in hospitals worldwide to see if a particular infection will respond to a particular drug. After being swabbed with a sample, a clear zone forms in areas where the drugs are working.

The BMJ said internal documents provided by a whistleblower showed that batches of the discs had been released which did not contain the correct amount of drug and sometimes no drug at all.

The company said it completely disagreed with the BMJ article, adding that an independent investigator had studied similar concerns raised by an employee at the time he left the company in 2008 and had found them to be without merit.

education and career, later becoming the group with the higher birth rate in their 30s.

Study co-author Abby Chipman said that in poorer neighbourhoods the increase in the birth rate was mainly among 15-to-24-year olds, while in more affluent areas it was among those aged 34 to 39. “If there are more women than men, studies have shown that women have lower expectations of men,” she said.

“We found that poor women are more likely to rush to start their ‘reproductive careers’, while rich women are more likely to delay having children.

“We speculate that instead they begin to accumulate resources and education that will be of benefit to their future offspring.”

Previous studies have shown that when men outnumber women, the female sex becomes more selective and poorer men are less likely to get married.

NEW YORK, Feb 13, (RTRS): Being treated for a heart attack in a crowded emergency department may be linked to developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a US study.

Previous research has found that about one in eight heart attack patients develop PTSD symptoms, which were tied to the risk of having a second heart attack and dying within three years.

The study, which appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, doesn’t prove that crowded emergency rooms cause stress disorders, but researchers suggested that their findings show that hospital environments may leave a mark on patients’ mental health.

“What we’re showing here is — aside from the severity of a heart attack — the emergency department itself can carry forward and impact a person’s psychological adjustment after,” said lead author Donald Edmondson, from Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

Other studies have linked heart attacks and PTSD but the researchers wrote that they haven’t looked at whether the hospital environment was tied to the disorder’s start.

Alleman

Bunheng

Health Heart Attack Grill fan dies: The unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas has died of a heart attack. He was the second unpaid mascot to die in the past two years.

John Alleman, 52, suffered an attack while waiting at a bus stop in front of the diner last week. He was taken off life support Monday, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

The medically themed diner is famous for its huge hamburgers, extra-fat milkshakes and fries cooked in lard. It uses the tagline: “Taste worth dying for.”

Owner Jon Basso told the Sun that Alleman came to the restaurant daily and encouraged passing tourists to try its calorie-laden offerings. “He never missed a day, even on Christmas,” Basso said.

“People just loved him. He connected with people in a real way.” Alleman became an unofficial mascot for the restaurant, which features waitresses in nurse garb. His caricature as “patient John” graced its merchandise and menus. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

6th bird flu death reported: A three-year-old Cambodian girl has died from bird flu, bringing the country’s toll from the deadly virus to six so far this year, the World Health Organisation said Wednesday.

The girl, from the southern province of Kampot, died in a children’s hospital in the capital Phnom Penh, the WHO said in a joint statement with the Cambodian health ministry. Tests confirmed she had contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza and “the girl had a history of coming into contact with poultry (in her village) prior to becoming sick”, it added.

Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in the statement that “H5N1 remains a serious threat to the health of Cambodians, especially children”. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

21-year-old dies of bird flu: A 21year-old woman who contracted the H5N1 strain of bird flu has died in southwest China, Beijing.

The health department of the city of Guiyang says the woman died Wednesday of multiple organ failure. The woman was one of two people who were reported last week to have contracted bird flu.

Authorities said they found no evidence the patients had contact with poultry before falling ill. Most bird flu cases in humans come from close contact with infected poultry. Epidemiologists fear the virus might eventually mutate into a form that is highly contagious among people. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ ‘Soft drinks may need warnings’:

In 2009, a survey found that over 90 percent of US emergency room (ER) directors said overcrowding is a problem at their hospitals several times per week.

They said it led to increased wait times, and it was tied to dissatisfied patients and a higher risk of poor outcomes.

“If you go to an urban emergency department on a busy evening, you may have patients piled up in the hallway, patients with substance abuse problems and patients who are mentally ill,” said Benjamin Sun, who studies hospital overcrowding but was not involved with the new study.

“If you are a patient who is very sick and you are getting care under those conditions, you can see why you’d be traumatized.”

For the study, Edmondson and his colleagues used data collected from medical records and interviews with 135 heart attack patients at one New York City hospital between 2009 and 2011. On the least busy days, an average of 199 people passed through the ER, compared to an average of 255 on the busiest.

Heart attack patients who were there on the least busy days scored a 3 on a test that measures PTSD symptoms on a scale from 0 to 88, with higher scores being more severe forms of the disorder.

Patients there on the busiest days scored an 8.

Edmondson told Reuters Health that neither group scored high enough to be diagnosed with PTSD, but it’s enough of a difference for patients to notice.

Sun said he wasn’t surprised and thought there were several possible explanations, such as patients picking up on how stressed doctors and nurses are at busier times.

A New Zealand coroner says soft-drink makers should consider adding health warnings after he concluded a 2-gallon-aday Coca-Cola habit was a “substantial factor” in a woman’s death.

Questions raised

Deaths, readmissions not tied: study NEW YORK, Feb 13, (RTRS): A measure used by Medicare to penalize hospitals for poor performance is not linked to how many patients die after being admitted, suggests a new study.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, suggests that hospitals can keep the number of patients who come back for more treatment low without having more of them die.

“The concern was that their performance in one area is going to compromise their performance in another,” said Dr Harlan Krumholz, the study’s lead author from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

Currently, the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees the federal government’s insurance programs for the elderly, disabled and poor, uses those measures to judge a hospital’s quality.

CMS also punishes hospitals with high readmission rates by reducing their payments. In 2013, CMS estimates hospitals will lose - on average - 0.3 percent of their funding, about $270 million overall.

For the new study, Krumholz and his colleagues looked at whether there was a link between the number of people who died within 30 days of being admitted to hospitals and the number of people who came back for more treatment within 30 days after they were discharged.

They analyzed data on older Americans on Medicare who were admitted to US hospitals between July 2005 and June 2008 with a heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia — the conditions CMS tracks.

They found about 20 percent of heart attack patients, 24 percent of heart failure patients and 18 percent of pneumonia patients came back to the hospital

for more care. That compared to about 17 percent of heart attack patients and 11 percent of heart failure and pneumonia patients who died.

Overall, they found no relationship between the number of heart attack and pneumonia patients who were readmitted and those who died.

The researchers also found that between 5 percent and 9 percent of hospitals were able to have both low readmission and death rates, which Krumholz said should calm concerns that doing well in one area means doing poorly in the other.

“I think our goal should be to learn from the hospitals excelling in both areas and spread those ideas,” said Krumholz, whose team created the measures CMS uses to judge hospital quality.

He added that the findings also suggest that readmission and death rates measure two different events, and one is not dependant on the other.

But Nancy Foster, vice-president for quality and patient safety policy at the American Hospital Association, said the new study does not close the door on questions about readmission and death rates.

“This question that has been raised around the link between readmission and mortality is beginning to be investigated. There is no easy path to know what the relationship is because it’s a very complicated problem,” said Foster, who was not involved with the new study.

Foster told Reuters Health that she believes the new study has flaws, including that the researchers adjusted the rates for smaller hospitals, which led to the findings. She added that there could be other reasons why hospitals performed well on both measures.

Edmondson said that patients may also see or experience a breakdown in communication between nurses and doctors, which can happen in crowded ERs. He told Reuters Health that the next step is to look at the problem in a larger group of patients at several hospitals, and that there may be a link between PTSD and other types of patients as well.

“I don’t think there is anything special in heart attack patients that makes emergency departments more likely to cause PTSD,” he said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/WhLRfj

Jude spokeswoman Amy Jo Meyer said.

The maker of medical devices advised physicians in a letter on Jan 17 to stop using the product, called the Amplatzer TorqVue FX Delivery System, and remove it from their inventory, the FDA said. The products were manufactured between Aug 24 and Sept 24 and distributed Oct1 through Jan 9.

St Jude recalled the wire because it saw the potential for it to fracture when used in situations involving certain cardiac anatomies and implant practices, Meyer said. Physicians may continue to use the previous version of the TorqVue Delivery System, which has a different design.

The latest recall follows a more extensive recall in 2010 of St Jude’s Riata defibrillator leads, which were found to have insulation that could erode. Some 79,000 US heart patients still have the lead implanted in a blood vessel leading to the heart.

Shares of St Jude closed down 33 cents, or less than 1 percent, at $42.60 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Also: NEW YORK: St Jude Medical Inc is recalling the wire used to put in place a device that closes openings between the two upper chambers of the heart, because of the potential for it to fracture, the US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday on its website.

There have been no serious injuries or deaths associated with the product, which has been used in about 120 procedures since it was introduced last year, St A New Zealand food industry association rejected his suggestion Wednesday. It says “there isn’t a labeling regime in the world” that could have prevented the death of somebody who chose to drink the equiv-

alent of 30 cans a day. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Votes to ban smoking: Russian lawmakers on Tuesday passed on third and final reading a bill banning smoking in public places, a major pillar of a Kremlin drive to improve health in the nicotineaddicted country.

In the State Duma lower house, 441 deputies voted for the measure with one against, Russian news agencies reported.

The Kremlin headed by President Vladimir Putin has identified smoking as a critical public health issue that causes up to 400,000 deaths annually in a country where over 40 percent of the adult population are smokers. (AFP) ❑

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Int’l patients lucrative for NHS:

Women smoke cigarettes at a shopping center in Moscow, Russia, Feb 12.

Russia’s lower house of parliament has overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban smoking in public places, a contentious measure in a country with one of the highest smoking rates in the world. (AP)

Foreign patients who seek private treatment in the UK are a lucrative source of income for the state-run National Health Service (NHS), experts said Wednesday.

International patients can generate a third of the income hospitals earn from private patients — despite the fact that most hospitals only treat a relatively small number, according to researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of York, northern England. (KUNA)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

HEALTH

36

Differences in elevation can affect appetite hormones

Living at higher altitudes tied to lower obesity risk NEW YORK, Feb 13, (RTRS): People in the United States who live at higher altitudes where the air is thinnest are less likely to be obese than those in lowlying areas, according to a US study.

Using data for more than 400,000 people, researchers who published their results in the International Journal of Obesity found that people who lived closest to sea level were four to five times more likely to be obese, compared to people who live well above sea level in Colorado.

“I was surprised by the magnitude of the effect,” said lead author Jameson Voss, from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. “I wasn’t expecting such a consistent pattern as what was emerging.”

About 36 percent of US adults are obese, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Rates vary across the nation, however, with a higher percentage of obese adults in southern states. Western states, such as Nevada and Colorado, report the fewest obese adults.

The reasons behind the difference are unclear, said Voss and his colleagues, but one possible explanation is differences in elevation - which can affect appetite hormones, growth and how many calories the body burns.

For the study, the researchers combined information from several databases, including a telephone health survey

Bid to detect if children at risk for vision problems

Should toddlers be screened for lazy eye?

NEW YORK, Feb 13, (RTRS): Screening one- and two-year-olds for lazy eye can reliably detect children at risk for vision problems, a new study suggests.

Researchers found tests by trained volunteers correctly caught a similar proportion of toddlers and older preschoolers with the early signs of lazy eye - also known as amblyopia — who were then referred to an ophthalmologist for treatment.

“If you find a child (with vision problems) at five, it’s theoretically possible if you treat them that they will get better.

It’s just that most people believe that waiting until they’re three or four or five is a long time, because amblyopia is set in,” said Dr Susannah Longmuir, an ophthalmologist who led the new study at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

“Finding it early is generally believed to be better,” she told Reuters Health.

However, not all researchers and policymakers agree screening very young

kids for vision problems is definitely worthwhile.

The US Preventive Services Task Force, a government-backed panel, recommended in 2011 that kids age three to five be screened at least once for lazy eye.

But for babies and toddlers under three years old, the panel said there wasn’t enough evidence to weigh the possible benefits and harms of vision screening.

Dr Michael LeFevre, co-vice chair of the USPSTF and a family doctor at the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, said the new study doesn’t change that.

“The principal research gap really related to after one identifies abnormalities, whether treatment affects the development of amblyopia,” LeFevre, who wasn’t involved in the new research, told Reuters Health.

“We had evidence that treatment in the three- to five-year age range pre-

vents long term vision loss, but we didn’t have any evidence in the younger age range.”

Treatment for lazy eye — when one eye loses the ability to see details - usually involves covering up the good eye or making it blurry with drops so the child is forced to use the bad eye instead. Sometimes, children with amblyopia also need glasses to improve their vision.

“You can imagine taking your twoyear-old and having them run around with a patch on their eye, how easy it is,” LeFevre said. “It’s hard enough at age three to five.”

For the new study, Longmuir and her colleagues analyzed the records of more than 200,000 Iowa preschoolers who were screened for signs of lazy eye between 2000 and 2011. One-fifth of those kids were younger than three years at the time of testing.

Among babies less than one year old, a quarter of screening tests were

unreadable, the researchers found. But when they compared one- and twoyear-olds only with the older preschoolers, there was no difference in screening accuracy, according to findings published Monday in Pediatrics.

Between three and five percent of kids were referred to an ophthalmologist for further testing and treatment, based on the free screening.

Doctors confirmed that as many as 90 percent of those positive screeners needed treatment.

Some states offer free vision screening for toddlers, but the idea of eye checks in that age group is “a very debatable topic” given the resources involved, according to Longmuir.

Still, she and her colleagues said parents should take advantage of those programs where they exist — even if their child is younger than three years old.

“If the opportunity exists, go ahead and do it,” Longmuir said.

of 422,603 US residents from 2011.

They had information on 236 people who lived at the highest altitude of at least 3,000 meters (about 9,800 feet)

above sea level. They all lived in Colorado and tended to smoke less, eat healthier and exercise more.

The researchers also had information

on 322,681 people who lived in the lowest altitude range, or less than 500 m (about 1,600 feet) above sea level.

After taking into account other factors

that could influence the results, the researchers found that adults living in the lowest altitude range had a Body Mass Index (BMI) — a measure of

weight against height — of 26.6. That compared to a BMI of 24.2 for people who lived in the highest altitude range.

A healthy BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9, and obesity is a score of 30 or more, according to the CDC. Voss and his colleagues also found that a drop in the risk of a person being obese was tied to every 200 meter increase in elevation.

“It provides some evidence that these associations persist over the long term,” he said.

Cynthia Beall, a professor of anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, said it’s common for travelers to high elevations to burn more calories in their first few weeks and that it would be interesting to see whether that would sustain.

But she cautioned that the new findings don’t prove the higher altitude prevented people from being obese, noting that other researchers have found that people living in Colorado’s higher altitudes more to lower altitudes when they become sick with chronic illnesses.

Beall said it would be interesting to take a closer look at the people living in Colorado and see whether their obesity prevalence would change if they moved to a lower altitude.

“I know from my own self that when I come back to my own activities and diet, I come back to my own weight too.”

ABK supports IWA annual event at Arraya Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) supported Indian Women’s Association (IWA), a voluntary non-profit organization as the “Silver Care Sponsor” during their annual event held recently at the Arraya Ballroom of Courtyard by Marriott.

The event was inaugurated by chief guest, the Ambassador of India to Kuwait, His Excellency Satish C. Mehta, in the presence of a large number of dignitaries, and representatives of various corporates, organizations and associations. Group Marketing & PR represent-

A photo from the event

Market Movements INDIA AUSTRALIA PHILIPPINES FRANCE GERMANY EUROPE

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Sensex All Ordinaries All Shares CAC 40 DAX Euro Stoxx 50

Change +47.04 +43.00 +28.64 +11.95 +51.70 +8.03

ed Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait at the annual gathering.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador expressed his pleasure that the event was celebrating a good cause and would facilitate a range of humanitarian projects and community service initiatives being pursued by IWA. Following the ambassador’s speech, the patron of IWA, Mrs Preeti Mehta, wife of the Ambassador of India to Kuwait unveiled ‘Xtravaganza 2013’, a book showcasing IWA’s initiatives through the

past year.

Regarding the sponsorship, Sahar Al Therban commented “ABK has been a fore runner in supporting causes that benefit the society we live in, whether it is health awareness, special needs children, culture, youth, sport and art initiatives or the development of young nationals as they enter the employment mainstream. We believe not only in moving forward but also helping the lesser privileged amongst us to take a better step ahead.”

Nile Air Egyptian airline Nile Air will operate a new route between Alexandria and Kuwait as of Thursday, Kuwait’s General Directorate of Civil Aviation announced on Wednesday.

Head of flight schedules department at the aviation authority Emad Al-Sabti told KUNA that Nile Air would start operating the new route twice-a-week, adding that this move is the culmination of the distinguished bilateral ties between the two countries. (KUNA)

13-02-2013

Closing pts 19,608.08 5,024.50 4,094.18 3,698.53 7,711.89 2,656.86

JAPAN S. KOREA

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Nikkei KRX 100

Change -117.71 -6.60

Closing pts 11,251.41 4,177.40

Business

Other blue chips may also be delisted

Orascom deal may dampen Egypt’s stock market DUBAI, Feb 13, (RTRS): Egypt’s share market may be weeks away from losing its biggest stock, which could prove to be a fresh blow to a market that is already grappling with political instability and a weak economy.

Under a deal announced last month, a group of US investors including Bill Gates committed to buying a $1 billion stake in Egyptian fertiliser giant OCI NV. The deal is a vote of confidence in Egypt’s economy, and provides a badly needed flow of hard currency into Egypt.

But it includes an offer to buy out all the Cairo-listed shares of parent firm Orascom Construction Industries.

Analysts believe the result could be a

delisting of Orascom Construction from the Cairo market, or at least a drastic reduction in the number of its shares that are available for trade there.

Since Orascom Construction currently accounts for nearly 15 percent of the Cairo market’s total capitalisation of around $57 billion, its departure could sap trading activity and investor interest in the market, just as political and economic events are conspiring to do so as well.

“The OCI deal is sending a gloomy picture in terms of the liquidity and market cap that will be taken off the Egypt market,” said Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Cairo’s Pharos Securities.

“It’s not the kind of signal you want to send to attract more foreign direct investment.”

Amsterdam-listed OCI NV is offering to acquire all the global depositary receipts of Orascom Construction in exchange for shares in OCI NV. GDRs are certificates representing ownership of shares, and are widely used to facilitate trade by foreign investors in emerging market stocks.

In addition, OCI NV is offering to acquire all of Orascom Construction’s ordinary shares, in exchange for OCI NV shares or a cash amount of 280 Egyptian pounds ($42) per share.

Since that cash amount is about 9 per-

DUBAI, Feb 13, (RTRS): When global banking giant HSBC said last week that it was closing the accounts of some Middle Eastern customers with links to nations targeted by sanctions, it underlined the growing weight of geopolitics on consumer banking in Dubai.

The emirate is known as a freewheeling business centre which attracts money from all over the world. Deposits at banks in the United Arab Emirates jumped 11 percent from the end of 2011 to 1.18 trillion dirhams ($322 billion) last November; some of that increase was capital fleeing to Dubai from unrest elsewhere in the Arab world.

In theory, as long as money does not have criminal links or belong to people or companies directly targeted by international sanctions, banks should be able to accept it. But in practice, the costs of checking that rules are obeyed has become so high that banks are turning down some deposits in advance.

Not only customers from the Middle East but also some US citizens are being affected by this concern, because of Washington’s campaign against tax evasion, bankers in Dubai said. They declined to be named because of the commercial and political sensitivity of the subject.

While banking centres around the world are grappling with increased regulation, Dubai is particularly sensitive to the issue because it is the Middle East’s top banking centre and geographically close to major countries targeted by sanctions.

The costs of regulatory compliance could slow Dubai’s banking growth and, in some cases, see money leave main street banks and flow through other financial firms such as small-scale money changers.

“Banks choose who they want to deal with and, for some nationalities, the cost is going up,” said Khalid Howladar, vice president and senior credit officer for financial institutions at credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service.

“So some are doing a cost-benefit analysis about who they do business with.”

Iranian citizens have been hit hardest by the more forbidding environment because of US financial sanctions over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

Sanctions The sanctions mean a wide range of banks around the world could be cut off from the US financial system if they do business with Iran. Around the end of 2011, Washington used the threat to pressure Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank, which it accused of being the conduit for the proceeds of Iranian oil sales, to cut its Iran ties.

The incident helped to explain why banks in the UAE have become reluctant to do any transaction involving Iran, even for legitimate trade allowed under the sanctions, or to open new accounts for Iranian citizens, bankers said.

This has been a major inconvenience to the UAE’s Iranian community, which mostly lives in Dubai. It is one of the country’s largest expatriate communities, accounting for an estimated 400,000 of the UAE’s 8.3 million people.

Some Iranian money has gone into the informal financial system; a network of “hawala” currency traders, operating from offices in Dubai’s old city, handles money transfers between the UAE and Iran after banks stopped doing so.

More recently, Syrian citizens have found it harder to open bank accounts in Dubai, bankers said.

HSBC said Syria was on the list of countries for which it was closing some accounts; it stressed that the list did not include any country in which HSBC operated a branch network.

International financial sanctions against Syria over its civil war target only a small number of companies and individuals linked to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

But banks fear being caught up in lawsuits down the road if they misidentify their Syrian customers and inadvertently handle money that is later shown to be illicit.

The heightened cost of screening these customers means the most efficient course may be for banks not to take Syrian money, even if in some cases that could mean turning away legitimate depositors and innocent refugees from the civil war.

“I sense there’s a lot of sympathy in this country with the plight of fellow Arabs in other parts of the Middle East, but as a bank, your licence depends on compliance with the rules,” said the head of consumer banking at a UAE bank.

HSBC said its stricter policy on Middle Eastern accounts would apply only to people who were not Advance or Premier class customers.

Those high-end accounts, which require a minimum monthly salary of 15,000 dirhams ($4,100) or the maintenance of 100,000 dirhams in the account, provide HSBC with enough revenue to justify the additional compliance costs, analysts believe.

Maintain “We must apply enhanced oversight on any customer with connections to sanctioned countries. Where we are unable to maintain sufficiently detailed information about such a customer through a relationship managed account, we are having to discontinue that relationship,” HSBC said in a statement.

HSBC was fined $1.9 billion in December — the largest such punishment ever imposed on a bank — after a scathing report by US lawmakers accused the bank of lax controls relating to cash coming from Mexican drug cartels and countries under US sanctions including Iran and Syria.

Americans are in some cases also finding it harder to deal with UAE banks because of growing pressure from US regulators to clamp down on tax evasion, bankers said.

Investigations into Americans using financial institutions to dodge US taxes led to probes of a number of Swiss banks, including Credit Suisse and Julius Baer.

Initially, UAE banks gained some benefit from this as nervous depositors moved cash out of European centres such as Switzerland to other jurisdictions including Dubai, said a private banker based in the UAE. But on the whole, US regulation is causing problems for UAE banks as it is raising the cost of providing services to Americans. Under rules announced last month, the US Treasury’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act requires foreign financial institutions with $50,000 of any American taxpayer’s assets to report the holdings to the Internal Revenue Service.

Banks failing to comply, even inadvertently, could effectively be shut out of the US market — a prospect that UAE banks, which are increasingly operating outside their home market, cannot accept.

ment, it said it will “maintain its presence on the EGX either directly or through an Egyptian Depositary Receipts programme to be launched by the Company”.

But given the current disarray of Egypt’s capital markets, it may be difficult to arrange any large, new public offer of shares by Orascom Construction. So analysts expect the number of its shares listed in Cairo to drop sharply, or for the company to delist entirely.

“Egypt is losing a blue chip — it’s not a good point for the market,” said Sebastien Henin, portfolio manager at Abu Dhabi investment firm The National Investor.

In the short term, OCI NV’s offer

could actually support prices of other stocks in Cairo, some analysts believe.

That is because local investors, deprived of the opportunity to put money into Orascom Construction, may turn to other members of the handful of large, liquid blue chips, such as Commercial International Bank, Orascom Telecom and Telecom Egypt.

Anticipation of this may have helped to support the blue chips’ prices over the past several weeks. Telecom Egypt, for example, is up 4 percent since the end of last year, despite a string of negative economic news since then, including a sharp drop in Egypt’s currency reserves.

Kuwait economic brief

UAE bank deposits rising sharply

Geopolitics weighs on Dubai consumer banks

cent higher than Orascom Construction’s average share price in 2012, it looks attractive to many investors; the shares are currently trading around 266 pounds.

As of Feb. 7, holders of 97.2 percent of the GDRs, representing 74.4 percent of all outstanding shares, had accepted the offer, according to the most recent data. If holders of over 95 percent of outstanding shares vote to accept, securities rules suggest Orascom Construction could be delisted, analysts say. The GDR offer will close late on Thursday.

In a nod to the national sentiment of Egyptians, Orascom Construction has insisted it will not disappear completely from the Egyptian exchange. In a state-

National Bank of Kuwait

Crude prices rise on improved demand outlook, supply cuts Budget surplus expected between KD 12 and 14 billion this year Less than one-quarter of this increase is expected to come from OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs). Instead, the expected surge is likely to come from strong North American production combined with a recovery in non-OPEC supplies elsewhere. In total, global supplies are expected to rise more modestly in 2013, following a rise of more than 2 mbpd last year, as cuts in OPEC output partially offset stronger non-OPEC supplies.

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Crude oil prices saw steady gains through January, with some benchmark prices reaching their highest levels since September. The price of Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) rose from $107 per barrel at the end of December to $112 by early February, averaging $108 for the month. Brent crude climbed as high as $118 on 1st February, up $6 in a month to its highest level since May.

Price projections With modest oil demand and strong non-OPEC supply growth expected in 2013, OPEC may need to remain active to prevent a weakening in oil markets and prices. Based on a consensus view of a modest 1 mbpd increase in global oil demand this year, and a hefty 1.6 mbpd increase in non-OPEC supplies, global oil inventories could rise by some 0.2 mbpd in 2013 despite anticipated cuts in OPEC production. In this case, the price of KEC could drift down gently, but continue to be supported near $100 pb.

If, on the other hand, growth in nonOPEC supplies is 0.3 mbpd lower than expected, then there is less pressure on OPEC to make significant production cuts. Supply will continue to exceed demand, exerting some downward pressure on prices. In this scenario, the price of KEC slips only slightly, but stays above $100 pb for most of the year.

Alternatively, non-OPEC supplies could receive a boost from stronger than expected North American production or a recovery in non-OPEC output elsewhere. In this case, the price of KEC falls sharply to below $100 pb by mid-2013. However, this will prompt OPEC members, specifically in the GCC, to make big production cuts in order to stabilize prices in the second half of the year.

The main US benchmark — West Texas Intermediate (WTI) — rose a similar amount. At $17 pb in early February, WTI’s discount to Brent has narrowed considerably from a peak of $25 in November. Some analysts attribute this to new US pipeline capacity, which has eased the supply glut at WTI’s trading hub in Cushing.

The steady rise in prices has been driven by a number of factors, including an improved outlook for the global economy. Recent economic data from both the US and China has been encouraging, whilst the air of crisis surrounding the Eurozone has faded — for now at least.

Meanwhile, on the supply side, Saudi Arabian crude output fell to its lowest level in 19 months — 9.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) — in December, a drop of 0.4 mbpd from November. Saudi authorities linked this to a fall in seasonal demand from its customers rather than a deliberate change in policy. Nevertheless, the move was a signal that OPEC is prepared to respond quickly to signs of looser market fundamentals.

Oil demand outlook Forecasts for global oil demand growth in 2013 have generally been revised up over the past month, thanks mainly to estimates of stronger demand in 4Q 2012 than previously thought, which generates a higher base starting point for this year.

Most analysts now see demand growth of 0.9 to 1.0 mbpd in 2013 (or around 1.1%), up around 0.1 mbpd from a month ago though slightly down on 2012 levels.

Demand growth in China has been revised up and China is one of the few major places where growth is expected to be stronger than last year. Demand growth continues to be driven by emerging markets (+0.9 mbpd). In OECD countries, demand is once again expected to fall (-0.4 mbpd), though by less than in 2012 thanks to improved economic fundamentals.

Oil supply outlook Crude output of the OPEC-11 (i.e. excluding Iraq) fell by a significant 269,000 bpd in December to 27.4 mbpd — almost 1.3 mbpd below its April peak.

OPEC production for 2012 as a whole averaged 28.1 mbpd, more than 1 mbpd higher than the previous year. The large decline in December came on the back of sharp reductions in Saudi Arabian output.

Production was cut by some 421,000 bpd to 9.2 mbpd — Saudi’s lowest output since May 2011. Additionally, Iranian

Budget projections

output continued to be affected by sanctions, dropping to 2.7 mbpd in December from 3.5 mbpd at the start of the year.

Meanwhile, large production gains were witnessed in OPEC’s West African producers Nigeria and Angola. The former saw output rebound sharply by some 137,000 bpd after three consecutive months of declines, as flooding-related disruptions waned.

Total OPEC production (including Iraq) dropped considerably in December to below 30.4 mbpd. This was driven by large declines in Iraq, where output plunged by about 197,000 bpd to a 6-

month low of 3.0 mbpd — though official figures point to larger declines of some 255,000 bpd. Iraqi oil production during the month was affected by a number of technical and political issues, including loading problems with offshore terminals in the South and the ongoing dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Despite this, Iraqi output averaged almost 3 mbpd for the year as a whole — the highest production level since the late 1970s.

After rising by an estimated 0.9 mbpd in 2012, non-OPEC supplies are expected to climb by more than 1 mbpd this year.

With just two months remaining in the current fiscal year, the price scenarios described above are unlikely to impact budget outcomes for FY 2012/13 much, and the price of KEC is expected to end up at $105 — $106 pb. If as we expect, spending comes in 5-15% below the government’s forecast, this year’s budget surplus could end up between KD 11.9 billion and KD 14.4 billion before allocations to the Reserve Fund for Future Generations (RFFG).

The projections for the next fiscal year are linked to our three scenarios, which yield oil prices within the fairly narrow range of $98 to $103 pb in FY 2013/14.

According to press reports, budgeted spending for the next fiscal year is set at KD 21 billion, although the number could subsequently be revised. Assuming that spending comes in below budget, we project a surplus of between KD 8.7 billion and KD 12.1 billion before allocations to the RFFG. This would equate to 18%-25% of forecast 2013 GDP, and would represent Kuwait’s 15th successive budget surplus.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

BUSINESS

39

06:00 Asia Edge 07:00 Bloomberg West 08:00 Bloomberg West 09:00 Countdown 10:00 Countdown 11:00 On The Move 12:00 The Pulse 13:00 The Pulse 14:00 Bloomberg Surveillance 15:00 Bloomberg Surveillance 16:00 In The Loop With Betty Liu 17:00 In The Loop With Betty Liu 18:00 Market Makers 19:00 Eye To Eye 19:30 Market Makers 20:00 Lunch Money 21:00 Money Moves With Deirdre Bolton 22:00 Charlie Rose 23:00 Street Smart 00:00 Street Smart 01:00 Charlie Rose 02:00 First Up 03:00 First Up 04:00 On The Move Asia 05:00 On The Move Asia 06:00 Asia Edge

07:00 Fast Money: Half Time Report 08:00 Capital Connection 09:00 Squawk Box Europe 12:00 Worldwide Exchange 14:00 Us Squawk Box 17:00 Squawk On The Street 19:00 European Closing Bell 20:00 Fast Money: Half Time Report 21:00 Us Power Lunch 22:00 Us Street Signs 23:00 Us Closing Bell 01:00 CNBC Documentaries 01:30 CNBC Documentaries 02:00 Us Street Signs 03:00 Asia Squawk Box 04:00 The Call Asia 05:00 Cash Flow 07:00 Fast Money: Half Time Report

tv today

tv today

Burgan Bank announces winner Burgan Bank announced today the name of the winner of the last cards monthly draw on a Samsung Galaxy SIII and the lucky winner of the Samsung Galaxy S3 was Chandan Pushkairna.

The winner’s announcement comes as part of Burgan Bank’s cards promotion that was launched earlier, in which every 10 KD spent in Kuwait online or in stores using Burgan Bank’s cards; cardholders will be granted 1 chance to enter the draw.

Customers using their cards outside

Kuwait, will double their chances to entering the monthly draws. Burgan Bank’s latest promotion is in-line with its overall commitment to provide its customers with exclusive benefits that go beyond their banking needs. To find out more about Burgan Bank’s services as well as its latest promotions, customers are required to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch or contact the call center on 1804080. For more information, customers can log on to the bank’s website on www.burgan.com.

Hareen Al Rumaihi, Head of Marketing at Burgan Bank presenting the winner with Samsung Galaxy S3

Samsung Total halts oil purchases from Iran

Iran’s oil export revenue loss pegged at $40 bn LONDON, Feb 13, (RTRS): Iranian oil output will likely fall further from its lowest in three decades as the West tightens sanctions on the Islamic Republic, depriving Tehran of hard currency revenues, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

The IEA, the West’s energy agency, said in its monthly report that preliminary data suggested Iran’s exports could have fallen below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in January due to lower Chinese and South Korean purchases after a rebound in December to 1.56 million bpd. January production was hovering below threedecade lows at 2.65 million bpd, a decline of 50,000 from December, the IEA said.

The United States this month introduced new sanctions on Iran as part of a dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The new sanctions effectively bar Iran from repatriating earnings from its oil exports, requiring customers to pay funds into an escrow account at a bank in the purchasing country and limiting Iran’s use of the proceeds to buying goods in the countries where it exports its oil.

It estimates that Iran lost over $40 billion in export revenues in 2012 or about $3.4 billion per month.

Iranian exports surprisingly hit a sixmonth high in December but the IEA said preliminary data for January suggested they could have fallen back to below 1 million as Chinese imports amounted to just over 200,000 bpd. South Korea also

appears to have reduced imports from Iran in January to 130,000 bpd from 185,000 bpd in December, the IEA said.

It said, however, the low January estimate remained subject to revisions.

Iran and Western nations are due to hold a new round of talks over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme on Feb 26.

The IEA was the last of three major energy reports to release estimates this week after OPEC and the US government increased their forecasts for world oil demand growth this year.

OPEC said demand will expand by 840,000 bpd this year, 80,000 bpd more than previously expected, while the US Energy Information Administration raised its 2013 world oil demand growth forecast by 110,000 barrels per day to 1.05 million bpd.

By contrast, the IEA cut its 2013 demand growth forecast by 90,000 bpd to 840,000 bpd following the IMF trimming its global GDP growth forecast to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent and citing weaker growth in the euro zone area and Latin America. “Despite signs of improvement in China and the United States, weak macroeconomic conditions are forecast to keep global oil demand growth capped,” it said, estimating global demand in 2013 at 90.7 million bpd.

Global supplies fell by 300,000 bpd in January to 90.8 million bpd with nonOPEC production slipping by 190,000 bpd as North American production growth failed to offset a seasonal downturn in biofuels, pro-

Iran oil tanker crew halts unloading in India port

India to ensure insurance for Iran crude refiners NEW DELHI, Feb 13, (RTRS): India will ensure its refiners have insurance for plants that run crude from Iran, a government source said on Wednesday, allaying fears that imports from the sanctions-hit country may have to be halted.

State-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp said on Tuesday it might not be able to use Iranian crude at its plants from June if insurers refused to renew contracts on its plants because of western sanctions.

India, one of Tehran’s biggest clients and heavily reliant on oil

imports, has already had to organise emergency cover for ships carrying Iranian crude after sanctions made it difficult for domestic insurers to secure reinsurance.

“As long as it is for Indian consumption, why shouldn’t we?” said the source, when asked if India would arrange insurance for refineries that process Iranian crude.

“Oil is as basic as food. Just as you need food, you need oil,” added the source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The source did not give details,

however, on how the insurance would be arranged or how much cover would be offered.

The sanctions, which target Iran’s oil revenues and financing, have blocked European and US companies from deals with Tehran in virtually every non-essential sphere, including insurance.

Although Indian insurers do not fall directly under the sanctions, they depend on the Western reinsurance market to hedge their risk.

Also: NEW DELHI: Crew members on board

Iranian oil tanker Crystal have stopped unloading in India’s Mangalore port in protest over nonpayment of salaries, three sources said on Wednesday.

While it was unclear why the salaries had not been paid, Western sanctions, particularly from the United States and European Union, have sliced Iran’s oil revenues and squeezed its financing. India was already paying for almost half of crude purchases in rupees and from Feb 6, tighter measures have made it tougher for Iran to repatriate any funds from oil sales.

duction losses in Australia and unplanned outages in the North Sea. For 2013, nonOPEC production is projected to rise by 1 million bpd to 54.4 million bpd, 80,000 bpd above last month’s estimate, due to higher output expectations from North America.

oil from Iran after its French owner objected, Total’s head of refining Patrick Pouyanne told Reuters on Wednesday.

Samsung Total had bought one cargo of Iranian oil after a year’s hiatus, unable to resist the lure of cheap oil from the Islamic republic to offset the thin margins in plastics, people familiar with the deal told Reuters last month.

“There was a spot purchase, but it will

stop,” Pouyanne said on the sidelines of the group’s annual results announcement.

“Total has told this company (Samsung Total) and its partner that we did not agree with that policy because our aim is to respect laws that apply to us.”

Samsung Total had stopped importing oil from Iran last year after the United States and European Union imposed sanctions aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear

programme, which the West suspects is being used to develop arms. Tehran insists that it is developing nuclear power to generate electricity.

Total’s move highlights the intense pressure the West is putting on companies to limit dependence on Iranian oil. The sanctions have made it hard for buyers to ship and pay for oil from Iran, halving the OPEC member’s crude exports last year.

Also: PARIS: South Korea’s Samsung Total Petrochemicals has stopped purchasing

Kuwait ‘moves ahead’ on infrastructure after delays Development plan aims to diversify KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13, (RTRS): Freight trucks trundle down the dusty, potholed roads of Kuwait’s busiest port, running into traffic jams as they emerge into the surrounding streets. But after years of inaction, the government is finally moving to ease the congestion.

Gulf Bank’s executive management team along with INJAZ-Kuwait’s executive management team at the official welcoming of Mr Michel Accad to the Board of INJAZ-Kuwait.

Gulf Bank CEO Accad joins INJAZ Kuwait board Gulf Bank announced today that its Chief Executive Officer, Michel Accad, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of INJAZ Kuwait. Gulf Bank’s long term interest in youth development supports H.H. The Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah’s vision for the empowerment and encouragement of Kuwait’s youth.

Accad said: “INJAZ Kuwait has been at the forefront of youth development for a long time and its work has assisted countless young Kuwaitis to achieve their full potential and enjoy success in their chosen careers. It is a great honour to join the

board and I am very much looking forward to assisting INJAZ Kuwait in inspiring and helping more young people to succeed in their careers and professions.

“Equipping students with practical business-related skills is an area which Gulf Bank shares with INJAZ, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Through our new strategic partnership in 2013 we will have the opportunity to directly support and contribute to youth development programs to help both organisations progress towards their respective goals.”

INJAZ Kuwait is a non-profit

organization which was founded in 2005 to advance and encourage young business talent. It seeks to equip students with practical business-related skills as part of the regular educational curriculum, focussing on entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy.

Students are engaged in a set of programs and opportunities to strengthen their innovation, expand their understanding of the business world, and give them the confidence, skills, and ambition necessary for success, as well as professional qualifications to help them succeed in the global economy.

UAE body cites security fears, increased competition

FNC rejects ownership rules easing ABU DHABI, Feb 13, (RTRS): A government body in the United Arab Emirates has rejected draft legislation that would have eased tight controls on foreign ownership of companies, with members citing security fears and threats to local businesses.

The Federal National Council (FNC), a partly elected body with a mainly consultative role, is reviewing the draft of a new companies law that would update legislation dating back to 1984.

At present, foreign firms can, generally, only operate in the UAE outside so-called “free zones” by partnering with a local entity in which they can only hold minority stakes.

The council rejected a clause in the draft law that would have given the UAE cabinet the power to let foreign parties own stakes of up to 100 percent in companies outside the free zones.

While UAW citizens are among the wealthiest people on the planet, they account for only about a tenth of a population of roughly 8.3 mil-

lion — the rest are expatriate workers.

So, fears of a loss of identity and control over their own country and economy run deep.

“This situation is very bad. These clauses are completely contradictory and could lead to foreign investments being outside the control of the state and its supervision, and this, in turn, could lead to destabilisation of security,” FNC deputy Ahmed al-Zaabi told the assembly.

Draft Economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri, who debated the law with deputies in Wednesday’s session, said it had been agreed that the clause on foreign ownership would now be included in a draft foreign investment law being prepared.

“What we have decided is to move this clause to the foreign investment law because it is much more suitable, and to review some of the terms and conditions that will be

applied,” he told reporters. “They (FNC deputies) wanted more details,” he said.

The draft foreign investment law is being reviewed by a technical committee at the Ministry of Justice.

“It will be passed to the FNC hopefully before June, so they will discuss it after they come back from the summer break,” Mansouri said, adding he expected the legislation to be passed this year.

Worries over increased competition for the Emirati business community also caused resistance among some deputies.

“They are concerned that if they open the country without any specifications or conditions that it will affect competition, and the Emirati businessman,” said Ali Essa alNuaimi, an FNC member who sits on its finance committee.

The UAE attracted about 30 billion dirhams ($8.2 billion)direct foreign investment last year, the prime minister said on Monday.

It is pushing ahead with a $2.6 billion plan to build a 36 kms (22 miles) causeway, one of the longest in the world, connecting Shuwaikh port and densely populated southern Kuwait with the north of the country, near the Iraqi border.

Such big projects were stalled for years by political wrangling and bureaucratic inertia, leaving Kuwait with underdeveloped infrastructure and low levels of foreign investment in relation to its huge oil wealth.

In the last few months, however, authorities have begun issuing contracts for some of the projects, raising hopes that one of the region’s most under-performing economies may finally live up to its potential.

The government signed a contract with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co in November to design and build the causeway over the next five years. Construction is due to start later this year.

“It is a very strategic project — we have been talking about this since the 1970s,” Abdulaziz Alkulaib, undersecretary at the Ministry of Public Works, told Reuters.

Last month, Kuwait signed a deal with a consortium led by France’s GDF-Suez, and including Sumitomo Corp of Japan, to build the Az Zour gas-fired power and seawater treatment plant in Kuwait.

This was seen as a breakthrough because it is the first of Kuwait’s major public-private partnerships, in which private firms will help to operate infrastructure. Once running in 2015, the plant is to account for some 12 percent of Kuwait’s power generation capacity and a quarter of desalination capacity.

“It has taken a long time for these projects to begin, but this is an encouraging step,” said Daniel Kaye, senior manager

for economic research at National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

“It sends a positive signal to businesses and investors that projects are at last moving.”

The causeway and Az Zour projects are part of a 30 billion dinar ($107 billion) development plan that aims to diversify the economy and was approved by the ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah, in 2010. The plan also includes a new airport terminal, an oil refinery, a metro system and hospitals.

In the fiscal year 2010/11, the first year of the plan, the government spent only 62 percent of its target on the projects, and it has continued to undershoot targets since then.

One reason is the technical and administrative difficulties of carrying out complex projects through a government which lacks experience, expertise and a reputation for efficiency.

Blocked Politics have been an even bigger obstacle. Continual feuding between an elected legislature and the cabinet, chosen by a prime minister who is appointed

by Sheikh Sabah, blocked parliamentary approval of development funds and led to a series of cabinet reshuffles which distracted from policymaking.

Last year the country was rocked by large youth- and opposition-led demonstrations demanding political reforms.

The protests did not constitute an Arab Spring-style campaign for regime change, but they also distracted the government.

In the past few months, however, the environment for economic policy-making has improved. After parliament was dissolved ahead of snap elections on Dec 1, the government was able to use executive powers to push through a raft of legislative measures and approvals.

Opposition MPs, some of whom had blocked state spending in the past, boycotted the elections. The result was a new 50-seat parliament with a larger number of pro-government legislators and political newcomers, who may be more willing to comply with the cabinet’s plans.

Government officials are certainly adopting a considerably more decisive tone.

“This is in the master plan and it is set out by emiri decree. Whatever is in that master plan has to be implemented,” Alkulaib said of the causeway

project.

Such statements are cheering the stock market, where the main index sank to an eight-year low last November but has since climbed about 12 percent.

The new mood of optimism does not necessarily mean the government will get an easy ride for its projects. Political tensions have not disappeared and street protests have continued since the December elections, presenting the risk that political turmoil could eventually worsen again.

A majority of lawmakers in the new parliament voted last week to form a special committee to probe the process under which the contacts for the causeway and Az Zour were awarded; the committee is expected to reach a conclusion in three months.

NBK’s Kaye said it was important not to get carried away about prospects for investment in Kuwait because there were still political, technical and administrative hurdles.

“But we do now detect a greater determination on the part of the authorities to push ahead with key development projects.”

Kuwaiti economists say the causeway, which will cut the road distance between the north and south of Kuwait by twothirds, will help to develop the neglected north of the country, where an urban area called Silk City is planned.

“Urbanisation in Kuwait is located in the southern coastal area but there is planned urbanisation in the northern region as part of the plan,” said Abbas AlMuqrin, professor of economics at the University of Kuwait.

“The shortcut to gain access to this area will revive the region economically.”

Silk City’s name recalls the Silk Road, the web of trade routes which linked Europe and Asia centuries ago, and the project is designed to form part of a trade hub near a planned new port, Mubarak Al-Kabeer. Some economists think the port could eventually become a rival to Iraq’s Umm Qasr.

Kuwaiti authorities hope Silk City will become home to around 530,000 people, or about 14 percent of the country’s current population.

“The causeway will create new chances for people to work there and live there,” senior project engineer Mai Ebrahim Al-Mesad said. “It will be a signature for Kuwait.”

Airline plans to shut down operations

Bahrain Air grounded by mounting debts MANAMA, Bahrain, Feb 13, (AP): Debtburdened carrier Bahrain Air grounded all flights Wednesday after announcing plans to shut down operations and sell its assets amid struggles to rebound from the Gulf nation’s unrest-driven downturn and competition with bigger rivals.

The small, privately run airline is among the most high-profile corporate victims from Bahrain’s political crisis that erupted two years ago. The prodemocracy uprising by majority Shiites

brought a sharp economic slump, but the kingdom’s Sunni rulers claim growth is returning.

Government envoys and Shiite opposition groups opened talks this week aimed at easing the tensions, but unrest flares almost every day and continues to take a bite out of business, especially in the travel and tourism sectors.

All Bahrain Air flights were canceled after the late-night announcement of the shutdown. The five-year-old carrier, a

rival to state-owned Gulf Air, also blamed the minister of transportation, Kamal Ahmed, for considerably restricting its routes and flights while demanding debt payment.

“This effectively strangles the airline by simultaneously requesting payments and reducing its ability to generate the necessary revenues both to make these payments and to sustain long-term profitability,” the airline’s board of directors said in a statement posted on the company’s website.

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Dubai OKs $1.6 bln island plan with giant ferris wheel Dubai gave the go ahead on Wednesday to plans for a new $1.6 billion island project featuring the world’s largest ferris wheel at its centre, as the emirate resumes constructing extravagant projects reminiscent of its boom years.

The emirate is already home to lavish property landmarks such as manmade islands in the shape of palms and the world’s tallest tower, projects which were built using high

amounts of leverage and which triggered its 2009 credit crisis.

Dubai’s ruler approved the 6 billion dirham Bluewaters Island development on Wednesday, which includes a 210 metre (688 foot) high ferris wheel, the Dubai Eye. The wheel, which will cost one billion dirhams, is inspired by the 135 metre high London Eye on the River Thames.

State-owned Meraas Holding will develop the

Bluewaters project, which will begin construction in April, state news agency WAM said. Building on the Dubai Eye is slated to begin in the second quarter this year.

South Korea’s Hyundai Contracting and Starneth Engineering — whose engineers helped build the London Eye — have been appointed primary contractors for the design and construction of Dubai Eye. (RTRS)

flydubai in talks for 50 aircraft order: chairman Budget carrier flydubai, which posted its first full year profit on Wednesday, is in talks with Boeing and Airbus for a 50-plane order, the airline’s chairman said on Wednesday.

The carrier currently has a fleet of 28 Boeing aircraft.

“We are in talks about another 50 aircraft,” said flydubai Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed alMaktoum who also heads up

Emirates airlines, adding talks were ongoing with the two plane manufacturers for the order.

Sheikh Ahmed was speaking at a press conference to unveil flydubai’s annual results. An airline spokeswoman confirmed the comments.

The government-owned airline, which is unlisted, reported a net profit of 151.9 million dirhams ($41.1 million) for 2012 and a rev-

enue of 2.8 billion dirhams.

A potential deal could be announced at the biannual Dubai Air Show in November, the region’s top aviation event with airlines signing billion-dollar deals. In 2011, Emirates announced a blockbuster $18 billion deal for 50 Boeing 777 jets. Sheikh Ahmed said on Wednesday it was up to flydubai management to decide which aircraft it would order. (RTRS)

Fuel, currency reserves at critical low

Diesel shortage pushes Egyptians to the brink CAIRO, Feb 13, (RTRS): Fathy Ali is beyond anger as he queues for hours in a line of 64 trucks and buses to fill his tank with scarce subsidised diesel fuel, known in Egypt as “Solar.”

“This has become part of my life. I come and wait for hours or days, depending on my luck,” the chainsmoking bus driver said at a besieged gas station on Cairo’s Suez High Road, wrapped in a scarf and thick coat for the long ordeal. “At the start it used to upset me a lot but now I’ve kind of given up.”

Diesel supplies are drying up as a cash-strapped government struggles to cap a mounting bill for subsidies it has promised the IMF it will reform to secure an elusive $4.8 billion loan desperately needed to keep a sagging economy afloat.

The situation appears near breakdown with growing shortages, unsustainable subsidies and foreign

exchange reserves running out, raising the risk that fuel bottlenecks lead to food shortages and pose a risk to political stability.

Foreign reserves are down below $15 billion, less than three months’ imports, despite deposits from Qatar and Turkey. The Egyptian pound has lost 8 percent of its value this year and a black market has emerged for hard currency.

The nation’s strategic reserve of diesel fuel is down to three days’ supply, the official MENA news agency quoted a government official as saying last week. Bakeries that use diesel to make staple subsidised bread have been told to keep 10 days’ fuel supply but not all have the capacity.

The Muslim Brotherhood-led government of President Mohamed Morsi this week postponed for up to three months a rationing system for subsidised fuel due to start in April in

what looks like an attempt to avoid upsetting voters before parliamentary elections due that month.

But reforms cannot be delayed for long, economists say.

“Fuel shortages are a symptom of the strains on Egypt’s unsustainable subsidy system,” said Simon Kitchen, an economist at EFG-Hermes in Cairo.

Two government measures have aggravated the problem.

In December, the subsidy on 95octane petrol used by the wealthiest Egyptians was scrapped. That drove some motorists down-market to buy lower-grade fuel, raising the demand for subsidised 92-octane gasoline.

Then in a drive to curb theft, smuggling and other abuses, the government restricted distribution of heavily subsidised low-grade gas oil used by trucks, tractors and buses to filling stations owned and operated by the

military.

That caused longer lines at the pumps and increasing economic disruption. At several filling stations, queues led to fights breaking out this week, Egyptian media reported.

The situation is so serious that Morsi held an emergency meeting with ministers about it on Tuesday night and instructed the energy minister to ensure sufficient supply, according to presidential spokesman Yasser Ali. Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources Osama Kamal said subsidising Solar, sold at a give-away price of 1.25 Egyptian pounds ($0.19) a litre, costs the government $35 million a day.

Altogether, energy subsidies will cost 120 billion Egyptian pounds in the fiscal year to end-June, up from 115 billion pounds the previous year, he said. They account for almost all of

the forecast 135 billion pound budget deficit.

Until Tuesday evening, when the diesel shortage became the number one topic of television and radio talkshows, the government seemed to be in denial.

“There is no shortage,” Kamal said.

“There is a crisis in the distribution of Solar, not in the availability of it.”

Asked whether a shortage of hard currency was constraining fuel imports, he said: “Financial resources are still available for imports but they must be reserved for the most important priorities.”

To drivers and tour operators, the result is the same.

Khaled el-Manawi, a senior board member of the Egyptian travel agents’ association, said the government was harming his industry, already hard hit by political turmoil, by withdrawing subsidised fuel from

tourist boats.

Businessman George Bishoy, who owns a fashion accessories store in the affluent Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, said his business had suffered a lot from delays in the delivery of imported goods.

The daily al-Ahram quoted drivers complaining about the emergence of a black market in which a litre of diesel is sold at double the normal price.

The spokesman of the independent drivers’ union, Tarek el-Bahary, told Reuters: “The Solar problem is devastating. Drivers are suffering daily and the elected president has failed to solve this crisis.”

“The number of trucks has not increased, the number of trips has not increased but the government is unable to provide the Solar and unable to come up with creative solutions to solve the problem,” he said.

Deals could bolster economy

Egyptian pound weakens after S. Sudan eyes $1b from oil block sales Moody’s credit rtg downgrade JUBA, Feb 13, (RTRS): South Sudan hopes to sell several unexplored oil blocks for $1 billion in coming months, a finance official said, giving a potential lifeline for the African country’s hobbled economy.

South Sudan has been hit hard by its decision to turn off its oil wells in a row with neighboring Sudan over export fees a year ago, a move that triggered a deep recession and a shortage of foreign exchange.

Officials have been scrambling to replace oil revenues which made up 98 percent of state income. South Sudan and Sudan agreed in September to resume oil flows, but have been unable to secure their disputed border, a precondition for Sudan to allow exports from the South through its territory.

The government has finalized the sale of several oil concessions worth between $200 million and $300 million each, Deputy Finance Minister Marial Awou Yol told Reuters in an interview, though he declined to identify the buyers or the location of the blocks.

An oil industry insider said at least one deal had been signed for $250 millions with a Nigerian company, without giving details.

The money should arrive in the next couple of months, Yol added, easing a 2.7 billion South Sudanese pound (SPSS) budget deficit, or around $640 million based on black market prices.

“We have divided some areas into new blocks and assigned some blocks to be explored by three or four international state oil companies from Africa, eastern countries and the West,” he said.

The oil ministry could not be reached immediately for comment.

One analyst said the deals, if signed, would probably involve future payments in the form of production-sharing agreements, under which the state would have the right to sell some of the output from successful wells.

Implausible “It’s not implausible but it’s not a deal until its signed,” said oil expert Jill Shankelman. “Typically nobody knows how much is paid for signature bonuses anyway. Most deals aren’t public.”

South Sudan has previously said it intends to break up the vast Block B, which has been controlled by France’s Total since 1980. Total suspended exploration in the block, located in Jonglei state, in 1985 because of escalating insecurity during the civil war.

An oil source told Reuters in September the government wants to bring in US firm Exxon Mobil and Kuwait’s Kufpec to explore the block.

Both companies have declined comment.

Total has said it wants to resume exploration.

South Sudan has been stepping up oil exploration as existing fields were overpumped in the run-up to independence from Sudan in July 2011.

The biggest challenges for any investor are a lack of mapping and data, as well as widespread tribal violence, especially in Jonglei state where much of Block B is.

Block B, covering half the size of Britain, potentially contains “important commercial quantities,” according to a study by the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan, an umbrella of non-governmental organisations.

South Sudan plans to build an alternative pipeline, either to Lamu port in Kenya or Djibouti via Ethiopia, but

some analysts are sceptical as construction through rough and violent territory would be a major challenge.

On Tuesday, the government said it had signed a deal with German engineering firm ILF to conduct a feasibility study for both routes.

Yol said Bank of South Sudan, the country’s central bank, sold 1 billion SSP of treasury bills to domestic investors in the last quarter of 2012 to raise money for the government.

South Sudan’s government also borrowed 350 million SSP from the central bank to help pay salaries in December, he said.

South Sudan’s economy contracted 54 percent in 2012, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund, one of the largest economic shocks in history.

Yol also said the government was still in talks to secure oil-backed loans from China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Malaysia’s Petronas, South Sudan’s main oil consortium partners. “If we can get $1.5 to $2 billion (from oil block sales and loans) that can give us some breathing space,” Yol said.

Oil-backed loans could be risky for a new country with nascent legislation, said Dana Wilkins, analyst at transparency campaign group Global Witness.

Obligations It is important that the government publishes the terms of the loans so that people are aware of the obligations on their future oil production, she said.

Meanwhile, billions of dollars in oil revenue for the crisis-hit economies of Sudan and South Sudan are being held hostage by Khartoum’s concerns over border security, diplomats and experts say.

Sudan’s allegations that South Sudan supports rebels continue to halt the flow of lifeline oil from the south.

There is no immediate hope of a resolution to the dispute between the two states despite months of African Union mediation, the experts say, concerned that tensions are escalating.

“All of us are fed up with the negotiations,” Ali Abdullah Ali, a Sudanese economic expert, told AFP before the latest round of talks scheduled for Wednesday.

“The failure of the two Sudanese nations’ negotiations has become an unquestionable reality,” The Citizen newspaper wrote in an editorial. South Sudan split from the north in 2011 with about three-quarters of united Sudan’s oil production on its territory.

The new nation said petroleum provided 98 percent of its revenue. But it stopped production more than a year ago, accusing Khartoum of theft during a row over how much the South should pay for shipping its oil through Sudanese pipelines for export.

Optimism returned in September when the Sudan and South Sudan presidents hailed an end to their conflict.

They signed deals in Addis Ababa to resume the oil flow and demilitarize the undemarcated, disputed border where they fought in March and April.

But months later, none of those agreements has been implemented.

Sudan would have received $1 billion-$1.5 billion (750 million-1.1 billion euros) annually as transit fees and other payments under the oil deal, according to an international economist.

ElBaradei urges consensus to win IMF loan CAIRO, Feb 13, (RTRS): The Egyptian pound weakened to a record low against the US dollar in interbank trade and slid further still in the black market on Wednesday, a fall dealers attributed to Moody’s downgrading of the country’s credit rating.

Moody’s cited political unrest, a deterioration in Egypt’s external payments position and doubt over whether the government could secure a $4.8 billion loan seen as vital to easing an economic crisis.

The unrest has triggered a flight into dollars, draining the country’s foreign reserves which the central bank said fell to $13.6 billion at the end of January – below the $15 billion level needed to cover three months of imports.

Auctions In an effort to avoid a full currency crisis, the central bank introduced regular foreign currency auctions in late December. Since then, the pound has weakened by 8.2 percent against the US dollar. It was last bid on Wednesday at 6.7287 pounds to the dollar – a new record low.

Dealers said volumes were thin, with trading switching to a parallel market where the pound was trading weaker still.

Three market participants said the currency had weakened to stand at 7.2 pounds to the dollar on Wednesday compared to levels of around 6.9 to the dollar late last week.

“It is probably related to yesterday’s downgrade (and) is definitely affecting the supply of US dollars in the market by the central bank. It is way too low compared to the demand,” said one trader, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“I think the gap will only widen between official rates and the parallel market as long as the supply-demand ratio is not fulfilled in the banking sector,” he added.

The central bank held its 21st auction of foreign currency on Wednesday, selling $38.9 million. The cut-off price was 6.7188 pounds to the dollar, weaker than Monday’s level of 6.7082 pounds to the dollar.

Also: CAIRO: Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei called on Tuesday for a national consensus to secure an

Unrest triggers pound’s decline

Egyptians turn to black mkt for dollar CAIRO, Feb 13, (RTRS): A run on Egypt’s pound has left foreign currency in short supply and driven some dealers into the streets in search of people with US dollars to sell, spawning a new black market.

The currency’s decline was triggered by a political uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011 and it has officially lost 8 percent of its value since Dec 30.

Black market rates are even weaker, a sign that although the central bank managed to stem the slide in official trade last week, Egyptians are nervous about holding on to pounds.

Some dealers tout discreetly outside regulated foreign exchange bureaux and banks in Cairo, illegally offering a better rate to those looking to sell hard currency.

“There are no dollars. Everyone that walks in asks for dollars but supply is scarce,” said one of the dealers.

The central bank took steps last week to manage the rate including narrowing the pound’s trading band. It was last bid at 6.71 to the dollar on Sunday in interbank trade.

That is 13.4 percent weaker than its level on the eve of the uprising that led to Mubarak’s downfall, pitching Egypt into two years of turmoil that has scared off tourists and investors.

On Cairo’s streets, one dealer offered to sell dollars at a rate of 6.95 on Thursday - 3.5 percent weaker than the official price. Another asked for 6.89 pounds to the dollar.

The pound’s decline has been

One senior executive at an Egyptian company that imports goods from abroad said companies were able to source their dollar needs from the black market, but forecast that supply would tighten further in the coming weeks.

“Corporates are not having problems arranging for US dollars from the open market. However, there is a spread that ranges between 16 to 20 piasters between the bank rates and the open market,” he said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing an illegal market, he forecast that dollar supply would dry up further because of factors such as political uncertainty.

“What will happen? Most probably you will start seeing products disappearing from supermarket shelves,” he said. “The challenges that we are facing now are nothing compared to what we could be heading to.”

Central bank governor Hisham

Ramez has said he is not worried about the emergence of a black market.

Bonook El Youm, a weekly supplement published by the financial daily Al-Alam Al-Youm, quoted him as saying he is confident the authorities have the tools to eliminate it completely.

There is no sign of dealers being targeted by the police.

Officials at the central bank did not respond to calls or emails from Reuters requesting comment on the subject.

Bankers seeking to meet their clients’ foreign currency needs through official channels face a wait of weeks or months, said one who deals with major corporate clients.

“I used to order it and get it on the next day or the following one at most,” said the banker, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to talk to the media.

The decline in foreign reserves drove the central bank to introduce the system of regular US dollar auctions in late December to avoid a full blown currency crisis.

The weighted average bid at those auctions has been setting the official exchange rate in banks and foreign currency bureaux. Banks had been allowed to buy or sell dollars or their equivalent to other banks in a band of 0.5 percent above or below the average bid at the auction.

Last Monday, the central bank narrowed the band, setting a limit of 0.01 pounds above or below the weighted average bid.

urgently-needed IMF loan and save the country from economic collapse within months.

Ratings agency Moody’s cut Egypt’s credit rating on Tuesday, citing doubts about its ability to secure a requested $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan and the economic impact of a new round of political unrest. Moody also cited a further weakening in Egypt’s external payments position given a large drop in foreign reserves in January as the country

battles to stave off a currency crisis.

ElBaradei, a former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, urged Islamist President Mohamesd Morsi to appoint a strong, inclusive government with what he called a professional finance minister to work with the IMF. “No one will give a cent to Egypt ... without seeing real national cooperation,” he told Al-Hayat TV in an interview.

ElBaradei was the second major

leader of the opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) to call this week for an agreement on a package of economic priorities, apparently setting political differences with Morsi aside for a while.

Amr Moussa, a former Arab League chief and co-leader of the NSF, called for the government and opposition to agree to postpone parliamentary elections expected in April for six months and work together on the economy.

reflected in a drop in Egypt’s foreign reserves, which fell to $13.6 billion at the end of January - below the $15 billion level needed to cover three months’ imports. The reserves stood at $36 billion on the eve of the uprising against Mubarak.

Complicating a business climate already weighed down by political unrest, some importers say they are having to source their foreign exchange needs from what they call the parallel or open market.

Supply

Foundation to focus on humanitarian aid

Khalaf Al Habtoor initiative seeks ideas from public KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Khalaf Al Habtoor, the Founder of the recently launched ‘Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Foundation’ and Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group calls on the general public to do their part in helping those in need. Al Habtoor has called on the general public in the United Arab Emirates to come up with ideas to help those less fortunate than themselves.

The best three initiatives will be put into operation under the leadership of the Foundation and bear the name of the person who came up with the idea.

Al Habtoor says there is so much need in the world and wants his

Foundation to a catalyst for change.

“The Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Foundation is not just about donating money, it is about getting involved and getting the general community involved. You can’t put monetary value on that.”

He added, “I want to work with the general public; that way we can have a sense of achievement together.

Initiatives like this not only help alleviate suffering but also bring communities together.”

The Foundation groups together all the philanthropic work Al Habtoor has done in the past with his current initia-

tives. Its’ ultimate aim is to improve the wealth and health of many people and focus on developing and improving human societies in need in the UAE. The charity also aims at providing relief and assistance to communities around the world affected by natural disasters and social calamities and meeting the needs of orphans and improving their welfare.

Much of its focus is to help improve education and scientific research with the establishment of scientific and research chairs named after the Founder within and outside the UAE. Al Habtoor has also set a goal to promote

inter-religious and inter-cultural communication - something that is very dear to his heart.

The Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Foundation is located at the Al Farooq Omar Ibn Khattab Mosque and Center in Dubai which the Al Habtoor Group Chairman built and donated to his country a few years ago. ❑

❑

❑

Please send ideas to kah.foundation@habtoor.com.

Initiatives should include your idea, name and contact and reasons for coming up to the initiative.

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Yemen economy rebounds from turmoil Construction, tourism remain paralysed, job market idle DUBAI/SANAA, Feb 13, (RTRS): When political turmoil drove Yemen to the brink of economic collapse in 2011, Jumaan Trading & Investment Co saw its sales plunge by more than 60 percent, prompting the company to shift part of its operations to neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

But the ouster of strongman president Ali Abdullah Saleh a year ago, and a partial improvement of security in the poverty- and militancystricken country, are now helping to revive the economy, boosting JTI’s

sales.

“There is definitely an improvement in the situation, especially compared to 2011,” said Ahmed Jumaan, general manager of JTI, which focuses on agriculture, power generation and construction.

Sales at JTI, founded in 1958, jumped 55 percent to about $24 million in 2012, although that is still 5-10 percent below levels seen before the political crisis began, he told Reuters.

Yemen’s fledgling economic recovery is good news for efforts to restore political stability in the country, which is important for the entire region because it lies near major oil shipment routes.

The recovery is also a positive omen for other Arab Spring states which are strug-

gling to rebuild their economies after political turmoil in the past two years.

The economy of Yemen, the second poorest Arab state after Mauritania, shrank 10.5 percent in 2011, the International Monetary Fund estimates, as the unrest caused fuel and power shortages and oil pipelines were attacked.

The IMF says the economy stabilised in 2012, and after a business revival toward the latter half of the year, it predicts growth of around 4 percent in 2013.

Other key indicators have drawn back from crisis levels. Inflation eased from a peak of 25 percent in October 2011 to 5.5 percent last November, the latest available official data shows.

The Yemeni rial has stabilised around 215 to the US dollar after sinking to about

243 in 2011. This has allowed the central bank to cut its key interest rate twice in four months to aid the economy, by a total of 5 percentage points to a still-high 15 percent.

Much of Yemen’s economy is operating close to subsistence, so it would not take much to stifle the recovery. The country faces dwindling oil and water reserves, and per capita income was $2,232 in 2012, just 8 percent of the level in neighbouring Oman, according to the IMF. A third of the 25 million people live under a poverty line of $2 a day and unemployment is estimated at around 35 percent - with youth unemployment at 60 percent.

Watheq al-Hamadi, manager of a large grocery store in Sanaa’s upscale neigh-

bourhood of Hidda, said that despite the economy’s improvement, few Yemenis could afford to buy any form of luxury item.

“The only thing that has come back is power supplies and petrol. The purchasing power is still weak,” Hamadi said as he warned his staff to look out for shoplifters.

Since the tourism and construction industries remain paralysed - Jumaan said his company’s construction equipment sales were still only about 30 percent of normal - economic growth will not necessarily create many jobs.

“I’ve been living off my friends since the revolution started,” said Ali Abdul Rahman, who used to work as a translator, teacher and assistant to foreign aid agen-

cies, but now spends most of his time reading at Sanaa cafes.

“I was hoping that electing a new president and forming a new government would improve the situation, but nothing has changed so far,” he said.

Finding jobs outside Yemen, which could be a safety valve to limit unemployment, is difficult since countries in the region restrict the entry of Yemeni workers.

Yemen’s labour market “can absorb barely 20,000-30,000 from this huge number of unemployed”, said economist Mohamed al-Maytami, chairman of the Khobara Centre for Development and Consulting Services, which provides services to foreign aid donors, the government and the business sector.

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7 KFH clients win mini iPads in 5th banking cards draw Kuwait Finance House announced that it had launched a new promotion campaign to encourage clients to use their prepaid, ATM and credit cards in paying for their purchases. The campaign will be valid until April 12th, where each banking card user will be entitled to enter a draw to win a mini iPad for every KD 10 purchase using credit and prepaid cards in Kuwait, through using ATM cards overseas.

There will be a weekly draw, and nine

winners will receive mini iPads.

The winners of the fifth draw are: Abdullah Al-Saleh, Awatef Khamees, Anas Al-Kandari, Ahmed Al-Enezi, Mona Mubarak, Fouzan Al-Fares, and Wadha Al-Modaf. Moreover, KFH is keen to launch such promotions for its clients to reward them for their loyalty to the bank, in addition to reinforcing the bank’s presence and market share in this vital sector.

It is worth noting that KFH’s previ-

ous campaigns were highly applauded by clients, since they offer numerous exclusive privileges. Such successful campaigns show that KFH excels in offering its clients innovative products and services that meet the needs of clients from various sectors.

KFH works in collaboration with major international companies that issue credit cards, in conjunction with merchants, shopping stores, and malls in Kuwait and overseas.

Top shippers look to expand routes in Turkey Top global shipping lines are looking to expand operations in Turkey to some of its fast-growing private ports to tap into strong export growth and an anticipated rise in trade with parts of the Middle East including northern Iraq.

Turkey’s government wants to boost total annual exports to $500 billion and trade to above $1 trillion by 2023, more than three times current levels, and needs to raise its total port

handling capacity sharply to reach this goal.

Danish oil and shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk , France’s CMA CGM and Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) are all in talks with Turkish port operators about using new shipping routes from Turkey, industry executives and consultants told Reuters. The biggest shippers currently use Turkey’s main ports including Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin

and Izmit but are looking at expanding to Iskenderun on the southeastern Mediterranean coast, Petkim port in Aliaga on the Aegean coast, and ports around the Marmara Sea. “All of the major players like Maersk, CMA CGM, MSC are serving Turkey and see it as a growth market,” said Neil Davidson, a senior adviser of ports at independent market monitor Drewry Shipping Consultants. (RTRS)

Final draft expected by September

Global watchdog needs more time on derivatives rules LONDON, Feb 13, (RTRS): New rules on how much collateral is needed to back derivatives trades are unlikely to be finalised before September, leaving markets in limbo as global regulators seek to minimise potential harm to economic recovery.

World leaders had requested that the rules be in place by the end of 2012.

However, agreement has proved difficult because of the huge demand for collateral at a time when banks are already being forced to beef up their capital reserves.

The delay has left markets second-guess-

ing the changes to how the $640 trillion derivatives market will function and plug gaps highlighted by the financial crisis.

David Wright, secretary general of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, comprising all the world’s main market regulators, said on Wednesday that the final shape of the rules on posting collateral, also known as margining, needed further consideration.

“We need to do more economic thinking on the balance of the overall package,” he told a conference held by the

Antonveneta deal under probe

Monte Paschi hiked bid to see off BNP MILAN/LONDON, Feb 13, (RTRS): Monte dei Paschi pumped up its bid for Antonveneta to trump a rival offer from France’s BNP Paribas, paving the way for an eventual state bailout of the world’s oldest bank and a political furor in Italy over its finances.

The new disclosure comes in a report by Italy’s financial police and is based on statements from an adviser to the seller, Spain’s Santander. Reviewed by Reuters, the document reveals for the first time why Monte dei Paschi may have offered such a high bid for its smaller Padua-based rival and why it did not conduct any due diligence before agreeing the deal.

Italy’s third-largest bank has previously publicly acknowledged that it did not carry out due diligence for the 2007 bid but it didn’t disclose the reasons.

A source involved with the deal, at the heart of a fraud and bribery scandal at the Siena-based bank, has told Reuters that Monte dei Paschi’s then chairman Giuseppe Mussari quickly floated a pricey offer for Antonveneta, without consulting advisers, because he feared BNP Paribas would beat him to it.

Emilio Botin, the veteran chairman of Santander, used the bid from BNP Paribas to put pressure on Mussari, according to the police report.

The source said that his firm only got a phone call to help on the deal on the day the acquisition was announced and Mussari did the deal on his own. He further credits Botin with managing “to create a tension” to get a full price.

Bribery Prosecutors in Siena are investigating whether Monte dei Paschi’s former management deliberately overpaid Santander for Antonveneta and whether bribery was involved. It is not clear if any illicit payments were made and if they were, who was involved.

Monte dei Paschi’s current management have said they have found no evidence of bribery.

Reuters has unsuccessfully tried to contact Mussari. His lawyer told Reuters he would not be commenting. Magistrates in Monte dei Paschi’s home city of Siena are expected to resume questioning him this week after interviewing him last week as part of their probe.

Santander declined to comment on Botin’s role in the deal.

The acquisition stretched Monte dei Paschi’s finances to the limit just as the global financial crisis struck, precipitating an eventual state bailout of the 450year-old bank that has caused a political uproar ahead of parliamentary elections on Feb 24-25.

Mussari, a lawyer with no financial background, left Monte dei Paschi in April after the Bank of Italy demanded a management overhaul in light of the lender’s precarious finances. It is dependent on a state lifeline of 3.9 billion euros after losing nearly $1 billion on derivative trades.

In the report by Italy’s financial police provided to the Siena prosecutors for their investigation, the police say that Monte dei Paschi eventually agreed to pay 9 billion euros cash to Santander to beat an 8 billion euro rival offer from BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank.

The document, reviewed by Reuters and dated March 28, 2012, provides a detailed reconstruction of how the Antonveneta deal came about, based on statements released to magistrates by Alessandro Daffina, head of Rothschild in Italy and a key adviser to Santander on the deal.

Daffina and Rothschild in Italy declined to comment.

The police report, backed up with interviews with people involved with or familiar with the acquisition, reveal for the first time how one of Europe’s most infamous boom-time deals was struck.

In August 2007, Spain’s largest bank was in the process of acquiring Antonveneta as part of a threeway break-up bid for Dutch bank ABN AMRO, in which the regional Italian lender was valued at 6.6 billion euros, including its corporate banking arm Interbanca.

Takeover The three-way bid for ABN AMRO involved a consortium made up of Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Belgian-Dutch bank Fortis. They acquired ABN AMRO for 71.1 billion euros, at the time the world’s largest bank takeover. The deal gave each of the bidders a piece of the ABN AMRO empire but its large price tag eventually forced both RBS and Fortis into bailouts.

According to the police report, Santander was looking to sell Antonveneta even before it had finalised its own 6.6 billion euros purchase of it and asked Rothschild to put out feelers to find a buyer.

Botin set one, non-negotiable condition, according to the financial police report: There would be no due diligence on the Italian lender.

Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Mussari was keen to buy Antonveneta to ensure his bank became a national player.

Monte dei Paschi had lost out to ABN AMRO on a bid for the smaller bank in 2005. Back then, Monte dei Paschi had carried out due diligence on Antonveneta.

A successful BNP Paribas bid would have made it a major player in the Italian market and would have consigned Monte dei Paschi to the second tier.

According to the police report, Rothschild contacted Monte dei Paschi and four other potential buyers: Italy’s UniCredit and UBI Banca, and France’s Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas. Only UniCredit wasn’t keen, with all the others “strongly interested”, the police report said.

Monte dei Paschi’s current chairman, Alessandro Profumo, who in 2007 was chief executive of UniCredit, confirmed recently that Unicredit had been approached but rejected the idea of buying Antonveneta because it thought it was too expensive.

UBI Banca declined to comment. Credit Agricole was not immediately available to comment.

Botin, who was dealing directly with BNP Paribas, preferred a sale to the French bank, according to the police report.

BNP Paribas had bought Italy’s BNL for 9 billion euros in 2006 and another acquisition would have strongly expanded its foothold in Italy.

Association for Financial Markets in Europe, a banking trade body.

The regulators are looking at the level of high-quality assets, such as government bonds, that a bank or company holding uncleared derivatives will have to post in case of default.

Mark Carney, who heads the global Financial Stability Board that is overseeing the drafting of the rules, expects them to be completed by September, Wright added.

Regulators are finding it difficult to determine how much collateral should be posted

on uncleared derivatives trades. Cleared trades, which are contracts squared up in a process backed by a default fund in case one side of the trade goes bust, are considered safer than uncleared trades.

World leaders have said that there should be an incentive to clear trades, suggesting that they want higher collateral requirements on uncleared transactions.

Banks, meanwhile, have warned that a trillion dollars or more of extra collateral will be needed for posting against trades if the new rules are too severe.

The consultation on “near-final rules” will be launched within days, Wright said, and a phase-in period after September is almost inevitable.

The extra time being taken to get the new derivatives rules right is the latest sign of how regulators are trying to find ways to avoid forcing banks to tie up too much capital, thereby making it harder to lend to companies to generate growth struggling economies.

In January, banking regulators eased and delayed full implementation of a sep-

arate rule that will require banks to build cash buffers to withstand sudden market shocks unaided.

Robert Stheeman, chief executive of the UK Debt Management Office, said that markets were innovative enough to find ways around any collateral shortage.

Patricia Mosser, senior vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, also cast doubt on the “eye popping” estimates for possible collateral shortages, saying that markets are already moving to help to bridge any gap.

BoE forecasts inflation above 2 percent target until Q1 2016 UK employers urge govt to cut routine spending to spur investment LONDON, Feb 13, (RTRS): Britain’s central bank said on Wednesday that inflation would stay higher for longer and its governor cautioned that further bond-buying to boost the weak recovery might have limited impact.

The economy was set for a “slow but sustained recovery” over the next three years, and economic output was unlikely to surpass its pre-financial crisis peak until 2015, the Bank of England said in its quarterly inflation report.

“The UK economy is ... set for a recovery. That is not to say that the road ahead will be smooth,” the bank’s governor, Mervyn King, told reporters. “This hasn’t been a normal recession, and it won’t be a normal recovery.”

The bank forecast that inflation in two years’ time was likely to be around 2.3 percent, up sharply from the 1.8 percent forecast in November.

It also extended the time frame for inflation returning to target to early 2016, 18 months later than what it predicted in November. The bank’s forecasts also suggest inflation will peak at about 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2013.

Recovery In a news conference following the release of the report, King — who is due to retire in June — said the bank would not risk undermining the slow recovery of the British economy by turning the screws on policy to bring inflation back into line.

“Attempting to bring inflation back to target sooner would risk derailing the recovery and undershooting the target in the medium term,” he said.

The Bank of England has spent £375 billion ($587 billion) on buying government bonds but more recently has held off from increasing the programme.

King said, however, that more purchases, or quantitative easing (QE), were no panacea.

British government debt prices extended losses after that comment by King.

Earlier, sterling fell to a 6-month low against the dollar after King reiterated the position of the bank’s policy-making committee that it was ready to provide more stimulus if needed.

In its report, the bank said much of the higher inflation was due to sterling’s weakness and rises in prices partly set by the government, and that “it was appropri-

Russia says important Japan hasn’t intervened in FX

BoE chief riled by G7 mixed messages LONDON/MOSCOW, Feb 13, (RTRS): A Group of Seven statement designed to cool international currency tensions should be taken at face value and anonymous officials should not try to reinterpret it, the Bank of England’s chief said on Wednesday.

Currency markets were thrown in to turmoil on Tuesday after a day of mixed messages about exchange rates, prompted by Japan’s new government pressing for an aggressive expansion of monetary policy, which has seen the yen weaken sharply.

G7 nations – Britain, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Canada – said fiscal and monetary policies must be directed at domestic economies and not at targeting exchange rates.

Japan quickly said the statement – released by Britain which chairs the G8 grouping (G7 plus Russia) this year – gave it a green light to continue efforts to reflate its economy. But a G7 official responded by saying it was aimed squarely at Tokyo, a comment that prompt the yen to surge on a volatile foreign exchange market.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the statement should be taken at

face value.

“When countries take measures to use monetary stimulus to support growth in their economies, then there will be exchange rate consequences and they should be allowed to flow through,” King told a news conference.

“In the short run if you want to allow countries to stimulate growth, you have to allow them to take the measures of a monetary or other kind which will have consequences on the exchange rate, and we should let floating exchange rates take them where they will.

“When I put my name to that statement yesterday, I didn’t expect that other socalled officials will be out there giving unattributable briefings ... trying to claim that the statement said what it didn’t say.”

Russia, chair of the Group of 20 nations, said it was important that Japan had not intervened on currency markets to weaken the yen.

“The Japanese yen was definitely overvalued,” Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak told reporters, ahead of the G20 meeting in Moscow on Friday and Saturday. Germany said the statement

should draw a line under debate for now.

“I’m very glad that we have hopefully concluded the question of exchange rates for now ... which all G7 members accepted and I hope the G20 will also accept,” a German government official told reporters.

A source familiar with the discussions that led to the release of the G7’s first statement on exchange rates since 2011 said the off-record intervention may have been prompted by irritation that Japan had responded so quickly to say it had been given a clean bill of health.

As a result, discussion at a G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Moscow at the end of the week may be more heated than previously expected with some concern about the pace at which the yen has fallen.

But officials said it was unlikely that Tokyo would face any sanction.

Japan’s top financial diplomat said his government will tell the G20 that its push to revive the economy with aggressive monetary expansion will benefit other nations and outweigh any possible negative effects.

ate to look through the temporary, albeit protracted, period of above-target inflation.”

That comment suggested to some that the bank would be less likely to try to rein in inflation.

“Market confidence in the pound was already thin. The governor’s admission that the inflation target is to be quietly ignored while the economy remains in intensive care has stretched it even further,” said Jason Conibear, trading director at Cambridge Mercantile.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, suggested the bank was explicitly adopting a flexible inflation target “clearly favoured” by incoming Bank of England governor Mark Carney.

Carney last week suggested he would seek a swift review of the UK central bank’s remit to focus on inflation with an emphasis on more flexibility in bringing price growth back to its target level.

British inflation has exceeded the cen-

tral bank’s 2 percent target since December 2009, and its persistent failure to return to target is one reason why the bank has not increased bond purchases past the 375 billion pounds reached in October.

The Bank of England generally sets monetary policy with the aim of ensuring that inflation has returned to its 2 percent target within two years.

Economists had expected the bank to revise up its inflation forecast, after a more than 3 percent fall in sterling over the previous three months and the MPC’s statement last Thursday that inflation might exceed 2 percent for the next two years.

Britain’s government needs to cut dayto-day spending more deeply in order to spur longer-term investment and get the economy growing more quickly, the head of a British employers’ association said.

The British economy will probably grow by just 1 percent in 2013, under-

scoring the need for the government to work harder on boosting investment, John Cridland, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said.

“The government’s efforts have not had the momentum or the urgency that I have been looking for,” he told reporters.

Cridland said he would make the case for more focus on capital spending, on areas such as road repairs and housing, when he meets finance minister George Osborne ahead of his announcement of the next budget in March.

“Public sector capital has borne the most significant part of the cuts so far. We would like to see that rebalanced. I think that should come out of current spending,” he said.

Osborne has staked his political reputation on largely eliminating a budget deficit that totalled more than 12 percent of GDP when he came to power, but a lack of economic growth has pushed his plans two years off track.

Russia may double oil deliveries to Beijing

Rosneft wants to raise up to $30b from China LONDON/MOSCOW, Feb 13, (RTRS): Rosneft is seeking to borrow up to $30 billion from China in exchange for possibly doubling oil supplies, making Beijing the largest consumer of Russian oil and further diverting supplies away from Europe.

Four industry sources familiar with the situation told Reuters Rosneft was in talks with China’s state firm CNPC about the borrowing, which would echo a $25 billion deal the two companies clinched last decade.

Back then, Rosneft and Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft borrowed money to help Rosneft acquire the assets of nationalised oil producer YUKOS while agreeing to build a pipeline to supply China with 300,000 barrels per day for 15 years.

This time, Rosneft wants to borrow money as it is close to completing a $55 billion acquisition of rival TNK-BP to become the world’s largest oil producer among publicly traded firms.

Russia’s leading oil company, controlled by the Kremlin, is considering ultimately doubling supplies to China, sources said.

Rosneft and CNPC declined comment.

The first loan-for-supply deal between the two companies connected directly for the first time the world’s largest energy producer and consumer.

Former air force chief denies any wrong doing

‘Finmeccanica could be blacklisted in India’ NEW DELHI, Feb 13, (RTRS): India will cancel a $750 million deal to buy helicopters from Finmeccanica SpA and blacklist the Italian defence group if bribery allegations are proven, India’s defence minister said, as political opponents tried to capitalise on the scandal.

Italian police arrested Finmeccanica’s chief executive Giuseppe Orsi on Tuesday for alleged bribes paid to secure the sale of 12 AgustaWestland executive helicopters to the Indian Air Force, when he was head of the Finmeccanica helicopter unit. Orsi’s lawyer denied the allegations.

The former head of India’s Air Force, S.P. “Shashi” Tyagi, and three of his cousins are

among the Indians named in the arrest warrant for Orsi. All say they are innocent.

Defence Minister A. K. Antony said he had ordered India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the purchase of the luxury helicopters destined for use by India’s political leadership. He said that if the allegations are proven to be true, the company would be blacklisted and those involved punished.

Coming at a time of cuts in defence procurement spending, the latest scandal could lead to additional scrutiny and delays for defence deals in the works.

“I am sure that there will be initial setback, but we will overcome that. That is

not the main thing. The main thing is that we cannot allow corruption in defence deals,” Antony said when asked about the impact on weapons modernisation.

The arrests in Italy came as Finmeccanica unit Alenia Aermacchi was preparing to compete for a contract to supply over 50 military transport aircraft to India in competition with European aerospace group EADS. The military arm of EADS subsidiary Airbus told Reuters last week it would offer its C295 military transport plane, adding that manufacturers were waiting for a formal competition document from the Indian government.

It came after a number of energy disputes between Russia and its neighbours which cut gas and oil supplies to Europe several times, drawing criticism and calls from the European Union for diversification away from Russian energy resources.

Russian President Vladimir Putin retaliated by saying Moscow would divert more energy resources to Asia.

Since then Russia has been steadily increasing crude exports to Asia at the expense of deliveries to Europe with flows due to amount to around 15 percent of total Russian oil exports this year via pipelines to China and to the Pacific coast.

Should deliveries to China double, the share of Russian exports to Asia will

amount to over a fifth of overall exports by the world’s largest oil producer and the second largest exporter after Saudi Arabia.

Energy relations between Moscow and Beijing has been, however, complicated in the past years by disputes over oil shipping tariffs along the existing pipeline.

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Lexus leads as auto industry quality better than ever Toyota Motor Corp’s luxury brand Lexus topped a US vehicle dependability study of owners of 3-year-old cars and trucks as model-year 2010 vehicles improved to record-high quality levels.

The industry’s cars, introduced in 2009 when the sector was hitting a 28-year sales low during the recession, saw a 5 percent improvement in quality, falling to 126 problems per 100 vehicles from 132 last year,

according to the J.D. Power and Associates survey released on Wednesday.

Lexus led with a score of 71 problems per 100 vehicles.

“The continuous improvement in long-term dependability means consumers should have more confidence in three-year-old vehicles, whether they are keeping their current vehicle or shopping for a used car,” David Sargent, vice-president of global

automotive at J.D. Power, said in a statement.

Vehicle dependability is important to automakers because fewer problems translates into more loyal customers. J.D. Power said that 54 percent of owners who don’t experience any problems with their vehicles stay with that brand for their next purchase. That loyalty rate slips to 41 percent when three or more problems are experienced. (RTRS)

about 550,000 Pontiac G6s in US probed US safety regulators are investigating an estimated 550,000 Pontiac G6 cars because the brake lights may malfunction, raising the chances of an accident.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received 212 consumer complaints alleging the brake lights do not operate properly on model-year 2005 through 2009 G6s, echoing similar complaints that led to a recall several

years ago. The NHTSA has opened the investigation only into cars from model years 2005 through 2008, however. Pontiac is a former brand of General Motors Co. Consumers say the brake lights on the cars illuminate when the brake pedal has not been depressed or do not illuminate when the pedal has been depressed, according to documents filed with NHTSA. In addition, consumers complain the car’s cruise

control may not engage or will disengage unintentionally.

A GM spokesman said the US automaker is cooperating with NHTSA in the investigation.

In September 2008, NHTSA said it had opened a similar investigation into allegations of brake light malfunctions on model-year 2005 through 2007 G6 cars, resulting in the recall of 8,012 of the vehicles from model years 2005 and 2006. (RTRS)

Executives see credit rtg business to keep growing despite new scrutiny

S&P parent expects to beat govt ratings lawsuit WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (AP): Standard & Poor’s is prepared to spend years beating back a federal lawsuit that accuses the company of giving falsely high ratings to mortgage investments that helped trigger the financial crisis, executives said Tuesday.

“Rest assured, we will vigorously defend against these erroneous claims,” said Harold McGraw III, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Cos., which owns S&P, on a call with analysts.

The government may seek up to $5 billion — several years’ worth of profits for McGraw-Hill, it said in a civil complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court last week. The company believes the charges lack merit, but the case is likely to drag on for three or more years, general counsel Ken Vittor said on the call.

The call was scheduled in connection

with McGraw-Hill’s fourth-quarter earnings report, but executives spent much of it refuting the government’s allegations. CEO McGraw and the company’s top financial executive shortened their remarks to leave time for the legal discussion.

McGraw-Hill swung to a loss in the three months ended Dec 31 as its transition to a financial information provider forced it to take a big, one-time charge.

Excluding one-time items, the company’s net income declined but narrowly beat Wall Street’s forecasts.

Despite what McGraw called “an outstanding year,” analysts on the call focused on the company’s ability to fend off the lawsuit and maintain growth in the Standard & Poor’s Rating Services division.

Executives said they expect the credit rating business to keep growing despite

Experts see further gains

S&P ‘nears’ record, but stocks may still be cheap NEW YORK, Feb 12, (RTRS): In March 2009, it was easy to say stocks were cheap — the S&P 500, after all, had lost half its value. Fastforward almost four years, and US stocks have recovered almost all of those losses, and now sit just a stone’s throw from a new record.

It might be tempting to suggest it is time for a pullback. Yet, for many investment strategists, the combination of a gradually improved economy, Federal Reserve stimulus, and relatively inexpensive valuations has them predicting further gains — and even talking about the chances of a new bull market.

“The national conversation for four years has been, ‘Are you being conservative enough in this high risk world?’” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis.

“I think as we go to new highs that is going to change to ‘Are you being too conservative in what may be a new bull market?’”

It’s likely that before long the S&P 500 will surpass its 1,576.09 record, reached Oct. 11, 2007. On Tuesday, it closed at 1,519.43. The Dow is even closer, only about 1 percent away from its all-time record of 14,164.53.

Still, the value of stocks against earnings expectations shows the market is cheaper than in 2007. In addition, the economy appears to be improving rather than peaking, and earnings are much less reliant on what was then a heavily leveraged financial sector.

In addition, the Federal Reserve’s massive bond-buying programs, designed to keep interest rates low, has boosted the market’s value. That raises concerns about what will happen when the Fed says it is ready to begin tightening policy — but that could be some time away as the central bank is targeting a jobless rate of 6.5 percent against 7.9 percent in January.

And, in any case, if the Fed did stop its easy money policies it would be a sign that economic growth was climbing.

There is also a wall of money argument in the stock market’s favor.

Surge The strong surge in prices at the outset of the year, which has driven the Dow up 7 percent, has sucked more money into equity mutual funds in a five-week period than at any time since April 2000, according to Thomson Reuters’ Lipper unit.

That has been partly fueled by concerns that bond prices — after climbing in recent years - could retreat. Given low interest rates, investors are also struggling to find attractive yields for bank deposits or in money market funds.

To be sure, that has raised some concerns that there’s excessive bullishness in the market, but that alone isn’t enough of a reason to derail a rally that is also being fueled by signs of increased deal making.

Mergers and acquisitions in the Americas picked up sharply in the fourth quarter, with about $427 billion in announced deals, compared with about $272 billion in the yearago period, according to Thomson Reuters data. So far this year, the pace has kept up with deals such as the proposed $24.4 billion buyout of computer maker Dell Inc by Michael Dell and his partner, Silver Lake.

The initial public offerings and secondary offerings markets have also been strong, with 76 companies

selling shares in the United States to raise a total of $18.2 billion, the best start of a year since 2008.

One of the basic variables investors use to define a stock’s value is its forward price-to-earnings ratio, the amount of cash an investor has to pay for every dollar of earnings the company is expected to earn in the next year.

Current data show both forward and trailing price-to-earnings ratios for US companies are lower now than they were in October 2007 by about 11 percent to 13 percent.

“The quality and the sustainability of the earnings stream is much higher today and also you’re paying less for it because multiples are lower,” said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management in New York.

the new scrutiny. Low interest rates are making it easier for companies to issue bonds. Demand for ratings is spiking from emerging markets like India, they said.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings is crucial to McGraw-Hill’s bottom line. The rating business contributed 70 percent of McGraw-Hill’s operating profit and 46 percent of its revenue from continuing operations in 2012. The company is shedding non-financial businesses like its textbook publisher.

The Justice Department accused S&P of knowingly inflating its ratings because it wanted to earn more business from its clients — the banks whose investments it was hired to rate.

According to the lawsuit, S&P recognized in 2006 that home prices were sinking and that borrowers were having trouble repaying loans. Yet these facts weren’t

reflected in the safe ratings S&P gave to complex real-estate investments known as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, the lawsuit alleges.

High ratings from the three agencies made it possible for banks to sell trillions in risky investments. Some investors, including pension funds, can buy only securities that carry high credit ratings.

The charges are the Obama administration’s most aggressive action to date against those deemed responsible for contributing to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. They follow years of criticism that the government had failed to do enough.

Vittor, the general counsel, cast doubt Tuesday on the government’s ability to prove its case. Responding to a question about why S&P was singled out among the big three rating agencies, he said, “For us,

may increase in 2013. That expectation is reflected in its earnings guidance.

The company introduced 2013 revenue guidance of “high single-digit growth,” suggesting that revenue this year could fall between $4.76 billion and $4.85 billion. It expects adjusted earnings per share this year of $3.10 to $3.20.

The McGraw-Hill Cos., based in New York, lost $216 million, or 76 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec 31.

That compares with net income of $214 million, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier.

The loss was driven by a $497 million charge McGraw-Hill took on the pending sale of its education division. McGrawHill said in November that it will sell the textbook and e-learning publisher for $2.5 billion in cash and debt. As part of the deal, McGraw-Hill will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial.

US retail sales growth slows in Jan as higher taxes kick in Job openings, total hiring down in December WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (Agencies): US retail sales barely rose in January as tax increases and higher gasoline prices restrained spending, suggesting the economy got little help from consumers at the start of the year.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales edged up 0.1 percent after an unrevised 0.5 percent rise in December. The modest gain, which was in line with economists’ expectations, suggested the expiration of a 2 percent payroll tax cut on Jan. 1 and higher tax rates for wealthier Americans were weighing on the economy.

So-called core sales, which strip out automobiles, gasoline and building materials and

Earnings “Much less earnings are coming from finance companies and fewer are coming from leveraged-type companies now,” he said.

The financial sector accounted for more than a fifth of the S&P 500 in October 2007 according to Standard & Poor’s data, thanks to recordbreaking profits from companies like Lehman Brothers that ceased to exist during the financial crisis.

Financials now make up 15.7 percent of the index. Something similar happened to technology during the dotcom boom and bust.

At the height of the 2000 tech bubble, the sector accounted for 34.5 percent of the S&P - it now accounts for 19.2 percent, still the largest sector.

In October 2007, five of the 10 sectors were above the 10 percent mark and now seven of the 10 make up more than 10 percent each. This more balanced distribution suggests no one sector is overwhelming the average, and that earnings do not depend on bubble-like results from one industry.

The economy has rebounded even though the jobless rate remains elevated. The last three months of payroll figures have seen an average of 200,000 in job gains. In addition, industrial output has hit highs last seen in mid-2008 — just before the financial crisis hit.

“If industrial output and the employment numbers continue to improve, this could catch investors by surprise, and spur a new wave of equity investment,” said Brad Lipsig, senior portfolio manager at UBS Financial Services Inc in New York.

The sluggish recovery has kept the Federal Reserve in crisis mode.

Some see the Fed, not market fundamentals, as the strongest pillar behind the four-year rally. They worry the market will react harshly when the Fed starts to remove its accommodative stimulus — which could come as early as next year.

Stocks have done well, in part, because the Fed has underwritten the market’s risk, and made stocks look attractive by forcing interest rates lower. If rates rise quickly due to some kind of inflationary shock, it will not help equities.

But even if the market surpasses the 1,576 all-time high, it wouldn’t effectively be equal to that 2007 peak. When adjusting for inflation, the benchmark would have to scale 1,700 to truly reach new highs. But strategists see a relatively clear path to more gains as retail investors continue to shed their caution.

“The emotional journey from panic to jubilance may take much longer than four years,” said Lipsig.

the question is less the ‘why’than the ‘how’: How will the Department of Justice prove a fraud claim against S&P’s analysts for arriving at ratings through a committee process that are identical to the ratings issued independently by other rating agencies?”

It is not clear why the government charged only S&P, or whether it will file charges against Fitch and Moody’s, S&P’s two main rivals.

Responding to the charges Tuesday, executives noted that they have successfully defended against 40 other financial crisis-related lawsuits. They said they are open to “discussing reasonable settlements” to end this or any other lawsuit.

S&P declined to say how much the case is costing. Chief Financial Officer Jack Callahan said “it’s not an insignificant item in our income statement right now.”

He said the company understands the cost

correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, ticked up 0.1 percent after gaining 0.7 percent in December.

“It adds to expectations that growth is likely to be lackluster in the opening quarter of the year, due mainly to the expiration of that payroll tax cut,” said Joe Manimbo, a senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the US economy, grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter. Economic activity slipped at a 0.1 percent rate in the final three months of 2012.

However, the retail sales report showed core sales were a bit stronger in November and December than previously reported.

In addition, businesses outside autos accumulated slightly more inventories than earlier thought. Taken together with a smaller trade deficit in December, this suggests the government will raise its estimate for fourthquarter gross domestic product when it publishes its first revision to the data later this month.

Stocks on Wall Street rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index hitting its highest level since Nov. 1, 2007. Prices for US Treasury debt fell, while the dollar rose against the yen.

Pump

James Riley (left), of Dag Securities works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Feb 13, in New York. (AP)

‘A sense of urgency is appropriate: Lockhart’

Fed members mixed on monetary policy MADRID/STANFORD, Calif, Feb 13, (RTRS): The tug-of-war over US monetary policy was on full display on Tuesday as one top Federal Reserve official warned against being too timid, two others focused on the risks of being too bold, and a fourth said the Fed’s policy was too vague.

Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, speaking in Madrid, predicted the US economy would remain weak and cautioned that unemployment, at 7.9 percent last month, could become entrenched if left unaddressed.

“A sense of urgency is appropriate,” said Lockhart, a centrist who does not vote on Fed policy this year. “If policymakers are too patient, what started as cyclical problems can evolve into structural problems.”

The US central bank is buying $85 billion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities each month to boost the economy and has pledged to continue with asset purchases until the labor market outlook improves substantially.

In December, it went further into uncharted territory with a promise to keep interest rates near zero until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent, as long as inflation does not threaten to rise above 2.5 percent, and to keep policy highly accommodative even after the recovery strengthens.

Lockhart’s view that such action is needed represents that of the majority of the Fed’s 19 policymakers, including Chairman Ben Bernanke.

But a handful of their more hawkish colleagues are less comfortable with the

Fed’s aggressive policies.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George, a voter who dissented at a Fed policy meeting last month, said the Fed could disrupt markets if it actively sells large amounts of mortgage-backed securities when the time comes to tighten monetary policy.

Addressing an audience at University of Nebraska-Omaha, George also warned that investors could question the central bank’s commitment to its 2-percent inflation goal if inflation expectations begin to rise.

When the time finally comes, “actively selling a large amount of agency mortgage-backed securities ... could be potentially disruptive to markets and market functioning,” she said, adding: “These actions are untested.”

Stimulus Jeffrey Lacker, the Richmond Fed’s hawkish president, reiterated his criticism of adding to monetary stimulus, saying the central bank’s large balance sheet will make it tougher to withdraw liquidity when the time comes.

“The more stimulus we provide, the greater the sensitivity to small errors in the timing and pace of withdrawal,” he told reporters after a speech in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

A third vocal critic of the Fed’s easy policy, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, called for the central bank to be even more specific about its policy intentions.

The Fed’s policy-setting panel, the Federal Open Market Committee, “is silent

on how policy will actually be conducted” once thresholds are reached, he said in a speech at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research in California.

“This vagueness runs counter to the theory that supports the use of this explicit form of forward guidance in the first place.” Plosser advocated adopting a simple policy rule that would allow markets to better predict how the Fed will react to a given set of economic conditions.

Bernanke has defended the Fed’s aggressive easy-money policies, arguing the economy needs to grow quicker to lower unemployment and withstand tighter fiscal policies and threats from abroad. He and others say the economy, especially interest rate-sensitive sectors like sales of homes and automobiles, has responded to monetary policy.

“While we’ve made progress, there’s still quite a ways to go before we’ll be satisfied,” Bernanke said in January.

Yet the slow overall recovery has cast some doubt on the US central bank’s farreaching strategy. Some Fed officials and congressional Republicans warn that the multitrillion-dollar quantitative easing efforts risk future inflation and could crimp the Fed’s ability to tighten policy when the time it right.

The US economy likely expanded only slightly in the fourth quarter, despite an early government estimate that gross domestic product unexpectedly fell at a 0.1 percent rate. As it stands, overall growth was just 2.2 percent in 2012, below the 3-percent pace to which the United States is accustomed.

With households facing smaller paychecks and gasoline prices marching higher, the pace of growth in spending is expected to slow this quarter. Prices at the pump have increased 30 cents so far this year.

While economists were encouraged that consumers had not retrenched, they cautioned it was too early to draw conclusions.

“By no means are we completely out of the woods when it comes to the impact of higher taxes,” said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

“Evidence from past episodes suggest it could take up to two quarters for spending to fully adjust to new tax realities.”

A softer pace of consumer spending is expected to hold back growth in US GDP to a 1.8 percent annual rate this quarter, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

For the year as a whole, economists expect growth of just 2.3 percent.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed higher oil prices helped push up the cost of imported goods by 0.6 percent last month. Import prices had fallen by 0.5 percent in December.

Still, non-petroleum import prices edged up just 0.1 percent in January and have risen just 0.2 percent over the past year, showing a lack of broad inflation pressure.

Meanwhile, US employers advertised fewer jobs in December and cut back on hiring, suggesting many were cautious at the end of the year.

Job openings dropped 4.6 percent in December from November to 3.62 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

November’s openings were revised higher.

Employers hired 4.2 million Americans, a 4.8 percent drop and the fewest in a year.

One positive sign: Employers cut just 1.57 million jobs, the fewest layoffs on records dating back to 2001.

Still, those looking for work face stiff competition. About 12.2 million people were unemployed in December. That means there were 3.4 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job.

In a healthy economy, the ratio is roughly 2 to 1.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, also known as JOLTS, calculates total hiring, layoffs and quits. That’s different from the department’s monthly jobs report, which measures the unemployment rate and net hiring. Net hiring is total hiring minus layoffs, quits and other separations.

The JOLTS data will likely be revised significantly next month based on comprehensive tax records. Similar revisions were made to the government’s monthly employment report and showed much stronger hiring at the end of last year.

Employers added 196,000 net jobs in December and 157,000 in January. Job gains averaged 200,000 in the three months ending in January, up from a monthly average of 154,000 in the prior three months.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

BUSINESS

44

four banks shortlisted for sale of Citi’s Turkish retail unit Four local banks have been shortlisted in the sale of Citigroup’s retail banking business in Turkey and the deal is expected to close in late March or April, banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Turkey’s Garanti Bank, Fibabanka, Denizbank and Odeabank, the Turkish unit of Lebanon’s Audi Bank , were on the shortlist and their final bids had been placed, two of the sources said.

“The process will finish latest by the

end of March, beginning of April,” one source said.

Citigroup, the third-biggest US bank, said early in December it would cut 11,000 jobs worldwide to save as much as $1.1 billion a year in costs and that the plan included selling or cutting back consumer operations in countries including Turkey.

Citi and Denizbank declined to comment. Odeabank and Garanti Bank were not immediately available to

comment.

Two of the sources said Citi was considering splitting the loss-making Turkish retail banking unit and selling its loan book of around $4 billion, credit card business and branches separately.

But another source said the sale would be of a single entity including 30 branches, while Citi would keep 7 branches as well as its banking licence.

A senior Turkish banker told Reuters in December that Odeabank was interested in acquiring Citi’s branches to expand in one of Europe’s fastestgrowing economies.

Citi has more than 2,000 staff in Turkey, where it opened its first branch in 1981. It launched consumer banking there in 1996 and in 2006 bought a 20 percent stake in Akbank, the country’s largest private bank, but sold half that stake in May. (RTRS)

Gulf Capital buys stake in OCB Gulf Capital is buying a controlling stake in OCB Oilfield Services, which provides crews and logistics for oil rigs, to boost its exposure to the sector, the private equity firm said in a statement on Wednesday.

Gulf Capital, which has around $1 billion in assets under management and counts Credit Suisse among its investors, did not provide financial terms of the deal. The company’s stake exceeds 51 percent but the

specific figure was not provided.

Gulf Capital said the global market for offshore crew supply and linked services, outside North America, is more than $1 billion a year.

Dubai-based OCB, with operations in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, serves about 20 percent of the roughly 35 to 40 significant offshore operators around the world, the firm said. (RTRS)

Gulf markets extend gains from early-year rally

Egypt bourse slips after Moody’s credit rating cut DUBAI, Feb 13, (RTRS): Egypt’s bourse slipped from a one-week high on Wednesday after ratings agency Moody’s cut the country’s credit rating, raising fears of diminishing foreign inflows, while Gulf markets extend gains from an early-year rally.

Moody’s downgraded Egypt one notch to B3 and warned a further downgrade is possible. The ratings agency cited the economic impact of civil unrest two years after the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak as the main factor behind the downgrade. It also said it had doubts about Egypt’s ability to secure International Monetary Fund support.

Prolonged unrest, largely between supporters and opponents of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, has hindered government attempts to sta-

bilise the economy, weighing on local investor sentiment.

“Its negative for the country at least in the short- to medium-term,” said Reda Gomaa, portfolio manager at Mashreq. “The problem is when a country loses a notch or more, it is difficult to bring it back.”

Gomaa said the economy is unlikely to improve as long as political instability exists. The dire situation will persist until parliamentary elections set for April, he adds.

Cairo’s benchmark lost 0.4 percent.

Losers outnumber gainers 22 to five on the 30-stock index.

Commercial International Bank fell 2 percent and Orascom Telecom shed 2.7 percent.

Talaat Mostafa declined 2.6 percent. An Egyptian court has post-

poned a hearing over the disputed sale of land for the property developer’s flagship Madinaty project to April 30 from April 16, a bourse statement said.

Elsewhere, most Gulf markets rose, with Dubai’s Emaar Properties propelling the emirate’s rally as investors await dividend announcements.

Investors expect Emaar to pay a dividend of around 0.1 dirhams ($0.03) at its annual general meeting in the coming weeks, in line with what was given out over the last two years.

“Emaar keeps dominating activity in anticipation of dividends, accounting for 42 percent of the entire index move this year - driven by foreign buying,” said Anastasios Dalgiannakis, institutional trading

manager at Mubasher. “At this stage, we would expect a more sideways trend.”

Shares in Emaar rose 2 percent, extending 2013 gains to 34.4 percent.

Dubai’s index climbed 0.8 percent, up 17.3 percent year-to-date.

Abu Dhabi’s benchmark advanced 1.1 percent to a 39-month high.

Small-cap property stocks dominate trade, signalling a high level of retail activity. Eshraq Properties and Rak Properties rise 13.1 and 3.7 percent respectively.

Elsewhere, Qatar’s bourse gained 0.6 percent, driven by a 1.7 percent advance from Qatar Telecom.

Gulf International Services jumped 4.6 percent, its largest one-day gain since September 2011. The stock has risen in 11 of the last 12 sessions.

Oman’s measure rose 0.3 percent, with heavyweight Bank Muscat supporting. The lender said on Wednesday it was in advanced talks on a private share sale with an international institution, with the deal set to complete by the end of the month.

In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark ticked up 0.08 points, its fifth consecutive gain, while Kuwait’s index advanced 0.4 percent.

Egypt ■ The index slipped 0.4 percent to 5,732 points.

Dubai ■ The index gained 0.8 percent to 1,903 points.

Abu Dhabi ■ The index rose 1.1 percent to 2,955 points.

Qatar ■ The index rose 0.6 percent to 8,824 points.

Oman ■ The index gained 0.3 percent to 5,884 points.

Saudi Arabia ■ The index edged up 0.08 percent to 7,063 points.

Kuwait ■ The index climbed 0.4 percent to 6,384 points.

Bahrain ■ The index declined 0.1 percent to 1,084 points.

See Also Page 45

investment funds Funds Fund Manager Valution Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Bank of Kuwait

Private Equity Funds

Money Market Funds

Watani KD Money Market Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Feb 5, 2013 KD 1.377 1.377 Jan 29, 2013 Watani KD Money Market Fund (Islamic) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Feb 5, 2013 KD 1.161 1.161 Jan 29, 2013 Watani Foreign Currency Money Market Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Feb 5, 2013 USD 1.284 1.284 Jan 29, 2013 Watani Foreign Currency Money Market Fund (Euro) NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Feb 5, 2013 Euro 1.236 1.237 Jan 29, 2013 Watani USD Money Market Fund (Acc NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Weekly Feb 5, 2013 USD 1.091 1.090 Jan 29, 2013 to Islamic Shariah principles) Equity Funds NBK Gulf Equity Fund NBK Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 1.049 1.038 Jan 23, 2013 NBK Kuwait Equity Fund NBK Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.656 0.653 Jan 23, 2013 NBK Qatar Equity Fund NBK Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 1.357 1.342 Jan 23, 2013 Islamic Ijara Fund IX Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 USD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic Ijara Fund X Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 USD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic Ijara Fund XI Wafra Capital Partners LP Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 USD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Thahabi Ijara Fund V Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 USD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Thahabi Ijara Fund VI Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 USD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Thahabi Ijara Fund VII Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Nov 30, 2012 USD 10.000 10.000 Oct 31, 2012 Islamic KD Ijara Fund I Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 KD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic KD Ijara Fund II Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31, 2012 KD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic KD Ijara Fund III Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31, 2012 KD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic KD Ijara Fund IV Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 KD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic KD Ijara Fund V Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Monthly Dec 31 2012 KD 10.000 10.000 Nov 30, 2012 Alternative Funds Watani US Real Estate Income & Growth Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Monthly Sept 30, 2012 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 June 30, 2012 Watani European Real Estate Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Quarterly Sept 30, 2012 Euro 1,000.000 1,000.000 June 30, 2012 Central European Real Estate Fund NBK Global Asset Management Co. Ltd. Quarterly Sept 30, 2012 Euro 10,000.000 10,000.000 June 30, 2012 Islamic European Real Estate Fund – A Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Quarterly Sept 30, 2012 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 June 30, 2012 Islamic European Real Estate Fund – B Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Quarterly Sept 30, 2012 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 June 30, 2012 Islamic Asian Real Estate Fund Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc Quarterly Sept 30, 2012 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 June 30, 2012 Islamic China India Real Estate Fund Wafra Capital Partners L.P Cayman Islands Quarterly Sept 30, 2012 USD 1,000.000 1,000.000 June 30, 2012 R.Estate Security Funds Islamic Global RE Securities Fund Class A Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Monthly Dec 31, 2012 USD 1,062.376 1,048.180 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic Global RE Securities Fund Class B Wafra Capital Partners L.P. Monthly Dec 31, 2012 USD 1.017.974 1.013.814 Nov 30, 2012 Islamic Turkey Real Estate Fund Wafra Capital Partners L.P. March 19, 2008 USD 1,000.000 Multi Asset Funds Thahabi Multi Asset Fund – Con Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly Dec 31, 2012 USD 93.044 92.730 Nov 30, 2012 Thahabi Multi Asset Fund – Mo Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly Dec 31, 2012 USD 82.671 82.140 Nov 30, 2012 NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Con Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly Nov 30, 2012 USD 92.730 92.410 Oct 31, 2012 NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Mo Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly Nov 30, 2012 USD 82.140 81.586 Oct 31, 2012 NBK Frontier Multi Asset Fund – Plus Portfolio Frontier Capital Management (Jersey) Ltd Monthly Nov 30, 2012 USD 66.330 65.623 Oct 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Gulf Bank Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund Kwt. Fin. & Inv. Co. & Gulf Fin. House Monthly Jan 31, 2013 USD 7.270 6.9878 Dec 31, 2012 Coast Fund Coast Investment Co. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.644 0.643 Dec 31, 2012 Sanaya Dow Jones Kuwait Index Fund Industrial & Financial Investment Co. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.629 0.614 Dec 31, 2012 Markaz Capital Preservation Programs 1 Monthly Nov 30, 2012 KD 0.959 0.959 Oct 31, 2012 Markaz Capital Preservation Programs 2 Monthly Nov 30, 2012 KD 0.960 0.995 Oct 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Commercial Bank Tijari Islamic Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Tw. Monthly Feb 7, 2013 KD 0.325 0.325 Jan 23, 2013 Tijari Indian Fund Commercial Bank of Kuwait Weekly Feb 11, 2013 KD 0.840 0.841 Feb 5, 2013 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Al Ahli Kuwaiti Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.943 0.928 Dec 26, 2012 Al Ahli Gulf Fund Al Ahli Bank Monthly Jan 28, 2013 KD 0.824 0.794 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Boubyan Bank Boubyan KD Money Market Fund Boubyan Bank Weekly Feb 12, 2013 KD 1.022 1.021 Feb 5, 2013 Boubyan Sukuk Fund Boubyan Bank Daily Dec 25, 2013 USD 770.110 1,001.180 May 11, 2011 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Burgan Bank Burgan Financial Fund Burgan Bank Daily Jan 2, 2013 KD 1.009 1.009 Dec 31, 2012 Burgan Equity Fund Burgan Bank Monthly Jan 27, 2012 KD 1.845 1.828 Dec 23, 2012 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Local Fund

Al Raed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Feb 7, 2013 KD 0.991 0.998 Jan 31, 2013 Kuwait Investment Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.651 0.624 Dec 31, 2012 Al Hilal Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Feb 4, 2013 KD 0.583 0.583 Jan 31, 2013 KIC Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.930 0.929 Dec 31, 2012 Al Atheer Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.072 1.044 Dec 31, 2012 International Global Bond Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Feb 6, 2013 USD 22.730 22.400 Jan 30, 2013 Diversified Fund Kuwait Investment Co Weekly Feb 6, 2013 USD 17.500 17.440 Jan 30, 2013 European Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 Euro 15.800 15.500 Dec 31, 2012 Pacific Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Feb 6, 2013 USD 32.520 32.550 Jan 30, 2013 Al-Awaed Fund Kuwait Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2012 KD 0.917 0.914 Dec 31, 2012 North American Equity Fund Kuwait Investment Co Tw. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 USD 13.870 13.210 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

lnternational Financial Advisors Local Fund

IFA Islamic Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly Oct 21 2012 KD 0.200 0.195 Sept 30, 2012 IFA Investment Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly Oct 22, 2012 KD 0.284 0.275 Sept 18, 2012 International IFA International Guaranteed Fund International Financial Advisors Monthly Dec 31, 2010 KD 9.040 0.703 Nov 30, 2010 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

National Investment Co. (NIC) Equity Funds

Al- Wataniya Fund NIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.617 0.599 Dec 31, 2012 Al-Safwa Fund NIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.461 0.457 Dec 31, 2012 Al-Darji Fund NIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.461 0.453 Dec 31, 2012 Mawarid Fund NIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.555 0.537 Dec 31, 2012 Zajil Fund NIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.745 0.733 Dec 31, 2012 Al Mada Investment Fund NIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 USD 0.650 0.615 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Mal Investment Al Huda Islamic Fund Al Mal Investment Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.399 0.395 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Coast Investment Co. Coast Investment Fund Coast Investment Co Daily Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.664 0.643 Dec 31, 2012 Coast Pearl Fund Coast Investment Co Dec 31, 2012 KD 0.790 0.789 Nov 30, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) Mumtaz Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Feb 07, 2013 KD 4.164 4.250 Jan 31, 2013 MIDAF Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Feb 07, 2013 KD 3.080 3.116 Jan 31, 2013 Islamic Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Feb 07, 2013 KD 1.633 1.657 Jan 31, 2013 Markaz Arabian Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Feb 07, 2013 USD 2.829 2.860 Jan 31, 2013 FORSA Financial Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 3.996 0.963 Dec 31, 2012 Energy Fund Kuwait Financial Center Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.772 0.772 Dec 31, 2012 Real Estate Fund Kuwait Financial Center Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.374 1.375 Dec 31, 2012 Markaz Fixed Income Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 10.740 10.750 Jan 24, 2013 Markaz Idikhar Fund Kuwait Financial Center Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.447 0.446 Dec 31, 2012 Markaz Islamic Income Fund Kuwait Financial Center Weekly Oct 31, 2012 KD 0.219 0.218 Sept 30, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait & Middle East Financial & Inv. Co. Al Rou’yah Fund KMEFIC Monthly Jan 21, 2013 KD 1.423 1.367 Dec 31, 2012 Gulf Gate Fund KMEFIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.857 0.824 Dec 31, 2012 Al Awsat Money Market Fund (USD) KMEFIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.688 0.688 Dec 31, 2012 Al Awsat Money Market Fund (USD) KMEFIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 USD 4.787 4.784 Dec 31, 2012 Amwal Islamic Money Market Fund KMEFIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.549 0.549 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Global Investment House

Money Market Funds Islamic Real E. Funds

Kuwait Finance & Investment Co (KFIC) Al Wasm Fund KFIC Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.396 0.384 Nov 30, 2012 Al Basha’er GCC Equity Fund KFIC & Gulf Finance House Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 USD 7.270 6.988 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

KAMCO KAMCO Investment Fund KAMCO Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.977 0.940 Dec 31, 2012 Kuwait Private Equity Opportunities Fund KAMCO Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.678 0.678 Dec 31, 2012 Kuwait Education Fund KAMCO Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.428 1.428 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Madar Finance Shuwaikh Real Estate Fund Al Madar Bi-weekly Dec 31, 2012 KD 1.438 1.486 Sept 30, 2012 US Index Fund Al Madar Monthly Jan 25, 2013 KD 1.825 1.653 Nov 23, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Madina Finance & Investment Co. India Fund Al Madina Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.873 0.845 Dec 31, 2012 Al Madina Fund Al Madina Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.473 0.473 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Wafra International Investment Co. Wafra Equity Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.855 0.819 Dec 31, 2012 Wafra Bond Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.001 0.998 Dec 31, 2012 Fajir Islamic Fund Wafra Co. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.619 0.589 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Shuaa Capital Co. Saudi Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Weekly Jan 28, 2013 USD 8.470 8.470 Dec 20, 2012 The Arab Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly Feb 05, 2013 USD 24.180 24.160 Jan 29, 2013 Emirates Gateway Fund Shuaa Capital Monthly Feb 05, 2013 AED 7.340 7.270 Jan 29, 2013 Qatar Gate Fund (Q) Shuaa Capital Monthly Jan 31, 2013 QAR 94.840 89.110 Dec 31, 2012 Qatar Gate Fund (N) Shuaa Capital Monthly Jan 31, 2013 QAR 93.200 87.830 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Investment Dar Co. Al Dar Real Estate Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.134 1.133 Dec 31, 2012 Al Dar Funds of Fund Al Dar Asset Management Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.470 0.470 Dec 31, 2012 Al Dar Money Market Fund Al Dar Asset Management Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.872 0.868 Jan 21, 2013 Al Dar Securities Fund Al Dar Asset Management Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.550 0.524 Dec 31, 2012 Al Nokhba Fund Al Dar Asset Management Monthly Dec 31, 2012 KD 0.406 0.408 Nov 30, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Global Umbrella Fund - US Global Umbrella Fund - Asia/Japan Global Distressed Fund Zenith Fund Mayur Hedge Fund Global KD Bond Fund GCC Large Cap Index Fund Al-Mamoun Fund A Al-Mamoun Fund B GCC Large Cap Fund Al-Noor Fund Global Saudi Equity Fund Global KD Money Market Fund Global USD Money Market Fund Global US Real Estate Fund GCC Real Estate Fund Global Asia Real Estate Fund Global Real Estate Ijarah Fund

Al Aman Islamic Fund Al Aman Investment Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.471 0.452 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Housing Finance Co (ISKAN) Masaref Investment Fund ISKAN Weekly Feb 7, 2013 KD 0.911 0.906 Jan 31, 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Gulf Investment Corp.

Gulf Bond Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 13.910 13.950 Jan 25, 2013 Gulf Premier Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 21.630 21.460 Jan 27, 2013 Gulf Islamic Fund Gulf Investment Corp Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 6.700 6.650 Jan 24, 2013 GIC KD Bond Fund Gulf Investment Corp Monthly Jan 31, 2013 USD 0.980 0.980 Jan 24, 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Ahli United Bank (formerly BKME)

Kuwait Investment Co.

Fixed Income Funds Index Funds Equity Funds

Global Opportunistic Fund Global Quarterly Sept 30, 2009 USD 106.060 107.180 Global Opportunistic Fund II Global Quarterly Sept 22, 2009 USD 110.920 110.390 June 30, 2009 Private Equity Fund Global Quarterly Sept 30, 2009 KD 0.829 0.859 June 30, 2009 Global Buyout Fund Global Monthly Sept 30, 2009 USD 564.740 603.390 June 30, 2009 Country Fund Palestine Dedicated Fund Global Monthly Dec 31, 2012 USD 86.740 91.810 Sept 30, 2011 Global Egypt Fund Global Monthly Jan 31, 2012 USD 38.740 38.110 Dec 31, 2011 Sectoral Funds EPADI Fund Global Weekly Jan 29, 2013 USD 108.550 107.870 Jan 22, 2013 Islamic Funds Global GCC Islamic Fund Global Weekly Jan 29, 2013 USD 89.250 88.450 Jan 22, 2013 Al-Durra Islamic Fund Global Monthly Feb 07, 2013 KD 1.168 1.190 Jan 31, 2013 Global Islamic Fund of Funds Global Weekly Dec 31, 2012 USD 67.276 76.860 Aug 31, 2011 Global Islamic Fund Global Monthly June 28, 2012 KD 1.271 1.286 March 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Aman Investment

Al Ahli Bank

Hedge Funds

Funds Fund Manager Valution Valued date Currency Net Asset Prev NAV Prev NAV Dated Value (NAV) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global

Monthly Monthly Monthly Monthly Weekly Monthly Weekly Weekly Weekly Bi-weekly Bi-weekly Bi-weekly Weekly Monthly Quarterly Quarterly Quarterly

Nov 30, 2012 Nov 30, 2012 Nov 30, 2012 Nov 30, 2012 Dec 31, 2012 Jan 31, 2013 Feb 07, 2013 Feb 07, 2013 Feb 07, 2013 Jan 29, 2013 Feb 10, 2013 Feb 10, 2013 Feb 10, 2013 Feb 05, 2013 June 30, 2012 June 30, 2009 June 30, 2009 Dec 31, 2008

USD USD USD USD USD KD KD KD KD USD SAR SAR KD USD USD USD USD USD

148.640 114.260 168.060 94.840 94.020 0.824 1.319 0.534 0.534 120.160 168.016 166.442 1.114 134.320 0.265 0.675 0.850 850.790

152.630 117.130 167.850 94.910 92.180 0.819 1.331 0.539 0.539 118.210 168.573 166.016 1.114 134.440 0.378 0.710 0.857

Sept 30, 2012 Sept 30, 2012 Sept 30, 2012 Oct 30, 2012 Nov 30, 2012 Dec 31, 2012 Jan 31, 2013 Jan 31, 2013 Jan 31, 2013 Jan 22, 2013 Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013 Feb 05, 2013 Jan 29, 2013 March 31, 2009 March 31, 2009 March 31, 2009

Al Awasat Money Market Fund Ahli United Bank Monthly April 30, 2012 KD 1.132 1.104 Sept 30, 2010 Al Amin Islamic Market Fund Ahli United Bank Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.142 1.142 Dec 30, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bayan Investment Co Ea’mmar and Estethmar Fund Bayan Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.442 0.411 Dec 31, 2012 Al Themar Securities Fund Bayan Investment Co Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.452 0.445 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Tharwa Investment Co. Tharwa Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.212 1.193 Jan 10, 2013 Tharwa Islamic Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly Jan 31 2013 KD 0.683 0.682 Jan 10, 2013 Tharwa Arab Investment Fund Tharwa Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 USD 1.422 1.251 Jan 10, 2013 Tharwa World Fund Tharwa Investment Co Weekly Jan 31, 2013 USD 1.073 1.042 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Bank Al-Bilad Al Seef Fund Bank Al-Bilad Daily Feb 3, 2013 KD 0.524 0.528 Jan 27, 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Commercial International Bank Commercial Int’t Bank Fund I CI Asset Management Weekly Feb 12, 2013 EGP 196.760 196.730 Feb 11, 2013 Commercial Int’t Bank Fund II (Istethmar) CI Asset Management Weekly Feb 07, 2013 EGP 62.940 61.600 Jan 31, 2013 CIB and Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt Fund CI Asset Management Weekly Feb 07, 2013 EGP 43.270 42.450 Jan 31, 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Noor Financial Inv. Co. Noor Islamic Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.678 0.676 Dec 31, 2012 Noor Real Estate Income Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly July 31, 2013 KD 1.124 1.126 June 30, 2012 Noor Kuwait Islamic Equity Fund Noor Financial Investment Co Monthly June 30, 2013 KD 0.633 0.636 May 31, 2011 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium Kuwait Real Estate Fund Kuwait Real Estate Investment Consortium Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 1.692 1.685 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Manafae Investment Co. Manafae First Fund Manafae Investment Co Monthly Dec 31, 2012 KD 0.665 0.665 Dec 26, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Zumorroda Investment Co. Zumorroda GCC Fund Al Zumorroda Investment Co Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.558 0.528 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al Safat Investment Co. Al Safat Local Shares Equity Fund Al Safat Investment Co. Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.201 0.204 Nov 30, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Imtiaz Investment Co. Al-Imtiaz Investment Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.847 0.847 Dec 31, 2012 Al-Imtiaz Real Estate Fund Al-Imtiaz Investment Company Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.889 0.889 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

BankMuscat BankMuscat MSCI Kuwait Fund BankMuscat Daily Feb 6, 2013 USD 0.429 0.431 Feb 5, 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Muthana Investment Co. Muthanna Islamic Index Fund (MUDX) Al-Muthana Investment Company Daily Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.384 0.376 Dec 31, 2012 Muthanna GCC Islamic Banks Fund Al-Muthana Investment Company Weekly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.636 0.615 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

CapCorp Investment Co. CapCorp Local Fund CapCorp Investment Company Weekly Feb 7, 2013 KD 0.924 0.936 Jan 31, 2013 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Amar Finance & Leasing Co. Amar Real Estate Fund Amar Finance & Leasing Company Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.901 0.901 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Dhow Investment Co.

Waed Real Estate Fund Al-Dhow Real Estate Company Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.906 0.922 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Al-Fouz Investment Co.

Al-Fouz Real Estate Fund Al-Fouz Investment Company Annual Sept 30, 2012 KD 0.997 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Securities House Co.

Diyar Real Estate Investment Fund Securities House Company Monthly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.949 0.991 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

A’ayan Leasing & Investment Company

Awa’ed Real Estate Fund A’ayan Leasing & Investment Co. Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.680 0.680 Dec 31, 2012 Makaseb Estate Fund A’ayan Leasing & Investment Co. Quarterly Jan 31, 2013 KD 0.716 0.724 Dec 31, 2012 ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Industrial & Financial Investment Company Direct investment Fund

Industrial and Financial Investment Co. (IFIC)

Jan 31, 2013

KD

1.193

1.179

Dec 31, 2012

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

BUSINESS

45

Name: Kuwait Sharia Compatible Indices

Providers: Al Madar Finance & Investment Co.

Description: Index of Sharia compatible companies traded on the KSE

Website: www.almadar-fi.com

Index name Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Composite Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Kuwait Only Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Active Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Banking Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Investment Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Insurance Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Real Estate Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Industrial Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Services Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Food Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Islamic Sector Kuwait Sharia Compatible Index - Non Kuwaiti Sector Kuwait Stock Exchange Index - Price S&P 500 DJ Islamic Index.

Bloomberg ticker AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC AMIC KWSEIDX SPX DJIM

Today’s value as of Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 13, 2013 Feb 12, 2013 Feb 12, 2013

Today’s closing value 203.67 199.11 89.50 336.43 96.53 24.43 55.44 143.46 282.65 278.82 154.71 246.44 6,384.32 1,519.43 2,395.10

Prev closing value 204.22 199.62 86.70 335.60 94.06 24.43 55.80 143.11 285.15 278.82 154.12 248.27 6,357.06 1,517.01 2,387.88

% change -0.27% -0.26% 3.22% 0.25% 2.62% 0.00% -0.64% 0.25% -0.87% 0.00% 0.38% -0.74% 0.43% 0.16% 0.30%

1-week change -0.44% -0.45% 4.88% -1.90% 6.05% 8.46% 0.30% -0.52% -0.29% 1.99% -0.77% 0.10% 1.47% 0.54% 0.08%

3-month change 5.52% 5.10% 21.47% 2.33% 21.22% 28.45% 0.94% 7.30% 6.84% 14.19% 4.80% 5.92% 10.06% 12.09% 9.97%

YTD change 2.80% 2.73% 16.77% 1.09% 9.18% 14.04% 3.52% 1.87% 3.23% 5.20% 2.97% 5.72% 7.58% 8.34% 5.24%

12-month change 8.29% 6.88% 24.09% 6.65% 40.89% -24.89% 24.77% -2.64% 6.93% 21.38% 8.84% 21.07% 6.24% 12.40% 6.08%

24-month change -9.60% -11.21% 19.24% -11.01% 93.62% 0.01% 24.60% -17.75% -16.28% 13.49% -6.80% 17.72% -4.93% 14.32% 4.76%

dinar

NCC wins tender National Cleaning Company (NCC) announced that a wholly owned subsidiary was awarded tender No. HA/SHAM/ 2013-2012 to clean the buildings of the Public Authority for Applied Education (PAAE) over 3 years for KD 1,145,133.

Also, NCC announced that a wholly owned subsidiary was awarded tender No. 2013-2012/10 to carry out waste and refuse dumping works over three years for KD 576, 687.

The exchange rate of the US greenback is down against the Kuwaiti dinar, trading for KD 0.281 Wednesday, and the EU’s euro was up to KD 0.378, according to the daily bulletin of the Central Bank of Kuwait.

The bulletin said the sterling pound stood at KD 0.441. (KUNA)

Gulf Cables rallies 20 fils; City Group dives

KSE climbs 27.26 points in choppy trade

By John Mathews Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Kuwait stocks firmed up further on Wednesday, extending the gains to fourth day in row. The index rose 27.26 points in choppy trade to 6384.32 points — the highest level since third week of May 2012.

The focus continued to be on small and mid-caps while some of the heavyweights sagged on profit taking. The buying was largely speculative in absence of fundamental cues.

The KSX 15 benchmark slipped 4.92 pts to 1,028.81 points and has shed almost 18 pts from start of the month while weighted index eased 0.92 pts.

The volume turnover rose further after soaring in the last three sessions.

666.46 million shares changed hands — up 8.87 percent from Tuesday.

The sectors closed mostly in the positive region. Healthcare out led the rest with 2.13 percent upswing whereas oil and gas dropped 1.11 percent, the biggest loser of the day. In terms of volume, real estate mustered the highest volume share of 39.94 percent while financial services and industrials followed with 35.64 percent and 11.15 percent respectively.

Gulf Cables rallied 20 fils recouping

the loss on Tuesday while Automated Systems Co added 10 fils to close at KD 0.550. Kuwait Gulf Links was up 4 fils on back of 3.04 million shares. City Group however tumbled 25 fils and Kuwait Portland Cement shed 20 fils to settle at KD 1.140.

Bourse heavyweight Zain, slipped 10 fils to KD 0.800 after trading 2.54 million shares and Wataniya Telecom slid 20 fils after stagnating in the day before. Agility held the ground unchanged at KD 0.550 off early highs.

The stock has rallied 60 fils so far during the month.

The market opened on a positive note and edged higher in early trade.

The index peaked at 6396.46 points but failed to hold on to the gains. It retreated and drifted above the opening mark amid mixed sentiments. The bourse slipped again in the final minutes before spiking to close with modest gains.

Rallied Top gainer of the day, Investors Holding Group rallied 9.52 percent while Al Nawadi climbed 9.43 percent to stand close behind. Contracting and Marine Services Co dived 10.34 percent, the steepest decliner of the day, and Investors Holding Group also topped the volume with 104.77 million shares changing hands.

Mirroring the day’s advance, the winners outnumbered the losers. 60 stocks advanced whereas 46 closed lower. Of the 143 counters active on

and Kuwait International Bank was flat at KD 0.300 with a volume of 4.42 million shares. Burgan Bank too stagnated at KD 0.540. The lender has obtained the approval of Central Bank of Kuwait to extend permission to buyback or sell up to 10% of own issued shares over a period of 6 months commencing from Feb 5.

Kuwait Finance House paused at KD 0.810 and Boubyan Bank too did not move in either direction. The bank has recorded KD 10.05 million net profit and earnings per share 5.75 fils in the full year 2012 and the Board of Directors have recommended a dividend payout of 5 percent bonus shares.

Reversed Photo by Anwar Daifallah

Seen in the photo, investors at Kuwait Stock Exchange. The index rose 27.26 pts on Wednesday.

Wednesday, 37 closed flat. 9291 deals worth KD 44.34 million were transacted — up 8.40 percent in value from the day before.

“Speculation is the driving force behind the appreciation in stock prices,” Reuters quoted Naser alNafisi, general manager for Al Joman Center for Economic Consultancy earlier in the week. “There’s a focus on small cap stocks.”

ALAFCO fell 5 fils to KD 0.335 and Burgan Well Drilling Co dropped 8 fils after eking slight gains in the previous

session. Jazeera Airways was unchanged at KD 0.375. The carrier has chalked a net profit of KD 13.94 million and earnings per share of 38.37 fils in 2012, up from KD 10.55 million profit and 29.24 fils EPS last year.

In the banking sector, National Bank of Kuwait slipped 10 fils to KD 0.980.

Gulf Bank was flat at KD 0.410 off early lows and Commercial Bank too did not budge from the early close of KD 0.410. Al Ahli Bank rose 10 fils after stagnating in the day before.

Ahli United Bank climbed 10 fils

United Projects Group erased 10 fils and Hilal Cement reversed the gains on Tuesday to close 10 fils lower.

Independent Petroleum Group Co was down 10 fils. The company has posted a net profit of KD 5.83 million and earnings per share of 40.35 fils in 2012 and the board has recommended a cash dividend payout of 30 percent or 30 fils.

Kuwait Pipes fell 2 fils to KD 0.108 whereas National Industries Group was unchanged at KD 0.218. Gulf Glass Manufacturing Co rose 10 fils to KD 0.890. The company has posted a net profit of KD 2.60 million and earnings per share of 64.69 fils in the full year 2012. The Board of Directors recommended a cash dividend 45 percent or

45 fils per share plus 5 pct bonus shares.

International Financial Advisors was unchanged at 56 fils and National Investment Co followed suit. KIPCO too held steady at KD 0.405 whereas Securities Group added 4 fils on back of 15.89 million shares. KAMCO dropped 10 fils.

National Real Estate Co flat lined at KD 0.122 and Salhiya Real Estate Co slid 15 fils to KD 0.325. Mabanee Co knocked off 20 fils. The stock has shed 20 fils so far during the month while year-to-date, it has gained 40 fils.

The bourse has been buoyant so far during the week and has climbed 95.6 pts in last four sessions. The index has rallied 139.21 pts from start of the month and is trading over 7.58 percent higher year-to-date. KSE, with 213 listed companies, is the second largest bourse in the region.

In the bourse related news, Mashaer Holding has announced a net profit of KD 4.31 million and earnings per share of 25 fils in the 2012 as against KD 5,20 profit and earnings per share of 29 fils in the year before. The Board of Directors recommended a dividend payout of: cash 15 percent.

INOVEST has logged an annual net loss KD 2.53 million and loss per share of 8.91 fils in 2012 as compared to KD 6.54 loss and 22.96 fils LPS in 2011.

The Board of Directors recommended no dividend payout for the fiscal year.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

BUSINESS

46

Santander UK probed over flawed advice-sources Santander’s British arm is under investigation for possible investment advice failures and could face a fine or license changes that prevent it from offering such services in future, four industry sources said.

Britain’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) said on Wednesday it had referred a major high street bank to its enforcement division, the latest clamp-down on an industry tarnished by mis-selling and interest

the

Kingfisher shares dive on bank loan recall plan

The financial regulator said the probe, which followed spot checks during a review of the quality of advice available at six major banks and building societies, would only have been ordered if the company in question had a history of poor advice.

Shortly after this investigation was announced, Santander UK said it was reviewing the future of its retail investment advice arm, putting 800 jobs at risk. (RTRS)

rate-rigging scandals.

UK banks are already facing bills totalling billions of pounds from a series of misdemeanors, including mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI), misleading customers about interest rate hedging products and a global interest rate rigging scam.

The FSA declined to name the lender and Santander UK declined to comment on whether it was being investigated.

recovery process means the end of the road for Kingfisher” if they carry it through, Kapil Kaul, regional head of leading aviation consultancy CAPA, told AFP. The creditor banks’ announcement late Tuesday that they would begin recalling the outstanding loans paves the way for the sale of Kingfisher assets held as collateral.

“We have decided to recall (initiating the recovery process) the loans

Shares of India’s debt-laden Kingfisher Airlines plunged on Wednesday after banks said they would start recalling loans worth $1.5 billion, which analysts said spelled the end for the carrier.

The firm, controlled by Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya, slid five percent — its daily limit — before edging clawing back some losses to trade down 4.58 percent at 10.62 rupees in mid-afternoon.

“The banks’ decision to start the

given to Kingfisher Airlines,” Shymal Acharya, a deputy managing director of state-run State Bank of India, which heads the consortium of bank lenders, said.

A spokesman for Bangalorebased Kingfisher he could not immediately comment on the banks’ decision.

“I am not able to wager a guess (when the airline will be able to comment),” Prakash Mirpuri, an airline vice president, told AFP. (AFP)

bottomline Wall Street retreats from record

LOS ANGELES: Comcast is buying the rest of NBCUniversal from General Electric several years ahead of schedule to take advantage of low interest rates and what its CEO calls a “very attractive price” of $16.7 billion.

The nation’s leading cable TV company also agreed to pay GE another $1.4 billion for other assets that include one of New York’s best-known landmarks, NBC’s headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

The building also was the setting for the NBC comedy series “30 Rock,” a fictional version of the broadcast network that skewered the management of both GE and Comcast before airing its final episode two weeks ago.

Investors thought the move was good for both companies — GE because it got cash for its stake earlier than expected and Comcast because it will benefit more from the rising price of sports rights and other TV programs. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

High levels; currencies volatile

billion the prior year. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

LONDON: Crest Nicholson got off to a flying start on its return to the stock market on Wednesday, after the British housebuilder completed a listing which valued it at 553 million pounds ($866 million).

The 50-year-old firm, taken private by Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter and mortgage lender HBOS at the peak of the market in 2007, priced its shares at 220 pence, the upper half of its original range.

Its stock was trading at 248 pence at 1030 GMT. The initial public offering (IPO), the biggest in London this year, was another boost for the market for new listings in Europe, which started to show signs of life in the final months of last year as stock markets rallied. (RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Oil halts gain as US stocks rise NEW YORK, Feb 13, (Agencies): Currency trading was volatile on Wednesday as concerns about currency wars and the fallout from mixed messages from the G7 put added focus on a meeting of world leaders in Moscow later in the week.

AMSTERDAM: ING Groep NV, the bailed-out Dutch bank and insurance company, has announced plans to cut 2,400 jobs in Europe over the next two years as the company unveiled net profit rose in the fourth quarter due to larger gains from asset sales.

Net profit was 1.43 billion euros ($1.99 billion), up from 1.19 billion euros in the same period a year ago, as sales of assets this year were larger. The company said that “underlying” banking profits fell to 184 million euros from 664 million euros due to a weakening economic climate, with higher loan loss provisions, a lower interest margin, and higher costs due to higher taxes. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

SAN FRANCISCO: A shareholder rebellion against Dell’s proposed $24.4 billion sale to its founder and other investors is gaining more support, fueling a belief that the struggling personal computer maker will have to wrangle a higher price to get the deal done.

Mutual fund firm T. Rowe Price joined the opposition Tuesday. T. Rowe Price and another shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, believe that founder and CEO Michael Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake are being allowed to seize control and end Dell Inc.’s 25year history as a publicly held company for too little money. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

The euro turned lower against the dollar and Japanese yen. The euro had earlier traded higher against the yen after Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said the yen had definitely been over-valued and that “there are no signs” Japan’s monetary authorities were intervening.

World stock markets struggled to gain further traction after the S&P 500 hit its highest level since November 2007.

European shares were higher, but a measure of world markets was little changed and the Dow Jones industrial average fell back from the 14,000 level.

After hitting a more-than-five-year high, the S&P 500 also waned as it encountered resistance.

U.S. equities have started the year on a strong note, helped by growth in corporate earnings and an early January rally after the full brunt of the so-called “fiscal cliff” of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts was averted. A lack of recent catalysts has kept gains more limited and the market has slowly ground higher on low volume.

MSCI’s world equity index edged up 0.01 percent, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of top European companies gained 0.4 percent.

FRANKFURT: German tourism giant TUI said on Wednesday that its losses widenend in the first quarter of the current year, but it would still stick to its fullyear targets.

TUI, which operates its business year from October to September, said in a statement it booked a net loss of 137 million euros ($184 million) in the three months to December, compared with a loss of 87.6 million euros a year earlier.

The group noted, however, that yearearlier earnings had been boosted by oneoff effects and that underlying profits, as measured by earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA), improved slightly. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

MOLINE: Farm and construction equipment maker Deere & Co. said Wednesday that its first-quarter net income leaped 22 percent on growing sales of farm machinery at higher prices.

The company’s earnings soundly beat Wall Street expectations.

In the quarter ending Jan 31, Deere said it earned $649.7 million, or $1.65 per share, compared with $532.9 million, or $1.30 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose almost 10 percent to $7.42 billion.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.39 per share on revenue of $6.73 billion. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

US

SYDNEY: Australia’s largest lender

NEW YORK: Coca-Cola is facing a tough time: people are drinking less soda in the US and Europe and uncertain economic conditions around the world are weighing on the world’s biggest beverage maker.

The Atlanta-based company said Tuesday that its profit rose in the fourth quarter, as it benefited from growth in emerging markets and a shift in the calendar that resulted in two extra selling days for the period. But sales volume fell in China and Europe, reflecting a pullback in consumer spending.

In North America, its biggest market by revenue, volume rose just 1 percent, boosted by its Powerade sports drinks and bottled teas. The company sold 2 percent less soda. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Stocks edged lower Wednesday, pulling back from close to record levels.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54 points, to 13,958 as of 11:26 a.m.

(1626 GMT). The Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 4 points to 1,518 and the Nasdaq composite rose 4 points to 3,190.

The Dow was pulled lower by McDonald’s falling $1.49 to $93.92 and Caterpillar dropping 91 cents to $96.31.

Twenty stocks in the 30-member index declined. A government report also showed the spending by Americans barely moved up last month.

Still, investors felt optimistic about the media industry after General Electric agreed Tuesday to sell its stake in NBCUniversal to cable operator Comcast for $16.7 billion. The company said it would use up to $10 billion of money to buy back shares. GE’s stock rose 80 cents to $23.38. Comcast advanced $2.43 to $41.38.

Stocks have surged this year, pushing the Dow to within less than a percentage point of its record close of 14,164.53 set in October 2007.

The index logged its best January in almost two decades, after lawmakers reached a last-minute deal to avoid the

Commonwealth Bank on Wednesday posted a one percent rise in first-half net profit to Aus$3.66 billion (US$3.77 billion), sending its shares to an all-time high. The bank’s result for the six months to December 31 was up from Aus$3.62 billion in the same period the previous year.

Commonwealth’s cash profit, a measure often preferred by financial institutions, rose six percent to Aus$3.78 billion, slightly above analyst expectations. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s powerful Bakrie family has reached an initial deal to withdraw from London-listed coal firm Bumi Plc, a Bakrie spokesman said Wednesday, ahead of a crucial general meeting.

The Bakrie Group has been in boardroom tussles with British financier Nathaniel Rothschild over control of the company and its lucrative coal assets in Indonesia since soon after the joint venture was set up in mid-2011. “This agreement is a significant step forward in the process of unwinding our interest in Bumi Plc,” group spokesman Chris Fong told AFP. The separation, however, will not be official until shareholders vote at the company’s extraordinary general meeting on Feb 21. (AFP)

NEW YORK: The financial news and information firm Thomson Reuters reported Wednesday its profit for the fourth quarter was $372 million, and said its rebound was on target.

The results followed a loss in the same period a year earlier of $2.6 billion, due to a large writedown on its financial services business. Thomson Reuters, which is incorporated in Canada and has its headquarters in New York, said its full-year 2012 profit rose to $2.1 billion from $1.4

back to Nov. 19 2012 without a correction, squeezing the bears and fuelling the bulls’ appetite for equities.

“As a house we feel more confident about equities and that the uptrend is going to continue for this year. After a fast start there may be some tracking back, but I think if that happens there is more money waiting in the wings to go into equities,” Edward Bland, head of research at Duncan Lawrie Private Bank, said. “There seems to be a unanimity around the world now that bond markets look overpriced and equities are the preferred asset class,” he said.

The strength of the FTSE 100 may have caught out those investors who had been betting on a market pull-back last week, when short interest in FTSE 100 stocks spiked around 24 percent from the prior 30-days, according to data from Sungard Astec analytics.

“fiscal cliff” of sweeping tax increases and spending cuts. Investors are also becoming more optimistic that the housing market is recovering and that hiring is picking up.

“We’re cautiously optimistic on stocks,” said Colleen Supran, principal at Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough.

“There is some indication that we could be continuing on this slow growth trajectory.”

The Dow is up 7 percent this year, the S&P 500 has gained 6.9 percent.

Among other stocks making big moves: ■ Groupon rose 28 cents to $5.57 after brokerage firm Sterne, Agee & Leach, raised its rating on the company to “Buy” from “Neutral,” citing the longterm potential for the company’s changing business model. The online deals company has lost almost three quarters of its value since going public in November 2011 at $20, as revenue growth has slowed.

■ Cliffs Natural Resources fell $6.80, or 19 percent, to $29.79 after the mining company announced a hefty fourth-quarter loss that stemmed from $2 billion in impairment charges.

■ Dean Foods, a milk producer, fell $1.63 to $16.75, after announcing a profit outlook that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

Asia Asian markets were mostly up on Wednesday, with Sydney hitting a near three-year high, but Tokyo sank on profit-taking and as the yen picked up strength against the euro and dollar.

The Japanese currency picked up after a Group of Seven (G7) statement on Tuesday that said “excessive volatility” in exchange markets hurts financial stability, as they tried to calm talk of currency wars ahead of this week’s G20 meeting.

Sydney jumped 0.90 percent, or 44.7 points, to 5,003.7 — closing above the 5,000-point mark for the first time since April 2010 — and Seoul rose 1.56 percent, or 30.28 points, to 1,976.07.

But Tokyo, which surged on Tuesday, fell 1.04 percent, or 117.71 points, to 11,251.41.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were closed for public holidays.

In other markets: ■ Mumbai rose 0.24 percent, or 47.04 points, to 19,608.08 points.

Indian IT outsourcer TCS rose 1.58 percent to a record 1,430.5 rupees, while United Breweries fell 9.26 percent to 642.5 rupees.

■ Bangkok added 1.69 percent, or 25.16 points, to close at 1,514.11.

Coal giant Banpu gained 1.87 percent, or 7.00 baht, to 381.00 baht, and Petrochemical group PTT Plc rose 4.03 percent, or 14.00 baht, to 361.00 baht.

■ Singapore closed up 0.94 percent, or 30.74 points, to 3,301.04.

United Overseas Bank gained 1.89 percent to Sg$19.40 and Singapore Telecom increased 0.84 percent to Sg$3.60.

■ Jakarta closed up 0.51 percent, or 23.33 points, to 4,571.57.

Tobacco maker Gudang Garam rose 1.21 percent to 50,1000 rupiah, while miner Aneka Tambang fell 0.73 percent to 1,360 rupiah.

■ Kuala Lumpur gained 0.45 percent, or 7.36 points, to close at 1,631.16.

Axiata Group added 0.5 percent to 6.29 ringgit, AirAsia rose 0.8 percent to

Europe European equities advanced on Wednesday while the yen rose against the dollar amid uncertainty surrounding Tuesday’s Group of Seven (G7) statement on foreign exchange volatility.

London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies gained 0.33 percent to 6,359.11 points, closing at its highest level since May 19, 2008.

Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose by 0.67 percent to 7,711.89 points, and in Paris the CAC 40 climbed by 0.32 percent to 3,698.53 points.

The G7 statement came just days before G20 talks that will seek to address growing fears of a currency war in which nations carry out devaluations to make their exports more competitive. Markets will also be watching a two-day Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy meeting, which wraps up Thursday, and whether policymakers unveil fresh easing measures.

UK Britain’s top share index staged a late rally on Wednesday when shorts got squeezed by the continued resilience of the market on the back of rising investor confidence.

Britain’s top share index closed up 20.73 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,359.11, and touched an intraday high of 6,384.70 - its highest in five-years.

The index, however, fell short of its highest closing level since Jan. 3 2008 with some late profit taking and strong resistance seen at 6,400, according to technical analysts.

The latest market rally has stretched

2.68 and Genting Malaysia shed 1.3 percent to 3.73 ringgit.

■ Wellington was flat, edging up 3.27 points to 4,221.40.

■ Manila closed 1.05 percent higher, adding 68.06 points to 6,527.99.

Puregold Price Club gained 1.55 percent to 36 pesos while SM Investments Corp. rose 0.30 percent to 1,003 pesos.

Oil Oil price gains halted on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories in the United States rose last week as refiners cut output. The crude inventory rise in the world’s largest oil importer somewhat counterbalanced optimism on the global demand outlook and strong European economic data.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 560,000 barrels in the week ending Feb. 8, compared with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.4 million barrel rise, while stockpiles of gasoline and distillates fell, the weekly report from the EIA said. Front month Brent futures were 6 cents down at $118.60 a barrel at 1609 GMT having earlier touched a session high of $119.12, not far off a ninemonth high of $119.17 hit last week.

U.S. crude futures were down 7 cents at $97.44 Positive economic data supported prices earlier in the day. A Reuters poll showed that the euro zone is slowly starting to move out of recession.

The EIA said on Tuesday consumption will rise by 110,000 bpd to 1.05 million bpd in 2013, taking global demand to 90.2 million bpd this year.

OPEC also raised its forecast for demand growth on Tuesday by 840,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, 80,000 bpd more than expected.

In contrast, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the West’s energy watchdog, on Wednesday cut its demand outlook, temporarily pressuring prices in early European trade.

The cut in the demand outlook from the IEA of 90,000 bpd saw a slight retreat in prices after Tuesday’s more upbeat reports from the EIA and OPEC. However, there were some bullish signals in the IEA report, which said Iranian oil output will likely fall further from its lowest in three decades as the West tightens sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Currencies The dollar is at a 6-month high against the British pound after the Bank of England predicted rising prices.

The central bank says inflation in the U.K. may rise to 3 percent by summer, above its target, but it will look past higher prices to help the country’s flagging economy.

Monetary policy designed to support the economy tends to weigh on a nation’s interest rates. Lower rates in turn can weaken a currency, as investors often seek higher returns in other markets.

exchange rates – Feb 13 US dollar BEC Muzaini Dollarco Commercial Bank Gulf Bank NBK Burgan Bank ABK Oman KBE

Buy Sell Sell Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Sell

Cash .278950 .282600 .281350 .284000 .274000 .284000 .278650 .285250 .276150 .284750 .276200 .274800 .278650 .284750 — — —

Buy Sell Sell Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Sell

Cash .468750 .518750 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Buy Sell Sell Buy Sell Buy Sell Sell

Cash .542500 .555500 — — — — — —

Draft .280200 .282350 .282550 .282300 .281150 .283250 .281150 .283250 .281150 .283250 .281200 .283300 .281150 .283250 .287900 .287900 .282800

Sterling pound

Transfer .280200 .282350 .282550 .282300 .281150 .283250 .281150 .283250 .281150 .283250 .281200 .283300 .281150 .283250 — — .282800

Cash .436505 .445505 — .448000 .438000 .454000 .435613 .449446 .439260 .448330 .434500 .443530 .436230 .448050 — .467000 —

Danish kroner BEC Muzaini Dollarco Commercial Bank Gulf Bank NBK Burgan Bank ABK Oman KBE

Draft .468750 .518750 — — .050680 .051059 .050446 .051360 .050590 .051110 .046462 .046997 .050390 .051520 — — —

Cash .004914 .005315 – .005450 .004000 .006750 — — — — — — — — — — —

Cyprus Pound BEC Muzaini Gulf Bank ABK KBE

travellers cheques BEC Commercial Bank Gulf Bank Al-Ahli Bank

Transfer .435505 .444505 .443320 .444070 .440956 .444249 .439521 .446295 .440760 .445330 .436000 .440530 .440760 .444980 — .475000 —

Indian rupee

Transfer .468750 .518750 — — .050680 .051059 .050446 .051360 .050590 .051110 .046462 .046997 .050390 .051520 — — —

Draft — — — — — — — —

Draft .435505 .444505 .443320 .444070 .440956 .444249 .439521 .446295 .440760 .445330 .444600 .436000 .440760 .444980 .444400 .475000 —

Transfer — — — — — — — —

Draft .005182 .005257 .005245 .005245 — .005294 — .005324 — — .005094 .005093 .005186 .005276 — — .005258

Transfer .005182 .005257 .005245 .005245 — .005294 — .005324 — — .005094 .005093 .005186 .005276 — — .005258

Euro Cash .375357 .382357 — .382000 .376000 .384000 .373307 .385570 .376450 .385050 .339010 .347320 .373950 .384410 — — —

Draft .375357 .382857 .381160 .380025 .378147 .380971 .376656 .382866 .377950 .382050 .380190 .340510 .377840 .381780 .378620 .382570 .384300

Japanese yen Transfer .375357 .382857 .381160 .380025 .378147 .380971 .376656 .382866 .377950 .382050 .380190 .344320 .377840 .381780 .378620 .382570 .384300

Pakistani rupee Cash .002603 .002883 — .003100 — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .002851 .002891 .002876 .002874 — .002898 — .002915 — — — — — .002946 .002951 .003175 .002885

Cash .294700 .312700 — .004550 — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .294700 .312700 .003035 .004035 .003024 .003047 .003010 .003060 .030208 .030582 .003588 .003636 .030222 .030586 — .003200 —

Transfer .294700 .312700 .003035 .004035 .003024 .003047 .003010 .003060 .030208 .030582 .003588 .003636 .030222 .030586 — .003200 —

Sri Lanka rupee

Transfer .002851 .002891 .002876 .002874 — .002898 — .002915 — — .003233 — — .002946 — 003175 .002884

Cash .001951 .002531 — .002950 .002000 .003500 — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .001934 .002239 .002232 .002231 — .002251 — .002266 — — .002546 — — .002305 — .002510 .002245

Transfer .001934 .002239 .002232 .002231 — .002251 — .002266 — — .002546 — .002305 — .002510 .002245

Yemeni riyal

Thai baht

South African rand

Cash Draft Transfer .128300 .127300 .127300 .136300 .137300 .137300 — .001319 .001319 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Cash Draft Transfer .091270 .097400 .097400 .096770 .098740 .098740 — .094750 .094750 — — — — — — — – — — — – — — —

Cash Draft Transfer .025740 — — .034240 — — — — — — — — — .032051 .032051 — — — — — — — — —

US dollar .2828000 .2840000 .2854580 .2831500

Sterling .4445000 .4510000 .4549210 .4444000

Euro — .3870000 .3853120 .3836200

local gold BEC Muzaini Exchange

Swiss franc Cash .301865 .311365 — .310000 .304000 .315000 — — .301960 .312270 .279180 .289100 — — — — —

Draft .302865 .309865 .309470 .308105 .306414 .308703 .304703 .310810 .305960 .309770 .283180 .286600 .305860 .309910 — — —

Transfer .302865 .309865 .309470 .308105 .306414 .308703 .304703 .310810 .305960 .309770 .297119 .299506 .305860 .309910 — — —

Bangladesh taka Cash .003305 .003905 — .003850 — — — — — — — — — — — .004250 —

Draft .003328 .003583 .003563 .003554 — .003599 — .003615 — — — — — — — .004170 .003565

Transfer .003328 .003583 .003563 .003554 — .003599 — .003615 — — .004017 — — — — .004170 .003569

Korean won Cash — — — — — — — —

Draft — — — — — — — —

Gold 999 kg — 15,060.000

Transfer — — — — — — — —

Canadian dollar Cash .276709 .285209 — .286000 .279000 .289000 — — — — .277897 .282890 — — — — —

Draft .274709 .283709 .282830 .284220 .280589 .282685 .279140 .284472 .280280 .283650 .286988 .277020 .280140 .283650 — — .286900

Transfer .274709 .283709 .282830 .284220 .280589 .282685 .279140 .284472 .280280 .283650 .286988 .277020 .280140 .283650 — .267000 .286900

Philippine peso Cash .006931 .007211 — .007200 — —

Draft .006489 .006959 .006945 .006933 — .007022 — — .007070 — — — — — .006449 — — — — — .007283 .006000 .006467 — — — .006990

Transfer .006489 .006959 .006945 .006933 — .007022 — .007070 — — .006449 — — .007283 .006467 — .006990

Syrian pound Cash Draft Transfer .003150 .003150 .003150 .003370 .003370 .003370 — — .003073 .003073 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Gold 999 10 tola 1,802.3400 1,770.000

Gold ounce — 483.000

Swedish kroner Cash .403160 .453160 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .403160 .453160 — — .044196 .044526 .043978 .044793 .044120 .044590 .041155 .041482 .043980 .044910 — — —

Transfer .403160 .453160 — — .044196 .044526 .043978 .044793 .044120 .044590 .041155 .041482 .043980 .044910 — — —

Saudi riyal Cash .074710 .075293 — .077000 .072000 .076000 .074148 .076208 .073900 .076590 .073684 .075774 .073990 .076090 — — —

Australian dollar Cash .283715 .296215 — — .289000 .300000 — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .281715 .293715 — — .291173 .293348 .289725 .295155 .291070 .294520 .284712 .286988 .291200 .294160 .237000 — —

Transfer .281715 .293715 — — .291173 .293348 .289725 .295155 .291070 .294520 .284712 .289490 .291200 .294160 .237000 — —

Draft — — — — — — — —

Gold gm 22k — 13.785

Transfer — — — — — — — —

Transfer .074760 .075400 .075377 .075215 .074993 .075553 .074880 .075674 .074900 .075590 .074280 .075640 .074760 .075560 — — .75570

Hong Kong dollar Cash .033560 .037106 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Iranian tuman Cash .000160 .000162 — — — — — —

Draft .074760 .075400 .075377 .075215 .074993 .075553 .074880 .075674 .074900 .075590 .075640 .072340 .074760 .075560 — — .75570

Draft .033856 .036956 .036432 — .036251 .036522 .036118 .036706 — — — — .036260 .036530 — — —

Transfer .033856 .036956 .036432 — .036251 .036522 .036118 .036706 — — — — .036260 .036530 — — —

UAE dirham Cash .075946 .077095 — .077000 .076325 .077092 .075720 .077830 .076320 .077090 .075223 .077374 .076447 .077215 — .078600 —

Draft .075446 .076896 .076968 .075245 .076576 .077148 .076467 .077285 .076490 .077170 .077237 .074510 .076270 .077180 .078390 — .077100

Transfer .075446 .076896 .076968 .075245 .076576 .077148 .076467 .077285 .076490 .077170 .075832 .077237 .076270 .077180 — .078390 .077100

Singapore dollar Cash .225034 .221034 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Draft .224034 .230034 .228880 — .227201 .228898 .226168 .230050 .226880 .229130 .216673 .218433 .226910 .229450 — — —

Transfer .224034 .230034 .228880 — .227201 .228898 .226168 .230050 .226880 .229130 .222630 .216673 .226910 .229450 — — —

Lebanese pound

Malaysian ringgit

Cash Draft Transfer .000138 .000173 .000173 .000238 .000193 .000193 — .189600 .189600 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Cash Draft Transfer .089950 .087349 .087349 .095950 .094349 .094349 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Gold gm 21k — 13.150

Gold gm 18k — 11.275

100 gm 999 – —

10 gm 999 – 157.000

Bahraini dinar Cash .743014 .751014 — .749000 .743611 .751084 .737559 .758083 .743610 .751080 — — — — — — —

Draft .742514 .751014 .750760 .747385 .746053 .751625 .748380 .752723 .745260 .752020 .740873 .750398 .743790 .752160 — — .751800

Transfer .742514 .751014 .750760 .747385 .746053 .751625 .748380 .752723 .745260 .752020 .740873 .750398 .743790 .752160 — — .751800

Jordanian dinar Cash .393113 .400613 — .400000 .390000 .405000 — — — — — — — — — .415000 —

Transfer .392656 .400156 .399170 .397945 — .400636 — .401203 — — .394853 .398939 .395150 .401700 .401670 .415000 —

Transfer .392656 .400156 .399170 .397945 — .400636 — .401203 — — .394853 .398939 .395150 .401700 .401670 .415000 —

Indonesian rupiah Cash .024000 .030000 — — — — — —

Draft .024000 .029000 — — .000030 — — .000029

Transfer .024000 .029000 — — .000030 — — .000029

Omani riyal Cash .727863 .733543 — — .728978 .736304 .722171 .742451 .728980 .736300 .735741 — — — .752000 — —

Draft .722363 .733363 .734180 — .730544 .736001 .729298 .737246 .729790 .736290 .734440 .722120 .728200 .735720 .748000 — —

Transfer .722363 .733363 .734180 — .730544 .736001 .729298 .737246 .729790 .736290 .734440 .719020 .728200 .735720 .759930 — —

Egyptian pound Cash .039364 .042063 .042200 .043000 .042000 .047000 — — — — — — — — — .056000 —

Draft .039954 .041984 .041986 .041969 — — — .042363 — — .047830 .049026 — .042620 — — .042033

Transfer .039954 .041984 .041986 .041969 — — — .042363 — — .047830 .049026 — .

042620 — — .042033

New Zealand dollar Cash .231740 .241240 — — — — — —

Draft .229740 .239740 — .235406 .240350 .236360 .239810 —

Transfer .229740 .239740 — .235406 .240350 .236360 .239810 —

All rates in KD per unit of foreign currency

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

LEISURE

47

Sherman’s Lagoon — By J. P. Toomey

N E W

Y O R K

T I M E S

CROSSWORD

Mutts — By Patrick McDonnell

Hagar The Horrible — By Chris Browne

Beetle Bailey — By Mort Walker

Scratch pad

odds ’n’ ends LOS ANGELES:

Garfield — By Jim Davis

Baby Blues — By Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott

Meercats warm up at the Mulhouse zoo on Feb 12. Heavy snowfall hit large parts of France this weekend putting the country under a picturesque blanket of white stuff but causing major disruptions to air, road and rail transport. (AFP)

Conceptis Sudoku

Challenger

The grid must be so completed that every row, column and 3x3 box has every digit from 1 to 9 inclusive.

contract b r i d g e

By Steve Becker

DIRECTIONS: Fill each square with a number, one through nine.

■ Horizontal squares should add to totals on right.

■ Vertical squares should add to totals on bottom.

■ Diagonal squares through center should add to total in upper and lower right.

Yesterday’s solution

THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION.

Answer to yesterday’s puzzle

Today’s Challenge Time 10 Minutes 7 Seconds Your Working Time __ Minutes __ Seconds

Word by Word

Easy

(Sohola)

Easy come, easy go.

Ma yoksab besohola, yadeei besohola.

Numbers

6043

Six thousand and forty three Setat alaaf wa thalath wa arbaoun

Tomorrow: A communication problem.

Hackers caused a bizarre alert in the US state of Montana by broadcasting a warning about zombies attacking the living, local television channels said Tuesday..

The apocalyptic warning interrupted programming via the Emergency Alert System, normally used for real catastrophes such as extreme weather, or even a direct message from the US president in the case of a national crisis.

The message was preceded by a buzzing noise typical of such broadcasts, before a voice intoned: “Civilian authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves, and attacking the living.

“Follow the messages on screen, that will be updated as information becomes available.

Do not attempt or apprehend these bodies, as they are considered extremely dangerous,” it added.

“This warning applies to all areas receiving this broadcast.

This station will now cease transmission, so please use your battery powered radio” to hear updates.

The warning broke into regular programming Monday evening on at least four local television stations, according to Cynthia Thompson, station manager at ABC10-CW5. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑ STAMFORD, Connecticut: Poice in the US say a man bit off his cousin’s ear lobe and swallowed it during a fight over loud music.

Officers in Connecticut charged 27-year-old Emilio Mendoza with first-degree assault and other crimes early Monday in connection with the attack on his cousin, 29-year-old Ruiz ClementePerez.

Clemente-Perez told police that he asked Mendoza to turn down his loud music because he had to work in the morning, but Mendoza started punching him in the head. During the brawl, Mendoza allegedly bit off part of Clemente-Perez’s left ear and swallowed it. (AP) ❑ ❑ ❑ JOHANNESBURG: South Africa will introduce a biometric clock-in system to curb teacher truancy and improve dismal school grades, its education minister has revealed.

“Just like in factories, teachers have to (scan their fingerprints) when they report for duty,” local media on Monday quoted Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga as saying.

The announcement comes after politicians visiting schools at the start of the new school year last month noticed that a large number of teachers were absent.

(AFP)

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

48

Snedeker withdraws from Match Play due to sore ribs

Iconic Riviera again lures a top-quality field PACIFIC PALISADES, California, Feb 13, (RTRS): The fact that British world number three Luke Donald heads the strongest PGA Tour field of the year at this week’s Northern Trust Open should come as no surprise given the popularity of the venue.

The par-71 layout at iconic Riviera Country Club, with its long established links to the movie stars of Hollywood, has long been regarded by the players as one of the top courses on the US circuit.

At 7,349 yards off the back tees, it is not especially long by modern standards but it repeatedly offers a variety of options for shot selection and boasts some of the shrewdest bunkering around.

A glance at the list of former winners proves the fairness of the challenge

posed by Riviera, where relatively short hitters such as Mike Weir (twice) and big boomers like Phil Mickelson (also twice) have triumphed.

“It’s a real classic of its type,” British Open champion Ernie Els, winner here in 1999, said on Tuesday while preparing for Thursday’s opening round.

“The angles they have with the greens, the way the course flows, it’s just fantastic.

“Riviera also has some of the best bunkering you’ll see anywhere in the world. Even if I hadn’t had a victory here, this would still be one of my favorite golf courses on the PGA Tour.”

South African Els said he could not wish for a more ideal venue than Riviera to make his first appearance on the US circuit this year.

“I’m excited about being back here,”

Shiffrin just wants fun

Maze out to defend giant slalom crown SCHLADMING, Austria, Feb 13, (AFP): Tina Maze will not leave the world ski championships with five medals as she had hoped, but the in-form Slovenian is firm favourite to defend her giant slalom title on Thursday.

The 29-year-old, also the Olympic silver medallist, has made every giant slalom podium this season and is the runaway leader in the World Cup rankings in that discipline.

With seven wins for a total 17 podiums in all five alpine skiing disciplines since October, she has also proven that she can live up to high expectations.

“I know how to deal with that kind of big pressure, coming there as a Maze favourite and producing wins,” she said going into the two-week world championships in Schladming.

Her super-G gold and super-combined silver last week proved that, although she had a disappointing downhill, finishing just seventh.

In the opening race of the championships, the Slovenian had mastered difficult foggy conditions and hours of uncertainty over whether the race would even start to take the super-G title on a course that got the best of many top contenders.

Behind her, the field of rivals on Thursday is much wider, with Austrians Kathrin Zettel and Anna Fenninger in second and third position in the giant slalom World Cup rankings, although nowhere near Maze.

Germany’s Olympic champion Viktoria Rebensburg will also be looking to make good after a disappointing super-G run, in which she was one of the favourites.

Her giant slalom win on the same Planai course just a year ago in the World Cup finals might well play in her favour.

The Austrians, who have had some

SKIING weight lifted off their shoulders following a long hoped-for second medal on Monday, have shut themselves up in their castle-on-a-hill hotel to focus and enjoy some peace and quiet away from the demanding public.

The 26-year-old Zettel, as a result, appeared completely relaxed ahead of the giant slalom.

“I’ve prepared well, it’s certainly not impossible to be in the running for a medal,” she said.

“There have been some surprises and non-favourites have won medals,” she said of her chances at the world championships, which have seen troubled French skier Marion Rolland take downhill gold, and Germany’s HoeflRiesch top the super-combined podium despite a relatively poor season.

“I already have gold, now I’ll just try and do it nice and easy,” concluded 2009 combined world champion and defending slalom silver-medallist Zettel.

Despite shooting to the top of World Cup slalom rankings in only her second

season, 17-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin is still a girl who won’t take herself seriously and just wanted to always beat her brother.

The US star started skiing at the age of three, when her family lived in the ski resort of Vail, but sibling rivalry is what really pushed her into racing.

And it still keeps her going now.

“I basically followed my brother’s footsteps, he started out ski racing and I wanted to be like him, so I ski raced and I always wanted to try and beat him,” Shiffrin said here as she prepared to compete in her first world championship race.

“Since he’s a boy and he’s older than I am, I basically changed that into always trying to beat the boys and always trying to beat people who were older than I am.

“That always pushed me,” added the American, who recorded her first World Cup win in Are in December and quickly followed this up with further slalom victories in Zagreb and Flachau last month.

“I’ve always loved racing, I love the feeling of going fast and there’s this adrenalin rush that can’t be replaced.”

“Whenever I lose sight of that, I just think back on those days when I was younger and I was just trying to beat everybody and it brings me back to home.”

Still a teenager in many ways — she posted a picture on Twitter last week of herself doing homework while checking the race results in Schladming — Shiffrin can still laugh about herself despite her success.

Asked if she considered herself a slalom favourite here, she looked suddenly grave and replied in a mock-serious tone: “Yes, I consider myself a favourite,” before bursting into laughter.

A rising star in a US team used to big names like Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, Shiffrin admits she is still “trying to catch up with a lot of girls out there who have 10 years of training on me”.

Some of the skiers she says she always looked up to will be at the starting gate this week, including defending slalom silver medallist Kathrin Zettel and if all goes well, reigning champion Marlies Schild, who has been fighting to return from injury to defend her title.

“Throughout this season, I’ve had three wins and I’m proud of it but I’ve always felt like there was that piece missing because Marlies, she’s the slalom queen,” said Shiffrin, who was seven years old when the Austrian won her first World Cup podium.

At her tender age, the American now leads the race for the season’s slalom crystal globe ahead of runaway World Cup leader Tina Maze of Slovenia.

But with the US women’s slalom hopes riding on her, Shiffrin insists pressure is not something she worries about, describing it merely as a “frame of mind”.

“You can make it as hard as you want, but it’s just racing.”

Her big test will come on Saturday when she tackles the slalom course on the Planai mountain.

“I’m just hoping the crowd will take me down here and I’m really excited to see the big turnout. It’s my first big experience.”

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the 43-year-old added. “It’s not been the best start to my year, to be honest, so let’s see if we can step things up a bit and play some good golf. Not many better places than Riviera to do that!”

In his three appearances on the European Tour this year, Els finished joint 18th at the Volvo Golf Champions, tied for 39th at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and placed a distant 73rd at the Qatar Masters.

Hollywood association Riviera, which hosted the US Open in 1948 and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995, is located just off Sunset Boulevard and has a long association with nearby Hollywood.

From the 1930s through the 1950s, the course hosted the Los Angeles Open which in those days was consid-

ered one of the PGA Tour’s premier events.

Actors such as Douglas Fairbanks, Clark Gable, Mary Pickford, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn flocked to the club to watch the professionals compete.

Triple major winner Padraig

GOLF Harrington of Ireland will be making his seventh consecutive start at the Northern Trust Open this week at a venue he relished playing when he first saw it.

Meanwhile, American world number four Brandt Snedeker, the hottest player on the 2013 PGA Tour, has pulled out of next week’s WGC-Accenture

Match Play Championship in Arizona because of sore ribs, organisers said on Tuesday.

Snedeker, who clinched his second victory in his last six starts on the US circuit with a win at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday, has been receiving treatment on his ribs since last month’s Humana Challenge.

“I certainly will miss competing in the Accenture Match Play Championship, and I really do appreciate what Accenture does to make that one of the premier events on our schedule,” FedExCup champion Snedeker said in a statement.

The 32-year-old, who is on holiday this week with his family in Hawaii, hopes to return to PGA Tour action for the March 7-10 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral.

Snedeker, whose sizzling run of form dates back to the Tour Championship in September when he also landed FedExCup honours, first experienced soreness in his left rib cage during the Jan 17-20 Humana Challenge.

After receiving extensive treatment, he suffered no pain during the Farmers Insurance Open and Phoenix Open which followed, finishing second in both events.

However, the soreness returned during last week’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where Snedeker triumphed by two shots, and he has been advised by his doctor to rest as much as possible.

Snedeker has played in five events on the 2013 PGA Tour, winning once and recording three other top-three finishes.

Azarenka rides Gulf breeze past Oprandi Gasquet begins with Rotterdam win DOHA, Feb 13, (Agencies): Victoria Azarenka began her bid for back-to-back titles for the second tournament in a row with a victory over herself, a treacherous Gulf wind as well as a middle ranking opponent at the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

The world number one, who defended her Australian Open title last time out, was within a point of losing the first three games before winning 6-2, 6-3 over Romina Oprandi, the world number 62 from Switzerland.

There were moments when the 23year-old resorted to cursing and racket swishing, but Azarenka’s irritation never got out of control and her grip on the match increased as her mind imposed its focus.

“It was a little bit of a slow start, and I had to adjust. I couldn’t go for my shots, and I had to be a bit more patient,” Azarenka, the defending champion in Qatar, said.

“She’s tricky and plays so many different balls that you don’t know what to

WTA Qatar Open Aljazeera Sports +10 (15:00 Local) expect. I had to focus more and move my feet more.”

Azarenka was particularly pleased with the number of successful forays to the net she made, not usually an area of special strength for her.

“It’s something I want to improve. I am solid from the baseline, so I tried to change it up a bit. I had a lot of opportunities to do that today.”

Azarenka will next play Christina McHale, the world number 44 from the United States, who scored a good win over Lucie Safarova, a top 20 Czech by 6-4, 6-2. A semi-final on Saturday with Agnieszka Radwanska, the world number four from Poland looks possible, but holding on to her world number one ranking will depend on Serena Williams not making the last four. ❑

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French seeds moved smoothly ahead indoors at the Rotterdam World Tennis on Wednesday, with number four Richard Gasquet picking up where he left off after winning a title at the weekend.

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Belarus Victoria Azarenka, top seed and world number one, hits a return to Romina Oprandi of Switzerland during their WTA Qatar Open tennis match on Feb 13, in the Qatari capital Doha. (AFP)

Nadal wins Brazil Open doubles SAO PAULO, Feb 13, (AFP): Spain’s Rafael Nadal teamed up with Argentina’s David Nalbandian to post a three-set doubles victory in the Brazil Open late Tuesday.

The world number five, back on a court after his defeat in the Vina del Mar Open in Chile Sunday, and his partner won 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 in just 79 minutes over fellow Spaniards Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round of the ATP clay court event.

The third set was hard fought with Nadal and Nalbandian saving two match points before prevailing 11-9.

The Spanish star was mobbed by adoring fans as he left the court.

The match started two hours behind schedule and Nadal, wearing a white knee brace, was greeted with thunderous applause when he appeared on the court in the 9,300seat Ibirapuera gymnasium.

The winning duo was to play in the second round Wednesday.

As the top seed, Nadal, an 11-time Grand Slam champion enjoyed a firstround singles bye and will open his singles campaign Thursday.

He lost the singles and doubles

finals Sunday at his comeback event in Vina del Mar, Chile following a seven-month knee injury absence.

“I am a bit tired after a hard week in Chile. But it was positive. The process of recovery follows its course. As always I come here to do the best possible and hope that things turn out all right,” Nadal told a news conference here earlier Tuesday.

Asked when he expected to be 100 percent fit, he responded: “I cannot know the future. If my knee allows, I will do everything possible to be at my best.

the match,” said last week’s champion in Montpellier less than 60 kilometres from his family home in the south of France. “I played well and was then more confident at the start of the second set.

“There were a lot of momentum changes throughout the match,” said Hewitt, the Australian who won his last hardcourt title seven years ago. “He’s a tough competitor out there. He’s had a pretty good start to the year as well. It wasn’t easy. In the end, I was happy to get through. I had to fight extremely hard.”

Kavcic, a Slovenian, had won the first two meetings between the players.

Seeded players Denis Istomin and

Marinko Matosevic also advanced.

In a late match, Tim Smyczek beat Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3.

The sixth-seeded Istomin of Uzbekistan beat qualifier Ryan Sweeting 6-3, 6-4 in just over an hour, and the Australian seventh seed Matosevic topped American Jack Sock, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Hewitt, ranked 118th, won at San Jose in 2002 and reached the 2006 final. He has 28 career titles and is 14-4 in San Jose.

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The world number 10 cited the tiebreaker as the turning point in a 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 defeat of Serb Victor Troicki to reach the second round.

“Winning the breaker was the key to

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Former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt, looking for his first singles title in nearly three years, reached the second round of the SAP Open with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Blaz Kavcic on Tuesday.

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Wrestlers ‘vow’ to fight sport’s removal from Oly Japan ‘shocked’ by IOC wrestling decision PARIS, Feb 13, (AFP): Wrestlers around the world on Wednesday vowed to fight to save the ancient sport’s Olympic status, after the International Olympic Committee voted to drop it for the 2020 Games.

Gonzalez denies doping: Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, set to start for the United States in the World Baseball Classic, denied using performance-enhancing drugs Tuesday as he reported to preseason training camp.

Gonzalez, who won a career-best 21 games last year, was among Major League Baseball players named in records of a Miami clinic linked to supplying banned substances to athletes, records revealed in reports by Miami New Times.

“At the end of the day, I’ve never taken performance-enhancing drugs and I never will,” Gonzalez said.

Max Gonzalez, Gio’s father, was a patient of clinic owner Anthony Bosch, although the Nationals pitcher said he was unaware of that until the report. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Smerdon fined: Trainer Robert Smerdon has been fined A$10,000 ($10,300) for his involvement in the illegal betting scandal of jockey Damien Oliver, Racing Victoria said on Wednesday.

Oliver was banned in November for 10 months after admitting to placing a A$10,000 bet via a third party on a rival horse.

Smerdon was charged for passing on the proceeds of the bet to Oliver and a three-man Racing Appeals and Disciplinary board found his conduct prejudicial to the image of racing.

Oliver, who twice won the Melbourne Cup and completed the grand slam of Australia racing with wins in the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper, admitted to placing the bet on favourite Miss Octopussy in a race in October 2010.

(RTRS) ❑ ❑ ❑

Japan and Turkey — whose cities Tokyo and Istanbul are bidding to host the Games in seven years’ time — led the calls for the world body to reconsider, as an online petition was organised urging a rethink and gained thousands of supporters.

The president of the Turkish wrestling federation, Hamza Yerlikaya, called the decision, taken at the IOC executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday, “unfair” and a “mistake” that they would seek to overturn.

“To have the 2020 Olympics in Istanbul without wrestling is unthinkable,” said Yerlikaya, himself a double Olympic gold medallist, three-time world champion and eight-time European champion in Greco-Roman wrestling.

“We won’t allow it,” he added.

In Japan, Yerlikaya’s counterpart Tomiaki Fukuda said on his federation’s

Candidates trimmed to 3: Buenos

OLYMPICS website that he was “dissatisfied and baffled”, echoing the views of the sport’s world governing body, which called the decision “an aberration”.

Wrestling will remain on the programme for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro but faces a fight against seven other sports for inclusion at the Games four years later. A final decision is to be made when all IOC members meet in September.

Members are seen as unlikely to vote

Best of the Rest

New Zealand’s Ben Lam (left), vies with Fiji’s Jone Vota during Day 3 of the USA Sevens Las Vegas HSBC Sevens World Series Round 5 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, NV, Feb 10. (AFP)

against the executive board, however, raising the prospect that one of the few sports that survived from the original Olympics in ancient Greece into the modern era will disappear.

Wrestling first appeared in 708 BC and has only ever been left out of the Olympic programme once before in 1900.

The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) has vowed to fight the decision, while multiple medallists Russia and Iran have also said they hoped the IOC would backtrack.

“This issue will definitely be a big blow to the country’s sport, as it is one of our country’s most popular sports,” the

head of Iran’s national Olympic commitee, Mohammad Aliabadi was quoted as saying in Iranian media.

“I will certainly pursue the case.”

IOC president Jacques Rogge meanwhile insisted on Wednesday that the vote — by secret ballot — was fair and said he understood the angry response from those involved in the sport.

Aires, Medellin and Glasgow were announced as the three finalists for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games host city, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge revealed on Wednesday.

Guadalajara and Rotterdam were the two candidates eliminated from contention at Wednesday’s meeting of the IOC executive committee, held at the organisation’s Lausanne headquarters.

The winning bid to host the 2018 summer Youth Olympics — an event which features athletes between the ages of 15 and 18 — will be decided

by IOC members on July 4.

Felix ‘agrees’ to Seattle deal SEATTLE, Washington, Feb 13, (AFP): Felix Hernandez agreed to terms on a seven-year deal worth $175 million with Seattle on Tuesday that will make the 26year-old right-hander the highestpaid pitcher in Major League Baseball.

The deal, confirmed by the Mariners on their website, was nearly completed last week but delayed after the American League club raised concerns about the Venezuelan’s right elbow. The contract is set to be signed on Wednesday.

“It’s a great thing for the Seattle Mariners and it’s a great thing for Felix Hernandez,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “We’re looking forward to this guy being here for a long time.”

Hernandez had been set to make $19.5 million this year and $20 million next year to complete a five-year deal worth $78 signed in 2010. Instead, he will make $25 million a year from now through the 2019 campaign.

The 2018 Games will mark the third edition of the summer YOG after the inaugural Singapore 2010 Games and Nanjing 2014. (AFP) ❑ ❑ ❑

Indians sign Matsuzaka: Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka has officially joined the revitalized Cleveland Indians.

Matsuzaka, limited to just 18 starts in the past two seasons because of elbow issues, signed a minor-league contract on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old is being reunited with manager Terry Francona, beginning his first season with the Indians.

The two spent several seasons together with the Boston Red Sox. Matsuzaka will compete to win a spot in Cleveland’s rotation. If he’s added to the 40-man roster, Matsuzaka will make $1.5 million this season. He can earn an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses. Matsuzaka went 50-37 in six seasons with the Red Sox, who signed him to a $52 million contract in 2007. (AP)

‘The only consideration is to get the best 15’

Gatland vows no Lions limit on England players LONDON, Feb 13, (AFP): British and Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland insisted Wednesday he’d happily field an entire XV of England players in the first Test against Australia if they were the best available.

Gatland was trying to defuse a row caused by remarks, reportedly made in Tuesday’s London Evening Standard, saying too many England players could lead to the kind of media “circus” that derailed their 2011 World Cup campaign in the coach’s native New Zealand.

The 49-year-old Gatland’s comments were especially inflammatory as England, who beat the world champion All Blacks in December, are currently the form team in the Six Nations where they are the only side to have won both their opening two matches.

And they appeared to take no account of the lack of negative headlines attached to England since coach Stuart Lancaster replaced Martin Johnson last year following a World Cup where the side were better known for their off-field drinking

exploits than the quality of their rugby.

But former Ireland boss Gatland, currently on sabbatical from his post as Wales coach in order to guide the Lions, was adamant Wednesday he’d no bias

RUGBY against England players.

“I am extremely disappointed that anybody should try to misinterpret what I said and try to say that will count against

English players,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“The last thing I would ever do is limit the number of English players. There is absolutely no limit to the number of any players from any nation we will pick if they are worthy of a place on the tour.

“I would happily pick 15 English players in the first Test at Brisbane if I thought they were the best 15 players for the job.

“The only consideration for a Lions coach is to get the best 15 on the park to

do the job. That’s paramount, I’m not remotely bothered which country they come from.

“When I first started at Wales I remember I once picked 13 Ospreys for one of my early Tests in charge.”

Gatland had told the Standard “the best players will be selected”, but “it’s just being aware of potential issues that may arise”.

Rugby Football Union chairman Bill Beaumont, himself a former England and Lions captain, took a dim view of

Gatland’s remarks as quoted by the Standard on Tuesday and highlighted the changes that had taken place under Lancaster.

“English players have always represented the Lions with enormous pride,” Beaumont said.

“It is well documented the strong culture and sense of responsibility on and off the pitch that this England team possesses. Those fortunate enough to get picked will of course take those attributes Down Under.”

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

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‘Major source of supply’

WADA chief Fahey highlights China crisis LONDON, Feb 13, (AFP): China remains the “major source of supply” for illegal performance-enhancing drugs, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president John Fahey told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.

His comments came after WADA director-general David Howman told a news conference at a London hotel on Tuesday that “99 percent of illegal substances come from China”.

Howman added the “same bad guys” were involved in both match-fixing and the supply of illegal drugs because of the huge sums of money involved in each case.

Fahey said progress had been made with Chinese authorities but that more

needed to be done.

“On numerous occasions we’ve made representations to CHINADA (the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency),” Fahey told AFP. “I’ve had discussions with the (Chinese) sports minister and I’m conscious of certain action being taken,” the 68-year-old Australian added.

“We’ve certainly asked for their cooperation and we are conscious of many suppliers being shut down as a result of our representations in the past.

“That’s not to say it still isn’t the major source of supply — we know it is,” Fahey insisted.

WADA’s effectiveness was was called into question Tuesday, by Swiss-based

UNI Sport PRO, an umbrella group of national and international sporting associations, who slammed its handling of the Lance Armstrong scandal.

The disgraced American cyclist, who recently admitted to being a serial drugs cheat, was banned for life and stripped of his seven Tour de France victories following an investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Last week, meanwhile, the Australian Crime Commission report said use of prohibited products was commonplace across multiple sporting codes, sending shockwaves through Australia — a country where sport has a central role in national life.

“Regrettably, the World Anti-Doping

Agency and its stakeholders are failing in their mission to protect clean athletes,” said a UNI Sport PRO statement.

But Fahey insisted there was more to catching drugs cheats than dope tests and that there was no substitute for government action.

“We (WADA) have made some significant progress since our inception (in 1999). We now have a methodology that’s far smarter.

“Once upon a time it was test, test, test and if you do enough tests you’ll pick up enough cheats. It’s a waste of time just testing anybody. You need to test the likely cheats.

“We’ve got to use other methods (than testing) to bring them under the (WADA)

code. Possession or admissions and so on. “All of that’s happening because we are seeing many countries working with law-enforcement agencies and my own country (Australia) demonstrated that again last week. We can’t see enough of that.

“But is the problem still as big as it ever was? There’s no doubt it’s still a massive problem.”

Fahey’s mandatory maximum six-year term as WADA president ends this year. ❑ ❑ ❑

A forensic scientist who was due to give evidence at the “Operation Puerto” trial examining Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes’ involvement with a

number of high-profile cyclists has died, a lawyer said on Wednesday.

Francisco Aguanell examined former rider Jesus Manzano after he claimed to have worked with Fuentes and his testimony was expected to be key in determining whether the transfusions had a detrimental affect on the long-term health of his clients.

“He died yesterday morning (Tuesday) due to a severe heart-attack,” confirmed Manzano’s lawyer, Carlos Sanchez Peribanez.

Aguanell, 52, had been due to give evidence on Wednesday to the trial in which Fuentes is charged with endangering public health by performing blood transfusions.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

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Soccer’s match-fixing problem

Turkish ‘trial’ shows corruption at the top ISTANBUL, Feb 13, (AP): Turkey loves both soccer and strong men, so it’s no surprise that Aziz Yildirim is a household name.

A civil engineer, Yildirim made a fortune in military contracts with the government and NATO before turning his attention to Istanbul’s Fenerbahce soccer club, a perennial title contender with a vocal fan base nicknamed “the Republic of Fenerbahce.”

As chairman since 1998, Yildirim built up not only the local soccer club, but also its clubs in basketball, volleyball and table tennis. He renovated the stadium, increasing it to 52,000 seats and installing outdoor heating.

Under his leadership, Fenerbahce became one of the world’s top 20 wealthiest soccer clubs and was the pride of Turkey as it ventured often into Europe’s lucrative Champions League, which pits the top finishers in each of Europe’s major national leagues. The blustery, volatile Yildirim was as well-known as the prime minister.

In 2012, however, he got attention for all the wrong reasons.

The 60-yearold tycoon was convicted in Yildirim July by Istanbul’s 16th Heavy Penal Court of “forming and leading a criminal gang” that rigged four games and offered payments to players or rival club officials to fix three others — all so Fenerbahce could stay in the Champions League, a benefit the club estimated to be worth $58.5 million a year. He is appealing his conviction, maintaining his innocence.

Editor’s note: This story is part of a six-month, multiformat AP examination of how organized crime is corrupting soccer through match-fixing.

Yildirim’s case is another sign that soccer — the world’s most popular sport — is increasingly tainted by a multibillion-dollar scourge of matchfixing. Investigations in dozens of countries in 2012 have involved hundreds of players and officials, revealing the extent of the problem that threatens to undermine the integrity of the game.

SOCCER Matches can be rigged so that criminal gambling rings and others in the know can make money off bets.

But sometimes, the rigging is done to keep a team in a more prestigious league, where it can earn big revenue.

Fenerbahce was founded in 1907.

It has 18 national league titles, the same as Istanbul rival Galatasaray, and a fan base that expects more.

The name “Fenerbahce” means “lighthouse garden” in Turkish.

Many of its fans take the 30-minute ferry ride from the European side of Istanbul across the breezy Marmara Sea to Kadikoy, the bustling district on the city’s Asian side where Fenerbahce plays its home games.

Fans wearing the club’s blue-andyellow stripes pack Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, which sits along a boulevard lined with shops, bars and restaurants.

In two recent seasons, the team had lost the league championship in its final few games, an outcome the prosecutors’ indictment said Yildirim wanted to avoid repeating.

Faced with that pressure, in spring 2011, Fenerbahce won 16 of its last 17 games to come from a distant third place and stay in the Champions League.

“Whatever you do in a season, if you don’t qualify for Europe (Champions League), it doesn’t mean anything,” explained Turkish lawyer Emin Ozkurt, who has represented Fenerbahce in other cases.

Yildirim was put on trial last spring along with 92 other officials, players and coaches.

Turkish police had 1,028 wiretaps relating to the 13 games in question, 103 of them tied to Yildirim. He was charged with match-fixing and accused of trying to get favorable referees assigned to his team’s games.

Prosecutors also said that the transfer fees he paid to some rival clubs and players were actually payoffs for fixing games.

A 2012 global study on match-fixing conducted jointly by four international research institutions noted that “chairman-to-chairman” fixing is quite common in the Balkans, eastern Europe and Russia, especially when a win is very important to one club and less so for a rival.

“The risk of matches being rigged in this way increases as the end of the season approaches, if a team is still in contention for a promotion or a victory in a championship or is trying to avoid relegation,” the study said.

“Club chairmen ... not only often know each other personally, but above all, understand each other because they all have the same aims and constraints.”

Club officials also know which players are less scrupulous or in financial trouble and can be easily pressured into throwing a game. The report said chairman-to-chairman match-fixing “can even assume systemic proportions” in which favors done for one team one year are paid back by rigging more games the next season.

The Fenerbahce case was not Turkey’s first brush with match-fixing. The prosecutors’ indictment noted that since 1980, Turkish football has attracted a host of criminal gangs and mafia dons.

Prosecutors said the wiretaps in the latest scandal revealed an elaborate code based on farming and construction terms that Yildirim and other Fenerbahce officials used to talk about match-fixing.

“Buildings under construction” referred to games in the process of being fixed. “Goats in the field” referred to players, “crops being watered” were match-fixing payments, and “plowing, planting and sowing” were efforts to fix games.

The agricultural terms used by the city-dwelling soccer officials often did not correspond with the actual farming seasons, prosecutors noted.

In court, Yildirim was confronted with what prosecutors called a transfer fee of $100,000 paid by Fenerbahce for midfielder Gokdeniz Karadeniz, who ended up never playing for the team. He insisted the payment was legitimate, and said investigators hounded his team so much that players such as Karadeniz were too upset to play.

“Players (who) transferred with great hopes and without the slightest irregularity were detained, put under pressure and ... left the club without wearing the team uniform once,” Yildirim testified.

Prosecutors say Yildirim aides spoke with the manager of Nigerian striker Emanuel Emenike to make sure he did not play in a spring 2011 game against Fenerbahce. Emenike then transferred to Fenerbahce for an undisclosed fee but never played for the team and later transferred to Russia. Emenike was charged in the match-fixing scandal but since he is out of the country his case was separated from the others, and is ongoing.

Prosecutors said another Fenerbahce official gave $129,300 to Ibrahim Akin, a player for a rival team, to throw a game. Akin was convicted of match-fixing and sentenced to 18 months in prison; he is appealing.

They also said Fenerbahce aide Abdullah Basak was given a Mini Cooper as a reward for meeting with officials and players of other clubs to fix games. Basak’s sentence of 15 months in prison for membership in a “criminal gang” was commuted. He was convicted and sentenced to a further 2 1/2 years for match-fixing, which he is appealing.

Yildirim also was accused of asking former Turkish Football Federation head Mahmut Ozgener about the referees who would handle Fenerbahce games, seeking those who would favor his team.

Yildirim conceded that wiretaps show him asking referee chief Oguz Sarvan to talk to the referee overseeing the next Fenerbahce game, but said it was only because the man was known to be a devoted follower of the Besiktas team.

“The conversations are ordinary, the type of conversation any club director would make. There is no request for favoritism but a request for an unbiased referee,” Yildirim said.

Yildirim denied any wrongdoing and mocked the allegations against him, saying police initially declared irregularities in 19 games but mentioned only 13 in the indictment.

“Six games vaporized?” he asked.

Yildirim called the trial a plot “to block Fenerbahce and prevent its rise.”

“It is clear as day that this is an operation against the Fenerbahce Sports Club and against Aziz Yildirim,” he testified. “A group wanting to take over Turkish sports organized this operation.”

Yildirim was convicted and sentenced to six years and three months in prison. He spent a year behind bars, but was released pending an appeal; a decision is expected this spring. Fenerbahce officials refused requests to interview Yildirim.

If the conviction and sentence are upheld, he will return to prison and be forced to step down as Fenerbahce chairman.

Three other Fenerbahce officials and officials from five other teams also were found guilty.

Fenerbahce was barred from last season’s Champions League as a result of the investigation, but UEFA says the team is eligible to participate in next season’s competition, pending a final ruling by the disciplinary board of UEFA, Europe’s soccer body.

Fenerbahce, claiming it was treated unfairly by UEFA and the Turkish Football Federation, appealed to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking $58.5 million in damages. It later dropped the case.

Meanwhile, a change of regime occurred in the Turkish Football Federation as its chief resigned.

Under new leadership, the organization declared that none of the matchfixing affected any matches and cleared all of the clubs mentioned in the indictment.

It banned two players, for alleged efforts to throw a game that Fenerbahce won 4-2.

Few in Turkey believe match-fixing is limited to that, and few believe it has ended. Turkish sports commentator Bagis Erten notes that rigging allegations have emerged every season for the past 40 years.

“The widespread belief in Turkey,” he said, “is that at some time or another, each and every team has attempted to fix games.”

FTAK members pose for a group shot after the event.

Top Spinners off to winning start in Spring 2013 tourney KOC Falcons outlast DMDA and Kabir with an 8-3 finish to take the set win in the CC-2 game.

Elsewhere in a CC-3 game, AMEC’s pair of Abayon and Opalia failed to keep their game consistent despite playing vigorously. They lost 2-8 to Spinners’ Bumalag and Adviento, thus giving away the set to the opposition.

But Rapatan and partner Nagy on the other hand made a strong comeback for AMEC, taking the AA-3 game with an 8-4 finish. AMEC won the next game narrowly, 8-7 when Delgaro and Lamboy partnered to beat Julius Magusara and Yoyong Cawaling in the BB-2 category game to clinch their side’s fifth set win in the eighth set.

Spinners however came back strongly and managed to halt the winning streak of the AMEC team, winning impressively 8-0, 8-0, 8-0, 8-0 and 8-0 in the ninth, tenth up to the final set number thirteen to wrap up the doubles matches with seven set wins and 77 points as against 5 sets and 72 points for AMEC.

By Iddris Seidu Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: After a one month hiatus, the Kuwait Oil Company Tennis Club (KOCTC)/Filipino Tennis Association of Kuwait (FTAK) Spring 2013 Invitational Team Tennis Tournament finally kicked off over the weekend with defending champs Top Spinners and KOC Falcons making winning starts in their opening games played at the KOC Tennis Club in Ahmadi.

The formal start of the competition was preceded by an awards ceremony for winners of last week’s special one-day tennis tournament. A short but impressive opening ceremony which was partly sponsored by McDonalds Fahaheel branch and emceed by the cheerful Ex-FTAK President Rox Bugas followed with short messages delivered by the Tournament Committee Chairman, Director and the President. The Tournament was then officially declared opened with four teams including KOC Falcons, AMEC Engineers, DMDA Architects and Top Spinners participating.

After drawing of lots, the day’s fixtures involving Top Spinners vs AMEC and KOC vs DMDA kicked off in earnest. First 4 matches were on when suddenly the rain began to pour down, rendering the court slippery and dangerous for play to continue.

Meanwhile, the first game on courts 1 & 2 had Top Spinners’ duo Jonil Dacer & and Sammy Miclat going head to head against AMEC’s Rey Malapitan & Ronnie Rapatan. The match appeared close in the early going but eventually went the way of the Spinners duo that walked away with 8 points with 5 for AMEC to clinch the set win in the AA1 category encounter. But AMEC came back strongly when Raymon Abayon partnered with Mike Corre in a hardhitting game to finish 8-4 against Spinners pair Danny Bumalag and Rafaan Kabir to bag the set win in the next CC-1 category game.

Spinners through Rox and Dacer

TENNIS Also in courts 3 & 4, DMDA’s AA-1 pair of Raed Al-Salem and Russel Centino dominated the match to finish 8-1 against KOC’s pair of Garcia and Faner. Winston Labonante and Mohammed Al-Mutairi for KOC evened the sets wins at 1 set apiece when they finished 8-5 up in the CC-1 game against DMDA’s Orly and Norman. DMDA firing on all cylinders swung at full speed to win the next two sets in succeeding fashion but soon lost focus, allowing KOC to take the next three sets to put them in the lead 4 sets to 3 after seven sets.

From then on it became a ding-dong affair with both sides alternating in winning in the next three sets but it was the KOC team that had the last laugh when they won the final three sets 8-0, 8-0 and 8-0 to finish the match with seven set wins and 69 points while DMDA finished with five set wins and 82 game points. Top Spinners face KOC Falcons while AMEC Engineers battle with DMDA Architects in next week’s games scheduled for Friday, Feb 15, 2013.

FTAK players in action

rallied to overcome a determined challenge from AMEC’s Ray Malapitan and Nagy in an AA-2 category match, taking the set win with an easy 8-0 finish but the story for team mates Sonny Robie and Regie Lanuza was different

as their BB-1 match against AMEC’s Jimie Oguimas and George Delgaro ended in a 3-8 loss for the Spinners’ duo and a set win for AMEC. AMEC’s Mike Corre and Nazer Marquez also managed to subdue Spinners’ Galana

Team standings Team Top Spinners KOC Falcons DMDA Arch AMEC Eng

W 1 1 0 0

L SW SD 0 7 0 0 7 0 1 5 0 1 5 0

P 3 2 2 1

GP 77 69 82 72

McDonnell to fight Ceja for title

Botha claims offered $155K to throw bout SYDNEY, Feb 13, (AFP): Veteran South African boxer Francois Botha Wednesday claimed he was offered Aus$150,000 ($155,000) to throw his fight against Sonny Bill Williams, sparking an angry denial from the New Zealander’s manager.

Williams, a former World Cup-winning All Blacks rugby star, won the controversial heavyweight bout on points in Brisbane last Friday, which was marred by unsubstantiated reports that Botha failed a drugs test.

Botha, 44, alleges Williams’ manager Khoder Nasser offered him the money in a Brisbane park three days before the World Boxing Association fight, claiming he received a phone call asking to pick him up alone.

and he himself came out later and said it was 10 rounds.

“Then he said he wasn’t drugs tested and then he said he was tested. Then he said he was tested by my brother, and now he has come up with this one. What is next?

“He has got to come to terms with the reality that

BOXING “I wasn’t told where I was going. As we stopped at a park, my cellphone was confiscated and was given to a guy in the car,” Botha told New Zealand’s Radio LiveSport from Durban.

“Then I was being walked (by Nasser), and during this walk, I was offered Aus$150,000 to throw the fight.

“I just said ‘no, I can’t do it’.”

There is no suggestion that Williams was aware of the alleged offer.

Nasser slammed Botha as a bad loser after a fight that ended in 10 rounds, despite earlier promotions saying it was a 12-round contest.

“I think he (Botha) is still in a daze,” Nasser told Fairfax Media of a man who has fought Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Wladimir Klitschko and Evander Holyfield in a 23-year career.

“This is the same bloke who said he didn’t know about the fight being 10 rounds, and then his promoter

Photo taken on Feb 8, 2013 shows Francois Botha of South Africa (right), and New Zealand rugby union player Sonny Bill Williams (left), exchanging blows during their WBA International Heavyweight Title fight at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. (AFP)

he got his ass whipped by a guy who had had only five fights.

“It is all well and good to come out with all these allegations after, but where’s his manhood? It’s absolute madness.

“If it happened like he said, why didn’t he come out and report it then — or does it suit him now?”

While Williams won the fight, he was on the receiving end of some heavy blows from Botha in the 10th round with the South African saying another two rounds would have been enough to secure him victory.

Bookmakers refunded bets on Williams’s win due to the controversy over how long the fight was supposed to be.

Doubts have also been raised about whether the WBA actually sanctioned the bout, and if Williams’ claim on the title is legitimate. There was no WBA official present in Brisbane for the fight. ❑ ❑ ❑ Former European champion Jamie McDonnell of England will face Mexico’s unbeaten Julio Ceja for the vacant International Boxing Federation bantamweight title, an IBF official told ESPN on Tuesday.

The sports network’s website reported that Mexico’s undefeated Leo Santa Cruz vacated the crown in order to move up to the junior featherweight ranks, setting up Ceja and McDonnell, IBF championships chairman Lindsey Tucker said.

McDonnell, 26, has won 12 fights in a row since last losing back in 2008 and sports a record of 20-2 with one drawn and nine knockouts, but this would be the Yorkshireman’s first world title chance.

Ceja, 24-0 with all but two wins by knockout, has fought seven times in the past 13 months, going past the sixth round only once, but he never had a bout outside his homeland.

Promoters will negotiate terms with a purse bid to follow if required.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

52

Tourney to serve as prep for Bahrain-bound trainees

IBAK Spring Challenge Cup set to kick off

By Jose Gabriel Special to the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, Feb 13: Indian Badminton Association-Kuwait (IBAK) is back, after a short break, doing what it has proved to be excellent at-organizing top-class coaching sessions and also top-level competitions for all its members.

This Friday, Feb 15,2013, sees the start of an Open tournament which is open to all the different categories. The tournament, being held at the Saad Al Awzi School in Surra, is being organized in such a way that it benefits the players who are being sent to Bahrain later this year for an invitation tournament. It will act as a preparation platform for this team.

The coming Friday’s tournament is being called the IBAK Spring Challenge Cup. The tournament will be conducted on a league-cum knockout basis ( doubles only for men and singles/doubles for women).

The tournament will be played using standard Mavis 500 plastic shuttles until the quarter-final stages and thereafter the Yonex AS2 feather shuttles in preparation for the Bahrain tournament.

IBAK is sending about 20 trainees, who took part in the IBAK coaching modules, to take part in an invitational age group competition to be held in Bahrain in April 2013. These trainees are being fully sponsored by the IBAK coaching team funds.

In line with the same program, the next outing for the IBAK family is a trip to Bahrain in April 2013. A 32-member team will also be participating in the invitational tournament to be held there during this trip. About 100 IBAK members and their families expected to avail of opportunity and go on this trip. The IBAK organizers thank Bahrain Air for the discounted tickets which are being provided to the travelling party.

Meanwhile, IBAK marked the end this week of Coaching Module 4, which proved to be a greater success than all the previous coaching training camps.

This module was controlled and supervised by coach Diwakar Chandramoulli.

BADMINTON The IBAK coaching modules have come a long way since the first one was organized over two years ago, a few months after IBAK came into being.

The interest in these training camps has increased rapidly and with it the number of participants allowed to attend such camps.

The first module saw the participation of 55 members. This was the first camp of its kind in the country and 55 was considered a large number but considering the fact that the 4th coaching module had 140 participants, the first training module can be considered very small.

This success has been due to the hardworking IBAK coaching teams which have spared some of their valuable time to promote the sport by training all the IBAK members willing to learn to play badminton well.

The IBAK officials this week honored the following coaching team at a special ceremony : Resident Coach: Sreekumar Gopinathan Chief Coach: Shyam Sadhwani Coaching Secretary: Noor Kalamatta Moderator: Baburaj Parakkal Back Office Help: Mohammed Sirajudeen, Prasad K Thandachery Assistant Director- Coaching: Sunil Moorkanat Director-Coaching: Dr.Manimara Chozhan At the same ceremony, the winners of the age group competition of the IBAK coaching Module 4 tournament were awarded trophiesand medals.

Special citation awards were also presented to about 30 trainees of the module. The rest of them were awarded certificates. The coach was also felicitated.

The IBAK office-bearers have also announced that IBAK’s third annual general body meeting (AGM) has been scheduled for the 11th of April. The organizers of this event added that the AGM which will have a karoke night clubbed with it. The aim is to provide fun to the other IBAK members.

In another development, IBAK’s third anniversary, titled “Bandhan2013” will be held on the 19th of April 2013. Preparations are in full swing for the same and all the IBAK members are looking forward to this once in a year entertainment bonanza.

The IBAK overseas tour is scheduled immediately after the anniversary celebrations, from the 24th-27th of April2013, thereby making this period a very busy one for IBAK. No organization in Kuwait has achieved so much in nearly three years, but the confident IBAK office-bearers — led by their president Dr. Manimara Chozhan — have worked extremely hard to make IBAK one of the premier badminton organizations in Kuwait..

In the two years and 10 months since IBAK was formally launched on April 14th 2010 at the Qadsiya Sports Complex, Dr Mani and his dedicated group of office-bearers have worked really hard not only to set up a permanent home for the organization, but also to arrange quality tournaments for all the IBAK members.

Their success has seen them hold the first ever inter-school tournament. They scored another first when they organized a championship for all the badminton organizations in the country.

It was at the start of 2010 when a few badminton enthusiasts discussed the formation of an Indian sports group dedicated to badminton. Led by Dr

IBAK family pose for a group shot after the event.

Hurricanes hurt New Jersey Rangers down Bruins NEWARK, New Jersey, Feb 13, (AP): Jiri Tlusty scored two goals in the third period and Cam Ward made 26 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat New Jersey 4-2 on Tuesday night, snapping the Devils’ five-game winning streak.

Jussi Jokinen and Patrick Dwyer also scored for Carolina, which went 4-1-1 on its six-game road trip.

With Carolina on the power play, Tlusty flipped a shot toward the net that bounced off Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador and over goalie Martin Brodeur at 7:25. Eric Stall earned an assist, extending his point streak to 10 games.

Tlusty later added an empty-net goal.

Ilya Kovalchuk and Ryan Carter scored for the Eastern Conference-leading Devils, who lost in regulation at home for the first time this season (5-1-1).

Ducks 3, Blackhawks 2, SO In Chicago, Viktor Fasth made two stops in the shootout to remain perfect in six starts and Anaheim beat Chicago in a matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference.

After Jonathan Toews converted the first shootout attempt for Chicago, Fasth stopped Patrick Kane’s backhander and denied Brandon Saad on the right side of the goal to become the first goalie to win his first six NHL starts since Dan Ellis with Dallas and Nashville from Feb 18, 2004 to Nov 29, 2007.

Nick Bonino and Corey Perry scored in the tiebreaker for Anaheim, which improved to 3-1 on its season-high, sixgame road trip.

Rangers 4, Bruins 3 SO In Boston, Ryan Callahan scored as the final participant in the shootout and the New York Rangers recovered after blowing a three-goal, third-period lead to beat Boston.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 37 shots, plus three of the four attempts in the shootout. Carl Hagelin scored for the second straight game, and Derek Stepan and Anton Stralman each added an unassisted goal for the Rangers.

NHL Results/Standings

WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (RTRS): Results and Standings from the NHL games on Tuesday.

Carolina 4 New Jersey 2 NY Rangers 4 Boston (SO) 3 Ottawa 2 Buffalo 0 Montreal 4 Tampa Bay (SO) 3

Washington Philadelphia Nashville Anaheim Dallas Vancouver

6 3 1 3 4 2

Eastern Conference

New Jersey Pittsburgh NY Rangers Philadelphia NY Islanders

L 2 5 5 7 7

OT 3 0 0 1 1

Central Division GF 35 41 33 34 36

GA 28 32 30 40 43

PTS 19 16 14 13 9

W 10 6 7 6 4

Chicago Nashville Detroit St Louis Columbus

Northeast Division Boston Toronto Ottawa Montreal Buffalo

W 8 8 7 7 5

L 1 5 4 4 8

OT 2 0 2 1 1

Carolina Tampa Bay Winnipeg Florida Washington

L 4 5 6 6 8

OT 1 1 1 2 1

L 0 3 4 5 7

OT 3 4 1 1 2

GF 44 25 33 39 30

GA 28 26 32 40 41

PTS 23 16 15 13 10

OT 2 1 3 3 1

GF 35 27 29 26 23

GA 25 32 34 35 29

PTS 18 13 13 9 9

OT 1 3 1 2 2

GF 42 36 30 35 26

GA 33 29 29 35 32

PTS 19 17 15 14 10

Northwest Division GF 32 39 33 35 39

GA 25 33 23 33 48

PTS 18 16 16 15 11

GF 38 46 32 30 36

GA 36 36 40 46 46

PTS 15 13 11 10 9

W 8 6 5 3 4

Vancouver Minnesota Edmonton Calgary Colorado

Southeast Division W 7 6 5 4 4

5 2 0 2 1 1

Western Conference

Atlantic Division W 8 8 7 6 4

Florida (OT) Winnipeg San Jose (OT) Chicago (SO) Edmonton Minnesota

L 2 6 5 4 6

Pacific Division W 9 7 7 6 4

Anaheim San Jose Dallas Phoenix Los Angeles

L 2 3 5 5 5

Note: Overtime losses (OT) are worth one point in the standings and are not included in the loss column (L)

all three shots in the shootout, David Desharnais had the lone goal in the tiebreaker, and Montreal rebounded after blowing a three-goal lead to beat Tampa Bay.

Victor Hedman scored twice and Sami Salo added a power-play goal during the final six minutes of regulation as the Lightning tied it at 3.

Senators 2, Sabres 0 In Ottawa, Craig Anderson made 42 saves, and Erik Karlsson and Erik Condra scored less than two minutes apart in the second period to lift Ottawa over Buffalo.

Anderson, who earned his second shutout of the season, was especially sharp in the third period with the Sabres pressing for the tie. The Senators snapped a two-game slide.

Ryan Miller made 29 saves in the loss.

Flyers 3, Jets 2 In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Brayden Schenn, Kimmo Timonen and Tye McGinn scored to lead Philadelphia to a victory against Winnipeg.

The Flyers (6-7-1), coming off a 5-2 loss in Toronto, won on the road for the second time this season. Jakub Voracek had two assists.

Andrew Ladd scored both goals for the Jets (5-6-1), the last in the closing seconds.

Stars 4, Oilers 1 In Edmonton, Alberta, Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves, and Dallas extended its winning streak to four with a victory over Edmonton.

Jaromir Jagr, Ryan Garbutt, Brenden Dillon and Eric Nystrom scored for the Stars, who have won five of six.

Canucks 2, Wild 1 In Vancouver, British Columbia, Robert Luongo made 25 saves, and Vancouver beat Minnesota for its sixth straight win.

Luongo’s home shutout streak against the Wild ended at 228 minutes, 26 seconds but he held on for the win. He hasn’t lost a game in regulation this season.

Luongo lowered his goals-against average to 1.45, behind only Ottawa’s Craig Anderson.

Kevin Bieksa and Jannik Hansen scored for Vancouver (8-2-2).

Russia’s KHL eyes westward expansion

ICE HOCKEY Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for the Bruins, who have three losses this season and two of them are to the Rangers after regulation.

Predators 1, Sharks 0, OT In Nashville, Tennessee, Colin Wilson scored at 2:08 of overtime, and Nashville beat San Jose to snap a two-game skid.

Pekka Rinne made 25 saves for his second shutout this season in a game in which Nashville set a franchise mark for offensive futility before Wilson scored.

The goal ended the drought at just over 176 minutes in a three-game span.

San Jose has lost six straight after opening the season with seven consecutive wins, a streak ended in a 2-1 shootout loss to Nashville on Feb 2.

Capitals 6, Panthers 5, OT In Sunrise, Florida, Troy Brouwer scored 32 seconds into overtime for Washington, which rallied from a late two-goal deficit and beat Florida.

Washington trailed 5-3 before Eric Fehr scored on a redirect at 14:53 of the third period. Alex Ovechkin then scored a power-play goal with 2:49 left to tie it.

Florida rookie Jonathan Huberdeau had his first multigoal game, and Drew Shore scored his first NHL goal. Tomas Fleischmann and Shawn Matthias also scored for the Panthers, and Scott Clemmensen made 23 saves.

Canadiens 4, Lightning 3, SO In Tampa, Florida, Carey Price stopped

Drayson Bowman #21 of the Carolina Hurricanes takes the puck around the net as Marek Zidlicky #2 of the New Jersey Devils defends at the Prudential Center on Feb 12, in Newark, New Jersey (AFP)

Mani and his team, an initial drive was launched to enroll 100 members for the Indian Embassy registration. With a lot of hard work being put in by all those involved it was not long before this aim was achieved. After that, with some limited facilities, Indian Badminton Association in Kuwait (IBAK) was formally launched on April 14, 2010 at the Qadsiya Sports Complex.

All the office bearers then worked

hard to ensure that IBAK meets were a success. All of them have performed the tasks assigned to them with admirable enthusiasm rarely witnessed in an expatriate organization.

With such a hardworking team at the helm of IBAK, there is no doubt that the organization is headed for great success.

On their route to success, the organization has been given full support by the

Indian Embassy in Kuwait especially all the senior officials led by the ambassador.

The following office bearers of IBAK have been involved in the successful organization of all the current events : President — Dr Manimara Chozhan General Secretary — Mohammed Arief

Secretaries Mohammed

Sirajudeen

—

Membership Jimmy Jose Aricat— Public Relations Srinivas Sreedhara — Event Management Faheem Contractor — Media Mallu Chandramouli — Courts DrVijay Shirhatti — Critical Review Noor Kalmatta — Coaching Antony Marshal — Web Affairs Prasad Thandachery — Logistic Support

MOSCOW, Feb 13, (AFP): Russia’s Continental Hockey League (KHL) is set to expand its presence into Western Europe by accepting new members in the near future, the league president said Wednesday.

The Russian-led league — which already includes teams from the former Soviet Union as well as the Czech Republic and Slovakia — was looking at accepting new members from Italy, Croatia and Poland, the league president Alexander Medvedev said.

“Currently there are three candidates interested in joining our league,” Medvedev told the Sport Express daily.

“Those are the clubs from Milan, Zagreb and Gdansk. There’s a possibility that one of those clubs will join the league in the next season. But the decision on new members and some possible league restructuring will be finalised later, after the end of the season.”

Medvedev said that he considered the current KHL season to be the best to date in the league, adding that the tough battle for places in the play-offs in Western conference had been pulsating.

He also said that the entry of the Czech, Slovak and Ukrainian clubs into the KHL last year has seriously boosted interest in ice hockey in those countries.

“Czech national championship matches failed to attract more than five thousand spectators in hockey-mad Prague before their club joined KHL,” he said.

“This season’s derby with neighbours Slovan Bratislava attracted almost 16,000 fans.”

Medvedev added that this season’s home matches of Slovan in Bratislava have been pulling inaround 10,000 spectators on a regular basis.

Jayaprakash — Audit Aun Foizen — Sports Jt. Secretaries Sarosh Daruwala — Media IBAK also has an official website www.ibakwt.org which is currently packed with all the activities it has arranged since its birth.

All interested in taking part in IBAK activities can ask for details on ibakchozhan@gmail.com.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

53

9 world-class crews start grueling race

EFG Bank Sailing Arabia – The Tour sets sail MANAMA, Bahrain, Feb 14: EFG Bank Sailing Arabia - The Tour, the region’s only long distance offshore sailing race started with nine world-class crews including a host of elite sailors from the Middle East taking on the unique sailing challenge and endurance race between Bahrain and Muscat.

Inspired by organisers Oman Sail to encourage one of the region’s fastest growing sports and reignite the rich maritime heritage of the Gulf, the third edition of the showcase sailing event was officially launched at Amwaj Marina ahead of 15 days fierce competition around the coastline of four different countries covering 760 nautical miles.

The opening ceremony, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and the President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, was attended by Sailing Federation dignitaries from GCC nations, race officials, sponsors, skippers and crew of the boats competing for the EFG Bank Sailing Arabia - The Tour 2013 trophy.

Speaking at the start of the race, Khalifa Abdulla Al Khalifa, Chairman of Bahrain Maritime Sports Association said: “Bahrain is extremely proud to host the opening ceremony and first leg of the EFG Bank Sailing Arabia - The Tour.

Thanks to the inspiring vision of Oman Sail a world-class event has been established that unites the region through sailing while also promoting the sport to a new generation. As the crews set sail for Qatar on the first leg we wish all involved a thrilling race from start to finish.”

This season promises to be the best yet, with some of the world’s best sailors competing in the ideal sailing conditions

of the Gulf. EFG Bank Sailing Arabia The Tour 2013 represents the culmination of three years’ development in offshore racing in the region, and the roster of competitors reflects the adoption and recognition of this unique event by the international sailing community.

Competing aboard identical Farr 30 yachts, the EFG Bank Sailing Arabia The Tour has attracted nine crews representing five different nations, led locally

by Oman’s Team Renaissance, Royal Navy of Oman, Team BAE Systems and the all — female Team Al-Thuraya Bank Muscat. Two teams will compete on behalf of the UAE, Team Abu Dhabi and Team AISM representing the neighbouring Emirate of Dubai.

SAILING The growing stature of the event and its adoption by the international sailing community is reflected in the diverse range of teams entered from around the world this year with crews hailing from Monaco, Holland and the EU. Speaking ahead of the first leg Issa Al Ismaili, Director of Events at the race’s organiser Oman Sail said; “The vision of Oman Sail is to develop the region sailing talent and reignite the rich maritime heritage. Through EFG Bank Sailing Arabia The Tour, Oman Sail is also providing and exciting platform to develop people and leave a lasting legacy.”

“The tour is bringing together the best sailing talent in the GCC and from elite sailors around the world and we believe that every leg of the race will encourage sailing across the GCC by showcasing local role models and motivating young-

Smith defends Philander tweet

Pakistan ‘batsmen’ face big challenge in 2nd Test CAPE TOWN, Feb 13, (AFP): Pakistan’s batsmen face a big challenge when they take on South Africa’s in-form fast bowlers in the second Test starting at Newlands on Thursday.

After being bowled out for 49 on the way to a 211-run defeat in the first Test in Johannesburg, Pakistan will be up against Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel on the ground where Australia were bowled out for 47 last season and New Zealand for 45 last month.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq identified combating the new ball as the top priority for his team following the first Test.

The left-handed Imran Farhat, who played the most recent of his 39 Tests in August 2010, opened the batting in both innings in a two-day practice match against an Emerging Cape Cobras team which ended on Monday, but it is uncertain whether he will play in the Test.

Mohammad Hafeez failed twice in the first Test and did not bat in the practice match, while Nasir Jamshed, who showed promise as an opener in his first Test appearance, suffered an ankle injury in the field against the Cobras team and also did not bat, but is expected to be fit for the Test.

CRICKET There was a boost for the tourists when Younis Khan, their most experienced batsman, ended a run of poor form with an unbeaten 74 in the second innings of the practice match.

Khan’s success gives added credence to Misbah’s claim that Pakistan’s middle order were capable of posting competitive totals, after Misbah and Asad Shafiq both hit half-centuries in the second innings in Johannesburg.

At least one change is expected in Pakistan’s bowling line-up, with the tall Mohammad Irfan favoured to replace Rahat Ali, who did not take a wicket in Johannesburg. Irfan had match figures of seven for 40 against the Cobras side. ❑ ❑ ❑ In Cape Town, South African captain Graeme Smith on Wednesday defended opening bowler Vernon Philander’s right to call for the reintroduction of the death penalty in South Africa.

Responding to public outrage at a spate of rapes and murders, including one in the small western Cape town of Bredasdorp, Philander tweeted: “Sickening to hear all the rape-murder cases taking place at the moment. Bring back the death penalty and see how these numbers drop.”

“Grown men have opinions on different matters in life,” said Smith. “We spend a lot of time together so many things are discussed. There has been a lot of campaigning around rape and murder and sorting out the crime in South Africa.

“As role models in South Africa, we want to be a part of putting that right.

Obviously Vernon needs to chat about his opinion, but all of us know our responsibility.

“There are regulations from ICC (International Cricket Council) and CSA (Cricket South Africa).

“We know we can’t speak on DRS (decision review system) or umpiring, but when it comes to guys’ opinions on life, their future and their families and what they believe in, in the country, I don’t see a problem.”

There is no death penalty in South Africa and Lulu Xingwana, the Women and Children Minister, said on Tuesday it would not be reintroduced, although she said bail should be denied to two men accused of raping and disemboweling Bredasdorp teenager Anene Booysen.

Smith, meanwhile, voiced his sympathy for nine first-team cricketers from King Edward VII School in Johannesburg, his old school, who were victims of a lightning strike on Tuesday.

Prior wants England to ‘bully’ Australia LONDON, Feb 13, (AFP): England wicketkeeper Matt Prior believes Alastair Cook’s men are ready to “bully” old rivals Australia in this year’s back-toback Ashes series.

Cook’s side are bidding to become the first England team in over a century to win four straight Ashes campaigns, a chance they have this year when a trip Down Under follows on from a home series in order to set up a new cycle that ensures England are not always in Australia immediately before a World Cup. Prior, a key figure with both gloves and bat in England’s 2009 and 2010/11 Ashes triumphs, grew up in an era when Australia dominated cricket’s oldest Test rivalry, with the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath starring during a run of eight straight series wins for the men in Baggy Green caps.

“I remember watching Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath, and the way they walked around and bullied England,” Prior told BBC Sport.

“Maybe it’s our time to do a bit of bullying ourselves.

“If we prepare and perform as we want to, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t dominate Australia in these two Ashes series.

“You look at our dressing room and the skills we have in our team — batters, bowlers, the spin department, it’s all there.

“But Ashes series are strange — there is no such thing as a weak Australian Test side and we will have to be on our game to do it.”

The Australia side that tours England this year will have an unfamiliar look, with the top order missing two mainstays following the retirements of both former captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.

Meanwhile, although Australia have a raft of promising fast bowlers doubts several have already suffered injury setbacks in their short careers and much will depend upon the durability of the likes of Peter Siddle.

The Australia teams captained by Steve Waugh, of which McGrath and Warne were key members, used to revel in what their skipper called “mental disintegration” and the rest of the world knew as “sledging”.

England too have shown lately they can dish out verbal abuse in the field although, as Prior pointed out and traditionalists have long believed, the most effective way to worry an opponent is to simply play well.

Abu Dhabi Team

sters to try something new,” added Ismaili.

The 100 mile leg to Qatar is the first of seven that will see the fleet visit stopover ports first in Qatar, then along the UAE coastline to Abu Dhabi, Dubai (new to the course this year) and Ras Al Khaimah before passing through the Strait of Hormuz and on to Oman, visiting Dibba, Mussanah and the finish in Muscat.

Amongst the favourites is Dubai-based Team AISM, skippered by Bertrand Pacé.

Aside from winning the 2011 event, Pacé is a former America’s Cup helmsman and, relevant to this event, has won the Tour de France a la Voile eight times in its 35 year history. However with a similar pedigree is Cedric Pouligny, skipper

of Team BAE Systems, which has finished third in the past two races.

New to EFG Bank Sailing Arabia - The Tour is Oman Sail’s MOD70 skipper Sidney Gavignet, on this occasion helming EFG Bank (Monaco). Gavignet’s crew includes British round the world veteran Neal McDonald and Oman’s Fahad Al Hasni.

British yachtswoman Dee Caffari, the only woman to have sailed non-stop around the world singlehanded both eastabout and westabout, is returning as skipper of Al-Thuraya Bank Muscat, once again sailed exclusively by women.

Caffari is joined by American round the world sailor Katie Pettibone, but also a squad of six up and coming Omani

female sailors, four of whom will be on board at any one time. Because the girls are smaller, they will race with eight, while the boys teams will be sailed by six or seven crew.

This year Caffari says they have had more training time. “We did the Muscat Regatta and the Muscat-Kashab offshore race in November. We won the inshore regatta and came second in the offshore regatta. Caffari sailed two more weeks with the team in January but stresses that as they are part of Oman Sail’s keelboat training program and they sail regularly even when she isn’t there.

Racing in EFG Bank Sailing Arabia The Tour is a unique experience, with the desert rolling into the sea for much of the course, punctuated by the metropolises the event visits en route, before the boats pass the rocky mountainous Omani coast around the Strait of Hormuz, exiting the Gulf in the Gulf of Oman. On the first leg the depth is rarely more than 4m, weather forecasts are typically unreliable and off Qatar and the UAE there are numerous oil fields to negotiate. “There’s never a dull moment,” says Caffari.

In addition to Bertrand Pacé’s team, UAE hopes are being placed on the Emirates most famous sailor Adil Khaled, who competed in the last Volvo Ocean Race aboard the Ian Walker-skippered Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

Khaled’s crew is a mix of sailors from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. “It is my first time with a fully Emirati crew. It is a great thing for my country and I am so proud, because it was my dream to have a full Emirati crew after the Volvo Ocean Race.

We will try our best. I don’t know what will happen - we’ll see.”

Team Renaissance’s Omani skipper

Mohsin Al Busaidi, was the first Arab to sail non-stop around the world and is competing in this event for a third time, the second time as skipper. His crew is mainly Omani new recruits alongside two Frenchspeaking heavyweights sailmaker Bruno Dubois and navigator Thierry Douillard.

“Last year I finished seventh overall not too bad for a new team,” says Al Busaidi. “We were on the podium three times and we finished the last leg second.” Typically Al Busaidi says the racing gets more competitive as the event progresses and hopefully they will be able to use their home waters advantage on the concluding two legs - however possibly not to the same degree as the Royal Navy of Oman team led by Qais Al Mamari.

International youth competition also comes to the race in the form of Team Messe Frankfurt, mainly British crew from the University of Plymouth, but with a German skipper in Marcel Herrera.

They are joined by the Dutch team of Kay Heemskerk aboard Team Delft Challenge, previous competitors on the Tour de France a’ la Voice but making their competitive debut in the Middle East.

Taking in four countries and eight ports of call, EFG Bank Sailing Arabia The Tour is a showcase of everything that the Gulf has to offer in terms of state-ofthe-art facilities and idyllic sailing conditions Leaving Manama on February 10th, EFG Bank Sailing Arabia - The Tour calls at Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Dibba and Mussanah and ends February 25th in Muscat. The racing will include in-port racing at selected locations.

For more information on the race please visit: www.sailingarabiathetour.com

Charles helps Windies to consolation victory Aussies pace attack badly exposed BRISBANE, Australia, Feb 13, (AFP): The West Indies ended their disappointing tour of Australia with a morale-boosting 27-run win over Australia in a one-off T20 international on Wednesday.

After losing all five one-day internationals and a warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI, the T20 world champions cruised to an easy win against a below-strength home side.

The West Indies romped to 191 for six in their 20 overs, then restricted Australia to 164 for eight on a perfect batting strip.

Australia, whose five-man pace attack was badly exposed by the West Indies batsmen, started brilliantly.

But they were reined in by the offspin of Sunil Narine and the run outs of Sean Marsh (21) and Adam Voges (51) when both were in full flight.

CRICKET Voges and Marsh put on 74 at better than a run a ball until they were run out within three runs of each other.

Narine, who finished with 2-19 from his four overs, then chipped in with the key wicket of Australian skipper George Bailey (15) to put the hosts under intense pressure.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (22) and debutant Ben Rohrer (16) threatened briefly, but the asking rate was too much and the innings fell away towards the end.

Earlier West Indies opener Johnson Charles scored a blistering 57 off just 35 balls as the visitors dominated the Australian attack. Charles took control after fellow opener Chris Gayle (8) failed once again, and hit seven fours and a six in a sparkling innings.

Any thoughts Australia had of keeping the West Indies under control after Gayle’s early departure were soon ended by a brilliant partnership between Charles and Darren Bravo.

They added 88 in quick time before Charles played on to Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Bravo followed soon after when he

Australian batsman Adam Voges hits a shot against the West Indies during their international T20 cricket match at the Gabba cricket ground in Brisbane on Feb 13. (AFP)

was run out for 32 following a dreadful mix-up with Kieron Pollard, which left both batsmen stranded at the non-strik-

Australia vs West Indies Scoreboard

er’s end.

Pollard was looking dangerous until he miscued a drive off Faulkner and

holed out to Marsh at long on for 26, with Dwayne Bravo (13) clean bowled two balls later.

England knocked out

WI, Australia in women’s WC final

West Indian bowler Darren Sammy celebrates the wicket of Australian batsman Aaron Finch during their international T20 cricket match at the Gabba cricket ground in Brisbane on Feb 13. (AFP)

BRISBANE, Australia, Feb 13, (AFP): Scores in the one off T20 international between Australia and West Indies in Brisbane on Wednesday.

WEST INDIES C. Gayle c Coulter-Nile b Hazlewood...8 J. Charles b Coulter-Nile ....................57 Darren Bravo run out..........................32 K. Pollard c Marsh b Faulkner............26 Dwayne Bravo b Faulkner ..................13 A. Russell not out ...............................23 D. Sammy c Marsh b Faulkner...........20 N. Deonarine not out ............................6 Extras (lb4, w2) ....................................6 Total (6 wkts, 20 overs) ....................191 Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Gayle), 2-99 (Charles), 3-106 (Darren Bravo), 4-139 (Pollard), 5-141 (Dwayne Bravo), 6-172 (Sammy) Bowling: McKay 4-0-44-0, Hazlewood 4-0-36-1, Faulkner 4-0-28-3 (1w), Coulter-Nile 4-0-36-1 (1w), Cutting 4-043-0 AUSTRALIA A. Finch b Sammy ................................4

S. Marsh run out.................................21 A. Voges run out.................................51 G. Bailey c Deonarine b Narine..........15 B. Rohrer c Deonarine b Pollard ........16 B. Haddin c Russell b Pollard.............22 J. Faulkner c Sammy b Pollard ............7 B. Cutting st Thomas b Narine .............0 N. Coulter-Nile not out........................16 C. McKay not out..................................6 Extras (b1, lb2, w3) ..............................6 Total (8 wickets, 20 overs)................164 Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Finch), 2-79 (Marsh), 3-82 (Voges), 4-96 (Bailey), 5121 (Haddin), 6-139 (Faulkner), 7-139 (Rohrer), 8-141 (Cutting) Bowling: Best 3-0-19-0 (2w), Sammy 3-0-30-1 (1w), Narine 4-0-19-2, Russell 1-0-9-0, Deonarine 3-0-37-0, Dwayne Bravo 2-0-17-0, Pollard 4-0-30-3 West Indies win by 27 runs Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS), John Ward (AUS) TV Umpire: Simon Fry (AUS) Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

NEW DELHI, Feb 13, (AFP): The West Indies stunned mighty Australia by eight runs on Wednesday to enter their first women’s World Cup final, a result that knocked out defending champions England.

The West Indies and Australia topped the Super Sixes table with eight points each, while England can finish with only six points even if they defeat New Zealand in their last match later on Wednesday.

The West Indies, who were shot out for 164, hit back to dismiss Australia for 156 in 48.2 overs in a dramatic finish in Mumbai, with left-arm seamer Shanel Daley claiming three for 22 in 9.2 overs.

Off-spinner Stafanie Taylor took two

for 26 as the Australian women collapsed spectacularly with Alex Blackwell playing a lone hand of 45.

The upset win was set up by Deandra Dottin, who smashed one six and 10 fours in her 67-ball 60 that lifted the West Indies to a challenging total.

It was Australia’s first defeat in the tournament, but the five-time champions will get a chance to avenge the loss when they clash with the West Indies in Sunday’s final in Mumbai.

In another match, South Africa registered their first win in the Super Sixes round when they beat Sri Lanka by 110 runs in Cuttack. Both teams finished with two points each.

Sri Lanka, chasing a 228-run target, were bowled out for 117 in 36.4 overs.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

54

Faris leads UConn past Providence

No.1 Baylor women rout Texas Tech 89-47 WACO, Texas, Feb 13, (AP): Baylor senior standout Brittney Griner was constantly surrounded and bumped by multiple Texas Tech defenders, even taking an elbow that was called a flagrant foul.

The Lady Raiders had no intention of letting the two-time All-American score 40 points against them again.

Griner had 30 points fewer this time around, but still had her 54th career double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) as the top-ranked Lady Bears got their second lopsided victory in two weeks against Texas Tech, winning 89-47 on Tuesday night for their 52nd consecutive victory at home.

‘’We prepared for exactly what we saw tonight. I did not think they would challenge us in man-to-man like they did in Lubbock, where Griner pretty much dominated,’’ Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. ‘’We’ve seen it all. ... You won by

BASKETBALL more tonight than you did with Griner getting 40 because you shared the wealth.

And there’s lots of scoring on that sheet.’’

Griner, the 6-foot-8 senior, also had seven blocked shots and five assists while leading four players scoring in double

figures for the Lady Bears (23-1, 13-0 Big 12), who had two other players with nine points.

Odyssey Sims had 18 points, six steals and five assists. Brooklyn Pope had 17 points while Kimetria Hayden had 10 points and seven assists.

Along with their nation’s best home winning streak have several other impressive winning streaks, the Lady Bears have won 21 games in a row overall and 35 consecutive Big 12 regular-season games.

Chynna Brown had 15 points to lead Texas Tech (18-7, 8-5), and Casey Morris had 10

The Lady Raiders scored the first four points of the game. The Lady Bears went nearly 2 1/2 minutes before Jordan Madden’s 3-pointer, and went ahead to stay when Griner had a rebound that led to her jumper that made it 5-4.

When Madden made her second 3pointer, only 2 minutes after the first, it was already 11-6.

The Lady Bears, going for their third consecutive regular-season conference title, have a four-game lead over 22ndranked Oklahoma with five league games left. Their only remaining non-conference game in the regular season is Monday night’s showdown at third-

ranked Connecticut.

Texas Tech also scored first after halftime, but Kelsi Baker’s two free throws in the first minute only cut the gap to 46-28.

UConn 105, Providence 49 In Providence, Connecticut’s Kelly Faris started her 100th straight game and turned it into a microcosm of her career as a Husky.

The senior guard scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists as UConn (23-1, 10-1 Big East) cruised to a 105-49 win over Providence on Tuesday, the Huskies fourth 100-point game this season. ‘’I think the 100 starts in a row is most

Heat hold off Blazers James sets record

Missouri edges Indiana 67-65

Florida handles No. 25 Kentucky GAINESVILLE, Fla. Feb 13, (AP): If there were any questions about Florida’s status in the Southeastern Conference following a loss at Arkansas last week, the Gators put those to rest.

With another lopsided win in league play.

And against defending national champion Kentucky, which had freshman star Nerlens Noel go down with a knee injury.

Scottie Wilbekin had 14 points and eight assists, Pat Young recorded his sixth double-double of the season and No. 7 Florida handled the 25th-ranked Wildcats 69-52.

The Gators (20-3, 10-1 SEC) snapped a five-game losing streak in the series and improved to 12-0 at home.

This one solidified Florida’s spot atop the SEC. The Wildcats (17-7, 8-3) lost for the first time in six games, and it may have been costly.

Noel, the nation’s leading shot-blocker, injured his left knee in the second half and was taken to a campus hospital for tests.

Noel, a forward who averages 10.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game, landed awkwardly on his leg with about 8 minutes to play. He screamed in pain as trainers rushed to his side. Teammates carried him to the locker room. After the game, trainers pushed him through the halls of the O’Connell Center in a wheelchair and with his left leg in a brace.

Missouri St 67, Indiana 65 In Springfield, Mo, Marcus Marshall capped a 19-point performance with two free throws with 8 seconds left, giving Missouri State a 67-65 victory over Indiana State.

The Bears (8-18, 6-8 Missouri Valley) led the entire second half but saw conference co-leader Indiana State pull within 6563 on Jake Odum’s layup with 10 seconds left. Marshall was fouled and made both free throws to make it a two-possession game before ISU’s R.J. Mahurin made a meaningless jumper just before the final buzzer.

Marshall’s 19 points tied the career high he set in Saturday’s 79-50 loss to Wichita Wilbekin State. Christian Kirk added 14 points and Keith Pickens had 11 for MSU. Odum led the Sycamores (16-9, 9-5) with 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Manny Arop chipped in 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

The teams split their season series; Indiana State won 68-60 in Terre Haute, Ind., on Jan. 16.

Michigan State 75, Michigan 52 In Eastlansing, Mich, Michigan State turned a highly anticipated, historic matchup into a showcase of what its proud program is capable of doing this season.

Gary Harris scored 17 points and Derrick Nix had 14 to help the eighth-ranked Spartans rout No. 4 Michigan 75-52 on Tuesday night in the rivalry’s first matchup of top 10 teams.

MIAMI, Feb 13, (AP): LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 30 points and shoot at least 60 percent in six straight games, Chris Bosh scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat held off the Portland Trail Blazers 117-104 on Tuesday night.

James scored 30 points on 11 for 15 shooting and Dwyane Wade added 24 points for Miami, which wasted a pair of 14-point leads then put the game away with a 140 run in the final minutes. Ray Allen added 14 for Miami.

Damian Lillard had a game-high 33 points for Portland, which got 29 from LaMarcus Aldridge and 20 from Wesley Matthews.

It was the 1,000th regular-season win in Heat history. But on this night, the only history anyone will remember was what James accomplished.

Lakers 91, Suns 85 In Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had 19 points and 18 rebounds, Antawn Jamison added 19 points, and Los Angeles survived Kobe Bryant’s bizarre four-point performance for its eighth win in 11 games.

Bryant didn’t attempt a shot in the first half and scored his first basket with 2:13 to play, finishing 1 for 8 with eight turnovers in one of the oddest games of his 17-year career.

Yet the Lakers survived against the Suns, getting 17 points from Metta World Peace and maintaining a small lead down the stretch of their 12th win in Phoenix’s last 13 visits to Staples Center.

Michael Beasley scored 18 points and Luis Scola had 15 for the Suns, who have lost eight of 10. Phoenix is

BASKETBALL

BASKETBALL 5-23 on the road.

Raptors 109, Nuggets 108 In Toronto, Rudy Gay hit a pull-up jump shot with less than five seconds remaining and Toronto beat shorthanded Denver.

DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points, Gay had 17 and John Lucas scored 12 of his 14 points in the final quarter as the Raptors won their third straight.

It was the second game-winner in three games for Gay, who beat Indiana with an overtime jumper last Friday.

Kyle Lowry had 11 points and 10 assists and Alan Anderson had 10 for Toronto, which made seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Ty Lawson led Denver with 29 points, Kenneth Faried had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Randolph scored 16.

Andre Miller scored 12 points for the Nuggets, who came in having won nine of their past 10 overall and 15 of their past 17 meetings with Toronto.

Grizzlies 108, Kings 101 In Memphis, Tenn., Marc Gasol had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Conley scored 22 points and Memphis beat Sacramento.

Tony Allen added a season-high 19 points to help the Grizzlies win their sixth straight over the Kings at home.

Memphis entered the All-Star break with a three-game win streak, their longest in more than a month.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 23 points and Tyreke Evans had 20 for the Kings.

Jazz 109, Thunder 94 In Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson scored 23 points, Paul Millsap had 18 and Utah ended Oklahoma City’s four-game winning streak.

Utah’s bench outscored Oklahoma City’s 49-25, and the Jazz bigs dominated the boards, holding a 16-7 edge on offensive rebounds.

The Thunder also committed 20 turnovers.

The game was scrappy from the start, with Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Durant both called for flagrant fouls, and Perkins whistled for a technical. It was the first flagrant foul of Durant’s career.

indicative of how consistent and reliable and how fortunate she is to stay healthy, and just how committed she is to winning and doing whatever she has to do for the University of Connecticut,’’ said UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Every player scored for the Huskies, who shot 57 percent from the field, and every player had at least one assist.

Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis led six UConn players in double figures with 17 points. Freshman Moriah Jefferson scored a season-high 13 points, hitting six of her seven shots. Fellow first-year Breanna Stewart finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (right), blocks a shot by Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge (left), during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Miami, Feb 12. (AP)

NBA Results/Standings WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (RTRS): Results and standings from the NBA games on Tuesday.

Toronto 109 Denver 108 Miami 117 Portland 104

NY Knicks Brooklyn Boston Philadelphia Toronto

Indiana Chicago Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland

Miami Atlanta Washington Orlando Charlotte

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W 32 30 27 22 20 Central Division W 31 30 25 20 16 Southeast Division W 35 28 15 15 12

Durant finished with 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting, and Russell Westbrook added 22 points.

Rockets 116, Warriors 107 In Oakland, California, James Harden had 27 points and seven rebounds on a nagging left knee, Chandler Parsons added 21 points and nine assists and Houston beat slumping Golden State.

Jeremy Lin finished with 14 points and 10 assists to help the Rockets past his former team for the second time in eight days.

A week after Houston tied the NBA record with 23 made 3-pointers in a testy 140-109 rout of the Warriors, the Bay Area rematch took a little longer to decide.

Memphis Utah LA Lakers Houston

108 109 91 116

L 17 22 24 28 32

PCT .653 .577 .529 .440 .385

GB 3-1/2 6 10-1/2 13-1/2

Oklahoma City Denver Utah Portland Minnesota

L 21 21 25 33 36

PCT .596 .588 .500 .377 .308

GB 0-1/2 5 11-1/2 15

LA Clippers Golden State LA Lakers Sacramento Phoenix

L 14 22 35 36 39

PCT .714 .560 .300 .294 .235

GB 7-1/2 20-1/2 21 24

San Antonio Memphis Houston Dallas New Orleans

Stephen Curry had 27 points and six assists and Jarrett Jack scored 22 points after missing the past three games with a right shoulder injury for the Warriors, who head into the AllStar break on a season-long five-game losing streak.

James

Haider

Sacramento Oklahoma City Phoenix Golden State

Western Conference Northwest Division W 39 33 29 25 19 Pacific Division W 37 30 25 19 17 Southwest Division W 41 33 29 22 18

101 94 85 107

L 13 20 24 27 30

PCT .750 .623 .547 .481 .388

GB 6-1/2 10-1/2 14 18-1/2

L 17 22 28 34 36

PCT .685 .577 .472 .358 .321

GB 6 11-1/2 17-1/2 19-1/2

L 12 18 25 29 34

PCT .774 .647 .537 .431 .346

GB 7 12-1/2 18 22-1/2

‘’It was the perfect storm,’’ Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. ‘’We played about as well as we can.’’

The Spartans (21-4, 10-2 Big Ten) broke a first-place tie in the conference with No. 1 Indiana, which plays at Michigan State next Tuesday after the Spartans try to avoid a letdown Saturday night at Nebraska.

Michigan State’s Keith Appling acknowledged he was a little bit surprised by the lopsided victory - the school’s largest since beating Michigan by 27 points in 2002 - but shrugged off the significance of it with much of the regular season remaining.

Virginia 73, Virginia Tech 55 In Charlottesville, Va, Joe Harris scored a career-high 26 points and Virginia held national scoring leader Erick Green without a field goal into the second half and swept the season series with Virginia Tech, 73-55.

Harris matched his career high with five 3-pointers, all in the first half, and Akil Mitchell added 17 points for the Cavaliers (18-6, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their third game in a row.

Green, who came in averaging 25.3 points, missed his first nine field goal tries and had just one point at halftime as the Hokies (11-13, 2-9) lost their seventh in a row. He made his first field goal, a 3-pointer, with 16:26 to play and finished with 22 points, but on just 4-for-17 shooting.He scored 35 points in the teams’ first meeting, a 74-58 Virginia victory on Jan. 24.

Cincinnati 68, Villanova 50 In Cincinnati, Sean Kilpatrick and JaQuon Parker scored 19 points apiece, and Cincinnati turned up the defensive pressure and emerged from a two-game slump by beating Villanova 68-50.

Cincinnati (19-6, 7-5 Big East) has relied on Kilpatrick for most of its offense lately with point guard Cashmere Wright on the mend. Kilpatrick has averaged nearly 21 points over the last seven games, leading the Bearcats in scoring each time.

Wright had 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, his second-best point total in his last seven games.

Villanova (15-10, 6-6) had won its last two games with highpercentage shooting. The Wildcats had a tough time getting open against Cincinnati’s trapping defense and turned it over 19 times. JayVaughn Pinkston led Villanova with 12 points.

The Wildcats went only 3 of 13 behind the arc and 7 of 15 on free throws.

The Wildcats were coming off one of their best defensive games, a 68-40 win over South Florida on Saturday that represented the fewest points Villanova had ever allowed in a Big East game. Cincinnati turned the 19 turnovers into 21 points as it pulled away.

Footballer cited in under-age prostitution probe PARIS, Feb 13, (AFP): A French international footballer is being investigated in connection with the soliciting of a minor for prostitution, judicial sources told AFP on Wednesday.

The player’s name appeared in the mobile phone of an under-age girl who has been arrested on shop-lifting charges and whose profile was sufficient to justify the opening of a preliminary investigation, the sources said.

They did not immediately reveal the player’s identity, which is subject to rules on judicial secrecy but is likely to emerge if the probe goes beyond a preliminary stage.

Two French internationals, Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, are current-

ly awaiting trial for allegedly paying a 16-year-old prostitute for sex in 2008 and 2009.

The woman involved, Zahia Dehar, has testified that the players were unaware that she was not 18. Although the age of consent is 15 in France, paying for sex with anyone under 18 is a separate, and more serious, offence than soliciting adult prostitutes.

Bayern Munich winger Ribery and Real Madrid forward Benzema face up to three years in prison and a maximum 45,000-euro (£35,000, $55,000) fine if convicted. Their trial, in which six other people will also be in the dock, has been scheduled for June.

News of the investigation into

Ribery and Benzema broke just before the disastrous 2010 World Cup campaign, during which unprecedented bickering within the French squad resulted in a player strike, Nicolas Anelka being sent home and one of the favourites being eliminated at the group stage.

The badly tarnished image of “Les Bleus” has yet to fully recover from what has become known as the Knysna fiasco after the name of the squad’s South African base.

Ribery, said to be one of the ringleaders of a rebellion against coach Raymond Domenech, was given a three-match ban after the tournament but has since been welcomed back into the fold.

ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

SPORTS

55

Huge task awaits Hoops in Turin

Celtic left needing a miracle, says Lennon GLASGOW, Feb 13, (AFP): Celtic manager Neil Lennon admits his side need a miracle if they are to overturn a 3-0 home defeat to Juventus in their Champions League last 16 first leg tie at Parkhead.

The Italian champions put on a clinical display to triumph in Glasgow as they soaked up intense pressure and capitalised on defensive errors to all but book their place in the last eight of the competition.

The Hoops travel to Turin in three weeks time for the return leg and Lennon admitted his side face an almost impossible task.

“We need a miracle. We have to try and be competitive and try and work our way into the tie,” Lennon said after his side’s unbeaten home record in Europe this season came to an abrupt end.

“I said to the players at half-time that it was 1-0 and they were fine and there was a long way to go in the second half.

“But I just felt their heads dropped when the second goal went in. We looked a little bit ragged towards the end.

“We have got a three-week period between now and then. We know it is a daunting prospect at any stage but with a three-goal deficit it is going to be insurmountable almost.

“If we can create the chances that we did tonight and take them then who knows.

“But it’s going to be a huge ask now.”

Lennon surprised everyone before kick-off as he handed Efe Ambrose a starting place despite the defender playing in Nigeria’s African Cup of Nations final win over Burkina Faso on Sunday.

But the gamble backfired with the defender at fault for two of Juve’s deadly away goals.

Ambrose was caught out by the flight of Federico Peluso’s long ball in the third minute

allowing Alessandro Matri to get in behind him and fire the ball over the line despite Kelvin Wilson’s desperate attempted clearance on the line.

Ambrose then missed a chance to atone for his earlier error when he headed straight at veteran Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon when it looked easier to score before Juventus increased their lead in the 77th minute when Claudio Marchisio smashed a shot past Fraser Forster.

Mirko Vucinic finished low through Forster’s legs in the 83rd minute after Ambrose had been caught in possession by Marchisio as the Serie A leaders made the second leg all but a formality.

Ex-S. Africa assistant coach jailed for fixing

SOCCER Despite Ambrose’s errors his manager refused to point the finger of blame at the defender, who had only arrived back on a flight from South Africa in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“He was caught for the first goal – it was nothing to do with tiredness,” Lennon said.

“I thought once he got over that he was fine.

There was no sign of tiredness when he went in and should have scored really but that’s just down to a bad miss.

“But maybe later as the game progressed he did tire but with losing Mikel Lustig we had no alternative but to keep Efe on as we needed the pace at the back as Matri and Vucinic have really good pace.

“You can always question decisions in hindsight. Maybe it was a bit of a gamble but I can’t really criticise the team apart from that final wee bit of quality to get us a goal because our

Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci (2nd left), leads his team-mates in celebration after a 3-0 victory against Celtic during the UEFA Champions League last sixteen football match between Celtic and Juventus at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Feb 12. (AFP)

build-up play at times was fantastic.”

The game was marred by bouts of wrestling between the Juve defenders and Celtic forwards at every corner and Lennon was dismayed by Spanish referee Alberto Mallenco’s handling of the tie.

“I would like to ask what he made of how Juventus marked our players,” Lennon said.

“It looked to me they were fouling at every

opportunity. The referee was warned by our players to keep an eye on it and he ignored our requests.

“And every time we went to lose a marker we were being hauled back and the referee is looking straight at it.

“Are the rules different in Spain and Italy than they are in Britain? Because on that showing they must be.”

CAPE TOWN, Feb 13, (RTRS): A former South Africa assistant coach has been sentenced to eight years in jail for trying to bribe a referee to help a lower-league team, the South African Football Association (SAFA) announced on Wednesday.

Phil Setshedi, who was Clive Barker’s assistant when South Africa won the 1996 African Nations Cup, will serve three years with the other five suspended.

He had been found guilty on Tuesday in a Cape Town court of trying to influence the outcome of a match in the promotion play-offs from the third tier of South African football in mid-2011.

The court heard he had offered money to a match referee to help the team he represented win.

Setshedi is a former player and coach of South African champions Orlando Pirates.

Bribing referees is reported to be commonplace in the lower leagues in South Africa but prosecutions are rare.

Setshedi’s sentence would send out a clear message that match-fixing had no place in South African soccer, SAFA president Kirsten Nematandani said in a statement.

“This sends out a strong warning to anyone who might intend to tarnish the good name of the sport through corrupt and any other unsporting behaviour,” he said.

South Africa has recently been rocked by allegations that several national team matches, ahead of the 2010 World Cup, were fixed by an Asian betting syndicate.

English ‘quartet’ headline hopefuls Europa League resumes PARIS, Feb 13, (AFP): Traditional European heavyweights Chelsea and Liverpool headline a quartet of English clubs harbouring Europa League dreams as the round of 32 gets underway on Thursday.

Two-time champions Tottenham also join Newcastle among the Premier League hopefuls seeking to make their mark in the competition’s knockout phase.

Chile’s Universidad de Chile’s Sergio Velazquez (left), fights for a ball with Venezuela’s Deportivo Lara’s Jesus Gomez during a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Santiago, Chile, Feb 12. (AP)

Man arrested after racism probe

Drogba free to play for Galatasaray ISTANBUL, Feb 13, (Agencies): Didier Drogba has been given the goahead to play for Galatasaray, a Turkish football federation source and the club said on Wednesday, after his former club Shanghai Shenhua disputed his move from China. “(World governing body) FIFA’s authorisation arrived yesterday (Tuesday). There’s no problem.

Drogba will be able to play on Friday,” a source at the TFF told AFP. Galatasaray meanwhile said on their website that the TFF had told them that “Didier Drogba’s temporary licence is ready”.

Ivory Coast striker Drogba, 34, signed an 18-month contract with topflight Galatasaray at the end of January but Shanghai Shenhua, with whom he signed on a two-and-a-half year deal in June last year, opposed the move.

He will be paid 10 million euros ($13.5 million) to play in Turkey with a bonus of 15,000 euros for every match played.

SOCCER The Chinese club, which had vowed to appeal to FIFA, will not be compensated for his departure, Turkish newspapers said, claiming the player’s contract with Shanghai was null and void as he had not been paid for the last three months.

Galatasary are due to play German side Schalke 04 next Wednesday in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Drogba — a Champions League winner with English Premier League club Chelsea last season — is looking to relaunch his career in Europe and play at a higher standard than in China, with a view to being at the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

English club Millwall says a man has been arrested following a police investigation into racist abuse at a

football match against Leeds last year.

Television footage showed Leeds forward El Hadji Diouf, a former African footballer of the year, being subjected to racist chants and taunts throughout the League Championship game on Nov. 18.

Millwall says Gerrard Scanlon, a 53-year-old driver from north London, has been charged with a racially aggravated public order offense. He has been released on bail and will appear at a magistrates court on Feb. 27. ❑

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Bundesliga strugglers Hoffenheim have fined two players after they were thrown out of a carnival event for unruly behaviour, the club said in a statement.

Goalkeeper Tim Wiese, who was dropped from the squad for an unspecified spell in January due to poor form, and midfielder Tobias Weis were kicked out of the event by security men, Hoffenheim said.

“Generally we understand that players are entitled to a private life and deserve a break from their professional duties,” said general manager Andreas Mueller.

“However, Tobias Weis and Tim Wiese definitely went too far. They have neglected to act as role models and failed to leave a professional impression.” Wiese apologised and said the pair would accept the fine. ❑

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Barcelona forward David Villa has been released from hospital after treatment for kidney stones and may be fit for Saturday’s league game at Granada, the La Liga leaders said.

The 31-year-old Spain international, who was admitted to hospital on Monday, will return to training on Wednesday, Barca said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es).

“His progress will determine whether he is available for the next match against Granada,” they added.

Villa is struggling to become a first choice for Barca after suffering a broken leg at the Club World Cup in December 2011.

He has scored five goals in 15 league appearances this season and five in the King’s Cup but has yet to open his account in the Champions League. ❑

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Former South American champions Velez Sarsfield and Nacional

endured a torrid start to their 2013 Libertadores Cup campaigns at the hands of two Ecuadorean sides.

Argentina’s Velez went down 1-0 away to Emelec thanks to an own goal by striker Facuando Ferreyra and had defender Fernando Tobio sent off after 62 minutes in their Group Four match on Tuesday.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half at the George Capwell stadium in Guayaquil was the decisive spell with Ferreyra deflecting Marcos Caicedo’s 49th-minute shot past wrong-footed keeper Sebastian Sosa and Tobio being booked for the second time.

Uruguay’s Nacional, dominated almost throughout their Group One match at Parque Central in Montevideo by Barcelona, the twice finalists from Guayaquil, were fortunate to salvage a 2-2 draw in a dramatic finale after going two goals down in 25 minutes.

Man of the match Damian Diaz put Barcelona ahead with a brilliant strike from outside the penalty area in the 17th and his fellow Argentine Ariel Nahuelpan increased the lead. ❑

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan raises the 2013 African Cup of Nations trophy won by the country’s national football team during the presidential banquet in honour of the victorious team in Abuja on Feb 12. The newlycrowned African champions Nigerian Super Eagles arrived in Abuja to a warm reception by fans and government officials after defeating Burkina Faso to win the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa. (AFP)

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Los Angeles Galaxy striker Robbie Keane is hoping Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard will come in for former England captain David Beckham at the Major League Soccer (MLS) club.

The Galaxy have not yet replaced Beckham with another big-name, bigmoney player but they have been linked with England stalwart Lampard who looks likely to leave Chelsea when his contract expires at the end of the season.

“I am sure they have someone in the pipeline. I think it is important for the team to get big-name players in and if we get Frank it will be good he’s been on fire,” Ireland striker Keane told Reuters in an interview.

Defending European champions Chelsea infamously made history when they became the first Champions League title-holders to exit the competition in the group stage, but the Blues are now aiming to enter the record Benitez books in a far more positive light.

“It is true the Europa League is not the same as the Champions League because that is the top but the Europa League is a big competition, an important competition, and now we have the chance to win it. Never in the history of Chelsea have we won this cup and we are going to try to do it,” said Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta.

The Londoners travel to Sparta Prague on Thursday to face a Czech team playing their first competitive fixture since the winter break.

Rafael Benitez’s stuttering side have won just once in five outings — a 4-1 pasting of strugglers Wigan on Saturday — but Sparta goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik conceded the Czech outfit still have a monumental challenge on their hands.

“Even if Chelsea are not having their best period right now, they have the winning mentality of a big club and self-confidence. To succeed, we’ll have to play our best football.”

SOCCER Liverpool’s quest for a record fourth title takes them to Saint Petersburg for a first-leg tie against double defending Russian Premier League champions Zenit.

Liverpool lie ninth in the table after a dismal 2-0 home defeat to West Brom on Monday, but first-year boss Brendan Rodgers hopes his players can quickly put that setback behind them against the 2008 Europa League winners.

“We just have to keep striving and look towards the next game. We’ve got the Europa League game on Thursday night, which is a good opportunity for us to progress in a competition.”

Following their shock FA Cup exit to third-tier Oldham, the tournament represents the Reds’ last realistic chance of silverware this season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham host Ligue 1 title challengers Lyon at White Hart Lane with Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris set to face his former teammates for the first time since his August departure.

“It’s not easy for me because I have a good relationship with all my ex-teammates but that is football, that is the life.

On the pitch there are no friends. We play for our team and give all the best for our team,” said Lloris.

Spurs, the inaugural winners of the competition in 1972 as well as 1984, are undefeated in 10 Premier League outings, in stark contrast to Lyon who are coming off successive league defeats for the first time since 2011, denting their pursuit of a

first Ligue 1 crown since 2008.

The north Londoners will, however, be without leading striker Jermain Defoe with the England international sidelined through injury.

Buoyed by their latest French recruits, Newcastle go into their clash with Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv at St James’ Park — where they are unbeaten in 11 European home games — in confident mood.

“The new injection of players has given everybody a lift at the club and you can see that on the pitch when we go out and play,” said Magpies defender James Perch, referring to the January arrivals of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Moussa Sissoko, Mathieu Debuchy, Yoan Gouffran and

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Other notable ties include holders Atletico Madrid hosting Russian outfit Rubin Kazan, while three-time winners Inter Milan are at home to Romania’s CFR Cluj and Napoli entertain Czech table-toppers Viktoria Plzen.

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Sports

Gritty Man United hold Real Shakhtar, Dortmund draw MADRID, Feb 13, (RTRS): Cristiano Ronaldo rescued Real Madrid with a brilliant header against former club Manchester United to salvage a 1-1 draw in Wednesday’s heavyweight Champions League last 16 first leg showdown at the Bernabeu.

Real gave the Premier League side a torrid time in the early stages but United took the lead against the run of play in the 20th minute when Danny Welbeck nodded past Diego Lopez from a Wayne Rooney corner.

Ronaldo levelled 10 minutes later when he rose to send an Angel Di Maria centre arrowing into the corner.

There was a muted goal celebration from the Portuguese, who became the world’s Welbeck most expensive player when he left United for Real in 2009.

“It’s a place where I played for six

SOCCER years and I have a lot of affection for the club as everyone knows,” Ronaldo told Spanish television broadcaster Canal Plus.

“United are very strong in defence and they created some problems for us. But with the chances we had, we could have scored more goals “But everything’s open for the game at Old Trafford and I think we have the ability to score goals there and get through,” he added.

United goalkeeper David De Gea, who earlier tipped a Fabio Coentrao effort on to a post, superbly denied the same player on the hour before Robin Van Persie fluffed a shot when he had the goal at his mercy 18 minutes from time, allowing Xabi Alonso to clear off the line.

The result gives United a slight advantage for the return leg in Manchester on March 5.

Real attacked the visitors’ goal from the start while a ragged United struggled to retain possession.

They had yet to have an attempt on goal when Welbeck slipped marker Sergio Ramos and nodded inside the post for only his second goal in 28 matches.

Ronaldo, who was given a rousing ovation from both sets of fans before kickoff, went close following up on his own free kick before grabbing the equaliser with a trademark towering header.

Real were far more threatening going forward but nearly conceded a second in the 34th minute when Welbeck came close to poking a Van Persie centre past Diego Lopez.

United started the second half brightly but were soon on the back foot as Real continued to press forward.

Although they were seeing little of the ball, the visitors still looked dangerous and Diego Lopez tipped a searing Van Persie drive on to the bar moments before the Netherlands striker squandered a golden chance for United’s second.

He controlled the ball in the area but miscued his volley and Alonso was able to race back and hook the ball away with Lopez stranded.

In Donetsk, Ukraine, Borussia Dortmund grabbed a late 2-2 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday in a Champions League last 16 first leg which was overshadowed by a fatal plane crash involving fans.

Mats Hummels headed in an 87thminute corner after substitute Douglas Costa thought he had won it for the hosts in the 68th minute to leave the Germans as favourites ahead of the second leg in Dortmund on March 5.

The Ukrainians had struck first when Darijo Srna netted with a 31st-minute free kick but Dortmund deservedly scored through Robert Lewandowski four minutes before the break.

The match went ahead despite at least five people being killed when a plane carrying supporters to the match in eastern Ukraine overshot the Donetsk runway and broke up when it attempted an emergency landing hours before kickoff.

A minute’s silence was held inside the Donbass Arena by players and fans before the match.

Dortmund dominated early on with several half chances but Felipe Santana then committed a needless foul and Srna’s dipping effort went in past goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller who could

Manchester United’s Rafael (left), tackles Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal (right), during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Manchester United at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, on Feb 13. (AP)

Wiggins loses more time

Sagan strengthens grip on Tour of Oman lead WADI DAYQAH DAM, Oman, Feb 13, (AFP): Slovakia’s Peter Sagan of the Cannondale team won a second consecutive stage on the Tour of Oman on Wednesday to strengthen his grip on the overall race leader’s red jersey.

Sagan emerged victorious on the 190km third stage from Nakhal Fort to Wadi Dayqah Dam in the Hajar mountains.

In the same spot where he claimed his first win for Cannondale a year ago, Sagan beat Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet of BMC and France’s Tony Gallopin of RadioShack to take victory on the line by one second with Alberto Contador a close fourth.

Sagan, who won three stages on last year’s Tour de France, sits 16 seconds ahead of Gallopin in the overall standings but knows he faces a tough hilly fourth stage where Italian Vincenzo Nibali triumphed last year.

CYCLING “Tomorrow (Thursday), the victory will be for someone else, not for me,” he said after receiving the leaders red jersey as well as the green for points and white for best young rider.

A strong field in Oman is headed by last year’s Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, and also features his Sky team-mate Chris Froome, as well as the likes of Tom Boonen, Cadel Evans, Fabian Cancellara and Contador.

Saxo rider Contador is expected to battle with Nibali amongst others for stage four honours and the race have done better.

The visitors, who also hit the bar through Hummels, levelled when Poland’s Lewandowski completely miskicked in the box but the ball fell kindly for the striker and he coolly slotted home.

Shakhtar, slightly rusty with their domestic season on a mid-season break and with Luiz Adriano back after his

Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan of Cannondale celebrates after winning the third stage of the Tour of Oman, from Nakhal Fort to Wadi Dayqah Dam, on Feb 13, in Muscat. The sixstage-race, which follows the Tour of Qatar, won by Britain’s Mark Cavendish last week, culminates on Feb 16, at Matra Corniche. (AFP)

Conte amazed to leave Celtic ‘hell’ with handsome win

‘PSG success proves Euro credentials’ MADRID, Feb 13, (RTRS): Paris St Germain’s 2-1 Champions League win at Valencia on Tuesday is proof that the big-spending Ligue 1 club have become a force in Europe but they should not get carried away, according to director of football Leonardo.

PSG produced an efficient performance full of attacking verve in the last16 first leg at the Mestalla but the gloss was taken off the victory in the final minutes when they conceded a goal and had Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent off.

Even without the talismanic Sweden striker for the second leg in Paris on March 6 the Qatar-backed French side will be firm favourites to progress to the last eight for the first time since they lost to AC Milan in the semi-finals in 1994-95.

“I think that we sent a strong message,” Leonardo said.

“We should not forget where we have come from, where we were a year-and-a-half ago,” added the Brazilian, who played 71 games for Valencia between 1991 and 1993, scoring six goals.

“But building a team which shows this level of confidence and calm going to Valencia is a sign that we are in good shape in this competition,” he said.

“Of course, the last five minutes

SOCCER ference between the sides.

“PSG were very strong,” Valencia coach Ernesto Valverde told a news conference.

“Every counter-attack they created lots of danger for us,” he added.

“The truth is that maybe we were too naive, losing possession too much, which unbalanced the game.

“We possibly made PSG’s task a little easier but we scored a goal at the end and we had other chances, so that gives us hope.

“The return will be difficult based on

remains wide open with Britain’s Froome and Australian Evans also still in with a chance.

However Wiggins’ appears out of the running now after losing 1min 37sec on stage three while last year’s winner, Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez also lost 59secs in his faltering defence.

The British Olympic champion is now a distant 3min 29sec adrift in the overall standings and facing a monumental challenge to get back amongst the leaders. infamous unsporting conduct ban, only really came close again in the first half through Alex Teixeira after another Weidenfeller misjudgment.

The second period was more even and Brazilian Douglas Costa scored six minutes after coming on when he controlled a long ball over the top and swivelled to bury a fine shot into the corner of the net amid lax Dortmund defending.

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the strength they showed here.

“We have to look to score over there.

We have to go there and try, because although the scoreline is far from positive this tie is by no means finished.”

Meanwhile, Juventus coach Antonio Conte has suffered much in recent months but coming away from the “hell” of a noisy and fervent Celtic Park with a 3-0 win in their Champions League last 16 first leg felt like an enormous relief.

The Italian champions, who again lead Serie A despite a recent wobble, were dominated by Celtic in the first half as the Scots besieged the Juve goal and harried every player as they were roared on by almost 60,000 passionate fans.

Juve took a third-minute lead through Alessandro Matri before weathering the storm to wrap up the win and their highly probable passage to the quarter-finals through Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic in the second half.

Conte, banned for 10 months in August for failing to report match-fixing at ex-club Siena before having his sanction slashed to four months in October, knows the second leg in Turin on March 6 should only be a formality but gave credit to Celtic.

Hunt steps down as chief of BOA

Tomas Hubschman (right), of FC Shakhtar fights for the ball with Mario Gotze (left), of Borussia Dortmund during their UEFA Champions League round 16 football match in Donetsk on Feb 13. (AFP)

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LONDON, Feb 13, (RTRS): Andy Hunt is stepping down as British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive at the end of February just six months after he guided the host nation to its most successful Games medal haul in 104 years.

Britain won 65 medals at the London 2012 Games — 29 gold, 17 silver and 19 bronze — and finished third in the medals table behind the United States and China.

“It has been an amazing four years leading the BOA as the host National Olympic Committee for the London 2012 Games,” Hunt said in a statement.

“I will always be proud to have led Team GB at a home Games and of the fantastic performance of the team this summer and the way in which the BOA supported the athletes.

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were not ideal but today I think we achieved an historic victory.”

Valencia had won all eight of their European home games against French opposition before PSG’s visit and were unbeaten in nine Champions League matches at the Mestalla since a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in September 2010.

PSG have spent around 250 million euros ($337 million) in the transfer market in the past four seasons and the quality of players such as goalscorers Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore and pacy midfielder Lucas was the dif-

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